Dirty (Raw Family #2) Review

Title:  Dirty
Series:  Raw Family #2
Author:  Belle Aurora
Release Date:  Oct. 31, 2016
Buy Link:  Amazon

My Rating:  4 Graphic, Brutal, Raw ♥'s






Synopsis:

My marriage seemed perfect from the outside looking in. 
People envied me. They wanted my life, wanted to be me. 

Mrs Alejandra Gambino. 
Wife of Dino Gambino. Daughter of Eduardo Castillo. 
Respected. Loved. Mob royalty. 

They had no idea of the horrors that lurked behind closed doors. 
They didn't know I was at the lowest point a person could reach. 

Enter Julius Carter.  
Aloof, handsome, blue-eyed Julius Carter. 

He saved me. 
I screwed him over. 

Now everybody was after me. My life was forfeit. 
It was only a matter of time. I was a dead woman walking. 

The question was, who would get to me first?

Review:
It's a pretty safe bet that most readers (like me) left hanging & shedding tears at the end of Raw are anxious to get their hands on this sequel, Dirty.  Everyone needs/wants/deserves more TWITCH!  He was/is just one of those once in a blue moon characters that captures readers hearts and leaves them crying for more - needing closure in the form of a hea for Twitch & Lexi.  Lord knows, I'm one of them!  I'm going to say up front that I will not discuss any part of the story that may or may not involve Twitch in this review.  To do so would spoil this book for too many readers who deserve to experience this ride on their own.  

Dirty is an intriguing, tightly woven story involving two mob families that seal an alliance between them by forcing a marriage between Alejandra (Ana) Castillo and Dino Gambino.  A reluctant, innocent Ana, an eighteen year old who has been protected all her life by her father & brothers, does her family duty with fear & trepidation . . . and is pleasantly surprised when her marriage turns into a fairy tale with an attentive, loving Dino.  But then - something happens causing the other shoe to drop, and Ana's life turns into one horrid, abusive nightmare with no end in sight.  Until - one day (six years later) when two strangers attend a meeting between the Castillo's & Gambino's, and she meets Julius Carter and his partner, Ling . . . and suddenly discovers her way out. Ana commits an ultimate sin among mob families and then escapes - alone & on the run.  It's now Julius's job to find and return her to face certain death as mob justice demands "an eye for an eye".  Her family will do nothing to save her.  

As this story plays out, several plot lines intertwine with the main one involving Ana, Julius, and Ling.  Most will remember Ling from Raw - she is an extremely damaged, dangerous, and obsessive woman/killer who resents Ana's presence between her & Julius.  I will say she is one of the best written characters in this story as I found myself swaying back & forth between sympathy, like, and hate for her.  She plays a major role as this story nears the end.  

I found Dirty to be an intriguing, brutal, raw, gut-wrenching read where it all comes down to survival - both lives & hearts depend upon it. Definitely not for the weak of heart, note the blood splattered all over Julius's shirt on the book cover and beware that this is a gory read.  While I can't say that every aspect of the book worked for me, I can say I found it hard to put down, especially near the end.  There are a couple of things I didn't quite buy into as it touches on the old "captive to lover" theme, but the writing is excellent, the action non-stop, and it answered some of my questions from book 1 while leaving me, yet again, dying to get my hands on the next book.  Another Must Read!

My Rating:  4 Graphic, Raw, Brutal ♥'s . . . And that's the truth!

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥