Revenge

Oh. My. God. The Lawless family is SO messed up. They should be getting group and individually counselling with Kai, probably forever. But what I love about this series (and most of Lexi's books) is that they are believably messed up. Some of the plot twists are more extreme than the average, normal life, for sure, but she still manages to make the characters relate-able. I read too many books thinking "no one acts like this unless they are mentally impaired" and I never get distracted like here.

I was afraid that the final book was going to maybe be bland plot-wise, but this thing twists and turns like a snake on acid. I waited until I had a few hours free to I could read it straight through and I'm glad I did. If I'd had to put it show more down... well, I don't think I could have. The only problem is that I have a total book hang-over and I think I'm just going to have to read it again. show less

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review. Also my tags may have spoilers in them so be forewarned before checking out full review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖
Narration:🎧🎧🎧🎧
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
Revenge is the finale of the "Lawless" trilogy and this is where we see the culmination of what has show more been building in this trilogy really come to a head and get the climax of the plot building. And what a WILD ride this one turned out to be. Such a tangled web that this author wove within this story and every time you think you know what is happening....then a new twist comes into play. I will say that the plot of mystery and danger is what took the focus in the book. The romance took a backseat which was the only aspect that was slightly disappointing for me.

First Line
"This is a mistake."

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Drew Lawless
The Heroine: Shelby Gates

Summary
Drew Lawless will do anything to get the revenge for what happened to his family and when he learns who the true villain in their family disaster, he decides to keep it quiet from his family and to gain a friend and a mutual interest that will help him fight to gain the truth. But even though they come together with mutual interests and goals, there is a tension between them. Drew is so full of passion and thirst for vengeance he forgets about the human condition. Shelby while she has similar aspects, she has a softer heart for those that are innocent. Both come together to bring down the person that has destroyed so many lives.

What I Loved
I loved how the plot really built within the story. There were some quiet moments between Drew and Shelby that was beyond fascinating. And then we have the way in which they are working together, build a good friendship for each other and how they really compliment each other so well. They both have a thirst for revenge but have unique ways in which they approach that vengeance. Drew was much darker of a hero than I actually expected. And Shelby has the bubby light that really delivers such balance. The dynamic between these two just seemed to fit for them so well. The plot is what had me in a chokehold for this story. I just had to see how it would all be resolved but man my heart just broke for this family.

What I Struggled With
The pacing could have been slightly better here, the hero was hard to like at times. Quite frankly he was a jerk lol And I feel like the focus was the plot and I do think the author could have taken 50-100 more pages to get more romance within the story. It really suffered for the plot device but that can happen with this author sometimes.

Narration
A very solid narration, not the best or anything, but it was a decent one. I think the male POV was better than the female POV though.

Overall View
Revenge was a fierce and protective installment that really dug deep into corruption and greed. It had some feels, some heart and plenty of thrills and chills with a satisfying ending to a great trilogy.

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Romantic Suspense
Character Types: Billionaire/Moneybags, Journalist Heroine, Jerk Hero
Themes: Danger/Suspense, Angsty, Family Saga
Tropes: Fake Relationship, Grumpy Sunshine

Book Perspective
Duo POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Plot Conflict

If you like these authors, I recommend This Book
Susan Stoker
Karen Rose
Nora Roberts

Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes--you need to read this series and this world in order if possible

Steam/Spice Explanations

Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.

Narrators:
Alexandra Shawnee show less

Revenge is the third (and final?) book in the Lawless series by Lexi Blake. I wish I could say that I enjoyed this book as much as I loved the other two, but I can't. The story felt too rushed. I don't feel like Drew and Shelby got the attention they should have gotten. I wanted to see them romancing each other without the hurry of finding out all the pieces of the puzzle. I wanted to see more romance.

To be honest, here, I felt like I didn't get a resolution in the end. I am having some "Is this it?" moments and if this is truly the end of the story, then I will be a little disappointed. I expected something more because I know the author can do it. The writing wasn't bad, but the story needed more pages and time to be told. I loved show more seeing all the characters together and I liked the new addition. For most of the book, I was wondering who is on the good side and who is on the bad. I barely managed to keep myself from reading the end in order to find out who was telling the truth and who was having secrets. I was quite hyped about this and maybe that's the reason I feel like I was let down with the story. While it's not one of Blake's best works, it still better than some of the books I read recently. show less

Revenge is the 3rd book about the Lawless brothers and focuses on Drew. Drew is the mastermind of the family. He kind of gives off the evil genius vibe and to say he is ruthless is a bit mild. His plan is to use Shelby to do the dirty work of finding the information he needs and then cut her loose.

Drew has never been my favorite brother. Bran was a serious whore, but he was at least likable. Riley is the best (even if he had his own douchy moments). But Drew...Revenge has been his life's mission and it has made him cold and calculating. Shelby is a brilliant reporter who had already uncovered some anomalies in the Lawless family case. She was also a great ally to Carly in book 2 (and I loved Carly!). Really, Drew was going to be the show more biggest hurdle to my enjoyment of this book. Could I ever really believe he would change and not be a cutthroat dick? I just wasn't sure it could happen.

You get to peek in on the lives of the other Lawless siblings and their spouses which creates a really well rounded supporting cast of characters. Hatch is still around as well. He reminds me of Haymitch from the Hunger Games. A drunken fool until forced to sober up and help guide some youngsters in their revenge plot. Even their names were similar enough that I kept mixing them up! Plus, there is a new character who comes out of nowhere and will make you question things! Drew is his typical, skeptical self, and Shelby is more trusting, which describes them pretty much in everything they do. As the reader, I found myself agreeing more with Shelby, but also thinking "Maybe I'm an idiot who is getting played!". The mystery keeps you turning pages and unable to put the book down.

By the end, I did see character development in Drew and I enjoyed him more than I expected. Nerdy boy has a wild side for sure!

Revenge is an extremely well crafted story with twists and surprises that will engage and enthrall you. Blake has created a masterfully written tale of family drama, betrayal, and Revenge!

 

• POV: 3rd


• Tears: no


• Trope: revenge, fake relationship


• Triggers: spoiler


• Series/Standalone: Series (must be read in order)


• Cliffhanger: No, this is the final book in the series and there is resolution


• HEA: yes

Books by Maya Banks, Laura Kaye, Chanel Cleeton ...then you will probably like Revenge!



Revenge





See full review on The Book Disciple show less

MMC pushed FMC away for her own good. Annoying back and forth. Good mystery

3