Book Review | Tore Up – Abbi Glines (Mississippi Smoke Series, Book One)

Tore Up
By: Abbi Glines

Series: Mississippi Smoke Series
Book # in Series: 1 of 1
Genre: mafia romance
Publisher: Abbi Glines Publishing
Publication Date: October 23rd, 2024
My Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
My Reading Format: I received an advanced copy to review honestly

Synopsis:

Calculating, cold, often without emotion was how I was described by those closest to me. I had thought perhaps there was truth to their depiction until this endless searing pain took the place in my chest where my heart used to be. Vengeance now ate away at my soul. The wrath I planned to unleash would make the demons in Hell appear mild.

At least, that was until…

The twisted crux came in the form of eyes bluer than the sky on a warm summer day, a slightly upturned nose with a scattering of freckles, a pink cupid bow mouth, and a smile that made a man’s knees weak.

The events that brought us here meant I should loathe her existence for eternity, yet my need for her grows with each passing day. She’s too young, she’s vulnerable and broken, but somehow, she’s not damaged. She was the cause of what had left me with this raging agony, and yet, the balm that eased my soul. Still, I can never forgive the destruction she caused me and those I love.

I had become a mockery of my revenge because holding her at night while she slept was the only thing keeping me sane. She’ll pay the price through my cruelty, never knowing that while she dreams, I find my solace.

My story begins with my worst nightmare.
And she’s the reason behind all of it.

Tore Up is the first book in Abbi Glines’ Mississippi Smoke Series. If you’re new to her mafia/horse racing style romances and are intimidated by the fact that this is the third series within a mafia world, don’t worry. Tore Up can be read as a standalone. But be warned, once you start, you aren’t going to want to stop! based on the lives of Bane Cash and Halo Tally. If you are a fan of dark and forbidden romances with a ‘she’s having a baby, and it’s not mine’ styled trope, this is most definitely a novel that you should read! If life wasn’t so damn busy, I could have easily read this book in one sitting!

Halo Tally has lived her life feeling overlooked and underappreciated. Everyone in her life has either left her in the dust or treated her poorly. So when she meets Crosby Cash at a horse race, she’s swept away by his charm and good looks. It comes as no surprise. The night after delivering the news of her pregnancy, Crosby is a no-show. But what does come as a surprise is two months later, being held at knife point by a man who wants revenge for his brother’s death.

My heart shattered for Halo. To be overlooked for years and not even have the acknowledgment of her father, that hurt my heart so bad! One thing I’ve come to appreciate about Abbi Glines’, her novels, and her writing style is the attention to detail. She has a way of centering her readers to specific moments. She builds up the emotions and sends me on a constant rollercoaster. My heart loved everything about Halo. Her personality, her vulnerability, and her strength. There was never a moment in this novel when I didn’t clutch my heart for all this woman had been through and continues to go through. I needed her to find her happily ever after, almost as much as I needed oxygen. And that’s all I’m going to say about Halo, due to not wanting to bring spoilers into this.

And then we have Bane! Bane Cash’s life went up in smoke the moment his younger brother was laid in the cold, dark earth. He’ll do everything in his power to make sure his brother’s death is met with redemption, retribution, and revenge. Maybe that’s what caused him to be in the situation he’s in now, threatening the woman his brother was forced to love in secret. He’ll do whatever it takes to make this agony he’s feeling, go away. Bane was the infamous anti-hero of the story. I wanted to hate this man for all he put Halo through, but his point of view moments made that task harder to achieve than I thought possible. This is a man who had his world rocked and his heart shattered. Abbi Glines wreaked havoc on my emotional state of mind with this novel and Bane’s character. I thought I was going to leave this novel hating Bane, but the exact opposite happened. I loved Bane and his fierceness. This man tried to do the right thing by keeping Halo at arm’s length, and in order to do that, he had to be a jerk. He had to get her to believe that he was the enemy. Until the moment he decided he couldn’t fight this anymore. I have to say, the moments of vulnerability that Bane showed were the moments I actually had tears falling down my face.

Now for the premise of the Tore Up. Abbi Glines couldn’t have titled this novel any better if she wanted to. I was, figuratively, tore up from all the ups and downs Halo and Bane’s story had to offer. It’s been a long time since I actually bawled like a baby while reading a book. I also loved the, she’s pregnant with his deceased brother’s baby vibes.” This is a slightly new trope for me. If you follow my reviews, you already know I’m a fan of pregnancy in novels. I love the vulnerability this trope tends to bring out of heroes and the protective nature this trope brings from the heroines. Abbi Glines took the secret pregnancy trope and put her own spin on it! And holy crow, did I love this spin! My heart was all over the place due to this one specific fact!

Overall, Tore Up was worthy of the five-star read. I was sitting here thinking about a few moments that had me initially wanting to drop a ½ star on my read. But the good definitely outweighed those moments in this novel. I gave Tore Up a five-star rating due to the pure unfiltered emotion Abbi Glines brought to this novel. I also rated this novel five stars because this is the third series within the Smoke universe, and I’m still intrigued! I can’t wait to read more from the Mississippi Smoke series in the very near future. I do have to say, it is going to be hard to beat Halo and Bane for first place! These two set the benchmark extremely high!

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