Menace

Scarlet Scars, Book 1

By: J. M. Darhower

Narrated by: Kasha Kensington, Iggy Toma

Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Once upon a time, there was a guy who got so fed up with life that he resorted to murder and mayhem just to feel alive.

Lorenzo Gambini is bored. So f--king bored. Most people either annoy him or avoid him, afraid to face him. Figuratively. Literally. With his face partially disfigured, scarred, he looks every bit the monster the stories make him out to be: the notorious Scar. They say he's a sociopath. Maybe he's a psychopath. Whatever path he's on, people tend to stay far away from it.

Until one day, a young woman bumps right into him - a woman just as fed up with life, but for much different reasons. With a scarlet letter inked on her wrist and secrets buried deep in her soul, Morgan Myers is running from something...or maybe somebody. Lorenzo isn't quite sure. You can bet your ass he's going to figure it out, though.

Contains mature themes.

©2017 Jessica Mae Darhower (P)2017 Tantor

Buyer be Ware, It's a Cliffhanger

Ok, so I'll start off with explaining my review process. A 5 star book must contain the following nine areas: Lots of laughs/heart wrentching or both , hot steamy sex, relatable/believable (I don't care if it's about vampires or mythical creatures, as long as the rest of the story is convincing), excellent narration, detailed but not excessively, keeps your attention and finally, worth listening to more than once. This book was not the best I've ever listened to but not the worst either....was OK. It contained 5 out of the 9. I will however say the suspense was great (and I hate suspenses, I'm the person who reads the last chapter of a book if the suspense is too much of a wait), and the plot was completely unpredictable. It's not your average story but enjoyable. Lastly, I hate cliffhangers with a passion, because I simply cannot wait to know what will happen next, and in many cases, it leaves me pissed off for days; but this one didn't leave me angry at all, I could live a few months or years for the next book. Which translates to being just an OK book.

Dark and less than perfect

Lorenzo and Morgan are such an interesting pair. Lorenzo is a cold hearted killer and crime boss. Morgan is a stripper with a sad secret. One thing I liked about this story is that it's not hearts and flowers. For one, the hero has a terrifying scar on his face, making him blind in one eye. The heroine picks pockets and often finds herself at the mercy of very predatory men. There is also an interesting but tragic twist in her backstory (no spoilers). While Lorenzo and Morgan do end up together, I would argue that they have more of a FWB situation than a romantic relationship. Their banter was funny despite the dark tone of the story. Just a heads up, this ends on a cliffhanger.

I liked Iggy Toma. He really understood the characters and the story.

Another great story!

I haven’t read a J. M. Darhower book that I haven’t enjoyed and this one is no exception. The author created another world that is definitely unputdownable.

Amazing!

This was probably one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to. Well written, superbly narrated, I wished it was even longer. I’m glad there’s a sequel, which I’ve immediately purchased.

I won’t give away plot details, except to say that this isn’t your normal girl-next-door falls for sweet/hot/misunderstood alpha male. These are two broken people living hard, tumultuous lives. They aren’t perfect or even very nice in many cases. But this makes the story 10x better, and way more fascinating.

Narration was excellent. First time I’ve listened to either, and I’ll be frantically looking for more. Iggy sounded like the Joker to me in some instances, and it worked lol. She did a great job with Morgan, and her kid voices were spot on.

Don’t hesitate, get this book.

Very MUCH enjoyed

Wow---
What a different type book-It is truly a different type of story - It's about Love, Trafficking, kidnapping, killing, a great adult story-with a twist. I liked that it was Not predictable and entertaining-i am looking forward to reading/listening to the 2nd book in this series's

Unlikely chance for love

Enjoyed the story and the characters. Neither looking for or wanting anything serious. It's a physical relationship of mutual satisfaction, nothing more. Until it isn't.

Read it now!!

This book has everything, spice, thrill, and humor. I wasn’t bored once, every chapter has a purpose.

long, unoriginal, and full of misery

I am not a fan of the characters, plot, or style of this novel/series. It's another story about powerful men being violent and showy. The series has rape and torture. I think that should be enough to make most people avoid it, but I guess most people are awful.

Loved it

This book is just amazing and the the narrators did a great good with the narrations. The characters are easy to relate to. Love love love. I totally recommend it

Lorenzo & Scarlet!

Such a great duet; the writing, the characters, the story and the audiobook narration are all amazing. I was drawn to the flawed characters from the start, and couldn't believe the twist that happens towards the end, I was not expecting it and it actually got me, which doesn't happen very often. The Crazy and Emotions are real in this one, and there are triggers that need to be heeded if you have any, but I found it all fairly tame as far as what I normally read. It was a pretty soft cliffhanger to the storyline, but it was enough to make you want to immediately dive into book two, to see how things play out.