A review by bookfever
Ruthless Spring by Quirah Casey

5.0

Ruthless Spring is the second book in the Brutal Winter series and I'm super glad to say that book number two was even better than the first one. I don't say this lightly because Brutal Winter was one of my favorite books last year but the author managed to top it. The book actually blew my away with it's darkness and twists. I loved it so so so much!

At the start of the book Winter still has nine months left of being Giovanni Costa's possession. She knows he has big plans for her but she still doesn't know what those entail and on top of that there's a hit out for her. Meanwhile Giovanni's brother Maximo is still lurking around her, wanting to absolutely destroy her. Bodyguard Enzo won't stop him because he's as much as Maximo's plaything as Winter is. And Vito? He definitely has feeling for Winter but that doesn't mean is isn't a monster as well.

I loved this book in terms of character developement. The scared little mouse is disappearing and slowly she is growing into someone who's learning to bite back when bitten. And oh boy does she get bitten a lot! I really like that it was Lucia (Giovanni and Maximo's cousin) that initially told Winter that she needs to toughen up or die, and she certainly took that advice heartily. I called book one a slow burn but with this sequel I can't say that anymore. The darkness and sex scenes were twice as much, if not even more. And I loved it all! I especially loved that Winter decided to just go with the flow as they say. She knew she couldn't change her situation so she might as well enjoy it a little bit.

I still can't decide which of the guys I like more. I think I may have a soft spot for our psycho Maximo because he went through such bad things with his father. But in the end I really like all the men even though they're twisty as fuck and monsters each and every one. The sex scenes, though, we're all so very hot, like 10/10 on the spicy chart. WHEW!

Also a shout out to Amarie, my favorite secondary character (along with Lucia) who's as enigmatic as she was in book one but there have been some hints that made me think. I think we're gonna get some answers in book three not only about her but also about Winter. I cannot wait!

Ruthless Spring by Quirah Casey is dark romance at its darkest and at its best. It's one of those books that completely consumes you and doesn't let go until the very last word. I'm utterly obsessed!