Dirty

RAW Family #2

by Belle Aurora

My marriage seemed perfect from the outside looking in. People envied me. They wanted my life, wanted to be me. Mrs Alejandra Gambino. Wife of Dino Gambino. Daughter of Eduardo Castillo. Respected. Loved. Mob royalty. They had no idea of the horrors that lurked behind closed doors. They didn't know I was at the lowest point a person could reach. Enter Julius Carter. Aloof, handsome, blue-eyed Julius Carter. He saved me. I screwed him over. Now everybody was after me. My life was forfeit. It was only a matter of time. I was a dead woman walking. The question was, who would get to me first?

Genres: Dark, Dark Romance, Romance, Abuse, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Adult

396 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2016

About the author

Belle Aurora is thirty-something year old and was born in the land down under.
At an early age she fell in love with reading. Boredom one summer had her scouring the bookshelves at home. She stumbled across Sandra Brown’s Breath of Scandal and fell in love with romance.
Having been brought up in a loud and boisterous family of Croatian descent, she developed a natural love for dramatics and laughter. Only some years ago had she discovered a new love.
Humorous romance novels.
So many authors had opened a brand new world where she could lose herself yet feel safe and at home in their stories. Belle has been known to become a screeching banshee while anxiously awaiting their newest titles.
Belle never thought she would write. It had never interested her until recently. Friend-Zoned began to form and in February this year Belle typed the words Chapter One. And she fell in love.
With words.
With writing.
With a creative imagination she never knew she harbored.

Belle Aurora is a USA Today best-selling author.

Reviews

[Belle Aurora]

Read the prologue here:-
https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...

[Eni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow !!
Can't wait for the next book.

~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~
September,08th 2016:This is getting tiring.I check everyday for the release date,but nothing so far.Will this book ever be released.We're dying here. WAITING.

July 15th:So,I just reread RAW and apparently Julius appeared in the book. I didn't remember it. Hehehe *nervous laugh*
Well,there's still not a release date. *pouting*
I'm really trying to be patient,but I can't anymore.
I just want it now.



May 23d:Now it says June 16th. :(( And I keep waiting....and waiting...

January,16 2016:Finally after waiting so long we have a release date. May,23 2016. Can't wait !!

August,26 2015:Still waiting for the release date to be announced.



●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●~●
Julius ??

I don't want Julius.I want Twitch.

[Hulya Kara Yuksel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I really tried to loved it but I only enjoyed last %40 of the book... And I have to admit, it was quite different than the 1st book and maybe my expectations were so high too, I don't know but this book didn't excite me as much as Raw. But still I'm glad I read it... :)

Ps. Can't wait to read 3rd book. Twitch&Lexi <3

[Akanksha❤ Søren♰]

Need twitch!
Where is this book author?

~
WHERE IS THE BOOK? *cries and howls*
~
WHAT THE FUCK?
Expected Publication -June 2016?

I AM SOOOOO PISSED. We dont have a synopsis yet andddd the date has been pushed. I'm just going to go sob in the corner.
~

May 23rd, 2016

~
I see

Dirty (RAW Family, #2)

then I see

Julius.

thennnn...

Release date TBA.

BUT
RAW ends with

I’ll come for them.
Redemption is at hand. And I call him AJ.

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. Someone pleaseeeeee.... help.. tell me his story will continue here.. or so help me God, I will forever be broken by this ending. I need a freakin' HEA!!!!!!

[The Sassy Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to sit and think a bit before I wrote this review. I've been waiting for this book for what feels like AGES. So you can imagine my excitement when I was offered an ARC. Dancing around the apartment may or may not have occurred.

Unfortunately, I didn't love this one...sigh. It was ALL over the place for me. There are two separate storylines that take place in it, and I found that the secondary one took away from Julius's and Alejandra's. Their story just never felt fleshed out enough for me to connect to them as a couple. We go from "I am going to kill you" to "I am going to keep you forever" in like the span of a day. Then we have Julius pulling a douche move of EPIC proportions that just comes out of left field. Umm *BOUNCE* seriously?? We also have a fourth POV (Ling) that AGAIN, in my opinion, took away from the main characters. Of course, that could be because I LOATHED her.



I almost feel like the author would have been better served to make the secondary storyline a novella heading into book three (yes there is going to be ANOTHER book) and gave the extra page space to fleshing out Julius's and Alejandra's story. Since the two storylines were connected by the thinnest of threads.

I also wasn't feeling the sex scenes in this one. First, there isn't really that much, to begin with, and the VERY few there were are lukewarm at best. It's been awhile since I read book one, but I seem to remember it having dirty hot sex scenes. So I kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Oh good, they are going to have sex. THEN Julius says to Ana "I won't go down on you, or have sex with you bare because you have a douche of a husband who cheated on you and I'm not going to take the chance of catching something" (I'm paraphrasing) Realistic, I guess, not in ANY way, shape or form, sexy though.

Of course, this is just one person's opinion and you may LOVE every minute of this book. It wasn't a badly written book. And maybe I had my expectations set too high. I enjoyed it enough that I will be reading book three, since really, that is the book I have been waiting for since book one ended.

[Natalie]

Okay so it's really bad how much i'm still thinking about Raw...

Lexi...

AJ...

That ending...

Twitch..



I have a serious book hangover, months later that still won't go away.

It's probably because i wasn't sure if I'd get closure from this story and these characters, and it was NEVER confirmed.

So i then tried being Twitch for a while and stalked...



Then i discovered RAW 2.

I went from...



to this..



Pretty quick once i found out this book is about Julius..... and not my TWITCH.

But still, these characters all interrelate. So my stalker mode was activated yet again. Until finally it was confirmed.....

"The official announcement of DIRTY has clearly caused a stir amongst RAW fans. And I love that you guys are excited about this!

You have questions.
I have answers.

Will TWITCH be involved in this book?

Yes, he will. Heavily."



There is finally hope in life again!



My story of stalking twitch;)

[Clumsy Storyteller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to what's next...

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

TITLE: Dirty
SERIES: (RAW Family, #2)
AUTHOR: Belle Aurora
GENRE: Contemporary Romance.
CHAPTERS: Prologue | 51 | Epilogue x 3
RELEASE DATE: 31st October, 2016



IT'S DIRTY, IT'S RAW, IT'S HIGHLY ADDICTIVE



DIRTY: The highly anticipated sequel to Raw it is vital that you read before jumping onto this to understand the full dynamics of the characters. Told in multiple POV'S Twitch, Alejandra, Julius & Ling. You'll all be pleased that Twitch is back with a vengeance and all those feels RAW threw at you all come full circle in this book.

This is Julius and Alejandra's story. If you can't remember who Julius was, he was Twitches best friend, these two were like brothers, they would always have each others backs, no matter what.

At the age of eighteen we're introduced to Alejandro, a young privileged girl who knows her place within the family and what sacrifices are required of her, her father has just dropped a bombshell on her that she is to marry Dino, the son of Vito Gambino..

The Castillos and the Gambinos will will then be reunited through marriage. Which will ultimately make them a very powerful family, by making Alejandro a mob princess married to a mob prince and heir, who will then become ka king of the domain when his father passes.

FAST FORWARD SIX YEARS: To the outside world twenty-four year old Alejandro lives the life of a much loved privileged wife to Dino, but behind closed doors tells another story. Brutalized, raped, beaten, victimised, an unbearable life that she must endure.

Reading about what life entailed being married to Dino may be a hard limit for some, it makes for unbearable reading, it's not pretty, it's distressing , dark and disturbing but it just makes the story more believable.

“My marriage consisted of three emotions. Happiness, anger, and sadness. Happiness when we first married, anger when I realized Dino wasn’t the prince I thought he was, and sadness when I finally understood that nobody was coming to save me."

Until she makes her escape, which places her in one clusterfuck of shit that will end in her being hunted down and brought back to the family to die for her sins, her deceit, the death of an innocent man are all on her hands.

This is where Julius and Ling come into the story, they are bringing her back. This is where Alejandro strives to prove to Julius that her life is worthy of being saved, but in order to do that puts a hit on his head.

An undeniable attraction ensues.

"It's not often I see the man behind the mask. But I know he's there. I feel him lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to come out and play."

[Sophie's Reading Corner]

Guys, I'm dying!!! If you have read Raw, you need to check this out!!!

AJ was a smart boy. He was only five years old but knew the value of a secret.
He didn't like keeping secrets from his mom and when he asked her if it was okay to lie, she told him that it was never okay to be dishonest.
It didn't make sense.
AJ had heard his mother lie before.
Why was she able to lie when he wasn't?
His mother explained that sometimes people told lies to stop another person from being hurt, that these were called 'little white lies'.
AJ thought about this.
His secret would hurt his mom, he'd been told, so it wasn't really a lie, he thought. Keeping his secret was more a 'little white lie'.
As his mother tucked him in to bed, he smiled up at her. "I love you," he told her, and he meant it.
His mother's smile softened. "I love you more, honey," she responded quietly as she ran gentle fingers through his messy hair.
She blew him a kiss as she left his room, turning off the light and closing the door behind her.
AJ lay in his bed, awake and waiting.
He wasn't sure how long he waited but when he heard the window rattle then lift in excruciating slowness, he smiled excitedly.
His little white lie was here.
Daddy was home



I need to know if it's about Twitch! I am going crazy here!!

[MELISSA *Mel Reader* · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars!
(ARC provided by author)



Alejandra Castillo grew up as mob royalty. Her mother died & Ana and her five siblings were raised by her father. She grew up sheltered, going to private schools & never really having much of a social life. She was taught to believe that family & loyalty were everything & certain sacrifices must be made for the good of the family. So when it's decided she will marry a rivals son, she reluctantly agrees so there can be peace between these mob families. She will do anything to make her father happy & hopes this alliance will unite the Castillo's & Gambino's. Alejandra soon learns she is married to a psychopath. This man that claims to love her becomes her worst nightmare.

Ana is with her husband for six years before an opportunity presents itself for her to be free. She meets a man named Julius Carter one evening & takes a chance that gets her into some trouble. Suddenly everyone is after her & she's a dead woman walking. Tired of merely existing & feeling broken and weak, Ana takes off hoping to live a life on her own terms.



Julius Carter was on an assignment that went terribly wrong. Now he's in a bit of a situation. He is searching for a woman named Alejandra Gambino. He needs to find her & make right a disaster she caused, but when he finds her will he save her, or turn her over to those looking for her.

Once he tracks her down, she becomes more of a handful than he anticipated. She's defiant & strong willed and stunningly beautiful. He was drawn to her & intrigued from the moment he laid eyes on her. In a short amount of time, Alejandra turns his life upside down. The gorgeous, controlled Julius is feeling anything but in control & he's getting quite attached to Alejandra. They both can't deny their intense attraction for one another & soon become intimate. As feelings develop Alejandra wonders if Julius is the monster she once thought or her savior?



-I hadn't expected to be so affected.

-It wasn't fair. Out of all men to get stuck with, I got the one who stirred the butterflies in my belly with a humble glance from those stormy blue eyes.

-I have been waiting my whole life for this man, only I didn't know it.



I really enjoyed this book! It has a few different stories & POV's. The main story is about Julius who we met in Raw as Twitch's best friend/business partner. I loved the sexy love story between Julius & Alejandra. We also get more of Twitch. He's working to get back to his family & trying to keep them safe. We also get more of Ling & Happy and also an appearance from Nox & Lily. Loved getting so many of the characters I love & can't wait for more Twitch in the next book! I'm ready for him to get his HEA! :))



-"It's all about us now."

-"We're a team. And you're exactly where I want you. By my side."

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

IT'S LIVE!
*Amazon*iBooks*Kobo*

Dirty follows Julius, who you met in Raw, as he and his partner, Ling, go on another mission. They're called in to a Mob dispute and have the job of finding out who killed one of their sons. Julius never lets a job affect him, but when he shows up and see's Alejandra, wife to the first son in the Gambino family, that changes. There's something that she's hiding and he intends to do anything he needs to in order to find out her secrets. There is nothing he won't do to get what he wants.



I have so much to say about this book, but I can't without spoiling it so I'm going to attempt to keep this short. I did enjoy the majority of this story but there were a lot of things that I had issues with. I'm just so sad that I was excited for this book for so long and yet now that it's over I'm left feeling meh.

There was a lot that didn't seem to add up during this book and I honestly still don't understand some of what happened or why it happened. Not only that, Ana's character was a big contradiction for me and I could never get a read on what exactly her personality was supposed to be like. One minute she's this scared little girl and the next she's all tough and trying to plan her escape. It didn't make sense to me that she kept waffling back and forth and it made me not like her character.

My feelings for her and Julius were kind of the same and their whole relationship didn't seem real. The change from Julius planning evil things for Ana's future to the "I love you" stage practically gave me whiplash and I felt like it came out of nowhere. Even more than that there was something that happened at the end that Julius did that had me very confused because it was never explained and I'm still sitting here wondering what actually happened.

What my main issue was, though, was the fact that there was this second storyline worked into the book. I sort of understood why there was this story that was also being told parallel to Julius's but at the same time I wish it didn't take over so much of the story. It took a lot of focus away from Julius and Ana and put them in the background more than once. They were still the main characters so I felt like they should have been the main focus and not the second storyline.

Bottom line, there's a lot that I had issues with in this book and they had a big impact on my enjoyment of the story. There were still many parts that I did enjoy and where I liked seeing these characters together so I don't consider this a total loss. There's going to be another book in the Raw family series, and I am looking forward to that so I hope it's out soon!

ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Sophia Triad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confusing and unfocussed, but still with a solid central story.

The book has a really strong start with two mafia families joined together under the wedding of the first born son of the one family and the first born daughter of the other family.
Although the marriage was not a result of love, the young couple liked each other. They became friends before they got married and during their first night 18 years old Alejandra, daughter of Eduardo Castillo, and her husband Dino, son of Vito Gambino, became lovers. They appeared to be a blessed couple who loved each other deeply.
Very soon innocent Alejandra would realize that she was married to a psychopath monster.
Alejandra was a very good actress. She endured scars, beating, biting, raping, belittling, starving, being constantly afraid and anxious, being constantly broken.

So, when the perfect opportunity arrived to get rid of the monster, she simply lied about him. She lied about a certain crime he may or may not have committed.
She lied about his actions to her family, his family and the rest of the underworld. Unfortunately she also lied to Julius who never forgives dishonesty and being played.

“He’s the guy you call when the very best manage to fuck up….
JC is judge, jury, and executioner.
Julius doesn’t make the laws of our world, Alejandra. He is the law.”

Julius Carter used to be Twitch’s best friend, before Twitch died. He is the judge of the underworld. His assistant is Ling Nguyen,Twitch’s ex girlfriend, who is bitter, lethal as a poisonous snake, a sex addict and still apparently obsessed with Twitch.

I loved Julius and Alejandra’ story. I loved their mistakes, the way they have fallen in love hard and fast, their hesitation, their confusion, their declarations, the way they match. I loved them together.

“This is how it is. I don’t fuck around. If I’m done with you, I’ll tell you. You’ll never not know where you stand with me, because I’ll keep you by my fucking side for always.”

My main complaint is that I did not just get their story. I got two extra stories.
The continuation of Ling’ story and the continuation of Twitch’s story.

Ling. Well, I didn’t want to know all the details about her. I have figured her out without knowing her adventures with the random males or with her shrink. I don’t care about her mentality and her feelings. And she really is very unimportant and boring. I was reading very fast the chapters with her point of view to get to the juicy stuff about Julius and Alejandra.

The book also felt like filler of the next book about Twitch. I love Twitch. I want to read many books about him, but this time I loved the story about Julius and Alejandra . Twitch efforts to go back to his family was making me losing focus. I did not need all these pages about Twitch’s trouble present, the story of his life and the surprising news about his family and father. There could be a couple of pages in the end as a teaser for the next book which will be about him.

So, although I loved most parts of the book, my focus was not equally distributed:
- I loved the parts of the book with Julius and Alejandra.
-The parts of the book with Ling’s story left me totally dissatisfied and bored to death and
-The parts about Twitch left me needy for more and disconnected with the book’s main story.

I am looking forward to”Rebirth”. I have missed Twitch and Lexi together.

[Beverly]

[➦Paulette & Her Sexy Alphas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: ➳ Dirty
Series ➳RAW Family Series 2#
Author: ➳ Belle Aurora
Publication: ➳October 31st 2016

⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐⭐
💖💖💖💖💖

ღ Dirty tells the story of Julius & Alejandra & their dark & dangerous story

➳Alejandra Castillos -I am a mob princess married to a mob prince & heir, who will become king of the domain when his father passes. I am duped into believing my princess is a good man. But I am a fast learner. I will bide my time in hopes that I maybe somehow escape my hell.

➳Julius Carter is judge, jury, & executioner to underworld
He was ask to judge Dino Gambinos for the crime of murder of a fellow crime brother. unaware that he is guilty of crimes far worse than murder.

➳ I loved Alejandra, she a fighter … The women has live in hell, but she fought tooth & nail. I am so glad she never gave up on herself

➳I want to say up until almost the end of the book I truly loved Julius Carter until he pulled the shit he did …… Sorry I hope that I didn’t spoil it for you

➳I can’t wait to see what Ling is going to do next 👀... (Crazy Bitch)

➳I loved reading about Julius & Twitch’s past… How they meet

➳Twitch, Lexi & Aj seem to only be a back story in my opinion, but the good news is in opinion my This sequel was more of a filler to help get readers ready for Raw Rebirth… I wait so long for this series to be release in its entirety. So, you know I’ll be jumping into book 3 next

➦📚 Hope you enjoy this read & also always keep in mind this is just my opinion
This book might be in a series, but I can honestly say you can read it as a standalone… Mind you I plan on going back & reading the other two books

Books should be read in order:
Book 1: Raw
Book 2: Dirty 💕
Book 3: Rock Rebel
-------------------------- Happy Reading ---------


💕 ✎Paulette Review ❤💕

[✰ Bianca ✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alejandra - Ana - is the daughter of a mob boss.
When she was 18 years old, her 'normal' life ended. She was asked/forced by her dad, to marry into another crime family. And at first Dino was perfect. They became best friends. But after being married for a while, she finally met the real Dino. The mega-jealous, violent, angry, mean Dino. The Dino who liked watching his little psycho brother violently rape his wife.

And now finally, after six years of constant fear, there might be a change in her miserable life.
Her former highschool boyfriend, and now-husband of her younger sister, has been killed. Probably by Dino, because he found out that he was his wife's ex.
Alejandra's brother Miguel hires our darling Twitch's best friend Julius to investigate, and, if need be, to eliminate.

Enter Julius - and his new side-kick - Ling!

But of course all is not as it seems, and suddenly Ana is chased by everyone. One side wants her dead deader deadest. And the other side - aka Julius - just wants to bring her back home - to probably get killed too, but at least she has a chance that way.

And of course our darling Julius is kind of intrigued by this beautiful girl.
But will he believe her when she finally tells him the truth???



Oh, and if all that wasn't exciting enough - we also follow our beloved Twitch around the world trying to eliminate every single threat to his family's lives, in a more or less legal way - so that he can maybe, one day soon, come back home!!!! ☺

WHAT WiLL HAPPEN WiTH ANA & JULIUS & TWiTCH???
WiLL THERE BE A HAPPY EVER AFTER FOR ALL OF THEM???
OR WiLL THERE BE A CLiFFHANGER???



I'm not telling you that of course ☺



════════════════════





DIRTY IS HERE GUYS!!! Finally! ☺ And the best thing about it!!!!! TWITCH is in here too!!!!!



I already started crying the first time Twitch and Lexi were mentioned. Julius remembers the time when he saw Lexi after Twitch 'died'. Ugh, soooo heartbreaking!!!

OK - back to DIRTY!
Just like RAW, Dirty is a book full of criminals and bad guys and our good bad guys trying to rid the world of the very bad guys all the while trying to save the bad girl from being killed by the very baddest guy! ☺ Makes sense?

It's not as complicated as that just sounded.
This was an amazingly interesting and raw and dirty romance. ☺
The romance part is at first of course not really the main part. It takes our darlings a long while to trust. But we'll get there.

There's lots of violence and hitting and shooting and killing and whatnot to entertain us until we'll get to the romance part. That doesn't mean that the violent and criminal part is over once we kissed for the first time. It's only getting started. ☺



Julius is a really great guy. Really hot and sexy and ...



Yesss, he's kind of a killer and a bad guy. But he's also this adorable softie underneath. All his bad-guying only started as a teenager when his sister got hurt and he had to help her.

I really enjoyed this book. I cried A LOT!!!!



A few tiny things....

It was a tiny bit too violent for me. Violent in an ugly way. I'm not one of those 'an-eye-for-an-eye' people. I prefer following the law. And those mafia types, they're not really law-abiding folks.☺
But of course you pretty much know what you're getting into when you start reading this series.

Even though I loooved Julius, I sometimes felt we were just wasting time with his story, while waiting for Twitch to be ready for his book! I was looking forward to Twitch's chapters way too much. Maybe he shouldn't have been in this book all that often (a chapter at the end would've probably been better) - it wasn't really fair to Julius and Alejandra! Their lovestory felt a bit flat and shortened and too insta and a bit weird.....

Also - can I say that I hate Ling? I already hated her in the first book and she's no better now. She's horrible and she will probably be even more horrible in the next book. I don't like her, I don't want her, I think she should just go somewhere else and not be in these books. ☺

BUT - I still loved the story a lot! It was a great Romantic Suspense book!

DIRTY was a very suspensy & exciting Thrillance! Is that a word? Anyway. Lots of criminal activity. But also lots of sexiness and hope for a better future. Not only for Ana and Julius, but also for Twitch and Lexi and AJ! Can't wait for book #3!!!!

♡ ♡
♡ ♡

[Betül · Rating 5 out of 5]

**ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review**



"Everyone loves a villain."

Two and a half years is how long I have been waiting on this book. I LOVED the first book RAW so I had very high expectations for Dirty. I am happy to announce Dirty has met all my expectations. I love this book so much. Belle did a phenomenal job with linking everything perfectly together. All the new characters were very intriguing and added so much more to the story. As for the characters we already, they were still as awesome as they were in Dirty. This book gave me the perfect RAW experience.

"They can take everything from me, but I won't let them have my pride. They can pry it from my cold, dead fingers."

The two main characters in this book are Julius (Twitch's best friend/right hand man) and the beautiful Alejandra. We already met Julius in RAW and I loved him in that book and couldn't wait to get my hands on his story. We see another side to him that I admire so much. He was still his strong, loyal, dangerous self. But we also got to see a soft, caring and protective side to him. Alejandra had been dealt a very messed up and horrible hand and my heart broke for her. She was in my eyes still very strong and didn't just give up. I was very proud of her and her determination to survive. Julius and Alejandra were a perfect match and I loved seeing their relationship develop. A lot of crazy and horrific things happened in this book. It was dark and twisted, just the way I like my books. This was a complete story that didn't left me wanting more.

We also get a better view of Ling, who is Julius partner. She intrigued me the most. She is so complicated and I just couldn't get enough of her. Her relationship with both Twitch and Julius was very unique and kind of destructive. I need MORE of her!!!!! There were so many twists in this book and now I need the third and last book RAW: Rebirth to see what is going to happen. I was very happy Twitch had many POVs in this book, they showed us what he was up to. I love him so much! The last book is going to be explosive and I expect a lot of crazy things to happen. Again this book is AMAZING and another favorite of mine. Belle Aurora doesn't disappoint!

[Natalie ~ The Biblioholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're anything like me, as soon as you were finished reading Raw, you searched the Earth for book 2. If you were like me, when you got to the bittersweet ending of Raw and saw that the next book was nowhere in sight, you curled up into a ball and sucked on your thumb in despair like a little bish.



Okay. So I didn't really do that but I came pretty close. I've been aching and pining for this book. I can't say that for many series, but this one definitely made the top of my to-be-read list. Thank you Belle Aurora for giving us Dirty. I am soooooo fcking grateful!!

TWITCH!! OMG OMG OMG!! TWITCH!! I missed your sexy, hot, crazy, tatted, no time for the B.S. azz!!



Stephen James is definitely my idea of Twitch. Just needs a tattoed 13 on his face!!

This book was just as "raw" (if not more than) the first one. Twitch was focused on ridding the world of vermin so that he could get his life back, but the book primarily focuses on Julius. Goodness, Jay was such an amazing character. Different from Twitch, but no less brilliant in his own right. We get to see what kind of man he really is in this one, especially when he makes Alejandra his priority. His mission, eventually, was to protect her, love her, and be loved by her.

This book was intense, action-packed, filled with insane amounts of betrayal and deception, and beautiful love. I'm so excited for book 3 and hopefully it's a shorter wait time.

Was anyone super excited about the sneak peak at the end for book 3??? Seems like Twitch will be back to his old tricks LOL!! Made me even more eager to get my hands on it!!


Fave line: "Yippee-kai-yay, motherfucker." ~ Twitch

An ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review

[AleJandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 If you go black... STARS

Estuve en un ir venir con la calificación de este libro, y no estoy ni cerca de lograr decidirme, así que mejor la dividiré.

La historia de Julius y Alejandra se merece 5 STARS

"She had a light in her eyes that called to the darkness in mine."

A mi me encanta leer historias de matrimonios arreglados. Y cuando se trata de matrimonios solo por negocio y en medio de la mafia, me fascinan mucho mas. Pero que pasa cuando las cosas no funcionan como en la mayoría de este tipo de historias. Eso es lo que nos toca ver en el inicio de este libro.

La protagonista, Alejandra mejor conocida como Ana ( que por cierno nunca había escuchado de que a las Alejandras les dijera Ana, y si alguien habría de saberlo seria yo), una princesa de la mafia mexicana que a sus 18 años es obligada a casarse con Dino, un príncipe de la mafia Italia, y por supuesto ambos no quieren casarse pero lo hacen por que es su deber. Y adivinen que? Dino se enamora completamente de Ana. ***Awwwwww que romántico***

Pero, Ana no se enamora de el, lo cual desata la locura de Dino. Me encanta ver como el amor puede llevar a las personas a los lugares mas obscuros e inimaginables. Como en este caso, que Dino no puede entender el rechazo de Ana y decide hacer de su vida un infierno, lleno de abuso emocional, físico, sexual y todo lo mas horrible que se puedan imaginar.

"A man who was crazy in love with a woman who did not feel the same."

Lo mas sorprendente es que todo esto pasa en el Prologo, esto es solo el inicio de todo lo que tendrá que enfrentar Ana.

Y uff lo que le toca enfrentar.

Sin duda lo que mas me gusto de este libro fue la historia de Ana y Julius. Fue lenta, su romance se fue creando poco a poco, obviamente tienen atracción desde su primer contacto pero su relación como tal se construye poco a poco.

El personaje de Julius es introvertido y serio, en control de si mismo y de la situación en todo momento, bueno menos con Ana. Me gusto muchísimo este hombre.

Ambos cometieron muchos errores, ambos me desesperaron y quise golpearlos. Y el final fue demasiado para mi corazón, no se como Ana logro sobrevivir tanto.

Algo que me quedo a deber Aurora Belle en este libro, fue mas sexy time. Tuvimos pocas escenas eróticas con Julius y damn yo necesitaba mas.



La historia de Ling 2 STARS

Seré sincera, la verdad no recuerdo este personaje n Raw, aunque en este libro nos lo recuerdan constantemente. Ella y su relación/obsesión con Twtich.

Otra gran verdad, odie a Ling, la odie todo el tiempo. Estúpida, sensual, perfecta, sexy, manipuladora y traicionera Ling.

Pero también es el personaje que mas me intriga. Creo que su historia daba para un libro completo, me hubiera encantado conocerla antes de que se encontrara a Twitch y Julius.

Aun no se que siento de su final, pero espero que Twitch la mate de una manera extremadamente dolorosa.

La historia de Twich 3 STARS

"Everyone loves a villain."

Y conste que estoy poniendo la historias de Twitch y no la historia de Twicth y Lexy, ya que no tenemos reencuentro. Y odie que no paso. Me moría por verlos juntos, por ver a AJ y no sucedió.

Solo vemos a Twith por todo estados Unidos cazando a sus enemigos, para el poder regresar y estar a salvo con su familia.

La verdad me aburrían los capítulos desde su perspectiva, no me malinterpreten. Amo a Twitch, pero lo que hizo en este libro fut tedioso. Lleno de mafiosos que jamás recordaremos, y que no nos interesan. Y se sintió todo como relleno.

Como si la autora hubiera visualizado este libro sin Twitch pero al ver que las fans queríamos verlo con urgencia, decidió sacarse una historia de la manga y meter a Tiwtch aquí. Porque así es como se siente su historia, como si fue metida a la fuerza.

EN GENERAL:

Cada perspectiva es interesante. Pero al haber metido tanta información y tantas cosas en un mismo libro, todo se siente amontonado y si a eso le sumamos que nuestras expectativas por este libro estaban demasiado altas por la larga espera desde que salió el primer libro. Fue muy difícil llegar a disfrutarlo.

Además la historia esta llena de huecos y tenemos COINCIDENCIAS por todos lados.

La mejor amiga de Ana resulta ser la hermana de Twitch.

Julius no entrega a Ana de inmediato a su padre.

El esposo de la hermana de Twitch es el hombre que sabe exactamente donde localizar a los últimos dos hombre de la lista de Twitch.

Julius y Twitch conocen a todas las mafias de USA, aun así no saben de la existencia del papa de Twitch y de sus hermanos.

Etc, etc, etc.

En conclusión: Este libro no es mi mayor decepción del año, pero si es la decepción que mas me dolió.

[Vina]

A second book??

[Sophie "Beware Of The Reader" · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 crazy good and dirty stars.

She won her bet !

Belle Aurora took her time to write this much awaited sequel but it was worth the wait! I just hope she won’t need so much time for book three as I need it right now because damn it’s ending on the best part!

I really, really loved that we get to follow not only Julius but a new very interesting female character Alejandra and yes ladies, none other than that mother f…. of Twitch! I know I’m swearing but a) it goes with this book’s spirit and grittiness b) that’s what this series does to me: bring the bad girl in me, so far from my usually well behaved and controlled self. He is back!!!!

Try to stay composed and unaffected when reading all that Alejandra went through. That poor girl had it so hard and these sick brothers would deserve to be put to death like the dogs they are. I’m still fuming while writing this review hours after I finished the book.

You’ll love Alejandra. Well maybe some of you will complain she did not have to put up with this all, that she was just too compliant but I understood why she behaved such a way. She was brought up a certain way and it was expected of her to make sacrifices. That she’s still fighting for her life is a testament to her strength really.

As she committed treason Julius will have to chase her because he is the judge of the underworld. He did not leave me with a lasting impression in the first book but now I won’t forget him easily. As much as Twitch has a short fuse and sometimes acts like he is unhinged (yes let’s face it he acts like a rabid animal when cornered) Julius prides himself on his self-control. But Alejandra will really push his buttons making him loose his temper more than once and making him doubt everything. He does not care easily as he is a family man first but when he cares he’ll do everything to protect you. When I read about his blue eyes, sensual full lips and coffe colored skin I could not help but imagine Jeremy Meek, that famous felon whose mug shot has gone viral. If you don’t know his face yet go look him on the web and tell me if he does not fit the description to a T.

Julius and Alejandra fought, manipulated each other but you could feel they were made for each other from the start. I did love the hot and cold as it kept things more interesting than reading about insta-love/lust and him being her devoted knight from the first pages. I liked that both were torn and confused.

As it’s told from alternate point of view Alejandra, Julius, sometimes Ling and Twitch’s it kept my attention all the time. I wanted to know what would happen after Twitch made a move but got to read about Alejandra’s whereabouts first.

It was the right pace, not too fast but not too slow either, it was dark even unbearably so sometimes and I liked Alejandra’s evolution. I loved reading about Julius and Twitch’s past and we’re introduced to new characters related to Twitch. I just was a little disappointed not to read more about Lexi in this book but she was not meant to be the center of this story. I just hope she’ll come full force in the next one. And I can’t wait to read about her reaction if she discovers Twitch is living. Man he can expect to do some serious groveling and protect his “male parts”!

Just some parting words:
-I wanted so bad to slap/kick in the chest/pull hair that evil viper of Lyng!!!
-for all his craziness and savagery, I’m still Twitch’s team through and through;
-does Belle Aurora can be bribed to write faster? Who knows what her weakness is? Chocolate? Ben and Jerry? Wine? If you know the answer just leave a comment you would provide an invaluable service to reader’s society.

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 darkly intense stars

Holy damn, what a wildly dark and gritty ride! This book is fast paced, action packed and exciting (and all kinds of dark), with fantastically complex characters and an emotional romance, and I freaking loved it! The second book in the Raw Family series, this is definitely not a standalone, and be warned that review contains spoilers for Raw.

This book begins five years after the end of Raw. Twitch is gone, and his best friend Julius and enigmatic psycho side-kick, Ling, are still struggling with his loss. But life goes on and the two of them have teamed up in a platonic partnership with Julius policing the criminal underworld - called in to be judge, jury and executioner to those who believe they exist outside of the law, and who instead are governed by power, respect and their shady dealings.

Alejandra ‘Ana’ Gambino is a victim of such a deal. Daughter to a mob boss, she is married off against her will to the son of rival to form an alliance, and for years she has suffered unimaginable torture and abuse. She suffers in silence, doing her ‘duty’ to her family, but secretly she dreams of a life of freedom, and when the opportunity arises, she grabs hold with both hands.

This life of ours is not normal.
This life is dirty.
The things is, no matter how hard my father tried to raise me to be good, I never intended on staying clean.

Julius enters Ana’s world when he is brought in to mediate a ‘situation’ following the murder of her brother-in-law, but he has no idea that he is walking into a clusterfuck. Accusations, betrayal and another murder ends with Ana on the run and Julius needing to find her before others do, so that he can save his reputation and figure out what the hell is going on.

It’s twisted and dark, but OMG I was completely engrossed. Ana’s story is so tragic, and I was immediately on her side as she fought to reclaim her life. And once Julius catches up with her, hiding her away in his secret lair, things get intense as the captive/captor dynamic begins shifts from fear to mistrust to lust and so much more. It’s a whirlwind, and I was madly flipping through the pages to see what was going to happen between them.

Regardless of how much I denied it to myself, I wanted Alejandra, and not just to warm my bed. I wanted her for my own. She had a light in her eyes that called to the darkness in mine, her very presence calming.

And while that’s all brewing, Julius is working to uncover Ana’s story and figure out how to make things right, Ling is creating waves, and an unspeakable evil is trying to track Ana down. It’s all happening, and my heart was pounding through it all!

It’s an intense read, and be aware that it’s not always an easy one. This is a violent world that these characters inhabit, and there is violence, death, sexual assault and torture all occurring in graphic detail on the page. It’s dark, but it works to create a terrifying world, and demonstrates the strength of these characters to survive within it. Ana stunned me with her ability not only to survive, but to thrive despite all that she’s been through. And then there’s Julius who, although he is absolutely badass, shines like a beacon of strength, power and goodness with a huge heart.

“You seem like the type of guy that a girl would do just about anything to have on her side.”

The love story is very fast moving, and though I loved watching it all unfold, I would have liked to see a bit more development there. It’s a bit of a weird dynamic that Julius and Ana have, and though I could feel the chemistry between them, there’s so much happening in the story that there’s not a lot of chance to explore it. I could see that they were falling for each other, and though they have their ups and downs, their plunge into coupledom was really intense, really freaking fast. And there is a surprising lack of sexy time - not that I’m a perve or anything, but after the smut-fest of book #1 and all of the dirty talk and innuendo in this one I was expecting a bit more. But still, the romance is there, there’s a nice amount of emotion, and I loved seeing the two of them together.

“It’s all about us now.”

But the question everybody wants to know – what about Twitch? Well, Twitch has been working to get back to his family, but he really kicks it up a notch in this one, going on a mission of vengeance and blood and risking it all to ensure his safe return. His story loosely crosses over with Julius and Ana’s, and I thought it was really cleverly tied together.

The story builds to a thrilling climax that is all kinds of twisty. Murder, violence, heartbreak and big shocks, and a moment of supreme WTF-ery that had me absolutely fuming and that led to even more murder, violence and heartbreak. With devastating betrayals, alliances broken and formed, unexpected reunions, and all kinds of badassery, it’s all gearing up for a really exciting finish, and though this book ends well, I’m so glad I waited until right before Raw: Rebirth is released, because I don’t want to leave this world and I’m so ready for whatever is coming next!

I loved it! 4 stars!

[Saray ( I Read And Paint ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone explains to me what the heck is this ?! Julius ? What? What about Twitch? I'm not done with him yet,Aurora. What the hell ?

[Mira · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Beatrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arrange marriage usually happens to bond families and form powerful allies in the mafia world. Alejandra Castillo is a mafia princess. She's classy, pure and royal. Hopeful that she'll have a fruitful married life to Dino Gambino, son of one of the most powerful mafia families and it turns out he's a devil in disguise that made her life a living hell. For 6 years, she endured his abusive husband and one day, he'll pay for it.

Julius Carter, a hitman, was her savior after the altercation in the families went bad. He's ruthless when it comes to business but if it's about family, he's warm and genuine. An opposite to her so called husband. He doesn't know why she framed Dino and fell in the trap. If he finds out, he might change his mind. She hopes he'll understand and love her for who she is.

Not the sequel I have expected. It's not that I don't like Julius (Twitch's best friend). I'm more interested on what happened to Twitch after the epilogue on Raw, which stunned and somewhat broke my heart. Twitch have appearances here so we get to see his agendas. I'm afraid I cannot give you hints because it will be a spoiler to the previous book. I'll say this sequel is a filler and a distraction while Twitch is busy doing his business. What a tease. I like Julius and Alejandra's story but I'm not as invested as Twitch and Lexi's story. There are parts that I find dull and the intensity is lacking. I'm excited for Raw: Rebirth because Twitch and Lexi's story concludes there.

[Sonya ♕Chatterbooks book blog♕]

YASS YASS Aaaaaaand..........

[Hana ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

So this book has definitely been a long time coming. I read Raw almost 2 years ago so I completely forgot everything that happened in the story. I re-read some reviews and tried to get the gist of what went on, then I finally started reading this book and it all came back to me! Twitch... Lexi... the fake death and so on...



I will say that I was slightly disappointed that Twitch didn't get more attention in this book. Julius was okay, it took a while for me to warm up to him and he had some asshole moments but in the end he was a pretty decent H. I really felt for Ana, she was so strong despite everything. I liked her character a lot and hope we can see more of these two and hopefully they get a proper happy ending.



Side note: Ling you are a bitch. I know that you're heart has been broken and you are a scorned woman but what the actual fuck!!!



Holy smokes that epilogue and preview into the next book seriously left me wanting more. Please God I hope we don't have to wait another 2 years for the next book... I don't want to forget the whole damn story again by the time the next book comes out!!! :(

[Polly · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.9 stars!!

So if you're like me then Raw left you sobbing in a parking lot ready to bill Belle Aurora for therapy. I have been waiting for a follow up to that book since I was looked at by strangers next to me in their car like I was nuts. If you haven't read Raw, do not read this book! You've been warned.


I have to say that I think Belle knocked this one out of the park. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I devoured this one in a day and yet I still want more.

Julius is a hardened criminal. We already knew this. If you think going into this book that he all of a sudden became a sweet romantic then you're wrong.

Ana broke my black heart. Life had dealt her a shit hand. She sucked up so much for her family and when she finally saw a chance to escape she took it not caring about the consequences.


I think it's important to remember that these books are NOT sweet and fluffy romance. They push me outside my box. I usually prefer unicorns and rainbows but for some reason these suck me in.

Dirty is gritty, suspenseful, and gripping.

I wish the ending wasn't a rushed at is was. I know there is another book coming out but I wish this one gave me a bit more closure on this couple.

*arc provided for honest review*
*The Review Loft*

[Vicky Sp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recensione in Anteprima sulla mia pagina Bookstagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/CK0nTLFHi...

La scomparsa di Twice era stato un duro colpo per Julius. Ma era stato devastante anche per Ling, con cui lavorava ormai da quattro anni: «A dire il vero era smarrita già prima che la sua scomparsa le facesse oltrepassare il limite».

Il desiderio della sua socia era stato fin da subito andare il più lontano possibile da quel magazzino che era stato teatro di battaglia, e da tutto ciò che le ricordasse Twitch. Così Julius e Happy avevano preso la decisione di smantellare l’organizzazione.
Non che avessero avuto altra scelta in realtà, perché dalla dipartita di Falco gli affari avevano iniziato a precipitare.

Solo il pensiero del piccolo AJ. faceva tornare il sorriso a Julius. Quando avevano scoperto che Lexi era incinta, erano rimasti tutti sconvolti:
«Twitch non era un tipo imprudente, e sebbene Lexi ci piacesse, ero convinto che non avrebbe mai permesso una cosa del genere».

Era risaputo che l’ambiente criminale nel quale vivevano fosse pericoloso. D’altra parte Twitch riusciva a disarmare chiunque, anche la persona più controllata.

Julius e Ling adesso avevano un nuovo incarico da portare a termine. Erano stati contattati dal boss mafioso Eduardo Castillo, che aveva dato in sposa la figlia diciottenne a Dino, figlio del boss Vito Gambino. «Avevo visto il modo in cui trattava la mia Alejandra, e per me era stato un sollievo sapere che si sarebbe preso cura di lei, inoltre mi era stata promessa lealtà di tutti i loro uomini».

Ma le cose non erano andate così, e per questo il signor Castillo chiedeva vendetta per mano dei due sicari.

«Vorrei che fosse così semplice signor Castillo, ma la parola di Alejandra non è abbastanza», aveva prontamente replicato Ling, perché secondo le sue fonti la donna mostrava essere una moglie modello fedele a suo marito, che amava.

Alejandra, da brava figlia devota, aveva assecondato il volere del padre al fine di suggellare un’alleanza tra due potenti famiglie mafiose. Aveva creduto per davvero alla favola del suo matrimonio, ma dopo alcuni mesi suo marito si era rivelato essere un mostro, e le infliggeva ogni genere di atrocità.  

«Le sue estreme correzioni al mio comportamento erano infondate e frequenti. Trovava scuse inconsistenti per mettermi le mani addosso. Avevo sposato uno psicopatico, e non c’era via d’uscita».

Aveva subito umiliazioni e privazioni, e perso tutti i diritti umani fondamentali, ma non era più disposta a perdere altre battaglie. Non sarebbe mai più tornata in quella casa degli orrori.
Non di sua spontanea volontà.

L’incontro con Julius però aveva modificato i suoi piani.
La convivenza con l’uomo che le chiedeva continuamente risposte su quanto fosse accaduto con suo marito, non era facile. Era un osso duro che le mostrava freddezza e indifferenza, anzi a volte sembrava che non la potesse proprio sopportare. Ma l’attrazione tra loro era palpabile: «Se volessi un noi, lo vorrei con lui. Sono anni che non mi apro con nessuno. Dopo tutto questo tempo avere un uomo di cui potermi fidare mi fa sentire nervosa ed emozionata al tempo stesso».

Alejandra aveva fatto irruzione nella vita di Julius, invadendo i suoi spazi e il suo rifugio, provocando nell’uomo reazioni contrastanti, a volte anche sofferte. Aveva un piano in mente, ma non sapeva di essere finita, ancora una volta, nella tana del lupo.

🖋️Un libro ricco di avvenimenti, colpi di scena continui e incalzanti. Tanti anche i personaggi e le vicende narrate.

🖋️I capitoli su Alejandra fanno trasparire tutto il dolore e la sofferenza che ha dovuto sopportare per tanti anni in silenzio, costretta a mostrare in pubblico una facciata di moglie felice e fedele, e di donna soddisfatta.  

Felicità, rabbia e tristezza. Questi i sentimenti provati durante il suo matrimonio. Dino non era affatto il principe azzurro che aveva immaginato, e quando si era resa conto che non poteva in alcun modo sfuggire alla sua violenza, e che nessuno sarebbe arrivato per salvarla, lo aveva fatto da sola. Da donna forte, coraggiosa e fiera.

🖋️I capitoli su Twice sono strepitosi, soprattutto perché erano anni che noi lettrici aspettavamo di scoprire cosa gli fosse successo.

Antonio Falco vuole riscattare il proprio nome agli occhi di tutti, per tornare finalmente dalla sua famiglia da uomo libero, senza più doversi guardare le spalle. Per questo dovrà scendere a compromessi e affrontare situazioni che lo vedranno in prima linea e in pericolo.

«Sono solo un uomo che rivuole indietro la propria vita. Ho fatto la mia parte, e adesso devo aspettare».

L’amore che prova per Lexi è straordinario e sublime. Ho adorato leggere i capitoli su di lui.
Il desiderio di Twice di ricongiungersi alla donna che ama e al piccolo AJ. è potente e devastante. Nulla gli impedirà di tornare da loro. Costi quel che costi.

*Ringrazio la CE per copia digitale


*segnalo la presenza di refusi, ne ho trovati diversi

[Lea ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC kindly provided by Give me books promotions.

Intense. Gritty. Raw. Twisted.

Okay, I have to address the big fat elephant in the room... we waited for how long for this book?
More than two and a half years! Damn! That wait was killing me. But, it was all worth it.
Dirty met all my expectations.
I really hope we won't have to wait that long to read the next instalment, because I really need the rest of the Twitch's story.
Even though this is written in multiple POV's, the book is actually focused on Julius (Twitch's best friend) and Alejandra, daughter of a mafia boss. I don't want to reveal too much when it comes to the storyline, because I feel like I will spoil it for others.
This is a complex story and to get a full experience, you have to read it for yourself, but be aware that it is not for faint hearted.
There are actually two parallel plots happening at the same time, and both kept me at the edge of my seat.
I highly recommend to read the first book before reading Dirty.

[Esra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read such a Dark book for a long time...
I confess: I missed it...
It really was as much as the author promised. Even though I couldn't say I got enough with the Twitch scenes, it was enough to satisfy his longing...
There were plenty of surprises ...
I am very curious what will happen in the last book!!
------
Now we have a blurb!!! But i don't care!!!! I WANT TWITCH!!! ASAP!!
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Yippeeee!!!!



Umarım Twitch ve Lexi'yi de görürüz.. Zaten sırf onlar vardır diye okuyacağım.. O saçma sonlarını hala daha kabul edemiyorum çünkü... Julius'a ayıp olmasın ama :D