Drake Donovan exerts power in every facet of his hard lifestyle, especially when it comes to his interactions with other people. He is ruthless, strong, smart, and a hardcore master of manipulation. One thing he isn’t, however, is a liar. He is pure of heart, and he never lets those he may care for, or those he has sworn to protect be hurt in any way. Evangeline is a tigress when it comes to being there for those who mean most, but she is fearful and suspicious of anyone who might treat her with dignity, or love. She has no confidence, and she is very independent-refusing to allow herself to rely on anyone. When these two meet, everything changes.
Evangeline starts out as a quiet, simple girl with no expectations in life. She plans on working until her parents are well-off and comfortable, then maybe one day she’ll start living for herself. A southern girl with charm, and a ton of pride, she is bereft after she took a shot with a total loser who broke her heart, and demolished her self-worth after capturing her virginity. One night of trying to prove she isn’t broken turns her into a firecracker once Drake Donovan comes to the rescue!
The entire story is fast-paced. They go from strangers, to lovers, to obsessed-with-one-another. On one hand, I loved it. On the other hand, I thought it was strange that her friends were so involved in the beginning. Then, they just disappeared altogether from the storyline. I guess though, if this were the real world, these two never would have come up for air long enough to engage with anyone else who may or may not disapprove. So, maybe other readers wouldn’t even think twice about this.
Drake Donovan takes everything and gives everything. He is a complete love, despite his formidable and aggressive nature. I loved him and Evangeline together! I rooted for them! I wasn’t expecting his harsh, brutal behavior, let alone the turning point in the story whatsoever. Maya did a great job at shocking me. I was heartbroken for the both of them when danger came in close contact with Evangeline, with neither Drake, nor her expecting it. Honestly, Maya created a breakout storyline. There is so much mystery left, that I can’t begin to formulate what may happen with Drake’s business, or what else we may learn in the coming books.
Furthermore, I love love love the secondary characters! Truthfully, I actually liked some of Drake’s men better than him. I wanted to read more about them! Silas and Maddox had me laughing and sighing constantly whenever they appeared. I just loved them to pieces. I loved how all of the men throughout the book made it clear that they believe in treating women with respect and graciousness. Not to mention, they are all a bunch of tough, alpha-men with hearts of gold. Definitely worth waiting for their stories!
Therefore, this is most certainly another hit by Maya Banks! I am not going to lie…I went down one star, simply because there is one particular piece of the storyline that really bothered me. It was during one of Drake and Evangeline’s sexy, turn-up-the-heat moments. However, I suspect it is only because of how the situation would have affected me personally if it were my experience. I was completely turned off; I’m a full-on monogamist. With that said, to avoid ruining it for anyone, I won’t go any further into this particular scene. It is imperative, however, to assure all of you that it didn’t detract from the story’s appeal as a whole. After all, anyone who has read Maya Banks knows that she is fabulous at bringing a plotline to life, and giving us characters that thrill us on more than one level. So, I definitely will be tuning into the next installment without hesitation!
**ARC provided by Publisher**
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