REVIEW: Dirty Promises by Karina Halle

Blood. Sex. Revenge.

Being king comes at a brutal price.

Drug lord Javier Bernal has sliced and diced his way to the top of the Mexican drug trade, presiding over the country's largest cartel. But his rise to power comes at a brutal price: the death of his sister, Alana.

Devastated and wracked with guilt, he turns away from his new wife, Luisa, forcing their marriage into a steady decline. But it isn't until she's pushed into the waiting arms of Esteban Mendoza, his right-hand man, that Javier realizes everything he's lost.

And it isn't until he learns the truth about Alana, that he realizes everything there is to gain.

Blood will spill.

Cities will burn.

Heads will roll.

Because Javier will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants.

And what he wants is raw, ruthless revenge.

Dirty Promises is the third and final book in the Dirty Angels Trilogy. While the other two books - Dirty

Angels and Dirty Deeds - can be read as standalones, it is recommended you read at least Dirty Angels before reading Dirty Promises.


Source: Author

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Shel: Y'all. 
Y'ALL.

This is how I started this book:

Shel: I totally had this. I was not intimidated. Nope. Having been through Javier's shit before I knew, JUST KNEW, I was ready for whatever Javier and Luisa (via Karina Halle) threw at me. Court: And here I was...having just finished Dirty Angels and I was all sorts of messed up through that experience, and I was like...Shellllleeeyyyy, I'm scared. I was right. I should've been. Just fucking wow.

Shel: I. WAS. WRONG.

Shel: Within chapters this was me:

Shel: (sad for Luisa and PISSED at Javier). (P.P.S. Court: UMMMM....I NEVER expected that plot twist!)

Shel: I was also...

freaking the fuck out because Esteban was so vile, so fucking vile and brutal, and knowing that the train wreck was coming, just freaked me the fuck out. #nolie Court: He who shouldn't be named...just wow. IF ever there was a villain aware, unfortunately, this dude should have it. Just fucking fuck.

Shel: Then, as things progressed..I...just...I...um...

Hmmm.

All I can say is there was a part there that was just absolutely BRUTAL. It's the only way I can describe it. The things Esteban did and what he did to others was inconceivable. I honestly reached a point when I wasn't sure I could go on. I guess this would be a good time to say that this novel is DEFINITELY NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. I'm not even kidding. It's veers off of intensity really fast and goes straight to brutalizing you. Court: I spent a lot of time covering my face. And I was like omigod, it's in my mind. I can't erase that. It isn't like I was watching it on TV (though wouldn't that be soo cool!) I think I spent every emotional reserve I had. Karina, I stayed up with you to finish this roller coaster through a headache, and a horrible day, and then...I was reading, and it was epic, and it was the realest, most insane horror ride we couldn't have imagined...but it was a perfect adieu to this series and to Javier. It took every book that was every written in this series, and upped the ante times 1,000. Wow, Karina Halle, Wow. 

And just when I thought ohmyfuckingshitcanIevendothis?, my incredibly flawed Javier and Luisa somehow managed to ....

 be the badasses I needed them to be. THANK GOD. Court: That gif sums it up pretty damn good. 

Shel: And by the end, I can say that this not only sums up how I felt, but how I *think* Luisa and Javier felt: 

Shel: It seems like this could be the end of the line for these characters, but I feel like Halle left the door open for one more character to have a story. I'm not going to say who that is but I will say that I'd love to hear more from that person. Court: At this point, I don't care who it is about, but I really love love love this world of Mexican cartels, and blood and guts and glory, and fighting to survive. It was insane. To the point that I was telling a coworker everything that happened, and while she is squealing in horror, I am smiling and lamenting how much I wish I could read it again for the first time. Dirty Promises is a roller coaster ride of epic proportions and I was horrified. I was mezmerized. I was literally thinking it was the most brutal and sick and twisted thing I'd ever read, and dark and twisty is my thing. And I LOVED IT!

Shel: To reiterate, this is more than an intense novel. It's brutal and harsh and terrifying and I feel it'd be wrong to pretend that anyone could read this and be okay. Pay attention to the note at the beginning before you decide to read it. This is NOT a sweet Karina Halle romance. This is war and love and hate and everything in between. Court: The writing is brilliant. I hate that note might seem like an afterthought, but I hope it isn't. The writing is so raw, no pretty prose, but in your face flawless words that paint this dirty world.

On that note,  happy reading.

ABOUT KARINA HALLE

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of Where Sea Meets Sky, Racing the Sun, The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.

Halle is represented by the Waxman Leavell Agency and is both self-published and published by Atria Books/Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.

Hit her up on Instagram at @authorHalle , on Twitter at @MetalBlonde and on Facebook. You can also visit www.authorkarinahalle.com and sign up for the newsletter for news, excerpts, previews, private book signing sales and more.

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