Crave (Pretty Poison Book 1) by C F White; Narrated by Piers Ryman

A dark and gritty start to a new trilogy from CF White. A rough drug dealer trying to survive meets a rebellious rich boy that sparks instant attraction but an impossible future.


From the blurb:

"He was everything I shouldn't want. Danger dressed in leather. Salvation wrapped in smoke. But once I tasted him, I couldn't stop. He was in my blood. My sweetest poison."

RAZOR

I control the drugs running through East London for a man with a soul darker than the devil's. Violence kept me alive. Loyalty kept my sister and her baby fed. I'd spent my whole life believing fear was the closest thing I'd ever have to freedom.

Then he walked into my world and destroyed every rule I'd ever lived by.

Tristan Hale-Fitzroy. Rich. Beautiful. Untouchable. A bloke who should've crossed the road when he saw me coming. Instead, he stood his ground with lies on his lips and fire in his eyes.

I should've walked away. But I found myself craving something far more dangerous than anything I'd ever peddled on the streets.

I knew he didn't belong in my world. I knew he'd ruin me.

I let him anyway.

TRISTAN

I was born with everything money could buy, but nothing that mattered. My future had already been written before I was old enough to question it, and I spent twenty-three years performing the role of the perfect Hale-Fitzroy.

Then one betrayal shattered the illusion.

So I went looking for something real.

I found Razor Slade. Rough. Raw. Untouchable. A man shaped by violence and sharpened by survival. He looked at me and saw another transaction in his dangerous world.

I let him.

Because the truth was far more dangerous.

He wasn't my escape. He was my addiction.

And after the first taste, I'd do anything for another.

Crave is the first book in the Pretty Poison Trilogy a dark, addictive MM romance set in London's criminal underworld, about forbidden desire, class collision, moral corruption, and choosing love in a world designed to punish it.


Lesetiger's review:

I’ve already read—or listened to the audiobooks of—several of this author’s books, and I’ve never been disappointed. She has a fantastic writing style, and once I started reading, I couldn’t put this book down either.

*Crave* is the first of three volumes in the *Pretty Poison* series, and I’m already looking forward to the next volume as an audiobook.

The opening is thrilling, gripping, and dark. The protagonists couldn’t be more different. Law student Tristan comes from a privileged background, while Razor had to take on responsibilities at a young age and now deals drugs. Their first encounter in an alley is purely by chance. Razor mistakes the handsome Tristan, with his dark thoughts, for a rent boy and then shoves money into his hand. Tristan, on the other hand, just wanted to let off some steam because he caught his boyfriend cheating on him. But for Razor, too, it’s different than usual.

When Tristan and Razor meet for the first time, sparks fly—and as a reader, you can really feel it. What follows is a series of more or less chance encounters between the two. The attraction is palpable, but both realize just how different their worlds are from one another. The deeper I delved into the story, the more fascinating I found it. Boundaries blur. What is still morally acceptable? One wants to protect the other from danger, and then suddenly a life is at stake. Yet just as they grow closer, the gap between them widens in the very next moment. Both take risks without knowing how they’ll turn out.

The story is entertaining, and I was captivated from start to finish. It ends with a cliffhanger, and I really hope the next volume comes out as an audiobook soon, because I absolutely want to know what happens next with these two!

The audiobook was narrated by Piers Ryman, and he was simply fantastic. He read with such vitality, chose the right voices, and perfectly conveyed the emotions, bringing the characters to life. It was a pleasure to listen to him!


SNik's review:

First in trilogy (Pretty Poison). Opposites attract. Forbidden/secret relationship. Dual POV. Heed content warnings. 

Two very different men from different backgrounds stumble across each other one night and can’t forget. Posh, wealthy law student Tristan is mistaken for a rent boy by drug dealer Razor, and they both take risks to see each other again. 

This book is definitely meant to introduce and describe the different worlds in which Razor and Tristan live and how impossible their desires to live a different life seem. When they are on page together it is electric with tons of chemistry but not anything deep as they both acknowledge the impossibility of anything more. Razor has a hard and very gritty life, and both men want to fight against their circumstances but it really seems hopeless. As this is just the beginning of the trilogy nothing is settled and it is a mild cliffhanger as the story continues. This was a fantastic introduction to two characters you really want to root for but dread the path they have to travel in order to make it work, but I am here for it.

For me there is nothing better than listening to Piers Ryman, he really puts a ton of effort into emoting when he narrates. Piers Ryman’s storytelling with the descriptive and emotional writing of CF White makes every joint project really entertaining and a must buy.

Crave is currently available as an audiobook, e-book and paperback, and can be read as part of your Kindle+ Subscription