jvwxiriyxh 's review for:

Skin of a Sinner by Avina St. Graves
4.0
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

🥊⛓️ Nicknames: Mickey, Minnie, Bella, My monster
“I’m sorry princess. I didn’t mean to wake you” is the first thing Roman says after killing Isabella’s abusive foster family ever so casually and having his first encounter with her after 3 years of being in jail- for her. Not only did he get shot trying to protect Isabella countless times but he made her teenage years feel like pure bliss despite her living situation with her horrid family. He would pick and drop her from school everyday on his motorbike, do her hair- braids, ribbons, whatever she wanted, ensure she had eaten, provide her with art supplies and occasional gifts. That was all before he went to prison, for fighting the twins that had bullied Isabella. He sent numerous letters consistently and even though he had received none, because Isabella’s foster father and brother hid them, he never once stopped writing to her or stopped thinking about her. He made is clear she was his sole purpose that kept his driven in the 3 years he was in jail whilst she did everything to forget him, thinking he abandoned her. Roman Riviera literally got her name “Bella” inked onto his skin right above his heart- tell me that doesn’t make you want to melt. The childhood best-friends dynamic between them was absolutely adorable and whilst I don’t usually like that trope it was very much needed, it shows us how Isabella and Roman grew closer and became each others rocks to lean on, how Roman finally had something worth living for and how important they were to each other. My favourite quotes in this book are: (1) "If you break, I'll put you back together. If you run, I'm running right behind you. If you burn, I'll burn with you." (2) Give me names."  It's on the tip of my tongue to spill the words he's looking for. "I can't keep running to you to save me."  "You won't need to run; I'll already be there." (3) "The next time something happens, you call me. Even if it's just to ask which shirt you should wear or if you're out of snacks. I don't give a shit if I'm working, sleeping, or half-dead; you grab that phone, and you call me. I'll pick up whatever you need, even if I'm six feet under, Bella. There isn't a god in existence that could stop me from getting to you. So you pick up that phone and call me before you even think about calling the cops. Got it?" (4) "Do they have meaning?" she whispers as her hand skates over a fox.  "Yes."  She looks up at me through her lashes. "Why did you get them?"  "So when you look at me, there isn't an inch of me you don't like." 
Realization unfolds behind her brown eyes. Everything she's ever liked is marked on my skin for the rest of my life: her favorite animals, the trips we've done, things that matter to her. ⛓️🥊