Hello dear readers, Enthralled is Book 1 of 2 in the Enslaved Duet by author Giana Darling. The genre is Dark, Erotic with a touch of the forbidden, taboo, love story. I will leave the decision to read for you, I personally liked this story. I also know some of you will not be a complete fan, so read it and then decide.
BOOK INFO:
TITLE: Enthralled
SERIES: The Enslaved Duet, Book One
AUTHOR: Giana Darling
GENRE: Erotic Dark Romance
COVER PHOTOGRAPHER: Xavi Smoke
COVER MODEL: Mariam Agredano
Release Date: March 29, 2019
Rating – 4 /5
Location set in – Italy and majority in UK.
The Enslaved Duet is a dark romance duology about an eighteen year old Italian fashion model, Cosima Lombardi, who is sold by her indebted father to a British Earl who’s nefarious plans for her include more than just sexual slavery… Their epic tale spans across Italy, England, Scotland and the USA across a five-year period that sees them endure murder, separation, and a web of infinite lies.
If you like BDSM, complicated plot twists, and dark erotic romance, you will LOVE Master Alexander and his Beauty, Cosima.
★AMAZON UNIVERSAL: mybook.to/EnthralledKindle
★ADD TO GOODREADS: bit.ly/EnthralledGR
Story
It was the biggest day of my life.
I know most people say that about something joyous; a graduation, a wedding ceremony, the birth of their first child.
My situation was a little different.
Sure, it was my eighteenth birthday, but it was also the day that I was sold.
Sold to a man with hair like a crown of gold and eyes blacker than the darkest pits of Hell. He bought me to own me, to control me, and to use me as a means to an end. I was his tool and his weapon. And through it all, somehow, I also became his salvation.
***The Enslaved Duet is a standalone dark romance duet about Cosima Lombardi from The Evolution of Sin Trilogy.***
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My thoughts
I loved the story. It delivers on every promise the Blurb, teasers and promotional info makes. It is about Cosima, an Italian model with links to the mafia in more than 1 way. It is about Alexander, the Earl who buys (sounds all anti feminist and whatnot, however, only one way to understand it, is to Read it) Cosima to avenge from the Mafia she’s connected to. It is also about human behavior, one which wants us to possess other humans as things, about the primeval animal tendencies in us which have taken different faces.
The plot had some disturbing parts due to the men having caveman behavior towards women. It also has BDSM so the scenes and initiation of Cosima in that world is pretty graphic and intense.
It is the kind of story which, if you love dark, angsty, will hook you. I loved Cosima, she goes through so much it’s like seeing her being born in a sea and learning to navigate shark infested world around her. Not only that at some point she conquers the sea too. It was an engrossing experience to see her make sense of being a sex slave, making sense of and trying to understand the man who owns her.
It was a great back forth seeing Alexander’s contradictory behavior. His using Cosima ruthlessly and the tender love and care he displays were simply mind boggling to observe. Needless to say it was an intense reading experience.
The characters especially Cosima was strong, Alexander was the victim of his upbringing. Their families were a nuisance for me who made their loves truly difficult even when their motivation was simply love.
Book 1 ends on a high, I felt and even if it wasn’t a duet, I am happy the way it ended. But it only tells me of the chaos and internal wars Cosima and Alexander will be waging on themselves in the conclusion to this story. Here’s an excerpt to give you a glimpse into the dark, heady world of Beauty and the Beast who cages her.
Excerpt:
I was locked in the dark but it was more than an absence of light. It was the blackness of my own solitude, the quantum hole at the center of my soul that was slowly sucking away at everything that made me me.I tried to write an encyclopedia of Cosima facts to cement my sense of self in the chaos of night that had become my life.
Cosima Ruth Lombardi.
Born August 2nd 1998 in Naploi, Italia to Caprice Maria Lombardi and Seamus Patrick Moore.
My favourite colour was wine red, captured in a glass and held over rich, warm candlelight.
I loved poppies best of all flowers because they reminded me of me in a way that was narcissistic but true. They were bold as blood, stark against the softer colours of the traditional Italian countryside. They demanded notice and received it. But their beauty was short-lived and fragile as the thin silk of their petals. They fell to bits within a week and scattered on the wind.
I felt very much like one of those black centered blooms, falling apart with every breath I took without even one witness to my dematerialization.
He wanted me like this.
Lost like decaying particles in a petri dish.
I didn’t have to hear his British accented voice clipping the words into neat little explanations to understand why.
He wanted me broken.
A beautiful, hollow shell to break open and f*ck into.
About the Author:
Giana Darling is a Top 40 Amazon Best Selling Canadian romance writer who specializes in the taboo and angsty side of love and romance. She currently lives in beautiful British Columbia where she spends time riding on the back of her man’s bike, baking pies, and reading snuggled up with her cat Persephone. She loves to hear from readers so please contact her at gianadarling[at]gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.
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Reviewed by Bharti
27 Book Street By Bee 