Love doesn’t conquer all. It consumes you, degrades you, and wholly proves there is such a thing as loving someone too much.
My relationship with Demi was living proof of this.
There was no barrier I wouldn’t leap over to get to her, no river I wouldn’t cross, but when it became more than my life on the line to protect her, I did what I thought was right. I sold my soul to the devil, and in the end, it cost me everything.
Ox is the third and final book in Maddox and Demi’s story. It is not intended to be read as a standalone. *
Shandi Boyes is a USA Today Bestselling Author who was an avid reader for many years before she discovered the love of writing in February 2016. Her first penned novel 'Perception of Life’ is a new adult rockstar romance that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat until the very last word.
In September 2016, her focus shifted to hot alpha men in steamy contemporary reads that sizzle off the pages. Shandi’s novel ‘Enigma of Life’ is an award-winning story on an FBI agent and the subject she was assigned to investigate. Her men are swoon-worthy, devoted, and alpha; and her heroines are strong-willed, determined, and loveable. You should start her stories first thing in the morning, or you may not sleep.
You will laugh and you will cry, but Shandi's characters will stay with you for a lifetime!
SERIES ORDER: Perception of Life (Noah and Emily #1) Reality of Life (conclusion of Noah's story #2) Fight of Life (Jacob's story - standalone #3) Player of Life (Nick & Jenny - standalone #4) Beats of Life (Slater's story - standalone #5)
Enigma:
Enigma of Life (Isaac #1) - ** FREE ** Unraveling an Enigma (Isaac #2) Enigma: The Mystery Unmasked (Isaac #3) Enigma: The Final Chapter (conclusion of Isaac's story #4) Beneath the Secrets (Hugo #1) Beneath the Sheets (Hugo #2) Spy Thy Neighbor (Hunter's Story) The Opposite Effect I Married a Mob Boss Second Shot
Bound:
Chains Links Bound Restrained
Russian Mob Chronicles:
Nikolai: A Mafia Prince Romance Nikolai: Taking Back What's Mine Nikolai: What's Left of Me
You will laugh and you will cry, but my characters will stay with you forever!
I love writing and reading. They are both my passion. My genre is generally set to new adult and contemporary, with a few twists thrown in.
I've loved these characters in prior books but it wasn't until this book that I really LOVED them. The details, timelines from numerous stories that filled in the missing pieces of so many stories had me 100% invested. This ending was perfect. Truly perfect.
This is the last in this trilogy on Maddox and Demi, and you must read these in order. Take two (basically) good people and put them on the radar of two of the evilest, most ruthless people you can think of and you get an idea of the torment, the suffering, the gut-wrenching heartache the couple in this book is put through. It makes the ending to this incredible saga even more stunning!
This is a trilogy you do not want to miss. It has everything you would expect from a Mafia Romance, but it is a Mafia Romance with a twist. The depth of the characters and the story has you alternately biting your nails, yelling "Hell No!", crying, laughing (thank you, Max!), pacing the floor muttering "what the ..." The cliffhanger endings in the first two books had me ready to throw the book at the wall, but that in all honestly made the ending in this book absolutely phenomenal.
This is an incredible book, but it is also one of the most harrowing books I have read in a long time and I spent three quarters of the time in tears. No one should have to suffer what Maddox and Demi went through and fundamentally they are such good people caught in a spiral of despair beyond their control and yet their love survived everything. It is hard to write a review without spoilers and while I want to say the ending made up for everything else, I have to admit I was a little confused as to the relationship between Ben and Macy, surely Ben’s family would notice he wasn’t around. I am hoping some of my questions will be answered in Rocco’s book. Just make sure you have lots of tissues to hand before you start reading this amazing story.
What an adventure this series is so far! I swear I had more tears with Demi and Ox than I’ve had in awhile. Adventure, Check..Exciting. Check..Heartwrenching..check..Villan and Hero. Double check..and Demi all reside in this story. I’m sooo looking forward to Ox and Demi Epilogued maybe 3-4 years down the road! You will love the trilogy and still want more. Theirs is a story that isn’t always an immediate reaction. I can’t say anymore without giving out spoilers. You definitely want to read these books for yourself and find the journey for yourself. I really recommend it!
I feel like a public announcement when I say " have tissues ready, you will experience 4 or 5 emotions on one page this will be normal for people who are already familiar with Shandi Boyes" the conclusion of Maddox/Ox, this is one of those books where yes you read quickly knowing you dont want it to end but the train has left the station and there are no brakes. So with a blotchy face, a heart ripped out and trampled on then trapped back together, I give you Ox. I voluntarily reviewed this book.
What can I say but holy shit get your Kleenex and your fake nails cause you won’t have any real nails left after you finish this book! This book will have you crying your eyes out while you’re biting your nails in suspense of what’s going to happen next. There is never a dull moment. It is a wonderful conclusion to Maddox & Demi’s story.
“You don’t walk to death. You make death come to you, and you fucking smile while doing it.”
While every plea has been extinguished, Maddox Walsh is looking at serving a lifetime behind bars for the murder of Megan Shroud, a woman he's never met or even killed. Taking the fall for Dimitri Petretti and his father Fol, it was only supposed to be three to seven years but a judge would instead throw the book at him. Facing a lifetime without Demi, he's running illegally within the Wallens Ridge State Penitentiary, all while following the lead of Agent Arrows. Corrupted as they come, he'll do anything to worm his way to the top of the criminal underworld, and uses Maddox as his pawn again and again. Assaulting and moving products within the jail offered him a one a month, ten minutes visit with Demi. As she's falling apart on the outside, he's crumbling away on the inside as every horrible task demanded of him is breaking his humanity apart. Determined to pay off the millions held over their heads by her uncle Col, she's teaming up with Maddox's family to help raise the money. Saint begins fighting for her uncle each fight taking down another $20,000 while she's recruiting fighters for the rings.
I can only hope I’m strong enough to keep his head above the water still surging our way. Drowning is one of the cruelest forms of death. A bullet is instant. A knife wound is almost as quick, but drowning is long and painful, and more times than not, it doesn’t just pull you under the current, it takes everyone propping you up as well.
When Dimitri offered to pay the debt, Maddox refused and continued serving his time in jail, still haunted by the last moments he saw Demi alive. When they were reunited after she endured a brutal assault and near rape of two corrupted cops, they make their escape through the back of Roxanne's family's farm. Not even twenty miles from freedom, they hit a spike in the street and launch headfirst down the embankment. Thrown two hundred feet from his vehicle, he keeps Demi unconscious and trapped in the vehicle. Seconds away from getting to her, the car explodes and burns her alive, killing her in front of him. With an empty heart, he trudged through the motions until his lawyer informed him he was now to become a free man. With the name India Dvořáks stuck on his lips, he's connecting the dots that she was responsible for the abortion pill that killed his and Demi’s baby. Teaming up with Nikolai (Justine's boyfriend) and Dimitri, he's the one to put the bullet between her eyes. Bringing home countless women to act as incubators home to their families, he only wishes he still had Demi to come home to.
“My brothers will never let me live it down when they find out I’m a minute man. They’ll start calling me two strokes. Just you wait and see.”
Suffering a horrific concussion from the assault, the accident she sustained in the car only escalated matters. With her head nearly at an aneurysm,blood was filling her skull as she boarded the plane to get her far from the mob life. With an emergency surgery on the plane that left her flat lined twice, she would wake up two weeks later in the hospital with zero memories of her past leading up to that moment. No more memories of her abusive childhood, she didn't even have Maddox left inside of her head. Selective amnesia, she was sentenced to a clean slate to start over with, something Agent Macy Manchini took full advantage of. For four years she ran an I repent bakery with her Doberman Max, while Maddox continued living with the guilt of her death. During a chance encounter, he would see her through the rain and feel the sparks that never died between them. Remembering the good, the bad and the wonderful, she was in the dark of how much history the two of them shared for decades. Starting small, he simply watches her make coffee and a dinner for them, feeling overwhelmed to have Demi back even if she can't remember him at all.
“She was a fucking human being. An angel. A woman too good for the life she was born in,”
Ox is the third and final book featuring Maddox and Demi and book #7 in The Italian Cartel Series. It must be read after books #5 and #6, respectively. It was an all-consuming, sinuous and stressful journey for this couple, but in the end love won it all! Edge of your seat gripping, deeply emotional and with an extremelly well executed plot, the author gives us a well deserved and strenuous conquered HEA where we're all rooting for these amazing protagonists: intense, heartbreakingly beautiful and addicting, I still can't fathom how Shandi is able to create such pure and indiluted love stories where chaos and mayhem are the everyday scenario. Ingeniously intertwined with the timelines of Nikolai and Dimitri's worlds, Shandi Boyes comes up with a very inteligent plotline and perfectly imperfect complex characters where the reader can't help being fully committed to this web of intrigue, the twists and turns and the sureness of an infamous fight which might not guarente a happy ending. Absolutely fantastic!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Ox is all consuming and will strike you down before you even know that it is coming your way! Demi with her style and sass she is the glue in my opinion to holding Ox together. They both have major issues with regards to the opposite sex but together like a bomb waiting to go off that will change the course of everything you have ever knew about this couple. Miss Shandi has not relented with her interfold with the twist and turns it has taken to get to this moment! She is giving us a full spectrum of story that fuses with the previous stories to tell a intertwined exceptionally beautiful tale. What truly makes this an experience is the visuals that the author provides with a vividry that excels far beyond the pages of the story. This series is one that is phenomenal and a good go to if you want something dark and dirty with romance and drama mixed in. I highly recommend this whole series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
5 STARS for Ox by Shandi Boyes such a talented author !! Ox is not a standalone highly suggest reading Book 1 in this series Maddox and Book 2 Demi ( you will not be disappointed )
ARC received from Booksprout and author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced in any way.
So good … so good … so good …
Maddox and Demi are perfection as far as characters go ! The storyline and plot development is just riveting and absolutely hating a character is all a reflection of a truly talented author. I felt ever single “evil” action and then was turned right around to feel love / elation , happiness for other characters …
Love really doesn’t always conquer all - but it can consume - not always in a good way….
I highly recommend this book - series and as I am starting to learn “ANYTHING “ by this author !!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Final book in Demi and Maddox's story....Enthralling!
Ox is the seventh book in The Italian Cartel series and is the third book in the continuing story of Maddox Walsh and Demi Petretti. Be warned that you have to have read the two previous books, Maddox and Demi, to follow their story. This is another fantastic book about these two amazing characters. You either love them or hate them but for me I am in loooooove. and was not disappointed in how Shandi Boyes wrapped up their emotional story. Trust me when I say that you will need some tissues by you when you are reading this book, as you will not want get up to get some.
I received a copy of this book and am leaving my honest review. My opinions are all my own.
Perfect ending, but a lot of confusing twists along the way
I'll admit there were times that I was completely confused about who people were or exactly how they were connected to the story (I ended up with a migraine after reading this one because I had to focus on fitting it all together so much). And I still struggled with the writing style/dialect difference?/editing issues. But that ending was PERFECTION. I loved Demi and Maddox. I honestly think this could have been an incredible duet instead of a trilogy as there were many times things felt unnecessary or repetitive, especially in this final book. I only removed one star because my issues could be just a personal preference issue and not an author/book issue.
Truly outstanding Please make sure to read the first and second part of this series to get the best out of Demi and Maddox’s story. This final book has left me speechless. I knew it would be good because Shandi Boyes doesn’t know how to write a bad book, but this just totally blew me away. I think I have gone through every emotion possible. The strength that Demi and Maddock have for each other is just outstanding. There are so many twists and turns in this book that you just won’t know which way is up. An absolutely outstanding read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
These 3 books were heartbreaking. I cried a few times. Life was not fair to several good people in these books but your heart breaks for Maddox and Demi. I did love that alt view points at a few times with Maddox and Nikolai and Maddox and Demi. Still feel Demitri could have done more to help. I loved that this book found justice for India and completed that story. I was just really disappointed by the ending. I am happy it had a HEA it just felt really short and incomplete after all they endured and 3 books. I really wanted another time jump in a year or something.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book ended the same way it started- equal parts beautiful and heart breaking. The author of this book/series completely builds amazing characters that make you feel every heartbreak and every win with these characters. The storyline is so complex and perfect, it leaves you wondering what the heck you just experienced and knowing you’ll keep coming back for more.
This is Ox (Maddox) and Demi's 3rd book in the series that must be read in order! what a roller coaster ride of emotions! the raw heartbreak and trials these two go through just to keep each other safe is undeniable. These two draw you in with ever word and action as they battle an evil worse than the devil. The story has suspense, drama, action, desires, determination and so much more!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book brings closure to Demi & Maddox’s story. These two have been through so much turmoil, heartache, violence, devastation, & loss it’s hard to watch all these struggles unfold. How two people have such bad luck. Every time it seems like they’ll catch a break something else happens. This book is worth every second of your time because watching the turmoil only adds to the sweetest most uplifting conclusion that makes it all worth while.
This story gutted me. I was wrecked reading it, and my heart kept taking a downturn. Each page was more intense than the last. The ending was brilliant and shows how amazing this author is. I hope that we get updates on these characters in coming books.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Demi and Maddox are back in this final story and the book does not disappoint. The story is written in the first point of view and it starts with a bang. It pulled me in from the beginning and held my interest until the end. I couldn't put this story down.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the final book of Maddox and Demi's story and it is absolutely great! I so enjoyed their story I actually reread books #5 and #6 before this one, just so I didn't miss a single bit of the impact this story has.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was the third and final story in Maddox and Demi's stories and it was fantastic!! The author did not disappoint!! My heart and pulse was pounding throughout the whole story!! The character development, depth and story line was phenomenal! Fantastic conclusion!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Damn it, Shandi... Why??? I had been waiting for this forever. I didn't want it to end. I was hoping everything would fall back into place.. The reunion was just beautiful.. I'm still feeling it.. Such a great way to continue the series.. I Loved It!! Keep them coming....
Ox and Demi have taken us on an emotional Rollercoaster, with twists and turns no one ever expected. It's not your standard happily ever after, but its what keeps us coming back for more!
What an emotional roller coaster of a ride this book put me thru!!! Brutally raw, Maddox and Demi's story will wrap around you and pull you in. What an incredible journey both they and we took during their story!!!! Well done!!
Sandi Boyes at her finest. When you read her books you are reading about characters you love, hate,fight for,want to push down, laugh with...they become your family. Start from the first book "Saving Noah" and follow the path...you will be glad you did.
I am late to this party, just discovered this author through a free book of Dimitri. Let me just say HOLY MOLY. I am hooked. Rocco is next on my list. GREAT work.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the 3rd and final book in Maddox and Demi’s story, I do recommend reading them in order. Intense chemistry, loads of drama and sizzling scenes. Great characters with a fast-paced and entertaining and emotional story. I liked it.
It Grabbed My attention and focus so strong I could not put it down. A word of advice when you get your copy. Grab a snack, a comfy seat, kick back and relax. You will not be moving until you finish this bad boy here. Remarkable job. Thanks for sharing.
So I won't give away any spoilers but this went a little different than I expected but I loved it. I love that demi and ox get a new beginning. Another winner shandi