Diamonds in the Dust

I'm feeling a bit like I just took a couple of rounds in the ring. My boundaries were pushed, and I had to sit on this and think about how I really felt. I'm conflicted, but hopeful.

Maxime is my main cause of this conflict. He sees the treasure in Zoe, and his true aim is to protect her from a far evil than what he thinks he is. He's not exactly wrong, but his way of teaching her is why I struggled with him. Although, I can see that part inside of him that would show a different man if they were in a better world.

Maxime is like a man with two personalities. One personality is the knight in shining armor and the other is a soft nightmare. I say soft because even when he becomes the nightmare, his intention are always to protect Zoe. See? It's very conflicting. It's also the reason why I think I'm going to love this series when it's all said and done.

I'm very pleased with Zoe and how she handled an impossible situation. She's had such hard life and she is only 21. She's escapes the rough world by being a dreamer which makes people underestimate her. She's a fighter and I loved it. I want to see that fight even if the situation is helpless.

This ended on a big cliffhanger and for once I was glad to see it. I think it will be a turning point for the next book.

**This is a dark story and there will be triggers for some readers.

Charmaine Pauls does it again. When she announced that she was writing a trilogy, I was over the moon. I love spending quality time with characters, so trilogies are my favorites.
Actually Charmaine Pauls is an automatic purchase for me, I have never been disappointed and never expect to be disappointed because this author is one sublime storyteller. A true wonderful woman that was given a gift. A gift she readily shares with all of her readers.

And the gift for her readers here, are Zoe and Maxime. Zoe's life is turned upside down when Maxime enters, but that’s not to say Zoe was doing so great to being with. She wasn’t. But she knew her circumstances and dealt with them. But Maxime with his own issues shakes Zoe to her core. And that’s where Charmaine leaves it.
I can not wait for the second book. All of three books will be released this year and I couldn’t be happier.
Book 1 rating: 5 Stars

I love this author’s writing style because in one chapter the reader is quickly drawn into this life or death battle between good and evil and I could not look away. Maxime is a ruthless and unpredictable predator who will get his way no matter who dies because violence is the cost of doing business in the French Mafia. He might be rich and well dressed but his clothes can’t hide the menace in his soul. When Zoe is forcibly dragged from her seedy apartment against her will she has no choice but to submit to everything Maxime wants or pay the brutal cost. She tries her best to stay strong but when her pride and dignity are ripped away with a brutal attack she sees only one way out. I’ve never been a huge fan of cliffhangers but this one is deliciously Machiavellian and it totally blew my mind. Best. Cliffhanger. Ever. I read an early copy of this book and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.