Tainted (Torn, #3)

by K.A. Robinson

[Cocktails and Books]

If you've read any of the Torn series by K. A. Robinson, then you know the story of Chloe and Drake. And while their story probably could have ended where it did at the end of book two, the author gives us just a little bit more to show us what Drake and Chloe went through to get to that epilogue at the end of TWISTED.

Broken up into three parts. In part one we get Drake's POV as he deals with the fallout from his addiction and the steps he takes to overcome them. It's not an easy fight and it's one that Drake struggles with for half the book. But we do finally get to the root cause for Drake's addiction and see the light at the end of the tunnel when he finally recognizes that too. It's by no means an easy road for Drake, he knows what his prize is if he does overcome all of this. So he fights. And it's a good fight that gets him back to a healthy place and forces him to grow up.

Part two is from Chloe's POV three months after she and Drake have gotten back together. She's finally moving with him to LA and it's during the road trip that Chloe asks the hard questions from Drake and is open to listening. She's knows he will face a daily battle with his addiction, but she knows he needs her complete faith in him. Where Chloe would have kept things to herself, she now voices her concerns, asks the hard questions and puts building their relationship in front of the very physical responses they had to each other before. And just like Drake, Chloe is forced to grow up a bit too.

The final part takes place several months after the epilogue, told in Drake's POV again. This is the HEA for Chloe and Drake as they start their family together. It was nice to see their devotion to one another and that they did take time for themselves before they started a family. But you could tell, just for this short part of the book, that they are settled and ready to take on this next challenge in their lives.

If you haven't read the Torn series, they you absolutely must before picking this one up. For those that have, it's a perfect ending for a couple that had a really rocky start, but managed to find a way to fight to make it work.