AN UNCONVENTIONAL ROMANCEAt eighteen, Yoko Hirano falls prey to a human trafficking organization and is forced into a lifestyle nightmares are made of. When the young Japanese girl escapes, her only focus is exacting revenge and saving other girls from the same fate by bringing down Michael Chen, the powerful mobster who destroyed her innocence. BETWEEN TWO MISFITSFour years later she meets … MISFITS
Four years later she meets antiques dealer Mark Chandler, the only man who ever treated her with respect. Though she is torn by her unfamiliar feelings for him, Yoko’s grand scheme doesn’t involve falling in love, and a man like Mark would never want her if he discovered her past. What she doesn’t know is that he has his own dark secrets…
BROUGHT TOGETHER BY LOVE AND REVENGE
Mark never thought he could lose his head over a woman, but the haunted eyes of his beautiful new employee fill his soul with desire and tenderness. When he learns about what had happened to her, his vengeance knows no limits. Nor does his resolve to help her heal and discover love.
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After being sucked in by Mr. Chen, a human trafficker, and his criminal organization, Yoko couldn’t imagine sex or any kind of relationship with any man being pleasant in any way. Men were users, abusers and women suffered for it. The only man who’d looked at her without lust in his eyes was Mark Chandler. All she’d seen was respect. What she didn’t know was that Mark led a secret life from that of being her bookstore boss. A life filled with suspense and danger. What Mark didn’t know about his beautiful new protégé was that she’d sold her body, hating the men who paid her for those privileges. When Yoko begins her revenge against the people who’d ruined her life, the action heats up and it’s very difficult to lay the book down. A solid 5 stars… I’ll be reading more from this author.
This is the third part to this series even though I have not read or listen to
the parts before this one I had know trouble getting into it.
The plot was good and the characters were interesting.
But I would read or listen to the other parts before this one to get the true effect.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book
This was my first book by Melinda De Ross and my first experience with narrator Austin Walp.
I’m a fan of romantic suspense and was intrigued by the concept of a previously trafficked woman seeking revenge. It was really difficult for me to get into this story for a few reasons:
* I was unnerved by the Japanese main character using phrases like “yellow skin” and “slanted eyes” to describe herself as well as the assertion that a Geisha is an equivalent to a prostitute. These are Western (and frankly racist) views and didn’t feel like something someone who was raised in Japan until 18, spent a year in sexual slavery, & only 3 years in American society would use.
* Expanding on Yoko’s life experience. The other premise of this story is that someone who was raised in poverty, spoke only a few words of English, and spent a year in secluded slavery would then within 3 years be able to not only assimilate but become an experienced hacker, earn her accounting degree, and become a CPA. It just didn’t make sense without any explanation.
I did manage to set that aside and mostly enjoyed the final 2/3 of the book. The romance between Yoko and Mark was lovely, yet realistic. They each struggled with her past and what it meant for their relationship, but managed to work through it. The suspense of bringing down Chen was another intriguing element. The ending & epilogue were lovely.
While Welp’s narration was OK, I think the story might have benefited by someone who was stronger in accents and provided more distinction between character’s voices.
I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.