
Release Date: August 9, 2016
Format: Audio CDs
Pages: 352 | Audio Length: 11 hours 31 mins
Narrator: Alexandra Shawnee
Source: Publisher
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Review Date: February 22, 2017
Rating: 4 bookmarks
The first in a sexy contemporary romance series featuring the Lawless siblings—from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake.
Synopsis: The Lawless siblings are bound by vengeance. Riley, Drew, Brandon, and Mia believe the CEO of StratCast orchestrated their parents’ murder twenty years ago to steal their father’s software program. And there’s only one way Riley can find some solid evidence...
Heir to the StratCast legacy, Ellie Stratton hires a new attorney to handle a delicate business matter—and she’s shocked by her attraction to him. Over the course of a few weeks, Riley becomes her lover, her friend, her everything. But when her life is threatened, Ellie discovers that Riley is more obsessed with settling an old score than in the love she thought they were building. And Riley must choose between a revenge he’s prepared for all his life and the woman he’s sure he can’t live without...
*The audiobook has been provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This was a strong start to the series. At the end of Ruthless, I found that I cared about the Lawless clan. I want to see all of the Lawless brothers in their own happy ending. Due to their circumstances, I think it'll be a long road for them. Riley was a good choice to start with. While he was just as serious about resolution and justice for their parents, he also saw the bigger picture. He was able to grasp onto what his father would want for him and his life. Only thanks to that he was able to really care about Ellie and move past the vengeance.
On top of all the hot romance scenes between Riley and Ellie, we had well developed secondary characters. Each and every one of them are layered and easily able take the lead in a book of their own. I'm looking forward to both of the brothers stories. They are very interesting characters and I’m sure they will heat up their stories with their love interest as well. I'm sure that as the series goes on that we'll see Ellie and Riley quite often.
The narration of Ruthless was well done. I hadn't heard Alexandra Shawnee narrate previously, but I enjoyed her take on the characters and I hope she's around for the duration of this series. Full disclosure, it did take me about an hour or so to adjust to her voice, but after that, I was good to go. I liked how she changed the inflection in her tone for Riley, his brothers, and his sister. The funniest thing is when Shawnee would say any sentence with “baby” in it. I just laughed out loud every time. Riley was always calling Ellie baby when he was talking to her. It was just funny to me for some reason. The audiobook production was well done and added value to the story.
Ruthless is a fun and light read perfect for those that like a little suspense with their romance. Are you reading the Lawless series? If so, please share your thoughts below in the comments. I'd like to hear what you thought of the first installment!