REVIEW: Twisted Together (Monsters in the Dark #3) – Pepper Winters

Released: June 3rd, 2014

“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.

"In sickness and in health, in life and in death, you will belong to me. And I will belong to you."

I don't think I've ever read a book darker than Twisted Together. The intensity and ferocity of, not only the conflicts they face, but also their feelings toward each other terrified me and excited me in a way that no other book has done before. Pepper Winter brings us a twisted tale about two lovers, craving pain and pleasure, craving the freedom that they so strongly desire. It was gritty, intense, and one hell of a ride.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

After I read the first few chapters, I gently placed my iPad down and just stopped.

It was so fucking intense. The on-the-edge scenes of Tess' nightmares, Q's cure. Sweet Jesus. I was just so fucking scared because I've never read something like that before. But this scene proved how much Q really cared and felt for her. How much he was willing to sacrifice and face in order for Tess to overcome her fears.

Tess had crazy nightmares but it didn't mean that Q loved her any less.

I whispered, “I’ll get better. I’m sorry you have to put up with the sleepless nights. I’ll understand if you want me to move downstairs for a while.”

Q squeezed me angrily. “Get that ridiculous thought out of your head. You’re not moving from my fucking side. Tu m’entends?” Do you hear me?”

I think I fall in love more and more with Mr. Mercer with each and every book.

And the amount of trust that Tess puts into Q is immeasurable.

I whispered, “Moineau. Je sais que c’est le mot de sécurité, mais je ne vais pas en avoir besoin.” Sparrow. I know the safe-word, but I won’t have need of it.

“Why not?” Q asked.

“Because I’m always safe with you.”

Both of them had troubled pasts. They're more broken than you could ever imagine. But the pieces of their souls fit together and that's why their somehow, well, twisted together.

I loved the connection, the sex, the everything between them both. You can always see and feel how much they love each other even though we probably might not be able to connect to their ways. Well, I'm saying that for myself. But in spite of that fact, I still fell in love with them over and over again.

But the one thing I don't understand is that, why is it that in every single book of the Monsters in the Dark series, at least, one of them has to be kidnapped? Like, why? I mean, this book could've been focused solely on resolving Q's demons but the conflicts were too jumbled up. It was like the third Tobey Maguire's Spiderman. All the villains and the issues were stuffed into one book that the book sort of lost its focus. Now I know how my teacher feels when he's scolding me.

That was the only problem I had though with the book. Otherwise, flawless as always.

MY RATING:

4.5 APPLES!!!!!

✭ BUY LINKS ✭

  

♕ Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1): ♕

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | iBooks

♕ Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2): ♕

Amazon | Kobo | Barnes&Noble

♕ Twisted Together (Monsters in the Dark #3): ♕

Amazon | Kobo | Barnes&Noble

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero the better and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby (who speaks French—hot!) who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends. She loves to hear from her readers so hit her up at pepperwinters@gmail.com

Check her out in these sites:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

✻ ✻ ✻

BLOG TOUR: Destroyed – Pepper Winters + Review, giveaway & deleted scenes!

Released: March 7th, 2014

She has a secret.
I’m complicated. Not broken or ruined or running from a past I can’t face. Just complicated.

I thought my life couldn’t get any more tangled in deceit and confusion. But I hadn’t met him. I hadn't realized how far I could fall or what I'd do to get free.

He has a secret.

I’ve never pretended to be good or deserving. I chase who I want, do what I want, act how I want.

I didn’t have time to lust after a woman I had no right to lust after. I told myself to shut up and stay hidden. But then she tried to run. I’d tasted what she could offer me and damned if I would let her go.

One secret destroys them.

"The beauty in this world was hidden by filth and lies while evil was painted in beauty and smiles."

**ARC PROVIDED BY AUTHOR**

A haunting read that definitely makes it to my favorites this year. Pepper Winters has once again blown me away with a dark romance novel that made my heart jump out of my chest. The characters were undeniably captivating and the storyline so unbelievably intense. I suffered through this book in a very good way and I'm definitely welcoming more of Pepper's works with open arms in the future.

Wow, just absolutely wow. I actually find this novel darker than the Monsters in the Dark series. Here, we have Fox who's got more issues than Q. As much as I loved Q, my heart ached for Fox as well.

Fox has a troubled past which disables him from truly connecting with people other than through pain. He's always been an introvert who relishes in lashes of whips and punches to the guts. That's the only way he knows to keep the voices in his head down and try to keep his past at bay. Then enters Hazel, who flips his world all around.

The fact that she seems so immune to his threats and doesn't even seem scared of him takes him completely by surprise.

The mixture of uncertainty and fear in her eyes undid me, and I'd never been so close to breaking down. After everything I'd done, she still hadn't left.

And Hazel comes in like a hurricane into his life. He never expected someone so beautiful, so fragile yet so strong to unravel him. All of him. She isn't afraid to take control although at times it frightens her that she has so much control over him. But she didn't even know it in the beginning.

She'd successfully done in ten minutes what I'd tried to do in two years.

She brought me back to life.

Those two lines!!! Masterpiece. Absolutely brilliant. This sums them up perfectly.

The novel's structure is alternating between two point of views and this gives us an in-depth look to each of the protagonists. We have Fox who we see is struggling to take control of his life and of his past. Then we have Hazel who's more careful because she has so much to lose and she's so scared that she'll lose that one important piece of her, which you'll find out if you read the novel.

The two seem to have a destructive relationship at first. Fox lives in the pain. He lives for the pain. And Hazel can't stay away from him. They both have pulls to each other which start out as a bond of lust and turns into a real connection through chemistry.

Fox and Hazel pushes through their fears and obstacles within their life in order to be together. But, there's always something holding them back even until the end. Whether it's family or their past. They both had to overcome each of their fears individually before they could reconnect their relationship.

I have so much more to say about this book but I'd probably end up spoiling the whole thing. So I'll leave this review with a quote by Fox/Roan:

"I thought I cold walk away and let you go, but I can't. I need you too damn much. You make me feel alive. You make my fucking heart beat for the first time, and I'm not going to give that up."

Now, let me go cry in a corner as I relive this story again. 

MY RATING:

4.5 - 5 APPLES!!!!!

✭ BOOK LINKS ✭

(Click book cover for Goodreads link)

♕ Destroyed ♕

Amazon (UK / CA / AU) | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords

✩✮✩ Deleted Scenes ✩✮✩

✧ Deleted Scene #1 (Roan) ✧

I screeched to a halt outside the apartment block. Oscar refused to tell me the address, but I didn’t waste time arguing. I could’ve beaten it out of him, but I had other means. 

I’d learned from his refusal last time and attached a GPS tracker to his car. It was a simple matter of following the most recent route he’d taken with the app on my android. 

The purr of my black Porsche set my nerves on edge. The dash clock said it was one a.m. 

Too early for a house call, but this wasn’t just a house call. This was a flat out demand for her to come back. I would give her anything if only she’d give me one last chance. 

Turning the engine off, I dragged bruised and cut hands through my unkept hair, and climbed out of the sports car. The sleek lines glowed like an expensive gem beneath the street lights. Raindrops ran down my face, feeling like the world cried for me. The sky sensed my inability to re-enter the human life—it mourned on my behalf the regret I felt.

- - -

✧ Deleted Scene #2 (Hazel) ✧

It was an hour before Obsidian opened its doors to fighters and I had no problem getting past the bouncer this time. I didn’t know if it was because he recognised me or before of the rage in my eyes, but he had the door open for me the moment I screeched to a stop.

Fox was exactly where I thought he would be. 

In his basement, working on yet another weapon, forging yet more steel into yet more torture equipment. 

“You!” I yelled.

He snapped upright, turning off the welding torch. He spun to face me, tugging the protective goggles off his head. “You yourself.” His grey-white eyes looked as bleak as any snowstorm. “Where the hell did you go? I’ve been trying to track you down for days?” Prowling toward me he growled, “Didn’t you think I’d go out of my mind? I know how shitty I treated you but you ran before I could fucking apologise.”

Such beautiful, beautiful scenes! :"D — Sam

THIS GIVEAWAY IS INTERNATIONAL
Signed copy of Destroyed (1)
Signed Destroyed swag packs (2)
eBook copies of Destroyed (5)
eBook copies of Tears of Tess (2)
eBook copies of Quintessentially Q (2)
Signed Monsters in the Dark swag packs (1)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero the better and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby (who speaks French—hot!) who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends. She loves to hear from her readers so hit her up at pepperwinters@gmail.com

Check her out in these sites:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

To see other stops in the tour featuring reviews, excerpts, and more, click here.

BLOG TOUR: Quintessentially Q – Pepper Winters + Review, giveaway & teasers!

Released: December 13th, 2013

“All my life, I battled with the knowledge I was twisted… fucked up to want something so deliciously dark—wrong on so many levels. But then slave fifty-eight entered my world. Hissing, fighting, with a core of iron, she showed me an existence where two wrongs make a right."

Tess is Q’s completely. Q is Tess’s irrevocably. But now, they must learn the boundaries of their unconventional relationship, while Tess seeks vengeance on the men who sold her. Q made a blood-oath to deliver their corpses at Tess’s feet, and that’s just what he’ll do.

He may be a monster, but he’s Tess’s monster.

"You'll have to face your past and move on if you want to have any chance of happiness."

**COPY PROVIDED BY AUTHOR**

My heart has been ripped out of my chest, shredded to pieces, hammered to bits and pummeled to oblivion. This book was terrifyingly dark but exhilarating at the same time. A love story about two beautifully broken people as they journey deeper into their relationship and overcome even more obstacles that threaten to break them apart. Breathtaking, heart-wrenching, and crazy fantastic.

Dear God. My feelings?

Not. A. Single. Fucking. Word.

The novel started out so peacefully. Tess was back with Q and they lived in this happy little bubble. Well, not so happy. But they were together.

Q was everything to Tess. Her master. Her lover. Her life. She was his esclave.

Q wasn't just my master in the bedroom. He was the master of my heart.

And the same goes for Q. He couldn't live without Tess. She was it for him.

I may be a controlling bastard, but the moment Tess stalked into my life I lost my balls to her.

But damn. In this novel, we see sides to Q we didn't see in Tears of Tess. Whereas there he seemed so masculine and in control, we see the vulnerability and fragility of his character here. He was terrified. Scared shitless that Tess would leave him and find someone better. The love he possessed was immensely profound and overpowering. It conquered him completely.

I dragged Tess into my lap, wrapping my arms tight around her. In my embrace, I held the moon and stars and planets. I held my future fucking happiness, and I'd kill myself if I ever fucked it up.

When we approached the 'hook' point where the story picks up, I couldn't put it down. I kept going and going and going. It took me like 3 hours to finish this book, which was pretty fast for me considering its length.

My heart broke as we venture through both's perspectives. Tess, as she is broken and tortured both mentally and physically, seeking for salvation. Q, in his desperation to seek his lifeline and the guilt that consumes him.

The last part absolutely tore me apart. I cried and wept and sobbed into my pillow. I will not spoil it. It was so heart-breaking and it was like a fucking punch to the gut.

But I have one thing to say to Pepper Winters, as I quote from QQ:

"Je vous remercie du fond de mon cœur."

Translation: Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you for creating such a dangerously dark, yet incredibly beautiful love story. Thank you for giving us amazing characters to love and cherish.

I look forward to Twisted Together.

OH! Before I forget. Let me just say that I absolutely LOOOOVE Suzette, Frederick and Franco ;) fantastic supporting characters!

Minor Faults:

MY RATING:

5 Q-LET-ME-HOLD-YOU APPLES!!!!!

❤ READ MY REVIEW OF HER BOOKS ❤

Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1) ❊ 4.5 APPLES!!!

✭ BUY LINKS ✭

 

♕ Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1): ♕

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | iBooks

♕ Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2): ♕

Amazon | Kobo | B&N

And I've got a couple of teasers for QQ here today ;)

 

There are two giveaways running right now!!!

First, you can win a signed paperback of QQ and signed swag pack on Facebook!
Click HERE to enter.

Second, you can win TWO signed paperbacks on Goodreads!
Click HERE to enter.

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.
She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.
Her debut book Tears of Tess will be followed with Quintessentially Q. You didn’t think Q could stop so soon, did you? Her other two titles, Last Shadow and Broken Chance will be coming soon. 

Check her out in these sites:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

To see other stops during the tour, click here.

[Review] Tears of Tess - Pepper Winters

Released: April 23rd, 2012

A New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance, not suitable for people sensitive to grief, slavery, and nonconsensual sex. A story about finding love in the strangest of places, a will of iron that grows from necessity, and forgiveness that may not be enough.

"My life was complete. Happy, content, everything neat and perfect. Then it all changed.
I was sold."

Tess Snow had everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility. 

For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.

But lusty paradise is shattered.

Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror.

Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can't save her from the horror of being sold.

Can Brax find Tess before she's broken and ruined, or will Tess's new owner change her life forever?

"Don't stop living while you endure. And don't let the pain of your past stop you from being happy in this new life."

OHMYGOD SOMEONE GET ME A BUCKET FOR MY TEARS.

Tears of Tess is a deliciously dark, twisted, and gut-wrenching read. It includes mature themes such as slavery, trafficking and rape. Q is a sexy and complicated man, who seems to be, well, fifty shades of fucked up in a way, while Tess struggles to fight her own inner dark thoughts. Together, they find solace in each other, while seeking their true identities.

This book was absolutely beautiful in every aspect but, of course, it was also horrifying with the rape and how the girls were sold. I don't think that qualifies as a spoiler because that's in the beginning. But, anyway, it's scary as hell but then when Tess reaches her new master, the oh-God-someone-help-me sexy scenes are just mind-fucking-blowing.

It was terrifying when Tess got kidnapped and treated like a merchandise. She got branded and the more she tried to fight, the more she hurts. They would kick her and treat her like shit.

"If you behave you will be sold to a gentleman who will treat you like a prized possession. Lavish attention on you. Buy you whatever you want."

Shit, shit and then her new master, Q Mercer comes along. He is the image of a dominating alpha male who seeks control. Tess knows she should be scared shitless and should just fight back but with a presence like Q? You can't help but get aroused.

Especially with the fact that Q speaks fucking French. HOW SEXY IS THAT?!

No matter how much Tess tries to deny it, her body just responds instantly to Q.

"So wet, ma chérie. Your body doesn't lie. It likes it. It likes me." 

HOW DO YOU JUST.

I can't even finish.

But Q harbors some dark secrets of his own and Tess tries hard to find out, but well Q is just as stubborn as she is. Tess is too caught up in her self-pity that she doesn't realize how much her new master is hurting as well.

"But he's the best man I know. Out of all of us, he's the one who's ruined."

I wanted to weep right then.

And while she tries to find out about Q's identity, she struggles to find herself as well. She's never felt normal with what she wants and so she tries to deny it. But finally, she realizes.

"I'm not a sweet, innocent girl who wants cotton candy and sonnets. I'm a fighter, a slut, a woman who needed to be taught her own body."

But dammit, when you have those depressing, romantic moments, you can't help but just melt.

"Je suis à toi. It means I am yours."

When I found out what Q was doing? I was just like: "AWWW." I wanted to hug him to pieces. Or kiss him. Or do him. Whichever sounds apt. I just want to take him home with me.

"A human is adaptable. A human heart is not." 

Minor Faults:

• I get pissed with Tess' stubbornness sometimes but then when I put myself in her shoes, I realize that her behavior is pretty normal-ish.

MY RATING:

4 AND A HALF APPLES!!!!!

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

❤ READ MY REVIEW OF HER BOOKS ❤

Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2) ❊ 5 APPLES!!!

About The Author:

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex. She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends. 

Check her out in these sites:

Website | Twitter | Facebook