Title: Tormentor Mine
Series: Tormentor Mine
Author: Anna Zaires
Genre: Dark Romance
Published: March 28th 2017
Format: eBook
Pages: 350
Reread: Thrice
Review
Tormentor Mine by Anna Zaires is a Contemporary Dark Romance following Peter Sokolov, who had a cameo in the Twist Me series. I’ve only skimmed through Twist Me because it is not my cup of tea, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
If you’ve read the Twist me and Capture Me series, then you cannot miss out on Tormentor Mine. It is a brilliant start to this Dark, Addictive, Twisted AF series.
The book is written in both Sara’s and Peter’s POV, so we understand both of their sides. I appreciated it because it made me understand snd keep up with the darker aspects. Note this: it is a Dark Romance read. Heed the trigger warnings for this is not a safe read.
A former member of the Russian Army, Peter Sokolov is on a quest for vengeance–for his family that was wronged by a group of people. Having everything taken away from him, all that’s left in his life is revenge.
Driven by the tragedy, the guilt, and his dark past, Peter’s focused on eliminating the people on the list. The book is divided into three parts and the first part delves into Peter’s past, and it broke my heart.
His next target leads him to Sara Cobakis–the wife of the man he is after. He wants to know where the man is located and is brutal and violent with her to get the information. That encounter leaves Sara with PTSD, paranoia, and fear of water.
Unfortunately for her, Peter develops an interest in Sara–who after being drugged, spills some of her secrets that intrigue him. This interest quickly turns into a mad obsession and Peter decides he wants Sara. Now it’s the violent hunger and needs for her that drives his actions.
For a Dark Romance–it actually doesn’t veer off in that direction in the second part. It is a slow-burn between Peter and Sara. The pace of the story is slow, but just right–establishing Peter as this caring yet dominant and obsessive about Sara.
Sara doesn’t understand Peter’s stalker-ish tendencies and is afraid of him. He knows everything about her–her friends, family, her life, her daily routine. She tolerates and goes along with it because she fears he will follow through with his threats.
But as Peter reveals his lighter side–and no, his darkness never leaves them – she begins to feel something for him. Both of them are well-developed characters. The chemistry is mind-blowing. I was impatiently waiting for them to do IT haha!
I was on the edge of my seat, the angst, the suspense, Peter’s darkness, Sara’s courage to withstand his assaults, all the threads that Anna has so beautifully woven. I couldn’t stop swiping through the pages.
The plot is built everything up so well, the calm before the storm because you know it is not the end. Peter hadn’t yet finished checking off everyone on the list.
Peter Sokolov is the HIGHLIGHT of this book. I never expected to fall for Peter right off the bat. In reality, I probably would have fainted or worse – crapped my pants, but in the fictional world, I loved Peter.
He is obsessive, dominant, controlling. The darkness reigns over his life. When he meets Sara, for the first time, some light shines through his morbid world. He is intrigued by her, curious to know more about her. The fact that she is his enemy’s wife is all the more alluring to his dark side.
Peter is terrifying, but all he does is force his presence into Sara’s life. He is not going anywhere, and he wants Sara. He lets her have a semblance of control. (That’s where it is different from a darker story.)
Sara is the complete opposite of Peter. As a doctor, all she values is protecting and healing people. After meeting Peter, all of that goes for a toss. She resists Peter’s affections, tries to save herself and her people, but he is taking over her mind and life.
Where he is destructive, she is the healer. Despite the emotional turmoil because of their past, she cannot deny the attraction. Some parts of her crave the darkness – and we see that awareness growing chapter after chapter.
I love how both of them grow individually and together. Is it possible to overcome that past? The third part finally leads us to an explosive climax. His aggressiveness and Sara’s defiance show up. From there it is a bumpy ride. The aeroplane ready for take-off to something unknown.
The book ends on a cliffhanger, but it’s more like ‘The End For Now’. There’s more to come–we will finally see how dark Peter’s life is, now that we are in his territory.
I love how Anna made me fall for the anti-hero and the heroine. She is such a fantastic writer; I love how true she stayed to both Peter and Sara.
Tormentor Mine by Anna Zaires is one of my best reads of 2020. Peter Sokolov has made himself a cosy place in my top book boyfriends list and I’m sure you’ll be as obsessed with him.
I definitely recommend this book if you love obsessive, dominant, crazy alpha anti-heroes and devour Dark Romances in one sitting.
Blurb
A new dark romance from New York Times bestseller Anna Zaires
He came to me in the night, a cruel, darkly handsome stranger from the most dangerous corners of Russia. He tormented me and destroyed me, ripping apart my world in his quest for vengeance.
Now he’s back, but he’s no longer after my secrets.
The man who stars in my nightmares wants me.
Purchase Links
About Anna Zaires:
Anna Zaires fell in love with books at the age of five, when her grandmother taught her to read. She wrote her first story shortly thereafter. Since then, she has always lived partially in a fantasy world where the only limits were those of her imagination. Currently residing in Florida, Anna is happily married to Dima Zales (a science fiction and fantasy author) and closely collaborates with him on all their works.
After graduating from the University of Chicago with a degree in Economics, Anna spent eight years on Wall Street analyzing stocks and writing research reports. In 2013, she became a full-time author, pursuing her lifelong dream of writing romance novels.
In addition to reading and writing, Anna enjoys drinking tea (coconut oolong, anyone?), watching addictive TV shows, and discussing book ideas during long walks with her amazing husband
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