Savages

Vengeance #1

by M. Sinclair

I had been found feral, and despite their beautiful home... their beautiful facade - they were the same. Savages. Feral Savages. So I would treat them accordingly. I would live accordingly. I would kill accordingly.

I have a secret. Okay, probably more than one.

I live a delicate balance, living with the evil I know than the one I don't. I accepted that.

Until they showed up. Until they brought my secret and past into the light. Until I had no choice but to accept my true fate.

Shit. This is why you punch first and ask questions later.

*Fantasy RH*
Our badass heroine and guardians swear a lot. As well, please be advised that the book contains darker themes including assault, PTSD, and violence. Additionally, sexual themes are suitable for mature audiences +18.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Fae, Shapeshifters, Magic, Romance, Demons

222 pages, ebook

Published January 19, 2019

About the author

M. Sinclair is a USA Today Best-Selling Author who can be found writing or thinking about her characters and plots nearly every moment of the day. With over 65 published works since her debut in 2019, her work spans from paranormal to contemporary romance rooted in extensive world-building and deep character development. M. Sinclair believes there is enough room for all types of heroines in this world, and that being saved is just as important as saving others.

Just remember to love cats... that's not negotiable.

Reviews

[Rachael*Caribbean*girl*bibliophile]

Spoilers ahead

This isn't a review,more of a note to myself.

I came to this series after another by this author and this h is just a really really bitchy version of the h of that series. Even the guys seem like a copy and paste version. Given that I already can't stand the h I'm quitting early. Sometimes when you get a hit from an author it's best to leave their back catalogue alone 😔

[Christy deSade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much better after "editing"

Pros:
- The capitalisation issues were mostly fixed
- There were some additions to the story that helped understand motivation

Cons:
-Thought process issues like "He rounded the table, flying over it"...... you can either go around or over, not both.
-Word usage issues like, "It ensured me that at least one person" when it should be either "It assured me that" or "It ensured that"
-Word usage issues like "smelt" which is NOT the past tense of the word "smelled", it actually means to remove impurities from metal using heat
- Incorrect definition for a cocktail dress
-An apostrophe does NOT make a word plural but one DOES need to be used when indicating something belongs to someone i.e. possessive form
-Leopards and jaguars are different animals, they can't be used interchangeably
-The spelling "woah" is incorrect, it's "whoa"
- Incorrect use of homophones like "your" instead of "you're"
- Still very little world building
- Still no character development
- Still no real relationship building
- Still contradictory actions based on the FMC being a supposedly "strong, independent woman with PTSD"

Conclusion:
This author needs to proofread their own work, find beta readers that will be critical and honest or hire a better editor.

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

..It has been 5 days since I've read this and I have zero regrets about not writing this review until now. Zero fa-reaking regrets guys.

Savages was surprisingly really good. I was a bit hesitant when Gray was introduced but ended up falling in love with the girl. I loved how strong, confident and independent she was. Yeah, her hormones were sort of fighting against her whenever one of these guys were around.. but she stayed true to herself.

Now she's a little bad ass. Basically underestimated by every person in this book - especially the guys. I also really enjoyed the little twists and turns because I was totally thinking this one person was the "villain" and yeah- they weren't. Total mindfuck guys.

Okay, yes, I enjoyed this book - basically plowed through it. However, that doesn't mean it was completely perfect. No, this definitely had some errors here and there but like most people - my brain corrected it for my eyes. So yeah I overlooked the shit out of those mistakes and I'm pumped for the next book.

Bring it on Gray.

[Motaung]

30% - Feels like I am missing a big chuck of the story. Is this a connected spinoff, or was I supposed to start somewhere before book 1? I hate when this happens.

[❀ Crystal ✿ - PEACE ☮ LOVE ♥ BOOKS · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a decent, interesting and fun start to a new RH series. I liked all the characters but I do wish the story was a bit longer. Everything felt like it was moving so fast and I wish things moved at a steadier pace as there was quite a bit of background to be built early on. Throughout the book we learn more and more about all the characters, particularly the heroine who starts off appearing as the stereotypical lead mean girl of her school but is really so much more than that. Turns out her mean girl act is really just her way of protecting the other girls at her school and in doing so sheds a lot of light on the horrors of her past. As a child she escaped one life of duty and imminent death only to be placed into a life full of torture and abuse. All this occurs right after witnessing her parents being murdered and brutalized by her greatest enemy, oh yeah-the same guy shes betrothed to. I will say I really did question her at the start but I grew to really enjoy the heroines strength and I was literally blown away by her skills and power. Sadly and maybe because I felt the book was too short I only have one of the guys straight in my head and that’s Neo, the dark, dangerous and one who likes pain. Let’s just say in the end he really makes an impression on the mind 🤯🤯🤯. I’m hoping they all will develop individually as they bond more with Gray. Tougher times are on the horizon and I can’t wait to see what they all can do, especially working together.

[Zen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wrapped in mystery

I liked the premise of this book, but felt like it fell a little short in the execution. It seemed like we were only given bits of the story until after the halfway mark, so I spent a lot of time feeling lost. It seems like the author was wanting to keep the reader in the same dark as the harem, but as the reader, we didn't know as much as the harem, so we were doubly in the dark. I think I will read the next one, but am not in any hurry.

[Andréa · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one writes psycho characters that make crazy seem normal like M. Sinclair does. Over the top and still very much enjoyable. I just can’t get enough.

[Helene]

DNF 12%
A bunch of YA acting like YA....
Not for me

[Taylor Chitwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually LOVE her books but I just couldn’t stand the FMC in this one. Her personality didn’t really make sense to me and the storyline felt so rushed. It was still good just not what I had hoped for with this author.

[Main Character Energy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too YA for me

[Alex(Books-In-A-Storm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have started with this book. I fucking love it so much. I need the next asap.

[Sarah Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Representation: Black Heroes, Lesbian Supporting Character

Overall: 3.75-stars

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions
• No cheating
• No OW drama
• Does have OM drama
— the Heroine is beholden to a OM for protection (in a round about way). The OM is interested in the Heroine but the Heroine is NOT interested in him. It’s a toxic relationship where the OM takes advantage of the Heroine and abuses her. They do not have sex. The OM kisses her once on the forehead.
• Does have the Heroine pushing the Heroes away
• Does have a two week separation between the Heroine and Heroes


Possible Triggers: Yes
• Heroine saw her father murdered and her mother r@ped and then murdered when she was a child
• Heroine was physically abused by her adopted parents and was sexually abused by her adoptive father
• Pedophilia (see above)
• Gore
• Toxic relationships
• Murder


Ending: Mild cliffhanger

[Ta’Naya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was unbelievable! I love gray! She was so strong, so dangerous, but yeah she was kind of sweet at times. She was seriously protective of the people she cared about and she was such A savage of course. The guys were awesome! Neo was such a contradiction like he was so sweet and quiet but then you see this entirely different side of him and it was just perfect. I am still shocked by that apparent switch personality disorder Ne-Yo has. Taylor is our crazy brooding guy and Athens is so playful. Adyen is so kind with her and is kind of hard to describe but is a protector. Rhodes is our leader and controller. They’re just amazing and I love that action. When grave first met the guys it was so funny and I really thought that she was going to punch Taylor in the face but she didn’t and I was shocked. You could tell that she wanted to and let’s not even get started with Rhodes. All the guys are hot like for real for real. They matched Gray’s personality perfectly. M. Sinclair seriously was just out of this world with this book. She did amazing with the world and the characters personalities and talents. The descriptions were on point. M. Sinclair needs to write some more books like this and I love the fact that she told us what was happening in the guys heads. The twists were just fantasticly written and plotted. The flashbacks were beautifully written. I felt like I was physically in them and when Gray was hurting I was hurting and it was just so perfect. If you want emotion, laughter, romance, adventure, action, drama, steamy scenes, hot guys, strong heroines and harems, dark pasts, and sarcasm and swearing this is your book. And oh, that ending, I am so mad that she ended with that crazy power neo has and the extent of it. We need to see more of this power Neo has because it is just amazing. Also Who in the world was controlling the red shadows in the beginning of the book? Like was it Taylor or Neo? And who is going to be grays king? Is it all of them? Neo? Or Rhodes? Honestly, Neo probably with that power would be an amazing king but so would Rhodes. OK I won’t say anymore because if I do then I’m going to give everything away and I just wanted to give enough to tempt you. M. Sinclair you rock!

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Nowhere Dark Enough Stars

Savages is the first installment in the Vengeance series by M. Sinclair.

I genuinely like the world Sinclair built within the Vengeance and Lost in Fae series’. The Fae world primarily consisting of Light and Dark and Horde Fae. This book, however, has not explained the classifications between each as of yet. Mildly upsetting.

The writing?
Solely focusing on Gray’s POV; her voice is fractured¿ I guess you could say. Unsurprising given her past and accumulated scars. The only saving grace in regards to the heavy use of modernized speech, being this entire book was played out on Earth. It is still shocking however is regards to everyone else from Faerie. One would expect them to not use such American phrases or slang.

The plot?
Lackadaisical. Gray is hiding from the Dark Fae King. Her guard finds her at the Chicago academy, intent on protecting her and bringing her back to accept the crown. They kill some Dark Fae guardians, go into hiding, get found at their first hideout, and in conclusion Gray intones her decision to take back her throne as the True Heir.

The harem?
So much easier to distinguish compared to Lost in Fae. Five mates is manageable. There are clearer distinctions between each male. The twin trope; Neo - shadows, switch, sweet personality initially and kinky in bed; Athens - metal mage, bubbly personality, sub mostly, still possessive. That leaves the shifters; Adyen - dragon, beta male in the group, possessive of course, purrs A LOT; Rhodes - jaguar, alpha male supreme within the group, boss man. And Taylor the red headed demon with mind magic of some sort.

I admire Grays character. She’s a steadfast protector, companion, and leader. While wholly believing she’s unworthy of true affection, and yet still fills any room with her commanding presence. Contains multitudes.

[Dani Freeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

So confused

I honestly feel like I walked in at the middle and just kept trying to catch up. Female main character started out fairly unlikable and progresses little beyond that, the male characters (there are so many and I'm not talking about just the harem) are introduced quickly with little to no backstory and some are just introduced and then quickly killed off. While all of this is going on I'm still trying to figure out why she's punching people, who are the girls she's protecting, why is she protecting them, who is she's protecting them from, why is she erasing memories, she never trusts anyone but within2.5 seconds these men are her best friends? I finished the book and I STILL have questions. My other issue is a pet peeve of mine. Wrong grammar, wrong word usage (he hit women around? She hit the ashes off her cigarette?) I've only seen this in books by this author gets me every time. I'm actually a fan of this author but this book just fell flat for me. I couldn't connect with the characters and everything felt rushed. I don't think I'll continue with this series.

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 56%

Ok, I found this book one of the most disturbing/digusting of this genre I've read. It starts fine and I love the MC being a bad ass woman who knows what she wants. I'm fine with the somewhat harsh drama with the non-new people that show up at the start. What makes me say the first thing in this review is, that those non-new people seem to be so very very very possesive of her without a reason. She keeps telling them no, but they keep coming. In other books this is done, it's normally followed by some character trying something new to get closer. Here they just keep "bashing" her to accept them. Disgusting... After a bit it seems that she, for some reason or another, starts *accepting* them. Gone is half the MC I liked at the start.

One of the worst books in this gerne I've read so far.

[Bella · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 stars

I just can’t with this book. I literally skimmed the last 20% of the book because I was just bored and wanted to be over with it.

Like the MC has been through so much, and the author tries to portray her as a BA, and she is, but at times it just feels really, really forced.

The guys also just bothered me in this book, like I can’t tell if it’s the book, or if my preferences are changing, but usually I feel that I would’ve as bothered but they just were so demanding and dominant and I was not feeling it.

I think it is safe to say that I will not be reading the next book.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The FMC felt like a template version of a strong woman and all the MMCs were overly pushy with no respect for her clearly stated boundaries. It really only got worse from there. The writing was really poor, loads of typographical errors and incorrect word usage made the book feel juvenile.

[Katie Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

This book is set up exactly the way I prefer my RH--it's all first person; there are plenty of POV chapters and sections from the men, all clearly marked; it's PNR, with multiple types of supernaturals; it's set in a college/academy; the FMC isn't bullied by the harem. All great stuff.

The premise is interesting. Information about the central characters is doled out slowly throughout the book, rather than in a large, expositional info dump. The pacing is well done, keeping the reading interesting with action, humor, and intrigue. All of the characters work well together and are enjoyable to get to know.

So, what the problem? There are several humongous plot holes that left me wanting to yell that that's not how things work. The issues are so blatant that I actually stopped reading and went back to the beginning of the section, under the assumption I had misread or misunderstood something. It made getting back into the story flow somewhat difficult, because a large part of the underpinning of the story no longer made sense.

One of my common complaints when a book or series starts out with a strong, independent, capable FMC is that her story arc generally has her submitting to one or more of her men. It's irritating that a female character isn't allowed to be tough, she must voluntarily up some of the strength that has kept her going to appease the men's need for control. The formula follows a general pattern: a girl is abused and has to be resilient to survive; the men come along and admire her strength, but they all want to protect her, and a couple of them want to dominate her; she gets twitterpated at their hotness and agrees to anything they want, and in so doing, becomes more "soft" and "feminine"; everyone is on board for her to save the world (or whatever is at stake) with her mojo, now that the men have "fixed" her with the power of their . . . hearts. Ahem.

There are some editing issues, largely with word choice and awkward sentence structures.

This book glosses over quite a bit of backstory that I hope gets addressed in the next.

I do recommend this book, especially for those who are great at suspending their disbelief 😉

[T D. · Rating 1 out of 5]

She had literally only spent 3 stupid fucking days next to them, then she was away for 2 weeks and when she came back, she already had feelings for them and even gave them explanations as if they were a couple and had some right or something 🤣🤣. And they, my god, they with only 3 days of being around her thought they had the right to demand answers from her just because, to get jealous, to touch her without her consent, to be carrying her and hugging her out of nowhere as if they had some right (even though Gray had already told them not to touch her) and YET SHE ALLOWED IT.

She is supposed to have a trauma with unwanted physical contact, -(especially from men), ah, but she let herself be touched every moment by them as if years of trauma would be overcome out of nowhere with the right man 🤣🤣🤣🤣. And how do you justify it all? Ah yes, with the most typical thing ever: that it's her partners. What a stupid thing to say.

I hate instalove with all my might, the few times I've read an instant love book and liked it is because I've sought them out myself when I wanted a light and quick read, but I didn't always finish reading them and when I did, they always managed to have certain characteristics that could work for me (like it being a standalone or at least a duet), but in a 4 book saga? I would expect a development that, if not slow burn, at least a medium burn. If you have 4 books to develop the plot, to develop the relationships, THEN USE THEM. Don't make them have feelings out of thin air. It also doesn't help much that they are such short books. The writers should put in the synopsis itself that it's a quick burn saga to see if one decides whether to read it or not, instead of one having to figure it out when they open the book. Anyway, I'm going to abandon this crap here and try other books by the author. I just hope they're not all instant love.

[TheLoneTrekkie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typos and Grammatical Woes!

Typos and Grammatical Woes!

Nice reverse harem story. Very YA-ish, but sti!l, nice. Four stars for that.

However, there were so may .missing commas and periods, and grammatical goof -ups, and poorly-constructed sentences... I just cant give this a good review.

A few typos are okay. Understandable, even. But this hot mess...besides the commas at the ends of sentences, some sentences ran into the next. The writer switched tenses on several occasions. So, it would read, "She went to the store and bought some eggs. She smiles at the cashier." On two occasions, the writer even forgot which chapter she was on. There's a point where the chapter is being told from Gray's perspective, but the paragraph somehow switched to a different character's.

I'm not sure if the writer simply doesn't care what she puts out, or doesn't care enough about her readers to hire an editor.

Either way, I'm done with this writer. If the additional books in this story become audiobooks, I'll definitely consider them again. But this hot mess...well, it breaks my poor little Advertising Designer's heart.

[Mercury · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made it through books 1-3 of the Red Masques series before I started this one. I paused because I wanted to know more of Gray’s story because she seemed interesting in the crossover.

I love the idea of Gray’s character, however, I think she’s very wishy-washy. She’s supposed to be super badass, and she is, sure, but I find that she also becomes very lackluster around the guys.

She’s only known them for like... three days? And already, she’s somehow super woo-ed despite her constant talk about her past trauma and how it affects her. I get that these men are supposed to be connected to her, but somehow I just can’t understand why she’d let that be justifiable enough to just accept them blindly.

Apart from that, I believe I would be *very* lost if I hadn’t already read the Red Masque series part-way. That series gives a better run through on the world than this one does, and if I *didn’t* have the knowledge from those books, I might not have picked up the second one in this series.

Despite these little bits, it is a rather enjoyable story, so I will be continuing both this and TRM.

[Marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went from reading Reborn in Flames and the two Descendants series books to this one. I have to say Savages really felt like a draft rather than a completed manuscript. Having read her other works first helped me understand the general theme of her writing style so that's the only reason I'll continue with this series. I am actually really happy that I didn't read this first because I may not have given her other series a chance; it needs quite a lot of polishing.

If I had read this story first and then read the other series, I would clearly say she has improved on her writing/storytelling. The characters are interesting and one can surmise what is going on but like what other reviewers have said.. there was little going on with world building and letting the reader know who, what, and why.

[Kennedy Morris · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 26%

Sadly, I just couldn’t get into it. I’m used to being a little confused as I try to learn about everything but there was just NO explanation here. I would have preferred it if the guys hadn’t been introduced so fast.
Maybe hearing a rumor about incoming students, her interaction with Talon (so we could get a baseline of how that works and to show her actually protecting the other girls) and THEN the guys being introduced. That would have given way more time for world building, and for us to get to know the FMC before introducing us to 5-6 MORE people we don’t know.
The way it was written, we have to learn about everything all at once and I just didnt care, wasn’t interested, and thought it wasn’t super well written to begin with.

Could have been better. Also needs an editor.

[Karissa Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately there wasn’t enough world building, character development, or backstory to give this book more than 3 stars.

I enjoyed the instant jump into the story and enjoyed reading it even though I had a hard time keeping up with which character was which. I love a strong FMC that doesn’t falter at the introduction of a handsome guy so that was a plus as well.

I felt confused most of the story due to the lack of backstory. Seemed like I was missing a book before this or even a chapter or 2 that could explain some of why things were the way they were. Also, the guys were hard to tell apart when reading. It wasn’t until 70% of the book was done that we start to get more information about the guys to separate them from each other.

Overall decent book, won’t read more but I enjoyed the change of pace from books I’ve been reading lately.

[Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Intriguing!!!!!!

I absolutely love M. Sinclair. Her work is always amazing. But, this one really had me confused for most of the book. I only say that because it felt like I was starting this after another book or even series. I do realize that was designed that way. I feel it was for shock appeal. But, as the book progresses we get more information we see the brilliant mind at work. Gray is a very strong and independent lady. She is definitely a bit of a witch but with a b at times. But, there are things in her past that really contributed to it. You then really feel her pain and understand why. The guys are fantastic with all their different personalities. We see Gray quickly growing throughout the story. Then we get to the end and the story really begins to pick up and has you hooked. This is absolutely a fantastic story.

[Lizs.book.nook ||Elizabeth|| · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well...M. Sinclair has once again proved why she is one of my absolute favorite authors!

This story was steeped in mystery and intrigue, pain and suffering, lust and loyalty, and so much more.

Gray is one tough woman! She has faced and lived through so much, but has still come out stronger than ever on the other side. Her strength and power is truly awe-inspiring. And the deep connection she has with her men, her guard, is a sight to behold. Rhodes, Ayden, Taylor, Athens and Neo are deliciously protective of Gray, even without the True Heir duties they are bound to. They care deeply and hold Gray in such high regards. Their interactions with one another are beautiful because it’s so clear how deeply they all feel for one another.

I cannot wait to see where this story goes! These characters and this story was truly fantastic!

[beth m · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made no sense

There is a lot of stuff missing. Like the progression from where the female lead keeps them at arms length to now being best friends with the guys. It literally makes no sense. There’s no depth, description,world building. Nothing. It leaves the readers super confused at what exactly is going on.

I got really excited because the female lead seemed so strong but then it was like she had a bad day and then lost her spice and sass. There were a decent amount of 4+ star reviews and I’m just so confused by that. Again the story is so incomplete and lacking sense, I’m trying to still understand the timeline because one day she was avoiding the guys then the next she’s losing sleep over them...this needs a rewrite, not the best work.

[Jackles · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about Gray? She is... Savage. This woman has been through HeII and back. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? Yeah well it may also make you a little crazy. I can’t wait to really delve into Gray more and enter the Horde. The queen has been found!!

I love that this book gives us more background into who Gray is as a person instead of just finding girl, taking her where she needs to go and her kicking a$$ no, Ms. Sinclair has given us a deep understanding of just what makes up Gray. And I can’t wait to find out more about her men; I really Need to know what makes Taylor so... Taylor.

Take note of the trigger warning and yes, this ends on a cliffhanger.

[Annelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good!

A good start and I would have expected nothing less from M. Sinclair which is a great author!
Gray is a good FMC: powerful, sassy but not too much, caring about other people but with frailty and weakness making her realistic. I liked the progression of Gray during this book and the respect from their guys, how much they were able to push her a little bit to accept them but still taking into consideration her traumatized past.
The guys are all different and have their own dark side and complete well Gray.
It's a bit bad that the timeline is a bit blurry.
I didn't also understand how much Humans were aware of supernaturals?
Anyway, it's a good book!