Ruthless Salvation

The Byrne Brothers, Book 3

By: Jill Ramsower

Narrated by: Amanda Stribling, Teddy Hamilton

Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Stormy
I don’t seek out gorgeous men with psychotic tendencies,
But damn if they don’t have a way of finding me.

Beautifully broken. Endlessly tempting.

Each day at work, my brooding Irish boss acts like he wants nothing to do with me. And every night, he stalks me like I’m the very air he breathes.

So why haven’t I tried to escape him? Maybe he’s not the only one who’s a little broken.

Torin
I’ve never known obsession until now.

I hate the way it feels.
The conflict.
The cravings.

Stormy Lawson consumes my every thought.

I yearn to punish her for being so damn irresistible.
I ache to own her, so I never have to know life without her.

But more than anything, I’m compelled to slaughter anyone who comes between us.

Ruthless Salvation is the third book in The Byrne Brothers series. Each book in the series features a different couple and can be listened to as a stand-alone with a happily ever after, but for maximum enjoyment, follow the recommended listening order.

Content Warning: A dark romance with adult themes, Ruthless Salvation may not be suitable for sensitive audiences. It deals with matters of domestic violence (not between the main characters), pregnancy, loss, and infertility. For a more detailed list of possible content triggers, you can visit the books tab on my website.

A Note from the Author: Take the grumpy/sunshine trope, sprinkle in a little mafia and a whole lot of over the top possessiveness, and you have Torin and Stormy’s story. It’s heart-wrenching and seductive yet still tender and playful. This one has all the feels, so buckle up!

For those of you who are new to me, I write what I'd call "mafia lite". My heroes are hardened criminals with soft spots for their heroines. There may be violence and cruelty in my books, but never between the main characters. Enjoy!

©2023 Jill Ramsower (P)2023 Jill Ramsower

Good listen

The story was good loving this series. Well worth the time. Would love to have another shorter version of all those that are married with kids 5 years in the future.

Great story

First off as a southern girl I absolutely loved hearing a perfectly delivered southern accent from Amanda Stribling. And Teddy Hamilton with his usual silky sexy voice was just as perfect.

Mafia is my favorite genre and this story didn’t disappoint. I love when the FMC proves herself to be more than capable of taking care of herself. The same can be said for a MMC that can’t seem to figure out why he’s so protective of a relative stranger. It makes the push and pull so authentic. Such a great read!

A good addition to the series

I’m still not completely sure about Stormy and Torin’s relationship–Torin is mostly obsessed and Stormy is in need of a protector, beyond that and a lot of attraction, I didn’t see a lot of feelings for a long time. BUT the whole theme of searching for a place to belong to, for a family of one’s own, spoke to me for whatever reason.

After her adoptive parents’ death, Stormy has lost her place in the world. Searching for her origins, she ends up under the thumb of a violent and manipulative man. After she escapes, she stays on the move, and that’s why she doesn’t make connections. But she misses it so much that she starts making friends and a home when she begins working at Moxy. Where she meets Torin, her grumpy boss. Who’s stalking her.

Torin is grumpy because he too doesn’t want to make connections. A terrible event in his past taught him not to trust people. And keeping them at bay is the best way to not get hurt. But he becomes obsessed with Stormy.

The author chose to give us details about Stormy’s past in flashback chapters, little by little, and that was a great idea. She even hides some information until later in the book–to us, but even more to Torin. Basically, Torin and Stormy both keep a lot of secrets, because trust, or the lack of it, is at the center of their love story.

Lots of triggers, be warned. I won’t say what Torin is hiding, but just know that it isn’t pretty. Thankfully, the author spares us the details. As for Stormy’s story, there are way more details, and it’s a story of abuse and manipulation. Though it can be difficult to read, it’s important to get the full extent of what she went through, so we understand why she compares Torin with the man from her past, and why she doesn’t fully trust him at first.

But her past catches up with Stormy, and Torin vows to protect her. That’s really when they start to connect, because they need to trust each other. And that’s also when they connect with other people, mostly Torin’s familly. I loved that aspect.

A good addition to the series all in all.

The narrators were perfectly cast. The female narrator’s southern drawl was endearing and spot on for Stormy, and the male narrator performs, with equal talent, both Torin’s ruthlessness and his caring nature. Great narration for a great book.

Great listen!

Teddy Hamilton did great as always. It took me a bit to get used to the female lead but a few chapters in and I was used to her “southern drawl.” Bring from the south it aggravated at first. Story by Jill Ramsower was fantastic!

Loved!

There is so much to unpack in this audiobook, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers.
Stormy goes to Russia to try and find out where she came from. She ends up meeting a hot Russian. All is good at the beginning until it’s not. After suffering at his abuse she finally escapes and makes it back to the States.
She keeps in hiding, never staying in one place to long.
At the newest city she moved to she found a job working as a waitress in a strip club.
Who would have thought that her and Torin (the owner) would fall in love.
They both have baggage, and they both save eachother.

Torin fell hard and I was all about it.
There is a lot of suspense in this book. Plenty of spice.

Teddy Hamilton and Amanda Stribling did a wonderful job.
Amanda proved herself with the southern accent.

This was an ALC, thank you Jill Ramsower and Nextstep PR.

Two torn souls

loved loved this book and the very end epilogue will BLOW YOUR MIND, CONNER AND EM MAKE AN APPEARANCE

Great story!

Stormy and Torin loved these two characters. They definitely have horrible pasts which make them almost perfect for each other. Stormy always upbeat but guarded and Torin just angry and definitely ruthless especially in the ring. I loved the glimpses of the past on stormy’s end it was definitely sad . Things that happened to these characters shaped who they were. The story was perfect and yes the ending was amazing and left me with a smile on my face. The narrators did a phenomenal job portraying these characters and making this book absolutely perfect.

Great story

First I read the story and it was well written and a great addition to the Byrne Brothers. Teddy Hamilton was excellent and did a fantastic job as always. The female narrator I had a hard time with while she was not really bad, I was not a fan of her "southern accent". This was my first book with Amanda Stribling as a narrator so I do not know what she sounds like in other books for this particular book being a southern girl, just did not do it for me. But I still enjoyed the audio book because it did enhance the emotions I felt from reading the ebook.

Another fantastic narration

The narration was perfection. I recommend to anyone looking for a dark romance/ mafia audiobook.

Jill did it again and wrote another mafia masterpiece. It does contain my most hated trope, but it was written in such a way that the trope was tolerable, which is super rare for me. I highly recommend this series and this book to mafia lovers.

Heat rating 3/5🌶.

Male narrator

The male narrator was excellent, but the female was annoying! This book was not as good as the other books found myself fast forwarding a few times.