Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open: The Blackstone Affair, Book 3
by Raine Miller
Published by Atria Books
352 pages
Genre: erotica
Thanks to NetGalley for the preview
3.5 / 5

And now, the end is near, and Ethan Blackstone must take his final curtain.

Well, not his FINAL curtain. I'm sure he goes on to prosper out there is fictional fantasy land. But for us readers, it's time to say goodbye to hot Ethan.

This is the third and final book in the Blackstone Trilogy, and it sees Ethan and Brynne's story take off after the conclusion of All In, the second of the trilogy (Naked is the first). This review will contain spoilers from the first two books, so if you haven't read them, please do so before you continue.

When we last saw Ethan and Brynne, they had escaped a stalker threatening Brynne. At least temporarily. They have contended with stalkers and threats to Brynne's security before, so in some regard they are used to this stuff.

As CEO of a security firm, though, Ethan takes Brynne's safety extremely seriously. After all, they met when her father hired him to protect Brynne while she's living in England. In the previous books, some political intrigue and espionage has been hinted at and discussed, and those theories continue here. Somewhat frustratingly, they are not as fully developed as we would hope.

Settling into a new relationship can be difficult, all the more so when you are under siege from an unknown force. Ethan cherishes Brynne, and by "cherish," I mean worshiped with his naughty bits. Ethan knows how to rock that headboard, girls, and it does not take Raine Miller long to escort us straight into the bedroom with the two of them. Or straight into a shower. Or up against a wall. Or any place where two crazy kids in love can know each other in the Biblical sense.

The stalker subplot is not all that gripping. It does not take us long to figure out who it is, and some of the stalker's other crimes seem sort of tacked on or overly dramatized to make him fit.

But do we read these books for the mystery? Hell to the NO. We read them for the sexy times, and bless Raine Miller's erotica laden mind for writing some good ones.

I really enjoyed the first two books, and I liked this one. It's a good conclusion to the story, even if it occasionally feels a bit overwrought. Ethan, I'm glad I got to know you, you gorgeous hunk of man, you.