Bleeding Heart: Scions of Sin Book 1, Taylor Holloway

Alex and Madison test one another's patience, inflame each other's libidos, and challenge their beliefs.  Neither of them know what life would be like if they weren't baiting one another or at each other's throats every time they're in the same room.  Well, they can imagine, but it involves a lot of nakedness.  At first it seems that they're both on opposite sides of the philanthropy scale but as we follow their story we see that not all is as it seems.  Alex sees more of Madison than she thinks he does and this very grown up, very appealing version of her is hard to resist.  He finds himself thinking that life doesn't have to be all about him, his profit margin, and numerous meaningless encounters.  But when a business deal turns deadly he'll have to admit that he feels more deeply for her than he lets on if he wants to keep her safe, forever.

Madison is fierce, has a temper, and is incredibly devoted to her heart's notion of justice.  While she sees Alex as her insufferable adversary in an incredibly hot package, she also knows that she wouldn't be so drawn to him if it weren't for the good soul she knows is inside.  He doesn't let it out very often, but it's irresistible to her.  I loved her heart, her intelligence, her humanity.  She was magnificent in the bathroom scene.  I was surprised and incredibly impressed.  Madison wins.

Alex was a bit harder to swallow.  The first scene in the airplane was unnecessary and I really disliked it.  We know what kind of man he his, or the kind he thinks he is, by the impression and interactions throughout the entire story so the flight attendant scene was over the top in expressing that.  It put another huge point in his negatives column that he had to overcome to be worthy of all that is Madison.  If that weren't there I would have been way more favorable toward him.  Without that he was a redeemable prick that I could have loved.  His choice to be the way he was was well-founded even if he was deplorable at times.

Getting the flashback scenes was actually beneficial and they were well-placed.  We get one impression of him and then see the background a bit later so we get to open our eyes and heart to him right along with Madison.  She's experiencing the direct effect of seeing what kind of a man he is, what kind of a man she always saw in him under his bluster and priggishness.  For the reader we get a more omniscient view, or so we think.  His thoughts and feelings in the moment are revealed to us but we miss out on a shared history and this is where the flashbacks fill us in.  They give us something that we would otherwise miss by coming into the story where we do.  Each one was well done and I not only appreciated them for informational purposes but also just enjoyed reading them.  They were complicated, frustrating, and also both enlightening and moving even if they weren't always positive.

By the end of the story I was rooting for them harder than I expected I would.  I was so glad that there weren't any jealousy complications between them, that the plot was focused on the cartel drama, Madison and Alex, and their evolution as individuals and a couple.  There was plenty going on with just those things that we didn't need anything else to drive the plot forward or complicate the situation.  Their passion, affection, and commitment are so genuine and right for them as individuals as well as in the overall flow of the story that when we reach their "conclusion" I'm a believer.  The set up for the next book was quite salacious and I have mixed feelings about it, especially Alex's reaction to it, but I won't deny that it was tantalizing and fit the theme of these Scions of Sin...

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