Synopsis:
This is the story of what happens when an unlikely bond is formed between enemies, causing tensions to rise, and igniting a chemistry that threatens to burn them both. Together, they'll learn that sometimes even the best laid plans can fail.
If this NOVEL were a MOVIE, it would have an R rating from the MPAA. Contains: Violence, Grisly Images, Strong Language, Nudity, and Graphic Sexual Content
Is my left hand good enough? I should've trained more with it. Maybe I can get it to my right hand quick enough. Fuck. How quick is he? Fuck! Did he see me moving!?
“You back stabbing thief,” she hissed. She slid her left hand even closer to the side of the trunk.
“Keep 'em coming, sweetheart, I've got fifteen bullets here that are just itching to have a purpose in life. Maybe I'll start by putting one in your right foot, then move up to your left knee. Maybe when I get to your -”
Now!
In almost one fluid motion, she reached her hand underneath a flap of material that was hiding a pistol, while at the same time twisting her body and driving her elbow straight up. She caught him in the side of the face with a sharp crack. His hand moved off of her head and she rolled around, whipping her gun into her right hand as she snapped upright. He came around at the same time, shoving his arm straight out and pointing his gun into her face. Her own firearm was pointed right at his throat.
Shit, now what.
They glared at each other for a moment.
“You have two seconds to walk away from this situation,” she breathed, stepping back from the bumper, not lowering her gun. Marc kept his barrel trained on her forehead as he matched her step for step.
“Not gonna happen, princess. Maybe you should walk away, you're in over your head,” he cautioned her, his tone snide. She smirked at him and kept moving, trying to put some distance between them and the car.
“Really? This 'princess' just outsmarted you, twice, in less than five minutes. I think you're in over your head, so back the fuck off,” she growled through clenched teeth.
“Kitty has claws, I like it. But can she pull the trigger?” his tone was questioning as he cocked his head to the side.
That enraged her almost more than anything. More than his deceit. More than his treachery. More than his violence. The disrespect. He'd always treated her as an equal before – now he looked at her and spoke to her like she was a cockroach.
“Try me,” Lily snapped back.
He stared at her for a second longer, then did just that – he let his gun lower and he strode forward, pushing past her as he made his way back towards the vehicle. She was stunned.
“I'm taking this car!” he called out. She whirled around, keeping her gun raised.
“No, you're not! Stop right there!” she demanded. He held up his middle finger.
“Go ahead and sto-”
Lily fired a shot, right over his head. He froze in place mid-stride, then turned his head to the side so he could see her.
“I'm warning you,” she cautioned him. He chuckled, but still didn't move.
“You don't have the balls to shoot me.”
She lowered her gun a couple inches and fired again, directly between his legs. The bullet pinged into the sand at the edge of the road, right in front of him. When she sighted back on his head, he looked decidedly less confident.
“In two minutes, you won't have balls, either.”
Lily didn't want to shoot him, she really didn't. She'd never killed anyone before, and didn't want to start with Marc. She was saving that damnable act for someone very specific. She didn't want to condemn her soul to hell for some piece of shit traitor. Some liar. Some con man.
“Look,” his voice was low, his teeth clenched. “I need what's in that trunk. Whatever deal you have with Ivanov, I can make you a better one.”
“And if I let you take that car, I'm dead. Not winning me over,” she replied.
“No, you can just disappear. Drive off into the sunset, find the nearest plane to take you back to L.A., or wherever you're from. Somewhere safe,” he suggested.
“Not from L.A., and you have one more minute before I blow your nuts off.”
“How did a sweet thing like you get caught up with Ivanov?”
“'Sweet thing' just threatened to shoot you in the testicles. Thirty seconds.”
“Okay! Okay, just take it easy. Maybe we can work out a deal. I'll split them with you, half and half. Just take them out and we'll divide them up.”
“Do you really think I'm stupid enough to fall for that?”
“Was worth a shot."
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six ...," Lily began counting down.
Character Inspirations:
Marc is very heavily based on Tom Hardy from "Mad Max: Fury Road" and Lily is Jessica Chastain. Kingsley Law's look is entirely based on Jude Law.
Who do you picture the characters like? Would love to see your dream cast!
Ready Made Guest Posts:
1. This is very different from your previous work – what was your inspiration behind BLP and what kind of research went into writing this book?
I love love LOVE action movies. I wanted something kind of gritty and raw, but I didn't want it to be something that's been done, I didn't want drugs or hitmen. So I went with diamond heist and mercenaries. I wanted Marc to sort of have that John McClane "Die Hard" feel, very "IDGAF and I'll say whatever I want, no matter how un-PC", and I wanted Lily to be beyond badass, almost an anti-hero in her own right.
SO MUCH research went into the book, I had no idea what I was getting into - I just started writing, and then I got to the scene where Marc was in the shower, towards the beginning, and after I wrote it I sort of had a "wait a minute ..." moment and realized there was a distinct possibility they wouldn't have running water. So I started researching Liberia. My mind was blown. So many things in the story changed after that point. I constantly had Google open in one window and Google Maps opened in another window. Virtually every place they go in the book is a real place. For example: when a hotel is described, it is based on a real hotel I found on Trip Advisor and then cross referenced on Google Earth. EVERYTHING was like that. Half of my brain lived in Africa for two months.
Playlist:
About the Author:
Crazy woman living in an
undisclosed location in Alaska (where the need for a creative mind is a
necessity!), I have been writing since ..., forever? Yeah, that sounds about
right. I have been told that I remind people of Lucille Ball - I also see
shades of Jennifer Saunders, and Denis Leary. So basically, I laugh a lot, I'm
clumsy a lot, and I say the F-word A LOT.
I like dogs more than I like most people, and I don't trust anyone who doesn't drink. No, I do not live in an igloo, and no, the sun does not set for six months out of the year, there's your Alaska lesson for the day. I have mermaid hair - both a curse and a blessing - and most of the time I talk so fast, even I can't understand me.
Yeah. I think that about sums me up.
Buy
Links:
On Amazon Exclusively - also available in
Kindle Unlimited program for free. $0.99 release price will be good through
Sept. 8th - then it goes up to $2.99.
CA:
AUS:
Giveaway:
The author is giving away a $50 Amazon Gift Card and 2 ARC
copies of Out of Plans (when the ARCs are available and ready)
Direct Link:
https://gleam.io/P5PZo/stylo-fantomes-best-laid-plans-release-week-event-giveaway
Stylo Fantome's BEST LAID PLANS Release Week Event Giveaway
~ 5 FANTASTIC HEART RACING STARS~
"Never be scared. I never want you to be scared, ever again."-Marc
Lily and Marc are both living "undercover" in Liberia. They both are leading different lives and they both work for bad men. Marc is a freelance contractor. He is called in to get a job done quickly and then get out. Simple! However, when he meets Lily, a transporter, at the safe house he is living in nothing is so simple anymore. Lily and Marc share a night of passion before fate deals a "doozy" of a hand to them both!
Lily has been living this life in order to seek revenge. She is insistent on following through with her plans. When she and Marc get tangled up in a wild web of lies, it is unknown if they will end up killing each other or be lost forever in the rapture of passion.
Marc has just completed a major heist when he becomes a pawn in the mafia's plans. He suspects Lily of being involved with his demise. When Marc realizes how deeply entrenched Lily is, he immediately comes at her "guns a blazing"! The only problem is, Lily is no one to be messed with.
"Men were the worst. Men could do whatever they wanted. Men were not to be trusted."-Lily
She is full of fire and she certainly isn't afraid of some mercenary (even if he is one hot lover beneath the sheets). To put it plainly, Lily is quite the bad ass! Marc recognizes right away that he has his hands full with this girl.
"What had turned strawberry shortcake into a fighting machine that did dirty work for a Russian Bratva?"-Marc
As the plot thickens, the action intensifies and neither Marc nor Lily know who they can trust.
"Why are you being so nice to me?"-Lily
"Because I don't want to drag a dead body in this heat.
Keep moving."-Marc
They only known factors are they have feelings for one another and an undeniable attraction to get to know each other as intimately as possible. And yet, surely it is a bad idea to explore that avenue together.
"No sex. Not between us. Not ever again."-Lily
Will Lily be able to get her revenge? Will Marc be able to clear his name? Or will they kill each other before they make it to their destination? And most importantly, can they keep their vow to stay away from each other?
"His voice was soft and simple, and it wasn't exactly poetry, but it caused a pain in her chest. Like he wasn't used to seeing beautiful things. Like she was a gift."
"Only you. Only your eyes."-Marc
Overall, Best Laid Plans is a perfect blend of action, romance, mystery, and suspense. I thoroughly enjoy a read that keeps me engaged and invested the entire time. This action romance kept me on the edge of my seat through each gun fight, car chase, car jacking, and, as I have already mentioned, the steamy sex! Not only is the plot well written (and developed), the characters are complex, gritty, likable and yet (just like I like them) full of flaws. This naturalistic approach to writing makes Ms. Fantome a must read in my book. The text flows between the pages at a fast pace and yet, the tender moments were like a suspended melody constantly battling the upbeat tempo of the action. This magical mixture will keep you engaged the entire read. I simply cannot rave enough about this book. What is most outstanding about this author is her versatility. She is consistently willing to step "out of the box" and commit fully to whatever she writes. I simply cannot wait for more Lily and Marc! To Ms. Fantome, I say "BRING IT!".
~This was another heart stopping BR with my girls from Shh...! Thanks ladies!~
~ARC generously given by author in exchange for an honest review! Thank you Stylo Fantome for sharing your work with me!~
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My Rating 5***Kickass Stars
Title: Best Laid Plans
Author: Stylo Fantome
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Type: Book 1 of 2 of The Mercenaries Series
POV: First Person – Dual
“When a person met Marc for the first time, the only words that ever come to mind was “ROUGH”.” Lily
This book WOW! This freaking book is kickass, full of steamy sex, suspense, action and once you start you are in for an amazing adventure that you do not want to miss out. Best Laid Plans takes place in North Africa where “Marcelle De Sant aka Marc” a well known hit man has only one month left to finish his assignment and he is out. He is really looking forward to get this new assignment over with. His job was to steal some blood diamonds and deliver them to the Russian mob. He is ready for a long vacation once this was over with. However; he didn’t anticipated meeting Lily and life got so much complicated than what he was used to.
Liliana Brewster aka Lily has been a transporter and for the past five years she has only one motivation and one goal “Revenge”. She only has one week left to smuggle the diamonds out of Liberia and into Russia. Lily had flirted with Marc while on her mission for few weeks; he was hot enough to have a one night stand she thought. So she followed him one night and they had a steamy night that was unforgettable. The next morning everything changed; Marc and Lily found themselves on a dangerous mission they both got caught into lies and were forced to fight for their lives away from Africa. Trust was a big issue for both of them; they were both on their own and desperately to do anything to get what they have to do to reach each of their goals.
“One of the worst cities in the world, and here was an auburn goddess with rosy skin and a lavender scent.” Marc
This book was packed with action full of suspense that had me biting my nails one minute and the other well it was hot. Marc and Lily ended up together trying to survived and developed feelings for each other. After fighting all the time of course she was stubborn and independent and he was well he was badass Marc Raw and strong and unpredictable. Their sexual chemistry was defiantly undeniable it was so HOT especially after a good fight they would go wild for each other. Marc and Lily had sex in the car, in the shower basically everywhere and it was amazingly HOT. They had to change strategies so both can get out of this mess alive.
“He grabbed her by the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss.” Marc
“She grabbed the straps of his vest and yanked him even closer, sliding her tongue into his mouth before he could make that move first.” Lily
The events heading to the ending left me speechless, I was so angry at the choices Marc made and I am dying to get my hands on book two right away. Yes there is a cliffy ok a BIG cliffy whatever but best know you do not want to miss out on this fantastic adventure. I loved The author outdid herself with this one I absolutely loved every single minute of it and I just couldn’t get enough. Looking forward to more of Marc and Lily and more action on the next book.
If you missed hanging out and chatting LIVE with Stylo, be sure to check out thisReCap, DICKtation of the SHH LIVE CHAT WITH STYLO
"ARC kindly provide by author via blog tour, in exchange for an honest review". Thank you so much!!
BOOK SERIES ORDER: NOT A STANDALONE
PURCHASE LINKS:
AMAZON US
AMAZON UK
AMAZON CA
AMAZON AUS
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