Naughty Book Review: PRETTY WHEN YOU CRY (Stripped #4) by Skye Warren

“Dark, perverse, and unbearably erotic, Pretty When You Cry is Skye Warren at her gritty best.”
~ Anna Zaires, USA Today bestselling author of Twist Me

A new dark romance novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderlust and Prisoner…

I came from a place of dirt floors and holy scriptures. They told me the world outside was full of sin, and the first night I escape, I find out it’s true. Ivan saves me, but he does more than that. He takes me. He makes me his own girl.

My conditioning runs too deep. Ivan sees what I am.

That’s the thing about showing a mouse to a cat. He wants to play. And it’s terrifying, even for me. Because the only thing darker than my past is his.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
POV: Hers / 1st person
Naughty Rating: 4 out of 5

Pretty When You Cry is now my FAVORITE in this series…so far. We didn’t get to see much of Candy in the previous books, so there was no way of knowing who she was. I loved her character. She was sweet and innocent, yet sexy. Since I began this series, Ivan has always been an intriguing character; and that held true throughout his and Candy’s tale.

In this installment, we learn that Candy entered Ivan’s world at a young age and he took it upon himself to be her protector. Having left behind the life she knew, Ivan gives her shelter and safety and eventually a job at the Grand. There she learns to “shake what her momma gave her” to entice those that come in for a glance at the beauties Ivan employs.

Over the years, the relationship between Ivan evolves into something quite different than expected and even puzzling at times; but they’re perfectly suited for each other.

I don’t want to give away too much about their relationship because then you’ll miss out on discovering it for yourselves, but I will say, it’s an angle I didn’t expect and was a first for me. 😉

Pretty When You Cry definitely has more darker tones than the previous books; which also puts it in first place for me. I’m just a little bit twisted and I like that in my romances. 🙂

I would like to add about how SUPER DUPER EXCITED I am that we’re finally going to get Clara and Giovanni’s story!!!! I’ve been wanting theirs since I read the prequel novella, Tough Love. If you haven’t started this series yet, you can get the novella for FREE, so get that Oneclick finger on the move.

Skye Warren’s Stripped Series
Tough Love
Love the Way You Lie
Better When It Hurts
Pretty When You Cry

He’s beautiful in a strange and sinful way, one that makes me more afraid. Not colorful exactly. His eyes are a gray color I’ve never seen before, both deep and opaque at the same time. The building itself is beautiful too with its wrought iron gate around a large courtyard. The fountain in the center is broken, but that only adds to the mystique.

The marquee sign reads Grand, a flash of neon pink against the black night.

He steps closer, the light from the sign illuminating his face, making him look even more sinister. “What’s your name?”

I couldn’t answer those other men, but I find something inside for him. I find truth. “I’m not allowed to say my name to someone else.”

He studies me for a long moment, taking in my tangled hair and my white dress. “Why not?”

Because God will punish me. “Because I’m running away.”

He nods like this is what he expected. “Do you have money?”

I have twenty dollars left after bus fare. “Enough.”

His lips twist, and I wonder if that’s what a smile looks like on him. It’s terrifying. “No, you don’t,” he says. “The question is, what would you do to earn some?”

Anything.

My voice is just a whisper. “I’m a good girl.”

He laughs, and I see that I was wrong before. That wasn’t a smile. It was a taunt. A challenge. This is a real smile, one with teeth. The sound rolls through me like a coming storm, deep and foreboding.

“I know,” he says gently. “What’s your name?”

“Candace.”

He studies me. “Pretty name.”

His voice is deep with promise and something else I can’t decipher. All I know is he isn’t really talking about my name. And I know it isn’t really a compliment. “Thank you.”

“Now come inside, Candace.”

He turns and walks away before I can answer. I can feel the night closing in on me, the sharks in the water waiting to strike. It’s not really a choice. I think the man knows that.

He’s counting on it. Whatever is going to happen inside will be bad, and the only thing worse is what would have happened outside.

I hurry to catch up with him, almost running across the crumbled driveway, under the marquee sign for the Grand, past the broken fountain, desperate for the dubious safety of the man who could hold the darkness at bay. It’s the same thing that kept me in Harmony Hills for so long—fear and twisted gratitude.

SKYE WARREN

Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of dark romance such as Wanderlust and Prisoner. Praised as a “true mistress of dark erotica”, her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. She makes her home in Houston, Texas, with her loving family, three dogs, and one evil cat.

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