Protégé King is book one in Lisa Renee Jones trilogy, Wall Street Empire: Strictly Business. In this series Jones gives her readers a friends to enemies to lovers romance and a fake engagement trope.
Damion West was the boy who stole my young heart and then broke it. That was a long time ago though and I’m not a girl susceptible to hot boys with big egos who just happen to kiss well anymore. Nor have I kept up with Damion West. Okay, I have. Everyone has. He's the heir to West Enterprises, and notoriously loud on social media. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
Title: Protege King
Author(s): Lisa Renee Jones
Series: Wall Street Empire: Strictly Business Book 1
Published by Julie Patra Publishing on May 16, 2023
Pages: 189
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance
Source: Publicist
Format: eArc 
Purchase: Amazon
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Everyone knows Damion West.Just not like I do.But that's another story better left untold.
It’s hard sometimes to remember that I’m no slouch myself. Confidence isn't exactly my forte but I fake it well. I’ve worked with my parents’ real estate firm catering to the rich and famous for years and I'm now one of the top agents in the country. Blue Enterprises is the name of our firm, which is also my name. Blue. Alana Blue. And now I'm on TV, the star of Selling in New York.
But every family has secrets. Damion's does and mine does as well.That's why I have the TV show I didn't really want.Nothing is real.Except him. Damion. He's real. So is my past with him. But it's the past.
Then one day I get called to a meeting by the studio head, it's all very secretive.Because it's not the studio at all, or actually, it is. Because his family owns everything.
That's right.The meeting is with him. It's with Damion West.And Lord help me, he's now sexier, and more arrogant than ever.
Also it turns out that what Damion wants from me isn't as simple as a real estate contract.But it's a contract all right.
Protégé King introduces readers to Damion West and Alana Blue. From early in the story, one can see how well the title fits. Damion’s father is a ruthless corporate raider, and he’s been grooming Damion to be like him. However, Damion has no intention of being like father. He plans to topple his father from his position, but to do so, he had to enlist the help of the woman who owns his heart. He knows he should maintain his distance, something he has done for many years. However, despite the strength he displays, Alana remains his one weakness.
This book delivered lots of frustrating moments. Damion and Alana were next-door neighbors and best friends. Circumstances led to them drifting apart and losing touch with each other. Despite the years apart, their feelings for each other never faded. Now the frustrations came from these two failing to acknowledge their feelings for each other and their refusal to communicate. So you can imagine the levels of angst and sexual tension permeating the story.
The secondary characters added another dimension to the story. First, there is Alana’s parents whose choices negatively affect her dreams. A choice which also left them indebted to the West family. A situation which Damion’s father maliciously took advantage of. I can see why he and Damion does not get along.
Secrets, betrayals and revenge drove the story and with each page turn, one wonders what next will come to light. The story moved between the past and the present. This gives readers a complete picture of Damion and Alana’s relationship from childhood to adulthood.
The story went well until the cliff hanging end. The moment it up ended, leaving the reader with lots of questions. Despite the cliffhanger, Protégé King delivered an interesting and fast-paced tale of intrigue served with a helping of steamy romance.
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About Lisa Renee Jones
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT series. Suzanne Todd (producer of Alice in Wonderland) on the INSIDE OUT series: Lisa has created a beautiful, complicated, and sensual world that is filled with intrigue and suspense. Sara’s character is strong, flawed, complex, and sexy – a modern girl we all can identify with. In addition to the success of Lisa’s INSIDE OUT series, she has published many successful titles. The TALL, DARK AND DEADLY series and THE SECRET LIFE OF AMY BENSEN series, both spent several months on a combination of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling lists. Lisa is presently working on a dark, edgy new series, Dirty Money, for St. Martin’s Press. Prior to publishing Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by the Dallas Women’s Magazine. In 1998 Lisa was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine. Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at www.lisareneejones.com and she is active on Twitter and Facebook daily
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Wonderful review, Nadene. This sounds like an author I would enjoy.
Oh that dreaded cliff hanger is why I like to read a series like this when its all available so I can binge. Great review Nadene I hope you don’t have to wait too long for #2
Despite the frustration from these two…it sounds like a good read 🙂