I enjoyed this book! I felt like it was different from most of the suspense novels I’ve read. This one kept me on the edge of my seat with the twists and schemes and the originality of the story.

There wasn't anything about this book that I didn't like. Once I started reading it was hard to put down. Great storyline and interesting characters. I'll be reading more of this author.

This seemed overly long and hard to get into for me. I was not impressed with the writing style or any of the characters, and it seemed a chore to pick it up to continue. Firstly let me say this is described as a “thriller with psychological twists.” I read a lot in that genre and did not find the description to be accurate. Tori is the main character, betrothed to an abusive slime ball, Matt, She is whiney, he is a manipulative bully. She falls for another unsavory character Hunter, who is supposed to be hot, but he’s into drugs and killing and nothing about him sounded attractive to me. Yet they are described as desperately in love after a couple of explicit sexual romps.

The mystery of who killed Tori’s father seemed to take a back seat to what the relationships were about. This dragged on for me and did not deliver what I’ve come to expect in the suspense/thriller category.

Realizing I’m in the minority here with my opinion, I still appreciate the opportunity provided me by #netgalley and the publishers to read and post my honest opinion of this work.

I loved this book! It’s refreshingly different from 90% of the thrillers/suspense I’ve read which all seem very similar, but with this one I was on the edge of my seat with the twists and schemes and the general originality of the story.

Tori Morgan’s mother, Lillian, has gone to great pains to hide that her husband (Tori’s father) was murdered, allegedly because of his involvement with dodgy dealing. Being from an upper class family, Lillian was desperate not to let this stain on her family affect her status in the society she believed all important. So important that she was willing to do anything to make this happen, including arranging marriage for Tori to the son of an equally materialistic and horrible couple, Richard and Susan (who had their own agenda).

Matt, (Tori’s fiancé) is like his father, a nasty piece of work and between him and his horrible friends, treats Tori in a revolting fashion. Tori hates Matt and doesn’t want to marry him, but being as she’s so bogged down and lacking in confidence, she feels she has no choice and just has to put up with it.
Matt’s greed drags him into dealings with the Reapers (a local motorbike gang) in an attempt to cash in from peddling drugs to his rich mates and also with helping his career at the bank by securing a property the Reapers own. Matt’s plans of how to gain possession of the building involves using Tori in unsavoury ways, but his plan doesn’t go quite the way he wants.
Hunter, the president of the Reapers, although a hard and violent man, has a heart and also a conscience despite what he has done in the past and finds himself, regardless of his reservations and personal issues, falling for Tori and the feeling is mutual.

I won’t say anything more about the story as I don’t want to spoil it, but a tangled web of lies, betrayal, blackmail, hurt, hope and love is mixed within the pages and I found it very difficult to put down. There are plenty of very hot scenes, violence and some things that some people might feel uncomfortable with –in my opinion, a top class mix of thriller/suspense and romantic suspense, not like anything I’ve read before.
I also loved how things were made clear to the reader whilst leaving the characters tying themselves in knots working out who was behind things, trapped in a cycle of suspicion. I felt this was a uniquely original way of doing things. I found myself getting quite agitated about what half the characters were doing and it’s not very often a book gets under my skin like that, so I was extremely impressed.

The book is fast paced, well written and told from multiple points of view, with every emotion you can think of dripping from the characters. Although it does not end on a cliffhanger as such, the story certainly does not finish anywhere near like I thought it might and I’m very much looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I want to thank NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and author Edie Baylis for providing me an ARC of this book!

The description of a thriller packed with psychological twists, romance and crime is SPOT ON! What a fun and exciting read this was. The writing in this story is enthralling and keeps your attention the whole way through. The characters were well written and relatable, as well. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for book number two in this series!

Thank you again to those named above for the chance to read and review this ARC!

Thanks to Netgalley and Booksgosocial for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tori is 20 and engaged to Matt, a horrible but rich man from a "good family". It is basically an arranged marriage set up her status seeking mother. Tori's father died in an accident or possible murder some years ago. Matt and his father are bankers and are trying to buy up properties and Matt has some shady negotiations with a motorcycle gang that kills people and sells drugs, led by a guy named Hunter.

I am in the minority in this highly rated and very long book. I did not enjoy any part of it. It is billed as "a suspense thriller filled with psychological twists, romance and crime". I found it to be a typical absurd romance with some crime thrown in. It should not have been listed as a thriller or mentioned having psychological twists because those words drew me in and the book did not deliver on those claims. I had my phase with romance novels and I am recovered. This was asinine. I hated every character. Tori is a whiny idiot. She is abused by her fiancee, Matt, and just puts up with it because her mother, who is also awful, tells her to. Then she falls in love with Hunter who is supposed to be hot, I guess, but sounds thoroughly gross to me and is a murderer to boot. They are ridiculously declaring their love for one another after a couple of rolls in the hay. Others are declaring they have never seen two people more in love. What? At least make the guy a hot non murderer/drug dealer and maybe I could find something worthwhile here. Then the mystery of who killed Tori's father could not have been more obvious. The crime part was boring and the whole thing was too long. Despite this book being seemingly endless, it appears there will be more in this series, and I obviously will not be continuing on. I hate to leave bad reviews but I also hate when books are miss marketed and I waste a bunch of time reading a book from a genre in which I have no interest. I had to skim the last 25%. I just couldn't take it anymore.

I really enjoyed this book. I’m not typically a suspense/thriller reader but this is definitely the exception. I think the cover is eye catching. The writing and storytelling is vivid and kept me invested. I’m really looking forward to the next book!