ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. What an amazing conclusion to the Scarred Souls series! I loved the world Tillie created and the characters she put in it. I am sad to know this is the end, but at the same time I’m glad I found this series, cause it’s something I won’t forget.

Riot, the last book in this series, tells the story of Inessa (prisoner #152) and Ilya (prisoner #901).
Inessa is a sister of Valentine, that we’ve met in Ravage.
Inessa and Valentine, as we’ve learnt from the previous book, were both stolen from the orphanage at a young age and turned into slaves by cruel Mistress Arziani. They were both drugged and trained. Valentine to be an assassin and Inessa, to be a Mona - a sex slave.

Ilya (901) on the other hand, also stolen as a child, is the unrivaled champion of the Blood Pit run by Master Arziani. He is unbeatable, and although he mostly obeys Master’s orders and wins all the fights for him, he does not submit fully. He has nothing too lose, no weaknesses the Master could use against him. Until Inessa. She is the first woman to ever catch 901’s eye, even thought he resists her at the beginning. Unfortunately Master notices that interest and decides to give Inessa- his High Mona to 901, hoping that in time he will start caring for her and that she will become the weakness he was looking for in 901 for so many years.

Will Master Arziani succeed? Will Ilya and Inessa find love in the cruel world they were both forced to live in? Will they finally find their HEA?

I am not going to tell you that of course. To find out what happened to these two and if Luca, Zaal and Valentine that you’ve met in the previous books will finally find a way to destroy Master Arziani and his Blood Pit, you’ll have to read the book. What I can tell you though is that in my opinion it was a very good book. Heartbreaking and emotional at times, but still beautifull. A page turner. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. I loved the story and the characters. Not only the main ones, but also the secondary ones, like Maya for example. I think that you’ll like it too. You should definitely give this series a try.

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Wow. Co za rewelacyjne zakończenie serii Scarred Souls! Muszę przyznać, że świat stworzony przez Tillie w tej serii oraz bohaterowie, których tu umieściła, bardzo mi się spodobali. Z jednej strony ubolewam, że to już koniec, ale z drugiej cieszę się, że w ogóle znalazłam tę serię, bo z całą pewnością zostanie ona w mej pamięci.

Riot, ostatnia część serii, opowiada historię Inessy (więzień #152) oraz Ilya (więzień #901).
Inessa, to siostra Valentina, którego mieliśmy okazję poznać w poprzedniej części zatytułowanej Ravage. Tam też dowiedzieliśmy się już, że rodzeństwo zostało w młodym wieku porwane z sierocińca i zmienione w niewolników okrutnej Pani Arziani. Oboje faszerowano specjalnymi narkotykami i trenowano do ich nowych ról – Valentina do bycia zabójcą, zaś Inessę do roli Mony, czyli seksualnej niewolnicy.

Ilya (901) z kolei, również porwany jako dziecko, to niezwyciężony mistrz podziemnego kręgu śmierci, prowadzonego przez brata Pani Arziani. Choć niepokonany dotąd Ilya wygrywa dla swego Pana wszystkie walki i właściwie wykonuje bez sprzeciwu jego rozkazy, to jednak nie jest całkowicie uległy, odmawiając sztucznego przeciągania swoich walk jedynie dla uciechy tłumu. To niezwykle drażni Pana Arziani, który wie, że pełną uległość więźnia 901 zdobędzie tylko jeśli znajdzie w nim jakąś słabość. 901 przez lata nie dawał Panu Arziani jednak tej satysfakcji, nie znajdując nic na czym by mu zależało. Do czasu. Wszystko zmienia się gdy do kręgu śmierci trafia Inessa, którą Pan Arziani czyni swoją prywatną niewolnicą. Inessa jako pierwsza kobieta wpada w oko 901, który choć usilnie się przed tymi uczuciami broni i za wszelką cenę stara się je ukryć, nie potrafi być na nią obojętny. Zainteresowanie to dostrzega oczywiście Pan Arziani. Chcąc w pełni ujarzmić 901 Arziani oddaje mu Inessę licząc, że temu zacznie z czasem na niej zależeć i że to ona okaże się słabością więźnia 901, na którą od lat czekał Arziani.

Czy plan Pana Arziani się powiedzie? Czy Ilya i Inessa znajdą miłość w niezwykle okrutnym świecie, w którym przyszło im żyć? Czy ich historia będzie miała szczęśliwe zakończenie?

Oczywiście nie mogę Wam tego powiedzieć ;) By dowiedzieć się jak potoczyły się losy Ilya i Inessy oraz czy Luca, Zaal i Valentine poznani w poprzednich częściach, znajdą wreszcie sposób by zniszczyć podziemne krwawe imperium Pana Arziani, musicie sięgnąć po tę książkę. Ja mogę Wam jedynie powiedzieć, że mi ona bardzo się podobała. Było w niej dużo emocji, często trudnych i bolesnych, fakt, ale myślę, że to właśnie dzięki nim ta seria zapada w pamięci. Jak już faktycznie usiadłam do czytania tej książki, to nie mogłam przestać. Polubiłam te postaci (zarówno te główne, jak i te poboczne jak choćby Maya) ich historie, cały wykreowany przez Tillie świat.
Moim zdaniem to bardzo fajna, godna uwagi seria. Polecam.

I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I usually wait until closer to release date to read and review but I loved the book before this so much that I had to dive into it. The whole idea of underground slaves and this whole other world scares the crud out of me. I think that is why I find it so intriguing. Also the fact that love can be found everywhere and that goodness will over come and freedom isn’t lost.

Towards the end of the book I was in tears and my husband looks at me and asked why I was crying… Me… book. He shakes his head and said you know it is fake and these are characters. I like that this author made me love these characters so much that I could empathize and care for them. That these characters were so down trodden that they didn’t even know what love was but just that someone was gentle and kind and they craved that.

I have not read the whole series so I loved that I could be sucked in to the two later books and still not feel like I was lost or missing out. This is not one of the light, fluffy, clean romances if you are looking for that. This is dark and takes you to the world of slavery and abuse. I loved rooting for these characters and waiting for when Master would be taken down. The ending was wonderful and I loved the fact that they were all still brothers and family and left me feeling that the story was complete.

I loved this book, it was refreshing, different and I really enjoyed it!

I am so excited for more, full review soon!

*** 5"Moy prekrasnyy" Stars ***

I'm officially a mess!
Tillie Cole ripped my heart from my chest... This book gutted me beyond belief. Riot is dark, raw and heartbreaking. The abuse and torture 152 had to endure...... I just wanted her to be free and happy. See her brother again and remember who she was before being a slave.

When Riot appeared on my kindle I was officially in book HEAVEN!
But I was not prepared for all the FEELS this book gave me.

901 stole the show for me. One of the most powerful fighters in the pit, he fears and feels nothing. Until 152 appears in his life. The fierce protectiveness and utter devotion to 152 made my heart pitter patter. Their relationship is strictly forbidden, and if the Master found out....... Terrible consequences would occur.

"You are more," he told me roughly. "My more. 152, my more."

"You smile at me. No one ever smiles at me."


Riot by Tillie Cole is by FAR my favorite by the author! A forbidden romance that left me in utter agony. Tears are falling down my face as I write my review. This book is very emotional and not faint for the heart!

Do I recommend this book?
HELL FLIPPING YES!!!

"Krasivaya devushkka."

This was a great ending to the series. This is the gritty book you expect in this series. It's truly heart breaking to think things like this can actually happen. kidnapping, slaves etc.
I'm happy that all the characters from the previous books were in this one and you can see how they have coped and see their happiness. It's like a giant epilogue!

Received ARc from Net Galley..
I really enjoyed finally reading Ineesa(152) story. it was an emotional love story between a Blood Pit champion and sex slave. I loved reading how 901 feel in love and would do anything for her. it was great seeing Luka and getting updates on them. I was glad all the bad people got what they deserve..
I would recommend but I would read the series in order.

I’m sad to see this series end, but OTOH I’m glad it didn’t drag on for too long either. Things were a little different this time around since both of the main characters were were locked up and being drugged. 152 and 901 both had miserable existences but in completely different ways. Although their stories weren’t highly connected with the characters from the other books, they still played an important role. Several chapters were from Luka’s POV. He’s my favorite character from the series, so I was thrilled to get more page time with him.

My only complaint is that the romance developed too quickly. They didn’t spend much time together before the their feelings became intense. The way it unfolded was good, but I wanted more of them. Ultimately it was a fitting ending to the series. I don’t want to say much about it because it would give too much away, but I loved it that the main men from each of the books came together for a united purpose.