A review by jackie_of_all_books
Merciless by W. Winters

4.0

I really liked this story and I’m hoping that I did get to read the entire thing. I borrowed it from the library as the full set of all he’ll ever be and this is book 1. But it was only 184 pages so I’m hoping that is correct. Anyways I really liked this book. Dark mafia. Carter is the leader of their drug cartel. He runs it with his 3 other brothers, Daniel, jase, and denaco. Aria is the daughter of their enemy, and she is all that Carter wants. When Romanon asks him what he wants in order to form an alliance he wants aria. Romanon has someone steal her sketch book and she wants it back because it has a picture of her mother inside of it so she goes to a bar where she is grabbed and given to Carter. Carter keeps her in the basement until she will obey him. He wants her to kneel for him when he enters the room and obey her and she swears she never will. Jase asks why he’s doing this and Carter won’t give him any reasons but we know that at one point in time aria saved his life and doesn’t even know it. When aria finally falls asleep in her cell Carter thinks someone is harming her but she is having a night terror. He moves her from the floor to the mattress. He had a camera set up where he watches her and he hears her yell for Stephen which he assumes is Stephen Anthony. And he pieces together that that is who killed her mother. That is who gives her night terrors. When she confesses about Stephen to him she begs him not to give her to him and he tells her he would never that she is his and he doesn’t share. Jase has discovered that someone is taking their drug sweet lullaby and making it harder and putting people into a deeper sleep where it might be more of a weapon than a form of pleasure. Carter has assigned jase to figure out whose doing this with their drug. Carters nickname for aria is songbird because she is always humming when she’s content. Carter tells her she will only eat when he feeds her so she goes without food until finally she caved and allows him to hand feed her fruit but he makes her so wet she can’t take it anymore and scurries away. He asks if there’s anything he can get for her and she asks for a drawing pad. Jase comes down and asks if there’s anything else. She asks for sleeping pills. Carter tells her she needs a bath and takes her uostairs. He leaves her so that he can grab her dinner. She realizes she could escape but she doesn’t really want to. The bath is calling out to her. So instead she gets into the tub. And when Carter comes in he feeds her a delicious meal and then he bathed her. And then he fingered her til she came and then he took her to his room where he fucks her hard. He tells her if she’s good she doesn’t have to go back to her cell. He shows her that all the doors can lock from either side and need a code to leave so she can’t go outside without him and then even if she gets outside there’s a 15 foot wall and guards. Carter gives her a necklace to wear that proves she is his, his way to claim her. Jase tells Carter that arias father Talvery knows that they have her. Aria went through carters drawers and his punishment for her was fucking her throat but she says it wasn’t a punishment for her. And then he fucked her the way she wanted him to. Aria goes looking for Carter and he calls her to him and to kneel. And Romanon is there and tells him that he trained her well. Aria hears how they are planning to kill her father and her family. She asks Carter not to to spare them but he tells her he can’t or they would kill him and she knows that’s the truth and he tells her she’s safer here than with them. Aria is in carters office and sees the safe box and he asks if she wants to see it. She offers to get inside and freaks out and can’t get out and finally gets the lock off where Carter can get to her. All she could think of is hiding in the closet while Stephan murdered her mother. Jase has created the red room which is a perfect cover up and successful business. Jase arranged for carter to go to a meeting there with him. While he’s away aria thinks if she stabs Daniel she could get away so she holds a knife to him and asks for his help. He tells her he can’t do that but he won’t tell carter what she just tried. When carter gets home she’s wine drunk and confesses what she did. Carter is upset because he didn’t think she’d want to leave anymore and she tells him it’s hard for her when he’s gone. Carter tells her she has to spend her night in her call after he punishes her. He turns her ass RED. Aria had figured out that Daniel is also holding Addison there for her safety or so he claims. Aria has overheard jase and carter discussing this dinner and being told she needs to behave and be a good girl. She kneels beside carter and tries her best but Stephen and Romanon are there and it’s making it hard. Aria thinks that he’s going to hand her over to Stephen when in fact he has his best men dress up as servers and they come out holding guns and he has aria stab Stephen to death and it ends with him asking her for the knife. THATS HOW IT ENDS. The rest of this series better solve that cliff hanger right there I tell you what. But I really loved this book. It’s obvious carter is a Dom and likes to give praise and aria is very new to this. But he is teaching her just a little bit of tough love at the same time. Aria mentions how carter has never kissed her even thought she wants him to. So she feels like his whore. So I’m going to be upset if their story ended with her stabbing the man who gives her nightmares and that’s it. Like what happened with the war. Does her family come for her. Does carter ever kiss her. Lots of unanswered questions.