I have never been so angry to have read something on my Kindle app rather than in a physical book before. When I tell you that I wanted so badly to throw my phone when I got to the cliffhanger ending of this book….I yelled in frustration, making the baby in the apartment above me start crying. And all I could think was “same baby, same.”

This book was fantastic. Shattered Altar by Nicole Fox, I have never clicked on a sequel so fast in my life. Just when you think everything might be okay, boom! Nope. So, I’m going to recommend this book, and trust me, it’s gonna end up in time out. I highly recommend getting a physical copy of it just to be able to put it in book time out. I swear.

Shattered Altar is about a young woman, Olivia, who’s on her way home from New York to see her family for the holidays. Well, as in usual fashion, her flight gets delayed and she goes off in search of coffee. A stranger sits down next to her at the cafe in the airport and they get to talking. Dude is sexy and she starts thinking that it might not be so bad to live a little like her sister Mia urges her to do. Aleksandr, or Aleks as he prefers to be called, takes her to find good coffee in the airport since they’re on the same delayed flight. Though I wasn’t sure how 5 hours passed so quickly, the sexual tension between Olivia and Aleks was obvious. As soon as we got to his POV, I knew he couldn’t be trusted, he stated as much, but as the reader, I didn’t know why.

This book is filled with ups and downs and twists and turns and the frustration on both Aleks and Olivia’s parts that comes with falling for someone you shouldn’t. There’s forced marriage, blackmail, intrigue, missing persons who aren’t actually missing, and possibly an accidental pregnancy. It’s so good. You have to go read it.

Book Club for Complicated House Plants

What was your favorite part of the book?
My favorite part of the book was the beginning and the meet-cute. It was so surreal and for a moment I thought we were edging into the way I had originally written the beginning of Blood Song, so it was a bit trippy for me. It changed quickly after that so there wasn’t any chance of it being anywhere close to the same story, but I was drawn right in. I also really enjoyed the scenes at the lake.

Did you race to the end or was it a slow burn?
I read this book in just a couple of days. I could have finished it last night but I watched a couple episodes of a show with my kids instead. This book sucks you in and keeps you reading to find out what will happen next.

Would you want to read another book by this author?
I have already downloaded the sequel and want to type this as quickly as possible so I can get back to it. Nicole Fox seems to have quite the backlist going and I want to devour them all. Especially if they are as good as this one.

How does the book title work in relation to the books contents?
At first I was confused at how the title related to the story, but now that I’ve finished the book, it makes so much sense, and I already know how the second one will relate to the story I’m imagining. I cannot wait, I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet how much I want to read the sequel…and it’s not on the summer reading list you guys!

Who do you most want to read this book?
Stephanie of course. She would love this. Otherwise, anyone who loves the mafia don trope, you will love this. If you’re afraid of the steamy or the spice, stay away, but if not, read this. Please. Add it to your summer reading list. I promise you won’t regret it.

Are there lingering questions from the book you’re still thinking about?
So many. What will Aleks reaction be to finding out that Olivia is gone? What new challenges will Olivia face now that she’s been taken somewhere “Safe”? What is going to happen to the person that helped Olivia escape? Are Olivia’s suspicions confirmed? Will Aleks and Olivia admit their true feelings for one another? As you can see, I have a lot of questions.

Which characters did you like best?
I absolutely love Olivia and Aleks. I love watching them try to fight what’s right in front of them for obvious and logical reasons. Too bad love doesn’t care about logic. I also really enjoyed Olivia’s sister Mia and Aleks best friend, Demyen. I think he’s the perfect foil for Aleks. He calls him on his bull and isn’t afraid of him, though he respects him not only as the Bratva Don he is, but as a friend and that is much more important in that line of work, one would think.

Did you like the heat level of this book?
Dude yes. I loved it. My favorite part of it, nothing was forced or coerced. It was all done willingly. There was no fraud involved in the spicy scenes. The heat level was fabulous.

Was the couple’s connection believable? If so, at what point did they click for you?
Okay, I was a sucker for them in the beginning, and fell head long into their connection. There was obvious chemistry happening between them. After the startling turn of events, I liked that they both fought that obvious chemistry and that Aleks never used his position of power over Olivia to get anything sexual from her, not even a kiss. I liked that the internal struggle of falling for someone you had no business falling for was present and that they fought it. I like the inclusion of shame for Olivia that came with every time she gave in just a little bit, or thought about it. It made it more real. More believable. I also liked that every time they fought, a little more of their true feelings came to the surface.

What do you think happens to the leads after the ending?
I think that after Aleks finds out that Olivia is gone, heads will roll, literally and figuratively. Especially after he finds out where she ended up. I think that Olivia is going to quickly realize that Aleks was telling the truth when he said he was trying to keep her safe and that running was probably the worst idea she’s ever had.

Ratings

I gave this book 5 stars because obviously I wanted to throw it at the awall and it needed a book time out so often. The writing was great, I enjoyed the story, and very mjuch look forward to reading more of Nicole Fox’s work.

This book got a 5 flame heat rating. The spice was on point, just enough detail to really make it believable, but not too much graphic descirption to cross over into erotica areas. Also, it was never coerced or forced and that made all the difference for me. Despite everything, if it ever had been, that would have crossed too many lines for Aleks to be a redeemable character in my book.

Okay, so that’s the review for Shattered Altar. Read it. Enjoy it. Be prepared to throw it at the end. Seriously. Do yourself a favor, get the second book as well, because you’re going to want to tstart that one as soon as you’re done with the first one. I’m out for today, as always my beautiful people, be safe, drink your water, don’t eat yellow snow, and have an adventure, even if it’s just on the pages of a book while you enjoy the nice weather.