VIOLENCE (Antihero Inferno #3) by LILY WHITE

‘I thought I knew violence.
But I was wrong.
Because if Ezra has taught me anything in life, it’s that the worst kind of pain isn’t what we do to ourselves, it’s what the person your heart belongs to can do when he’s learned to hate you…’

‘Violence noun: An unpleasant destructive natural force’. Well, force and destructive Ezra Cross certainly is, and he does have a bit of an unpleasant streak but he’s certainly charismatic and his story was yet another fantastic read in a series that has turned us into Inferno addicts! Somehow Lily White has managed to deliver a story in differing points of view, yet each feels new and exciting. Along the way, she drops little teasing breadcrumbs, wonderfully taunting us as we try to figure out the end game for the nine Inferno men and the women who win their intensely passionate hearts.

‘There’s a wound on my heart he left, and a hundred scars on my soul that are all because of him.’

Wow! To say we are hooked and loving this series is an understatement! We can’t get enough and have promised ourselves to block out time at the end of the series for a re-read – these books are habit-forming, to say the least! Every time Lily White finishes one Inferno book, she teases us at the end with the next book to come and our hearts rev into overdrive with anticipation every single time!

‘There is no other bond I have as strong as my brother. I’d do anything for him. Murder a thousand people. Burndown entire cities. Fucking raze the world if it meant he would be okay.‘

Whilst each book is about a different Inferno character, and there are nine of them (be still our beating hearts!) you really need to read in order as each book tells a part of the overall story. The twists, the turns, the passion, the romance, the anticipation can only be enjoyed by reading in order.

‘Is it wrong to love the pain he gives? Every form of it, even the type that stains my soul.’

The Cross twins, Ezra and Damon were such intriguing characters. Two men who haven’t known love and comfort, as boys they were angry at the world, as men, they are a destructive force. Yet, one woman, Emily captured their hearts in high school, and after ten years apart, those intense and passionate feelings still remain. Yet, who will win her heart? Both? One? None? Oh man, it was delicious, and at times, heartbreaking finding out. We felt for both men, and have to say…Emily, what a decision!

‘The problem with holding the leash of two rabid pit bulls is that you can’t always control them when their tempers flare and they set their sights on anyone they believe threatens you.
I always felt safe enough with them, though, at least until those final days when I didn’t.’

Emily Donahue has been promised to Mason Strom (another Inferno), an arrangement that was determined by both sets of parents pretty much from birth, yet, we’re not yet sure why this arrangement is in place. Sure, they’re both powerful families and the pairing will only solidify that, however, as Lily White is prone to do in this series, there’s an ulterior motive we’re itching to uncover.

Treachery (Book #1) and then Fraud (Book #2) delivered little snippets about the Cross twins, yet despite what we had gleaned from those books about Ezra and Damon, their story eclipsed anything we could have imagined. Our hearts broke! We cried for Ezra, yes, but Damon, oh my god, his book is going to shred us and even now, we’re preparing for that journey.

‘Damon and Ezra are nothing but heartbreak personified.‘

How does she do it? The wait between books isn’t very long, and yet each book is such quality. The writing, the characters and especially the way this author weaves each point of view into the story. Yes, it might be following similar timelines, but each book is unique and new, not simply a retelling of the story. We are in awe of her talent for intertwining the stories the way she’s done. It’s such a brilliant way of telling the story, ensuring we’re hanging onto every word until the end.

‘It was our confessions in a dark room that bound us together. A boy beaten. A girl caged.’

Lily White is a master manipulator, a temptress and creative storyteller. Each book consistently sends us in a tailspin of emotions time and again with her little morsels of information, uncovering just enough secrets in an appetizing yet torturous fashion. Oh, we do love it as we’re torn between rushing to the end and savouring every wonderfully seductively mouth-watering word. Her visual prose had our imaginations going into overdrive – there were times we could visualise these men standing as a force – we felt them, all around us. Their strength, their power and their potency. We could see them, standing there looking gorgeous and menacing, all thanks to Lily White’s words.

‘I guess that’s what happens when you hold a person so deep in our heart. You consume them and make them part of you. You share their pain. You experience their trauma. You choke on their truth because it’s impossible to swallow.’

If, like us, you crave that real antihero experience, where you wonder if the hero will ever redeem himself, you have to grab this series because if there was ever an exemplary example of how this theme should be written, then the Inferno Antihero series is it!  Each book is a battle of wills and a struggle for love told passionately and with a looming cloud for what is to come. Secrets. Secrets and more secrets. Our reading tastebuds are salivating with the promise of what is yet to come!

‘They were beautiful in high school. Troublemakers, yet smart. They were the rich boys who did what they wanted, when they wanted, and didn’t worry much about the consequences.
Now they are much more than that, and the full impact isn’t really known until they’re standing together, shoulder to shoulder, their expressions tight and stern, their combined prowess and strength undeniable.’