TrekScribbles

Eliot Spencer // Leverage (2008) & Leverage: Redemption (2021) Audio: Get Off My Back (Bryan Adams)

sometimes, midway through a project, I realize I’m falling into the sunk cost fallacy, but I also know I’m actually right about it this time. upon which my choices are, to quote my friends, 'hit the bricks' or 'die a martyr' and as far as I'm concerned the decision is obvious. so anyways here’s the full version of that Eliot edit.

The ol' butt tap!

"You guys are not gonna distract me that easy."

I discovered this book thanks to a post on the author’s blog. The characters and plot intrigued me and since it’s close to Valentine’s Day, I couldn’t resist pre-ordering a book with a Valentine’s Day theme. I found myself delighted by this book, and I finished in a few hours. I thought that the characters were interesting without being bogged down by too much backstory, and the unlikely pairing of a hitman and an art thief never felt too unbelievable to me. Their romance felt well-paced and far more realistic than other romances where the author expects a reader to believe two strangers fall in love with the space of a few weeks, etc. I liked the duel perspectives of the hitman and the art thief characters, and it was amusing to read their different perspectives on the same scene, or interesting to understand the events of a previous chapter through that character’s knowledge of events. I thought that the poetry and art themes were beautifully interwoven into the story. I thought the fight scenes were well written. I often have trouble following fight scenes in books but these were very clear to me. My one criticism is that there were almost too many characters in this book. It was difficult for me to distinguish which characters were main characters and which were only going to be important for a page or two, since every single character was given a first and last name. It made it difficult to keep track of all the characters and since so many characters were introduced at the same time and very early on in the book, the first chapters were a little bit difficult to follow.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Tennyson Stone, once a decorated Marine, now uses his skills in the service of Bastian Harlow, a man who targets and breaks apart corrupt businesses. He does the things nobody wants to do: the intimidation, the theft, the fighting. The killing. His position is necessary to keep others safe, and if he has to sell his soul in exchange, so be it. Louna Despereaux came from nothing, but she never believed she was meant to stay there. She taught herself art, fashion, culture, languages—anything she could learn to help her climb out of the life she never wants to go back to. Now, she's a respected member of one of the most prestigious fine arts museums in Paris, with contacts all over the world. She's also one of the best art forgers in Europe. And she has her own way of handling corrupt businessmen. When a chance encounter between Tennyson and Louna inspires a newly "discovered" master painting (whose main figure looks suspiciously like Tennyson), Harlow orders him to get rid of the painting before it can be unveiled at the Valentine's Day Gala in Paris. If Tennyson fails, he'll have to do whatever is necessary to keep Louna from creating any more paintings. If he succeeds, Louna could lose everything. Including her heart.

It started as an Eliot/Sophie AU, but it's turned into a whole new story all its own. And as you can see, there's lots of fun Easter eggs in the names 😂

It's available for preorder on the Zon. Currently only as an ebook (because I'm doing the cover design and formatting myself), but it will eventually also be a paperback. Books 2 and 3 are projected to come out summer and fall of this year!