Ravage (Scarred Souls #3) Book Review

 3.5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:

I’m not including the synopsis for this book because it has some major spoilers

 

My Review (no spoilers):

I was sent an ARC copy of Ravage via Netgalley by the author in exchange for an honest review. Warning to anyone who hasn’t read the series, it is a mature dark romance novel and contains dark and disturbing scenes that contribute to the story’s plot line. Ravage is the third book in the Scarred Souls series by Tillie Cole and in each book we follow a different set of characters, but it is necessary to read book one and book two before getting to this one. For those of you who don’t know, Tillie Cole is one of my all time favorite authors, I’ve read every single one of her novels and loved them all. So you can imagine how excited I was to be able to read this book a week before it came out.

The Scarred Souls series falls under the genre of dark romance because of life that the characters follow. There’s a new drug that’s going around and if it’s taken that person has to follow all commands given to them by either their Master or Mistress. And under the influence of this drug a male character, 194, is stripped of his identity, given a number for name and becomes a deadly fighter and torturer. 194 wants nothing more than to be free of his Mistress but there’s something that’s making him stay and following his Mistress’s orders like a dog. 194 is different from the past two males because the drugs don’t affect him as much, when it’s supposed to make him obedient for a long time, it actually wears off faster. Even though this was supposed to be a good thing it was actually very sad, because while he’s following orders, he’s trapped in his own mind wanting to get out and stop but he can’t. He’s such a tortured soul fighting everyday to survive and protect the one thing he cares about.

194 was drifting by in his life, doing as he was told, torturing for answers, and killing once done, until he met her. She was just supposed to be another mission, just one more person to get through but she was different. With the other females he usually went through they gave up once they saw him, because of the scars covering his face, but not her. She went through to much and lost too many people to simple break to his will and give him what he wants. When the drugs wear off of him he can’t help but feel a connection, and I think the way Tillie Cole developed their relationship was well thought out. It wasn’t too much insta-love but it also wasn’t very slow burning. These too characters came into each others lives when they needed it the most, and it wasn’t just her making him better, he changed her too.

Underneath all the violence and ruthlessness of this story is true love, two people who are willing to risk everything they know and love for each other. Tillie Cole did it again, she created a dark romance and made it grab readers from the beginning and make them anticipate the end. I loved seeing all the characters from the previous novels, especially 221, in this one and see how they all have a major part in the plot line. Even though Ravage wasn’t my favorite one in this series, it didn’t take away from my liking of the world and the characters. Like almost every single one of her novels, I read Ravage in one sitting because Cole with never cease to amaze me with her writing. There’s so much passion and lust between her characters which always makes me excited for next books.