Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Remington

SERIES: Theriot Family Book 1

AUTHOR: Silvia Violet

PUBLISHER: Self-published

RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021

LENGTH: 318 pages

BLURB: 

A mobster rescued me, and I rescued him right back.

I should never have approached Remington’s car. I knew he was dangerous, but he needed help and I was sure he could pay well for it.

When he offers me an astronomical sum to stay with him for two weeks, I can’t say no. Even then, I know when our time is up, I’ll wish we had forever.

Remington cares for me like no man ever has, and I can’t help falling for him. But how could a crime boss be my Prince Charming or give me the fairytale happily ever after I’ve always dreamed of?

REVIEW: 

Silvia Violet’s Remington, the first book in her new The Theriot Family series, delivers the same sex-heavy, action-filled, M/M romance as the prior two series she’s set in this same universe.  Ms. Violet’s The Marchesi Family series (Lucien, Angelo, and Devil) comes first chronologically, followed by the spinoff Vigilance series (Giorgio, Niall, Leo, and Xavier).  This series, The Theriot Family, follows on the heels of Vigilance.  You can read each series as a standalone unit.  However, within each series, you should read the books sequentially.  I suspect The Theriot Family series will follow that format as well, as it follows sequentially after the end of Xavier (with some slight overlap).  Remington doesn’t contain spoilers for the prior books so you can read it as a standalone if you so choose.

Remington can be overarchingly generalized as a less romantic version of Pretty Woman, right down to the pickup in the fancy car (although Remington’s car situation is markedly different from that of PW‘s Edward), and the fancy shopping venture in preparation for a critical business-related, high-class dinner (here with the head of Vigilance, Xavier aka “X”).  

The book bears great similarity to the preceding books in this universe.  The love between the male leads comes on ridiculously fast and lacks meaningful connection.  While I liked both Remington and Henri (particularly adorable, sweet Henri), I just could not understand how they fit together.  Ms. Violet also invokes her usual direct storytelling here.  She gets right to the sex, action, and intrigue, plunging you into a swiftly moving story right from the start.

Remington, also like the prior books, contains a lot of hot and heavy sex.  Here, though, I found the sex to be overbearing and bordering on dubcon.  Ms. Violet attempts to neatly dismiss that impression with Henri’s (implausible) inner monologuing.  However, I found it difficult to believe that Remington’s sexually harsh, overbearing treatment turned Henri on.  While many of the prior books focus on control, the characters were more similarly situated.  At the very least, the desire to submit was more obvious and believable.  Here, though, the power imbalance was too great to be overcome, in my opinion.

As I’ve noted previously, the books in these series provide a specific kind of outlet:  If you want a book that grabs you from the get-go and doesn’t relinquish its grasp until the end, this will fit the bill.  However, this also presumes that you don’t mind a lack of character development or chemistry.

That being said, also like the prior books, you’ll get great action, interesting if unsurprising twists and turns, and some suspense thrown in for good measure.  All of this without being too angsty or dark, even though our protagonist, Remington, and his mafia family are morally ambiguous characters.  For all of those factors, you may find this book enjoyable.  Personally, Remington didn’t work so well for me.  Nevertheless, I’m still invested in this universe and interested to see what happens with Remington’s brother Corbin in Book Two. 

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

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