Title: Twenty-One
BLURB
21 years
On her 21st birthday she’s taken. Collected by a rich family as an unpaid debt. Her body sold. Her mind his.
21 weeks
For 21 weeks she carried a burden no girl should ever have to carry. Now she loses her freedom to a man born to destroy her.
21 days
His name: Angel DeLuca. His mission: To break her in 21 days before she sees through his lies. But she won’t give up without a fight.
21 minutes
It takes only 21 minutes for their lives to be forever entwined.
21 seconds to spill. Time is running out.
Secrets ruin them … but not all truths are worth the price.
This is a STANDALONE Dark Romance novel. WARNING: contains explicit situations, graphic violence, drug abuse, and other disturbing content.
MY REVIEW
Twenty One is this week’s BEST NEW DARK ROMANCE RELEASED!
This book was gifted to me by the author for an honest review. 5 Captivated KINKS!
As a reader, I decided to try out the dark romance genre for October. I thought, what a great month to jump into a new genre. This is my first dark romance and my first book by Clarissa Wild. If her previous works are a knockout like this one, I am going to need medication before I can devour each and every one of them. Talk about riveting – it grabs you from the first chapter and keeps you hostage until the last page. Speaking of the last page, we will come back to that tiny detail in a moment.
Ms. Wild has created an engrossing – and very dark – thriller. Twenty one is told through the eyes of Angel and his impeccable talents at being the master of torture and killing. The writing paints a picture in your mind so detailed it’s almost as if you are watching a drama unfold on television. It feels so real at times that it makes you cringe. It’s told in a manner worthy of a television drama. However, I’m not sure I would be able to stomach the gruesome violence. Suffice to say, its way safer to read it then visually see it. I can only hope I don’t wake up in a dark cell looking into the eyes of Angel DeLuca.
Not only is it a dark romance complete with sexy, erotic and hot scenes of sex and foreplay. But it’s a thriller until the end. Speaking of the end… That damn Epilogue ~ it killed me! Wait. For. It. This story grips your heart, it creates a painful ache. I had to fight back tears because of the emotions this book extracted from me. Embarrassing I know. (Lol)
The story opens with someone being tortured and terrorized. The story is told over the course of 21 days. Each chapter represents a day in the life of Sky’s captivity. She is hiding from some dangerous people with the help of her friend, Jamie. She is captured on the same day she blows out birthday candles.
She wakes up in a dark cell, stripped naked with a bag over her head. Her capturer, Angel, doesn’t realize he has a fighter on his hand. She refuses to provide any information and choose to endure cruel punishment and torture. She believes each punch, belt lashing and body bruise is worth more than revealing her secret.
Days pass and Angel realize he is no closer to any information from Sky. He is shocked he has someone who does not submit or break under his tactics. He is amazed because he prides himself on being an expert ~ the best at extracting whatever information he wants. Not to mention, his father is beginning to question his ability to do his job.
Angel decides to switch tactics and use sex instead to seduce the information he wants. He manages to pull enough information from Sky to realize she is already broken. This makes his job difficult because you can’t break someone who is already broken.
While enduring the switch in tactics, Sky realizes her body responses to her captor and tormentor against her will. Even Angel is having a similar reaction of want and need. This brief break in his armor shows Sky she may have a chance to escape. His brief vulnerability may become a means for her survival.
Sky is a fighter. She is a fighter that refuses to break. She will suffer choking, being shackled and beaten to a pulp even while her body’s reaction makes her conflicted. The more she refuses to talk, the more aggressive his sexual antics become. When the truth is finally revealed, Angel knows he must keep Sky safe. After all, he needs her now. Her will to survive is gripping. Her will to live is equal to Angel’s will to die in her place.
Oh yeah I mention the Epilogue. The Epilogue! OH. MY. GOD. It killed me. It made the already hole in my chest bigger. I was still trying to recover from the last stand between Sky, Angel and his father. Just when it couldn’t pull anymore torment or ache from you, it leaves you Captivated. Get it? (Ha ha)
Excerpt
“You didn’t give me what I want either, so now I’m going to take from you what I want even more.” His tongue dips out to wet his lips, and he bites the bottom one for just a second. For some reason, my eyes zoom in on it, and they forget for just a second what’s going on here.
“You’ll like it … don’t worry,” he muses, stepping even closer so he can smell me.
I turn my head to the side while he sniffs me, trying to lean away, but it seems it only makes him come closer. He places a soft kiss on my neck, his tongue drawing a line upward toward my ear. Right before he nibbles my ear, he hovers in front of it, and for a second, I think I can hear him smile.
He hisses, “I love your smell. Your taste. They make me so fucking hard.”
Suddenly, his hand is on my breast, kneading, tugging, and twisting. Everything and anywhere, all at the same time. Sensory overload makes me gasp, and when my mouth opens, he covers it with his. He takes my breath quite literally, kissing me until my moan is silenced, kissing me with everything he has. His taste is familiar, intoxicating, and for a second, I forget that I’m even hanging here. His tongue expertly licks the roof of my mouth, his lips brushing mine with equal fervor.
“This is what I’ll take from you,” he murmurs into my mouth.
His free hand slides down my body and past my inner thighs, pushing my legs apart as he starts rubbing me. I feel humiliated. Used. Shameful, for actually feeling my pussy thump from having him touch me.
“Hmm … you like it when I touch you.” It’s not even a question.
“No …” I say, shaking my head.
He grins. “Yes, you do.” He pushes a finger on top of my clit. “Right here.”
I moan when he rubs it with his index finger and then brings his thumb into the play to roll my clit. Wetness is building inside me as my core clenches, desperate to fight off the arousal, but my body is a fool for his touch.
My mind has been deprived for too long, and when he offers me this release, I’m too weak to fight it. It crosses my mind that perhaps, if I give this to him, he’ll be more gentle with me. Maybe, if I give him anything he wants, he’ll let me go.
It might be a futile thought, but it’s here, and it’s not going anywhere.
“Don’t think I’m doing this for your pleasure, Sky.” He groans. “Oh, no. I’m doing this because I want to watch you writhe from my finger.”
Still twisting and pulling my nipples with one hand, he’s driving me crazy with lust, as the other expertly builds the desire between my legs.
“I’m going to watch you come, and you’re going to enjoy it, and then hate yourself for liking it. And tomorrow, we’ll do the same thing. And then again … and again …”
“Stop …” I moan.
Who am I kidding? He’s not going to, and I’m not even sure I want him to stop anymore.He’s got me under a spell, and I’m helpless to fight it.
Clarissa Wild is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author, best known for the dark Romance novel Mr. X. Her novels include the Fierce Series, the Delirious Series, and Stalker. She is also a writer of erotic romance such as the Blissful Series, The Billionaire’s Bet series, and the Enflamed Series. She is an avid reader and writer of sexy stories about hot men and feisty women. Her other loves include her furry cat friend and learning about different cultures. In her free time she enjoys watching all sorts of movies, reading tons of books and cooking her favorite meals.
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