Monday 25 June 2018

Snow Falling (Haven Hart Universe #1) by Davidson King



166 pages
Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Available through KU

Blurb

After running from a past destined to kill him, Snow has been hiding on the streets. 

Tell nobody your name. 
Tell nobody your secrets. 
Trust nobody! 
These are the rules of the streets. 

His entire life changes when he saves an eight-year-old boy from a violent end. 

Christopher Manos is one of the most powerful crime bosses in the country. 

Don’t ask anyone to do something you aren’t willing to do yourself. 
Secrets can get you killed. 
Trust nobody! 
These are the rules he lives by. 

When his eight-year-old nephew disappears, he never expects the boy’s savior to end up being his own. 

A man with a dangerous past and a man with a dangerous future find love amidst murder and mayhem. But with Snow's life being threatened at every turn, will Christopher's best be enough to prevent Snow Falling?

Review

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I started reading Snow Falling but, based on the blurb, I prepared myself for a journey into the dark.

And, fair is fair, this story certainly contains its fair amount of dark, hard to read, and even heart-stopping moments. But, the feeling I was left with after finishing this book was mostly one of delight and admiration. I’m impressed with the way Davidson King managed to be true to the darker side of Christopher’s ‘business’ and the things he had to do to stay on top of his game, without ever making me doubt that he was, beneath it all, a good, honorable and even loveable man.

But, no matter how much Christopher impressed me, Snow is without a doubt both the hero and the star of this story. I dare any reader not to fall for him in the very first chapter when he abandons self-interest to do the right thing and save an eight-year-old boy. And, from that moment forward, he only dug his way deeper into my heart. For someone who’s had to look out for himself on the streets for five long years, he really doesn’t have a selfish bone in his body. Of course, his selflessness leads him to make one or two less than sensible decisions, but in the context of who he was and the situation he faced, those seemingly reckless actions made perfect sense.

In fact, that’s another thing that really impressed me. I have a rather profound dislike for forced angst and tension in stories. And for a moment, midway through this book, I feared the story-line was going to be exactly what I detest. I’m very happy to say it didn’t. While Snow’s actions—which will remain undisclosed—did very much make me shake my head (and want to shake him) they were explained in such a way I understood where he was coming from.

While all the other characters in this story managed to make an impression, the prize for best and cutest secondary character ever goes to Simon. This gorgeous eight-year-old managed to capture my heart with as much force as Snow did.

Snow Falling really gives the reader everything they could hope for in a book. The story grabs your attention from the start and never releases its grip until the very happy ending in the epilogue. The balance between suspense, darkness, light, and sexy was just about perfect, and I found myself incapable of putting the book down once I’d started it.

Colour me very impressed with this debut and don’t be surprised if you find me reviewing Hug it Out in the not too distant future.

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