Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: To Die For
SERIES: Joker’s Sin
AUTHOR: Davidson King
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH:224 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 22 2020
BLURB:
Managing the bar at Joker’s Sin, a gay nightclub, is Max’s dream job. Where many seek fame or fortune, he’s living his best life, surrounded by family and friends. The only thing he doesn’t have is the guy to complete him.
Lane, AKA Sparkles, sees too much of the person he used to be when he looks at Max, and none of it is good. But the stubborn man won’t let up, and when Sparkles’s past threatens to unravel his whole life, it’s Max who steps in to save him.
Can these two opposites push past their differences to see just how right they are for each other? Will they get a chance before it all falls down around them? Or is their love one to die for?
(While it is book 2 in the Joker’s Sin Series, it can be read as a standalone)
REVIEW:
This is the second book in the Joker’s Sin series, which is an offshoot of the Haven Hart series. I enjoyed the Have Hart books very much, especially the last one. As an aside, the Haven Hart series contains one of my all-time favourite covers. I was as sad as all the other fans when the series ended, although it ended in an absolutely perfect way with the satisfactory completion of the overarching storyline, within a cracking good book (except for the epilogue). I was concerned that Joker’s Sin would be unable to live up to the original series, but Book One was a happy relief.
Whilst set it the Haven Hart universe, it has a completely different cast and a different slant to the overall story. Thankfully, it retains its grittiness and the style of the writing is the same, although the author is improving all the time. There was less clunkiness in this book than some of the others and it runs far more smoothly.
Max is a character that has popped up in other books and was a fairly prominent figure in the previous Joker’s Sin book. He was portrayed as shallow as far as relationships went, interested only in picking up men then dropping them never to be seen again. This has resulted in a history of broken hearts and almost caused a rift between Max and his best friend, the owner of Joker’s Sin, Atlas.
Sparkles also popped up briefly in the previous book with a tantalizing peek at a fascinating character. That plays out in To Die For and I completely fell for his snarkiness, especially in high-stress situations.
I was concerned that Joker’s Sin might prove to be a watered down version of the original Haven Hart series which circled around the head of an assassin organization, and a crime lord. Some of my favourite parts of the entire series is when the author turns traditional roles on their heads and have us rooting for the bad guys when they are doing things that in other books would set them very firmly in the villain category. Book One proved that not to be true and this one carries on the tradition of hard, merciless killers who you can’t help but like. I hope Ciro gets his own book at some point.
The story of To Die For is not unique – an abused boy runs away from his abuser and makes a new life for himself, only to have the abuser turn up and try to pick up where he left off, with a nasty element of revenge. There are a number of nice little twists that brings fresh life to the trope and there was an uniquely Haven Hart way of resolving the issue.
One of the things I like a lot is how people take care of their own in these series. They might not always be working within the confines of the law, but they pull out all the stops to protect and care for anyone who is in, or adopted into, their circle. And the circle is surprisingly expansive. Anyone who is lucky enough to come under their protection is taken care of, but none of them have an easy ride. There is always plenty of violence, excitement and intensity that is missing in most of the books in the romance genre. Not that I would designate any of the books in these two series as romance. Sure, there is romance in there, strong characters who fall in love and a relationship that unfolds on the page, but the story is stronger and the outside elements are stronger.
I was pulled in by To Die For as much as any of the other books, and was happy that the standard of writing was better than ever. Both characters, especially Sparkles, are very much three dimensional, as are the background characters, whether we’ve already come to know them in the previous book, or not.
Overall To Die For was a very satisfying read with plenty to get my teeth into, and characters and stories that are strong and engaging. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can heartily recommend it to anyone who likes their romance against the background of a strong story.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: