READING ORDER:
Joseph Fallen - Prequel
Madeleine Abducted - Book One
Hope Restrained - Book Two
She was meant to be his assassin
A forced player in a rivalry within The Estate
Yet her loyalty was to no person but herself
When Hope is taken captive by Xander Black
She becomes the one thing that can ensure Aaron’s reign
Raised within a rival crime network, Hope Delacroix wanted nothing to do with The Estate. A fierce warrior, Hope is given no choice but to kill Aaron Carmichael. Caught in her attempt, Hope is captured by Aaron’s top guard in an effort to discover who sent her.
Ever loyal and protective, Xander Black’s sole objective is to defend Aaron and Maddy. Willing to do whatever is necessary, Xander gives in to darkness in order to force information out of Hope.
As Xander enslaves Hope to break her down completely, he learns that in the two years since Joseph Carmichael’s death, dissension still exists within The Estate.
“I find it ironic that your name is Hope…especially considering that you have none.” ~ Xander Black
WARNING: This book is intended or mature audiences only and has explicit scenes involving physical violence and sexual violence
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"She is an assassin; a strong woman who was raised to be a weapon."
Hands down my favorite of The Estate Series so far! Don't get me wrong, the other books were absolutely amazing, and they did have a little laugh here and there. But Hope Restrained, had me full out cracking up for parts of it, along with cringing at the darkness level at others, aka, perfect. Hope is.. She is awesome, and sarcastic, and hilarious. She could give any member of the Estate a run for their money, and probably kill them all with her eyes closed. Now, combine Hope's sarcasm, with Xander's sarcasm and wittiness, and his overall personality, and you've got yourself one hell of a read.
"Her name is Hope Delacroix, and when she entered the walls of the Estate stronghold, she wasn't going in as a slave."
Hope enters the Estate compound by her own freewill, because of reasons outside of her control. Her one mission was set, kill Aaron. But when that doesn't go as planned, she finds herself trapped within the bounds of the Estate. Aaron may be the one person that could give Hope a run for her money on skill-sets, but Xander, who is currently holding her captive, will be the one giving her a run for her money mentally. Hope and Xander share similar personalities, and putting the two of them together is asking for issues. Both of them intrigued with each other, and wondering what that foreign feeling they each have actually is. Respect? Desire? Hate?
"She was marked - she was defeated - and she was now hopelessly and irrevocable owned."
Hope wasn't brought in as a typical slave. She was brought in to drag information out of about her hit on Aaron. So it's a choice to either work with her, or against her, or hey.. they could always kill her right? Either way, she either needs to start talking, or face some serious consequences. And if anyone is going to get anything out of her, it's Xander.
"To me, however, that darkness only makes you a rare jewel, a woman perfectly built for a man like me."
I can't even explain how much I enjoyed this one. Was there the darkness that we have grown to love from The Estate series? Absolutely, but it was a bit more tame than say, Joseph Fallen (seriously, some of those scenes still make me twitch). It had this level of humor that I completely adored.
" Aaron's brow arched over his eye and he smirked. 'You are either very brave or very stupid for the way you think you can speak to me.'She shrugged. 'You're not royalty.'Xander grabbed her arm and forced her to step back from Aaron and Jason. 'You'll have to excuse her, she's had a bad couple of days.' "
Hope Restrained also takes place a couple of years down the line from where Madeleine Abducted ended, so we find out how The Estate has been doing under Aaron's rule, and how him and Maddy are now. Xander has been my favorite character thus far, and I was so beyond excited for this book to come out, and it did NOT dissapoint. And M S Willis' writing, continues to be phenomenal, her descriptive writing nails the feeling of these books. She manages to always add even more "art", to the art of writing.
"She wanted to become low within his tempestuous storm - dominated, controlled, a puppet tied to strings made of glass and razors, of satin and fur."
My point? Read this. Read it now. And although it is a part of The Estate series, and I would reccomend reading these books in order to understand how everything got to where it currently is, it can technically be read as a standalone.
He smiled, his voice booming
when he responded, "You’re an assassin. That much is
obvious!" Reaching up, he rubbed at his jaw where she'd hit him.
"No woman hits like that and hasn't been trained."
A humorless laugh broke free
of her throat. "Growing up in the shadow of The Estate is enough
incentive for all women to be trained. Do you think nobody knows what
goes on here? We notice the disappearance of our families, our friends.
We can smell the bodies as they're burned."
He smiled. "You've done your homework. Congratulations.” Mockery weighed down his last word. He paused, his eyes twinkling as they moved
over her. The timbre of his voice
deepened when he calmly stated, “I can promise you, I will discover who you
are, and while I'm at it, I'll also discover who the fuck sent you. If
you make my life easier by giving up the information now, I'll make sure you
are no longer breathing when you become one of those burning bodies."
She was amused by his threat.
"You can set me on fire right here,
big guy, and end this bullshit game right now." She winked.
"I'll never tell you a fucking thing."
Author Bio:
M.S. Willis is a romance
novelist whose debut novel, Control, was released in 2013. Although
currently writing in the romance genre, Willis has plans to expand her literary
pursuits into multiple genres and has no fear conquering difficult subject
matters in her writing. Willis is a native Floridian who is also a
photographer and musician. When not absorbing herself in written, visual
or musical expression, Willis is an adrenaline junkie, a ‘closet’ video game
enthusiast, and an avid outdoors person and nature lover.
Visit M.S. Willis on her author page: www.facebook.com/mswillisbooks
Follow on Twitter - @mswillisbooks
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