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queerlitloft's review against another edition
5.0
The best stories are written by authors who excel at what they do, and oh boy, Nyx has certainly found her groove in the romantic suspense genre.
Amongst the drug fields of a sadistic Mexican cartel boss, Luca Romero finds herself fighting for her life, her dreams, and the love of her life.
A promising writer, Luca is ecstatic when her manuscript makes it further than the incoming post room of a literary agent; finally her dreams look set to come true after years of scrapping by.
Casey Soto works for Señor Vargas, hustling his drugs on the side and carrying out whatever is asked of her. But she's always had lofty ambitions and when Luca gets the offer of a lifetime, Casey knows this is her chance to escape to LA; just like she'd always dreamed about. With a golden opportunity literally walking around the basement apartment they share, Casey makes a snap decision to impersonate Luca. Casey knows she can rely on her charm to fake it till she makes it, after all how hard can it be - it's only a jumble of words on a page, right?
As the daughter of a drug cartel boss, Marissa Vargas knows she has to keep her cards close to her chest, not only about who she is, but what she plans to do to escape the clutches of her erratic and immoral father. What Marissa didn't bank on was finding sweet, bewildered Luca, imprisoned on her father's compound. Torn between helping Luca escape to claim her rightful place in LA, or taking the only opportunity she has to get away from a life she never wanted, Marissa faces a situation she never accounted for.
As tensions rise and pulses race, Luca and Marissa must decide between their individual freedoms or their flourishing love. Each has the potential to reach a deadly conclusion.
I delight in Nyx's strength to write characters which you love and love to hate; Stolen Ambition provides plenty of both. I find stories are infinitely better when an author can write both the protagonists and the antagonists with equal depth and quality; Nyx knows how to deliver this and it shows in every word on the page.
From sweet, adorable Luca moments, to 'Can I poke Casey's eyes out with a hot poker' vibes, Nyx has written a cracking set of characters to meet any and all expectations.
And the icing on the cake is the similarly strong and compelling side characters which Nyx filters into the overall plot. From mother figure Epi who helps to guide Luca on her first few days at the compound. To Arturo - the long time childhood companion and gay best friend of Marissa, who's slowly loosing his soul, committing unspeakable acts working for Señor Vargas. Each and every one of them fit together like a well oiled machine and at times their individual stories can be just as engrossing as that of the main characters.
Two others things that I enjoyed about Stolen Ambition; firstly, that the reader gets to hear from three points of view (Casey, Luca and Marissa), which kept the story moving along at an enjoyable pace.
And secondly that, yes, Luca is a soon to be debut author, however, rather than leave it at that Nyx uses Luca's career path to flesh out the finer details of the plot. I found it riveting to see through Luca's eyes the process of getting from A to B and beyond in the literary world.
Steadfast readers of Nyx's work and that of her wife's (Brey Willows) will spot plenty of Easter Eggs, something which when done well (as with Stolen Ambition) creates an awesome synergy across their back catalogues. Plus it's fun and quirky!
I could go on, but in reality all you honestly need to know is that Stolen Ambition is a fantastic and perfectly balanced romantic suspense novel. At its core is a story of deception and deceit, stolen dreams, risky and risqué decisions and discoverinv love in even the most dire circumstances.
Amongst the drug fields of a sadistic Mexican cartel boss, Luca Romero finds herself fighting for her life, her dreams, and the love of her life.
A promising writer, Luca is ecstatic when her manuscript makes it further than the incoming post room of a literary agent; finally her dreams look set to come true after years of scrapping by.
Casey Soto works for Señor Vargas, hustling his drugs on the side and carrying out whatever is asked of her. But she's always had lofty ambitions and when Luca gets the offer of a lifetime, Casey knows this is her chance to escape to LA; just like she'd always dreamed about. With a golden opportunity literally walking around the basement apartment they share, Casey makes a snap decision to impersonate Luca. Casey knows she can rely on her charm to fake it till she makes it, after all how hard can it be - it's only a jumble of words on a page, right?
As the daughter of a drug cartel boss, Marissa Vargas knows she has to keep her cards close to her chest, not only about who she is, but what she plans to do to escape the clutches of her erratic and immoral father. What Marissa didn't bank on was finding sweet, bewildered Luca, imprisoned on her father's compound. Torn between helping Luca escape to claim her rightful place in LA, or taking the only opportunity she has to get away from a life she never wanted, Marissa faces a situation she never accounted for.
As tensions rise and pulses race, Luca and Marissa must decide between their individual freedoms or their flourishing love. Each has the potential to reach a deadly conclusion.
I delight in Nyx's strength to write characters which you love and love to hate; Stolen Ambition provides plenty of both. I find stories are infinitely better when an author can write both the protagonists and the antagonists with equal depth and quality; Nyx knows how to deliver this and it shows in every word on the page.
From sweet, adorable Luca moments, to 'Can I poke Casey's eyes out with a hot poker' vibes, Nyx has written a cracking set of characters to meet any and all expectations.
And the icing on the cake is the similarly strong and compelling side characters which Nyx filters into the overall plot. From mother figure Epi who helps to guide Luca on her first few days at the compound. To Arturo - the long time childhood companion and gay best friend of Marissa, who's slowly loosing his soul, committing unspeakable acts working for Señor Vargas. Each and every one of them fit together like a well oiled machine and at times their individual stories can be just as engrossing as that of the main characters.
Two others things that I enjoyed about Stolen Ambition; firstly, that the reader gets to hear from three points of view (Casey, Luca and Marissa), which kept the story moving along at an enjoyable pace.
And secondly that, yes, Luca is a soon to be debut author, however, rather than leave it at that Nyx uses Luca's career path to flesh out the finer details of the plot. I found it riveting to see through Luca's eyes the process of getting from A to B and beyond in the literary world.
Steadfast readers of Nyx's work and that of her wife's (Brey Willows) will spot plenty of Easter Eggs, something which when done well (as with Stolen Ambition) creates an awesome synergy across their back catalogues. Plus it's fun and quirky!
I could go on, but in reality all you honestly need to know is that Stolen Ambition is a fantastic and perfectly balanced romantic suspense novel. At its core is a story of deception and deceit, stolen dreams, risky and risqué decisions and discoverinv love in even the most dire circumstances.
probably_reading_right_now's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have an unpopular opinion on this one 🫣 the concept was great and it started out interesting but the pace slowed down so much and I just wasn’t vibing with the characters. Definitely a disappointment for me.
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