My Review
Wow. What did I just read? I am a huge fan of Pepper Winters and Destroyed lived up to every expectation I had, plus some. I did not read any reviews of this book before I started reading it and I am so glad I had no idea about this story other than the synopsis, so I will keep this spoiler-free. Pepper has created two of the most memorable characters I have ever read and even now I can’t stop thinking about Hazel and Fox.
This is a dark, dark journey, but hold out and keep reading because the author makes it worth your while. Our hero and heroine meet under very harsh circumstances and their story is a raw, gritty and emotional journey like no other. Yes, the sex scenes are incredibly steamy, but they are infused with a rawness and pain that is at times difficult to witness:
It was the best kiss I’d ever received, but also the worst. It sparked lust and need in every inch of me. My lips wanted more, my tongue wanted savagery. My skin wanted to bruise because he needed to touch me so badly.
All my thoughts disappeared as I nipped at his bottom lip. He flinched, but a second later he copied, his sharp canines piercing my oversensitive flesh.
I moaned.
I couldn’t take it.
My hands flew up and gripped his shirt. Yanking him toward me, fireworks whizzed in my fingertips; my heart galloped toward exploding with lust. I’d never been so drunk on someone before.
Then I landed flat on my back.
The crack of my skull jangled my teeth. The thick carpet did little to cushion me. My eyes flared wide and I grunted in pain. Fear, hot and terrible, swamped my lust in a dampening wave.
“Top rule. Unbreakable rule. Don’t. Ever. Touch. Me.” Fox kneeled on one knee beside my head, breathing hard. His hand noosed my throat, pressing my spine into the carpet. His eyes were cold and lifeless, looking like a hunter intent on blood. – HAZEL
My heart went out to both of them and especially Fox, he was a fighter, hiding his fractured soul behind a stony, murderous facade:
Fox made a sound in the back of his throat, tightening his fingers. He glared, looking ready to murder me. “Who are you?” His eyes darted over me as if looking for an answer.
When I didn’t respond, he swiped his face with his other hand. His forehead furrowed while his expression turned pissed and stormy. “You think I didn’t see you watching? You had your eyes all over me. Answer me. Who the fuck are you?” His deep, accented voice stiffened my nipples even as a thrill of fear jolted through me.
My temper gave me false courage. “I’m not in the habit of answering such rude questions.” — HAZEL
I absolutely loved the dual POV’s, which are very difficult to do well, but Pepper does an amazing job at getting the reader into these character’s heads. Destroyed was an absolute 5-star read for me. I do hope, however, that the small editing and grammatical errors will be corrected because those do affect my enjoyment of a book. There’s no excuse for those in a book that has an editor and apparently many beta readers. But that’s just me. Otherwise, Destroyed is another fantastic and completely original story from the very talented Pepper Winters.
(ARC provided by the author in return for an honest review.)
Kim says
Awesome author and I look forward to reading Destroyed!
Thank you for a wonderful giveaway.