A review by booksabrewin
Evolve by Bex Dawn

4.0

Ella doesn't know how to cope with what happened to her. She was attacked viciously by her ex-boyfriend and saved by the men she was starting to get to know better. Always the meek little mouse she withdraws even more into herself until she is practically afraid of her own shadow. But the men in her life refuse to let her curl up and die. They coax her out of her shell and show her what it means to stand on one's own two feet. But the problem lies in the fact that now that they have Ella seeing herself as a fighter and not a victim, will she go too far and put herself in unnecessary danger? Have they built her up so much with affection and confidence that she plans to leave them behind? Or does she just want a dose of independence?

Maddox, Gage, Stone, and Nyx each have their own baggage to deal with along with Ella's. Maddox flies into rages after being betrayed by his ex-girlfriend. Gage has a tight grip on his control after tragedy struck the last time he was in the boxing ring. Stone has an eversion to touch and has a darker taste when it comes to sex. And Nyx blames himself for Ella's hardships because he should have done more for her when he met her on that bridge so long ago. He pushes her away hard to try to save her from getting hurt by him again. These wounded men are also the most powerful men in the city. They are the heads of the Los Diablos Syndicate underneath Gage and Maddox's father. And they will stop at nothing to keep Ella safe even if that means putting them directly in the line of fire of their father.

I liked watching Ella kind of come into her own. She went from weakling to warrior in no time. She fought tooth and nail to recover from her trauma and it really didn't seem to cause her much strife which made me feel for her all the more when her past started to come out. No wonder she was so skittish! I think she was a very thoroughly developed character and the author really did a good job of making her psychologically go through the rollercoaster of healing from her situation.

I love Maddox, Gage, and Stone, but that Nyx is getting on my last damned nerve! Why is he so cruel to her? I just don't understand why he wants to hurt her so bad. He even agreed to the fact that she should stay with them but then is constantly trying to push her away. The scene with the girl he brought home? Like, what did he want to happen? Her to run out of the building in fury and never return? He knew she was in dangerous and that she had to stay put so why in the hell would he torture her like that? I just don't understand that man and it is infuriating. I hope Ella, at some point, misses in her training and kicks him in the no-no square.

This book was good. It was more enticing then the last few but it is very heavy sometimes. But damn if the brothers in this book aren't the hottest things on this fictitious planet. Brava, Ella. Good catches.