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If you missed my last KU review on Eclipsed Heart, you can find it here.
I’m back with another KU book review. Sorry, I have been gone so long. I wasn’t reading as much for some reason. Today we have Made In Malice by Albany Walker, and it is book one in the Corrupt Credence trilogy. This is a why choose romance. There is no spice in this book. There is a promise of spice to come but not yet.
We meet twenty-year-old Nova Devlin, the sole survivor of her mother’s drunk-driving wreck that killed both of her parents. She not only survived the wreck that killed her parents but she was left with kidney problems for the rest of her life. She had to sell her home to cover medical bills, deal with her parents dying and all the legalities, and rehab, all while trying to finish high school at seventeen. To her knowledge, her grandparents on both sides are dead, and she has no siblings, so she is alone in the world.
Out of the blue, Mr. Virgil Haynsworth, an attorney, shows up at Nova’s door. He has been retained by Nova’s grandparents to make her an offer to return to her parent’s hometown to meet and live with her maternal grandparents. Apparently, they are loaded and want to take care of her. They would pay off her bills, send her to an ultra-selective, prestigious college, and she would live with them, and she wouldn’t need to contribute financially. Oh, and she gets a protector, which, in her opinion, is absurd.
The first day on campus, but not even enrolled yet, Nova meets Lucian Morningstar. It doesn’t take long for Nova to meet Lucian’s twin Nox as well. Lucian starts right off by bullying Nova. Lucian and Nox both hate the Umbra’s (Nova’s family), believing them of murdering their parents. Unfortunately for Lucian, Nova isn’t cowed by his malice and defends herself with her sharp wit. It has the weirdest effect on him, which just makes him meaner.
In a matter of a week, she is miserable, but thankfully, Mr. and Mrs. Umbra don’t seem particularly keen on getting to know Nova, so she has to deal with putting on a front at home. Nova, Lucian, and Nox are drawn to each other like moths to a flame, and the brothers share everything. I am sure you get the picture.
This book does end on a cliffhanger, but I think I have gotten used to this happening because it wasn’t quite as abrupt to me. I needed a second, though, so it worked out. Thankfully this is a completed trilogy on KU, but I haven’t gotten all the way through it yet. Give me a few days. I flew through the first book, and I was already halfway through the second. I loved it. The book happens in a short period, I think over the course of a month and a half, but even though it was a short period of time, the relationship building is pretty good.
Nova is strong and capable but obviously still scarred by what she has gone through. She stands up to Lucian but is still affected by his words. She is smart too, but just doesn’t know the questions to ask because this world is alien to her. She grew up poor, and with all those challenges, not the privileges of being rich, so she doesn’t know the games. Nova is genuinely a good person, not just when it serves her. She insists on having a job, so she is not dependent on her grandparents.
Lucian, on the other hand, is an asshole. He is cruel and self-centered, except when it comes to his brother. Nox is capable of his brother’s games but is more mellow and not nearly as angry. Both men took their parents’ death hard. The only person to have made a difference in both men’s grief is Nova. There isn’t spice in this book, but as I said earlier, there is a promise for spice later. The way it is stated that the brothers share everything with the sexual tone lets me know the boys are going to help her cure that pesky virginity thing she has going on.
Have you read Made In Malice? What are your thoughts? My next Kindle Unlimited review should be book two, Created In Chaos because that should be done tonight. Until next time, have fun storming the castle!
