DNF at 30%.....Because this book is a DNF I won't be formally reviewing or giving it a star rating. I personally don't feel that is fair to the author.

My final thoughts for this book are this....I just couldn't connect to this story. I am deeply sadden by this since I loved Ruthless and Satisfaction. I was looking forward to this book but it just didn't live up to what I was expecting. I found that I was bored with the characters and found myself skimming a lot of the story. By the time I hit the 30% mark I just wasn't interested in finding out how this series ended.

Drew Lawless. What a complex man. He’s so smart, he’s built a huge empire. He’s so caring, he worked his tail off to provide for his siblings at a very young age. He’s so hot, every woman would want him. He’s so socially awkward, he’s difficult to be around. His awkwardness comes off as uncaring, abrasive and off-putting and he knows it. He’s so focused on his family and revenge against those who killed his father that ever finding a partner is not even on his radar. From the moment he meets the Shelby Gates there is a shift in Drew. He’s not will to change his life for her but he wants her. Never has a man with so much to offer a woman been so clueless about starting a relationship. It takes every bit of Shelby’s strength, and she’s got plenty, to help him understand that everything is not a negotiation. She really is likely the only woman who can deal with Drew and even she can’t always do it.

Shelby is so cool. She’s so smart, driven, she’s a good friend and a loyal advocate. She’s so perfect for Drew. She’s not afraid to call him on his craziness and stand up to him no matter how much he blusters. She’ll do what’s right for him no matter how much he resists.

The end of Satisfaction left us with the astonishing revelation that Iris Lawless was not the woman killed with Ben in the fire at the family’s home so many years ago. Drew, for ultraistic albeit misguided reasons, has kept this from his siblings. The secret gives him a great excuse to bring Shelby closer by hiring her. Of course, he wants to wrap them being a couple into the deal. Shelby is do drawn to Drew she’ll let him create these bizarre parameters.

There’s so much to this book beyond the romance. The intrigue that has been the basis of the entire series continues with life or death cat and mouse games. Lexi Blake creates clever scenarios of falsely accusations likely to be believed and others where you wonder if the characters can ever get themselves out of the trouble they’ve been plunged into. The extended casts of characters is back and as entertaining as ever.

I often want to smack a hero upside the head for being obtuse but none have risen to Drew’s level. He’s so aggravating and yet underneath he’s a great guy who deserves his happily ever after. I routed for Shelby throughout as she broke through each barrier. This couple is complex enough to fill more books because you know this relationship will require a lot of ongoing effort.

reviewed by Jem Stone

Revenge had so much going on! A steamy romance, corporate espionage, and the Lawless murder-mystery resolution, there was never a dull moment to be had! I was glued to my kindle up to the very last page!

I enjoyed the suspense plot of Revenge and how much closure was brought to so many plot threads. I also loved knowing more about the inner workings of Drew and Shelby's relationship. Their connection was obvious from the start with plenty of banter, innuendo, and steam that flowed from one page to the next. Shelby's feisty personality and sassy independence kept things lively and she definitely kept Drew on his toes around her!

There was also plenty of relationship advice and sarcastic humor courtesy of McKay-Taggart Security and the Lawless siblings. Payback is in the air as it seemed like everyone poked their noses into Drew's relationship hiccups with Shelby! Drew was definitely suffering karma flashbacks to his own role in his siblings rocky roads to romance!

Revenge was a thrilling end to the Lawless trilogy! Lexi Blake writes characters that seem larger than life but have an endless capacity for friendship, love, and familial support. The men are just the right blend of sarcastic, protective, sexy alphas and the women are intelligent, feisty, and independent heroines. Needless to say, Andrew Lawless and Shelby Gates were right up my alley! Revenge was an impressive package of steamy romance, humor, high suspense, and shocking surprises you don't want to miss! This is a series I will happily recommend to romantic suspense readers!

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from Berkley via NetGalley.

Julie-Alphas Do It Better Book Blog

‘Revenge’ isn’t meant to be a standalone—that much becomes evident after the first few paragraphs into chapter 1. Too much has happened to the Lawless siblings and the murder mystery surrounding their parents and while Drew’s plot for revenge is detailed in the beginning, it involves manipulation and a rehash of so many details that a reader who hasn’t yet gone through the rest of the previous books would have difficulty assimilating all of them. But it’s also a setup of Drew/Shelby’s story, starting with his trying to convince her of taking up a contract and a non-disclosure agreement to work with him with several dangling carrots for her at the end of it all, only to take it all away.

I liked Shelby at first; she seemed sharp and capable as a reporter, lured as she is by Drew’s false promise that she would get a story of a lifetime while helping the family find justice. It was also difficult not to feel sorry for her, knowing she was also just a pawn to be moved about if Drew really had his way. Yet there’s a core of softness and naïveté that seemed out of place for an investigative reporter that had her being taken advantage of too easily. Drew, on the other hand, is as large a bundle of contradictions as Shelby: cold, manipulative, yet childlike in his need for touch and comfort. There are however, discrete parts of Drew and Shelby’s personalities that don’t fit and perhaps that’s what really threw me off, as did the idea that a family could be so rotten to the core—affairs all around, with psychopathic tendencies thrown in—where money and ambition instead of love fuel every action.

But the plot wasn’t quite what I expected as it took some strange turns along the way that made the storyline a little odd with characters turning on each other and muddying up the black and white lines drawn within the Lawless family. It’s also dialogue-heavy and much like a chess-game, with many threads that you can be expected to untangle right up until the climax of the story where a psychopathic mother finally faces off her own children.

‘Revenge’ straddles the line between intrigue, mystery and romantic suspense, and while actual action is lacking, the corporate espionage and the many bedroom games can keep you entertained…if this is the sort of thing that thrills you.

Drew Lawless. Hot geek. Total nerd. Hotness. Secret keeper. Falls for a reporter of all people. Rowena said she knew he would fall for a reporter. Me? I had no clue, but I’m clueless most of the time.

When he was fourteen years old, Drew saved his siblings from certain death. His parents were murdered then he and his brothers and sister were locked in their childhood home after someone started a fire. Drew got everyone out and made it his mission in life to get revenge on the people responsible for killing his parents and almost killing his siblings. It was only at the end of Satisfaction that he realized that he would be going after his own mother.

Drew brings in investigative reporter Shelby Gates. It was Shelby that uncovered that the woman they all thought died in the fire was his mother was in fact the woman his father was having an affair with. Drew is determined to keep the fact that his mother is alive from his siblings and is going to use Shelby to do it. By pretending to be his girlfriend, Drew is certain they can pull anything off. Drew promises to let her write a tell-all book, but never intends to let it see the light of day.

Shelby has been attracted to Drew since she first met him. There is a vulnerability about him that only she seems to see. She’s attracted to the geekiness that surrounds him and totally turned on by his sexiness. It’s a contrast that she can’t turn away from. In addition to all that, he needs her.

Drew and Shelby are perfect for each other. I adored them together. Shelby keeps Drew human. He so often goes into robot mode when he’s not dealing with his family. She also reminds him that he has needs too. He can’t give and give, he has to take as well. And she makes him realize that he can be selfish when it comes to her. But, oh boy. When he shuts down, he shuts down hard. Even Shelby has a hard time facing a closed-off Drew. Drew is used to betrayal and when he thinks someone betrays him, well, run.

I really loved the abrupt change in the story where the mom was alive. I thought it added a fresh new edge to the series. There was more blood (literally) added in this book and I thought it was a good way to go. My favorite book in this series is still Satisfaction, but Drew Lawless could never disappoint.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5.

Great ending for this series! I enjoyed the whole series usually with the last in a series there is almost no care taken by the author to give it the same attention as the other books but not in this case. At the end of Satisfaction there was a plot twist that left me waiting for the next installment and this last in the series delivered with more twists and turns. I loved it all! Great job Lexi Blake you have a new fan in me!

A great ending to this series. You don't have to read her other related series (Masters & Mercenaries) to enjoy this. I highly recommend this series to all Romance lovers esp those who like some humor.

If you're looking for a romance series that is thrilling both in and out of the bedroom, Lexi Blake's Lawless series is for you. Revenge is the third installment of the series about the Lawless brother's search to solve the mystery of their parents' murders. It's part thriller, part mystery, and all hot when the eldest Lawless brother Drew enlists investigative journalist Shelby into the mystery and into his bed. This series was so fun and heartfelt. Plus it had a satisfying end to the ongoing series mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed it.