THE LOTUS KEEPER by Leeann Mays

“I believed he was pulling me into a world of darkness, but I’ve come to realize he was showing me the light—a light that illuminated the most unimaginable evil.”

"The Lotus Keeper" follows the story of Adeline Heed, a sweet and innocent, young woman who is forcefully taken by a dangerous drug cartel leader and pulled into a world in which she never thought existed. As she struggles to break free from her captor, she learns that he isn't the only one holding her back, forcing her to adapt, yield and awake a rawness inside if she's ever going to survive.

Hart, the man responsible for her capture, isn’t at all what she imagined. He’s controlling, observant, and dangerous. He demands obedience, set on breaking her down, shaping her into submission but despite his efforts, he's met his match. The longer Hart holds her captive, the stronger she becomes. She's witty and quick and she's intent on doing what no other has done before—unravel the mysteries behind the green-eyed man.

Will Addy break him before he breaks her?

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The Lotus Series #1

Release - August 1, 2019

Genre - Dark Romance?

Dual POV - 1st person

Heat - none

Format - eARC provided by the author

Length - 494 pages

Publisher - Mays Publishing House, LLC

My Thoughts

★★★★✩

Addy had just graduated college and was out with some friends celebrating. She gets drugged, attacked and kidnapped. She wakes up on a compound belonging to the second in command of a cartel lord. She's punished, she's tortured, she's left trapped. All she wants to do is escape, although the compound is surround by the ocean. Her thoughts are obviously ridiculous, but staying isn't an option. Even knowing that a skilled assassin has her in his crosshairs doesn't deter her from her plan. All her jailor/captor, Hart, wants to do is keep her safe. However, with her quick wit, her smart mouth, and her senseless ideas, she might be more than even he can handle.

I'm thinking that I was supposed to hate Hart because he was the big bad cartel guy who kidnapped an innocent girl, put her through some intense treatments, and helped to run an illegal organization. He killed people, tortured people, ran games on people. He wasn't a good guy. But here's the thing... I loved Hart. I would have loved getting more from his perspective and less from Addy's. That's how much I adored him. He is still a huge mystery to me, but the bits and pieces the author has given me so far have only intrigued me more. He's a puzzle I crave to solve. I kept reading and reading and loving this story because of this man. I could not get enough of him!

Ending on a cliffhanger, this story was full of surprises. I can understand why this author was hounded to publish this story and for her debut book, she created a winner. There wasn't any romance in this one, but maybe that will be flushed out in the books to come? I'm hooked and I'm looking forward to continuing this series and getting more of Hart's sexiness.

About the Author

Leeann Mays is a hopeless romantic and a new aspiring author; she enjoys writing dark romance, erotica, and thrillers in her spare time. She has written a five-book series, The Lotus Series about drug cartels, human trafficking, and arms dealing.

She has climbed the highest point on three different islands, been mistaken for a lost child on numerous occasions despite being in her late twenties, has the fashion sense of a grandma, and would purposely get grounded as a kid so that she could read books all night long.

She considers Louisiana her home but is an avid traveler and adventure seeker—some of those adventures were the result of very poor decisions and a bit too much curiosity. She is currently living abroad with her obesely demonic cat and is working on her next series.

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