The Financier turned out to be far more than I had expected. To be honest, I was expecting a standard issue romantic suspense thriller with an over the top alpha who's brought to his knees by either an equally kick butt heroine or a simpering princess. Turns out that The Financier was none of these things except a romantic suspense thriller. It's far more layered than the standard romantic suspense, though, all thanks to two amazing leads - Nick Dawes, "the financier", who works for a mercenary group called the Hudson Kings, and Jane McGregor, the woman he hires to stay in his apartment and feed his fish while he's away trying to sort out the mess that his last mission became.

On the surface, Nick is the alpha hero I was expecting. He's super wealthy (to be expected from a "financier"), really hot, and seemingly really cold. He didn't stay that cardboard cutout for long, though. Once he meets Jane and she gets under his skin, his vulnerabilities and true self come out to play. I absolutely fell in love with him as he fell in love with Jane and revealed his slightly damaged, poetic soul. Jane, now this woman is amazing. On the surface she's a sort of plain Jane artist (pun intended) who's reeling from a sleazy ex wiping out her savings and cheating on her, but she's really not plain or simpering or stupid, although she is an artist. I love how unflappable and sweet she is, with a backbone of steel that is necessary if she's to remain in Nick's life, and I love how she just gets him, sees through his outer layer and through to his soul, where his true self lies.

Normally romantic suspense falls into two categories - super steamy and super intense, or the sort of cozy thriller type with low heat. The Financier is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. It is no doubt intriguing and has lots of action, but the heat isn't so turned up that it threatens to overtake the story and the action. It's just spicy enough with enough tension between Nick and Jane as they sort out their developing feelings to titillate the steam lover in me, but it doesn't overwhelm either the story or the romance. And the action isn't so balls to the wall that it takes over the romance and the steam. I'd say it's the perfect balance of romance and steam and action and suspense. This world that Liz Maverick has created with the super hot, super large mercenaries of the Hudson Kings is so entertaining and so intriguing that I am dying for more. I hope to see Ally and Rothgar's story soon. Or perhaps more Maksim, or more Chase, or more Missy or more Geo. Any and all of the cast of the Hudson Kings would be just fine with me.

DNF'd this and did not post a review at the blog. I felt no chemistry between the hero and heroine.

The Financier is Book Two of Liz Maverick's Hudson Kings series. This is the first book I have read by this author and it certainly will not be the last. I actually plan to go back and read Book One for more insight into the Hudson Kings.

Even though I don't think it's necessary to have read Book One, I did struggle just slightly with the beginning trying to wrap my head around who was who and the entire plot in general. It starts out with Nick right smack dab in the middle of a heist that ends up going south. After about a quarter of the way through, things started to click and I was able to sit back and enjoy the ride.

This story had a very engaging plot and great character development. The connection between Jane and Nick was there right from the start but burned at a pretty slow pace until I thought they were going to combust. There were even some laugh out loud moments involving Nick's fish and frog. My husband is a fish guy so I could certainly relate.

An ARC copy of the book was received via NetGalley.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Thriller Romance

This is a great story about priorities that you think you have and then, when something that truly matters comes into your life, how you need to re-prioritize and re-think your life.

Nick and Jane are a strange couple. I love Jane's tough exterior and her attitude – she's hilarious at times and gentle at others. She complements Nick's rough exterior and she knows what she's looking for. Even when her life is looking bleak, she picks herself up and moves forward.

I also really enjoyed Nick. Even though he seemed like a cocky male at the beginning, throughout the story, you get to see different sides to him and realize that he's more than just the veneer that he puts out there.

Nick and Jane sort through their own feelings about their own lives and whether or not there is room in each other's lives for each other.

This is a great story about finding someone who you love and making sure that you hold on, realizing that it doesn't come along very frequently, and when it does, you need to make the most of it.

So well written and always holds my attention. Liz just has a way with words. I really enjoyed!

The Financier by Liz Maverick
Hudson Kings #2

Complex, intricate, detailed and delightful – this was a book that I could not put down.

The Hudson Kings are an independent group of stunning studly extremely competent mercenaries that work together but also take freelance jobs from time to time. On one such job Nick Dawes, money mover extraordinaire, manages to “lose” 20 million dollars – and his life is then on the line. Wanting someone to apartment sit and care for his fish he hires Jane MacGregor, a friend of some women linked to the Hudson Kings, until he feels it is safe to come out of hiding again.

Nick is a handsome, wealthy, multifaceted man that is such a breath of fresh air as a book boyfriend. I think he might be one of the most unusual and endearing men I have met in a book recently. And then there is Jane and she is so much more than many female leads – she too is unusual and such a great match for Nick. She is unflappable, dedicated, humorous, lusty and just perfect in so many ways. The two together are great. The story is wonderful. The team and other side characters are so interesting that I can’t wait for the next book in the series – no matter WHO it is about! This is one series that is a winner, a keeper and a delight to the soul.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Wow! When I picked up The Transporter this summer, I knew I was reading the beginning of a great series. I loved the characters; I loved the world; I loved the high-octane action; I loved the tenderness. But I had no idea The Financier was going to absolutely blow me away. Because I don't care how amazing Shane is; Nick has him beat by miles and miles.

Nick is like an onion. He has all these layers you have to peel away to get to the heart of him, and you are going to cry while doing it. Or Nick is like an opal. Every time you turn him a little, he's a little different. Either way, he's my kind of catnip - in every way. If Shane could transport me any time, then I'll feed Nick's fish any time. And that's a large part of why Nick is one of those super special characters.

But before we get into how extra special these characters are, let's talk a little bit about the action. The Transporter was a lot of high octane, wildness. That's in keeping with Shane's occupation and who he is. The Financier does have some wild and crazy moments (I'm looking at you, Law, and at you, Roth, and at you, Maks.) but in keeping with Nick's very different personality, they aren't the wild car chases with guns featured in The Transporter. There is an underlying tension in everything that mutes the violence to some degree.

That's no bad thing. That tension is inherent in absolutely everything that happens, in every conversation, in every glance and every touch. It pervades everything to such a degree that absolutely everything is racheted up a notch, sexual tension included. And when things do explode, literally and figuratively, those explosions are exponentially hotter and more destructive because of the tension.

But, back to Nick and Jane. Nick is like an onion: layers upon layers. He's a rough and tumble bad boy, a vulnerable unloved child, a smooth operator, a basket case, a tender poet, an animal lover, a high roller, a fraud, a lone wolf, a shadow, an insecure man who doubts his worth. And that's just a start. How do you not love all of that?!

And then he is paired with Jane. Jane, who is friends with Ally and Cecily; Jane who has her own issues; Jane who is larger than life and who lives out loud and who is infectiously happy even when life has got her down. Jane with her big heart and her Grandmother and her art. A Jane who takes explosions and fish and dogsitting and clandestine missions in stride, like they are no big deal. That Jane who steals away the heart of a shadow and makes him whole. And how can you not melt to see it?!

One of the beauties of The Transporter is the introduction of a mystery for a later book. And that mystery got pushed a bit more in The Financier much to my delight. I'm utterly fascinated by this mystery and the tiny dribble of clues here only made this book hotter - and I do mean hotter.

With an absolutely amazing set of main characters, an impressively strong set of secondary characters, and a tension that just won't quit, The Financier will set you ablaze. It's got all the feels plus all the action you could want. There's a very intimate and personal feeling to The Financier. The only thing I can't decide is whose book I want next because OMG! the Hudson Kings are something else. Please give me more, and soon!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Transporter was always going to be a tough act to follow. I loved that book! Shane was epic and the story was brilliant. When I heard Liz was making this into a series I was so excited. All of the Hudson Kings are such great characters, I can’t wait to hear each of their stories.

The Financier is Nick’s book. You don’t see too much of him in The Transporter so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Shane is definitely a tough act to follow but Nick holds his own!

There is so much I loved about this book. The drama, the relationships, the Hudson Kings family, the humour. I read this from cover to cover. I literally couldn’t stop. This is an amazing series. I want to join the Hudson Kings!

Nick needs to lay low for a while but he wants to make sure his fish are being taken care of. He hires Jane to stay at his place and keep his fish alive. But he gets more than he bargained for with her.

Jane is such a strong heroine. Nothing phases her. Nick keeps expecting her to break down the deeper she gets involved, but she takes it all in her stride. She is a no nonsense, honest, loyal and caring woman. I loved her character.

Nick is gorgeous, mysterious, an animal lover, honest and protective. He’s also very private and doesn’t like asking for help. He worries about Jane even though she can hold her own. They compliment each other perfectly. 🙂 I loved seeing how their relationship played out. Their chemistry is insane.

I loved that you saw more of Cecily and Shane in this and got to see how they are getting on. 🙂 The other Hudson Kings all make an appearance too. I’m looking forward to Rothgar and Chase’s stories. Such a great group of characters that you can’t help but love. I can’t wait to see what is next for the Hudson Kings. Definitely one of my favourite series.

Fantastic book! It has characters that are amazing, a passionate romance, and enough suspense and action to thrill every reader. This story pulled me in immediately and I couldn't put it down until the last page.

Nick Dawes is the money man for the Hudson Kings. A mercenary group working out of NYC. Unfortunately for Nick a side job goes terribly wrong leaving $20 million dollars missing and a very angry Russian crime boss wanting his money back. NOW! Nick needs to lay low until he can figure out what happened. That's when he meets Jane. He hires her to care for his fish and house sit his apartment. When his trouble turns up and lands in Jane's lap Nick knows he can't stay away any longer. That's when things really get wild!

Definitely a book I recommend to everyone

Really enjoyed book #2. Am really enjoying the tension between characters and can't wait to see what happened to the 2 missing guys.

When Nick Dawes -- moneyman extraordinaire for the mercenary group The Hudson Kings - royally screws up a freelance mission working for a Russian businessman, he's got to fix the problem... and fast. Not only does he need to track down the missing $20million, but he needs to find someone to take care of his fish (and frog) fast! Enter voluptuous problem-solver, Jane MacGregor. Jane's got problems of her own. Her ex-boyfriend and former boss buggered off with her life savings leaving her desperate for anything that comes along. It's just her luck that she decides to house and fish-sit while Nick is straightening out his mess. This was supposed to be simple. Easy. Too bad no one decided to tell fate that.

Can I state right now how much I adore Nick? Because I do. I totally do. Nick is everything a woman would want. He's smart, sexy, passionate, protective, intelligent, funny... the list of adjectives goes on. Even better he's real. He loves and worries about his fish, and the neighbor's dog, and of course the attractive and oh-so-capable house-sitter. Nick reads poetry, babbles when he's nervous, and in true New Yorker fashion has nothing in his fridge other than cocktail olives and mosquito larvae.

He's met his match in Jane. Jane is the kind of romance novel heroine I want to see more of. Like many fuller-figured women, she's been conditioned by society to consider herself less desirable. But she isn't, not in Nick's eyes and not in the readers. She's cool under pressure, quick on her feet, and doesn't take any crap from anyone. She's the kind of woman I'd like to go out for drinks with.

Together with the rest of the well-rounded side characters I found myself sucked into the New York City underground where elite teams pull off heists and cons in equal measure. The book can stand on it's own, which is good considering I've never read anything by the author before. And the universe she's created is engaging and intriguing. If we don't get an Ally and Rothgar book I will so so disappointed.

I highly recommend this book to people who like a little action and intrigue to go with their romance.

Five Stars.


***I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley

This is a wonderful book that I just loved! Nick is a Hudson King, but, while he has plenty of physical skills, his greatest asset is as a money mover. Then one day on a side job he gets a bit too cute and it backfires and leaves a bullseye on his back.

Nick is a bit of a loner, so, other than the other Hudson Kings, all he cares about is his fish. When he has to keep a low profile and stay away from home, he hires Jane to stay in his condo and take care of his fish....literally take care of his fish - not as a euphemism for something else.

This is an engaging caper that kept me turning pages just as quickly as possible. In addition to a great plot, the author added in bits of humor that added to the depth of the characters. This is the first book I've read by this author, but it won't be the last. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series (although this is a stand alone novel).