In the Eye of the Storm

“i don't love you! i hate you!” something flashed in his dark eyes. “then i’d suggest you start pretending better! HOLY GOODNESS. what was this book? the faux matrimonial relationship? the jealousy? the raw feelings? AND lilly’s humor? god, i can't—

5/5. words cannot describe how much I love them.

Ok! I started this book yesterday, finished it today, and, ✊ YES! A resounding five stars to Robert Thier for another thriller! This one is shorter than Storm and Silence, but it's not as drawn out, and triple the action! I enjoyed this book from cover-to-cover and immediately liked it without one ounce of boredom! We pick up immediately from Storm and Silence where we learn Rikkard Ambrose survived the shipwreck (which oddly reminded me of the 1997 Titanic Movie). Lilly realizes she's falling in love with this arrogant, crazy, proud man who is her boss, but she doesn't realize he's ALREADY in love with her! He, still plotting to force her to resign, drops hints of what he really wants of her, but she doesn't (or can't?) grasp it, which I'll explain later. We are taken to Egypt where, instead of building Ambrose's canal, he and his trusty group, along with a few newcomers, are on a mission to kill bandits - paid by Dagliesh, Ambrose's business rival - for killing Ambrose's middle-men, who transfer goods to customers across the dessert. Although the British government is aware of this and deploy their military along with the French and Egyptian's, Ambrose insists on going there with his own personal "army" to deal with his enemies, which, of course, includes Lilly (after she surprises him)! Once in Egypt, she is in for a surprise, because this arrogant Ambrose didn't tell her they will have to pretend to be married in order to gather information about the bandits, which means doing stuff married couples do - or close to it. While Lilly fights her conflicting feelings, she and Ambrose's cover are blown, causing them to immediately take action. Here things turn into a James Bond thriller, with gunfights, chasing enemies, and murder. Lilly vows to stay with Ambrose through it all, not afraid of anything (except for a sandstorm) and takes down his enemies with Ambrose and their army, but there is the tiny problem of her friend, Captain James Carter, who is stationed there with the British army and clueless as to why Lilly is there. Under strict orders from Ambrose she is not to divulge any information about his plan to anyone, so Lilly has to constantly fib while working undercover for her boss. As I mentioned earlier, this book has more action but doesn't take away too much of Ambrose's and Lilly's romance, which is great, but I have come to dislike Ambrose a little more. He is WAY too arrogant, almost dies because of it, but still marches on after he survives as if he was right the whole time! He is smart, knows a lot (business man who can swordfight, sharpshoot with new inventions, come up with precise plans to outsmart his enemies, lie - convincingly - and is captain of his own army? 🤔😮😰😳), and loving - wait 🤚- Yes, loving, AT TIMES, but his behavior towards Lilly shows how he gets his own way with people who are lower than him and can't stand up for themselves. Lilly wants to earn her own money so bad but Ambrose knows she can never really be independent, especially during that time period. He constantly insults and demeans her, pointing out she has nowhere to go if she wants to live alone and no way she will make as much money if she leaves him to work for another, but Lilly, who is focusing too much on proving how good she is as a secretary for him to treat her as equal to men, doesn't get it at all. I mentioned earlier he drops hints of what he wants of her, and his "marriage" plan is exactly it! He wants her to be his docile, obedient, loving wife, not a headstrong, fiery independent female secretary, so he tricks her into coming with him under pretense as his wife. His treatment, of course, is the route men use to force a woman to be with him. These women, often called Kept Women, lack money and contacts to turn to, so they can't leave their man. This is the sign of a psychopathic man who physically and emotionally manipulates his woman to stay with him so she doesn't think she can leave, which gives him more liberty to dictate what she can and can't do (ex: Ambrose forbade her from seeing other men, even if they're friends; not speak about topics deemed "unfeminine" but agree with ideals he holds, whether she agrees or not), who she can talk to and socialize, what she can wear (forcing Lilly to dress like a man to work), plus withhold any money from her (Ambrose tried to withold Lilly's check, but he forced her to agree to do whatever he tells her to do in order to receive her full payment). All in all an unhealthy relationship, where sometimes physical and/or verbal abuse is used. Lilly wisely fights his attraction, but all for the wrong reasons. Since her friends Eva, Flora, and (especially) Patsy's teach her feminism is about hating men and marriage, she uses that definition as her excuse to refuse her desire for Ambrose, which doesn't work. If she had learned the real definition of feminism she probably would've refused Ambrose better (and more wisely, since she wouldn't be able to fall for his expert flirtations). So yes, Ambrose is smart, charming, handsome, a little humorous, and knows how to get a girl, but he is still a dangerous character, especially one to fall in love with. In real life, there would be NOTHING romantic about his behavior! His hubris, which needs to be killed (before it kills him), is another problem, but Lilly knows how to curb a little bit of it, which is why I'm glad she was there. They needed each other. I was expecting Dagliesh to appear, but he didn't. I don't mind, it is a well written book without boring you (plus a lot shorter!) nor overdoing (expressly concentrating on one scene or topic) so you'll definitely enjoy this book! I look forward to reading the next one!

LILLIAN LINTON IS GOING TO BE THE END OF ME ,I REPEAT, LILLIAN LINTON IS GOING TO BE THE END OF ME.

This book was just as good as the first in the series! I still loved the bickering and tension between Lilly and Mr. Ambrose, it's just so fun and entertaining to read. As in the first book, this could probably have used another read through or two before publication for minor errors, but all the same, I can't get enough of this story!

Again another spiffing book. I mean come on it was full of action, fake wives, kissing, camels, shooting, some more kissing, ships, deserts, fiery tempers, bad communication. This was the perfect sequel to storm and silence. Again you are going to Want to scream at the characters, cry with them, laugh at them. So many funny moments and poor Karim.