Once upon a time, a lion saved a girl. His little cinnamon girl.
That lion grew up into a prince. Dark, bitter, and so beautiful that it
hurt to look at him.
But underneath it all, the girl saw the man. She saw his hunger for love
and affection, and she had plenty to give.
I was that girl. I fell in love, even though he told me not to. I gave him
everything, because that was who I was.
I was determined to show him the light in this world, and his smiles
were what I lived for. He was my art, my melody, my muse. We were beautiful together.
So I gave and gave, all to my bitter prince. Until I had nothing left to give.
Until he left me empty.
No one warned me love would push me into darkness so cold, it’d tear me apart.
To survive, I’d have to kill the cinnamon girl and become someone else. Someone I didn’t recognize.
This book is part of a trilogy and can’t be read on its own.
This story is just . . . wow. I had no words after closing this book. It took a couple of days to wrap my head around this story before I could write the review because it was just so captivating. I’ve been waiting for Reina and Amon’s story since Isla and Enrico’s book because Reina dropped a bomb but it’s so much more than I was expecting and so incredibly good. The characters are amazing and I never get enough of this world. Reina is a firecracker, determined to take care of her sister, despite being younger by two years. She’s so protective of Phoenix that she worked to skip two whole grades in school to graduate early and accompany Phoenix to university. As if that’s not enough of a feat, she’s now double-majoring in both her passion, fashion, as well as Phoenix’s, music. Reina is strong and determined and she’s a force to be reckoned with in every way. But she’s also young and somewhat naïve, even for a mafia daughter so she has no concept of the danger that lurks around her.
Amon has been drawn to the blue-eyes, golden haired girl since they were kids and he’s been protecting her ever since. He’s popped up in her life from time to time throughout the years in between, saving her from more than one bad guy and probably from herself as well. He doesn’t know what it is that ties them together but he doesn’t really care since he knows he needs Reina in his life.
His mother doesn’t approve and that should be enough, but he refuses to let Reina go until his hand is forced. Their story is intricate and amazing but also complex. By the end of this book, we haven’t even gotten to the point of seeing the bomb Reina dropped in Isla’s book, so there’s so much more to come. Of course I knew there’d be a cliffhanger since it’s a trilogy but this one was especially painful, although the facts driving them apart are likely false.
I’ve struggled to write this without being a spoiler and there’s really not much more I can say without ruining it. But I will say, this is a book you won’t be able to put down and the next one can’t come soon enough. I’d like to thank the author and Candi Kane PR for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
