Scan barcode
A review by lunadaea
VII: Seven by Lana Sky
4.0
ARC received in exchanged for an honest review
This book is a dark romance with scenes of explicit sex, mentions of sexual abuse, graphic violence and mentions of physical and psychological abuse that may be unsuitable for some readers. Please take this into consideration before reading.
* * *
Hot off the heels of XV, Lana Sky gives the sequel to her brilliant mafia romance. I jumped straight into VII the second it downloaded to my Kindle and I completely devoured it. It took me about two days to read the whole thing and I can tell you now, it did not disappoint.
Mischa Stepanov is an…interesting character, to say the least. He would have us believe that he is a ruthless, vengeful, vicious monster incapable of any emotion but hate and rage. He uses his past pain as fuel to maintain this persona, because it if breaks, you’ll see the true man underneath. His relationship with Ellen is a good example. With Ellen, he slowly starts to come undone, giving us glimpses of kindness, tenderness, of the man he used to be. It’s those rare instances where we learn about his past, about how he came to be the monster he would have us believe. These moments quickly became my favourite scenes in the book, until he backtracked and clammed up, accusing Ellen of using Jedi mind tricks to get in his head. It’s frustrating to watch, but understandable. He lost one love, so why have another?
Ellen Winthorp, our demure heroine, is demure no more. Her time with Mischa has seen her embrace the part of herself that she kept hidden from her abusive husband, and evolve into a strong woman full of grit. She becomes more than a match for Mischa, proving to him that she’s not the weak, pathetic girl Robert would have her be. Her growth has been a pleasure to watch. In XV, I got the sense that the innocent, helpless act was something that had been drummed into her head so it was the only role she knew how to play. VII gave us the real Ellen, a woman who, despite grim past, has the soul of a fighter. While she doesn’t engage in any real combat, it’s her personal struggles that have her fighting tooth and nail. She is haunted by her mothers mysterious past, taunted by snippets of information dangled in front of her and she’ll do anything to learn the truth.
By the end of this book I was left with more questions than answers. Everything I was led to believe in XV was torn away from me and moulded into half-truths and uncertainty. I found myself doubting the revelations, just in case they were red herrings. I paid close attention to the dialogue in particular, trying to read between the lines for a hint of a real answer. While we do get some answers, pay close attention to anything that could be perceived as one. It’s all there for a reason.
It is without a doubt that I enjoyed VII. It’s fast paced action and tangled web of secrets whisk you away in a whirlwind, blowing through every expectation. It’s one ride you do not want to miss.
4 stars.
This book is a dark romance with scenes of explicit sex, mentions of sexual abuse, graphic violence and mentions of physical and psychological abuse that may be unsuitable for some readers. Please take this into consideration before reading.
* * *
Hot off the heels of XV, Lana Sky gives the sequel to her brilliant mafia romance. I jumped straight into VII the second it downloaded to my Kindle and I completely devoured it. It took me about two days to read the whole thing and I can tell you now, it did not disappoint.
Mischa Stepanov is an…interesting character, to say the least. He would have us believe that he is a ruthless, vengeful, vicious monster incapable of any emotion but hate and rage. He uses his past pain as fuel to maintain this persona, because it if breaks, you’ll see the true man underneath. His relationship with Ellen is a good example. With Ellen, he slowly starts to come undone, giving us glimpses of kindness, tenderness, of the man he used to be. It’s those rare instances where we learn about his past, about how he came to be the monster he would have us believe. These moments quickly became my favourite scenes in the book, until he backtracked and clammed up, accusing Ellen of using Jedi mind tricks to get in his head. It’s frustrating to watch, but understandable. He lost one love, so why have another?
Ellen Winthorp, our demure heroine, is demure no more. Her time with Mischa has seen her embrace the part of herself that she kept hidden from her abusive husband, and evolve into a strong woman full of grit. She becomes more than a match for Mischa, proving to him that she’s not the weak, pathetic girl Robert would have her be. Her growth has been a pleasure to watch. In XV, I got the sense that the innocent, helpless act was something that had been drummed into her head so it was the only role she knew how to play. VII gave us the real Ellen, a woman who, despite grim past, has the soul of a fighter. While she doesn’t engage in any real combat, it’s her personal struggles that have her fighting tooth and nail. She is haunted by her mothers mysterious past, taunted by snippets of information dangled in front of her and she’ll do anything to learn the truth.
By the end of this book I was left with more questions than answers. Everything I was led to believe in XV was torn away from me and moulded into half-truths and uncertainty. I found myself doubting the revelations, just in case they were red herrings. I paid close attention to the dialogue in particular, trying to read between the lines for a hint of a real answer. While we do get some answers, pay close attention to anything that could be perceived as one. It’s all there for a reason.
It is without a doubt that I enjoyed VII. It’s fast paced action and tangled web of secrets whisk you away in a whirlwind, blowing through every expectation. It’s one ride you do not want to miss.
4 stars.