Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Alliance by Natalia Lourose

Alliance by Natalia Lourose is a Mafia Romance about an arranged marriage in The Sinners of New Orleans series. This book was dark and took me by surprise in some parts. I was thoroughly engrossed in Lana and Naz. The animosity and the spirals of the story will take you through a whirlwind of a romance. Even though Lana is pronised to someone else whom happens to be a monster. The Love Naz shows at helping Lana become who she is and escaping the lifetime of tourment that she has endured. This book is amazing.


Title: Alliance
Series: Sinners of New Orleans #1
Author: Natalia Lourose
Genre: Mafia Arranged Marriage/
Forbidden Romance
Release Date: May 5, 2021


BLURB

A sinner met a saint,
Two worlds collided,
And everything burned.

Lana
I’ve done everything right.
Playing the part of the demure famiglia daughter,
And hiding my pain beneath makeup and pretty dresses.
But marrying a man ten years my senior?
Whose words cut like knives,
And lips taste like poison.
This is the one thing I can’t do.

Ignazio
I’ve done nothing right.
I’m not a virtuous man,
I balance on the line between light and dark.
My past is littered with sins,
Each of them is haunting me.
I’m not worthy of the angel with long hair and hazel eyes.
And yet, I’d burn the city to the ground to hold her in my arms.

What’s a sinner to do?





PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited





EXCERPT

“What are you trying to escape, bella?” He doesn’t put the car in drive, instead he removes his hand from the gearshift and turns his attention on me. His warm eyes penetrate me, seeing through my brittle exterior, past the façade that my family has created.
What am I trying to escape?
I play with the idea of telling him about my arranged marriage. About the ring that I have stuffed in my underwear drawer back home. About my parents who showed no sympathy when I came back to the kitchen with an angry red mark blooming on my arm.
Today, for the first time since her death, I felt angry with Lily. She met this man and took the easy way out; she jumped to escape him and with her escape she put me directly in the path of the lion.
I want to tell Naz all of this. All the thoughts spiraling through my head that led me to calling Molly and leaving my house tonight.
I don’t though, out of fear that he’ll call me naïve.
A stupid, silly girl.
I was raised in this town, in this family. I know how the game works, I know the power plays, and yet I thought that behaving and looking pretty would somehow exempt me from them.
And what would he say to me? There’s nothing he can do to change this, to fix this broken situation. He knows. I know he knows what my family plans to do. If he’s a true soldier, he’ll probably drive me right back home, dropping me off on the front porch with a bow.
Those deep eyes are studying me as the thoughts roll through my head, threatening to take over and send me back into a panic. His tattooed hand reaches up to his throat, his thumb and forefinger slipping over the St. Jude pendant. I don’t think he even notices that he does it, it’s just an instinct.
Naz is handsome in a bad boy way. He’s not the type of man my parents would ever approve of. The black ink that peeks out of his button-down shirt, working its way toward his throat, would give my mother a heart attack. Even his fingers are covered, the ink extending toward his nail beds. For some reason that I can’t place, it sends a rush of heat to my core.
His hair is slicked back, dark as black ink, and buzzed on either side. He looks well-groomed but there’s a few days’ worth of stubble that covers his chin and my mind wanders to thoughts of how it would feel between my thighs.
“Everything.” I finally answer his question. “I’m trying to escape everything.”
He moves a hand to his face, rubbing over his chin thoughtfully. I don’t want him to overthink this. I want him to take me home; I want to feel him between my legs, his mouth on my skin; I want to erase Davis’ hand from my body; I want to experience a man that I choose.
And I definitely did not choose Davis Lafontaine.
“Take me to your house,” I breathe. “Please.”






AUTHOR BIO


Natalia Lourose writes angsty romance about broken people figuring out life and finding love along the way. Television and far too much smut as a teenager left her obsessed with dark-haired bad boys who are moody and wear leather jackets. Tucked away in her office with a dog at her feet, two cats on her keyboard, and husband doing something she is always writing something, or trying to.


AUTHOR LINKS

Friday, March 19, 2021

Scout by Janie Crouch

Scout by Janie Crouch is part of the Linear Tactical series. This book was originally wrote as an Anthology but has now been extended. Let me tell you this extended version gives you all the nitty gritty details you missed out on. I absolutely adore this series and can't seem to get enough of it. I will cry when it ends. Wyatt is a patient man and has been waiting for months to make Nadine his. He knows what he wants and the one thing he doesn't mean to do is lead danger directly to her again! Nadine has a tramatic past and is in love with Wyatt but doesn't think he will ever feel the same way. She runs into him at a place she never would have expected to see him. So fate must have brought them together right.
Contingent: Desert Eagles MC #2Contingent: Desert Eagles MC #2 by Alexandra Ayers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Contingent by Alexandra Ayers is the second book in the desert eagles motor cycle club series. Max is the President of the MC. He is an awesome guy that raised his nephew but now has his own family. Max struggles with prioritizing his everyday life. He has to manage the club, a bar, be a father, and a husband.

Amy is a strong woman. She is a mother, wife and owner of a tattoo salon. She wants love and commitment from her husband who can't seem to understand his family needs more than five minutes at a time.

This estranged couple have been fighting the loosing battle of making a relationship work in todays world. Yet it seems one thing after another just keeps tumbling down and pulling them further and further apart.

View all my reviews


Title: Contingent
Series: Desert Eagles MC #2
Author: Alexandra Ayers
Genre: MC Romance
Release Date: March 19, 2021


BLURB

WHEN DUTY, DEVOTION, AND DANGER CLASH, ONE CHOICE CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING.

Max Pearce has trouble on his hands. Not only is the FBI investigating his motorcycle club, the Desert Eagles, for counterfeiting, he has a bar to run full-time and a marriage to save. He loves his wife, Amy, but he can’t seem to get his priorities straight.

Amy Seong is on the fence. Separated from Max, she’s lonely and unsure if she should start dating again. Although she’s met someone, Amy misses Max and can’t fight her powerful connection to him. But what good is it being married to a man who never has time for his family. Maybe that’s why their teenage son, Owen, has been extra moody lately.

With a life changing parole hearing looming and Owen’s new interest in girls and riding ATVs leaving her frazzled, Amy has to figure out her next step. And with his club under fire, the feds breathing down his neck, and his family in jeopardy, Max needs to get his priorities straight, or he’ll lose everything he cares about, including the woman he loves.

Max’s club family and real family are at risk, but there’s one thing he can do to change all that. Will he take the right step for all their sakes?







PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU






ALSO AVAILABLE


99c for a limited time!

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU






AUTHOR BIO

Alex is a California native who currently resides in the Bay Area. She has loved romance for as long as she could remember, from watching Titanic as young girl to True Blood as a teenager to Say Yes to the Dress as an Adult. After years of reading romance, she finally decided to try her hand at writing stories with characters that reflect the diverse world we inhabit. Outside of writing, Alex enjoys listening to podcasts while doing her makeup, reading comic books, stalking Beyoncé’s every move, and watching The Golden Girls with a glass of wine. She enjoys talking to her readers and anyone with a great sense of humor, so feel free to drop her a message anytime!


AUTHOR LINKS





GIVEAWAY

Betrayed Honor by Zoe Blake




Title: Betrayed Honor
Series: Ivanov Crime Family #3
Author: Zoe Blake
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Release Date: March 19, 2021


BLURB

Her innocence was going to get her killed.
That was if I didn't get to her first.
She's the protected little sister of the powerful Ivanov Russian mafia family - the very definition of forbidden.
It’s always been my job, as their Head of Security, to watch over her but never to touch.
That ends today.
She disobeyed me and put herself in danger.
It was time to take her in hand.
I’m the only one who can save her and I will fight anyone who tries to stop me, including her brothers.
Honor and loyalty be damned.
She’s mine now.







PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited





EXCERPT

I picked up one of the useless pieces of decor he had about the place to make it look like a normal home and not like the security surveillance headquarters it really was.
He raised his arm. Pointing a finger at me, he warned, “Don’t you dare!”
I threw it.
He ducked in time for it to smash against the wall behind him.
“Liar!” I cried as I launched another missile, a glass cylinder holding an unlit candle.
He lunged for me. I feigned right then left and bolted to the other side of the room, placing the sofa between us.
“You’re a fucking liar! You’ve been fucking lying to me this whole time!”
“Language!” he roared as he circled around. I kept out of arm’s reach, always keeping the length of the sofa between us.
I fired back, purely out of spite, the one phrase I knew would piss him off. “Poshol nahuj!”
Reaching down, he used both hands to shove the sofa. It easily slid across the polished dark bamboo floor, removing the barricade between us. He rose to his full, unbelievably intimidating height. A vein pulsed in his temple as his chest rose and fell with each agitated breath. I had angered the beast. Without the sofa between us, I was vulnerable and unprotected.
“Apparently,” Mikhail snarled, “my bad girl needs another lesson from me.”
There was only one option left for me. I turned and bolted for the front door.
He was right behind me.
Snatching my arm, he swung me around and used the force of his body to press me against the wall of windows. Behind me was a panorama of stars and the flickering lights from the boats out on the Potomac, a peaceful scene that belied the war brewing between us.
He pressed his fingertips into my upper arms. “Listen to me.”
Not wanting to listen to his excuses and lies, I clawed at his grasp, trying to wriggle away.
He shifted his hold to my waist and swooped down to capture my lips in an attempt to subdue me; I shifted my head to the side, avoiding him. It didn’t work.
Tightening his hold on my waist, he lifted me high off my feet. I was anchored against the glass with his hips, his hard cock pushed against my stomach. He released his hold and wrapped his hands around my jaw, forcing my head forward. He then took possession of my mouth. When I tried to keep my lips closed, he pressed his thumbs into the soft flesh of my cheeks, forcing my jaw open. At first, I returned his kiss, then I returned to my senses and fought back and bit his lip.
His head reared back. He swept his tongue across his lower lip, lapping up a tiny bead of blood.
He wasn’t deterred.
He captured my mouth again. I could taste the metallic tang of his blood. His fingers slipped into my wild strawberry curls, holding my head steady for his continued assault. He pressed his body tighter against my soft curves, refusing to give quarter till I accepted him and accepted his dominance over me.
He broke the kiss and breathed against my mouth. “You’re mine. Fucking mine.”
I knew the moment the fight left me when I felt the brush of the back of his knuckles down my cheek. Swallowing my capitulating moan, he deepened the kiss. He interlaced his fingers with mine and pressed my hands against the glass on either side of my head. The cold, hard surface brought reality crashing back. I desperately wanted to return to the warmth and ignore all else but knew that was not possible.
Using every ounce of strength I possessed, I pulled back. He ran a thumb over my cheekbone, feeling the soft warmth of my flush. I never wore makeup, but at this moment, I was certain my swollen lips looked as if they were bright with a kiss-smeared crimson lipstick.
“Why?” I whispered, the sting of betrayal bright in my eyes.
He took a deep breath and told me the jaggedly raw truth. “All I can say is, from the moment I met you, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that you were meant to be mine and mine alone. Part of that meant you were mine to protect.”
“So you snuck a security camera into my shop?”
His eyes hardened as he shifted his gaze away from mine.
Fuck. It was so much worse than just a single security camera. He and my brothers had probably been watching and monitoring every step I ever made from the moment I left Gregor’s house, seeking my so-called independence.
He took a step back and let me slide back onto my feet. From this position, he towered over my slight frame. “Baby, you are just going to have to trust me.”
“Trust you? I feel like I don’t even know you anymore, if I ever did.”
“I never had any cameras in your apartment. Just the entrances and exits and your shop.”
I threw my arms into the air. “Oh, well, that makes things all better.”
“I will not apologize or feel guilty for doing my fucking job, for wanting to keep the woman I love safe.”
I shook my head. “No! No. You can’t do that to me. You don’t get to say that. You don’t get to give me the cold shoulder for three years and then one day announce that we’re together and you love me because you’ve finally decided you want me. That’s not how this works.”
He slammed his fist against the window. The glass vibrated from the impact, and the starburst crack a few feet away lengthened. “Damn it, Nadia. You know why we couldn’t be together. It was for your own good.”
I shifted away from the window and backed up a few paces, needing space from him. I couldn’t think straight when he was that close to me. “For my own good. For my own protection. You’re no better than my brothers. Deciding what is best for me without even bothering to ask me!”
He started toward me. “I am what is best for you. I’ve always been what is best for you. Me and me alone.”
Picking up the nearest object I could lay my hands on — a blue glass bowl — and I shouted back, “Then you should have put a ring on it instead of just standing on the sidelines all these years.” I threw the bowl straight at his head and once again bolted for the door.
I didn’t make it two steps before he caught up with me. Grasping me from behind, he wrenched my body close to his own. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You’re not going anywhere.”
My hands balled into fists as I stomped my foot, trying to step on his toes and force him to release me. “Let go!”
Mikhail moved so quickly I didn’t even have time to protect myself. He spun me around in his embrace. His right hand struck out, wrapping his fist into a shock of my messy curls, then he wrenched my head back. His other hand went to my lower back, pushing me forward and against him. My hands rose to press back against his chest. He didn’t budge.
He stormed back. “You need to understand that as of tonight, things have changed. We’re together now, and I’m not letting you go.”
I twisted my head to the side. “We’re not together. All I’ve ever been to you is a security job.”
“You’ve been a whole lot fucking more to me than some stupid job, Nadia.”
His mouth swept down to capture my own.






PRAISE FOR BETRAYED HONOR

"The explosive plot is a nonstop roller coaster ride...steam literally seeps from the pages with the romance scenes. This is a series not to be missed. Zoe Blake delivers with this one. Download and enjoy!" – Nancy R., Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Just like the rest of this series. I seriously can't say enough good things about every one of Ms. Blake's Russian Mafia books. They're sheer modern day bodice ripper perfection!!" – Autumn Lee, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"You can't help falling for Zoe's brand of super dominant, grumpy cavemen; and admiring the women who have these bad boys wrapped around their fingers."  – Anika Kay, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Her writing is so addictive and there is no way I can let go of this series. Mikhail and Nadia are amazing and pure fire together. Their tale hooked me in and didn't let me go until the very end! ...A must read for all the dark romance lovers!" – Abstract Books ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"OMG step aside Ivanov brothers Mikhail is in the house!! Mikhail is down and dirty!! He is going to set the pages on fire!! There is no sweet and gentle to him." – Terri, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️






ALSO AVAILABLE


AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited



AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited






AUTHOR BIO

USA TODAY Bestselling Author in Dark Romance 

She delights in writing Dark Romance books filled with overly-possessive Billionaires, Taboo scenes and Unexpected twists. She usually spends her ill-gotten gains on martinis, travel and red lipstick. Since she can barely boil water, she’s lucky enough to be married to a sexy Chef.


AUTHOR LINKS







Title: Betrayed Honor
Series: Ivanov Crime Family #3
Author: Zoe Blake
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Release Date: March 19, 2021


BLURB

Her innocence was going to get her killed.
That was if I didn't get to her first.
She's the protected little sister of the powerful Ivanov Russian mafia family - the very definition of forbidden.
It’s always been my job, as their Head of Security, to watch over her but never to touch.
That ends today.
She disobeyed me and put herself in danger.
It was time to take her in hand.
I’m the only one who can save her and I will fight anyone who tries to stop me, including her brothers.
Honor and loyalty be damned.
She’s mine now.







PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited





EXCERPT

I picked up one of the useless pieces of decor he had about the place to make it look like a normal home and not like the security surveillance headquarters it really was.
He raised his arm. Pointing a finger at me, he warned, “Don’t you dare!”
I threw it.
He ducked in time for it to smash against the wall behind him.
“Liar!” I cried as I launched another missile, a glass cylinder holding an unlit candle.
He lunged for me. I feigned right then left and bolted to the other side of the room, placing the sofa between us.
“You’re a fucking liar! You’ve been fucking lying to me this whole time!”
“Language!” he roared as he circled around. I kept out of arm’s reach, always keeping the length of the sofa between us.
I fired back, purely out of spite, the one phrase I knew would piss him off. “Poshol nahuj!”
Reaching down, he used both hands to shove the sofa. It easily slid across the polished dark bamboo floor, removing the barricade between us. He rose to his full, unbelievably intimidating height. A vein pulsed in his temple as his chest rose and fell with each agitated breath. I had angered the beast. Without the sofa between us, I was vulnerable and unprotected.
“Apparently,” Mikhail snarled, “my bad girl needs another lesson from me.”
There was only one option left for me. I turned and bolted for the front door.
He was right behind me.
Snatching my arm, he swung me around and used the force of his body to press me against the wall of windows. Behind me was a panorama of stars and the flickering lights from the boats out on the Potomac, a peaceful scene that belied the war brewing between us.
He pressed his fingertips into my upper arms. “Listen to me.”
Not wanting to listen to his excuses and lies, I clawed at his grasp, trying to wriggle away.
He shifted his hold to my waist and swooped down to capture my lips in an attempt to subdue me; I shifted my head to the side, avoiding him. It didn’t work.
Tightening his hold on my waist, he lifted me high off my feet. I was anchored against the glass with his hips, his hard cock pushed against my stomach. He released his hold and wrapped his hands around my jaw, forcing my head forward. He then took possession of my mouth. When I tried to keep my lips closed, he pressed his thumbs into the soft flesh of my cheeks, forcing my jaw open. At first, I returned his kiss, then I returned to my senses and fought back and bit his lip.
His head reared back. He swept his tongue across his lower lip, lapping up a tiny bead of blood.
He wasn’t deterred.
He captured my mouth again. I could taste the metallic tang of his blood. His fingers slipped into my wild strawberry curls, holding my head steady for his continued assault. He pressed his body tighter against my soft curves, refusing to give quarter till I accepted him and accepted his dominance over me.
He broke the kiss and breathed against my mouth. “You’re mine. Fucking mine.”
I knew the moment the fight left me when I felt the brush of the back of his knuckles down my cheek. Swallowing my capitulating moan, he deepened the kiss. He interlaced his fingers with mine and pressed my hands against the glass on either side of my head. The cold, hard surface brought reality crashing back. I desperately wanted to return to the warmth and ignore all else but knew that was not possible.
Using every ounce of strength I possessed, I pulled back. He ran a thumb over my cheekbone, feeling the soft warmth of my flush. I never wore makeup, but at this moment, I was certain my swollen lips looked as if they were bright with a kiss-smeared crimson lipstick.
“Why?” I whispered, the sting of betrayal bright in my eyes.
He took a deep breath and told me the jaggedly raw truth. “All I can say is, from the moment I met you, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that you were meant to be mine and mine alone. Part of that meant you were mine to protect.”
“So you snuck a security camera into my shop?”
His eyes hardened as he shifted his gaze away from mine.
Fuck. It was so much worse than just a single security camera. He and my brothers had probably been watching and monitoring every step I ever made from the moment I left Gregor’s house, seeking my so-called independence.
He took a step back and let me slide back onto my feet. From this position, he towered over my slight frame. “Baby, you are just going to have to trust me.”
“Trust you? I feel like I don’t even know you anymore, if I ever did.”
“I never had any cameras in your apartment. Just the entrances and exits and your shop.”
I threw my arms into the air. “Oh, well, that makes things all better.”
“I will not apologize or feel guilty for doing my fucking job, for wanting to keep the woman I love safe.”
I shook my head. “No! No. You can’t do that to me. You don’t get to say that. You don’t get to give me the cold shoulder for three years and then one day announce that we’re together and you love me because you’ve finally decided you want me. That’s not how this works.”
He slammed his fist against the window. The glass vibrated from the impact, and the starburst crack a few feet away lengthened. “Damn it, Nadia. You know why we couldn’t be together. It was for your own good.”
I shifted away from the window and backed up a few paces, needing space from him. I couldn’t think straight when he was that close to me. “For my own good. For my own protection. You’re no better than my brothers. Deciding what is best for me without even bothering to ask me!”
He started toward me. “I am what is best for you. I’ve always been what is best for you. Me and me alone.”
Picking up the nearest object I could lay my hands on — a blue glass bowl — and I shouted back, “Then you should have put a ring on it instead of just standing on the sidelines all these years.” I threw the bowl straight at his head and once again bolted for the door.
I didn’t make it two steps before he caught up with me. Grasping me from behind, he wrenched my body close to his own. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You’re not going anywhere.”
My hands balled into fists as I stomped my foot, trying to step on his toes and force him to release me. “Let go!”
Mikhail moved so quickly I didn’t even have time to protect myself. He spun me around in his embrace. His right hand struck out, wrapping his fist into a shock of my messy curls, then he wrenched my head back. His other hand went to my lower back, pushing me forward and against him. My hands rose to press back against his chest. He didn’t budge.
He stormed back. “You need to understand that as of tonight, things have changed. We’re together now, and I’m not letting you go.”
I twisted my head to the side. “We’re not together. All I’ve ever been to you is a security job.”
“You’ve been a whole lot fucking more to me than some stupid job, Nadia.”
His mouth swept down to capture my own.






PRAISE FOR BETRAYED HONOR

"The explosive plot is a nonstop roller coaster ride...steam literally seeps from the pages with the romance scenes. This is a series not to be missed. Zoe Blake delivers with this one. Download and enjoy!" – Nancy R., Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Just like the rest of this series. I seriously can't say enough good things about every one of Ms. Blake's Russian Mafia books. They're sheer modern day bodice ripper perfection!!" – Autumn Lee, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"You can't help falling for Zoe's brand of super dominant, grumpy cavemen; and admiring the women who have these bad boys wrapped around their fingers."  – Anika Kay, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Her writing is so addictive and there is no way I can let go of this series. Mikhail and Nadia are amazing and pure fire together. Their tale hooked me in and didn't let me go until the very end! ...A must read for all the dark romance lovers!" – Abstract Books ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"OMG step aside Ivanov brothers Mikhail is in the house!! Mikhail is down and dirty!! He is going to set the pages on fire!! There is no sweet and gentle to him." – Terri, Goodreads Reviewer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️






ALSO AVAILABLE


AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited



AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited






AUTHOR BIO

USA TODAY Bestselling Author in Dark Romance 

She delights in writing Dark Romance books filled with overly-possessive Billionaires, Taboo scenes and Unexpected twists. She usually spends her ill-gotten gains on martinis, travel and red lipstick. Since she can barely boil water, she’s lucky enough to be married to a sexy Chef.


AUTHOR LINKS




Bet



Title: Until Tomorrow Comes
Series: Beauty in Lies #1
Author: Adelaide Forrest
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Release Date: February 25, 2021


BLURB

Rafael

I came for war. I left with an obsession.

With one look, Isa captivated me. She consumed me, drawing me into her world without ever knowing the dangers of mine.

I intend to make her mine, no matter what lies I need to tell to manipulate her into falling in love with El Diablo. It should be simple enough, but secrets lurk in the depths of her multicolored eyes, and I’ll do anything to understand what broke her before I had the chance.

Because she’s mine to break.

Isa

Rafael Ibarra tore through my life like a raging inferno.

Consuming every part of me he touches, he promises to show me passion and the real Ibiza. Though our tryst can never be anything but temporary, I never want to leave the man who makes me wish things were different. But there’s a nightmare hiding within his multicolored gaze, a phantom rattling at the cages who wants to devour me, to take me and claim me as his.

He’s temptation, pushing me toward sin with his wicked touch. But the sins of the flesh are different from the sins of the mind, and as much as I hate his secrets.

I will never tell him my own.

Until Tomorrow Comes is the first book in the Beauty in Lies trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. This is a DARK mafia romance and contains graphic violence, mature content, and elements that may be triggering for some readers. Please read at your own discretion.







PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited





EXCERPT

He quirked a brow, that intense gaze of his turning unsettling as he stared down at me. "No," he said, his lip twisting with the words. My pulse quickened, sensing that small hint of something that lurked beneath the surface. With a glance at the man standing next to the walkway up to and around the falls, I looked back to Rafael with a flare of my nostrils and purse of my lips.
I huffed in disbelief as I shook my head and fought back the surge of emotions within me. I'd been so fucking stupid to think he understood that my fear came from a place of trauma. From something not so easily overcome. Leaning into his space, I laid down the challenge I knew probably wasn't my smartest move.
But something in the cruel set of his eyes made me want to defy him.
Something in the excited parting of his lips told me he wanted that too.
"Fuck this," I snarled, turning on my heel and yanking my wrist out of his grip. Hiking my purse up on my shoulder, I strode down the road we'd entered in on and made for the main street. Once I had enough distance and found a safe place to settle, I'd call Hugo to come and get me.
But I'd be damned if I would get in that water with him.
"You don't want to walk away from me, Princesa," Rafael murmured at my back. The words crawled up my spine, insidious and menacing enough to halt me in my tracks, and I turned back to glare at him.
I swallowed my nerves, pushing down the budding fear that he brought with his carefully crafted words. Rafe could be terrifying when he wanted to be.
I just wasn't sure if the frightening face was the mask, or if it was what really waited beneath the charming demeanor he gave me in all the other moments.
"And why is that?" I asked, pressing my lips together and turning back around to hide the slight tremble in them. He was the kind of man my grandmother warned me about with her stories. The temptation and lure of evil spirits, as they resided in people who looked just like us.
But evil couldn't look like beauty carved in stone, could it? Even if it did explain why I burned when he touched me.
He stepped closer, until I felt the heat of his body at my back. He reached around me to grab my face and tilt it, so that I stared him in the eye with one of mine. "Because I'll chase you," he murmured, leaning down to touch his lips to my cheek in a slow brush of heat against my skin. His mouth slid up until his nose touched my hair, breathing me in deeply. He hummed just above my ear. "I think the real question is, what will I do when I catch you?"
I swallowed down the saliva in my mouth, clenching my eyes shut as I tried to think of an appropriate response to words like that.
What did one say, when the man she was falling head over heels in love with showed signs of being a monster?
"That isn't funny, Rafe," I whispered, stumbling over my own feet as he turned my body to face him. His hand gripped my hair harshly, tipping my head back until I met his unyielding gaze.
"Am I laughing, Princesa?" I shook my head slightly, wincing when his grip didn't relent. "I promise you, I am far scarier than whatever you think lurks in that fucking water."
He released me as suddenly as he'd grabbed me, taking a few steps away before he paused and looked back at where I stood, rooted to my spot and staring at him in horror. I looked to the road, watching as the man who stood guard puffed up his chest and stood a little taller.
It felt like I'd walked into a trap, and still didn't understand even the basics of what it would mean for me.
A cage without walls. A pressing force on my chest.
"Don't do it," Rafael warned me, drawing my attention back to him. He held out a hand, waiting for me to take it. It was a test, I realized, as he forced me to decide my next move then and there. "I like it when you tell me no," he murmured, making my breath freeze in my lungs as he tilted his head to the side and studied me. "I think I'll like it when you fight me, too.”






COMING SOON


Releasing March 25

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU






AUTHOR BIO


Adelaide fell in love with books at a young age and quickly discovered her love for writing soon after. Since then, she’s become a self-professed plot hoarder of over 300 book concepts.
After receiving her degree in Psychology, Adelaide went on to work in a therapeutic riding facility. When her daughter was born, Adelaide traded out her boots to be a stay-at-home mom. In 2019, she added author to those job duties after a lifetime of dreaming about it. 

She lives in New York with her husband, two children, and their dog and cat who all make up the center of her world.



Until Hanna ARC

EEEKKKK Yall I was so stinking excited to open my kindle to this today!!!