YUGE thanks to Dafina and the author for granting me an advance copy of Book 3 in the Chesterton Scandals series. I'm not even a series reader, but this has become one of the few I follow and stay current with!
This book dives deeper into the dramatic, sexy, action packed lives of the well to do Murdoch family of Chesterton Virginia. Evan, who's caught between a rock and a hard place, is the de facto Patriarch of the family, sitting at the helm of Murdoch Conglomerates. This makes him a target, both for gold digging wives that can't let go and jealous illegitimate half siblings. When I tell you Charisse, Evan's soon to be ex is petty? Wooooo. When she shows up at a country club meeting to "expose" Leila as the mistress (like people didn't know who she was), and then subsequently does her very best to destroy her husband's pregnant fiancee's business and livelihood? Chick is cold. And crazy. But I don't get her end game. Chile, take that alimony and go on with your life.
On top of the drama between the two women in his life, Evan knows something that might send a member of the family to prison... for murder.
Terrance Murdoch was one of those characters that I didn't like at first-- spoiled playboy, former model who lives off of the trust fund he only earned by being a Murdoch... but then he had that terrible accident and I felt like it brought him to his knees. Terrance had to rebuild himself from the ground up with therapy and reconstructive surgery and his relationship with newspaper reporter CJ. But things get rocky when CJ's attentions are divided between him and her super religious family and Terrance doesn't deal well with not being the center of attention. Some of his bad boy behaviors return with a vengeance. Things come to a head when Terrance misunderstands what he sees and suddenly he's single again. But does Terry fit into this old life, with the women he used to chase, the alcohol he used to drink, the life he used to live anymore?
Dante..... *sigh* This brother right here. If there's one character I have to read with one eye closed because I'm not quite sure what he's going to do, it's Dante. Somebody tried to kill this dude, and it did not work and he is not happy about it. He's simultaneously in hiding and on the warpath and it's... frightening. He's an addict, he's angry, and he's in a position to hurt someone he's related to but has no love for and that means bad news for other members of the Murdoch family.
This book follows Shelly Ellis' tradition (from the Gibbons Sisters on down) of turning out books full of family drama, sizzling sex scenes and page turning, rapid fire action. I love books that make me want to pop a bag of popcorn to eat while I read. It's like a Soap Opera, but it's a book. This entire series is FIRE, and I already need the next book.
Each of these books ends in a cliffhanger, but not one that keeps you dangling. Stories that are introduced in the book come to conclusion but the overall arc of the story carries over 4 books. I can't believe I've been waiting a year for THIS book to come out, I've already read it and there's a year to go until the final book comes out next year. I can't WAIT!