Review: DUE DILIGENCE (Takeover #3) by Anna Zabo

Disclaimer: I consider the author a friend and have promoted her projects on my blog. However, I purchased this ebook for full price.

This next novel ties into the Takeover series by featuring one of the engineers in Sam’s new consulting firm. While it was lovely to be reunited with Eli as a secondary character, my personal favorite so far and much, much happier and more relaxed these days, Fazil stole the show with everything that made him stand out as a leading man. Zabo has not shied away from diversity in this series, and she uses it deftly and sensitively as a source of characterization and conflict.

I wasn’t sure how much extreme things could get after the previous novel, but this relationship was equally hot in it’s own way. It also shows that kink doesn’t have to involve rope and floggers, and that deep relationships are built just as much on (literally) reaching the top of a mountain together as on sexual compatibility.

Much of the drama of the previous book was based on the characters’ personal histories. Fazil and Todd don’t have quite as much baggage (maybe just a suitcase or two), but there is plenty of external conflict to drive the story. A running theme through this series has been about the sexuality bias inherent in corporate culture, and Due Diligence throws anti-Semitism and racism into the mix without coming off as heavy-handed or overly trite.

Once again, the highest praise is that I immediately purchased the next book in the series.

Rating: 5 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.

Currently reading: The Dying of the Golden Day (Heartfriend Series #1) by Carrie Gessner