“Why would I let the world see him? He’s imperfect. No, he needs to stick to the shadows where he’ll not bring shame to this family.”William Cavendish is…different. Too much so for his merciless father to bear publicly. He was hidden away from the world his entire life until, in one dark moment, he did the unthinkable to save his beloved brother, gaining his own freedom in the process. But … But liberty has its own price. William struggles with a world he doesn’t understand, emotions he’s never experienced…and an alarming taste for the dark side he’s discovered dwelling within him.
Formally educated in law, Tamara Bennet is unlike most women of the day. Not bad for the daughter of a lowly lady’s maid. When she learns a secret society was responsible for the torture of her closest acquaintance, Victoria Cavendish, she vows to employ any and all means—legal or otherwise—to bring the society to its knees. At her side is Victoria herself, as well as Victoria’s husband, Nicholas, and his brother—the intriguing and troubled William.
Delving ever deeper into London’s darkest shadows, an undeniable attraction blooms between William and Tamara, bringing them closer and closer…until their actions stir up perilous forces determined to tear them apart.
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Every time I see the bookcover, I hope she passed wind in his face. So funny. I haven’t read the book and probably never will. Sounds really typical and boring.
It turns out Monsters can fall in love! A powerful, deadly, dark romance!
Tainted Reasoning is book two in the Dark Sovereignty series and in here we follow the story of the younger Cavendish brother, William.
Hidden away from society his whole life, William knows he is different from other people. He keeps to himself mainly as he has no experience dealing with the outside world and has no idea how to navigate regular everyday situations that would potentially seem mundane to many people. Although he is incredibly smart and he puts these talents to use now to rid the world of the evil his family have perpetrated for centuries.
The cruel and vile things that his father did to him in his past has shaped the man he has become. With a penchant for the darker tastes in his sexual appetite, William has on occasion even frightened himself and therefore only puts himself in situations were he knows he will not lose control of his inner monster. However, fate has other plans and he may not be able to keep his monster in check much longer.
Tamara Bennett is determined to “save” her best friend from what she perceives as Victoria being trapped and owned by Nicholas, so it is such as shock to her system to learn that this is not the case and the couple are very much in love. Fiery and feisty, Tamara is ready to tear the English countryside apart for her friend, what she was not counting on was the brooding, sexy devilishly delicious man with no brain to mouth filter.
Instant sparks fly between the two, but they keep the chemistry in check for the sake of Victoria and Nicholas, however inhibitions are lowered and soon the chemical reaction ignites and nothing can put a stop to it.
If you love a good dark romance with a hint of mystery and intrigue then look no further, the are so bombs dropped in this story that you will not see coming. Happy reading!
4.5 stars!
This was a very unusual story, but an excellent continuation of the first. It was slow paced at times, but didnt lack in the darkness I’ve come to expect from a world in which there is an Oakfield Society!
I enjoyed the push and pull between the characters, and the slight imbalance between William and Tamara which made them perfect together.
The portrayal of William’s disability was very interesting, and it gave an extra depth to his character. I loved the way Anna showed the differences between nature vs nurture with regards to the characters.
Dark, emotional, sexy and twisted. This story had all of these and more. Looking forward to the third instalment!
5 Stars
Review by Amy W.
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog
“Monsters don’t fall in love. They exist only to destroy.”
I absolutely loved Legacy of Succession and was super excited to be asked to read book two in the Dark Sovereignty series, Tainted Reasoning. This world and the characters are ones that draw you in. You just need to know what’s going to happen next.
“You think your mind is dark. Well, my blood is jet black. If you’re a monster, then I’m the devil’s spawn.”
William Cavendish has been hidden away from the world, made to believe he is a monster by his father. When the vile man set his sights on his brother, Nicholas, William did what he needed to do to save the only person to ever care about him. Now that he is free, he struggles to adjust to the world around him.
“Too late, this monster’s never retreating now. It’s all about claiming what’s his.You’re. Mine. Forever.”
Tamara Bennet has heard horrible things about what happens to the women at the hands of a Cavendish. Determined to save her friend Victoria from such a disastrous fate, she shows up at the Cavendish’s doorstep. Only once she arrives she sees things are not what they seem and as she works with Victoria and the Cavendish brothers, she learns that some secrets can be deadly.
“Monsters together.”
“Forever.”
OMG!! I love William! He was used and abused by his father, molded to be a monster and to do monstrous things. But when it came down to what is right and wrong, William followed through with what he believed. And Tamara, that woman is a spitfire. She doesn’t take shit from no one. I felt so bad for her when she learned the truth of things. But she didn’t let it bring her down, she let it fuel her determination.
I love these characters and I can’t wait to read about Theo and Jo. I have a feeling their book is going to be a rollercoaster of a ride.
This is an intense middle book of this trilogy. It doesn’t really let up off the pace of the last book, which is really nice. The last book had so much intensity, so keeping that really ties the books together well. But for all that pace and all that intensity, there are plenty of places where we can catch our breath so we aren’t overwhelmed.
Tamara was raised with Victoria, and Victoria was given to Oakfield by her father, Tamara was furious, especially after she heard whatever Victoria told her. So, she’s going to go rescue Victoria from the evil clutches of Nicholas. Their first meeting ends up with Nicholas needing ice on his genitals, so you know that she is fierce and protective.
William is autistic and has spent his life being hidden away by his father. Now that he’s gone, his brother Nicholas makes sure that William has all the freedom he wants. But he’s worried that he’s a monster, especially since he spent his entire life being told that he was wrong by his father. But once he sees Tamara, all bets are off.
There are a lot of interesting things happening in this one, and I can’t wait to see how the events in this one set up for the next book. It’s going to be a doozy, I think. And some of the things in this one made me gasp out loud.
I really like Tamara. She really is just super fierce in protecting those whom she loves. She will go straight to the mat for them. I like seeing a hero, even one who may be somewhat of an anti-hero, who is autistic, because there just aren’t enough stories with autistic heroes in them, and with how common it is becoming, it’s something really important to know.
Tainted Reasoning is a fantastic follow-up to Legacy of Succession. There I was thinking it wasn’t quite as dark and twisted as the first book, then bam, Anna Edwards “smacks you in the face” with the depraved remains of the old society and she doesn’t hold back!
I’ve been hooked to these pages and I loved William and all his quirks and Tamara who was stronger and a little bit different than I thought, in a very good way.
William has been locked away his whole life for being different, broken, wired wrongly. In reality, he has autism, he is highly intelligent but has if you like, no filter. He’s honest and says what he sees and thinks no matter how inappropriate. He’s also loveable and loyal to his beloved brother Nicholas, but believes himself a monster. He has a dark side he’s afraid to let out now he’s finally free to explore the world. My heart broke for this beautiful man and what he was taught was normal by his evil father and his associates. His struggles were so realistically written, but with Tamara he starts to see himself from a different point of view. Tamara is a newly qualified lawyer and best friend of Victoria but when she discovers what Victoria has been through at the cruel hands of The Oakfield Society, she is determined to help her and the brothers destroy the old rules and rulers for good.
This book is full of suspense, tension and emotion as well as sensitivity and steamy, twisted hotness. It is also most definitely on the dark side, so if that’s what you love, come on in, you will not be disappointed! (but start with book 1) 5 highly recommended dark stars
WOW!!!!! I loved and adored William he was such a beautiful unique man and I loved every part of him exspecially when he let his monster out and his no filter just grabbed me in every way and with Tamara she was an angel sent to save him, I really loved her character and how she brings peace to his chaos of a world as he discovers himself and learns, they were perfection and HOT in every single way. I really enjoyed Nicolas and Victoria being a big part of this story as they make plans that are dangerous to take down the secret society and the ones chasing them, it is dangerous and heart racing and so well written I fell in Love with these characters and I was glued to the pages.
Y’all are going to love William. He’s one of those characters that you just want to wrap your arms around and hug the crap out of. He has his quirks, hes been locked away and he has the biggest heart. We met him in the first book and got to see how special he is but in this book he steals your heart. I love that this author created a character with his disability and gave us a really great story with him as the lead.
Yes I’ve gone on and on about William….sorry I just really loved him but with that said there are some twist and turns that will have you on the edge of your seat and something you didn’t see coming. Really enjoyed this great read.
*Review by Michelle
Y’all are going to love William. He’s one of those characters that you just want to wrap your arms around and hug the crap out of. He has his quirks, hes been locked away and he has the biggest heart. We met him in the first book and got to see how special he is but in this book he steals your heart. I love that this author created a character with his disability and gave us a really great story with him as the lead.
Yes I’ve gone on and on about William….sorry I just really loved him but with that said there are some twist and turns that will have you on the edge of your seat and something you didn’t see coming. Really enjoyed this great read.
Absolutely amazing story!!! This book I one-clicked as soon as it was up on pre-order that’s how bad I wanted to read it! This is a perfect mix of suspense, grittiness and depraved behavior. This is William and Tamra’s story and I just had to have William’s story from his appearances in the first book. William has to come to terms with his dark desires and balancing that with his autism. I just loved his character and all of his special quirks. Tamra is such a lovely young lady and she balances William. In this book there is a lot of emotional drama and tension that just kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book. I’m looking forward to book 3 of the series!
Having read and enjoyed the first book in this series, I was very much looking forward to learning more about William, the son that was hidden away from the world by the monster that was his father. William has autism and because of it his father treated him with contempt and utter disgust.
I found that I really liked William’s character, his autism was well written about by someone who has a lot of knowledge about the condition, and it shows you in detail of what someone with autism goes through each day and how they manage to cope with the world around them. It was dealt with in a very sensitive way so much so that from the first book I thought that William could be some kind of an ogre, but I found him in this book once he was unleashed upon the world to be a most caring and charming man with a great personality. With him having a sexual preference for a bit of kink it leads him to feel like a monster after he was always forced by his father and the society to have sex with women in a violent kind of way. Tamara is a wonderful heroine as she comes along and shows him that he is no monster after all. She becomes his light in his darkness.
This was an amazing part of the story and even though it’s a little angsty and gruesome I just couldn’t put this book down. I was utterly drawn into it all by all the blood, guts and some very dirty sex!
Im looking forward now to see where the next part of this series will take us.
A very awesome 5 Stars!