Secrets and Lies...
I’ve lived the entirety of my life wrapped up in subterfuge for one purpose—revenge.
Through the years, I lived more as an enigma than a man.
For so long, I denied I had a beating heart of my own.
Until her. Until she unearthed the starving vessel inside, forced me to acknowledge it, forced me to understand that
I’m capable of bleeding the same as any other.
For that, we paid. We're still paying.
Yet, she demands it still, the useless heart of the ruthless thief and shameless villain she fell for. My fear is, I’m no
longer that man.
With the lies I’ve told, the life I’ve led, my mistakes are beginning to catch up with me, day by day, one by one.
This is my last chance, and I have no intention of losing her again, but as the deception of my past starts to unravel
and close in, shedding my humanity may be the only thing that can save us both.
Maybe it’s already too late.
I’ve lived the entirety of my life wrapped up in subterfuge for one purpose—revenge.
Through the years, I lived more as an enigma than a man.
For so long, I denied I had a beating heart of my own.
Until her. Until she unearthed the starving vessel inside, forced me to acknowledge it, forced me to understand that
I’m capable of bleeding the same as any other.
For that, we paid. We're still paying.
Yet, she demands it still, the useless heart of the ruthless thief and shameless villain she fell for. My fear is, I’m no
longer that man.
With the lies I’ve told, the life I’ve led, my mistakes are beginning to catch up with me, day by day, one by one.
This is my last chance, and I have no intention of losing her again, but as the deception of my past starts to unravel
and close in, shedding my humanity may be the only thing that can save us both.
Maybe it’s already too late.
"Fate threw me the cards while Karma had its wicked way with me."
I think the truest test of wonder and amazement that comes with finding a book that kidnaps you emotionally and possesses you mentally is the kind that you become infatuated with. The kind you are thinking about days, weeks, even months after you've finished - to the point of shutting out the world around you just to revel in it. This book was that one for me.
Stewart proved just how fluent in lust, desire, and craving she is when it came to His love for her. He wouldn't walk away, but I also don't think he could have walked away. Cecilia was his world, the very breath he needed in order to survive. I loved the heaviness of his devotion to her because you could feel it with every turn of the page. I honestly don't think he would have made it without her.... the all consuming, clawing need he had for her was undeniable. But I also know that she had to weigh the drama he was going to cause vs the problems he was going to fix. That juxtaposition alone gave me pause for thought, so I can only imagine the turmoil he caused Cecilia to ponder.
This book had the type of drama that provided character growth and realization, not just story building and recovery. There were a whole bunch of backstories that were clarified and given the closure they needed.....or more specifically, I needed. I really liked that side of this one. A lot of thought provoking decisions and actions were made showing the natural progression and growth of not only the characters themselves, but the instrumental understanding of the plot that played out in the background of the first two books. It felt seamless jumping from the first two books into this one - that was just supposed to be an extended epilogue. All of the sudden I found myself caught up in their world all over again, reliving the emotions of the past while trying to lay the framework for the future.
"You always did love the taste of the tears you cause."
He was nothing but strength and conviction personified....He was all man and that gave me the chills. His love was never tested to the point of walking away. He knew his truth and maintained it throughout the last two books and I never once saw it waver. The grit. The reason. The unfathomable need to possess another's heart was something beyond compare and HE did that. HE showed that. HE proved that.
"Trying to reason with love is fucking pointless."
"Trying to reason with love is fucking pointless."
I loved that we were mostly in his head. This was His admission. His realization. And with that, literally everything and everyone - every scenario was tied together. This was nothing short of brilliant. This is the kind of book you finish and then close it only to stare at the wall, trying to make sense of everything you just read. While Stewart broke things down and cleared things up, the enormity of the confessions encompassed within these pages was outright mind numbing. The fact that we saw vulnerability on both sides of the spectrum alone allows for much needed discussion. Of which, I cannot wait to have.
"No matter how we came to be, we were and still are."
At the end of the day, the best part is, this was all extra. It was a book that was a filling-in-the-blanks kind of read with insight into a past that determined the man I fell in love with throughout these last two books. This last book was the literal icing on the cake. The perfect topper for the series - an unexpected yet delicious ending. Kate Stewart provided an intricate world full of intrigue and mystery with plenty of twists to keep my head spinning and my heart lurching. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
This series will sit on my signed shelf.
This series will forever sit on my favorites list.
This series will not leave me for quite some time, if ever.
It's going to hurt walking away from these characters and this world - I think that's why I haven't yet said goodbye in my heart. I'm not sure I'll recover...
"Faite pour moi." Made for me.
~BEE
"Her pleasure is mine, and without it, I'm not the same man."
My review: https://bit.ly/30gGZzP
"Maybe for now, I should just listen to the voice of reason in my head, instead of the addict in my heart."
~MEET KATE STEWART~
Kate Stewart lives in Charleston, S.C. with her husband, Nick, and her naughty beagle, Sadie. A native of Dallas, Kate moved to Charleston three weeks after her first visit, dropping her career of 8 years, and declaring it her creative muse. Kate pens messy, sexy, angst-filled contemporary romance as well as romantic comedy and erotic suspense because it's what she loves as a reader. A lover of all things '80s and '90s, especially John Hughes films and rap, she dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity only and does a horrible job of playing the ukulele. Aside from running a mile without collapsing, traveling is the only other must on her bucket list. On occasion, she does very well at vodka.
~CONNECT WITH KATE~
ARC REVIEW
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Oh wow! BEAUTIFUL review Bee!!! I love Flock and Exodus so much!! Fell head over heels with Sean, Dominic and Tobias. I can't wait to fall in love all over again with them especially Tobias with the way you described him. I can't to read and chat with you.
ReplyDeleteGreat review!! I was infatuated, too. I will never forget these characters. I feel like I have closure now, I’m mostly healed. Love this trilogy SO much!
ReplyDeleteLove your review! It makes me want to read it ASAP!
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read this series!
Thanks for the review. I need to read this!
ReplyDeleteYour reviews are often just as thought provoking as the book you review! Thank you for such an amazing review!
ReplyDelete