The only sure way to destroy a man is to take what he cannot live without.
Three years ago, I had everything.
A beautiful wife.
A son.
A reason for living.
Until a ruthless task force, assembled under Mayor Michael Culling, with a brutal strategy to make the streets of Detroit ‘safe’, ripped away everything I loved in a deadly hunt called The Culling.
They tried to kill me, too. I wish they had. Now I'm cursed by the memories of that night, and the words I whispered to my dying wife.
A promise—to avenge the wrong and set it right.
I’m no longer Nick Ryder. I’m a masked vigilante. Faceless. Loveless. Fearless. A man with nothing left to lose—one who's seen the dark and violent truth behind the city’s flawless veneer.
Michael Culling doesn’t know who I am. Or what I want. All he knows is that I’ve kidnapped his beautiful wife.
An eye for an eye—isn’t that how the saying goes? And Aubree Culling is the perfect pawn to destroy him.
If she doesn’t destroy me first.
WARNING: **Not recommended for readers under the age of 18 due to graphic violence, sex and strong language. Trigger warning for self harm.
Review
Now that I’ve had some time to collect my thoughts on this, lemme see…
If you’re trying to read as many reviews as you can for this book, pls just stop. If you’re paying close attention to your friends’ status updates on Goodreads on this book, pls just stop. People may inadvertently give away something and you don’t want that to take anything from your reading pleasure… just saying…
Anyhoot, you wanna know what this feels like for me? It feels like Keri took some of the action/suspense/revenge films I love which star Jason Statham or Clive Owen or even Thomas Jane ala The Punisher (just make them younger) and amalgamated that with the the angst-y NA I love. And yup, this is what I get, Nick and Aubree’s story.
This is a first Keri read for me and I say not bad, not bad at all! Whatever (or whoever) prompted Keri to start writing contemporary romance, I’m just glad she did.
It’s a story about pain and misery, soul-crushing anger and revenge, starting over, and finding love in the strangest of time… and umm, “whoah” moments and yes, smokin’ hot moments…
Nick is a broken man who such tragic past, and he set out to take who he felt meant the most from the man who took it all away from him. Enter Aubree. There’s more to Aubree than meets the eye and as they spent more time together, they both learn things about each other. That’s all I’m gonna say…
Nick was your typical antihero. You can’t help but feel everything he’s feeling and just fall for him. Aubree has her own demons to slay. She may not make sense with her feelings for him in the beginning but I get it. And she just totally kicked a$$ in the end. There’s an insta-lust feel to it but at the same token, you have to keep in mind the circumstances they’re in. And boy, was that union hawt!!
Their story is not new. I figured out some things really early on, but it didn’t take anything away from me really enjoying this. And come to think of it, despite that, it still managed to surprise me with other details that I did not see coming. It’s dark and really violent. If you have a weak stomach, this may not be it for you. Yet, with all its grittiness, there’s a more heartrending feel to it, I found, just because you get into Nick’s mind as well. Some scenes will just melt your heart *tear* I know, they may be clichés but again, I felt every moment. And some things may have felt rushed or happened conveniently, even the end, yet with so much happening, I'm certainly ok with it... I'm thinking I've raised those things simply because I've seen enough of this kind of movie, that's all...
This is definitely one of those reads that took me on a roller coaster ride. I’m cringing one moment, then crying the next, then fanning myself the next, then cringing again, crying again… you get the picture...
I know that if Keri wants to write more contemporary stuff, I’m definitely reading.
(I do have to thank Goodreads friends for this; one for putting this on my radar with her awesome review, another for giving me the heads up on its availability on Netgalley…pays to stalk friends thru my timeline, for sure LOL... and don't you just love that cover!!! Oh, and I think I want a Cane Corso now!)
Thanks for dropping by!
~Leftie
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