You know what they say about family. Blood is thicker than water. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. A house divided cannot stand. Margie is the keeper of her family’s secrets. Six sisters and one brother. Billions in assets. Generations of malfeasance. And one heartbreaking secret three people keep. Margie. Her father, Declan. And Drew–the man she loves. You know what they say … Declan.
And Drew–the man she loves.
You know what they say about secrets.
Three can keep them if two are Drazens.
There’s never been a Drazen who went down without a fight.
And there’s never been one who didn’t fight for love.
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Margie is amazing!
Sacred Sins was a captivating sometimes heartbreaking beautiful story of a love that transcends time,distance and cruelty of others.
You will be swept away by Margie’s capacity for those she loves!
It is a mind twist with the bouncing between decades but, it is worth the bends. Margie’s story is filled with pain, mistrust, gas-lighting and love. Drew (Indy) is worthy of her but lets her have her way until they are both in agony. But when the gloves come off it is breathtaking!
I think the Drazen family is a tight unit but with their own versions of family loyalty. I am glad I am not one of them. I love CD Riess and her work. This book is no different. I think I think really enjoy the rest of the family and seeing their takes on certain events.
As a supporting character in her sibling’s stories, Margie seemed down trodden and lonely. In her own stories, she came alive and I was able to understand her so much better. I’m so glad Margie finally got her own story. Kudos to CD Reiss for telling Margie’s story through the timeline of previous events and making them blend seamlessly. Another great read in the Drazen family saga.
And after so long, Margie’s story is finished. The book loses some of its initial strength, nothing to disrupt the reading or spoil the narrative, but the gap between the works is perceived, you notice the author becoming familiar with the characters again.
Continuing from where the previous one stopped, Margie tries to absorb the impact that the news of Indy brought to her life. Determined to be happy, she leaves her family behind and goes to live her life with the man she loves. But the couple’s happiness is brief. The Drazen family web is stronger than Indy, and Margie is again trapped in the network of intrigues, secrets and power of her surname.
Over the years, we see a Margie almost robotic, who has embraced all the business of her family, it is she who dictates the rules, but her personal life is nonexistent. In order to take care of each Drazen individually, she forgot herself.
Merging facts already presented in the other books with Margie’s unpublished view, we discovered how the years affected her, as each event marked her, until we reached the most important part of the book: Jonathan’s illness. And I’ve never felt as sorry for a character as I felt about her. And in the same proportion, I felt hatred for Declan and the rest of the family. He is a sociopath, his wife is a futile person with no personality and his daughters are egocentric. I really hoped Margie would send them all to hell.
The story that began in the 80’s with a teenager, advances to show us a woman in her fifties. And in spite of power, wealth, and prestige, she has in fact achieved nothing truly her own. Without love, without family and without her most precious possession. And after sixteen years, Indy is back. Time has also changed him. The cheerful and carefree boy became a responsible adult who wanted to build a family with Margie. But with the separation of the couple and all the lost dreams, he started to drink too much, makes a big mistake, pays for it, and becomes a recluse. The mature man who returns when she needs it most does not remember the boy she fell in love with. He’s neither Indy nor Drew. He is someone new, shaped by life.
CD Reiss almost give me a heart attack in the final parts of the book. All the tension that builds up made me devour the pages looking for answers. For a moment, everything led one to believe the worst. Good thing nothing happened.
Loved it. I loved with all my heart the outburst of Margie in the hospital parking lot. I waited anxiously for this moment. The whole family heard what they deserved. Margie finally released everything that was stuck in her chest and poured out her feelings and frustrations, and beautiful truths by the way, all over her family. Declan finally got what he deserved, though I wanted more. His arrogance is impossible to be broken.
The end was perfect, ended the work with a golden key. They both deserve to be together. After so many years and so much wasted time, it was poetic to finally see them together, leaving everything behind and getting their revenge. I just can not say it was a happy ending, because with so many lies, intrigues and bad things done against them, the two never had and will never have what they always wanted: the truth revealed. I understand Margie does not want to ruin the lives of those she loves most, but with everything presented in the previous books, it would be a relief to have no relationship with a toxic family, but with two normal people who were always present when necessary. The happy ending of the two was bittersweet.
“I wasn’t worthy of you. Now I am.” – Drew
Reading this second book in the “Sin” duet was like tasting the finest in vintages of wine. I tasted the sweetness of life and the dryness of a life without love that has lost its sweetness. I had the decided pleasure of reading for the first time both books of the duet back to back. The first book was hot, somewhat frenetic, almost like a drug. Just like young Margie was …filled with youthful optimism and all the possibilities life has to offer lovers.
Sacred Sins is about hard choices, hard experiences and while Margie lived her life purposefully guarding her family and protecting her own. Her youthful secrets did indeed become “sacred” …guarded …. untouchable… inviolate. She lived her life sacrificing a part of herself…the love of her love life …to stay with her family and protect the only person who could warrant more of her love.
The story is once again told entirely from Margie’s POV, first-person. Her words as she moved through her feelings upon seeing Drew again had me transfixed…spellbound. The writing was close-in, intimate and inspired. I felt as if time had been suspended. It was meaningless. Normally, it is difficult to stay with a character who is revealing so much as they move through their feelings. This writing illuminated for me yet another facet of the brilliance that is C. D. Reiss.
I do not mean for you get the idea that this book was all the staid contemplations of Margie, because there are some surefire surprises in the plot movement with life or death consequences at stake for some of the characters. Not to mention the dramatic return of Drew ready to do battle for the heart of his love. Their dance around each other is always so hot and erotic. And…who is there that writes erotic better? No. one. else.
I love the fact that this duet is about one strong, sexy, beautiful woman. It is somehow appropriate with all that is in the world right now. And that Margie’s love, Drew, awoke to the fact that he may have dropped the ball in his youth by leaving her and finally realized he never stopped loving her. He is back and he is up to the challenge of this beautiful girl, Cinnamon turned magnificent woman. It is a formula for a happy ending. Question is…will she have to choose again?
Two favorite quotes of many:
“Look at you,” he said, giving me the look he wanted me to turn on myself. “You’re still everything. Line up a million perfect women and I’d still choose you. Do you see what you do to a room when you walk into it? No, of course you don’t. Now even more than when we met the first two times, you bend the space around you. Look at you.” He repeated the phrase with his eyes locked on mine. “You own yourself and everything around you. You were a princess. Now you’re a queen.”
“I loved him and I had no reason to. If I knew why, I could argue against it and win. But without a cause, I couldn’t shoo it away. I couldn’t pat it on the head, tell it I understood, and open the exits. Reason was love’s egress, but love didn’t have the sense to leave when logic opened the door. It bumped around the walls like a blind child in a silent room. Uncomfortable. Unhappy. Unable to get out.”
Cliffhangers. Oh, how I am torn between loving them and hating them when the break in between books is 2 years. With that being said, this book was worth the wait and did not disappoint. CD picked the story back up and we finally see what comes next in the Drazen Family. This book has so much packed into it and I was so excited to see the 2nd part of the duet released as it’s been one of my reads I’ve been dying for ever since the final word in Secret Sins.
Through twists and turns, and a few upside-down loops, this book will pull you back into the Drazen world in such a way you will just long for more. It’s always fun going back to refresh on a book you haven’t read in a while. In doing so, I got to go back to a time 2 years ago when Secret Sins blew me away. Fast forward to the 2nd half, and I was just in awe of what Christine was able to accomplish with this duet. Margie’s story is finally finished, and it ends in such a way I didn’t see coming, or expect, but absolutely fell in love with the way it all played out over 2 books. She’s just as strong and determined as ever and the pull between Indy and her was once again scalding hot. There is just something about a Drazen book that has a way of engulfing you into the world so thoroughly you end up with a hangover pulling away at the end.
I can’t wait to see what’s next for the Drazen family.
Loved it
#TeamMargie
If I was ever asked who I want to be when I grow up I would say Margaret Drazen. Why? Well she is strong, brave, defiant, loyal and loves hard. Sacred Sins the conclusion to Margie’s story is everything we asked for. So we may have waited a while but who cares. We get the final pieces of the puzzle and it feels like heaven. If you’re a fan of CD Reiss than you know she can write from one extreme to the other. Dark and dangerous one minute and swoonworthy, brings a tear to your eye romance the next. Where does Margie’s story fit in? It doesn’t it’s out there all on its own. It’s unique and it’s perfect. It’s complete. So now we know all there is to know about Margie and her journey and what made her the woman that she is. Having read all the previous books revolving around the Drazen family it all made perfect sense. Did I want it to end? Of course not but hopefully in the not too distant future there’s another Drazen waiting to have their story told. As always written beautifully. There aren’t enough stars for Margie *Big big sigh
This needs so much more than 5 stars!
This is Book 2 of the Sins Duet by C.D. Reiss. You must read Secret Sins before Sacred Sins. I struggle to find the words to explain how amazing this duet is. Christine has outdone herself. There is nothing like The Drazens, and I think Margaret Drazen just may have topped my list. If you’ve read the Submission Series before (not a must), you’ll love getting to know Margie Drazen more intimately, and get a beter understanding of how she became who she is. I loved how independent, strong, and badass she was, yet she was selfless, loving and caring at the same time.
The plot was mind blowing with the roller coaster of emotions and twists and turns. The angst level was high. There were secrets and lies that will blow your mind! The characters are wonderful and amazing and addictive! I couldn’t get enough. This was a page turner from beginning to end. I thoroughly enjoyed it and devoured this book word for word and page by page. It is an absolute must-read duet! Especially if you’ve read the Submission Series. This exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend taken this journey!
****ARC generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.****
If readers are familiar with CD Reiss’ sinfully sexy and deceptive worlds, they know that Reiss crafts story lines that push the limits of sanity as well as righteousness and the plot never moves forward in a cohesive manner; there are always twists and turns that force new actions to be taken. And when it comes to the heart, preparation needs to be made in order to understand and handle the fracturing that will occur as Reiss’ characters’ lives come undone and ever so slowly move towards an ending that may leave them bent but never broken. And this is the exact story readers get in the Sins Duet.
Margie Drazen has been a bit of a conundrum to me since I met her, and while not being able to completely figure out a character sometimes can irritate me to the point where I take issue him/her, with Margie, I NEVER felt that way. I LOVE that she is a multilayered heroine and that the complexity of her personality and the many personas she takes on in order to cope, in order to endure, in order to maintain are not easily identifiable. To me, that’s what makes Margie such a dynamic character…it’s what allows me to unravel all that she is, not only behind the layers of her character but also who she is beneath the secrets and lies that are slowly are unearthed as her duet begins and continues.
For the longest time, Margie has been the matriarch of the Drazen family – there is nothing she wouldn’t do for her siblings, even if it meant sacrificing herself. This self-imposed position has also forced her to follow rigid rules and be perceived as an emotionless warrior – a queen who rules with an iron fist and fights fiercely for those she loves, even if it’s never truly known if there’s a heart within the beast.
In Sacred Sins, Margie finds herself in an unwelcome situation – one that places her in the spotlight and shines down on the sins and secrets of her past, but what that means for her present and the future that she now desperately wants with the man she desperately needs remains unclear because one way or another, a payment must be made and the cost and the toll that it takes on Margie will either force her to lose everything that defines who she is or reaffirm the woman within…the woman who continues to get up…continues to keep fighting, even when a loss seems inevitable. And I have to say that despite the maelstrom that comes along with the sinful truths shared, I never doubted that Margie would prevail…how intact she would be I didn’t quite know, but I always felt that she would stand her ground…that she would battle back from the depths as long as, in the end, she got to be who she wanted to be and she was able to share her life with the one person who has owned her body and soul from the start.
A happily ever after doesn’t happen to a woman like Margie because she is not the type to claim something that she hasn’t worked for, but let me be the first to assure her that CD Reiss makes Margie earn every minute of happiness…every affectionate embrace…every empowered action. But while Margie does not remain unscathed once her sins are revealed, she does show what she’s made of…what a Drazen is made of, which poignantly illustrates exactly why she deserves it all.
4.5 Poison Apples
The conclusion to Margaret Drazen’s story was one I really enjoyed. CD Reiss’ wrote a story that spans decades. Lies, family secrets and lost love made for great reading and entertainment.
I sit here staring at my screen, with my fingers poised over the keyboard, wondering just which words to type that would even begin to do justice to the emotional journey that is Margaret (Margie) Drazen. Impossible task.
Throughout each of this author’s stories about the Drazen family, Margie has been the constant, the backbone, the fixer…the one they all turn to, to make it better. You had to admire her ability to compartmentalize, to sacrifice, to dig in and do what needs doing, but at what personal cost? At one point in this story, I audibly screamed…NOOOOOOO ! This can’t be happening!
The secrets, the lies, the redemption, the love…this story, her story, it’s the perfect blend of all the reasons I read. There aren’t enough words or stars to do justice to this author’s efforts.
This is a story I’ve been waiting and waiting for. This is a story I actually reread every Drazen book for. This is a story that feels like coming home, but it’s not the way you remember it. Family isn’t who you thought they were, they don’t fit in the tidy boxes you put them in, everything is out of place. But it’s still home.
Margie is basically everyone’s go to girl. If you got a problem, yo, she’ll solve it. Nobody fixes for Margie, though, and only one person gets past the wall. One person left as broken as her. The levels of pain and hurt in Sacred Sins are high, you can feel it coming off the pages. I know the author was worried about meshing the story with other timelines, but once you step into a CD Reiss book, if you are able to get your mind out of the current story enough to pick it apart and hold it up to a calendar, you’re reading it wrong. Honestly, I didn’t think of any of the other Drazen books until a moment was mentioned that had me go, Oh yeah!
Anywho, I will be thinking on this for awhile, and now I’m dying at the possibility of future Drazen books. They are an addiction.
Margie Drazen’s story is complete with this conclusion of the Sin Duet and it’s oh so satisfying! Margie is the mother of all Drazen’s. She is the toughest, badass of all the sisters (so far) and that is saying a lot! Margie’s life journey, and her love story with Indy (Drew), is epic–if anyone deserves a HEA it is this woman. You don’t need to have read any of the other Drazen books to read this one but you’ll really want to. We get to know Daddy Declan very well and learn more about the other sibling. Reiss’s writing is masterful in Sacred Sins, her prose blew me away as did her ability to evoke all my emotions—from indignation to despair to happiness. What a wonderful ride this was!
Two years ago we were given a look into the life of the complicated, larger than life Margaret Drazen. I, like many others, was instantly taken by her and the light she shed on the Drazen world. At the end of that book, Margie chose her family over love. Surely that couldn’t be the end. How could someone like Margie not figure out a way to both protect her family and be with the man she loves?
I have been anxiously waiting since for the rest of Margie’s story and boy was it a wild and epic ride. This is the kind of story you need to go into without knowing what will happen. In fact, if you think you know the Drazens this will reveal some secrets and twists that you probably never saw coming.
CD Reiss is always a master storyteller and this is my new favourite story of hers. The Drazen world was so epic and all consuming and once you take into account Margie’s story, I was left absolutely blown away and at awe at her imagination and ability to craft such a complicated, twisty and compelling tale. It is definitely a story that will stay with me and it as so worth the wait.
Sacred Sins was a perfectly written ending to Margie’s story. After having read all of the Drazen world books, I always seen her as this strong and untouchable character. Secret Sins started to give us some sort of an insight into who she was, and why but now we learn oh so much more. I found it amazing at how she turned herself into the independent woman we all loved. There’s no way to write an adequate enough review to do justice to the words that Christine wrote. Especially without spoiling the whole book for all of you. Just download this book NOW! Read this book NOW! You will love every. single. page! Margie is the woman we all want and strive to be. Fierce, strong, and loved by the man of our dreams.
As I was reading this fantastic Sins duet, I realized that I had read Jonathan Drazen’s story and I had been very intrigued with Margie Drazen. Imagine my pleasure when I realize that this duet tells Margie’s story. It’s a huge story about loss, a woman who has been a victim of her circumstances and a controlling father. Her choices led her to choose her family over the man she loves and at the end of sixteen years of being alone, the results are less than satisfactory. Her family needed her and she needed them. Jonathan has grown up to be the man she expected him to be and is her source of pride. She doesn’t think anymore of Drew but he’s still like a low and constant droning level of pain in her soul.
I was saddened to read the relentless sadness in Margie’s life. She’s in a constant battle, dealing with all the troubles brought about by her siblings, managing her father’s kingdom which came from nefarious sources, how she manipulated the company’s resources to make them clean (translate laundering money), and all the time, watching her son’s life from the sidelines; a sister, not a mother.
The attention she needs to keep on everything is really tiring. Her private P.I. is at least a source of support and information that keeps her on top of things, but it was really exhausting to read how she’s constantly on the watch, constantly solving her sister’s problems, constantly managing situations, reading signs, reading her father’s moves to predict what his moves will be and taking preventive measures. It was all so tiring, I didn’t understand why she didn’t bail and leave the family.
Enter Drew; he was like a drink of cold water after years in the dessert. He was a source of support, love and understanding she didn’t have for all the years they were apart. He was overwhelmed by the crazy of the Drazens and bailed years ago; now he’s different; strong, determined, he’s overcome his drinking issues and is now the man Margie needs. There’s a surprising plot twist and they are on the run against time to save someone important. Really, apart from the relentless sadness that Margie caused in me, there was also suspense for knowing what will happen and how it will all end. I knew it had to be an HEA but at times I had my doubts. I was underwhelmed by the finale but I know now that I can get more if I re-read the Submission series, so more books to re-read.
This was a complex and compelling read, it made me sad and happy, nostalgic and angry. Definitely being rich is not a blessing!
BLOWN AWAY!!! Sacred Sins is EPIC conclusion to Margie Drazen’s story. She is so incredibly strong no matter what is thrown at her. I’m not going to say much because I don’t want to give any spoilers because there are so many twists and turns. Bravo CD Reiss, bravo!!!
Sometimes it’s such a struggle to put your feelings into words.
This is one of those times
So, after a half dozen false starts, including a dubious sonnet to the Shakespeare of Smut, I’ve come to the conclusion that, occasionally, feelings are best in their raw, natural state.
Something I’m sure Margie Drazen might actually agree with now.
Sacred Sins is the story that speaks to my heart because of Margie Drazen. I GET HER.
Her complications and contradictions.
Her almost irrational rationality.
Her self destructive loyalty.
I am unabashedly in love with Margie Drazen.
She locks up her hopes and dreams and heart in a box, hiding it from the world and, more importantly, herself, on the highest shelf. She becomes the Drazen warrior queen, battling for everyone else’s happiness. The struggles she faced and sacrifices she made will break you.
But then she’s faced with the moment of truth, and the only weapon left to her is that box up on the shelf. And it’s the most effective weapon of all.
Trust me.
You want to be there when she unleashes it.
In short, CD Reiss ripped my beating heart out of my chest. Stomped on it. Kicked it around in the dirt. Then smothered it in the swooniest love ever. No character deserves a happy ending more than Margie Drazen. But, damn. She really has to work for it.
And it’s all because of the magical storytelling of CD Reiss. This is the total package created by the Mistress of Romance.
#TopReadof2018
#SendalltheBourbon
#HallOfFameHEA