DANCE OF DECEPTION (The Darkest Dance 1) by Jagger Cole-review tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 13, 2025

He knows what I saw. Now he owns me.
Carmine Barone is a monster no one sees but me.
A beautiful villain with a cold, black heart and a body honed for violence.
But when I stumble into a world I was never meant to see, the ruthless mafia heir becomes something else, too:
My husband.
Now, I’m trapped in a forced marriage to a man who hunts in darkness.
A man who plays games with lies and deception.
A secret predator who wants to feast on my darkest, most immoral desires.
And the only thing worse than being chased by a psychopath?
Wanting him to.

••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: DANCE OF DECEPTION is the first instalment in Jagger Cole’s contemporary, adult THE DARKEST DANCE dark,erotic, organized crime series. This is the new Don Carmine Barone, and ballet dancer Lyra Ostrova’s story line. There is a slight cross-over with the characters from Corrupted Hearts series, and Dark Hearts Series.

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

Told from dual first person perspectives (Carmine and Lyra) DANCE OF DECEPTION follows the forced marriage between Don Carmine Barone and ballet dancer Lyra Ostrova. Lyra Ostrova lives with her alcoholic mother Vera, and since the death of her father, Lyra and her mother have struggled to make ends meet. When a member of an organized crime family confronts our heroine with a threat of payment due, Lyra finds herself dancing blind for a group of men she knows nothing about but Lyra will witness a crime, and her life will no longer be her own, as she must choose between flight or fight. Married to the new Don, Carmine Barone, or face death while on the run, Lyra must come to terms with the man who will control her life.. As Lyra struggles with her new direction, the past will return, and our heroine, is once again, facing down a man who already destroyed her life and the lives of so many others.

The world building focuses on murder and betrayal as Lyra struggles to overcome the demons from her past, demons that refuse to let go. Don Carmine Barone is determined to protect the woman with whom he will fall in love but Carmine will have to take down the world in which Lyra once lived.

The relationship between Lyra and Carmine is a forced marriage, predicated on witnessing a crime. Lyra is a university student, working towards a degree in psychiatry but Lyra will quickly discover the man to whom she is married is a monster, a psychopath, and the head of the Barone Crime family. Carmine Barone doesn’t do relationships, and never planned to get married, but his father’s ill health pushed Carmine to the top of the line, and in doing so, a wife is needed to complete the look. As Carmine quickly takes control of his wife, Lyra faces down more than one monster in an effort to survive. The $ex scenes are provocative and intense, and not without some issues of questionable consent.

We are introduced to the members of a group known as The Black Court, a group of self-proclaimed vigilantes who decide the rules- who lives and who dies: The Hound, The Raven, The Wolf, The Bull, The Stag: Lyra’s fellow ballet dancers including Carmine’s sister Bianca Barone Drakos (
Venomous Gods #4) , Dove Marchetti, Brooklyn, Vaughn, Milena and Madame Kuzmina, as well as Lyra’s mother Vera, and several members of Bratva and Italian crime families including Bratva Kingpin Kir Nikolayev. The requisite evil has many faces.

DANCE OF DECEPTION is a story of betrayal and vengeance, murder and madness, secrets and lies, power and control, acceptance and love. The premise is dark, gritty, dramatic and raw; the romance is limited; the characters are determined, complex and broken.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

A reader first and foremost, Jagger Cole cut his romance writing teeth penning various fan-fiction stories years ago. After deciding to hang up his writing boots, Jagger worked in advertising pretending to be Don Draper. It worked enough to convince a woman way out of his league to marry him, though, which is a total win.

Now, Dad to two little princesses and King to a Queen, Jagger is thrilled to be back at the keyboard.

When not writing or reading romance books, he can be found woodworking, enjoying good whiskey, and grilling outside–rain or shine.

You can find all of his books at www.jaggercolewrites.com

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