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War of Roses #1
XV: Fifteen
WHEN HATE BECOMES OBSESSION…
Mistaken for her beautiful half-sister, Ellen Winthorp is taken captive by a madman who declares that she will be his "fifteen": the fifteenth victim of a vicious mafia blood feud. Armed with only her instincts, Ellen must resist her captor for as long as she can—which is easier said than done the more she's exposed to the complex man beneath the beast.
Because Mischa Stepanov isn’t a mindless monster—he’s a wolf, and she’s the unwitting doe caught in his midst.
Unraveling the torment of his past may be her only hope of salvation...
Or the secrets uncovered may destroy them both.
Mistaken for her beautiful half-sister, Ellen Winthorp is taken captive by a madman who declares that she will be his "fifteen": the fifteenth victim of a vicious mafia blood feud. Armed with only her instincts, Ellen must resist her captor for as long as she can—which is easier said than done the more she's exposed to the complex man beneath the beast.
Because Mischa Stepanov isn’t a mindless monster—he’s a wolf, and she’s the unwitting doe caught in his midst.
Unraveling the torment of his past may be her only hope of salvation...
Or the secrets uncovered may destroy them both.
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 14, 2019
278 people are currently reading
1883 people want to read
About the author
Lana Sky
61 books1,328 followersI am a quirky writer from the US who dabbles in dark, paranormal and contemporary romance. My stories aren't always typical, but contain a little something for everyone.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 247 reviews
May 13, 2019
I read this author's THE SAVAGE FALL duet, and although I wasn't a fan of how she wrapped that duet up I still felt she had some fantastic writing chops. When I read the synopsis for this one I thought it would be right up my alley. Plus, I figured I would be more prepared for the level of darkness this author likes to impart after tackling the above mentioned duet. (lol)
And indeed this one isn't for the faint of heart, that is for sure. The writing was excellent. The pace perfect. The plot incredibly engaging. Dark. Twisted. Uncomfortable. The sex was rough and forced. No OW or OM drama, although the heroine is A small cast of interesting secondary characters with secrets of their own. This hero wasn't in the least bit likable. A true anti-hero. He physically hurts the heroine. He has a temper. He is nasty. But f-cking hell is he intriguing. The heroine...well I am not yet sure. Is she weak? Is she broken? Is she batshit crazy? I guess time will tell. Last, it all wraps up in a crazy as f-ck cliffhanger that makes me wish I had book two right now!
I loved this one from beginning to the end. Fingers crossed book two continues the greatness.
December 31, 2019
Audio...4 stars
Story....4.25 stars
This is not a romance.
This is fucked up.
This is addictive.
Next, please!
Story....4.25 stars
This is not a romance.
This is fucked up.
This is addictive.
Next, please!
June 8, 2019
WTF did I just read? This book was pretty up there in confusing Bullsh*t as Amo Jone’s Silver Swan series. Nothing makes sense. It’s this constant cycle of rape -> being punched unconscious so the book has a scene change -> suicidal ideation/threat of murder -> some itty bitty snippet of the main character’s real identity -> repeat. This main character is suffering from “too stupid to live” syndrome and Mischa is bananas. No I do not find this to be romantic at all.
December 10, 2020
DARK, TWISTED, RAW
and loved ever bit of it.
and loved ever bit of it.
July 6, 2019
This book made me so angry, I don’t even know where to begin.
TLDR:
- Well-written
- Convoluted plot
- Mischa is a man-splaining prick who never grows as a character
- Ellen should kill Mischa and take over the mafia
- By the end of the story, you will be rich in questions and poor in answers
First, I will say that it’s well-written. The author does a good job of portraying the in er mind of a very abused and traumatized woman.
However, Mischa, the leading male character, I despise, and not because I wasn’t prepared for this to be a dark a book or for him to be a...complicated character. I don’t want Ellen to end up with that man at all. I’d rather the story arc of this trilogy be that she kills him and assumes the role of pakhan under the guidance of her (most-likely) mafia father. But I digress.
The plot is also hard to suss out. It’s a lot of dialogue. A lot of events happening that the reader doesn’t get to understand because Ellen is who we see the story through, and she’s confused too. Honestly, books like these need multiple POVs to make any sense.
Spoilers, for those who care.
Mischa is a completely one-dimensional character lacking an absurd amount of self awareness. He justifies the way he is now and the evil things he does in the name of ending the feud and getting vengeance for what happened to him. However, he is “disgusted” by Ellen’s supposed complicity in her husband’s misdeeds - this even after he has deciphered that she was never a willing participant at any point.
The author goes to great lengths to really portray Ellen as a person who has endured so much physical and emotional abuse that she does not have an identity for herself - that she loves her husband like one might worship a god. This is a coping mechanism, and it frustrates me throughout the entire book that this was not acknowledged.
Ultimately, in a dark romance, if you are hoping for an ending where the two main characters have any semblance of a partnership much less a relationship, you have to make them both worthy of redemption. Mischa is not. Literally, I guess the only worthy thing he did was claim he wouldn’t make a child swallow cocaine -which what a low bar to meet. This isn’t one of those books where the darkness in him understands the darkness in her, not really.
In fact, Mischa’s character doesn’t develop at all. He’s a prick in the beginning when he cuts her face, and he’s a prick at the end when he goads her into hurting herself. Did Ellen’s character develop at all? A little. She learns to speak up, to make her own choices.
At the end of the first book, we don’t get any answers to the questions building through the story, and that pisses me off the most, as a reader. Our reward for getting to the end is...nothing. I have to read the next two books, I guess - except now I don’t trust the author. A cliffhanger is not the problem here - the problem is that absolutely nothing is truly revealed. Is this man her father? Potentially. How does Briar fit into this? Who knows. What the hell has Mischa been doing when he’s not annoying me? God only knows.
So, have I thought about spitefully reading the next book? A little. The writing is very captivating, after all, even if ultimately it’s just nonsense smattered with Mischa man-splaining to the moon and back. Some people really thought this story owned bones, though. Maybe I’m missing something. I say - no matter what you won’t come away indifferent, so read at your own risk (of getting high blood pressure).
TLDR:
- Well-written
- Convoluted plot
- Mischa is a man-splaining prick who never grows as a character
- Ellen should kill Mischa and take over the mafia
- By the end of the story, you will be rich in questions and poor in answers
First, I will say that it’s well-written. The author does a good job of portraying the in er mind of a very abused and traumatized woman.
However, Mischa, the leading male character, I despise, and not because I wasn’t prepared for this to be a dark a book or for him to be a...complicated character. I don’t want Ellen to end up with that man at all. I’d rather the story arc of this trilogy be that she kills him and assumes the role of pakhan under the guidance of her (most-likely) mafia father. But I digress.
The plot is also hard to suss out. It’s a lot of dialogue. A lot of events happening that the reader doesn’t get to understand because Ellen is who we see the story through, and she’s confused too. Honestly, books like these need multiple POVs to make any sense.
Spoilers, for those who care.
Mischa is a completely one-dimensional character lacking an absurd amount of self awareness. He justifies the way he is now and the evil things he does in the name of ending the feud and getting vengeance for what happened to him. However, he is “disgusted” by Ellen’s supposed complicity in her husband’s misdeeds - this even after he has deciphered that she was never a willing participant at any point.
The author goes to great lengths to really portray Ellen as a person who has endured so much physical and emotional abuse that she does not have an identity for herself - that she loves her husband like one might worship a god. This is a coping mechanism, and it frustrates me throughout the entire book that this was not acknowledged.
Ultimately, in a dark romance, if you are hoping for an ending where the two main characters have any semblance of a partnership much less a relationship, you have to make them both worthy of redemption. Mischa is not. Literally, I guess the only worthy thing he did was claim he wouldn’t make a child swallow cocaine -which what a low bar to meet. This isn’t one of those books where the darkness in him understands the darkness in her, not really.
In fact, Mischa’s character doesn’t develop at all. He’s a prick in the beginning when he cuts her face, and he’s a prick at the end when he goads her into hurting herself. Did Ellen’s character develop at all? A little. She learns to speak up, to make her own choices.
At the end of the first book, we don’t get any answers to the questions building through the story, and that pisses me off the most, as a reader. Our reward for getting to the end is...nothing. I have to read the next two books, I guess - except now I don’t trust the author. A cliffhanger is not the problem here - the problem is that absolutely nothing is truly revealed. Is this man her father? Potentially. How does Briar fit into this? Who knows. What the hell has Mischa been doing when he’s not annoying me? God only knows.
So, have I thought about spitefully reading the next book? A little. The writing is very captivating, after all, even if ultimately it’s just nonsense smattered with Mischa man-splaining to the moon and back. Some people really thought this story owned bones, though. Maybe I’m missing something. I say - no matter what you won’t come away indifferent, so read at your own risk (of getting high blood pressure).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2022
...
She cut off her ring finger, right?
Glad I waited until I was in the right mood. Read this all in one sitting. Brilliant!!
Dark Russian mafia. This is Lana's darker works, but the darkness reminds me of Maxim, not Savage Fall. It's her most erotic work that I read. I found the Ellie Grey Chronicles steamy in terms of the anticipation, but we have 3-4? sensational angst sex scenes. Not a lot but when they are there, they make an impact.
Darkness comes from the physical brutality. Mischa beats Ellen when she "talks back" because he thinks she is the enemy and thus that is how he justifies the violence. When the switch happens from captive with a short life span (she will die after giving up information about Robert) to hostage under his protection, she still sports a puffy eye and a mutilated cheek. That was messed up. The heroine is used to Robert's bloodplay so the heroine dissociates from her body during the violence. The hero realizes what is happening so he turns to pleasure as his power to "break her." The mystery is good. The atmosphere is always good with Sky's stories.
I had read Sky's Savage Fall Duet, which has the coldest hero that Sky has written, at least for me. In the first book, because of what the hero does (I felt that knife to the heart angst) to the heroine, psychological mind games to break her and trigger her anorexia, I consider XV not that dark in relation to other works by Sky.
On to the next one!!!
She cut off her ring finger, right?
Glad I waited until I was in the right mood. Read this all in one sitting. Brilliant!!
Dark Russian mafia. This is Lana's darker works, but the darkness reminds me of Maxim, not Savage Fall. It's her most erotic work that I read. I found the Ellie Grey Chronicles steamy in terms of the anticipation, but we have 3-4? sensational angst sex scenes. Not a lot but when they are there, they make an impact.
Darkness comes from the physical brutality. Mischa beats Ellen when she "talks back" because he thinks she is the enemy and thus that is how he justifies the violence. When the switch happens from captive with a short life span (she will die after giving up information about Robert) to hostage under his protection, she still sports a puffy eye and a mutilated cheek. That was messed up. The heroine is used to Robert's bloodplay so the heroine dissociates from her body during the violence. The hero realizes what is happening so he turns to pleasure as his power to "break her." The mystery is good. The atmosphere is always good with Sky's stories.
I had read Sky's Savage Fall Duet, which has the coldest hero that Sky has written, at least for me. In the first book, because of what the hero does (I felt that knife to the heart angst) to the heroine, psychological mind games to break her and trigger her anorexia, I consider XV not that dark in relation to other works by Sky.
On to the next one!!!
Want to read
August 13, 2021dnf without prejudice @ 16%
The writing is beautiful. At times there are jumps in the timeline that are confusing, but beyond it not being clear the heroine was older than 7 years old when kidnapped I actually prefer this sort of writing style that makes the reader look for subtext. With that said, this is dark. One of my GR friends described this as dark erotica, not romance, and that is true. Currently I'm craving mafia romantic suspense, not so much dark erotica, so I'm putting this on hold. I do see myself returning to this though.
The writing is beautiful. At times there are jumps in the timeline that are confusing, but beyond it not being clear the heroine was older than 7 years old when kidnapped I actually prefer this sort of writing style that makes the reader look for subtext. With that said, this is dark. One of my GR friends described this as dark erotica, not romance, and that is true. Currently I'm craving mafia romantic suspense, not so much dark erotica, so I'm putting this on hold. I do see myself returning to this though.
August 2, 2021
⭒ 5 stars ⭒
❝Hell is a rose... A flawless one, with all the life sucked out of it. The thorns have become knives. Its leaves have swallowed up the stalk. It’s grotesque. It’s deadly. But never forget that, underneath the violence, it’s still beautiful.❞
❝Hell is a rose... A flawless one, with all the life sucked out of it. The thorns have become knives. Its leaves have swallowed up the stalk. It’s grotesque. It’s deadly. But never forget that, underneath the violence, it’s still beautiful.❞
May 20, 2019
XV is about revenge but what happens when the wrong girl is taken?
Ellen has been taken by a Mafia man set on revenge he thinks that she is her sister but when he finds out she's not who he thought she was what will happen? Will he kill her? Will he keep her and try and get information out of her to use against her family or will he fall in love with her and keep her?
All in all it was a good book but I was just hoping for a little bit more suspense!
Ellen has been taken by a Mafia man set on revenge he thinks that she is her sister but when he finds out she's not who he thought she was what will happen? Will he kill her? Will he keep her and try and get information out of her to use against her family or will he fall in love with her and keep her?
All in all it was a good book but I was just hoping for a little bit more suspense!
October 23, 2019
Not what I was expecting at all. I don’t know how I feel about it.
May 4, 2019
XV: Fifteen War of Roses Book 1 by Lana Sky
Ellen Winthrop has always grown up in the background in her home. Her sister Briar preferred the attention and material things. As sisters, Ellen is pretty, but Briar has always been considered beautiful.
Mischa Stepanov has been locked in a mafia blood feud with the Winthrop family for years. Each side taking a victim and now its his turn and he will mark them as XV.
When Ellen was a child a boy with a knife broke into her room but instead of hurting her, he makes her get under her bed. He tells her, “Don’t think, don’t move, just breathe.” That becomes Ellen’s mantra through her life and helps to keep her sane. As a child, Ellen had been afraid of monsters but what happens when there is something or someone scarier? The monsters are real, and they have come for her. Mischa decided to kidnap Briar Winthrop as the next victim of the blood feud but instead mistook Ellen for her. When he realizes his error, he questions her. With the mantra being repeated in her head to Breathe, she keeps quiet until he changes tactics. Ellen is used to pain and head games the monsters at home deal out and she can endure her pain in silence. Mischa will use any means necessary to get what he wants whether it’s his fists or a knife. Either way, he is going to send her back in pieces so what’s a little blood spilt anyhow?
I loved this beautiful book so much! Lana Sky has such a way with words, and it floors me that each book is even better than the last. This book hooks you from the very first page and takes you on a high-speed ride that never lets you go until the final page. I kept thinking that the next chapter I will stop for the night but then it was another plot twist and I couldn’t put it down. All I could do was sit there after I finished it last night. I couldn't put into words what I felt after finishing it. Ellen seemed fragile at first when you read about her, but she is even stronger than Mischa. I think he tries not to respect her it’s hard for him. Both Ellen and Mischa have had tragic past that shaped them, but they are incredibly similar. So many things connect them, but they have no idea until the layers start to show themselves. I await with baited breath until the next book in this series.
Ellen Winthrop has always grown up in the background in her home. Her sister Briar preferred the attention and material things. As sisters, Ellen is pretty, but Briar has always been considered beautiful.
Mischa Stepanov has been locked in a mafia blood feud with the Winthrop family for years. Each side taking a victim and now its his turn and he will mark them as XV.
When Ellen was a child a boy with a knife broke into her room but instead of hurting her, he makes her get under her bed. He tells her, “Don’t think, don’t move, just breathe.” That becomes Ellen’s mantra through her life and helps to keep her sane. As a child, Ellen had been afraid of monsters but what happens when there is something or someone scarier? The monsters are real, and they have come for her. Mischa decided to kidnap Briar Winthrop as the next victim of the blood feud but instead mistook Ellen for her. When he realizes his error, he questions her. With the mantra being repeated in her head to Breathe, she keeps quiet until he changes tactics. Ellen is used to pain and head games the monsters at home deal out and she can endure her pain in silence. Mischa will use any means necessary to get what he wants whether it’s his fists or a knife. Either way, he is going to send her back in pieces so what’s a little blood spilt anyhow?
I loved this beautiful book so much! Lana Sky has such a way with words, and it floors me that each book is even better than the last. This book hooks you from the very first page and takes you on a high-speed ride that never lets you go until the final page. I kept thinking that the next chapter I will stop for the night but then it was another plot twist and I couldn’t put it down. All I could do was sit there after I finished it last night. I couldn't put into words what I felt after finishing it. Ellen seemed fragile at first when you read about her, but she is even stronger than Mischa. I think he tries not to respect her it’s hard for him. Both Ellen and Mischa have had tragic past that shaped them, but they are incredibly similar. So many things connect them, but they have no idea until the layers start to show themselves. I await with baited breath until the next book in this series.
May 18, 2019
Little one? GAG.
September 16, 2019
"Every man has a story to explain away the demons that eventually consume him. I’ve learned the history of one. I’m not keen to learn another."
I bought this book a little while back, always skipping it in favor of standalones or the newest hyped up release. Needing a book I could switch between Audible and Kindle formats, I figured it was as good of time as any to dive into this story....one I knew would be dark and depraved, I was so incredibly right.
"I don’t crave him how a woman should want a man. I don’t want softness. No, I’m addicted to the sting of his poison. I like the way it feels when it’s dribbled into my open wounds."
Told from the POV of the female lead, this is book 1 in the War of Roses series. It is a dark erotica (there is no "romance") with ties to the Russian criminal underworld and a war they are waging against a less powerful American family. It does end on a cliffy, with book 2 already out. It contains some very dark elements including torture, multilation, violence, blurred lines when it comes to consent, degradation, etc....so please take this as your warning if you aren't desensitized to these situations.
"Too much. Not enough. My head rears back against his shoulder as my eyes widen to a mocking view of the endless night sky. God, that’s how he feels. Endless."
Ellen (Little One, Elle, Rose) has lived with the Winthorp family, secret half-sister to the beautiful Briar and wife to the cruel Robert, she has lived her life without an identity of her own. She is Robert's toy, one he enjoys breaking and scarring far more than he enjoys cherishing. When she is mistakingly taken by enemies who were meant to take Briar, she soon realizes she is part of a war that started long before the was born.
"Robert Winthorp is my identity. Without him, Ellen is a hollow shell with enough space for a new monster to infest."
She is number 15 in a bloody mafia war, the 15th victim of the blood feud between the Russians and the Winthorps. She thought her husband was a monster? Mischa Stepanov is the worst monster of all. A madman who makes her feel things she never felt with her husband. A cruel torturer who uses both pleasure and pain to make her pay for the sins of her husband's family.
"With one more jagged pass of his hips, he kills me. Ellen Winthorp is no more, and there’s no one around to mourn her demise."
He promises to kill her, its only a matter of time. But when secrets begin to be uncovered, Ellen will begin learn more about her true identity and the horrific truth behind Mischa's drive for vengeance. In the end she will have to make a choice with deadly consequences, her life or the life she has always known.
"I try to hang on to that familiar monster. I try… But, with every passing second, his evil is harder to grasp, like smoke chased away by a raging inferno. And, without his protection, I’m devoured whole."
The cliffy is a tough one, but with book 2 already out you can dive right in without a wait!
“You will smell me. Feel me. Taste me. I won’t let you escape, even for a second.” He nods toward his chest. “Now, sleep.”
The book was phenomenally written and narrated. It is haunting and emotionally impacting, it has the power to destroy you without any promises of fixing the damage.
But where it goes wrong....well that's in a few places.
1. This book would have done itself a HUGE favor by making it dual POV. So much is going on that we can't begin to understand because we only have the POV of a woman who is utterly clueless (and has zero drive to find out). So much happens behind the scenes that is highly impactful to the story told, yet we don't get any looks into these events.
2. Ellen is a complicated character to like. On one hand, she is easy to connect to because we get a very in depth look inside her mind and what she is thinking. She is severly damaged, almost beyond repair from her time on the Winthorp property. So much so, she has little drive to survive or make smart decisions. She is like a punching bag, she takes everything that is thrown her way without an ounce of fight. I get it, Lana is gifted portraying this kind of character. However, enough is enough. I screamed so much my family thought I was crazy. She is tortured all because she can't bring herself to answer the most basic of questions....her freaking name. She "wants" to, but she can't get her mouth to work. She has no problem begging for more in bed though. And if you think your kids ask you why too much well you are in for a treat, because its Ellen's favorite spoken word (well, that and W-What). Its tragic, especially when she is asked if she loves her husband, the one that is responsible for her mental state as it is, and she responds that she does (in fact she worships him like a God). Without the reader understanding how the mind of a victim like her thinks, it appears to be quite sickening.... that is where the author failed the most. Helping the reader understand why Ellen is the way she is.
"And I wake up knowing what true hell is. It’s not the measured cruelty Robert dished out. It’s not fearful memories or repulsive scars. It’s peace— being able to find it, even for a second, while in the arms of a monster."
Where I disagree with other critical reviewers is in terms of Mischa. He is awful, truly awful. But his reasoning behind his war with the Winthorp's is more justifiable than most stories with similar themes. He doesnt see Ellen as a love interest, he sees her as a Winthorp....deathly loyal to her husband (his enemy) and therefore a culprit to his sins. It doesn't help that she refuses to sympathetize or vocalize her disgust with her husband's actions. The way she is in bed with him is the polar opposite of how she should be as a victim, so of course he is going to be paranoid and untrusting of her motives. But in the end, you would have to be blind not to see that he wants to save the Ellen deep inside (the one that hasn't put her entire identity and purpose into her husband's sick games). His methods are unconventional but he sees more in her than she does herself, which isn't saying a lot.
“I’ll exorcize him from your head, Little One. I’ll rip him from you until there’s nothing left.”
Overall, it was too well written to deserve less than 4 stars. Confusing? At times. Dark? It warns of that. But it is a fascinating page turner that is worth the read!
I" begin to understand what other weapons he has in his arsenal besides physical violence. He brings pleasure. And, for the sake of my soul, I should fear every fucking drop."
I bought this book a little while back, always skipping it in favor of standalones or the newest hyped up release. Needing a book I could switch between Audible and Kindle formats, I figured it was as good of time as any to dive into this story....one I knew would be dark and depraved, I was so incredibly right.
"I don’t crave him how a woman should want a man. I don’t want softness. No, I’m addicted to the sting of his poison. I like the way it feels when it’s dribbled into my open wounds."
Told from the POV of the female lead, this is book 1 in the War of Roses series. It is a dark erotica (there is no "romance") with ties to the Russian criminal underworld and a war they are waging against a less powerful American family. It does end on a cliffy, with book 2 already out. It contains some very dark elements including torture, multilation, violence, blurred lines when it comes to consent, degradation, etc....so please take this as your warning if you aren't desensitized to these situations.
"Too much. Not enough. My head rears back against his shoulder as my eyes widen to a mocking view of the endless night sky. God, that’s how he feels. Endless."
Ellen (Little One, Elle, Rose) has lived with the Winthorp family, secret half-sister to the beautiful Briar and wife to the cruel Robert, she has lived her life without an identity of her own. She is Robert's toy, one he enjoys breaking and scarring far more than he enjoys cherishing. When she is mistakingly taken by enemies who were meant to take Briar, she soon realizes she is part of a war that started long before the was born.
"Robert Winthorp is my identity. Without him, Ellen is a hollow shell with enough space for a new monster to infest."
She is number 15 in a bloody mafia war, the 15th victim of the blood feud between the Russians and the Winthorps. She thought her husband was a monster? Mischa Stepanov is the worst monster of all. A madman who makes her feel things she never felt with her husband. A cruel torturer who uses both pleasure and pain to make her pay for the sins of her husband's family.
"With one more jagged pass of his hips, he kills me. Ellen Winthorp is no more, and there’s no one around to mourn her demise."
He promises to kill her, its only a matter of time. But when secrets begin to be uncovered, Ellen will begin learn more about her true identity and the horrific truth behind Mischa's drive for vengeance. In the end she will have to make a choice with deadly consequences, her life or the life she has always known.
"I try to hang on to that familiar monster. I try… But, with every passing second, his evil is harder to grasp, like smoke chased away by a raging inferno. And, without his protection, I’m devoured whole."
The cliffy is a tough one, but with book 2 already out you can dive right in without a wait!
“You will smell me. Feel me. Taste me. I won’t let you escape, even for a second.” He nods toward his chest. “Now, sleep.”
The book was phenomenally written and narrated. It is haunting and emotionally impacting, it has the power to destroy you without any promises of fixing the damage.
But where it goes wrong....well that's in a few places.
1. This book would have done itself a HUGE favor by making it dual POV. So much is going on that we can't begin to understand because we only have the POV of a woman who is utterly clueless (and has zero drive to find out). So much happens behind the scenes that is highly impactful to the story told, yet we don't get any looks into these events.
2. Ellen is a complicated character to like. On one hand, she is easy to connect to because we get a very in depth look inside her mind and what she is thinking. She is severly damaged, almost beyond repair from her time on the Winthorp property. So much so, she has little drive to survive or make smart decisions. She is like a punching bag, she takes everything that is thrown her way without an ounce of fight. I get it, Lana is gifted portraying this kind of character. However, enough is enough. I screamed so much my family thought I was crazy. She is tortured all because she can't bring herself to answer the most basic of questions....her freaking name. She "wants" to, but she can't get her mouth to work. She has no problem begging for more in bed though. And if you think your kids ask you why too much well you are in for a treat, because its Ellen's favorite spoken word (well, that and W-What). Its tragic, especially when she is asked if she loves her husband, the one that is responsible for her mental state as it is, and she responds that she does (in fact she worships him like a God). Without the reader understanding how the mind of a victim like her thinks, it appears to be quite sickening.... that is where the author failed the most. Helping the reader understand why Ellen is the way she is.
"And I wake up knowing what true hell is. It’s not the measured cruelty Robert dished out. It’s not fearful memories or repulsive scars. It’s peace— being able to find it, even for a second, while in the arms of a monster."
Where I disagree with other critical reviewers is in terms of Mischa. He is awful, truly awful. But his reasoning behind his war with the Winthorp's is more justifiable than most stories with similar themes. He doesnt see Ellen as a love interest, he sees her as a Winthorp....deathly loyal to her husband (his enemy) and therefore a culprit to his sins. It doesn't help that she refuses to sympathetize or vocalize her disgust with her husband's actions. The way she is in bed with him is the polar opposite of how she should be as a victim, so of course he is going to be paranoid and untrusting of her motives. But in the end, you would have to be blind not to see that he wants to save the Ellen deep inside (the one that hasn't put her entire identity and purpose into her husband's sick games). His methods are unconventional but he sees more in her than she does herself, which isn't saying a lot.
“I’ll exorcize him from your head, Little One. I’ll rip him from you until there’s nothing left.”
Overall, it was too well written to deserve less than 4 stars. Confusing? At times. Dark? It warns of that. But it is a fascinating page turner that is worth the read!
I" begin to understand what other weapons he has in his arsenal besides physical violence. He brings pleasure. And, for the sake of my soul, I should fear every fucking drop."
September 17, 2024
XV has been in my library for a very long time,and i can’t understand why i haven’t found the time to read it before.
Having rectified that,i still don’t understand…..because it was right up my alley.
Dark,dangerous,and so very delicious,this one ticked a LOT of my boxes!
Better yet,Ellen and Misha’s story is a trilogy,and not a 5/6 book series.
He kidnaps her,thinking she’s her sister Briar,but soon finds out not only is she someone else,there’s something mysterious going on….but what?
Slowly but surely,the truth comes to light,inch by agonising inch.
Every little truth shows more of the abuse Ellen had to endure during her life.
And she still has to endure more…..only this time Misha is the one abusing her.
There’s one difference though….while her husband Robert never managed to really break her,Misha just might.
And after the cliffhanger i’m left with,i am in a hurry to find out what happens next in VII
Having rectified that,i still don’t understand…..because it was right up my alley.
Dark,dangerous,and so very delicious,this one ticked a LOT of my boxes!
Better yet,Ellen and Misha’s story is a trilogy,and not a 5/6 book series.
He kidnaps her,thinking she’s her sister Briar,but soon finds out not only is she someone else,there’s something mysterious going on….but what?
Slowly but surely,the truth comes to light,inch by agonising inch.
Every little truth shows more of the abuse Ellen had to endure during her life.
And she still has to endure more…..only this time Misha is the one abusing her.
There’s one difference though….while her husband Robert never managed to really break her,Misha just might.
And after the cliffhanger i’m left with,i am in a hurry to find out what happens next in VII
July 11, 2023
Have you ever read a book so bad, you don't know what to do with that newfound knowledge? That's how I feel about this book. There's just no likable love interest and the ending of the book is so terrible, the so-called "hero" is basically dead to me at this point. I get it, it's dark romance. It's mafia romance. But I've read a lot of dark romance, specifically mafia books. This story crosses a line that shouldn't be crossed.
Content notes include kidnapping, violence, mentions of death, mention of suicide, cutting, suicidal ideation, abuse, domestic abuse, intimidation, torture, rape, swallowing packets of drugs, throwing up packets of drugs, mentions of cutting off limbs, suggested incest (characters wind up not being related by blood), violent self harm/loss of limb (with a knife).
For what it's worth, the writing style is easy to read. I actually do like the author's writing style, because pair that in with endless scrolling on the Kindle app, and it's easy to read this book all in one sitting. Which I did. Was it also in horrified fascination because I couldn't put it down? Yes.
We have your standard mafia story premise, the heroine/MC (Ellen Winthrop) is kidnapped by the love interest. Ellen is actually mistaken for her older sister, but her captors (in this rival mafia family) decide to keep her anyways because they don't know what else to do with her. The leader is called Mischa and he is ruthless. He's not sure if he wants to send Ellen back to her family in pieces or keep her alive until he figures out who she is.
It's obvious very early on that even though Ellen is a Winthrop, she was never accepted as one and she's more like a little hidden secret the family keeps close, but not too close. For the purposes of this story, I'm not sure why Ellen's identity is kept a secret for so long in the first place. We do learn that she is married (unfortunately implied incest for a big part of the book until you realize the characters were never related). It just seemed a little silly because there's no big revelation in this book at least, why her hidden connection to the Winthrop name even matters. Like, why does it even matter who her real dad is? For a half second, I thought the book meant to imply Mischa is her actual father and then it would really be incest, but the ages don't work out and he isn't (thank god).
I do like Ellen for the most part. She's a little naive for 23 even though she grew up around the business since her stepfather runs the whole operation. You would think she would be more intuitive? But I don't hate her. I think the story makes you feel bad for her and what she's been through, even though she doesn't really do much to try to escape or better her situation (unlike other mafia books I've read). Girl is constantly covered in blood and not given a chance to shower or use the restroom.
Mischa, the alleged hero in this series, is a terrible person. End of story. In most dark romances, you can at least tell when the love interest starts to fall in love with the MC or at least have SOME morals, but that's not the case here. He just hurts Ellen at every single turn and I think the author got so enthralled with writing a dark romance character, she misses the part where they need SOME sort of humanity in them. Even with dark romance books involving literal psychopaths, the exhibit more humanity and care for their loved one than what we see in this book.
Even if the author writes Mischa showing some sort of compassion in a later book, it's way too late. I can forgive a lot with dark romance, but the ending of this book is where the story fails to convince me this will EVER be a good romance book with a believable HEA. This book does not end with a HFN. It does not end with a HEA. Very graphic spoilers ahead:
Which brings me to the weird part where the author doesn't include content warnings for this book at all. Not for this book and not in book two. Not inside the book and not on her website. It's not weird that some authors don't include warnings, but it IS weird that I looked at the sample for book three in this series and there IS a list of content warnings provided with the third book. Why is that? If you somehow made it to book three, it's nice to have warnings but you're already near the end. Wouldn't readers want warnings with the FIRST book? Especially considering everything that happens?
The actual political maneuverings of the mafia world in this book are convoluted. First off, it can't decide if it's Russian or Italian or Greek. Maybe all of them? Who knows. There's somehow like 10 different families involved but is there only supposed to be one guy who's in charge of all of them? I don't know. The whole thing is not fleshed out at all. So, good luck trying to make sense of any of it if you want to read anything else besides the abuses in this book.
Overall, this is a terrible book that I found weirdly hard to put down. It's a baffling read where I'm baffled at myself for finishing at all. I do not recommend this book. Find something else to read.
Content notes include kidnapping, violence, mentions of death, mention of suicide, cutting, suicidal ideation, abuse, domestic abuse, intimidation, torture, rape, swallowing packets of drugs, throwing up packets of drugs, mentions of cutting off limbs, suggested incest (characters wind up not being related by blood), violent self harm/loss of limb (with a knife).
For what it's worth, the writing style is easy to read. I actually do like the author's writing style, because pair that in with endless scrolling on the Kindle app, and it's easy to read this book all in one sitting. Which I did. Was it also in horrified fascination because I couldn't put it down? Yes.
We have your standard mafia story premise, the heroine/MC (Ellen Winthrop) is kidnapped by the love interest. Ellen is actually mistaken for her older sister, but her captors (in this rival mafia family) decide to keep her anyways because they don't know what else to do with her. The leader is called Mischa and he is ruthless. He's not sure if he wants to send Ellen back to her family in pieces or keep her alive until he figures out who she is.
It's obvious very early on that even though Ellen is a Winthrop, she was never accepted as one and she's more like a little hidden secret the family keeps close, but not too close. For the purposes of this story, I'm not sure why Ellen's identity is kept a secret for so long in the first place. We do learn that she is married (unfortunately implied incest for a big part of the book until you realize the characters were never related). It just seemed a little silly because there's no big revelation in this book at least, why her hidden connection to the Winthrop name even matters. Like, why does it even matter who her real dad is? For a half second, I thought the book meant to imply Mischa is her actual father and then it would really be incest, but the ages don't work out and he isn't (thank god).
I do like Ellen for the most part. She's a little naive for 23 even though she grew up around the business since her stepfather runs the whole operation. You would think she would be more intuitive? But I don't hate her. I think the story makes you feel bad for her and what she's been through, even though she doesn't really do much to try to escape or better her situation (unlike other mafia books I've read). Girl is constantly covered in blood and not given a chance to shower or use the restroom.
Mischa, the alleged hero in this series, is a terrible person. End of story. In most dark romances, you can at least tell when the love interest starts to fall in love with the MC or at least have SOME morals, but that's not the case here. He just hurts Ellen at every single turn and I think the author got so enthralled with writing a dark romance character, she misses the part where they need SOME sort of humanity in them. Even with dark romance books involving literal psychopaths, the exhibit more humanity and care for their loved one than what we see in this book.
Even if the author writes Mischa showing some sort of compassion in a later book, it's way too late. I can forgive a lot with dark romance, but the ending of this book is where the story fails to convince me this will EVER be a good romance book with a believable HEA. This book does not end with a HFN. It does not end with a HEA. Very graphic spoilers ahead:
Which brings me to the weird part where the author doesn't include content warnings for this book at all. Not for this book and not in book two. Not inside the book and not on her website. It's not weird that some authors don't include warnings, but it IS weird that I looked at the sample for book three in this series and there IS a list of content warnings provided with the third book. Why is that? If you somehow made it to book three, it's nice to have warnings but you're already near the end. Wouldn't readers want warnings with the FIRST book? Especially considering everything that happens?
The actual political maneuverings of the mafia world in this book are convoluted. First off, it can't decide if it's Russian or Italian or Greek. Maybe all of them? Who knows. There's somehow like 10 different families involved but is there only supposed to be one guy who's in charge of all of them? I don't know. The whole thing is not fleshed out at all. So, good luck trying to make sense of any of it if you want to read anything else besides the abuses in this book.
Overall, this is a terrible book that I found weirdly hard to put down. It's a baffling read where I'm baffled at myself for finishing at all. I do not recommend this book. Find something else to read.
January 31, 2021
This book was very dark. I wouldn’t say it a romance, but there are some moment’s where he seems enamoured with her but not much else. The romantic aspects disappears for me when he cut her face, punched her or want to sell her to the men around him.
What keeps me interested is her mind. How she thinks, reacts especially how she copes with her new situation. It’s not the best book I have read but it definitely has it twisted and turns that makes you what to know what happens next.
What keeps me interested is her mind. How she thinks, reacts especially how she copes with her new situation. It’s not the best book I have read but it definitely has it twisted and turns that makes you what to know what happens next.
May 1, 2019
PHENOMENAL!👍👍👍👍👍
HOLY HELLL! Just BREATHE!!!!!
My heart was hammering with adrenaline just reading the prologue, I hadn't even made it to the beginning of Chapter 1 and was already hooked needing more.
Don't think. Don't move. Just Breathe!
I can't think. I can't move. I'm wound so tight I'm not sure I can breath, but I refuse to stop digesting the vile impacting words at a greedy pace as I'm pulled into the darkness. Just shove me into my coffin and throw in the rest of series or my soul will never rest constantly moaning for more. With this read being just the start to this series how the heck am I going to make it to the end. Brutal head reeling WTF suspense filled twists that unnerved and control all your senses shivering with anticipation and the fear of the unknown definitely not a read that you can shy away from it evokes every fiber of your being making you feel even when you want run and hide fueling your adrenaline as proof that your body continues to betray you. I don't just need more, I Demand More. An impacting read that steals my senses on a non-stop chaotic ride through a peep show of helll. I Just need more of this explosive storytelling at its finest that continues to plague it's havoc and chaos long after the last word has been read! Get it and read it you will be demanding MORE! I absolutely Loved it!
HOLY HELLL! Just BREATHE!!!!!
My heart was hammering with adrenaline just reading the prologue, I hadn't even made it to the beginning of Chapter 1 and was already hooked needing more.
Don't think. Don't move. Just Breathe!
I can't think. I can't move. I'm wound so tight I'm not sure I can breath, but I refuse to stop digesting the vile impacting words at a greedy pace as I'm pulled into the darkness. Just shove me into my coffin and throw in the rest of series or my soul will never rest constantly moaning for more. With this read being just the start to this series how the heck am I going to make it to the end. Brutal head reeling WTF suspense filled twists that unnerved and control all your senses shivering with anticipation and the fear of the unknown definitely not a read that you can shy away from it evokes every fiber of your being making you feel even when you want run and hide fueling your adrenaline as proof that your body continues to betray you. I don't just need more, I Demand More. An impacting read that steals my senses on a non-stop chaotic ride through a peep show of helll. I Just need more of this explosive storytelling at its finest that continues to plague it's havoc and chaos long after the last word has been read! Get it and read it you will be demanding MORE! I absolutely Loved it!
April 8, 2021
Bueno, bueno, sinceramente esta trilogía (más específicamente su primer libro) me dejó sentimientos encontrados, así que es difícil para mí saber por dónde empezar esta reseña. Voy a comenzar diciendo, que dado que estos libros literalmente me hechizaron así que no tuve tiempo de parar entre libros para hacerles una reseña a cada uno, así que directamente voy a dar mi opinión en general de la saga, enfocando en algunos puntos de cada libro y tratando de evitar spoilers.
Okay, les voy a decir en primer lugar que la forma que encontré para avanzar con el primer libro, fue no verlo para nada como un libro romántico, y voy a resaltar esto NO ROMANTICÉ ABSOLUTAMENTE N A D A de lo que sucede en XV Fifteen (el primer libro), sino que más bien lo tomé como una novela de thriller enfocada en el mundo de la mafia, con sus secretos, conspiraciones, peones inocentes y otros no tan inocentes, guerras, víctimas y verdugos, y sobre todo mucha violencia, donde cae cualquiera sin importar si se es bueno o malo. El bien y el mal se desdibuja bastante en estas novelas.
ACLARACIÓN: cuando digo violencia, me refiero a violencia jodidamente en serio, palizas, mutilaciones, amputaciones, secuestros, incendios, violaciones (o pseudo violaciones -no estoy segura de nada-), accidentes automovilísticos y mucho más (tener en cuenta si decides leer esta saga).
Ahora bien, luego de terminar el primer libro, el cual literalmente no pude soltar porque a pesar de la violencia es MUY INTERESANTE, desde un primer momento no entendía nada, y quería saber qué papel jugaba cada quien en esa guerra, sus orígenes, sus baches en el medio y demás. Simplemente no podía dejar de leer aunque mis ojos ardieran (casi literalmente)... cuando llegué al segundo libro las tornas empiezan a cambiar paulatinamente (lo que me gustó: que el cambio no sea nada abrupto), con el protagonista. Ya que XV es el libro donde se conocen los secretos y el papel de Ellen en esta historias, pero en VII conocemos la historia de Mischa, y el porqué del que esté tan empecinado en esta guerra. Y si bien en el segundo libro, las cosas no se tornan tan románticas, si evolucionan, Mischa y Ellen comienzan a volverse aliados y su retorcida relación adquiere un nuevo foco, ya que Ellen dejá de ser una mera cautiva, aquí se convierte más que nada en un peón, uno fundamental en esta guerra.
Es apenas en el tercer libro I One, donde yo comencé plenamente a verlos a Mischa y a Ellen como una pareja, como un romance, y es en este libro donde la mierda estalla por todos lados, donde se descubren todos los secretos tan estratégicamente guardados por los diferentes jugadores de esta sangrienta partida. Es en este libro donde Rose (Ellen), ya no es una cautiva, ya no es un peón, se convierte aquí en una jugadora más, en una loba dispuesta a cazar, porque tiene por primera vez motivos para luchar.
En fin chiques, qué decirles, si yo (que soy totalmente, totalmente antiviolencia, que me cuesta muchísimo leerla), no pude soltar ni por un segundo estos libros, es porque -a mi parecer- son malditamente buenos, y la autora tiene una forma magistral de jugar con la intriga y el misterio en su escritura, que simplemente te atrapa, cual gacela que cayó en trampa, como yo jajaja.
Por último, les recomiendo no hacerse spoilers si van a leer la trilogía, ya que le sacarían toda la gracia y lo que hace a estos libros tan buenos.
Nos vemos en la prox reseña, se les quiere.
Okay, les voy a decir en primer lugar que la forma que encontré para avanzar con el primer libro, fue no verlo para nada como un libro romántico, y voy a resaltar esto NO ROMANTICÉ ABSOLUTAMENTE N A D A de lo que sucede en XV Fifteen (el primer libro), sino que más bien lo tomé como una novela de thriller enfocada en el mundo de la mafia, con sus secretos, conspiraciones, peones inocentes y otros no tan inocentes, guerras, víctimas y verdugos, y sobre todo mucha violencia, donde cae cualquiera sin importar si se es bueno o malo. El bien y el mal se desdibuja bastante en estas novelas.
ACLARACIÓN: cuando digo violencia, me refiero a violencia jodidamente en serio, palizas, mutilaciones, amputaciones, secuestros, incendios, violaciones (o pseudo violaciones -no estoy segura de nada-), accidentes automovilísticos y mucho más (tener en cuenta si decides leer esta saga).
Ahora bien, luego de terminar el primer libro, el cual literalmente no pude soltar porque a pesar de la violencia es MUY INTERESANTE, desde un primer momento no entendía nada, y quería saber qué papel jugaba cada quien en esa guerra, sus orígenes, sus baches en el medio y demás. Simplemente no podía dejar de leer aunque mis ojos ardieran (casi literalmente)... cuando llegué al segundo libro las tornas empiezan a cambiar paulatinamente (lo que me gustó: que el cambio no sea nada abrupto), con el protagonista. Ya que XV es el libro donde se conocen los secretos y el papel de Ellen en esta historias, pero en VII conocemos la historia de Mischa, y el porqué del que esté tan empecinado en esta guerra. Y si bien en el segundo libro, las cosas no se tornan tan románticas, si evolucionan, Mischa y Ellen comienzan a volverse aliados y su retorcida relación adquiere un nuevo foco, ya que Ellen dejá de ser una mera cautiva, aquí se convierte más que nada en un peón, uno fundamental en esta guerra.
Es apenas en el tercer libro I One, donde yo comencé plenamente a verlos a Mischa y a Ellen como una pareja, como un romance, y es en este libro donde la mierda estalla por todos lados, donde se descubren todos los secretos tan estratégicamente guardados por los diferentes jugadores de esta sangrienta partida. Es en este libro donde Rose (Ellen), ya no es una cautiva, ya no es un peón, se convierte aquí en una jugadora más, en una loba dispuesta a cazar, porque tiene por primera vez motivos para luchar.
En fin chiques, qué decirles, si yo (que soy totalmente, totalmente antiviolencia, que me cuesta muchísimo leerla), no pude soltar ni por un segundo estos libros, es porque -a mi parecer- son malditamente buenos, y la autora tiene una forma magistral de jugar con la intriga y el misterio en su escritura, que simplemente te atrapa, cual gacela que cayó en trampa, como yo jajaja.
Por último, les recomiendo no hacerse spoilers si van a leer la trilogía, ya que le sacarían toda la gracia y lo que hace a estos libros tan buenos.
Nos vemos en la prox reseña, se les quiere.
June 27, 2019
I really enjoyed this dark romance. Didn't expect it to be so controversial, to be honest. Nor did I expect it to be so well written.
I loved the dynamic between the hero and heroine. Both of them are so broken and full of pain. It's interesting to see their insane connection, especially because neither of them know anything about tenderness or love. They both just ignore their emotions, focusing on survival and revenge above all else.
This is a very slow burn romance. The hero is too brutal and evil to love easily. I'm guessing both of them won't admit their love for one another until the third book. I adore drawn out, miserably angsty plot lines, so I'm quite excited about this.
Both of the main characters are slowly peeling back each other's emotional layers, and it's painful because neither of them want to be vulnerable. Ever.
Every interaction between them is an intense battle. I was glued to the pages. Highly recommend.
I loved the dynamic between the hero and heroine. Both of them are so broken and full of pain. It's interesting to see their insane connection, especially because neither of them know anything about tenderness or love. They both just ignore their emotions, focusing on survival and revenge above all else.
This is a very slow burn romance. The hero is too brutal and evil to love easily. I'm guessing both of them won't admit their love for one another until the third book. I adore drawn out, miserably angsty plot lines, so I'm quite excited about this.
Both of the main characters are slowly peeling back each other's emotional layers, and it's painful because neither of them want to be vulnerable. Ever.
Every interaction between them is an intense battle. I was glued to the pages. Highly recommend.
April 13, 2021
So I actually started out reading this one in audiobook. BUT the damn narrator was really selling the desperation of Ellen that I was zoning out. So I switched to my ebook.
So this was wild. And I loved it.
In a case of mistaken identity, Ellen is taken by Mischa. He's continuing the cycle of revenge between his family and the Winthrop's. The latest causality is Ellen. While Ellen should be scared it seems like Mischa's brand of revenge is a cakewalk compared to whats she's gone through in life.
This book really captivated me I loved how dark and delicious it was. But also I had to re-read a few passages a couple of times and I'm still not even sure I completely understood the ending. I'm excited to jump into the next book.
So this was wild. And I loved it.
In a case of mistaken identity, Ellen is taken by Mischa. He's continuing the cycle of revenge between his family and the Winthrop's. The latest causality is Ellen. While Ellen should be scared it seems like Mischa's brand of revenge is a cakewalk compared to whats she's gone through in life.
This book really captivated me I loved how dark and delicious it was. But also I had to re-read a few passages a couple of times and I'm still not even sure I completely understood the ending. I'm excited to jump into the next book.
December 24, 2021
How do I rate a story that disturbed me with its intense torment and cruelty yet had glimmers of hope?
This is a true dark intense captive read filled with triggers. It was difficult to read at times yet I’m intrigued with the writing, characters and the plot twists. I hate most of the characters however I keep reading to see if the heroine can find her strength. This is not a romance - its mental and physical game play.
“Should I crush you all at once?
Or rip you apart, petal by petal?”
Ended in a cliffhanger and with so many unanswered questions my curiosity has me going into the next book.
Contemporary. Mafia. Dark. Triggers. Single pov.
Please read triggers.
This is a true dark intense captive read filled with triggers. It was difficult to read at times yet I’m intrigued with the writing, characters and the plot twists. I hate most of the characters however I keep reading to see if the heroine can find her strength. This is not a romance - its mental and physical game play.
“Should I crush you all at once?
Or rip you apart, petal by petal?”
Ended in a cliffhanger and with so many unanswered questions my curiosity has me going into the next book.
Contemporary. Mafia. Dark. Triggers. Single pov.
Please read triggers.
May 3, 2019
This book was AHHHHMAZING!!!! So phenomenally written!!!!! Lana Sky had me on the edge of my seat, turning pages like a mad woman!!!! Five HUGE STARS for Lana Sky
April 8, 2023
I am truly sad to say this book was absolutely terrible.
I knew I was going to get a dark romance, except that there wasn't any romance whatsoever. This story had no point other than to show abuse and try to cover it as dark romance.
The main character was naive, and stupid but we were supposed to think she was completely clueless for 23 years? Her pov was awful to read, just jumbled thoughts, no point to anything. She made comments about her past, making us think that we'd get to know to understand but we'd just be left in the dark, not understanding her or her reactions. I thought there'd be some kind of growth in the end, where she does take back her life, just so the story actually had something going. But no. We just had to read over 200 pages of a victim locked in a hell of abuse.
As for the, if we can even call him that, "love interest", what even was his personality? His goal? He supposedly killed Robert, the one thing pushing him throughout this book, and we're just told "oh yeah btw I killed him"? So completely anticlimactic. We also don't understand his feelings for Elen. Sure he hates her cause she's associated but why is he "struggling" to get rid of her? Nothing in their "relationship" developed for him to have those feelings.
And that bleep of a plot with Sergei and her mother? What was that even for? Nothing was explored.
And Briar at the end? Useless.
The description gives a completely false expectation of this story. This is just trauma over and over and over again with no end goal. And no conclusion.
Very saddened by how much I despised this book and I cannot for the life of me understand how it's even above 3 stars.
I knew I was going to get a dark romance, except that there wasn't any romance whatsoever. This story had no point other than to show abuse and try to cover it as dark romance.
The main character was naive, and stupid but we were supposed to think she was completely clueless for 23 years? Her pov was awful to read, just jumbled thoughts, no point to anything. She made comments about her past, making us think that we'd get to know to understand but we'd just be left in the dark, not understanding her or her reactions. I thought there'd be some kind of growth in the end, where she does take back her life, just so the story actually had something going. But no. We just had to read over 200 pages of a victim locked in a hell of abuse.
As for the, if we can even call him that, "love interest", what even was his personality? His goal? He supposedly killed Robert, the one thing pushing him throughout this book, and we're just told "oh yeah btw I killed him"? So completely anticlimactic. We also don't understand his feelings for Elen. Sure he hates her cause she's associated but why is he "struggling" to get rid of her? Nothing in their "relationship" developed for him to have those feelings.
And that bleep of a plot with Sergei and her mother? What was that even for? Nothing was explored.
And Briar at the end? Useless.
The description gives a completely false expectation of this story. This is just trauma over and over and over again with no end goal. And no conclusion.
Very saddened by how much I despised this book and I cannot for the life of me understand how it's even above 3 stars.
June 24, 2020
FUCKING BLOODY HELL!!!
WHY THE FUCK DIDNT I START THIS SOONER!!!
*calms down a bit*
Fucking bitch!!! Like I am just and just in love with this series!!!
I was excited to start Lana Sky’s books and this is the first book I read written by her and like I am literally in love with her writing!!!❤️
This book has such amazing twists and turns!!! The characters are amazing!!! Although in this the main characters acted as complete idiots but I understand why they did that.
Mishca and Ellen or shall I say Rose.
Damn!! They are such a slow burn couple!! Like literally!!😍❤️🔥
The anger, the truth, the marks, the pain, the shock, the death, the angry sex!!!
AHHHHHHHH!!! This book was like so so so good!!!
I can’t wait to read more of Lana Sky’s books! ❤️
WHY THE FUCK DIDNT I START THIS SOONER!!!
*calms down a bit*
Fucking bitch!!! Like I am just and just in love with this series!!!
I was excited to start Lana Sky’s books and this is the first book I read written by her and like I am literally in love with her writing!!!❤️
This book has such amazing twists and turns!!! The characters are amazing!!! Although in this the main characters acted as complete idiots but I understand why they did that.
Mishca and Ellen or shall I say Rose.
Damn!! They are such a slow burn couple!! Like literally!!😍❤️🔥
The anger, the truth, the marks, the pain, the shock, the death, the angry sex!!!
AHHHHHHHH!!! This book was like so so so good!!!
I can’t wait to read more of Lana Sky’s books! ❤️
December 4, 2019
I’m sorry but to me this book was terrible. Like I don’t even understand at all. Where the hell is the story other than the man dude is a sadistic rapist? This is not a love story or a romance book. From the blurb about the book this was not what I was expecting at all. People need to be warned for triggering purposes. I skipped through all the abuse and sexual assault and that left me about nothing to read. There is barely a story here.
May 20, 2019
Ellen is a pawn in a vicious game between Robert and now Mischa. She is accustomed to the torment and cruelty of Robert, has grown to expect and crave his darkness. But now, she is captured by someone else, a different darkness, the rules have changed.
This story was so compelling and interesting, it kept my focus and now I am wanting more of this story!
This story was so compelling and interesting, it kept my focus and now I am wanting more of this story!
January 25, 2020
I don’t know what I read
This book may as well not have been written. There was no story to it. It was just drivel. What was it about?
This book may as well not have been written. There was no story to it. It was just drivel. What was it about?
May 9, 2022
Every man can be saved from depravity and hell
Some require true love
Some need therapy
For others, nothing short of a brain tlanspant will help
Some require true love
Some need therapy
For others, nothing short of a brain tlanspant will help
May 4, 2019
This is an awesome, excellent, intensely devastating & harrowing emotional plunge into hearts & minds so deeply & thoroughly scarred, it seems that scars are the only thing remaining.
Make no mistake, this is an extremely dark & riveting story & the 2 main characters, Ellen (h) & Mischa (anti-H) are tortured, tormented & SCARRED mentally & physically beyond imagination. Ellen preserves her sanity through mental escape & detachment, while the other barely hangs on to his through brutal revenge & deathless hate of a blood enemy.
But when Ellen is mistakenly taken captive by Mischa in his rabid determination for vengeance against the wealthy & powerful Winthrop family, these 2 damaged people are locked in a battle of wills & survival that is brutal, cruel & merciless.
But which is the stronger: the water that yields, or the hammer that strikes it? Which, if either, may possibly prevail?
Ellen suffered horrible & heinous torture at the hands of her husband, Robert Winthrop but what she learned to survive at the hands of her husband is nothing compared to the machinations of a frighteningly astute Mischa who understands not all torment needs to be physical.
The story is told entirely from Ellen's POV & because of this, the reader is often as confused & at a loss as Ellen, which only heightens the reader's empathy for her. We only slowly come to obtain bits & pieces of Mischa's history, light strokes of what created him into the vicious, cold, hard man who holds Ellen prisoner & daily reminds her he will kill her once she's given him what he wants, or proves she doesn't have what he wants.
So the reader becomes intensely intimate with the thoughts & mental struggles of a woman who numbed herself to any emotion or feeling in her life other than surviving in her luxurious cage & being owned by a suave charming monster by reciting the word 'BREATHE' to herself in order to escape into the deepest recesses of her mind.
But now the new monster who's caged her is working industriously to crack her protective shell & we experience the panic & terror Ellen experiences as she's forced from her numbed protection into an existence of feelings she doesn't want & which she tries frantically & with increasing exhaustion to resist.
And Mischa has his own demons, secrets, goals, scars & damage that fuel his scorching rage & douse what remaining humanity which may lurk within his heart & soul. But the reader only gets glimpses of Mischa's past & what is driving his path of bone deep rage & blood vengeance to such volatile & lethal heights.
And this makes Mischa a chaotic character (in a good way) for the reader: is he justified in his actions? Is he mentally unstable? Is he a good man doing horrific things? Is he capable of love or only hate & revenge? The reader is never sure, every time the reader thinks they've gotten a peek into him, he spins away & does a complete 180.
And Ellen is just as confused & disconcerted by him. Was she taken from the monster she knew only to be held by one she doesn't know or understand? She understood & knew how to survive her husband's 'games', but Mischa is dangerously unpredictable, unreadable & unknown.
This story is an intensely dark emotional whirlpool that relentlessly sucks the reader down into the swirling waters along with the heroine.
Make no mistake, this is an extremely dark & riveting story & the 2 main characters, Ellen (h) & Mischa (anti-H) are tortured, tormented & SCARRED mentally & physically beyond imagination. Ellen preserves her sanity through mental escape & detachment, while the other barely hangs on to his through brutal revenge & deathless hate of a blood enemy.
But when Ellen is mistakenly taken captive by Mischa in his rabid determination for vengeance against the wealthy & powerful Winthrop family, these 2 damaged people are locked in a battle of wills & survival that is brutal, cruel & merciless.
But which is the stronger: the water that yields, or the hammer that strikes it? Which, if either, may possibly prevail?
Ellen suffered horrible & heinous torture at the hands of her husband, Robert Winthrop but what she learned to survive at the hands of her husband is nothing compared to the machinations of a frighteningly astute Mischa who understands not all torment needs to be physical.
The story is told entirely from Ellen's POV & because of this, the reader is often as confused & at a loss as Ellen, which only heightens the reader's empathy for her. We only slowly come to obtain bits & pieces of Mischa's history, light strokes of what created him into the vicious, cold, hard man who holds Ellen prisoner & daily reminds her he will kill her once she's given him what he wants, or proves she doesn't have what he wants.
So the reader becomes intensely intimate with the thoughts & mental struggles of a woman who numbed herself to any emotion or feeling in her life other than surviving in her luxurious cage & being owned by a suave charming monster by reciting the word 'BREATHE' to herself in order to escape into the deepest recesses of her mind.
But now the new monster who's caged her is working industriously to crack her protective shell & we experience the panic & terror Ellen experiences as she's forced from her numbed protection into an existence of feelings she doesn't want & which she tries frantically & with increasing exhaustion to resist.
And Mischa has his own demons, secrets, goals, scars & damage that fuel his scorching rage & douse what remaining humanity which may lurk within his heart & soul. But the reader only gets glimpses of Mischa's past & what is driving his path of bone deep rage & blood vengeance to such volatile & lethal heights.
And this makes Mischa a chaotic character (in a good way) for the reader: is he justified in his actions? Is he mentally unstable? Is he a good man doing horrific things? Is he capable of love or only hate & revenge? The reader is never sure, every time the reader thinks they've gotten a peek into him, he spins away & does a complete 180.
And Ellen is just as confused & disconcerted by him. Was she taken from the monster she knew only to be held by one she doesn't know or understand? She understood & knew how to survive her husband's 'games', but Mischa is dangerously unpredictable, unreadable & unknown.
This story is an intensely dark emotional whirlpool that relentlessly sucks the reader down into the swirling waters along with the heroine.
May 11, 2019
Initially, I was undecided on what rating to give this book. It is well written and is an interesting, intense, mafia, dark romance story. Although, I wouldn't necessarily call this book a romance because there aren't really any "romantic" feelings between the 2 MCs (Mischa and Ellen). Which is one of the factors that contributed to my indecision on my rating. This is the first book of a 3 book series, so I know that there is going to be a lot more to the story that will develop over the course of the following 2 books. Book 1 is written in Ellen's POV (first person) which is another factor that contributed to my rating indecision, because the reader does not get to be inside Mischa's head to get any type of insight into his actions. There were several times during the course of the book that I scratched my head in confusion (metaphorically) about something that happened or something that was hinted or said. Even after finishing this book, I am still experiencing some mild confusion about what exactly happened and how this story is going to progress. I kinda feel like I need to reread this book to see if there are things there that I just didn't pick up on. But I'm not going to yet; I'll probably wait until the whole series is complete before I'll do that. You may be wondering why I decided to give this book 4 stars. Well, I did that because of all of the things I listed above. Even though it took me a few days to read this book (because of life), this book stayed in my thoughts. There were moments every day, even when I didn't read it, that I was trying to figure out what was really going on in the book, to try and alleviate my confusion. I know that there is A LOT more to be revealed in the upcoming books and am looking forward to getting the other puzzle pieces (I hope!) that will make sense of the "holes" in book 1. I'm not going to go into detail about the storyline, because I think it is best to go in knowing only what the synopsis gives you. Once again, this is a mafia story and it is dark. There's not a warning on the book, but there are some things that happen in this book that some people may find difficult to read. If you are a little squeamish, then I encourage that you check out a sample of this book before you decide to buy it. This book does end in a cliffhanger, kind of a major cliffhanger, but not the worst that I've ever read. The ending definitely makes me anxious to read book 2. This was the first book that I've read by Lana Sky, but it won't be the last. I look forward to reading the rest of this series and to also checking out some of her other books.
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