Southern California is in the middle of a heatwave but that doesn’t hold a candle to Arizona in the middle of the summer.Austin Miller, the enforcer for Southern California’s crime boss, takes over after his boss and mentor dies. He’s set on revenge against the people responsible for Victor’s death and he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants.Melina Fernandez has never wanted anything to do … has never wanted anything to do with her brother’s criminal organization and has nothing to do with the hit he ordered on Southern California’s leader. She’s caught in the middle of a deadly game and her brother plans to sell her to the highest bidder as soon as possible.
When Melina is kidnapped by Austin, her worst nightmares are realized. It’s not her body he wants, it’s her flesh and her sanity. Trapped in a dark basement for days she decides to unravel her life story while Austin works on mutilating her skin with a tattoo machine.
When Moon, the crime lord of Arizona steps into help, Melina might find her salvation. The clock is ticking and her brother now wants her dead. Austin isn’t a man for games but he does want Melina at any cost, even his life.
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A mad, bad anti-hero set on revenge, using a girl who has already lost all hope.
This is a fairly dark ‘romance’, though it doesn’t have any non-con or dub-con sexual situations. Both the hero and heroine have suffered abuse in the past, and whilst this is mentioned and discussed, it isn’t visited in intense detail in the book.
This is a new-to-me author, but one who I have seen recommended by readers who seem to enjoy similar books to me. The blurb sounded very interesting and it was part of the kindle unlimited programme, so I took advantage of trying this book whilst I could.
This book definitely had its dark moments, the hero could be very unpleasant to both Melina and those who crossed him. However it wasn’t quite as dark as I had expected, more of a romantic suspense in some ways than either a dark romance or a mafia/organised crime romance. Perhaps if I had read previous linked books I would have had different expectations of the book.
I found the blurb a little misleading, the book commences with Melina having already been kidnapped. The events that precede the kidnapping are thought about and discussed but are not experience ‘first hand’, so to speak. Austin is the kidnapper, cold, aloof and hell bent on revenge. Melina is not only his victim but the victim of life long violence and abuse. As Austin tattoos her against her will Melina share stories of her life, both good and bad. What starts as a means for Austin to avenge the murder of the only people he’s ever cared for, turns into a battle not to feel. Melina knows that her brother won’t want her if and when she is returned. What little value she did have will be lost and all she can hope for is a quick death.
The book is written in first person view, and we have chapters from both Melina and Austin’s view points. This allowed me to get a good feel for both characters and to truly understand them. Austin was trying to hurt and punish Melina’s brother because he had raped and tortured an innocent female that Austin cared about. Despite being angered by these events, in his head he somehow justified behaving in a very similar manner. I personally found it difficult to reconcile his actions against Melina with his ‘righteous indignation’ regarding his boss’s wife. However this did help in the creation of a much darker anti-hero.
I could see how Austin became obsessed with Melina. She stripped herself bare both literally and metaphorically in front of this man, yet she retained her strength and dignity throughout. She reopened old wounds, gave truths never uttered before and shared her most precious and private memories. I found it difficult to see how Melina fell for Austin. He rarely treated her with kindness, barely interacted with her verbally and refused to believe her most dreadful truth. Stockholm syndrome aside, the author didn’t quite convince me of where Melina’s feelings had stemmed from.
The writing was good, the plot and pace kept me engaged and I was interested enough in the story to want to complete it. I’d started and discarded 3 other KU books before settling on this one! It is a good, solid read with plenty of darkness and some quite extreme S&M. Due to the content of the book, it is definitely an 18+ read and really for fans of BDSM and dark romances.
Austin Miller has gone through what a child should never have to. But that experience is part of the reason of what he is as an adult. Melina Maria Fernandez suffers revenge at someone else’s hand. Some may want to call it abuse and only you can decide which it is. It’s a story with some very strong emotions so don’t go into this story expecting smiles or hearts and flowers. It’s a dark tale that’s raw with no excuses.
Even knowing how dark the tale is, I found myself wanting to know what came before. But I didn’t feel, at any time, that I needed the previous five books in order to understand what was going on here. I did however become curious about Mak so I’ve already marked it for my TBR list. If you’re a “vanilla” type of person, what’s going on between Austin and Melina is on the other end of that spectrum so you need to understand that before opening this book.
I found this story to be confusing – just couldn’t figure it out. Where are Austin and our author taking the reader? In this case I didn’t mind because the author has done a good job at getting me to turn the page as well as wanting to know more about the Hotter Than Hell series. It takes almost the whole book to find that Austin created a masterpiece, which left me a little disappointed because I’ll never get the chance to see it. This book reminds me of a train. It starts off slow and picks up steam until it gets us to our destination. But in this case it felt like someone pulled the emergency break – we come to an abrupt halt. It’s sad to say that I can’t find if this is the end of a series or if it will continue. I’m left with a curiosity and that only time, and the author, will tell if book seven is in the works.
I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
This is getting a good, solid 4.5.
This was my first Holly Roberts book, but I’m pretty sure that it’s not going to be my last one. I really enjoyed the story, and I want to learn more about the other characters that showed up in the book and how they fit into this book.
Austin’s boss and his wife were killed. She was tortured in front of her husband before they were killed. Austin is going to do something about it. When he finds out who did it, he goes out to kidnap Melina.
Melina had nothing to do with the killing other than the fact that it was her brother. That didn’t stop Austin from taking her. She is going to be the first part of his revenge. He’s going to take Melina, mark her up, ruin her, and then send her back to her brother.
This book was intense. I mean, wow. I got seriously deep into the story and wasn’t able to come back out of it, that’s how intense it was. I needed to know more about what was happening. I couldn’t ever really guess, because every time I thought I had a grip on it, something changed. I will be reading the previous books and watching for the next one to come out.
Damn Holly S. Roberts you are AMAZING!!! I just finished your book and I absolutely LOVED it! It was dark but yet SO enticing and kept me captivated the entire time. In the beginning, I couldn’t stand Austin and wanted Melina to get a hold of something, anything to knock him out and escape the initial horror she was enduring but somehow and only YOU, actually made me end up liking Austin! I have to say my favorite part of the book was when Melina saw the ink that Austin created on her body for the first time. During their sessions when she opened up to him about her past, Austin was listening and inked her body with the happy memories that Melina shared with him….Feather, the zoo, the elephant, her Mom, the ribbon and the word MINE, which he added on his own. I also loved being able to read about Mak again because I have always liked her and I love how protective she is with the girls, especially with Melina in this book. You’re SO talented, Holly!!! Thank you for yet another GREAT book to a FANTASTIC series and a story created by your brilliant mind!! I already can’t wait for the next book in this extremely Hotter than Hell Series!!
Kidnapping a woman for revenge. She is a blank canvas for him to tattoo on. Three weeks he kept her. Austin is a coldblooded killer. He has no remorse. When he took Melina to revenge the deaths of his boss and wife, he didn’t know what he’s letting himself in for. He took her to make her brother pay for the deaths of Victor and Cindy. What he didn’t plan for, was falling in love
This book met my expectations, above and beyond. Miss Holly you really are awesome. The story flows from beginning to end.
I so love that Moon and Gomez is back in this book. He’s as quirky as ever. The man has a sense of humor, although he rarely smiles
This is a spectacular end to an amazing series, or is it the end? Who doesn’t love a crime boss who kills for the right reasons? And who doesn’t adore a man who protects the woman he loves with his life?