The Initiation (Filthy Rich Americans #1)

The writing is fantastic, the story sucks you in from page one, and the character development and plot are great. My only real issue with it is, it\’s the first book in a trilogy and ends in a cliffhanger, but nowhere in the description of the book does it say that. I am not a cliffhanger fan. I would have waited to read it until the other two books were published had I known.

Wow! Just when I thought Nikki Sloane couldnt surprise me anymore after reading her Blindfold series, its curveball after curveball with this one. She straddles that tantalizing line constantly, dangling the will it happen? or wont it happen? in the readers face, keeping the anticipation at cardiac levels until it does or doesnt happen. I really loved Marist Northcutt. She\’s an introverted bookworm at heart. Thrust into a situation which doesn\’t have many great alternative solutions, Marist has to transform herself into someone she really isn\’t at her core. She has to be polished, refined, classy and ready for the public. As uncomfortable as she is, Marist doesn\’t show it and always remembers to channel her inner courage, knowing that she has a higher goal and has to do what needs to be done. She might be playing the martyr, but she\’s going to be in charge, too. And the fact that Marist can stand up to and negotiate with Macalister Hale, the Hale family patriarch, is a huge bonus to her character and strength. As for Royce Hale, I liked that he had multiple sides to him, that was completely unexpected. He wasn\’t what I thought he would be. Growing up with extreme wealth and privilege, he has a role to fulfill with certain expectations on his shoulders. He has a public persona, especially around his father. But when he\’s alone with Marist, he\’s someone else and I loved that version of him. But having been trained and raised by Macalister, Royce is very ambitious and always has a plan formulating in his head and stays silent about a lot of things. So it\’s not completely certain which side of Royce is actually real vs scripted and I am eager to figure that out. Of course there\’s steam. My eyes might have bugged out a little and my face turned red while turning the pages as fast as possible and trying not to miss a single word. My respect for Marist increased tenfold for a particular scene where she went into a situation with virtually little to no experience, scarcely knowing about it beforehand, and still participated in all of it; my nerves were frayed to threads on her behalf. And that ending! Talk about a hook of a first book in a trilogy! I can\’t wait to find out what happens next with Marist and the Hale family.

Dark – but youre curious enough to finish. So I buy Book w only to find out its not available for weeks. This is one thing that is discouraging about ebooks and the authors of today. They cheat the reader, they would never get away with it in a printed format. If your writing is not good enough for 3 separate books and you need to drag the books along to stretch it out, youre cheating the buying public. My recommendation is to NOT start this series and locate a better author who has the skill and confidence for a stand alone book. authors state they cant let their go – maybe thats because they lack the imagination and talent to compose another book. BOO to this author.

Not a romance book what so ever. The main character was a young girl being bought and sold for an entitled family who threw away a family fortune. Treated her like a commodity and she was the bad guy??? The one person that should have stood by her, traded her away as well. Not a HEA at all but a cliffhanger.

I picked up this book on the recommendation from a writer that I enjoy, who mentioned that it was not her typical fare but that shed really enjoyed it. The Initiation was definitely not like any romance book Ive read so far, and Id even argue that its not really a romance book. Theres plenty of sex, and there is definitely a relationship to navigate. But its a relationship built on lust and power. Through the lens of the main characters interest in mythology, the author makes plenty of allusions to ancient gods and monsters (and how there is often little difference between the two). In the modern world, wealth brings power, and powerful men tend to think they are gods. But really, theyre nothing more than monsters. This book was intriguing and I dont regret reading it, but its not what I want out of my romance novels. Definitely read the back cover text if youre considering it, and yes, what eventually happens is spelled right out on the tin. Sloane does an admirable job of injecting a lot of feminism into the tale, but I wasnt invested enough in the main character to pursue her story into the next book. Well-written and nicely paced, just not my personal cup of tea.

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