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ARC Review | Grave (Dark Kings Series Book Two) by Shantel Tessier | Available Now!

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โ˜ ๏ธDark Kings Series #2โ˜ ๏ธ

Grave

๐“‘๐”‚: Shantel Tessier

๐“–๐“ฎ๐“ท๐“ป๐“ฎ: Contemporary Romance

๐“ก๐“ฎ๐“ต๐“ฎ๐“ช๐“ผ๐“ฎ ๐““๐“ช๐“ฝ๐“ฎ: August. 31, 2020

๐“‘๐“ต๐“พ๐“ป๐“ซ

GRAVE

My life went to hell years ago, and I’ve had a death wish ever since then with fast cars, women, and drugs. They don’t call me Grave for nothing!

But I do it because I need to feel something… anything. What’s life worth living for without the high?

And then I saw her!

She’s too good for me, and I should stay away. But like an addict, I switch one drug for another, and I’ll be taking her to hell with me.

APRIL

I’m anything but sweet, despite what people think, so when he tells me I’m too good for him and I’m better off without him, I don’t listen.

My life was simple before Grave stepped through that door, but who wants simple?

He makes me feel alive. It took one touch, and I became addicted!

But therein lies the problem. Addiction is Grave’s middle name, and when he tells me he’s taking me to hell with him, I don’t know whether to take that as a threat or a promise!

โ˜ ๏ธ๐Ÿ’œ๐“’๐“ธ๐“ท๐“ฏ๐“ฎ๐“ผ๐“ผ๐“ฒ๐“ธ๐“ท๐“ผ ๐“ž๐“ฏ ๐“ ๐“‘๐“ฒ๐“ซ๐“ต๐“ฒ๐“ธ๐“น๐“ฑ๐“ฒ๐“ต๐“ฎ ๐“ก๐“ฎ๐“ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ฎ๐”€๐Ÿ’œโ˜ ๏ธ

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ

Grave, book two in the Dark Kings Series by Shantel Tessier. Told in dual POV, we first met Grave and the rest of the sexy as sin boys from the dark and delicious world of ‘Kingdom’ in Code of Silence. We got to know him a little more in book one of the Dark Kings Series, Titan.

โ๐พ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘›’๐‘ก ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ก. ๐น๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’, ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘˜ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘Ž ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘™ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘œ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž โ„Ž๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ , ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘‘๐‘’, ๐‘ค๐‘’’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘˜ ๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘ข๐‘๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘”๐‘œ.โž

Although Grave is standalone, I suggest checking out Code of Silence and Titan, or at the very least Titan, to better understand the world these guys live in and get to know some of the characters that you’ll meet in Grave.

โ๐ผ’๐‘š ๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘ . ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘โ„Ž ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘‘.โž

Grave’s is an addict with a deathwish. He’s a reckless adrenaline junkie that’s on a fast track to his own grave.

But life changes when he randomly walks into a quaint little flower shop and meets the purple-haired beauty that runs the place.

โ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘ . ๐‘Œ๐‘œ๐‘ข’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘š๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘“.โž

April not only owns the flower shop that was left to her after her Mom passed away but she also takes care of her younger brother, Ethan.

Ethan is a troubled teen and when he steps into Grave’s dark and gritty world of Vegas, fate steps in and causes April and Grave to cross paths once again…

โ๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘’โ€™๐‘  ๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ค ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›. ๐ผโ€™๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘“ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘”๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘๐‘œโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘™, ๐‘ ๐‘œ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘™๐‘‘ ๐ผ ๐‘‘๐‘œ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ?โž

Sooo I wasn’t sure what to think about this one when I first started. It wasn’t until about the 30 percent mark when things started to kick off, but once they did, I was completely hooked! I finished this book in just a few hours, completely devoured it! Grave and April were most definitely insta-lust, I’m not sure about insta-love, but they were most definitely smitten right from the very start and their chemistry made this read soo much hotter! They had only met a couple of times before the next thing you know they were up against a wall making out. The story just took right on off from there.

โ๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘’’๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘” ๐ผ’๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘. ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž ๐ผ’๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘‘.โž

I love that April was a “break the mold” kind of girl, she had her own sense of style and was the type that danced to her own drum. But yet she was also really laid back and had her head on her shoulders. Running the flower shop and doing her best to keep Ethan out of trouble.

Kyle Reed (A.K.A Grave), the youngest heir to the Kingdom and probably the most troubled. Ifย ever there was a character misunderstood, it would be Grave. An addict? Yes. But he’s soo much more than that. He’s fiercely protective and would do anything for the people that he loves and cares about. He has more money and power then he even knows what to do with but his past continues to haunt him so to numb the pain he turns to drugs. Grave was on a fast track to the grave until he meets April. Who would have thought that walking into a flower shop just may save his life…

โ๐ด๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘™ ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘’. ๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘’’๐‘  ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘–๐‘™๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ฆ. ๐‘€๐‘ฆ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘™๐‘™. ๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘’’๐‘  ๐‘”๐‘œ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘œ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘™๐‘ ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘”โ„Ž๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘  ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘๐‘ฆ ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘œ๐‘“ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ.โž

Shantel Tessier did an amazing job on this one. The plot, the main characters as well as the supporting characters, the romance, and steam… AMAZING! I love that sheย not only showed the POV of an addict or someone with addictions but she also showed the POV of the people who LOVE and care about them. One of my favorite things about the story is that Grave actually went and sought out the help that he so desperately needed by going to a treatment center, instead of the age-old, “love saved him and now he’s all better” that we see so often in books. I’m a recovering addict (5 years clean and sober, YAY!)ย so I appreciate Tessier soooo much for that and knowing that there is a whole lot more needed to overcoming addiction than just love.

โ๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘’’๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐ผ ๐‘˜๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐ผ ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘›’๐‘ก ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘˜๐‘’ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ก. ๐ผ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘’๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ก ๐ผ’๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘‘.โž

Grave is not an easy read. There are a lot of tender and loving moments but there are also some heartbreaking moments. But I assure you, you still won’t be able to stop turning those pages to see what happens next.

โ๐ผ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐ผ’๐‘š ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘ , ๐ด๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘™. ๐ด๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’?โž

I can not wait to see what else Tessier has in store for us in the Kingdom world. I am REALLY looking forward to Grave’s big brother, Bones, story! If you enjoy dark romance in an organized crime type of world, then I highly recommend checking out Grave as well as the rest of the Dark Kingdom Series.

๐ŸŒช๐ŸŒช ๐“’๐“ต๐“ฒ๐“ฏ๐“ฏ๐“ฑ๐“ช๐“ท๐“ฐ๐“ฎ๐“ป ๐“ฆ๐“ช๐“ป๐“ท๐“ฒ๐“ท๐“ฐ: No cliffhanger. Grave and April’s story wraps up beautifully. BUT, there is plenty more to come from the dark and devious world of Kingdom so I’ll give Grave two cliffhanger tornadoes for what’s to come!

โ๐‘†โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘š๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘” ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘‘.โž

โš ๏ธ ๐“ฃ๐“ป๐“ฒ๐“ฐ๐“ฐ๐“ฎ๐“ป ๐“ฆ๐“ช๐“ป๐“ท๐“ฒ๐“ท๐“ฐ: There are difficult subjects that could be considered triggers. I.e drugs, fighting, addiction, etc. If you would like to know more about what those subjects are, feel free to DM me!

โ๐น๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘“๐‘ข๐‘™ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ฆ ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘” ๐‘ฆ๐‘œ๐‘ข ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’. ๐ผ’๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘ค๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘กโ„Ž ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘ โ„Ž, ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐ผ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘™๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ.โž

Grab your copy of Grave today!

Amazon US:ย https://amzn.to/3201pMU

Amazon UK:ย https://amzn.to/31avYAi

Amazon CA:ย https://amzn.to/34dKEAF

Amazonย AU:ย https://amzn.to/34gzjjw

Want to check out the rest of the boys of Kingdom? Take a peek at the rest of the Dark Kings Series!

There are 4 intertwined standalones in the Dark Kings Series.

๐Ÿ‘‘ Titan (Dark Kings Series #1)

๐Ÿ’› โ†ณ ๐—ง๐—•๐—ฅ โžปย https://bit.ly/2TzX8OY

๐Ÿ’› โ†ณ ๐—ฃ๐—จ๐—ฅ๐—–๐—›๐—”๐—ฆ๐—˜ ๐—ง๐—ข๐——๐—”๐—ฌ โžป http://mybook.to/titanst

๐Ÿ‘‘ Grave โ†ณ ๐—ง๐—•๐—ฅ โžป https://bit.ly/2TECxZd

๐Ÿ‘‘ Cross โ†ณ ๐—ง๐—•๐—ฅ โžปย https://bit.ly/2UtM9Tv

๐Ÿ‘‘ Bones โ†ณ ๐—ง๐—•๐—ฅ โžป https://bit.ly/2F7M4zO

๐“๐“ซ๐“ธ๐“พ๐“ฝ ๐“ฃ๐“ฑ๐“ฎ ๐“๐“พ๐“ฝ๐“ฑ๐“ธ๐“ป

Shantel Tessier

Shantel Tessier Logo

Shantel is a Texas-born woman who now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her high school sweetheart, who is a wonderful, supportive husband and their two daughters. She loves to spend time cuddled up on the couch with a good book.

She considers herself extremely lucky to do what she does while getting to work from home. Going to concerts and the movies are just a few of her favorite things to do. She hates coffee but loves wine. She and her husband are both huge football fans, college, and NFL. And she has to feed her high heel addiction by shopping for shoes weekly.

Although she has a passion to write, her family is most important to her. She loves spending evenings at home with her husband and daughters, along with their cat and dog.

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