Breathless

.. 💗✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ 💗˚ •。* 💗˚ ˚✰˚ ˛★* 💗° 。✫¸.•°*★* 💗° 🖤★* 💗° 🖤 🖤 ° 💗 *★ 🖤 ° 💗 *★ 🖤★* 💗°★* 💗💗*★° 💗*★ 🖤 💗˚ •。* 💗˚ ˚✰˚ ˛★* 💗💗˚ ˚✰˚ ˛★* 💗° 。✫¸.•°* 💗 💗✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ 💗˚ •。*BREATHLESS COMPLETELY DEVOURED & DESTROYED ME & HAD MY STOMACH TWISTING IN KNOTS. I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT AND EVERY WORD IN THIS 5 STAR READ. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟Breakout the shot glass, wine glass, or hell the whole dang bottle of whiskey because you’re going to need it to get through Breathless, book 3 in the Merciless Series by Willow Winters. Breathless is the best book of the series for me. It is brilliantly written and jam packed with gripping suspense, body numbing fear, and deep emotional angst. It completely destroyed my sense of safety and had my stomach twisting in knots….. In the best way…..The book immediately continues where the second book, Heartless left off. The confrontation between the Cross’s and the Talvery’s. Betrayal lurks around every corner and once discovered, you are left with an aftermath of pure adrenaline from the sheer intensity of the fear Aria was struggling through, seeking safety, running and trying to save herself from the man loves. This involves a “box” and that’s all I’m saying. I knew in the first book that this box would play a pivotal role later in the story and I WAS SO RIGHT!!!!! Just thinking about it has my heart pounding and remembering how it felt like I was living it myself right along with Aria.Thank you to Willow Winters for keeping Carter in character and not turning him into some lesser version of the alpha male he deserves to be, simply because he loves a woman. That’s what makes his character so believable. He makes no apologies for the decisions he makes even if those decisions ultimately break the woman he so covets. And covets he does. He will do anything for her, well, almost anything. He’s the ultimate alpha male but make no mistake, cross him and you will pay the price.I absolutely love Aria. She is so strong yet so vulnerable. I tried to put myself in her position and question what I would do if I were in her shoes. I can honestly say I have no clue. But I love the fact that she stays true to her beliefs regardless of her love for Carter…and his punishments. She is loyal to EVERYONE, which in my eyes is admirable. She has grown so much since the story began.The raw emotions this author brings to her characters’ lives, especially in this book is “UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE!!!The following quote, is in my opinion, a turning point in Aria’s life, this no-win situation she finds herself in… and is my favorite quote in the book.“A Touch of shame washes over me as I think, I want to be a woman who could stand by Carter’s side. It’s shameful because this isn’t for Carter. This meeting isn’t for my father. Tonight, I’ll live up to my name. To be Aria Talvery, daughter of a ruthless crime lord and woman standing between two men waging war.”I loved how Addison and Daniel’s characters are integrated into this story. Addison is strong willed yet so innocent and I loved how she befriends and is so protective of Aria. I also like Cason but I’m partial to Eli…. He stole a little piece of my heart and took it with him…..A storm is brewing and lives are in jeopardy, lives are lost, and lives are saved. It’s good vs. evil ….. or evil vs. evil. It’s survival of the fittest. How do you choose one life over another if you love them both? How is it possible to carry on knowing the one you love is willing to wipe out your entire family? How do you determine which side should win? Read this series and you decide.I recently said that I know I’m in for a hell of a read when I get hooked from the very first page I turn. That’s what’s exciting to me. It’s not the destination I seek, it’s the journey. Let me tell you that this book took me on such an exciting journey. I was never able to catch my breath. I was holding on for dear life, and prayed my heart would not stop and that I would make it through this highly intense and emotional read. Not only did I feel this from page one, I was left feeling the same way at the end of as well, which leaves me reeling with excitement for the final installment to Carter and Aria’s story, ENDLESS.Hop on board and get ready for a ride you won’t soon forget and prepare to be blown away AGAIN!! Grab your copy of Breathless, a phenomenal 5 STAR read.Carter and Aria…… They are a match made in Mafia Heaven.

Willow Winters’s current book, Breathless, is the latest offering in her Merciless series. This is the third book in a series of four, and it doesn’t disappoint. The third book follows the fall out from Aria’s decision to save her “family” from Carter and his brother. Carter and Aria have reached a stale-mate in their relationship, as Carter knows that once he kills Aria’s family, she cannot love him. Aria finds herself torn between her loyalty to her family and her love for Carter, which does not diminish in this book. This book ends on a cliffhanger, setting up the final book, Endless.Characters: 💙💙💙💙From Merciless, we were interested to the complex characters of Carter and Aria. At the start, even at odds, these two characters have a scorching chemistry. As a tortured soul, Carter seeks love. He needs it to redeem his soul. He believes he has found it in Aria, although he struggles to article his love for her. This causes Aria’s internal struggle. She feels his love, but she is never clear in it. When she chooses to save her family from Carter and his brothers, she knows she is complicating her love for him. While their chemistry still exists in book 3, the strife between the two complicates their lives. This is the main reason I offered only four hearts instead of five. At times, I grow weary of the inner dialogues of Carter and Aria as they repeat their issues over and over again. We know from the first book that either Carter will decide to forgo killing Aria’s father and Nickolai or Aria must realize that her father’s death will be the sacrifice to atone for his past sins with the Cross brothers. In Heartless, neither the characters have come to this conclusion, so they become repetitive in their responses.Story: 💙💙💙💙As this is the third book in a four- part series, the story continues following Aria and Carter’s story. There are some serious situations that occur in this book that hurt my heart, some deaths that were unexpected. As I mentioned above, the book ends on a cliffhanger that I can’t wait to read in Endless. I am waiting with bated breath to see how this story resolves.Sexiness Quotient: 💙💙💙💙As a dominant, the way Carter possesses Aria’s body is exciting. From the first book, I’ve always been suspicious of their sexual connection because he took her from her family. However, Winters knows how to write their sexual encounters to be incredibly sexy. She spares no sexual act for these two.Style: 💙💙💙💙There is something interesting about Winters’s writing. She puts space between her ideas wherein she doesn’t give you every detail or every thought of her characters. She allows you to fill it in for yourself. At times, this can be frustrating because you will read a sentence and wonder more about it, but she has moved on to another idea by the time she realize what she has done. I love that space between words and sentences and ideas. It is her signature.Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I think the only reason I held back a star for Breathless has more to do with my want to see the ending of this series. Not that I have become tired of it. Simply, I crave the future for Carter and Aria. Carter has endured so much pain and strife in his life, as has Aria. I would like to see their happy ending, and this book moves us closer to it but still holds it at arm’s length.

😳!!! Talk about upping it!!! The last few chapters of this book had me gripping my seat and holding my breathe, it was truly amazing! Pure action and breathetaking the way it was writ! Willow will have you there alongside the characters, brilliance!The rest of it is just as captivating although I'll be honest that I could seriously shake Aria sometimes!! Then again, it's a war between the man she loved and her family!If your looking for an intriguing series, with passion, headache, action, intense scenes and some steaminess through in then this is it!!

Gripping. So much more action in this that the previous books which blends with the progression of the story perfectly. So we'll written and highly recommend. I cant wait to see what happens next.

Really found this one a real slow read, had to force myself to read it. Found it quite dull and boring for most of the book. It’s only the last few chapters that got me into wanting to finish it, I’m really hoping the last book gets me gripped from page one. Really disappointed in this book.

The third book in this series. War is here, but Aria wants Carter to spare her family, something he tells her he cannot do. He knows she loves him right now, but will she when this is over? He knows he loves her, but she doesn't think he does. Still compelling. I have to buy book 4.

Oh boy-- what an amazing book, even better than the last !! So much bloodshed and anger- so many misunderstandings and such a perfect twist at the end. Am on tenterhooks for the 4th book-- I know its going to be amazing!!