I would recommend this book to those who read the first installment and to those lovers of dark romance, however to appreciate this book, you really need to read the first one.
Heroine: 3.5/5
Hero: 4/5
Story: 4/5
Story Telling: 4/5
Background Characters: 2.5/5
Overall rating 3.6
In this book installment, I did not find the hero as dark as the first book, Aleks didn't have a 180 turn of attitude, but he wasn't a complete asshole to Olivia for majority of this book. I found myself enthralled with this book until about 60% where I struggled to finish reading it. The book's paced picked up again at around the end.
My rating for this book is comparatively lower than its predecessor, nonetheless, this story is still a great read and pretty enjoyable.
In the first book, I loved Olivia's family, especially Mia. But in this installment, I wanted to throttle her along with Rob. Rob, for the life of me, as a policeman is pretty gullible, to think that he was the head of investigation about the Bratva yet still believed mere hearsay is a little off-putting. While Rob is annoying with his gullibility, I was still rooting for him and Jennifer. Their conclusion in this story, satisfied me. In some parts of this story, I was looking forward more to their conclusion rather than Olivia and Aleks'.
For Olivia, I was a little disappointed with her but also tried to be sympathetic to her character after the trauma her family put her through. But I think she had no staying power and she was quick to think ill and give up on her brother and sister and even the hero. In her defense, what Mia, Rob and her mother planned was too whacked and for me, is a little out of character for them. I don't think the Mia in the first book would have hurt her little sister like that.
While, I've had my issues with some of Olivia's family, the author wrote this book well, I was able to get into reading it and feel for her characters. B the time you know who the real antagonist was I was waiting for a very nice reveal, which the author delivered.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.