Kept (The Enforcers)

Kept is 368 of pure madness. Madness to the point that it didn’t come anywhere close to the greatness of Master and Dominant. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Kept. However, not as much as I enjoyed the other two before. Even though, this is book three in The Enforcers Series, Kept can assuredly be read as a standalone. But since prior characters makes an appearance and since Drake’s behavior makes a huge point on how this story panned out. I think it would be helpfully to read this series in order.

Silas was Drakes’ right hand man. So, if anyone should guard Drake’s wife and unborn child, Silas ranks right on the top of the list. Silas didn’t have any problems doing his job, and since he loves Evangeline like a sister, it wasn’t a huge problem. However, all of that changed when Hayley arrives in his life.

Hayley, now this poor soul…Life…just loved messing with her. Before her father died, he only had one request that Hayley goes and fulfill her dream of attending a prestigious music school in New York City. When her father dies alone, she carried the guilt of not being at his bedside. But that is not the only thing, her father also was swindled. Her father purchase life insurance thinking that he was leaving something behind for his daughter, just to turn out that the policy was written to where the company didn’t have to payout on it. Leaving Hayley struggling to make ends meet. And to make matters worse, she now doesn’t have anywhere to stay, the couple she was house sitting for has come back early than anticipated, leaving Hayley to scramble to find a place.

Not to say that Hayley life is any more difficult than anyone else, but I think she deserved to complain. This woman could get a break, she couldn’t solve one problem, before another one pops up. Some would say that is life. If my life was anything like Hayley, I would have given up long time ago.

This is the reason why I enjoyed Kept, even though it wasn’t on par with the other books. With Kept I felt Haley’s pain every time she had to overcome obstacles that life decided to throw her way.

I can’t wait to read the next book in The Enforcers Series. I hope that Maya Banks feels that all the other Enforcers deserve their story told.

Full-filling a dying father's wish, talented violinist, dark protector, and danger surrounding them really drew me in and made me eager to experience my first book by the author. While I have mixed feelings about this book, I'm not sorry to have read it.

Kept is actually book three in The Enforcers series. The first two books were about one couple and this book started a new romance arc with a new couple and the ongoing trouble with the mafia types out for revenge. I didn't read the first two books, but I did alright jumping in with this one because the author set the table well bringing the new reader up to speed on the situation and characters.

I went into this one loving that the heroine, Hayley, is attempting to fulfill her own dreams and her father's dying wish that she attend a prestigious school and hone her musical talent. She works hard and faces the big city alone. I was also captivated by this dark soul, Silas, who is moved by her music during the night and it gives him peace even though his life has been anything, but peaceful.
I had high hopes of loving this pair and their story.

But then, it stopped working. This was instant everything and it rushed it way through each moment in the romance and character development. I might have tolerated this better, but for a few factors.
First, Silas introduced BDSM elements that was not addressed or presented in a healthy, safe, well-developed way. They've known each other for mere days and this is their first serious conversation about a relationship. After a five minute general (no specifics) convo about his unique control needs in the bedroom and his need to control her whole life, she basically nods and is all in. They don't really know each other and she has no idea what he means or what she's getting into. Other than his physical attractiveness, her feelings hinge on her gratitude for all he has done for her and that he seems this dark, lonely type. This naive innocent is ordered to present as a submissive right after he gets done swiftly telling her that he has control issues with no details or discussion and then she just does with no questions or hesitation. She goes along with everything from bedroom control to control of her life after only meeting him a few weeks before. And this is while she thinks he's got another woman and he's with this other woman. What is wrong with this girl?

There was just no depth to Hayley and the part that is introduced about Silas doesn't really factor in for long other than overblown dramatic feelings of guilt over stuff and 'his darkness'.
This romance was just there for two near strangers with no development or explanation or conversation- and it's a dominant/submissive too. They both wallow inside their heads about stuff and don't talk.

And for the second half of the book, I was left scratching my head over the new layer of conflict for the pair. Like I said before, I didn't read the first two books about the previous couple, but there was enough of an explanation to get the gist. So, here in this one, same scenario (sounded like it was exactly the same) and Silas, who was there all along, does all the same wrong stuff that Drake did and caused the same drama. Made no sense.

In summary, it wasn't a total loss in that I was able to finish the book and remember some high points in the midst of it all. Too much of this needed more time and development and shouldn't have been introduced into the plot if it was just going to get raced over like potholes in a swift moving car. I want to still try her older books particularly the historicals, but I'm not at all sure I want to touch another modern.

Genre: Erotic Romance
Book Length: Novel
Male Lead (H): Silas is the second in command to Drake Donovan and is the enforcer of the brothers. He is handsome, muscular, ruthless, secretive, paranoid, and likes control. He has had a tragic past and has to deal with the demons that plague him daily.
Female Lead (h): Hayley is a raven haired beauty with a talent for playing the violin. She’s strong and has already faced too much adversity and loss in her young life.
Heat Level: Warm
Frequency of Sex (1-5): 2.5
Storyline: Hayley is desperately in need of someplace to live and once Silas sees her, he cannot pass up the opportunity to offer shelter next door and become neighbors. Things quickly become intense as passion, violence and danger entangle the both of them.
Angst Level (1-5): 3
Standalone/Series/Cliffhanger: Part of a series, so reading previous books are recommended to understand the overall ARC. Silas and Hayley's story is told to completion in Kept.
Epilogue: No
Would I Recommend? Yes, if you liked the previous books in the series.
My Review: Silas was an interesting character in the previous books, so I was eager to read his story. I was kind of let down by him though, he was really sweet and caring and there wasn’t much of the controlling, possessive, ruthless enforcer that I wanted him to be. It was a slow progression with him and Hayley; they didn’t really get together until the 50% mark. Silas likes control and wants Hayley to be in a submissive role; however, I didn’t really see much of that in their relationship. It was wrought with violence and a lot of “I’m leaving you to protect you” BS, which got a bit old. It was a good book but just not my favorite in the series so far.

Hayley Winthrop is more than a struggling artist. She is in New York and trying to fulfill her father’s last wish of her attending a prestigious music school. While it was also her dream, Hayley never expected to fulfill this dream. Hayley is struggling and working two jobs to pay the bills, because her father was taken-in by a life insurance salesman, and the money was all but nothing when Hayley went to claim the insurance policy. Hayley has been house-sitting, but now is hunting for a decent apartment that she can afford. In New York, that is all but impossible. When the last lead she had turned out to be a bust, Hayley left the building and went to head home only to be stopped by the manager with news that there was an unexpected opening that she could afford. Shocked, but so happy, Hayley snapped it up.

Silas Goodnight knows that he isn’t a good man by most definitions even though he is very good at his job as an enforcer for his boss. Silas’ background has left him very cynical and distrusting of most of the world, yet when he sees a beautiful young woman leave his building all but in tears, his first impulse is to call the manager and find out what was the deal. Then in an act that shocked not only his manager but also Silas, he quickly made an apartment available in his building and right next to his at an unbelievable rent. Silas has lived pretty much alone and with no one around him, yet there was something about that woman that pulled at him and made him want to provide for and protect her.

Hayley learned that she had her neighbor and the owner of the building to thank for her new apartment, and she thanked him by baking for him. What Hayley didn’t know was that every night when she practiced, she gave Silas a thank you in the gift of her music. Silas and Hayley are slowly falling into a relationship and as Silas learns of why Hayley is working two jobs and is later hurt coming home one night, he makes sure that Hayley is not only made safe, but that she receives what should have always been hers. However, Silas’ dark and dangerous job threatens to destroy everything when Hayley is targeted. In order to keep her safe, Silas does something that could destroy Hayley and their love faster than any enemy. Can Silas realize what he has done and find a way to fix it and keep Hayley safe before she gives up on her dark and dangerous lover and leaves him forever?

A sweet young woman in over her head meets a man just on this side of the underworld, and an unexpected romance is the result in Kept. My heart went out to Hayley as her circumstances came clear, and I was hoping that she could find a way to continue with her dream. I knew that Silas had a warm heart, even if it was dented all to heck and back from the previous books in this series. I wasn’t surprised to see Silas turn his world upside down when she first sees Hayley and responds so harshly to her. I really loved watching as Silas and Hayley fell in love and worked around the barriers between them. The entire time I was wondering when and how Silas was going to tell Hayley about his job. What I have to admit was how Silas handled the threat to Hayley from his enemy because of what he had seen happen in that exact same situation. I was really happy to see that once again this group of dark, dangerous, yet lovable men, grouped together to keep a much loved woman safe and to bring their “brother” to his senses. Kept is a wonderful contemporary suspense with a touch of the darker side of New York.

Last part in this series.

This book is about Hayley and Silas, not about Evangeline and Drake.
So you could read it as a stand alone, but to understand what is happening in the life of Silas, it is easier to read the other two books first.

Silas helps Hayley out when she is looking for a place to stay. At night she gives him peace while she plays her violin. When Hayley finds out her helper is living next door, she brinks him cake. That si the start of their relationship.
Silas is having difficulties with it, since he never cared about a woman before only about his brothers. But now he doesn't know how to handle her and how to keep her safe. Of course he makes mistakes because of that, poor Hayley. But luckily she is a strong woman.

A fun read, a hot read, man taking care of her and she sticking up for herself. And some evil guys trying to make their lives miserable.
Pity this trilogy is over now. Wouldn't mind to read about the other brothers too.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

As Drake Donovan’s enforcer, Silas Goodnight has stood by Drake through everything. He saw the gang wars (that are still playing out), a traitor in their midst, and he even saw the horrible way Drake treated his now wife, Evangeline, before he came to his senses! Silas and Evangeline have grown close in the short time he’s known her, he sees her as the diamond in the rough that she truly is. So imagine his surprise when Silas finds his very own rare jewel in the most unlikely of places.

Hayley has been struggling since her dad died, the life insurance policy he’s put all his money into turned out to be a scam and what was supposed to provide for Hayley once he was gone has given her nothing but heartache and filled her with a seething rage. She moved to the city to follow her dream of going to a prestigious music school and to become a top notch violinist. However, the cost of living here was more than she could have ever expected. She’s going to school full-time and working multiple jobs and she’s still just barely scraping by. And, even worse her apartment sitting job is coming to a sudden end and she has to find a new place to live before she’ll be homeless in just three days! But unfortunately she can’t find anything she can afford.

When Hayley goes into the apartment complex Silas owns in hopes of finding affordable housing, Silas sees her on the monitors from his room and is floored by her beauty. So much so that after she leaves rejected at the cost of the only unit available, Silas insists his property manager go find her and offer the apartment next to him at a dirt-cheap price. The apartment that Silas just had the wall removed on to expand his own apartment. He quickly pays to have the wall rebuilt and the apartment furnished for her. Silas vows to keep his distance from her. But he has an uneasy feeling one night when she doesn’t come home on time and he goes looking for her to find her being brutally attacked by three thugs. He comes to her rescue and takes her home to his apartment, where he nurses her back to health and decides to keep her for himself!

But trouble is brewing and all the people Silas and his brothers care about are in danger, just by knowing them. Could he bear if anything would happen to his princess because of him? And, what can he do to prevent it?

This has not been one of my favorite series. The first two books focused on Drake and Evangeline, and Drake was such a jerk that I really struggled liking those books. But I had to give this series one more chance when I saw that this one was about Silas!

The book got off to a slow start and it took me awhile to get engrossed in the story. Also, the book mirrored Drake and Evangeline’s story a little too much. In fact in the beginning Hayley acted just like Evangeline down to her quick hatred for people she didn’t know that hurt Silas in his past, when frankly she didn’t really know him at all.

Thankfully Silas retained his good character that I fell in love with in the earlier books of the series. I was worried he was going to turn into the jerk that Drake was, but he did NOT! Also, his dominance wasn’t quite as complete as Drake’s and you didn’t get all the BDSM scenes we got with Drake and Evangeline. Of course he did have his idiot move where he completely broke Hayley’s heart. But it didn’t take him nearly as long to correct it as Drake took. Silas’s problems were actually solved in just one book!

It was also nice getting to see more of Drake’s men as they are truly engaging characters that I can’t wait to read more about.

But one flaw with this book is that it seems to follow a set formula for relationships in this series. Dominant male meets naïve girl, he forces her to live with him, makes a few jerky moves that makes girl question his loyalty, but he gives lame apology and she quickly forgives, only to have her heart crushed a little later and then big danger from his enemies eventually brings them back together. But I did find this book to be a grave improvement over the first two books in the series. Hopefully it will continue to get better from here.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

I loved Silas in Drake and Evangeline's story and glad he got his own. He's clearly a man of mystery and darkness. To say that he is damaged might be totally obvious, but his secrets are shocking and the fact that he survived it all with some humanity is amazing. His lifeline in the world he lives in is control, (Control with a capital C) and routine, regimented routine.

Hayley is sad and her grief is visible in her eyes. She seems do downtrodden, taking one more bad thing on top of the other. Her promise to her father is what keeps her going, but her will is fading. Just before giving up she walks into one more building; the right building to put her in Silas' line of sight, aligning their futures.

She is the perfect simplicity and softness to his complex and hardness. But he seems to have learned nothing from Drake's mistakes, despite his brothers' reminders. He makes many mistakes, hurting Hayley in the process. She seems so weak and battered, which is frustrating as a reader. But when the going gets tough, the girl finds her backbone and sass! I loved her attitude when she threw it on Silas!

Hayley can stand on her own, finding herself in danger multiple times, her strength coming to save her when it seems she might not have enough energy and fortitude left. And, oh, how she lets Silas have it for his mistakes!! Epic lashing.

The brothers pull together as always to protect the women and stand together. It's good to meet another brother and see the human side of Xander and Thane.

I have really enjoyed reading the Enforcers series from Maya Banks! Maya writes a good romantic suspense, and I always enjoy seeing where she is going to take the storyline next. Kept was one I thoroughly enjoyed, and I didn't want to put it down!
Silas's story has haunted me since the first book in the series, and my heart has hurt for him, not even knowing what his story is. In Kept, we get hints to his story along the way, but it isn't until he opens up that the depth of his despair is brought out into the light.
Hayley is a young, naïve woman, struggling to get by. One generous moment of weakness on Silas's part changes her future forever. My heart hurt for Hayley so many times!
Silas is fiercely loyal and protective of Hayley, but he is not immune to stupidity. Several times I wanted to reach through my Kindle and knock some sense into Silas and his noble but stupid decisions. Men like Silas want to protect what is theirs, but sometimes, they make that critical mistake of underestimating the strength of their women's characters. I always love watching the push and pull between characters in books like this.
The relationship between Silas and Hayley is very precious. I have always been fascinated at the relationship between a Dominant and his submissive, and Maya is a master at portraying this beautiful relationship. The trust, the openness between the two makes a beautiful story, and I cannot wait to see them more in future books!

I absolutely love The Enforcers Series!! I was pulled into Drake's story but also loved Silas. Silas shows us how tough he can be but also his loving heart.

Silas has some unspoken issues that he must deal with but nothing compared to Hayley. Hayley's father passed away and she had to deal with a shady insurance agent who scammed him and left her with nothing. Her dream of making sure she makes her father proud and honors his dreams is her goal.

Silas's interest in not only helping her but making her dreams come true are important to him. He sees something in Haley that fascinates hom. Hayley has no idea the things that Silas has done and his interest in her puts her in danger but as we know, nothing and no one will keep Silas away that what is his.

I loved this story. The danger, the sexual tension and then fulfillment, the ALPHA and I really do mean alpha man is undeniable. I wanted their story to play out more and I wanted to dig a little deeper into both of them and extend their story. I feel like I am missing a lot of them and I truly wanted more.

This third installation in the enforcer series was a good step forward. While book 2 left me seething after an exciting first book, this one fit a good balance in controlling Alpha males, BDSM involvement and having a heroine with a spine. One of my largest problems with Mastered and Dominated was that Silas relationship with the heroine, as opposed to the hero. Now Silas is the hero and has to fight his need to protect his "brothers" and Evangeline his Boss's wife vs. His new relationship with Hayley, this novels musically gifted heroine. I found this to answer the question of what happens when Silas can't put his "brothers" wife above all others a point I wanted explored in the first two novels and it was a major conflict in this one. Not only is Silas a far more interesting hero than Drake, Hayley while still being sweet and innocent she isn't nearly naïve and spineless as Evangeline. All in all one of the best Maya Banks novels in awhile.

The story is able a struggling orphan that meets a rich mafia like millionaire. That's the plot in a nutshell. She is a very talented violinist that is working 2 jobs and goes to school parttime. It reallly seems like she will succeed and do well in life and share her talent with the world. Spoiler alert.! I was so disappointed with the way this goes. She has a breakup with the man and completely falls apart, drops out of school etc. of course the 2 get back together, but she never goes back to school. This book seems to follow the path of the woman giving up any semblance of herself because she loves the man sooo much. I will give it a 3 because it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either.

I really liked this installment in this series. I have to admit the second book, Mastered, was just okay but this one was really good. I loved hearing from one of the other quiet people from the series, Silas. He intrigued me in the first two books. However, the reader does not have to read the first two books to enjoy this one, although it helps to understand the relationship that Silas has with Drake and Evangaline(sp?), that was always at the crux of his problems with Hayley. IMO, Hayley started off as a weak female but probably because she was grieving. But once she got past that, that chick was a firecracker!! I loved her character at the end. She was a lot stronger than I thought. I hope more characters are given a book, like Maddox, who I absolutely loved!!!

This is book three in The Enforcers series. I loved Silas in the first two books and was excited when I found out the next book would be about him. I loved it! Silas's story is tragic but Hayley overlooks it and loves him anyway. She is very young and inexperienced but that is why she needs someone like Silas. She proves to be a strong woman both inside and out. I will admit there were a few times when I wanted to smack Silas in the back of the head and just make him talk to Hayley. But the men in this series are Dominant Alphas that are also stubborn and keep to much inside. I hope the next book is about Maddox!

Two lost and broken souls find each other and become an amazing love story. It was astonishing the amount of strength and resolve both Silas and Hayley have. It surprises me that Silas never thinks to introduce Hayley and Evangeline. I was also thrown by how after recognizing and becoming upset with Drake for his treatment of Evangeline Silas repeats the same actions. Overall this was a decent read and I hope there is another story focusing on Maddox who also deserves to find love.

Silas was afraid of nothing but bringing a woman into the crazy controlled life he lives. Then he met Hayley and fell quick and hard. He got scared and sent her straight into danger. He must realize that he must trust his woman to be able to know what she wants and need in order to keep her.