Cartel by Lili St. Germain

Cartel by Lili St. Germain

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*Review Edit*

I originally read this in August of 2015, and rated it only 3 stars and no review. Not sure why. I just did this as a "re-read" for a group challenge, and I *LOVED* it!

Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★

Overall rating: 5.0

Cartel is the first book in the Cartel Trilogy, and it starts off the series with a bang! It's dark and gritty and Lili does the one thing I love the most with her books. She builds the sex scenes, (which, by the way are HOT!), *into* the story and not the other way around. The sex is well timed, and doesn't overwhelm the story.

There are several characters in this story some I liked some I hated and wanted to grab them from my Kindle and throat punch them. Everyone is twisted and crazy!

Mariana Rodriguez

"Of all the things in life, love is the most confusing. The most all-consuming. The reason we breathe, the light in our darkness." --Mariana

Mariana has been "cooking the books" for her father, Marco, for most of her life, moving money around to pay his debts. But when Marco drives a truck full of cocaine right into the waiting arms of the American DEA, there is no amount of "book cookin'" that can save him from the wrath of Emilio Ross. Emilio and his thugs show up at Mariana's home in Columbia with the intent to kill the entire family, but Mariana is taken to pay the debt instead. 

Emilio Ross

You know what they say about extraordinary times? They call for extraordinary measures." --Emilio

Emilio is the leader of the El Sangue Cartel, and he doesn't take losing a large shipment of cocaine very well. But taking Mariana will ease the pain of it... he can sell her into sexual slavery and recoup some of his loss. Emilio deals in drugs, guns, and human trafficking, and Mariana is his new target.

Dornan Ross

It was a dangerous proposition, to be falling in love with a woman who is owned by the cartel. --Dornan

Dornan is Emilio's son and the VP of the Gypsy Brothers Motorcycle Club, and his reputation precedes him as a man even more lethal than Emilio, if that's even possible.

Dornan sees Mariana and he immediately wants to help her. He is *compelled* to help her. But he can't let his father see that weakness in him. He *does* help Mariana, he saves her from being sold by telling his father about her ability to cook the books, hence turning Mariana into "The Accountant" for the El Sangue Cartel and the Gypsy Brothers. .

"Dornan respected his father, but if the right person came along and wanted to take Emilio out, Dornan would probably load the bullets into the gun and hand it to them himself."

Unfortunately, at this point, he doesn't see that any such person has come along. And Dornan, in order to keep Mariana safe, has to endure under the thumb of his suffocating father.

But unexpectedly, Dornan finds himself falling in love with Mariana and it makes keeping her safe hard. Dornan has an apartment in Santa Monica that he won in a poker game a few years ago, that he's managed to keep secret from almost everyone, it turns out to be the perfect place to keep Mariana... a place where they can spend some sexy time together. And the times do get sexy in that apartment!

John Portland

"Dornan often had to remind him that his role as president was largely symbolic; he was not the one in charge."

John is the character i fell in love with from the beginning, he's Dornan's best friend and President of the Gypsy Brothers. It's in title only (for both of them) since they flipped a coin to see who would be President and VP. They wanted the Gypsy Brothers to be a club that traveled the roads, and had each other's backs, not a gang. But when Dornan's girlfriend got pregnant and John's younger sister needed cancer treatments that were beyond his read financially, and Emilio caught up to them... the "club" officially became a "gang".

The darkness of these characters, even John, kept me turning the pages, walking through the house with my Kindle and anxious to see what was going to happen next.

I'm looking forward the the rest of this series, to see who does what to whom. This series is somewhat of a prequel to the Gypsy Brothers series showing us what shapes the characters to become who they are.

While Dornan isn't a warm and fuzzy character by any means, I hear he is much worse in the other series. So for me, it's interesting to read this series first before reading the other, even though I don't think that's how it was intended.

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Pretty Stolen Dolls by Ker Dukey

Pretty Stolen Dolls by Ker Dukey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


More reviews at Li'l Kit’s Reviews.

Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★

Overall rating: 5.0



If I could give this book 10 Stars, I would!

Ker Dukey is one of my favorite dark and twisted authors. She nails it everytime and this time is no exception.

I was looking forward to this book, couldn't wait to get my hot little Kindle wrapped around it! And when I woke up and it was on my Kindle, I was like...

Then while I was reading it and I was like...

This book kept me totally engaged! Loved every page, and turned them quickly! Every character had it's place and was placed well within the story and kept me connected.

"Everyone knows I was abducted with my sister when I was fourteen and I somehow managed to escape when I was eighteen, leaving my then thirteen-year-old sister behind."

Jade Phillips and her sister Macy were taken by "Benny" (Benjamin), who is a complete psychopath! He takes the girls and keeps them in separate cells, and dresses them up like dolls.

Macy isn't perfect anymore, not after Benny scars her face, but Jade is, Jade is his perfect Dirty Little Doll, and he uses her sexually. Jade is mouthy, she doesn't just give in to Benny, which earns her almost daily beatings.

Finally she has the opportunity to escape after four years, but in order to do so, she must leave her sister, Macy, behind. She runs, with the intent of getting help and sending them back to get Macy. But in running, she has a terrible accident, and spends time in a drug induced coma.

Once she wakes up she tries to tell the police where she and Macy were held, to no avail. They can't find the cabin.

Pick up the story eight years later and Jade is now a detective, and every spare moment is spent looking for Macy, and living with her childhood, next door neighbor, Bo. Bo *tries* to understand what Jade has been through, but he really doesn't, what he gives her is more like pity. I liked Bo, but didn't feel like he was the one for Jade.

"Dillon is the alpha male who beats on his chest and dominates my headspace."

"Dillon fucks me like a lion would his bitch in heat as his protectiveness washes over me."

Dillon is Jade's partner on the police force. Now *him* I like. He's no nonsense, and he doesn't give her pity, he just accepts and respects her for the strong woman she's become over the last 8 years since she escaped. He becomes her rock.

The one thing I didn't care for much for, and didn't expect, was the MAJOR cliffhanger.

But looks like it comes out in about 6 weeks from now, so not too long of a wait.

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24690 by A.A. Dark

24690 by A.A. Dark

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


More reviews at Li'l Kit's Reviews.

Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★

Overall rating: 5.0

*****5 "Gory & Sadistic" Stars*****

"Everyone here was either slave, master, medical, or guard. Even the Attendants were slaves."

"Slave twenty-four-six-ninety was going to be mine. I had made sure of it."

I happened onto this book quite by accident and I'm so glad I did. This book puts me in the mind of Pepper Winters' Indebted series with the no holds barred darkness. This author holds nothing back in how black she paints the picture around these characters. The twists and turns just in the first half of the book kept my mind reeling. Just when I thought I knew something, I was wrong, every single time. That is probably the thing I loved most about this book, all the mind-fuckery.

Alaska Angelini writing under the pen name of A.A. Dark, is currently right up there with my favorite "Queens of Dark and Taboo". If you like true darkness, then this book is totally for you.

"I wasn't Everleigh anymore. I was no one but a dead slave, alive."

The main male characters, Bram and West, are the stuff nightmares are made of! Bram is the "Main Master" of Whitlock, a dark and sinister place where the rich and famous come to play. Anything goes between the Master's and the slaves. From purchasing one at an auction until they die either naturally or at the hand of their owner, the slaves can be subjected to all manner of deviant behavior from a simple slap to rape to flaying. There are no consequences, the slaves are nothing but toys to be played with, then discarded by death once they are broken.

Slave 24690 has been at Whitlock since she was kidnapped at 10 years old. When she came "of age" she was auctioned off and purchased by her first master. Outside of beatings, she was treated very well... until her master is murdered and she is blamed.

Bram took care of slave 24690 from the time she was 10 until she went to auction. He didn't touch her. He kept her safe, and in the dark recesses of his mind, he knew he held affection for her. But it was something Bram would never act on. Bram had sworn to never take a slave.

When Bram's father died Bram became the new Main Master of Whitlock. It was his, and everyone there worked for him. Period.

West was Bram's best friend from childhood. Where Bram was raised with a silver spoon lodged firmly in his mouth, West was not. Bram's father, seeing how close the boys were as children, as close as brothers, paid for West's education, and he became, pretty much, Bram's right hand man once Bram took over Whitlock.

West harbored a jealousy, however. No matter how good he was, Bram was always one step better. He kept the jealousy hidden, Bram was his brother, and the Main Master. Bram deserved West's respect.

As the story moves on, the darkness becomes a black hole that just sucked me in. Chapter by chapter. Page by page. At times the next frightening twist was almost too much, and I had to put my Kindle down, wrap it in a blanket, and put it under the bed or couch... afraid that what I was reading could jump off the screen and play itself out in front of me. That's how well A.A. Dark/Alaska Angelini writes. It's more than a movie playing in my head, it feels as if I'm right *there*>

From the blurb:

"***WARNING***
This book contains EXTREMELY disturbing situations, explicit sexual content, and very graphic language. This book EXCEEDS the dark genre and has been classified as PITCH BLACK. May contain triggers for some. Read at your own risk!!"

Consider yourself warned. But even *that* warning isn't enough to express how "Pitch Black" this book is.

There were times, towards the end that my mind drifted a bit.. there were a couple of parts that were unbelievable for me, and a bit redundant. But, they didn't last long and I was back in the house of horrors again. There were many editing and grammar mistakes in this book, but not enough to detract to much from the experience.

I was going to deduct one star from this 5 star read, but I couldn't do it! The book is too good! My gripe: The author makes no mention about this being the first in a series, not even a hint at that fact. So the major cliffhanger ending did not amuse me in the least. But I got over it! There is hope on the horizon with book 2, "White Out" being written. Keep up with the Author's Facebook page (and look for the YouTube trailer on her closed group page for White Out. It's amazing!).

Stay busy writing Alaska! You don't have any time for breaks, I need White Out! (oh and a blurb here on Goodreads would be nice so we can mark it as "To Read" and keep up with a release date!)

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First Touch by Laurelin Paige

First Touch by Laurelin Paige

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Writing: ★★★★
Story: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★

Overall rating: 4.3

****4 Touch Me Stars!****

I'd Set out to capture him and instead he'd captured me. I couldn't fight it. It was done.

I've had this book on my TBR Shelf for quite some time now. Kept meaning to read it, but just never got to it. Then it came up for one of my challenges on my group, and watching my friends comments, I knew I had to read it. And so I did.

This book was a slow start for me. There was so many characters being introduced, so many background stories being introduced, that it was, at first, hard for me to get into the meat of the story.

But then it happened, that magical moment when a book turns the corner. When it goes from a "meh-fest" to an adrenaline rush. I was wide awake and taking notice.

Reeve and Emily... I had a love/hate relationship with them both. But when they came together (yes, that's a double entendre), it was pretty hot! And explosive! (another double entendre).

When Emily thought to herself, "the dominating bad boy type was my weakness", I could totally get behind that... and it was the turn around for me with Reeve. He was the "bad boy", and he became my "weakness" pretty damn quick!

The scene in the barn... read the book, you'll totally get it... was probably one of my favorite erotic scenes *ever* in a book! Sex scenes, sometimes I feel they are just thrown into a book for the sake of sex. I know that in order for a book to be in a certain genre (erotica in this case), that it has to have... well... sex! in it. And often. But most of the sex in this book was well placed, it made sense, the timing was perfect, and it was hot!

I enjoyed this book and will continue on to Last Kiss.

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Echo by A. Zavarelli

Echo by A. Zavarelli

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Writing: ★★★
Story: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★

Overall rating: 3.3

Two Weeks.

That's what it took me to get through this book. The first 70%, give or take, was a yawnfest for me. The story would start to move forward and then *BAM* sex scene. I'd skim over that.. A LOT.. the story would pick up and then *BAM* ANOTHER sex scene.

At that point it felt like the story was built around the sex, and it really didn't add anything to the story.

But towards the end, the story got pretty good. Mainly cause the main characters didn't have time or opportunity to screw. This was the redeeming factor in this book, making it a solid 3 Star read. Not bad.

I don't mind sex in a story... actually enjoy it most of the time.

- When I'm connected to the characters
- When it adds to the story
- When it isn't over the top ridiculous

The one thing I was pretty ticked off about is that this book ends in a damn cliffhanger. Really? What was the damn point in that, could have just taken out some of the sex, and finished the book.

So yes, now I'll be reading the next book... hmm.. guess *that* was the point in the cliffhanger. *smh*

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Taint by Tara Dawn

TAINT by Tara Dawn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★

Overall rating: 5.0


*I was given this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

*****5 "I want more!" Stars*****

This book picks up where Cash, Hazel, Phil, Cady, and Erick left off in Snap. And Author, Tara Dawn, wastes no time getting right to it!

"Phil doesn't deserve a quick death. He deserves what he's done to everyone else and more."

Hazel ends up back in the clutches of Phil.. and one thing about Phil, he lives up to his reputation of being over the top batshit crazy! His form of "love" is some of the most fucked up I've seen. He's not happy unless he is bringing Hazel to the brink of death. He wants to break her body as well as her mind, to completely control her. But, most of all, he wants to keep her away from Cash.

Cash will do anything to get her back. Whatever it takes. I love this character, He's strong, alpha, and isn't afraid to show a little vulnerability. He and Hazel are soulmates that keep getting ripped apart by the most tragic of circumstances.

Cash has told Hazel the worst thing about himself, and even though she's angry, she can't deny that she loves, and craves, him.

There are a lot of characters in this series to keep up with. But each are well placed and have a purpose in the story. I haven't found a single one that made me think, "Hmmm, what's the point?" It's like a finely choreographed chess game with all the pieces moving in sync for a common goal. To get Cash and Hazel back to each other, where they belong.

Taint, like Snap, is dark. I love dark. I crave dark. And Author, Tara Dawn, feeds my craving. She took me, as a reader, right into the book. I felt like I was standing there in the same room with these characters, feeling the pain of loss, and hoping for survival.

It's hard to say much about the story line in this book without giving away any major spoilers.

I want book three. I want it right now. So write fast Tara! I'll be waiting!

Like Snap, Taint ends in a cliffy. I knew this going in but... damn it... it still took my breath away... literally! At the end. I was screaming "NOOOOOO!" at my Kindle... okay and yes, at Tara Dawn too...

I can't even put into words how much I loved this second book in the Snap series. I didn't want it to end, I didn't want to put the book down, I wanted the entire story to keep going until I find out who does what!

But noooo.... Tara has to tease us! Again!

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Dangerous Ties by J.L. Beck

Dangerous Ties by J.L. Beck

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Writing: ★★★
Story: ★★★
Characters: ★★★

Overall rating: 3.0

This book had the potential to be so much more than it was. Everything felt so rushed. If the author had turned this into something other than a short story, and took time to develop the characters, it *could* have been so much more.

But instead we have a short story that ends in a major cliffhanger and no release date as of yet for the next book.

The author, on the last page of the book, asks, "Loved it? Hated it?", I didn't hate this book, because I did see the potential in it. But I didn't "love" it either... kind of lukewarm.

"I was a lion on my first hunt, the prey within sight. All I had to do was sink my teeth into her."

I wanted to know more about Grayson, how he came to be where he was and who he was. His story sounds so tortured. The bad boy that would give just about anything to be something more.

When Grayson spots Ellie across a crowded club, he's drawn to her. He doesn't know why, he just is.

He's at the bar when she approaches him. She's decided, on this night, that she's going to be someone else. Just to do something other than work and hide. One (quick) minute later, Grayson taking her out of the club, out the back way.

"I'm going to take you back to my hotel. Fuck you. Then leave you there with the lingering feeling of my cock being inside of you wears off."

But things go horribly wrong, and next thing we know, instead of being the quick night of passion they're both looking for, circumstances put Ellie and Grayson in the position of being captor and captive.

Grayson has to kill Ellie, his own life depends on it. But can he do it? He's never hesitated before, so why is he this time? With her?

"In the end you deal with the cards you were dealt in life. I couldn't change the hand, but I could draw a new card to better my deck."

Secrets come out, lies and truths are told. Will someone die? Will Grayson and Ellie make it out alive? Who are Grayson and Ellie? You'll have to read to find out.

This book could have been more of a 3.5 or 3.75. But it needs a lot of editing work, and bit more character building. I'm not sure if I'll continue with the series. Depends if the author is going to string us along with a bunch of short stories or if she'd going to make an actual novel of Severed Ties.

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Snap by Tara Dawn

SNAP by Tara Dawn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Writing: ★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★

Overall rating: 4.3

****4 "Crazy As Hell" Stars****

*This book contains scenes of drug use, rape, and brutality. It is intended for readers over 18. Reader discretion is advised.*

Okay I need to...

 

WOW! What a read! What a ride! Tara Dawn is a new to me author, and she can write dark and fucked up with the best of them. The warning above... and on the blurb? Heed it. Because the book has it all. In spades.

Hazel is a single woman who works at Maggie's, a bar/restaurant establishment. She works hard and rarely has any time off. But, she loves her job, and wouldn't trade it for all the days off in the world.

 

She is looking for a relationship, or someone to just spend some time with, and she meets Phil, goes on a few dates and realizes that he's not for her. She tells her best friend, Cady, that she is going to break off the budding relationship and on the forth and, in her mind, final date, things go horribly wrong.

 

She is beaten and raped, and wakes up with the blood, bruises, and scars to prove it, but has barely a memory of it; just snippets of what happened, but she knows it was Phil.

When Phil shows up at her job, and again becomes abusive, in steps Cash, the handsome stranger that was in the bar earlier watching her. Cash is her (dark) Knight in a sexy body armor, and looks delicious.

 

Cash is there for a reason, but we don't really know *what* that reason is. But we know it's not something good. Or is it?

This man is sexy, and even though he isn't there for a relationship, he can't seem to stay away from this damsel in distress. There is an instant connection between them. Like 2 halves of a whole that have finally snapped together, and he feels the need to protect her.

 

Cash knows something has happened to Hazel. Something bad. Something painful. And for some reason, he wants to help heal that pain for her. He wants to replace the bad memories with good ones, even if it's only for one night.

 

But that darkness remains, Phil is watching and lurking around. Cash and her friends Cady and Erick, no matter how much they try to keep her safe, that darkness just leaches it's way into Hazel's life.

 

And then there's the ending. Major cliffhanger. I hate major cliffhangers. Majorly. Hate. Them.

 

But I won't have too long too wait, since TAINT comes out next month (March 2016).

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