4.5 Smooches
Synopsis
“After battling through hell, I brought my esclave back from the brink of ruin. I sacrificed everything—my heart, my mind, my very desires to bring her back to life. And for a while, I thought it broke me, that I’d never be the same. But slowly the beast is growing bolder, and it’s finally time to show Tess how beautiful the dark can be.”
Q gave everything to bring Tess back. In return, he expects nothing less. Tess may have leashed and tamed him, but he’s still a monster inside.
After surviving the darkness, a new dawn has begun. Twisted Together wades through black to grey, chasing the light of true love to banish the shadows forever.
Pain is a requirement, connection a necessity. But ultimately Q and Tess must face their demons, before they can embrace their future.
Review
“You’re holding my heart as well as my flesh.”
There has yet to be a time when I have been disappointed in reading a book by Pepper Winters and Twisted Together is absolutely no different. Ms Winters has written a prefect conclusion to this dark and twisted tale. We have all been on this emotional and gut-wrenching journey with Tess and Q so to see them finally get their Happily Ever After is so completely satisfying. This book had me in a wide range of emotions and sitting on the edge of my seat wondering just how Pepper could take these broken people and give them the HEA they so truly deserved.
“What Truth? I didn’t know what to believe anymore. Was my mind so twisted the truth was only visible in my sleep?”
Poor Tess. I cannot even imagine going through everything she has and even being willing to wake up everyday. To say her mind was fucked up would be the understatement of the year. After being kidnapped twice, rapped, tortured and forced to do things no one should there was just no room left in her head for sanity. For a good portion of this book I was worried that the strong and independent Tess that craved to be loved the way that only Q could love her was gone. After everything that had gone down she was changed and part of that might never come back. You cannot go through everything she has and come out of it the same person you were going in. But seeing Q’s pure love for her and the fact that he was determined to bring her back from the mind hell she was in was a treat to read. I absolutely love when strong men put the needs of the women they love first and above all else. Even when Tess is weak she is strong in her weakness. She couldn’t hide the severe depression she was in but she would constantly lie about how bad it was and ever time Q could see right through it. The back and forth of this squeezed my heart and made it hard to breathe. Watching how much it hurt Q every time she lied to him and seeing how much lying to him hurt her was so hard to read but the fact that even through all of this he never would give up on her just shows you the depth of his love for her.
“I’m taking you on that date, esclave. Our very first one, and I expect to get to second base.” “You’re already at second base.” “So I am.”
The best part of this book, if not the whole series, was seeing how both Q and Tess really came into their own when they were with each other. Not only was Q a dominate that could rival any other but he wasn’t afraid to show his somewhat more tender and loving side when it came to Tess. Their relationship is honestly unlike any I have ever encountered and I love that I never know what to expect between them. Boundaries are constantly being pushed and some even completely torn down. Pepper Winters has a way of writing that wraps me up so completely that things I never believe could be sexy or endearing come across as just that. Ideas that in the past might have made my skin crawl somehow come across as not only reasonable but intriguing and to me that is a sign of a fantastic writer. To take something that is just not my personal thing and open my mind to it takes complete skill and that is exactly what Pepper has done not only with Twisted Together but with the entire Monsters in The Dark series.
“Time was a fickle bitch.”
I’m not going to lie to you this book is dark and much like the title twisted. But if you have already made it through the first two books (which you must first read before starting this one) then this is no surprise and you know to constantly expect the unexpected. Once again this book is jam packed with events that I never would have thought could happen and I loved every moment of it. Tears of Tess was the first “dark” book I ever read. I was encouraged to give it a try by some good friends who never have lead me wrong and I completely fell in love with these somewhat mess up cast of characters. I feel like I have been on a personal journey with them. A great journey, but not necessarily a fun one and to finally have an end feels like I have accomplished something. This is a series that will always stick with me and hold a special place in my heart.
~miranda
