Francette Phal

I got about 86% in but I didn't finish it because I noticed that it was shaping up to be a cliffhanger ending.

I knew that the sequel of this book wasn't and won't be made, and that this book had been pulled from Amazon (I am assuming it's because of this reason), but I didn't realize that this book was ending on a cliffhanger. I bought it from Amazon back in October of 2015 and had it on my computer before they removed it from their shelves. I just reloaded it to my Kindle the other day when I finally decided that I might as well read it, even knowing it was an unfinished arc.

I somehow thought that the sequel was about someone else. So I quit before quite ending it. I will mark it as read because I did read it, and will probably finish it. It was a pretty good book. I am totally bummed there won't be a finish. Mayyyybe Ms. Phal will go back and finish it.

This review however should stand for those who already have the book but have held off reading it because of the reasons above. It was a decent book, and I would suggest reading it with the understanding that it will end in a cliffhanger, but the parts leading up to it were good. You will get over the lack of second book pretty quick and move on to something else. So read it if you want, but know that there isn't a resolution.

Regarding the story, it is not a romance. It has erotic scenes, but the main male character (not a hero) doesn't fool himself or the heroine that he has romantic feelings towards her. He looks at her as a possesion he want to break. He is intrigued by her and does enjoy sexual acts, but they are in no way romantic. He is a sadist and treats he as such.

It's a sad book because the heroine is basically put through the ringer due to her "martyr" tendencies when she takes on the responsibility for the debts of her idiot brother. She agrees to a deal with a sociopathic sadist cum mafia hitman to "pay off" her brother's $25,000 mafia backed debt by allowing said sadist to do whatever he wants to her for "25 sessions". What he wants to do to her is cause her agony and watch her be destroyed, built up, and destroyed again.

We learn that Knox (the hitman) really is just intrigued by her and maybe fancies her a bit, but doesn't fool himself or her into thinking it's anything more than that. He gets his kicks on making her think he cares a little bit, giving her some kind of hope, but then proving her wrong. He does treat her a a sexual slave of sorts, but it's more of a power thing. Lacy puts up with it and tries to keep her chin up on the matter.

I ended the book about 89% way through when I noticed that they hadn't even had the second session yet, so I skipped to the end to see if there is any kind of resolution but then say "to be continued" on the last page. Not a good thing to see when you know the book isn't followed up.

Should have done that in the beginning.… (mehr)

Synopsis:

Accidental Gold digger.

Circumstance forced Eden Mercer to sell herself to Dominic Armstrong for half a million dollars and in return she is to play the dutiful wife in public and submit to him completely behind closed doors.

The Tyrant.

Dominic is Ruthless, manipulative and sadistic but Eden is determined not to break under his cruelty. But how does one persevere when in the clutches of a Monster?

My review:

It was extremely disconcerting to see how he treated her in the beginning. He truly viewed her as a possession. It took her escape to make him see that she is a person and for him to realize how badly he treated her.… (mehr)