DeMarco is a man with next to no conscience, so he has no qualms about using manipulation and bribery to get what he wants. What does DeMarco currently want? Nova, the woman he has forced to work for him in order to pay off her brother's debt.
“I’m a bad man, Nova. I constantly tell you this. I wanted you, and I did what I had to get you.” She snorted. “Why are you like this?” “My childhood diagnosis was that I have detachment issues and a conduct disorder stemming from the fact that I was born to parents who were forced to marry to keep their trust funds. They hated each other and didn’t want me, so they left me to be raised by the nannies. I received very little affection or attention. As a result, I didn’t cry or play with other kids or toys. I barely spoke as a child. My grandmother told the priest that she had pray for me every Sunday that I was born without a conscience and lost my soul when I watched my father beat my mother to death with his bare hands, then blow his brains out.” Her mouth fell open.
I really enjoyed reading DeMarco (A Proposition and a Desk) by Shantel Davis but grammatical errors were NOT removed or corrected in this edition as stated in blurb!
"Darkness weighed down my shoulders. I was tired of carrying all the sins other people had visited upon me and It was at that very moment I realized something had to change. For better or worse. If only I had known it had to get worse before it got better."
DeMarco and Nova's unconventional journey was really a good read but the distractions of missing words, wrong words and grammatical errors took away points from what could have been a high 5 star read!
DeMarcus and Nova were both hard nuts to crack with past lives bring immense pain but as their attraction grew so did their devotion and trust in each another. Davis can truly write a good story with strong flawed protagonists and antagonists but a good editor will put her on top for sure. She doesn't ramble on with unnecessary words while telling the tale and knows how to keep the reader in cheering mode for the main characters. Her one liner are always memorable like
“You have friends, like living breathing ones? Let me find out you have a personality you didn’t download from the internet.”
DeMarco Russo had so many levels... he was dark, an alpha, a killer, a leader, observant and possessive and madly obsessed with Nova who evolved right before my eyes the reader's eyes! That laptop and Wiki-how scene with Nova will forever be in my head! The heroine, Nova, I admired from the start because she was a strong, spunky woman who would do anything for the people she loved mainly her niece, Leyani but her selfish brother, Cedrick, well don't even get me started on how he manipulated his sister with a big ole' lie to get out of his own mess with DeMarco! OMG but the big reveal you learn about Ced and his hateful parents will make you upset time 2! " “The fuck I didn’t. That bitch was a bitch and I told her every time I got the chance. I’m not the fucking coward you try to make me out to be. Yeah, sometimes I care too fucking much or give too much or get used. But if I said fuck everybody and don’t hold on to what lil’ bit of fucking humanity I have left after my own family tried to break me; I’d be running around shanking mother fucker’s like you. Now leave me the fuck alone!” "
But when DeMarco saw red, it was like dark crimson red! “I tried to be different because of you, Nova. For you, I read fluffy think pieces on love for you. Acted like a jealous, lovesick boy in front of some very dangerous men because of you. And in return, you do what? You taunt me. You let other men touch you. You put yourself in danger. You hit me… Did his lips touch you, Nova?”
I can't wait to read the next story in this series... hint, hint!
2.5 stars Discontinued reading the book. Editing errors were inexcusably profuse. The story was weak, too light, unrealistic, and non-cohesive. With all the discord and mistreatment the heroine experienced in her life, she was rendered as a tolerant pushover, and with her education, came across as needlessly unsophisticated. The hero just came across as a stereotypical pig rather than what I'm sure the author intended -- an alpha, dominant, predatory mafioso. The chemistry between the main characters had little build up to substantiate any intensity the storyline might have conveyed in their sex scenes and eventual relationship (which I missed having suspended my reading of the book). While I really enjoyed Adam & Eve penned by this author, I was not a fan of story. I am still interested in her future books because she does know how to weave a tale.
I enjoyed the telling of Demarco & Nova. You gotta love a deadly Alpha with a plan and that was not to accept any option that would leave him without Nova. Poor Nova didn't know what hit her lol. Highlights: the banter between Demarco and Nova was funny as hell. But by far my favorite part and made Demarco more endearing in my eyes was his Google search. "Hey Google how to make a girl like you" lolol. Now Nova wasn't no punk by a long shot I mean often times her mouth got her in trouble with her man but hey she took it like a champ. Her family background was heartbreaking and totally understood her decision regarding her brother which was totally justified. Atticus and Grace story has me very intrigued. So my final word is 1 if you are familiar with this author then rest assure you are getting a good read. 2 if you are new to this author welcome and I would stay give her a try I've read three so far and haven't been disappointed.
Nova had a tough life from childhood and all she wanted was love. DeMarco saw an opportunity to get what he wanted in the form of Nova when she came with her brother to help me to repay a debt.
Oh this was very steamy! Shantel Davis can write some very broken characters with extreme sex appeal. My goodness, I didn't want to put this one down. It was a quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Poor Nova is so broken after having dealt with an abusive mother and stepfather and now she's over here working for DeMarco as an accountant to pay back a debt her no good brother owes to him. But DeMarco has other ideas for that debt to be paid and he lays it out plainly to Nova. Fireworks and extremely hot love scenes ensue. Oh wow! This book is packed with action and not your usual love story at all. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and if you like sort of non-traditional hot reads, you will enjoy this too!
DeMarco was direct, sexy, slightly crazy and all alpha. He was dark and aggressive. And I loved him. Nova....I must say the dark side of me wanted her to become more like DeMarco. She was gullible to a new level. Then again, I believe she just didn’t ask enough questions. The passion between Nova and DeMarco was crystal clear from jump. Then why three stars..... The errors were still there. I had to read a few sections and add words. There were a few typos, too. If they were corrected, it would easily be 4.5 stars for me. Ms. Davis, I’d like more of DeMarco and Nova. How did their future turnout? Also, what’s Grace and Attricus’s story? I would recommend this book to my reading friends with the errors.
I spent most of this book confused on whether I liked or hated this story. Only to decide by the end that I kinda loved it. It's not a traditional romance with sweet and soft words. This story was dark, sad and the characters were apathetic at times and rage filled/brutally honest the next. I think that's what drew my in to the story. I empathized with Nova and wanted to see her on the other side of this situation. So many times I wanted this to turn into a sappy story and that everything magically got better but that's not the case in this story and I think it was better for it. I intend to read more from this author.
This author is quickly becoming a 1-click favorite for me. I have read her last couple books and have enjoyed the writing, storylines and characters. This is another book I can add to my “Enjoyed” list. It’s hard to find an author that you consistently enjoy their books but so far I haven’t been disappointed. I took off 1 star for editing and some minor typos but even those didn’t take away from the dialog for me. DeMarco with his constant Googling to be “normal” was hilarious! I liked how he stuck with the relationship even when Nova’s low self esteem and past experience reared it’s head. I have to say that last fight scene and it’s dialogue with Nova, Atticus, Grace and the safe room were laugh out loud funny! I had to read those last few sections of the book twice because they were so funny. I definitely recommend!
I really love Demarco. He stayed himself all throughout the book. He became more lenient in the end but I suppose he was trying to be normal. Nova really was a fool. I guess as Demarco pointed out she was so keen on having love she was ok with accepting abuse. I would have liked to know what exactly happened to her father. I also would have like what Demarco was doing for work after giving up the club and guns. I know he had money but it would have been nice to have more details. Nova was so naive and I suppose not from his world that she put herself in danger more than once but at least in the end she learned to cut out unhealthy relationships. Given who he used to be, I would have like for her to learn how to defend herself, even more so now that she has a kid. Would love to know more about Grace and Atticus.
I throughly enjoy any books created by Shantel Davis. There hasn’t been one where I felt didn’t live up to it’s potential, if anything she goes beyond my expectations. I read some other reviews with complaints for grammar errors, but in all honesty they were not enough to take away from Shantel’s writing. It not like you can’t put two n two together. Overall, I would absolutely recommend any book she writes to anyone who will give me their ear.
Big, Tall, and full of Darkness! DeMarco was so cute in his pursuit of Nova. Big bad ass mafioso persona having to Google tips on love and relationships was absolutely adorable.
Nova had it beyond hard as a child and that proved to be the issue with her gullibility and lack of trust in someone loving her.
Overall, a good storyline but several errors that needed more editing to be completed.
I really like Demarco! Even though he was crazy. Their insane love story made me very happy while reading it. It was also very sad. Nova reminds me of a lot of black women who love too hard and are taken advantage of by the people who are supposed to love and care for them back. Im also very angry that her mom didn't end up in a shallow grace with her step dad.
4.5 stars. I love this author and will for sure be reading other books from her. I loved the characters and the main male character is great. This author hit it on the head when it came to creating a dark romance. Is there room for improvement yes but the story is still well done minus the spelling mistakes (that I didnt care about because I liked the story)!!!!! I would suggest you read it!!!
I liked this story but the grammatical errors were a huge turn off. All the errors were not fixed. Nova was so naive letting her family use her like their personal bank. DeMarco might have been a killer but he was in love with Nova. Is there a part 2? Please write more books!
What a freaking story. This woman is the awesome. I was immersed in this story! I absolutely love Marco, who would think he could be all Alpha and then be sweet in his own way. Now some things he did were cruel, but he truly loved her. I started this book this morning and could not put it down! This author can write. I definitely recommend this author!
DeMarco has more patience than a saint with Nova. She was too gullible and oblivious. I hate the way she was treated by people she only wanted love from, but DeMarco was every good girl gone bad, wet dream! Now I need some clarity on Grace and Atticus. Did I miss a book or something? If not, I need their story and ASAP please! Marco is that man!! Just freaking yummy
DeMarco is one of the first books I read when I downloaded the kindle app a few years ago. It is not a perfect book....it has some weird editing glitches and typos. DeMarco is really rough around the edges and his ideas about courting and wooing come from google. The book is funny and fairly violent. The pair make a wonderfully dysfunctional couple; if I had to pick someone to blackmail me into a relationship I would pick DeMarco.
There was absolutely nothing to dislike about this book. DeMarco is definitely the kind of character that stays on your mind.
This author writes some fantastic stories and the characters in them.
The men are so commanding. The women are fierce and are not someone to mess with. Their (lead women) strength defines them and the creates a reality for the read.
I’m a reader for life. Seriously, I have read all her books. Such magical writing.
I would have given this book 5 stars but there were too many errors. Enough to notice but not enough to take away frim the fact that this is a good story. Will definitely read more from this author!
It’s about time! Finally a good book which I was able to read nonstop. I loved the main characters, though the heroines behavior got on my nerve at one point. Other than that I throughly enjoyed reading the story and look forward to reading others by this author.
I am so excited to have found this book and to have discovered a new author to binge read through her works!!! Definitely a great read. There were a few typos but I really enjoyed this book.
The first time I tried to read this I just couldn’t get into Demarco and put the book back on the shelf. I decided to give it another try and enjoyed it much more as I got to know the characters. Yes, Demarco is not a “good guy” but he made sense to me, and as the story went on I actually liked him. I loved when the heroine, Nova spoke her mind. I just wish she wasn’t so freaking gullible, I was shocked at how much she let people use her.
Shantel has done it again this book is everything. Funny, sexy, dangerous. DeMarco was off for all the wrong reasons some of them turned out to be good. Must read.
This was not as dark as expected. Started off good but ran out of steam. Also I had read The Maid but it had been awhile ago and didn't really remember that much about the characters.
Is it bad to say That Nova got on my nerves with her non listening behind. Like girl you know why he said what he said. And you know you ain’t bout that life forreal so have a seat. Now Demarco I loved every bit of him! Incredible job