Synopsis
The de Vincent brothers are back—and so is the intrigue that surrounds them—in New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s sizzling new novel…Nicolette Bresson never thought she’d return to the de Vincents’ bayou compound. It’s where her parents work, where Nikki grew up… and where she got her heart broken by Gabriel de Vincent himself. Yet here she is, filling in for her sick mother. Avoiding Gabe should be easy, especially when so much of Nikki’s time is spent trying not to be stabbed in the back by the malicious hangers-on who frequent the mansion. But escaping memories of Gabe, much less his smoking-hot presence, is harder than expected—especially since he seems determined to be in Nikki’s space as much as possible.
Gabriel spent years beating himself up over his last encounter with Nikki. He’d wanted her then, but for reasons that were bad for both of them. Things have now changed. Gabe sees more than a girl he’s known forever; he sees a smart, talented, and heartbreakingly beautiful woman… one who’s being stalked from the shadows. Now, Gabe will do anything to keep Nikki safe—and to stop the de Vincent curse from striking again.
Review
“As she stood in the small ten-by-ten room, she suddenly thought about the de Vincent curse. What was it? Women never lasted long here. Yeah, that was it. They either lost their minds . . . or died.”
4 to 4,5 stars
I got this advanced reading copy thanks to the publisher’s courtesy but it had no influence whatsoever on my always honest and willing review.
This book had stereotypical characters and a quite predictable plot BUT it worked so well it felt like a delightful sin.
Meet the cast:
-The Jerks alias the de Vincent brothers: Lucian (already in a relationship), Gabe (our current main character) and Devlin (the biggest jerk of the bunch and the one I can’t wait to read the story because … Ice Man has to find his match 😉):
“The three brothers were very different. Devlin was the cold one. Lucian was the crazy one. And Gabe was just. . . . Nikki bit back a sigh. He was just, well, everything.”
-The stuck-up b@tch alias Sabrina. Fortune heiress, condescending with “the help” and insufferable. You want to slap and backstab her. So hard I nearly threw my Kindle against a wall just to scratch the itch;
-The slimy villain alias Parker alias Sabrina’s brother. You don’t want to touch him even with a ten feet pole. Seriously he thinks he is a god send to women and that they are only good bend on their knees and tending to his needs. Yes you get the picture.
-The best friend who is a ghost buster and always visiting haunted houses with a voodoo princess alias Rosie. We are in New Orleans after all;
-The sweet heroine wearing her heart on her sleeve. Suffering from the savior complex she can’t help to rescue all stray pets, animals etc. Meet Nikki or Nicolette. She also has a wild streak and “Ooops” has champagne on Sabrina’s Armani’s pants when the b@tch mocked her lack of waitressing skills for the thousand’s time.
“Her mother claimed that most of Nikki’s bad decisions came from having a good heart. Nikki had the habit of picking up strays—stray cats, dogs, a lizard here and there, even a snake, and humans, too. She was a bleeding heart, hating to see anyone she cared about in pain and she was oftentimes a bit overly affected by the troubles of strangers.”
The plot will revolve around said cast with the main plot being Nikki, enamored years ago with older Gabe “her hero” who is back to help her parents serving the de Vincent while her mom has chemo treatment.
Of course little Nikki is all grown-up now and will catch Gabe’s eye.
He has many things to say to her after some “incident” years ago, just before Nikki left for college.
Needless to say that the de Vincent’s ginormous wealth + age gap + difference in social status = big no-no for a love affair.
Heartbreak, emotional roller-coaster and drama fill the pages and make for a deliciously addictive read.
Secrets will be unearthed , murder attempts will pour like rain on Ireland and ghosts will haunt this enormous family estate.
I had a very good time reading this story and I can’t wait to read Devlin’s story as I want to see the woman who will make him melt and tremble. Or at least feel a flicker of emotions!
Well done Jennifer!
Are you a fan of Jennifer’s books?
Thanks for reading!
Sophie
Fantastic review, I sooo wanna read this series!
Thank you Trisy!!!
I’m glad you loved this book! I haven’t started this series yet but I’m planning to read the first book on next month.