Black Hearts by Karina Halle Series: Sins Duet #1
Published by Self-Published on February 19th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: ARC
Purchase @ AMAZON
Add to GoodreadsRating
For Vicente Bernal, truth is all he’s known. The son of an infamous drug lord, Vicente was born to help run the family business, which means he’s been raised on a throne of sordid pasts and dirty laundry, violence and pride. But when Vicente stumbles across someone he’s not supposed to know about – a woman from his father’s checkered past – he sets out to California to find her behind his father’s back.
What Vicente doesn’t expect to find in San Francisco is Violet McQueen, the woman’s twenty-year old daughter. Beautiful and edgy with a vulnerability he can’t resist, Violet tempts Vicente from afar and though he promised himself he’d stay away from her, curiosity and lust are powerful forces. Besides, Vicente has always gotten everything he wants – why shouldn’t he have Violet too?
Soon his wants turn into an obsession, one that sweeps Violet into his games as they fall madly, deeply in love with each other, the type of first love that can drive a person mad.
But it’s a love with tragic consequences.
Both the truth – and the lies – not only threaten to tear them apart, but threaten their very lives.
Someone has to pay for the sins of the fathers.
And they’ll be paying the price with their souls.
Angie’s Thoughts:
This is part one of the Sins Duet series. You do not need to read any other books but this one and Dirty Souls that releases next month.
Black Hearts is a semi-dark read about trying to find yourself in the midst of all the lies, deception, kinky sex while realizing everything around you isn’t what it seems.
What happens when you fall in love with someone that your instincts is telling you that is wrong for you on every level? What happens when your world starts falling apart around you and all you want is the truth?
Violet seems like a naive girl at times and I truly believe it’s because her parents sheltered her so much. There were times I wanted to smack some sense into her and tell her to stop thinking with her vagina. Then other times I was cheering her on and loving that she was finally coming into her own skin.
That’s where Vicente comes in. He’s suave, he’s smooth, he’s the devil in disguise. Anyone that good looking with the right words to say must have an agenda and that agenda is between Violet’s legs and other things until he gets to know her.
I’m happy that we weren’t constantly reminded that he smokes a lot. That was such a breath of fresh air. (No pun intended)
Karina has told us this was her version of the dark and it’s true. If you’re looking for a dark read with shock value then look elsewhere. This has dark elements in it and enough that will make some squirm.
Karina is a master of storytelling. She knows how to put you under a spell and hold you there until you read the last word. Black Hearts is a beautifully dark, intriguing book that leaves you speechless. I can’t wait for Dirty Souls!
Liezel’s Thoughts:
As mentioned in the synopsis, this definitely can be read as a standalone. Both Violet and Vicente are all new characters who are independent of the ones we’ve already met in the Artist Trilogy and the Dirty Angels Series. After reading this Black Hearts, however, I have desperately wanted to go back and (re)read both series. This is how deep these character’s claws have in me. About the new players…
I appreciated Violet’s inquisitive nature and her openness. It felt like Violet was lost – as if she was waiting for something pivotal to happen with her life and Vicente was it. Vicente was more difficult to decipher. There are so many more layers that we still need to uncover. It was great that he didn’t expect Violet at all and it is interesting to see how what her role she going to play in his life.
But I loved these two together. I appreciated how Vicente opened her up and made her come to grips with her potential. It seems as if we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg with these two but I imagine Violet accepting Vicente no matter what. Their connection is serious enough that they would do anything to stay in each other’s lives.
As soon as I started Black Hearts I couldn’t put it down. Discovering how all the characters intertwined was by far the favorite part for me, second and third would be the intense romance and the suspense. I also loved “hearing” both Ellie and Javier’s voice again.
I enjoyed every single thing about this book. There is a slight cliffhanger but no worries the second isn’t too far behind. Thank you, Karina for not having us wait that long!
The Verdict:
The long wait is over…
Black Hearts, the hotly anticipated romantic suspense mashup of Sins & Needles and Dirty Angels is FINALLY here!
One-click this bitch on Amazon (and it’s also FREE in KU):
Black Hearts is part one of a standalone duet, with part two, Dirty Souls, releasing March 17th.
This book is hot. HOT. hot.
Suspenseful.
Raw & gritty.
It’s also a LOT of FUN. You know how rollercoasters are fun?
Buckle up. Hang on.
If you want – NEED – to escape for the day, sink your teeth into Black Hearts and it will sink its teeth into YOU!
About Karina Halle
Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Smut, The Artists Trilogy, Heat Wave and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her rescue pup and her husband Scott Mackenzie, who co-wrote Rocked Up with her. That’s right. It’s like the book SMUT come to life! This is their first venture as a writing team. A lot of music was played. A lot of laughs were had. A lot of sex was…put in the book!
