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Severed by Vengeance

The Severed Signet, Book 1

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Severed by Vengeance

By: Elle Maldonado
Narrated by: Janine Granda, Bryant Walker
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About this listen

She was mine.
Made for me.
Born to ruin me.


Evangelina
:
I lived my life surrounded by luxuries, love, and attention.
While at the mercy of lies, death, and deceit.
I was tired of being just a pretty face.
The woman who always had to prove her worth.
When tragedy tears yet another gash in my heart, he was there to help mend my grief.
But there was a mystery hidden behind those alluring diamond eyes.
A whisper of ghosts and trauma from his past.
Red flags I knew I shouldn’t ignore.
Yet I couldn’t help the feelings blossoming within me or the fire that scorched my skin under his touch.
Derek Cain held promises of love and protection.
But what if he was who I needed saving from?

Derek:
As a child, I knew nothing but hate and pain.
I was a soulless, unlovable bastard bred into a killer.
Bound by blood to the world’s most obscure and elite society of global puppeteers.
For years, I fantasized about taking revenge on the man who’d abandoned me.
And when his time finally came, that’s when I saw her.
His weakness.
Detective Evangelina Cruz was mine to taint, use, and ruin.
Until the lines of vengeance and obsession blurred.
And she consumed my every thought.
Though my secrets would destroy her, I’d bathe the world in blood before letting her go.
Would the love we forged in darkness prevail in the light of truth?

©2023 Elle Maldonado (P)2024 Elle Maldonado
Multicultural Romance Romantic Suspense Revenge Suspense Heartfelt
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What listeners say about Severed by Vengeance

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Excellent Story & Narration🎧 Riveting & Twisted!

I enjoyed this book immensely, the story hooked me in right from the start and captivated my attention the entire time. Elle Maldonado is a “new to me” author and consider me impressed, even more so when I heard this was her debut novel. She is a gifted author with a creative mind, her storylines and characters are original and easy to connect with. Derek Cain is out for vengeance, to get the man who ruined his life, his biological father, and plans to end his life. Then he sees an opportunity to take his vengeance even further, on someone who meant something to his father, Evangelina “Eva” Cruz, and he plans on making her his and then ruining her. Except not everything goes as planned, and the unexpected happens. Eva is a police detective and Derek is a trained killer, a hit man, but he is a smooth operator and he finagles his way into Eva’s life. Adding to the excitement is when one of Eva’s informants, who is in deep trouble, brings that trouble to her door. A possessive and over protective Derek gets involved, and he comes head to head with the Russian Bratva. Eva on her own is in way over her head, especially when she has nobody to turn to, at work or at home. I loved the mystery behind Derek, would have loved some more details of his younger days, but this is the first book, so maybe that is yet to come. The chemistry between Eva and Derek is smoking hot and burning through the roof. These two were opposites in so many ways, good vs. evil, but they were drawn to each other. Derek hits her with so many truths, and life as she knew it was no more. Can she accept that and how will she deal? There is never a dull moment in this book, it is a cleverly plotted dark and twisted story and has plenty of drama, angst, action, mystery, thrilling take you to the edge of your suspense, heartfelt emotions and steamy romance. The world building and character development is great, and so are some of the secondary characters. Elle Maldonado, thank you for this fantastic story and the wild ride. 

🎧📚🎧 Janine Granda and Bryant Walker did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life and did so with a complete understanding of who they were portraying. They took their roles and made them their own, sounding believable and just as I pictured they would sound. Granda nailed it as Eva, grasping every aspect of her personality and was as fierce in the role as Eva was in the book. Walker’s Derek was spot on and he too nailed it as the smooth talking bad boy. They set the perfect tone for the story, captured all the characters’ emotions and had you feeling each one. These entertaining storytellers are talented voice artists and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another amazing listen.

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  • Overall
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Derek and Eva

I liked this but found it a little muddled; the opening chapter had me instantly hooked but Derek's vengeance plot against Eva seemed to get dropped pretty quickly and I never really got back to that level of engagement once I got into the story. Derek's obsession with Eva is pretty instant and I think if more of his dilemma had been seen on the page it would have added a bit more depth. He tries to push her away but despite the multiple POV's it's never really explained why he changed his mind. That and apart from nudging her in the direction of her father's dealings, Derek doesn't really do anything that effects Eva negatively before this. I love an alpha male character but I just felt like something was missing to fully round him out. I was also intrigued by his history with Ronan, Kai and the assassins plotline and would have loved more of that.

I liked Eva however despite being told several times that she is a good cop and even with the rose tinted glasses she's looking through to explain away Derek's red flags, her actual investigations (Rain and James) are not really touched on for the majority of the book. In fairness, the timeline is a little woolly so maybe its all off page and we don't need to see her at the precinct each day but it just seemed like a wasted opportunity that this wasn't utilised more as a spin on the enemies to lovers trope.

Janine Granda's performances always engage me and this was no exception; she really had me feeling all the emotions Eva goes through in this and the russian dialogue was excellent. Bryant Walker is a new to me narrator and I loved his performance of Derek; he made Derek come across as charming with the touches of humour in the dialogue and it was easy to understand why Eva fell for him.

My interpretation of the star system;
3 stars - I enjoyed it; would read the author again
4 stars - I really liked it; I am invested and definitely want more from this author/series
5 stars - I loved it; I engaged with this book completely until I finished it and it is one I will re-read

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Now this is what I am talking about!

Give me a good, dark, romantic suspense and I am a happy camper. Elle Maldonado checked all the boxes with this fantastic start to her Severed Signet series. Evangelina has experienced loss. The death of her brother was a big blow, and now James, the man who was a second father to her is found murdered right after she had visited him. Finding out he has an illegitimate son, the need to meet him is strong. He is the only tie left to James. Derek is twisted, and when he saw Eva with James, he knew that could be the final revenge on his father. What he didn't expect is to develop feelings for the firecracker of a woman. Everything opposite of him, the law abiding woman would never be able to love the darkness that is Derek. Or could she. The immediate pull has her going to him for protection and from there, it's all downhill. Danger is lurking and the craziness that is Derek's life is out for Eva. Will he be able to protect her? Completely entranced in this story, I could not put it down. The plot, the twists, the feelings, the suspense, I was lost and enjoying every twisted minute. It's fantastic and I cannot wait for book 2 to release! I can't recommend this book enough!

Bryant Walker. What a voice! I have listened to him a lot, but this darkness is pure magic as Derek. He is dangerous, yet conflicted and it comes through in the growlie tones he uses. Janine Granda is another that I love and she comes in as Eva, strong and determined, her feelings guarded, but evident. Loved this team, they are fantastic together and made this book even better with their performance.

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Entertaining, Intense, and Captivating!

This was my first Elle Maldonado's book, and won't be my last. This is the first book in The Severed Signet Series, a dark romantic suspense Evangelina and Derek's story is entertaining, intense, passionate, and captivating, filled with secrets, danger, action, and twists and turns. Derek is ruthless, and protective. Evangelina is beautiful, smart, capable, and determined. They are opposites attract, and they complement each other. The world building is intriguing. Janine Granda and Bryant Walker did an excellent job bringing this story to life. I enjoyed it. Looking forward to listening to Tempted by Blood, the next book in the series.

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EVA AND DEREK

I LOVE this book! I had to listen the second it came out in audiobook and I’m sad it’s over 😭 Eva and Derek are such an amazing match and I love their journey throughout this book! Also the little peeps from side characters have me excited to carry on with this series!

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