Member Reviews
This was my most anticipated out of the series. I really needed to know if Pascal was going to redeem himself after the previous books and I’m here to say he in fact did. I really enjoyed this one.
I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.
This was a quick, rollercoaster of a story. Gabrielle is a feisty, brave woman who I don't know how she survived everything she did. Seriously, to go through all of that before 18 and then having to take care of yourself for 8 years with no education or family? She was determined to get her revenge and live her life with the knowledge that she set out to do what was best for herself.
Pascal is an interesting character. You can tell he is fighting a lot of inner demons and still just trying to figure his life out, even though he's 31 and feels that he should have everything all planned out.
Seeing these two reconnect and the attraction they have for one another was great, but they both struggled with a lot throughout this story. Seeing them get past their struggles while also discovering the real truth of what has happened to one another was great to see.
I'm glad I finally got around to reading this book!
This book was a great read.
I had been wanting to know if Pascal could redeem himself and he totally did.
I liked that we get to see Pascal prove he is the villain you should want to hate but in the end, he winds up being the one you love the most.
Great character development & such a raw exciting story to read.
This is the third book in the Dumont series, Discretion was the one that least held my interest, I enjoyed Disarm more because I wanted to know what would happen next, even thought the romance was okay for me. Disavow is the best one of the three, I love the idea of a redeemed villain, it makes for such an interesting premise. These books work best in read a set since the unfolding intrigue is the hook that keeps it going all the way to Pascal's redemption.
I love Karina’s writing and the story she wove captured my attention immediately!
I love how she writes such beautiful stories both in how she tells us about her characters and the scenery. The depth is there too.
I enjoyed the first book in this series so I was looking forward to reading Disavow. I love all things France so I may be partial to the fact that this book is set in France.
I didn't like Pascal in book 1 and to be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with the whole "redeeming" aspect of characters because let's be real here for a second, when you start to really hate a character from the previous book, are you seriously telling me that you're going into the book with an open mind? NOPE! But I'm fickle minded when it comes to book characters.
I more than enjoyed Disavow. Looking forward to reading more from this series.
***4 ‘Sprite’ Stars***
Ever since meeting Pascal in Discretion I’ve been fascinated by him and just how he can do all that he does and I gotta say, I thoroughly enjoyed getting inside his head and watching him brought to his knees by his sprite, Gabrielle.
I loved Pascal and Gabrielle. While I was fascinated by Pascal, I didn’t necessarily like him. But watching as Gabrielle gets under his skin and things start to shift in him, well the man that comes out of that experience is one I wouldn’t mind getting to know. As for Gabrielle, she is strong, intelligent and determined. I loved her spirit and how genuine her heart was, despite all that she’d been through.
Gabrielle and Pascal’s journey was definitely an interesting one. I loved how, despite all their intentions, they got under each other’s skins and ended up truly seeing who the other was and finding that they actually liked them with all their bruises, edges and demons. I have to say it was a lot of fun to watch them dance around each other, regardless of the darkness that surrounded them, and I loved that they got their HEA.
This was definitely an interesting series with all kinds of crazy ~ both the good and the bad ~ going on. I have to say that I really liked how the author dealt with all the various family issues both in the last chapter and then the epilogue. She didn’t make things rose colored, it was real but hopeful and I couldn’t have asked for a better ending for the Dumont clan.
~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~
Wow I absolutely SPED through this one. This is my first look at the Dumonts series from Karina Halle, with Disavow being the 3rd installment. It follows Gabrielle, a woman looking for revenge against a very powerful man that took everything away from her. The daughter of a maid, Gabrielle returns to the house of the Dumonts, with a plan for vengeance. But this plan is thrown off when she finds herself falling for the son of a monster, named Pascal. This book deals with sensitive topics, such as rape and sexual assault, so please be vary of that from the very beginning! Not being made away of these content warnings definitely affected my enjoyment of the first part of the book, as it really starts off abruptly. Things started to get better for me as the book went along, and as the chemistry and the story between our main characters grew. This book was definitely suspenseful, but lacked the finesse of a thriller, which doesn't affect me much because its a romance first and foremost. Although for me, the ending was a bit predictable. Overall, an enjoyable read from a new author to me, and i'll be reading more from her in the future!
Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. All opinions in my review are my own.
I was a little nervous going into this book. Throughout this series, Pascal has done things to warrant the reader to greatly dislike him. I admit that I did dislike him in the previous books. I didn't know how well I would perceive him in this book but Karina Halle writes a good redemption story. I went from disliking him to rooting for him.
I've really enjoyed the characters in this series. In this book, the focus is on Pascal. I really liked getting a deeper look into him. I liked how flawed his character was. He has done some horrible things in his past and in this book we get to see behind his mask. We get to see what he thinks and feels about his actions from the past and we get to step inside his head. We get to see what makes him tick. Gabrielle was a great character as well. She has suffered trauma in her past but she is a strong character with a big heart.
I think that Pascal and Gabrielle complimented each other well. They have both experienced darkness in their pasts and it really makes them like kindred spirits. They have very palpable chemistry with one another. You couldn't help but root for them.
The plot of this story is really solid. I really liked the build-up from the previous two books. While this is a standalone story that can certainly be enjoyed by itself, there is definitely more depth when you read all the books of this series in order. I really liked that I had no idea what was going to happen. The suspenseful aspect of this story had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen.
Overall, this was a strong finish to the Dumonts series. If you enjoy steamy romance with great characters and an element of suspense then this is the series for you. I can't wait to read what is next from Karina Halle!
I had no idea how Karina was going to nake me root for Pascal, but she somehow did it! He is a terrible person, but he found his person. Gabrielle is a strong woman and has become tough as nails. On paper Pascal and Gabrielle shouldn't work, but they just have this pull towards each other. I loved the character story going on with both of them, we really get to see them deep down and I loved getting to know them. I loved not only their relationship storyline, but the suspense storyline as well. I was so addicted to them, especially Pascal. He isn't a good guy, but he is a perfectly bad one. I loved this story so freaking much, the entire series actually! So obsessed!
Full of twisted secrets and family drama (of the dangerous variety) this book was a fun and extremely exciting escape. Another in a long line of Halle’s masterfully woven tales that will grab you by the throat and not let go until the last page. Amazing.
Whether or not you enjoy Disavow will hinge on whether you find Pascal, the hero of this book but an antagonist in the previous two of the series, redeemable. (I would say this book is definitely not a standalone - it would be hard to follow if you hadn't read the first two in the series, which follows the fabulously wealthy Dumont family and their fashion empire.) I was hesitant about Pascal before starting this book - he is particularly terrible to heroine Sadie in Discretion - and I never fully warmed up to him. (Actually the fact that he gets mad and chokes the heroine in the beginning of this book almost made me DNF it - that was appalling.) I do think that Halle did a good job showing Pascal's evolution - he helps his brother Blaise in the second book, so his redemption is not out of left field - but I was not convinced that his near-instant love of the heroine would make him change. (I did find the scene where he reacts to her confession of love really well done - he doesn't quite know how to process it.)
Gabrielle, the heroine of this book, was a lot easier to like. She has past traumas that she's keeping from Pascal and is bent on revenge. I didn't love how she was brought into the narrative, though - she's hired as a weird hybrid maid-assistant to Pascal, and I didn't understand why she couldn't just be his executive assistant. I also found their lack of discussion about safe sex problematic (though that is addressed towards the end of the book).
There were some writing ticks in this book that struck me as strange - Pascal keeps explaining things about France to the reader (including that the elevators are small there). Pascal is French, so it was odd for him to note things that should be normal to him. I can't imagine musing about the average size of American elevators. But overall this is a quick page turner, and I definitely wanted to see how the story would play out, though I wish we had seen more of Pascal at work. (I wanted to read about running a French fashion house!) If you have read the rest of the series I'd check this one out.
As usual, Karina delivers. I love this story. I Love the Dumont’s. Pascal's transformation from anti-hero to hero was quite a surprise and well done. Angsty. Suspenseful. Definitely not predictable. I love that aspect of this authors work. Her stories offer range and variety.
None of these characters are flat. They all have depth. Pascal being who he was in previous books could have easily fallen into the stereotypical tropes. But Karina was able to avoid the tropes, redeem the character and get me routing for him despite despising him in the beginning of this series. Well done.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
2.5 stars
I’m either hit or miss with this author. She has written one of my all time favorite books and then others are just meh. Disavow wasn’t awful, but I just never liked any of the characters in it. Pascal really got on my nerves throughout the book. And he acted like a spoiled teenager most of the time, which is a huge pet peeve of mine. I didn’t feel he had redeeming qualities, which are essential to me in a bad boy.
Anyway, I’m obviously in the minority with my opinion on this book. But I just never felt a connection.
I loved Karina Halle's "Disavow," the third and final book of the Dumont trilogy. It was a compulsively readable and suspenseful story, and I finished the whole thing in a single afternoon. I didn't want to put it down because I was so anxious to know what was going to happen next.
The main characters of this book, Pascal and Gabrielle, were very complex and well-developed. They were each flawed, but seemed incredibly true-to-life and surprisingly relatable. In the first two books of the series, Pascal came across as kind of evil, so I was surprised by how much I liked him in this story. He came to realize that his temper and past behavior were problematic, so he made a genuine effort to change his ways. As for Gabrielle, I was impressed by her strength, independence, and tenacity, especially after having to overcome a childhood history of abuse. I really enjoyed the way Pascal and Gabrielle's romance blossomed over the course of the story and how they seemed to make each other whole.
Overall, each book in the Dumont series has been better than the last, and "Disavow" served as a perfect ending to this family's story. While each of the books stands alone, IMO it is better to read the series in order. The events in each story build on the ones that came before, and the reading experience will be much richer for those who have a complete understanding of how all of the events and characters are connected.
I highly recommend the entire Dumont trilogy and can't wait to see what Karina Halle writes next!
*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
Ahhhhhhh I'm in love with this book !!!! It was EVERYTHING!!!!! I dive in the story so quickly since the paige no.1. I haven't read this book - I consumed it on one long breath. It was intense. It was HOT. It was BEAUTIFUL AND BREATHTAKING.
I will never have enough of this author and Her books. I could go into them as blind as I only can because I'm always sure - every next story will be that good !!!!
Disavow hasn't dissapointed my exceptations. From the begining this author sucked me deeply into the whole story. Maybe I will repeat myself but Disavow was BEAUTIFUL love story.
I feel.addicted and for sure I will akways come back for more. Absolutely must read title!
This series just keeps getting better with each book. I was a little nervous when I first started this book, I didn’t see how Pascal could be likeable. I am so glad I was wrong.
Pascal is his father’s right-hand man, he’s arrogant and does what he wants. Gabrielle is now working for Pascal as his personal assistant. Her mom was a maid for the Dumont family. These two didn’t expect there to be any chemistry between them. She has a way of breaking down his walls and seeing the softer side of him.
Gabriele has plans and is hoping to see them through. She didn’t expect to fall in with Pascal. These two have intense chemistry and make the pages sizzle. I really enjoyed this book and happy that Karina was able to make me like Pascal. If you are looking for a series that is intense, sexy and will pull you from page one look no further.
I loved this book, I was very intrigued by this story and it didn't disappoint! I had to read it in this book because it captivated me in the best way! I did it backwards, but I'm going to read all the books now!
This is a amazing conclusion to the Dumont series. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Pascal’s story since he has not been portrayed as a likable character in previous books. I knew Karina wouldn’t disappoint with this antihero and she didn’t. Pascal was still his arrogant self but we see more of what made him that way. This story will pull at your heartstrings and can be very emotional at times. The ending was exciting and fast paced with a perfect happily ever after.
4.5 stars!!!
Each book in this series just got better and BETTER. So of course, Pascal has become my favorite Dumont!!! I was wondering how Karina was going to make me fall for him, especially considering I didn't like him at all in the previous books, but it didn't take me very long at all to love him.
In Disavow, all of my questions were answered. We were introduced to Gabrielle. She was a great heroine and the perfect counterpart for Pascal. By the time I got to the end I was in TEARS because this series ended so perfectly.