Pike: The Pawn Duet, Book One

This book fits right in with the rest of the King series. Pike is best friends with N9ne and he is working with King on a large deal which includes a lot of money when a gang of thugs rips him off. That gang tells Pike and N9ne to tell King that there is a new King of the Causeway in town.This book takes place during the same time period as the last book, King of the Causeway, which I read and loved also. That book was centered on the relationship between King and Rae as she was pregnant. There are some points in this book that intersect with this one (such as the one above) that appear in both books. Another is the Hurricane that blows through Logan’s Beach.Before Pike bought his Pawn shop and prior the deal that goes bad, Pike is driving down the road and sees this girl stumbling along. He stops to help her and she seems a bit crazy, especially because she is talking to her family that she thinks is with her, though nobody else is there. Pike drives her to her house, but they get ambushed by guys that are shooting, so she gives herself up and they take her away.Four years later after Pike’s drugs have been stolen, Pike is looking into who this new player could be when the same guys break in to his Pawn shop and steal more drugs from him. However, as they are leaving, Pike catches one of them and it turns out to be the same girl he met before. Her name is Michaela, or Mickey. Pike keeps her captive and tries to get her to talk about who she is working with.I am not going to give away what happens, but I will say that this book has some Preppy in it, which is almost an automatic 5 stars for me. I love him so much. He is absolutely crazy after his time in captivity but still as hilarious and lovable as ever. King appears a few times as well and he is the King of all bad boys, and as tough as can be. N9ne appears quite a few times as well. You just gotta love this group.For a captive romance I thought this could be a bit steamier. There was a lot of sexual tension but Pike and Mickey were not intimate until late in the book. Though there is another book so I assume most of the hot and heavy stuff will happen then. Not that this book wasn’t spicy. It was and I really like Pike and Mic as a couple. I can’t wait for the next book!One thing I thought was a bit odd, that was never mentioned in this book was how these thugs knew about the deal in order to stop it and steal the drugs. Pike and N9ne were on the highway at the time in a van with the product. Then when these guys broke into the pawn shop, they knew exactly where Pike kept his drugs (hidden in a painting). So where did these guys get the information? I hope that is answered in the next book.I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

So, I’m going to preface this by saying this is my first book my T.M (runs and hides). I know, I know, where have I been right, and I can categorically say I have no freaking idea. T.M just came through and bashed me over the head with her writing, there’s no going back at this point, I’m officially an addict!𝐿𝑜𝑔𝑎𝑛’𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑎 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑢𝑝 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑠. 𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑. 𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑠. 𝐶𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑜𝑠.Since this is my first trip to Logan’s beach, I’m just going to throw this out there, if all the men there are like Pike than sign me the F up. From the very first page of this book I was completely enthralled with this man. He is Alpha dangerous with a deliciously decadent side of sexy and I am here for it all. Pike is best friends with Nine, they’ve known each other for years and I loved watching their dynamic, I may not know anything other than Pike at this point, but you can feel the camaraderie between them and the unwavering loyalty. Pike is this amalgam of so many different things, he is layered with such complexity and executed with such precision, that you fall for every aspect of him. And the duality of what he knows he needs to do and what he ultimately wants to do regarding Mickey shows his inner battle and opens your eyes to another part of this man.𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒’𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒. 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔…𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒. 𝑆𝑡𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑓*** 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙….𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒.Mickey is unlike any character that I’ve read, this woman is wicked smart, when she first meet’s Pike she’s young and hurt just trying to figure out what’s going on. But when they come together later, she is an entirely different woman. She is strong and determine and single minded to the point of detriment to herself. She has goals in place that she won’t let anyone detract from not even Pike. But the connection between them is strong and it’s instantaneous. You can feel them both trying to fight what it is every step of the way. But the tension is fierce and tangible, you can feel it bleed from the pages like a bullet wound covering you in the intensity of it. And when that tension finally erupts its pure melt your freaking Kindle HOT!!!“𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤?” 𝐺𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑠𝑘𝑠. 𝐼 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠. 𝐼 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑓*** ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒.T.M has interlaced this tension filled story with hilarious bouts of much needed humor. With this one-story she has created a lifelong fanatic of her work and I can’t wait to go back and read all the stories I’ve missed out on. Her words will wrap themselves around your heart and squeeze slowly and meticulously as you go through the pages, just waiting to see where her brilliant mind will take you next, leaving you fully on the edge of your seat. Pike and Mickey are absolute perfection together and the dynamics of them individually interlace brilliantly with them together making for a captivating story-line.

Diving into this novel, I knew to expect the unexpected because this is a T.M. Frazier story, and she's known (to me at least) to think way outside of the box when it comes to her storylines, and the twists and bombshells she loves to deliver in them - ones I almost always never see coming, like with the ones that were delivered here in Pike. I had my theories about anything and everything to do with this story, the plot itself, and about what could happen next for Pike and Mickey.More than that, I had my theories as to what would be delivered as that cliffhanger of an ending that I knew was coming, and I just knew - going from other readers' reactions - that it was going to be something BIG. I knew it had to be shocking, and I knew it had to be impactful.I just didn't realise that it'd be the one theory I thought would be the least likely to happen...And it COMPLETELY BLEW MY MIND!Told in a dual POV, Pike is an enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn dark romance that starts off with a BANG! We're immediately thrown into the past for a chapter before then coming back to the present where things really start to progress at a fast pace for Pike and Mickey.Pike himself really surprised me here with all we learn about him and his past, and what it is he went through in his past that shaped him into being the man he is today, and I'm honestly not surprised that I fell in love with him throughout the course of this novel. But it was Mickey who intrigued me the most in this story. To me, she was an enigma; literally the most secretive character I have ever read about in a really long time, and as this story went on I found myself craving to learn more about her - her as a whole, her intentions for the future, her plans for the present, but more importantly, what really happened in her past that got her in the situation she finds herself currently stuck in.And even more importantly, what is going to happen next for her after that bombshell of an ending was dropped - an ending I am honestly still not over because again, WHAT THE FRICK FRAZIER?!It was shocking. It was amazing. Pike as a whole was a thrill to read. However, whilst the storyline itself was captivating, it was the execution of it that felt lacklustre to me. More so, I just felt like Pike was reading like all the other T.M. Frazier stories out there; I knew when the majority of the plot points would be delivered - such as the first meeting between the characters, the moment their relationship changes, the almost intimate scenes, the actual intimate scene, along with the shocking moments just before the cliffhanger (as is Frazier's way) before the actual cliffhanger itself is then delivered - and whilst I got the desired effect of being surprised and full of enjoyment whilst those moments were being delivered, I just felt like I was rereading a book rather than actually reading one for the very first time, which was a little disappointing.So that is why I rated this novel four stars. It wasn't a huge flaw to the story, but I couldn't ignore the fact that, whilst the plot itself was original, I just didn't feel like I was reading anything new. But besides that, Pike was brilliant, and I absolutely loved this story.It was dark and enthralling, full of danger and chemistry, and was such a gripping, shocking, and hilarious story to read that I devoured all 232 pages of this novel in one sitting. I was HOOKED! I loved getting to see King, Nine, Preppy, and Rage again, along with meeting new characters - like Badger and Thorne - who I hope get stories of their own sometime in the future. But for now, I'm just craving to get my hands on the final book of this duet, Pawn, because as I said at the very beginning of this review, I have questions - a lot of them - and I'm so hoping Frazier will answer every single one of them in the conclusion to Pike and Mickey's story.

It's been awhile since I've dived into a TM Frazier book, because I was waiting for the release of Pawn since I don't handle cliffhangers all that well. I really do love Frazier's gritty and raw writing and I will honestly devour anything that woman writes.This enemies-to-lovers, revenge story was explosive and had everything one is accustomed in a TM Frazier book. A bada$$ anti-hero that you can't help but root for and an equally bada$$ heroine but in this specific story, Mickie's bada$$ery wasn't conventional and I fr**king loved that.A fr**king genius wiz kid, that's fighting to right wrongs done by others and crosses Pike's path. Mickie was a smart, sassy, savvy and strong heroine that stood by her convictions and held her own against the intimidating presence of Pike. She had a heart, that despite everything that she's been through, is still pure.Pike is the sum of his past. A past that was dictated by the actions of others much like Mickie's life. Hardened and quite allergic to love, Pike will do anything to get answers from the enigmatic beauty that crossed his path about the people that threaten his business, his reputation and his life.The push and pull between the main characters was deliciously exquisite if not a bit on the slow burn side. The story was full steam ahead for the beginning, gas pedal to the floor. The twists were tight and the turns sharp. There were some revelations to questions posed at the beginning of the book, but still not enough to get the whole picture which kept me reading through the night in my quest to know more, much like Pike himself.If you're not much of fun of cliffhangers, do yourselves a favour and wait the couple weeks until Pawn comes out, because that cliffhanger was so out of left field that I DID NOT see it coming. But I should have known, TM is the queen of cliffhangers. Remember at the end of Bear's story in Soulless??For now I just curl in a corner and rock back and form until the time comes for Pike's conclusion.

I love this series of books and have never once been disappointed by any of them. Pike was no different, in the fact that I enjoyed it, but I didn't that that edge of the seat, gripping, rollercoaster ride that I usually get. That being said, I have a feeling that this is the first half, introductory scenes in a story that is most definitely of two halves. The usual TM Frazier sign posts are there but she's teasing us with them in readiness for Pawn which is the follow up. I'm hoping that not only will that book bring the drama - and more sex, obviously - but also give us more of an insight into the man that Pike could be. That is what I love about her male characters they're hard, mean and unlawful but with each one there's a side that's still hard, mean and unlawful but with their women they show us some tender moments, albeit downright dirty at times. I just didn't get that with Pike. I kept waiting for his alpha 'she's my woman' side to come out, but felt there were only glimpses of it. Thus, I'm expecting Pawn to provide a lot of those missing pieces from Pike. I did enjoy it though and would recommend this and the rest of the series.

I loved the king series so much so I couldn’t wait to read this spin off. You can read as a stand-alone but I recommend to read the whole series.I really loved this book and finished it so quickly, Mickey and Pike have great chemistry but because Mickey is Pikes captive this complicates the attraction. Mickey is strong, feisty and also so sweet, she gives it back to Pike. Pike is your typical book bad boy on the wrong side of the law. They have good banter and compliment each other well. Of course TM Frazier’s writing is just great it is a 2 book spin off so finishes on a little cliff hanger but book 2 is released soon (May I believe) You need to read this series if you like a MC/Darker romance

Brilliant absolutely loved every single word.All the characters bought something to the story,adored Mickey+well,what can I say about Pike I absolutely loved him.I did an awful lot of giggling+lol moments during the book mainly because of him his character just jumped out at you 1 of my favourite all time ones.The plot is superb never a dull moment+it was great catching up with the the old gang.Off to download the 2nd book,both on kindle unlimited but would have paid for them anyway would have been great vfm.Just brilliant