REVIEW: RUIN BY C.D. REISS

**Ya gotta read Spin before you read Ruin**

Antonio is a killer.
He's beautiful, educated, a prodigy of a thief and as violent a motherfucker as ever came of the boat from Napoli.

Theresa knows it, but that doesn't stop her from getting emotionally and physically entangled with him, and this is how, maybe, she got it in her head that she can protect him.

But it's not her job to save him, and she's just not getting that. Every time she tries to protect him, she practically gets him killed, and the tighter he grips her, the more dangerous she becomes.

It's almost as if...well, he'd never admit this....but it's almost as if protecting her the way he does is the one thing he should stop. As if the only way he's ever going to find a moment's peace is to just embrace her as a partner, rather than a defenseless creature.

But he'd never do that. Not this violent motherfucker.

WARNING: This book contains delicious sex scenes with a hot man dirty-talking in Italian; women handling firearms and explosives; and scenes of violence with a crystal Virgin Mary cigarette lighter.

ebook, 209 pages
Published October 14th 2014

Source: Netgalley

Purchase a copy: Goodreads

--Our Review--
You know what? C.D. Reiss and her fuckery have me hooked. It doesn't matter that she writes these books that end with more questions than answers. And, it doesn't matter that I have a while to wait until the next one because I will. Patiently. Ditto. There are so many twists, turns, gasp moments, "wait, what?" moment...sooo many moments that make these action packed novellas an incredible ride. Reiss can write, y'all. 

I'm not sure what it is that I find compelling about her novels...I guess that's what I should try to explore here, right? So that's what I'll do. I'll try, in the least rambling way, to explain why I enjoy her works. !!! 

1. Escapism. There is no way in hell I'm marrying a billionaire, that I'll be some protege pianist or an ingenue, or a sophisticated accountant with a high profile ex-boyfriend (and family for that matter). Nope, those things will never be, but I sure as hell enjoy putting myself in the shoes of those characters. In this case, having a mob boyfriend and being his willful girlfriend is 100% pure escapism and I enjoyed it. It sure is. And I enjoyed it too. I think the escapism definitely is what draws us in, because it is different, and DEFINITELY not boring or safe. I couldn't imagine being in any of the situations that Antonio or Theresa find themselves in...but then she calls him Capo, and it infinitesimally changes the scene to two lovers just trying to find a way to be together in the crazy world their found themselves in. 

2. Character torture. C.D. Reiss loves her characters, at least I think she does. That being said, she has no problem creating all sorts of shitstorms for her characters. Between the internal and external conflicts, the plot twists..the ANGST..it's such sweet torture and I can't stop reading it. In Ruin there's the constant push and pull of Antonio and Theresa, the will he or won't he, and the will they or won't they...all the way to the end. I must say, I love how hardcore both characters are to their willingness to do what they feel they must, in order to have what they want (or what they think they want) <-- hi, vague much? <--totally! But, ya know what. It was definitely a full speed ahead train, and we were not getting off the track! OMG. I at this moment in time, still can't believe the ways this book went... just cannot believe it! And THEN she did the unthinkable and tied it back to Songs of Submission and I just died. Died of happiness, and am trying to think back to that up-all-night-for-two-days-readathon I did of the other series, and what happens trying to find hints so I can just fucking know what happens! But I know that probably won't help. 

3. Balls to the wall sex. I mean she never holds back. In Ruin, it's rough and hot and almost animalistic ..maybe even savage? There are no mushy, lovey dovey, doe-eyed moments here. It's intense, quick, hot..just like the characters. Exactly like the characters. It fits. It's hot. It definitely can Ruin. In a good way!

4. Plot. Her books are page turners and Ruin is no exception. I willingly sacrificed the little sleep I seem to get so that I could read. I bet you will too. It went so fast, and in the blink of an eye it was another day in bed finishing a book before I start the day...---er afternoon...yeah. So...

So, I suppose those are some of the reasons why I have a *thing* for her books? I dunno. I know there are other reasons..I'll save them for next time.  

The writing is just so damn good. I never felt confused by what was happening. The dialogue, the scenes, the descriptions...are hard core East L.A. and it is a glimpse into a world that probably does sort of exist, and we definitely don't know anything about. I loved it. I love L.A. I love Antonio. I especially love the Drazen's, and I love C.D. Reiss. And Shelley! Hah! 

Let me caution you with this: her novels aren't pretty purple prose or delicate little things. Her books are not for people who don't like to read about characters who don't abide by societal norms. Her books are rough and tumble and fun and sexy and total escape. Yes. It is definitely a little bit darker romance than some, not per se taboo, but intense, in a way that some might find uncomfortable. I hope you give it a shot and enjoy it anyways! 

Happy reading. Peace.

--About the Author--

CD Reiss is a USA Today and Amazon bestseller. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn’t pick up, she’s at the well, hauling buckets.

Born in New York City, she moved to Hollywood, California to get her master’s degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere, but it did embed TV story structure in her head well enough for her to take a big risk on a TV series structured erotic series called Songs of Submission. It’s about a kinky billionaire hung up on his ex-wife, an ingenue singer with a wisecracking mouth; art, music and sin in the city of Los Angeles.

Critics have dubbed the books “poetic,” “literary,” and “hauntingly atmospheric,” which is flattering enough for her to put it in a bio, but embarrassing enough for her not to tell her husband, or he might think she’s some sort of braggart who’s too good to give the toilets a once-over every couple of weeks or chop a cord of wood.

If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine.

::::CONNECT WITH CD REISS HERE::::

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RELEASE DAY LAUNCH: RUIN BY C.D REISS (SONGS OF CORRUPTION BOOK TWO)

Title: Ruin

Author: C.D. Reiss

Genre: Erotic Romance

Cover Design: Paradox Book Cover Designs

Release Date: Oct. 14th 2014

 

WARNING: This book contains delicious sex scenes with a hot man dirty-talking in Italian; women handling firearms and explosives; and scenes of violence with a crystal Virgin Mary cigarette lighter.

What happens when a mob capo falls for a lawful woman?

Does he ruin her, or does she ruin him?

Do they live together, or die together?

This is Antonio Spinelli's story.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo 

 

CD Reiss is a USA Today and Amazon bestseller. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn’t pick up, she’s at the well, hauling buckets.

Born in New York City, she moved to Hollywood, California to get her master’s degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere, but it did embed TV story structure in her head well enough for her to take a big risk on a TV series structured erotic series called Songs of Submission. It’s about a kinky billionaire hung up on his ex-wife, an ingenue singer with a wisecracking mouth; art, music and sin in the city of Los Angeles.

Critics have dubbed the books “poetic,” “literary,” and “hauntingly atmospheric,” which is flattering enough for her to put it in a bio, but embarrassing enough for her not to tell her husband, or he might think she’s some sort of braggart who’s too good to give the toilets a once-over every couple of weeks or chop a cord of wood.

If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine.

::::CONNECT WITH CD REISS HERE::::

Facebook | Twitter | Website | Amazon | Goodreads

 

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REVIEW: SPIN BY C.D. REISS (SONGS OF CORRUPTION #1)

***You do NOT need to read Songs of Submission to read Spin***

Mafia capo, Antonio Spinelli blew through my orderly life like a cyclone.

Gorgeous and passionate, with a breathtaking brutality, he put me under his spell the moment he touched me, drawing me into his underworld of risk, violence and betrayal.

And I found, just as this sophisticated savage didn’t trust me, I didn’t trust myself. Something happened to me. Some alchemy from the heat between us.

I discovered I was a savage, too.

ebook, 240 pages
Published March 12th 2014 by Fido Publishing
Source: received from publisher via Netgalley

Purchase: Goodreads | Amazon

OUR REVIEW:

So it took me a few minutes to get my bearings in this storyline because it had been a while since I'd read Songs of Submission and I was a little lost...who was the speaker? What was going on? Once I refreshed my memory, I was able to sink in to the story a little more and not focus on the distraction of not understanding what was going on.  For clarification, the protagonist is Theresa (Jonathan's sister) and there are 2 men involved with her: Daniel (her douchey ex) and Antonio (the new flame). 

I am still, just whoa. I just read the Jonathan Drazen saga, as I fondly have been referring to it...and this story begins right about the time that Monica thinks that Theresa is a flame of Jonathan's in the club. Foot in mouth situation, but it gave me more baring as to where I was in time. And I loved seeing the other side of Jonathan and Theresa's relationship, though the sibling appearances are brief. Bummer, lol. 

The story involves Theresa trying to come to terms with the detangling herself from Daniel's life and her desire to entangle herself with Antonio ( a man who is in no uncertain terms bad for her). Theresa finds herself doing things she would've never done before, taking risks beyond the norm, saying things she'd never say in the past...and in general just doing some very out of character things--for her and most sane people. I have to say, that I was hooked on this whole situation from the time he has a man pinned to the hood of a Porche for her when her sister Deidre is seriously ill. Knight in shining armor? To her, maybe. Maybe not. She is dignified, as all of the Drazen children are and don't show much on the cuff. I always do like the idea of the bad boy though. 

Antonio is your typical alpha male--struggling with wanting to dominate her while also trying to push her away. He can't live with her; can't live without her. Add to this scenario that he's into some things that do not appear to be above board and the fact that her entire life has been ALL above board, and you can see that this is going to be a problem. Another problem is Daniel. He's realized the errors of his ways and now wants Theresa back. He's not afraid to play dirty to win her and uses all of his influence to try to get her attention.

I had to laugh out loud once. On one hand we have this possible bad guy in Antonio, though the information she knows about him does not come directly from his mouth, and then her ex-fiance is the LA district attorney who is running for mayor. Their demise was very public and very messy, and with this new alpha male things get very interesting...and seriously sexy, quick fast and in a hurry! 

C.D. Reiss writes some seriously dirty and sexy scenes..this cannot be denied. The rest of this novel, though, seemed a little rough around the edges. Maybe it was rushed through the editing process? I wanted the characters and plot to be more filled out..I wanted to understand their motivations and their back stories more. I think as she continues with the series much of what seems a little rough, can definitely be smoothed out and as we get more pieces of the puzzle, more of my questions will be answered. One word people: Anal. And I am so ridiculously excited for the next installment of this series, I may just flail around a bit and tell you OMG, I am so excited to see what happens next. What she said aside, these people made some cray cray decisions, and have me questioning my morals and sanity....which I always love in a good book! 

I'll read the next books in this series because I need to know what she does to torture her characters next. Damn straight she will. I will beg her. 

Shelley: 3 1/2  stars
Courtney: 4 Stars

About C.D. Reiss

I write a series of erotic romances set in Los Angeles. If you want to know when the next book is coming out, or receive bonus scenes, get on the mailing list by hitting the button to the right (only visible on a computer).

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