This is a fantastic dark mafia, secret society college bully romance. The story grabbed my attention right from the start and held it captive for the entire book. It is my first book written by Faith Summers and I enjoyed her writing style and the complexity and layers of the story and its originality. The plotting and world building are fantastic, as are the character development and growth. Willow Raventhorn and Caspian Ivanov were best of friends growing up, both their families are Bratva and hold power in a secret society. But a betrayal tore their friendship apart, a betrayal of their parents. But that did not change Willow’s or her sister’s role in the society and the same goes for Caspian. Caspian is preparing for knighthood while attending Raventhorn University, the same school as Willow. The once friends are now enemies, Willow would like otherwise and Caspian, who is pretending otherwise, pretending that he hates her. His act starts to slip though and when he finds out she has been receiving threatening notes, his protective mode kicks in and despite his father’s warning to stay away from her, he can not help himself. There is never a dull moment in this book, the story has plenty of drama, angst, twists and turns, mystery, thrilling suspense, heartfelt emotions and a slow burn enemies to lovers romance. Faith Summers, thank you for this great story and he wild ride. I am looking forward to what comes next in the “Cruel Secrets” duet, I hope it is coming to audio soon.
🎧📚🎧  And for the fantastic narration, Alexander Neal and Sarah Puckett did an amazing job bringing these characters to life and did so with a complete understanding of who they were portraying, giving each their own distinct voice and were believable in every role they played. Sarah Puckett nailed it as Willow, grasping every side of her personality, and Alexander Neal did the same for Caspian. Both played their roles with perfection, including the roles for the secondary characters. They set the perfect tone for the story, captured all the characters’ emotions and had you feeling every single one. These entertaining storytellers are versatile voice artists and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another fabulous listen.