Tied to His Betrayal

This is my first Stacey Kennedy book and this was very well written. It was mature and the characters were likeable. This is the 2nd standalone in a series and I admit, I did feel like I was missing a few things since I didn't read the first book. I would recommend starting with the first. This is a series that while each book can standalone, there is a bigger picture being revealed in each book.

In the beginning, I wasn't sure if I was going to like the book. You learn right off that Darius and Taylor were together when he was 29 and she 19. You get flashbacks to when Darius broke things off with Taylor 5 years prior and I have to say, the reason was weak. He hid his relationship with her because he feared their age difference would cause a scandal and he would lose investors. I'm sorry but that didn't really fly with me. Rich men are known to have younger woman. I didn't like that he made her his dirty secret. To me, this spoke that he didn't really love her and she was better off without him. After judging all this, I kept reading and things started to make sense.

The more I read, the more gets revealed about what happened in the past with his father and his mom abandoning him whe he was really young. As the pieces start clicking in place the truth was, his father was a manipulative man. He had been whispering in Darius ear for years and molding him into a man that could not trust and could not allow anyone close. Despite this, Darius was still a good man and while he can love, he just didn't know how.

This storyline is a bit predictable and seems to be a favorite lately. The tortured hero who loves but pushes away until the heroine proves to be the one to break down the walls. What saves this story for me is despite all that, the author did a great job of still making me care about Darius and Taylor and I wanted to see these to make it. She also drew me in to the other key players in this series and I want to know their story as well. ARC provided by NetGalley.

Oh, my. I loved Darius before, but now that we've got to see the real Darius, move over Micah because Darius just took your spot at the top.

What to say about Taylor, but that she has always loved Darius. She never thought that he would do the things for her that he did and prove how much he loved her. Those walls that he he built finally came down and showed us the true Darius.

Darius Bennett used to be in a relationship with Taylor Erickson until he broke things off with her 5 years ago because he believed she was better off with out him. Darius doesn't believe he can truly love Taylor the way she needs to be loved. Now, standing in his half sister Allie's condo, who is also Taylor's best friend, he is looking at Taylor's bruised face and wanting to kill the person responsible....ok....so maybe he still does love her but he will never admit that. Knowing exactly what Taylor needs, he tells Allie to leave. What begins as just comforting Taylor, turns into much more and these two pick back up right where they left off.

While Taylor wants to keep the beating a secret from her parents, things quickly blow up. While Darius is trying to help Taylor, things in his private life are also blowing up. Just when they both need each other, things happen and feelings get hurt. After much soul searching, these two do find their way back to each other and finally get their happy ending. There are also interesting things happening with the DC group and no one knows exactly why, but Ryder is looking into it!

Overall, I loved Darius. He had such horrible things from his childhood that have turned him into this strong, determined man. I also loved how he is able to command attention but at the same time is nice about. Taylor grew up always wanting to please everyone, but never really took the time to please herself first. Over time, she finally became a strong woman who went after what she really wanted. Another great addition to this wonderful series. I can't wait for Ryder's story next!