Break Me: New Adult Dark Romance (Vengeful Book 2) Kindle Edition

“And you’re, what? A hero?” I straighten my seat and turn to gaze at her. “No, Ava,” I answer her with a smile. “Not even close.”From the moment I finished "Let Me", I NEEDED more of Benji. Everything about him pulled me in. So when I saw Break Me was out, I knew it was skipping the long TBR list to be read next. Of course I was scared, that my instalove for this seemingly unlovable character would be destroyed when I got an in-depth view of him.....yeah, that fear was completely unwarranted. He not only lived up to the dark & delicious fantasy BUT surpassed it. I am shocked others haven't discovered this series & fallen for it too. This is the kind of series that is a true dark bully fan dreams of. “Don’t you ever talk to me like that again.” I laugh. “You can’t handle that?” I ask her, leaning down until my brow is pressed against hers. She doesn’t shrink back, she just narrows her eyes. “Then you definitely can’t handle me.”Book Facts: Told in dual POV, Break Me is the 2nd installment in the Vengeful series. It could be read as a standalone, however it is definitely best to be read after "Let Me" for the full experience. Benji is violent, dangerous, dominant, a felon, & 100% unattainable.....he also just happens to be absolutely gorgeous with a ridiculously filthy mouth. In N.C. to help his best friend Caden protect Riley, he doesn't expect to run into the girl that has the ability to break him. Ava is the mayor's daughter, stuck up, too good, and definitely not for him.... she also happens to be the one girl that is incredibly irresistible & the one that has him questioning everything. He can't have her, he can't let her in. If she knew who he really was, she wohld never be able to handle it. But that doesn't mean Benji doesn't want to give in & try. Will Ava be the one to finally break through his impenetrable walls? Does end with a HEA."This is why I don’t let women in. They always have it in their heads that they can save me. I don’t need to be saved. I don’t want to be saved."Final Thoughts: Ava: First impression is she is completely stuck up and absolutely full of herself in every way. Mayor's daughter & sleeping with her much older professor. I love that she doesn't try to play hard to get just to do it.... she knows what she wants & goes for it.  Your heart is going to break for her, trust me on that one. Benji: Deliciously dark & violent, but with an eerie calm to him that makes him even scarier. He takes what he wants & does/says what he wants with zero fs given. He also has anxiety that he seems to use certain "things" to cope with. He is haunted by a past love that makes him cold & 100% against any attachments or feelings towards females, which makes you root for Ava to bust down his walls even more. The writing is so good that you don't even realize how far you've made it into the story until you force yourself to look. She does a phenomenal job with Benji, portraying a truly believable dominant & demanding "modern" man-- not at all cheesy or cringey. At no point does the plot or the building romance feel forced or faked. She is able to mix all these emotions into one story, making you strongly feel every single one. I loved that breaking through Benji's walls was such a slow & infuriating process, but it made it feel authentic."But a girl like that… I could love her. And that’s something I promised I’d never do again. Not after Bianca."Overall, I have to say that I don't think I could ever be fully satisfied when it comes to Benji & Ava....they are one of those rare couples that refuses to let me go. I'm not sure if there are plans for more in this series, but I know I desperately need to see these two in someone else's story in the future.“I knew I wouldn’t break you. But you… well, Princess, you were the one to break me.”

The author is a good writer. She handled the death and grieving scene with great care and detail. There were also some great humorous moments.

The threesome in the 1st book with hero Benji, Caden (hero from 1st book and Benji’s best friend) and Riley (the heroine from 1st book and Caden’s wife) really hurt my enjoyment of that story. It ruined the image of Caden’s supposed possessiveness and jealousy, what I loved about him. Despite being told otherwise in both books no way in Hades would a jealous hero find it in any way acceptable for OM to smex his forever heroine especially since the OM that will continue to be intimately involved in their lives.For the sake of my enjoyment of this book I was willing to ignore that it occurred, putting it out of my mind. Sadly it was made impossible for that to happen. Why? Because of the never ending thoughts and references to it. Caden talked about it threatening Benji that it would never happen again. Sorry dude that ship sailed. No use closing the stable door after the horse is bolted. Riley who I disliked in this book because she refused not to be the center of Benji’s attention even though she was with Caden, flirted with Benji and started to unbuckle Benji’s pants indicating she wanted a repeat performance when Caden made her jealous. Of course Benji didn’t push her away. Also the poor heroine Ava who was never really treated the way she deserved by Benji was worried about it and then concerned every time she saw Benji being close to Riley, including his arms around her.It was a huge turn off to be that it was Benji who would not stop thinking about it and talking about it. It was clear that he wanted a repeat performance that included Riley and someone else, preferably Ava. How sweet that he wanted to include Ava. Lucky girl. For example sometime after Benji had already slept with Ava the first time he woke up in bed with both Riley and Ava, one on each side of him. The reason that they were all in bed together was innocent but Benji got hard and wanted to have sex with both women at the same time. Riley initially seemed to be willing to do it or at least had fun letting Benji think she would but then changed her mind. He claimed that he didn’t want Ava in that way periodically in the book but then thought about the threesome. Hid denials were so not believable.It was never ending. In fact the second to last page he thought, “Now that Ava knows that I don’t want Riley in that way, not again, they’ve become pretty close. Not close enough for us to sleep together the thought of Caden putting his hands on Ava kinda made me want to vomit, even if it kinda turned me on, well because I’m me- but close in a family way” Such a sick pup. Sorry dude but you have zero credibility when it comes to you wanting Riley anymore. If Caden and Ava gave their consent then Benji boy would be all over her...I mean that.I never believed that he ever loved Ava. It felt like he settled. For the longest time Ava came last, at least behind other women in his life or who he interacted with. For example daily he thought about a former lover. When he saw said former lover even after sleeping with Ava he let her grope and kiss him. Another example is that he had every intention of having a ONS with a waitress and would have but Ava confronted him as he was leaving with OW. Let’s not forget Riley. He was guarding her all if the time. He felt that entitled him to hold her hand, put his arms around her shoulder walking around campus with her, seeing her in a towel etc. Enough already. Just stop.

Benji.Benji, Benji, Benji...Benji definitely caught my eye in Let Me, even more so than Caden did, although I loved him too. He’s an enigma, one you aren’t even sure you want to figure out. He’s intense, unapologetic, cocky, and dark. He’s got demons. He’s got secrets. But he wields his power with authority and commands your attention. You can’t help but give in to him. And Ava, this sweet girl. Innocent. Good. Too good, if you Benji. That doesn’t stop him though for wanting the blonde beauty.Although Benji tries to keep her away from the web of danger he’s in with Riley and Caden, Ava is unknowingly a target caught in Rolland’s sights. He’s torn between watching her like a hawk, but still wanting to keep her at arms length. Eventually it all comes to a head one night and Benji sets out to do what he does best.But after witnessing Benji is his natural state, Ava is left to wonder if it’s something she can deal with, if it’s something Benji himself can deal with now. Can he still reach for something better, something he never had? Is it possible for someone like him? Can Ava’s light help him find his own?I love Benji and am glad he was able to find Ava. She’s a match for him, bringing out the best parts of him. He never failed her, holding true to her belief that at his core, Benji Silva is a protector.