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A review by loverofromance
Raze by Tillie Cole
5.0
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
Raze is the first book in this overpowering and simply breathtaking series. Now I had recently read book two of the series and I knew I had to pick up Luca and Kisa's story and I am so glad that I did because WOW. This book worked for me in so many ways. Of course I knew some back story of this couple before reading it, but I knew it would be a emotional roller coaster and it certainly was. There are some flashbacks that helps the reader understand what Luca and Kisa had together as children and what seperated them.
The story begins with alternating POV's of both Luca and Kisa. Kisa is the daughter of one of the "red bosses" of the New York Russian Bravta. She lost her childhood sweetheart when she was a teenager and her brother on the same day. She is engaged to be married to a man who controls every move she makes and is overly obsessive with her and very rough in bed. But Kisa has resigned herself to her future, knowing that there isn't another way. Luca has just escaped the fighting rings that he has been forced to fight in for as long as he can remember. Now he is free, and he has one pledge, Revenge on the one person that wronged him years ago and is the reason why he was forced to fight and be drugged and lose his memories. Kisa goes out with her church to help feed the poor and homeless. When a homeless stranger rescues her from being robbed and knifed, she forms a attachment to him. She doesn't understand at first why she is so drawn to him. But when he begins training to fight in her father's club, there are certain signs that he is familar to her. Hints that this dangerous yet compelling man was once the boy she grew up with and loved and never stopped loving...
Her eyes were light blue, his eyes the richest of brown, but the left iris was smudged with the girl’s light blue.
What a wild story that had me on the edge of my seat and man oh man did I fall in love with this book. Now it is way more intense than book two for obvious reasons. And one of the true set backs I feel readers should be warned about is the sex scenes between Kisa and her fiancee. All I can say is its abusive and practically rape and my heart went out to the heroine who just hasn't known anything different for a long time. This fiancee is DANGEROUS--in a very obsessive sketchy way, who would kill a man for just looking at her. But then we see the relationship she has with Luca and its completely different. Its like oil and water. When she and Luca start to reconnect, there is tenderness and true heart in their feelings and emotions. This is a very complex story and yes I guess you could say there is some cheating involved. Kisa is cheating on her fiancee, but I know she would break up with him if she could. She believes he will kill her and Luca if he finds out and timing is everything in how they handle her fiancee. It has some darker themes of course because this story is definitely not black and white....there is definite grey here. We see the effects of a long term abusive relationship. So I know not everone will be a fan of Kisa. Because on the surface she seems weak but she really isn't. She has a certain inner strength that is rare to see, and has been manipulated since she was a teenager by a controlling and really dangerous man. What really did it for me in this book was her connection with Luca, and seeing Luca slowly get his memories back and find out about his family, what really happened to him and his frienship and teen romance with Kisa before he was taken.
There is such a heart breaking quality to this story, that just gravitates toward the reader and refuses to let go. I was completely swept up in this story and highly recommend it to those who love a deep and raw emotional romance with dark tones to it!! A COMPELLING ROMANCE YOU WON'T EVER FORGET!!
Raze is the first book in this overpowering and simply breathtaking series. Now I had recently read book two of the series and I knew I had to pick up Luca and Kisa's story and I am so glad that I did because WOW. This book worked for me in so many ways. Of course I knew some back story of this couple before reading it, but I knew it would be a emotional roller coaster and it certainly was. There are some flashbacks that helps the reader understand what Luca and Kisa had together as children and what seperated them.
The story begins with alternating POV's of both Luca and Kisa. Kisa is the daughter of one of the "red bosses" of the New York Russian Bravta. She lost her childhood sweetheart when she was a teenager and her brother on the same day. She is engaged to be married to a man who controls every move she makes and is overly obsessive with her and very rough in bed. But Kisa has resigned herself to her future, knowing that there isn't another way. Luca has just escaped the fighting rings that he has been forced to fight in for as long as he can remember. Now he is free, and he has one pledge, Revenge on the one person that wronged him years ago and is the reason why he was forced to fight and be drugged and lose his memories. Kisa goes out with her church to help feed the poor and homeless. When a homeless stranger rescues her from being robbed and knifed, she forms a attachment to him. She doesn't understand at first why she is so drawn to him. But when he begins training to fight in her father's club, there are certain signs that he is familar to her. Hints that this dangerous yet compelling man was once the boy she grew up with and loved and never stopped loving...
Her eyes were light blue, his eyes the richest of brown, but the left iris was smudged with the girl’s light blue.
They matched.
God made them this way so they would recognize themselves as meant for one another when they were born, so they would always find each other no matter where they were on Earth.
What a wild story that had me on the edge of my seat and man oh man did I fall in love with this book. Now it is way more intense than book two for obvious reasons. And one of the true set backs I feel readers should be warned about is the sex scenes between Kisa and her fiancee. All I can say is its abusive and practically rape and my heart went out to the heroine who just hasn't known anything different for a long time. This fiancee is DANGEROUS--in a very obsessive sketchy way, who would kill a man for just looking at her. But then we see the relationship she has with Luca and its completely different. Its like oil and water. When she and Luca start to reconnect, there is tenderness and true heart in their feelings and emotions. This is a very complex story and yes I guess you could say there is some cheating involved. Kisa is cheating on her fiancee, but I know she would break up with him if she could. She believes he will kill her and Luca if he finds out and timing is everything in how they handle her fiancee. It has some darker themes of course because this story is definitely not black and white....there is definite grey here. We see the effects of a long term abusive relationship. So I know not everone will be a fan of Kisa. Because on the surface she seems weak but she really isn't. She has a certain inner strength that is rare to see, and has been manipulated since she was a teenager by a controlling and really dangerous man. What really did it for me in this book was her connection with Luca, and seeing Luca slowly get his memories back and find out about his family, what really happened to him and his frienship and teen romance with Kisa before he was taken.
There is such a heart breaking quality to this story, that just gravitates toward the reader and refuses to let go. I was completely swept up in this story and highly recommend it to those who love a deep and raw emotional romance with dark tones to it!! A COMPELLING ROMANCE YOU WON'T EVER FORGET!!
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