Dark Romance

 Hooked by Emily McIntire 

This was my first Emily McIntire and my first real foray into dark romance. (Twisted Love doesn't really count, even though it sort of counts). Anyway, this was dark and violent for a romance, but it wasn't done in a bad or unexpected way. And while James was definitely swoon worthy I would not want him in real life; despite the fact that his description is my kryptonite. So, James goes to live with his uncle after his parents die. And his uncle is terrible; physical, mentally, emotionally, and sexually abusive. Enter Ru. He catches James following him from his uncle's house and instead of getting mad he mentors him and becomes the only adult he can trust. Then James becomes an enforcer for Ru; his favorite method is using a hooked blade, hence his nickname. He kills his uncle and gets away with it because Ru has the feds on his payroll. Then he sets his sights on the man who killed his parents; Peter. Turns out Peter has a daughter, and she's hot. There is an age gap, but it's 5.5 years and she turns 21 not long after they meet so it's not that bad. But, Peter kidnaps and kills Ru when James is helping Wendy move her brother, Jonathan, into a new boarding school. James thinks Wendy was in on it and kidnaps her. Her father doesn't notice. He takes her to a fancy gala and rubs their relationship in Peter's face. But, during the gala he realizes that Wendy didn't know anything about his plans and when they get back to his boat he tells her and they make up. Jonathan calls and tells her that he's coming home for a visit and can she meet him at the house, only Tina, her father's "assistant" kidnaps her and takes her to her father. James finds out where they took her and he shows up. Turns out the guy that has been trying to move in on his territory wasn't Peter, it was Smee; the man that has been taking care of his boat who just so happens to be his cousin. He hates James for killing his father and he's going to kill him. Wendy wakes up, gets loose, and shoots Tina. Peter kills Smee because only he will get to kill James, and he's in bad shape since Smee stabbed him. Then, we find out that Peter hated Jonathan for the same reason he killed James' parents: his father got Peter's wife pregnant; Jonathan is James' half brother. He starts to go after James but Wendy shoots him. There is a funeral. She and James bring Jonathan home. They have at least two kids and are still happy 10 years later.  While it was dark and more violent that I am accustomed to in my romance novels, it was still enjoyable and I will be reading more in this series.