I should have seen it coming.
But I was too busy drowning in her essence.
Enjoying every lush curve.
Hanging onto each duplicitous word that tumbled from her sultry lips.
Even now, with the cards on the table and the secrets exposed, I crave her.
Every traitorous inch of her delectable body.
She’s mine.
She’s always been mine, andI don’t care if she’s my ruin.
Forbidden fruit has never been sweeter…
The series is complete! Pride and Wrath, A Sinful Empire Duet, can be read without reading Greed, Lust, and Envy.
I’ve been looking forward to this book since the moment Pride ended with a brutal cliffhanger and it was so worth the wait. It jumps right back into the action, which never really stops, so I was hooked right away. I enjoyed the Sinful Empire trilogy very much but Rafael and Lexie’s story is even more epic. They both live on the edge, always in danger but too stubborn to do anything else. They spent a lot of time butting heads in the first book, but when things got bad and she walked away, they both learned some tough lessons. Rafa knows he made a mistake and he’s filled with regret, but he’s also not going to sit back while she runs off, unprotected. The traffickers have gotten too close for comfort and it’s not safe for Lexie to be alone.
One of the things I loved about these two is that they could talk it out when things got tough. At first, they fought but they both got much better at communicating honestly as their feelings developed. There was no pouting, no silly miscommunications, they’d just tell each other why they were mad and try to work it out. They both have a lot of other things going on too, particularly Valentina. Lexie is worried about her friend and fears she’s keeping a little distance between them because of her relationship with Rafa. Valentina has stated repeatedly that she will never forgive him for what he did to Marco and she appears to be determined to make good on that promise. Lexie has to tread carefully and support the people she loves without betraying anyone’s confidence, which isn’t an easy task. Rafa’s struggling to get Valentina back in his life more but he has no regrets, despite her continued fury at him.
It hurts him to lose her this way, but better she be safe and sound, stewing in her anger, than in the hands of the enemies. Rafa knows he did what he had to do and he’s not sorry because he’ll stop at nothing to keep the people he loves safe, something that’s getting more difficult to do since the traffickers could be anyone. This story had everything I wanted with characters who are easy to love, plenty of passion and heat, but also a lot of heart as well. The author tied up all the loose ends nicely so we do get answers to some of the questions that have plagued our hero from the beginning, when we first meet him in Daniela and Antonio’s story. I truly loved everything about it and couldn’t put this book down. I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
