5 stars I received an ARC of this book from the author. I’m a big fan of Leslie George and have read the other books in this series; I'm looking forward to the next. But since it hasn't come out yet, I’ll rate this one. Lev and Dom are twins, and early on, Lev describes their personalities as balancing each other out. He specifically states: “I guess that made me a bad influence on him, while he was a good influence on me. So, yeah, we balanced each other out.” In this story, Lev meets his soulmate, Siena. Unfortunately, Siena is married to his arch rival, Sal Romano, an evil, sociopathic killer who is looking for any excuse to torture him. Of course, Sal forced Siena to marry him and maimed her younger brother to force her hand. Now, she has a baby who Sal uses as a device to manipulate her to do whatever he wants. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t also beat her and use rape and humiliation as a tool of control. And then Siena meets Lev, on one of the few occasions Sal allows her to go out with her friend (for her birthday). Because he would never let her leave unsupervised, he has a few of his goons follow her and report her whereabouts, and that’s how he finds her talking to Lev. By then, Lev and Siena have already formed a connection and when she asks him for help to escape from Sal, he cannot refuse her. This leads to major problems because Sal knows that Lev assisted Siena, and Lev is faced with an impossible choice. There is really no other way for this book to end than with someone (or more than simply some one) dying, and the ensuing war is brutal and heartbreaking and changes things forever. The emotions expressed by each of the characters (not just Lev and Siena) are realistic and will pluck your heartstrings. It’s tough to get through this book without feeling the losses almost as keenly as anyone in the story. In fact, it’s uncertain there will even be a happy ending, but of course, eventually, there is. Zeke and Mia and Sacha and Willow make appearances. I can’t help but wonder how many more people can leave the Popov “crime” family before they lose all of their members. Perhaps, as they transition to more lawful activities, it won’t be such an issue. “Thief” is the next book in the series and this one will feature Dom. I'll be sure to read that one also. January 14, 2022
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September 2022
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