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Scar City
After spending two years working as a prostitute, I've finally gotten my life back on track. Until my boyfriend tells me he's been plotting to assassinate Tyler Trepoz, the man who used his considerable wealth and influence to buy Scar City. And it's happening tonight.
I beg him not to go. I tell him it won't work, and he'll get caught, leaving me all alone in the world. I take no pleasure in being right.
Overnight, I've become a valuable pawn to the enemy, and my only hope for survival is if Tyler saves me from his own torment. Even at his meanest and most ruthless, I feel safe with him. Without Tyler, my options for how to move forward are bad and worse. I need him to protect me, to give me something worth living for, no matter what the cost. But he can't protect me from our pasts, and unless we can both heal our emotional scars and learn to trust each other, we'll end up losing everything.
I beg him not to go. I tell him it won't work, and he'll get caught, leaving me all alone in the world. I take no pleasure in being right.
Overnight, I've become a valuable pawn to the enemy, and my only hope for survival is if Tyler saves me from his own torment. Even at his meanest and most ruthless, I feel safe with him. Without Tyler, my options for how to move forward are bad and worse. I need him to protect me, to give me something worth living for, no matter what the cost. But he can't protect me from our pasts, and unless we can both heal our emotional scars and learn to trust each other, we'll end up losing everything.
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 22, 2021
39 people are currently reading
244 people want to read
About the author
Corissa Blakely
4 books23 followersCorissa Blakely is a Dark Romance author who lives in Missouri with her tabby cat, Riddle. She works in the higher education financial aid industry by day and writes books by night. In her spare time, she enjoys singing karaoke, watching TV shows that give her all of the feels, and playing Spider Solitaire.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 4, 2023
good quick read
I like that it’s a stand alone but wouldn’t mind getting to know the other secondary characters. I’m still unsure on my feelings about the Dante storyline though
I like that it’s a stand alone but wouldn’t mind getting to know the other secondary characters. I’m still unsure on my feelings about the Dante storyline though
August 12, 2022
Let me start this by admitting I have apparently grown more 'vanilla' since having kids. Because dark romance is becoming harder for me to read.
And still... This book... It was like I didn't want to read it because of the reasoning above, yet I also couldn't stop myself from putting it down.
This book hurt me in a way that made me question humanity. Which, if you think about it, is one of the best things an author can do - make you question your beliefs and force you to think outside of the box. This author did this. So, in a way, this book changed me a little. Because I'll never again look at certain things the same.
In true Corissa Blakely fashion, there are no 'good guys' in this book. There are no heroes. Just a bunch of morally gray characters looking for their happy ever after. It's what the author promises with each of her books, and with this one, she definitely delivered.
If dark romance is your thing, then this book is worth your time. If dark romance isn't your thing, you might still want to pick it up and see for yourself what a raw, beautiful-in-its-ugliness world Corissa Blakely so naturally portrayed.
And still... This book... It was like I didn't want to read it because of the reasoning above, yet I also couldn't stop myself from putting it down.
This book hurt me in a way that made me question humanity. Which, if you think about it, is one of the best things an author can do - make you question your beliefs and force you to think outside of the box. This author did this. So, in a way, this book changed me a little. Because I'll never again look at certain things the same.
In true Corissa Blakely fashion, there are no 'good guys' in this book. There are no heroes. Just a bunch of morally gray characters looking for their happy ever after. It's what the author promises with each of her books, and with this one, she definitely delivered.
If dark romance is your thing, then this book is worth your time. If dark romance isn't your thing, you might still want to pick it up and see for yourself what a raw, beautiful-in-its-ugliness world Corissa Blakely so naturally portrayed.
July 11, 2023
YIKESSSSSSSS.
It took me so long to figure out what I wanted to rate this book. The MMC is the most insufferable, awful person. I LOVE Beka.. but dear lord. She makes bad romantic choices. Not that she really had a lot of options but... the main relationship in this book is TOXIC. I am a huge fan of dark romance. I LOVE a morally grey man, even when he meets his love interest under less than perfect circumstances but DAMN the MMC in this book is not morally grey. He's just awful.
ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, I really loved the writing. I will definitely give another Corissa Blakely book a try. I could NOT stop reading. So even though I didn't love how it ended up and hated one of the main characters with every fiber of my being, this book still got a 4/5. I was hooked!
It took me so long to figure out what I wanted to rate this book. The MMC is the most insufferable, awful person. I LOVE Beka.. but dear lord. She makes bad romantic choices. Not that she really had a lot of options but... the main relationship in this book is TOXIC. I am a huge fan of dark romance. I LOVE a morally grey man, even when he meets his love interest under less than perfect circumstances but DAMN the MMC in this book is not morally grey. He's just awful.
ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, I really loved the writing. I will definitely give another Corissa Blakely book a try. I could NOT stop reading. So even though I didn't love how it ended up and hated one of the main characters with every fiber of my being, this book still got a 4/5. I was hooked!
September 29, 2023
I've read a number of Corissa's novels by now, and I think this has been my favourite of the bunch. I had my doubts in the earlier stages of the book, wondering how it was going to lead to romance of any kind, but I'm glad I stuck the course! Tyler and Beka are an absolute rollercoaster, but I enjoyed the ride.
My one disappointment was that I'd wished there'd been more to Dante's story. Without spoiling anything, things didn't go at all the way I expected here, and whilst I did like what happened in the end I also feel like there was the potential for more.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this read, and I will certainly be back for more!
My one disappointment was that I'd wished there'd been more to Dante's story. Without spoiling anything, things didn't go at all the way I expected here, and whilst I did like what happened in the end I also feel like there was the potential for more.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this read, and I will certainly be back for more!
March 9, 2022
This book is just brilliant. Honestly, it starts with the events described in the blurb, and then we meet Tyler Trepoz. Sigh. He's everything. His relationship with Beka, and all of the twists and turns over the course of the book, make for one of those books you just don't want to put down. Dante is one of those characters who brings the darkness when it's needed, and honestly I want to read his story next, because he's so complex and enticing, to my dark little soul. I just loved this book so much!
December 6, 2023
mmmm I feel the story was too sudden.
Austin was just determined to bring Tyler down.
like what did Tyler do to him?
at least give me some back story on what happened.
who is Dante? and why did Dante follow Beka around?
idk its just too rushed for me and didn’t want to finish this book :/
Austin was just determined to bring Tyler down.
like what did Tyler do to him?
at least give me some back story on what happened.
who is Dante? and why did Dante follow Beka around?
idk its just too rushed for me and didn’t want to finish this book :/
July 29, 2024
I didn’t want to finish this but I did
April 7, 2022
Well, lots of thoughts on this one. I couldn't quite figure out what to make of it, but I was interested enough to finish it and that's saying a lot considering my recent streak of DNFs. Beka is a former prostitute, whose boyfriend is a part of the plot to assasinate the guy who is sort of in charge of their city (not quite sure if it's organized crime or what). He asks Beka to go back to her former job to lure the guy in charge of security who is low key obsessed with her. They get caught and bad bad things happen to Beka at the hands of Dante, the security guy. Here's where we meet Tyler - the intended victim and the supposed "ruler" of the city.
Clearly, this author is a huge fan of Sam Mariano since the style and even certain plot devices seemed very reminiscent of those used by Ms. Mariano. Not quite sure how I felt about that since that made me a bit uncomfortable at times as I'm also partial to Sam's writing. The inner monologues of the characters and even some characterization and plot devices seemed quite similar, down to the hero testing heroine's loyalty. Though not enough to cross any lines.
Beka herself is a different heroine from what I'd expect to see in this type of book. As a former prostitute, she's far from the innocent type and uses her sexuality quite freely. There are multiple and frequent references to her former profession and Tyler seems to relish the fact that he gets to have sex with her for free and frequently alludes to her as a prostitute. Not to mention the fact that he asks her to have sex with the governor at the beginning of their relationshop as some sort of loyalty test. The pacing of the relationship itself felt a bit off. I get that Beka would do anything and attach herself to anyone at the start to keep herself safe. She's clearly a survivor willing to do what it takes. I even understand her attraction and eventual feelings for Tyler. Similarly, Beka is a hot young thing willing to be quite submissive with just enough of a manipulative and cunning streak to make her interesting and so is a nice reprieve from Tyler's alleged viper of an ex, so I get the attraction there too. The issue is that we go from that to "I love you" in what feels like a span of days, perhaps weeks? It just didn't feel authentic to me. Also, while Tyler is an interesting and complex character, I feel like the author wasn't quite sure where to go with him. He felt a bit too chaotic for what was supposed to be someone who is the master of his universe. Even his loyalty tests didn't appear well thought out.
The most interesting character was, ironically, Dante, the aforementioned guy in charge of security. Under the initial dark and sadistic facade, there appear to be quite a few layers. I did like the fact that we get to know his motivation for his actions towards Beka as well as his ease of letting her go to be with Tyler, which didn't make much sense initially. Also, I was way more invested in the intimate scenes between Dante and Beka than those of her with Tyler. The ones with Tyler just seemed bland, though I can also see why they needed to be mild in comparison to what happened with Dante.
I could go on, so clearly, good or bad, the book made an impact. I'll definitely keep an eye on this author's future work, especially if she decides to return to Scar City and give Dante a story.
Clearly, this author is a huge fan of Sam Mariano since the style and even certain plot devices seemed very reminiscent of those used by Ms. Mariano. Not quite sure how I felt about that since that made me a bit uncomfortable at times as I'm also partial to Sam's writing. The inner monologues of the characters and even some characterization and plot devices seemed quite similar, down to the hero testing heroine's loyalty. Though not enough to cross any lines.
Beka herself is a different heroine from what I'd expect to see in this type of book. As a former prostitute, she's far from the innocent type and uses her sexuality quite freely. There are multiple and frequent references to her former profession and Tyler seems to relish the fact that he gets to have sex with her for free and frequently alludes to her as a prostitute. Not to mention the fact that he asks her to have sex with the governor at the beginning of their relationshop as some sort of loyalty test. The pacing of the relationship itself felt a bit off. I get that Beka would do anything and attach herself to anyone at the start to keep herself safe. She's clearly a survivor willing to do what it takes. I even understand her attraction and eventual feelings for Tyler. Similarly, Beka is a hot young thing willing to be quite submissive with just enough of a manipulative and cunning streak to make her interesting and so is a nice reprieve from Tyler's alleged viper of an ex, so I get the attraction there too. The issue is that we go from that to "I love you" in what feels like a span of days, perhaps weeks? It just didn't feel authentic to me. Also, while Tyler is an interesting and complex character, I feel like the author wasn't quite sure where to go with him. He felt a bit too chaotic for what was supposed to be someone who is the master of his universe. Even his loyalty tests didn't appear well thought out.
The most interesting character was, ironically, Dante, the aforementioned guy in charge of security. Under the initial dark and sadistic facade, there appear to be quite a few layers. I did like the fact that we get to know his motivation for his actions towards Beka as well as his ease of letting her go to be with Tyler, which didn't make much sense initially. Also, I was way more invested in the intimate scenes between Dante and Beka than those of her with Tyler. The ones with Tyler just seemed bland, though I can also see why they needed to be mild in comparison to what happened with Dante.
I could go on, so clearly, good or bad, the book made an impact. I'll definitely keep an eye on this author's future work, especially if she decides to return to Scar City and give Dante a story.
May 29, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews