Blurb:

I knew nothing of hate before I met him.
He was a monster hiding in plain sight, wearing fine, cut cloth and pouring champagne. And after that day, he broke me.
Abel Cortez.
Menacing. Possessive. Cruel.

Note: The House Of Skin Series deals with themes some may be uncomfortable with. These are bad men who make no apologies for their particular trade.

My 5* Review:

When Sinners Hate is book two in the House of Skin series. A dark and dirty tale written in the typical style of Hart De Lune. Readers of dark romance will love this series as the authors don’t hold back with how bad and dangerous these brothers are. This is an enemies to lovers story about the oldest Cortez brother Abel, and Alexia Ortega, the daughter of a drugs cartel boss. 

After we had Dante falling for Wren in book one, we now have the intricate story of Abel and Lexi falling for each other. This not only confuses them but also their families, as the arranged marriage was just another business deal to expand their empires and not a love match. 

Abel Cortez is a cold and cruel man, detached from his emotions. He has been deeply affected by growing up in his mother’s world and the experience of being in prison. To him loyalty and his family is everything so he is fiercely protective. He really sees each of his siblings and understand them even if he seems tough and controlling over them. It does lead to conflicts, especially with his mother, as he sees himself as the head of the family. He puts himself forward to be marry Alexia because he doesn’t any off his brothers would be able to cope with her. 

Alexia portrays herself as a confident, independent and powerful woman but she is constantly fighting for her place in the Ortega empire. Her father treats her as nothing more than a pawn to use to help increase his power. The alliance with the Cortez family will rival their biggest competition, the Cane empire. When she first arrives at the Cortez family home, she has no idea which brother has been chosen as her husband.

They have both endure unconventional childhoods and suffered events which have shaped and turned them into the people they now are. Abel fights his feelings and refuses to hide what he does so shows Lexi their sordid business. Everyone underestimates her but Abel sees something inside that he can work with but he won’t trust her until he gets to know the real woman inside the fake one she portrays. He is cruel and savage in his ways of dealing with her because he knows she is scheming behind his back. He needs her honesty to make it real between them.

Alexia wants to break the Cortez family apart from the inside and exact revenge on her brothers killer but starts to enjoy their love-hate relationship. They both have quick tempers so they regularly clash and provoke each other. They are explosive together fighting and arguing then set the sheets on fire when they make up. There are some unexpected sweet moments between them which makes her realises he is hiding a decent side to his character. She is worried his family will never accept her and she’ll always be treated as the enemy and not his Lexi. Alexia must also decide which family is she is going to side with when things take a turn they didn’t expect. 

I felt we got to see the Cortez family at their best and worse in this book. The dynamics are changing as the brothers find partners. I think his mother is getting worse and Knox is asking for trouble not progressing with their revenge plans. I liked seeing their sister standing up for herself and how Wren was fitting in. I feel things are going to get very interesting in the next book as the authors cleverly built up the tension both within the family and running their business. 

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