The first book of this trilogy went on to become one of my top 3 reads this year (so far) which left me quivering in anticipation with this second installment and I am so fucking glad that it didn’t disappoint! Not one bit! Maris Black simply has that magic touch because I loved everything she has written so far and KAGE Unleashed just totally skyrocketed my fan–girling mode to another level towards Michael “Kage” Santori and little oh-so-naïve Jamie Atwood.
“I’d wanted to destroy him. To fucking obliterate him for making me love him, and for being able to live without me. For being able to turn that necklace around with no more thought than changing his socks.”
So, it starts off where the author left me just about dying with that cliffhanger in book one and now, I get to read part of the story from Kage’s point of view. It’s very much refreshing to read the emotional depth of this trained-killing-machine. Kage obviously has a traumatic past with everything orchestrated by his douche of an uncle.
“The truth is, I deserved what I got. For the bad things I’d done in my short twenty-four years of life, I deserved that and a whole lot worse. It was karma.”
The first chapter alone left me nervous (dunno why) with all the feels! It was intense getting a glimpse of Kage’s inner turmoil and what he really feels towards Jamie. Then right after the first chapter, it’s almost a non-stop mirage of events with both Kage and Jamie letting pride and doubts get in their way. I was at the edge of my seat (bed) trying not to yell at both of them for their stubbornness and I wanted to jump for joy at the same time for staying true to what they feel at the end of the day. Kage asked Jamie to trust him and so he did and vice-versa.
The manipulation of his uncle and that stupid bitch therapist was so laughable because it’s so predictable but I don’t mind predictable if the writing’s this awesome! And speaking of Uncle Santori – we’ll obviously get to hear more from him in the final installment of this trilogy because we didn’t get much of Kage’s past in this book and I really,really hope that Kage will put him in his place. Maris Black just gave us something to nibble on (at least this time, we have some info about the guy) and I honestly cannot wait to get hold of that freaking third book! I’m mentally willing myself to calm down or I’d go berserk and go write a fan fiction about these two. Or maybe not. Haha!
Before reading this, I was warned about another cliffhanger but really, not a big issue at all. It’s not much of a cliffhanger at all if I’m being honest. Just know that this trilogy is just unreal. Just so good and I cannot wait for Kage Unmasked to finally make its way on my reader. Super fucking mighty fucking highly recommended!!!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Published August 24th 2015 by Maris Black Books
About The Author
Maris Black lives in the Southern United States. In college, she majored in English and discovered the joys of creative writing and literary interpretation. After honing her skills discovering hidden meanings authors probably never intended, she collected her English degree and got a job at a newspaper. But she soon figured out that small town reporting wasn’t going to pay the bills, so she went to work in the medical field. Logical progression, right? But no matter what she did, the self-proclaimed compulsive plotter couldn’t stop writing fiction.
“The M/M genre feels sort of like coming home,” she says. “I can’t quite explain it. I’ve always had openly gay and bisexual friends and relatives, the rights and acceptance of whom are very important to me, so it feels great to celebrate that. But there’s also something so pure and honest about the love between two men that appeals to me and inspires me to write.”
Find Me: MarisBlack.com
Like Me: facebook.com/marisblackbooks
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