Review: Reviewed by Desere Steenberg
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 23, 2013
From the back blurb of this book if would sound like a complete fantasy as surely no one would force anyone to give up the love of their life just to ensure that person stays alive and in return they get years of physical and emotional abuse with no way out.Yet it really does happen and when doing the research you will find many news articles relating these very events and the trauma it causes, but of course none of us want to think about that we check out the news story and file it at the back of our minds with the words " some people are completely nuts", and we move on.In this read from author Samantha Darling she took the time to go behind what happens when the trapped person finally escapes their bonds and the life afterwards.The read is about Daniella, blackmailed into a marriage she has lived through years of physical and verbal abuse, but fate smiles down upon her when her no good husband passes away and in walks her saviour Luca, he is not only the brother to her miscreant dead husband but also the love of her life, the man she had to leave behind to ensure his safety.But Luca has no idea of why she left him to marry his brother he only knows that he wants revenge and he will take it anyway he can get it, even if it means luring Daniella into his bed, taking her, making her fall in love with him again and then letting her go to suffer the loss as badly as he had all those years ago.Only when he has her in his arms it seems that hatred has faded and in it's place is a love that never died, but then again his need for revenge seems to be much stronger.The character of Daniella was in my opinion one of the bravest woman I have ever read about, she knows the life that lies ahead when she let's Luca go yet she does so because of her love for him, the author truly showed just how strong love can be and what we will endure for love.Daniella does move from weak, broken down and completely emotionally scarred  very,very quickly to being back in Luca's arms and happy again, yes that does sound completely impossible as we all know physical scars heal quickly but emotional ones take far longer, yet this tied in with the power Luca has over her, and showed that when you are weak it takes one person for you to focus on and very quickly turn your frame of mind around to draw the focus of your past away, and let's face it there is only so much a author can explore during a couple of chapters and overall I think the author did it pretty well.The character of Luca was very well written and I could understand why he goes after revenge without actually trying to get behind the facts of Daniella's actions and this showed him to me as very, very real for where is the person that stops to think about what just happened before going off into a flying fit and just leaving, everyone asks why but never really takes it slow enough to find the answer, the author layed out this reaction in Luca's actions perfectly.The backdrop settings were well incorporated by the author and I felt at home with the descriptions being given slotting me as reader nicely into the feel and taste of what was happening. The dialogue was emotional all the way, sexy one minute then anger the next then sadness and fear it all matched with what the characters were going through and trying to deal with.I am taking away a message of when you lose someone you know loves you more than life it self, never assume it is simply because they stopped loving you, take a moment to step back and search for the deeper meaning behind their words for you never know what is truly the reason, and never try to take revenge when a powerful uncontrollable love is involved the revenge will backfire.And most importantly never underestimate what the love of another can get you through , holding onto love while in the deepest darkest pits of hell on earth clinging to that love will and can get you through anything even the most unspeakable.I recommend this read for anyone looking for romance with a bit of a twist and a look at the emotional side of living with fear.4 star review" Revenge is bitter sweet when in the arms of your lover"Copy provided by the author in exchange for a honest review