Raze - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reap - ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
Okay, this book has two books in one so the way I'm going to structure this review is I'm going to review book one first with no spoilers. Then I'll review book two and that review will likely have some spoilers for book one. So, if you only want to know what I thought about book one and you don't want any spoilers for book one, stop reading after the first part. Okay! on the the reviews.

In book one, Raze we're introduced to all of our mafia characters as well as the world were in and the idea of the underground death fighting rings that 818/Raze is in. I thought the world was interesting and the set-up was good. This is a sort of insta-love series in that it seems like there a lot of stuff about souls being made for each other and finding each other. This is less of a thing in book one because Raze turns out to be Luka, who Kisa already had a relationship with when they were young but it seems like a major theme for book two as well I thought this was fine but it's just something to know going in. There is quite a bit of plot stuff in this book and I thought that was interesting. It got a little over the top at times but that was something I more or less expected. There are some parts of this that are genuinely upsetting/sad. This is definitely a dark romance when it comes to what has been done to the characters before they get together.

As far as the relationship goes I enjoyed it. I liked the memory loss stuff and I liked seeing Kisa help Raze with his post-Gulag life. If I'm going to read a book with an amnesia element, I need it to be completely medically inaccurate. Luckily, that mostly what we get here and it worked for me. I liked seeing Raze and Kisa work through their issues. Kisa at the start of this book is engaged to a different man, Alik. He is abusive to her. We get a lot of Raze working through his trauma but we don't get as much from Kisa and I would have liked to see more of that.

The wrap up of this book was good and I was satisfied with the ending. It was interesting to see how the rest of the mafia reacted to Raze and Kisa and I liked the resolution to the Alik and Kisa story line. I don't love when the end of a romances discusses having a child as the obvious next step and the best thing ever for any relationship but otherwise I liked the end.

Okay now starting the book 2: Reap review.

One complaint I have for this book is that Kisa and Luka are in this book prominently and I found them super annoying in this book. I liked them in the first book but I was just annoyed by Kisa in this book and I found Luka to have had some weird character development It seems like at the end of book one Luka was learning to be himself again and that he hated killing other people. Then at the end of this book Kisa talks to him about how he is both Luka and Raze and it's okay that he needs to kill and I thought this was just a weird turn around. I did like the new couple in this book, Talia and Zaal. Just like with book one, I thought the interpersonal stuff was the most fun to read. Nothing her is realistic but I liked the way that it was over the top.

The plot is very, very similar to book one. A lot of similar plot points between these two. I'm curious if that will continue through to the last two books of this series. I'll probably read those sometime next week so I guess I'll find out soon. The ending of this one is a bit different but almost everything else is the same. Small thing that bothered me but at the end of this book Talia moved in with Zaal to help with his nightmares before they got married, which is against tradition. Kisa is like "wow Talia you're such a rebel." but Kisa did the EXACT same thing at the end of book one!!! This is silly but it bothered me. This similarity didn't bother me much here but if book three is also very similar, I'll start to be a bit annoyed.

I'm trying to finish more series this year and I am excited to finish this seires. I already own book three and I have book four from the library. Nothing in this book was surprising. I don't even know if any of the twists can even be called twists because they're so obvious and I'm pretty sure I already know who book three is about but that doesn't really bother me in romance. Overall, I found these to be very quick, very readable, pretty over-the-top, fairly dark romances and I enjoyed my time with the start of this series.

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I tend to not normally read romance type novels as they usually bore me. This one intrigued me so I was curious enough to enter a giveaway to give it a shot. I really enjoyed it. The characters were well rounded and the story itself was interesting. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning 2 nights in a row to finish the 2 parts of the book. I will now take a look for more books by this author. I am glad I took a chance on a genre I don't normally read.

I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways. ( )

Two books together that pack a punch – could not put them down!

RAZE

Wow! Gritty, grueling and grim this story is one of endurance and a will to live through unimaginable conditions. Raze is indomitable and amazing. Falsely accused, taken from a life of privilege, forced to kill to survive and finally free and able to get revenge he begins to remember…and part of his memories include Kisa.

Kisa is a “princess” of the Bratva. Supposedly pampered and privileged she has suffered since the day the love of her life and her brother were both ripped away from her. The man that steps in, Alik, is a psychotic, perverted, killer and he has claimed her – for better or worse – mostly worse. She, too, has endured more than most and is a survivor.

This is a book of survival, romance, love, family and much much more. I read Reap, book two in the series, before this one but it did not matter. Both are superb books and though dark definitely worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the copy of this book to read and review.

Five Stars

REAP

Powerful, gritty, intense writing that I was unable to put down - Reap caught my interest from page one and never let me go.

Talia and Zaal are a bit like Romeo and Juliet crossed with Beauty and the Beast and so much better than either. This is an adult love story of bondage, strength, fortitude and loss that grows into one that encompasses release, freedom, self-discovery and a love that is soul deep and unbreakable.

The male and female characters were complex, well defined and worth rooting for. I loved the way the relationship between Talia and Zaal developed and how Zaal’s backstory was presented. I would not change anything about this book. I have not read the first book in this series but look forward to doing so AND to reading whatever comes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press for the copy of this book to read and review.

Five Stars ( )