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Thirsty for Payback (Sinful Business Book 1) Kindle Edition

4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,491 ratings

In a blink of an eye Allyson Roberts loses her fiance, her employment, and her fortune. Just when she seems to have hit the bottom, Ally is recruited by an undercover agency that is interested in her skills. She takes the job with only one goal in mind: payback. Getting even is the only thought on her mind as she convinces herself that her heart has no room for love–or does it?

A former top agent in his field, Jake Morrissey has inner demons he can’t put to rest. Now he bides his time as a training instructor. He’s sworn off women, but try as he might he can’t keep his eyes off Allyson Roberts. When he’s asked to partner up with Ally on a new assignment, Jake is tempted to end his retirement. Will he keep running from his fears or will he find the strength to become the man he once was?

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Editorial Reviews

Review

What the readers are saying:

"Highly recommend - a must read suspenseful romance - hot and funny. Ally seems to have it all when the story begins - family, friends, fiancee, prospective jobs, no worries of money. Then in a flash ALL is gone. A story of being patient, finding truths and accomplishing goals."

"Great start to a new series. I was captured right from the beginning of the book. I enjoyed the suspense and the story line. I laughed out loud at a few parts. I thought Delilah was hilarious! The romance was hot, the suspense kept me turning the pages, and I couldn't wait to find out if Ally & Jake were going to get together!"

"I can't wait for book 2 to see what happens next and I'll definitely be recommending this series to my friends. Great job Ms. Astor."

"Loved the fact that even though Ally was going through so much it didn't stop her from trying to find out who was behind her father's companies downfall. I also couldn't wait to find out if Ally and Jake got together. Really looking forward to the next book in this series."

From the Inside Flap

Thirsty for Payback contains a preview of Baiting Trouble, book 2 in Sinful Business Series:
Allyson Roberts has risen from the ashes. She now has a career, a relationship, and a purpose in life. But as a new assignment comes along, Jake Morrissey, the man who helped her rebuild her life and has been her rock ever since might now become too dangerous for her to love. Will Ally and Jake find a way to be together, or will their ties burn them?

Delilah Jones has always been the odd one out with a wayward past. Now, she has a chance to shine by completing an undercover assignment that has her colleagues at a standstill. But what if getting a lead will cost Delilah her only chance for true love? Will she have to choose between her heart and career, or will she find a way to have both?

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00K40M50E
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (May 3, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 3, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1533 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 216 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,491 ratings

About the author

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Marie Astor
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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Marie Astor writes fast-moving plots with smart heroines and hot male leads. In her spare time, Marie enjoys being adventurous out-of-doors. She often gets new story ideas while she is hiking up a mountain or trying to avoid bumping into a tree while skiing.

Whether you're looking for a fun read while on vacation or just want to escape reality for a few hours, you'll find it in Marie's light romantic mysteries and contemporary romances. Marie loves hearing from readers and always answers all of her emails personally. Join Marie’s mailing list at www.marieastor.com to be the first to know about Marie’s new book releases and events.

Books by Marie Astor:

To Catch a Bad Guy (Book 1 of the Janet Maple Series) - romantic suspense

Catching the Bad Guy (Book 2 of the Janet Maple Series) - romantic suspense

Bad Guys Get Caught (Book 3 of the Janet Maple Series - romantic suspense

Bad Guys Don't Win (Book 4 of the Janet Maple Series) - romantic suspense

It Doesn't Pay to be Bad (Book 5 of the Janet Maple Series) - romantic suspense

Thirsty for Payback (Book 1 of Sinful Business Series) - contemporary romance / romantic suspense

Baiting Trouble (Book 2 of Sinful Business Series) - contemporary romance / romantic suspense

This Tangled Thing Called Love - contemporary romance about searching for love

Lucky Charm - contemporary romance about love, luck, and friendship

Smitten at First Sight - contemporary romance about the power of love

A Dress in a Window - a collection of short stories about love, serendipity, and fate

Over the Mountain and Back - young adult fantasy adventure

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
1,491 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoyed the storyline with its intrigue, suspense, and twists. They found the book easy to read with a well-written style that was descriptive. The characters were described as strong-willed and intelligent. Readers appreciated the writing style as descriptive and edgy. Overall, they found the book entertaining and hard to put down.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

95 customers mention "Storyline"78 positive17 negative

Customers enjoy the storyline with its intrigue, action, and suspense. They appreciate the convincing characters and plots. The book has many twists and turns that keep readers guessing. Overall, it's an engaging read for those looking for mystery and romance.

"...It is short enough to be read quickly and yet long enough to have lots of surprises...." Read more

"...With the Delilah character added in, I thought it was a great twist. Actually, I felt it could have gone further along those lines...." Read more

"...Parts of the plot are believable and parts seem to stretch that a bit--while I do believe that employers would turn down Ally for jobs given her..." Read more

"...This book is full of love, suspense, mayhem, intrigue and deception!..." Read more

83 customers mention "Readability"77 positive6 negative

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They appreciate the premise that keeps them hooked. The book is described as interesting and well-done, making it suitable for movie adaptations.

"...This is a great book. It is short enough to be read quickly and yet long enough to have lots of surprises...." Read more

"...And he finally showed her exactly what she needed to see. That was really well done. Recommended." Read more

"...you will go right to Amazon and purchase the second book in this wonderful series, “Burning Ties.”..." Read more

"...Astor (now titled Thirsty for Payback) was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading..." Read more

30 customers mention "Character development"26 positive4 negative

Customers enjoy the well-developed characters in the book. They find the heroine strong-willed and intelligent, with muscular men with blazing eyes.

"...The characters are realistic and the plot is full of surprises...." Read more

"Really liked the characters...." Read more

"...The plot moves swiftly. The characters are well developed and the secondary characters were developed just enough to intrigue me to know more about..." Read more

"and loving it! What a great making for a movie! I loved the characters especially Delilah...she was a "real" delight bc none of us are perfect...." Read more

23 customers mention "Writing style"20 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy the book's writing style. They find it easy to read, with well-executed composition and descriptive language that helps build a mental picture of the characters and story. The book is short enough to be read quickly yet long enough to immerse themselves in the story. Readers appreciate the author's edgy lyrics and storytelling through song.

"...This is a great book. It is short enough to be read quickly and yet long enough to have lots of surprises...." Read more

"...Just as well written and interesting as her other books have been." Read more

"This book's title was very catchy so I purchased it. I was excited to read it just by the name...." Read more

"I liked the writing style and was interested throughout but felt the ending was rather abrupt...." Read more

19 customers mention "Entertainment value"15 positive4 negative

Customers enjoy the book's entertainment value. They find it entertaining, enjoyable to watch Jake and Ally come together, enchanting, and catchy. The story has excitement, mystery, romance, and is described as perky and cute. Many readers appreciate the author's creative writing style and plots.

"...And the intensity of Ally Jake were just mind numbing good. Marie always seems to captivate you in all of her books...." Read more

"...book isn't a literary great, but if you are looking for a good relaxing read at the beach or relaxing in a hammock, this is the perfect book...." Read more

"I like Delilah a lot. She could be bitter, but she's perky and cute. The book reminded me a little of the movie Private Benjamin...." Read more

"Good plot, but boring. The story goes on and on and on. It wasn't until chapter 8 did I start seeing some sort of plot movement...." Read more

7 customers mention "Ease of use"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to use and entertaining. They find it hard to put down and appreciate the great assignments.

"...That whole bit there didn’t feel right. But the assignment was great. I know it’s not real, but they did it so well...." Read more

"...It was excellent reading and hard to put down." Read more

"It was hard to put this book down. It is an easy and fun read. Perfect for trying to relax." Read more

"So much technology in this book but it was very easy to understand and follow. I enjoyed reading this book and I thought it ended perfectly...." Read more

6 customers mention "Pace"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book has a fast pace and the plot moves quickly.

"...The plot moves swiftly...." Read more

"Ups and downs, fast, slow and full of turns, buckle your seat belt because this tale will have you speeding through the pages to see what happens..." Read more

"I really enjoyed this book. It was a good pace and kept me up way past my bedtime. Looking forward to reading the next one" Read more

"Started slow. Picked up speed and my interest. Keep me intrigued and entertained until the end. Found another wonderful author." Read more

5 customers mention "Motivation"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and motivating. They mention it holds their interest well, with descriptions of physical and mental growth at the end. The characters are described as typical but charming.

"Marie Astor’s hot new series, “Searing Lies” pulls you in and keeps you wanting more! I was hooked after reading the first chapter...." Read more

"...I enjoyed reading it on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It held my interest quite well. The characters are typical but charming." Read more

"...she wasn't really ready for, but she learned quickly and was motivated to excel." Read more

"...the descriptions of starting boot camp training and descriptions of physical and mental growth ar end of boot camp or training camp...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2017
    Thirsty for Payback: Sinful Business Book 1 is by Marie Astor. This is a great book. It is short enough to be read quickly and yet long enough to have lots of surprises. The characters are realistic and the plot is full of surprises.
    Ally Roberts was winding down her college years and getting ready for graduation. She didn’t want to go into the family business which was fine with her Father; but she had a double major in engineering and physics and wanted to make a name for herself. She had a verbal job offer from a firm in Boston which fit right into her plans to marry Ron Greystone who would be in law school. In fact, they were going to announce their engagement to Ron’s parents when they came up for his and his sister’s graduation. Ally wasn’t looking forward to that dinner as the Greystones were high society with old wealth. Ally’s father was quite rich; but he made the money himself.
    As Ally was with Maddie Greystone looking for a dress for the dinner, she learned that her Father had been arrested for charges “of fraud, negligence, and a threat to national security.” It couldn’t be right, her Father was as honest as they come. Ally knew without a doubt that he was innocent; but could his lawyers fight the charges?
    Ally has to deal with her Father’s legal issues, Ron’s parents, her new job, and everything else that is thrown at her. Is she strong enough to handle all the problems?
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2017
    What it’s about…

    Allyson “Ally” Roberts has just lost everything – her father, her fortune, and her fiance. Someday she’s going to get even with the guy who took it all from her.

    She’s offered an interview with the DOE and is immediately hired. She’s now going into three months of tough covert training.

    Jake Morrissey was the agency’s top field agent until a young woman died. Now he’s teaching new recruits. Can he teach Ally well enough to catch the one who’s responsible for taking everything from her?

    Together, can they make him pay?

    Technical Tidbits…

    The cover is so great. It’s that awesome, eye-catching blue! the legs of the couple on the elevator are guaranteed to catch the eye as well. She certainly has great legs.

    The storyline is an old one with a new twist. Good job!

    The characters are pretty well done. We really get to know Ally. A name I was heartily sick of very quickly. We didn’t get to know Jake quite as well, I don’t think. I love Delilah! She was a lovely element.

    The pace was a bit choppy, I felt. There were times I felt we were racing along, and then we were just strolling. Really without reason. We jumped from the midst of their testing angst to Ally was already working for the agency with no transition.

    The tension was greatly affected by the pacing such as I mentioned above. I was expecting something more about the testing or some sort of closure for their training portion and suddenly I was thrown into an office with Ally typing away peacefully. I was caught completely off stride. It was confusing and took me some time to transition. I actually looked back a page or two to see if I had skipped some pages.

    And this is where you STOP if you don’t want to see any SPOILERS…

    The good, the bad, and the ugly…and how much it lit up my life… ✰✰✰✰

    As I said, I got really sick of Ally’s name early on. Actually, by about the second chapter I’d had enough of it. For some reason, it just grated on my nerves, that little nickname. I would have rather called her Allyson. That Ally, Ally, Ally drove me nuts! It stopped sounding like a name.

    The whole first part of the book was rather predictable but enjoyable. Wealthy girl planning what to wear to her engagement party and all of a sudden her father’s company crashes for some reason. Father goes to prison where he later dies. Fiance’s family distances themselves and then he does, too. Young woman left to find her own way in the world.

    What wasn’t so predictable was the interview by the DOE for intelligence gathering and sort of espionage. Who would think that the department of energy would be recruiting for that? Not me. Then when they got into the training, it sort of sounded like boot camp for the military until it came to sex ed. We didn’t have sex ed that taught us how to, it was more how not to. With the Delilah character added in, I thought it was a great twist. Actually, I felt it could have gone further along those lines. But that’s when everything started building up for test angst and then training was over. It was just too abrupt and without any closure for the training portion.

    I love her first assignment. And Jake tries to talk her out of it! Ouch! Such a complete turnabout. It felt wrong, his basically turning against his controller. That whole bit there didn’t feel right. But the assignment was great. I know it’s not real, but they did it so well. She makes her connection and they set a date for dinner and an art show. She shows up and he does all his bragging once she sees the chip on his keychain. They take down the mark. I loved the way she worked her way through the whole evening keeping her cool and keeping her eyes open. Waiting to see what he was going to do and waiting to see what he would show her. And he finally showed her exactly what she needed to see. That was really well done.

    Recommended.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2017
    Really liked the characters. I had to feel for the protagonist (Ally) who starts out with a good job prospect and a fiancé and loses everything when her father and his business are accused (falsely as it later turns out) of faulty maintenance of power plants.

    Parts of the plot are believable and parts seem to stretch that a bit--while I do believe that employers would turn down Ally for jobs given her father's disgrace, and that if such an organization existed, it would see Ally as a prime candidate for an operative given this history, it seems oddly convenient that they show up when she's at her lowest point to offer her a job--and also oddly convenient that her friend and roommate, Maddie, manages to get engaged and be leaving NYC just at that same time. I also thought it was odd that the organization would expect that she wouldn't investigate what happened to her father if given the chance to get at their databases.

    I was a bit disappointed by Ally's jumping into bed with guys she seems seriously interested in. That didn't seem to further the plot of the book--especially the ones with Jake at the end. While I wasn't thrilled with the ones with Ron at the beginning, that, at least, did serve to give me further sympathy toward Ally when Ron revealed how spineless he really was when confronted with his parents.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Jose Lacasse
    5.0 out of 5 stars Revenge
    Reviewed in Canada on May 2, 2021
    Alyson wants revenge, tastes revenge. She wants more than anything to clear her father’s name. She knows it will never bring him back but she wants justice. Will she succeed?
    This novel brings you through the ups and downs that Alyson goes through. I could not put this book down. Totally enjoyed the adventure.
    For those who enjoy a light hearted how to catch the evil, this is a good choice.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 7, 2014
    Great book enjoyed the book from start to finish.Would recommend this book give it a go .
  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars A really great read.
    Reviewed in Canada on May 2, 2019
    This book was captivating from beginning to end. It was very enjoyable and I totally enjoyed the the bad guy getting his .
  • Fantasy Reader
    4.0 out of 5 stars Thirsty for Payback
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2015
    A really good entertaining read.
    Ally has everything - she is clever, successful, with the almost perfect boyfriend (with pedigree) and family money. Then the bottom falls out of her world. Her father is accused of corporate crimes that means he ends up in jail trying to clear his name, her family money has to be used to hire lawyers, her new job and friends disappear leaving her alone and penniless. How will she ever turn her fortunes around and get revenge!
    A woman scorned ......
  • Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
    Reviewed in Canada on January 23, 2018
    I enjoyed reading this book. I have read other Marie Astor books and they have all been entertaining. I am looking forward to the next one.

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