A tragically beautiful story.

Allison, a young woman who is struggling to find a way to avenge her childhood best friend Samantha. Decides to change who she is to accomplish this. She goes to college and acts like a girl who sleeps around and doesn’t care what others think of her. She is estranged from her mother and has no one left to confide in. She meets the guys on the rugby team at college and one boy stands out to her when they meet.

Dean, a young man who is struggling with past issues and anger management. He is at college due to a benefactor who wanted to help him out of a tough situation. A friend of his uncles, offered to send him to college, a classmate, Kevin, is the benefactors son. Dean is not the type of guy who wants to fit into the college boy mold, he plays rugby for the physical release he gets when he is playing. He’s never been the type of guy who commits in a relationship. When he meets Allison, his whole world is turned upside down, completely.

Kevin is the son of a rich man who is powerful and has money to keep his son out of trouble when he finds it, a party boy. This has given Kevin the attitude that he is above everyone and everything and he can always have what he wants no matter the cost or consequences to his actions.

The past for all three of these people will come back to haunt them in the worst way possible. It will even cost lives. The love that comes out of this story is beautiful, but the lives that these three have lived are the tragedy in this story. This story is about a very touchy subject and it is very pertinent to what is going on in the world at this time. Ms. Winters did a great job with the story and the path that she took to tell the story was very heart wrenching, but well written. I give this story a 5 star rating and I look forward to reading more about the characters in the near future.

I am loving this series. The men are hot, Alpha, and very dark. They are devoted to the women they meet and fall in love with, and they would do anything to keep them safe and show them that they are cherished every day.

Victor Drayton, artist, businessman, part owner in Spiked Roses, and creator of Drayton Dolls, is a man who likes everything and everyone in his Dollhouse to be structured, punctual, and neat. He is a creative man who can get lost in his art when he is working on a show. His shows are much different than you would expect in an art show. His art shows are created around and with his Drayton Dolls. They are the art show.

Ivy Adams, a young woman who is working to send money home to her family to help with her fathers medical bills and running the house hold her sister and father live in. She makes one mistake and gets fired from the best job she has ever held and could ever hope to hold for the money to send home, a Spiked Roses waitress. When one door closes, another door opens. She is offered a position in Drayton’s Dolls, but the rumors she has heard about them scare her a bit. If she doesn’t take this opportunity though, she will be letting her family down. She agrees to Victors job proposition, and a new life begins for her. She didn’t anticipate falling in love with the man though.

The stories in the Top Shelf Series are very well written, they touch upon some dark and hard situations to read, but they cover these situations well. I look forward to reading about the other men in this series. The owners of Spiked Roses may be dangerous, rich, and a bit on the scary side, but they are also hot and I love reading their stories. If you like a story with some danger, Alpha men, and a HEA, then you should read this series. Although be warned by the cover note: “If you don’t like a splash of shock, a dash of taboo, and a heavy dose of sex, then don’t take a sip of this TOP SHELF cocktail.”

Such a dark and beautiful love story. Rafe and Alex are meant to be together. If they can just find a way to survive without the people out to hurt them they will have a great life together.

Rafe and Alex have gone through so much and are finally at a place where they can look at forever, but their past just won’t go away or leave them alone. Their past is the catalyst to their lives, but they have over come so much now they need to get rid of Zach so that they can have their HEA. Once again their lives are in danger and there is no sight of it changing any time soon. Maybe Alex’s quick thinking will get Rafe back on the island so that they can come up with a plan to rid themselves of Zach forever. Alex just has to survive long enough for help to come to save her.

I love this series and I am so ready to read each and every installment when it comes out. It is such a dark love story, but it also has such a great story line that it makes it a MUST read for me. I love that Rafe realizes that his love for Alex is all consuming, but that he would do anything to save her and have her in his life, even if his dark desires surface daily.

If you like a beautiful love story, but with dark content, then you should really read this series by Gemma James. Deviant is the 5th book in the Condemned Series. It’s a great series to read. I give Deviant at 5 star review, and I look forward to more of this series in the future.

Holy Crap, what a story! Patrick Walsh, a SEAL on leave needs to unwind and is not a man who is in a place for a relationship. He pays for sex, no strings, no commitments, no heartbreak. He walks into a brothel in Aruba and picks a woman with a crooked smile. She’s pretty and her smile draws him in. Star, a woman who is working this brothel because she was kidnapped, drugged, and sold for sex. She’s been a sex slave for five years. Will she ever be rescued and go home to heal?

Star, Annie Hamilton, is just trying to survive. She has a secret and she cannot give up on living. She’s afraid to speak to this man, but he may be the man to save her. He’s an American and she believes that he may be in special forces, maybe even a SEAL. She takes a chance and tells him who she is after she pleasures him. He gets freaked out and leaves quickly. He didn’t ask for this, he doesn’t want to know her hardships. However, he’s a SEAL and his oath won’t let him drop this or forget this woman. He needs the help of his two closest friends Vic and Kyle to help him rescue Annie and bring her home.

This story touches on very sensitive issues, but was written and dealt with in a very respectful way. Pat is a very caring and decent man, he thinks he can take Annie home and forget about her, but that just isn’t happening. Annie’s ordeal almost broke her, but she managed to stay alive and got home. She didn’t let her hell define who she was or the remainder of her life. She knew that it only made her who she was and that was a strong, kind woman.

I loved this story and hated to get to the end of the book. It was such a touching story with heart wrenching issues. I love both Pat and Annie and hope to read more about them throughout the Trident Code Series. I have read a few of Ms. Albertson’s books and her writing always pulls me in very quickly. Such a well written story. I give it a 5 star review.