A dark romantic thriller intended for a mature audience.

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Four years ago, Tyler Karras’ quest to avenge his wife’s death led to all out war with San Francisco’s Russian Mafia. With the Bratva’s collapse and its king, Dmitri Chernov, long dead, all Ty wants now is to put it behind him and enjoy a second chance at life with his new bride, Hannah, and the child they’re expecting any day.

But Chernov’s heir, Grigory Dmitriev, has returned, bitter and determined. He wants his kingdom back, and he’s more than willing to leverage Ty’s new family to get it.

First he targets Conner, Ty’s brooding nineteen-year-old stepson, manipulating the boy into a vortex of sex, drugs, alcohol, and gambling. Then he turns his sights on Hannah. At eight months pregnant, she’s the ultimate bargaining chip. With both their lives in jeopardy, as well as his unborn child, Ty has little choice but to do as Grigory commands.

But Tyler swore he’d never kill again. He buried that monster four years ago and means to keep it that way. Grigory, however, makes that vow impossible to keep.

With his new family on the line, Ty will cross further into the dark side than he ever has before, challenging everything he believes about himself, and forcing him to face the ghosts of his past. Only then will Ty discover if he has the strength to do the unspeakable, to sacrifice his last chance at redemption and save the lives of those he loves most

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 Reviewed by Ashley  4.5 out of 5 Stars!

Leverage is the follow-up to The Mistaken, so if you have not read it I recommend it. I have to say I thought that I had a hard time connecting to the characters, Tyler and Hannah, and The Mistaken but I was pleasantly surprised at the character development in Leverage. Even with the little background that Conner, Hannah’s son, gave of the past four years, I felt like it was just enough to be emotionally connected and want to root for him. Tyler and Hannah also make another appearance in Leverage, and this time around I liked them even more.

Tyler thought that all his ties with the Russian mafia were in the past, little does he know that Grigory Dmitriev is after him and his family. Grigory is trying to regain rein of the Russian mafia after his father Dmitri died while in custody awaiting trial.

Conner has gotten manipulated into many addicting things; sex, drugs, alcohol, gambling, even caffeine. It’s all part of his coping with the death of his best friend, whom he believes was killed. Little does he know that it is the Russian mafia trying to get back at Conner’s step-father, Tyler Karras.

“I still wanted Ty to pay for what he’d done to my mother, and to me. I was determined to find a way to get Maks to do just that.”

Tyler must convince Conner that all is not as it seems and that his loyalties lie with his family and not the mob. Will he be able to stay true to the man he wants to be, or go back to being a monster?

I highly recommend this book. There was so much suspense and you truly don’t know who you can trust or believe. I do have to say that I liked this book more than The Mistaken. I give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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