Review ~ Cartel + Kingpin by Lili St. Germain
Cartel Trilogy Book #1
The first full length Gypsy Brothers novel from the smash hit author Lili St. Germain.
How much is a life worth?
I grew up in Colombia, the daughter of a wealthy drug lord. I lived a life of extravagance, until one day a drug run went horribly wrong and everything came crashing down around us.
I was given away. A payment for a debt. The Gypsy Brothers Motorcycle Club became my new owners, and I did everything I could to survive.
But falling in love with the man who owned me wasn't part of the plan...
This book has been waiting on my CLIFFHANGER shelf for a while now because I don't like cliffhangers or series where the book focuses on the same couple. BUT I was in a book funk and wasn't interested in any of the stand-alone books on my shelf. I am getting better and better in reading books that end in cliffhangers (where the sequel/series isn't released yet). I am glad I didn't wait and decided to dive into this book. I am an huge fan of the Gypsy Brothers series, and couldnt wait to read about Mariana, Dornan and John. I know how it will end and that scares me a lot but I just want to know the story.
Dornan is evil, but he isn't evil as we saw him in the Gypsy Brothers series. It is easy to see he is developing feelings for Ana, but I am not sure if Ana's feelings are genuine or she is just falling for him because he "saved" her. I can't wait to see more of John and how the whole relationship will develop. I wish the whole series was released already!!
Cartel Trilogy Book #2
They say love conquers all.
It's a lie.
Five days a week, I dressed in smart business clothes. I painted my face, and went to work as an accountant. But nothing about my life was normal.
For eight years I had been the property of the Gypsy Brothers Motorcycle Club. I laundered their money so well they'd never let me leave. My only glimmer of light was the man I loved. The man who had saved me.
Dornan.
His love had been the only thing that kept the demons at bay. But he'd become so immersed in the cartel's brutal business that I hardly knew him anymore.
Dornan had been my salvation, but he was also my undoing.
Would he pull me down into the darkness until he destroyed me? Could I save him?
Did I even want to?
"We were like a match made in heaven. Wait. That's wrong. We were a match made in HELL."
Kingpin was a great addition to the Cartel series. I never know what to expect from Lili except that it will be dark, twisted and disturbing. There definitely were some parts in this book which I had a hard time reading because it was heartbreaking. Sometimes I forget that it's a book and that it's made up. I am just so invested and feel everything the characters are feeling. My heart broke for Mariana, she already went through so much and continues to do so. There are so many secrets, and she just doesn't know who to trust.
"He's supposed to love me. And I guess the most fucked-up part of all was that he did love me. Even as he held me down, he loved me in the only way he knew how. With violence. With anger. With pain."
Dornan is getting darker and more disturbing. It's like every day he cares about things a bit less. We are seeing how the Dornan from the Gypsy Brothers series was created. In this book we really get to see his dark side more. To survive in the business he is in, you have to turn off your emotions otherwise you won't survive. Mariana sees another side to Dornan that she maybe can't live with, and nobody can't blame her!
John is a great character that is pretty amazing in my eyes. He is definitely the type who wants to save people. However will he be able to save Mariana? I already know what will happen because I read the Gypsy Brothers series before I started this one. However we never really know how it will end. We will have to wait and see it from John and Mariana's POV. I will definitely reread Gypsy Brothers series after I finish this series!
I can't wait to read Empire. I wish it was released already. Again amazing writing by Lili! She definitely has one hell of a dark & twisted mind. (LOVE IT!). I recommend this book to everyone who loves an unique, dark, twisted and disturbing book with anti-heroes!
Last book in the Cartel Trilogy: Empire is releasing December 19th!
I should have known it would always come down to this, from the very moment I laid eyes on him in that motel.
I should have known his salvation was too good to be true.
Because it's all gone now, the impossible, secret love I had for him bleeding away in the darkness that came afterwards.
Now there's only hate.
Now I just want to escape.
Even if it means I have to kill him to be free.
About Lili St. Germain
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Lili writes dark, disturbing romance. Her #1 bestselling Gypsy Brothers series was created in a serial format – quick, intense episodes released frequently with some wicked cliffhangers. The Gypsy Brothers series focuses on a morally bankrupt biker gang and the girl who seeks her vengeance upon them. The Cartel series is a prequel trilogy of full-length novels that explores the beginnings of the club, to be released in 2015 by HarperCollins.
Lili quit corporate life to focus on writing and so far is loving every minute of it. Her other loves in life include her gorgeous husband and beautiful daughter, good coffee, Tarantino movies and spending hours on Pinterest.
She loves to read almost as much as she loves to write.
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