Adrenaline (In Secret We Sin #1) by A. L. Woods

ABOUT THE BOOK

I watched my father fall to his death at the hands of another. When I grew up, I hunted down the man who killed him. I got caught, and did my time. When I got out, I tried rebuilding my life. Katrina Tavares was part of that. She gave me something I’d never had before. Stability. Hope. Love.

But she destroyed us. So I became someone I recognized again. A blood thirsty wolf.

Now she’s put herself back on my radar. And theirs, too. My friends want me to claim her. My pride won’t let me. But something is hunting her, and the threat of an unknown predator isn’t all I needed to worry about. It’s my friends, too.

There’s four of us and one of her. Run all you want, Little Rabbit. These wolves run faster.

MY REVIEW

Holy cow! I couldn’t put this 800+ page book down. From the opening chapter with a heartwrenching event, this story did not let up. I was glad I read Veritas and Lies before this so I was able to meet Katrina and her family beforehand and understand the dynamics among all the characters.

I didn’t believe in happily ever afters. Only in nightmares.

Adam Ryan is an angry, broken young man with a dark secret. After finding a girlfriend who makes him want to be a better man, he feels that he could finally be happy until she goes digging into his past and starts asking him things he’s not ready to disclose. The betrayal causes him to ghost her for four years until she can’t leave well enough alone and invades Adam’s central spot where his life changed forever. Time to send the wolves after her.

The hunt was on. And I was the prey.

Katrina Tavares is still reeling from Adam’s abandonment four years ago. He wasn’t the man he portrayed himself to be. Was everything they had a lie? Now he’s back in town and he hates her with a passion. Her invasion of his space spurs his antagonism even further and his friends have a mission to bring them together in a very unorthodox way. Katrina’s life is in danger and she doesn’t know whom to trust.

What a superb love/hate relationship. Katrina is the black sheep of her family. She really struggles with her own identity and self-worth as she tries to please everyone, including her family. She thinks she’s the fuck-up in her family, but everyone in the story has serious issues of their own. It’s Adam’s psychotic friends who help Katrina discover her inner wolf by establishing an intimate relationship with her against Adam’s wishes. After all, Adam refuses to take their advice to claim her as his and says he doesn’t want her so she’s fair game for them. Adam also struggles with his self-worth and his pride. He refuses to admit his true feelings for Katrina, but he doesn’t want anyone else to have her. He is fueled by anger for what happened to his father and revenge got him into trouble. I hate how cruel he is to Katrina. All she ever wanted was someone to love her, but he can’t even do that right. And then the plot thickens when someone is trying to kill her and Adam’s rage knows no bounds as he tries to protect the one woman who offered him hope for the first time. I was so mad at how Katrina was treated by her family and the big showdown at Thanksgiving had me shaking and fuming, but Katrina was the bigger person as she owned up to her mistakes and forgave, but on her own terms. There is a lot of growing up to do for the main characters and they do it with angst, determination, and lots of groveling at the end.

The band of brothers reverse harem theme is an interesting dynamic. They wanted Katrina to use them, not because they wanted her, but because they loved Adam. And Adam loved her. Gabe is the nice one, Vince is the psychotic one, and Max is the rich kid with a chip on his shoulder. I can’t wait to read their stories.

Katrina’s siblings are a big part of the story too as they try to understand Katrina’s life choices, battle their own personal issues, and deal with a stalker who has targeted their family.

I love Ms. Woods’ writing and character development. The fast pace of the story is what drew me in. There is so much action and unknowns at the beginning that kept me riveted to what Adam and his boys were hiding and who was trying to harm Katrina.

If you love action and adventure, angsty characters, hot erotic sex, twisted stalkers, and messy family issues, give this book a try. It’s one of my favorite books this year.

Thank you to Ms. Woods for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A.L. Woods is an author of rollercoaster romances, caffeine aficionado, and collector of Sailor Moon paraphernalia.

She lives 40 minutes west of Toronto, Ontario with her partner, Michael, and their 8lb larger-than-life miniature dachshund, Maia-whom they lovingly refer to as their ‘doghter.’

Woods can be found holed away in her office writing her next novel with a bowl of Nibs within arm’s reach. When she’s not writing, she’s likely belting out an ad-libbed song, emotionally investing in a fictional bad boy with a strong jawline and fluency in sarcasm or inventing fresh ways to procrastinate.

She believes that burritos should be in their own food group, loves the fall, winged liner,
and listening to metalcore at an offensive level.