Talent Ridge is a criminal.
On the surface, Talent has it all. The respect from his city, a successful law firm he shares with his brother, and a beautiful woman by his side. But nothing is as it seems. When the workday is over and the lights go down, the charming and sophisticated lawyer loosens his tie and takes rank in the mob he grew up in.
The elusive Lydia Montgomery changed everything the moment she stepped into his office and his heart a year ago and gave him something other than revenge to focus on. As they enter the world of organized crime and balance their public and private lives, Talent sees a new future. But there’s a reason why Lydia’s called Ice Queen.
As a lawyer, he swore to abide by the law. As a made man, he pledged his life to the mafia.
He has one more vow to make.
If only she’ll let him in.
I loved Tramp so I was looking forward to more Lydia and Talent. Nothing came easy for them so we knew when Tramp ended, they weren’t riding off into the sunset for a typical HEA. Here we see our anti-heroes further in the future and it broke my heart that they still have so many struggles. Lydia’s past was so damaging that she still can’t jump into a relationship fully. Talent lives with constant fear because she’s always pushing him away and he suspects one day she’s going to walk away completely.
He wants a commitment and she refuses so there’s a lot of emotion and pain. At the same time, he’s struggling with his professional obligations. He’s the straight-laced corporate lawyer but also an integral part of a powerful crime family and the divergent roles are stressful. Throw in some Ridge family drama and a few bad guys and these two have a lot to handle. There’s a lot of tension and angst but ultimately the HEA I wanted from the first book so I love the way this ended. I received an ARC from Grey’ Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
1 thought on “Review: Criminal by Mary Elizabeth”