The Dark Verse by Runyx. Review.

Synopsis

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object in the field of death?

In the dark underbelly of the mob, Tristan Caine has been an anomaly. As the only non-blooded member in the high circle of the Tenebrae Outfit, he is an enigma to all – his skills unparalleled, his morality questionable, and his motives unknown. He is lethal and he knows it.

As does Morana Vitalio, the genius extraordinaire daughter of the rival family. What Caine does with weapons, Morana does with computers. When a twenty-year old mystery resurfaces, Morana infiltrates Caine’s house, intent on killing him, unaware of a tie that binds them together. Hate, heat, and history clash together with unexpected sparks.

But something bigger, something worse is happening in their world. And despite their animosity, only they can fight it down.

What happens when the untameable wind and the endless sea collide in the dark of the night?

Tristan ‘The Predator’ Caine had been unprepared for Morana Vitalio. After spending his entire life with a vow he broke on a rainy night, he finds himself torn in a battle between his painful past and an uncertain future. The only thing he knows? Her life still belongs to him.

For Morana, the line between enemies and allies has blurred. Everything she once held dear to her has disintegrated and the unknown gapes at her, leaving her with both her freedom and life on the line in enemy territory. The only thing she knows? His life has always belonged to her.

With twenty years of history tying them to each other, Tristan and Morana begin their hunt for the truth together. And they realize that the mystery of the missing girls is just the tip of the iceberg.

Skeletons are uncovered. Dominoes begin to fall.

A storm is born. 

Double review

““They will die a thousand deaths,” he murmured, almost gently as his thumb traced the line of her jaw, “before they ever touch a single hair on your head again.”

4 stars

Double review here for The Predator (book 1) and The Reaper (book 2).

I nearly DNF The Predator.

In the beginning I couldn’t help spotting inconsistencies (there are still inconsistencies in The Reaper) and the author did a lot of “tell” rather than “show”.

An example: to show us that Tristan was handsome she would use words similar to “gorgeous magnetic blue blue eyes”.  A lot of words to truly convince us that indeed he was very sexy.

But I prefer authors who show me that a character is sexy without telling me he is sexy. And when it comes to words in sentences, less is often more in my books.

This grated on my nerves and I was ready to stop reading even if Instagram insisted that the series was “so good”.

The saving grace was the plot and the mystery.

What happened twenty years ago to the Alliance?

Who kidnapped these little girls? Where were they? Were they still alive? Who was the one who stole Morana’s codes? What for?

Etc.

And slowly,  I warmed to Morana and Tristan.

I didn’t see the flaws anymore or maybe the author changed her writing.

I was immersed into the story and read the two books in three days.

I loved how Tristan was protective of Morana.

“She was in the inner lair of the biggest predator of them all, her jugular exposed to him as she breathed on his neck, in her most vulnerable state. She had bled and he had licked her wounds clean. She had almost tasted death and he had breathed life back into her. And she realized she’d never, not once in her life, felt safer. For the first time in her life, she felt home.”

I loved that nerdy is the new sexy.

I loved that Morana stood her ground with her father and with Dante’s father.

I loved that she used her brain when she was attacked.

I loved Caveman Tristan. The cold killer to everyone else but the caring lover to Morana.

I loved the “found family” trope when Morana found “her people” in Dante, Amara and Tristan.

And as I said, I loved the mystery.

If we have part of the answers by the end of the Reaper, a lot is yet to come in the other books.

And that quote below perfectly represents Tristan and Morana 😉

“He had badass mob stuff to do and she had nerdy mob stuff to do.”

Thanks for reading!

Sophie