.... The Blurb ....
Lilah
One night is all it took.
One night changed all of my plans.
One night laid a road map out for the rest of my life.
My heart now belongs to him- Antonio Robert Heart, the underboss of the Heart Syndicate that governs over New York and its five boroughs. He rules with an unwavering hand yielding the blade of his knife, but when his strong hands touch me, I become liquid. I melt into his all-consuming prowess.
The thing is, he doesn't want me... even though he craves me.
Antonio
I don’t date. I don’t love. I don’t want marriage and I do not want children. I only allow myself companionship when the desire is there.
Lilah Tomlinson was supposed to be one night-one hour at the most.
I was a fool.
My desire for her prevailed and I let her in... only to find out she has betrayed me. That muscle in my chest, the one she has penetrated and brought to life, it shrivels with the worst kind of anger: WRATH.
***This book is a dark romance with strong sexual content and violent scenes. If you are uncomfortable with either of these situations please do not read! 18+
.... My Thoughts ...
18years+
In Short
- My first, but not last, book by Michelle B
- So much transpires its hard to stop thinking about.
- I wish we had seen even more of the secondary characters.
In Long
This is my first book by Michelle but it definitely won't be my last. Days later I am still thinking about this book and all that transpired.
Smoke and Mirrors has so much to it, you think things are starting to get to some sort of conclusion and something else is thrown in to the mix and everything is so far from over. There are so many different 'paths' that Michelle takes both with her characters and the story line.
Antonio and his family are very clearly well thought out, each family member bringing something 'to the table.' I find their family all so intriguing and I really enjoyed getting to see in to their world. I felt it was refreshing because a lot of books like this don't have a big family network like this one. I definitely crave more
Lilah is a likeable, strong character who challenges Antonio. I was really entertained by the push and pull between them.
I enjoyed the book being from both sides and therefore getting to know them both in equal terms and also knowing and seeing what each is thinking. Michelle did a brilliant job of ensuring this didn't mean the reader knew too much, there were many scenes that happens almost behind the readers back and I loved this.
There are a few things which I feel would have made this a 5* for me. I love secondary characters and I often think they make or break a book. Michelle made some brilliant, likeable secondary characters that really added to the book. However because I liked them so much I wanted more and felt I didn't get enough. Especially of Giovanna who I really liked and hope he gets his own book! His relationship with Antonio was endearing as well as entertaining.
Another thing for me was a bit of repetition about certain 'subjects' such as loyalty. It was mentioned a few times near the beginning which I felt was enough.
I didn't know until the end and reading the credits that Michelle's other books are linked to the same family. Seeing the glimpses of them throughout the book i can't wait to read their stories, they sound as action packed.
Final Thoughts
Smoke and Mirrors has the perfect balance of everything, all perfectly combined and mixed to create a gripping, action packed, raw romance book.
