Carnal by Maggie Cole

Steamy and unexpected, this is Tristano and Pina’s story. Pina’s been Tristano’s oldest brother’s assistant for a very long time and is fantastic at her job, but there wasn’t much of a relationship between the two until rather recently. Sparks fly, and they finally give into what they want, but it’s not without its hiccups. There’s plenty of drama coursing throughout this book, and we see these two become so much more along the way.

I love that Tristano winds up being different than I assumed he was. Sure, he’s tough and brutal and all that just like all the Marino men, but there’s a different side to him, too. He’s certainly more complex, and it adds to the multilayered quality of the storyline. Pina’s the same way given that she’s got a sort of serious vibe to her when you first meet her in the previous books and even at the start of this one, but then the deeper you get into her character the more she becomes more multidimensional. I think the fact that these characters (and really all the main characters in the series thus far) aren’t quite what they seem adds a level of unexpectedness to them and makes it all that much more interesting.

Also, something I quite enjoy about this book is the amount of angst and drama that propels this story forward. The pacing is well done as a result, and there’s really not a boring moment. Cole expertly writes characters and situations that are steeped in intrigue and suspense, and this rollercoaster of a book is no different.