Title: Damnable Grace Author: Tillie Cole
Series: Hades Hangmen #5
Release date: April 18, 2017
(Sub)genres: Biker, Contemporary Romance, Dark
Pages: 465
Buy: Amazon US ~ Amazon UK
Rating:
I received this book from Ardent Prose in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
EVEN THE BROKEN, THROUGH LOVE, CAN FIND GRACE...
Secrets never stay hidden.
The burden of guilt never lifts from the heart.
Born and raised in The Order of David, Sister Phebe knows nothing but cult life. Head of the Sacred Sisters of New Zion, Phebe was groomed from childhood for one purpose: to seduce. Prized as a harlot, as a New Zion whore, Phebe is taken from the doomed cult by Meister, the notorious leader of the Aryan Brotherhood. Taken as his possession. Taken to be the woman who will obey his every sexual demand. Under his heavy hand, Phebe finds herself in a place much worse than she could ever have imagined... with absolutely no one to help. And no glimpse of hope.
Xavier ‘AK’ Deyes is content with his life as Sergeant-At-Arms of the Hades Hangmen. Leader of the infamous ‘Psycho Trio’ and ex-special ops sniper, AK knows how to fight. Experienced in warfare and schooled in military operations, AK is vital to the Hangmen. When his Vice President needs help retrieving his missing sister-in-law, Phebe, from a Klan-funded trafficking ring, AK volunteers to go in. AK remembers the redhead from New Zion. Remembers everything about her from the single time they met—her red hair, blue eyes and freckled face. But when he finds her, heavily drugged and under Meister’s control, her sorry condition causes him to remember more than the beautiful woman he once tied to a tree. Saving Phebe forces hidden demons from his past to return. A past he can never move on from, no matter how hard he tries.
As AK fights to help Phebe, and in turn she strives to help him, they realize their secret sins will never leave them alone. Kindred broken souls, they realize the only way they can be rid of their ghosts is to face them together and try to find peace.
Despair soon turns to hope, and damaged hearts soon start to heal. But when their deep, painful scars resurface, becoming too much to bear, the time comes when they must make a heavy choice: stay forever damned; or together, find grace.
Dark Contemporary Romance. Contains explicit sexual situations, violence, disturbingly sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language and very mature topics. Recommended for age 18 and over.
Damnable Grace is already the fifth book in my favorite biker series; ‘the Hades Hangmen Series’ by Tillie Cole. Have you ever wondered how it is to grow up in an isolated cult that has such different morals than our own society? Damnable Grace tells the heartbreaking story of Phebe – who’s born into The Order – and AK, the man who saves her. It’s raw and gritty story, and not for everyone.
“Alone and afraid. I wanted to remember. I needed to remember. But as my arm tingled and I became motionless against the tree, everything was just… gone.”
Phebe knows no other life then The Order; her parents are active members and do what’s expected of them. From a very early age Phebe is groomed for one thing; using sex and her body to lure men into The Order. Until the events from the previous book, she takes pride in her ‘achievements’, and is happy to serve the leaders of the cult. But Phebe’s life has taken a turn for the absolute worst; her ‘partner’ has cast her aside, and has given her to Meister, the cruel leader of a Klan aligned group. She knows she won’t survive much longer, but then she’s saved. Saved by a man who treats her so differently than she’s used to.
“I was not sure, but… but I hoped, and I prayed, that he actually liked me. For me. Not my body. But just… me. I did not understand how that could possibly be true, but I desperately wanted it to be.”
AK has his demons, but he has them pretty much under control. As the Sergeant of Arms of the Hades Hangmen he’s involved with all the activities going, and the latest is trying to find Phebe. She’s the sister-in-law of Ky (his and Lilah’s story is told in Heart Recaptured) and they have to get her away from Meister, their enemy. Having seen Phebe a few times, AK knows she’s a very attractive woman, but his response to the brutally abused woman they find goes much deeper.
“You,” she said again, a new lightness in her voice. Her fingers ran over my lips, then up, stopping at my eyes. Her hand curled, framing my eyes, and she released a long, happy sigh. “The one with the kind eyes,” she murmured.”
When AK rescues Phebe from Meister, she’s in a very bad place; mentally and physically. The abuse and drugs haven taken over her body, and her mind is a mess. AK is staying with Phebe while she beats the drugs and tries to deal with her memories, and slowly she is getting back to the person she used to be; a beautiful, vibrant woman. Phebe is so used to the physical act of sex and men, that she doesn’t know what to make of AK and his normalcy. AK is falling for Phebe, but he knows that because of her ordeal, she isn’t like normal women. I love the two of them together, after everything they went through they deserve love and happiness.
And just when I think The Order of David can’t be any worse than I already know, it is. Throughout the previous books in the series we’ve already learned a lot of hideous things about the cult, but in Damnable Grace the author makes me hate The Order even more. Poor Phebe is the product of a very sick upbringing; she is abused and used for years, but because of her upbringing she sees no wrong in it. It’s the horrific punishment of her sister that opens her eyes, but by then it’s too late. AK is a man with his own past, and he’s the one man that can guide Phebe to a normal life, with making love and not just sex.
Since this is an ongoing series, you’ll see the couples of the previous books and a few hints for future books. I can’t wait for Tillie Cole’s surprise book, I Do, Babe. Luckily, we don’t have to wait too long.
“Phebe found me there, watching, a loud laugh, fucking raw happiness, came from her throat. And my bitch never took her eyes off me as she danced. Stunning. Beautiful. Mine. And fucking free.”
I love Phebe and AK, and their brutal story. I give Damnable Grace 5 stars.
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