Flame and Maddie's story is finally here and boy did Tillie do them justice! The story is so moving and remarkable! You just have to read the excerpt to see the bond Maddie and Flame have. After that check out my review and enter the giveaway!
Title: Souls Unfractured Series: Hades Hangmen #3
Author: Tillie Cole
Age group: New Adult Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
Release date: 11th August 2015
BLURB
"For fractured souls are like magnets.
Drawn to collide into an impossible bliss…"
Labeled a ‘Cursed’ woman of Eve from birth, Maddie has endured nothing but pain and repression at the hands of The Order’s most abusive elder, Moses. Now living with her sister in The Hang-men’s secluded compound, finally, Maddie, is free. Free from the suffocating faith she no longer believes in. Free from endless years of physical and mental torment.
Just… free…
At age twenty-one, the timid and shy Maddie is content to live within the confines of her new home—safe from the outside world, safe from harm and, strangely, protected by the Hangmen’s most volatile member; the heavily pierced and tattooed, Flame.
Flame.
The man who ceaselessly watches over her with his midnight dark and searing eyes. The man who protects her with a breath-taking intensity. And the man who stirs something deep within her numbed heart.
But when circumstances conspire for Flame to need HER help, Maddie bravely risks it all for the broken man who has captivated her fragile soul.
The Hangmen’s most infamous member, Flame, is ruled by one thing—anger. Plagued by haunt-ing demons from his past, an all-consuming rage, and isolated by an abhorrent hatred of being touched, Flame's days are filled with suffocating darkness, pierced only by a single ray of light—Maddie. The shy, beautiful woman he cannot purge from his thoughts. The woman he has an over-whelming need to possess…
... the only person who has ever been able to touch him.
Flame’s mission in life is to protect Maddie, to keep her safe. Until a trigger from his troubled past sends him spiraling into madness, trapping him in the deepest recesses of his disturbed mind.
His Hangmen brothers fear that Flame is beyond saving.
His only hope of salvation: Maddie and her healing light.
GOODREADS LINK
EXCERPT
I
sat bolt up right in the chair and stared at the dark line of the
forest. My heart slammed against my ribcage when a figure emerged
from the heavy foliage.
My
breathing paused, fear taking hold, then a familiar pair of leather
boots and trousers entered the moonlit lawn. Blades hung at his
sides, and his torso was naked under the heavy leather cut.
Flame.
My
heart, that was already racing, seemed to beat at an impossible
speed. And then Flame lifted his head, and it ceased to beat at all.
The
frown that was on his face instantly blanked. His lips mumbling
something under his breath, stilling mid-speech.
I
clutched the blanket lying over my knees to my chest. I remained
frozen, as did Flame. I had not expected him to come tonight, his
friend had taken him back to his home. I could see from my window how
exhausted he had been. I could see, even in the haze of moonlight,
how tired he was still.
Flame’s
hands clenched at his sides. His chest heaved with movement that was
too quick, then he abruptly turned on his heel, and with a rigid
back, he headed back into the forest.
My
stomach sank as he turned to leave, and without conscious thought, I
slammed my sketchpad shut, shuffled to the edge of the seat and
called out, “Wait!
Do not go!”
Flame
stopped dead.
As
did I.
Swallowing
back my nerves, my shock at what I had just done, I said, “Please,
Flame. Do not go…
I…
I
am glad you are here.”
Flame’s
fingers curled and uncurled at his side, then straightening his
shoulders, he slowly turned. His large frame was rigid as he faced me
once more. Then he just stood. Stood at the end of the forest, his
attention fixed forward.
But
I wanted him closer.
Still
perched on the edge of my seat, I asked, “Would
you like to come closer? I…
I
have been sitting out here alone as I could not sleep. It…”
I
took a deep breath, fighting my natural instinct to flee, and
continued. “It
would be nice to have some company.”
Flame
remained still, his rigid body convincing me that he would not come
any nearer. Then, to my surprise, he began walking, his powerful legs
bringing him closer to where I sat.
In
the still and silent night, I could hear him counting his steps one
to eleven, then repeating it back to himself under his breath. My
head tilted to the side as he approached, a swirl of anticipation and
fear mixing in my stomach.
His
skin on his arms looked newly cut, and I could not help but feel sad
for him. For whatever had happened to make him need to harm himself
in such a way. Grasping the blade in his hand, his fingers tightened
on the handle. Like he needed the blade as a comfort.
As
though he was nervous to be here with me now.
Inhaling
a long breath, I asked quietly, “Would
you like to sit?”
I
pointed at the chair to in front of mine. Flame looked at the chair
through his long black lashes, and exhaling sharply through his nose,
sat beside me. I smelled the oil and leather. I smelled the rich musk
and spice scent that only belonged to Flame and warmth filled my
bones.
He
was sat beside me.
Flame
was sitting right beside me.
Dropping
my eyes to the frayed edges of the gray blanket wrapped around me, I
played with the clustered strands of wool just for something to help
with the nerves accosting my body.
But
Flame was absolutely still. Absolutely silent.
Then
I glanced to the side only to see him watching. As soon as our eyes
met, he dropped his. A blush raced to fill my cheeks, and for some
unknown reason, a whisper of a smile pulled on the corner of my
mouth.
Lifting
my head, I stared at the large moon, and found the courage to speak,
“I
did not think you would be coming to see me tonight.”
After
several seconds of silence, I believed Flame would not respond. Until
I caught him shift in his seat, and he said roughly, “I
couldn’t
stay away.”
My
pulse raced at his response and I whispered, “Why?”
Flame’s
shoulder shrugged, then focusing back on the blade in his hand, he
said, “I
couldn’t
stop thinking about you. And I…”
Flame
trailed off.
“And
what?” I
pushed.
“I
needed to be near you. I needed to know you were safe.”
REVIEW
★★★★★ stars
I know what I'm getting into when I pick up a Hades Hangmen novel; a story that will tear me apart and then somehow put me back together. It's dark, violent, painful, but also equally full of hope and love, that eventually find themselves the victors. I don't know how, but it does and it's all I've wanted for Maddie and Flame from the moment I met them.
By all rights Maddie and Flame are superhuman. They are extraordinary, not because of their respective beauty and rage, but for their inner strengths. They have the capability to withstand so much and they have. It was haunting to read about Maddie's experiences as a child in a place where she was hated and abused. It was even more devastating to learn the truth behind Flame's "madness". I wanted to crawl into the pages of the book so many times and take matters into my own hands. I physically hurt when I read about what forged them into the people they were.
Flame and Maddie have had an interesting attraction to one another from the very beginning. They have this alchemy that is untouchable. It's like the other person is their lodestone, their port of safety in a storm. Perhaps it is just because they recognize the goodness and perfection in each other when all everyone else might see is the faults. I loved the way they were with each other. Even when there was no verbal exchange or physical contact between them, I could feel the peace the other's presence brought to them.
I think this is the darkest Hades novel to date. If you've read the previous books you know I'm not saying this lightly. I was not able to cry. I was so hurt and angry, my tears evaporated in my eyes as they formed and I was left with a burning desire for vengeance in my gut. There were many, many times when I was shaken to my soul. I often wondered why it was I kept reading when it'd just be easier to stop, but I had to know what happened next. There were so many twists I could've never anticipated; for every one I guessed correctly, there were probably three beyond my wildest imagination.
Besides Maddie and Flame, I loved seeing Styx and Mae, Ky and Lilah, and getting to know AK and Viking better. Those two are truly Flame's family. I loved the way they cared for him and looked out for him. I loved the way Maddie's sisters looked out for her but allowed her to do what was best for her. I'm still amazed at how tiny, fragile Maddie soothed Flame the wild beast. I was ecstatic to see the Prez and VP with their old ladies doing well. They were the best examples for Maddie to see that she wasn't ruined and that there was a chance for happiness for her after all.
In the end, nothing I really say can prepare you for the magnitude of this book. It'll play heavy with your emotions and it'll stick with you long after you've finished the book, but you'll be back for more. It's a book you'll devour like I did, even when I wanted to read with one eye closed so to lessen how deeply I was feeling what I was reading. Every time I read a Hades Hangmen novel I think there's no way Tillie Cole can out do herself, but she does and I'm left speechless. Flame and Maddie overcome so much to find happiness and I think experiencing an epic book hangover is worth it.
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GIVEAWAY
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*Thank you to the publicist for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*
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