★★★★★
This series gets better and better. Nicoletta's coming of age is intermingled with danger, past craziness and a hidden history. I loved seeing Nicoletta growing from frightened kid to rebellious teen to ferocious woman. Nicoletta first made an appearance several books back as a rescued girl from heinous step uncles. The constant sexual abuse which is covered in this book may be a bit much for some readers. Suffice to say, it paints a very dark picture of Nicoletta's time with her step uncles after her loving parents died.
Whilst the story is focused on Nicoletta's past coming back to haunt her, there are several subplots going on which I find interesting. The main one is the love interest from Taviano. As the youngest brother in the Ferraro family, he is well loved and protected. Or so it would appear. Taviano has nightmares of his own that he wrestles with and they are heartbreaking. This shared traumatic past allows Nicoletta to see past Taviano's front as well as help her feel safe with him. I love their bond of survival.
A secondary subplot is what is happening with Taviano's mother. As the cruel matriarch of the family, she's been unnecessarily derogatory to each of her daughter in laws and her daughter. Her behaviour has been this way for so long, no one thought to question it. When some new information comes to light, it adds another layer of angst to this story.
When it comes to dark, this story has it in large doses. This Shadow Rider series is up there in darkness as her Torpedo Ink series. I like it. Over the years, the complexity of her characters grows as they are complicated anti-heroes. Her villains are still straight out evil with little to redeem them. It will be interesting once Ms. Feehan starts creating more questionable villains like the main one in her GhostWalkers series.
This paranormal romance is highly recommended to readers who enjoy a dark romance with a retribution theme.
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