Savage Hearts

Reviews

• Cenigh

  Finished February 25, 2026

  I absolutely loved this book; it was even better than the last. The banter between the MC is of the charts in this book, it had me laughing so much at times. I loved Riley (Sloane's) sister. She is feisty and even funnier than Sloane. How blase they both are about being kidnapped is crazy lol. Malek is also fantastic, he is drawn to Riley right from the start (as she is when she first sees him). She throws him off balance and he doesn't know what to do about her (well he does.....). The relationship development between the couple is great. I really can't say enough great things about this book. When Riley first arrived, she was drooling over all the hot Irishmen, which was quite humorous. Then, when she sees Malek, she dubs him Giant Hot Dangerous Stranger (GHDS). It is also, funny how made she gets at everyone when they say how much like Sloane are alike. I totally enjoyed how much she sassed Malek and that he enjoyed it. Malek's initial mistaking Riley first for a refugee waif that Declan was adopting, then for a destitute homeless whore who has no other choice, is downright hilarious. That he gives her a large sum of money so she won't have to sell herself anymore and waits to take revenge since he doesn't want to expose her to that is so sweet. Later, he is beyond bemused that she isn't frightened of him or afraid that he is going to kill her (in fact, he thinks she is a bit crazy). He is confused by her and inexorably drawn to her. Her main concern is that he does not kill Declan, Kieran, or Spider. Malek takes Riley to Russia and she likes it their in his secluded cabin in the woods and has no desire to return home, which also confuses Malek as to why she doesn't ask him to let her go. But she is happy there with him and feels safe & content there and no longer feels lonely. I also love how fierce & brave she can be, and how she defended Malek. Perhaps Declan is adopting a refugee. I watch with growing irritation as he embraces the slovenly waif. Everything is so bright here. So colorful. So cheerful. I hate it. She’s a whore. A girl so poor and disadvantaged, she has to sell herself to kinky rich couples for money to eat. “Fucking Irish,” I mutter, disgusted. Declan to Sloane: “Say yes, and I swear every day will be better than the last, you bloody stubborn woman. You have my heart. My soul. My life. I want you to have my name as well, and wear my ring so everyone who sees you knows you belong to me. I’m so proud to be your man, I want the whole goddamn world to know you’re mine.” Where did you find him, and how many brothers does he have? I want two, at least!” A powerful energy of violence and darkness emanates from him. It’s like being in a room with a supermassive black hole. I’m about to be devoured and disappear for all eternity. He’s the most beautiful and the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen. Recap: a huge, beautiful Russian man broke into my bedroom. Ten feet away from a row of toilets, he gave me one hundred thousand dollars and told me I had pretty eyes. He can appear and disappear like smoke, smells like an ancient forest, and has a voice, a body, and a face that make me want him to do bad things to me. He thinks I’m a prisoner. And a prostitute. He’s confused about pretty much everything else. Also, he’s still caressing my face. I hope he’ll keep doing that forever. “Then you’re a piss-poor excuse for a human being. Liars are the worst. You know why? Because they’re cowards. Go ahead and kill me, but be prepared for my ghost to haunt you forever. And when I say forever, I mean it literally. I hold grudges like new mothers hold their infants.” “Why aren’t you afraid of me?” “I am afraid of you.” He examines my expression. “Not very much.” “Does that insult your ego?” He makes a motion with his head that’s not a yes or a no, but more like a maybe. “If it will keep you from killing me, I’ll act very scared. I’ll cry and everything.” He’s starting to look frustrated. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.” “I can’t help it. I really did believe you when you said I wasn’t in danger from you.” I think for a beat. “I mean, mostly. You are pretty scary. And very large. “In that case…” I make a zipper motion across my lips. He watches with outrage, astonishment, and absolute disbelief. “Actually, before I shut up, I also want to say that it was really sweet that you tried to save me from being a sex worker. I mean, what a gentleman! A gentleman killer who gives strangers big wads of cash in restrooms. You’re quite the puzzle, Mr. Ghost. Or is it just Ghost? I’m never sure how the nickname thing works, except between me and my sister, but that doesn’t count because my whole family is a little weird. I’ll just call you Malek, if that’s all right. Or Mal for short, since we’re such buds now, what with you breaking into my various bedrooms for midnight visits and all. Okay, I’m shutting up now. Here I go.” “I know a way to keep that mouth quiet,” he snaps. Then he kisses me. I like this side of her. This feisty, angry side. It’s so rare that someone challenges me. “Careful,” I whisper, brushing my lips against hers. “Combat makes my dick hard.” She stops fighting me instantly. But not a single ounce of her anger fades. She lies beneath me, breathing raggedly, glaring murder into my face. Her lips are pressed together so tightly, they’re white. It’s disarmingly cute. Like a furious kitten, all puffy tail and tiny hisses. She’s so furious, she’s trembling. If she had lasers in her eyes, my head would explode. My dick and I are both really enjoying this. “Fine. Kiss me. But I won’t like it.” Challenge accepted. When she opens her eyes again, I know it’s war. I’ve seen hardened killers look less psychotic. My smile makes her gnash her teeth. “Ready?” “Go to hell.” “Can’t. The devil has a restraining order against me.” She’s your enemy. Enemy! Remember? My brain keeps trying to tell me that, but my dick has other ideas about our relationship. Other, very strong ideas. “Though, to be honest, I’d be a lot more bothered if you were killing kittens. People in general are overrated. And you’re probably just offing other bad guys, mafia guys and whatnot, so part of me thinks you’re doing something beneficial for society. I never would have taken her if I’d known she’d be this much trouble. She’s upended everything. My entire life has been turned upside down by a tiny demon waif with a mouth as big as her balls. She isn’t afraid of me. She thinks I’m her friend. She thanks me for everything, when she should be screaming at me in rage or terror. I don’t understand any of it. I stare down at her sleeping form. She’s curled up in bed on her side with her hands folded under her cheek, looking deceptively angelic. I know that’s a ruse. That sweet, innocent exterior hides a six-hundred-pound gorilla with an iron will. With the exception of my snub nose Beretta, I’ve never known anything so small that was also so fierce. “If you don’t want to, you’ll never have to walk anywhere again.” My chest expands. My insides turn squishy. He means I wouldn’t have to walk because he’d gladly carry me. He squeezes my hip, snuggling me closer. “You made me want to rescue you. To take care of you. I had no idea you were a dragon in disguise, like that tattoo hidden under your hair on the nape of your neck.” Desperate with longing. Desperate for her. I know there’s a clock ticking down the days until this thing between us will end, because men like me don’t get the fairy tale. And women like her deserve a white knight, not a monster. Not the dragon the knight is sworn to slay. You make me wish I’d lived a different life. You make me wish I could go back in time and start over again. You make me think the world isn’t a shitty place after all, that goodness exists and happiness isn’t make-believe and true love is possible. You make me believe in miracles, Riley Rose. When I’m with you, I feel like my life hasn’t been such a waste.” “Any man who even looks at you wrong will die. Any man, including him. If I sense any hint of a threat, if anything whatsoever happens that displeases me, I will make him unalive. Do you understand me?” “Better than ever? Most women who’ve been shot, kidnapped, and held captive might find a different way to describe their predicament.” “Mal is the most generous, competent, intelligent, self-disciplined, wonderful man I’ve ever met. He kills people for a living, but nobody’s perfect. And before you ask, yes, he told me how he came to be in your employ. He also told me he’s not going to stop working for you, even though his whole family is now dead and he doesn’t have anybody to protect anymore. So he’s also loyal to a fault. So please don’t insinuate that I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about when I say I have feelings for him, because I do. Because he’s worth it!” He whispers, “Is that what you think we have? A relationship? Because it feels more like an obsession to me. A compulsion. A knot too tangled to be unwound.” “My beautiful obsession. This monster belongs to you, sweet girl. I’m tied up in chains at your feet.” “Here’s a safe word for you: I have zero interest in hearing about your past sexual experiences. The thought of you doing what we just did with another woman makes me want to bury a hatchet in your chest and set you on fire.” Riley bursts through the door ahead of Spider, channeling the energies of Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games and the samurai sword–wielding assassin lass from Kill Bill. If they were both high on methamphetamines and had been living in a tree in the woods. She’s transformed into some kind of punk pixie version of Rambo. The pain of separation is overwhelming. You feel as if you’re going to die. You want to die if it means you can never see him again. And the anger. Oh, god! The anger that he’s the one who forced the separation in the first place. Him with his stupid principles and his overdeveloped penchant for self-sacrifice. If he only knew that he’d be killing me with this separation, not saving me, maybe he’d have thought twice. “I never let you go,” he says gruffly, his mouth moving against my bruised lips. “Not for a goddamn second. You were with me all the time, haunting me with that smart mouth and those beautiful eyes and that heartbreaking smile that kills me every time I see it. I didn’t last a week before I made the first trip here.” “Wait, what?” I blink up at him, confused. “You were here? I never saw you.” “That’s because you were asleep.” You’re beautiful. You make me crazy. I can’t remember my life before you. I’d give anything to be able to love you for all time.” My throat gets tight. Tears well in my eyes. I inhale a ragged breath, feeling like I’m flying. “So you like me, huh?” Against my lips, he whispers, “I worship you, my sweet, mouthy little queen.” Mostly, she’s just argued and sassed the fuck out of me. I don’t understand this woman at all. She looks as fragile as a bird, but when I broke into the safe house and threatened to snap her neck, instead of begging for her life, she growled like a bear and promised she’d come back as a ghost and haunt me forever. I hate to admit how endearing that was. From the first moment I saw her, I wanted to protect her. To keep her safe. I was drawn to her before I knew a single thing about her, and now she’s in my bed, suffering from a bullet wound that still might end her life, and I’m sitting in this chair across from her struggling with my feelings. Feelings! What has she done to me?

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• Hades

  Finished March 27, 2025

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