I’d once believed that nothing would equal the pain of losing my parents.
I was wrong.
I had barely even begun to process their deaths when it started.
The love notes, flowers, gifts … all anonymously left on my porch.
Then, I opened my door to a dead bird.
At first, I thought it had died naturally.
I knew that wasn’t the case when I found my neighbor’s cat the next day.
Then, the murders started.
The victims … women who looked eerily similar to me.
I had a stalker. A murderous one.
And I had no clue who he was.
He never showed me his face.
Not even when he carved his final message into me.
I survived that night. But my life was over. It had ended the moment Tobias Ripley’s infatuation with me began.
So, I changed my name and moved away.
Now, I live a life of solitude. I don’t make connections with anyone.
Until Jack Canti walks into my life with his sharp eyes and easy smiles.
Only Jack isn’t the man he says he is.
And when the murders start again, I’m left wondering if it’s a copycat.
Or worse …
What if Tobias wasn’t the real killer after all … and the murderer has been right here with me all along?

MY REVIEW — ALL THE STARS

I will keep this review short.

First of all, I saw a lot of beautiful edits on Instagram of this book by Lisa, and I felt compelled to pick it up. And oh my god, what a fucking book!

I was advised not to read any reviews or spoilers of this book, and if you know me, I always read reviews and/or spoilers before going into a book because I’m weak, and I need to know what I’m getting into. However, I’m glad I only read the blurb before starting this book because the ‘not knowing’ was excellent. Everything had my jaw on the fucking floor. You will never be ready for this story.

Whoever you are, you NEED to read this book. NOW. I don’t care; just read THIS BOOK.

Samatha Towle, you’re brilliant. Absolutely. Completely. Fucking. Brilliant. Thank you for writing this book.

That’s it. I will not say anything about this book. I’m not adding any quotes. Nothing. You have to go in completely blind.

CAPTIVE OF LOVE
Spirited Rowena Belleme must produce an heir–or incur the dangerous wrath of a ruthless stepbrother, who stands to forfeit his ill-gotten wealth. And the magnificent Warrick deChaville is the perfect choice to sire her child–though it means imprisoning the handsome knight…and forcing him to bend to her amorous whims.

SLAVE OF PASSION
Vowing to resist but betrayed by his own virility, noble Warrick is intoxicated by Rowena’s sapphire eyes and voluptuous beauty. Yet all the while he plans a fitting revenge–eagerly awaiting the time when his sensuous captor becomes his helpless captive … and is made to suffer the same rapturous torment and exquisite ecstasy that he himself has endured.

MY REVIEW — 4 STARS

This book was something else. I’m just going to put this out there, the heroine rapes the hero, and the hero then kidnaps and rapes the heroine in vengeance…

So, this book tells the story of Lady Rowena Belleme and Warrick deChaville. Rowena is forced to marry an old, dying man and must produce an heir. On their wedding night, however, Rowena’s husband dies, and her stepbrother threatens to kill her mother if she doesn’t get pregnant by the guy he kidnapped.

Warrick deChaville, mistaken a serf, wakes up in a dungeon, chained naked to a bed. When an angel appears, he is hopeful she will help him escape only to be shocked when she informs him of her plan. She must ‘steal’ his seed to produce an heir. Warrick is livid by the woman and by his traitorous body that responds to her seductions.

When Warrick manages to escape, he goes back and kidnaps Rowena. She’s put in a dungeon just as he was and treated the same only difference in her situation: she’s pregnant.

I only started reading Johanna Lindsey last week, and I can honestly say her books aren’t for everybody. Her books deal with rape, abuse, slavery, and I know if this had been a modern romance, I would have stopped reading it, but with historical fiction, it’s a bit different, I feel.

Overall, I liked this book, but so far, not my favorite. I wanted more groveling from Warrick when he found out that Rowena raped him not for greed but because she was threatened, but it seems that these women just forgive their men quite quickly. Other than that, I enjoyed this!

A Lady’s Scorn
Wrongly branded a spy, the dark and handsome Viking lord Selig Haardrad suffered greatly in the dungeons of Lady Erika of Gronwood. And as he hung in chains, his magnificent body wracked with pain and fever, one thought sustained him: revenge!

A Viking’s Vengence
Now Destiny’s great wheel has turned–and Selig’s exquisite, honey-haired tormentor has been delivered into the Norseman’s hands. Now it is Selig who is the master, bound and determined to break the proud spirit of his captive “ice queen” and to conquer her with passion’s sword — never dreaming that his own heart will be vanquished by sensuous desire. . .and victorious love.

MY REVIEW— 4.5 STARS

I was teary-eyed while reading this book. I cried for the heroine, Erika, when she NEVER shed a tear! I am weak.

This book tells the story of Lady Erika of Gronwood and Selig Haardrad, the oldest son to Brenna and Garrick. This book starts six years after Kristen and Royce met, and Selig is departing for East Anglia. While traveling, he’s attacked and later branded a spy.

Erika is the authority at Gronwood castle while her brother is away, and when a man is captured and put in the pit, she brands him a spy. When the tall and broad man chained to the ceiling insults her, she orders a lashing in anger. During this ordeal, a woman tries to poison Selig and laughs at his almost dying form, and Selig believes it is Lady Erika. So when his sister rescues him, he steals Erika away and enslaves her, promising to treat her just as badly as he was treated.

I was fuming at the way Selig treated Erika. She was chained to the wall and was forced to wear a fucking collar that he would drag her from. He even walked around, holding the chain attached to her collar, to humiliate her in front of his family. She was forced to sleep in ‘her corner,’ and he demanded she calls him master. But Erika was strong, she never let him think the chains bothered her and she refused to call him master and as much as he tried to break her spirit, he was unable to.

I read this book in one sitting, started at midnight and finished it around 4 am, and I do not regret it! The other books are great, but this one was the best in the series. With Selig’s cruelty and Erika’s strength, this book was a solid five stars. However, I am rating it 4.5 because I needed more groveling from Selig, but we only got maybe three pages of him ‘redeeming’ himself.

Overall, I would recommend this series to those who love reading historical romances, or any romance, with alpha males and fierce women who take no shit.

Kristen Haardrad met the icy fury in her captor’s crystal-green gaze with defiance. She was the prisoner of Royce of Wyndhurst, but his slave she’d never be. This powerful Saxon lord had at last met his match in the Viking beauty – his equal in pride, in strength…and in the fierce, hot hunger of insatiable desire. But Kristen could not know the torment that divided his soul; how he ached to hold her soft, supple body, thirsted for the ringing joy of her laughter – yet hated her for an ancient crime that was not her own.

But her golden loveliness drives him mad with desire, her fiery eyes taunting him, compelling him to claim her. Until, in wordless surrender, they cast aside the shackles of doubt and distrust to unite forever in the searing promise of all-consuming love.

MY REVIEW — 4 STARS

I thought Brenna was the most fierce woman but wait until you meet her daughter, Kristen.

The previous book dealt with bodice-ripping, rape, and slavery, this one is much milder than that book.

This is the story of Kristen Haardrad, daughter to Garrick and Brenna and Lord Royce of Wyndhurst. Kristen wants to go on an adventure to find herself a husband, and when she asks her father if she could go with her brothers and cousins to sea, he refuses. Being left with no choice, Kristen sneaks onto the ship and hides in the lower compartments. But busted quite quickly and when they do find her, it is revealed that the men are going Viking. But things don’t go to plan, and they are quickly defeated and taken as prisoners.

Royce is confused yet intrigued by how the Vikings are treating the smallest of their pack. From what they’ve said, the boy is mute, and they keep him hidden amongst themselves, so when Royce finds out, it is not a he but she, she’s put to work as a slave in the household, but with her temper and his distrust in the woman, he forces her to wear shackles.

Now with another fierce woman put to slavery, it seems history is repeating itself. The difference between Brenna and Kristen, however, was that Kristen wasn’t as stubborn as Brenna. The moment she saw Royce, she knew he was the man for her, and she didn’t ignore those feelings as Brenna had for Garrick.

The side characters in this book, Eda, Meghan, Alden, and the Vikings were terrific. Meghan, Royce’s sister, and Kristen’s relationship were so loving, and I loved the friendship and trust they built.
I don’t know if this is a spoiler, but I’ve put it as spoilers just in case it is. (view spoiler)

This is a must read series if you love historical romance and if this is your first time reading historical fiction, you will not be disappointed.

NEVER A VIKING’S CAPTIVE
Lovely and dauntless, abducted by invaders from across an icy sea, Lady Brenna vowed vengeance — swearing no Viking brute would be her master…no barbarian would enslave her noble Celtic heart.

FOREVER A VIKING’S LOVE
Yet Garrick Haardrad, the proud and powerful son of a ruthless Viking chieftan, claims her with a primitive abandon that leaves her breathless, igniting fires of passion that blaze through the cold Nordic nights and forge the unbreakable bonds of a fiery, eternal love.

MY REVIEW —  4 STARS

I have 1000+ books on my TBR, and still, I add and search for books to add to that list. Last night, I thought, maybe I should read a book I’ve already added to the list. And as I’m browsing through my TBR, I find this book and I curse myself for not reading it sooner or any other book by Johanna Lindsey, may her soul rest peacefully, her writing is everything I want and need!

Before going into this book, I read some reviews to prepare me for what was to come. So I was ready for the bodice-ripping, rape, slavery, and I read somewhere that there was some physical abuse between hero and heroine, so if that is not something you can read about, I would advise you to refrain from reading this book.

Okay, now, I’m from Sweden, and growing up, I’ve read and learned a lot about Vikings, and so I was very excited to read this book, and Johanna did such a good job when it comes to the research she did on Vikings. When you have some knowledge about the Vikings and the gods, I believe there’s a different kind of feel when reading such a book.

This book tells the story of Brenna and Garrick. Her father raised her and taught her everything a boy would learn. How to ride horseback, sparring, and a lot more what he didn’t teach her, however, or what she refused to learn was all the womanly chores; sewing, cooking, and cleaning, and her knowledge of intimacy is one of the lies told by her sister. So when her father decides to betroth her to a Viking, she’s furious.

However, when her father suddenly dies, and Vikings invades her home, she’s captivated along with her sister and aunt, and now turned slaves. Brenna is different from the other woman. While they scream and cry, she sits in silence and plans vengeance on the men who destroyed her home.

Garrick, a coldhearted, ruthless, and unloving man, never wanted a woman. A mistress. Not after someone betrayed him. So when he returns to his home and finds a black-haired woman in his bed, he’s not happy. The woman in his bed is fiery, and her attitude is non to his liking. Her ability to not give up hope she’ll one day be a free woman again only nerves him, but that does not stop him from bedding her.

Why not 5 stars? The last 20/30% had me pulling out my hair. These two characters were so stubborn! Gah, I wanted to punch Garrick and pull Brenna’s hair! Those last pages before the last chapter were annoying, which is why the rating was brought down a star. Overall, I enjoyed this book and will continue with this series and other books by this author.

She wished for death. A killer showed up at her door.

Eloise
Life left me when my family died.
I thought I wanted to die, too, until death comes knocking on my door.
Only, instead of killing me, he breathes new life into me.
For the first time in my existence, I’m scared. Because when that life is taken from me, I’ll have nothing left.

Crow
I have one rule: leave no traces behind.
She compromised my identity and needs to be eliminated.
So fucking simple, right?
Not even close.
When she welcomes death with open arms, I can’t pull the trigger.
Breaking my one rule would not only put my life in danger, but it would completely destroy hers.

MY REVIEW

4 Stars

Eloise broke my heart. And Crow mended all the pieces.

I went into this book completely blind. I skipped the blurb and just went for it—kind of a good idea, kind of not. There’s a lot of essential elements in this series that I imagine are introduced in the first book, so there was some stuff I did not understand.

This book tells the story of alone and broken Eloise and a killer, Crow. When Crow, an assassin of Team Zero, is shot while on a mission, he’s sent to the hospital where Eloise works. Crow’s identity must stay hidden, so when he wakes up in the emergency room, he grabs the first near thing to him, which happens to be the nurse with sad eyes. She doesn’t even flinch when he threatens her life.

“I awaited this moment for a lifetime. I waited for him to ignite whatever lurked inside me.”

Eloise has been lonely ever since her mother died of cancer. Now she lives in her grandpa’s house, alone in this big world—nothing to live for. So when the same man from the hospital appears on her doorstep, to kill her, she welcomes it. However, instead of killing her, he moves in as her tenant. He needs somewhere to stay while his mates try to get him back to Britain. So what’s better than staying in a secluded house with a woman who doesn’t fear a killer living above her apartments.

What they both didn’t expect was to save each other.

What a gritty and heartbreaking story of love and second chance in life. This is the first book I’ve read from this author and is in no way the last. She wrote this gut-wrenching story of two wholly broken people, but she still added a pinch of sweetness and humor.

The little thing doesn’t even reach my shin, but she’s barking and snarling like she can rip my bones and chew them. “Charlotte, right?” What type of pussy name is that, anyway? I shake my head.
The French.
“I’ll call you Cheerio. Don’t be a bitch. Go away.” I can’t believe I’m talking to a dog in a gothic house in the middle of nowhere without any kill scheduled.

 

He loves what he can’t remember —she can’t forget the truth…

PIPER
Arrogant, controlling, and an absolute jerk.
He’s everything I loathe, and everything I want to forget.
But he doesn’t remember a bit of it.
One accident, one misstep, changed everything.
Changed him.
Now, he’s different and unbelievably sexy.
But I refuse to fall for a bully.

DALTON
Sexy, smart, feisty, and perfect.
She’s everything I want, and nothing that I remember.
What she says I am, I refuse to believe.
For her, I will be anything.
I will do anything.
Even destroy the bully from before.

MY REVIEW

3.5 Stars

This book was recommended to me by my sister, and it was a perfectly sweet summer read. I didn’t love it, but I did enjoy the story.

This book tells the story of Piper and Dalton. Piper is the victim of bullying by Dalton and has been for a long time. Dalton does everything in his power to make Piper’s life miserable. He’s there at school, and they live next door to each other, there’s no peace for Piper.

“You’re fucking pitiful.” His words are calm.
There’s no sign of the rage and hostility that echoed through the car just moments ago. “You’re just the girl everyone loves to pick on. Everyone hates you. There isn’t one person at Westover Prep that likes you.”

When things go to hell at a party, Piper and Dalton get into a car together and later end up in an accident, which results in Dalton losing his memory. He has lost all memories from the last decade, remembers only glimpses of his childhood, and, most importantly, has no memory of Piper.

So when he first meets Piper after the accident, he’s intrigued by the girl who hates him. All she wants is him to stay away from her. But it’s impossible to avoid each other when Piper is tutoring Dalton’s sister, spending a lot of time over at their house.

“Fuck,” he mumbles when he breathes me in for a second time. “Please tell me you’re mine.”

I liked the story, but I would’ve wanted to get a glimpse of how big an asshole Dalton was. We knew he was the biggest jerk to Piper, but after his memory loss, his family is shocked at his new personality. They’re shocked at him attending dinner and playing with the youngest of the family, how big of a douche was this guy? Other than that, this was a quick and sweet read.

“Let me prove to you I’m not that guy.”

With blood on my hands, I held her.
With death in my soul, I took from her.
With the devil in my heart, I coveted her.
There’re many definitions of Hell.
My list was exhaustive, my definitions tragic.
Tonight I was adding something new to the very top.
Girl number six thirty-two.

She arrived on my birthday, the same day, every year, I play Russian Roullete and pull the trigger.
She was my omen.
My end game.
She made it personal.
And for the first time in my life, I gave in.
A virgin mob boss with no soul.

My name is Andrei Petrov.
They call me the devil.
All I want is for the pain to end.
All she wants is for me to share it.
I am the last remaining heir to a dynasty that should burn in Hell.
And my last wish remains for it to die with me.

MY REVIEW

All the stars!

de•base
v e r b:
To reduce (something) 
in quality or value; degrade. 
To lower the moral character of someone. 
i.e. I am war. I am Andrei Petrov.
I am impure; Debased.

Sergio and Chase will always be my babes, but Andrei has my heart. This man who knows no love, has nobody to live for, has stolen my heart and soul.

Going into this book, I prepared myself. We know Andrei Petrov from the previous books, and we know he’s one of the cruelest men alive in the Russian mafia. Only twenty-two years old and he has seen the worse there is to see. So I was prepared for all the hate and bad in the world. What I was not prepared for, was to absolutely, wholly fall for this broken man.

Skin made me flinch.
It was too personal.
Too warm.
Too soft, delicate.
I did better with death.

Alice De Lange, or as Andrei insists on calling her, six thirty-two, tortured by the two people who are meant to protect her, her father and brother. Now she’s been brought to Andrei’s club, from one hell into another. But she’s different from the other girls, while they cry and scream, she sits in her room in peace, lays on her bed, and relax. As if she’s not in hell itself. But she’s a De Lange; she comes from the family that is being executed, how will she stay safe when she’s right under the nose of the mafia?

Three days of watching her lay across her bed, arms spread out like she was on a damn vacation in the Caribbean. A small smile on her face as she fell asleep like she was finally at peace.
Like I, Andrei Petrov, seller of women.
Had saved her.

Now that I finally decided to pick up this book, I’m finally whole. When Andrei was first introduced in the EE series, he intrigued me. Such a coldhearted young man, who would ever love someone who treats woman the way we were shown he did. But this book shows the real Andrei.
Is he cruel? Yes.
Does he transport and sell women? Yes. But there’s a real gut wrenching story behind that and to get to know the real Andrei, you NEED to pick up this book.

“You can kiss me now.”
“I wasn’t waiting for permission,” I growled.
“Then what were you waiting for?”
“My heart stopped beating; I was waiting for it to catch up.

A mafia romance about best friends turned enemies by Rachel Van Dyken, the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Eagle Elite series.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend…
I never thought my father would ask this of me, to become the second generation at Eagle Elite University, to rule with an iron fist, and to take care of anyone who gets in our way.
But ever since the incident.
Ever since Him.
There’s been a war in our little clique.
After all, a house divided cannot stand.
He’s the problem, not me.
He used to kiss me like I was his oxygen.
Now he looks at me like I’m his poison.
But we both drank it, again and again, never believing there would be a day when our love would start a war.
And our friendship would shatter into a million pieces.
Then again, the worst thing you could do in the mafia is hang on to hope that your life will be normal.
The second worse thing?
Fall in love with your best friend.
Enemy.
And heir to the Nicolasi throne.

MY REVIEW

5 Ruthless Stars!

Who ran the world? The Five Families. The Chicago mafia. Crime syndicate. Whatever you wanted to call it. We were it. It… owned us.

First of all, let me tell you—I ugly cried almost throughout this book.

I BR this with the awesome Rachel (LoverofTBR), and we had an exceptional time, getting our souls shattered. We were speculating about two certain characters throughout this book, and those two stole our hearts. This book brought a lot of explosions, and we were crying together, laughing together—we had a fucking blast!

They wouldn’t approve. It was one of their many rules. And only they knew the real reason they didn’t want any of us together.

If you’ve read Royal Bully, you know how Asher was assigned to break the love between Junior and Serena. He had to make them hate each other to save both their lives because in the Family when rules are broken, the penalty is death.

Now, Serena Abandonato, daughter of Nixon and Trace, the new Queen of Elite University, heir to the Abandonato family and Junior Nicolasi, the only son to Phoenix and Bee, King of Elite University, heir to the Nicolasi family, hates each other. The two heirs of the Family, once so in love, now only spit hate at each other. But hatred is just as strong of an emotion that love is. And what love couldn’t do for them, hate will.

“One day… I’m going to kill you.” He said it like a promise.
And I answered in truth. “You can’t kill what’s already dead.”
For a brief moment, I felt his fingertips graze mine.

Junior was such a robust character. He was the pure cold and violent mafia man, but at the same time, he showed genuine emotions and loyalty to the ones he loved. Serena was just the same; she took no shit from anyone, gave as good as she got, loyal to the core; she was the real Queen.But if we look at them together, their hate was just as strong as their love. They were indestructible.

“I’ll hate you for as long as we both shall live,” I uttered the mantra we’d been repeating to each other for years.
“Hate you,” she repeated in a soft voice. “For as long as we both shall live.”
And so, the hurt continued.

While this book is filled with angst and will break your heart, don’t underestimate RVD’s writing power because the strength of this family is magnificent in every way. You will cry with them but also laugh with them during their family dinners.

Breaker just rolled down the window and grinned. “I’m the impressionable young one, like the Skywalker to your Kenobi.”
“For the last time, it’s Obi-Wan Kenobi!” Junior shouted back at him.
Breaker paused and then grinned. “These things, I forget, Master Yoda.”

This book had me feeling all the emotions! I thought I was prepared to go into this book, but then all the hate hit me like a ton of bricks. Every chapter had me feeling something different. I was, crying, laughing, screaming in anger, blushing, stressing…as you can see, I felt everything! But that is the magic of books, isn’t it? Some authors know how to write a real love story, how to tug at the strings of your heart, and make you bleed. Break your soul and then mend it by showing us how strong love is. That’s RVD for you!

It was for the best, her hate. Because if I had her love—I wouldn’t be able to become the monster my dad needed me to be—the monster she needed me to be—to keep her safe.

If you’re looking for a book, full of love and hate…full of angst, this is the book you want to pick up. You won’t only fall in love with the main characters; the side characters will also steal your heart. Better yet, read the EE series and fall in love with the best men and women of this Family.

While we were still connected, he looked down at me, his aqua eyes flashing as he whispered, “You will always be worth it, Serena. Always.”

A fair warning, though; Brace yourself!

Blood in. No out.

 

Something dark this way comes.
He’s gorgeous, mean, and mine.
He catches me dreaming about him, and then just like my dream, he decides to make me his.
I should have said no when he asked me to swear fealty to him.
The knife clued me in first.
The blood second.
And third, it was the blessing of the most famous mafia bosses in the known world as they sat around the dinner table and told me that I had no choice but to join.
Because they knew my secrets.
And running meant I was nothing more than target practice.
I said yes because of my bully.
And he told me he’d keep me safe.
But who keeps me safe from him?

MY REVIEW

So…what the fuck.

BR with with the best Rachel (LoverofTBR) I have never had this fun reading before. We had so much fun reading and reviewing this book! Gah. What a fucking book. My heart can take no more—we’re still reading the next book cause we’re whores for this kind of pain. Aren’t we Rachel?!

Some weeks ago, I finished reading the Elite series, and RVD quickly became one of my favorite authors. So when I found out that we are getting the next generation of EE, I pretty much blacked out. And what a fucking way to start this series, with the son of Chase and Luciana, Asher Abandonato. The executioner. His job is to sentence those who betray the family to death. Aside from his horrible job to kill people, he’s a replica of his father. Their relationship was fantastic, and I loved seeing more of Chase.

“I was cursed with a younger version of myself, wasn’t I?”
I smirked. “Did you just call your favorite child a curse?”
He groaned. “Did you just call yourself favorite?”

Claire, the niece to Nikolai, is not ignorant of the mafia but has never run in the same circle as them until Asher. Now she’s thrust into a whole different world where violence is everyday occurrence and death is normal. But will she be able to stand by Asher, or will she betray him?

“I do love you,” he said in a sad voice. “But not enough to leave you alone… maybe I do take after my dad in more ways than one because he was never willing to sacrifice everything for the girl he fell for—and it seems… history has no choice but to fuck with us over and over again.”

There’s one important rule in the family: Fight, kill, bleed, destroy—but never, ever, look at any of the uncles’ kids in any way other than like your own brother or sister. The penalty was death. So when Asher finds out about Serena and Junior, his mission is to break them. To make them hate each other. Or else their sentence is death.

“You’re dead to me.”
You could hear the pain in his voice, the anger.
She’d been his world.
He’d been hers. “I hate you.”

I typically don’t read prequels because I can find them quite dull, but if you’re thinking of reading this series, READ THIS BOOK. You will not regret it.

  A small part of the convo between Rachel and I:

Rachel: Just finished Chapter 3 and I am scared and drooling in equal parts 😅

Me: Rachel, I'm still drooling!!! I decided to read these chapters at work, which wasn't a very bright idea. I had no clue it would start with a bang...literally!!! 

Rachel: Girl, this book took a wild turn!! 😨😲😱
Just going to leave you with this: Chapter 5 is heart-wrecking 💔

Me: Uh...wtf was that! 😳

Rachel: What a book! Never has a prologue to a series has been this…comprehensive with all the elements I would expect out of a full-length novel!! 

Me: I know, right! What a fucking book! I'm completely and utterly broken for Junior and Serena. What a way to break them.

As you can see, we felt all the emotions. Brace yourselves, cause you’re in for a heck of a ride. Well done, RVD, well done.

Make sure you head over to Rachel’s page for her review. Rachel (LoverofTBR)