Interview & Review - Hard to Protect by Incy Black
Yay! The day has arrived! Happy release day, Incy Black. This lady is not only a fabulous author but my goodness has she made my twitter feed (and me) smile. And her distinct voice and character translates throughout the gripping 'Hard to...' series. So here you go folks - here's more info on Hard to Protect, the third book in the series. Also, put the kettle on and get comfy, Will might have 'acquired' a certain Ms. Black for interrogation *cough* sorry, of course I meant interview!
Blurb
Volcanic hot and ambitious Special Agent Will Berwick doesn’t give a damn what his orders are; he’s not taking the enemy—the lovely but arctic Dr. Angel Treherne—to bed. Oh, he’ll root out her secrets, but on his own terms. Caught up in a tangled web of deceit and betrayal, Angel trusts no one—certainly not alpha-cocky, cunning Will Berwick. First he’s hostile, then he’s charming. Why? What’s he hiding? With her life on the line, she needs to know. Preferably without losing her heart in the process.
Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon Canada | Apple iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Welcome Incy Tell us a little about yourself. Superpowers? Party Tricks?
My super power is panic. I’m very good at it. When the ‘gift’ is upon me all sound reason disappears. Who knows how I’ll react? Who knows what will spill from my mouth (or pen)? All I can guarantee is that it will be extreme and unfiltered. On the upside, it does make for an interesting life.
Unfiltered works for me, Incy!
Tell the readers something about yourself that you think they should know.
1. I flirt with crazy.
2. I don’t care that I do. (Live ‘strange’ and you learn to embrace it as a virtue)
3. I’ll fight (maybe to the death) for a happy-ever-after.
4. I truly love and care about my friends—and my five children.
5. I have an extremely low pain threshold. When I’m rich and famous I’m hiring a personal anaesthetist to accompany me everywhere—just in case.
What is your writing routine like? Organised chaos, or organised?
Unpredictable and erratic. I swear if I do have a writing routine, it exists purely to surprise me.
What do you find is the most difficult part of the writing process?
Sharing the finishing product. That’s excruciating. It’s the only time I rue not being a zombie. (The walking dead are not particularly attractive, and they lack dress sense, but are they bothered? No. Their sole focus is on where their next meal is coming from. I’d like that level of simple in my life.)
I love your characters and some of their back stories are heart breaking. With the depth of the plot and the melt-me heat level, each book is an intense experience. Do you enjoy inflicting torture on your characters?
Its not so much that I’m torturing them as demanding that they prove themselves worthy of the title hero and heroine, and a happy ever after. The men, in particular, tend to be arrogant, resistant, and they certainly don’t obey the rules. They are delinquents. Stubbornly slow learners when it comes to accepting the healing power of love. In their (and my) defence, when it comes to the final exam they ace it!
For those who haven’t yet read any of your books, what can you tell us about the ‘Hard to…’ series so far?
The heroes are hard men, their emotions armour-plated. They fall to their knees for no one. Until a certain woman—one strong enough to handle their bullshit—comes along to teach them the true meaning of hell. Arch villains they can deal with, but falling in love sends them running for the hills.
You have a talent for writing strong, yet flawed alpha males who are equally matched with their feisty but broken heroines, who also happen to be trouble magnets. What was the inspiration behind your brilliant series?
Aside from the autobiographical elements, my stories—and my worldview—is dictated by three idioms:
“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” Friedrich Nietzsche
“Fall seven times, stand up eight.” Japanese proverb
Nil illegitimi carborundum - don’t let the bastards grind you down.
(And also adoring my children and the lessons they teach me. Need to get that in here, in case anyone thinks I’m a confrontational, paranoid nutter.)
Dodging spoilers, what can we expect from ‘Hard to Protect’?
Corruption and conspiracies. Secrets and promises broken. Lies and betrayals. Loyalty fed through a shredder. And, a seemingly impossible romance between a hard headed, but dead sexy, commitment-phobe (Will) and a woman who dares not fall in love (Angel).
Poor Will! Not only has he had to put his life on the line for Nick and Jack in the past - you pair him up with Angel! Weren’t you tempted to go easy on him?
I was going easy on him! He’s my version of a deserving Beta-hero. But he’s still a bad boy much in need of having his mettle tested. And he does rise to the occasion—a number of times.
You’re in a life or death experience. Which one of your characters would you choose to get you out of it?
Hands down, Jack Ballentyne from Hard to Forget—grovelling apologies, on my knees, to Will Berwick (Hard to Protect) and Nick Marshall (Hard to Hold)—because Jack has no limit. Throw down a boundary that must not be crossed, and Jack will ignore it. Yeah, he’d keep me safe. (He’s also kind of hot, so any risk involved in dallying with this man wouldn’t be a hardship.)
To be fair - they're all kind of hot!
It’s the zombie apocalypse! Which five items are you taking with you in your survival kit?
A big-arsed, solar-powered, impenetrable, armoured tank (that can fly, and also float, and is like Dr. Who’s Tardis…deceptively huge on the inside).
A book on how to grow fruit and vegetables.
A life time supply of antibiotics and pain killers
Condoms… because no survival kit (or woman) should ever be without them.
The Black Dagger Brotherhood and Men of Blackthorn—worthy bodyguards to fight the zombies, and to keep me entertained.
I’m impatient, what’s next for Incy Black???
Likely more titles in the Hard to… series because those men are fun to romp with. Plus a new project, the Skulk Vulpes series. In which five lawless friends sharing a common guilt, find love the hard way by breaking all the rules. John ‘Brace’ Wylde is up first.
Yes!!!!!!!
Thank you for taking part, Incy <3
If you're all ready to stalk you can find Incy here: (sometimes she goes undercover as Lindsey Hughes)
Now I'm sure you're all desperate to read Hard to Protect after reading that interview, so here's my review for even more taunting of awesomeness.
Review
I have a soft spot for Will, he's already been through so much and copped a lot of flack. Though this is the third book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone, as can the previous two, but if you read Hard to Forget and Hard to Hold first you get more Will. And who wouldn't want more Will?
Will Berwick lives for his job. After an injury, he is desperate to get back to Black Ops and his team of Assassins. Except he doesn't like taking rules from the guy who has taken the job that should be his. Hates it even more when he has no choice and despises the order to be used as a honey-trap bait. Especially when the target is Dr. Angel Treherne, the psych responsible for the red flag that benched him in the first place. His task is to locate the whereabouts of Rhys, Angel's brother and creator of a dangerous drug that could have serious consequences if it gets in the wrong hands. But finding out who owns the 'wrong' hands could be as tricky as trying to bed the ice queen herself.
Angel's icy exterior is worn like armour. It's her self preservation. So when Will Berwick, the man she bonds with as much as oil and water, starts to chip away at her icy façade, alarm bells instantly start ringing. Will never found Dr. Treherne interesting in the slightest, despite her obvious beauty. Until she becomes a challenge and suddenly it's game on. But he's not playing the game by the rules and decides to take control his way. Suddenly there's a lot more at stake. Fighting to stay alive and fighting the melt-me attraction between them, they both have to face their fears, their insecurities and their pasts.
This book hooks you right in from the first chapter. Will had me from the first line! There's no waiting to uncover the plot, you have it in an instant and the pace flows all the way through to keep you engaged and leave you exhilarated. Think Jason Bourne with heat!
I love the characterisation and the love, loathe, hate, lust, dialogue from Will and Angel. You're never sure if they're about to kill each other, or pleasure each other to death! It's that will they, won't they tease, that heightens the genius plot twists which keep you guessing. Will and Angel both appear strong, yet there's a hidden fragility to them both that endears them to you even more. But my favourite has to be the authors voice in its entirety. Incy Black's voice is so unique and distinctive it's such a pleasure to read.
Following on from the 'Hard to' theme - Hard to put down, hard to forget and flippin' hard to wait for the next book in the series!
5 Butterfly Rating
Thank you for visiting! Now go stalk Incy and have fun :-)
~ Tracey
