Scan barcode
jackie_of_all_books's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this story and I’m hoping that I did get to read the entire thing. I borrowed it from the library as the full set of all he’ll ever be and this is book 1. But it was only 184 pages so I’m hoping that is correct. Anyways I really liked this book. Dark mafia. Carter is the leader of their drug cartel. He runs it with his 3 other brothers, Daniel, jase, and denaco. Aria is the daughter of their enemy, and she is all that Carter wants. When Romanon asks him what he wants in order to form an alliance he wants aria. Romanon has someone steal her sketch book and she wants it back because it has a picture of her mother inside of it so she goes to a bar where she is grabbed and given to Carter. Carter keeps her in the basement until she will obey him. He wants her to kneel for him when he enters the room and obey her and she swears she never will. Jase asks why he’s doing this and Carter won’t give him any reasons but we know that at one point in time aria saved his life and doesn’t even know it. When aria finally falls asleep in her cell Carter thinks someone is harming her but she is having a night terror. He moves her from the floor to the mattress. He had a camera set up where he watches her and he hears her yell for Stephen which he assumes is Stephen Anthony. And he pieces together that that is who killed her mother. That is who gives her night terrors. When she confesses about Stephen to him she begs him not to give her to him and he tells her he would never that she is his and he doesn’t share. Jase has discovered that someone is taking their drug sweet lullaby and making it harder and putting people into a deeper sleep where it might be more of a weapon than a form of pleasure. Carter has assigned jase to figure out whose doing this with their drug. Carters nickname for aria is songbird because she is always humming when she’s content. Carter tells her she will only eat when he feeds her so she goes without food until finally she caved and allows him to hand feed her fruit but he makes her so wet she can’t take it anymore and scurries away. He asks if there’s anything he can get for her and she asks for a drawing pad. Jase comes down and asks if there’s anything else. She asks for sleeping pills. Carter tells her she needs a bath and takes her uostairs. He leaves her so that he can grab her dinner. She realizes she could escape but she doesn’t really want to. The bath is calling out to her. So instead she gets into the tub. And when Carter comes in he feeds her a delicious meal and then he bathed her. And then he fingered her til she came and then he took her to his room where he fucks her hard. He tells her if she’s good she doesn’t have to go back to her cell. He shows her that all the doors can lock from either side and need a code to leave so she can’t go outside without him and then even if she gets outside there’s a 15 foot wall and guards. Carter gives her a necklace to wear that proves she is his, his way to claim her. Jase tells Carter that arias father Talvery knows that they have her. Aria went through carters drawers and his punishment for her was fucking her throat but she says it wasn’t a punishment for her. And then he fucked her the way she wanted him to. Aria goes looking for Carter and he calls her to him and to kneel. And Romanon is there and tells him that he trained her well. Aria hears how they are planning to kill her father and her family. She asks Carter not to to spare them but he tells her he can’t or they would kill him and she knows that’s the truth and he tells her she’s safer here than with them. Aria is in carters office and sees the safe box and he asks if she wants to see it. She offers to get inside and freaks out and can’t get out and finally gets the lock off where Carter can get to her. All she could think of is hiding in the closet while Stephan murdered her mother. Jase has created the red room which is a perfect cover up and successful business. Jase arranged for carter to go to a meeting there with him. While he’s away aria thinks if she stabs Daniel she could get away so she holds a knife to him and asks for his help. He tells her he can’t do that but he won’t tell carter what she just tried. When carter gets home she’s wine drunk and confesses what she did. Carter is upset because he didn’t think she’d want to leave anymore and she tells him it’s hard for her when he’s gone. Carter tells her she has to spend her night in her call after he punishes her. He turns her ass RED. Aria had figured out that Daniel is also holding Addison there for her safety or so he claims. Aria has overheard jase and carter discussing this dinner and being told she needs to behave and be a good girl. She kneels beside carter and tries her best but Stephen and Romanon are there and it’s making it hard. Aria thinks that he’s going to hand her over to Stephen when in fact he has his best men dress up as servers and they come out holding guns and he has aria stab Stephen to death and it ends with him asking her for the knife. THATS HOW IT ENDS. The rest of this series better solve that cliff hanger right there I tell you what. But I really loved this book. It’s obvious carter is a Dom and likes to give praise and aria is very new to this. But he is teaching her just a little bit of tough love at the same time. Aria mentions how carter has never kissed her even thought she wants him to. So she feels like his whore. So I’m going to be upset if their story ended with her stabbing the man who gives her nightmares and that’s it. Like what happened with the war. Does her family come for her. Does carter ever kiss her. Lots of unanswered questions.
booksarefriends_notfood's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Cursing, Gun violence, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Slavery, and War
nicki_theoverflowingbookcase's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, this book had me hanging on the edge of my seat and left me wanting more. Carter is the hot alpha male who has taken ownership of Aria to prove to her family that war is inevitable when it comes to drugs and their turf. The dominance over Aria had so many layers it left the reader wondering what exactly the end result will be. Can love conquer all in the end? This story had beautifully written characters and I cannot wait for the rest of it in the next book.
lexifjones12's review against another edition
3.0
Okay i loved this. It took me a while to get i to bc i was in a slump but once i got into it oh my god so good.
Very heavy on the stockholm syndrome and heavy shit so fair warning. Excited to continue the series
Very heavy on the stockholm syndrome and heavy shit so fair warning. Excited to continue the series
rinasreadsnz's review against another edition
5.0
I have been sitting on this gem for a while, patiently waiting so I could read it start to finish.
So, so good! I'm already in love with Carter and Aria's story (I was probably already there halfway through!) and can't wait to see how it plays out. I have a feeling I'm going to need the tissues from how intense this first installment was.
So, so good! I'm already in love with Carter and Aria's story (I was probably already there halfway through!) and can't wait to see how it plays out. I have a feeling I'm going to need the tissues from how intense this first installment was.
rchandler's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is my first Willow Winters read. I have been wanting to read her for a while now but wasn’t really sure what to expect. Overall not bad, but i have read so many amazing authors lately my standards have gotten quite high.
Not my favorite book or writing, but the story is good so far. I know there is more books in this series so I’m curious to see how it plays out. She left us on quite the cliffhanger!
Not my favorite book or writing, but the story is good so far. I know there is more books in this series so I’m curious to see how it plays out. She left us on quite the cliffhanger!
snf_83's review
2.0
Jesus christ Aria you twat!!! What a stupid woman. A female character has never annoyed me so much.
eajohnston's review against another edition
2.0
This was a serious no from me. I hate leaving bad reviews, but this book was just one big cluster for me. There is no romance whatsoever in this book. I have so many words, but I need to digest for a bit before leaving a complete review.
paigedonarum's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0