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Deceptive Vows (Blood and Thorns 3) by Faith Summers-Review Tour

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Deceptive Vows (Blood and Thorns 3) by Faith Summers-Review Tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 15, 2021.

What kind of happily-ever-after do you get when you’re forced to marry a monster?

A monstrous Bratva leader who bounds your wrists and promises to break you.Mikhail Dmitriyev is a beautiful devil with a villainous heart and a thirst for revenge.The choices he gave me when he stole me away from my home with an army of men were very clear—marry me or die.

I chose to marry him and live.But there’s one small problem with his grand plan to reign Armageddon on the Mexican Cartel.I’m not the woman he thinks I am.I’m not the cartel princess he thinks he took to make his enemies bow to him.

When my captor finds out my secret and realizes he married the wrong woman, love won’t be enough to save me.And neither will his obsession.

Deceptive Vows is a dark mafia arranged marriage romance. It contains dubious situations, mature content, and graphic violence some readers might find offensive and/or triggering.

••••••

REVIEW:DECEPTIVE VOWS is the third instalment in Faith Summers’ contemporary, adult BLOOD AND THORNS dark,erotic Bratva romance series. This is twenty-eight year old Mikhail Dmitriyev, and nineteen year old Natalia de Leon aka Adriana Alvarez’s story line. DECEPTIVE VOWS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. There is a slight cross over with the author’s DARK SYNDICATE series with the cameo appearances by Eric Markov (Heartless Lover-Dark Syndicate 5).

WARNING: Due to the graphic nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Natalia and Mikhail) DECEPTIVE VOWS follows in the aftermath of the obliteration of the Alvarez Cartel, leaving Natalia de Leon aka Adriana Alvarez alive, and her body guard clinging to life. Years earlier, the Alvarez Cartel abducted, tortured and murdered Mikhail’s sister, and in the years following our hero sought his revenge. Fast forward to present day where a few months earlier Mikhail’s mother was murdered, leaving Mikhail struggling to survive. Enacting revenge against the Alvarez Cartel, Mikhail sets his sights on taking control by first taking the only daughter of Raul Alvarez. Enter Adriana Alvarez aka Natalia deLeon. What ensues is the building but acrimonious relationship predicated on mistaken identity between Natalia and Mikhail, and the potential fall-out as Natalia’s secrets are revealed, and the remaining members of the Dmitriyev family are targeted from within.

Natalia de Leon was nothing more than a slave to the Alvarez Cartel, and a handmaiden to the princess Adriana Alvarez but an attack against the Cartel leaves Natalia as one of the sole survivors, and a case of mistaken identity, finds our heroine assuming the role of the Cartel princess. In an effort to take control and assume the top position, Mikhail Dmitriyev kidnaps and marries our story line heroine only to discover that betrayal from within forces Mikhail to reconsider his future options.

The relationship between Natalia and Mikhail begins as a forced proximity, mistaken identity, imprisonment of our story line heroine. Mikhail and his father have plans to take control of the Alvarez Cartel by staking a claim on Adriana Alvarez. Natalia knows that once her true identity is revealed, there is nothing saving our heroine from her immediate demise. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic, aggressive and intense with some questionable issues of consent.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including the appearance of Eric Markov (Heartless Lover 5). We are introduced to Mikhail’s father and Pakhan of the Baranov Bratva Sergei Dmitriyev, a man whose life is nearing the end; Sergei’s sister Sophia, and Mikhail’s half-brother Ivan; Natalia’s ‘bodyguard’ Jose Diaz, caretaker Aleksander as well as several members of the Mexican Cartel.

DECEPTIVE VOWS is a story of secrets and lies, power and control, betrayal and vengeance, murder and blood, dysfunctional family, jealousy, hate and love. The premise is dark, haunting and raw; the romance is unconventional, and dramatic; the characters are tragic and impassioned.

I will add that Deceptive Vows seems more at home with the Dark Syndicate series than the Blood and Thorns series, as B&T is currently labelled a duet.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Merciless Vows
Merciless Union

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

“Your marriage to me will seal the deal on my control of the cartel. That’s the easy way to conquer your father’s empire without rebellion. But I could do it the other way. The harder, hellish way where I kill you and reign hell on Mexico. So, princess, your choices are marry me, or die.” 

My mouth goes dry, as if someone has stuffed it with sand. 

Marry him or die? Those are my choices. 

They both sound like the same thing to me. 

Like death. 

It’s just that one might prolong my life a little longer. 

“What’s it going to be, princess?” 

“I don’t want to die,” I choke out. 

 “I didn’t think so.”

Jesus. What did I get myself into? 

He’s going to marry me thinking I’m someone else. 

This is not a man you mess around with. 

What will he do to me when he discovers I’m not the Cartel Princess. 

I’ve gone from the fear of being placed up for auction to getting ready to marry a Russian mobster. 

How the hell did that happen?

Faith Summers is the Dark Contemporary Romance pen name of USA Today Bestselling Author, Khardine Gray.

Warning !! Expect wild romance stories of the scorching hot variety and deliciously dark romance with the kind of alpha male bad boys best reserved for your fantasies.

Dive in and enjoy her naughty page-turners.

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Merciless Union (Blood & Thorns 2) by Faith Summers-Review Tour

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Merciless Union (Blood & Thorns DUET 2) by Faith Summers-Review & Excerpt Tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 19, 2021.

Everything changed overnight.
Truth became my enemy, and the sting of betrayal dragged me into a web of lies.
I’m damned if I fight to live and damned if I die.
Both will be dangerous for the child growing inside me.
I can’t trust Lucca to save us.
Love is a myth we shouldn’t have explored.
He was always my enemy.
Love just made me forget and blinded me to the truth.
The cruel hand of death is the only answer when doom takes over.
I don’t know if I’ll survive, or if death will bury me along with the sins of the past.

••••••••

REVIEW:MERCILESS UNION is the second and final instalment in Faith Summers’ (aka Khardine Gray) contemporary, adult BLOOD AND THORNS dark, erotic, Mafia, romance duet focusing on soon to be twenty-five year old Italian Mafia princess Aria De Marchi, and twenty-eight year old, Bratva assassin Lucca Dyshekov. MERCILESS UNION should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the cliff-hanger of book one MERCILESS VOWS.

WARNING: Due to the graphic nature of the story line premise and content, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

NOTE: If you have not read book one, there may be spoilers in my review.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Aria and Lucca) MERCILESS UNION picks up immediately after the events and cliff hanger of book one MERCILESS VOWS. Lucca Dyshekov’s compound came under attack leaving Lucca fighting for his life, and Aria a captive of the men in charge. Struggling to survive but barely holding on, Aria battles between head and heart as secrets from the past begin to reveal betrayal at every level including from the man with whom she is falling in love. As Lucca makes plans to rescue his wife, he will discover that the deception and dishonesty knows no boundaries, as most of his life has been predicated upon a lie. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship between Lucca and Aria, and the potential fall-out a our couple find themselves in the direct line of fire, without the ability to trust anyone including those once thought to be family and friends.

MERCILESS UNION, like Merciless Vows, is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and revenge, power, control, greed and obsession, hopelessness and love. Faith Summers pulls the reader into a dark, gritty, raw and untamed world of organized crime-the greed and fight for power; the sickness of some people as they fight their way to the top. The premise is edgy, startling, dramatic and intense; the romance struggles in the face of secrets and lies; the characters are passionate, heart breaking, broken yet strong.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one MERCILESS VOWS

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed By Sandy

 

 

I can’t stop moving. Lucca was shot. My heart tumbles in my chest with panic and desperation with every hurried step I take.
“It’s not what you think,” someone who sounds like Jon, Lucca’s best friend, answers. “I’m so sorry, Lucca. You were like a brother to me, but you dug too deep.”
Marylin and I stop short when we see Lucca lying on the ground with blood pouring from his stomach. That’s bad enough. However, the sight of Jon standing over him with his gun aimed at him in one hand and a metal bar in the other makes my blood boil. That answers the question of how the men got on the grounds.
“Lucca!” I scream, and my eyes lock with his silver ones.
In that split second, as I look at him, memory hits me as clear as the image of him lying before me.
I remember the day I first met him. It was at music class. I heard him playing the piano. I was seven, and he was ten. He was playing that song that unlocked my heart.
Clair de Lune.
He offered to help me with my piano lessons so my mother would allow me to play the violin.
That was the moment we began. That was the beginning of our unexpected journey and an unexpected friendship that has lasted my whole life, even though he might not have always been with me. My accident might have robbed me of memories of the magic we shared, but I feel it.
That’s the first memory I’ve had of my childhood that wasn’t locked in a dream.
As the horror hits me that I’m watching him die, I try to get to him. Marylin holds me back, but I try to get away so I can save him.
“No, Aria, we have to get out,” Marylin urges.
“Lucca!” I wail.
“Go!” Lucca shouts to me, and his eyes roll back in his head.


 

Faith Summers is the Dark Contemporary Romance pen name of USA Today Bestselling Author, Khardine Gray.

Warning !! Expect wild romance stories of the scorching hot variety and deliciously dark romance with the kind of alpha male bad boys best reserved for your fantasies.

Dive in and enjoy her naughty page-turners.

Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

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Merciless Vows (Blood and Thorns 1) by Faith Summers-Review tour

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Merciless Vows (Blood and Thorns 1) by Faith Summers-Review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 21, 2021

When I was sixteen a gypsy fortune teller told me my future held darkness and death.
She was right.
But what she didn’t tell me was the devil himself would rise from hell in the form of Lucca Dyshekov and take everything from me with a gun held to my head.

He’s the Bratva assassin they all call Merciless.
On our wedding day, he taught me real monsters aren’t the ones who hide in the dark.
They’re the ones who stare you in the face and steal your soul.

On a quest for revenge, he takes me and unearths secrets from the past that will cause a war.When death lies on the horizon the enemy of my enemy becomes my friend.
In this instance he’s my husband.The real question is when he finishes uncovering the truth, will he keep me or kill me.

••••••

REVIEW:MERCILESS VOWS is the first instalment in Faith Summers’ (aka Khardine Gray) contemporary, adult BLOOD AND THORNS erotic, dark, Mafia romance duet focusing on soon to be twenty-five year old Italian Mafia princess Aria De Marchi, and twenty-eight year old, Bratva assassin Lucca Dyshekov.

WARNING: Due to the graphic nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Aria and Lucca) using present day and memories from the past, MERCILESS VOWS follows the enemies to lovers relationship between soon to be twenty-five year old Italian Mafia princess Aria De Marchi, and twenty-eight year old, Bratva assassin Lucca Dyshekov. Two and half years earlier Aria De Marchi lost her mother, and she herself almost died, leaving our heroine in a coma for close to six months. Upon awakening, Aria is suffering with retrograde amnesia, and presently is unable to remember any of her earlier life. Sold to Lucca Dyshekov for sins of the father, Aria soon discovers there is more to her history, family and new life than she could have ever imagined. Both hating and growing to love our story line anti-hero, Aria slowly begins to recover her memories, memories that threaten everything she ever knew about her life, years ago. What ensues is the building but acrimonious relationship between Aria and Lucca, and the potential fall-out as Lucca is targeted, and betrayal rides high on the list of suspects.

Aria De Marchi doesn’t remember anything prior to her ‘accident’ almost three years earlier. The death of her mother weighs heavily on her mind but her father’s sins are about to place Aria in the direct line of fire, as she becomes a pawn in a bigger game of the Mafia vs the Russian mob. Lucca Dyshekov lost his entire family years before, but the death of a friend pushes Lucca over the edge. When Lucca gets information about his past, from the Mexican Cartel, Lucca sets out to take down the people responsible but betrayal from within finds Lucca fighting for his life.

The relationship between Lucca and Aria begins as a business arrangement, payment for sin, by our heroine’s father. Aria is an innocent, and knows nothing about her father’s life, but with the return of her memories, Ari begins to suspect that her father is not who he pretends to be. Lucca struggles with both his attraction to, and need to destroy our story line heroine but as their relationship grows, Aria’s love for Lucca is tested when Lucca discovers the truth. The $ex scenes are dramatic and intense, and not without some question of consent.

We are introduced to Aria’s father Raphael De Marchi; Lucca’s foster-father, of a sorts, Damien Mikhailov; Pakhan Grigori Ivanov; Lucca’s right hand man ad security specialist Jon, and Alexei; psychiatrist Dr. Belmont; as well as Lucca’s housekeeper Marylin.

MERCILESS VOWS is a story of betrayal and vengeance; family and deceit; secrets, lies, brutality and the truth. The premise is dark and gritty; the romance is aggressive and intoxicating; the characters are broken, powerful and hostile. MERCILESS VOWS ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

We stare at each other for what feels like forever, and my nerves spike with every second that passes.
The way he looks at me makes me uncomfortable. It’s with an air of fascination that makes me wonder if it was he I lost my virginity to.
Annoyingly, the thought sends a shiver of arousal through me, and the weight pulls on my core.
There’s an attraction between us I don’t want to accept, especially after last night. And this morning.
Yet, as I stare at him, I can’t help but wonder how we would have met if my father didn’t know I knew him.
How close were we?
I have so many questions, ones I feel he won’t answer,
“Go on, Printsessa,” he urges with a cocky smile that should be as illegal as he is. “Ask me. I don’t want my bride’s head to explode with all those questions she has swirling around in there.”
Him calling me his bride makes me cringe.
“Why do you want to marry me? What sort of business benefit is there in marrying me?”
“Business benefit?” He inclines his head, and his hair drifts over his shoulder. The fading sunlight captures the lighter hints of brown in the dark mass of wild hair.
“You don’t love me, so don’t play with me. Tell me the truth. You’re marrying a woman who has no memories beyond the last two and a half years. I think I deserve some explanation.”
He looks like he’s considering it. When he sets his shoulders back, my hopes rise.
“You fit in with my plans,” he answers.
“What plans?”
“Those don’t concern you.”
“How don’t they concern me? You have access to my whole life. This is wrong. You know it is.”
“Right and wrong are shades of gray that people manipulate to take whatever form they want. This is mine.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to marry you.”
“You don’t have a choice, and if I were you, I wouldn’t create problems. Your father wasn’t joking when he told you to do as you’re told. You need to. If you don’t create problems, you won’t have a problem with me.”
He touches my cheek, and my body instantly betrays me.
The memory of his face comes into my mind, along with a kiss—the one from last night and another from before. That was the one I dreamt about.
“Where do I know you from?”
“I told you, you shouldn’t try and remember me.”
“Why? You’re the only thing I remember,” I confess, and as the words leave my lips, I regret it. I don’t think I should have told him that.
“Is that so? How unfortunate for you.” He backs away.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“I guess I must have lied.”


 

Faith Summers is the Dark Contemporary Romance pen name of USA Today Bestselling Author, Khardine Gray.

Warning !! Expect wild romance stories of the scorching hot variety and deliciously dark romance with the kind of alpha male bad boys best reserved for your fantasies.

Dive in and enjoy her naughty page-turners.

Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

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