Review: Inflict by Bethany-Kris

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Standalone
Release - April 3, 2017
Genre - Dark Mafia Romance
Hero POV - 3rd person
Heat - 4 out of 5
Length - 346 pages

As the son of an Irish mobster, Connor O’Neil spent his boyhood hiding from the horrors of his own home. His one reprieve was a girl he knew only as Evelyn, but even she was taken away. As a man, Connor is determined to stay away from his father’s business. With Sean, participation is not a request, but a demand. The truth is, Connor might be more like the evil he’s trying to hide away from than he would like to admit.

And he’s already spent years trying to cover the scars left over from the pain.

A chance encounter puts the lost girl from his past back on his path, and he no longer has a choice but to face the darkness he’s been ignoring for years.

Evelyn. Sasha. Slave.

She doesn’t really know who she is anymore.

Or maybe she does, and she doesn’t want to tell.

She isn’t the same as she once was—now a thing to be kept and maintained, shuffled from owner to owner until it was her time to go. She only became Connor’s because he took her when he knew she wasn’t his to take.

Except she isn’t Connor’s at all …

And he can’t keep her hidden forever.

~Inflict is a Standalone Romance with graphic depictions of violence, sexual scenes, dark elements and a HEA. It is not recommended for those under the age of 18.

Find Inflict here:
Goodreads | Amazon

MY REVIEW

5 "I LOVED CONNOR" STARS!!

Oddly enough, I fell in love with Connor within the first few pages. He came across as such a sweet and precocious little boy and my heart ached for the tragedy that was his life because of his father. Now that's a man I'd gladly kill with my bare hands. Figuratively of course. I know he's not real although men like him DO exist.

Who would you become if you were raised at the hands of a monster? Would the sights you've seen, the things you've heard, or the abuse you felt warp your mind? Connor continued to strive for some sort of balance. He knew he wasn't "normal", not after surviving the horror show that was his father, but he held on to the fact that evil hadn't completely tainted his veins.

Connor was happy once. At the age of six, for one whole year, he found happiness with a fellow six year old named Evelyn. But then she disappeared. Fast forward roughly 20 years, let the author guide you through some gruesome and suspicious events, and strangely enough Connor and Evelyn are reunited. And that connection, that happiness they shared so long ago, that peace that existed within the other, was found again. To ensure their safety and their future together, these two had to face some dire circumstances, and honestly it ain't pretty, but it was most definitely worth it.

Bethany-Kris took a step out of the box and in my opinion it paid off extremely well. INFLICT was raw, it was dirty, and it seemed all too real. It touch on some hot button issues and the author didn't pull any punches. It was authentic and it was traumatic, but it was done in order to shape Connor's character. As I said, I loved him. LOVED HIM!! He was the son of an Irish Mob boss, preferred a blade to a gun (and boy did he know how to work a blade), had a sexy as feck brogue, had no problem killing, and lived by a code of ethics. Was he a good guy? Not in the literal sense of what is "good", but he was most assuredly a hero in this story.

Is it just me or did this story seem to have an open sort of ending? The author has labeled INFLICT as a standalone but I wouldn't be opposed to seeing more of this boyo named Connor.