MONSTER IN HIS EYES
Series: Monster in His Eyes #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mafia
Author: J.M. Darhower
Release Date: April 27, 2014
Ignazio Vitale is not a good man.
I suspect it, the first time I see him, sense the air of danger that surrounds the man. He has a way of commanding attention, of taking control, of knowing what I’m thinking before I even do.
It’s alarming and alluring. It’s dark and deadly. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted but the last thing I truly need. Obsession.
It doesn’t take him long to draw me into his web, charming me into his bed and trapping me in his life, a life I know nothing about until it’s too late. He has secrets, secrets I can’t fathom, secrets that make it so I can’t walk away, no matter how much I beg him to let me go. I see it sometimes in his eyes, a darkness that’s both terrifying and thrilling. He’s a monster, wrapped up in a pretty package, and what I find when I unmask him changes everything.
I want to hate him.
Sometimes, I do.
But it doesn’t stop me from loving him, too.
He’s a whirlpool of darkness, and I feel myself getting sucked deeper and deeper into the depths of his abyss. I’m drowning in him.
As I sit here beating my head against the wall for my complete and utter stupidity, I have only one thought in mind: why in the ever loving hell did it take me so long to read it?
No, but seriously. I love anti-heroes. I love mafia romance. And I seriously love J.M. Drawer’s writing. So why did this book spend almost 2 lonely years collecting dust in my kindle? Because I’m an idiot, ladies and ovaries. Complete and utter idiot that’s currently kicking my own ass if it’s any consolation.
I heard many things about Ignazio “Naz” Vitale. Some of them intriguing, some of them scary, and all of them utterly titillating and ovary tingling.
Monster In His Eyes is told entire in Karissa’s POV. Karissa is an 18 year old college student that’s struggling through a philosophy class. She’s a good girl; she’s not into the party scene, she talks to her mother daily, and she has a scholarship to her school which she needs to maintain with her grades. But then Karissa’s life takes a real turn when she meets the mysterious Naz; a man twice her age, rich, enigmatic, with just the right edge of dangerous.
Naz is such a magnetic force. As a reader you know there’s something almost sinister and dark about him. You certainly know this way before the pieces begin clicking in Karissa’s head about the man she’s involved with.
At first I was a little concerned with Karissa being only 18, that she’d be too naive, idealistic and immature. And maybe she was those things in a way, but she also pulled it off. Or better yet, the author pulled it off. I’m not sure how she did that, but I connected with her right away.
As you’re reading, you know that there’s something much deeper involved than a chance meeting. Why? Because the prologue gives that little bit away. It gives you a vague piece of the puzzle that will keep you glued to the pages in eager anticipation for more details. Is it truly a chance meeting or the work of something more? What is it that Naz truly wants. What’s his end game and will Karissa survive it?
But I find myself wondering at times like this, when I feel the distance between us, if maybe in his eyes, the real monster is me.
Naz is a true force of nature. I fell head over ovaries for him right away. There’s this air of danger to him. But he’s also a perfectly balanced two sided coin. One side nurturing and caring, and the other side dangerous and depraved.
“Does that make me your prey?”
“That makes you my queen.”
You never know just what side you’ll get and yet you’re connected to each side equally. You crave that darkness even while you’re enjoying his sweetness. Though to be fair, there’s really nothing sweet about the man. But his treatment of Karissa is almost fervent.
While the romance is hot, what truly grips you is the intrigue behind Naz’s past and present. Who is he really? What does he want? And when the truth finally gets unveiled?
The only thing that kept this from a solid 5 star read for me was the super quick connection between Karissa and Naz. It wasn’t quite insta-love, but it wasn’t quite not either. There was a large chunk of the book centered around the everyday of their relationship which got a tad stale after a while. But then the second half more than made up for the slowness of the first.
JM Darhower crafts yet another addicting tale that’s utterly impossible to put down from beginning to finish. I read it cover to cover in one day. I was ready to cut someone for daring to interrupt me. This author has this way of sucking you right into the story and keeping you at the edge of your seat the entire time. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to dive straight into book two!
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MONSTER IN HIS EYES SERIES
MONSTER IN HIS EYES | TORTURE TO HER SOUL | TARGET ON OUR BACKS
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