Lukas - Book Review

By Carian Cole

Synopsis

Storm’s younger cousin.
Vandal’s little brother.
You’ve met him in the background.

The sweet one.
The nice one.
The one they can all rely on.

The good one.
He’s a tattoo artist. He plays metal and classical music – on the violin.
He’s got a body built for sin.

He’s 24.

In comes Ivy. She’s a 36 year old single mom who hasn’t dated in 18 years.
All she wanted was a tattoo.

She got a helluva lot more 🙂

Being good has never been so bad.

Review

I wasn’t sure what to expect with LUKAS because I loved STORM but I didn’t love VANDAL, so I was a little wary. I was hopeful that LUKAS would be an enjoyable read and boy was it ever. I think Lukas has just beaten Storm for best book boyfriend in this series.

Ivy was a great woman, very sensible and reasonable. Her confidence is shattered by her husband’s affair with a much younger woman, so she has trouble believing that she has anything of value to offer a man, especially one as young as Lukas. At the same time, she’s a strong and fiery woman who has no problem standing up to her husband every time he tries to knock her down. Lukas was a really great guy, very mature for his age with a great head on his shoulders. He’s very respectful with Ivy and treats her right. I liked how his childhood didn’t turn him into a bitter bastard like his half-brother, Vandal. He craves love and affection, but doesn’t give his trust to just anyone; that has to be earned.

Lukas: “Some things in life, you just can’t do over. They’re meant to be permanent, whether they’re what we expected or not. Doesn’t mean they’re a mistake.”

LUKAS is book 3 in the Ashes & Embers series, but takes place before and after VANDAL, with some of it taking place in STORM. This was a really hard book to put down and at the end of every chapter I was left craving the next. But as I got closer to the end, I started to worry because the conclusion didn’t seem to be near, but the pages were quickly running out. And sadly, it’s the end of the book that was the only disappointment. Firstly, the story just ends. We see some huge conflict between Ivy, her teen-aged daughter and Lukas, but suddenly we’re at the epilogue and all has been forgiven. That was a huge letdown. Secondly, like VANDAL, the ending is filled with deceit and hidden truths that will surely bite Lukas and Ivy on the arse down the road. They’re keeping a massive secret from a family member and that’s just not right. But up until the end, I thought the story was a perfect mix of hot and sweet, just like Lukas.