***REVIEW & GIVEAWAY** The Unfortunates by Skyla Madi

Title: The Unfortunates (Unfortunate #1)

Author: Skyla Madi

Genre: New Adult /  Greyish storyline

Publication Date: Coming Soon

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Purchase Links:  Amazon

Synopsis 

He wants his father dead.

He wants power.

He wants control...

....And he'll use me to get it. 

Kade Sario was supposed to vicious and cruel. He was supposed to be a monster, to hurt and chastise me for the smallest things... but he didn't. I didn't understand it... until I found out what he really wanted from me.

He wants to use me. He wants to hold me high above the lion's den and wait for the strongest lion to offer him something he can use...

He won't hurt me and he won't take from me, but he keeps me close... So close I can smell him on my skin even when I'm alone. Growing up it was ingrained in me that I do whatever I can to please my Fortunate. It was ingrained in me that I be loyal and faithful, and that I love my Fortunate more than I love myself. I expected that I'd want to please him. I expected that I would be loyal and faithful, just like I was taught... 

But I didn't expect to fall in love with him.

Time is running out. Things are changing, the balance of power is shifting and if I'm going to survive in this world, I need Master Kade on my side…

My Review

Wow. Words escape me as to how unbelievable this book was. I have read several things by Skyla Madi, and am a huge fan of hers, but this was very different than anything else I've read by her. I was so excited to start this book but hesitant at the same time. The story line is very different. I am a person who loves a ‘real’ story line…one that could take place anywhere and anytime. So I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get into this one as much. Boy was I wrong. I could not put the book down. If I didn’t have my kindle, I had my phone. If I didn’t have those I was on my computer reading it.

The Unfortunates are people born and bred into a life of slavery. They are raised in a compound and allowed only the very minimal to survive. Their life has one purpose only, and that is to service the Fortunates. The Fortunates are a group of wealthy families who have built their own community. They abide by their own rules and hold themselves higher than anyone else. 

These girls aren’t my enemy. It’s not their fault they’re broken. Most of them already are by the time the leave here. I wouldn’t say I’m broken…I’ve always had hope. I can’t put it into words…but I know I see the world in a way that is all my own.

Nine. Not just a number, a person. Nine has grown up in the Unfortunate compound among hundreds of others her entire life. She has no family; no friends, no hobbies and no real vision of what it truly means to live. Despite all that, she is positive and strong. One of the strongest females I’ve read about. Her life is shit but at least she knows what to expect. Now that she is eighteen that is all about to change. Once an Unfortunate turns eighteen they are eligible to be sold to the Fortunates for them to use as they see fit. Most don’t last long. Their lives are expendable. They misbehave or speak out of turn, it means a bullet to the head. Simple as that. 

When Nine gets sold to one of the most ruthless families she is terrified but doesn’t let it show. She is a gift. A possession given to Kade, from his father, as a twenty-fifth birthday present. Despite the instant attraction to her beauty, Kade doesn’t want it…doesn't want her. But after some thought he realizes he could put her to good use and use her as a pawn to get what truly matters in life to him. Money and Power. With her as his bargaining chip, he will become the head of the family.

Nine is strong. I admired her will to fight and her outlook on life. I loved that she took joy in the simplest of things. She stood up for what she believed in as much as she could. I absolutely loved her sassiness and quick tongue towards Kane at times. She is very outspoken, a trait that is almost always deadly when it comes to an Unfortunate. But there is something about Kane that brings it out in her and she can’t help herself. 

He looks like sin…like the smirk on his mouth was hand painted by the devil himself. It does crazy things to me…cause my cheeks burn bright and my flood follow suit.

Kade sees something in Nine that is different from the other Unfortunates. She brings out the worst in him but also somewhat, reemerges the human in him. Humanity is a word, a feeling that he hasn’t thought of in years. What’s the point of acting like a normal human being when all his life he was punished for trying to be ‘good’ and do the right thing? He has been born into a ruthless powerful family and the only way to survive was to become just like the rest of them, cold, callous and heartless.

Until her. Kade is unlike the rest and Nine starts to look at him differently. She feels things she has never felt and it terrifies her. Kade refuses to acknowledge that the relationship he has with Nine is anything more than just the normal Fortunate/Unfortunate relationship. It can’t be more. It would be dire for them both. He has his place and she has hers. Lines are blurry already and he refuses to mix them completely. 

This story is a battle of belonging and surviving. Two people who know only one way to survive and they couldn’t be farther apart from one another. But being forced together they discover things about themselves and each other that they have never found before. The intensity and chemistry between Kade and Nine was irrepressible from the very start, no matter how much they each denied it.

Nine’s determination to actually live her own life, whether it be years or minutes, is overpowering. She wants to be free and know what it’s like not to live under the thumb of a Fortuntate. Kades desires for power are irrefutable and take control of his ability have any feelings for Nine, his Unfortunate. 

This is one of my top reads of 2014. The unique storyline pulled me in and held me captivated long after I finished reading it. It's fast paced yet detailed and its filled with so much story and drama that you will not want to put it down. It is a  darker story line but I would not classify it as a full dark romance. 

The next book THE FORTUNATES cannot come soon enough. This did end in a cliffhanger but not a horrible one. None the less, that does nothing to quench my desire for the next book asap.

Skyla Madi outdid herself. The storyline, the characters... every detail, thought and spoken word were perfectly executed. 

“I will not ask your permission for anything, if you don’t want me to touch you, take the blindfold off now and we can try again later. Once I start, I won’t stop until your body is shaking and you’re panting my name.”

★★☆ 5 Unique & Brilliantly Written Stars ☆★★

Reviewed by Alissa Evanson

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About the Author

...and my teachers said daydreaming wouldn't get me through life. 

I've been writing since 17 and at 21 I'm a professional daydreamer and giver of both real and fictional life. 

Aquarian, lover of the written word and author of the #1 BESTSELLING Consumed trilogy. 

I write like I live my life -- fast and carefree -- and I have no specific genre. I hop from YA to NA to Erotica to Contemporary romance almost as often as I change shoes. 

I have written 6 novels with 26 novels still planned out, they're just waiting for me to pick up my pen and write their story.

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