Quite the adventure

I enjoyed the first book in this new series and so leapt at the chance to listen to the second one. At the end of the last book, Levi and Marsh were leaving California, with Levi’s son David, after an assassination attempt on them. Time to book it out of there. Heading to Marsh’s Mom’s home seems like the most logical thing to do – Marsh can keep his new family safe. Maybe the men can get some time alone to sort out how they feel about their marriage?

Uh, nope. Off to Europe they go.

The gentle beginning in the book quickly swept into a much faster place as the men continued to track down the human smugglers and to solve the lingering case of the murder of Marsh’s mentor. Plenty of questions remained at the end of this book, nicely setting up the final one.

I’ll mention Christian Leatherman, the narrator. I thought he did a pretty good job, although lots of accents were thrown his way. His cockney was a little off, but otherwise I was content with the performance. Can’t wait for the final book in the series.

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Raising the stakes!

Bad Bishop served as the perfect book 2 for this series! Picking up right where book 1, Dead Draw, ended we are dropped right back into the action with Levi & Marsh. The investigation storyline continues to have some really great twists and turns (which I won't give away). But Marsh & Levi’s marriage of convenience has definitely taken a turn for the long haul and the development of their relationship is both satisfyingly swoony and spicy. Probably the only “difficult” thing with listening to the book was keeping track of ALL the new characters that we are introduced to. As I have not read any of Layla’s other books (yet!) trying to keep track of all the new faces did get confusing a few times, but this did not distract from the overall enjoyment of the book.

Also having lived in Texas, all the food references were spot on!

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Even more exciting than book one!

I love a good “marriage of convenience” story; add in suspense, danger, and a cool hacker and this story was an even bigger hit for me. If you know Layla Reyne’s writing you already know that this story has a cliffhanger. The romance for the main couple is solid but the case they are working won’t be solved until the end of book three. The good news is that book three releases in early June 2023 with the audio following very soon.

I love how Marshall is with Levi and I especially love how he interacts with Levi’s son, David. Christian Leatherman does a wonderful job with all of the different voices needed in this book. His pacing – like pausing or not pausing when the sentence needed it –was much better than it was in book one.

There is so much action going on in this story! I was on the edge of my seat more than once and I can’t wait to listen to the final book.

I really loved Marshall when I first met him in What We May Be and this series is shaping up to be everything I could have wanted for him. What We May Be is an MMF standalone story that I highly recommend. However, it’s not necessary to read that before beginning this series.

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Thrill & passion...

wrapped up in two very sexy packages. Levi and Marsh are on fire as they grow closer, breakdown barriers and fight tooth and nail to "win the game".

This story was more thrilling and intriguing than book one and has so many more moving parts, I can't wait for the trilogies conclusion. I loved the ending tease and thankfully not a deviating cliffhanger. Bring on the King Hunt!!!!

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Miss!!! I need part 3 like YESTERDAY!!!!

𝕃𝕒𝕪𝕝𝕒 ℝ𝕖𝕪𝕟𝕖 - 𝔹𝕒𝕕 𝔹𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕡: 𝔸 ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕪 ℕ𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝
𝔸ℝℂ

The chase continues, Levi and Marshall continue in the fortress with breadcrumbs in the form of clues and I found myself devouring every word, the book started slowly and only towards the end did the author surprise me and capture my curiosity😍

Marshall believes that he is to blame for the fact that his partner Levi and his son David are in constant danger, something that sits on his conscience and weighs heavily on his heart.
He is of the opinion that the boys should stay in a safe place and he will continue the mission until the culprit is caught and he can return to them.
Of course Levi does not agree with this and fights with him that it is incomprehensible to be left behind. When more clues emerge the obvious question that arises is - will they survive this journey?

The relationship between the two goes through a journey that feels like eternity but at the same time feels as if time stands still, they lean on each other, remain strong in the face of all the difficulties that hit them non-stop.

And again I was left in suspense, the third book was published on Amazon in June 2023 which freaks me out because it feels like forever😭
Guess I have time re-grow all the hairs that I pulled out from stress.
I already miss this special couple and can't wait until I meet them again❤️

I heard the book in the audio version and the work of the narrators is excellent!😍

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4.5* of romantic chess moves

I've had this in my to be read pile for a little while and when I got the chance to get it on audible I jumped at it, I am now kicking myself that it has taken me this long. Christian Leatherman does a great job in bringing Levi and Marsh to life. This is a listen full on action and steam, a relationship that is gaining in strength and yet still has its moments of fragility. I loved it and can't wait for the next and final book for this series.

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The hunt continues...

I listened to Dead Draw and immediately followed it up with Bad Bishop. Wow, and now I'm dying to listen to the final volume in the series!
Layle Reyne has written a story with great characters and lots of suspense.
Bad Bishop picks up where Dead Draw left off, so I recommend listening to Dead Draw first.
After an attack on his family, Marsh takes his husband Levi and his husband's son David to Texas to live with his family. It was very nice to meet Marsh's family and there were some great family moments.
However, the enemy never sleeps and Marsh and Levi want to solve their case and to do so, the two of them are headed to Europe.
I found the descriptions of Salzburg and the surrounding area fascinating, probably because I've been there a few times myself.
The suspense is undeniably there and increases the more you listen to of the audiobook. Marsh and Levi get closer to the enemy, but he is not unprepared either. There are some twists and turns that I didn't expect and although some things could be cleared up, there are some questions left unanswered that can be resolved in the next volume. And there was a nasty cliffhanger at the end that left me very curious about the sequel.
What I liked was the evolution of the relationship between Levi and Marsh from marriages of convenience to caring husbands. I found them both very likable and I am now looking forward to hearing more from them!

The audiobook was narrated by Christian Leatherman, who was new to me, but did a good job. I enjoyed listening to him and I could distinguish the characters well.

I received a free review copy of this audiobook and volunteered this honest review.

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Great continuation of the series and relationship

A really great continuation of the Perfect Play series. We follow on from where we finished in book one so it's a series that must be read in order. Marsh has taken Levi and David to his parent's place in Texas to regroup after the attack on their team leaving a couple in hospital, one arrested and their group looking into how to move forward and keep themselves safe.
I loved book one and enjoyed how this book keeps the suspense and tension going as the MC's look into the people behind murder and people trafficking. We're taken from Texas to the Netherlands as they follow clues and links to main people behind the crimes. It's not a thrill a minute drama but there's always something going on, with help from Marsh's team of people who he knows from previous jobs and those who have become like family to him.
Levi also has to convince Marsh that what they have may have started as a marriage of convenience but it's become so much more than that to both of them, though Marsh has a lot of trouble believing others want to keep him around forever. There is humour along with attraction and love between two men who started as nothing more than a means to an end that would help them both. I love Marsh's mums! The familial love is clear and obvious, along with embarrassment and exasperation, a perfect mix. The group of people who help them out bring an intense skill set between them, most known from other series by Layla including Fog City.
A great story filled with drama, intrigue and developing a marriage into love and trust. I can't wait to see what happens next after the way this book ends!
Christian again gives a really great performance, bringing across the emotion that is strongly developing between the MC's, as well as with David as a family, and then the tension rising as they dive further into the case. I love the accents that he provides to so many different characters as well, Marsh probably being my favourite.

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more need so much more

I knew this was gonna end on a "cliffhanger" since it is a trilogy but I'm glad it wasn't a "throw my device and scream" cliffhanger. I can't wait to see how this story concludes in book 3.

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Okaaaay, we get it, they're husbands!

While I'm up to speed with these characters and the side characters from previous series, in this story there were far too many character names for me to keep up. The author kept dropping names of people I hadn't heard of in Levi and Marsh's dialogue. This became too confusing,and pulled me out of the story as I tried to work out what the hell was going on .

It also got tiresome REALLY quickly that the author overused the word 'husbands'. We get it, Marsh and Levi are married, and yay, we love marriage equality, but in a thriller book there was no need to go on and on about it. For instance, instead of saying the character name Levi or Marsh in a sentence, or using 'partner', 'my man', 'lover' etc, we had the fact that they are husbands stuffed in to a nauseously saccharin degree. You wouldn't see this with an MF thriller storyline. It kinda ruined the book for me.

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