Series: The Harlequin Crew #3
Publication date: June 28th, 2021
Pages: 449
Synopsis:
I thought that I was broken before, but my damage never tasted as bitter as this.
The Harlequin boys are more than just a memory now. More than a daydream of our youth and an idea to cling onto.
They're my greatest weakness and my biggest regret, but I've started to realize that coming back to Sunset Cove was always my fate.
My heart beat to the turn of the tide here. My skin only warms beneath this sun. And my soul will only ever be home on these streets and with the men who grew out of my memories.
But nothing is the same as I remember and the time for childish games is coming to an end.
I may want to pretend that the last ten years never happened, but the nightmare I lost myself in has followed me home and I can't keep ignoring the things I once did to survive.
The question is, will my mistakes be the end of me and my boys? Will the choices I made then change everything now? And will the life I never wanted steal away my own chance at the life I'm afraid to wish for?
This is an enemies to lovers contemporary series where the girl will end up with multiple love interests and all of the characters are in their late twenties. Trigger warning: this series features gangs, violence, dark romance and jealous/possessive themes.
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Snippets
"Out of interest, how much do you charge per hour?" he asked and I tried to tune him out. "I just need to know so I can save up my pennies for next time. Or do you charge per sexual act? Do you do special offers? Buy two hand jobs get one free? Can I give the free one to a friend?"
"That woman is the promise example of why I know women are the far more lethal sex than men. Every member of her cartel would slit any throat she pointed at, including their own."
"Are you trying to make me question my sexual orientation, Luther? Seems like a weird thing for my mob daddy to do."
"Are you watching, baby?" Mia called from her bed as she rolled in the sheets with some naked chick.
I was on my phone, Googling can people die of boredom?
"I'm just sending your gushing appreciation back to the boys. Ah look, here's a reply - Fox says he hopes you don't choke on any of it. Aww, that's sweet."
Review:
This series seems to have dug its claws into me and held on for dear life because the minute this book became available on Kindle Unlimited I pounced on it and devoured it in a single days time. The authors seem to derive enjoyment out of torturing their readers with copious amounts of romantic angst and devastating cliffhangers. Even knowing this after the past two books, I still couldn't stop myself from clicking on the book in my Kindle library as quickly as I could.
After being buried alive by her psychotic ex-boyfriend you'd think that would be the worst Rogue experienced. And yet, now she finds herself trapped in a safe under a collapsed building. After being shoved into the safe by Chase and watching him disappear into crumbling void, Rogue wonders if she will ever see him again. While there the only thing that keeps her sane is to remember the life she had with her boys before everything in her life went to hell.
The family that once was starts to crumble right along with the wreckage Rogue was pulled from. Having resigned themselves to mourning the loss of their fallen brother within the crumbled building, Rogue and JJ can't seem to pull themselves away from Chase's bedroom or the need to be as close to him as possible. Fox moves about the house as a ghost trying to come to terms with the fact he had banished his lifelong friend in lieu of killing him for his betrayal only to be confronted with his death saving Rogue. Even Maverick who plots the deaths of all Harlequin Crewmen is somber over the loss of Chase. But when Maverick inadvertently stumbles across Chase's prison he stages an impromptu rescue mission to free is brother and return him home. But the scars of Chase's capture are deeper even than the ones marring his body.
Secrets will be revealed and the deeper emotions, far beyond a meager attraction and fond memories, will cause an uproar within the ranks. Who will escape with their hearts intact?
The series had a definitive outline. The first book was all about Rogue returning and coming to terms with her rage over being abandoned and betrayed while also confronting her feelings for the boys she left behind. The second was a raunchy read of debauchery while also setting the foundation of the antagonist and the situational hardships to come. While the third was focused more on the memories that brought them all together and the confrontation of their emotions for each other.
With this book you get a better idea of how a potential reverse harem could exist within the ranks. All seem on board except for General Grumpy, Fox. And it is Fox's determination for monogamy that may doom them all. It feels like Fox has become the lesser of the antagonists now and I absolutely detest him as a character (Maverick will always be my sexy dose of crazy).
Carnival Hill is the third installment is what could be named one of the most complicated but delectable reverse harem to ever be written.
