Veiled Silence

Dark & Silent Night #2

by Eve Black

Kendra

Neglected and unloved her whole life, Kendra’s only dream was to have a family of her own—a home, a husband who loved her, and a house full of children.

So when she meets Gideon Maddox, she cannot believe a man as powerful, handsome, and wealthy as him would ever look at her twice, let alone ask her to marry him and have his baby.

After three years of trying, the test finally reads pregnant, and she’s overjoyed…but before she can tell him about their Christmas miracle, her joy quickly turns to sorrow when her husband reveals that he only married her for convenience.

Shattered, Kendra carries her precious secret into the cold, winter’s night, never expecting the man who broke her heart to care enough to find her.

Gideon

As a child, Gideon Maddox knew nothing but duty and abandonment. Raising his three brothers, he became the head of a billion-dollar empire, one he’d bleed and kill for.

But cold, hard cash doesn’t keep him warm or produce an heir, so he marries the sweet, naïve, and utterly guileless Kendra.

To him it’s a marriage of convenience, so when she fails to produce an heir, and his dealings with the Mafia turn sour, he does something truly terrible.

And when Kendra runs, taking a precious Christmas gift with her, Gideon realizes something far more important than all his power and wealth has slipped through his fingers.

Veiled Silence is the second book in the Dark & Silent Night series—dark, emotional romances about the Maddox brothers that explore the razor-thin line between hero and villain.

~ Dark Romance
~ Age Gap
~ Brooding Hero
~ Marriage-in-Trouble
~ Betrayal
~ Pregnancy
~ OW Drama
~ Plus-Sized Heroine
~ Billionaire Mafia Fixer Hero

Read the other novellas in the Dark & Silent Night series, following the lives of the Maddox brothers, written by my incredible

Silent Vow by Maya Alden
Silent Promises by Christine Michelle
Silent Flames by Cate C. Wells

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Second Chance, Novella, Contemporary Romance, Marriage Of Convenience, Dark Romance

171 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 13, 2025

About the author

Eve Black is the sexy contemporary romance-loving alter-ego of a sweet historical romance author...who also writes dark, sexy medieval romance under another name. Eve is one of several personalities in one crazy package. When Eve isn't writing books, she is editing other people's books, freelance writing marketing content, or wrangling her children. For fun, Eve loves to read (obviously) sexy contemporary and historical romance books, binge-watch old Supernatural, Burn Notice, Leverage, and Lucifer episodes on Netflix, and play mind-numbing games on her tablet.

Eve lives in an untidy house on a little over an acre in rural Northeast Pennsylvania with her husband of 17 years and their four children, three cats, and one chicken.

Visit Eve online at: www.EveBlackBooks.com

Reviews

[Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars

Meh. I am literally only reading these to get to book four, which is by Cate C. Wells. They are all just a little too rushed and short for me. The resolution happens too quickly and - in this one at least - there was so much gushing. I want a little more tension, uncertainty, and angst. The clean up was too quick.

[Mairi Swan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My heart ached for both of them. For the hero with the troubled childhood and the weight on his shoulders and for the heroine with the troubled childhood too and the betrayal she felt when everything fell apart. It's a novella but it left me satisfied and content.

[Lola Shug · Rating 2 out of 5]

What did I just read… should have DNFd when the FMC said this gem of a line as an excuse to why she she still loved MMC after his horrible treatment of her:

“Even a dog kicked, over and over again, will still come when its master calls.”

Maybe have some self respect? Listen I know it’s a short story, but going from calling your wife useless and homely, and then two pages later saying how you can’t live without her? It happened too quick, and I’m just not a fan of doormat heroines. I’m honestly just reading this series waiting for Cate C. Wells story.

[Celeste · Rating 1 out of 5]

Surprisingly Underwhelming for the subject matter

Honestly the less said about this the better.

The h's backbone had the structural integrity of a cooked noodle. Like, hello ma'am, did you not hear the things the H said that I read? Are we not in the same book?

The H said some truly atrocious things to the h for no discernible reason as well as informing her she was simply a baby incubator, ugly, fat, and useless at the one thing women are supposed to be able to do. So she leaves the apartment but the moment he finds her she gives him grace and understanding and omg where was the vengeance?

The H isnt at all how the blurb describes him. He makes a clichéd lackluster attempt to explain his actions and tells the h he loves her. It smacked of inta love, which is ridiculous considering the main characters have been married for 3 years during which the H neglected the h.

The writing style didn't agree with me. High angst moments seemed to be downplayed. The grovel was unsatisfactory because the h's resistance was token and I couldn't relate with either of them.

[Soph · Rating 1 out of 5]

★. pissed me off so much it got me writing reviews again.

he only apologized and “groveled” because she got pregnant. his excuse of the childhood, bore. wish I cared. she was the welcome doormat to their house because how do you forgive and not even ask again about him calling you a failure because you didn’t get pregnant right away.

literally just need Cate’s book to not do me dirty like this. Like im trusting her way too much

[Beeg Panda · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of my fav tropes. Execution not for me.

[Aarann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was so frustrating. For three years, Gideon has allowed Kendra to think their marriage is a love match (although given the evidence they both cited throughout the book, I became progressively confused by her ability to lie to herself that way), but really, he just wanted a broodmare and someone to look like a family man with at parties. Three years in, she still isn't pregnant. Except, surprise! Oh wait, she is now. But she doesn't get to tell him before the drama starts.

After a mafioso and his daughter make a play at Gideon designed to make him divorce Kendra and marry the daughter (which his inner monologue is super-fuzzy about; either the threats were big enough to make him have a day so bad he comes home and screams at his wife, or he can crush them with his pinky finger because he's sooooo powerful, in which case, why was he so freaked out?), Gideon comes home and reveals all to Kendra -- in the angriest, most verbally abusive way possible. He insults her looks, her personality, her past, how easy she was to fool, her performance in bed (oh yeah, he went there too), and her womanhood due to her "failure" to give him a baby because that is the only reason he married her.

And I, who loves a good grovel, thought, okay, this had better be good.

NARRATOR: It was not.

Seriously, he didn't even start looking for Kendra until he found out about the pregnancy. I had access to his inner monologue where he explicitly states something along the lines of, oh crap, I DO love her, and I barely believed he wasn't coming after her solely for the sake of the baby. Kendra sure didn't have any reason to believe otherwise before she's listening to him sob about his abusive childhood. And it was awful, don't get me wrong, but as I have said in other reviews (Perfect Together, I am looking at you, you shithead...), an abusive childhood is a reason, it's not an excuse. He has said and done awful things to Kendra over the three years of their relationship and then because he starts worrying he will be an awful father, she just trips over herself to listen to his sob story. (Under other circumstances, yes, that would have been awful for a wife who loves him to hear, but not as a Get Out of Shithead Jail Free card.)

Basically, he had her at "hello" and I hated everyone.

Oh, and don't get me started on Gideon and his "inner beast." It was way too much. Like a few others have said, I kept half expecting to see him turn into a wolf or dragon or anteater or something.

Eve Black is a decent writer, and there are some good points to her prose, but clearly she has different opinions on what men should be allowed to get away with than I do. I may have to just accept that she isn't the plotter for me.

[Van · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series is very disappointing
I will not continue reading, the other two authors aren’t for me but the last two books were a failure
I love a book where hard words are there in a fight and hero needs to grovel but this man is just cruel, not only during the fight but the three years before, that’s too many years
No grovel and honestly two indecent men using their women, this hero only went to find his wife when knew she was pregnant, not before… he only married her because he wants a heir 🙄🙄🙄
Not romantic
Only one sex scene and it’s bad
I guess these two books are safe
This heroine is a millionaire successful woman but acts like a teenager
He doesn’t deserve her

[Katyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sooooo I read this because TJ just reviewed it and she and I are usually on the same page. I was feeling like something outside my usual wheelhouse, and dark(**) romance generally isn't my thing.

(**A lot of things that fall under the dark romance umbrella are hard no tropes for me: cheating, abuse, bully romance, etc, so I generally stay away. But when a friend that I'm usually in sync with reads and likes it, and I can see there's none of those hard no items, I will give it a whirl. I've been pleasantly surprised ... Run Posy Run is a good example, and I see that author is actually writing one of the novellas in this short series.)

This one was a pleasant surprise too. Firstly, because I don't think I'd call it dark, though the series bills itself as dark romance. I guess because these guys are mafia-related? But I'd call it dickhead romance, not dark, because the guys seem to all be dickheads (from the blurbs for the rest of the series).

Secondly, because I seriously thought there was no grovel in the world that was going to win me over with this particular dickhead, Gideon. But I was begrudgingly won over, to my surprise. It was successful, for me, because he opened up and laid out all his own vulnerabilities. He knew it didn't excuse his behavior, but at least it would help her understand where it was coming from. And I respect that. I'm the kind of person who wants to understand why, but who is adamant that the "why" is a reason, not an excuse . He laid himself bare, took full ownership (no dodging with bullshit reasons why he was justified), and then gave her time.

The thing that kept this from being perfect, for me, was the pregnancy. I'm not at all convinced that he'd have come for her if he didn't know she was pregnant. He sure wasn't in a hurry to fix it when he didn't know - it was only when he found out that he was suddenly desperate to find her and make things right. So that's a big issue for me, because it means that at the end of the day, her only real value to him is her womb. That if he never found out she was pregnant, and so never tried to fix things, they'd have been over. He'd have been sad for a while and then moved on with his life.

This would have worked so much better if he DIDN'T find out she was pregnant. But instead, after she was gone, he realized he loved her and found her to try and fix things...and then found out about the pregnancy as a kind of surprise bonus. But as it is, even as the book ended, I just don't believe they'd have reconciled if not for the pregnancy, and that's a bummer.

But I enjoyed it. I'm side-eyeing the rest of the series though. I think I will likely not go there. The last book in the series apparently has on-page cheating and I can't see how you redeem that in a novella. Especially because authors NEVER have the woman do to him what he's done to her, and cheat back to give him a lesson in fucking empathy. Or fucking cut his balls off so cheating isn't a concern going forward. It's bullshit.

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 2 out of 5]

(ง'̀-'́)ง Let me fight him NOW.

Look, I was so excited about the marriage in trouble. And actually, I did like some parts of it. I loved the angst and the sort of groveling he did in the end. I definitely thought he needed to grovel for years because of what he said. Like that was SO RUDE. And Kendra baby you don't deserve that. In terms of the heroes, I definitely enjoyed the first book one more? This one had more angsty/grovel that I liked more than the first one tho. But the getting to their happily ever after was maybe not something I'd believe.

I loved Kendra tho and she deserves the world.

Also it was kinda out of nowhere whenever they mentioned like their animals/monsters inside of them, like it made me think of a shifter romance actually. I was so confused lmao.

[Danny Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was good for how short it was. We already got spoilers from the first book and knew Gideon only married Kendra so he could get his heir. But in-between his coldness towards her we got little bits and pieces of his fondness for her that actually was love without him realizing it. Very hurtful things were said, but to me he redeemed himself. There was an ow, but he hated her, and made it obvious he did. We got a little more information how the brothers grew up and we're treated by their father making them the way that they are. Logan's book is next.

[Serialbookstarter:Marla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I repeat Meh… I love this trope and there was a great lead up to a really harsh(read great) betrayal scene. The H was cold and methodical in his quest for a baby mama. I was really into it—but then nosedive! The book tagged out and became mamby pamby…. And another thing if I was the fmc and he suddenly became Prince Charming only after I finally got preggers I would have made him pay big time. What we get here is weak af.

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried

The hero was a jerk and his quick turnaround was unbelievable. And I mean I didn't believe it. How can he go from saying such.foul things about her and then two days later want to.find her and he love VES her. Especially.after he knows there's a baby. I didn't like this book. I liked the writing style just the hero left to be desired. He was faithful, he only thought about cheating, he never did it. That was a plus for the book. I did.like the ending and I am glad she told him off and made him wait for sex and stuff. But.he really hurt her.

And then.i.just read the preview of the future book about Adrian.and I am sick to.my.stomach. it was so heartbreaking. Not.sure.I can.unsee,that.

[Serial Romance Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great angst and betrayal scene, but the reconciliation was way too easy. I am enjoying this series though!

[Pinky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings: Orphan, foster care, struggles with infertility (but she gets pregnant eventually), parental abandonment, parental neglect, child abuse (emotional and physical), alcoholic and drug addict parent, murder mentioned, violence mentioned, gambling father, parent infidelity, misogyny

She had plump tits, wide hips, and long legs. She had enough meat on her bones that breeding her shouldn’t cause any health scares.


The fuck did I just read? This is the second book in the Dark & Silent Night series. The first book is Silent Vow by Maya Alden. This series follows the Maddox brothers. I recommend you read the books in order, they’re quick to get through. I started this since I wanted to read the last book in the series, by Cate C. Wells. This storyline had potential, but holy shit the MMC, Gideon, was so unlikeable. His inner monologue gave me a major ick, the way he viewed the FMC was disgusting. He kept mentioning that his “inner beast” wanted things he didn’t. I’m sorry, but this isn’t a werewolf romance, I just kept cringing. And the FMC, Kendra, HAD NO BACKBONE. It didn’t even feel like Gideon loved Kendra, he only wanted her for having heirs. They were married for 3 years, and we’re told that Gideon neglected Kendra the whole time. I don’t know how the fuck they lasted. In most books when this happens, there are some positive things, so the FMC holds on. But in this? He barely even knows Kendra, but he claims to love her. There was no grovelling after he said the cruellest things. And the conflict was resolved so fast, I was disappointed.


Kendra and Gideon have been married for 3 years. Kendra believes that Gideon loves her. She has no idea that he married her to use her to get heirs for his company.

Now for spoilers


At 13, Gideon’s mom abandoned him after enduring abuse from his dad. She thought his dad was a good person, but he cheated and only married her to get access to her money. Once she left, Gideon’s drug addicted, alcoholic, gambler father would abuse Gideon and his brothers while fucking around. So Gideon stepped up to be the mother, father, and brother of his other brothers. In doing so, he lost trust and no longer acts like a proper human being. In present day, Gideon worked his ass off to bring success to the Maddox brothers. And he’ll be damned if someone else takes over their companies. So he goes to a Singles event, determined to find a wife who will give him babies. All he thought about was using a woman to get heirs. His youngest brother Logan, a great hacker, sent him information about Kendra, a potential bride. His other brothers are Adrian and Lucian (Lucian is the first book). When Gideon looked at Kendra, he saw her as plain. His comments about her body and appearance were disgusting. Gideon’s inner beast (yes it’s stupid), was obsessed with Kendra the second he saw her. Gideon knew that Kendra was an orphan who was from the foster care system. So Gideon hits on Kendra, and they get married in 5 weeks. Kendra thinks that Gideon loves her, but when he tells her to sign a prenup, she has no idea that he added a clause. If she doesn’t get pregnant in 3 years, he can divorce her while she gets nothing.

3 years later, Kendra has been struggling with infertility. She believes that Gideon loves her, despite saying otherwise. The man neglects her, barely knows anything about her, and we don’t even see them interact much as a couple. It’s hard to believe he loves her when we see the way he treats her. He fucks Kendra on the scheduled days; Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. It makes no sense, since he wants her pregnant. He was limiting himself, since he didn’t want to have sex for anything other than breeding (Kendra had no idea). Kendra noticed he did this, but she never questioned it. She went along with whatever Gideon wanted. And Gideon believed his wife would be happy. Since he’s rich, she can live a luxurious life. Gideon always mentions an inner beast that wants Kendra all the time. That it whimpers or growls when he treats her like shit, but is content and happy when they’re together.


Anyway, Kendra finds out that she is finally pregnant. She prepares surprise presents for Gideon since he was upfront about starting a family asap. She was 25 when they met, so she is now 28, and Gideon is 40. For a grown ass man, Gideon acted like a manchild. Kendra buys a onesie that says “Merry Christmas Daddy,” and Cigars that say “Baby Maddox coming in 2026.” Since the holidays were around the corner, she was going to give it to him then. Kendra has gotten along with Gideon’s family. Especially Adrian’s wife, Cora, and their kids, Pearl and Winnie. Gideon has always shown his soft side to his nieces, so Kendra knows how much he wants kids. Kendra and Cora have gossiped about the possible mistreatment their husbands may have gotten from their parents. When Gideon is back, we see them fucking. But since Gideon doesn’t want to fuck Kendra more than usual, he says he needs to go to his office. He says he will call if he is going to be longer, even though it was a Sunday. Kendra is upset since she can feel Gideon pulling away. She sees pictures of Gideon with a girl named Isabella. Isabella always has her hand on Gideon. Kendra thinks that Gideon might be fucking Isabella on the days he isn’t fucking her. For days, Gideon doesn’t come home, and he doesn’t text or call Kendra. He has his own room in his office so he sleeps there when things get busy. What’s fucked is Gideon knows Kendra can see those pictures, but he doesn’t care enough. He hates Isabella, but he thinks Kendra should suck it up.

He knew Kendra saw that bullshit, that she had to deal with the whispers and looks from people who knew them, but that was all part of being his wife. She had to suck it up and deal with it—it was the least she could do since she was failing at the one thing he’d married her for.


Meanwhile, Gideon is freaking out since an AI image was leaked. When he was 20, he made a deal with two mafia families, the Tempesta and the Mancini families. Adolfo Mancini was the underboss and Uragano Tempesta was the Don. Mancini’s daughter is Isabella, who desperately wanted to get with Gideon. But Gideon hated the mafia and knew he would have little control over his life if he married her. He made a deal with the mafia to keep them out of the media, reputation clean for the feds. If he did this, he was doing his part after receiving money from them when he was younger. Problem is, the AI image was leaked and Mancini is pissed. Gideon calls Logan, and they manage to get rid of the picture. But Isabella pays Gideon a visit to blackmail him. She says that she can talk to her dad since he is mad. She says that if Gideon can divorce Kendra and marry her, she can make it happen. She somehow knew about his 3 year clause in the prenup, saying he must not be satisfied since Kendra didn’t give him a baby. She says that she can give him a baby. Gideon is very defensive of Kendra, telling Isabella he would never divorce her and to stop talking about his wife. When Mancini calls him, he says to do whatever Isabella wants to repay him for the mistake. This is all stupid since Gideon did his part of the deal. He makes way more than Mancini now, so Mancini has no power over him. Gideon’s inner beast is pissed that Isabella is talking shit, but he does worse later on.

When Gideon finally gets home, Kendra is cooking chicken. The whole conversation from here was just fucked. Gideon was fired up cuz he was pissed with Isabella and Mancini. At first I thought he was tryna get Kendra to divorce him since he was being blackmailed by Mancini. But nope, he had no reason to say these things. Gideon is a grown ass man, and he lashes out on Kendra for no reason. He walks in and is cold to Kendra. Kendra loves when he wears casual clothes, when he is in his business clothes, he seems like a different person. She mentions that he laughs and is gentle with her at home, but we barely see how they are as a couple. Anyway, when Gideon starts getting mad that Kendra is making chicken, she asks what’s wrong. So Gideon reveals why he married her and insults her for being infertile.

“You think I chose you because of some love at first sight bullshit? No, darling, I chose you because, out of all the women in Manhattan, you were the most naïve and desperate choice. No family, no prospects, starving for affection, for the family you never had—and I offered that to you on a silver platter. You gobbled up the romantic bullshit so fast, I’m surprised you didn’t choke. And then, you couldn’t even do the one fucking thing I needed you to do.”


You think he’s done right? Nah, he keeps going and going
“You honestly think I married you because I loved you, like some lovesick sap? Our marriage has always been about my convenience—I needed a wife so I’d look like a family man to the board and the media, and I needed a uterus to carry my legitimate heir. And despite all the times I choked down my disgust and fucked you, you still couldn’t do your fucking job and get pregnant.”

And this
“I only chose you because I knew you’d sign the prenup with only a little coaxing, and I figured that a woman without any reported medical issues would be able to give me a child—but you fucking failed, wife, at the one thing women were made to do.”

Here’s the cherry on top
“Maybe I should be fucking Isabella Mancini,” he sneered, “at least then I’d have some fun while getting her pregnant—and it isn’t like she didn’t offer. Maybe you can be the little wifey that makes the fucking chicken and pours the wine, and she can be the one warming my bed, taking my cock, and giving me the heir you should have three fucking years ago.”


Kendra is heartbroken, she is so shocked that she leaves the house without a jacket, her belongings, or her wallet. Her phone was also at home since she left without thinking. Gideon asks her where she is going and orders her to stay, but she leaves. Kendra goes to her client, LaKeisha’s place. LaKeisha lets her stay, lends her some money, and gives her a prepaid phone. Gideon’s inner beast is pissed that Kendra left, angry at Gideon (I’m telling you this shit was so fucking stupid, YOU ARE HUMAN BRO, YOU AIN’T A WEREWOLF). It felt like the whole inner beast thing was to show that part of Gideon always liked Kendra. But his inner monologue always felt like Kendra was just someone he could use to breed, it’s fucking gross. Adrian calls Gideon cuz Kendra was supposed to babysit Pearl and Winnie, but she didn’t show up. Gideon says that Kendra left him and Adrian says he might not be one to talk, but Gideon treats Kendra like shit. Gideon says he doesn’t know where Kendra went. Kendra calls Cora to tell her where she is. Then LaKeisha drives her to Kendra and Gideon’s Schroon Lake house. This house was bought by Gideon to Kendra. He told Kendra she can decorate it how she likes. Now Kendra thinks he did it to keep her distracted.

You know what would’ve been nice? Using this situation to prove that Gideon loved Kendra for who she was, not her womb. Having him grovel while Kendra stood up for herself. But instead, Kendra is away for 3 days and Gideon barely made moves to find her. When Kendra calls Cora again in the lake house, Cora says that if Gideon wanted to find her, he would’ve had Logan track her phone records. But it’s been 3 days, and he hasn’t done that. Cora herself seems upset with Adrian, and we know that he is cheating since we heard in the previous book. We see Gideon upset that Kendra is away, his inner beast growling and shit. But guess what? He gets parcels delivered to his door, and it’s for Kendra. He finds the gifts she had ready for him for the baby reveal. When he realizes that Kendra is pregnant, SUDDENLY, he is eager to find Kendra. This whole betrayal was so fucked He said he was disgusted while fucking her, and reduced her to a breeding womb. To make it worse, he said he would rather fuck Isabella, saying she would give him a baby, and she’s more attractive. Like how the fuck did he not have to grovel for ANY of this?


You know how long it takes Gideon to find Kendra after he realizes she’s having his baby? Almost instantly. Logan tracked Cora’s phone logs just as she mentioned, and they found Kendra. So Cora calls Kendra to tell her to leave since Gideon found her. Kendra tells Cora about her situation with Gideon and, Cora agrees that the Maddox brothers suck. Before Kendra can leave, Gideon is already there, since he took a helicopter to find her. Suddenly he is looking at her softly instead of cold and distant. And guess what he touches the second he finds her? Her stomach. If you want me to believe he truly loved Kendra for who she was, we could’ve had Gideon frantically looking for her. Then he would grovel for Kendra, his wife, rather than Kendra, his wife who is pregnant with a baby he wanted for ages. Gideon is acting all affectionate, kissing Kendra and saying he is sorry. Instead of pushing him away, she kisses him at first. Then she pushes him away and stands up for herself.

“I didn’t feel particularly welcome, Gideon,” she replied flatly. “You’d just told me I was nothing more than a cum receptacle and heir incubator, and that fucking me was a disgusting chore—oh! Let’s not forget how I’m such a failure because I couldn’t even do the most basic thing a woman can do, right? No baby, no worth, right Gideon Maddox?”

I’m like yes girl, let’s go! But then he pulls her into his lap. She tried leaving once but once he pulled her back she sat there. He was nuzzling her and telling her that he had a fucked up childhood. The fact that they’ve been married for 3 years, and she barely knows anything about him is crazy. And he doesn’t know enough about her, either. Like what did they even talk about? Anyway, he says his father was fucked, and his mother abandoned his family. He says that Kendra was a weakness to him cuz he was obsessed with her from the start. None of what he said made any sense to me. Cuz he didn’t have a reasonable reason for why he lashed out on Kendra. Sure Mancini and Isabella threatened Gideon. But Gideon told them right away that he won’t leave Kendra. He says that he loves Kendra but seriously, if you truly loved her, you wouldn’t have said those things. His inner monolgue never gave me any indication that he loved her. The inner beast shit was a sorry excuse to say that he was obsessed. But his thoughts of Kendra as a person? It only came after she left, and he found out she was pregnant. He begs her to come home, and Kendra says she needs time. But she holds his face and feels bad for what he went through in his childhood. I hated how she was sweet to him after all the shit he did. She also let him kiss her multiple times. The girl was getting turned on by him, like nope.

Gideon cooks Kendra a meal and focuses on what can make pregnancy easier. I’m not praising a man for doing the bare minimum the second his wife leaves him. A meal won’t fix the shit he said. All of this is focused on him and his baby. I’m sorry, but if Kendra wasn’t pregnant, what could he have possibly said? I know he would’ve looked for her eventually, but would he actually say it doesn’t matter if she can’t have kids? Cuz I feel like Gideon would’ve left her eventually, even with his stupid inner beast nonsense. Gideon asks Kendra what he can do to win her back. She says to be a better man, the bare fucking minimum. And this man says he doesn’t even know if he can do that, but he’ll try. Man, I would leave his ass, holy shit. Anyway, Gideon gets a text from Logan saying he needs to come to a Winter Gala cuz Mancini is threatening them. It would send a message if Gideon goes with Kendra. So Kendra goes back with Gideon and they attend the gala. At the gala, Cora is pissed with Adrian. Meanwhile, Gideon is kissing Kendra and openly affectionate with her. When Isabella insults Kendra, Gideon tells her to back off. Isabella asks Gideon why he didn’t divorce Kendra, calling her a bitch and mentioning she can’t have kids. Kendra is hurt that Gideon told Isabella. When Mancini comes, he tries to threaten Gideon too. But then, Uragano Tempesta appears, the Don of the Tempesta Famiglia. Mancini has been doing shady shit behind Uragano’s back. So Uragano came with his brothers and called Isabella and Mancini to talk in the back. Gideon knew that Uragano was most likely going to kill Mancini and send Isabella off. Gideon tells Kendra that he loves her and will make it up to her. Kendra stayed with Gideon, but she stayed in the guest room. Gideon didn’t suffer enough for what he did. Gideon claims that he used to sneak into bed and cuddle Kendra while she was unaware. He says he wishes they can sleep together, but she says she needs time. 4 months later, Kendra says she is ready to sleep with him again. They have sex and live happily ever after. Even when they fuck, Kendra thinks that Gideon is her mate, like seriously, was this a secret werewolf romance? Makes no sense. I’m super curious about Adrian and Cora’s book.

Stay safe folks!

[Jac K · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐’s

I’m writing this after I’ve read all four, so that might affect my rating because it’s impossible for me not to compare them collectively, but this was my second favorite which really surprised me because I usually don’t like how this author writes her h’s (with her entire personality being her dress size). I mean Kendra was a pushover for sure, but she wasn’t super insecure.

We knew from the other books that Gideon married Kendra because he wanted a paper wife and baby maker and that she was basically a Stepford wife. The book opens with the blurb and her finding she’s pregnant quickly followed by him pulling away and the big betrayal. (hurtful words)

The Good
🧼 The big reveal showdown was brutal. Gideon was cruel and Kendra was devastated and I loved her initial steps.
🧼 There’s a wannabe OW that is evilly aggressive. He’s never been attracted to her, and they never had sex which I thought worked better with the page count she was working with. Most importantly, she gets comeuppance for messing with Kendra.
🧼 Kendra wasn’t insecure even after Gideon’s cruel words. I never picked up her being self-conscious about her body or comparing herself to the wannabe OW.

The Not-So Good
🕳️ She pretty much forgives him almost immediately.
🕳️ I’m not positive he would’ve gone after her if she wasn’t pregnant. We just weren’t shown much that he was into her. Like did he actually tell his assistant he didn’t want to see his wife or did she lie? Because how can Isabella pop in but Kendra can’t?
🕳️ His beast was odd. It almost read like a shifter book.
🕳️ Small error- It states Lucian is the youngest and most emotionally damaged, but Logan is the youngest.

Bottom Line- If I had to pick a brother it wouldn’t be this one, but I was less bored with this book than I was with two others, so I rounded up. 🤷‍♀️ (to me that makes sense-LOL)

[girlwithhearteyes]

DNF @ 49%. I already knew the MMC was irredeemable (the way he described the FMC’s place in his life was just abhorrent) but I was still reading until it got weirdly paranormal. But not. Because this series is about 4 toxic billionaire brothers. 😕

[Tmstprc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cold ass with a sweet wife.

[Liz Lemon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry but this was pretty bad. It felt like it was written by 2+ people. The inner beast bit at the beginning was a no for me and I love shifter romance. The “grovel” sucked. She forgave him too quickly. I really don’t love doormat FMCs who forgive asshole men just ✨because.✨ Like, we all read his inner thoughts and saw the way he treated his wife for three fucking years… you have to make his 5 day long complete 180 believable. Hope Cora has more backbone and pride in her book.

[Jody Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as part of the four author series that includes the excellent Cate C Wells Silent Flames. Otherwise, what did I just read? This book literally made no sense, not even in the universe in which it is set. Gideon is the eldest of the four brothers and the tightly controlled head of their Billionaire Business, Inc. He decides to marry to have an heir, and immediately finds a loving and warm wife in Kendra (sidebar, a MILLIONAIRE in her own right from doing children's books illustrations??!!!). Logically, he can't show or receive love or affection, so goes about being cold and withholding and showing his wife almost no human kindness or courtesy. There's literally no reason for this. Wah wah he had abusive and neglectful parents. It just literally made no sense. At one point at least Kendra's like, but it makes no sense though...?

So actually here's why. So this tightly controlled and always in control person, who can take charge of any business situation and assert his dominance, and is an expert at not losing his cool, is so thrown by a couple (very) bad days at the office that he comes home to a loving and supportive wife making dinner and decides to steer into the skid and explain not only did he only want her for her baby-making abilities, but that he actually is disgusted by being with her in bed and has total contempt for her. My kindle note is "it literally beggars belief that he would unhinge like that."

So many more things don't make sense. She (rightly) forks right off and leaves but (oddly) doesn't take even her phone or purse so is penniless. Even though she immediately connects with a person who can provide access to her money. But whatever! THEN the Billionaire Business, Inc threat that "made" him seem like he was having an affair and act hurtfully for years is cleared up easy peasy by barely lifting a finger. THEN even though they both say he has to "prove" he has changed with actions instead of using his words, his grand gesture is literally "drunk guy shouts 'I love my wife' at a party" and boom, romanced. THEN all that's left is to excuse a marriage worth of bad behavior with (literally on page) a chuckle and a headshake for the sake of the baby (not a spoiler, it's the premise). I feel like feminism has been set back 100 years and everyone needs therapy by the bucketful.

I haven't read anything else by Eve Black and I have to assume that the florid and overly emotional style of writing is one that is appreciated by her readers. The author I've read she most reminded me of with the repetition and exclamations and hyperbole is actually Finley Fenn. But she's writing about humans and orcs coming together in a fantastical premise. It makes more sense to really let it flow there.

I'm not even weighing the writing style in my review because I have to assume it has fans. I've literally never voluntarily read anything like it. Here's a sample: "He groaned, the sound animalistic, primal, savage - more creature than man. Her body throbbed, her [meow] responded to the most basic of human drives - mate!" Or "'I miss you, too.' she replied, though the words were in no way accurate enough. She ached for him, like a limb gone, a soul sundered, a sunny sky darkened."

Two stars because I'm not counting the writing. But I urge you to check out the description of their first time on page 15 because yikes this prose.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

[Amy Garringer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pathetic, weak main character and aggravating guy

I usually love this author, but I'm so very disappointed this time. The main male character is arrogant, gross and his regret is totally not believable. Didn't enjoy this one at all.

[Joanne Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kendra has only ever wanted a family of her own. She had thought that when she married Gideon she would have that. Instead what she got a husband that was cold and transactional. She loves him so she stays the one thing keeping her grounded is having his baby.

After three years of heartbreak she finally falls pregnant. She cannot wait to tell her husband but he beats her to the punch when he tells her he married her for a heir and she hasn't even given him that. Gideon's rant is one of the best gut punches you will ever read. With her head held high she walks out on him never telling him her news.

Gideon has never known love apart from the love he feels for his brothers. His fathers cruel mockery of him lives rent free in his mind. He beleives that love makes you weak so he leashes his beast's love for Kendra. Once he realises that she is gone the Beast comes out he is determined to get his woman back and he will stop at nothing to get her back.

This book is full of angst and heartbreak and it will leave you raw in the best possible way. This Series is destined to be one of my favorites.

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5.0

Man, I love a good angsty, man-groveling love story every once in a while! And, this one won on every account! Yikes, it was good! I will admit there was a point where I seriously worried I would have to DNF it if Kendra immediately folded after Gideon’s actions. BUT…. It twisted in a way that wasn’t what I wanted but also wasnt what I dreaded. And, that is the very best of all! It storyline ended up being completely unique and perfect for this couple. *chef’s kiss*. Of course I would have loved it being a big longer so we could get more depth overall, but for a swoon-worthy read that doesn’t require a long investment, this is awesome.

Oh! And the sex scene? It was all about EMOTION rather than graphics…SO much more moving and beautiful. *double Chef’s kiss*

Now I am itching to get the other brother’s stories - especially Aiden’s! Oh, I hope Cora runs him through the heartache ringer!! No forgiveness for a Looooooong time - if ever there!

[Kathleen Lemke (Kathy Page) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: 4 stars

What I liked: I really loved Gideon’s(H) speech at the Gala. Also, I’m glad the evil wannabe other woman and her dad was dealt with.

What I didn’t like: I wish at the end we got a scene with Kendra(h) going to Gideon’s work place and have Gideon tell the woman at the desk that she is allowed to visit at any time (also his assistant too).

***Major Spoilers/ Details/Triggers/Tropes: Marriage in Trouble, H says hurtful things to h.
H decides he wants a wife to have a child and goes about getting one. When H sees the h at a singles gala, he knows right away she is the one to fit his criteria as a perfect wife. H goes about getting the h, marrying her quickly, and get started on getting her pregnant. For three years the H has been trying to get the h pregnant but also keeping her separate from his life (spending as little time as he can with h, neglecting her emotionally, having schedule sex time to get her pregnant). h finds out she is pregnant but wants to surprise him. H, after dealing with a work situation with a wannabe ow, comes home and tells the h that he is only with her because he wanted a baby and she can’t even do that. h runs and H realizes he messed up. H goes after the h, deals with the situation and the H and h get their HEA.

Final thoughts: I can’t wait to read the other two brothers book’s!! Especially Adrian’s!

[Missy Ekika · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two things about this bothered me so much that I only skimmed through the rest of the book:

1. he only comes after her once he knows she‘s pregnant. Doesn’t even try to find her before that. Which proves once and for all that he only wants her as a baby maker.
2. Within one moment this ruthless, closed off, can‘t feel a thing man starts sprouting pages of supposedly heart-felt confessions about his upbringing and his undying love for her. (Again, only after he learned she was finally pregnant.) and she eats it up.

All in all too unrealistic and unresolved for me.

[Cee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was so aggravating

[Lucky · Rating 1 out of 5]

The feeling I felt middle of reading,, may be it's a wolf shifter fantasy book.....

Really expecting little more than what I got.. grovelling is somewhat good from mmc...but from FMC side I'm disappointed....it's not natural to get over what he said all that to her.....just not very natural progression

[Tabatha Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb here sounded fantastic but this ended up being just ok. The heroine was extremely underwhelming and too much of a doormat. The hero was unremarkable. There’s an OW who was just pathetically cringy. This whole story was just a big letdown.

There’s no cheating. No OM drama. The OW drama was more annoying than angsty. She was never a real threat to the main characters marriage.

I didn’t read the first book in this series because I dislike books were the MMC starts out intending to harm or kill the FMC. The next book sounds kind of meh to me. I’ll probably read Cate’s book though I’m not much of a fan of full on cheating books I’m curious how Cate will redeem him - or if she can. This hero in this book wasn’t redeemed in my eyes.

[rosario · Rating 2 out of 5]

yeah so

I know it’s supposed to be short but how did he say all that to her and just like that forgave him…. the groveling wasn’t nearly enough for me.