**Spoilers Ahead, Read On With Caution**
“She’s mad, but she is magic. There’s no lie in her fire.” —CHARLES BUKOWSKI”
Aggressive, violent and unrelenting. This is the best way to describe this book. It’s tone and pace re so vastly different from the previous L. J. Shen books I’ve read recently, well except chunks of THE KISS THIEF, that it was addictive to read. Prescott Burlington-Smyth is a rich girl who once fell in love with the wrong man, and then was shoved into 
worse hands. Nathaniel Thomas Vela > Nate > Beat is the man in charge of her month long stay in his basement as a bound prisoner, little do they know she’s not an easy prey.
“They think of me as a rich bitch, a frail little toy. Little do they know that I’m not a toy, I’m a storm. And I’m going to rip their lives apart.”
One of the things that first caught me with this book, was that in the first ten pages, it took me a second to grasp the plot line. Once I got over that hurdle, the fun really began. Beat and Ink are the two masked men that take Prescott away after she’s captured by some men she wronged in the past. Taken from a street in NorCal she’s beaten and thrust away to be held captive in a basement until her ex comes to get her. Not knowing anything about Beat or Ink, all she knows is that Ink is small, round and wears a ski mask, whilst the other is imposingly large, muscled and has Guy Fawkes’ face covering his own. She instantly knows which guy she needs to attract closer to her, and how to make him help her. This is where the story starts to really take off.
“It’s when the king is about to be dethroned that he is the wickedest.”
I really enjoyed all the dimensions and layers we get in this book. We get both Prescott’s POV and Nates, but we also get snippets of Nates diary from when he was in prison for the murder of his physically abusive father. We get such a deep telling of the story that you can’t help but root for both Prescott to be released and for Nate to help her. The slow build of tension, their chemistry as not just Prescott and Beat, but also when she truly discovers and learns him to be Nate. A large chunk of the beginning of the book is Beat in his mask, and Prescott only knowing his voice and body. The gradual slow dunk into lust and love, is so well written that the story doesn’t have that usual “could this just be Stockholm syndrome” like most tales such as this have.
“Broken people do things better; we learned how to make it in life without the missing parts other people have. Because when you’re in the dark, you appreciate everything that shines.”
I was so shocked about that graphic killings, and brutal aspects of the book. It’s so well written, and carefully handed that I found all plot points believable. There wasn’t a moment when I felt taken aback and like it was a tad far fetched, I was always right there with them as people were eventually killed, maimed or disposed of. Nate was so much more brutal than I’d initially pegged him to be, and it was such a stark surprise compared to the normal broody, aggressive and dickish qualities a lot of LJ’s male leads have. He was a criminal in a way a lot of the other men touched on, but didn’t throw themselves into. He was entirely unique, and I actually enjoyed his development throughout the book.
“I love her like a slave. I kneel in front of her like a subject. I crawl back to her at night like a drunk and I worship her like a believer.”
The ending of a book can often times be where let downs can happen; however, LJ is exceptional at writing the perfect ending. The end of this book was so justified and well placed that I’m glad they can be weirdly happy together. The only forced touch for me was Camden’s sudden death after their failed attempt at killing him and ending up hospitalised themselves. Overall, I enjoyed this, they’re a storm and peace and violence all wrapped up into a fucked up little ball of love.
“She gives me storm, and I give her peace.”
BECAUSE BOOKS 