Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Stolen, taken, and bound not by monsters but by an agreement written over six hundred years ago, she has no way out.
She belongs to Jethro as much as she denies it.
Jethro Hawk’s patience is running out. His inheritance gift tests, challenges, and surprises him—and not in good ways. He hasn’t leashed her but he thinks he might’ve found a way to bind her forever.
Debts are mounting. Payment waiting.
The only way I had a chance at surviving long enough to reap vengeance on the men who ruined my ancestors was to fight his ice with fire.
I had to burn.
I had to blaze.
I had to cinder his beliefs and control to the ground. And smear his soul with the ashes of his sins.
If you’ve read the first book and found yourself unsure about where this series is going, READ THIS BOOK. First Debt just goes to further proof the genius that is the evil mind of Pepper Winters. I say evil because when you get to the cliffy at the end, you’ll be convinced that the woman is fucking with you. She flawlessly and seamlessly weaves a twisted and dark tale that will leave you with more questions than answers and only leave you begging for more. If you haven’t read the first book, DO NOT read my review as it will contain minor spoilers. I will keep it spoiler free for this book though.
First Debt takes off immediately where Debt Inheritance left off. Nila Weaver is given a choice; run and if she escapes then she’s released from the Debt, but if she’s caught she fully gives herself over to Jethro Hawk. Mind, body, and soul.
Pepper Winters manages to do the seemingly impossible in this book. She gives a naive and sheltered virgin a backbone of steel and she makes you BELIEVE it. She also humanizes a cold and brutal man and gives you a peak inside his cracked armor without ruining the effect of his control.
Both these characters are so deeply in my brain right now, I still can’t stop thinking about them even a day after I finished. You really get to see both sides of the coin in their personalities. While Nila continues to develop more and more strength and truly come into her own, you also get glimpses of the vulnerable woman that has no control over her own fate. On the other hand you have a cold and ruthless Jethro, but then you get a glimpse of how he came to be the way he is and his…shall we say, motivation?
While book one was more of a build and set up for the story, this one really gives you an undercurrent of romance. Don’t get me wrong, since it is a Pepper Winters book after all, it’s certainly not sunshine and butterflies. No. But you do have a passion that so clearly burns between two people that couldn’t be more dangerous to each other.
“I don’t kiss my enemies.”
“You just fuck them?”
His mouth twitched into a roguish smile. “Only if they beg.”
This author really knows how to build up a story that will keep you gripped to the pages from beginning to end. You’ll be left with more questions with answers, but little by little you start getting more puzzle pieces…they’re just not yet fitting together.
I shouted at her silently.Cursed her wordlessly.
You feel me inside you?
You feel me claiming you?You feel me destroying you?You feel me around you?You feel me undermining you?You feel me making you care?
With the First Debt taking place you get to find out more about the Weaver/Hawke ancestor history that has all led to this. You get a pretty big chunk of it here, and yet there’s obviously still plenty left to be answered.
You also really get that first semblance of the romance here. It may not be perfect but the foundation is being intricately laid out.
Prepare yourself for the mother of all cliffhangers too. If you thought it was bad before, you’ll probably want to rip your hair out after this one. If I don’t get the next book sometime soon, I’m pretty sure I’ll cut a bitch LOL.
Debt Inheritance (Book One) Indebted Series
“I own you. I have the piece of paper to prove it. It’s undeniable and unbreakable. You belong to me until you’ve paid off your debts.”
Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Being the first born daughter, her life is forfeit to the first born son of the Hawks to pay for sins of ancestors past. The dark ages might have come and gone, but debts never leave. She has no choice in the matter.
She is no longer free.
Jethro Hawk receives Nila as an inheritance present on his twenty-ninth birthday. Her life is his until she’s paid off a debt that’s centuries old. He can do what he likes with her—nothing is out of bounds—she has to obey.
There are no rules. Only payments.
A modern day Dark Erotic Romance
Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.
She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.
Her Dark Erotica books include:
Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)
Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)
Her Grey Romance books include:
Destroyed
I never believed in love. Mostly because love never believed in me enough to break through my shield. Why believe in something that’s never touched you?
Holy, sweet mother of AWESOME. Where has this series been all my life? It was 500+ pages of action packed, gritty, sexy, unputdownable awesome that I absolutely devoured. My nails are bit to shit, I’m running on about 2 hrs of sleep, and you know what? So. Totally. Worth. It. If you haven’t started this series yet, I’m not sure what you’re doing with your life.
After the set up for Logan’s book in 
It’s clear from just the first few pages that Logan is a very broken character. He’s already survived unspeakable horrors in his life, and his recent death and resurrection is just another notch to add to it. In the midst of all the turmoil that is already ever present in his head there is also the woman that got him killed in the first place; Calla, the Alexi warrior.
This was no insta-love or insta-lust case. Not even fucking close. Logan hates Calla and makes no bones about it. He also makes it pretty evident that he blames her for what happened. He’s cold, and callous, and utterly brutal to her. It was delicious. Because underneath all of that loathing is a undercurrent of unwanted lust. Keri Lake did a phenominal job working that in without making it too obvious. It truly makes the reader burn for this couple to finally figure that out themselves.
You want a tortured, dirty talking, and yet somehow endearingly vulnerable hero? Logan is all that and more. I love PNR, but as much of it as I’ve read through the years, some heroes tend to blend into one another. Not Logan or ANY of the Wrath brothers. Nope. These are alphas that I’ll be comparing all other alphas to.
In the midst of the romance you also have an incredibly action packed and fast paced story. The author has woven together an intricate world with unique characters and twists and turns that will leave you biting your nails and turning the pages well into the night. Holy shit it was awesome! The whole thing unfolded before me like a movie playing through my mind.
If you’ve read the blurb, then you probably picked up on the fact that it pretty much tells you nothing. As far as descriptions go, it’s very vague…AND THAT’S IMPORTANT. I’d advise you to read as little reviews about this book if not any before diving in. Trust me, you’ll enjoy it that much more. What are some things I can tell you about it?
He was such a tortured character, but he also had a very endearing vulnerability to him as well. Maybe that’s also why I wasn’t as bothered by the couple’s almost instantaneous connection. It somehow fit the both of them. Don’t get me wrong, Grayson was not a soft man. Fuck no. He was intense with an undercurrent of brutality, and yet there was always something about him that no matter what fucked up thing he does, you can’t help but love him.
They would be a couple, she decided. Touch— pleasure—had been denied her for far too long. A fact his presence had never allowed her to forget. He’d had other girlfriends so he knew how to handle a romantic relationship. They could do this, could make this work. And they would be vigilant, cautious, never courting danger.
YEARS. Years, I’ve been waiting for Torin’s book. I’ve been sitting in anxious anticipation from book one just waiting to get his story. But see, here’s the thing…in the past year, I’ve also been dreading it a little too. Why? Because the last few releases from this author have left something to be desired for me. They just haven’t quite been the same, with that signature Gena spark missing. So I was extremely nervous that one of my most anticipated books EVER just may turn out to be the biggest disappointment. And you know what? I shouldn’t have been worried. Gena has officially got her awesome back with this book. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING that I have loved about her books in the past; the snark, the humor, the sexy romance, all of it is back here.
What? Was it just me then? Right. Carrying on. Well worry not, because this book was definitely sexy in its own right. The sexual chemistry between Torin and Keeley alone burned up the pages. But Gena definitely throws plenty of satisfying scenes your way too… of the sexy-time variety 😉
“Why are heroines in romantic novels—despite their cleanliness and enviable lifestyles—so unlikeable? It’s like they’ve been hit with a vanilla ninny stick, devoid of personality and blind to the gift before them. They’re doomed to wander in ignorance until the last thirty pages of the book. By then I’m usually actively rooting against a happy ending, because the fantastical fictional men deserve better.”
