A review by shannon_cocktailsandbooks
Torture to Her Soul by J.M. Darhower

4.0

I am so glad J. M. Darhower wrote the second book in this series with Naz's POV. That POV took a hero that was mostly unlikable and gave us the insight to like him, want to put your arms around him and hug him and finally to give us a reason to understand how Karissa could love him.

MONSTER IN HIS EYES is a must read before picking up this book. This is a continuation of the story that was told in that book, except this one was told from Naz's POV. Naz is a cold, hard ass, mafia guy that you don't want to mess around with. He's the guy mafia boss, Ray, calls when he needs something taken care of. But as TORTURE TO HER SOUL starts, we realize Naz has come pretty deep emotional scarring from the betrayal by his best friend and being cut out of his family by his father. Instead of feeling the pain, he's learned to close himself off from feeling anything. It makes him stiff, awkward and a little OCD.

Karissa is the one exception to everything Naz knows.

She fights him. Back talks him. And when she's pissed, gives him the cold shoulder for quite a while. But he loves her and he's not willing to let go of her, just because she thinks she hates him. Fighting for her goes against everything he thought he was, but he does it anyone, because he knows she's the light to darkness.
I enjoyed this story so much more than the first book. Karissa, being so young, tended to annoy me. But seeing her from Naz's POV and watching her grown more into their relationship made me like her more. Made me understand exactly why the two of them worked so well together.

J. M. Darhower never disappoints me and I'm glad I was able to enjoy this series over the weekend. If you like your romances a bit dark, definitely give this one a try.