Rating: 3.75🌈

Black Flagged (A Lights Out Novel) by Emma Jaye is a book that had me waffling over the rating because Black Flagged is actually two different novels, one that’s a tad more successful than the other.

Unfortunately, the better one doesn’t really have much of anything to do with racing but rather with past murders, current murder attempts, and the mercenary brotherhood, the orta, which are the featured elements and characters of Emma Jaye’s other series, Lies.

While that series is severely darker than this (and comes from a different perspective), much of this story is about Dren’s character, his code , and utter allegiance to the orta, and his brothers in the organization. Who we meet, and interact with, enough to make us understand a tiny bit about what that must entail. Dark, dark, dark.

I was intrigued by Dren Elezi the orta janissary, the orta (mercenary brotherhood ) and the whole fact that the Neumann family had this criminal history to them. That Walter Neumann, CEO of Neumann Industries , owner of Neumann F1 is also one of Europe’s top illegal arms dealers. Really, that needed expounding on.

And that Karl Neumann, the nephew, aka Karo, was a thief, homeless, and has a murky history . There’s so much here and yes, it all went into the plot, making for a lively and often chaotic storyline. I really enjoyed it.

As far as Karl Neumann, the one the readers have come to know. The arrogant, bully of a driver everyone has grown to hate in every book, race by race, through the same repeated “episodes “, this is where Jaye does a great job at incorporating her story back into the Lights Out universe.

We get , each scene , word by word, as they have played out , over each other book the same way but now flipped, and with a startling twist.

There’s a new backstory , a perspective we’re now seeing to Neumann’s action’s , often repugnant interactions with the other drivers. And it puts Neumann in a whole new light. Not only his actions, but how they are seen and appreciated by his owner/family. It’s all about the strategy, maneuvering for publicity, and positioning for success. For himself, primarily, and the team.

It’s especially true when revisiting the scenes that had Lennox in them. That dynamic was so incredibly tilted towards Lennox as the one being victimized. Having it flipped around and visualized through the lens of Kurt puts an astonishing spin on things. Where it realistically comes down outside of both is probably somewhere in the middle.

Jaye has some strong racing elements here. The racing is well researched. I was fascinated by the information about how the race bays were set up according to team finishes. That the worst place team had a “walk of shame “ past all the other teams to get to their section of the building on the track. That has to rub it in constantly that fact you and your team suck that year.

And there was that infamous race where one driver goes up in flames. Kurt gets the blame. But this time we see that race from inside the car. Big difference.

However, just as we’ve gotten settled in a racing mentality with Kurt, the team, and the strategy, Jaye whisks her storyline around and into the direction of murder and sabotage.

That’s a great tale in itself. But it becomes a whole different story. Their romance, the orta, the mystery, the sexual nature of their relationship, and even Kurt’s background is more tightly coupled together here than it is with the racing aspect.

Eventually, all the threads roll back, not to racing itself but we do get back to business, but not without a few more surprises with Lennox.

With all these many plot lines, well researched facts, and great elements, I’m not sure why it doesn’t work together more smoothly than it does. Black Flagged, as entertaining and as wild a ride as it was, still feels like two separate journeys. A race and then another for the emotional connections and romance factor.

That ending doesn’t quite work either. There’s a two – year contract to deal with, then a new contract. It’s feels very rushed and inconsistent with the way the rest of the book and series has been handled.

I liked Black Flagged. I would have loved it if the author could have decided what story that wanted to tell exactly, a race story or a new orta themed book. What’s occurred is a combo of the two, neither successful completely.

I’m still recommending it. It’s entertaining.

Lights Out:

✓ Team Orders by RJ Scott

✓ Full Throttle by Lisa Henry

✓ Pole Position by Charlie Novak

✓ Scoring Points by HL Day

✓ Black Flagged by Emma Jaye

◦ Rookie Mistakes by Beth Laycock 6/27/2023

Buy Link:

Black Flagged

Description:

Will a Black Flag end love before it leaves the starting line?

Dren is a mercenary, not a babysitter, yet protecting an F1 “bad boy” from his own recklessness is his next contract. The media darling everyone loves to hate is annoying as hell and a target both on and off the track.
Staying close is the only way to protect Karl from himself and others, but the forced proximity reveals the man behind the uncaring, flippant mask. In public and private, Karl craves attention, but it’s not Dren’s job to provide it. But Dren can’t help falling for Karl’s provocative passion, and he shouldn’t because when the contract ends, he’ll return to the organization that holds his soul.

Karl avoids people he can’t trick, charm, or buy, and his new bodyguard falls into that irritating category. But before he knows it, Dren’s imposing presence becomes his seatbelt in the rocky, perilous world of F1 because there’s genuine concern and interest behind the gruff exterior.

When a fiery crash gets Karl suspended for dangerous driving, can the pair find his mysterious enemy before Karl loses his career and Dren?

This M/M romance from Emma Jaye features an arrogant F1 driver with a hidden past and a bodyguard who is in way too deep. Set in the high-octane world of Formula 1, it features fast cars, spectacular crashes, heated rivalries, and of course, a HEA.

Each book in the Lights Out collection is a standalone story, and the books can be read in any order.