Review: Dark Hearts Aflame by Amber Daulton

Fiction, Dark Romance, Contemporary, Steamy

4****

Blurb: A drug lord on the run. A cartel princess in hiding. All it takes is a spark to set their world ablaze. Bristol Rieger, better known as Thorn, left his criminal life behind for a fresh start in Mexico. Flying under the radar of the government and the cartels alike, his best-laid plans go awry when a woman from his narco days discovers his whereabouts. Carmen Lozano, however, is no longer the innocent girl he remembers. Carmen escaped the chains of her tiara and her abusive marriage to join a group of resistance fighters. The last thing she expected was the now-retired capo setting out to seduce her with his wicked touch. Embracing the blood on his hands is easy, but his secrets wear on her patience. When their enemies close in, Bristol will have to summon his inner monster to protect her. But can that monster be tamed again?

THOUGHTS: Wow. If you like dark action, passion, romantic suspense mixed with drug cartels and violence, you’ll love this book. This is the first one in a series dealing with the Lozano Cartel. This one concerns Carmen Lozano, daughter of the drug lord who turns into a fighter for the resistance. She wants out of this life, but her father won’t allow that. People do not defy him. She becomes the wife of a violent abuser who she eventually escapes by faking her death. Then she meets Bristol, who once worked for the Cartel but also escaped. The connection between the two is so intense and the author shows this through her character development. Not just the main characters, but the secondary ones as well. We learn a lot through all of them and their interactions. In addition, the settings add to the overall flavor of the book. There is a warning included with the book: Scenes featuring torture/violence, kidnapping, attempted assault, drug use, and suicide (discussed) may be uncomfortable for some readers.

Take this warning seriously because there are a lot of scenes that some readers may find “distasteful”.

But… that doesn’t mean that the writing isn’t good – because it is. Very good. It evokes emotions – good and bad – and draws you very definitely into this dark and dangerous world.

Recommended with caveats.