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A review by kindleafterdark
Merciless by Tracy Lorraine
4.0
After seeing so many rave reviews from readers whose taste in dark romance tends to align with my own, I finally decided to grab this on audible and it did not disappoint.
First off, this is the first in a series and ends on a cliffhanger. These are not standalones, so you do have to read them in order. This is a very dark, captive/captor, start of a why-choose romance. The first book seems to establish the makings of an ongoing plot, and gives us a first look at the male characters. I think the author's intention with this one is not to make you fall for any of the men yet, especially not Reid and JD.
Alana has a very horrific past that pains you to read about in the flashbacks. Reid and JD-her captors--are completely oblivious to the details. They don't know the intricacies of her unconventional marriage to Maverick, and since they are essentially using her for information, they are pretty brutal in the way they degrade her. If this is something you might not be able to get past, then I'd skip this series because it's prevalent throughout. Slowly, towards the end of the book, they begin to unravel bits and pieces of what she's been through, and although their inner monologue lets you know that they do care for her--their actions don't necessarily align with those feelings. I'm assuming this will change in the coming books, as the story progresses.
Each of the main male characters (Reid, JD, and Maverick) share a very distinct dynamic with Alana, and I'm eager to see how it all plays out because I just can't picture Reid specifically, groveling nearly enough to make up for the way he's treated her. JD caved pretty easily to his feelings and has already shown that he does genuinely care for her. Maverick, although he's the only one who has treated her with nothing but kindness and care, still has to account for the fact that he's kept her at arm's length throughout their marriage.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one and will for sure continue with the series. The audiobook was exceptional--full cast, duet style narration--I highly recommend grabbing it if you can. The only reason why I'm giving it 4 stars rather than 5 is because I do agree with a lot of the comments I've seen, there was a lot of orgasm denial, which I have no issues with the act itself, but I think other methods of "torture" could have been incorporated--it was a lot.
Regardless, I highly recommend for dark romance lovers, but ONLY if you can stomach degradation and are ok with not having all the answers with this first book--you will absolutely have to continue on with the series.
First off, this is the first in a series and ends on a cliffhanger. These are not standalones, so you do have to read them in order. This is a very dark, captive/captor, start of a why-choose romance. The first book seems to establish the makings of an ongoing plot, and gives us a first look at the male characters. I think the author's intention with this one is not to make you fall for any of the men yet, especially not Reid and JD.
Alana has a very horrific past that pains you to read about in the flashbacks. Reid and JD-her captors--are completely oblivious to the details. They don't know the intricacies of her unconventional marriage to Maverick, and since they are essentially using her for information, they are pretty brutal in the way they degrade her. If this is something you might not be able to get past, then I'd skip this series because it's prevalent throughout. Slowly, towards the end of the book, they begin to unravel bits and pieces of what she's been through, and although their inner monologue lets you know that they do care for her--their actions don't necessarily align with those feelings. I'm assuming this will change in the coming books, as the story progresses.
Each of the main male characters (Reid, JD, and Maverick) share a very distinct dynamic with Alana, and I'm eager to see how it all plays out because I just can't picture Reid specifically, groveling nearly enough to make up for the way he's treated her. JD caved pretty easily to his feelings and has already shown that he does genuinely care for her. Maverick, although he's the only one who has treated her with nothing but kindness and care, still has to account for the fact that he's kept her at arm's length throughout their marriage.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one and will for sure continue with the series. The audiobook was exceptional--full cast, duet style narration--I highly recommend grabbing it if you can. The only reason why I'm giving it 4 stars rather than 5 is because I do agree with a lot of the comments I've seen, there was a lot of orgasm denial, which I have no issues with the act itself, but I think other methods of "torture" could have been incorporated--it was a lot.
Regardless, I highly recommend for dark romance lovers, but ONLY if you can stomach degradation and are ok with not having all the answers with this first book--you will absolutely have to continue on with the series.