Book Review | Smokeshow – Abbi Glines (Smoke Series, Book One)

Smokeshow
By: Abbi Glines

Series: Smoke
Book # in Series: 1 of 6
Genre/Trope: Romance, Age Gap, Suspense
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: April 16th, 2023
My Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
My Reading Format: kindleunlimited

Synopsis:

Set in a world where southern wealth and power comes from one source. The Family is ruled by one boss and it’s time for the newer generation to step into place.
It’s a fragile thing- the whispers of truth that you hope are lies.

Hughes Farm was the largest racing horse establishment in the south. The family that owned it were known to be wealthy, powerful, arrogant, and terrifying. My first encounter with them didn’t prepare me for all that was to come. I don’t think anything truly could have.

Growing up with only my father and brother hadn’t been easy but we’d had each other. Losing them was the hardest thing I’d ever faced. It had made the times we went without food, electricity, or even shelter seem insignificant in comparison.

It is when a woman, claiming to have been my mother’s best friend, arrives to take me home with her that questions begin to surface. My father had rarely spoken of my mother. She’d died when I was a toddler. Having no other option, I trust this stranger and am thrown into a world of mansions, racing horses, extravagance, and him.

It’s true that there is a thin line between love and hate. But there is an even thinner line between truth and lies.

Once upon a time, a reader fell in love with a romance novel! Basically sums up my feelings for the entirety of Smokeshow by Abbi Glines. This book has been on the market for five months now, and I’m seriously over here kicking myself for not picking up this book and the Smoke series sooner. I’m so far behind now!!

I literally sat her for close to two hours writing the portion of my review where I tell you all what this novel is about in my own words. I’ve decided to forgo that portion of my review this time around. I think this novel is best left to the imagination of the current reader. There is no way I could go into detail without giving away huge spoilers! So I’m going to jump ahead to the my thoughts portion!

Okay, I’m going to be honest for a moment, as I try to be with all my reviews. I went into this novel expecting to like it. I usually give each and every book a fair chance based on the contents of the story and not my love for the author. Each and every story deserves honesty. So as I said, I was expecting to like this one, but given the mafia trope I saw several readers list this under, I wasn’t expecting to love it. I’m not a huge fan of the Mafia scene, it can feel a tad bit overplayed sometimes… With all that being said, I can say with a smile on my face, I found Blaise and Madeline’s story addicting! I consumed this novel within one night! I literally could not fall asleep for fear I’d be missing out on something, even though I would be reading the contents the next day. Abbi Glines has this way of writing that includes her readers. It felt like I was on the sidelines watching everything go down! I was a bystander within Abbi Glines’ wonderful world!!

Everything I loved about this novel. Let’s start with the slight age gap. Throughout Smokeshow, I thought Madeline would end up with one of the two boys she was always hanging out with…. And then Glines’ threw a wrench in the midst of my thinking and went in a whole different direction. I love the older man/ younger woman age gap trope. I feel there is a level of fragility to these relationships. You never know if they’re going to work out, or if the age difference will be a detrimental relationship ending situation. Thank God, Abbi Glines made it work! Another thing I loved was, Surprisingly, the Mafia vibes. So when I first started this novel I had a fear it was going to be all about the mafia lifestyle, and typical cursing, enemy wars, and women getting caught up in the middle. Okay, so some of that happened… but what I really loved about Abbi Glines’ take on the mafia trope was the slow burn buildup. She took us on a journey into the world, it wasn’t blasted in our faces, and honestly if I had not read reviews stating this was a mafia romance, I wouldn’t have known until the fifty to seventy-percent point of the novel. So yes! Abbi Glines is a rockstar when it comes to building up a trope!

The one major focal point of what led to me reading Smokeshow through the whole night and into the day was the suspense element. Throughout the whole novel were given little pinches of suspense surrounding the mother of Madeline. I internally struggled with not knowing and yearning for more little tidbits of information throughout this whole novel. I had a feeling I knew what the conclusion was going to be, but in the end, Abbi Glines exceeded my expectations! There may have been moments I wanted a little bit more from, but that suspense element had me switching up my typical four star rating back up to a five star! And don’t get me started on that suspenseful ending!! I definitely need to pick up the next book in this series!!! So many reads on my list with what feels like so little time. 

I loved Madeline’s character and her softness, but also the fact that she was very observant and when this woman has had enough, she lets you know! That went perfectly with Blaise’s devil without a cause personality. She’s the soft side to his hard edges. She’s the sunshine to his grumpy. And she’s the calm to his unruly. My heart loved these two and now I’m sitting here with the reality that I need to know what happens with these two! I hate Cliffhangers! I literally just went to amazon and ordered not one…. Or two…. But the first three books in the Smoke Series! I’m still kicking myself for waiting so long to read Smokeshow and to start the Smoke Series. I loved every moment of this novel, and I can’t wait to see where this story leads.

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Read Today:
*Available with kindleunlimited*

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3PbolD3
Amazon Universal: https://mybook.to/ssag

Peace Love and Happy Reading,