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Series: Graves Crime Syndicate #1
Publication date: May 18th, 2022
Pages: 258
Spice: 🌶️
Synopsis:
Allison
My world was wrapped in the comfort and security of Devon and the life that we were building together after overcoming infertility. He was the better half between us, and I was excited to bring another part of him into the world through our child. But, when Devon attempts to stop a mugging and is killed, the man my husband died to save and his brothers are forcing me to survive, refusing to have another innocent's blood on their hands.
There's Huxley, the computer and business genius Devon saved who pushes the boundaries for me.
David, the doctor that pulled the bullet out of my side only after our agreement, who looks at me like a test subject.
Vyk, the caretaker who refuses to let his cheerful attitude be extinguished by the darkness around him and makes the best bacon.
and,
Blue-Eyes, their unspoken leader that is intent on keeping me out of their world and is straining to keep a hold on his control.
Adopted by Weston Graves in their teens, they were raided to be upstanding citizens by day and illegal smugglers by night. They understand the darkness that lurks in the city's underside and insist on keeping me under their protection. I'll stay with them until the threat against me is eliminated and if they let me set the retribution price for Devon's life.
What do I want?
I want to be in the room when the man who murdered my husband is killed.
Warning: This book is a dark romance that is intended for mature audiences. There are scenes of torture and extreme grief included within the text that may-not be suitable for children under 17.
--Widow is a 70k full-length mafia/gang new adult romance. It ends on a cliffhanger with an eventual reverse harem ("why choose" theme) and HEA. It is the first book in a series.--
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Review:
Allison has always depended on her husband Devon to be the outgoing side of her introverted nature. She is uncomfortable around people other than him and tends to worry far more than a normal person does. He is the touchstone she has always depended on to feel calm. And in a quick second decision he is ripped from her life without warning. When Allison and Devon stumble onto what appeared to be a mugging, Devon leaps into action to try to run the mugger off but ends up paying the ultimate price for it. Allison, in her grief rushes to him onto to received a bullet herself. The man her husband saved, Huxley, decides there and then to repay the kindness of Devon's sacrifice by tending to his wife and the mother of his unborn child. It is there where she weathers the worst of her grief with the help of the jovial Viking, the smiling Huxley, the doting doctor David, and the stoically silent Matthew. But what if there is more to this story than just a mugging gone wrong? What if the revenge that Allison demands, a life for a life, comes with realizations that she was on a run away train of pain and destruction before the men ever entered her world?
Finally! I have been dying to find my first 5-star read of the new year through at least 5 books so far. And here it is in all its glory. The most fascinating thing is that in this book there is no romance. None. No pining, no heated looks, no stolen kisses or rolls in the hay, nothing. It was simply four men and one pregnant woman living together in dysfunctional harmony while they try to keep Allison safe and her unborn child healthy. There is danger and there is action. There is heartbreaking grief that truly highlights the stages of grief and how one deals with them. I was so ravenous for this book that I read it all in one sitting. I barely could put my Kindle Scribe down long enough to sleep for the night before waking up and diving back into it.
Allison is such an unconventional character. There is definitely something odd about her. She has a think about textures and even certain actions that seem a bit odd. She spirals really easily but not in a weepy, invalid way but more in a worrying that she is messing things up way. She has some idiosyncrasies that make me curious about her mental status. Even David cited wanting to do a psychological evaluation on her to try to understand the way her brain worked while she processed her grief. I think she is such an unusual and unique character that I delighted in getting to know her. My heart broke for her and also soared anytime she received comfort from one of the men. I do hope the author delves deeper into her mind in the next book.
As with any book that has reverse harem vibes I always have a favorite. And, no surprise, I love Matthew. He feels so much but refuses to let it show. He prefers to be the unmoving rock in a wind storm that is Allison. She needs that stability more than anything else and he is more than willing to be that for her even if he pretends to not care one way or the other about her. He is as blunt as she is which really compliments each other and makes for some heated exchanges (still not romantic).
I loved this book from cover to cover. It has mystery, it has heart, and it has poetic writing that shows the author's skill in her area of expertise. April Skye has become one of those authors who I will read anything they write.
