Blood & Bitcoin by L.A. Witt

Chris Emmett has a talent for screwing up and landing on his feet. As a SEAL, he managed to evade bullets and court-martials alike. As an FBI agent, he dodged danger and disciplinary action—right up until he didn’t.

With his career and freedom hanging in the balance, he’ll do whatever it takes to clean the slate… including an off-the-books deep cover solo mission.

The objective: infiltrate the Hive, a complex crime syndicate operating on the dark web, and find out who’s trying to kill Piker, the organization’s enigmatic and strangely alluring modern day Mob boss.

The moment he’s pulled into the Hive, Chris enters a world where no one is what they seem, including the man he’s there to protect. Lines blur between moral and wrong, legal and criminal, ally and foe, and—as Piker’s seductive magnetism draws Chris in—straight and queer.

Chris is running out of time to stop a killer. He has dangerous feelings for a dangerous man, and the deeper he moves into the realms of organized crime, the less he knows and the fewer people he can trust.

And that’s before he learns the truth about Piker’s assassin.

This book is part of CRIMINAL DELIGHTS. Each novel can be read as a standalone and contains a dark M/M romance.

Warning: These books are for adult readers who enjoy stories where lines between right and wrong get blurry. High heat, twisted and tantalizing, these are not for the fainthearted.

Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Shannan – ☆☆☆☆☆
From page one, Blood & Bitcoin pulled me in and left me on the edge of my seat until the last page.

Chris Emmett was a Navy SEAL that knew his way around danger. He got the missions done, maybe not without going rogue a time or two. That was something the FBI wanted on their team until they didn't. Accusing Emmet of taking two lives, which he swears didn't happen. With his life hanging in the balance, he's pulled from jail for a special op infiltrating The Hive, getting intel, and reporting back. Emmet makes it his mission to protect sexy Piker and find out who wants to kill him.

The Hive is a dark web controller of the bitcoin. Not many people know who Piker really is except those closest to him and now the person who wants him dead. Can the ex-SEAL, ex-FBI agent really protect him from this enemy? And better yet, why does he want to? To prove his loyalty, Emmet is put to the test physically on the ops team, which only earns him Piker's undivided attention.

I was so invested in this story. I loved the chemistry Piker and Emmett had. The uncertainty Emmett had regarding Piker. He knew he wanted him, but he couldn't understand why. I always love a good romance with a side of suspense. I couldn't put it! L.A. Witt delivered with this one!


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This action adventure/hacker thriller is an exciting read. This is unlike anything I can remember reading by L.A. Witt and I was thoroughly entertained by the genre bending adventure.

Chris and Piker both exist in a world of murky grey morality. I quickly gave up on the idea of good guys and bad guys and I loved trying to figure out both men’s motivation. Most of the story is told from Chris’ perspective but he’s a delightfully unreliable narrator. Too many of his actions are suspicious and every time I thought I understood who he was working with/for and why, I had to recalculate. Piker is even more difficult to figure out and he’s surrounded by employees who do their best to maintain Piker’s enigmatic identity.

This is a busy novel with tons of subplots. Some of the subplots don’t necessarily contribute to the main story arc and others weren’t completely convincing. Piker catches Chris too many times and I feel like he’s way too forgiving for such a successful crime lord. My brain had to work hard to piece everything together and I feel like the Hive world could have been more successfully introduced over the course of a series – there’s a little too much information thrown at readers in a single novel.

This is marketed as a romance but romance is a pretty simplistic label for the connection between Chris and Piker. Their relationship is a little bit cat and mouse, a little bit alpha male showdown, and a little bit bromance – all lashed together with heapings of sexual chemistry and suspicion. There are a few sexy scenes but nothing terribly romantic. I really enjoyed the relationship between these two men, and they are both a welcome change from L.A. Witt’s recent stream of brooding, middle-aged men and their second chance romances.

This is an exciting read and I love that it feels fresh and new. The book has so much potential to evolve into a great series and I’m really looking forward to the next book in the Hive world.

L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn't lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author Lauren Gallagher, but don't tell Lauren. And definitely don't tell Lori A. Witt or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut...

Connect with L.A.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Blood & Bitcoin (Criminal Delights: Organized Crime) by L.A. Witt to read and review.