I first thought it might be too dark for me but I love the two main characters. Not so much the mom! Can't wait. To read more!

Loved this book

This was so good. I am really looking forward to the resolution of the storyline in the next book. What a cliffhanger :)

Overall a unique storyline. Good overall writing and romance.

This novel has the potential to be a best seller if given the chance. It offers a lot of twists and bends that ultimately prove to make and provide this novel with exceptionally entertaining content, making it more exciting to read and digest. The storyline provides curiosity as to the final chapter of the novel and allows the reader to remain engaged with the book which enables them to enjoy the full potential of the storyline and possibly even seeking further instalments due to it being so thoroughly entertaining. A book that you can visualise and envision within your imagination, is in my opinion, a successful novel that will go far.
I strongly recommend this novel with 5/5 stars. It is truly a pleaser.

Very well written. The chemistry between Val and "The Breaker" was amazing - I felt like I was in the room. I love the way that Val works so hard for her dreams (and to protect Charlie) and in such a way that she doesn't sell her soul. I loved this book.
The only negative is the cliffhanger. Nothing to do but wait.....

of course, this isn't a grand piece of literature, so I won't judge it with the same ruler as those intense pieces of work, however, as a free novel I was very impressed and found that I quite liked this novel. In fact, I could say I loved it as a simple, casual read

I have never read any of Charmaine Pauls books and now I wish I had.
Dubious leaves you wanting so much more and makes you impatient for the second instalment.
Having read a number of gangster/mobster books, I started this wondering what to expect but the story captivates and guides you through the traumatic life of Valentina and her brother Charlie. Valentina is a determined character who has many secrets but the love of her brother and a quirk of fate leads her in to the path of Gabriel a loan shark.
Valentina must pick up the debts of her brain damaged brother and Gabriel expects her to pay.
What transpires is a heart racing page turner.
The scenes between Gabriel and Valentina will leave you fanning yourself and championing Valentina's struggle.
The dynamics between Gabriel and his mother Magda have you on edge with an air of unpredictability.
And there is more to come from Gabriels' ex and his daughter.
You really do need to read this book.
5 incredible stars

Thanks to Netgalley,the author and publisher for providing this book for an unbiased honest review.

A Voluntary review in exchange for an ARC kindly provided by the Author and Netgalley.......

I was NEVER "Dubious" that this would be a smash hit and I was right !!!. Compared to Charmaine's Seven Forbidden Arts Series this series is darker, more edgy and the story has much more of shock factors bouncing at you from the pages.

Its Valentina and Gabriel's story and its quite the taboo love story, a love affair born from what should have been the end of Valentina's life at the hands of Gabriel. Sounds ominous.......well you'll have to grab yourself a copy when its released to find out more. Ah yes I hear the screams now at how evil I am . But seriously, I would not want to spoil this one for you. It will have you at the edge of your seat.

I will definitely be counting the days (or more realistically the months *sniffles into tissue*!!!) until the next book in this new series from Charmaine. I want more from this dark, passionate world !!!

Amazing start to a series Charmaine.

5 "Let me be your light" Stars From Me !!

Many thanks for this opportunity x

Later peeps xxx

Gabriel was someone others feared. One look or misdeed could be a death sentence. As a notorious loan shark he had one job. Settle a debt by killing Valentina and her brother Charlie. When it came time to pull the trigger he hesitated and fell prisoner to the pull Valentina had over him. He would stop at nothing to protect her and keep her safe from harm while making sure she works off her brother's debt. Each day her innocence and fighting for others can be seen and he admires her dedication and pride to do all she can.

I really enjoyed this book! I went into it without reading any reviews. Sometimes that works in my favour & other times not so much. Dubious was such a treat! I have a few niggles, but nothing that ruined the book for me. The location was a little unclear to me, but I caught up eventually. Also, the whiplash between Val & Gabriel was a little too much at times.. he tells him she hates him, then sticks her tongue in his mouth? I didn't like their sexual encounters at the start either.. I found it a little bit strange how they have sex once & the second time she's on all fours asking for it harder.. from what I gather her only experience is one time in her past, Tiny shoving himself down her throat & then with Gabriel, yet she's some kind of sex fiend with him.. Carly, Gabriel's 16 year daughter, was a complete head case! I felt like need counselling after her story line! Jeez!! It was really refreshing to read a some what light capture book. Gabriel was throughly intriguing because he didn't shout or beat Val. Might be a little sadistic of me, but I really liked him from the start! I understand this review is choppy, but I have so many thoughts, getting them out is a struggle! Overall, amazing storyline with some witty one liners thrown in, some seriously hot sexual encounters & great characters - Charlie & Val's relationship is adorable! I seriously can't wait for the next instalment! Thank you for allowing me an early copy.

This book will grip you from the first page till the last. The author paints a picture so vivid that you can't just stop at one chapter. She leaves you desperate for more because you feel for Val but also for the man that Gabriel is and want's to be. At the end you are left shell shocked and wanting nothing but for it to continue so that you know how it ends. I felt at the end of this book that I was left wanting more and now I have to wait!

5 STAR REVIEW

I was fortunate enough to have received an ARC from Netgallery by the author in exchange for an honest review

LOVED THIS BOOK & AUTHOR

This book just happened to pop up on my Netgallery feed. I had not read anything before by this author.

Charmaine Pauls will now be a new favorite & can't wait to read more of her stories !!!!!

The premise of this book is dark. Gabriel Louw invokes payment in all things and for the most part in very deadly ways. He carries the physical and emotional scars for exacting such payment. His name invokes fear of the worst kind. Valentina becomes trapped in a deadly web trying to make amends for a loan her brother owes to the Louw family. She is marked for dead but upon Gabriel's first glance he decides her payment will be as his property. Valentina knows if she does not obey & submit she is risking her own life as well as her brothers.

Valentina is a very strong character - she is a survivor - having survived things that could very easily break a person. Her love and loyalty to her mentally challenged brother is what motivates her in everything she does and her spirit will not be broken no matter how far she is tested or challenged. Gabriel's desire grows quickly for her and he finds himself at odds with the growing feelings he has for her. Valentina becomes the one good and precious thing in his life. Something he realizes early on he cannot give up.

I could not put this book down & read the story in 24 hrs. Within a few days I re-read the entire story again as the feelings it invoked for both of these characters just stayed with me. This book does not end in a HEA but the storyline will be resolved in Book Two. One thought that was running thru my mind was if you love someone with all your heart and set them free - will that person come back to you of their own free will - as love is never a guarantee ....

This book really evokes an emotional connection between the characters and I can't wait to find out what happens in the continuation of what I believe is their love story.

Highly recommend this book and rate it 5++++ off the chart stars !!!!

Having read a couple of books by Charmain Pauls I was excited to get reading this one and am so pleased I picked it up. ‘Dubious’ is a bit of a dark taboo read that reals you in from the beginning. This was a four star read for me.

Book one in a duet this gives you the introduction to Gabriel and Valentina’s story. Gabriel is a loan shark and out to collect payment in the form of getting rid of Charlie and his sister Valentina. However one look at Valentina and everything changes for Gabriel. Instead of killing Valentina he decides she can work off the debt I another way.

Through this book we find endearing qualities in Gabriel just as Valentina does and although taken to pay off her brother’s debt we find out just how much of a fighter Valentina can be. There was a lot more emotion to this story than I expected but then again it is Charmain Pauls so I shouldn’t have been surprised.

This is a book that definitely left me wanting more and I can’t wait to get some answers to the questions I was left with. Will be looking out for book 2 and anything else Charmaine Pauls comes up with.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Definitely an interesting read. I enjoyed the character of Gabriel, but I wasn't in love with Val she was a little bit of a contradiction. Some of the characters were a hot mess, but that's what kept me reading. I look forward to the next book.

This is one those books I wasn't sure about. I have never read anything from this author. So there is was another reason why wasn't sure about this book. This book blew me away. Honestly I thought is was a book based in Vegas, no South Africa, which is new for me too. As I read the story it sucked me in. Valentina is lives in the worst crime infested part Johannesburg. Taking care of her big brother, who has brain damage, and is indebted to a loan shark. Gabriel is the loan shark who wants Valentina, instead of killing her.

Without giving more about the book. This book was dark. There are times when a dark romance is what is needed to get back in reading. I look forward the second book in this duet.

I absolutely loved this book, much to my surprise. I stayed up way too late trying to finish it, so be sure you have some extra time to spend on this one before you begin. This book takes place in South Africa, so some of the terms were unfamiliar to me, but not so much that you didn't get the gist.

Valentina lives in a run down neighborhood infested by crime and desperation. She cares for her older brother who suffers from a brain injury. She's also in school studying to be a vet, so she's not always home to be with him. She arrives one day to find her brother missing, only to find him gambling at a local club. Her brother manages to rack up a huge debt and can't pay, so a hit is put out on the two of them.

That's when Gabriel, one of the heads of the mafia, shows up at her house to carry out that hit, only he doesn't and takes Valentina as 'payment' for 9 years. At this point, I really hated Gabriel since it was so obvious that her brother didn't know what he was going and they took advantage of that. Plus, he was just a really big jerk and that's an understatement.

But this book reals you in right from the start and it's hard to hate the guy when what he does is protect her from his evil mother who just wants her dead so badly for some reason. The emotional connection these Gabriel and Valentina have protects her in this book, but how far will that get them in the next?

Gabriel is scarred in more ways than one, so he doesn't see himself as a handsome guy. But he has a soft side under that gruffness and Valentina and his daughter are really the only ones to ever see that. But unlike some books where the guy just pretends to be tough and bad, he really is a bad guy and should not be underestimated.

I liked Valentina because she was willing to do anything to protect her brother. That dedication and love made me really respect her. She was strong in her own way, even if being strong meant she had to submit to Gabriel and his demands. She was also determined to change their future, even if it was a bit naive. And her ability to get those hardened thugs (like Rhett and Quincy) to fall over their feet to please her was just amazing.

Because this book is dark and touches on subject that some may not be able to handle, read it with caution. It's not pretty and this is not some flowery romance. But it does hold your interest and keep you on edge the whole time. Plus, that ending makes you all the more ready to jump right into Book 2.

This was a great story filled with intrigue and suspense. The author created some great characters and an engaging storyline. There was a great combination of emotional angst, mafia elements, and romance. The chemistry between Gabriel and Valentina was very well done and one of my favorite parts of the story. It had elements of darkness that some may be sensitive to, but I absolutely loved it. The story ends on a cliffhanger that has me excited to read the second book. I am glad to have found a great new author to follow!

Steamy, Intense, Emotional...

These words are not enough to describe how amazing this story is, I devoured it and I fell in love with the plot and the characters from the first page.

I don't wanna spoil anything, so I'll stick with the things that made me keep reading without being able to take my eyes away from the book.

*Twists and secrets are two things that will definitely draw you deep and will surprise you many times!

*Steamy, hot scenes with "dirty" sexy dialogues that are going to wet many panties! (you've been warned!)

*And of course our amazing, bold characters!

Gabriel and Valentina are two bold personalities with deep "scars", I found myself connected with them and their stories, the darkness inside them is what will make them the perfect match for each other.

At the beginning, I was a little bit confused with Gabriel and his intentions but page after page his character won me and I can say that he is one of my favorite heroes and as a girl is also my favorite from the two of them.. and by that, I don't mean that I don't like Valentina but I have the tendency to like more the male characters..

As I said they have deep scars, Gab has corporal, emotional scars and a mysterious vibe that made me feel goosebumps many times. As for Valentina, she also has many dramatic, painful memories.. the thing that is very admirable about her character is her emotional strength (a really tough nut to crack), all the things that she had to accomplish about her studies and how she cares for her sweet brother Charlie and also her repeatable fight for survival will make her one of the strongest heroines I've ever read!

It's so difficult, to sum up this review, there are so many things that I want to say but as I said I don't wanna give up any spoiler.. one tiny thing that I will give you is that the first book is ending with a huge cliffhanger, which personally left me with open mouth and lot's of questions about what will happen next.

The pace throughout the story and the plot with the characters develop steadily keeping the dynamic 'till the last page...

So, as you can see I really loved the story I most certainly recommend it and I can't wait to read the second part of the series!!

Fantastic. Can't wait for book two
Loved these two crafters. I'm so looking forward to see what happens next. I normally don't like cliffhangers but this book was fabulous

4.5 “you’re my property “ stars
Gabriel Louw is a marked, scarred and tortured Loan Shark who was sent to take out Valentina and her brother for not paying their debt. Instead Gabriel spares them and forces Valentina into slavery for 9 years to pay off her debt.
The story takes place in South Africa using the Rand currency which is about 75C American Dollars for every 1 Rand.
This story is both a back plot that is sexually based and one that is all character development. We hate the characters we are supposed to hate, we feel bad for Valentina and boy does Gabriel really confuse us.

This story is filled with sex, BDSM, and even <spoiler> forced pregnancy </spoiler>
And I am off to book 2

But let me leave you some delicious bits

<b> the only connection between us is his cock that slams violently into my body. An ache spreads inside of me. He pulls back and does it again; stretching and burning me with that dull pain that tells me he is too rough. He fucks me so hard my body shifts up to the headboard. Over and over he pounds into me, and all I can do is hold on while I give him everything I’ve got. With every thrust he growls, keeping his face turned away from me. He’s never taken me this brutally before and even as it hurts my soul revels in his possession. For now, I don’t care that I’m a price tag and an empty body. I just want to be his </b>
<i> I can’t honor my promise. I hope you’ll forgive me. </i>

This is the first book I've read from this author and I absolutely loved it. This book is perfect for readers who enjoy a good mafia read and dark romance. This ends with a huge cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what happens next. Whatever happens I hope Gabriel finds Valentina before his mother Magda does because she is looking for any reason to get rid of Valentina, and Valentina just signed her own death warrant for the second time. The first time she was saved by an angel or better yet "The Breaker." As head of one of the most powerful families Magda doesn't believe in second chances and I have a feeling it will become mother vs. son with Valentina in the middle. However, Valentina may hold power over all of them if she can live long enough. I cant wait to start the next book. This book is definitely worth reading.

How do you fix something that is broken...even when you glue the pieces back together it will never be the same... Gabriel is the most sadistic, cold-hearted, broken, masochistic bastard...and yet you find a way to love him in spite of. Underneath all the coldness lies a heart and you get the feeling that he is not inherently evil but has become what his mother and father have made him. Valentina is one of the strongest female leads I have bonded with and rooted for with every fiber of my being. She loves with her entire mind, body, and soul and even when you know there is no way she can take any more pain and suffering she finds a way out of no way. This story has all the elements of a heart pounding, stay up all night, type of book and I did just that.(I was up until 3am!) I was invested in this couple like no other and I wanted them to experience the love that life had denied them for so long. Their love story is different, a little bit sadistic, a little bit sad, all-consuming but oh so sexy. This is definitely a must read.

Absolute amazing read! Could not put it down! Am dying to know what happens with Gabriel and Valentina!!

I absolutely adored this book, and I can't wait to see how it all plays out in the sequel, Consent. Fair warning, if forced seduction bothers you in a book, steer clear of this one. If not, this a great book, with well developed, believable characters, and an intriguing plot.
The way the view skips from Valentina, to Gabriel, and back again, works really well, giving the reader a good look into the thoughts and motivations of both main characters.

Loved this! The book drew me in and I wanted to know more. So many unexplained avenues still needs to be explored in the next book. If readers are unfamiliar with South Africa, they might find some things confusing (ie rand is currency)

Dubious
The Loan Shark Duet #1
Charmaine Pauls
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wasn't too sure I would like this when I first started to read it. It's a very dark book and I didn't like the path it was taking. But I kept reading and surprisingly I started enjoying the story. I had a hard time wrapping my head around how Valentina could have feelings towards Gabriel. But as I continued I could picture the two of them ending up together.

5 stars. This was super freaking addicting! Right from the very beginning I was drawn in and hooked on to the story and I was dreading come to the end. This could’ve easily been 2x longer than what it is and I would’ve been perfectly happy.

I knew this was going to be a dark read but this was brutal at times! It was intense and just an overall very heavy book which honestly, if I’m going to read adult romantic suspense novels, the darker the better. This definitely delivered on that front.

This was my first book by this author and I am super impressed with her writing style. I loved it. She did a great job with the pacing, the story was intriguing, the setting was so different (it’s set in South Africa!) and the characters were perfectly flawed and fucked up. There were just so many elements to this that just worked for me.

Valentina was a great character. Despite her situation I feel like she stayed true to herself all the way through. She was so strong and so kind that it was easy to root for her. I felt for her so much and yet she still preferred to look at the positive side of things in a situation that could’ve easily broken her. It was admirable. I also love the way she took care of her brother, Charlie, which that entire situation ripped my heart out. So good.

Gabriel is an enigma and I hate that I love him so much. There is so much more to his character than the surface level and I really enjoyed seeing just how complexed and twisted he was. I just can’t wrap my head around his character but I was so infatuated the more he opened up and let his guard down even a little bit. I want more of his character because there’s still so much more to know about him.

Overall, this was a fantastic read and I’m looking forward to the second and final book.

4.5*


Firstly this is a cliffhanger but since both books are being released back to back it didn't present the usual wait which is the part I struggle with.

The book paints a desolate picture, it's set in Johannesburg in what has become known as drug valley, everyone with money moved leaving the area for the drug dealers, Mafia and gangs.
It's safe to say Valentina is struggling, after losing both her parents she looks after her brain damaged brother, Charlie. She's trying her best to give them a future by training to become a vet but she hardly earns enough to get by on top of feeding and looking after Charlie she has huge college bills to cover.
She's barely keeping her head above water which is bad enough but the book opens with her arriving home from work one night to find Charlie missing. She knows where he'll be, her neighbour a car thief named Jerry was supposed to be watching him but as well as being a car thief he also has a gambling problem and she discovers Charlie is not only gambling but he's a VIP and owes four hundred thousand rand.
She never thought to declare him incompetent and revoke his financial signing power.

Gabriel Louw is known and feared and he's come to collect, Valentina has nowhere to go and no way to pay the debt.
Gabriel has orders to kill both Valentina and Charlie to set an example and reinforce that's it's a bad idea to mess with the Louw family but Gabriel wants Valentina and offers her a different deal. She's his for nine years while she works off her brothers debt in any way he sees fit.

Magda (Gabriel's mother) is furious she wants Val and Charlie dead and so Valentina finds herself property of the Louw family and made to clean the huge mansion.
Magda pushes because she needs her to fail, she's determined to kill her whereas Gabriel is intrigued and obsessed and needs her alive but his mother is a cruel and powerful woman who always gets what she wants.

Gabriel turned out to be an interesting character and not what I was expecting. I've read books similar to this before and in them the Gabriel character is always top of the food chain with total control and command and while they may have demons they answer to no one.
The fact that Magda is very much at the top of food chain adds another dynamic to this book. Gabriel is also scarred and disfigured and far from the male perfection I'm used to but the attraction between him and Val is unlike anything either of them has felt before.
Gabriel's obsession increases along with Magda's determination to push Valentina to fail. Valentina is caught in the middle with nine long years stretching out before her but we all know one way or another she's not making those nine years as she is now, something has to give.

Valentina is strong, unbelievably strong and her love for her brother is, at first anyway the only thing that gets her through each day. As things progress Gabriel turns into the only thing getting her through the nights.

This in itself makes for compulsive reading but the more Gabriel gets to know Valentina the more both she and her past confuse him and he starts to investigate.

By this point, faults and all I just wanted Gabriel and Valentina to be together and this is the point a lot of books would end, with a nice HEA and I'd be happy.
But here there's Magda and Gabriel needs to find a way to keep Valentina alive.

I'm running on 3 hours sleep since I stayed up to finish this and even then I barely resisted starting Consent.

It's safe to say this book was a surprise, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it anywhere near as much as I did and it's very close to getting 5* which is a rating I very rarely give.

And so it's straight onto Consent now for me.

I voluntarily read a review copy kindly provided by NetGalley and Charmaine Pauls.

I really enjoyed this Duet of books. The characters were well developed. They were flawed, yet each changed. I really really loved it and cannot wait to read more by this author. I devoured these books!

The book was well written and fast paced. The characters are believable and the story is well developed. There are a few characters I hope will get their just desserts in the upcoming book, and I hope the heroine catches a break or two. The only thing I might take exception to, was the unexpected ending. It seemed like one really long book had originally been written and the publisher decided to chop it into two to get a series out of it. (That's how I felt about the Fifty Shades Series) That said, I will definitely be reading the second book to see what happens.

I really liked this book. It was dark yet there was a ray of hope throughout. The characters were very well developed and I found I couldn't put the book down because I was so interested in what would happen next. I gave it only 4 stars because it was a cliffhanger and I prefer the full story in one book.

<b>I LOVED THIS BOOK!!</b> That being said, it's not for everyone.

This is a dark, gritty, romance. It plays with the idea of consent and at first, I did not know if I would even like it, let alone get through the book. I was proved very wrong about that within the first 10% of reading it. This book is set in Johannesburg, South Africa. I've never read a book set in this location. But it was very interesting learning about the city--it has big class disparities, poverty, pockets of lawlessness, racial divide, and areas that are very corrupted.

The way Charmaine Pauls writes is a revelation. It's intelligent, emotionally-driven, and well done. The minute I had a thought of, "But what about this? Or that?" She would answer those burning questions that if unanswered would have been plot holes or issues I'd have with the book. This particular book is written from both the Hero and Heroine's point of view, which alternates in a clear way.

Valentina is a student getting a correspondence degree to be a vet and lives the crime ridden area of Berea in Johannesburg, South Africa. She's on her own with her disabled brother Charlie. He had a traumatic brain injury as a teenager and can't live on his own. She's had a rough childhood, a mother who was questionable at best and a father involved in crime.

Gabriel grew up in a rich crime family, dealing in loans and effectively is a loan shark that does his mother, Magda's bidding--to a point. They conflict quite a bit about the family business. Magda is basically the boss of the family business. She calls the shots, for the most part. Gabriel is the epitome of a tortured hero. He scarred emotionally and physically. His mother is basically a cruel bitch. She was the arbiter of his abusive childhood. To say they don't get along and butt heads over the family business, is an understatement. Gabriel's reputation precedes him. He is called <i>The Breaker</i> and enforces loans that aren't paid.

He is tasked with killing Charlie who has racked up debt at one of their casino bars, to the tune of R4000,000 (about $30,000 USD). Someone (not Gabriel) loaned him the money even though he's disabled and now he has to pay. The problem is, Valentina barely makes ends meet and the neighbor tasked with watching him in exchange for her cleaning his place, a petty criminal and gambling addict, but the only one she can trust, has gotten Charlie in this mess. When Valentina finds out, she takes Charlie from the bar and not soon after the loan shark, Gabriel is there with two of his thugs to kill them both for not paying their debt.

Gabriel is intrigued and taken aback by her bravery and protectiveness and love for her brother (love that he's never known from his family) and offers her a deal to work for him for 9 years to pay back his brother's debt. It's either that or he kills her brother. She wants to make monthly payments but that's not an option. She has to do anything he says. He wants her as his property. <spoiler>My only big issue with this beginning scene is one of the guards/thugs, Rhett, shoots her dog, Puff. It's later explained it was an act of mercy so he didn't end up a street dog starving to death (a big issue in S.A.) because Rhett is told they're there to kill Charlie and Valentina by Magda to make an example out of them, not strike a deal). The first beginning scenes also involve rape, which is a touchy subject for some.</spoiler>

When he brings her back to his house, his mother, Magda, is not pleased. She lets her know her and Charlie are dead if she so much as makes a mistake (which she is planning on). She doesn't want other "customers" and associates to think they've gone soft on those who don't pay their debts. Magda decides she'll be the maid for their palatial house. She's set up for failure.

Gabriel visits her in her room, on her first night in the house. Thinking she'll be raped by him, he instead says he won't sleep with her until she begs for it. Though they do engage in some sexual activity that night.

This book was emotional, intense and a rollercoaster. I don't normally go for books like this. But I <b>LOVED</b> it. It was so well done.

It reminded me of a mix of the Sopranos meets Sons of Anarchy meets I don't know what. There's crime, murder, rape (if that puts you off entirely, this is not the book for you), betrayal, and lots of dark emotions. It's an intense read. <b>I could not-put-it-down.</b> Pauls really focuses on the character development of both Gabriel and Valentina and some of the secondary characters, which can be rare for erotica novels. Gabriel and Valentina grow to have a deep connection and bond. He does what he can to shield her from his mother, Magda. Ultimately, he wants her trust and love and he made the deal with her to save her and her brother's life.

<b>Fair warning:</b> This book is filled with intense sex scenes, BDSM, including sadomasochism, plays with and focuses on the concept of consent.

I'm not sure what's stopping me from giving this 5 stars. For me, I wish Gabriel was sometimes a bit nicer to Valentina. It wasn't that he was mean or cruel. But sometimes, when she would ask him questions, he didn't say the most endearing things. For example, <spoiler>at one point in the book, he's already admitted to himself he cares for her and obviously has feelings for her. But when she asks if he's sleeping with anyone else, he does say no. But then says, "I'll let you know if I do." It's so unbelievably OFF CHARACTER to me. Given he says he's never had such an emotional and physical connection and previously had thoughts that he didn't want to sleep with anyone else but her. So why be so cavalier??</spoiler>

This book ends on a <b>cliffhanger</b> and I kind of wish it did not. Book 1 is 241 pages and so is book 2. To me, a single book of 482 pages would have been better. But luckily I have an ARC of book 2, so off I go!

<i>This book book was generously provided to me by NetGalley and the Publisher for an honest review.</i>

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this for an honest review.
I really enjoyed reading this! The plot was great and grabbed me from the start...add in the bold and beautiful characters and I couldn't put it down! Oh and lets not forget the dirty, steamy hot sex scenes.
Valentina and Gabriel are 2 characters with some deep emotional and external scars..their stories allow you to really get into their heads and believe what is going on. You can feel what they are feeling and see why they act how the act. Their emotions and darkness that surrounds them both make them absolutely perfect for each despite how they came together.
Wonderfully written! I enjoyed it so much I have already started the 2nd book!

This book was sexy, interesting, and steamy. Definitely need to read part 1 to understand part 2 and I loved the build up of the attraction and relationship between the main characters and the storyline behind it all.

A badass loan shark who is called The Breaker. This is not your typical love story. It is dark and dreary and passion-filled. Gabriel. Enough said. How much more can Valentina’s life handle? She just has nothing going right for her until Gabriel. He does skirt the line of dubious consent but he does it out lust (really his love that he does not recognize) for Valentina.

Beware this does end in a cliffhanger which I usually do not like to read. This book was a surprise and I need to know what happens so I am definitely reading the next book.

This story was fabulous. I loved the characters and the plot.. The author had me interested from the first page and I could not put the book down.
I am looking forward to book 2 in this series

Gabriel Louw is a merciless loan shark who destroys lives in the name of his family's business. Physically and emotionally damaged, the respect he earns comes from the fear he imposes on those who break their promises. If you owe, you pay, or you die. In a country devasted by poverty, crime, and corruption, the likes of Gabriel rule. That's what put Valentina on his radar. The Haynes were a job. A bullet for Charlie, the brain damaged man who owed him too much. Another for his beautiful, loyal and fearless sister. The love and loyalty she revealed at the threat to her brother's life, awoke something inside Gabriel that he couldn't resist. From that moment on, she sealed her fate. She became his. He knew he would have to break her first, but soon she would beg for his touch. She would come to beg for his dominance too. Dubious is the first installment of a dark romance series where free will can be taken away, dominance and submission are more than sexual games, and family can be both a life sentence or salvation. Secrets, however, are destructive and when kept can destroy all hope, and risk love and life. An addictive read that will keep readers entranced and desperate for more.

Loved it, The Breaker and the Vet Yes Please Give me more.... I Loved it, and I think you will as well!

So this is set in Johannesburg South Africa. That surprised me, and I Liked it! The author was super descriptive about certain areas and how they were so different but really not so different then here. We learn how people were treated because of were they lived and the status they have because of who they are and how much money and power...it starts out in a small ravaged city that is left in ruins an ran by the mafia, and some Mean Loan Sharks more than the police. Valentina was left to care for her brother Charlie after her parents died, she was in college on a small type of grant and she wanted to be a Veterinarian more than anything. They lived in a terrible area, in a run down shack that was left to her and Charlie whom was also in an accident and left brain damaged and needed constant care, her neighbor was suppose to keep an eye out on her brother for her while she went to school and helped at the vet Clinic. One day she comes home and no Charlie and even though it is about to be dark she goes out when she knows she shouldn't, to look for Jerry and Charlie, she believes Jerry who is very nice to her and Charlie, but he is also a bad guy and loves to gamble, he is a car thief. So she is worried and wants to find her brother and boy does she...she finds much more than she wants. She meets up with the several people one known as "The Breaker aka Gabriel, he is huge and badly scarred and walks with a limp. The Breaker...well he is very hard to get to know and a real bad guy, he does whatever he needs to collect a debt...but once he saw Val, well all bets are off he wants her and he will have her and he doesn't care what he has to do to take her and break her...

Val does get out of the dirty pub were Charlie has racked up a ridiculous amount money he now owes the breakers family but he didn't even understand he was gambling, she manages to get him out, for now and is furious with Jerry! On her way home we meet another character that seems to think he owns "Val" and well he is Vile, this place is just a terrible place and Charmaine Pauls gives us a wonderful view into these people lives and well Val and Charlie they should have never been in this place period! Its drug dealers and thugs that is all that is left and she pays a price but its not near over...because the Breaker is coming....

The ruthless Breaker has a job and its to get the money that Charlie has bet playing cards...instead of making it easy and doing what he is told to do by his Vile mother, he makes a deal with Valentina to work off her brothers bet, at his home, its a quick shot offer and she has minutes to get what little possessions she has and to take her brother to her only friend the Vet. and Gabriel takes Val home, his mom is livid. She will have to live with them for 9 years to pay off the debt. Oh Magda I have nothing good to say about Magda and I doubt you will either...Val knows what her life will be now, a slave to these people, she will clean and do the laundry of a huge mansion and she will be Gabriel's...and boy does Gabriel want her, more than anything he has in a long time. And he has a long time, 9 years to use her, he knows it wont be that long before Magda his mom insists that he kill them instead but she will allow him this time for now and he will take it well because its done its what he did! They have Guards and watch dogs, she will never get away from these people and what about Charlie...

So many secrets in this book...they way this author twists this tale will have you staying up all night trying to finish it regardless of what is going on. And she is descriptive, the erotic sex is built up very well, The juicy tid bits that she slowly feeds us in this first book makes you rush to finish and get to the next book if you are lucky enough as I was to get the privilege to read them both and jeeze are the both so very good. I cannot believe how I started out feeling about these characters, some you just know you will like and some well you will Love to Hate! Its got such a great storyline and for it to be in this place, well it could been in NY or Chicago

I want to thank Charmaine Pauls for a wonderful job writing and setting up this first book of the Duet, it had me on the brink of thinking one thing was going to happen and then bam we would go in the next direction. I offered this Advanced ebook by the Author and NetGalley for my honest review! I hope you will take the time to get to know these people and this Place, its an awesome story, loved it!

Valentina is trying to keep care of her disabled brother. He gets into trouble with gambling, then enters Gabriel. He demands payment.

I don’t read a lot of contemporary romance/erotica simply because the escape into another time and place is as important as my enjoyment of the connection between people. However, when I saw that Charmaine Pauls’ The Loan Shark Duet took place in Johannesburg, South Africa my interest piqued. A dark story set in a uncommon locale definitely sounded like something I needed to try.

Valentina will do anything to protect her brother, Charlie, after the car accident that left him with brain damage. She just never thought she’d have to bind herself to Johannesburg’s most notorious gangster, Gabriel Louw, to pay off Charlie’s gambling debt. For nine years Valentina belongs to Gabriel to be used however he sees fit; she just never anticipated how gentle, caring, and respectful her master could be when taking what he wants…or how he makes her want to be more than just his possession.

Dubious should not have worked for me at all. The basic premise denies Valentina the ability to consent to anything Gabriel does to her, which is something I prize highly in anything focusing on sexual relationships. Frankly the idea of the heroine belonging to the hero repulsed me on a purely intellectual level, but Charmaine Pauls’ writing and careful scenario hooked me emotionally. The deciding factor was how Gabriel proceeded with his seduction of Valentina. Given their agreement he could have forced her and called it fair; of course Valentina has no right to deny Gabriel’s desires, but he lets her set the pace. Rather than setting taking her virginity as a goal, he moves slowly to make his playtoy want his touch and crave sex (okay, Gabriel’s reasons are pretty nefarious, but I still appreciated his focus on Valentina’s pleasure), and penis in vagina sex doesn’t occur until Valentina asks/begs for it. It’s definitely not an example of How Relationships Should Be Done TM, but it transformed a dub con scenario into something palatable.

Gabriel’s kind treatment of Valentina can’t change the fact that he’s in the business of doing unethical things, and his mother and ex-wife exemplify how women generally survive in his world. Valentina is strong, but she lacks the ruthless edge necessary to play the games in mafia society, so just being in the Louw household makes her an easy target. She manages to get Gabriel’s employees on her side (some of the cast seem to magically be drawn to her), but Magda Louw, her owner’s mother, just wants an excuse to make the young woman disappear…permanently.

Magda’s desire to dispose of Valentina sets up the one point in the plot that I found nearly unforgivable. It is so pivotal to the cliffhanger and book two, Consent, that I have to vague book it, but suffice it to say that Gabriel makes a choice that enfuriates me.

At the end of the day I wanted to know if Valentina and Gabriel could make it beyond hot sex and bad decisions to form a real relationship. Despite everything I was rooting for those crazy kids and wanted some type of HEA, not just steamy erotica.

4 Snobby Teenage Daughters out of 5

I received a copy of this book through NetGally. This is the first book I have read by this author and it will definitely NOT be my last. What an amazing book! I am so wrapped up in the characters and story line that I cannot wait to read what happens next. This is definitely one of those books that will keep you up and night reading and wanting more and more and more.

Valentina: Beautiful and fragile but very brave girl with big dreams and now stuck in a 9 year commitment bending to Gabriel's every need.

Gabriel: They call him the Breaker. He is a loan shark with a very rough exterior. He knew he wanted Valentina as her property the first time he saw her.

It is amazing how the story unfolds. Left off with a cliffhanger but as the next book is released I will for sure be reading it RIGHT AWAY!

This is part II This is an author that I am going to follow! It doesn't disappoint. If you liked the first one you will like this one too.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. The story caught my attention from the beginning and held it until the very end. Gabriel is Mafia and he has possession of Valentina as payment for a debt. He becomes obsessed with her and then comes to love her. She loves him but he can't believe she could love him after what he has done to her. The sexual content is explicit but a good read. There is a HEA but a lot happens before this comes about. This book was read out of sequence and after reading it, I reread the 2nd book which makes it a great 2 book series. I would highly recommend this book but read it first.

The book was addicting.From the very beginning I was drawn in and hooked on to the story.The story is hot and sexy.Valentina finds her brother gambling one night and discovers he owes a debt to a loan shark a lot of money. She doesn't have the money to pay the loan shark, Gabriel.She's forced to work off the debt for nine years. What she doesn't know is that Gabriel wants to make her his and doesn't plan on letting her go at the end of the contract.
When I started reading I couldn't put it down.I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. First book by this author and I will def be coming back for more! Hit and steamy and yum!!

Totally enjoyed this one! The characters were likable and well developed, the love story unfolded slowly just the way you'd expect it to with the rough start they had. The secondary characters also added much to this book. It has some twists, and keeps your interest to the end. I highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this one.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’m so glad I requested the second part of this duet, I don’t think I would’ve survived until November after that cliffy! (Okay, slight over exaggeration, maybe?)

Poor Valentina, how many hard knocks can someone take in their life? Life for Valentina is already a struggle and her past tragic, and all of this before Gabriel enters her life.

Gabriel takes Valentina in order to pay a debt, she is to be his ‘property’ for 9 years. But we all know it’s never that straight forward. Gabriel is a complex main lead and in no way a knight in shining anything. He’s dark, he’s ruthless, possessive and brutal. And even knowing all this, I come away from this book, liking him? Hmm, maybe. I’m not sure. I know that although he comes across harsh, Valentina brings out a vulnerability in him that softens the reader to him.

I liked how the book is told from duel POV, honestly without it I don’t think I would’ve warmed to Gabriel in the slightest. I think it’s only his inner monologue that shows his vulnerability because although some of this actions do lean towards him being ‘kind’, they could also be interpreted as him taking care of his ‘property’.

This book is dark, not as dark as I was expecting but dark nevertheless.

I will be diving headfirst into book 2 right after posting this! Who needs sleep? Or to work? Pftt!

I would definitely recommend this book and I will be keeping an eye out for this author in the future!

*copy received via NetGalley*

This was so good!! Dark but tender. Gabriel and Valentina's relationship hit all the right notes! I cannot wait for book two!!!

This was a fun, unpredictable and sexy read. I enjoyed it, and am really in love with the whole series. Can't wait for more! I think this was my favorite so far.