Harlequin Crew Book 1: Sinners' Playground by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

Harlequin Crew Book 1

Dead girls don’t feel pain.

But they like the taste of vengeance.

Maybe that’s why I came back to my hometown. Because it sure as hell wasn’t for the surf. But what else was I supposed to do when I found myself in Sunset Cove with twenty bucks to my name, the key to my enemies’ secrets hanging around my neck and a mouth full of grave dirt that wouldn’t wash clean?

I hate the Harlequin boys.

But this is the perfect opportunity to take what they owe me. Because once upon a time, they broke my heart, stole my life and sent me away from everything I’d ever known.

Fox, JJ, Chase and Maverick.

The four names tattooed onto my heart more permanently than any of the ink on my skin. They don’t just live in this town anymore, they rule it. And the view here may be beautiful, but the sun, sea and sand hide dark secrets.

The gangs.

The lies.

The violence.

It all lurks beneath a veil so thin that once you’ve seen through it, you can never close your eyes to the truth again.

But I don’t plan on closing my eyes. I have four devils set in my sights. And this dead girl no longer has anything to lose.

This is an enemies to lovers contemporary series where the girl will end up with multiple love interests and all of the characters are in their late twenties. Trigger warning: this series features gangs, violence, dark romance and jealous/possessive themes.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55762906-sinners-playground

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My Review: 4/5 Stars 

Rogue is having a day. Well more like the last ten years but let's start with today seeing as she wakes up in pain and her throat covered in bruises. Oh and did I mention she was buried alive in a shallow grave? Looks like her ex did a crap job on finishing the job. And the cherry on top for Rogue? She finds herself in Sunset Cove. The last place on Earth she wants to be. Not when the four boys--now men--broke her heart ten years earlier when they were forced to exile her for her own protection. Not that that means much to Rogue. She's now a ghost and dead girl walking and she is ready for some revenge. Her ex will get what's coming to him but until then she has to deal with Fox, JJ, Chase, and Maverick first. The Harlequin boys. 

Well, not all have them are still together. Turns out, there may be some issues between Fox, JJ, and Chase and their once brother, Maverick. But Rogue has a plan. Long ago, they stashed some pretty important loot in a crypt that can only be opened by five keys. Each of them hold on. She just needs to get them back and she can run far away from the ones who broke her. She won't make the mistake of letting them in and hurting her all over again. And I have to give Rogue credit, she does not make it easy for any of them. 

When Fox, JJ, and Chase catch her, they aren't planning to let her go. Well, Chase wants her gone. He won't let her hurt his brothers. Rogue broke them long ago and they barely survived. He won't chance it again. Fox is the opposite. He won't lose her. Not again. He'll do whatever it takes to hold on to her. Even if that means he's gotta be an alphahole more often than not. And as for JJ, he's not letting her go without fighting for her first. He's grown up from the last time they saw one another. He wants his chance. And then there is Maverick. We don't get much of him, but from the glimpses we do, he has definitely changed the most since we have seen him in the novella. Like Rogue, he broke, but he something else has taken his place. We'll have to see how much of the boy Rogue knew is left as the series go on. 

A wild start to this series for sure. I respect the hell out of Rogue for not caving to any of them. They got a lot of groveling to do. Though I do get their side in wanting to protect her. At sixteen, all they could see for their options was losing her or her death. They rather protect her than see her gone forever. And though they tried to find her, she was already too far gone. And ten years is a lot of time to make up for every horrible thing all of them have been through. As usual that I've learned with CC and SV's books is a major cliffhanger. But lucky for me, all the books of this series are out and I can jump right to the next one!