A DARK MAFIA ROMANCEI’m a loan shark. Breaking people is in my blood. The Haynes’ were supposed to be a straightforward job. Go in and pull the trigger twice. One bullet for Charlie, one for his sister. But when I saw Valentina, I wanted her. Only, in our world, those who owe us don’t get second chances. No way in hell will my mother let her live. So I devised a plan to keep her.It’s depraved.… her.
It’s depraved.
It’s immoral.
It’s dubious.
It’s perfect.
Just like her.
* Dubious is Book 1 of The Loan Shark Duet and ends on a cliffhanger. Consent (Book 2) concludes the story.
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Sexy with an edge. Increasing tension leading the second book in series. Immediately bought Consent, Book 2.
Fucking fantastic. It’s dark, unexpected, and straight out sexy. I can’t remember how many times I cussed because of this book. I am sure this book made me cuss the most, even its after effects on me kept me cussing with everything I do. I didn’t think I’d make a fuss with this book, especially when it’s related to mafias and gangs but after I finished it last night, I found myself unable to stop myself from talking about it to my friends. I cannot stop thinking about this book and it’s preventing me from falling asleep at night. There’s something about lust at first sight when it comes to books. I find that appealing to me, in literature form only of course.
P L O T
I can’t say it’s fast paced, but it is in it’s own pace. Charmaine takes us one day at a time. I can’t say the same for the problems and issues that just come one after another. Even if you remove all the sex scenes in this book it’s still quite interesting. However, the characters wouldn’t seem very normal since human beings have sex as their basic need.
C H A R A C T E R S
That line right there is not an original, but it has never sounded so true. I always hate this character design where the guy thinks he’s not worthy to be loved, but Gabriel Louwe has many reasons to feel that way. Physically and emotionally. Valentina also has every reason to be designed as proud, she has taken care of her older brother for many years all on her own despite being broken a lot of times and bearing scars almost as ugly as Gabriel’s. I love each character no matter how dark they may be, I love how I hate them too.
W R I T I N G
I love how every named character is involved in some way and they’re not just bystanders in the story. They have lines to say and roles to play.
I find writing erotic books very, very challenging. It has a lot of sex scenes and you need to make sure they don’t sound the same and they need to keep the interest of the reader. There’s only so much you could do with the human body during that lustful, private moment and how you describe it could be how another author does too and you need to find that unique voice to stand out. I highly respect authors of this genre for having their way with words.
O V E R A L L
I don’t know what else to say but ‘You have to read this book’. This is my first mafia/gang themed book and I am not disappointed. I don’t think it’s overly done, nothing sounds exaggerated. I cannot express more how I loved this book so much and I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading broken families, broken souls, mafia/gang theme and of course erotic books.
I’ve already been approved by NetGalley for the second book and I’ll start it after a different book because I have deadlines to meet.
A quick note: This book does have darker themes, and falls under dark romance/dark erotica genre. With that said, the encounters between the two main characters IS CONSENTUAL!
Gabriel Louw has been trained from a very young age that if you don’t strike at your victims, you become the victim. That’s not acceptable in the world he lives in. He’s had to be the The Breaker. The one man you don’t want to hunt you down should you owe the family any type of money. You don’t pay it back, The Breaker will make an example out of you. He shows no mercy…..don’t be scared of the dark, be scared of The Breaker who lives in the dark…..
Valentina Haynes has lived a life of chaos from an early age. Her family’s involvement in the darker criminal activities and groups around them made her cautious. She isn’t oblivious to the fact that with this comes certain promises and expectations. She’s endured a lot, been through too much at her young age. She’s determined to make it different and to live a better life. Unfortunately for her, tragedy strikes her family. In the aftermath she has to move forward……but what happens next may ruin her life….
Charlie was left with damages that hinder his ability to live a normal life. Because of that, people take advantage of him. Regardless of Val’s intentions to keep them safe, he unknowingly walks into the darkness.Gabriel is sent in by his vindictive mother to “take care” of the debt.
Gabriel trains her body to crave his, to accept his darkness and to willingly come to him. Its through their dark trysts that he takes things to a new level to keep her forever. Regardless of his mother’s insistence that she be dealt with finality, he will bind her to him in every way he can. The truth starts to rain down them in showers. How is the Louw family connected with the Haynes family? Who shares a past with them all that threatens to come to life and really set a tailspin of drama? Who is going to survive?
It’s hard to not give away more!!!! I was blown away by the raw emotions. I wish I could break down everything without giving away too much or writing a novel in return! Charmaine really showed her intense creativity in this phenomenal book. I’m not one for darker romance/erotica usually. However, when it’s written in such a way Charmaine did, it had me hooked. Seriously, I encourage you to read this with an OPEN mind and look beyond just the first layer. You’ll be surprised by how much you learn about them. I wish I could give it a gazillion stars!
Well my goodness, what a start to a great duet! Popped my Charmaine Pauls cherry with this book. It’s one that had me reading non stop, wanting to see what would happen next. Now I patiently wait for book 2 so that I may get all the answers!!!
Valentina is struggling to survive in Berea a suburb of Johannesburg. Attending Vet school and working as a vet tech. She has taken on the responsibility of raising her brother who has suffered brain damage in a car accident. Where she lives, its best described as the ghetto. One where no white female should ever walk by herself. It’s a depressing part of town and the ones living there will do just about anything to survive. Which is what Valentia does….
When Valentina comes home one night, she finds her brother missing. Searching frantically for him, she runs into Gabriel Louw. He’s a man that no one wants to cross. He is a loan shark that works in the family business ran by his mother.
He is The Breaker
Gabriel wants Valentina and he will break her at all costs. Even if it means going against his mother’s wish. His mother is vicious and I need to know what the story is there!!!
As I made my way to the end of the book, I found myself wishing it were November already so that I could Dive into the second book immediately.
This book is amazing. Definitely for the dark lovers
This is the first book I’ve read from this author and I absolutely loved it. This book is perfect for readers who enjoy a good mafia read and dark romance. This ends with a huge cliffhanger and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Whatever happens I hope Gabriel finds Valentina before his mother Magda does because she is looking for any reason to get rid of Valentina, and Valentina just signed her own death warrant for the second time. The first time she was saved by an angel or better yet “The Breaker.” As head of one of the most powerful families Magda doesn’t believe in second chances and I have a feeling it will become mother vs. son with Valentina in the middle. However, Valentina may hold power over all of them if she can live long enough. I cant wait to start the next book. This book is definitely worth reading.
Gabriel and Valentinas story veers more into the erotica lane than romance. While I enjoyed some there were some things I didn’t love about it. This big bad ass loan shark is all talk barring the one physical altercation he has with someone who hurt Valentina. While he is rough in the bedroom he lacked that slow progression from jerk to jerk with a soft spot. It was just a immediate softie and it makes it hard to mesh that with what the character is supposed to be.
There are alot of racial undertones being that this book takes place in Johanesburg South Africa and the writer is a White south african woman. It definitely shows and It was extremely frustrating to read I kept finding myself having to reread certain passages, especially in the beginning, because I was like surely I missed something and that wasn’t the intention. But nope it definitely was, While I understand Racial tension is still very high in South Africa the characters in the book almost had the scale of the lighter their skin the more virtuous they were. It was icky
Valentina is the inexperienced woman he takes in exchange for her mentally handicapped brothers debt and then he primes her up by giving her orgasms so she will crave him. Then she loses out on her lifelong dream and is totally fine with it and it just super frustrating and what Gabriel does to ensure her safety is so screwed up. It was all in all super predictable and while it came highly recommended I will not be continuing with the second book.
Liked this but it needed more and it ends on a cliff hanger.
I enjoyed the book a lot.
Absolutely loved this romance!
Valentia trades her freedom to Gabriel in exchange he is to wipe clean the debt her brother has accumulated as well as protect him until the end of her servitude- Seems simple enough -Nope- There is a whole lot more going on here than we originally see. You really have to listen to what the characters do not say as well as piece together the slivers that do slip through- there is a lot of suspense and twists within this story.
Gabriel despite his tyrannic personality attempts to be a gentleman in the ways that he believes truly count – though I have to admit I loved how his mind works -he is quite a devious man and is very skilled in the art of psychological manipulation
Valentia comes across as sweet and innocent – I think as always it is unfair to judge on first actions and appearances – she has no intentions of going down easy and is smart enough to pick and choose her battles with every intention of winning this war
I can say this ends on one hellacious cliffhanger – and if “dark” romances are not your usual genre heed the warnings before delving into this duet – I want to note that I personally do not classify this as a truly dark read- I may be a bit shaded – but within this story there is light and there is consent -even if it is a bit dubious
Ohhhh, it was dark and I LOVED it. The characters were realistic and so messed up. The story was twisted and a page turner. I could not put it down. if you are a fan of Pepper Winters, you will LOVE this story.
This is my first Charmaine Pauls read and I can say with certainty that it will not be my last. It’s dark, twisted, sexy and oh so addicting.
Gabriel is sexy, controlling and downright domineering. The chemistry between him and Valentina is hot. Page after page you hope and pray that the characters get some kind of happy ending. Valentina doesn’t want to be there but it’s her only option to keep herself and her brother safe. But what happens when shes practically set up to fail from the very beginning? Gabriel’s mother and his ex are characters you will want to just punch in the face. But they make the story that much more interesting.
There are so many factors to consider in this book and the way Charmaine ends it will have you begging for the next book to see where these characters go from here.
5 DIRTY & DEPRAVED stars! This book is immorally good. (A perfect example of Dark Romance)
After reading Dubious the first part of The Loan Shark Duet I wonder who is more twisted: the author for writing one of the darkest books or me for reading it. I am a proud fan of Dark Romance. There is something about this genre that draws me into a world where not all is sweet and perfect. The darker, the better!
Charmaine delivers an intense book, (a perfect example of Dark Romance). The plot is beautifully twisted. The characters are so complex that the story behind each of them is hideously raw.
The heroine is strong as a rock but soft as a flower. She lost her parents and her only family is her brother. Life is hard for her because living in a dangerous neighbourhood only can lead her to suffer sexual harassment or to die and many other things that most of women suffer daily. Things will get harder because of her brother. He will put both them in danger. She only has him and she will do anything to protect him no matter if she has to sacrifice herself.
Life is not easy and Valentina is going to discover it in a bittersweet way.
“Her fear excites me. Her courage intrigues me.”
There is not a Charming Prince. There is not a knight in shining armour. There is only a monster ready to claim Valentina, to own her and the worst part is that she will enjoy it and crave it.
Gabriel is the most twisted dominant man that you can imagine. His mind is powerful and his presence is overwhelming. He has something that makes you crave the darkness. He is dangerously possessive. It is like his heart is made of stone. Gabriel is a sinister fallen angel. Pain and sex are synonyms to him. The word love is not in his vocabulary until he took possession of Valentina.
“The smell of her desire drives me crazy. She’s wet, and the possessive side of me revels in the knowledge that I’m the cause. I’m the master of her desire”
The attraction between Valentina and Gabriel is sinfully dangerous. She is a natural submissive and he is a dark dominant. The pull and push is a game they play no matter what the consequences are, because lust wins every time they are close. Valentina will be an eager student and Gabriel will be an astute teacher. Desire and lust are two powerful things that will cloud their senses.
“He twisted and primed my body, playing it like an instrument until it gave him the tune he wanted.”
Holy heaven! Brownie points to the sex scenes because they are dirty and hot. They will make you blush like a teenager. The chemistry and passion Valentina and Gabriel share are depravedly perfect.
“He took my freedom and made my body a slave to his, but right now, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Dubious is a MUST READ you should not miss. I highly recommend you this book. If you are into Dark Romance, you will enjoy it as a kid in a candy store. It’s deliciously addictive and provocative. I need more Gabriel. I can’t wait to read the conclusion of this duet.
“Don’t you understand what you’ve done to me? I want you, Gabriel”
I love me a wild read that’s an emotional roller coaster with some kinky sex. This is that kind of book. I didn’t want to read it and have been holding onto it for a while not wanting this to be the end, but isn’t that always the case with the books you love and obsess about they end too soon.