Choices (The Flesh Cartel #3) in Riptide Publishing

Oct 12, 2012 Monique rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lgbt, all-time-favourites

This series continues to exceed my expectations ~ Rachel Haimowitz and Heidi Belleau - you are Brilliant! The whole concept of this series, characters and world building is truly Amazing... you have us by the proverbial balls and you ain't letting go any time soon!

Before reading

I have just picked up this book to start reading Season 2 of this amazing series and just reading the blurb from the previous two books was like being punched in the chest all over again... I can already feel the ...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Lisa Henry rated it really liked it

Shelves: serials, hardcore, dub-con, m-m, did-i-say-dub-con-i-meant-non-con

This book to me, as it slaps me over the head: "Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself?"

Me to the book: "Leave me alooooone!"

I have a total love-hate relationship for this series. The torture and sexual assaults are so gut-wrenching and visceral that it is actually horrible to read. But I can't stop. Maybe I'm like Mat - looking for a fighting chance. Or maybe I'm like Dougie - hoping for a glimmer of kindness. But holy hell, this was another i ...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Lisa Arbitrary - AttentionIsArbitrary M/M Blog rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, adult, netgalley, arc, highly-emotional, must-reads, m-m, erotica, riptide-publishing

~ ~ ~
First Season
The Flesh Cartel #1: Capture
The Flesh Cartel #2: Auction

Second Season begins with this book #3.

Per Riptide Publishing:

Reader discretion advised. This title contains the following sensitive themes:

explicit violence
non-consent

Fair warning, this is NOT MM Romance. This is a psycho-sexual thriller which includes rape and torture. Please proceed with that knowledge.

One of my updates described this as a "speeding bullet" and holy hell it is. Each episode has just, flat out, been one ...more

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Oct 15, 2012 JustJen "Miss Conduct" rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebook, mm, riptide-pub

I admit it. I am hooked on the Flesh Cartel. The writing is so smooth and the scenes so wonderfully yet horrifically detailed that I find myself totally drawn into the story, often cringing at the pain and suffering Mat and Dougie are forced to endure. It is interesting to see two totally different ways the Evil Bastard Nikolai will use to break each of them down and train them to be what he needs.

This segment wasn't quite as harsh as the previous two. The boys are moved from the Facility to Ni ...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Marie33 rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1-net-galley

Book provided by the publisher.

Again we witness the brothers endure cruelty at the hands of their captors. But in some instants they receive unexpected kindnesses as well.

Although the brothers do not interact in this installment they are still what is keeping each other going. Dougie, already quite submissive is having a much easier time than our poor Mat, who can't seem to catch a break.

Again, like the others in this series, it is brilliantly written and keeps the reader hooked from start to ...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Brandilyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mm, read-2012

Find my full review here:
http://www.prismbookalliance.com/2012...

ntense. That is the first word that comes to mind when I think about the Flesh Cartel series. The story of Mat and Dougie’s involuntary decent into the dark world of human trafficking. The one thing they want is to stay together and protect each other. Their attempts to do just that, unfortunately, only causes more pain for themselves and the other. As we enter episode #3, they have been sold to as a pair to a nefarious buyer, but ...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Shirley Frances rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mm-read, favorites, read-2-review, mm-series, 2013, glbt, erotica, reviewed

It has been over a week since I've read this book and I still can't get these boys out of my mind. I want to forget what they've been through because it was so horrible, but I want to remember them because no one else in their world does. I started reading this serial because I wanted to challenge myself, but somehow I didn't want to start reading this episode. I didn't know what to expect. Will Nikolai be different, less rough with the boys? What more can be done to them? Can I take much more o It has been over a week since I've read this book and I still can't get these boys out of my mind. I want to forget what they've been through because it was so horrible, but I want to remember them because no one else in their world does. I started reading this serial because I wanted to challenge myself, but somehow I didn't want to start reading this episode. I didn't know what to expect. Will Nikolai be different, less rough with the boys? What more can be done to them? Can I take much more of this? My answers: I don't know, I can't imagine, but I have to find out.

Once again I find Mat and Dougie facing the imaginable. Dougie has just done a horrible thing to Mat only so they could have a chance to stay together. He is immediately taken away and it starts.

Agonizing remorse, intolerable anguish, oppressive fear and torturous desolation.

These were brought to the page brilliantly. I could feel what Dougie felt. While I was reading about Dougie, I was in the darkness with him, giving up, suffering. I wanted to stop reading. I wanted to continue. A voice inside my head kept saying that he HAD to survive, that they would be together and that it would end. My heart broke, my tears fell, but I could NOT stop reading.

On it continued with Mat. The strong one. Relentless in his determination to survive this - whatever the cost - Mat's suffering cut me the deepest. To see my Mat broken and lost was unbearable. My heart was beating erratically, my fingers shook with every tap of my tablet, but I could not step away.

Gut-wrenching pain, everlasting exhaustion, excruciating uncertainty.

All these emotion were exhilarating and taxing to my heart. I was beyond angry. I was murderous with rage. I was sad. I was in agony. But I had to know, would things be different once they were in Nikolai's hands?

Which brings me to Nikolai Petrovic. A cold-hearted bastard of a man, Nikolai turned out to be everything I was fearing. He went to the heart of my boys - to their bond and their need to be together. He was direct and never wavered. He was deceitful and played on Dougie's state of mind and Mat's devotion to his brother. To tell you the truth, I have to admire his scheming mind even if I was repulsed by his actions, because the way he manipulated those boys was original and effective.

I don't have to say that the writing was phenomenal, but I will express my admiration anyway. The world that Rachel Haimowitz and Heidi Belleau created is brilliant in a cruel, fucked up way. The characters alone captivate me each and every time, but the emotions brought to the page is what brakes me and keeps me coming back. How can I abandon my boys? All they want is to be together, to get through this, to survive. I want that for them too.

Like the previous episodes, this was not an easy read, but it was an amazing piece of work. From the characters to the range of emotions, this serial put its claws in me since the first episode and has not let me go. I wouldn't want it any other way anyhow. This serial continues to surprise and pull me in and I can't wait until the next episode comes out.

I received this title from Riptide Publishing through NetGalley in exchange of my honest review. ...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Tami rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-m, m-m-m, master-slave-captive

Ughhhh!!!!! I sure hope by the end of this series I get a little HEA!!!

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Jan 05, 2013 Sarah rated it it was amazing

I'm torn between loving and hating this series - it's so well written and Mat and Dougie are so realistic that I'm scared to start reading but I have to know what happens next. I'm hoping that eventually the boys will be safe and get some revenge...but until/if that happens I'll be along for the ride. Amazing series. ...more

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Mar 12, 2013 G.B. Gordon added it

I knew why I was buying them by the season.

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Jan 12, 2013 Nova rated it really liked it

Shelves: mm, dark-violence-horror

4.25 stars.

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Oct 12, 2012 Aija rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own, riptide, lgbt, contemporary, series, mind-fuck, horror

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Oct 14, 2012 Heidi Belleau added it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: publications

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Dec 29, 2012 Vishous marked it as to-read-m-m

Shelves: cover-lust, my-queen-made-me-read-this

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Jan 06, 2013 Tiffany added it

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Jan 13, 2013 katarzyna rated it really liked it

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Jan 13, 2013 Wyvernbride rated it it was amazing

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Jan 15, 2013 Kelly_Instalove added it

Shelves: era-contemporary, theme-glbtq, format-novella-short, riptide, theme-bdsm

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Feb 01, 2013 Lyri marked it as to-read

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Feb 01, 2013 Kelly Sheehan marked it as to-read

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Feb 03, 2013 Tina marked it as to-read

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Feb 23, 2013 Emily rated it really liked it

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Jun 17, 2013 Candyce rated it it was amazing

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Aug 14, 2013 justanya rated it really liked it

Shelves: suspense, bdsm, slave, may-december, abused, unforgettable-characters, disgusting-moments, secret-organizations, dark, not-for-the-faint-of-heart

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