Publisher: Aria
Publication Date: March 12, 2020
SYNOPSIS:
Gemma is about to risk it all for the man she loves. Will she survive entering into a life of crime?
Gemma has always been there for Nathan. He's the love of her life and she made a commitment to him, one she'd never consider breaking... until smooth-talking gangster Alfie Watson comes into their lives and changes everything.
Alfie doesn't care about true love – he wants Gemma, and the gangster always gets what he wants. When Nathan ends up owing him money, Alfie gets payback by recruiting Gemma to carry out a jewellery heist. To everyone's surprise, she's a natural. Until Alfie forgives Nathan's debt, she has no choice but to accompany the gangster on more and more daring heists – even though one slip-up could cost her everything.
Nathan might have fallen under Alfie's spell, but it doesn't take long for him to realise that he needs to save Gemma from his own mistakes if their marriage is to have any chance of surviving. But when that means taking on the East End's most notorious gangster at his own game, will he find himself up to the challenge?
Perfect for fans of Kimberley Chambers, Emma Tallon and Jessie Keane.
THOUGHTS/REVIEW:
This was a fast paced and gripping novel that was a delight to read. The story was about a strong female character Gemma who will do everything possible to help her husband and love of her life, Nathan be free from a malice in their life, and that is Alfie Watson. Due to a gambling debt, Nathan and Gemma’s life had been in chaos losing their home and now involved with a local gangster Alfie who is doubling the payback of the loan. Alfie has them on the palm of his hand, and he has forced Gemma’s hands into helping him in a heist job which Gemma turns out to be quite really good at. Unfortunately, until the debt is fully forgiven, Gemma is indebted to Alfie and the life of crime.
This is a really great read from a new author to me, Stephanie Harte. She is definitely an author to watch. I highly recommend this amazing read I thoroughly enjoyed.
Please Enjoy an EXCERPT of the book:
I
was halfway down my glass of Shiraz when Nathan sat down next to me on the
sofa. Leaning forward, he kissed me on the cheek and then took hold of my hand.
He pushed my brown hair out of the way, pulled me towards him, and kissed the
side of my neck. The familiar smell of Davidoff’s Cool Water filled my
nostrils. I wanted to know what had happened to him, so I pulled away and
shifted in my seat to create some distance between us.
‘I think you’d better tell me what’s going on.’ As I spoke, I looked
Nathan dead in the eye.
‘Listen, Gemma, I can’t go into
details. I don’t want to involve you.’
‘I’m your wife, so I’m already involved.’ Moving closer towards him, I
squeezed Nathan’s hand. ‘Please tell me what happened.’ I bit down hard on the
side of my lip while I waited for him to speak.
Nathan lowered his dark eyes to avoid my gaze. ‘Somebody I know was
selling cheap laptops…’ Nathan paused.
My heart sank. ‘That doesn’t explain what happened to your face. Please
tell me the truth,’ I said to fill the awkward silence.
‘I didn’t have enough cash for the deal, so I borrowed some money from a
guy called Alfie.’
‘Alfie Watson?’
‘Yeah.’
I let go of Nathan’s hand. Suddenly, everything had become clear. Just the mention of that man’s
name made angry vibes radiate from me.
‘Oh for God’s sake, Nathan, why the hell did you do that?’ I felt fury
flash across my face.
‘I needed the money quickly. The deal was too good to pass up.’
Nathan’s judgement was somewhat impaired when it came to making
financial decisions. His business ventures were never successful and always
ended in disaster.
Turning my palms up, I threw my hands in the air. ‘I can’t believe you
were stupid enough to take a loan from Alfie Watson.’
Nathan shrugged his shoulders and ignored my comment.
‘Have you lost your mind?’ I was so angry; steam was almost coming out
of my ears.
‘No, Gemma, I haven’t.’ Nathan threw me the wounded look he’d perfected
over the years, having used it a thousand times before. ‘I don’t know why
you’re overreacting like this.’
‘I’m not overreacting. Look what he’s
done to you.’
Nathan and I had just experienced first-hand the way Alfie liked to
carry out business. The man was a gangster. I touched the side of my husband’s
face with my fingertips, but he turned away from me and suddenly stood up.
Nathan went quiet for a moment. I wondered what he was thinking about as he
watched me without blinking.
‘I brought this on myself.’
My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open in disbelief. I stared at
Nathan, stunned that he was trying to justify Alfie’s behaviour. But he was
wasting his time; I was having none of it.
‘How did you come to that conclusion?’ I couldn’t control the sarcasm in
my voice.
‘I provoked him by missing my first repayment.’
I knew this was how people got trapped in a spiral of debt. ‘And that
gave Alfie the right to kick the shit out of you, did it?’ I put my hands on my
hips and glared at my husband.
‘I can see you’re annoyed with me.’
I let out a loud sigh.
‘I’m sorry, I messed up.’ Nathan cast his eyes towards the floor.
If someone had given me a pound every time
I’d heard him say that, I’d be a millionaire by now, and then we wouldn’t be in
this situation.
‘There’s no telling what Alfie will do if we don’t have the money when
he comes back to collect it. Doesn’t that worry you?’
‘It’ll
be OK. I just need to sell the laptops.’
THOUGHTS/REVIEW:
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:
About Stephanie Harte
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