3.5 stars

There were parts of this story that were great and others that frustrated me. Several unanswered parts even though I wasn't under the impression that this ended with the idea that it would continue in another book. Normally, I love this author but this wasn't my favorite which is a shame because the premise of this story was great. ( )

This is my first read from [a:Skye Warren|5339130|Skye Warren|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1441154270p2/5339130.jpg]. I have a bunch of her books, I tend to pick them up whenever they go on sale. But for whatever (silly) reason I had not picked one out of my TBR pile before now. I have to say that she writes very well; the story was paced nicely and the plot was very interesting. It was a bit more than interesting actually - it was morbidly fascinating! I am certainly not into the daddy/daughter kink whatsoever, so those parts were a bit squicky... but the rest of the storyline was great.

The leading female in this story is Candace, and we first meet her as she has just escaped a crazy cult where she has spent most of her childhood. In the cult, everyone has to follow/worship/revere Leader Allen - and you can imagine that this reverence is of a dark and twisted nature. Candace has just escaped with a little help from her mother and ends up in Tanglewood. This situation was a very unique storyline - I can't think of another book that had similar circumstances. It was very interesting to see what effect the cult upbringing had on Candace once she was on the outside.

Candace is surrounded by some unsavory characters in Tanglewood and is rescued (kind of) by Ivan, owner of The Grand strip club. Ivan is dark and broody and somewhat depraved, but he has his own tortured past as much as Candace does. I would have loved to see more from Ivan - he seemed to be so stoic and unfeeling that I wanted to get in his head. I was really hoping for a glimpse, so it would have been great to have an alternating POV here.

The proclivities of Ivan and Candace seemed on the extreme side of taboo to me - I cringed several times when they were in the daddy/little one roles. Candace speaking in the childish manner was particularly difficult to take. It would have been interesting to expound upon why/how Candace and Ivan's backgrounds influenced this particular kink. But even though this is not my thing, I am of the "whatever floats you boat" mindset. The story was good enough for me to overlook this part that didn't interest me.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have not read the previous books in the series, and I wasn't too lost. I know there was a lot of character crossover, but it was not overwhelming to the point where I felt I absolutely had to read the earlier books (but I certainly will go back and read them now). 4 stars / 5 flames. ( )

This is my first read from [a:Skye Warren|5339130|Skye Warren|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1441154270p2/5339130.jpg]. I have a bunch of her books, I tend to pick them up whenever they go on sale. But for whatever (silly) reason I had not picked one out of my TBR pile before now. I have to say that she writes very well; the story was paced nicely and the plot was very interesting. It was a bit more than interesting actually - it was morbidly fascinating! I am certainly not into the daddy/daughter kink whatsoever, so those parts were a bit squicky... but the rest of the storyline was great.

The leading female in this story is Candace, and we first meet her as she has just escaped a crazy cult where she has spent most of her childhood. In the cult, everyone has to follow/worship/revere Leader Allen - and you can imagine that this reverence is of a dark and twisted nature. Candace has just escaped with a little help from her mother and ends up in Tanglewood. This situation was a very unique storyline - I can't think of another book that had similar circumstances. It was very interesting to see what effect the cult upbringing had on Candace once she was on the outside.

Candace is surrounded by some unsavory characters in Tanglewood and is rescued (kind of) by Ivan, owner of The Grand strip club. Ivan is dark and broody and somewhat depraved, but he has his own tortured past as much as Candace does. I would have loved to see more from Ivan - he seemed to be so stoic and unfeeling that I wanted to get in his head. I was really hoping for a glimpse, so it would have been great to have an alternating POV here.

The proclivities of Ivan and Candace seemed on the extreme side of taboo to me - I cringed several times when they were in the daddy/little one roles. Candace speaking in the childish manner was particularly difficult to take. It would have been interesting to expound upon why/how Candace and Ivan's backgrounds influenced this particular kink. But even though this is not my thing, I am of the "whatever floats you boat" mindset. The story was good enough for me to overlook this part that didn't interest me.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have not read the previous books in the series, and I wasn't too lost. I know there was a lot of character crossover, but it was not overwhelming to the point where I felt I absolutely had to read the earlier books (but I certainly will go back and read them now). 4 stars / 5 flames. ( )

Candace runs away from a strict, strange religious cult and finds herself alone in the big city like a babe in the woods. Just as danger closes in, Ivan, a hard, mysterious man in an expensive suit rescues her. But Candace's relief is short-lived. Ivan, suspecting the innocent girl will only bring trouble, wants to return her to the flock. She begs him to let her stay and in return offers herself.

Ivan protects her, cherishes her and treats her like a princess in a tower. As time passes, Candace realizes her feelings for Ivan are those of a woman. She wants him, but he keeps himself at a distance. He will only lower his guard briefly, when he plays "Daddy" to his "little girl," rewarding her when she's good and punishing her when she's bad.

Pretty When You Cry is an erotic dark romance with a good amount of kink. There are some really hot scenes of spanking and sex. While Candace enjoys her "little girl" persona with Ivan, she also wants him to love her like a woman. He's a bad man, though, and afraid to let her too close. When outside danger threatens, he holds her even tighter to keep her safe.

As much as I enjoyed the sexy parts of the story, I liked Candace's struggle to find herself. She's always been under a man's control--first the cult leader, and then Ivan. One wants to use her, the other to protect her. But she must stand on her own two feet to discover who she truly is. I was glad the author made sure she finally got the chance. Ivan grows as well, when he realizes he must give Candace freedom if he truly cares for her. I don't want to reveal too much, but the scene toward the end when they meet again after time apart was heart-wrenching
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I also enjoyed meeting some of the other characters, whose stories I look forward to reading in the rest of the series. ( )