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Review and Excerpt Tour: Sin and Suffer: Pepper Winters

by - Tuesday, January 26, 2016


Sin and Suffer (Pure Corruption MC #2)
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Expected January 26, 2016



"Some say the past is in the past. That vengeance will hurt both innocent and guilty. I never believed those lies. Once my lust for revenge is sated, I'll say goodbye to hatred. I'll find a new beginning."

SIN & SUFFER

She came from a past Arthur "Kill" Killian never forgot. She made him sin and made him suffer. She tugged him from the shadows and showed him he wasn't as dead as he thought. And with her resurrection came betrayal, deceit, and war.

But then they took her. Stole her. Imprisoned her.

Now Kill's carefully laid plans for vengeance are complete. He craves action, retribution-the blood of his enemies. War has begun. War is all they'll know until they've paid their penance. He will get her back-and rewrite their destiny . . .

I’d been raised on a motorbike, and tonight was the first time that I didn’t find that freedom—that
peace. The loss of Cleo ate at my soul. The pain of failing her all over again threatened to crumble me into destruction.
I rode fast.
I rode hard.
But I felt as if I treaded water. Fought against demons. Got fucking
nowhere.
The hum of tires and growl of engines only worsened my emotional torture. Peace? What was that? I’d never find peace again if I failed her a second time.
Fuck!
The speedometer needle climbed higher, teasing the boundaries of red danger.
Hurry up, for Christ’s sake!
The journey from Pure Corruption to Dagger Rose was an endless fucking marathon.
Every stop sign was a mortal enemy, every traffic light my ultimate nemesis.
An hour we’d been driving and we hadn’t even passed the halfway point.
My teeth clenched harder as I hunched farther over the bike.
We were late.
We were late and I was fucking pissed.
I was livid at my weakness.
I was furious at my condition.
And I was incandescent with rage at Mo and Grasshopper for not finding some way to fix this clusterfuck.
The nurse at the hospital had filed charges against me and called the police. She’d done everything in her power to detain me, all because I couldn’t leash my temper. She’d refused to give me the forms to sign out. She’d held my fucking clothes hostage. She’d deliberately antagonized me to the point where I would’ve probably killed her if Grasshopper hadn’t taken me into a janitor’s closet, stolen some fat man’s clothes, and thrown them at me.
I growled under my breath, anxiety and anger circulating hot in my blood. I needed to fly. I needed this journey to fucking end.
I need her.
I shivered as hurtling wind sliced through the horrific Hawaiian print shirt encasing my broad torso. The sleeves were too short, the chest too tight, and I couldn’t look at the god-awful
track pants clinging to my legs.
I missed my leathers.
Shit, I missed my own damn bike.
Grasshopper’s custom Triumph was all wrong. The acceleration sluggish compared to my beast. The Pure Corruption logo of skulls and all-important abacas was drawn freehand with glowing flames on the frame.
The flames seared my heart.
Cleo.
My mind whooshed with burning houses, smoking remains, and charred dreams of ever growing old with the girl I loved. She’d witnessed her parents’ double homicide.
She’d almost burned to death.
All because I wasn’t strong enough to save her.
And I’m not strong enough to save her now.
The agony of the never-ceasing headache hollered in agreement.
I’m a liability. I don’t deserve her.
Every mile we charged, my injuries and shortcomings became more apparent.
My head hurt like a motherfucker.
My vision was frighteningly narrowed.
My mind slothfully slow.
The joy of thinking in algorithms, the speed of dealing with figures and equations was . . . damaged.
I was fuzzy.
I was lost.
I hated to admit it, but the doctor was right.
There’s something wrong with me.
Everything raged inside. I couldn’t find that calm—that control. I was on the cusp of wreaking my revenge—on the precipice of having everything I’d been working toward coming true.
I couldn’t afford to be broken now.
I can’t bear to be ruined when she needs me.
The roar of another Triumph coasted beside me.
I looked to the side.
Mo matched my speed, still managing to look badass even with
Grasshopper riding bitch on the back.
I felt empty, vulnerable at not having my usual weapons. But I’d refused to waste more time by returning home. Instead, I’d commandeered Grasshopper’s knife and his unregistered pistol and straddled his machine without asking.
What was his was mine. He’d get over it.
He worked for me. Not the other way around.
I’d been dead for too long believing Cleo was lost. I wouldn’t live in such hell again.
Yes, I had a shit-stirring headache. Yes, something was seriously fucking wrong with me.
But none of that mattered.
Cleo.
I have to get to Cleo.

Excerpted from SIN & SUFFER by Pepper Winters.
Copyright © 2016 by Pepper Winters. Used with permission of Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved.

In the first book Ruin & Rule, Cleo Price (aka Sarah Jones) first was fighting for her memories, then was fighting for Arthur "Kill" Killian to believe her and remember their past. And now they are fighting for their lives against the people Arthur has pledged to destroy. It is a convoluted situation immersed in revenge, jealousy, guilt, and anger. This begins right where Ruin & Rule left off with Cleo in need of rescuing and Arthur in a bad state. It hits quick with action, danger, and suspense. 

Then they are both facing the after effects. They both have healing to do and are still also trying to navigate their lives after being reunited after eight years. And Cleo has finally regained all of her memories, some that are surprising. Now she knows more of Arthur's secrets. But will that bring them closer or tear them apart? They both had lost so much at the hands of bad people, but they still were at risk of losing each other again.

I honestly liked Arthur much more in this book. He was protective, strong, intelligent, and completely devoted to her. But sometimes his larger goals made it hard to take a step back and think clearly. He was used to being a math whiz that brought his success and wealth, but was always wanting more, to be the best, and have everything. He had plans that involved war, vengeance, salvation, and reform. But he was facing challenges that could derail all of his plans. And he still did not learn his lesson about always being upfront and honest and was at risk to have seriously negative consequences for his actions.

Cleo was sassy, tough, and fierce in this one. She was armed with knowledge and ready to fight for her happiness. She was a good match for Arthur and was more willing to take him on. But sometimes she was left in the dark making it hard to help Arthur make the right choices. This focused more on their true re-connection and facing their pasts so they could deal with their present and decide a course for their future. 

This book felt like going through a war zone to me. It was a battle of agendas, physical threats and fights, secrets, and lies. It started out exciting and tense, but then it started to fizzle a bit for me. It kind of dragged and I honestly got tired of the sex scenes, the secrets, the mysterious big plans, and the behavior of the hero/heroine at times. Some of their decisions just made me shake my head. 

It was told in dual points of view and also had diary entries/flashbacks allowing us to see more about their relationship and feelings when younger. There was some mystery about what Arthur's ultimate goal was. There were some twists and surprises. This did deal more with the MC business but was also very personal with the characters and there was also a much larger agenda at play. But the romantic part of it was also about sacrifice, true love, redemption, second chances, and soul mates. 

This did not seem quite as dark as the first book, but still had intense scenes and emotions. It had some mean antagonists and some likable sidekicks. I really liked Grasshopper and could see him possibly getting his own story.

ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Sin & Suffer is the continuation of Ruin & Rule. Told from both Arthur and Cleo’s perspectives, things are in motion that cannot be stopped, that have been in the works for years. Vengeance will be had and changes will be made.

Arthur has so much going on here, between building up Pure Corruption and seeking revenge for wrongs done to him so long ago. For as tightly wound as he was in Ruin & Rule, he became almost reckless in his determination to participate in the plans that had been set in motion.
He also became a character I liked a whole lot more. He shows a vulnerability that was not present in Ruin & Rule, and goes into a much stronger protector/leader role both in the MC and with Cleo.

Even though we get Cleo’s point of view, there were times I felt like she wasn’t really coming through the story. This truly is Arthur’s story and though her voice is here, she is in the dark more often than she knows what is going on. What Cleo does get here is a better understanding of what has happened in the years she was gone, the direction that Arthur has planned for Pure Corruption, and a reaffirmation of her place in all the plans.

This is Cleo and Arthur’s chance to recement the feelings between them. Those feelings have been driving each of them since their separation as children, even when Cleo was living as Sarah Jones and had no recollection of her past.
This was not as dark as the first book, and as a result felt like a much smoother read. I didn’t have the same feeling of unease as I read, though there were plenty of times where I was unsettled by my predictions for the story.

ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Ruin and Rule (Pure Corruption MC #1)
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Our 4 star reviews


"We met in a nightmare. The in-between world where time had no power over reason. We fell in love. We fell hard. But then we woke up. And it was over . . ."

RUIN & RULE

She is a woman divided. Her past, present, and future are as twisted as the lies she's lived for the past eight years. Desperate to get the truth, she must turn to the one man who may also be her greatest enemy . . .

He is the president of Pure Corruption MC. A heartless biker and retribution-deliverer. He accepts no rules, obeys no one, and lives only to reap revenge on those who wronged him. And now he has stolen her, body and soul.

Can a woman plagued by mystery fall in love with the man who refuses to face the truth? And can a man drenched in darkness forgo his quest for vengeance-and finally find redemption?


Pepper Winters is a New York Times and USA Todayinternational bestseller. She loves dark romance, star-crossed lovers, as well as the forbidden and taboo. She strives to write a story that makes readers crave what they shouldn't, and delivers complex plots and unforgettable characters that keep readers talking long after the last page is turned.


On a personal note she loves to travel, has an addiction to creme brulee, and is married to an incredible Canadian who puts up with her endless work hours and accompanies her on signings. She's also a firm believer that the impossible can become possible.

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