“On your knees.” Captured, collared, and caged is the last place ice-cold Council assassin Jade Lakotesh wants to be, but when she discovers she’s sharing her prison with her target, a ripped barbarian who blames her employer for his fate, she accepts only one of them will leave the cell alive.Walsh Ryker hit rock bottom with the deaths of those he loved most. Now, he’s plummeted to a new low, … plummeted to a new low, trapped with a cellmate as ice cold as she is stunningly hot. She’s out for blood, lacks any ability to cooperate…and leaves him more alive than he’s felt in years. For a man no longer interested in feeling, she may be his greatest hazard to date.
He never expects to see her as more than the enemy. She never expects to crave his rough, raw commands.
But as dangers mount, and they are forced to work together to defeat a shared threat, will the scorching passion between these two enemies entomb them in the dark forever—or be the key that sets them free?
The third book in the Condemned Series, Tormented is a standalone, action-packed, sexy sci-fi, enemies-to-lovers romance with a HEA and a dirty-talking, strong alpha who meets his match where he least expects. You won’t be able to put it down.
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The third book in the Condemned Series. Council assassin Jade Lakotesh and Ex-Resistance fighter Walsh Ryker’s story I would advise reading these books in order. This is an enemies to lover’s story. I would say read this book and if you do I hope you like it much as I did. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is an extremely suspenseful book & strikes me as an “enemies to lovers” romantic suspense. The characters are impressive, well-developed & at times quite dangerous. The plot is well-thought-out & adventurous; there are some excellent scene descriptions.
There is: a corrupt council, a brutal prison planet (Dragath25), a female council assassin who lands up captured & naked with a collar (Jade Lakotesh), a ex-resistance fighter with devastating memories of the past is trapped with her (Walsh Ryker), vicious prison gangs, an assignment, twists & turns, action, drama, suspense, intrigue, mystery, violence, pent-up rage, threats, enemies, danger, life- threatening incidents, camaraderie, spiraling emotional feelings, romance, lust, love, steamy scenes & a exceptional well-deserved happy conclusion. There is also a tantalizing glimpse of Book 4 “Tamed” I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading this kind of book.
Tormented is book three in the Condemned Series by Alison Aimes. Wow! Just Holy Wow! This book blew my mind. Each book in this series can be read as a stand alone. I did read the first book but skipped book two so I could get to this one. You better believe I am going back to read book two as soon as possible.
Walsh Ryker used to work for the Council on New Earth. Until it became apparent that the Council were not the good guys. So he became the resistance. But, he was captured and lost everything that was dear to his heart. Now, two years later, he is living with other resistance fighters on Dragath25. The leader of the deadly gang of prisoners on the planet has constructed a deadly weapon and he needs to steal it. He is on a mission to do so when he encounters a new and very deadly opponent. Only it’s not one of Dragath25’s resident prisoners at all, but a beautiful woman.
Jade Lakotesh is a Council assassin on New Earth sent to Dragath25 to retrieve the weapon and bring it back to them. Jade was an orphan, raised by the Council to be a cold hearted killer. She felt no emotion and thought only logically. When she encounters the fierce resistance fighter, her first thoughts are that she can take him, that he is no match for her. Until she finds herself naked and chained in a cell in complete darkness. And he is being held captive there as well.
I would call this an enemies to lovers story. These two are complete enemies in the beginning. Jade stands for everything Ryker hates. But they soon realize that in order to save themselves, they will need to work together. It also doesn’t take long to realize that there is some sort of unexplainable pull between them, something neither of them can ignore or resist, try as they might.
“Council and Resistance, ice queen and hothead. Until they were just two breathless shadows wrapped around one another, desperate to feel, to touch, to live.”
For Jade, Ryker awakened her. She had been trained not to feel. Attachments had been forbidden. She was slowly realizing just what she had been missing. For Ryker, he had closed up his heart two years ago. But what he was beginning to feel for Jade was beyond anything he had ever experienced before. It both scared him and awed him. They began to trust each other and to care for each other.
“He’d finally decided to live again and he wasn’t doing it without her.”
“You wreck me, Jade. But you heal me, too. We’re each other’s always exception.”
At every turn, Jade and Ryker are met with danger and possible death. But together they face every challenge. They are battling danger from the prisoner gang and also are fighting against a raging dust storm which makes trying to get from one place to another a fight against death by itself.
“Pain and grief had twisted and changed him, but it had also made him stronger, the kind of man able to love a woman as fierce and brave as his warrior assassin.”
This book was crazy good. I’m telling you that you cannot stop reading. You have to know what happens next. The suspense takes your breath away. But also, there is so much love. As Ryker and Jade accept their feelings for each other, they are also forced to make decisions based on that growing bond. Decisions to protect each other but that also would put any future they might have in jeopardy.
I can’t say enough how much I loved this book. We also meet Ryker’s friend and fellow resistance fighter, Griff. The next book, Tamed, book four, will be his story. I can’t wait.
“For the first time in my life, I’m excited about what tomorrow will bring.”
WOW… here is a story that most certainly makes you read the whole thing through preferably without stopping. It has excitement in spades and more or less it has all needed for a great story. The storyline is so good and the characters are phenominal. Overall this story is just absolutely fantastic and the only thing I can do is applaud the author for these writings.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.