{"id":18296,"date":"2017-02-20T07:11:25","date_gmt":"2017-02-20T12:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=18296"},"modified":"2017-03-19T07:24:05","modified_gmt":"2017-03-19T11:24:05","slug":"arc-review-black-hearts-sins-duet-1-by-karina-halle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=18296","title":{"rendered":"ARC Review: Black Hearts (Sins Duet, #1) by Karina Halle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy: Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a>
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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t your father ever teach you \u2026 that love is what gets you killed?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

4 dark, dirty, twisted stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

Black Hearts is the first in the Sins Duet<\/i>, a standalone story that is a spin off from The Artists Trilogy<\/i> and the Dirty Angels Trilogy <\/i>(see details below). This story can be read without having read either of the earlier series, however I think it would definitely be more enjoyable if you know a bit about the background first and understand the complicated history that ties these characters together. It gives an added depth to this book and creates a fantastic sense of anticipation and excitement as we pick up the story of their children some 20+ years later.<\/p>\n

I love the idea for this story! The pairing of Camden and Ellie\u2019s daughter, Violet, and Javier and Luisa\u2019s son, Vicente is genius. Seriously. The twisted backstory between the two families provides a fantastic set-up, and from the moment the two of them set eyes on each other you just know you\u2019re in for a dark, intense and twisty ride.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s beautiful in a dramatic, romantic way. Her face could inspire gothic novels from long ago. If Helen of Troy\u2019s face could launch a thousand ships, Violet McQueen\u2019s face could launch a thousand stories, all filled with lust, heartache, and death.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Vicente Bernal has grown up in the shadow of his father, the ruthless leader of a Mexican drug cartel, and has been groomed to take his place \u2013 as such, he is quite the badass anti-hero. Confident, smooth and sexy-as-all-hell, he is a man on a mission to explore the mysteries of his father\u2019s past, and has travelled to San Francisco with the intention of unveiling hidden secrets.<\/p>\n

Violet McQueen is a smart, sassy 20 year old who is strong and confident, but who is still figuring herself out. She is happy with her life, though she knows that there is more to her parents\u2019 story than she has been told, and she is counting down the days until she is able to stretch out and explore the world.<\/p>\n

When Violet meets Vicente, she is instantly entranced. It\u2019s not insta-love, but there is a visceral attraction between them and she quickly finds herself under his spell. Despite his best efforts, Vicente is equally as enamoured, and the two of them dive into a relationship which is insanely hot and deliciously dirty. It\u2019s like nothing either of them have experienced before, and they soon find themselves falling into the unknown together, and doing it willingly.<\/p>\n

I want things to get out of hand.
\nI\u2019m scared to death of everything that\u2019s happening.
\nAnd I\u2019ve never wanted it more.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I love these two together! Their chemistry is sizzling, their connection is palpable, and they have this edge<\/i> to them that creates a dark, intense, sweet, emotional, romantic, all-consuming, wonderfully passionate love story. It feels necessary<\/i>, and I was completely swept up in everything that they were feeling.<\/p>\n

I want to make her scream and squirm and moan into oblivion.
\nI want to be all there is for her.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Both Violet and Vicente are clueless as to the full extent of their parents\u2019 shared history but they know that secrets exist. And as the lies they have been told begin to unravel, will what they have found together be strong enough to survive the fallout?<\/p>\n

\u201cViolet… your heart is safe with me. You know this now, your heart is safe, as is your mind and your soul and your body. I won’t hurt you. I won’t let anyone else, either.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I really enjoyed this read. It\u2019s dark and sexy with a wonderfully developing romance, and a mystery\/suspense storyline that builds throughout the book. There are twists and turns, and some big shocks and surprises, and all of the different elements are blended together beautifully to give us an intriguing, exciting story that I couldn\u2019t put down and read in one sitting.<\/p>\n

I loved getting to catch up with characters from Karina\u2019s previous books and there are some chapters from Ellie and Javier\u2019s POVs, which provides some great depth. But this is Violet and Vicente\u2019s story, and I thought they were absolutely captivating together! And after being left with a twisty cliffhanger, I can\u2019t wait to see how their story is going to end.<\/p>\n

4 stars.<\/p>\n

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

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The Sins Duet<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \"\"<\/p>\n

Black Hearts (#1)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy: Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Dirty Souls (#2)<\/strong>
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This duet is a spin off from the following series:<\/p>\n

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The Artists Trilogy<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Sins<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"On<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"Shooting<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"Bold<\/a><\/p>\n

Sins & Needles (#1)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Buy:\u00a0\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

On Every Street (#0.5)<\/strong>
\n(technically a prequel, but should be read after Sins & Needles)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Shooting Scars (#2)<\/strong>
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Bold Tricks (#3)<\/strong>
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Dirty Angels Trilogy<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \"\"\u00a0 \"\"<\/p>\n

Dirty Angels (#1)<\/strong>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Dirty Deeds (#2)<\/strong>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Dirty Promises (#3)<\/strong>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

For more reads by this author, check out our Karina Halle Author Spotlight<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy: Kindle Ebook\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback Review \u201cDidn\u2019t your father ever teach you \u2026 that love is what gets you killed?\u201d 4 dark, dirty, twisted stars Black Hearts is the first in the Sins Duet, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,47,9,29],"tags":[59,38,48,588],"class_list":["post-18296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-badasses","category-dark-gritty","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-karina-halle","tag-review","tag-sins-duet"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Black-Hearts.jpg?fit=150%2C224&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-4L6","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}