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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Gabriel is a monster. The Breaker. When he sees Valentina he wants her. So he takes her, trains her and makes her his property. All with the threat of her brother’s life being held over her head. She’s to remain his property for 9 years, the length of time it will take for her to work off the 400,000 rand debt her brother owes.
What a way to start off a “relationship.” And yet, it is a relationship, eventually. It’s a forced one, but a relationship nonetheless, because both grow to have feelings for each other, even though neither ever admits it to each other or to anyone else. She because she knows better than to admit to her captor that she has feelings for him. He because she’s his property and if he admits feelings, his mother just may kill her as she so desperately wants to.
Dubious is a twisted, fairly dark (but not obscenely so) story. It’s not really a romance, but it is steamy, seriously steamy. And I ended up rooting for Valentina and Gabriel by the end. Beware, this is the first part of a duet, so there is a cliffhanger. The good thing is that Consent (The Loan Shark Duet) is already available, so no need to wait for their conclusion.
So much I want to say here and yet this book has left me speechless! Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dubious sets the stage for a gritty, dark, depraved tale of one young woman’s survival amid a political mess that has bred rampant greed and corruption.
There’s no dipping one’s toe into the waters or sugarcoating of the situation that our heroine Valentina finds herself in. No, the reader gets dunked right in, head first, in the first chapters—which I absolutely loved! And yet, there were moments as I was first reading when I wasn’t sure if I would like this book. There are elements to the story line that aren’t normally my bag. But the writing is so strong, the pacing intense, and the characters and relationships unique and multifaceted—even the lesser, secondary characters that I assumed at the outset might prove more one-dimensional and cliché surprised me.
The writing is powerful and the style simply beautiful! Pauls has this uncanny ability to lead her readers through some pretty twisted, gut-wrenchingly raw territory, and somehow make the journey feel safe and cleansing. Much like her superhero talent for writing filthy, kinky sex scenes that somehow come off in a way that is dignified and almost innocent.
As I’ve said before… Charmaine is like the Breakfast at Tiffany’s Audrey Hepburn version of a NYC hooker—keeping it classy as she wades you through normally treacherous, swampy territory. It’s the only explanation I have for how I wound up thoroughly enjoying every moment of reading about a woman being held captive by a ruthless, scar-faced gangster and whipped to orgasm in a book that manages to create so many surprisingly poignant and even *adorable* “Awww” moments between this totally unlikely, star-crossed couple.
Absolutely LOVED Dubious!! A mind-blowing, panty-combusting literary adventure!!
Dubious (The Loan Shark Duet, #1) was a delight to read and once I started there was no stopping me, I was on a mission to finish this.
So the low-down on Dubious was that Valentina Haynes a young veterinary student manages to get on the wrong side of the Louw family courtesy of her car thief neighbour, who while watching her disabled brother Charlie lets him run up gambling debt’s at a local club.
Sent in on a kill order Gabriel Louw wanting Valentina for himself offers her an out, come work for him for nine years to pay off her brother’s debt and he will let her brother go.
Now this book was fantastic and was such an easy read.
Despite the subject matter involved here, this was not in any way for me dark.
Gabriel rather than force Valentina (who is now working as a maid in his home).
Gradually seduces her senses with his brand of charisma and skills.
Alongside Gabriel, Valentina has to endure his mother Magda. who from day one is unhappy with her son’s decision to allow the Hayne’s to continue to exist and is just looking for an excuse to end Valentina.
I also loved the fact that Gabriel wasn’t your typical looker and was covered in scars, this to me was an actual plus rather than a minus because I do adore me a less than perfect anti-hero.
Gabriel also came packed with a spoilt teenage daughter and I get the impression from her behaviour that she was less than aware of her father’s profession.
I also thought it was a stroke of genies to set this in South Africa, Johannesburg to be precise.
This made it stand out for me from the norm, I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve read this genre of story set in this background before.
This made this really original.
The tale told here was not very angsty but that didn’t matter.
As this story progressed, two things became very clear to me, Gabriel’s self-confidence in his own appeal was low, more than likely due to his scarring.
He felt that his money and power was all he had to offer besides the obvious things as well of course.
The second being Valentina has vastly underestimated how much Gabriel wants to protect and keep her, the former going to such extremes that it was bound to come crashing down around his ears just through miscommunication.
There were some very interesting side characters here Quinn and Rhett, Gabriel’s bodyguards being two that grew on me and I believe they both generally liked Valentina.
Also, her friend Kris was a diamond watching her brother Charlie, maybe for the next nine years, this was definitely above and beyond.
Bet we would all love a friend like that.
So the only reason I pulled this down a star was that I feel that Gabriel himself would with this sort of reputation and power be less than inclined to allow his mother to pull his strings.
Yes, I know in the beginning she was described as having all the power.
I just fail to see, how with Gabriel’s sort of nature he has allowed this status quo to go unchallenged all these years, I just can’t see it.
After all, he is the muscle and scary face of the Louw’s family loan shark franchise.
I actually just really wanted him to tell his mother to go screw herself.
So Would I recommend this? Hell yeah!!!
Dubious was well written with great developed characters and an interesting storyline.
It also really helped that the hero and heroine were both extremely likeable people.
Even considering the hero’s occupation.
And the way this was left. well just Phew, so need that next instalment.
Dubious ended on such a fantastic cliffhanger.
I would like to say thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a free ARC.
This is my own free and honest opinion of Dubious.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
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I’ve always been a lover of Charmaine Pauls novels but Dubious took her writing to a next level. I loved it. This book was dark and at times disturbing, yet to me it did not read as a completely dark depraved novel, as Charmaine took us on a journey with Gabriel and Valentina.
From property to sex toy, we see how Gabriel slowly begins to fall in love with Valentina in spite of the fact that he is supposed to eventually kill her.
This twisted novel will leave you with a range of emotions. From anger to sadness to concern you will love every moment of it. The cliff hanger ending will have you stunned.
Dubious is book 1 in the Loan Shark Duet. With well-developed complex characters, a fascinating but troubled story-line, steamy scenes and a range of amazing supporting characters, this novel will have you hooked until the end, will leave you wondering what just happened and have you anxiously awaiting what comes next.
This page-turner was a riveting read and I can’t wait to begin part 2 in this series.
WOW. Holy crap this book is amazing you guys. The sex is SCORCHING, the tension is great. This is an author who can REALLY sustain a narrative. So often there are books out there that start out great, but they sag in the middle and lose steam and then you just sort of don’t care what happens to anybody after that. This is NOT that book. Holy CRAP. I love Gabriel so much. And wow… this is just… and the solution he comes up with to keep her…it’s diabolical but brilliant. I won’t spoil it but I can say I’ve never wanted this particular thing to happen in a book LOL until now. If you know me REALLY well you might know what that thing is. I listened to this on Audible and the narration is great. Downloading the conclusion right now! (This is a two book duet. Dubious and Consent. I’m sorry but that’s great ha!)
Charmaine Pauls is definitely now on my favorite author list! And not all of her books are in audio so I might have to… read an actual book.
I whole heartedly enjoyed it and started other books by the author.
This is the first book of two in The Loan Shark Duet series and ends in a cliffhanger. The second book, Consent is available so you won’t have to wait to find out the ending. This was a great book with lots of suspense, danger and twists. Gabriel is a loan shark and he meets Valentina when he is sent to kill her and her brother. Magda is his evil mother who vows to kill Valentina if he doesn’t. No spoiler here, but this is a very intense book with passion and chemistry that’s off the charts. Well written with developed characters and an entertaining storyline. A great book that I received Net Galley and voluntarily chose to write a review.
This is not one of those fairy tales where the rich handsome man swoops in and saves the young destitute woman from a life of hard work and marries her to live a life of happiness and riches. This is a story where the beastly loan shark takes what he wants with no regard of others and makes her his little service toy.
Valentina is forced to accept an ultimatum to spare the lives of her and her brother’s. She is plucked from her desolate somber existence and placed in a position of servitude (in more ways than one) to pay off a debt incurred by her brother.
Valentina; strong, determined with a touch of naivete. While caring for her mentally challenged brother, she does her best to provide and better their destitute life. She takes what is handed to her and never complains. She knows how the world connects and that she is not in a position to change or alternate the outcome of certain situations.
Gabriel; imperfect, volatile and unpredictable. His appearance is unsightly and disfigured with a face that not even a mother could love. He is The Breaker, and he vows to break Valentina and make her his. Familial influence has determined that she is meant to be made an example of, and Gabriel must kill Valentina.
Regardless of Valentina’s predestined fate, Gabriel wants to keep her. He devises a warped plan with an outcome that has such an uncertainty that it just might work and will seal her safety, as well as securing her to him because there is no possibility that she could ever love someone such as him.
The characters are fascinating with a depth that draws you in and binds you to them. Charmaine Pauls hit the mark with this book! It is refined and beautifully written, and I became fully immersed in this fantastic story!! This is definitely a must read!! You need to buy the book!!
I couldn’t put this book down. Love the characters. They felt real.
Every now and then a book comes along and it blows all other’s that you’ve read in that genre lately out of the water.
The kind of book that hits you hard in the heart, the head and (because it’s me, lol) the clit!
This duet by Charmaine Pauls did that for me. And I’m utterly disgusted with myself that I haven’t read anything else by her before now!
And what’s more, is that it taught me things that I had no idea were going on in the world today.
Seriously, when I started reading Dubious, for the first few chapters I thought I was reading a dystopian novel but it turns out that I’m just completely unaware that this is how life is every day for a lot of people in South Africa.
So before I continue to describe the characters and sexy as fuck scenes(that had me clenching my thighs together in the doctor’s waiting room), I want to thank Charmaine Pauls for opening my eyes.
And now onwards to the kinky fuckery!
VALENTINA
Valentina is a straight-up badass girl and not because she’s sassy or can scrap or anything like that but because when her parents died a few years ago, she picked up the pieces of her broken heart and held them together in order to look after her brother, Charlie.
She has a strength in her that I can quite honestly say I don’t think I would have.
What makes life even harder for her is that Charlie suffered brain damage in a car accident and is now very much childlike and needs constant supervision even though he’s physically a grown man.
They live in an extremely dangerous, derelict area filled with scary dudes and dudettes. The kind of area where there are gangs, rape, violence and many other scary things happen.
In one scene she even has to suck dick – in the street!! – as ‘payment’ for keeping her and her brother safe in their own home by a local thug.
So yeah, her life sucks big hairy donkey balls.
She is trying desperately to make enough money for her and Charlie to survive but they barely have enough to eat. On top of that, she’s trying to finish veterinary school. In order to secure a better life for the two of them.
After finishing another long shift at work she comes home to find that Charlie isn’t there and neither is the neighbour he left him with.
After searching for them she finds them in the local club where, to her horror, she sees that someone has let Charlie gamble…and he’s lost way more than she could ever make in a year!
This is a BIG no-no and now just like that, they owe a very nasty family a lot of money and no way to repay it.
GABRIEL
Wow…this guy…I have so many mixed feelings for this guy.
So this is the big bad scary dude they call the loanshark. He is the one to torture and kill the people who don’t pay their debt to his family.
Guys…he’s scarred. Both inside and out.
He has awful burn scars all over one side of his face and body and he just feels like the biggest ugliest monster out there 🙁
I overcompensated for my looks by becoming a master of physical pleasure. I can’t give her a pretty face, but I can make her scream with orgasms until there’s not a breath of air left in her lungs.
He is one tough as nails motherfucker who deep, deeeeep down, lol, has a heart of gold but like a lot of these alpha-holes, he thinks he knows best.
About everything.
He witnesses the scene with Valentina and Charlie in his club and when he and his twat of a mother realise that they can’t pay the debt he’s sent in to kill them.
But…he can’t bring himself to do it because he’s kinda obsessed with her already.
So he does something that will piss his mother off to the highest degree.
He takes her as his ‘maid with benefits’.
To work off her debt to them.
FOR 9 FUCKIN’ YEARS!!
But in all honesty, she has no choice but to accept or be killed.
So she asks a friend to take in Charlie and off she goes to work her debt off.
And let me tell you, she goes through some horrendous shit.
There are all kinds of abuse in this story.
Mental, physical and emotional, oh my! (I sang that in my head to the tune of Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! From Wizzard of Oz)
SEX SCENES
Jesus Christ on a motorcycle! I may have needed to change ma knickers a few times while reading this one.
“I want you,” she whispers, breathing beauty into my room. “I want you, Gabriel. Please.” A low groan vibrates in my chest. She’s begging me. She wants me like no other woman has wanted me before–– not for my money or protection, but to ease the need I so carefully planted and nurtured inside of her. Her pleasure is mine, and I’m keeping it forever. “Oh, God, please.” She digs her nails into my back. “Fuck me, already.” We’re both out of control. I need to be lucid, or I risk hurting her, but she has me by the balls–– literally–– dragging her sharp nails from my sac up my ass and sending me way beyond sanity. I grip my shaft and squeeze the root hard, praying the bite of pain will keep me within reason. Pushing up on one arm, I pull myself from the vice of her thighs and part her legs with my knee. When she’s wide and open, I take only a second to enjoy the sight before I lodge the head of my cock in her pussy. Her lips spread wide around my girth, stretching to accommodate all of me. I have precious little control left. “Look at me,” I demand. She opens her eyes. They’re hazy with desire and smoky with need, but they’re focused on me. I rest my elbows on the mattress so I can cup her face between my hands, needing to catch her expressions like a prayer between my palms. The movement shoves me another inch into her. She gasps, and her eyes widen. She’s tight and hot, her unused channel already pushing to expel the foreign object lodged in her entrance. I push deeper, feeling her like a velvet fist around me. I’m big, and she’s fragile, small. Her slickness helps, but it’s like pushing into a narrow chamber of hot, melting lava. The deeper I go, the more she squirms. I see it all in her face–– the shock, pain, trust, and all- consuming need. Sweat beads on my brow and torso. My skin is on fire. Her breaths explode from her chest. “Gabriel…” It’s a plea for mercy. It’s moving too slow. I can drag out the discomfort or make it hurt hard and quick before fucking it all better. Pulling back until only the head of my cock is held in place by the stretching muscle in her opening, I hold on to her face tightly and drive home. Tearing through feminine tissue, I bury myself inside her body as far as I can go. It’s the moment I’ve been dreaming of, of hearing her sounds, seeing her surrender, inhaling the scent of our sex, and feeling her body stretch for my cock. She’s shaking, her fingers digging into my hips. “It’s almost over, beautiful. It won’t hurt for long.” I kiss her jaw and move, taking her with long, careful strokes until her body surrenders just like her mind, her tight channel embracing my dick rather than pushing it out. Her moans turn to panting. It’s music to my ears. When she throws her head back, I let go of her face, holding only her eyes. I play with her body, petting her breasts and clit as I stroke deeper and faster, taking everything she can give, everything that makes Valentina a woman. I knead and massage until she’s soft and pliant in my arms. She molds like wet, earthy clay under my touch, until her hips start moving to the rhythm of my fingers on her clit. And then it’s over. She breaks. Her body sucks me deeper, catching my cock in a trap of painful ecstasy. Her pupils dilate like shooting stars, and her gaze flies away from me like a comet as she comes and leaves a burning trail in my soul.
FINAL THOUGHTS on THE LOAN SHARK DUET by Charmaine Pauls
This duet was just so well written I can not recommend it enough…as long as you’re not easily triggered by dub/non-consent…or bullying…or mind games…or possessive alphas…or hot AF sex, or violence. Ya know…all the good stuff!
There was also a massive twist in there that I did NOT see coming. In fact, there were a couple.
This book is dark, gritty, emotional, hot AF, all-consuming…I loved it!
Valentina is Gabriel’s captive in a South African city where officials look the other way the more their pockets fill up. Charmaine Pauls would know better than you or I, as she is a native South African. The power dynamic between Valentina and Gabriel softens over time even as Gabriel’s sadistic nature revels in Valentina’s submission. The scales are tipped, however, when Valentina discovers a gift she never expected. The half-way ending to this duet is a series of choices I could not have guessed Charmaine would send the characters into. This is a totally delectable story you will eat up way past your bedtime.
This one grabbed me. The intensity and story line made me want to reach the happy ending I felt the characters deserved. The steam scenes were sufficiently hot and engaging!
Great book! Grab it!
This was book 1 in the “The Loan Shark Duet” series. This book had me up all night long. Valentina Haynes will do anything to keep her mentally challenged brother Charlie alive including becoming the property of a Loan Shark. Gabriel Louws had a job to do Charlie owes a lot of money his job was simple kill the girl and her brother but her wanted her. His mother Magda who ordered the hit is not happy when Valentina agreed to work for Gabriel for nine years as a maid and his plaything. This was a really good book. The book was set in a poor area of South Africa Gabriel was an Alpha male who was not handsome he scars on his face and body. Gabriel’s 16 year old daughter Carly who got Valentina in trouble because she wanted her gone was a spoiled little Princess. Valentina makes the best of her situation when Gabriel begins training her body to crave his it was hot she has never experienced pleasure before and Gabriel thought that she was a virgin which she wasn’t because she was raped when she was younger. I also didn’t like the cook and I couldn’t figure out what her problem was with Valentina. Valentina begins having a hard time keeping up all the things that Magda gives her to do and her studies she want to be a Vet and when she cuts her thump she loses it to gain green. Gabriel begins to care about her and he does everything he can to keep her safe including kill the man that tries to force himself on her he knows that his time is running out Magda wants her and her brother dead so he comes up with a plan to keep them alive. It was a good plan but I think her should have told her instead of tricking her. This was a good read I have read this author before and like her other books this book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling.
Wow!!! The more I read books by Charmaine the more I fall in love with her writing.
I could not put this book down. I love how Gabriel is not y’all dark and handsome but Valentina fell in love with him anyway. This is an amazing book. Love this!!!!!
ORIGINALLY CAPTIVE-ATING!!!
Holy. Forking. Shirt!!!!
This is such a captivating Mafia story!
I’m so entraweld in their individual dilemmas and drama!
Everything about this story is original.
LOVING IT!!!
It’s s sizzling, hot, sexy read!
Oh, Gabriel. So dark and depraved and delicious. Dubious is sort of a slow burn, in a way. It’s perfectly described in the titles of these books. I loved every minute. I enjoyed the tension between the characters. It’s stressful in the best way. I’m hoping all the pain is worth it in the end of this duet!
I haven’t read anything by this author before and this book was a total surprise to me. I started reading fully expecting to dislike our main man Gabriel but have ended up feeling the complete opposite. Is he brutal, is he capable of unspeakable acts, absolutely, but this author has such talent that she made me second guess any preconceived ideas I had. By allowing us to see into his mind we gain a better understanding of how he works, that underneath he is capable of feeling joy and sorrow like the rest of us. He is not a handsome man, his body and face scarred from a life lived with violence and I liked that he is damaged on the outside as well as on the inside. He definitely has some redeeming qualities I could focus on. Now his mother on the other hand …
I love a strong female character in a story and Valentina is certainly that. I have such admiration for her and everything she has endured and continues to endure in her life with such stoicism. I like the fact that her incredibly stressful life has not prevented her from having a kind and loving heart. In the beginning we see that she is completely controlled by Gabriel but over time we realise that she is not totally powerless and that when feelings begin to develop we can’t be sure who the captive actually is.
Dark, violent and sexy with lots of great anticipation, Dubious has a fantastic storyline that is wonderfully written. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait to read the conclusion of this story in Consent.
This is my first read by author Charmaine Pauls and it certainly will not be my last.
Gabriel is hard and ruthless and broken in ways that can’t be fixed. Valentina is strong and hardworking and makes a choice to give up her freedom to ensure her brother’s. And then, there’s the mother. *shivers*
Dubious had an original flare to it, although our ruthless, alpha, crime lord is exacting his payment the only way he knows how, he softens to her plight and finds it within himself to protect and care for her and the only person that truly matters, her brother.
This is the first part of Gabriel and Val’s journey…I’m off to find out the conclusion.