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A review by carleneinspired
Violent Ends by Jessica Hawkins
4.0
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Taking place immediately after Violent Delights, Violent Ends follows Natalia as she enters Cristiano's world as his bride. With terrible rumors about the Badlands in her head and a hurting heart from Diego's betrayal, Natalia is unprepared for the men, women, and children who make up Cristiano's followers. Are they there by choice or by force? Natalia does't know, but she must accept she's there for now. Whether she'll use it against him or embrace the desire she has for the devil himself is yet to be determined.
"Like a crown, black lace turned me from eager bride to cartel ruler."
I am well aware that I am the worst with reading the middle books in a trilogy or longer length series. I get way too excited to know more and then I always find myself shocked that I don't have all the answers at the end. I either need to stop reading them or wait till they all release. The good news is, Violent Ends doesn't suffer what many middle books suffer from. It is, essentially, an entire novel with a true beginning, middle, and end. Yes, it ends on a cliffhanger, but it also progressed the story along quite well, taking us from a more meek Natalia to a heroine with a bit more bite. I still didn't love her always, she can be dense, but I did appreciate that Jessica Hawkins put her into a situation to make her open her eyes a little. Cristiano continues to be the bad boy we all love, only he's not so bad, he just looks it, tastes of it, and talks like it.
The push and pull between Natalia and Cristiano continues in Violent Ends. The chemistry between them is the hottest flame, but years of hate and sorrow continue to be barriers between then. These two play the longest game of cat and mouse as they attempt to push one another to their breaking point, or in Natalia's case, Cristiano wants to see her give in to her true desires. Violent Ends takes us into the Badlands, into the devil's bed, and out into the streets where human traffickers hold the power. I really appreciated Cristiano's backstory finally being revealed to us, while it was obvious he wasn't quite as nefarious as Natalia thought, it was still a big blank spot for the character development. Jessica Hawkins gives us many of the answers we were left asking after Violent Delights, specifically why the path they must travel down is this one. Of course, it wouldn't be a novel about Mexican cartels if there wasn't more suspense, drama, and action, so yes, more questions arise by the last page.
While Violent Ends isn't your typical middle read, it still leaves you with that desperate feeling for more. Readers only have to wait until November to read the final installment of White Monarch and by then we'll all know which side is the right side. Are you Team Diego or Team Cristiano? I'd say right now, I'm 100% with Cristiano and his band of merry men.
Taking place immediately after Violent Delights, Violent Ends follows Natalia as she enters Cristiano's world as his bride. With terrible rumors about the Badlands in her head and a hurting heart from Diego's betrayal, Natalia is unprepared for the men, women, and children who make up Cristiano's followers. Are they there by choice or by force? Natalia does't know, but she must accept she's there for now. Whether she'll use it against him or embrace the desire she has for the devil himself is yet to be determined.
"Like a crown, black lace turned me from eager bride to cartel ruler."
I am well aware that I am the worst with reading the middle books in a trilogy or longer length series. I get way too excited to know more and then I always find myself shocked that I don't have all the answers at the end. I either need to stop reading them or wait till they all release. The good news is, Violent Ends doesn't suffer what many middle books suffer from. It is, essentially, an entire novel with a true beginning, middle, and end. Yes, it ends on a cliffhanger, but it also progressed the story along quite well, taking us from a more meek Natalia to a heroine with a bit more bite. I still didn't love her always, she can be dense, but I did appreciate that Jessica Hawkins put her into a situation to make her open her eyes a little. Cristiano continues to be the bad boy we all love, only he's not so bad, he just looks it, tastes of it, and talks like it.
The push and pull between Natalia and Cristiano continues in Violent Ends. The chemistry between them is the hottest flame, but years of hate and sorrow continue to be barriers between then. These two play the longest game of cat and mouse as they attempt to push one another to their breaking point, or in Natalia's case, Cristiano wants to see her give in to her true desires. Violent Ends takes us into the Badlands, into the devil's bed, and out into the streets where human traffickers hold the power. I really appreciated Cristiano's backstory finally being revealed to us, while it was obvious he wasn't quite as nefarious as Natalia thought, it was still a big blank spot for the character development. Jessica Hawkins gives us many of the answers we were left asking after Violent Delights, specifically why the path they must travel down is this one. Of course, it wouldn't be a novel about Mexican cartels if there wasn't more suspense, drama, and action, so yes, more questions arise by the last page.
While Violent Ends isn't your typical middle read, it still leaves you with that desperate feeling for more. Readers only have to wait until November to read the final installment of White Monarch and by then we'll all know which side is the right side. Are you Team Diego or Team Cristiano? I'd say right now, I'm 100% with Cristiano and his band of merry men.