
Series: Merciless #1
Published by Selfpublished on May 15, 2018
Genres: Adult, BDSM, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 338
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Purchase


I should’ve known she would ruin me the moment I saw her.
Women like her are made to destroy men like me.
I couldn’t resist her though.
Given to me to start a war; I was too eager to accept.But I didn’t know what she’d do to me. That she would change everything.
She sees through me in a way no one else ever has.
Her innocence and vulnerability make me weak for her and I hate it.
I know better than to give in to temptation.A ruthless man doesn’t let a soul close to him.
A cold-hearted man doesn’t risk anything for anyone.
A powerful man with a beautiful woman at his mercy… he doesn’t fall for her.
Merciless is one of quite a few books I’ve, um, collected, from Willow Winters. 😉 I decided to dive in since she was attending RARE Paris. Although I had some difficulty getting into the story (thanks to a Devney Perry book hangover) I did like my introduction to WWinters and am looking forward to continuing Carter and Aria’s story.
Merciless is a dark romance with elements of D/s and BDSM as well as revolving around the mafia. When one mafia family decides to attempt a takeover of another, Aria gets caught in the middle. She’s kidnapped and given to the head of a third crime family…Carter Cross. Carter has his reasons for wanting to “save” and keep Aria. And Aria’s captivity leads to a relationship of sorts between them.
WWinters slowly and carefully doled out information on Carter. He’s known for his merciless behavior but as the book progressed and I got to know more about him, I saw there was more to him than met the eye. I’m eager to see more, learn more, as WWinters peels back more of his layers. We spend all our time in Aria’s head so I saw how her life, certain events of her childhood have affected her and shaped who she is. I look forward to seeing her character grow as well.
Merciless is one of those books that is more about setting the scene, introducing characters, and giving you a glimpse of what’s to come. WWinters definitely has me curious about what comes next – not only for Aria and Carter but in their world as a whole as well. The story did end on a cliffhanger, so be warned. I was on a trans-Atlantic flight without book #2, so there may have been some growling. 😉 Although Merciless wasn’t completely satisfying and the fact that I had trouble connecting to the story, it ended up being a read that drew me in enough to give book #2, Heartless, a chance.
Book hangovers are the worst! Carter sounds like an interesting character. Hopefully you get to peel back more of his layers in the next book. Now that the scene has been set, maybe the next book will help you feel more of a connection with the characters. The fact that you wanted to read the next book in the series right away, tells me that this series has a lot of potential to be great. Wonderful Review Brandee!!!
Twitter: ailynk
oh I hope your bookhangover isn’t too bad…there there, have some Jana Aston
Dark romance is my ultimate favorite when it comes to contemporary romance. I’ll add this to my wishlist!
I sometimes don’t mind a book that isn’t 100% satisfying if there’s enough there plot/character-wise to make me want to pick up the next book. Carter definitely sounds like an interesting character.