Sacred Sins: (Sins Duet #2)

Margie takes the crown as my favorite Drazen! So...previously when I read Secret Sins, I made a comment that Margie was one of my favorite Drazens. Now that I've finished Sacred Sins, I amend that statement to say that Margie IS my favorite Drazen. I had SO many questions at the end of Secret Sins. And to go back even further, I really had questions pertaining to Margie and her life while I was reading the Submission series. And now, I've got those answers. And answers to questions that managed to pop up in Sacred Sins about things that I somehow overlooked in book 1 and in Jonathan's series. I had certain things that I really, really wanted to happen, FOR Margie, and TO other people in the story that managed to rub me wrong way. Like...the really wrong way. Christine has created one of the most interesting characters I have come across in a long time. Meeting Margie in the Submission series, my first impression of her was that she is a take no bull, impenetrable force of a lawyer who manages the whole Drazen family. Then in Secret Sins, I got to see the young Margie, who was already a force to be reckoned with, but also had a soft underbelly that she only left exposed to a very small number of people. Now, in Sacred Sins, the nails in the armor she hammered over that soft underbelly are slowly starting to come loose as more and more Drazen drama rears its ugly head, and revelations that shake her to the core come to light. How is she going to manage all that is thrown at her? Christine manages to evoke every emotion known to man out of me during my read. I laughed, I cried, I got angry, I got scared, I got swoony, my heart melted, my claws came out and I wished a couple of times that I owned a pair of steel toed boots so I could kick a certain someone right in their lying, cheating balls. I STILL have a question or two rolling around in my mind. Maybe if Christine decides to write about any of the other Drazen sisters (CARRIE) those last few curiosities I have will get answered. After all, you can't read about one Drazen without the whole damn clan being involved. I feel like an epic series has been laid to rest. I hope that's not the case since the Drazens are one messed up bunch and I'm sure there's a ton of fascinating stories to be told. But for now? Mischief managed.

This is a story I've been waiting and waiting for. This is a story I actually reread every Drazen book for. This is a story that feels like coming home, but it's not the way you remember it. Family isn't who you thought they were, they don't fit in the tidy boxes you put them in, everything is out of place. But it's still home. Margie is basically everyone's go to girl. If you got a problem, yo, she'll solve it. Nobody fixes for Margie, though, and only one person gets past the wall. One person left as broken as her. The levels of pain and hurt in Sacred Sins are high, you can feel it coming off the pages. I know the author was worried about meshing the story with other timelines, but once you step into a CD Reiss book, if you are able to get your mind out of the current story enough to pick it apart and hold it up to a calendar, you're reading it wrong. Honestly, I didn't think of any of the other Drazen books until a moment was mentioned that had me go, Oh yeah! Anywho, I will be thinking on this for awhile, and now I'm dying at the possibility of future Drazen books. They are an addiction.

Reading, 'Sacred Sins,' was like visiting old friends, dear friends whom I love and couldn't wait to catch up with. I read the first breath-taking part of this story when it was released and longed to know how Margie's story would play out. It's a story of family, lies, love, hope, and one huge deep, dark secret. A heart wrenching, evocative story weaved with the history of the Drazen family, crafted so the series can be enjoyed solely as a STANDALONE duet providing the perfect example of the penmanship and vivid story telling of CD Reiss. I've read and loved every single interconnected novel but firmly believe this duet can be read in isolation and become a starting point to the incredible world of this family dynasty. Those who are familiar with the Drazen family will garner so much from this story… The first part of the duet reveals a secret, a secret that blew my mind and the second part continues to peel away the layers of Margie's story, showing the reader the development of her life with a good dose of CD Reiss storytelling flare. Do not miss this story! Advance copy provided / Reviewed voluntarily