Lord of London Town by Tillie Cole // Review + Excerpt

We were here. Together. He had let me breach his high, impenetrable walls. I knew it would take time to hammer through the rest. But I wasn’t fazed by the task. I was inspired. To know all of this man. To have him love me and let me see his soul. It was worth it all.

Lord of London Town by Tillie Cole

Release: October 11, 2020
Standalone? - Adley Firm #1
Genre: Dark Romance
Dual POV: 1st person
Heat level: 4
Format/Source: Amazon ebook purchase
Length: 338 pages

Cheska Harlow-Wright was born into a life of luxury and privilege. She has never wanted for anything. A comfortable future as a married London socialite ⁣awaits her. But since the age of thirteen, Cheska has harboured a secret—an unshakeable fixation on a boy who could never offer her anything close to ⁣comfort. A boy steeped in sin and draped in depravity. A boy born into the possessive embrace of darkness.
⁣
When Cheska’s seemingly perfect world is ripped apart by an unknown but deadly enemy, there’s only one person she can run to. One person in the world ⁣who has the power to keep her safe. The one person her weak and shattered heart craves.
⁣
Arthur Adley. The new head of the most feared crime family in London. ⁣
⁣
Forced too young to take the helm of the Adley firm, Arthur has become even more ruthless, formidable, and cold than ever before. His enemies are circling, and he must fight—and kill—to maintain his family’s place at the top of the London crime underworld. There is no room for weakness, emotion, or loss of control.⁣
⁣
But then Cheska smashes back into his life with the force of a wrecking ball. She has no place in this dark, vicious, and bloodthirsty world. And worse, she is the solitary chink in his impenetrable armour. He’s already pushed her away once, but this time she desperately needs him. She’s broken, lost, and in danger, and he is the only one who can help.⁣
⁣
Arthur must protect her. He must destroy those who dare to threaten her, hunt down those who would take what is his. He would raze all of London to the ⁣ground to keep her safe… but can he also protect himself?⁣
⁣
The infamous Dark Lord of London Town faces his most brutal battle yet—the crippling weight of the past, the unrelenting enemies lurking in the shadows… and the havoc that Cheska’s presence is wreaking on the granite fortress that was once his heart.⁣

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

Ever read a book and know that it's going to be amazing from the prologue? That was this book!! Arthur Adley captured my heart with very few words and it was all too easy to see why Cheska was fascinated with him.

If I'd never watched Peaky Blinders before, I'd probably never make the comparison, but Arthur and his family, the Adley Firm, reminded me a lot of a modernized version of the Shelbys.

That cool, badass vibe. That ruthless brutality. That honor and respect. That family love. I breathed it, lived it, loved it!

Arthur and Cheska meet when they're 13 years old. She's the daughter of a 'proper' gentleman, raised among the elite, while he is the son of a 'gangster', raised in the streets. She's all about tea and biscuits, balls and galas. He's busy learning the ropes of the business, fighting and shooting his way across the city. They couldn't be more different and yet... they're perfect for each other.

Years pass by, connections grow stronger, and despite the odds. these two became inseparable and indestructible. Unfortunately, the road to their happy ending was paved with blood and betrayal. There's a secret player in town, bent on destroying all of them, and until they figure out who to take out, no one is safe. Good thing Arthur thrives in chaos and wears that crown with pride.

There weren't many people in London who didn't know the Adley family. Knew that we were the London reapers. When we came calling, it was because you'd made a deal with the devil.

He's a beast. An unbreakable force and someone no one wants to mess with. At least no one who wants to be seen as smart. And Cheska was the dark, broken queen to the dark, broken king. Gah, I loved these two so much!!

I've been intentionally vague with the details of this story. It's something you have to read and I'm not spoiling a dang thing for you. Seriously, there's a reason that Tillie Cole is a true queen of the dark romance genre. She's killed it with every read I've come across and I cannot wait to get my hands on whatever else she has planned for this series.

Purchase Links

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Free to read with Kindle Unlimited

ARTHUR

I pushed my glasses up my nose and climbed the stairs. The heat of the Spanish sun slammed into me like an iron fist, and I pushed my dark hair back from my forehead. White Mediterranean buildings surrounded us, and tourists sat in restaurants and bars, gaping up at our yacht.

I joined my friends on the rear deck overlooking the restaurants and took a beer from Eric. He spread his arms. “Fucking paradise, boys.” I took a swig of my beer and glanced over to the yacht beside us. I didn’t see anyone on the back deck, but then I heard the people talking at the front of their boat, overlooking the sea.

“So, where are these spectacular views?” Charlie asked Eric, lighting up another cig.

Eric winced as he met my cousin’s waiting gaze. “Well, maybe not spectacular to you, Chuck, but definitely to the rest of us.” He flicked his eyes to Vinnie, who was circling the back deck like it was a track, and screwed up his nose. “Okay, maybe not to our resident nutjob either since he already has a bird. But to me, Freddie and Artie, what a view it is!”

“Story of my fucking life.” Charlie smirked at me. I followed Eric as he headed for the main sun deck at the very front of the yacht.

“The edge gone yet?” I asked Vinnie. He nodded, and I could see by his eyes that his medication had kicked in. His pupils had dilated a bit, and the shaking in his hands had lessened. “Getting calmer by the second, Artie. Getting calmer by the second.” He smiled again, his deep dimples making him look a fuck-ton more innocent than he actually was. I put my hand on his shoulder, right over the face of Nosferatu with his sharp vampiric teeth that was tattooed there.

“So, who are we docked next to?” Freddie asked Eric. Freddie was six feet two with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was slender in build but could fight like a fucking Rottweiler. His old man died a while back, for the firm, shot right through the fucking forehead by a Russian. My dad practically adopted Freddie after that. He’d lived with us in the old church for the past couple of years. He was quiet before his old man’s death. Now, compared to the rest of my gobshite mates, he was almost mute.

“Wait until you see,” Eric said, waggling his eyebrows. Eric was six four, blond and covered in bright-as-fuck horror-themed clown tattoos. His hair looked like something straight from World War Two—combed over like a good little British solider. Claimed birds got wet for it—we all knew that was mainly referring to Betsy, my cousin and Charlie’s little sister. But neither he or Betsy ever talked about that. He also rarely shut his mouth. But that didn’t matter when shit hit the fan. He had your back, one hundred percent without question.

As we turned the corner, I saw movement on the yacht beside us. Birds in bikinis, some topless. I couldn’t care less. Seen one pair of tits, you’d seen them all. Bored already, I lit another cig and moved to the front of the yacht. I looked out over the ocean.

“Nice tits, sweetheart!” I heard Eric shout behind me. I glanced over to the yacht beside us and saw two girls sunbathing, looking our way—one with dark skin and jet-black hair that fell in spiral curls to her shoulders, and one with light freckled skin and red hair down to her waist.

I went to turn my head again, when someone walked out from below deck and toward the two sunbathers. The hand holding my cig stopped en route to my mouth when I saw her long legs and olive skin. The dark hair that was pulled up on top of her head. She was wearing a white bikini, fucking curves like an hourglass.

As if she was feeling my stare, she looked over, and the minute she did, I recognised those eyes. Those big fucking eyes that were fixed on me and widening by the second. Green-brown eyes that I never fucking forgot …

Cheska Harlow-Wright …

Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.

After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.

After several years living in Italy, Canada and the USA, Tillie has now settled back in her hometown in England, with her husband and new son.

Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.

When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than spending time with her little family, curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, and convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that last square of chocolate.

Website: https://tilliecole.com/
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