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Synopsis

In the corner house of an empty street, there is a boy inside a box. In that boy, there lives a secret, one so dark, it’s sealed with locks.

Nearly ten years have passed since the night I was captured. Tricked and betrayed, I suffered the hours of brutal torment with death’s cold whisper across my skin. And when the nameless faces that haunted my nightmares took everything and everyone I loved, I feared I’d never be free of the darkness.

But that’s the thing about fear. Over time, it breeds anger, and when anger fills the box, vengeance bleeds out.

It’s been almost a decade since I escaped their hell, staying in the shadows, hiding my demons, and God help them now that I’ve tasted retribution and crave more of it.
Blood is the price for pain, and I vow to take everything and everyone they love. I’m no longer a frightened boy, but the intrepid vigilante, a ruthless executioner, who will stop at nothing to punish the depraved few that stole my life and walked free.

The plan is perfect, except for her. The one woman I’m forbidden to have, whose soothing touch settles my fractured mind. My angel of mercy sent to silence the voices. Yet, not even she can save me from the black void wherein my skeletons lie buried beneath the truth. Because in order to feed my thirst for revenge, I have to destroy the very thing that gives me purpose.

Tooth for a tooth, heart for a heart.

 

 

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Review

4 stars

Oh, Keri Lake, you have taken us on another dark and gritty ride that is shocking, exciting and dangerously sexy, with the story of a ruthless-yet-tormented man seeking vengeance, and the woman that he needs but shouldn’t want.

This book is a spin-off from the Vigilantes series. It is set in the same desperate, crime-riddled Detroit, giving us a gruesome and horrifying look at the criminal underground, but separate from other books in the series and can easily standalone.

Ty is a man driven by his need for revenge. As a teenager he was subjected to unthinkable trauma – which is revealed in horrifying flashbacks – and he lost everything dear to him, leaving him shattered, scarred and desperate for retribution. For years he has plotted his revenge, and his plan is finally underway as he takes out the people responsible for his loss and misery.

Sera is young girl who is looking to escape her life. After the death of her mother, she lived under the controlling hand of her father, and she has at last rebelled, leaving home and attending College in the dangerous city. Her father does retain an element of control over her life through the fate of a loved one, but for the most part she is revelling in her new freedom and keen to live her own life.

Ty and Sera meet at a party and sparks fly. As much as they try to ignore their attraction, they are drawn to each other and unable to stay away. Sera recognises Ty as the dangerous, mysterious man that he is, and Ty knows that getting involved with Sera could derail his carefully considered plans. It’s an intense situation, but neither of them can stop the force of their attraction, setting the stage for a sexy, exciting and suspenseful journey for them both.

I’d tried to deny my attraction to Ty, to hold tight to what little self-control I could muster around him, but something about the guy drew me in. Like a suicidal moth to a wildfire, he kept pulling me into his heat. Luring me with the promise of something exquisite. Both frightening and exhilarating.

I could feel the pull between these two. Their flirting and banter is hot with a sense of easy fun and teasing. They want each other so much, and their passion for each other is intense, becoming almost out of control when they finally give in to it.

I’d rather have one moment with him than not at all. Even if it wasn’t beautiful and perfect. I’d date the ugly and messy just to feel it. To feel everything.

“There is no other woman for me, Sera. It’s only you … Like a fucking addiction I can’t shake.”
I couldn’t see his eyes, but I could hear the quaver in his voice, the unstable sound of a man on the edge.
“I’ll never be good enough. Not for you. But tonight, I’m going to make you feel good.”

And more than just sex, there is a connection between them that neither of them can deny, and the intensity of it all sucked me right in to everything they were feeling.

“Every minute of this is a piece of my destruction.” His ragged voice sent a shiver down my spine. “You’re going to destroy me, angel.”

The story twists and turns we see all that Ty has been through, and his plan for revenge reaches its pinnacle. There are secrets and reveals, and a whole lot of blood as he wreaks his vengeance across the city, but there’s also a surprising but beautifully written emotional element that had me tearing up as we truly get to the heart of the seemingly ruthless killer. He is a broken man with a hidden vulnerability beneath his harsh exterior, and I loved the complexity of his character – especially as we see him falling under the spell of Sera in a way that he never saw coming.

I was drawn to her light. Her purity and innocence, as if I’d been buried alive in a cold dark tomb for too long, before being given one breath, one moment of warmth on my skin. I craved her as much as the air and the heat I needed to feel alive again.

The urban setting is eerily but wonderfully depicted, showing the dark and dangerous world that these characters inhabit. It felt like I was there with them, in the broken down buildings, and the exhilarating moments as they survey their city from above. But that darkness also comes with some hard to read scenes, and there is a whole lot of nastiness in this book – scenes of torture, sexual assault, rape and murder are written in detail with little held back, and though they are sometimes hard to get through, they add to the feel of the story and give the details that truly allow us to get inside these character’s heads, understand their motivation and experience the story right alongside them.

But at the heart of it all is a gorgeous love story that is passionate, heartfelt and redemptive, and I loved watching these two find something so special in the midst of the darkness.

Having her in my arms made me feel invincible. Stronger. It made me realize the risks I was willing to take for her, to be able to stare into my future again without flinching.
She made me reckless. Fearless.
Intrepid.

Fans of the series will be excited by the bonus scene featuring Nick and Aubree from Ricochet, and with hints dropped for Dax’s book up next, I can’t wait for the series to continue.

4 stars.

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

Vigilantes series

 

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Giveaway

Keri Lake is giving away a signed copy of Intrepid!

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

The Escapist Book Blog is not responsible for this giveaway

 

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About the Author

Keri Lake is a dark romance writer who specializes in demon wrangling, vengeance dealing and wicked twists. Her stories are gritty, with antiheroes that walk the line of good and bad, and feisty heroines who bring them to their knees.  When not penning books, she enjoys spending time with her husband, daughters, and their rebellious Labrador (who doesn’t retrieve a damn thing).  She runs on strong coffee and alternative music, loves a good red wine, and has a slight addiction to dark chocolate. 

 

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