The Maiden and the Mercenary

Keep your friends close…
But your enemies closer?
In order to find a legendary treasure map, mercenary Louve of Mei Solis must infiltrate his enemy’s fortress under the guise of a servant. There, Louve meets beautiful maiden Biedeluue, a fellow servant with her own hidden agenda…to save her sister from the malevolent Lord’s clutches! Their high-stakes missions may be at odds with one other, but their attraction cannot be denied even in this most dangerous of situations…

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Author Bio:

Nicole first discovered romance novels hidden in her grandmother’s closet. Convinced that hidden books must be better, Nicole greedily read them. It was only natural she should start writing them (but now not so secretly).

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Tracy’s Review:

The Maiden and the Mercenary by Nicole Locke

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Lovers and Legends, #10

Release Date: December 1, 2020

When we last saw Louve of Mei Solis, he had resigned his position as Usher to Nicholas and had joined Reynold of Warstone as a mercenary. And now he has been sent on a new mission – invade the holding of Reynold’s brother, Ian and find the parchment pertaining to the fabled Jewell of Kings. In addition to his mission, he has been tasked with protecting Reynold’s youngest brother – Balthus – who has recently reconciled with Reynold. Louve knows that dealing with the Warstones is tricky – they are a complex, deadly group who play games with peoples lives and seemingly have no consciences. He convinces Balthus to stay in hiding, while he enters the fortress and hopefully secures work. As luck would have it, the steward hires him on the spot and then bolts – leaving Louve to deal with a drunken free for all in the kitchens.

Biedeluue “Bied” is at the fortress to rescue her sister Margery, who is Ian’s mistress. She is trying to find a way to see her and after two weeks, has had no luck. She first meets Louve when he comes upon her and another servant in the middle of a drinking game. She can’t believe how handsome he is and even in her drunken state, knows that he is not who or what he claims to be.

She is drawn to him and he to her, but neither trusts easily and when in the company of Warstones, one cannot afford to lose focus. Ian soon makes it clear that he is on to both Louve and Bied and pulls them into his game and to complicate things even more, Balthus “arrives” with his evil parents. Now, not only does Louve have to complete his mission, but he also has to protect Balthus from his family and the woman he loves from becoming a pawn in Ian’s games.

This was a very complex and at times mystifying story. It is well written, but it is really not a story you can skim or read quickly there is A LOT going on and it is not always easy to keep track of who is the bad guy – the Warstones are a truly evil family – think the Borgias – and the brothers have been set against each other since birth – but at times you can’t help but feel sorry for them. I did enjoy the inactions between Louve and Bied, their banter was fun and their love scenes bordered on spicy. In addition to that, this book has murder, secrets, lies, betrayal, poison, villains galore, warm love scenes and a well deserved HEA. This is the 10th book in the series and I would recommend reading the books in order.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC I requested and was provided to me by the publisher.*