Dark Kisses

Platinum Security, Book 1

By: Kelly Myers

Narrated by: Jamie Kersey, Kenneth Elliott

Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Protector, warrior, angel of death.

When a stalker turns his attention to me, I turn to Jax Wilder for protection.

Owner of Platinum Security, he lives in the shadows and I live in the spotlight.

Haunted by guilt and failure, he’s a bad boy to the bone who drinks, smokes, and swears.

I’m Hollywood glamour, a lady with an image to uphold.

We couldn’t be more opposite, but I’m drawn to him.

His tattoos, his motorcycle, his gun. And the feral way he looks at me.

When my life is threatened, Jax vows to stay by my side.

He tells me he doesn’t do relationships, but my savior plays dirty, and I can’t resist his dark kisses.

At this point, I’m not sure what’s worse....

The death threats...

Or, knowing that once this is over, this Fallen Angel will walk out of my life forever, breaking my heart into a million pieces.

Eager for a tantalizing tale filled with romance and suspense? Look no further than Dark Kisses, the riveting first installment in the Platinum Security series. Immerse yourself in this dual-narrated story where love and danger intertwine. Your thrilling adventure starts here—get your copy today.

©2021 Kelly Myers (P)2023 Swan Secrets LLC

Good Suspense, Excellent Chemistry

I love that a few book review sites are offering audiobooks to review. It's made me branch out a bit in terms of what I'll read/listen to. This is one I would not have typically picked because of its somewhat darker themes, and I'm just not into bad-boy romance or movie star romance. Though this book had all of this, I actually enjoyed listening to it. I think part of that is because the male narrator who voiced Jax’s chapters did such an awesome job. He didn't just narrate; he actually acted it in parts, sometimes with such enthusiasm that you thought you were listening to an actual actor in a movie or a well-done old-school radio program. I loved how he was able to ratchet up the tension at just the right points using only his voice.

The heroine in this book is nearing 30 rapidly, and she is an America's sweetheart-style movie star who is starting to worry about how she will continue to get roles as she ages. As the book opens, we learn that she has a stalker who is very threatening to her physical safety. She decides to hire a security team to help her over this rough patch, not only to protect her but also perhaps to figure out who is doing this. The female narrator sounded young and was not as breathtakingly good as the male narrator. She has a rather high-pitched voice, and the parts where she spoke Jax’s lines--while she attempted to sound more growly and masculine-- were just not quite up to snuff.

The main characters are about as opposite as you can get, her Hollywood glamor girl and him a disgraced former police officer (though we, as civilians and people who have family we love, would see no reason for his disgrace once we learn of it in the book). They have an instant attraction and an instant chemistry which is fun to watch unfold. Both fight it, of course, for a variety of reasons. He especially did not feel worthy of this beautiful famous woman. I like how they both have complex backstories, giving them both vulnerabilities that aren't easily seen on the outside. I love how they bring out the best in each other--him helping her express her authentic self and her helping him live a more healthy life (mentally and physically). I'm one of those hopeless romantics who believes that true love does that, helps you be the best version of yourself while you help your partner do the same. There are a few intimate scenes, and I found them really well done and enjoyable. For all of his tough-guy, bad-boy, rough-around-the-edges exterior, he's a giving and thoughtful lover… the best kind of book boyfriend and the perfect man for our heroine who hasn’t made the best choices of the men in her life!

This certainly has thriller aspects, and there is a scene at the end where the heroine has to confront the person who has been out to get her during the entire book. She's strong and feisty right until the end, but she does not have the full ability to extricate herself from the circumstances the villain put her in. At times I got a little frustrated with a heroine throughout the book as she didn't seem to understand the gravity of her situation. Jax saw it clearly, but she just would not listen to his good advice, just wanting to live her life as if the bad stuff wasn't happening. Even though this book did not tick my typical boxes for romance, I enjoyed it immensely and would read or listen to other books by this author with great anticipation for another enjoyable experience. Recommended.

Enjoyed the bad boy and the good girl relationship

She’s a star with a well-crafted rep but when a stalker scares her she calls on a bad boy bodyguard to keep her safe. Their instant attraction surprises them both but both have history that makes them afraid to trust. When danger get close only Jax can rescue her, but he’ll have to overcome his own demons. Loved the rich girl and poor boy dynamic where they have more in common than they ever expected and their love will overcome the prejudices both have. I liked that both were well developed characters with their own history and their reactions were on track based on their experiences. Jax is barely holding on after the loss of a loved one and his job. Easton is tired of being alone but wrapped up in her manufactured world. The both bring something to the relationship that the other needs. Nice HEA. I did like the narration and I’ve gotten hooked on audio which I can listen to when I’m doing something else. Pacing is good and I was rooting for the characters to come out ahead of the stalker who gets progressively more dangerous.

Captivating!

Dark Kisses is book one in the Platinum Security world, and wow did it set up a great series. Jamie Kersey and Kenneth Elliott did an amazing job narrating this suspenseful, enticing, complex story. Its a well written, engaging book with twists, turns, ups and downs. Great job Kelly Myers!

Definitely enjoyed the book!

I definitely enjoyed the story line and characters. I was hooked for the whole book and will continue with the series!

Great story!

The story was great and kept me glued to my car stereo. Both narrators were amazing, especially the Easton character. Definitely would recommend to friends and family

Where Fantasy Ends, Real Love Begins: Dark Kisses

Dark Kisses Audible

I am a devoted fan of Kelly Myers—an amazing writer and storyteller. As a result, I always eagerly await the next romance, anticipating being imersed in the world of Myers imagination, but grounded in the reality of life.
But I am reader, not a listener. So, translating my private reading experience into an audible experience where the character’s voices are not created in my head, but by actors speaking the first-person roles, has been a challenge. And, while the dual narration of the two primary characters, Easton Ross and Jaxson Wilder, are well narrated and well-suited to the characters, they are not the voices who spoke to me as I read. Nevertheless, I would happily enjoy hearing these voices join me on a road-trip while I drive!

In the world of Hollywood and the fantasy in which its inhabitants trade, beautiful raven-haired, green-eyed Easton Ross is the perfect princess in land of illusion. And while Easton is a talented actress, she knows that she is also acting when she steps off the movie set. Easton is not a perfect princess, rather she is always acting a part, and for the last 10 years she has cleverly crafted the character of Easton Ross. The real woman is an unwanted and abandoned baby left at the Bakersfield Police Department who was not desirable enough to be adopted into a family, and over time, lived the life of a foster child until she aged into a group home. Even the story of her “discovery” is a fantasy crafted to weave another magical layer between the truth and the PR narrative.

And now as a 29-year-old acclaimed actress, she sees changes ahead as she moves into the next stage of her fantastic life. But, suddenly the ugliness of the real world has begun to crash into the old-style Hollywood glamour in which she has cocooned herself—she is being stalked by some real-life monster who leaves sexually and physically threatening messages on her phone and in notes delivered to her Hollywood Hill mansion. And so, she seeks help and protection from the LA Police Department.

Jaxson Wilder, a tattoo-covered, 35-year-old former member of the LA Police Department, who served his community for 10 years, knows that life is not always good or fair. As a 15-year-old, he first learned that no one is guaranteed a life without sadness when both of his parents were killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. He and his siblings, Madison—Maddie and Sebastian—Bastion, were scooped up and cared for and nurtured by their aunt. But darkness continued to follow the siblings into adulthood, and with the recent murder of his sister Maddie, his own dishonorable discharge from a profession he loved and his brother’s troubled life and disappearance, he feels that he lives in the darkness. So, leaving the profession he loved in shame, Jax is trying to put his investigative and security skills to work, opening a private security firm, Platinum Security, and enlisting a former CIA agent, Griffen Lawson and an ex-Navy Seal, Ryker Flynn to help.

Now, trying to put his life back on some sort of track, Jax is given a chance to rebuild from the ashes of his grief and his destructive anger following his sister’s murder. His former best friend from police academy days, newly minted detective, Logan Sharpe, gives Jax’s name to Easton Ross as a private security firm which could install a security system and provide personal protection.

Upon meeting Logan, she hires him and his firm to protect her and her home. But, Easton doesn’t just seek protection from Jax. She is drawn to the tattoo-covered, 6’3” hard man with dark hair and deep chocolate eyes—a “bad boy”. She is drawn to him in a way that all the pretty blonde-haired boy-next-door, California tanned, aspiring leading men can’t touch her heart. And, upon first meeting Easton, a starlet whom he had never even seen in a movie, Jax falls deeply into her deep green eyes and realizes that he might not make it out of this job with a whole heart.

This dark romantic thriller is a departure from Kelly Myers romantic comedies, but Myers holds her own with the feel and verbal dialogue rhythms of the Film Noir detectives of the 40’s. Her characters are engaging, their back stories intriguing, and when in the same room, the temperature rises with the growing pull between Jax and Easton. I look forward to following the fates of Jax’s partners, Griff—Griffen Lawson, an ex-CIA agent and Ryker Flynn, a former Navy SEAL, both who need to help in shedding the darkness of their past careers. And perhaps over time, the readers will meet another troubled soul, Jax’s younger brother Sebastian—so many possibilities!

I received a free copy of the audible version of the romance and am voluntarily leaving a review and I also purchased a reading copy through Kindle.

Enjoyed it

Received this audiobook from a giveaway by the author. This is my first Audible AND Kelly Myers book and I enjoyed it. I liked the attraction between the main characters. I can see how they fell for one another. I usually like reading from my Kindle so listening to an audiobook will take some getting used to. I will be checking out more of Kelly's books.

great story

this is such a wonderful story. the characters are amazing and complex . i love this story. the narrators are great. they do such a good job of drawing you into the story.

I Enjoyed It

My review is written after listening to the audio version of this dark romantic thriller. It's different from the romantic comedies I've read by Kelly but it hits just the right note and feels as you would expect a Film Noir detective story to feel. The characters are well-drawn and engaging and the author gives us enough information on their intriguing back stories that you feel you know them. The connection and chemistry between Jax and Easton are palpable and undeniable and when they're same room I'm sure that the temperature rises. I love how two totally opposite personalities come together and work so well, a tattooed bad boy and a film icon who would have thought it?

I don't want to give any spoilers so I'm not going to say too much more, reading the blurb will tell you the plot but what I will say is that I was totally engrossed in this well-written and wonderfully narrated story. Jamie Kersey and Kenneth Elliott did a great job bringing this story to vivid life for me.

I look forward to following Jax’s partners, Griff aka Griffen Lawson, an ex-CIA agent and Ryker Flynn, a former Navy SEAL, just hope they are as enjoyable as Jax's story was. I wonder too if we will meet Jax’s younger brother, Sebastian, I for one hope so.