RETRIBUTION
Genre: Dark, Romantic Suspense
Author: Natasha Knight
Release Date: January 8, 2016
Adam
Payback’s a bitch — or it would be for Elle.
Fifteen years ago, my sister was kidnapped. For months, she’d endured hell. Somehow, she’d survived it. Someway, she’d escaped her captors. But it hadn’t mattered. In fact, it had been like losing her twice, because six weeks after she came home, she was dead, and the man responsible was alive and well, oblivious to her fate, ignorant to what he had coming.
Fifteen years I’d been waiting for this moment, all that time, planning, preparing, readying to put things into motion. To finally make the SOB pay for what he’d done.
Killing him was too easy. Too quick. No. There was a much better way to exact revenge.
Take what he loved best.
Break it.
Break her.
I just didn’t realize that in the process of destroying the girl, I’d destroy myself.
Elle
“I only want your pain.”
I hadn’t understood what those words meant, not really. Not until he made me understand.
I noticed Adam the very first day he moved into my building. He was a badass on a bike in a thousand-dollar suit. When he looked at me, it was with a hunger just this side of obscene.
Our meetings were strange, accidental. Too coincidental. There was something about Adam. Something I couldn’t put my finger on.
Something I couldn’t resist.
He told me I didn’t know him. He warned me to run as far from him as I could. He was moody. Dark. I’d found it romantic. I didn’t know, and I wouldn’t realize until it was too late that he’d meant for me to heed his warnings. That some part of him had hoped I would run, that I would escape him.
For too many years, vengeance had fueled him. It had taught him hate. The object of that hate? My father. And me? I was the means to my father’s end. Adam would destroy my father by destroying me.
I accused him of being a monster, of being no different than those who took his sister, but even in the harshest moments, all I could see in his eyes was pain. And like a fool, all I wanted was to touch that darkness.
To make it light.
Retribution is a full-length, complete Dark Romantic Suspense novel. No Cliffhanger. Intended for mature readers. Contains BDSM content.
I had one plan, one goddamned thing to do. Break the girl. That was all.
Retribution marks my second book by this author and it definitely confirmed what I knew after the first; I’ll definitely be reading all her future books. The woman can write one hell of a tortured, brooding, anti-hero alpha. This was a dark and twisty tale of revenge and pain and second chances. It was gritty, violent, and erotic as hell!
Tonight, it had taken command of him. Tonight, he’d given himself over to it.
Adam Smith is a man with one goal on his mind for the past 15 years; revenge. All he wants is retribution against the man who was responsible for his sister’s kidnapping, torture and eventual death. And what best way to make the man pay than to take something dearest to him and break her just like he broke his sister. His target? Elle Vega
The story gripped me from the very beginning. Adam was exactly the sort of alpha I love to read about; intense with a touch of depravity. Elle was a touch naive for my tastes but oddly enough it didn’t grate on me like it usually would in any other book. I found it hard to wrap my mind around exactly how naive she was considering her father and what she grew up around, but again, it wasn’t enough to ruin the story for me.
“What do I want?
I want your pain.”
The writing was engaging and the story was fast paced, yet somewhere around the 25% mark, it began to lose some of the intensity for me. Adam starts off so strong, but soon enough becomes almost wishy washy in his drive for vengeance. He wants to make her pay, yet his conscience gets the best of him. I suppose I just didn’t feel as much connection to his character to truly understand the why’s of it.
The other thing that kept it from being a solid 4 star for me was Elle. While her naivety wasn’t enough to bother me, I did have a hard time understanding her easy acquiescence to Adam. Considering everything the man does to her, I found it hard to wrap my mind around how easily she gives into the sexual chemistry between them. She barely puts up a fight and while there are hints of a strong woman somewhere in there, it just wasn’t enough for me to truly ever connect with her.
That being said, around the 60% mark it really started to pick up for me and I couldn’t put it down until the end. There were some twists thrown in that added to the appeal of the story and I really enjoyed the epilogue. I wished the intensity was more than it was and I hoped that I’d connect to the characters more, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly.
If you’re looking for a sexy and gritty revenge plot with a dash of depravity, definitely give this book a shot. I’m looking forward to whatever this author has in store next.
BLOOD TO DUST
Well slap my ass and call me Sally, what in the ever hell did I just read?
Any other woman that finds herself bloodied, tied and locked in a dark basement waiting on certain death at the hands of men intent on collecting their debt from her, may be shaken. But not Prescott. Every minute in her captivity is another minute for her to plot and scheme and plan her escape. Because she will escape. Even if she has to use her unwilling captor to do it…
The story packs a hell of a one two punch. It’s deliciously dirty and anxiety inducing gritty. The characters are incredibly well developed, multi-layered, and impossible not to like. Prescott was one kick-ass chick. She’s a survivor and she never stops fighting. She maintains an almost morbid sense of humor even during the most dire of times which gives her this incredibly endearing quality.
There was one particular detail at the end that confused me a little because I don’t remember it being explained. It could have been something I overlooked, but after re-reading the part several times, I’m still not sure. I’m not expecting everything wrapped in a pretty little bow, but given the detail was a pivotal one that set the plot in motion, I suppose I just wanted slightly more explanation on it. But that’s just one minor quibble in what was a truly amazing book, so I really can’t bother myself to complain about it much. If you’re looking for a dark read with strong characters and an unpredictable plot, READ THIS BOOK.
Well hot damn! I need more anti-heroines in my life because Rage? Rage was freaking kick-ass! If you’ve read any of my reviews then you already know I’m usually a total heroine hater. If they’re weak, sniveling doormats, it’s a recipe for disaster for me. But not Rage. Nope! This woman was killer. Pun intended.
I was super curious to see how the author would handle Rage falling in love considering she’s describe as essentially a borderline sociopath. As hard as it was for me to shut off my logical brain, I took the character for what she way…a whole lot of gray area. Is she a sociopath that has no feeling of empathy? A cold blooded killer that gets her rocks off on death and destruction? Someone that has barely restrained rage that she can only control by giving in and feeding? Heck if I know. Basically she’s something in the middle, and that’s where I left it.
In typical T.M. fashion, the author crafts a twisted and gritty tale that packs a whole lot of surprises that you never see coming. Nolan is certainly not at all what he seems to be and I loved it when he lets that inner bad boy out. The man can dirty talk the panties off of anyone within a 50 mi radius.
My Clara:
It’s official; I have PTKD (Post Traumatic Keri Disorder). The woman has ruined me. This book? I hope you all have your big girl panties on, because a walk through the meadows with unicorns it. Is. Not.
Jase has spent the last year of his life in hell. Now he’s free and the only thing burning inside him is revenge. It’s what he eats, breathes, and lives. The chain of events that began on that one bloody night a year ago that cost him him his family all lead back to one man; Tesarik. Only problem is? He’s so powerful he’s practically untouchable. So when the mystery man standing before him promises him the vengeance he seeks for the price of a favor, he knows that he may fight it but he’ll agree. The favor will take him deep into the bowels of the worst sort of human depravity. Into a something only known as The Seventh Circle; a group of men that get off on pain and death.
What begins is a story filled with heart-stopping moments, eroticism in a way only Keri Lake can write, and enough grit and darkness to leave you crying for your mama.
If you’ve read any book by this author, then you already know she’s not afraid to go to the very pits of darkness. She’ll take the readers deep into the bowels of the worst of humanity. Her writing is raw, gritty, and absolutely unapologetic.
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.
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.
He stalked toward her, mirroring the tilt of her head, knees and shoulders loose, and his gaze holding her prisoner. A breath away, he paused, soaking in the subtleties of her tipped-up chin, parting lips, and glossy but resolute eyes. 
He was a cold-hearted fuck with an appetite for blood, come, and tears. And he had the perfect girl to feed it.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
