He had the softest, juiciest, most beautiful lips of any male she’d ever known... Aella knew that Yun himself would be the greatest gift she could ever receive.
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Pure Surrender by Aja James
Release - February 14, 2020
Genre - Paranormal Romance / enemies-to-lovers / second chance
Multiple POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5
Format/Source - ebook borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Page Count - 369
Publisher - Indie
Aella Alexander:
An Amazon warrior in her human life, Aella has always taken and fought for what she wanted, and what Aella wanted, she got.
Until him.
Cloud Drako:
The mysterious new recruit to the Pure Ones’ team of Elite soldiers is not what he seems. He has a critical role to fulfill to maintain Balance in the universe…
He cannot afford to be distracted by her.
Destiny is shaped by choices made:
The past cannot be changed, a past that neither Cloud nor Aella remembers. But the future is yet unwritten. In this present time, with this second chance, Cloud must make his ultimate stand: to carry out the role he’s been assigned, or to embrace an uncertain future, knowing that his choice would be irrevocable. Absolute.
And that the souls of countless innocents depend upon it…
Can Aella help him choose wisely, or will she lead them all to ruin?
Amazon CA * Amazon US
(free to read with Kindle Unlimited)
I honestly don't know how she does it. Aja James has kept me enamored of her story for 12 books and I never want it to end!
Seriously... I don't want it to stop and yet, I can't wait to see where all of these characters I have fallen for (and those I'm yet to love) will end up.
Once again, I've got a lot to say and I'm not going to hide any of it behind spoilers. Cloud and Aella deserve to have my love for them spelled out all over the place. So if you want to go in blind, stop here and know that you'll be in for one heck of a ride!
Mind you, everything from this point forward is going to be random, jumbled, and just my thoughts and opinions as I read this book.
Finally getting Cloud's story... surprising and blissful. Aella finally getting her male... hot and glorious. I loved discovering the mystery and history that defined Cloud Drako. I loved how Aella reminded me so much of one of my favorite heroes of all time — Diana Prince. They were both fierce warriors and I lived for their banter, their push-and-pull relationship, and their eternal love. No matter the age, their connection was immediate and real and beautiful.
The prophecy, as recited by Eveline, is something I can't wait to see fulfilled.
“Fire, water, wind and earth. Past, present, death and rebirth. Wings, claws, scales and teeth. Heavens, land and seas beneath. Pure, Dark, human alike, Bracing against the final strike— When Monsters Made destroy the Just, Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
I was kind of grossed out by the whole 'Ramses screwing the vamp in the throne room, in front of Jade, who was just waiting to have a word' scene.
1. Isn't he supposed to end up with Eveline? Sweet, naive, doesn't deserve a manwhore cuz she's so kind, Eveline? Seeing him (or intimating him) screwing his way through Dark and Pure females gave me hives.
2. The idea of him being a not-so-good guy seems more and more likely to be true. Say it ain't so!
Why does this author love to break my heart? Everything Tal and Ishtar were suffering through drove me nuts. I can't believe the continued terror that still lives in Tal's soul. And why can't my man see? When will his eyes heal?
“Please…” he rasped out in that low, husky voice, sending goose bumps all across her skin.
He swallowed hard, his throat working with the effort.
“Please…don’t give up on me.”
She inhaled a deep breath and fought back tears.
She had to be strong for him. As strong as he was. She couldn’t fail him.
She wouldn’t.
Slowly, she crouched back down until they were face to face. She touched her forehead gently to his and took his mouth in the softest kiss.
Gusts of his breath met her lips, short and fast, and his own lips trembled against her. Though he forced himself to hold still, she could feel him fighting not to push her away.
He was shaking so hard she thought he’d rattle his bones loose, but she was shaking too. The endless, overwhelming love she felt for him wanted to burst free…she wanted him, needed him so much.
But somehow, she held herself in check. Subdued her primal urges to focus on his needs.
So, she whispered fiercely, “Never. I will never give up on you, ninigiku of my heart.”
“Arammu mi shi,” she vowed, now and forever.
My love, breath of my life, my soul.
She would hold onto him forever.
Jade has always been magnificent, but as a member of the Shield, she really shines. I am loving her big heart and the ways in which she has embraced her new life and family. What she was willing to do to help out Tal and Ishtar... this woman is amazing!
“I always look forward, because we still have the rest of our Destiny to decide.”
“Don’t you mean fulfill?” Ishtar frowned, momentarily distracted by Jade’s words.
The ex-Dark Queen grinned and shook her head.
“Nobody decides my destiny but me, ducky, and the same goes for you, Ishtar Anshar. The same goes for Tal. We are not, none of us, victims. We have suffered, certainly, but we are facing the future uncharted before us. As long as we have choice, hope, the strength of our convictions, and we never give up, there is always a way to shape destiny to our will.”
Back to Cloud and Aella: their every touch... every kiss... every look... it was easy to recognize that what they shared went beyond the physical. And it was felt. Their spiritual connection was so beautiful and I couldn't wait for them to really see each other and what they meant to each other.
I'll admit that I'm not the biggest fan of the way that Aella tried to woo Cloud. What about him and his demeanor told her that her usual go-to would work on him? When she didn't seem to take it seriously, why did she think he would? I was as annoyed as he was.
Woe to the male who succumbed to her charms and gave her his heart. That way lay ruin. She didn’t seem capable of committing to one Mate. He sure as hell wasn’t going to fall at her feet. Even if he was looking for a Mate, which he wasn’t, she’d be the farthest from his choice.
And I loved when all of her teasing and flirting and nonsense finally made him snap! Seriously, what was hotter than Cloud telling Aella about herself and then tearing that pu--y up?!
“You like to fu-k, and you like the chase. I’ve seen you toy with more males than I can count over the past three years. I’m not blind. I’m not stupid. And I’m sure as hell not a notch on your belt or a scratch on your wall. Whatever you think might happen between us is never going to happen. Because like you said yourself— I. Don’t. Like. You. I have more control than to fu-k someone I don’t even fucking like!” and then “After three years of flirting, teasing and taunting me like you do every other man on earth, you suddenly know me?”
But then I got so much of their back story (thanks for that btw) and her actions made sense. She was an Amazon, taught to take what she wanted, taught to seduce men, used to men falling all over themselves for a taste, so why would she change what ain't broke? However, she knew Cloud was different. He made her different. So I think she should have approached him differently. Three years later and she was still trying (and failing with) the same thing. After all these years, why was the master strategist so unaware of the need to change? Maybe not treating him like a piece of meat would've helped. Especially when he loved her so desperately (even though they couldn't remember).
He felt a connection to her that he’d never felt with anyone, not even his family and friends at the Celestial Palace. Not his siblings and his playmates. Not his human comrades nor the household of his birth. She made him feel… Attached. Like there was an invisible tether between them. It grew stronger every time they touched, every time he looked into her eyes. He didn’t know if he could break it. He didn’t know if he wanted to. It felt like the most natural thing to do to stay with her. For the rest of his life, if possible. Forever.
Whoa... so the Snake King is dead?! Thankfully he left some words of wisdom for this couple. Aella has only really spoken about her obsession with Cloud's body, which he obviously couldn't stand, so I'm glad she got a wake up call that forced her to make better choices and show her love and desire for all of him.
My question about the person who had the gift of water has been answered... it's Cloud! I wonder how this will affect the rest of this series. What role do the masters of elements play in the events to come? And what are those events???
The end packed one heck of a punch. It seems that Eveline's story is about to be CRAZY!! Kidnapped, manhandled, and left to despair along with about a dozen other Pure Ones, it seems her captor is the first male to get her motor running. Too bad he intends to make her into his Pure Blood slave. Could her captor be Ramses? What is going on??? And will Ere/Binu/The Creature finally find out that he was created out of love? Will he reveal that he's Benji's dad? OMG I'm so excited to get more!!
Check out the previous books:
“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted,” she murmured, “everything I never even knew I wanted. How am I supposed to let you go after our time together is done?”
She looked into his eyes then, confessing truths to him that she knew he didn’t understand.
“Amazons don’t keep men,” she whispered. “It is our law. It is what binds us together against all odds. I love my people, my queen, my sisters, and the little girls who will grow up into fine women warriors one day. I love our way of life. The freedom. The passion. The independence to do as we please.”
She drew in a breath and pressed on, “I have never wanted anything else, though I have met other peoples and experienced other cultures through my travels. I do not want to be a man’s possession. I am not a mere receptacle for his seed. I do not wish to be tied down to anyone, to any place.”
She swallowed and stared intensely into his eyes.
“But…but… I want to be yours. I want you to be mine. I don’t want anyone else to have you, to touch you and taste you as I do. I want to own all of your kisses and smiles and looks. I want to devour you, consume you, drink you up and soak you in until your essence fills me from the inside out, and when I sweat I smell of you, because every part of you has mated with every part of me.”
Aja James just completed the Pure/ Dark Ones paranormal-fantasy romance series in 2020. If you want your heart battered, bruised, shattered and skewered, then put back together in the most glorious ways, check out the series below. Every couple gets an HEA, but they fight like hell for it on the way.
Aja is now working on her new series, Dragon Tails, because dragons are her favorite shifters of all!
2 comments
Those are really great quotes. Another stunning review!
ReplyDeleteThanks dear!!
DeleteThank you for taking the time to leave a comment because I absolutely love getting and giving them!