Review: The Reaper by RuNyx

The Reaper by RuNyx

Series: Dark Verse #2

Publication date: July 10th, 2020

Pages: 292

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

What happens when the untameable wind and the endless sea collide in the dark of the night?

Tristan 'The Predator' Caine had been unprepared for Morana Vitalio. After spending his entire life with a vow he broke on a rainy night, he finds himself torn in a battle between his painful past and an uncertain future. The only thing he knows? Her life still belongs to him.

For Morana, the line between enemies and allies has blurred. Everything she once held dear to her has disintegrated and the unknown gapes at her, leaving her with both her freedom and life on the line in enemy territory. The only thing she knows? His life has always belonged to her.

With twenty years of history tying them to each other, Tristan and Morana begin their hunt for the truth together. And they realize that the mystery of the missing girls is just the tip of the iceberg.

Skeletons are uncovered. Dominoes begin to fall.

A storm is born.

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Review:

Morana and Tristan are still fighting the endless fight against their feelings for each other while also trying to navigate a dangerous world surrounding them. The mystery of the missing girls is starting to heat up and there are starting to be even more players on the field than there had been originally. Including one who calls himself the Reaper. He seems to know everything Morana wants to find out but delivers his information in cryptic comments and careful prodding. He never comes out and states who he is what his vested interest is in the situation but he seems to be as tech savvy, if not more, as Morana. Can Morana find out the answers to all their questions while dodging a crazed family head, her own murderous father, and an unknown entity that is bent on silencing her once and for all? All the while trying to figure out what she feels for the stoic caveman that never seems to be far from her side.

I read the first book in this series and absolutely devoured it. I loved it. There wasn't a thing I would have changed out it. I loved the intrigue. I loved the romance. I loved that there was this great mystery for them to Scooby Doo Gang their way through. But this next installment was a little less riveting than the first. For some reason all the additional players and the twists and turns just started to become confusing. I felt like I needed to take some notes in order to keep everything straight which really deducted from the story. I feel like the book even left things with a lot of loose ends even though it was technically the end of Tristan and Morana's story so that the next couple books could be about Dante and his lady. I am sure the mystery is going to be the one thing that ties all the various romances together into one cohesive series but if I stopped now, after this final installment with Tristan and Morana, because I didn't care for Dante then that would leave the mystery unsolved. That feels like an unnecessary pressure to place on readers. Dangling the carrot of the mystery to force them to read about Dante's romance. That is not to say I don't care for Dante, I think he's interesting, but I don't find him as appealing as Tristan. 

I do like Morana as a character. She is a strong woman who is willing to accept a flawed man despite all his issues and love him regardless. That takes a special kind of woman. I loved that a lot of the situations that could have turned into a big argument was squashed immediately because she was willing to communicate clearly with Tristian. For example, someone told Morana they wanted to meet but for her to come alone. First, she didn't hide this from Tristan. She told him immediately. Then, when he stated she would not be going alone and that was final she just nodded and said, 'well duh, I thought we could get their early and case the joint'. She diffused the situation from the start and it is something I don't normally see in books or the heroines. The heroines think they can do everything themselves and there is no reason to involve their men in life threatening situations. Morana is no idiot. She is one of my favorite female characters.

I will probably go forward with the series because I am really curious about the mystery and what is going to happen with all the missing girls but I will be sad to not see Morana taking center stage.