Reap
Series: Scarred Souls #2
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Tillie Cole
Release Date: November 10, 2015
Raised as a prototype for the Georgian Bratva’s obedience drug, 221 fails to think, act, or live for himself; he’s his master’s perfectly-crafted killing puppet. Standing at six-foot-six, weighing two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, and unrivaled in to-the-death combat, 221 successfully secures business for the Georgian Mafiya Boss of NYC, who rules the dark world of the criminal underground. Until his enemies capture him.
Talia Tolstaia dreams to break from the heavy clutches of Bratva life. She dreams of another life–away from the stifling leash of her Russian Bratva Boss father and from the brutality of her work at The Dungeon, her criminal family’s underground death-match enterprise. But when she stumbles upon her family’s captive who is more monster than man, she starts to see the man underneath. A powerful, beautiful, damaged man whose heart calls to hers. But sacrifices must be made–blood for blood…life for life…souls for scarred souls…
Our desperate gazes met.
He took a deep breath.
Then he whispered, “You are…for me?”
God. That one line. Who would have thought that my heart could melt and break at the same time from just 4 little words? But when 221; killing machine, savage with no memories of his previous life and raised to be a cold blooded killer, utters those four words to Talia….I was absolutely done for.
Reap is book 2 in Tillie Cole’s Scarred Souls series, and while you may read it as a standalone since it focuses on a different main couple and their HEA, I highly recommend you start with book 1. Because while Reap tells the story of Zaal and Talia, it also gives the readers a continuation of Luka through his POV. It builds up on what has begun in Raze and it would connect you to the story that much more having previously read that.
I have to admit that I was in the minority of not enjoying Raze as much as I’d hoped for so I went into Reap with no expectations and enjoyed it so much more! Most of what bothered me in the first book was not an issue here. The writing was much better; it flowed and the repetitiveness that bothered me in Raze was no where to be found.
221 was raised as a prototype for the Georgian mafia’s obedience drug. He’s a stone cold killer with a bloodlust that only death can appease. He fails to thing, act, or live for himself. He lives for his master’s commands and doesn’t remember life before or beyond that.
Luka Tolstoi is continuing to deal with the demons of his past. But the thing that haunts him the most is the death of his only friend, at his own hands. When he figures out the connection between 221 and 362, he knows he will stop at nothing until he frees him from his sadistic captors. Having accomplished his task, he brings him to recover at his family’s estate where Talia is currently taking a break from the Bratva’s stifling leash.
When Talia discovers 221’s true identity, she knows that he’s not only forbidden. He’s something else entirely. There’s a history there that he’s not aware of and she knows all too well. But that doesn’t stop her from being intrigued by the savage. During his recovery from the drug that stole his thoughts and memories, she cares for him….but something else begins to develop between them.
Reap is not quite as dark as it’s predecessor was. While still leaning on the side of gritty, it wasn’t as brutal. It was definitely a whole lot more emotional, however. I think this is in part due to the fact that I had a true connection to Talia and Zaal together. Talia isn’t exactly my favorite heroine, but she was much more memorable than Kisa. I loved how she cared for Zaal and the way she fought for him.
Reap was absolutely gut wrenching for me. What truly made it as emotional as it was was the connection between Zaal and Luka. There was a particular part at the end between them that actually brought a tear to my cold black heart. It was devastating to read about.
The story flowed smoothly and it was captivating from the very start. My picky self did get stuck on the incorrect translations once again, but luckily the story and the romance was enough for me to turn a (mostly) blind eye to it.
There was a tease at the end that has me practically salivating for the next book. So while I got off to a rocky start with Raze, I’m definitely now a fan of the series and can’t wait to see what’s in store next.
Don’t miss book 1 in the Scarred Souls series!
Ladies and ovaries, allow me to introduce you to your next must read. If you’re looking for some smutty goodness wrapped up in a fantastic story, it simply doesn’t get better than this. Did I mention that it has one of the hottest MMF threesomes I’ve read in a while? Because….damn.
The beauty of this dirty little beauty, however, is you don’t have to have read the previous books in the series to enjoy it. While Carly and Geo from 
Well, this was certainly…different. If you’re expecting Tough Enough to be on the same intensity level as 
I have a little secret…*whispers* I have an unhealthy addiction to legal dramas…comedies….romances…whatever. You name it, if legal procedures and trials are involved, odds are I’ve watched it or read it. So when I saw a new Legal Affairs book from Sawyer Bennett, it was a no brainer to read. This is only my third book by this author, and admittedly the other two I’ve read by her left me a bit underwhelmed. But having heard so many amazing things about her Legal Affairs series, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go. And boy am I glad that I did, because Friction was absolutely fantastic!.
And so awkward, shy trailer trash Leary becomes sexy powerhouse Leary; using all her feminine wiles to win her cases. But she’s not just sexy and sassy, there’s a brain on her and that just made her that much more fun to read about. Now she’s handling the biggest case of her life; not so much in the form of money, but meaning. It means everything to her to win, and she needs to crush her opponent. Too bad her opponent is the sexy Reeve Holloway, a defense attorney working for the client that hers is suing…and determined to give as good as he gets.
It’s been a long while since I’ve read a book that touched me on such a visceral level. I don’t cry in books. Maybe I have a cold black heart, maybe I don’t have a soul, I dunno, it just doesn’t happen mkay. But here? I was a mess. A wreck. Absolutely and utterly pathetic. Sniveling, ugly crying, uncontrollably emotional wreck. In case you’re still not with me, basically I spent the first half of this book in this particular state:
My husband came home from work and caught me reading it, and after taking in my ugly crying state freaked out thinking someone died. True story. Basically, the moral of this story is do NOT read this book in public unless you want people to think there’s something seriously wrong with you. This book will tug at every heart string you have and rip it to smithereens. I’m not even kidding. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I though it was just a fluke at first, so I went back to re-read a few key parts and nope! I was a wreck all over again.
That gif basically sums up my feelings for High and the rest of Chaos for the first half of this book. High is a royal asshole to Millie when he sees her again. She broke his heart all those years ago and he’s not about to let her forget it. She walked out on him and Chaos, and now that she seems to want the chance to explain, he’ll use the opportunity to switch the roles from twenty years ago.
I was afraid that I wouldn’t like Millie when I originally read the first chapter of this book as a preview in 
Nothing like floating on a life raft with your buddies after escaping a sinking ship and puking off the side to reflect on one’s life. But that’s exactly what Logan McCabe finds himself doing. When the discussion leads to the one thing they’d go back in time to change, there’s only one thing floating in Logan’s mind. The sizzling one night stand he shared with a woman eleven years ago that rocked his world. So what’s a man to do? Look her up, track her down, and proposition her for more, of course.
Logan is an ex-con with an aversion to cops, and the Abby eleven years later just happens to be a detective. A match made in heaven they are not. I absolutely loved these two together. Abby may be a touch prissy, but she sure gives as good as she gets. Logan is everything I’ve come to love in a Brazen hero, totally alpha and a dirty talking god. Add in a secret pregnancy trope, and watch the sparks fly! My only quibble is what I felt was a little too much cheese with the ending. 
Heart-pounding action, nail-biting suspense and sizzling hot BDSM romance, it just doesn’t get any better than that. Shayla Black delivers yet another winner in her 10th book of her Wicked Lovers series. Sinfully sexy and filled with enough action to keep you at the edge of your seat, Wicked For You definitely delivered on the promise of it’s title.
Mystery Mullins is the daughter to one of the most renowned hollywood directors, who’s reputation as a womanizer is just as infamous. She’s used to media attention, but the only attention she truly craves is from a man that turned her down after saving her life six years ago.
I love that the author takes you back in time to show the reader exactly what happened between these two all those years ago. It only serves to strengthen the connection to both the characters as well as the connection between them. I love me a sexy Dom that can kick some ass and then spank it. What? I’m being honest here. Axel is a hero that you’ll definitely fall for. Mystery was a great heroine in her own right. She may be inexperienced in the brand of kink that Axel likes, but she’s no blushing virgin. If you’re not a fan of hardcore BDSM, rest easy, there’s no whips or chains in this one. Axel is kinky, but it’s light on the BDSM. A little spanking here, a little bondage there. Mix, repeat, end with orgasms.
How do you review a book where even the slightest detail can be a major spoiler? I’ve been struggling with writing this for days now because of this. I write something, then change my mind and delete it. Quite the conundrum I have myself here. If I can give you one piece of advice with this book? Go in absolutely blind. Don’t read reviews. Any reviews. Even mine (though I will keep it absolutely spoiler free). But this is just one of those books where what makes it good is the not knowing. You guess a detail here and there but you just never know exactly where it will go.
Lauren Layne is my go-to author whenever I’m in the mood for a light-hearted, sexy and witty romance, and this book is exactly why. There’s one thing that’s guaranteed when I read one of her books; I’ll read it with a happy smile on my face the entire time. While I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading her Sex, Love & Stiletto series, of which this is the spin-off, I had absolutely no problems keeping up with all the wonderful secondary characters or the story itself.
All the secondary characters add to the story while the main focus remains on Penelope and Cole and their budding romance. We still get a taste for past characters, as well as Lincoln who I was clearly intrigued by (because I do so love me the broken manwhorish ones) but it never takes away from the story, only adds to it. It read like the perfect romantic comedy.
Know what I love? When a book manages to catch me by complete surprise, pleasantly so, and end up being so much more than I had thought it would be. Suite 269 was that book for me. Witty, laugh out loud hilarious, and sexy as all hell, I read it in practically one sitting with a goofy smile on my face for the entire time (And some ice for my ovaries on standby) It’s not often that I’ll tell you that my favorite thing about a book was the heroine. And by that, I mean it almost never freaking happens. Unless the heroine manages to channel my inner sarcastic pervert. I mean the woman’s favorite cartoon was Pinky and The Brain for the love of god! We need to be besties here! And if you don’t know what that cartoon is, shame on you, and don’t speak to me again until you watch it, mkay?!
What if you met a man that promised to make all your deepest, darkest fantasies come true? No questions, no judgement. That’s precisely the chance that Lexa Novak gets. But this book is so much more than just that. So let’s set the scene, shall we?
Enter stage right, Jameson Holt. The son of the man that owns the magazine she works as a lowly fact checker for, and her boss. Did I happen to mention that he makes her ovaries scream in delight with his mere present alone?
Because the man is pure sex on a stick. But that’s all the detail you’ll be getting from because what’s the fun in that? The best part of the reading experience here is to find out how all these puzzle pieces click together.
I’ve read and loved this author’s PNR titles, (Mad World) but this was my first contemporary romance from her and it sure as hell will not be my last. Clearly I’ve been missing out and I need to go check out the woman’s entire backlist. If you’re looking for a fun, witty, and uber sexy read, you really can’t go wrong with this one.
