Inferno by Scarlet Blackwell

Enemies to lovers, slow burn romance with crime plot. Inferno is an updated and revised re-release.

From the blurb:

In Inferno, passion burns hotter than hell…

“I wept not, so to stone within I grew.” – Dante Alighieri

Step inside Inferno and meet Dante Jardine, six feet four of satanic beauty indulging every vice at his disposal.

An ex-cop, injured on the job, Dante has buried all the grief and torment of his dark life in fire and ice. He lives in a twilight world of sordid encounters that leave him cold.

When a notorious rent boy is murdered in his nightclub, Dante finds his hellish world pried open by in-the-closet Moonlight Cove cop Zack Stewart and his partner Angela Keaton, his carefully constructed façade ripped away.

Zack loathes the arrogant nightclub owner from the moment he sets eyes on him. Dante is obstructive, disdainful and, he is sure, frozen all the way to the core. As he investigates, all roads lead back to Dante and he becomes Zack’s chief suspect.

“You don’t want to see what sort of man I am in the dead of night when I’m all alone.”

Soon it becomes apparent the cops are looking for a serial killer targeting gay men and Zack’s priorities become more muddled the longer he is around Dante. He finds himself walking a dangerous road between being a good cop and giving in to his growing desire…

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Detective Stewart. You’re a thorn in my side but I’m not sure I want to try and dig you out.”

Sheena's Review:

Inferno is a revised and expanded issue of a title that was previously released. I haven't read the original so this was all new to me. Dante is one of those characters that is going to stay with me for a while, he was so much more than he appeared to be when we first meet him. I loved meeting him and peeling back all the layers of his character as the story went on.

The story itself starts with a bang, and never really lets up. I liked all the main characters - Zack and his partner Angela, and Dante too. I didn't really care for Zack's co-workers, especially not Michael as he wouldn't take no for an answer and was manipulative and vindictive when he didn't get what he wanted.

Dante and Zack's chemistry is off the charts HOT, I'd so so far as to say fire 🔥🔥🔥. These two, they couldn't keep their hands off each other and in the beginning, that's all it was but I loved, loved, loved the development of their relationship, especially once we find out more about Dante and why he is how he is. This is all alongside a murder-mystery with a serial killer and that ticks along nicely, I seriously couldn't work out who the murderer was and it kept me turning the pages to find out.

I got so annoyed with Zack at one point though (no spoilers), because it could all have been avoided had he just faced up to it. That's pretty minor though, and had to happen because he was more than a little foolish. Had the murderer truly gotten away with it though, I'd have been so mad. It's a nice HEA too, although Zack dressing up felt a little out of character for him. It was a nice satisfying ending too, I really enjoyed this whole book.

Rating: 5 Stars

Nedra's Review:

There are absolutely no words that can accurately describe how this book made me feel except, damnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!! Scarlet knows how to deliver suspenseful and mysterious page-turners, adding a tremendous amount of sexual tension between the two MCs, and she'll succeed every time. 

𝙕𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝘿𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚.

Oh, Dante, how your temptation carried through the pages. I can just imagine a smooth, gravely voice teasing Zack while staring seductively at him through his dark lashes with those intoxicating violet eyes.  Slowly peeling back his damaged coatings, one layer at a time, revealing a broken man unknowingly searching for love.  And Zach has the patience of a saint!!

 

“𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱, 𝗭𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝗜 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝘁. 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂.”

Holy hotness filled with sin!!! Dante and Zach’s chemistry skyrocketed to the moon and back, leaving a blazing fire in their direction.  Neither could keep their hands to themselves, regardless of the repercussions or consequences. Their relationship developed slower in the background of their affair while a serial killer ran rampant in Moonlake Cove. 

“𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲: 𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂.”

I loved the connections allowed with these side characters. We could feel their pain and frustration, both with the case and the hidden affair. And talk about being shocked by the killer's identity! 

Rating: 5 Stars

Inferno is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.