Hey Everyone!
I've recently been working on several "BookTalk" posts, and I decided I'll be publishing this one first. If you didn't know, this post will be something like a spoiler filled post. If you'd like a spoiler free post on this book, kindly check my general book review for it here:
Book Review: Ravished by Ayden Morgen. I made BookTalk, because I wanted to talk about certain events in the book and share feelings I have for certain events that could spoil the book for other readers.
As part of the tour - 50% of all sales will be donated to the
Love146 charity to end child trafficking and exploitation the first week of the tour. Then 10% to Love146 and 5% to a Woman's Shelter in the US from then on. I think this is a great cause! You wouldn't just get a nice book to read, but you'll also be able to help people out.
Note: Mature content below. If you are not comfortable looking at such content, kindly check my other posts instead! Thanks!
RAVISHED (The Teplo Trilogy)
By: Ayden K. Morgen
Publication Date: 04/05/15
Genre: Erotic Romance/Suspense
Pages: 432
Buy it here!
Synopsis:
"When Tristan Riley drags Lillian Maddox onto the dance floor at Teplo, he intends only to protect his cover… at least that's what he tells himself. But the lovely Lillian would tempt a saint, and Tristan is far from a gentleman. Beneath the bright lights of the Vetrov family's dangerous club, the weary DEA agent finds himself captivated by the ballerina, coaxing them both into a reckless, erotic encounter.
But Tristan isn't prepared for the intense connection between him and Lillian, or for the fallout of their tryst. In a matter of days, their lives careen wildly off course, catapulting them both into a deadly game of hide and seek with the Vetrov family and one of Mexico's deadliest drug cartels.
Trying to keep his hands to himself while working alongside Lillian to stop Anton Vetrov's deadly new drug proves almost impossible for Tristan, but what choice does he have when being with her might get her killed? He should know: his entire family was murdered by people just like Anton.
When the stakes are raised and innocent lives are lost, will Tristan be able to let go of the guilt, or will he destroy his chance at happiness with Lillian before it ever truly begins?"
Spoilers Below:
"Death, it seemed, didn't care if she regretted her choices or wanted to make amends"
Well, that was quite a prologue wasn't it? I thought it started out great because it already started with quite an action. It already had me asking who exactly is Kalani and Paulo? What will be their relevance in the story?
I then find out Kalani is one of the many faces who is embedded into Tristan's mind as he tried to take down the ruthless Vetrov family. I felt so sorry for Tristan. The moment
"Tristan wanted her to be the innocent, out of place woman she portrayed"
She was! I was furious at Tristan for what she did to Lillian. I think the thing that made me hurt for her most was how he implied that she deserved to get her leg broken. How could he say that? Even if she broke the guy's heart, she did not deserve getting her leg broken like that. I can't even imagine how much pain she went through because of it. I did not like Tristan one bit that time. The moment Jason was talking about how she had a file with a red flagged address, I just thought she couldn't be part of it. I thought the worst scenario was that she was a Vetrov herself. Stretched, but I cannot believe she's manipulating him. In the words of Zoe, Tristan, you stupid, stupid man.
"Duty. Responsibility. Some days, he hated that either mattered much to him."
Yup! Tristan was a man of Duty and Responsibility. I thought it makes him a lot more manlier! It also makes him that much more dangerous [physically and emotionally] for Lillian. I love books where characters struggle so much for each other, and this book wasn't an exception. I loved the whole, 'Tristan didn't know what to do about Lillian' as much as I hated reading about how much pain they were in. If he was just any normal guy, I'd think he was too moody and complicated to be liked and even loved by the heroine, but the author makes him into this hero-like guy who has his priorities in life. Priorities that get in the way of his personal life! Gosh!
"Zoe opened her mouth to argue and then shook her head and stomped off toward the kitchen muttering under her breath that if they killed each other, she wasn't cleaning it up. She'd just step over their bodies and go stay with her parents."
I just had to put this in here! I thought Zoe was adorable! They were in such a serious situation, but she makes me giggle because of her actions. I would love to read about her and Jason's story after the trilogy.
"But sometimes, the end justifies the means. They did what they had to do to keep people alive, and let the courts sort out the rest."
It does. There is always the exception to the rule. I thought these agents were good men. They try and keep people alive, even when those people are drug addicts. They are to be blamed for the choices they made, for using drugs, but their lives shouldn't be discarded because they made mistakes.
"This was her life dammit, and she was done rearranging it because he was an ass"
"Tristan eyed the wall-to-wall shelves of books and DVDs, the uncomfortable looking furniture, the photographs spread across the wall, and saw nothing but her determination and persistence, and his own selfishness."
I really like Lillian. She is this strong beautiful woman who knows how to work hard to get what she wants. Unfortunately, she was part of a world that broke her dreams down. It was very true what she said about her world before. The people that surrounded her wanted fame or fortune. She just wanted to dance, but they spoke behind her back, or they talked badly about her. It happens in real life. I doubt it will ever change. People throw rocks at things that shine, as one of Taylor Swift's songs would say.
"Duty. Responsibility. Lillian"
That done it! He is as some people would say, moody, egotistical, annoying, hot tempered, too secretive and a-pain-in-the-butt, but he is also caring, sensitive, scared man who has this terrible past. I can't even talk about how he might feel/think growing up after learning why his parents died. What I do know is that he loved Lillian. I know it. Jason knows it. Zoe knows it. He knows it. He can be very troublesome, but someone he keeps making up for it. They way he went back and forth with Lillian was annoying as hell, but it is forgotten or at least set aside when he starts describing how he feels about Lillian.
"You do this shit because you feel like you have to do it. Because you were a thirteen-year-old kid and your parents were murdered. And that isn't your fucking fault, but you punish yourself anyway. You feel guilty because they were coming to get you or because you survived or who the fuck knows why you do this to yourself, but you drive yourself insane with this shit because you think that's what you deserve"
This is probably one of the things that made me feel sad for Tristan. He grew up doing the things he did, choosing the job he has because of what happened in his past. I understood why he's this hard-shell Lillian can't easily break open. He was hurt so much that his whole life revolved around that one tragedy... until he met her that is.
I felt like the story was really good because they were caught up on exposing the Vetrov family and stopping the drugs they plan on shipping internationally, but like what I said in my general book review, it stalled a lot while they were trying to gain access to the storage room in Teplo. I felt like I just kept reading about Tristan and Lillian's intimate moments. I would have loved to get to read more action now.
Also, I noticed how I never really got to read about Lillian's friends after she got home. They were so caring about her. They knew how much trouble she got into with Tristan. He broke her door! She was left crying and to top it all off, there was the talk with Jason in the hospital. I just felt like they were suddenly out of the story, even when they were like an important part in Lillian's life. I also thought I wasn't going to be able to read about Lillian's father. At least I feel like something more will go on involving him in the following books,
Lastly, I got so excited about the sneak peak in the end. I felt like that was very important for me to want to read the next book as soon as possible. I've been waiting for Tristan to finally tell Lillian about his feelings. He was such an *ss when he made her go home and wait for him. I just feel like book 2 is going to be a lot better than the first one. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I feel like I'll get more action there [Vetrov vs Tristan?] or maybe because I'll be reading about Tristan's admission that he loves Lillian, I don't know. What I do know is, I hope the author finishes it soon because I'd like to read it.
This was a 3.5 Star read!
Thanks for reading
-J
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