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A review by foesandlovers
Cartel by Lili St. Germain
4.0
4 "I Fell For A Monster" Stars
I will just start this review by saying that this book is what I call Dark Romance. In other words, if you are fragile at heart, and do NOT enjoy reading what we call "Taboo reads", this book is therefore absolutely not for you. This book portrays some harsh content, please don't read it if you're not interested in this kind of stuff.
In summary, this story is about a nineteen years old girl named Mariana that upon her return home from school is faced with three horrible truth: her innocent boyfriend was killed in front of her for absolutely no reasons, her father owes a lot of money to the Il Sangue mafia clan after losing a drug shipment to the government, and she is now trapped in the tight grip of the boss of this clan, who happens to be called Emilio but could very well be Satan himself.
In the Il Sangue organization, there's only one way to pay off a debt, and that is with blood. Or, when an unexpected option offers itself, with family. What does that mean? Mariana is faced with two choices: it's either she willingly becomes Emilio's propriety or all her family, including herself, dies at the hand of this ruthless man for a mistake that was ONLY her father's. To Mariana the choice is simple, she can't let her mother and siblings die for a mistake that wasn't theirs, and therefore is hit with the realization that she doesn't own herself anymore. Because of the close connection between Il Sangue and The Gipsy Brothers, Mariana stumbles, per association, into the hands of Dornan. Cartel is the story of what happens when one falls in love with the man she should despise the most. Her captor.
I'll just begin by saying that this book was dark, very dark and cruel. However, the "sexual" elements of it weren't what was dark, it was more the elements surrounding the story that were what I consider "dark". That is why I wouldn’t call it “Dark Erotica” but more “Dark Romance”.
I have to say, I loooooove a good Dark Romance book, and mix it with a Mafia/biker club one and you have me VERY happy! And truth be told, this story sure did not disappoint me. At all. I did found myself, at certain points of the story, feeling like it was "too much". But that is exactly the beauty of Dark stories. It's hard to read, it touches some very uncomfortable subjects, but you keep reading because you simply HAVE to know what will happen next. Cartel was written in a way that you didn't feel the emotions that the characters were experiencing, you felt FOR them. Pity, Sadness, Resignation, etc.
Cartel, to me, was great in all its aspects. There is absolutely nothing I would have changed. This was my first Lili St-Germain's book, and it sure won't be my last. I can't wait to read what happens next with Dornan and Mariana! I need the second book NOW!
Lastly, I recommend this book to anyone who loves Dark Romance or is interested in anything that is taboo.
I will just start this review by saying that this book is what I call Dark Romance. In other words, if you are fragile at heart, and do NOT enjoy reading what we call "Taboo reads", this book is therefore absolutely not for you. This book portrays some harsh content, please don't read it if you're not interested in this kind of stuff.
In summary, this story is about a nineteen years old girl named Mariana that upon her return home from school is faced with three horrible truth: her innocent boyfriend was killed in front of her for absolutely no reasons, her father owes a lot of money to the Il Sangue mafia clan after losing a drug shipment to the government, and she is now trapped in the tight grip of the boss of this clan, who happens to be called Emilio but could very well be Satan himself.
In the Il Sangue organization, there's only one way to pay off a debt, and that is with blood. Or, when an unexpected option offers itself, with family. What does that mean? Mariana is faced with two choices: it's either she willingly becomes Emilio's propriety or all her family, including herself, dies at the hand of this ruthless man for a mistake that was ONLY her father's. To Mariana the choice is simple, she can't let her mother and siblings die for a mistake that wasn't theirs, and therefore is hit with the realization that she doesn't own herself anymore. Because of the close connection between Il Sangue and The Gipsy Brothers, Mariana stumbles, per association, into the hands of Dornan. Cartel is the story of what happens when one falls in love with the man she should despise the most. Her captor.
I'll just begin by saying that this book was dark, very dark and cruel. However, the "sexual" elements of it weren't what was dark, it was more the elements surrounding the story that were what I consider "dark". That is why I wouldn’t call it “Dark Erotica” but more “Dark Romance”.
I have to say, I loooooove a good Dark Romance book, and mix it with a Mafia/biker club one and you have me VERY happy! And truth be told, this story sure did not disappoint me. At all. I did found myself, at certain points of the story, feeling like it was "too much". But that is exactly the beauty of Dark stories. It's hard to read, it touches some very uncomfortable subjects, but you keep reading because you simply HAVE to know what will happen next. Cartel was written in a way that you didn't feel the emotions that the characters were experiencing, you felt FOR them. Pity, Sadness, Resignation, etc.
Cartel, to me, was great in all its aspects. There is absolutely nothing I would have changed. This was my first Lili St-Germain's book, and it sure won't be my last. I can't wait to read what happens next with Dornan and Mariana! I need the second book NOW!
Lastly, I recommend this book to anyone who loves Dark Romance or is interested in anything that is taboo.