SYNOPSIS:

Raised as a prototype for the Georgian Bratva’s obedience drug, 221 fails to think, act, or live for himself; he’s his master’s perfectly-crafted killing puppet. Standing at six-foot-six, weighing two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, and unrivaled in to-the-death combat, 221 successfully secures business for the Georgian Mafiya Boss of NYC, who rules the dark world of the criminal underground. Until his enemies capture him.

Talia Tolstaia dreams to break from the heavy clutches of Bratva life. She dreams of another life–away from the stifling leash of her Russian Bratva Boss father and from the brutality of her work at The Dungeon, her criminal family’s underground death-match enterprise. But when she stumbles upon her family’s captive who is more monster than man, she starts to see the man underneath. A powerful, beautiful, damaged man whose heart calls to hers. But sacrifices must be made–blood for blood…life for life…souls for scarred souls…

*****Patty’s Review*****
*****FIVE YOU ARE FOR ME STARS*****
(ARC Generously Provided by Author in Exchange For An Honest Review)
{BR with my BESTIE Dee}

Talia Tolstaia. My Talia Tolstaia.
I tried to find hate. I tried to despise.
I found only warmth. She was mine.
She had cleansed me. Cared for me. Cried for me. She
was…for me.

This book literally floored me!! I loved it so much more than book one. There’s something about a man who has brutal strength and is almost like a wild animal, but at the same time, has the innocence of a young child! I’m a sucker for them!! Also this book was so SMOKING HOT, I actually went and re-read some of the steamier scenes!!! Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever done that until this book!!!

Luka, aka “RAZE”, is on a mission to seek revenge for his friend that he was forced to kill in a death match. Fighter 362. He promised to seek vengeance on the man who had destroyed his friend’s family. He learns the name of 362 and that he had a twin brother, who also was made into a slave and fighter in the Gulag. He also finds out that his friend was a member of the Kostava family, which were his family’s mortal enemy. Luka doesn’t care about past rivalries and conflicts. He’s been tortured by the guilt for killing 362 and all he wants to do is make things right. So he sets off to find 221 and free him from the evil man who has been drugging him and keeping him enslaved.

221 aka Zaal Kostava has been given a drug daily for years that makes him a violent killer but also 100% loyal to his master. He does whatever his master tells him to. He is always kept locked in a dark prison. Never allowed outdoors to walk in daylight, and he’s never allowed to talk. All he does is kill who his master commands him to, and has sex with the female slaves his master owns, only when ordered to do so for an audience. He has no recollection of his past. He has forgotten his true name, his family, and what has become of them.

Luka manages to save Zaal, and brings him to New York, to his parents beach house. His sister, Talia, has been staying at the beach house, enjoying her extended vacation. Zaal is kept in the basement where there is an actual prison cell installed. He’s very volatile because of the drugs that are still in his system. Every day, Talia is captivated by the beautiful man who seems to be very violent and dangerous.

After watching him on a surveillance monitor for days, Talia decides she wants to meet this man face to face. The sparks fly almost instantaneously, and HOLY HELL that scene where she gives him a sponge bath??!! Yea, that was one I went back and re-read and I melted in a puddle of desire!! LOL

As Talia spends more time with Zaal, she sees that he is very much like a young child. He has this endearing innocence about him. Her heart breaks for him when she learns how he has lived most of his life and damn if my heart didn’t break as well. The very first time he utters…“You are..for me?”, I was a goner for him!!! I swooned so hard!!

This book literally floored me!! I loved it so much more than book one. There’s something about a man who has brutal strength and is almost like a wild animal, but at the same time, has the innocence of a young child! I’m a sucker for them!! Also this book was so SMOKING HOT, I actually went and re-read some of the steamier scenes!!! Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever done that until this book!!!

Luka, aka “RAZE”, is on a mission to seek revenge for his friend that he was forced to kill in a death match. Fighter 362. He promised to seek vengeance on the man who had destroyed his friend’s family. He learns the name of 362 and that he had a twin brother, who also was made into a slave and fighter in the Gulag. He also finds out that his friend was a member of the Kostava family, which were his family’s mortal enemy. Luka doesn’t care about past rivalries and conflicts. He’s been tortured by the guilt for killing 362 and all he wants to do is make things right. So he sets off to find 221 and free him from the evil man who has been drugging him and keeping him enslaved.

221 aka Zaal Kostava has been given a drug daily for years that makes him a violent killer but also 100% loyal to his master. He does whatever his master tells him to. He is always kept locked in a dark prison. Never allowed outdoors to walk in daylight, and he’s never allowed to talk. All he does is kill who his master commands him to, and has sex with the female slaves his master owns, only when ordered to do so for an audience. He has no recollection of his past. He has forgotten his true name, his family, and what has become of them.

Luka manages to save Zaal, and brings him to New York, to his parents beach house. His sister, Talia, has been staying at the beach house, enjoying her extended vacation. Zaal is kept in the basement where there is an actual prison cell installed. He’s very volatile because of the drugs that are still in his system. Every day, Talia is captivated by the beautiful man who seems to be very violent and dangerous.

After watching him on a surveillance monitor for days, Talia decides she wants to meet this man face to face. The sparks fly almost instantaneously, and HOLY HELL that scene where she gives him a sponge bath??!! Yea, that was one I went back and re-read and I melted in a puddle of desire!! LOL

As Talia spends more time with Zaal, she sees that he is very much like a young child. He has this endearing innocence about him. Her heart breaks for him when she learns how he has lived most of his life and damn if my heart didn’t break as well. The very first time he utters…“You are..for me?”, I was a goner for him!!! I swooned so hard!!

*****Dee’s Review*****

****4.5 ~rodstvennaya dusha~ Stars***** (Soul mates)

(ARC kindly provided by publisher via Netgalley)
(BR with Patty)

Gripping and electrifying; Tillie Cole takes us on another level of greatness with this second book of the Scarred Souls series. Nothing could take me away from this book as I was reading it, I felt the pain, the love and the sadness inside Zaal’s heart. I specially loved how Talia’s strength was what ultimately brought him out of the darkness. They made such a wonderful couple and their story was simply stunning and yet full of scars…

Talia Tolstaia is a Russian Family Mafia princess. Although she doesn’t usually follow the rules, she is destined to follow the same family protocol as every other Russian woman, when it comes to her future. Her parents give her some leeway because they realized she can’t always be tamed, and now that her long lost brother Luka is back, the family is focused on helping him rebuild his life.

A war is approaching between the different Mafia organizations and Talia finds herself fed up with the events, so she decides to take a break and head to the family’s beach estate up north and away from Brooklyn. On her second day there, her brother shows up with a mountain of a man that looks to be a prisoner. Turns out the man being held hostage in her basement is both the enemy and the missing piece into finally finding peace for her family.

At first Talia is upset with her brother Luka for bringing this man to her doorstep, but as the days go by she grows more curious about him. Huge, strong and brutally beautiful, Zaal is a man in need of care and Talia feels compelled to help him, even though she knows that getting close to him is so wrong and it means going against her moral ethics.

Zaal has never been cared for. He doesn’t know sweet or kindness. He has been programmed to kill, stay quiet, and just follow orders. So when a female that looks like an angel is giving him all this foreign attention and making the fire and the need to kill inside him settle, he knows she is for him. Talia was made for Zaal, to help him fight the demons he has lived with all his life.

Zaal has a hard exterior but on the inside he’s very naive and sweet, and from the moment Talia looked inside his jade colored eyes she lost her soul and her heart to him, forever. Death and past grievances will get in the way of these two lovers. Will their love be strong enough to conquer and change the laws and traditions that have been established for centuries? Read this amazing story of unconditional love and find out…

If you loved Raze, I can guarantee that you will love Reap even more. In this second book of the Scarred Souls series, we not only get the love story between Zaal and Talia, but we get a glimpse inside the lives of Raze and Kisa, as they struggle between their past lives and their present and future together.

My most favorite thing in this book was the always present theme of unconditional love, whether it was between friends, siblings or lovers. All these characters shared a fierce sense of loyalty and love that just makes this books completely memorable.

DO NOT miss the chance to read this book. It is intense and full of romance and thrills. I loved it and cannot wait for more…