Release Day Review: Vanquished by LeTeisha Newton

If I should die before I wake,...

Then my soul is Caesar's to take. He pulls up down, he lifts me up.

And then he leaves me in the muck.

If should fall before I fly...

Then they know it was the fault of mine. He taught me better, he led the way.

I just didn't know how to stay.

And if I should not gain his heart...

Fuck that, he made me this way. Curled my thoughts and twisted me.

He belongs to me, forever.

WARNING: This book is DARK. So dark, I barely found my way writing it. Know this. Understand it. Believe it. It's one long warning from beginning to end, but the love found between the pages is everlasting. This is NOT a conventional couple, and they don't come together with rainbows and silver linings. There's pain. There's violence. There's blood. You have been warned. Please ... Please, walk away if a filthy dark story isn't right for you. You will find no softness here. But if you like it so dark the sun won't make you feel warm again, then you've found the right place, and Caesar is waiting.

**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**

"Maybe we were both trapped in the makings of our prisons, ones that didn't have physical ties but kept us locked away."

I love dark romances, but two things that bother me a lot for these type of stories are that it's either incomplete (rushed) or the personalities of the characters are unrecognizable after a while. I was really happy that that was NOT the case for Vanquished. I am really picky with my dark romances, and it takes a lot to keep me interested from start until finish. LeTeisha did an incredible job in doing that. It was also unpredictable and I loved the unexpected things that happened, because it kept me on my toes. I was intrigued by both Ashlyn and Caesar. They were both so complicated and knew nothing but evil. I have a thing for villains and Caesar definitely fit the bill. He was ruthless, dark, twisted and broken.

"I didn't imagine a knight in brilliant golden armor riding in to save the day. No, not me. I saw a black knight, wrapped in blood and vengeance, not promising me life but the easy peace in the end."

He did some really messed up things to Ashlyn and others. Ashlyn herself had a much worse past than him, and my heart broke for her. I really wanted her to be okay in the end. After all she has been through, she goes through more horrific things in the present. She is completely broken and doesn't know how to live. What I loved most about this book is that the author stayed true to the characters. She was very consistent and everything fit perfectly together. I also loved seeing the fighter in Ash peeking through at time. Even though she was completely destroyed, there was still something in her grabbing on to life. Vanquished is a great dark romance and I hate saying goodbye to these characters. I am curious to see how the characters will grow further, so the only thing missing was an epilogue. I have this author on my radar and I am looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

Writing professionally since 2008, LeTeisha Newton’s love of romance novels began long before it should have. After spending years sneaking reads from her grandmother’s stash, she finally decided to pen her own tales. As many will do during their youth, she bounced from fantasy, urban literature, mainstream, interracial, paranormal, heterosexual, and LGBT works until she finally rested in contemporary romance. LeTeisha is all about deep angst and angry heroes who take a bit more loving to smooth their rough edges. Love comes in many sizes, shapes, and colors, as well as with—or without—absolute beauty and fairy tale sweetness. She writes the darker tales because life is hard … but love is harder.