Tears of Tess

There is one thing you have to do when you start reading this book, that’s to open your mind, wide. The concept of this book is more than a little terrifying, the outcome of this book is a wonderful idea but honestly more than a little fantastical. I had more than a few moments of “Really?” “That would never happen.” and similar. Then I took a moment, and told myself to just enjoy the story, to let myself get swept up in it.Tess and Brax leave Australia for a holiday in Mexico. Their relationship is comfortable and Tess is hoping to spice things up while they are away. Brax finds the idea uncomfortable though, preferring their sexual relationship to be straight with nothing unusual to complicate things.While out exploring they are attacked and Tess is kidnapped, their future ripped from them and Tess’ life ripped from her as she is whisked into a terrifying ordeal as a sex slave. Sent to France, to a mansion, and an owner named Q.Tess is woman with a lot of strength, she refuses to give in to her situation without giving Q a good fight at every turn. But she finds herself drawn to him, wanting to get to know this man who seems to have a kindness behind his abruptness (see I said you would need an open mind here).Q is intrigued by her fight, but it also pulls at something deep and dark inside of him. You see him pushing and pulling from her, trying not to turn into the thing he fears most.There is far more to Q’s story, which we don’t learn until later in the book which helps us to understand his motives, and what Tess is sensing in him and why she is drawn to him. They are an odd match but as their relationship grows it’s a beautiful and erotic story to read.I loved Brax but he was clearly not a good fit for Tess and even as we revisit him he doesn’t suit her at all and they are more like childhood friends than lovers.This book contains a lot of sensitive subjects, kidnapping, slavery, violence, rape etc. But it is very well handled, and despite it being a little fantastical it is a wonderfully written novel and a fantastic erotic romance. I’m so glad this is a series because I was so not ready to leave the characters and will definitely be reading more.

Tears of Tess is a book that I have been wanting to read for quite some time. In fact, it has been on my kindle for almost three years and right now I’m questioning my sanity as to why I left it so long to read this story.I must admit that having already read a couple of Pepper Winters’ other dark romance series I was wondering if this one would be more of the same, but I was so wrong. I absolutely loved Tess and Q and reading about the relationship that develops between them. It is one that requires individuals who have a similar need, and this couple have met their perfect match.Tess completely surprised me as I learned more about her throughout the story. Her strength and determination are what I admire about her. Having read other book series where Tess and Q make cameo appearances, I already knew how their story would unfold, but I loved reading this book to learn the finer details about how they met and who they are. This book focused more on Tess and I believe Q’s book is next so I am hoping the author will go back and tell us about his childhood, so that I can understand the reasons behind his actions more.I literally could not put this book down especially during the first half-ish. However, I did feel at times that the story was a little slow and could have been shortened, but other than that I absolutely loved it. I do feel that Tears of Tess deserves 4.5 stars.

This is the first book I’ve ever read by Pepper Winters and it will not be my last!In the name of the wee man, this woman can write!This story has it all. Heartache, horror, passion, and a couple of awesome plot twists that I just was not expecting.Quite often I can guess where a story is going before it gets there, and that’s ok but this one didn’t go where I thought it was going to and I loved the surprises.The characters are so well written you can pretty much see them jumping out of the page at you.In the beginning, I was a little apprehensive, because I wasn’t sure I was gonna like Tess, however, she evolved beautifully and now I love herTESSSo, poor Tess is a little bit of a complicated character. She has never really been truly loved for who she is, and it shows. Her parents didn’t really want her and her boyfriend wants a “nice” girl who is ok with the vanilla lifestyle.Because she is starved for love and has a desperate need to belong, she fits into Brax’s rather simple life just perfectly...for him. However, that leaves her desperately unfulfilled.Still, Tess has this little spark of kink in her that she can’t quite seem to extinguish.On a holiday to Mexico, they somehow get off the beaten path and go into a run-down little cafe and this is the turning point in both of their lives.BRAXHmm…I’m really not impressed with this guy. He’s the kind of boy that needs a woman to really need him. And it’s not in a dominant/Daddy way. He needs an emotionally weak woman in order to feel good about himself...I think. To be honest I found him to be a bit of a wet noodle, lol.Q- Wow. Where do I begin with this man? Even now as I’m at my laptop writing this review, whenever I think of some of the scenes with him in this book my heart flutters a little.Tess is given to him as a slave by a man trying to sweeten a dodgy business deal. From the second Tess walks through his front door hissing and spitting like a wild cat the fun and games begin with surprises on both sides.So many inner demons though. Okay, so he is also a butt-head. But aren’t all of the good ones? There are some dark and twisted secrets here that explain a lot but not until the very end of the book. I can’t say too much about him as I don’t want to spoil any of the story for you.I will say, however, the depths of this man’s emotions are unfathomable. He is dark. He is twisted. He is alpha to the core.FINAL THOUGHTS on TEARS OF TESS by Pepper WintersI enjoyed this book so much. I loved these two and the passion on every page! The way it ended left me with a need to immediately download the next book in the series to see what happens next.4.5 STARS