Title: Raze
Author: Tillie
Cole
Age group:
Mature new adult
Genre: Dark contemporary
romance
Release date:
30th December 2014
GOODREADS LINK
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23262621-raze?ac=1
BLURB
To take back life, one
must first face death...
One man stripped of his
freedom, his morals...his life.
Conditioned in
captivity to maim, to kill and to slaughter, prisoner 818 becomes an
unremorseful, unrivaled and unstoppable fighter in the ring. Violence is all he
knows. Death and brutality are the masters of his fate.
After years of
incarceration in an underground hell, only one thought occupies his mind:
revenge...bloody, slow and violent revenge.
Revenge on the man who
lied.
Revenge on the man who
wronged him.
Revenge on the man who
condemned him and turned him into this: a rage-fueled killing machine. A
monster void of humanity; a monster filled with hate.
And no one will stand
in the way of getting what he wants.
One woman stripped of
her freedom, her morals...her life.
Kisa Volkova is the
only daughter of Kirill ‘The Silencer’ Volkov, head of the infamous ‘Triad’ bosses of New York's Russian Bratva. Her life is protected. In
reality, it’s a virtual prison. Her father’s savage treatment of
his rivals and his lucrative and coveted underground gambling ring—The Dungeon—ensures too many
enemies lurk at their door.
She dreams to be set
free.
Kisa has known only
cruelty and loss in her short life. As manager of her father’s death
match enterprise, only grief and pain fill her days. Her mafia boss father, in
her world, rules absolute. And her fiancé, Alik Durov, is no better; the Dungeon’s five-time champion, a
stone-cold killer, the treasured son of her father’s best friend, and her
very own—and much resented—personal guard.
Unrivaled in both strength and social standing, Alik controls every facet of
Kisa’s life, dominates her every move; keeps her subdued and dead
inside...then one night changes everything.
While working for her
church—the only reprieve in
her constant surveillance—Kisa stumbles across a tattooed, scarred, but stunningly
beautiful homeless man on the streets. Something about him stirs feelings deep
within her; familiar yet impossibly forbidden desires. He doesn’t talk. Doesn’t communicate with anyone. He’s a man
beyond saving, and a man she must quickly forget...for both their sakes.
But when weeks later,
out of the blue and to her complete surprise, he’s announced as the
replacement fighter in The Dungeon, Kisa knows she’s in a whole lot of
trouble. He’s built, ripped and lethally unforgiving to his opponents,
leaving fear in his wake and the look of death in his eyes.
Kisa becomes obsessed
with him. Yearns for him. Craves his touch. Needs to possess this mysterious
man...this man they call Raze.
Review by Emma Mistress of all Dark & Twisted
Raze by Tillie Cole is her first book in the genre of Mafia writing. If you've read her Hades Hangmen MC books you'll know Tillie can write some of the best captivating and deviant tales around. This is a dark and twisted romance that takes you on a gripping, gritty and unforgiving ride of emotions: revenge, hate, love and hope all play their part.
Raze is basically a slave. Taken and held as a young boy for a crime he did not commit. He is tortured and abused daily. He must fight to the death every time he enters the ring of death. If he loses, it will be because he is dead. Imprisoned in 'hell' Raze is determined to not die and vows to seek revenge on the one who has wronged him: he has it engrained on his cell wall, so he never ever forgets who put him there.
His tale is one to crush most people's spirit and render them emotionless but not Raze, he's changed but you feel with every ounce of your being he isn't a monster. He's surviving the only way he knows how to: by killing instead if being killed. You will want to seek retribution for Raze too, you will empathise with this killer!!
Kisa is New York's Russian Bratva infamous 'Triad' boss' daughter. One picture perfect Mafia princess at first glance. But looks can be deceiving; Kisa is a prisoner too just like Raze. Her confines are due to an over protective father and and even more overbearing, mentally unstable fiancé Alik. Alik is the son to one of the bosses. He is also a psychotic sociopath whose obsessed with Kisa. They have been friends since childhood. She's terrified of him but follows her families expectations of being dutiful. However, there is a small, little, tiny part of her that loves Alik. She has known him her whole life and she keeps thinking she can save him, but in her heart she knows he's not her one and only. Some scenes between Kisa and Alik are uncomfortable and you truly want to cause him physical pain for how he behaves, but karma does come I promise!!
Her life changes one night when she runs into trouble in an alley while working for the church: the only place she can truly be herself without the ever present Mafia and Alik watching and monitoring her. She's rescued by a tattooed, muscled and scarred man. She instantly feels a connection with him and needs to know more about him. Kisa soon discovers he is the replacement fighter at The Dungeon where Alik also fights. Even in that place of death, knowing he's a killer does not repulse her away from him: their drawn to each other inexplicably, a feeling that's reciprocated by Raze too.
This love story is not conventional, traditional or sweet. It's heartbreaking, tough reading and at times very very dark. but I can assure you of an emotional read that will stay with you for days afterwards.... It's a tale of believing in yourself that one day you will get what your heart desires if you fight hard enough.
*** I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review on behalf of Obsessed by Books ***
Excerpt
Alik
wrapped his arms round my waist and pulled me to his damp chest, the impact
robbing me of my breath. He held me in place by the back of my head.
“You’re gonna make the
perfect wife, Kisa. I’ve been wanting you in my bed,
sleeping beside me, for too fucking long. I hate sending you back to your
father every night, not being able to fuck you for hours, tying you to the bed,
making you scream, making you bow down to my every command… fuck you until you
can’t
walk. Been wanting to fully own you, to possess you, to release you from the
Pakhan’s
grip and have you under my complete control…
for too fucking long.”
“Soon, baby,” I soothed.
Alik
loosened his grip on my hair, his harsh blue eyes losing their anger for the
briefest of moments.
“Yeah,” he replied.
Slapping me hard on the ass, he pressed a bruising, owning-me kiss to my
swollen lips. Alik swiftly broke away and, walking back to his bedroom, shouted
over his shoulder, “Serge
is downstairs. He’ll
take you to church.” I
relaxed but stiffened when he ordered, “Only after you
change. Don’t
you dare go out looking like that. I’ll seriously lose
my fucking shit if you do!”
“I won’t. I
love you, baby. Always,” I
blurted. This stopped Alik in his tracks.
He
turned, jerked his chin, a flicker of a smirk curling his upper lip, and he
said, “Myshka,
I love you too.”
My
shoulders sagged with relief at his show of affection. I calmed. It was during
these tender moments that I glimpsed the small amount of humanity in Alik. These
were the moments I cherished. Even as children, Alik was uptight, always angry,
always wanting to inflict pain on others; he frequently did on other kids. His
papa had raised him to be this way. I understood it; it was how Brava men had to be raised. But years of fighting and
killing in The Dungeon had hardened him to the point where the kinder side of
his personality grew weaker and weaker, the dark steadily and surely blotting
out any light that remained. In this Bratva life, and with what Alik did for a
living, it was essential he be this way. However, I wished his softer side
would linger a little longer.
It
was stupid of me and, to others, inexplicable. But I loved Alik in my own way,
well, as much as my shredded heart would allow. I wanted him to have peace. He
was so tormented…
so dark inside that I just wanted to help ease that.
Lost
in Alik’s
light, beautiful smile, my heart soared, floating on a loving hope that I would
see some good in him, that I’d finally got through to him, but
my reverie soon dissipated when, as always, his brief moment of gentleness was
overwhelmed by harshness.
Alik's
insane desire to possess me came to the fore as he warned, “Anyone even looks
at you tonight or even speaks to you, you tell me. And act appropriately. Don’t speak to men… only Father
Kruschev. Don’t
want my woman looking like a whore. ”
I
nodded dutifully. His eyes narrowed as they drank in my body. “Wear something that
covers you, all of you. I don’t wanna have to
kill some fucker for staring at your tits. You’ve
got to think about these things, Myshka. When you’re my wife, when I
own you completely, there’ll be no mistakes. I’ll whip you into
shape soon enough. You’ll be an example to all the Bratva
wives.”
“Okay, baby,” I whispered in
trepidation.
Alik
ran his teeth over his bottom lip, eyes leaden, his cock hardening and bulging
under his towel.
“Get out of here,
Kisa, before I fuck you against that wall and make your papa even more pissed
at me for being late.”
Amazon & USA Today
Best Selling Author, Tillie Cole, is a Northern girl through and through. She
originates from a place called Teesside on that little but awesomely sunny
(okay I exaggerate) Isle called Great Britain. She was brought up surrounded by
her English rose mother -- a farmer's daughter, her crazy Scottish father, a
savagely sarcastic sister and a multitude of rescue animals and horses.
Being a scary blend of
Scottish and English, Tillie embraces both cultures; her English heritage
through her love of HP sauce and freshly made Yorkshire Puddings, and her
Scottish which is mostly demonstrated by her frighteningly foul-mouthed
episodes of pure rage and her much loved dirty jokes.
Having been born and
raised as a Teesside Smoggie, Tillie, at age nineteen, moved forty miles north
to the 'Toon', Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, where she attended Newcastle University and
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in Religious Studies. She
returned two years later to complete a Post-Graduate Certificate in Teaching
High School Social Studies. Tillie, regards Newcastle to be a home from home
and enjoyed the Newcastle Geordie way of life for seven 'proper mint' and
'lush' years.
One summers day, after
finishing reading her thousandth book on her much loved and treasured Kindle,
Tillie turned to her husband and declared, "D'you know, I have a great
idea for a story. I could write a book." Several months later, after
repeating the same tired line at the close of another completed story, she was
scolded by her husband to shut up talking about writing a novel and "just
bloody do it!" For the first time in eleven years, Tillie actually took
his advice (he is still trying to get over the shock) and immediately set off
on a crazy journey, delving deep into her fertile imagination.
Tillie, ever since, has
written from the heart. She combines her passion for anything camp and glittery
with her love of humour and dark brooding men (most often muscled and tattooed – they’re her weakness!). She also has a serious side (believe
it or not!) and loves to immerse herself in the complex study of World
Religions, History and Cultural Studies and creates fantasy stories that enable
her to thread serious issues and topics into her writing -- yep, there's more
to this girl than profanity and sparkles!
After six years of
teaching high school Social Studies and following her Professional Rugby Player
husband around Europe, they have finally given up their nomadic way of life and
settled in Calgary, Alberta where Tillie spends most of her days (and many a
late night) lost in a writing euphoria or pursuing a dazzling career as a
barrel-racing, tasselled-chap wearing, Stetson-sporting cowgirl... Ye-haw!
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7074846.Tillie_Cole
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