Black Sheep by Zara Cox Published by Forever on March 14th 2017
Genres: Romance
Purchase links: Amazon, iTunes
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Source: NetGalley
In a family of cold-hearted black sheep,
I, Axel Rutherford, am the blackest.
My father has hated me since the day I was born. The feeling was mutual. In the shady underworld that was my legacy, Cleo McCarthy became my light. She was beautiful, passionate, and my whole world. So naturally my father had to destroy us. First he sent me away. Next he claimed Cleo as his own. But now I've returned, and nothing will stop me from taking back everything that is rightfully mine.He was the love of my life - when my life was still my own.
We were young enough to believe we would last forever, Axel and I. But neither of us realized how cruel life - and our families - could be. Now I'm trapped in a gilded cage: desired by Axel, who must never know the full truth, and controlled by his father, who would sooner see me dead than free. And I wouldn't even care, except that it's no longer only my life at stake.
We received this book/audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
Book Review: 4 stars
Wow, what an intense ride! This author is very good at writing dark romances and even though this is only my second novel from her, she surprised me with this story. BLACK SHEEP is the second book in the “Dark Desires” series, with a good premise and a very interesting plot, it will hook you from the beginning, but be warn that it might contain explicit violence that can hurt your feelings, it is a very dark romance.
I’ve read dark romances before, but I had a hard time with this book because my heart ached so much for the characters. First Axel Rutherford, he has a hard childhood, raised by a sick and perverse father, violence was around him all the time, he only has one escape, his angel, his teenage love Cleo McCarthy, but that was something that his dad ALSO took away from him. Now Axel proclaimed himself as the “Black Sheep” and his only purpose is to have revenge, and to have back what he owns …..Cleo.
Cleo is a pawn under Finn Rutherford (Axel’s father) hands, she has been an instrument to Finn in order to have control of his son Axel and get him to do whatever he wants. She’s forced to live with him since the death of her parents. Finn forces her and abuses her, and now she is forced to be captive by the man she once loved and now thanks to Finn and his brainwashing, she hates… Axel Rutherford.
Finn is a twisted man, he has done the most horrific things to his own family. He only wants power and he doesn’t care how he gets it. But Axel will find a way to stop him, and he will find his payback.
Cleo wants that the two people she hates the most (Finn and Axel) to kill each other, so she can be free again, but what happens when she can’t fool her heart, she still has feelings for the boy she once loved. And now she is struggling because her body hasn’t forgotten Axel, she wants him, but she feels bad for having feelings for the man who, according to Finn, destroyed her life.
I can only give 4 stars because some scenes were too much for me. My heart physically ached for them, there were times that I wanted to stop reading it, but the more I knew Axel and Cleo’s story, the more I wanted to fight with them, FOR THEM. For their HEA. I was almost convinced that they won’t have it, but somehow in all the twisted mess that is their lives, the author managed to give them a happy ending. Trust me when I say it was worth all the suffering because I couldn’t of asked for a better ending for these two characters. I fell for these characters that were damaged, but also redeemable. If you like dark romance, this book is perfect for you!
Formerly known as Porn Star – Read our review here
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