**ARC received for honest review**
“I’m going to tell you a secret. A secret I’ve never told anybody. I, Ignazio Vitale, have always been afraid of the dark. If you tell anyone that, I’ll kill you.”
This book starts where Monster in His Eyes finishes so is a continuation of Naz and Karissa’s story and this book is told through the eyes of Ignazio/Naz Vitale. I fell hard for Naz in Monster in His Eyes, there was something about him that drew me in, he was dark and mysterious but he was suave and enigmatic, he was a protector, he was fierce and he was incredibly misunderstood. In this instalment we do get to delve into his past and we are finally shown what happened that fashioned him into the man he is today. All I can say is by the end of the book, I only loved him more.
Karissa…I have to admit, in the beginning, was extremely irritating. Naz puts himself out there, he tries so hard and she virtually ignores him, I had to keep reminding myself of her age so that I could begin to justify some of her actions because all I wanted her to do was get on with it and to work through their situation. She was as stubborn as anything though and really makes Naz and us the reader wait, but while reading you just cannot help but feel sorry for Naz. Naz Vitale is passionate, he does not give his heart away freely and so for him to feel so strongly and powerfully for Karissa is not the norm. He battled through his feelings and emotions but he finally came to the conclusion that Karissa was it for him despite their past, so to see him constantly rejected was “Torture to My Soul.”
“Tell me how you want it to be. Tell me what you need from me.” I’ll give her anything. I’ll tear my f**king chest open with my bare hands, rip out my heart and hand it to her, if that’s what she needs.”
Naz has a lot of soul searching to do in this book; he is literally being torn in two. He has Karissa at one end and The Mob at the other, both pulling him in different directions. You felt his turmoil, his inner thoughts and constant battling were putting me on edge. I felt for him on so many levels, he was torn, I was torn, he was confused, I was confused…you see the pattern…I just could not help but go through this precarious situation with him. I lived and breathed it, I was nervous as hell for him, I was scared, in fact I was downright petrified, after all JM Darhower is not afraid of a little death now is she!!
“She’s oxygen, and without her, I’m dead.”
But this book is a journey, decisions are made and actions are taken, all have varying degrees of repercussions, some good some bad, some ugly, some pretty…but this is the mob we are talking about, it was never going to be hearts and flowers. Loyalties are tested and second guessed but Naz is the master, he is clean and quick, in and out, ghosting around but extremely potent. Don’t for one minute though think that loving Karissa has turned him soft, far from it, when work begins to threaten the woman he loves we begin to see a whole new side to Naz, the protector comes out in full force and you would have to have a heart of stone to not fall for this man even more.
“I’m good, because the world showed me how to be. Very few have ever witnessed my greatest tricks, Karissa…even fewer lived to remember them.”
The beauty of this book though is the writing style; it draws you in and holds you hostage till the very last word. I was totally engrossed in this book and read it in one sitting, totally captivated and hanging on to every word. The angst and suspense keeps you dangling and fearful, knowing that every action has a reaction and you are constantly reading, sitting just waiting for the repercussions to hit you full pelt. I have loved this series, JM Darhower always delivers and right now I am a bit distraught, she has left me the same as before, no more Carmine, no more Naz. These men have a habit of burying themselves deep so you cannot help but miss them when a series is over and now I have another one to pine over.
I seriously cannot wait to read what this author pens next, a definite 1click for me going forward.
“I’m a changed man, that the person she loves isn’t the same monster she fears…”
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