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The Men Duet #2

Men of Vengeance

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Men of Mayhem and Vengeance have been combined into one book, Men of Mayhem & Vengeance, and can be found HERE.

In the darkest of moments, I must focus on love and revenge.

I never expected to fit into their life like I did. As if I always belonged there.
The more I learned about them, the more I should have been afraid. Instead, I found love within the darkest depths of their hearts. And they became my family. Instead of weekly trips to the grocery store, we made moonshine runs while evading the law in the midst of prohibition. We didn’t make an honest living. We survived on our
cunning and depravity.

But every family falls on hard times. When they bore witness to an unspeakable act, they were my source of comfort. When I needed revenge, they helped me get my vengeance.

Would retribution be enough? Would I be able to find my peace within their mayhem?

Men of Vengeance is book two of the "Men" Duet. My novellas are a part of Lauren Biel 'after dark' and are spicier/steamier fast paced stories.

This dark 'why choose' romance is for adult readers due to strong sexual content and violence.

TW: Sharing, Exhibitionism, Voyeurism, blood play, non con (multiple men), violence, gore, revenge castration, primal play, strong sexual content including anal and mfm.

93 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 20, 2022

19 people are currently reading
690 people want to read

About the author

Lauren Biel

37 books4,814 followers
Lauren’s stories are often emotionally raw, with lots of twists and turns. She describes her writing as “where light meets dark”, which represents how her witty humor compliments the darkness in every story. Instead of trying to mold her writing to fit in a box, she chooses to be unapologetically herself. While her focus is on Romance with dark elements, subgenre is no constraint for her. The common theme in every book is finding love when you least expect it. She enjoys putting her characters through tribulations, allowing their triumphs to be that much more poignant. Make sure you have your seatbelts secured. It’s always a bumpy ride.

When she’s not working, she’s writing. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with her husband, her friends, or her pets. You might also find her on a horseback trail ride or sitting beside a waterfall in Upstate New York. She has a pretty normal life, yet her stories are anything but.


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5 stars
104 (50%)
4 stars
53 (25%)
3 stars
33 (15%)
2 stars
14 (6%)
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3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
Profile Image for Auj.
1,690 reviews119 followers
December 9, 2022
Oh god, I finally finished a book. 💀 I miss having enough energy, focus, time, and a couch for reading a book.

I wish I had read Books 1 & 2 immediately after because I would have enjoyed them slightly more. It would be cool to buy the paperback in a few years and reread both novellas back-to-back.

Please don't read this book if rape & violence are triggers for you. I really enjoyed reading one or two sex scenes because of the romantic things that were said and the sex. I don't want to write it here, or I'll be judged lol, but I was grinning.

My only complaint was that each tender moment seemed to end too soon, but I guess that's the downside with novellas. I like how novellas are short, but ...

It's hard to write a good reverse harem novella, but Lauren Biel showed she was up for the task. I also appreciate how well-edited & professional-looking the book is.

Oh, I just remembered that my ex-something had the name of the heroine. LOL

Thank you to BookSirens & Lauren Biel for my free copy of the book. However, this has not affected my review.
1,036 reviews88 followers
August 9, 2022
description

Everything that was missing in the first novella can be found here in the second and final installment. It had me fanning myself one moment, while gasping and screaming "WHY?!" in the next. I was completely invested and captivated by the story and characters, to the point where I didn't want the story to end. Highly recommend to those looking for a steamy read but still wants a good storyline.

***I would like to thank BookSirens and Lauren Biel (the author) for graciously providing an ARC of the novel for me to read & review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***
Profile Image for Watts of Reading .
144 reviews3 followers
July 21, 2022
LAUREN, LAUREN, LAUREN! Don't ever lose your spark for writing. Please from all your fans. Even those who may yell at you mid-read because you threw them for a loop. I fully believe you have fun torturing your readers. 😂

I HAVE NO WORDS! I'm pretty sure I lost them in the moments of screaming and crying that occurred while reading this book.

Men of Vengeance is the second book in the The Men duet, though let's be real there really should be a 3rd book in this series to help mend our hearts a little more.

This book like all of Lauren's book will take you on one hell of a roller coaster ride. When your reading you will get lost in the story feeling like you are right there with the main characters. You will experience the pain, the happiness, and every other emotion you can think of.

" I wasn't a conventional member of the gang. I was collateral. I was a walking liability that should have been killed."

The men, oh the men. Reaper, Vernon, Ricky, and Morris will definitely hold a special place in my heart for a long time. I don't even think I could pick one as a favorite. All 4 have different qualities that make up the perfect unit.
Then there is Silvia who I may or may not have a girl crush on. She is seriously one bad a$$ woman.

This story will live rent free in my brain and heart for some time.

Like always check triggers before diving in, Lauren likes to keep things dark.
Profile Image for TheReadingDumby.
1,586 reviews
July 14, 2022
OH MY FUCKING… GOD!
This was inexplicably spectacular. I am still at a loss for words. I am dehydrated from the tears that I shed while I read this. Silvia and her boys are now officially one of my favourite things in the world ever. This book made me weep like a little baby and scream so loud my family literally thought something was seriously wrong with me.
Thank god I got this ARC, because if i didn't, I would have killed someone for it. I wish I could read this again for the first time because god my reactions were priceless. Such an amazing end to this duet, and such a quick read that I just couldn't get enough of.
5 HUGE STARS. This broke my heart and repaired it all in under 100 pages! These five legends have now become a permanent part of my heart.
I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Men of Vengeance by Lauren Biel through BookSirens. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
Profile Image for Margaret Anne.
290 reviews7 followers
June 26, 2024
I think I actually liked this one more than Men of Mayhem.

It's set about a year into her being with the gang and she's really found her place with them. I loved this for her. I hate that she was SA since after book one we know that she has previously been thought it but I loved that the boys want to help her get her vengeance.

I wasn't impressed with what happened with Morris but I kinda get that not everyone can make it to the end it not really realistic and gunshots in 1932 won't have been as easy to treat as they would be in 2022.

Then when similar happened to Ricky. Man I felt like Lauren had played us dirty on this book. Then the marriage and her comment to Vernon about being a married woman.

I have to say I did love the ending like Silvia I wasn't expecting it.
83 reviews1 follower
July 14, 2022
I couldn’t wait for this book and the conclusion of what easily fell into a top spot in my favorite harems list but damn did my heart get broken and stomped on all for me to run straight into a wall of HEA. I was warned to keep reading even if I got angry at first so I thought, after my first trauma in this book that I was going to survive and be ok only to be run over and destroyed all over again. I didn’t know if I could go on but I had to because I love Sil and her guys and I needed to see them have a HEA and damn if it wasn’t delivered in the most shocking twist I did not see coming. This is another great short read that will tear you apart and put you back together again. Love Sil and her guys!
284 reviews8 followers
July 10, 2022
This book follows "Men of Mayhem." It's more dangerous than the first book, both for the characters and your heart. These characters that you're already attached to will put you through your paces.

Once again, Lauren Biel does the hard work of character building and well thought out plot development. She doesn't cop out by using miscommunication between the main characters as the conflict. I always appreciate this about Ms. Biel's writing.
Profile Image for Kathy.
83 reviews2 followers
July 13, 2022
It is really hard to write a review on a book this good since I don’t want to spoil any part of the story since it hasn’t been released yet, but let me just say what an emotional ride it was.

Very few of my reads get 5 stars, but this one deserves it!
Profile Image for Kolleen  Trigg.
29 reviews1 follower
July 22, 2022
OMG Lauren you had me for a minute! Thank you for writing this duet!

This is a dark romance RH duet. I could actually feel the love between these characters.

The spice 🌶🌶🌶🌶

I cried when I thought that was it for Morris but I was given my HEA.

SILVIA IS A KICK A** woman and she got her revenge!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for DD11.
860 reviews
January 9, 2023
This is a very violent story. Got some sex in the same room with dying or dead people and with blood all over. She does get raped by multiple men. She seems to just recover after like three pages. Again lots of blood and death on top of lots of sex. Interesting ending with no one in jail.
Profile Image for Carissa.
3,377 reviews91 followers
September 5, 2023
Starts out 1 year later from the ending of book one. I think this one was a bit darker than Men of Mayhem. This one ends in completion of Sylvia's past. Overall pretty good fast reads.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Profile Image for Ash.
34 reviews4 followers
July 16, 2022
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ x10/5
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶/5
Gut Wrenching Heartache: 💔💔💔

Triggers/Tropes: Single POV RH, Touch Her & Die, Found Family, 30's Gangster Activities - Bootlegging, Un@l¡v¡ng, Robberies, Violence, Gore/Bl00d, G🔫ns, Bl00d Play, C💦m Play, 🍑 Play, DP, Gr@pə, Non C0n, Body Mutilation, Complete & Utter Heartbreak, etc.

At this point Lauren's name should be a dang trigger warning. 🤣 I told her that too.

How in the hekkin hekk do I even talk abt this book!? *SO* much happened. Where the first book didn't have "as much" action, this one was action packed! The twists and turns were freaking W-I-L-D!

Listen when the author tells you, "I'm going to break your hearts but you're going to have to trust me," you know it's going to be good. I just didn't expect to be laying in bed, contemplating throwing my phone bc I had my heart ripped out of my chest—not once but twice and almost back to back. It was brutal and I sobbed. But it was worth it.

👏🏻DO👏🏻NOT👏🏻DNF👏🏻THIS👏🏻BOOK!👏🏻

You're going to want to. Even I had to set it down and walk away for a minute. But Lauren hasn't done me wrong yet. This RH is in my top, all-time, beloved RHs. It's also easily in my top reads for 2022.

You see so much growth with Silvia and her men. Silvia turns into a total badass. Reaper becomes more vulnerable, Vernon softens, Morris opens up, and we see sweet Ricky step into his power. It was beautiful—the entirety of this duet was beautiful.

The spice was on point, show me a Lauren Biel book where it isn't and I'll prove you a liar. There was a DP scene that had me... 🥵 And Vernon w/ that mouth of his... good Lort.

Just... just read this duet. Do it. I wish I could talk more about the plot but honestly go in blind w/ both books. I mean of course mind your triggers but let the rest whisk you away.

🖤
Profile Image for Michele.
344 reviews18 followers
July 15, 2022
WOW!! Umm…where to start?!?! Let’s just start with another wow! A roller coasters of emotion but worth every moment of it!! I was an emotional wreck. It’s hard to give a more detailed review and explanation of all the feelings I had without giving spoilers about the characters/plot.

I decided to give myself time to read this in one sitting; I had a hunch much like the first book I wouldn’t be able to stop once I started. And that was 110% accurate! It was a faced paced read.

It’s dark, emotional, delicious, and bada$$; both plot and characters. Sil and her men all hold a special place in my heart. I’m crushing on the characters even more now then I was before (didn’t think that was possible).

This is absolutely worth the read!! And I can say I will be rereading both books- multiple times. I’m thankful I got this as a ARC read because I was impatiently waiting for it following reading Men of Mayhem.

**check trigger warnings**
Profile Image for C.M. Guidroz.
122 reviews18 followers
July 19, 2022
Think Bonnie and Clyde, prohibition era, but make it super spicy! The spice in this book is heavy just how I like it! As a reverse harem the author does well with creating characters that give us a taste of all the things we want. We have four men that make up this delicious story. Reaper, my favorite, who is hard and rough. Vernon, who is nassstyyy. I mean the things this man does. Wow. Then we have Ricky who is that sweet relief from the other two men. Lastly, Morris is the perfect balance of all four of them. Together that bring the heat. I'm talking tommy guns, moonshine, and spice!

The perfect follow up to book one and I loved it! This book had me crying sad and happy tears. This duet is a quick read, but has you so invested in the characters. I loved watching Silvia grow into her role as well as hearing the backstories of some of the other characters.

I highly recommend to readers who enjoy a lot of spicy scenes and some good old-fashioned action!
Profile Image for Chanel Johnson.
365 reviews20 followers
July 24, 2022
This is novella 2 in this duet!!

Sil has been with her guys for a year. She has acclimated well to their lifestyle and fits right in. The guys are still so protective of her even though she can hold her own.

Each of her relationships are different and special. Honestly I was surprised by Vernon.

Vernon was his normal impulsive crazy self but to Sil he’s sensitive and caring. I loved him in this novella!!
Reaper is still the dominant 🥵
Ricky is the biggest sweetheart and so protective 🥰
Morris is the quiet, passionate one 😏

They had some struggles being alcohol distributors during 1930’s prohibition. Lauren gave me a heart attack and she knows why.

But the end made up for it and my heart is better now!

••PLEASE CHECK TRIGGERS••
Profile Image for K Huskić.
2,206 reviews39 followers
July 15, 2022
4.5 stars

I liked this one so much more than the first, even though this one guts you at times. The emotional rollercoaster this book takes you on is crazy. But good crazy.

This story is set a year after the first, with the relationship between the five firmly established, as well as their criminal lifestyle. There's always danger and these men definitely have a dangerous side, but so does Sil. She proves she's just as bad as the rest of the them.

This series, though short, was intriguing. While historical novels aren't typically what I read, I like this author's work and gave it a shot, and wound up really enjoying it.
Profile Image for Faye.
187 reviews5 followers
July 15, 2022
ARC from booksirens

OH. MY. GOD!!

This book broke my heart, ripped it out, stomped all over it and then kissed it better and mended me right up again and that's why Lauren is one of my favourite authors.

Straight from the start it's full of all the hot and spicy seggs scenes 🥵👌
Throw in a bit of pain and suffering 💀
Add in a pinch of despair and I feel like we find Lauren's recipe for dark romance
😂😂

I loved this book and will continue to be a unicorn reader when it comes to any future books by Lauren Biel
Profile Image for Hollie Senn Bookish Reviews.
399 reviews10 followers
July 20, 2022
I can't even form the words!!! I finished this book 2 days ago and I still don't know what to say on this review. I'm emotionally spent. I've been all over the place with these emotions this book/duet. I have been blown away since I started this journey and now I'm still sitting here thinking how to form words to write my thoughts. I'm going to say that your not ready for this journey but you definitely need to be on it. Just read it thats all imma say.. READ THIS BOOK!!!
Profile Image for Christina.
66 reviews14 followers
July 20, 2022
Wow. I have almost no words...other than HOW COULD YOU?! How dare you rip my heart out and put it back together again and again. Such a perfect, spicy, hard-hitting reverse harem novella. Syl and her men are so perfect. It's fast paced, constantly moving and keeps you hooked the entire time. I have loved all of Lauren Biel's work, but this one hit different and is easily a favorite. Highly recommend if you want a quick read that you can't put down and are a fan of reverse harems.
Profile Image for Mrs A.
1,394 reviews29 followers
July 23, 2022
Wow! For a short read, This was angsty and got me all emotional. Lauren you did good! This is the 2nd book of the series, you’ll need to read the first for this book to make sense. Your heart will break initially but it’ll also be fixed. Loved Sil, such a strong female lead, broken but so brave. If you’re into dark romance you’ll love this. There are triggers to be mindful of so do heed the authors warning.

I received an advanced copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review
Profile Image for Erin - Books&nails&puppydogtales.
615 reviews29 followers
December 18, 2022
Four gangsters are better than one!

Where book one held so much insight to how these men became who they were and how Silvia came to take her place in the gang, book two holds all the excitement and trauma that made them into the family they never knew they needed. It also proves that sometimes even the bad guys get their own kind of HEA. This duet is bloody and violent but these four men and Silvia love each other more than any of them ever thought they deserved.
Profile Image for Tracey.
301 reviews9 followers
October 4, 2022
I figured Sil might end up married to Ricky if they survived. So happy I was right, and wrong. I almost cried when Morris "came back from the dead". The rape scene was a little hard to read, but Sil's revenge on her rapists made it all worth reading in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Dana.
197 reviews1 follower
July 17, 2022
Silvia and her men are spicy, wild, and down right HOT! Second book in the duet and every page is a page turner! I couldn't put it down. It's a wild ride, some tears, some heartache, but a HEA!
Profile Image for Library.of.linds.
693 reviews31 followers
June 11, 2024
Men of Vengeance

This is book two in the duet. It is released as separate and as one book. It takes please a few months after the first book.

If you’re looking to be ruined by another inanimate object from Lauren Beil then this is not the book for you. If you’re looking for a lighter little RH novella in which there’s some super spicy DP, then look no further!! This is on the lighter side of LB books but still dark so check the TW :)

When Silvia is abducted my men of the mafia she never expected to fall for them and fall she did!!! One would think they would live happily ever after but they are in ten mafia after all ;)

Please check TW. This isn’t as dark as other LB books but it is still dsrk and includes sensitive topics including infertility. 🖤

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
TW: 🖤🖤🖤

Profile Image for chesirern.
868 reviews18 followers
May 31, 2024
Men of Mayhem book 2 by Lauren Biel is a historical psychological romance novel that is part of a duet. What an interesting novel. Lauren Biel always has a way to make you truly fall in love with the villains in the story. They can do tons of horrendous things but you still end up wanting them. This book picks up after part one so definitely read that (they are now combined into one).
After growing closer their bond has strengthened and their thirst for vengeance is now apparent. This book is definitely darker. Through trauma and vengeance grows love and family.
What a ride! Definitely check this out if you enjoy dark romance with a twist.
Profile Image for Nikki reads.
264 reviews8 followers
July 31, 2023
This book gave me Peaky Blinders feels it takes you right back to the 1930’s. It’s a hot RH with a super strong FMC. She embraces her new life on the crazy side with 4 gangster MMC’s though it’s definitely not smooth sailing! I fell in love with them all, though I think I’ll always have a soft spot for Vernon! Absolutely, fantasticlily written and the spice was fire as usual with anything that comes from Lauren Biel. Just remember to have trust in Lauren and read the Epilogue.
Profile Image for Samantha Hickey.
1,976 reviews48 followers
February 7, 2024
I didn't know I needed this book in my life, and I am so happy I finally read it!!!!

This is book 1 in a duet and it's a quick, spicy, why choose.

If you always wanted to read a mobster romance from the 30s, then you will love this book!!!!

Silvia, Reaper, Venom, Ricky, and Morris will have you hooked from the start!!!!
Profile Image for Dal R.
Author 4 books12 followers
May 21, 2023
Absolutely amazing ! 👏 Lauren biel is an amazing writer and I have loved every book I've read by her
Profile Image for Deb Conover.
673 reviews3 followers
June 6, 2023
SURPRISE this book had me crying. I loved this ending so much. Thank you Lauren Biel.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews

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