“Wickedly brilliant, dark and addictive!” – Jodi Ellen Malpas, #1 New York Times bestselling authorThe price of survival…Gabriel Miller swept into my life like a storm. He tore down my father with cold retribution, leaving him penniless in a hospital bed. I quit my private all-girl’s college to take care of the only family I have left.There’s one way to save our house, one thing I have left of … save our house, one thing I have left of value.
My virginity.
A forbidden auction…
Gabriel appears at every turn. He seems to take pleasure in watching me fall. Other times he’s the only kindness in a brutal underworld.
Except he’s playing a deeper game than I know. Every move brings us together, every secret rips us apart. And when the final piece is played, only one of us can be left standing.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
THE PAWN is a full-length contemporary novel from New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren about revenge and seduction in the game of love. It’s the first book in the captivating ENDGAME trilogy.
“Sinfully sexy and darkly beautiful, The Pawn will play games with your heart and leave you craving more!” – Laura Kaye, New York Times bestselling author
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I read this book in a sitting while on a plane. I was hooked. There were parts in it, no spoilers here, that I found to be a little too far-fetched for me and a bit over dramatic. However, it didn’t slow me down. I bought book number 2 as soon as I got access to wi-fi on the ground.
Hot, intriguing, with a lot of twists and turns that you won’t see them coming.. This is the beginning of the story of Gabriel and Avery. a story full of lies and hidden agendas that are keeping them apart. it seems like everything and everyone is against them including Gabriel with his back motives and past..
“He made it clear that he’s my enemy, if I still had any doubt. I’m the pawn, and he’s my triumphant captor.”
Avery is beautiful and has everything she needs except for the love and the attention of the person that she loves the most. she has been living in a lie, her father keeps her nearby under false circumstances until things get out of control and Avery will have to decide if she will put herself in the worst kinds of situations to save her father and the most precious memories she had her mother house..
“A sense of familiarity fills the space between us even though I know we haven’t met. This man is a stranger, but he looks at me as if he wants to know me.”
Gabriel is strong, ruthless and controlling.. he has so much power people often are scared of him, whatever he says is what needs to happen. Gabriel has some debts to collect and he won’t stop at anything until he gets what he wants, no matter if that means owning and buying a beautiful lady to make his adversary to pay.
“You hurt me, you know….Whenever I think about you, I hurt.” He puts a hand to his chest. “Here.”
The Pawn is the beginning of the Endgames, in this first book we get to discover and learn more about each character and story behind, they have so many things to solve, so many secrets keeping them from finding out what really happened..
“There’s only one thing I’m going to call you. Mine.”
I’m super intrigued by what is going to happen in the next book “The Knight” I can’t wait to read it!!!
Read: 5/27/19
The Pawn by Skye Warren was the first book in her Endgame Trilogy.
It wasn’t my normal trope but I enjoy the author and I purchased it free to step outside my normal. The storyline really was based on a pawn and included the full comparison to a chess match. Avery was at the top of the society standings until her father was convicted of fraud and they lost everything. He was then beaten and left for dead so she now had medical bills on top of the debt. She had two options: sell her virgin body at an auction for a month (and hope it’s enough) or marry an old man for life. Avery was the pawn. But “every pawn has the chance to become queen.”
I loved Avery. She was beautiful, strong and resilient. She was a survivor but still kept her sass. I also loved Gabriel in his own way. Since it was told from a single POV, Avery’s, Gabriel was primarily a mystery. But we knew he had a soft side underneath the cruel and hard.
I also loved the secondary characters. Harper needs her own story. And Justin – well, I want to see more from him too. He may be a pawn also or an equal villain.
As a trilogy, the Pawn set the stage for all three books. It introduced the story and the characters well. It ended with a transitional conflict as expected so we’ll have to read the Knight to see Warren’s direction.
What a rush seeing the pawn in this story discover the the power that she had over the strongest of men. Couldn’t put it down.
I fell in love with the characters, the spicy sexual innuendo and action. and the overall story. It’s predictable but oh so sexy and worthy. I immediately downloaded book two, then three. If you enjoy erotic tension and sexy alpha male stories, this series is for you.
Title: The Pawn (Endgame #1)
Author: Sky Warren
Publisher: Unknown
Edition: Kindle
Amount of Pages: 314
Genre: Contemporary, Dark Romance
Date Read: 26-03-2019
Favorite Quote: “But sometimes we do sick and twisted things for the people we love.”
Review:
Not sure what I think about this book. The underlying plot was interesting, interesting enough to keep me going. The characters and their interactions where a bit off sometimes. The flow of the story was a bit unclear at sometimes.
Over all it was good enough for me to stay intrigued and wanted to keep going.
Rating:
2 1/2 it was oke stars
This was a GREAT read…..I was skeptical cause I am not into the romance books but I would not categorize this book as a romance. It has a great story line and the characters are excellent. I blew through all 3 books. I do not know her other books and I got the Pawn off of BookBub due to the deal.
OMG!! So freaking good!!! I loved everything about Avery and Gabriel’s story. Their story kept me on the edge of my seat with wanting answers to all of Avery’s questions. There is so much suspense and hotness that kept those pages turning. I absolutely couldn’t get enough of their story and I am so excited that there is more to their story.
I highly recommend that you read this book.
Happy Reading Everyone!!!
Although I think I’m reading this series in the wrong order, it doesn’t matter, because the books are easy to follow along.
Gabriel and Avery’s story is one filled with anger, revenge, but also attraction.
Avery has been put in a very serious and compromising situation. She has to figure out how to make some money quickly, but no one will loan her the money. Gabriel comes up with a very creative idea on how she can make some money within 30 days. With all the vultures circling Avery in her vulnerable state, she accepts the idea.
This book will keep the reader riveted and anxious to see what happens to Avery.
Auction, virgin, one of main storyline for a romance genre but this one has a twist. Interesting dark hero you can’t love but can’t hate and conflicted heroine. There is somewhat of a cliffhanger…
Skye Warren was a new author for me – I was lucky enough to win this book. I am so glad I found her. Beautiful naive Avery is left destitute when her father is ruined after some shady business dealings. She makes a deal with the devil – Gabriel. Or is he? Plenty of plot twists, smoking hot chemistry and an ending that leaves you desperate for book 2. Highly recommend this book.
This was my first book by the author and they did not disappoint! This book had me from the beginning and I could not put it down, I had to know what was going to happen. It had plenty of surprises and encompassed a variety of elements for the reader. The chemistry between the characters was off the charts and plenty of hotness! It is a darker romance but those are my favorites and this one I would highly recommend to other readers. I definitely will be reading more by this author.
Enjoyable book
I don’t even know where to begin. This was the first book I read by this amazingly talented author Skye Warren and I was blown away (cried my eyes out). I didn’t put this story down until I finished and then I cried again because I didn’t have the next story to continue on! It was a wild, emotional ride into a different world filled with deep, dark characters, revenge, deception, lust, heartache, pleasure, power plays, family loyalty, lies, truths you never wanted to know, romance and some hot sex scenes. Who is real and who is fake? Gabriel and Avery are my new favorite characters and I rarely add any to my all time favorites list, but they are right up there!! There are so many twists and turns, the suspense and surprises are so mind blowing. Don’t miss this book! I will be getting the next two in the series as soon as I possibly can.
This was a great read. I’m not sure how I missed this for so long, but I’m so glad I discovered the series.
Honestly, I’m not sure what to think of this book because I’d wanted to read it for a long while and was very excited when I finally picked it up. I had high expectations because the blurb sounded like a great push and pull between the hero and heroine. Well, my excitement didn’t last long because after a few pages in, I was already very disappointed.
At this point, I should probably mention that I knew the characters from another book by this author (either from the Survival of the Richest Duet or Escort, I’m not sure anymore which one it was), which probably gave away too much as to why I wasn’t very captured by this book to begin with. Obviously, I already knew what was going to happen since the other book kind of spoiled it for me. But regardless, I was intrigued by the characters and curious enough that I wanted to know how their story unfolded.
Sadly though, I was disappointed how this story, so full of potential, turned out so easy and almost carelessly written. Don’t get me wrong, the writing wasn’t bad but it seemed all just too easy and accommodating how the characters bent to the author’s will when the content was or could have been so much more heavy. I mean, who sells their virginity just like that?! It didn’t feel wrong or dirty, it didn’t feel like she struggled at all to do it, almost as if she was just selling an object. And the hero was a mystery as well. Why he did what he did, and why he cared so much, when on the other hand he told her to be careful around him and she thought of him as a monster. She was way too comfortable around any of the men in her situation and I had a problem with this. Actually, the heroine was one of the main reasons which ruined this story for me.
I liked the concept of the story but not what the author made of it. Even the beginning where she just waltzed into this men’s club to offer herself up to get a loan from criminals was ridiculous. And how she confessed that she was a virgin might have been very ballsy but I somehow didn’t buy into her actions because they clashed with how I viewed her. She was young, naïve and innocent, not only because she was a virgin but also because she had been sheltered her whole life by her father. So this move from her felt very out of character. To make things worse, she was a very conflicted character, thinking of one thing and changing her mind in the next second.
I believe that if she would have been forced to do what she had to do, because the men deemed her worthy to pay off her father’s debts, it would have given the story a lot more grip and I would have understood and liked it a hell of a lot better.
This all might sound very harsh despite my 3 star rating. Well, this story was a mix between 2 and 3.5 stars for me and the reason why I took the 3 stars was that it was not all bad. There were likeable things to which I was drawn to and sometimes there was even enough depth for me to keep reading but OMG this woman most often annoyed the hell out of me.
She always kept thinking of Gabriel as a monster, when all he did was help her. She had so much luck, she didn’t even know it. He was way too nice to be a bad guy anyway.
It wasn’t a bad read but my interest wavered throughout the entire book. It could have been an amazing dark read and I wish the story was more heavily laced with darkness because it was too vanilla for me, especially with content like her auctioning off her virginity to a stranger. I don’t know if it was intended to be a dark read or not but it felt like an easy attempt that turned out vanilla and I like my books very dark. So maybe that was just my personal problem. I just think that maybe more force behind what she had to do would have heightened everything, and more aggressiveness and cruelness from his side would have made it a lot more compelling. Also more fear and aversion from her side would have helped the story, having more of a face-off between the characters. Everything seemed too easy for her, falling into her lap (apart from what her father did or how hard her situation with him was).
The hero was too nice for this kind of story and I had a hard time picturing him as a monster or bad guy because he just never acted that way. Avery liked his looks, but thought what he did to her and how he used her body was disgusting, although this sounds worse than it really was because he was very gentle and never hurt her. I really don’t get where her problems were. Woman!! Make up your mind!! You care about him and feel save with him one second but are scared of him the next. What is it now?!
I can’t lie that the ending makes me want to read the next book, though I’m not sure when that will be because although there were some good parts, I didn’t love the book as much as I anticipated.
´¨) ¸.•’¨) (¸.•´ (¸.•` ~~10 DARK AND SEDUCTIVE STARS!!!! ~~
“Never fear, little virgin. You’ll make plenty selling your wares.”
My mind has officially been blown!! THE PAWN, book one in Skye Warren’s brand new ENDGAME series, was spellbinding!!!!! Brilliant! Absolutely phenomenal!!!! So step aside Philip and Blue….there is a new King of Cruelty and I am WILD about him!!!! Gabriel Miller is absolutely magnificent in all his feral, savage male beauty, and the alluringly innocent object of his nefarious desires is his perfect opponent!
This is a darkly sensual tale told via the POV of Avery James, a virginal young heiress, torn asunder by circumstance, ruined by fate, who enters the lion’s Den. Literally.
“These aren’t men, they’re animals. They’re predators, and I’m prey. Why would I willingly walk inside?”
Well, the answer to that is simple. Because she’s in dire straits, with nowhere else to turn, after she’s stripped of everything—her fortune, her dignity, everything she once cherished—and is drowning in debt. Bills. Devastation. And the fall from grace is oh-so-humbling. It was mere months ago when Avery was the toast of society, dripping in wealth and fancy clothes, celebrating her high school graduation and pumped with excitement about her acceptance into a prestigious all girl’s college.
But that girl does not exist anymore.
As chapter one opens, she throws herself on notorious loan shark Damon Scott’s mercy, begging for a loan, but he needs her as collateral and she is forced to auction off her virtue to the highest bidder to keep the house creditors at bay and to pay for her father’s medical care after suffering a vicious beating that leaves him clinging to life. But the last person on earth she imagined who would cast the winning million dollar bid is the dark and rakishly handsome Gabriel Miller.
“He’s the one who orchestrated my family’s fall. He’s like a puppet master, moving me faster and faster until I come apart.”
Gabriel set out to make an example of her father for cheating him, for daring to double-cross him, but it wasn’t enough to turn over state’s evidence that led to his prosecution and stripping him of all his power and wealth. Now he sets his sinister sights on Avery, the broken man’s precious, virginal daughter, to extract more payment. And the price for survival is high indeed! For Avery knows that once her dirty little secret comes out, that she “whored” her body out for money, she will be ruined in Tanglewood. She will never be accepted in upper crust society again.
“He could see every part of me. Touch every inch of my skin. Invade every place in my body.”
But as much as she wants to revile this unsavory, predatorial man who’s out to HURT her, steal her innocence, cruelly mark her as his, she is not exactly recoiling from his searing touch. Every time his deep amber gaze meets hers, burning with PASSION, FURY and RAW, PRIMAL POSSESSION, a ripple of traitorous desire and dark need shivers through her untouched body. Still, she knows better than to fall into a false sense of security with Gabriel. Everything he does has a purpose. To break her. She is his pawn in every sense of the word.
“I’ve met a million men in my life. Shaken hands. Smiled. I’ve never felt as seen through as I do right now. Never felt like someone has turned me inside out, every dark secret exposed to the harsh light. He sees my weaknesses, and from the cruel set of his mouth, he likes them.”
And even though he quietly relishes owning every single part of her gorgeous, achingly innocent body, he hadn’t counted on developing a begrudging respect for his “little virgin,” who would more than hold her own in the fierce battle of wills, and, as it turns out, she is not so easily manipulated. She is beautiful and brave, resilient and strong, with an aura of angelic purity that nearly brings him to his knees. She dangles her brilliant mind and untarnished soul in front of him—uses it as the ultimate leverage.
Now with the stakes higher than ever and their contemptuous passion reaching a shattering crescendo, who will emerge the victor in this cunning game of love and war?
HOLY WOW!!! I have marveled at every book that I’ve read by Skye Warren but the THE PAWN is in a league of its own. It’s her piece de resistance, her crowning achievement. This darkly entrancing enemies-to-lovers tale where the virgin princess is locked in the tower with the fire breathing dragon is teeming with rage and revenge, betrayal and lust, and such passion and pathos it is absolutely spellbinding!
The chemistry between the Dark Knight and his Pawn was THRILLINGLY EROTIC and BLAZING HOT!!! Every encounter pulsated with so much dangerous, wanton desire, filthy innuendo, churning emotion and bristling tension I was left quivering! Gabriel is tall, dark, intimidating and DOMINANTLY sexy, and Avery is way out of her depth with her formidable new master.
“He’s a giant of a man, rough-hewn and hard as stone. Except he’s not here to protect me.”
The angst in this book was OFF. THE. CHARTS! My heart ached for Avery so intensely that it felt as if there was an unbearable weight pressing down on my chest, and there was an ever present burn of tears prickling behind my eyes. Yet my feelings were all over the place. As much as I wanted to loathe the unscrupulous lord of the manor for putting sweet Avery through such degradation and public shame, for mocking her and coldly dismissing her after she’s dutifully “served” her master, I knew deep down that he was not the monster he pretended to be because there was a glimmer of gentleness beneath that steel of armor.
“He made it clear that he’s my enemy, if I still had any doubt. I’m the pawn, and he’s my triumphant captor. And yet there are those moments of tenderness that I can’t quite turn away from. Drops of water that I’m thirsty enough to drink.”
It was in those achingly tender moments after he took her to height of ecstasy, when he cradled his beautiful conquest so gently in his arms and soothed her trembling with his deceptively soft whispers in the dark, that I knew there was more to Gabriel than met the eye. But who was the man behind the poker face? Was he her ally or foe, her savior or her tormenter…or perhaps all of the above?
The prose is breathtaking…shimmering with such grace and sophistication, and SOUL-SEARING metaphorical beauty it left me in a literary trance! And I found the plot to be brilliantly executed, and well-paced (TRULY NOT A DULL MOMENT!), the supporting characters all serving a vital purpose. There were so many riveting twists and turns, a virtual roller coaster of emotions, I was constantly on pins and needles awaiting the next bomb to detonate.
Speaking of explosions…
Holy hell…That FINAL MANEUVER!! It was shocking and brutally raw, and it totally obliterated my heart!! I felt like one of Gabriel’s hand-carved chess pieces, moved around with calculated precision around the board, and just when I felt that sweet victory was in my sights…BOOM!! Checkmate!
Ultimately, as I kept getting lured deeper and deeper into this dark, deliciously twisted labyrinth it really stuck me that this is truly a tale “…about war. About opposition. About standing tall in a rain of bullets” and that ultimately “life isn’t about what you deserve, it’s about making the best of what you have.”
Well, I can say one thing for certain…Skye Warren delivered the best of the best with THE PAWN. It is a literary triumph, a tour de force to be relished and revered, and I cannot wait to continue this series!
I loved The Pawn! From the *FIRST* page I couldn’t stop reading this book. The fallen Cinderella who meets a devil destined to save her… The Pawn is filled with emotion, angst, and loads of chemistry! A must-read! Get The Pawn you will LOVE it!! xoMaggie
First off I want to say that I really like this story as it captures your attention and keeps it through the entire story as well as the following book “The Knight”.
I realize that when you purchase the first book on Bookbub you’re buying at a greatly reduced price and the following books will be priced higher. What I don’t like is that ALL of the sequels in this series are $4.99 per book which isn’t bad but not for 177 pages per book. For a 177 page book I do not expect to pay more than $1.99 max. I would be more likely to purchase the remainder of the books in a bundle for a set price of $4.99 (based upon each book being approximately 178 pages). I get the impression that this may be an issue with this specific author as I see the question as to if her other books are a complete story or if it’s a series. It’s a good story but not for the price.
Young virgin female has herself auctioned off to the highest bidder to pay for her mother’s house. Her father is very sick due to losing his business. He literally gets beaten on the streets causing many life threatening injuries. Her “uncle” tries to force her to marry him. She rejects his offer. He loses the bidding war to a wealthy business man.
Learn who and how she loses her virginity to!