Synopsis:
She was meant to be his assassin
A forced player in a rivalry within The Estate
Yet her loyalty was to no person but herself
When Hope is taken captive by Xander Black
She becomes the one thing that can ensure Aaron’s reign
Raised within a rival crime network, Hope Delacroix wanted nothing to do with The Estate. A fierce warrior, Hope is given no choice but to kill Aaron Carmichael. Caught in her attempt, Hope is captured by Aaron’s top guard in an effort to discover who sent her.
Ever loyal and protective, Xander Black’s sole objective is to defend Aaron and Maddy. Willing to do whatever is necessary, Xander gives in to darkness in order to force information out of Hope.
As Xander enslaves Hope to break her down completely, he learns that in the two years since Joseph Carmichael’s death, dissension still exists within The Estate.
“I find it ironic that your name is Hope…especially considering that you have none.” ~ Xander Black
A forced player in a rivalry within The Estate
Yet her loyalty was to no person but herself
When Hope is taken captive by Xander Black
She becomes the one thing that can ensure Aaron’s reign
Raised within a rival crime network, Hope Delacroix wanted nothing to do with The Estate. A fierce warrior, Hope is given no choice but to kill Aaron Carmichael. Caught in her attempt, Hope is captured by Aaron’s top guard in an effort to discover who sent her.
Ever loyal and protective, Xander Black’s sole objective is to defend Aaron and Maddy. Willing to do whatever is necessary, Xander gives in to darkness in order to force information out of Hope.
As Xander enslaves Hope to break her down completely, he learns that in the two years since Joseph Carmichael’s death, dissension still exists within The Estate.
“I find it ironic that your name is Hope…especially considering that you have none.” ~ Xander Black
Excerpt
“Beg for me, Hope.”
The words were jumbled, echoing from deep within something
far from where she lay, but she wanted him back, closer, touching her, driving
her. She floated inside a bubble of fire
and ice, of day and night. Thought was
obsolete and meaningless, the only things necessary were pleasure…and
pain. She’d beg, now that she’d been
pushed to a point of abandon and carelessness, she’d beg for more, for it never
to end. Her strength was her weakness,
and now that he’d discovered it, he forced her body to betray her, to mock her
for how feeble her mind had become.
“Please.” Her plea
was muffled by her intoxication and she opened her eyes to see his wicked
grin. He didn’t look real. He wore his strength and command over her
like he would clothing, every inch of his skin sticky with masculinity and raw
power. Drops of sweat dripped down his
brow, sliding along his skin, breaking apart against the stubble of his jaw. She’d trembled when he’d raked his cheek
along the inside of her thigh and she wanted to feel it over her breasts as his
teeth bit into the tips.
“Please what?” He
laughed softly and his words vibrated through his chest, tickling her skin
where he touched her. Every few seconds
he would run his length between her thighs, tempting and teasing her –
promising to fill her so full, her own body would break apart around him and
her mind would shatter within her skull.
“Break me…please”
My Review
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
4.5 Gritty and Gruesome Stars!!!
In the second installment of The Estate series, we're introduced to Hope Delacroix. She's forced to do a job, a rival crime network has something she holds dear and the only way she can get it back is to assassinate Aaron Carmichael, the feared leader of the estate.
But the mission goes wrong when Aaron's right hand man, Xander, captures her and is hell bent on finding out who sent her. She's determined not to speak, she hates everything about the estate, helping them in any way is out of the question. She's a strong warrior and gives Xander way more than he expected, but things change unexpectedly when Xander discovers her weakness and uses it against, she finds herself wanting to give in to his seduction.
And when he finally finds out the reason she made an attempt on Aaron's life, Hope's ideas and belief's about The Estate start start changing.
He was her tormentor and her protector, her captivity and her freedom.
Okay so in the beginning I didn't really like Hope, she's confident and strong. She doesn't need a man to protect her, which didn't work for me, I like my heroines weak and helpless so the hero can come in and save the day (yes, I'm serious), but Xander's "gentle" approach towards her got exactly the same result I wanted. She gave into him, her character stayed strong but when it came to Xander she became all woman. Mind you she wasn't easy on Xander at first, she gave his ego a good beating at first, this I didn't like lol!
"I hope the spark of rebellion never dies inside you. I enjoy stripping you of your fight every time I light you up inside.
Xander is a charmer, he's slick, smooth and a little bit arrogant. After he breaks through Hope's walls, he has a deep need to protect her and to calm the darkness that makes her soul so restless. I actually ended up really liking Xander, no he was't my ideal alpha male but he's character did suit the role perfectly. I guess it would have been ideal to have their roles reversed but they did compliment each other.
Final Thoughts
The flow of events in Hope Restrained were exactly the same as in Madeleine Abducted, with a slight twist. It's rare that I like a strong female character, I really have to stress this. I think the only other strong female characters I've liked were the heroine in Killing Sarai by J.A Redmerski and recently Fighting Destiny by Amelia Hutchins. This book has bucket loads of gore, non-con and a look into the mind of a female assassin who's been through hell and back, and makes it out on top!
This book has a slow build up but an explosive conclusion!
ARC kindly provided by author in exchange for an honest review
View all my reviews
Author Bio:
M.S. Willis
is a romance novelist whose debut novel, Control, was released in 2013.
Although currently writing in the romance genre, Willis has plans to expand her
literary pursuits into multiple genres and has no fear conquering difficult subject
matters in her writing. Willis is a native Floridian who is also a
photographer and musician. When not absorbing herself in written, visual
or musical expression, Willis is an adrenaline junkie, a ‘closet’ video game
enthusiast, and an avid outdoors person and nature lover.
Visit M.S. Willis on her author page: www.facebook.com/mswillisbooks
Follow on Twitter - @mswillisbooks
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Links for the series:
Madeleine Abducted:
Joseph Fallen:
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