Redemption: Part one in the Savage duet.Killing her wasn’t supposed to be complicated.Drug Kerry Jackson and get rid of her, that was his simple task, but he screwed everything up. Unable to resist the enticing young woman, Christian seduced her – and fell hard. Then it all went to hell. She beat him at his own game and disappeared without a trace.No one crosses a Russo and gets away with it.… trace.
No one crosses a Russo and gets away with it.
Night after night, their steamy encounters melted Kerry’s will and twisted her mind. Then Christian Russo turned out to be her worst enemy. He robbed her of her innocence, stole her trust, and made her life a living nightmare.
A second encounter would be fatal… for one of them. And Kerry was determined that it wasn’t going to be her.
Redemption is the first part in the Savage duet that will be concluded with Absolution. Redemption ends with a cliff-hanger, but Absolution has a guaranteed HEA. The duet can be enjoyed as a standalone, but the experience will be much more exciting if you have read the previous books in the Russo saga; it also contains a few small spoilers for Shame.
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After reading the title, it’s plain to see there will be a cliffhanger and part two. Knowing there’s more to come, I was certain I would be left hanging but couldn’t imagine a cliff so deep. This story kept me on the edge of my seat with it’s violence, passion, abuse fear and intensity. Kerry is determined to win and survive. Chris is determined to do the job he was assigned and kill Kerry. This all became a problem when an autistic, non verbal child suddenly talks and the tale he tells sparks Kerry’s curiosity and concern. The child is the son of Luciano Salvatore, boss of and uncle to Christian. Seeing as this is part one, I won’t say more about the story, just know it WILL keep your interest and wondering what more could possibly happen. I look forward to the conclusion of this complex storyline, it is bound to be rewarding as the author promised a HEA in part two.
There was always something about Christian when he appeared in the previous books, you just knew there was something deeper there. In this book though I saw a whole other that I didn’t really like. Kerry, where so I begin with her??? I really liked how she progressed in the book and can’t wait to see where she ends up. This author tends to have strong women characters, even if they don’t appear that way in the beginning.
This is part one of the Savage duet, in the lives of the Russo’s and WOW what a book. It’s fast paced, sexy as hell with plenty of violence, lust and suspense.
Christian Russo has been sent to kill Kerry, who innocently voiced a concern to the notorious Luciano Salvatore, he in turn sends his most loyal, vicious hitman and nephew Christian to wipe Kerry out.
After watching Kerry, Christian becomes increasingly intrigued by the sweet adorable Kerry and forms a relationship of sorts with her before he is reminded of the consequences of not finishing the job. The story unfolds from there, I don’t want to give to much away, but there were moments where I was fist pumping the air.
The author has also managed to make me curious regarding every single secondary character mentioned too, I desperately want their stories too.
Overall, I cant wait for part 2 and would recommend you read this asap.
Complete opposites
Well Redemption certainly blew me away. Christian’s story is completely amazing and Nicolina envelopes you in his crime family’s world that is made up of danger, action, suspense, darkness and lots of twists and turns, some you can see coming and others just hit up in the head.
Kerry is a the beautiful young woman who has the proverbial heart of gold She cares for David who is Salvatore’s autistic son. Christian is the complete opposite as he is the family’s hitman. But as they say – opposites attract. And Christian is definitely attracted to Kerry.
However, Christian has a job to do and it involves Kerry. But he can’t quite complete the job once he gets to know her. Then some things come to light and Kerry is running with Christian chasing after her. They are involved in a chase that only one can win or maybe not. We will have to see as this is Part 1 of the Duet so there is a cliffhanger at the end.
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are all my own.
Christian is his uncle’s hitman. Kerry is the teacher for David, Luciano’s son, who is autistic. When David tells Kerry that he saw something red, that is the start of something terrible. Christian is told to kill Kerry, but he falls for her instead. Unfortunately, that isn’t good enough for Luci and Christian still has to kill her. He tries, but Kerry defends herself and puts him in the hospital. But this isn’t the end of them. Christian has to have her.
I highly recommend this book!
Wow this book is really good, REALLY good.
I read the first Russo Saga book and it’s clear that the author has grown and improved massively since then. Which means I need to go back and read the other 2 books I’ve missed! It took a few chapters for me to really get into the story, though that may have just been more where my head was at than anything else. At that point though I was gripped and unable to put this down until I’d read every single word of it.
And oh my word how this story battered my emotions again, and again, and again. Goodness knows WHAT Christian will do to earn Kerry’s forgiveness in part two, but he’s going to have to pull out all the stops! This pair have such great chemistry but Christian made the biggest of mistakes, a mistake so bad that coming back from it is almost impossible. A mistake that is costing him again and again. A mistake that took the innocent, bubbly, gentle Kerry and destroyed her, leaving behind a barely function shell of a woman.
Christian is all things bad, yet somehow through his unrelenting misery and pain, the author gives us a glimpse of who he could be. She allows us to begin to forgive the monster who made the wrong choice and begin to love the man who will do anything for those he loves. Kerry is strong even when she is weak, her need to protect the innocent so powerful that she will go to almost any length to do it.
There is going to be a part two, and I’m already chomping at the bit waiting for it. I really liked how the author didn’t leave us on a ‘soap opera’ style cliff-hanger, choosing instead to end at a natural break point. I always find this makes it much easier to pick up the story, since you aren’t at the adrenaline fuelled emotional high the previous book left you at.
If you love your romance to have darker edges, if you love enemies-to-lovers then this is a duet to read.
I can’t believe how terrific awesome this story developed, what an awesome book it is!
I can’t stop reading and I can’t go on reading, at the same time. It’s so thrilling and captivating, the characters so good, believable and with so many facets and I hate and love them both at the same time. I don’t know if I am capable to read the continuation of this story in the following book.
I need some reprieve in the next few chapters, a happy for now so to speak. It’s so unbelievable breathtaking and beautiful and haunting.
A gripping book 4 (part one) in the Russo Saga and the author took us on a thrilling ride of suspense, manipulations, twists, danger, and so much more! It is an on the edge of your seat riveting read that hooked me from the first page and will touch on every emotion known. The characters have amazing off the charts chemistry and I could not get enough of them. This is a MUST READ!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the first part of a duet within the series. This is Kelly and Christian’s relationship which is a dark one. This story is not going to be for everyone due to the actions of Christian at times. It’s full of action, deceit, suspense, steam and violence. I’m eagerly looking forward to part 2 so I can see how this relationship goes.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I love the Russo series and each book has been better than the last. Christian breaks my heart and ticks me off, all while making me fall for him. He is a mixture of ruthlessness and compassion that causes confusion for everyone, including himself. I want the HEA for these characters, but it will not be easy. I can’t wait to dive into part two of their story!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Christiano Russo is the unemotional, efficient hit man for his uncle. He always gets the job done. So when he gets the order to get rid of a young woman who might ask questions nobody wants to answer, it’s just another day on the job.
But this time the “job” gets to Christian and things go sideways pretty quick. Both, the lives of the killer and his victim, are shaken in their foundations.
I read an ARC of this book through Booksprout. I’d read one other book by this author and didn’t necessarily care for it much. Her version of dark, even in this book, can be borderline abuse. I was also looking for her to step up and make her female h mature enough that I could enjoy the book.
Christian and Kerry made quite a pair in this book, but their relationship didn’t always make sense. She’s uber-attracted to him, but pushes him away, then doesn’t know why and won’t talk to him about it – all that is a sign of immaturity. Hesitation is normal, but not this childlike “no, I don’t want to talk about it”? That alone caused me to deduct half a star, as the character grew up a bit during the book, but not as much as I would have liked. In order for a book to appeal to a really large audience, and for readers to make a friend out of the heroine, she has to act like she’s over 19. And then to Christian. He was more violent than dark, more conflicted than dominant, and his idea of rough sex was written as really, really close to abusive and non consensual. I like dark, I like rough, but it needs to be written with a deft hand. That took care of the rest of that fifth star.
The story itself was well developed, but the narrative from the h was uncertain in places, and the narrative from the H was violent where it truly didn’t have to be. The story arc and character development needed just a tweak to send it over the top into being a really good book. A little more maturity on the part of Kerry, a bit more thought process in Christian’s head would be nice (think first, then talk-he’s a lot older and a hitman for heaven’s sake, he HAS to be mature). And since I had no clue this was a cliffhanger, that disappointed me somewhat. This is a story that should be read straight through, not broken up into two pieces. Why? Because continuity in this sort of story is very important. The fear that will slowly turn into acceptance is just beginning and the book ends. And ends, in my opinion, where it shouldn’t. Will I read the second? If I want to finish the story, I have no choice, and that’s the other reason why cliffhangers are a risk. Me walking away from a cliffhanger is total reality, I do it a lot. So when I see Book 2, I’ll make that decision then.
Overall I would rate this a 4 star plot, a 4 star narrative and arc, a 3 star on maturity, a 3 star on it being a cliffhanger. That makes it a 3-1/2 star book. I’ll round it up to cut the author a break on the stars (besides, cutting a star in half isn’t allowed here).
Where do I start without giving spoilers?
This is a duet so obviously, it ends with a ‘to be continued’
Kerry starts as a loving carefree soul. She loves with all her heart. She has an almost infectious lust for life. After an incident leaves her concerned about little David she shares the incident and her concern with his father.
Let’s just say from there it is all downhill for Kerry.
The events that follow leave behind a desperate hollow woman who acts at times on pure instinct and adrenaline. Her constant fear and vigilance have almost left her feral.
Christian did this to himself as far as I’m concerned. I feel no pity for the emotional pain ripping his soul to shreds.
There is a scene where Luciano asks him why he did it then? Seriously? (I would have decked him and I am not a violent person.)
Watching him bury his guilt with more violence and blood was a bit painful. He is what he is, he never tried to deny that but betrayal is betrayal and his was of the worst kind.
Luciano is still a self-absorbed monster whose heart is 10 times too small.
I knew eventually it would happen but I still I withdrew a bit when the moment arrived.
I have to say I Kerry was definitely a force unto herself. Her mindset didn’t allow for the best of decisions but she was pretty smart in her paranoia. When it came to protecting her self and she was like a rabid little squirrel. Christian definitely got the short straw in this scenario. I am not sure how he intends to fix this problem ~ honestly, I am not sure if the damage can be repaired.
IMO this first episode was more of psychological suspense at this point than a romance. The story line takes place over a couple of years giving us the events that triggered the characters emotional states, all the hows, and whys…
The story line alternates between their POVs and the timeline jumps back and forth a bit when we switch characters. This was a bit different presentation for me at first as the story line does lapse over the POV but there is a time difference in the telling.
I do know I need the second book now… please
The copy I read was comp
this was a totally amazing dark and twisted tale following Christian russo the older brother to nate. the pervious books hinted of this story and it didn’t disappoint. i loved Christian’s tortured soul. how he battled with himself and his uncle for the woman who changed his outlook on life. but the twists fall, leaving both Kerry and Christian set adrift. this is an amazing set over two books. i cant wait to read the second part.
This book is about Christian’s story. He is scary, ruthless and a killer with seemingly no emotions. However, he meets Kerry and starts to have feelings that are new to him. She is sweet, innocent, naive and has great chemistry with him.
I like how the characters from previous books appear in this story. This book is very intense, like the others in this series, but at the same time it’s different. There’s a lot of action, it’s very intense and angsty, but some of the other books were more angsty than this one. I’m intrigued by how their stay in the cabin will turn out.
I have to mention that I like how the women in these books are strong and pair so well with their alpha men.
I’m not thrilled that this is a cliffhanger, but since Nicolina is so good in her writing, I’m willing to wait for the conclusion of this story.
God I cant even say how much I love these Russo men and Christian oh boy your in for a ride of a lifetime, he is ruthless with no conscience and super hot all at the same time with the intensity off the charts and downright scary but oh no he is not quitting with the connection and obsession he now shares with Kerry who really gives him a chase and I loved her, her emotion and strength and bravery is outstanding and I am so proud of her. The character development is outstanding and I cant get enough.
First let me say this; I’m an incurable romantic when it comes to books. I always want things to have a happy ending, because we all know life just doesn’t always work that way. That being said, Redemption: Savage Duet, Part 1 has about ripped my heart and brought me to tears several times. To be honest, I’ve cried as must for Christian as I have Kerry. A worse set of circumstances couldn’t be found for two people. And you did see where this is part 1, right? So we have a cliffhanger and I for one will not be able to put this to rest until I get the rest of their story. I don’t want to give any spoilers because if you’ve been following “The Russo Saga,” then I know you’re going to want to read every word for yourself that’s why I was thrilled to receive this ARC and volunteered to give my honest review.
Redemption is part one in the Savage Duet and it’s an amazing story. It had me hooked and on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Christian Russo, is a hit man for his Uncle Salvatore. Kerry is a kind woman who cares for autistic children and takes care of Salvatore’s son David. This is a dark romance filled with twists and turns, suspense, danger, and it’s action packed. I’m looking forward to reading book two!
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book.