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p0laris's review
3.0
Entertaining, and it kept me wanting to read more to discover if what I thought the twist might be was really going to happen. Tbh I don't know if I would have guessed that twist if I hadn't already read a different series that had a similar twist (different circumstances and stories though), so that the setup felt familiar.
We don't actually see the answer in this book because it cuts off just before we do, which is frustrating, but I read ahead and the next book dives right into it. I love that little twist, and how it changes things to drastically, so I still recommend giving this one a try. Most of the things that people read dark romances for happened previously or happen off page (at least so far), so don't expect this to push many boundaries. I still stayed up very late reading because I really wanted to know what was going on.
With that said, there were some huge drawbacks, and/or things that made me roll my eyes, and because I took notes, you get them too. :)
Quick note that many of these things pass by quickly on the story and don't mean much in the whole of the story, but got immortalized in my notes because they stood out to me.
Early on: Wow, these guys act like children. Not young teenagers with strong emotions, straight up children. It's actually annoying to read about these guys who are supposed the big bad act like this (edit: this behavior teeters out by the end for most of them). Also they still live at home and sneak around and their parents don't know they're the big bad in the city even though the entire police force knows them and works for their gang's boss (a.k.a. works for them) and knows to be scared of them AND the one MMC's dad is the police chief. Please explain to me how that works.
Edit: the living at home thing is explained much later in the book, but why tf wouldn't the author just explain that to the reader from the beginning in one of their lengthy internal monologues?
The parents who brought her home to live with them disappear from the story after the first part of the story where their usefulness runs its course.
Tons of telling instead of showing. Like a very good example of that on every single page. It tells us they said something instead of just having the characters say it right then. It gives us long descriptions of everything and everyone in a scene before the scene can move on, and then on top of all that we get explanations of the reasoning behind their actions as they happen as if the actions alone weren't enough to tell us why someone was doing something.
These guys take one look at the FMC, and suddenly seem to have the perfect understanding of what she went through or might have gone through and what she sacrificed. It's supposed to read like they're putting pieces together from her condition after seeing her once, but it really reads like the character knowing things they shouldn't because the author knows those things. Or when another of the guys just looks at one of her fully healed scars and immediately knows that it must have gotten "infected a time or two" before healing.
Taking a trafficking survivor to a strip club a day after she's rescued......
His father is the police chief, his mother was there helping as an advocate for all of the girls they rescued, and yet he's immediately suspicious of her motives when his mother invites her to stay with them, because it was too much of a "coincidence." How is that a coincidence???? Make it make sense!!!! And I won't even get started on the other MMC calling her a harlot, referencing the skills she had to learn to survive over the years being sold again and again in the skin trade, all because he's jealous of her attention being given to the guys who aren't assholes to her like he is.
The dreadlock the stylist puts in her hair to match her own head of dreadlocks....
The lawyer mother has zero questions about how her supposed non-criminally-connected, squeaky clean son, got a trafficking survivor with zero known identity and zero educational background into their local college? Ok.
This girl somehow trained herself in multiple weapons while in captivity to the point that she's more proficient than any of the MMCs who have been training their entire lives. She's not only proficient with the weapons, but also with sparring, when her body count is only in the 20's. Facing 20 people would not give her those skills. How and when was she practicing with all these weapons in captivity? How does she know kickboxing moves if she never had access to the Internet and doesn't even know how to turn a TV or phone on? Where did she get this information? While I'm at it, how did she learn to not only read, but to speed read, since she was a captive from 5 years old until 19? This is never explained.
This MMC is not only a cop but so high up in the pecking order to the point that even senior officers take orders from him, but he's still in college and attends classes with her. Don't make me laugh.
Therapy isn't a thing to these people. None of the survivors were offered therapy, and it's never a thought that crosses anyone's mind when it comes to the FMC.
The contradictions:
1. This gang ruthlessly tries to dissemble skin trade rings and kills anyone associated with them that escapes from the police when their compounds are invaded. But their top drug dealer also does skin trading out of his own basement, according to their own words and they're fine with that because he's connected?
2. The asshole MMC is eager to pin the murder of the leader of the last trafficking ring they busted on the FMC and acts like their leader will blame her for something when that leader is the one who sent them to make sure none of them escaped (aka kill anyone who escapes), and who seems to actively be trying to end all these trafficking rings. Also they already know she's killed many men from those trafficking rings, in many different ways. So please explain why any of them, especially the leader, would be upset with her if she was the one who killed him? This doesn't even make sense.
3. The asshole MMC planted a bug and listened to a conversation where one of the MMCs begged the FMC not to go back inside to take down the last ring, and she gave him 3 months to take it down or else she would go back in. Then he's utterly shocked and angry when that deal is announced a few weeks later, like he didn't listen to their conversation.
She literally shut down five trafficking rings. Why is he so wary of her like she could be there to.....what? This reason for him to be an asshole (after the first chapter doesn't like two pages explaining how laid back and relaxed he was) is so contrived it makes me aggravated.
What kind of university has an actual bell for their classes, as if all the classes are at the same times? This isn't high school.
This other MMC got his position so high up in the gang because of his "business experience" but he's still in college studying, and he had supposedly been in that position for years. Oh and he also teaches all the kickboxing classes at that college, which the FMC decides to take. How convenient.
This asshole MMC is getting on my nerves. He has consistently dismissed any trauma she could have from her years of captivity, and every time he opens his mouth it's to dismiss her very real reactions to finally being free for the first time in her life, or to tell her how much he thinks she'll screw them over somehow (we still don't know why he thinks this). When he doesn't open his mouth and just thinks shit, it's even worse, like here, where he decides to drug and kidnap her so that he can tie her up and threaten to torture her in order to get her to admit to something:
"I doubt this will affect Jade with the time she’s done in the pit, but I needed somewhere that the guys wouldn’t get to as quickly when they discovered her missing, and this was the easiest option."
This fool doesn't even know what he's looking for, he just has a hunch. And he thinks that because she's used to it, that putting someone recently rescued from a trafficking ring back into a traumatizing situation won't affect her? If I speak.........
I've already read the first half of the second book, and he never apologizes, and is never held accountable (yet), he just gets more angry but doesn't try to do anything again. I doubt there will be sufficient grovel from him, so I'm preparing myself for the anger that will come when they probably just have hate sex at some point and the book will make that solve everything.
It says "this is a slow-medium burn," but don't let that fool you. This is a slow burn. A very slow burn. There's one scene where the FMC is feasted on in this book and that's it. One of the MMCs is 100% in from the beginning, another opens up beautifully along the way, and the other two are very hesitant in this book, and even more so in the next one still by hallway through.
This has to do with the next book, it bugs me that a side character's name is Mai in the first book but Mia in the second book. I did a search to be sure, and there is no occurrence of Mia in the first book at all.
The OW drama tag was added because side characters that were previously with the MMCs (but never dated them) cause drama a couple times because they want the MMCs. It's typical mean girl stuff that only really happens in books and movies because irl people are so much more subtle than this.
We don't actually see the answer in this book because it cuts off just before we do, which is frustrating, but I read ahead and the next book dives right into it. I love that little twist, and how it changes things to drastically, so I still recommend giving this one a try. Most of the things that people read dark romances for happened previously or happen off page (at least so far), so don't expect this to push many boundaries. I still stayed up very late reading because I really wanted to know what was going on.
With that said, there were some huge drawbacks, and/or things that made me roll my eyes, and because I took notes, you get them too. :)
Quick note that many of these things pass by quickly on the story and don't mean much in the whole of the story, but got immortalized in my notes because they stood out to me.
Early on: Wow, these guys act like children. Not young teenagers with strong emotions, straight up children. It's actually annoying to read about these guys who are supposed the big bad act like this (edit: this behavior teeters out by the end for most of them). Also they still live at home and sneak around and their parents don't know they're the big bad in the city even though the entire police force knows them and works for their gang's boss (a.k.a. works for them) and knows to be scared of them AND the one MMC's dad is the police chief. Please explain to me how that works.
Edit: the living at home thing is explained much later in the book, but why tf wouldn't the author just explain that to the reader from the beginning in one of their lengthy internal monologues?
The parents who brought her home to live with them disappear from the story after the first part of the story where their usefulness runs its course.
Tons of telling instead of showing. Like a very good example of that on every single page. It tells us they said something instead of just having the characters say it right then. It gives us long descriptions of everything and everyone in a scene before the scene can move on, and then on top of all that we get explanations of the reasoning behind their actions as they happen as if the actions alone weren't enough to tell us why someone was doing something.
These guys take one look at the FMC, and suddenly seem to have the perfect understanding of what she went through or might have gone through and what she sacrificed. It's supposed to read like they're putting pieces together from her condition after seeing her once, but it really reads like the character knowing things they shouldn't because the author knows those things. Or when another of the guys just looks at one of her fully healed scars and immediately knows that it must have gotten "infected a time or two" before healing.
Taking a trafficking survivor to a strip club a day after she's rescued......
His father is the police chief, his mother was there helping as an advocate for all of the girls they rescued, and yet he's immediately suspicious of her motives when his mother invites her to stay with them, because it was too much of a "coincidence." How is that a coincidence???? Make it make sense!!!! And I won't even get started on the other MMC calling her a harlot, referencing the skills she had to learn to survive over the years being sold again and again in the skin trade, all because he's jealous of her attention being given to the guys who aren't assholes to her like he is.
The dreadlock the stylist puts in her hair to match her own head of dreadlocks....
The lawyer mother has zero questions about how her supposed non-criminally-connected, squeaky clean son, got a trafficking survivor with zero known identity and zero educational background into their local college? Ok.
This girl somehow trained herself in multiple weapons while in captivity to the point that she's more proficient than any of the MMCs who have been training their entire lives. She's not only proficient with the weapons, but also with sparring, when her body count is only in the 20's. Facing 20 people would not give her those skills. How and when was she practicing with all these weapons in captivity? How does she know kickboxing moves if she never had access to the Internet and doesn't even know how to turn a TV or phone on? Where did she get this information? While I'm at it, how did she learn to not only read, but to speed read, since she was a captive from 5 years old until 19? This is never explained.
This MMC is not only a cop but so high up in the pecking order to the point that even senior officers take orders from him, but he's still in college and attends classes with her. Don't make me laugh.
Therapy isn't a thing to these people. None of the survivors were offered therapy, and it's never a thought that crosses anyone's mind when it comes to the FMC.
The contradictions:
1. This gang ruthlessly tries to dissemble skin trade rings and kills anyone associated with them that escapes from the police when their compounds are invaded. But their top drug dealer also does skin trading out of his own basement, according to their own words and they're fine with that because he's connected?
2. The asshole MMC is eager to pin the murder of the leader of the last trafficking ring they busted on the FMC and acts like their leader will blame her for something when that leader is the one who sent them to make sure none of them escaped (aka kill anyone who escapes), and who seems to actively be trying to end all these trafficking rings. Also they already know she's killed many men from those trafficking rings, in many different ways. So please explain why any of them, especially the leader, would be upset with her if she was the one who killed him? This doesn't even make sense.
3. The asshole MMC planted a bug and listened to a conversation where one of the MMCs begged the FMC not to go back inside to take down the last ring, and she gave him 3 months to take it down or else she would go back in. Then he's utterly shocked and angry when that deal is announced a few weeks later, like he didn't listen to their conversation.
She literally shut down five trafficking rings. Why is he so wary of her like she could be there to.....what? This reason for him to be an asshole (after the first chapter doesn't like two pages explaining how laid back and relaxed he was) is so contrived it makes me aggravated.
What kind of university has an actual bell for their classes, as if all the classes are at the same times? This isn't high school.
This other MMC got his position so high up in the gang because of his "business experience" but he's still in college studying, and he had supposedly been in that position for years. Oh and he also teaches all the kickboxing classes at that college, which the FMC decides to take. How convenient.
This asshole MMC is getting on my nerves. He has consistently dismissed any trauma she could have from her years of captivity, and every time he opens his mouth it's to dismiss her very real reactions to finally being free for the first time in her life, or to tell her how much he thinks she'll screw them over somehow (we still don't know why he thinks this). When he doesn't open his mouth and just thinks shit, it's even worse, like here, where he decides to drug and kidnap her so that he can tie her up and threaten to torture her in order to get her to admit to something:
"I doubt this will affect Jade with the time she’s done in the pit, but I needed somewhere that the guys wouldn’t get to as quickly when they discovered her missing, and this was the easiest option."
This fool doesn't even know what he's looking for, he just has a hunch. And he thinks that because she's used to it, that putting someone recently rescued from a trafficking ring back into a traumatizing situation won't affect her? If I speak.........
I've already read the first half of the second book, and he never apologizes, and is never held accountable (yet), he just gets more angry but doesn't try to do anything again. I doubt there will be sufficient grovel from him, so I'm preparing myself for the anger that will come when they probably just have hate sex at some point and the book will make that solve everything.
It says "this is a slow-medium burn," but don't let that fool you. This is a slow burn. A very slow burn. There's one scene where the FMC is feasted on in this book and that's it. One of the MMCs is 100% in from the beginning, another opens up beautifully along the way, and the other two are very hesitant in this book, and even more so in the next one still by hallway through.
This has to do with the next book, it bugs me that a side character's name is Mai in the first book but Mia in the second book. I did a search to be sure, and there is no occurrence of Mia in the first book at all.
The OW drama tag was added because side characters that were previously with the MMCs (but never dated them) cause drama a couple times because they want the MMCs. It's typical mean girl stuff that only really happens in books and movies because irl people are so much more subtle than this.
fabpisces's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
carolannbooks's review
4.0
I loved this book, Jade is a tru bad ass even though she has been through so much in life. Zander is by far my favourite, Spencer is such a dick and Roderick is hard to read. Kratos is like the Forbidden fruit that you want so badly to taste. Trent, I am not too sure of, I want to like him but need to know him more. I am on to the second book to find out who foggie is, I think I know.
spookyevilghost's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
books_with_joanne's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
la_vampiresa's review
5.0
Vengeance & Sin is the first book in the Vengeance city series. Please mind your triggers, this does deal with heavy subject matter and flashbacks that's not for everyone!
Roderick, Spencer and Zander are apart of a gang society that is ran by a powerful guy. They are assigned to protect a woman, Jade, who was in the world of sex Trafficking from a very young age and finally managed to escape. The guys may not be happy about it, but they help her adjust and easing back into normal everyday things. The instant spark between Jade and the guys...so good!
This is also Sara Hinds debut series. She COMPLETELY knocked it out of the park! I mean, damn, I was hooked! My heart broke for Jade. She has been in such an awful position, so early in her life. It also made me angry. It was an emotional rollercoaster. You have action, suspense, detailed past trauma, HEAVY sexual tension between Jade and the guys, personalities that work so well together...and Daddy Kratos...mm-mmm-mm
Roderick, Spencer and Zander are apart of a gang society that is ran by a powerful guy. They are assigned to protect a woman, Jade, who was in the world of sex Trafficking from a very young age and finally managed to escape. The guys may not be happy about it, but they help her adjust and easing back into normal everyday things. The instant spark between Jade and the guys...so good!
This is also Sara Hinds debut series. She COMPLETELY knocked it out of the park! I mean, damn, I was hooked! My heart broke for Jade. She has been in such an awful position, so early in her life. It also made me angry. It was an emotional rollercoaster. You have action, suspense, detailed past trauma, HEAVY sexual tension between Jade and the guys, personalities that work so well together...and Daddy Kratos...mm-mmm-mm