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BOOKWORM REVIEW: Lucius by Celia Aaron

 



RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
STEAM: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Is shooting someone on the chest considered a meet-cute?

Well, for our two slightly unhinged couple Lucius Vinemont and Evelyn Delcroix, we'll make an exception.

Lucius' family owns one of the oldest sugar cane companies in Louisiana.. He is the chairman of Magnolia's board, which he manages along with his two brothers.  He is also the enforcer when the Vinemonts need to play dirty.  The book opens with Lucius doing what he does best.

Evelyn Delacroix is trying to get revenge on the Vinemonts, starting with a hostile takeover of Magnolia. But in order for her to get that done, she would have to deal with Lucius breathing down her neck and ghosts from her past catching up with her.

These two. Celia Aaron does a brilliant job of taking two people who could never ever get together given their circumstances. She slowly builds on the story, getting us readers to invest in their character development and -- most importantly -- their relationship.

I was concerned about getting a hero who had put himself and his family as the center of his universe and not developing his emotions enough that his connection with the heroine seemed forced and out-of-character, but Celia's slow build is so strategic.

I love my thriller romances set up like a chess match, and you can't help but cheer for Evelyn even though she started the game behind. Lucius is so conniving and always seems to be a couple steps ahead.  As you watch them go from move to move, you eventually make a startling realization about how the game is really set up.

This was my first read of the Acquisition series (even though it is not the first book), but Celia does a great job of integrating details so it can serve as a standalone.  I will be picking up the other books, though, based on how much I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

** I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

Lucius by Celia Aaron is now available on e-book and paperback.


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