Redemption

Jennifer Bene

Aug 2020 · Jennifer Bene

About this ebook

"No one will tear us apart."

Everything would be easier if he could just tie her up.

Lock her away and keep her safe.

Well... from everyone except him.

But that's not how love works.

David chose Lianna over his hate. Every part of her.

Love of his life. Heiress to a dangerous crime family.

Prior focus of all his rage and obsession,

and current focus of his... everything.

Her family is the only thing standing in their way.

But family isn't everything, no matter what they say.

She may share their blood, but those can be fragile ties when put to the test.

In the end, it's who we choose that matters.

And he will always choose her.

Ratings and reviews

Achingly beautiful, Redemption is a nuanced love story that will pull at your every emotion and leave you begging for more. I use the word haunting in my intro because what happens to the Faure family in this book is far worse than I think any reader could have imagined from the previous two in the series. We’ve always thought David’s story tragic; but what happens here to Lianna and the Faure’s makes that pale in comparison. That being said, in many respects this is David’s story. Without spoilers or going into too much detail, we finally see a David who has grown far beyond the angry, vengeance-filled person he was in Destruction, without having lost any of his fiery passion, especially where it concerns Lianna. In Inheritance we saw Lianna’s growth and discovery of who she really was, but in Redemption we see David really come into his own. He’s lost none of his craving and hunger for Lianna, however because of his love for her he’s learned to temper some of his rage so he can be with her while she explores her connects to a family David still does not trust fully. That he can do this without flying off into paroxysms of fury speaks volumes to the differences of David from Destruction to David of Redemption. He becomes oh-so-much a stronger person for Lianna, and his transition really is a driving force throughout the story. It is interesting to note that Lianna actually becomes the more volatile character in this story than she has in past. Obviously, a part of this has to do with the plot driver of this story: her meeting with the entirety of the Faure family. Where this becomes a test of David’s mettle, it is the catalyst for Lianna to give into one of her deepest desires: to truly have a family of her own. Jean-Luc Faure makes it so easy for her to fall into this fairytale, and Lianna falls hard. Everything she could have dreamed of begins to appear as if it is falling into place, including David seeming to connect with her cousins. The only thing missing is a coach made from a pumpkin carrying her off to the ball. Of course, it does not last. Again, in another nod to showing us just how much David has grown, the plot twist which drives us into the last half of the book shows David showing remarkable restraint from how he acted previously, while also later showing Lianna reacting both impetuously and with furious passion. Again, no spoilers, but there were moments where it seemed that both these characters were channeling previous versions of each other, which I thought was fascinating and helped show how well-suited they were for each other. Janus-like, they were showing the opposite sides to their personalities that had once been mainly the focus of the other. The toughest and most haunting of the scenes in the book fill the last half. Gone are the sweetness and joy of Lianna’s coming together with the Faure’s. Now we see how the long arm of Alain reaches from beyond the grave to play out one final tragedy, and it is crushing. No spoilers, but the author brings the story full circle in a way that will keep you turning one page after another. There is a ‘bonus’ chapter that is… heartbreaking. I will say no more on this than that. If you really don’t want to have your heart ripped out, read it at your own peril. This series has been a incredible journey of two people from the most opposites of circumstances coming together to show that true love can and always will overcome the challenges the world puts in front of them. Especially if those two people are as strong as David and Lianna are. If you’ve not read the two books prior to Redemption, I HIGHLY recommend doing so. To see the full extent of who they are and where they had to come from to achieve their well deserved HEA, I think it is important. And it will make Redemption a much more power ending to a fantastic series than it already is.

“Redemption” drops us right into the storyline as it continues from the end of “Inheritance” and it was an emotional rollercoaster for me. Once they were on the plane through to their visit to France, I kept wanting David to change his attitude. In fact, I was getting worked up over his behavior and would have to take breaks from reading the story because his all-or-nothing attitude toward the Faures was making my skin all crawly. And that there is the mark of good storytelling when a reader gets worked up over the behavior of a character and it wasn’t even over the sexy bits. Once I settled in to being uncomfortable, I was able to keep reading and every time I would start on that emotional ride, I would do an imaginary fist-bump toward Ms. Bene thinking, “Yea, you’re making me feel like this. Great job!” And maybe I’m a bit weird, but I love it when a story has me wanting to keep my feet off the floor, day drink (not really. Okay, maybe a little), and even throw the book across the room (again, not gonna happen but you get the idea). This series is dark. This series covers topics that will make you uncomfortable. This series is scorching hot in ways that will have you wanting to reread the sexy bits as you rev up your own lady bits. And well, I should probably quit before I dig myself too deep of a hole. Read the series. It’s good. It’s REALLY good.

Damn you Ms Bene, you left me on such a floaty and wondrous ending. And I should have known better than to trust that you wanted me to be happy but no! So I foolishly sallied forth and read the bonus scene. My advice to other readers is DON'T DO IT! Well at least not for a few days and not unless you want to have all that warm gooeyness ripped from your grasp only to be replaced with utter heartbreak and devastation. It's said that good things are worth waiting for and that was never more true than when referring to the conclusion to David and Lianna's story, which is so very, very good indeed. Redemption took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions, though it was like riding one blindfold, never sure when the next drop, twist or turn would occur. I want to say I devoured this book but at times I felt more like it devoured me, as it caught me in it's tangled web and did with me as it pleased. Their connection had started in the darkest of places, fueled by pain and rage, but they'd both changed. Become someone new. Evolved together, and she hoped that continued even though the Faures had a place in her life now. Because as messed up as theri story was... she didn't want anyone else at her side. There are a lot of new characters introduced in this book, some good, some not so good. Who to trust, who is lying, who is being honest... not only is it difficult to know, but Lianna and David struggle to agree on it. Just as things seems to be working out for them, meeting the Faures imposes untold stresses on their relationship and you just know there will be trouble ahead. This pair have a complex relationship, rooted in all that is wrong and twisted, but from it has blossomed something that is their beautiful. The sex scenes are not sweet nor gentle, because neither of them want that. Theirs is a love that is brutal, extreme, violent and furious, all encompassing and no-holds bared. David has a darkness to his cravings, a darkness Lianna craves. They may have been softened by love but there are times when you wonder if he truly has them under control. I re-read Destruction and Inheritance in preparation for reading this. I wasn't sure if it would (a) live up to the magnificence of those books and (b) just what exactly would be in store for me. It totally surpassed all my expectations. Jennifer Bene wrote a conclusion to the Fragile Ties series that was unpredictable, captivating and I quite simply couldn't have wished for better than this.

About the author

Jennifer Bene is a USA Today bestselling author of dangerously sexy and deviously dark romance. From BDSM, to Suspense, Dark Romance, and Thrillers—she writes it all. Always delivering a twisty, spine-tingling journey with the promise of a happily-ever-after.

 

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