A review by bibliophile90
Kingpin by Lili St. Germain

5.0

"We were like a match made in heaven. Wait. That's wrong. We were a match made in HELL."

Kingpin was a great addition to the Cartel series. I never know what to expect from Lili except that it will be dark, twisted and disturbing. There definitely were some parts in this book which I had a hard time reading because it was heartbreaking. Sometimes I forget that it's a book and that it's made up. I am just so invested and feel everything the characters are feeling. My heart broke for Mariana, she already went through so much and continues to do so. There are so many secrets, and she just doesn't know who to trust.

"He's supposed to love me. And I guess the most fucked-up part of all was that he did love me. Even as he held me down, he loved me in the only way he knew how. With violence. With anger. With pain."

Dornan is getting darker and more disturbing. It's like every day he cares about things a bit less. We are seeing how the Dornan from the Gypsy Brothers series was created. In this book we really get to see his dark side more. To survive in the business he is in, you have to turn off your emotions otherwise you won't survive. Mariana sees another side to Dornan that she maybe can't live with, and nobody can't blame her!

John is a great character that is pretty amazing in my eyes. He is definitely the type who wants to save people. However will he be able to save Mariana? I already know what will happen because I read the Gypsy Brothers series before I started this one. However we never really know how it will end. We will have to wait and see it from John and Mariana's POV. I will definitely reread Gypsy Brothers series after I finish this series!

I can't wait to read Empire. I wish it was released already. Again amazing writing by Lili! She definitely has one hell of a dark & twisted mind. (LOVE IT!). I recommend this book to everyone who loves an unique, dark, twisted and disturbing book with anti-heroes!