Ace in the Hole

Stone gets thrown into the political pool head first and in the deep end. He is having to constantly reassess and readjust. But we see that despite what he appears to be like on the surface he does adapt.

Christian has been trying to prove himself to family that doesn't care. But he is smart, funny, and loyal. So when Stone sort of rocks his world he has to do his own reassessing.

This book has peaks of humor within the greater drama of the story. The senator's wife is a wonderful secondary character and I'm loved how her own story played out. It was great to see how each man was able to reevaluate their goals, take a chance at something different, and still end up with all they need.

This was my first book by Ava Drake, although if you look on Amazon, you might find it is her only book (at least there). :) But I would not have known that it was her first book.

Nevertheless, great job by the author, and Dreampspinner Press to get this book out so well. The plot was fun, sexy and high drama. These two alpha males, Stone and Christian easily melded together to find the right go-ahead for themselves. Both wanting control, yet, willing to give up control to the other. There was a need on the part of the reader to suspend disbelief a bit that Stone was able to pass himself off as a famous senator, but everyone has a doppelganger, don't they?

The secondary characters were well done as well. The illustrious politican's wife was great, and I loved how she moved herself forward despite the challenges brought on by her husband. And Christian's grandmother! If I had one wish, it would be to have had more of his grandmother, at least one more scene

The climax was well done, and fairly unexpected, at least the who-done-it part. And I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Read it practically in one sitting.


Great job by the author, and I can't wait to read more of what's ahead.

4.5 pieces of eye candy

**ARC provided by Dreamspinner Press in return for an honest review. Original full review posted at Two Chicks Obsessed with Books and Eye Candy

This was a fun quick read, but it lacked depth of character and plot. The beginning grabbed me, with the thought of two alpha males coming together full of suspense and muscle… but as soon as the plot started, the character dynamics fizzled out quite a bit. There was a lot of sex, but it didn’t always fit within the storyline and wasn’t exactly male-driven, but more fluffy than would fit either character.

The story and the characters seemed almost cliche at times - it has the possibility of being a great story, but it felt a bit underdeveloped… although I’d love to know more about Stone and Christian, if we could get more into their heads instead of watching them through action scenes.

If you’re looking for a quick read and like seeing politicians getting stuck in sticky situations without angst and little drama, than this could be the right read for you.

ARC Provided by Dreamspinner Publishing. Honest review done by Mel Bradley for Alpha Book Club without influence from publisher or author.

Reviewed by Meredith for Diverse Reader

I really love the Dreamspun Desire books. Each one is so different but the same. They are romantic love stories. Some suspenseful and some read like a windswept romance. Ace in the Hole falls smack in the middle of that.
The 2 MC’s are brought together when a Senator gets death threats. Christian, Jack the Senator’s aide, takes this very seriously and when Stone Jackson, bodyguard extraordinaire is called in to protect the Senator… sparks fly.
Throughout this book so much happens. The Senator goes missing, Stone impersonates him, politics runs amuck, and a romance blooms.
I really did love this book in the sense it kept my attention and it wasn’t boring. I loved the two MC’s and loved it was duel POV’s. It made it flow a lot better than I think one POV would have. I will say however, I found some of the dialog a wee bit cheesy at times between Stone and Christian. I admit to even saying oh my god when I heard some of their dialog. But that’s really where the meh feelings end.
It is a romance with minimal suspense, no angst, and some drama.
Fun read.