Review ♥ Breaking Him by R.K. Lilley

Breaking Him (Love is War, #1) by R.K. Lilley
Series: Love is War #1
Published by Self-Published on October 11th 2015
Pages: 340


Amazon

From internationally bestselling author R.K. Lilley comes a scorching new series with melt-the-pages tension and all-consuming angst. It’s love, it’s war and it’s Scarlett and Dante’s story.

Scarlett
It was the kind of relationship where I invested more than I had to spare.
I gave it everything.
And so when it failed, I lost myself.
It changed me.
He changed me. I went down with the ship.
My soul, burnt embers in the aftermath.
The fire of him ravaged it all.
He burned me.Broke me.

Scarlett had always dreamed big. She was headed straight for Hollywood. Destined for silver screen greatness.
But in her wildest dreams she never imagined she’d be broke and single at twenty-eight, doling drinks at thirty-five thousand feet.
She was a glorified waitress in the skies.
It had been years since she’d seen him.
But one day, there he sat, gazing intently at her, ready to set everything ablaze once more.
Dante wanted her. Again.
Sure, she’d play along…but this time, it was his turn.
She was breaking him.
After all, love is war.
---------------
Book one in the Love is War duet.

Why didn’t someone tell me about R.K. Lilley, and specifically about Breaking Him, before now?! This story is like book crack—positively addictive and emotionally lethal. It gutted me time and time again, and I couldn’t get enough.

Scarlett is the very definition of a badass heroine. She’s a survivor: fearless, strong, calculating, and quick-tempered. Despite poverty, bullying, abandonment, and injustice, she rises from the ashes again and again—with fists flying if necessary. Dante comes from wealth, but his spirit is just as wounded and his anger just as easily tapped as Scarlett’s. They form a bond in fourth grade when he takes on the role of her protector, and the two become inseparable. Their friendship naturally becomes romantic as they grow older. It’s an epic love story of two scarred soulmates, trapped in a passionate and volatile relationship.

There is only one heart in this universe that calls to mine, and it does call. Constantly, relentlessly, it sings out to me in a captivating, resonating voice.

Day after day, year after year, it calls to me.

But I won’t listen to it. It belongs to a liar.

The story alternates between the past and present. Both are equally fascinating, but I was eager to learn exactly what went down between Dante and Scarlett to cause their relationship to implode in such a drastic way. The way they slice each other with words is vicious—and wonderful. I’m an angst whore so I loved every minute of the barbs, backstabbing, conniving, jealousy, and hate. I equally enjoyed the passion, vulnerability, and deeply sensual aspects. There are some seriously hot sex scenes, but they aren’t gratuitous or over-abundant. They enhance this multi-faceted story.

R.K. Lilley is an exceptional storyteller. The narrative—told strictly from Scarlett’s point of view—is steady and impactful. There’s a landmine of history that includes some major blows, but only small pieces are unearthed at a time. It was more than enough to keep me hooked. There’s also a large cast of complex characters that are extremely well-developed and intriguing. The story gets stronger as it progresses, and by the end I was chomping at the bit to fill in the gaps. If you think you’re going to get even half of your questions answered by the end, think again. Trust me. You’ll want to have Breaking Her, the second book in this duet, on hand.

 

Recommended for fans of:
Friends to lovers to enemies to lovers stories
Angsty goodness
Badass heroines
Steamy sexy times

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