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lifeinthebooklane's review against another edition
I got to 67% but the repetitiveness of events and inner monologue along with the heroine’s complete lack of backbone or common sense began to annoy me. The characters were inconsistent and I never once warmed to Saint who thought being rich justified sexual assault (on Mila), violence and murder. Sexual attraction doesn’t equal consent. Most of the time Saint came across as a raging psychopath, not the most attractive of personality traits. Only once did I see a glimpse of humanity in him and it didn’t last long.
Are we meant to like Elena? Because she is even worse than Saint in my opinion. At least he doesn’t try to justify things or pretend to be anything other than evil. For the life of me I couldn’t understand why Mila didn’t tell Elana that the choice she been given by him was marriage or being whored out. Not when Elena was defending Saint. There were lots of things that only made sense in terms of making the book dark. The whole scene at the start? Murdering a guy in a hotel suite and having a clean up team come in? Mila had no one in her life - she could just as easily been taken from the street or her home with no one the wiser. Pointless.
It’s a one book story stretched over a series and for that reason alone I would have issues. Given that I don’t care for any of the characters or believe in their actions, responses or motivations, I’m out.
Are we meant to like Elena? Because she is even worse than Saint in my opinion. At least he doesn’t try to justify things or pretend to be anything other than evil. For the life of me I couldn’t understand why Mila didn’t tell Elana that the choice she been given by him was marriage or being whored out. Not when Elena was defending Saint. There were lots of things that only made sense in terms of making the book dark. The whole scene at the start? Murdering a guy in a hotel suite and having a clean up team come in? Mila had no one in her life - she could just as easily been taken from the street or her home with no one the wiser. Pointless.
It’s a one book story stretched over a series and for that reason alone I would have issues. Given that I don’t care for any of the characters or believe in their actions, responses or motivations, I’m out.
poojbooj's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
spice level was ok but the plot was all over the place
cierra_mccauley_cierrascorner's review against another edition
5.0
Whew! The Rise of Saint is Wicked Good! J intoxicates you with Saint and Mila! Instantly you're sucked into Saint's web and your heart is pounding for Mila! I devoured this book in one go, too captivated to put down. It's deliciously dark and sinful, thrilling and flat out tantalizing! You quickly lose your barrings on right and wrong, too mesmerized by the unknown and Saint's devilish ways! J really broke the mold with Saint, He's everything you secretly crave in a male character! I just can't get him out of my head! Mila is the best-kept secret and Saint is the one full of mystery! Neither one is prepared for the other, they're explosive and alluring!
"You look beautiful, Mila." His voice dipped low, a murmur of words that held no meaning. I would rather be called ugly by God that beautiful by the Devil. - Bella J (Saint, Mila)
I loved every page, their every interaction has you hanging on to your seat, biting your lip and squeezing your thighs! Get ready baby, because you're not ready for Saint! As pieces begin to unfold and you just know something is coming, but there's not enough book left for everything to happen! That ending grips you by the Ba//s! The Rise of Saint is book one in Bella J's new Dark Romance series and it's nothing short of incredible! I can't wait for the next book! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"You look beautiful, Mila." His voice dipped low, a murmur of words that held no meaning. I would rather be called ugly by God that beautiful by the Devil. - Bella J (Saint, Mila)
I loved every page, their every interaction has you hanging on to your seat, biting your lip and squeezing your thighs! Get ready baby, because you're not ready for Saint! As pieces begin to unfold and you just know something is coming, but there's not enough book left for everything to happen! That ending grips you by the Ba//s! The Rise of Saint is book one in Bella J's new Dark Romance series and it's nothing short of incredible! I can't wait for the next book! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
catwithbooks's review against another edition
3.75
Schon der erste Satz im Klappentext hatte mich.
Er ist mein Entführer ... und mein Ehemann.
Ja sowas ist dann genau mein Fall bzw ist dann meine Neugier geweckt.
Mila wird sehr unerwartet vom Fleck weg entführt und wäre das noch nicht alles, wird ihr auch noch gesagt das sie ihren Entführer heiraten wird.
Mila hat nicht wirklich eine Chance gegen Saint, hinzukommt, er weiss was über ihre Vergangenheit. Aber dann ist da auch noch die Anziehungskraft, die beide quasi verleugnen. Während Mila eher das körperliche gern abstreiten würde, hat Saint plötzlich mehr oder weniger mit Gefühlen zu kämpfen. Diese stehen ihm aber im Weg für seine Rache.
Die beiden Protagonisten schenken sich nichts, wobei Mila hier oft am kürzeren Hebel oft sitzt.
Die Handlung ist in soweit interessant das ich mehr wissen möchte. Was sind die Pläne von Saint? Wird er vielleicht doch noch eine weiche Seite ihr gegenüber zeigen?
Und wird Mila über sich hinauswachsen und mehr für sich einstehen. Ein wenig hat sie mir zu oft geheult.
Und wären da noch ein paar Nebencharaktere, wo ich gespannt bin welche Rolle sie weiter spielen werden und ob man diese noch ein Stück besser kennenlernen wird.
Gegen Ende wird es dann mal so richtig spannend, da man auch als Leser nochmal einiges an Informationen bekommt.
Auf Band 2 bin ich schon gespannt.
Er ist mein Entführer ... und mein Ehemann.
Ja sowas ist dann genau mein Fall bzw ist dann meine Neugier geweckt.
Mila wird sehr unerwartet vom Fleck weg entführt und wäre das noch nicht alles, wird ihr auch noch gesagt das sie ihren Entführer heiraten wird.
Mila hat nicht wirklich eine Chance gegen Saint, hinzukommt, er weiss was über ihre Vergangenheit. Aber dann ist da auch noch die Anziehungskraft, die beide quasi verleugnen. Während Mila eher das körperliche gern abstreiten würde, hat Saint plötzlich mehr oder weniger mit Gefühlen zu kämpfen. Diese stehen ihm aber im Weg für seine Rache.
Die beiden Protagonisten schenken sich nichts, wobei Mila hier oft am kürzeren Hebel oft sitzt.
Die Handlung ist in soweit interessant das ich mehr wissen möchte. Was sind die Pläne von Saint? Wird er vielleicht doch noch eine weiche Seite ihr gegenüber zeigen?
Und wird Mila über sich hinauswachsen und mehr für sich einstehen. Ein wenig hat sie mir zu oft geheult.
Und wären da noch ein paar Nebencharaktere, wo ich gespannt bin welche Rolle sie weiter spielen werden und ob man diese noch ein Stück besser kennenlernen wird.
Gegen Ende wird es dann mal so richtig spannend, da man auch als Leser nochmal einiges an Informationen bekommt.
Auf Band 2 bin ich schon gespannt.
gretchenelaine's review against another edition
5.0
When this book began, I instantly felt like it was one that would drag out unnecessarily. Not to mention Marcello Saint Russo is a giant prick. The man has an ego so large, I don't even know how he fits in a room. He is the type of person who thinks his sh*t doesn't stink.
So yeah to say I was ready to just be done with this after the first book was an understatement. Saint got under my skin so freaking much. At one point I debated throwing my phone across the room, as I opted to listen to this while doing things around the house as opposed to reading the physical copy or on my e-reader(Kindle). Then we get to the yacht/boat and then man has to go and show he is human as much as he tries not to be.
Therefore here I am writing this review, listening to the last few minuets of book one in this trilogy, already purchasing book two, knowing I'm going to be up all night. Oh and we cannot forget Mila/Milana. God I love her so freaking much. She is a total badass b*tch who has no problem sticking it to the Italian mob/mafia boss.
My only complaint with the audio version is the male narrator making Saint sound more Russian than Italian. Like he just sounds like a vampire you think sounds if that makes any sense. But beyond that loved this entire thing and here is to book 2!
So yeah to say I was ready to just be done with this after the first book was an understatement. Saint got under my skin so freaking much. At one point I debated throwing my phone across the room, as I opted to listen to this while doing things around the house as opposed to reading the physical copy or on my e-reader(Kindle). Then we get to the yacht/boat and then man has to go and show he is human as much as he tries not to be.
Therefore here I am writing this review, listening to the last few minuets of book one in this trilogy, already purchasing book two, knowing I'm going to be up all night. Oh and we cannot forget Mila/Milana. God I love her so freaking much. She is a total badass b*tch who has no problem sticking it to the Italian mob/mafia boss.
My only complaint with the audio version is the male narrator making Saint sound more Russian than Italian. Like he just sounds like a vampire you think sounds if that makes any sense. But beyond that loved this entire thing and here is to book 2!
sedaniels's review against another edition
3.0
it’s fine.
I wasn’t blown away or anything but it’s fine.
I found the story very long and drawn out without a lot of progress made as far as Mila and Saint are concerned.
The transition from hate just didn’t happen and if I had realised it was the first book in a trilogy I wouldn’t have bothered.
It’s not particularly dark or even spicy. It’s a manipulative rich guy forcing a non-orphan into a marriage
I wasn’t blown away or anything but it’s fine.
I found the story very long and drawn out without a lot of progress made as far as Mila and Saint are concerned.
The transition from hate just didn’t happen and if I had realised it was the first book in a trilogy I wouldn’t have bothered.
It’s not particularly dark or even spicy. It’s a manipulative rich guy forcing a non-orphan into a marriage
naughtybookaffair's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. This was nonstop action. I could not put this one down. And I wanted to throw my kindle at the ending. So not right that this one was a cliffhanger. Mila comes face to face with Mr. Saint. Mr.Saint is not nice by any means. He has plans and will stop at nothing to make sure that they come out the way that he wants. All these plans involve Mila. But Mila is not going for them. She fights but it does her no good. I loved this book. It was very well written. Mr.Saint and Mila are two amazing characters that you want to know more about. I have a hate relationship with Mr.Saint and I absolutely love Mila. I have to know what is going to happen between these too. I cant wait to read the next one in this series. Bella gained a fan with this book and I will be reading more from her.
k_gabardi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
debbye's review against another edition
5.0
Saint...love him
I love the angst and tension throughout this book that each experiences in their own way and look forward to seeing how it all evolves. Definitely a favorite and written so well! If you like mafia romance, this is perfect!
I love the angst and tension throughout this book that each experiences in their own way and look forward to seeing how it all evolves. Definitely a favorite and written so well! If you like mafia romance, this is perfect!