Title: Sins That Define Us
A Dark Modern Fairytale
Series: Madly Ever After #3
Author: E.M. Lindsey
Genre: Dark Romance
Release Date: February 8, 2023
BLURB
My name might be Alice, and this sure as hell isn’t wonderland, but everyone is definitely a little mad here.
Promises were made, vows were spoken, and now it’s up to me to usher in a new era and generation of the Walsh Family.
We just need to rid the world of the man who called himself my father in order to do it.
But it’s not as easy as it seems. Not with hidden agendas and new chess pieces on the board. It’s one thing to stand in front of the world and call myself Kane Walsh’s wife—queen to his vast empire of death, but it’s quite another to act on that power without proof I can be as ruthless as the four men who love me.
Revenge is close enough that I can taste it, and it will be sweet.
And all I can really hope for is that all four men will be by my side when all is said and done. After all, what would the new queen be without her knights in blood-stained armor?
The Sins That Define Us is the third and final book in an MFMMM, modern mafia fairy tale trilogy that tells the story of how heroes and villains might not always be what they seem. It features spicy MF, MMMMF, and MM scenes, and ends in a Happily Ever After.
REVIEW
Reviewer: Christi
Rating: 5 Groupie Stars
FINALLLYYYYY the satisfaction of revenge! I love a series/trilogy that ties everything up so beautifully at the end. EM Lindsey ended this series with an engaging and satisfying book. We get to see the ruthless side of James, Phoenix, Ariel, Kane, and Alice. Bloody and vicious, but oh, so satisfying.
We also get to see the relationship evolve when Alice and Kane get married. We get to see how they all complement each other to form their family. Alice's evolution throughout the story made me happy. She was such a sad, lost woman in the beginning, and you can really see her come into her own by the end.
I think the HEAs at the end of dark romances are always the best. And that all comes back to the basic thrill I get from the dark and twisted heroes - I love how they wreak havoc in the world and then worship the people they love.
Even though I shouldn't have to say it at this point, be sure to check the content warnings and be aware of triggers. This is the third book in the trilogy and the conclusion. This is not a standalone.
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REVIEW
Reviewer: Christi
Rating: 5 Groupie Stars
Mafia romance. Bully romance. Why Choose/RH romance. Dark romance. This story was tropes galore! But at the same time, labeling this story as a mere trope or two does it an injustice. There is so much more. This series focuses on a man named Kane and his band of Misfits. Their mission is to take down Romano, the mafia boss of an opposing family, for the sins he has committed against them using any means necessary, including Alice, his daughter. What they didn't expect was how she would affect them.
Kane, Ari, Phoenix, and James are my favorite kind of dark romance "heroes" - Dark, twisted, fiercely loyal, and willing to burn everything to the ground for the people they love. Already a family in their own right, these four men stalked, kidnapped, and then "broke" Alice before they convinced her into playing a part in their plan. Alice recognized that these men were offering her a better life even as their prisoner than she had been offered by her own family.
The chemistry between all of the main characters was captivating. This book is MFMMM, which means there are a plethora of sex scenes with different combinations of characters. None of which would be considered sweet and fluffy. Please heed the content warnings at the beginning of the book. As a fan of dark and twisted books, I can tell this story will hit all of the dark, twisted sweet spots and I'm excited about it, HOWEVER, not everyone has the same reading preferences. Personally, I couldn't put the book down and couldn't wait to start book two I was so eager for more.
While primarily associating E.M. Lindsey with the LGBTQIA+ genre, specifically MM, I also associate this author for writing characters with a full spectrum of disabilities and sexual orientations, which I find refreshing from the usual MF romance tropes. The uniqueness of the characters and the way the results from their own personal trauma play out in the storyline are terrifyingly sad and wonderful to see at the same time. (Not that we want everyone who has had trauma in their lives to turn into vindictive killers, but more the adaptations these four men have worked out for themselves and to function as a family are definitely an integral part of the story.
This book ends in a cliffhanger - which makes it all the more awesome in my book that the series is complete, and I can jump right into book 2.
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REVIEW
Reviewer: Christi
Rating: 5 Groupie Stars
There is nothing better than to jump straight into book two after a cliffhanger. << --- That should tell you that this book is not a standalone, but just in case you missed it, this is book 2 out of 3 in this series. It must be read after The Sins That Find Us. (and book 3 is also available so after this one, you can jump right into the conclusion of the series.
This book is just as gruesome and dark as book one, but it also expands on the relationships between the characters. You can see the depth of the relationship between the four men. The love they have for each other and their dependency on one another is heartwarming. As you read, you can feel the love and trust deepening between Alice and the Misfits as she learns more about her men and why they hate Romano so much. The character building and story development are top-notch and have me falling in love a little bit myself.
This book is building the story. We don't get the satisfaction of revenge yet, but we do get some dark and twisty scenes, some bloody ones, and more than a few sexy ones. This book ends on a bit less of a cliffy, but there is a bit of an emotional issue for Alice to wrestle with. (But again...book 3 is already available so you can jump right in!)
I can't wait to see what happens in book 3!
I also want to point out one thing that struck me in this trilogy. Even though it's a dark mafia plotline, where the heroine is kidnapped against her will, and people are murdered left and right, consent seems to be a big part of the relationship dynamic. The men constantly check in with Alice to make sure she is aware of her choices and is not being forced into something against her will. (You could say that it's dubious consent or even coercion based on the situation, but Alice always seems to be presented with choices and it seems to me that they actually seem to care about her wants and needs.)
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AUTHOR BIO
E.M. Lindsey is a non-binary writer who lives in the southeast United States, close to the water where their heart lies.
AUTHOR LINKS
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