Submission Is Not Enough: Masters and Mercenaries Series, Book 12

I can't even describe how much I was looking forward to Erin and Theo's book. This story arc has been going on for several books. It would have been so easy for the author to give Theo his memory back, and sink back into the original paradigm of their relationship. Theo has been all in since the first interaction, but Erin has been much more reticent to get involved. Finally, she believed in herself enough to give Theo a chance, and he got himself "killed". (As an aside, I don't think any single scene in any book has ever taken me as much by surprise, and caused the massive crying jag as did that particular scene. Gawd...) Instead, we get a Theo who has no memory of his family. A Theo who gets a massive headache whenever anyone even says Erin's name. He gets migraines when he tries to chase the memories that are so slowly returning. From what he has learned about his former self, he's not sure he can ever be that happy kid again.This isn't the most lighthearted book Ms. Blake has ever written, but it does have some comedic moments. Mostly, though, it's about Theo trying to adjust to his new normal, and letting go of his self-directed anger. It's about Erin learning to give Theo what he needs, when their whole relationship prior had revolved around Theo giving Erin what she needed. It's about how all couples change and grow, and the adjustments that need to be made so we don't lose our way. Granted, most of us don't have mad scientists trying to kidnap us and wipe our brains, but still...the story is relatable. Sometimes, tragedy helps us grow into the person we need to be in order to move forward.My favorite scenes are when Erin gives up on trying to be the sympathetic, loving wife, and gets back to being real. And whenever another man touches Erin, or looks at her, and Theo's lizard brain kicks in, memory loss or no.My very favorite scenes, though, are the ones in which Theo is asking his brothers if he had loved Erin. And cue the tears... Oh, so heartbreaking. As a reader, every time Theo asked this question, I remembered all the scenes in all the books that showed so eloquently how much he loved Erin.Some of the story is told in the form of expanded scenes from earlier books. I loved seeing the whole picture of events that had been alluded to, but not expanded upon.And Ian...I don't think I have ever, or will ever, LOVE a character as much as I do Ian. He tries to be such a tough guy, but with his family? Total mushball. Irritable, cranky, occasionally violent mushball, but mushball nonetheless. And he's so funny.Bottom line - As a long time reader of the Masters and Mercenaries series, I could not have asked for a better payoff. If you are new to the series, don't start here. Start with The Dom Who Loved Me, and work your way through this remarkable extravaganza of love and family. M&M is one of the best series I have ever had the pleasure of immersing myself in. I would recommend to anyone who loves alpha males with marshmallow centers when it comes to their women. And lots of comedy. And terrific story arcs, with lots of action. And uber hawt sexy times. Just buy the series. Trust me.

I'm relatively new to this author and while I've read several books in the Masters and Mercenaries and related series, there are a LOT of books I haven't read yet, so I'm not sure how much of Erin and Theo's backstory was already mentioned in the previous books and how much is being told for the first time here. Note that while this book can be read as a standalone, there are a lot of characters carrying over from book to book, so the more familiar you are with the series, the more you're going to enjoy this.The reason I picked this particular story up was that the author was starting a new series featuring an important secondary from this book as one of the main characters, and I thought it would be nice to actually have the background before diving into the series, lol. It hadn't taken more than a few pages, though, before I was engrossed in Theo and Erin's story for its own sake. My heart was breaking and overflowing by turns (and yes, there was some laughter, too) and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see if they were going to get to their own HEA.This author continually blows me away, with such great characters, both the ones you love and the ones you love to hate. I love the complex relationships and the number of characters adds to the realism of the world the author has built, even if it does make it a little harder on relative newbies like myself to keep track of everybody.An engaging read with great characters and lots of feels, this is a must read for the series. 5 stars

In the twelfth (yes, twelfth) book in the Masters and Mercenaries series, Theo is a shell of the man he was. Brought back home with no memory of his life and love, he struggles to connect with his woman, child and family. Erin must find a way to reconnect with the man she loves who may no longer exist. This is when emotionally charged romance happens.-Broke my heart within the first few pages. Theo’s final moments and the choices he made, were a harbinger of things to come and hooked fast and strong. Full of love, regret, pain and hope, there’s lots of feels to be processed and if you’re into amnesia/second chance at love stories, this would be a good read. Ms. Blake managed to strike a balance between the old Theo and the new through flashbacks, helpful for a lapsed M&M fan (more on that later). Even with this, I thought there was plenty of the trademark banter for the M&M gang, as well as revisiting past favorites as they played their part in Theo and Erin’s love lost and found.-Theo and Erin’s second chance romance. Erin’s heartbreak at Theo’s missing memories and Theo’s frustration at being unable to recall anything without immense pain was certainly a huge, believable obstacle. Their reconnection was nothing but feels and just what I was in the mood for. Even when Theo could be an idiot.-Frustrations, by both Theo and myself. Theo’s frustration and subsequent kind of butthead moments were understandable, but no less aggravating. If there was anything that dropped my rating, it would be this.-Missed a few and it affected this read. Now this may or may not be due to the fact that I haven’t read all of the books in the M&M series, but it helped that I didn’t have strong memories of Theo pre-resurrection. I’ll admit I thought the series was getting a bit long in the tooth and as a result, I wasn’t in a rush to read every book as they came out. Time passed, and I realized I missed about 3-4 key books in the middle of this series, including the one where he originally died. The series has definitely bounced back though, even if the backstory is more unwieldy than ever.-The BDSM is pretty light with this one. This isn’t bad or good, but it is noteworthy. As the series has progressed, I think the sex has, understandably, taken a back seat to story. Not to say that there isn’t sex and that it doesn’t have that kinky edge, there’s just not alot of it. What there is remains high quality so I’m not complaining.The Bottom Line 4 starsI really enjoyed myself. I think Ms. Blake has found a way (much like Theo’s resurrection) to breathe life in this long-running series and get me hooked once more. The romance, as well as the suspense worked well, a rare combination. Mental note, I need to catch up on the books I’ve missed.

Definitely Masters and Mercenaries is one of the best series,if not the best,I've read so far. I was eager for this one to come out and it's totally worth the wait .The way the story was developed was a stroke of a genius .Apart from the sexy,scorching hot scenes ,the story has a brilliant context. Again, kudos to you Lexie . You never disappoint !

Je recommande vivement tous les livres de cet auteur. Pas un seul ne m'a décu jusqu'à présent pour cette série.

I can't say enough good things about this book. All of the emotions are cast out in front of us - anger, resentment, guilt, fear, grief, compassion, empathy, love, lust, joy - all of them displayed in real and meaningful exchanges between the characters in this book. Theo was lost, but has he been found? Whenever Hope MacDonald reared her evil head I felt physically afraid for Theo and Erin. How many books can make you feel on that level? Can they ever have an HEA? Also, it's good to touch base with all the McKay-Taggart team. This would be a great book for the start of a new series, but it is the 12th. Well done.

Masters and Mercenaries Book 12 triumph. Sometimes when a series of books get to number 12 we get a yawn and the stories seem to flounder and we wonder if they are only writing for the sake of it. NO NO NO not Lexi Blake, From the first page we are once again hooked on the Taggert's and the mission. The story is told with such fervour that we are unable to put the book down. We must turn the page over and over again. This book is a triumph to the series. With insights we missed in previous books bringing the story of Erin and Theo to life. Such drama and love all wrapped into words on pages enough that you cry and laugh and goo all over them. Thankyou Lexi this one was so worth the wait

Submission is Not Enough by Lexi Blake.5 out of 5 stars!I thoroughly enjoyed this book! If there's one thing that Lexi Blake can do very well, then it has to be the way she injects so much emotion into her characters that you just have to feel it, sympathise, and return it to them.Although I felt very sorry for poor old Theo, I have to say that there were times that I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or (like Erin did) punch him in frustration! I couldn't help but coddle him a bit myself as he went through all the trauma of regaining his memory after it had been wiped by the evil Doctor Hope MacDonald as he often seemed like a lost little boy.I found that this particular story was often a bit of a tear-jerker as they stumbled their way through Theo's new/old life (whichever way you want to look at it) and examined the flashbacks he had of the way things used to be.I highly recommend the latest installment of the Masters and Mercenaries series, this is a "must-read" and you'd miss out if you didn't!