From New York Times bestselling author Karina Halle comes DIRTY SOULS the much-anticipated, nail-biting CONCLUSION to the sexy and thrilling Black Hearts…
“One of the SEXIEST & MOST SEDUCTIVE books I HAVE EVER READ.” – Jay Crownover.”Violet McQueen has always been a sensitive soul. Troubled and misunderstood, she never realized her place in the world, nor her true potential…until she met … the world, nor her true potential…until she met Vicente Bernal.
From birth, Vicente Bernal has always known his place in the world – he’s been groomed to be a ruthless king. Yet for a man whose soul has become morally bankrupt, it’s only through Violet he’s realizing the worth of someone’s heart.
But at what cost?
With a deadly game set in motion taking them from the stark deserts of California to the steamy jungles of Mexico, Violet and Vicente’s forbidden relationship will be put to the test. Boundaries will be pushed, lines will be crossed and souls will get very, very dirty.
Because how do you choose between blood and love when both might get you killed?
NOTE: Dirty Souls is the second and FINAL book in the Sins Duet. You MUST read book #1, BLACK HEARTS, first before this one!
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Book 2 in the Sins Duet,so remember to read Black Hearts before this one.
Karina wasn’t kidding when she said we were going to lose our shit when we read Dirty Souls.
Dirty Souls is amazingly cruel – it sent shivers down my spine.
This book made me cry more than once. Karina Halles writing left me speachless, her story – so vivid and strong. It almost hurt Reading – But well written. I’m amazed (as always)
It’s just that the way Karina writes make it seem so real, it’s like I’m there in the shaddows, a part of the story.Watching,feeling,aching.. Karina is bloody brilliant.
So what happens With Violet and Vicente? Javier and Ellie? Well, you gotta read this book and find out! It’s really good.It made me mad,angry,sad – every emotion there is really –
But still, after all this – Javi still holds a special Place in my heart
***5 ‘I Love You to the Point of Danger’ Stars***
Holy. Hell.
I’m pretty sure I used those same two works when reviewing Black Hearts, but I think it applies better here and is probably an understatement, but holy hell what a ride! From the first page to the last it’s a crazy, sexy, suspenseful ride as Violet and Vicente come to realize that what they’ve found in each other goes deeper than either could have ever expected and will fight to the bitter end to hold on to it.
I really liked both Vicente and Violet in Black Hearts, but I ended up adoring both of them in Dirty Souls. Both have their worlds turned upside down in this one and it causes a shift in their perceptions of themselves, each other and those around them. These shifts caused both of them to grow stronger, together and separately, and I loved watching as they both finally became the people they were always meant to be.
As much as I enjoyed Black Hearts, I adored Dirty Souls. The pacing of the story was a little bit faster, but not to where things felt rushed and I liked how the various secrets, lies and truths were revealed and how they were dealt with and it is a little darker, but no less sexier than the first book. But most of all, I really enjoyed the multiple POV’s. Sometimes too many can bog down a story, especially when they are not done in the same POV, but in this case it worked really well for me and made things that much more interesting. I still haven’t read the series that this one is a spin off of and while I will still say you don’t need to read those to enjoy this one, I now really, REALLY, need to bump them up on the TBR list because I loved Ellie and was absolutely fascinated by Javier and Luisa. There was mention that more books from this world are possibly in the works, so I’m crossing my toes and praying that they become a reality especially with how things ended.
~ Copy provided by the author ~
For reals, if this Duet was ever made into a movie, I’d be right in the front row. Well maybe not the front, but the 8th row for sure with my big bucket of popcorn watching in awe. Seriously, this one had so much action, I didn’t want to put it down. So much was going on it was nonstop. I wish there was more! What a great second part, it didn’t disappoint at all.
“I love her with my dark and dangerous heart. I love her with my wicked and dirty soul.”
Dirty Souls is the conclusion to Vicente and Violet’s forbidden love story. I was really looking forward to this book because things were about to go down. I didn’t know what to expect and was pretty much ready for anything to happen. In dark romances you have to be open-minded and understand why some characters are the way they are and do the things they do. As a huge fan of anti-heroes and villains this book was perfect for me. We see both Violet and Vicente growing as individuals, and we also see the darkness seep into their souls. To survive in the world they live in, they have to transform and have a thicker skin. The author did a really good job in doing that, I especially loved the growth Violet went through. In the first book, she came across as a bit immature, but she really went through a transformation in this book. She was really strong and stood up for herself, and I was really proud of her. The same goes for Vicente, he did things he never thought he would do. But that is the power of LOVE.
“I’ve never been so proud of anyone before. You are so incredibly brave, so strong, it does something to my heart. It gives it an extra reason to beat.”
I really loved all the chapters told from Ellie and Javier POVs. I love those two characters so much and I just needed what happened to happen for closure. Things didn’t go as I thought it would, but I was really satisfied with the ending. I do wish there was more growth for Vicente and Violet as a couple. That is something I missed in this book, in my opinion this book was too short for me to fully connect to them as a couple (I was connected 80%). I just needed an extra chapter or three to focus on them as a couple. Besides that I really enjoyed this Duet a lot. It was much darker than the first book and I loved it! It was amazing to reconnect with all the previous characters, especially Javier and Luisa because they are one of my all time favorite dark romance couples. Also the information about possible upcoming books in this world at the end gives me LIFE. I so need for all of them to get their own book.
I can’t express to you how much I’ve needed Black Hearts and Dirty Souls. This duet has been exactly what I’ve needed from Karina for a while now and while I will never give up my love for Javier and Camden, Vincente has completely stolen the majority of my heart. It’s not weird that I’m totally in love with a father and son drug lord duo, right?
If you haven’t read Black Hearts, please do not read any further and make sure you read that before Dirty Souls, which picks up right at the end of Black Hearts.
What starts out as a true weekend getaway for Vincente and Violet to have alone time and revel in their new love, now turns into full survival mode. Vincente’s father, Javier, is after him with two goals in mind. One, bring home his son and break him in order to turn him into the man he believes Vincente needs to be to run their cartel. Two, use Violet to get his revenge on the one woman who broke his heart but more importantly his pride. Revenge is all he can think about.
This story is raw, gritty and sometimes gruesome. But ultimately the love between Vincente and Violet is absolutely beautiful.
“How do you let someone know that you’ve lost your mind and soul to them? That they’ve become the blood in your veins, that they’ve filled that achingly empty black hole inside of you?”
What sets Vincente apart from his father is his heart. While he is ruthless and dangerous, his actions always lead back to Violet and his love for her. Javier certainly loves but he lets power and greed overshadow that. I absolutely loved the fight that Vincente has for his love for Violet. He will stop at nothing to ensure both her safety and her love. He also understands Violet and just wants her to be the woman that he knows she is destined to be.
“I can only hope, as she grows stronger and bolder, that she keeps that softness in her heart. A lioness can be both a fierce predator and a purring cat.”
In Dirty Souls, we really see who Violet really is. No longer sheltered, we find out just how strong and loyal she is and how perfectly suited she is for Vincente. She becomes fierce but maintains that pure sweetness that she has always been and she balances him out. I’ll tell you what, he fell for her, and hard.
And let’s not forget about how much I love when these two are together. Smoking hot and I’m pretty sure if I was Violet I would do anything Vincente asks or demands and I would be begging for more as well.
Overall, I loved this book. It gave me my new love and reminded me of my old loves. This is certainly a dark book that doesn’t hold back. I loved every raw, gritty and emotional moment of it and I can only hope that Karina comes though with a little more from these guys! I’m not ready to give up Vincente, Javier or Camden. Ever.
Dirty Souls is the second installment in Karina Halle’s dark romance duology: Sins Duet. The first installment: Black Hearts ended on a “to be continued” and this one picks up right where the first one leaves off. This continuation is definitely deserving of its own book though…Ms. Halle wasn’t just out to make a few extra bucks by splitting up the story. Dirty Souls takes the main characters from the setting of Violet’s sheltered life in San Francisco and throws them head first into Javier’s clutches in Mexico. Our complicated Javier has become quite the villain/madman but a few moments of young Javi shine through now and then which was nice to see.
While Black Hearts primarily develops the romance between these characters, Dirty Souls is chock-full of action and suspense, and is darker than Black Hearts in my opinion due to the extreme events that take place. The next generation of Bernal’s and McQueen’s are forced to grow by leaps and bounds in this second installment and they are no longer the son and daughter but the man and woman they were destined to become. This duet was such a treat and is a must read for fans of Ms. Halle’s The Artists Trilogy as Javier and Ellie have quite the reunion. I’ll just let you use your imagination whether that’s a good or bad thing…
Thank you so much Ms. Halle for sharing more of this world with us through Sins Duet. It was over all too soon unfortunately but it just prompts me to do a re-read from the very beginning, and that makes me very happy!
My favorite quote:
“Sometimes I think there’s a big black hole in the middle of everyone’s hearts. It’s something we’re born with. We go through our lives trying to find ways to fill it. But we never take a moment to stick our fingers in, to really examine the mess at our core. If we did, if we were brave enough, we would find out who we really are. What we’re really capable of. We would learn there are angels and devils inside each one of us, battling every f@cking day. No one is exempt, though they like to pretend they are.”
Dirty Souls fits into Karina Halle’s world of dark romance in the following order:
The Artists Trilogy (published 2013)
#0.5-On Every Street
#1-Sins & Needles
#2-Shooting Scars
#3-Bold Tricks
Dirty Angels Trilogy (Spin-off, published 2014-2015)
#1-Dirty Angels
#2-Dirty Deeds
#3-Dirty Promises
Sins Duet (Spin-off, published 2017)
#1-Black Hearts
#2-**Dirty Souls**
Note: In my opinion, this duology can be read apart from the other related series as Ms. Halle provides enough pertinent information to allow everything to make sense. But…if you haven’t read Ms. Halle’s other stuff, I strongly encourage you to fit them all in to your already overflowing TBR list. The Artists Trilogy prompted me to put Karina Halle on my automatic one-click list and Sins Duet just confirms she should stay there. Check it out!