Cora Reilly doesn’t just write books. She spins literary gold in mafia form and this was no exception.
If you’re familiar with Cora’s other masterpieces you’ll know that Remo Falcone is the most warped, psychotic, and intriguing character that has been mentioned throughout her series. Prior to reading this book I was curious to see how she’d be able to twist this monster of a man into someone you’d want to see happy. And what female character she would possibly craft that could take on such a villain. Worry not my book buddies! Cora has everything beautifully and masterfully under control.
What can I say about Remo that I haven’t already hinted at? He’s more monster than man. Feels little-to-no pain and does not fear death. He’s obsessively, fiercly protective and loyal to his brothers and nothing else. As capo he rules the mafia underworld with barbaric violence and shows no mercy. In an attempt to retaliate against the Cavallaros in Chicago (they breached his territory) he abducts the capo’s niece (Dante is capo of Chicago) on her wedding day.
I won’t give away too much more but the bride-to-be isn’t a fainting wallflower that Remo can use and throw away once his game is won.
Brilliant story, twisted characters, and so much fun! Enjoy book friends!
I preordered this book and have been counting down until the minute it was downloaded onto my Kindle. I have enjoyed other books by this author and have several others camping out on my “Want to Read” list.
Unfortunately- I didn’t connect with any of the characters and felt there was too much ambiguity throughout the story. Spoilers ahead- while, yes, I understand that Allison committed suicide, didn’t leave a note, and left everyone in her life wondering “why”. I don’t think the rest of the book had to follow that same empty, confusion. My biggest complaint is “why” when it comes to Cameron’s motives years prior. He find out his POS druggie mom needs help and heads back to Cali. Ok- gotcha. Why on earth did he leave on such bad terms with everyone… especially his girlfriend and twin?!? It sounds like Violet wonders for years why he left without knowing. Why was this a mystery and Violet kept in the dark?!? Tell your girlfriend that you’ve found out your druggie mom has another kid that needs help. No drama, keep in touch, and save yourself the angst.
I’ve chosen not to leave a rating. While this book didn’t strike a cord with me- it might just be the highlight of another reader’s week. I would hate for my negative rating to hinder someone from reading this book. Hopefully my review sheds some light on my reaction and thoughts. If you have a different opinion after reading it please let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Glorious finish to a great story. Why the 4 star rating? Because for the first 55% of the book the reader is tormented with the sassy (annoying) games by Nat AKA Natalia. In the very first scene Nat is chatting with her best about finding someone… anyone to hook up with. Lo and behold a gorgeous, nice, muscular man… also the best friends’s husband’s best friend. He eager offers his services to which Nat shuts him down OVER and OVER again for more than half the book. Eventually she tries to rationalize her shenanigans by saying she had a feeling a hook up with Hunter would be “more”. Le sigh.
For what it’s worth the second part of the book was dynamite. Great chemistry, angst, steamy scenes, and character building. Wish the first half would have moved at a more clipped pace or the author would have used other obstacles to delay the couple’s eventual connection.
Want to me to talk sexy to you? Close your eyes and imagine a tall, blonde man- so handsome he belongs on a magazine cover. He’s muscular and lean…oh and he just so happens to be the King of Denmark.
From the very first page I was hooked on the characters and story. In addition to the handsome king I fell in love with his 2 daughters, Clara and Freja. The author crafted their personalities with the perfect mixture of little-kid-adorableness and mischief. The best character of all? I’d argue that it’s Aurora. Originally from Australia she grew up in poverty with horrible parents. Saving money and working hard she’s eventually able to move to Europe where she works as a nanny for wealthy families. Smart, amazing with kids, strong, and sexy. I loved everything that was Aurora!
I’m halfway thru the book – so why stop now? Because I simply can’t take Addison’s behavior anymore. Her actions are childish and she doesn’t learn from her mistakes or mature as the story unfolds. For example- Addison is dating the love of her life, soul mate, etc. He’s a musician who’s starting to become successful which also translates to being very busy. One night she’s out at a bar when a friend tells her that she saw her boyfriend kissing someone else. Does she confront the situation like a rational adult? Nope, she leaves without confirming his infidelity, transfers to another college, and never speaks to him again. The poor guy spends 6 years having no clue why his girlfriend ghosted him. After they reconnect and he assures her that he never cheated- guess what? Lo and behold the same friend throws a tantrum, insists he cheated, and refuses to be Addison’s friend until she’s no longer speaking with her ex-boyfriend. Drama Llama for sure! Now- stick with me book friends!!! This is the part that made me give up on the story. Even though Addison herself acknowledges her exboyfriend was telling the truth about not cheating – she ghosts him AGAIN after the conversation with her friend. Turns out – she once again was wrong and is just dragging this poor guy through all this pain for nothing…AGAIN. Dumb biotch. She didn’t learn her lesson. This guy needs to move on to someone more mature. DNF
I think of writing as an art form- painting a picture for readers using words that soak your soul in colors, emotions, and images. A good artist/author creates characters that evoke emotion -may that be anywhere on the spectrum between adoration and repulsion.
I can honestly say this book raised my blood pressure over and over. Ulvic- such a complicated character. In love with his tormentor- hiding his sexuality- his fascination with wolves…THIS guy drove me fucking nuts. My skin crawled every time he made an appearance in the book. A character so well written that he has haunted me since the second book in the series.
More great writing- the relationship between Varick and Selena. These two just don’t have it easy! Try overcoming the 200+ years of torture (poor Varick), the years of abuse from her stepfather (Selena), the absolute mind fuck and emotional scarring brought on my the V games, and now being an “interracial couple”… these characters own my heart.
Loved this book and as a result my emotions are in a tizzy.
I happily offer this honest review and am grateful the author honored me with an early copy.
This book is full of girl power and vampire awesomeness! I’m struggling to offer a review that will communicate why I loved the story so much without spoiling the many surprises along the way.
The bloody, tortured, and completely endearing cast of characters expanded in this story in the best way possible. We got a closer look at the werewolves that helped the contestants during the first book… which reminds me that I need to announce the addition of Jameson the werewolf to my ever growing list of book boyfriends. I’m not sure what I like best about Jameson. Perhaps it’s his loyalty to Varick and his pack, his perpetually positive attitude even in the most terrible of times, or maybe it’s his smoking hot body and his amazing ability to transform from man to werewolf.
Selena is my hero. From the first book her character, strength, beauty and honor were refreshing and uplifting. That same spirit continued and grew in this installment. I slipped through the pages and found myself cheering her on as she rallied against the deplorable conditions.
One of the signs of a truly good book is when it evokes strong emotions from its readers. (I can assure you that this is a phenomenal book!) While I loved the fast paced and dramatic challenges I could.not.stand. Ulvic (the Hunter turned werewolf enthusiast). I’ll be watching the reviews as more people read this book to see what other readers say about him.
I happily offer this honest review and am grateful the author honored me with an early copy. Now the countdown for the next book begins…
Holy Mother of Awesomeness! This book is the perfect mixture of mystery, conflict, girl power with a splash of romance and vampires! I repeat…VAMPIRES!
Think The Hunger Games, The Testing, and Vampire Academy…but BETTER. You read that correctly! This book surpasses some of my favorite books of all time! Color me very, very pleasantly surprised!
Selena Gray was 18 when she’d had enough of her stepfather’s horrific abuse and defended herself. Now labeled a murderer she’s looking at a lengthy prison sentence with a heartbroken mother left back at home. In prison she shares a cell with “Cass” who introduces herself as an arson but something about her seems far more menacing. After only a short stay in jail she’s kidnapped by a mysterious man and finds herself on-board a ship headed to an island so vile I pray nothing similar exists in real life.
Upon Selena’s arrival on this arctic island Selena discovers she’s part of a sick game for rich a$$holes. Selena, Cass, Kite (psycho from the jail) and 22 other former female convicts are thrust into a “game” where survival is king and treachery, backstabbing, and thirsty vampires reign supreme.
Insert Varick who’s a vampire forced to oversee the contestants. He sees in Selena something he admires and a most unlikely friendship begins.
This book had absolutely everything you could want! 1) Girl Power- Selena shows strength, intelligence, compassion and cunning. Needless to say Selena kicks ass and I loved every minute of it! 2) Mystery- Who are the Helsing family (sick psychos) who run this vile island and insist on these twisted games? What “experiments” are they running? How much power do they have- both on this island and throughout the world? 3) Excitement- Heart pounding, heart racing, gripping my bed sheets… This author sure knows how to amp up the anticipation as these characters race to survive. So enjoyable! 4) If you’ve been snoozing during this review WAKE UP because I’m talking about SEXY VAMPIRES for goodness sake! Varick is described as in-humanly handsome. More likely to be seen on the cover of Vogue than running a psycho human v.s. starved vampire game in the arctic. Don’t let his beautiful and frosty demeanor fool you! He’s passionate, loyal, strong and patient. Waiting for the right time to strike. 5) Romance (see item #4) This wasn’t the main theme but definitely sweetened the story for me. Amongst the muck and mire of this sick sport there rose a truly beautiful (and highly unlikely) alliance. Human convict and Vampire/former pirate = GREAT STORY
I absolutely can’t wait until the next book is released! If it’s anything like it’s predecessor it’s a MUST READ!
*I’m happy to volunteer this review after receiving an ARC for this book and look forward to reading anything and everything she creates in the future!
First word that comes to mind when I think of this book? Intense.
Jace Jacobs – His mother is a druggie loser who doesn’t care for anything beyond her next fix. Jace at an early age realizes to survive he must take care of his younger brother, Ian, and himself. At some point (forgive me if it was explained in the book) he also starts taking care of his cousin Joseph. Now I’m not sure where Joseph’s parents were. Again, it might have been explained and I just don’t remember. What’s pertinent for you to know is that these boys have to steal, lie, and fight just to survive…through no fault of their own. They are judged by every community that their mom moves them to. Eventually Jace is able to make something of himself. Not just a regular holding down a job, buying a house type of success. Jace is a very, very wealthy businessman who buys/takes over businesses. As a reader you’re led to believe he’s a millionaire.
Faith Linbrock- Gorgeous, sweet, and oh, so innocent! Naive may be a better description. She encourages Jace to look past the stereo-types he’s been branded with and believe that he can be more. What I will point out is that the author (through Jace’s descriptions and vast waxing of positive affirmations regarding Faith) never once is she described as intelligent. This would prove a fair assessment because she is used as a pawn throughout the story.
My Thoughts- As I mentioned before this book is intense. The author creates this almost intoxicating relationship between Faith and Jace. They can feel each other’s presence which is often described as a pressure or energy that envelops the room. Faith frequently gets chills or shivers up her spine when in Jace’s presence. When they first meet and several times throughout the book the characters feelings intensify as if becoming aware of a premonition or omen. I could go on but you (hopefully) catch my drift. The characters have an almost paranormal-type awareness of each other. When Faith is in peril Jace hears words in his mind. Considering this was not listed as a paranormal romance I felt it was a tad too dramatic/exaggerated for my own taste. Second comment- If you follow my reviews you know I hate when authors create wealthy characters but don’t give them attributes or characteristics that are in-line with wealthy behavior. Based on the description of Jace’s success and his business I’m lead to believe he’s a multimillionaire. Therefore why the fuck is he fucking around with Faith and Bailey’s security? (Pardon my French) Seriously, if you have millions of dollars at your disposal and the love of your life is in danger you are NOT going to rely on the local law enforcement and the occasional police squad car drive by to protect her. You’d hire a private security team, bring in the best CUSTOM alarm system that money will buy, and hire free lance investigators to track down the threat. I don’t want to rip this book to shreds but I do feel that Jace’s character- alpha, protective male -that he is was underserved in this regard. Jace would have pursued all possible avenues to ensure Faith and Bailey’s safety. For goodness sake…he bought her a palatial manor! He’s not going to penny pinch on her security.
Ok book friends…I owe this one a glowing review but have been caught up in the chaos that is life over the past few days.
Let me start off by telling you about Gwen. Reading about some of the abuse (both mental and physical) that she’s endured will pull at your heart strings. Let me be clear…it wasn’t just a slap here or there. It was horrific, horrific abuse at the hands of someone who should have been her protector. By getting such a vivid introduction to Gwen’s painful upbringing I could understand her motivations and reluctance to form connections with others. Boy, oh boy could I only imagine the emotional scars she would have! I loved her no apologies or embarrassment about her sex drive and “love em and leave em” type attitude. The idiosyncrasies that the author crafts into Gwen’s personality were very fitting with the her past. I’m not trying to bag on other authors but I think we’ve all read books that allude to a character’s rough upbringing but then they have no lingering effects which just simply isn’t realistic.
Colton’s a character that is so perfect it almost isn’t fair. He’s the ultimate male specimen both physically and emotionally. Smart, a loyal friend, savvy businessman, sexy, and in the most amazing physical shape a man can be in. Yum. He sees through Gwen’s hang ups and is cunning enough to get what he wants while still helping Gwen start to move past her past. Also, another thing that isn’t fair…Colton’s sex drive and performance. If there’s a man on this planet like Colton I pray I find him one day.
With Gwen’s haunted past there wasn’t any full resolution (I don’t want to give anything away) so as a reader I was always on edge waiting for the proverbial “other shoe to drop”. And guess what? I’m still waiting on bated breath to find out what happens next. The story ends on a very interesting cliffhanger so I’m itching to find out what happens next!
P.S. For those of you who might be concerned with the violence. It was descriptive but not too horrific that it overshadows the rest of the book. Don’t let that deter you from reading this sexy story.
I was lucky enough to receive this free copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.
