Road To Fire: A Dark Romance (Broken Crown Book 1)

"Broken… ruined."This is how I am left, trying to figure out how to explain just how badly you need this book, these characters, this passion, in your world.Maria Luis has written tales of love, happiness, and happily ever afters. She delved into darkness with The Blood Duet… and now comes The Broken Crown.I can’t explain what this book has done. I’m a healthcare worker, who has had precious little time for anything but sleep and trying to keep life at home as normal as possible this last month. Tonight I gave myself time to just be me - self care, if you will. I carved out what I hoped would be enough time to finish the book in one sitting. Knowing how much I loved the Blood Duet, I presumed I would need to finish it all at once. I wasn’t wrong.I need to stop and preface the rest of this review with the premise that I quite literally cannot stop a book in the middle. It’s torture. If I can stop your book in the middle without my fingers and brain itching to pick it up and read just one more page - well… I won’t leave you a bad review, but I’ll think twice about one-clicking the next one that pops up. If I can focus on anything while waiting to pick it back up, well, I might think twice about finishing it (JK! I’ve only done that twice - ever.)However, I can do lots of things while reading. Even the best of books. I can stop for a snack. I can check my phone. I can hold a conversation. I can go rescue my children’s snorkel masks from a sneaker wave (yes, there’s a story there. And yes, my kindle survived…). And if I really, really need to, I can go to work and function in the real world (don’t ask me how painful that is). It is rare that a book takes me to such a place that I forget everything around me and dive so deep that I don’t resurface until it is over.With Road to Fire, Maria Luis took me there. 3 hours and 16 minutes. That’s how long I was lost to the world around me. I missed texts from my husband asking if I was done reading yet and ready to come to bed. I forgot everything, quite literally, except the words on the page and the people in them.Saxon was… wow. He was the dark, tortured soul that my dark romantic heart longs to read, to see, to feel. You spend the entirety of the story just longing to heal the hurt and take away the pain - all while wanting to deck him and yell at him to pull his head out of his arse.But Saxon wasn’t everything in this story. Not even close. Isla — low-key — I have a mad girl crush now. Isla took everything. She is the warrior spirit we all have locked inside of us, waiting to break free. She is that moment in Wonder Woman - you know the one I’m talking about - where she pops up over the trenches and goes all badass on the Nazis… that’s Isla. She’s a fighter. She’s a warrior, a goddess, a queen in her own right. And she is so, so human. She loves and cares deeply. She’s angry and vengeful and naive. She’s fire. She’s everything.So… this is the part where I should stop gushing and try to write a “real” review… but I’m really not much good at those. I don’t want to give out spoilers. Also, I don’t think I could do it justice. But I’ll try - the premise here is a dark, not fairytale, royal romance. Saxon and his brothers are sworn to protect the Crown. Isla is an anti-loyalist. Right, wrong, black, and white all get twisted into many shades of grey. No one could predict how the tangled web could turn into such a dark romance. No one could predict how it would end. Also… the dang cliffhanger… Saxon and Isla see their story brought to fruition… but the overarching plot continues into the next two books… I’ve already preordered book 2. You should seriously consider doing the same.

I love María Luis! I think this is her best book to date. I loved how feral the two main characters were. The storyline was unlike anything I’ve ever read, really refreshing from the common tropes we read now.

How in the world do I move on from this book. From Saxon and Isla, characters that have embedded this deep into my heart?Well, I’m not sure that I can, but my hope, my saving grace for my poor heart, is that we hopefully get glimpses of them again in books two and three, Saxon’s brothers stories.So, prepare yourself my friends, Saxon Priest and Isla Quinn’s story is going to gut you, it will rock you to your core, it will torture you, and I assure you,you will love every.single.word of it! Road to Fire is book one in the Broken Crown Trilogy and while it is not a standalone and does end on a storyline cliffhanger, our couple Saxon and Isla get a HEA in this book.I love Saxon Priest!! I really, really do. He’s gruff, and gritty and harsh and hides behind that exterior. He is so complex, there are layers upon tragic layers to this man. For those and many more reasons he doesn’t do relationships or attachments. Then you have the gorgeous Isla Quinn. She is sweet, yet feisty and fearless. Like a real booty kickin chick y’all! She hides many secrets and lies behind her eyes and quick witted sarcasm. There are so many reasons they should never fit together. Saxon is dominant and alpha and she’s strong and independent. Those things alone would make them a challenge for each other. She has no problems standing up to him. She’s got grit and a spine of steel. But like two magnets drawn to one another, it was inevitable they would come together. I for one could not wait! This would be an epic throw down when temptation won out, of that I was sure!These two are dynamic. They are off the charts hot.Everything about these two managed to take my emotions on a trip through the tumble dryer and I came out a bit of a mess. They made me laugh, cry, swoon, scream in frustration, fan myself cause they are oh so HAWT!Then I cheered, I cried again, fist bumped the air and then gave a big ol’ southern “h*!! yeah” ' holler and was breathless again by the end!Maria Luis crafted such an amazing tale full of murder, lies, darkness and intrigue. But y’all, her brilliance shines more than ever in this book. I would definitely say it’s her BEST BOOK YET!! She vividly painted this beautifully eerie, and twisted story, with rainy and smoggy settings, sounds , smells, sights, in such exquisite details that if I closed my eyes I could almost visualize this playing out like a movie in my head. I’m telling you my friends. YOU MUST READ THIS!!Maria Luis will shock you over and over again. This story will suck you into its web of lies and deception. When secrets are revealed and choices must be made, will Saxon and Isla overcome all the obstacles mounting against them, can their love conquer all?Cr8zysockbookblock blog wrap up for this book!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐⭐️- MY HEART!! This book O-M-G.. Action, secrets , suspense, angst, hot sexy times, so much heart, banter, blood and sweat, tears, fight scenes, forgiveness, revenge, and frustration, lies on top of lies! The 180 * change in the H, twists and turns around every corner. These characters are LIFE!💀💀!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥-Holy Hades Y’all!!Saxon and Isla are pure fire and ice perfection! There are melted panties and kindles all across the world because of this book. (Maria’s not even sorry either y’all)🌪Cliffhanger Warning-🌪🌪Holy Cliffhanger Batman! There is a storyline cliffy, but our beautiful couple get a perfect Happy! 😍🔫 Trigger Warning-This book is a Dark romance feel and does have violent scenes that could be considered triggers for some. If you have concerns you can PM for more information.

So emotionally intense and action packed. Love the political intrigue, the mystery and the emotional turmoil every character is tangled into.

I’m so in love with the characters, the plot and the author. Such a masterpiece that I couldn’t put the book down until I finally finished it at 4 in the morning. This is the first book I read from this author and let me tell you, it’s definitely not the last. I’m to start the next book in the series in a few minutes.I was an emotional wreck with all the twists and turn AND the romance between Isla and Saxon. He was a protective lover and was ever so sweet with her.The love declaration from both at the end? My heart was about to explode.An amazing read

Wow. So I've been suffering from the book blues for like a week ( that's long for me! ) You know that feeling you get just after reading a fantastic book and you want more but there isn't any? The way all other books seem bland and boring because they just aren't the book you want....Yeah that feeling.But then I remembered seeing Road to Fire being promoted in a book group and I thought, what the hell. Might as well look and man! What a blurb! Hook,line and sinker!I got tingles... bam! No more book blues and straight into a new adventure! But before you go assuming this is just another love story... it... is... not! The story is set in an Alternative London where unrest rules and Hatred for the crown is building up to a situation that is sure to combust, causing epic Chaos.The world is beautifully written. Balanced perfectly between the reality we know and the very believable fiction of a ruthless king that brought England to the verge of a revolt before dying leaving the new Queen with a broken monarchy and a Country ready to combust into civil war.Now enter our leads... the one side we have Saxon protecting the monarch from those wanting to dethrone her by living a double life as an infamous anti-loyalist. And on the other hand you have Isla, a fiercely protective Sister, a woman with a secret and the burning desire to bring down the monachy in a hail of embers and flames. Saxon is Cold, menacing and savage and Isla is Fiery, cunning and mouthy. Never has Fire and Ice been such a good match.Their love story is edgy and raw and if you are anything like me you will be up until the wee hours of the morning reading, not being able to put it down,needing to know just how it all ends.... hoping it doesn't go all wrong. The story telling is emotional and gripping and exciting and bring the characters to life in a way that only the best writers can. The blurb didn't lie... this story was EPIC....and now I'm back to having the book blues cause the next book isnt out til July 2020

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book. I really enjoyed reading the brilliant “Road to Fire” by Maria Luis. If you are looking for a great, gripping book to read you want to read this. It has an enjoyable, well written, intriguing story and the great, interesting characters kept me glued to this book. I really loved their story. Their interaction and chemistry was engaging and addictive, I was engrossed, I couldn’t put it down. Yet another fantastic book from Maria Luis.

Maria never fails to deliver wonderful stories, but this is slightly different from her normal style, but here she’s definitely given us another fabulous first book in this new series Broken Crown Trilogy. Loved Saxon and Isla, great chemistry between these two and a fantastic, page turning thrilling ride from the start to the cliff hanger at the end. It has it all mystery,suspense, romance and action. I can’t wait for the next book in the series,truly amazing.

I've been a fan of Maria's for a while, and I've read this book several times - it never fails to grip me from start to finish. Maria's work only gets better with every read, her stories filled with characters so real you can almost feel them. Do yourself a favour and read this series (and everything else Maria has written and will write in the future!)