The Redemption

This was the book I never knew I needed. Macalister Hale was the villain you thought could never be redeemed. Vindictive, cold, manipulative, and so much more! Marist got her happy ending, Royce took his rightful place in the company, and Macalister goes off to jail. That’s the end, right? Maybe not. As always happens when the ‘bad guy’ gets their own book, they become the hero. Sometimes this is hard to accept and I was worried this would be the case here. The entire point to this story is to repair his image and make him more ‘likable’ within his circle, but what is fascinating is that it was the perfect way to repair his image to the reader as well. This one gets super hot and, as you would expect, highlights his dominating nature. Kudos to Nikki for a job well done!

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The Redemption by Nikki Sloane
The Redemption (Filthy Rich Americans, #4)
by Nikki Sloane (Goodreads Author)
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Babel Td’s reviewMar 27, 2020 · edit
it was amazing
bookshelves: dark-hero, dark-romance, sensual, steamy, redemption, age-gap, romance, drama, beautiful-romance, betrayal, surprising, suspense, revenge, good-characters, good-dialogues, good-plot, good-writing-style

This man! If there is a villain character who deserves his own story, and redemption, it is no doubt Macalister Hale.

I hopelessly fell in love with his ruthless persona in The Initiation series, so it is my dream come true that he is the sole antihero in this absolutely riveting novel.

He commands attention even in his lowest hours. And now, after paying the price for his many mistakes, he comes home to shadows and diminished ambitions. Even Lucifer, the family mansion’s black cat, is a damaged reflection of his present status.

I loved being inside his head. It is still terrifyingly hard in there, but also a place of rumination and self-judgement. He wants to let go of his sins, start fresh and better, yet he also fears that love is beyond his soul.

It really is a pleasure to read about this character. It’s like savouring an aged Scotch after a tide of cheap beers. Though I would have wanted even more chapters from his point of view.

Now, the plot.

He meets a young woman who surprises and challenges him. It is a duel of the mind which slowly translates into hot, carnal temptation. They strike a Devil’s bargain, and the consequences are a trap of wild emotions, strategic machinations, unveiled secrets, and a chemistry that rivals Caesar and Cleopatra’s.

I loved every scene because each one is laced with seduction and sophisticated tension. The characters may seem opposites yet they light a fire with their words and their bodies.

Macalister wants to extract her innermost secrets but Sophia puts up a relentless wall. An admirable woman in her resilience, dedication, and drive. Beautifully vulnerable in her desire to please the formidable and feared Hale king. I was mesmerized by every intimate encounter, they are all so intense and vivid.

It truly feels like a miracle to witness this man’s thawing towards a world of feelings. He never loses his imperial ways, his domineering touch or his strategic mind, yet he opens up to her fresh influence and it is a thing of beauty.

I was besotted with some scenes where they exchange texts, or at a lush gala where two amazing things happen, one of furious sensuality and one of inefable romanticism.

And oh the last part! It is spectacular. The sudden, heart-squeezing drama of it, it brought me to tears. How could they not be together after everything? It was excruciating to find out that secret, and then feel torn from their ardent relationship, but then the final plot twist was pure art. A masterful plan. And I have never read a more heartfelt act of contrition from a villain-turned-hero in my life! He still wins and gets away with everything

This tale is one of a kind, and worthy of as much praise as drooling over.

Favourite quotes :

I wanted to be the woman he’d fall in love with and break the curse.

I’d lived for so long with a broken heart, the sensation should hold a familiar comfort.

This was one of my most highly anticipated novels of 2020! Macalister Hale is the type of man that I desperately wanted to see redeemed, so when Nikki announced that he was getting a book, that was indeed called THE REDEMPTION, I knew I was getting my chance to see that come to fruition. He played such a powerful role in the first three books in this series, that he NEEDED his own book. I’m sure he wouldn’t settle for less, so Nikki just HAD to write his story.

Everyone loves a bad boy who’s secretly a good man. I enjoyed reading Macalister’s road from villain to hero. We only got to see a small amount of his softer, more vulnerable side in the first three books, and that wasn’t really until the end of the third book. He was the villain through and through in books 1, 2, and 3. Now, in THE REDEMPTION, his reputation is tarnished and possibly irreparable and he’s basically lost everything, in means of family and respect (at his own company) and standing in his rich community of Cape Hill. He’s now found himself reevaluating his life and what he wants out of it. What he wants people to think of him. He’s never been one to care what others thought, but in order to be redeemed, he must now. And Sophia is going to help him achieve his redemption.

This book very much had a different feel than the first three books in this series. Whereas in those books, Macalister was a legend among the wealthy residents of Cape Hill. He lived above reproach and took what he wanted. Win at all cost was the motto he lived by. In THE REDEMPTION, he was still very much the legend he always was, but now for a very different reason (if you’ve read the first three books, you know the reason). In this book, he still lives by his motto of win at all cost, but he goes about it with more than just himself in mind. He begins to consider the thoughts and feelings of the ones he loves. His road to redemption was all possible by the help of Sophia Alby. A woman over HALF his age. A woman he has no right perusing. A woman that challenges him both inside and outside the bedroom. A woman who is willing to “play the game”. She has the same mentality as he…win at all cost and he was the one she wanted to win. Macalister had finally found his match.

It was dangerous the way she made me feel. All-powerful and mighty, as if I didn’t need to control every inch of my world because she gave me hers. -Macalister

Uncovered secrets. Lies. Power. Love. Elements of Dom/sub and “Daddy” play. All these things played a role in this story. I want to start by saying, I am NOT a huge fan of age gap story lines, but Macalister Hale’s story was my one exception. I NEEDED to read it and I am so happy I did. I really enjoyed the development of Sophia and Macalister’s relationship. I loved reading how Macalister navigated his growing feelings for Sophia and how he tried to resist. Watching him drop his guard and be vulnerable and honest with her was beautiful. I liked how Nikki broke down his character and then built him back up page by page. She really did redeem him by the end of this book! And Sophia was the perfect type of woman for him and his temperament. I feel with redemption stories, especially ones where the main character of the story that is being redeemed, is from a previous book and has certain characteristics established, authors run the risk of not staying true to character. They run the chance of taming the untamable to an unrealistic level. They, in a way, risk changing the character TOO much. And that is the main reason I typically struggle with reading redemption stories, especially when I have already established a “relationship” with the character that is being redeemed. BUT thankfully I can say that Nikki stayed true to Macalister’s character and just gave us a deeper layer within him that he had laying dormant. Not even HE knew he still had the ability to be that type of man again. To LOVE that way again.

One thing that I would’ve liked to have seen played up a LITTLE more was the forbidden age gap element. I felt that that wasn’t as much of an issue as I would’ve anticipated (she’s 26 and he’s 55), but then again this is the world of the elite and powerful, so maybe it’s normal to be with someone so much younger and/or older than you? All in all, if you’re a returning fan of this series, you will want to read this book. Macalister is still very much the arrogant, conniving man you met and know from the beginning of this series, he’s just a little more open, vulnerable, and caring.

4.5 stars

***Note: I would not consider this a standalone. I would highly recommend reading this series IN ORDER.

4.5 stars. Usually guys who are Macalister’s age provide very little appeal to me in books, but because this is Macalister Hale that we are talking about, I couldn’t wait to dive in. In the Filthy Rich Americans trilogy, he was this insufferable, arrogant and domineering guy with wealth, power and intelligence. He was calculating, perceptive and always 2 steps ahead of everyone else in order to stay in control. There was a love/hate vibe towards him. During those rare moments of vulnerability, there was so much more to him underneath, including his past. So I had hoped that he would find a way to be happy after everything, given that he hit rock bottom. I didn’t know how that would look or play out, but Nikki Sloane managed to write it down perfectly. This new version of Macalister Hale is older and wiser after some very humbling experiences, but he refuses to be deterred and continues to exude nothing other than his usual confidence and authority. Sophia Alby is a former classmate of Marist, the girl who always knows the secrets of Cape Hill and and can bend the social atmosphere at her will. She has a goal to achieve and will need Macalister to make it happen, so with a lot of persistence, she does exactly that. What develops out of that is the common ground these 2 people find together – determination, single minded focus, previous losses and finessing a situation. They are quite the team and Sophia manages to spin Macalister into a man that Cape Hill is seeing with new eyes but Macalister himself is transforming, too, in the process, and I loved the changes. He is still Macalister, but there’s a more flawed and human side unlike before, where mistakes couldn’t be afforded or accepted because the game was to always win at any cost. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Sophie at first, but I wound up liking her just fine and saw what Macalister saw in her. Their chemistry is a slow simmer at first, but then it hits a boiling point and takes off from there. Like in the previous books, there are secrets and twists that keep me turning the pages, addicted to these characters and their lives where I can’t get enough. Another engaging addition to add to the Filthy Rich Americans series. I’m definitely glad to know there is more to come with other people in the Hale family in the future.

Im so glad Macalister Hale is redeemed! Sophia did annoy me a tiny bit at times, but overall this is a nice add on for the Filthy Rich Americans series. This was still a good story to read and there’s a possibility of Vance’s book too! I’m excited for all the things Nikki plans on writing in the future.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.