4 STARS | Behind My Mask by Holland Kohl

Title: Behind My Mask
Series: Blood and Envy #1
Author: Holland Kohl
Age Group: Adult
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, MC
Publisher: Holland Kohl
Format: Kindle Edition
ASIN: B01AZG02HO
Published: January 22nd, 2016
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Events: Review Request
Rating: ★★★★

Envy
Haunted by her past, Envy Harris lives each day under the facade of an assumed life. She is Anna Wharton, the dutiful wife of a star professor, arm-candy, and hostess. To outsiders, she has it all. But when the parties end and the guests leave, Envy is left alone with nothing but memories of her Father’s death and the demons that are still searching for her. Envy has nowhere to go and nobody she can trust, but that all changes the moment she meets Lorne.

Lorne
Lorne Beringer wants nothing more than to start over and leave his criminal ties behind him along with the Hell’s Demons MC. He worked his ass off to get accepted into a prestigious program at an Ivy League school and won’t jeopardize it for anything, that is until he meets Envy. She’s everything he could want in a woman. Only she’s not the woman he thinks she is.

The past has a way of catching up to you. It will either drag you down into the murky depths of despair or be a catalyst for revenge. Entangled in more ways than they know, Lorne and Envy need to face their pasts before they can have a future.

Please note: This book contains profanity and deals with serious themes including violence and murder.

Both Envy and Lorne have had their lives destroyed by the Hell's Demons MC. As children, Envy was the daughter of the MC's President and loved by all, whereas Lorne the son of one of the club brothers, who lived with his mother most of the time, was disliked by many. Except Envy. But when two separate events that changed their lives forever, Envy leaves the MC she loves and becomes Anna and Lorne joins the MC he hates and becomes Blood. Years later, they meet again, but don't remember each other. They fall fast and hard for each other, but there are circumstances on both sides that could destroy what they have forever.

I really liked Behind My Mask. The circumstances that change Envy and Lorne's lives are so tragic. The first past remembrance scene that we read from Envy's POV is so heartbreaking. Then we learn what happened to Lorne and it just makes you really feel for these two. As children, they both had wanted to make something more of themselves than what the MC could offer, but with two tragic events, their lives were completely derailed.

Their lives are so entwined with the MC that it looks impossible, no matter how hard they try, to get free of it. I wanted so desperately for them to be able to just get away and have the life they always wanted, together if that were possible. Envy and Lorne are like two sides of the same coin. And I think that even after what happened at the end of this book, that there isn't going to be a way for them to separate from each other. No matter how much Envy may want that now.

I was so angry with Lorne at the end of this book and the cliffhanger makes me want the next book right now, so that I can see if he kept his promise and is able to fix what he did. For such a short book, it took me on a huge emotional roller coaster. I just really need to know what happens next.

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Holland lives in New York City. For fun, she likes to explore beautiful Brownstone Brooklyn and frequent vegan eateries.