REVIEW - Carter Reed by Tijan

Emma decided to skip the gym and went home early. It was the last easy decision she made because she found her roommate being raped by the boyfriend.

She had two choices.

Call the cops and be killed by his family’s mafia connections or kill him first and hope to survive.

There was no choice to her.

She killed the bastard first and went to the one person who could protect her.

Carter Reed.

He’s a weapon for the rivaling mafia family, but he’s also Emma’s secret. Not only was he best friends with her brother, but she’s the reason he became that weapon in the first place.

To say the start of this book was a shocker, is an understatement.  There was no introduction of the characters.  No gently easing you into the storyline before the devastating event that puts the wheels in motion.  No, it was BANG, right on the first page.  WOW!  I was hooked from then until the very final page.

Right from the very first line of the book, you are launched right into the horrific scene of the rape.  Emma cautiously enters her apartment, but right away she knows that something is not right.  When realisation dawns on what Jeremy is doing to her best friend and room mate, she decides to take drastic action to put an end to it.  She shoots him.  Unfortunately, Jeremy's father is a member of one of the main Mafia families.  They know they need to get into hiding before the family catch up to them and they run to Ben and Amanda, friends of Emma and Mallory.  Emma is quick to realise that this is can only be a temporary solution.  That's when she decides to go to her brother's best friend Carter Reed (who just happens to be a mean, lean fighting machine and hot as hell!)  

Before her brother died, he told her that if she ever needed any help, she was to go to see Carter and he would help her.  Only now, Carter is high up in the organisation of another Crime Family, and so begins his job of keeping Emma alive.  Once Emma is under Carter's protection, that is when things start to spiral completely out of control for Mallory and Emma is at a loss to prevent all that happens next.

The book is full of raw emotions, from the shock and devastation of the rape and subsequent shooting to the love that is brought to the surface, between Emma and Carter.  I loved how the sheer devastation the four friends felt as a result of everything, was described.  It made the whole scenario seem more real to me.  I felt I could actually visualise their anger, torment and grief.

During her time with Carter, Emma is introduced to Theresa and Noah, and the banter between them provides some light relief to the otherwise heaviness of the storyline.  I liked Theresa and Noah, and I would love to see a book where they are developed further.

The book takes so many twists and turns, before the final conclusion is reached, but I have to say as I was nearing the end of the book, I was trying to read slower and slower to prevent having to leave Carter (did I mention Carter is HOT?) and Emma.  Unfortunately, for me the pace of the book was anything but slow, so it was finished in record time.

Would I recommend this book?  Oh yes, without a shadow of a doubt, this is a must read if you like romance mixed with suspense, and one H.O.T. male lead!

My Rating

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