Evie Harper Author | March 22, 2015 | New Adult Romantic Suspense
Portland Street Kings, book 1
★★★★1/2
SOURCE: ENTICING JOURNEY
When I was fourteen years old, I killed for the first time. That day I learned cruelty wasn’t only within the walls we had just escaped.
It hasn’t been easy growing up in the middle of a war. A struggle to find shelter. Fighting to protect our bodies against the corruption of the streets. Nobody cared about the street kids who had to beg and steal to eat.
Now we are the Portland Street Kings – A family forged through loyalty not blood. To get through this life of broken dreams alive, we’ve become hard, uncaring and merciless. We do what must be done to keep our family safe, we will harm those who stand against us.
We have it all, feared and respected by those on the streets. Then she collided into my world, and with her came demons from my past, back to haunt us all.
{ review } .
In a week of books that either gripped me or lost me, this was one that pulled me out of my reading slumps. From the beginning, I was gripped with emotional turmoil. We learn just the type of man Slater was as a young teen boy, and who he is as an adult. He was the first in his abusive foster home, and as such, he fought to protect the children who became his siblings.
As an adult, not only does Slater keep his family close, but he and his family run, essentially, a gang to keep the streets clean of cruel people. Everyone knows who they are, but few people truly care. They know the good the do. The one type of person Slate cannot, will not, stand, are those who put foster kids in the homes he grew up in.
When Slater first sees Piper, they're instantly drawn to one another. He protects her from a bully, and his harshness becomes a blanket for Piper. She opens up to him, she finds solace in him... just as his siblings have and the kids on the street. Granted, their initial encounters are purely sexual, but as their time grows and they begin talking, their chemistry is evident. I loved Mack's responses to Piper, too -- I felt he was the first to give her the brother vibe, accepting her into their family.
I loved Slater's feelings for Piper. I loved how he hurt, emotionally and physically, when she was so startled and nervous. He was rough and tough, so at times his hurt came across as anger, but the core was always his need to protect.
I will say this : I normally see twists from a mile away, and there's one in this book that I truly did not see coming.
This book was incredibly strong up until about the half-way mark. The suspense line took a drastic turn, one that wasn't truly foreshadowed in what I would consider an appropriate way -- it comes from left-field. The story telling started to feel choppy at about that point, as well (if it weren't for that, this would easily be a 5-star for me). It was easy to overlook, though, with my love for the characters; I can't wait to read Fatal for review on the 30th!
As an adult, not only does Slater keep his family close, but he and his family run, essentially, a gang to keep the streets clean of cruel people. Everyone knows who they are, but few people truly care. They know the good the do. The one type of person Slate cannot, will not, stand, are those who put foster kids in the homes he grew up in.
When Slater first sees Piper, they're instantly drawn to one another. He protects her from a bully, and his harshness becomes a blanket for Piper. She opens up to him, she finds solace in him... just as his siblings have and the kids on the street. Granted, their initial encounters are purely sexual, but as their time grows and they begin talking, their chemistry is evident. I loved Mack's responses to Piper, too -- I felt he was the first to give her the brother vibe, accepting her into their family.
I loved Slater's feelings for Piper. I loved how he hurt, emotionally and physically, when she was so startled and nervous. He was rough and tough, so at times his hurt came across as anger, but the core was always his need to protect.
I will say this : I normally see twists from a mile away, and there's one in this book that I truly did not see coming.
This book was incredibly strong up until about the half-way mark. The suspense line took a drastic turn, one that wasn't truly foreshadowed in what I would consider an appropriate way -- it comes from left-field. The story telling started to feel choppy at about that point, as well (if it weren't for that, this would easily be a 5-star for me). It was easy to overlook, though, with my love for the characters; I can't wait to read Fatal for review on the 30th!
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