CRUEL SAINT (Saint Trilogy 1) by TK Leigh -review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 11, 2024

Gideon:
For the past five years, all I’ve thought about is revenge.

Shot and left for dead by the people I trusted, only to be taken to an even worse hell, I vowed to make them pay.
To make them suffer as I once did.
To listen to their pleas for mercy as they draw their final breath.

But to do that, I need her.

Which comes with its own risks.

I may be able to fool everyone else, but if anyone might see past my changed appearance, it’s the woman I once planned to marry.
Imogene:

I moved to California for a fresh start. After the past five years, I was desperate to finally leave the past behind me. What better place to do that than Southern California?

Until I’m attacked and nearly killed in a dark alley.

I would have been if he hadn’t intervened.

Gideon Saint. Mysterious. Dangerous. Lethal.

And possessing eyes that look far too much like the man I lost all those years ago.

But that’s impossible. Samuel Tate is dead. Apart from those haunting blue eyes, he bears little resemblance to the man I once gave my heart.

At least that’s what I try to tell myself. Because if he is Samuel, where has he been the past five years?

And why did he make the world believe he was dead?

•••••

REVIEW: CRUEL SAINT is the first instalment in TK Leigh’s contemporary adult SAINT dark, erotic, romance trilogy focusing on billionaire Gideon Saint, and athletic trainer Dr. Imogene Prescott.

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

Told from dual first person perspectives (Gideon and Imogene) CRUEL SAINT follows building romance and relationship between our story line couple. Five years earlier, Imogene lost the love of her life to a fatal gun shot wound but a new job and a move to the west coast would bring Imogene up close and personal with billionaire investor Gideon Saint. From the outset Imogene struggles with the guilt of moving forward but something about Gideon pulls at our story heroine but all is not as it appears to be, and Gideon is a man set on claiming our heroine, while exacting revenge for everything he has lost. What ensues is the building relationship between Gideon and Imogene, and the potential fall-out as secrets and lies threaten their burgeoning romance.

The world building is detailed and intriguing. We are up close and personal with Gideon’s need to avenge; to seek revenge against those who destroyed his life, and claim the woman who has stolen his heart.

The relationship between Gideon and Imogene is one of immediate attraction but a relationship predicated upon secrets and lies. Something about Gideon is familiar to our story line heroine but Gideon is a man determined to prove Imogene is worthy of love. The $ex scenes are intimate and aggressive-Imogene likes it rough in the bedroom.

There is a large ensemble cast of interesting and dynamic secondary and supporting characters. We are introduced to Imogene’s best friends billionaire Liam Pierce, Melanie, and Melanie’s parent Alexander and Olivia Burnham; Imogene’s mother Julia, and step father Lachlan Hale, and Gideon’s best friend Henry Fontaine. The requisite evil has many faces.

CRUEL SAINT is a story of power and control, secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, family and relationships. The premise is dark, intriguing and dramatic; the romance is provocative and intense; the characters are determined and charismatic. CRUEL SAINT ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy