Sinner is the first book in the Reed Security Series. It is preceded by the series For The Love Of A Good Woman and it is recommended that the series be read in order, as characters from the first appear in the second.
Cara I've been broken for six years. I only started leaving my house three years ago, but I waited too long and now I'm so screwed up that I can barely stand to be around other people without freaking out. When a handsome, strong man with gorgeous eyes comes to my rescue twice, my therapist suggests he become a therapy buddy of sorts to help me. His jovial personality sets me at ease and he really does start to help me heal, but my untrustworthy nature takes over and could ruin the best thing that has ever happened to me.
Sinner Everyone calls me Sinner because of my reputation with the ladies. I was in Special Forces until a few years ago and now I work for Reed Security. I love my job, but it's hard on relationships, which is why I don't try. Until her. Everyone sees her as damaged, but I see her spirit, her fight. I can't seem to get enough of her, but when my relationship with her threatens my job, I'm forced to choose which I want more. I just hope I chose right.
Giulia Lagomarsino is the author of the action-packed series Owens Protective Services, along with four other series that feature hot men, strong women, and storylines that will leave you laughing, crying, and begging for more. To find her reading order, visit her website http://giulialagomarsinoauthor.com or join her reading group https://www.facebook.com/groups/Giuli....
The following ratings are out of 5: Romance: 💚💙💜🖤❤️ Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Story/Plot: 📘📗📕📙📘 World building: 🌏🌏🌍🌏🌍 Character development: ☺️🤓🥸😎🥳
The Hero(s):Mark “Sinner” Sinn - former special forces, now works for Reed Security. He is a playboy who hasn’t been getting along with his boss Sebastian “Cap” Reed. Sinner is friends with Maggie, who is Cap’s woman and Cap is very possessive.
The heroine(s):Cara - six years ago she was kidnapped and held by a serial killer and now is suffering from severe social anxiety disorder. She is doing whatever it takes to get rid of her anxiety but right now nothing seems to be working.
The Love Story: Sinner and Cara meet at a restaurant where Cara is having an anxiety attack and when she passes out, Sinner is there to catch her.
I started this series on Book 21, which is fine since most can be read as stand-alone books. Though I loved them so much I had always planned to start at the beginning. Sinner was one of the books I couldn’t wait to read since he is such a great character. The blurb in this book also says it would be best to read the For the love of a good woman series first since many of the characters are connected. I have read most of that series, but it was quite a while ago so I don’t remember much. However I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. That is one thing Giulia Lagomarsino is great at.
I liked both Sinner and Cara as characters and these books always have some sort of dangerous situation brought on by the nature of the work in the Security business. In this one, there was a woman, Vanessa Adams who was the daughter of a billionaire businessman who needed personal security. There is some sort of shady business deal with her father where the other party wants to get her and use her as leverage. Vanessa will be the heroine in a future book as she and Cazzo have some attraction between them.
Overall, this book was great. It wasn’t quite as funny as some of the later books, but it was certainly steamy. I love the supporting characters and the action in the book. The world building is great and the side story was interesting.
Apart from the fact that the so- called hero was an arsehole, he had sex with another woman during their separation. I hated that bit.
He takes off to another state for work - after he loses his job defending the heroine and they have an argument during which she asks him to leave. Granted, he does make an attempt to fix things but he gives up and then leaves. He then has sex once with a woman he used to have fun with and was also temporarily staying with. The heroine, who has severe anxiety issues due to a previous trauma, goes to see him a month later (not easy because of her trauma), only to have the girl he had sex with tell the heroine that they did the deed. He’s rude to the heroine and treats her horribly.
Some other things happen after that, he apologizes at some point but he was mean to her several times during the book. It was rather disappointing. I just wish the heroine could see that she actually deserved better.
This was a dnf I hate it when authors have the guy screw someone else if your heart belongs to someone else and you screw another woman it’s cheating I don’t understand why authors do this I wouldn’t take a guy back if he screwed someone else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I stumbled across this because I was curious if Vira (the OW in Sean- book 6 of the For the Love of a Good Woman series) would be the h. Fortunately, she's not… but unfortunately, she’s the OW here and we get another on-page Vira sex scene with the H… but the sex sort of sucks because this H is torn, so that was better. At least this h was giving it to him better, so it wasn't one sided and didn’t feel like Vira was running circles around her... also Vira was around way less.
Moving on… For those that didn’t read Sean, Vira was part of his and Lillian’s love triangle. You can read that review HERE… anyway, towards the end she runs to Sean and the Reed security dudes for help and meets Sinner/Mark who is sent out to escort/set her up in California. Evidentially, he spent some time (months maybe) living and screwing her before coming home and meeting this h (Cara) who happens to be Sean’s sister… to make things super messy.
Bottom Line- I skimmed huge chunks. The h has trauma and panic attacks/ptsd she’s working through then the H is tortured as has things he needs to work through.
I love security firm series, usually, but this one unfortunately won't be one I continue with. The story contained several of my hard "no" pieces, and I was left feeling unsatisfied with pretty much all the characters at the end. For a while there, I really, really liked Mark - and then he did a hard "no" & that connection was broken. :(
This also appears to be part of a connected group of series, which can be an awesome thing! It just didn't work for me with this one, because I was left feeling more "lost" than intrigued w/ the other couples.
On the plus side - the story is told well & has a lot of intricacies. If you don't have the same hard "no" things & have read the other series, you might like this one! : )
I grinned at her attitude. “Can we wash my eyes out first? I’ve seen your beautiful face, but I haven’t had nearly enough time to check out that gorgeous body.” I could practically hear her rolling her eyes at me. “Now I can see why they call you Sinner. I swear, it’s like every other word out of your mouth is a come on.” “Only around beautiful women.” She grabbed my hand and started pulling me. “Come on, let’s wash your eyes.” She stopped and held her nose. “On second thought, why don’t you change your clothes. You smell like vomit.” “I don’t know that I’ll be able to see. I think you’re going to need to help me get out of these pants.” “Your arms aren’t broken.” “No, but I could fall and hurt myself. Then who would protect all those women out there in desperate need of my services?” “You are so full of yourself.” “I could make you full of me, if you prefer,” I grinned.
Wasn’t aware that it was a spin off which made it so confusing. I liked the characters but I felt like the plot made little sense without knowing what happened in the other series and eventually I just lost all interest.
I liked the premise and the blurb so I chose to read this book. I liked the idea of them together but I was surprised that the author took what was probably a great relationship and ruined it in my opinion. The fact that he moved on so quickly, I was disappointed. I'm glad it ended as it did but I worried about their future.
Absolutely love this new to me author. Her writing style with down to earth with a sense of humor that makes me laugh out loud and just live in the world she has created with sexy alpha men who love their women fiercly. Sinner tops of this series of books I will be binging on in 2021. Love the dialogue and the crazy antics that goes along with being a part of Reed Security.
It's not a secret that I love to read. The more books I have, the more I want to read but time has been my enemy this couple is days but now I'm back on track. I was so mad when I started to read this new book. Mad because this author had put me on edge with her last book. But don't think that this is a negative thing... It's not. She has a gift and her words can make you laugh and cry at the same time. You must be prepared... Oh boy. Guilia Lagomarsino is amazing and her books shows just how much. Her writing can evolve you in a blanket of darkness but also one of light. Just get ready... I mean it... But before I tell you a bit more about this new series, I need to give you a heads up. Read For The Love Of a Good Woman series first... Because this new series if focused on the secondary characters from that series... Sinner is the first book from the Reed Security series and tells the stories of Sinner and Cara. Sinner worked at Reed Security. After leaving the military he's doing the job he likes and being surrounded by friends is the best way. When he helped a lady from hurting herself he couldn't imagine the turn his life would about to get... Cara had a beautiful life until she suffered and survived a terrible tragedy. After that day she just lost herself. She's always afraid of being taken away again and she doesn't trust easily. But sometimes life has other ideas for us so we must fight to be ourselves again. And when she tried to do just that... Let me just say that I'm overwhelmed. This story was way more intense that I was thinking... The plot is amazing, well written, super engaging, intense and dark. But the darkness can be fought when you have the right person by your side though achieve the light. Don't give up... Fight and be free. Each scene made me think things in a different way, because each base scene was followed by the desire to be different and to fight. I fell for this characters in a way that I can't describe. They were damaged but sometimes life has other ideas for you. Don't give up... This story gave us hope, light, love but also madness, despair and darkness. Giulia... This series started perfectly and I can't wait to start the next one.
Cara is all kinds of frustrated and anxious after a horrifying past experience. Living with her abnormally strong fears and social anxieties culminates in a panic attack at a restaurant. She's saved from harm by Sinner. I thought it was funny that a few moments later, Cara is startled by Sinner, and sprays him with pepper spray. Cara is surprised on her lack of panic and fear when she is with Mark/Sinner and he was the calm controlling force she needed. Mark is captivated by Cara even with her baggage, and does whatever he can to prolong his time with her. Knowing a little about her past, he keeps their relationship emotionally light to keep her from running away. I liked this romance filled emotional drama and the painful yet courageous way Cara fights to be normal again in the midst of her issues. While I loved the way Sinner understood and supported Cara, I absolutely hated that he had sex with Vira when their relationship went south. Cheating, ugh! I also did not appreciate the play by play of the hero with another woman. So yes, he realizes that Cara is special after talking with Vira. I mean yeah, that was kind of disappointing. While Sinner is finding out the meaning of his life with another woman, Cara decided to take medication to help cope with her anxiety. Supported by her over protective brother Sean, she finally experiences a panic free meal in public. When she was ostracized by Drew and Sarah because she was using medication, her heart breaks. The author did a fine job dealing with some difficult topics. I liked the way she wove a sweet romance with Sinner, and a loving and loyal relationship with her brother in the midst of all the emotional drama stemming from Cara's condition. Well written, with good details that developed the characters well.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Cara was kidnapped, and while she was rescued, it really destroyed her life. Now, she's barely able to do normal thing, though she sees a therapist, her anxiety really is terrible. It doesn't help that everyone in her life seems to treat her like a victim so it only hurts her more. Finally, one day, she does what her therapist suggests, trying to eat out but when that doesn't work, passing out, she tries to leave, ends up pepper spraying the sexiest man she's ever seen, then ending up at Reed Security. And this is when her journey starts with Sinner, the man she sprayed. It starts off as a friends with benefit situation, but somehow it turns into more, and all kinds of drama ensues. The heat of Sinner & Cara is HOT HOT HOT, like light the sheets on fire HOT! But there's more to it than that, as Sinner handles her freak outs amazingly well, whereas others treat her with kid gloves. And then Sinner steals my heart when he stands up to everyone for Cara, losing just about everything, and Cara makes the big mistake. See the push & pull becomes crazy because it goes back & forth until I get whip lash, but I can't put the book down for anything. And the secondaries, though they are the good guys, still end up in three categories, the good, the douchey, and the ones who cause too much trouble & need their own HEA. So Cara straightens up so Sinner could really piss me off, and I still haven't forgiven him for all of his mistakes, because of all kinds of twists, (maybe in 4-5 more books), and every colorful metaphor & f-bombs have been dropped at this point. It was a crazy story that engaged all of my emotions so I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Like the snopsis stated, its probably best to read the books previously to this series, " For the Love Of Good Women". There are characters and their stories discussed in this book that you don't understand if you haven't read previous series. Character crossover! You can still enjoy the story its just harder to get into it at certain times. Otherwise I enjoyed both MC, the story was good but difficult at times due to the physical abuse. This is a romantic thriller type book. Good characters, heat and somewhat hea. I'm assuming how it ended leads directly into the next couples story Cap and Maggie! Cap isn't my favorite character since he was so eager to judge both Sinner and Cara each lacking in commitment, strength and honesty! Just because you've been through he!! and are struggling to get to your new normal doesn't mean your broken! It means you are strong and YOU ARE A SURVIVOR! Re-read and dropped a star from my first review! I really really do not like Cap or Maggie! The side characters didn’t seem like a family or brothers and the storyline made me roll my eyes one to many times at the MC’s stupidity and lack of communication! Definitely not reading Cap’s story and from reading the reviews on it, this books HEA for now is it, it doesn’t finish in the next book and Cap and Maggie don’t get more tolerable or like able in their own book! So ✌️out on this series and possibly the author! Sorry not sorry just my opinion!
The drama was good. I will say that. Some people were complaining that he cheated but they were never together, together. What I hated was the no condoms. Gross! He goes from the ho to her without a condom. (They got back together) That's sick. Also after the ho just got done screwing a old man she comes to his room and sits on his lap and gave him a kiss. Barfing here. He should have just stayed with the ho. They both deserves each other. This man will never be faithful. Always checking out women while being with the H. Sinner is just right nasty.
This is twice. I tried to read this book And I just can't seem to get on with it... I gave it a double go, but now it's no go I dont think it's anything on writer or writing style, though. The story just doesn't move even half into the book
I’ve been loving the books I’ve read by Giulia Langomarsino I’ve read so far and this one is no exception. All her books are interconnected somehow and I’m not sure of the starting book but it doesn’t really matter in my enjoyment. This is the first book in the Reed Security series and I think the main characters may have shown up as secondary characters in previous books.
Mark Sinn, also known appropriately as Sinner, works at Reed Security. He meets Cara Donnelly when he’s in a diner and notices she seems to be having a meltdown. Cara was captured and tortured a number of years previously and is practically housebound. She was trying to eat at a small diner and suffers a major panic attack. Mark helps her out and it turns out they know many of the same people. Most people think Cara is broken and can’t really be fixed but that’s not how Mark sees her and decides he can help her heal.
This book is about that journey and I thought it very well done. It’s a very sensual book, to be honest more than I’m used to but Mark uses sex to help Cara overcome many of her issues and I had no trouble buying into it. I enjoyed this book and have no problem recommending it.
I jumped in to the Reed Security series towards the end and the series was so good, I wanted to start from the beginning and I am glad that I was able to. I absolutely adore Sinner and Cara. Cara is strong AF and I thought the author did a great job of showcasing her progress (as well as Sinner, who was a major man hoe) and I dug the story. It was not easy for them, but I like when that is the case with romances so they seem more real. There was a LOT going on in the book, but when I started reading the 2nd and 3rd books of the series, it made more sense- these ARE standalones, but it will be more fullfilling and complete when you read them all! All in all, this was a great start to a series and I REALLY liked the characters!!!
PS:I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Wow! Super fast paced action romance. You meet Sinner who is sexy as sin, has a way with women, and works for a security company. You also meet Cara, a feisty, strong, warm hearted, traumatized woman. He becomes her therapy buddy to help her get over her social anxiety. The chemistry was crazy hot between these two. Lots of action, great angst, and lots of 🔥🔥
I loved this story. This book is a fast paced exciting action packed suspense filled romance story. It gripped me from the beginning until the end and I love the relationship between Cara and Mark (Sinner). As with all Giulia's books they will make you laugh / cry and keep you totally enthralled page after page.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Loved Sinner & Cara's book. I could totally feel for Cara...in a lot of ways I can closely relate...which made this a bit of an emotional book for me. I'm voluntarily leaving an honest review for a copy of the book.
Cara is trying to move forward with her life after experiencing something horrific. When she has a panic attack, Sinner steps in to help her. I just loved Sinner and Cara and watching their journey. A story filled with amazing characters, danger, and steam.
2.5 ⭐️ The first half of the book left me wondering "What the f* am I reading?!" The premise felt cringeworthy and too rushed, and I found the FMC unlikeable. It did improve toward the end, especially when Sinner and Cara started genuinely helping each other. Still, it’s not a story I think I’ll remember a week from now. Glad it was a short read.
Only 3 stars because even though the MMC and FMC weren't technically together, he still slept with another woman. It is still cheating in my head, IYKYK lol 🤷♀️
Mark is an easy, go with the flow and jovial kinda character. He doesn’t make judgments and takes it as it comes. I think this is ideal for our heroine, Cara.
Cara is a survivor. She suffered through a horrific kidnapping and torture situation, so of course she’s got some anxieties and is fearful, always on guard and has PTSD but she’s trying to take back her life one second at a time.
Mark helps heal Cara in a way that motivates her to do it for herself. He gives her the support and laughter she needs.
And when it comes time for Cara to help heal and support Mark, she’s all in. She puts her fears aside and holds his hand tight.
I enjoy the chemistry of the characters and I’ll probably continue on with the rest of the series as well. It was an easy read.
I’m going to start by saying that even though this is the first book of the Reed security series, it’s actually a follow up to her For The Love of a Good Woman series. This series involves so many characters and storylines from that series, that I actually stopped reading and checked multiple times to make sure I was in the first book of the series. It always felt like I was missing a bunch of information. I was able to move along without having read the others, but they are so so many characters in this book and so many storylines going on that I would definitely recommend having read the other series first. This series has been on my TBR list for quite some time, but there are sooo many books in the series that it was a little daunting so I kept putting it off. Now knowing that I should have read a previous series 1st, it feels a little more so. I kept seeing ads and recommendations for other books in the series though, so I finally bit the bullet.
This particular book is mostly about Cara and Mark/Sinner. Six years prior Cara was kidnapped and brutally tortured. She was rescued after ten days, and spent the next 3 years basically as a zombie in her brothers home. Following that she moved out, and basically became a recluse. Everyone, including her brother, treats her as though she’s broken. They actually say pretty crappy things about her. I’m sad that she had no one in her corner holding her up, until she met Sinner. He saw through it all, and came to her rescue multiple times while she attempted to try to beat her anxiety and venture out into public. Sinner is a playboy, and has a reputation as a love-‘‘em and leave-‘‘em kind of guy. They ultimately decide to become friends with benefits, and him becoming her therapy body helping her push herself outside her comfort zone. Side note: not entirely comfortable with the fact that a manwh0re never once uses protection during sex. Seems pretty irresponsible.
There’s a ton of drama in this story. Cara’s brother absolutely does not want her around Sinner, and is friends with his boss, so he gets Sinner fired. Her brother also treats her like crap, and embarrassed her publicly by throwing her breakdowns in her face. Her bffs decide that she was fine to be their nanny and take care of their four young children for years while she was struggling with her PTSD and anxiety and basically a recluse, but the second she decides to start taking anxiety medicine to help herself, she’s a “danger to their children”. 🙄🙄 After Sinner calls Cara’s brother out for his behavior toward her, she breaks up with him for taking away her control. She was pretty awful and hurtful about it. His response was to move to California for a new job, where he moves in with Cara’s brothers ex, who he also hooked up with before. Literally minutes after walking in the apartment, he has six with her. Two weeks after breaking up with Cara, who he supposedly loves, he’s back to his playboy ways at the first chance. But it’s all OK because he couldn’t perform well and didn’t get his finish 🙄 When Cara flies out to apologize, the sleazy girl has the gall to throw all the details in her face, saying it was “the worst sex she’s ever had”. Frankly, all of that should have been left out. Vira is awful. Cue more drama, and more Sinner pushing Cara away after he is injured.
There’s a bunch of other storylines going on which will apparently be woven throughout the following books. I, not entirely sure that I will continue. There was a LOT going on, and I really disliked so many people. Frankly, I’m not sure I want to know their story or watch them be crappy to people they supposedly care about. And without having read the other series, I always feel like I’m missing something. I surely won’t go back to read about Vira- she’s awful. Any story with her is a hard no. So mixed reviews on this one. YMMV.
Excellent and unpredictable I really liked this romance, which seems to start essentially with the healing of the heroine's phobias thanks to a man who does not seem to correspond to what she needs at first, and then, everything changes dramatically towards the middle of the story. There is at once a lot of action, unpredictable reversals, passion with hot scenes, conflicts, very good dialogues and characters : it is an excellent story, very well written, with once again a end that I had not seen coming in the evolution of the characters. Cara has panic attacks because she does not recover from the attack of a serial killer 6 years ago and she can not live with others even for simple actions like being in an elevator. In one of these crises, she meets Sinner, a security specialist at REED Security. A few minutes later, she sprinkles him with a tear bomb and finds herself helping him because he has an allergy. After this strange meeting, Sinner offers to help her overcome her phobias and she in exchange wants to be able to have relations with a man again. However, people's view of Cara's difficulties and Sinner's bad reputation as a womanizer makes it difficult for them in their lives, their jobs, their safety and the affection they have for each other. Whether physically or psychologically injured, rebuilding and healing is extremely difficult for them. The author has a very good style, and despite some moments a bit hard to read, I never felt uncomfortable . I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book