• Home
  • About
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright
    • Disclosure Policy
    • Republication Policy
    • Review Policy
  • Reviews
    • Sortable Archive
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Narrator
    • Reviews by SubGenre
    • Reviews by Series
    • Reviews by Year
  • Challenges
    • 2024 FINISHING THE SERIES READING CHALLENGE (Archived)
    • In Death Read-A-Long Challenge
  • Giveaways
  • Author Interviews & Guest Posts

A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog

ARC Review: ‘Ruthless’ by Lexi Blake

August 9, 2016

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog earns a small commission at no extra cost to you from any purchases made through these links. You can read the full disclosure underneath the Privacy Policy.

ARC Review: ‘Ruthless’ by Lexi Blake

Ruthless

by Lexi Blake
Series: Lawless #1
Published by Berkley on August 9th 2016
Format: ARC
Pages: 304
Add to Goodreads
Purchase at Amazon | Apple
five-stars

The first in a sexy contemporary romance series featuring the Lawless siblings—from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake.
The Lawless siblings are bound by vengeance. Riley, Drew, Brandon, and Mia believe the CEO of StratCast orchestrated their parents’ murder twenty years ago to steal their father’s software program. And there’s only one way Riley can find some solid evidence...   Heir to the StratCast legacy, Ellie Stratton hires a new attorney to handle a delicate business matter—and she’s shocked by her attraction to him. Over the course of a few weeks, Riley becomes her lover, her friend, her everything. But when her life is threatened, Ellie discovers that Riley is more obsessed with settling an old score than in the love she thought they were building. And Riley must choose between a revenge he’s prepared for all his life and the woman he’s sure he can’t live without...

My Review

Ruthless is the first book in Lexi Blake’s new series and I definitely had a hard time putting it down. I wish I could’ve took this book to work with me to read, but I only get 45 minutes for lunch and that would not be enough time.

First things first, I loved Ellie Stratton and Riley Lawless. These two together were not always easy, especially since Riley had a mission at first to seduce Ellie. Riley though ends up realizing that Ellie Stratton is nothing like the person he thought she took after.

Ellie Stratton hires Riley to be her lawyer to handle a huge business matter. She’s supposed to become the CEO to her late father’s company. Unfortunately, she finds out it’s not going to be easy to become the CEO, especially with her father’s past sneaking up to bite her plans.

Riley is determined to crush the people that killed his parents and Ellie Stratton is just leverage for it. Riley’s family is needing him to take care of Ellie in what ever possible way he can, so they can get closer to the enemy. Riley’s feelings towards Ellie start changing though and this is when the story takes an expected twist.

I loved the revenge in Ruthless, but I also loved the flip flop that was going on with Ellie and Riley. Riley is one gorgeous specimen and he definitely has become a favorite Lawless, even when Lexi Blake described each of the Lawless family members. Although, Drew is another one I can’t wait to find out more about.

Poor Ellie went through a lot in this story and I really felt for the poor woman. She was being punished for what her father did and it wasn’t fair to her.

Lexi Blake has become a favorite author of mine and I’m determined to read everything she’s ever wrote. I’m kicking myself for not reading her sooner. Thank goodness I’ve started a collection of her books I need to read. Now just need more hours in the day to start reading.

I give this book 5 stars and highly recommend it to readers that enjoy revenge stories and steamy romance in between getting revenge. Fans of Lexi Blake will definitely enjoy the new series too.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
FranJessca
FranJessca
Owner/Reviewer at A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog
I guess I should type a bio here. I'm FranJessca, or Fran for short. I'm the owner/reviewer behind A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog. I've been reading and reviewing books on my blog since leaving the Navy in 2011, and I will keep doing it as long as possible. My favorite genres will always be Romance & Fantasy, and I read every subgenre underneath those two genres. (Sorry, not a fan of nonfiction, so don't try to convince me to read it.)
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
FranJessca
Latest posts by FranJessca (see all)
  • Book Blitz + Giveaway: ‘Intimate Secret’ by D.C. Stone - May 8, 2025
  • ARC Review: ‘Shield of Sparrows’ by Devney Perry - May 7, 2025
  • ARC Review: ‘Archangel’s Ascension’ by Nalini Singh - May 6, 2025

Share this post:

Share on X (Twitter) Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on Email
5 Star ReviewsBook Read 2016Book Reviews 2016

About the Blogger

About the Blogger

My name is FranJessca. I wear many hats: I'm a Wife, Mom, Navy Veteran, Shy Introvert, Tattooed, Romance and Fantasy Reader, and Book Blogger.

Follow FranJessca

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Bloglovin'
  • Amazon
  • Instagram
  • Goodreads

Currently Reading

Review: ‘Rebel Hawke’ by Gwyn McNamee

Books Reviewed in 2025

A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog has reviewed 53 books this year.

42%

May Reviews

  • Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
  • Archangel's Ascension by Nalini Singh
  • Wild Invitation by Nalini Singh
  • The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson
  • Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh

FTC Disclosure/Info

In accordance with the current FTC disclosure rules for bloggers & reviewers, the books you see reviewed on A Book Lovin’ Mama’s Blog are either purchased by me or procured from NetGalley, Edelweiss, directly from the author or publisher or PR company in an exchange for an honest review. I do not receive compensation of any kind for the reviews.

Purchases made through buy links (Amazon specifically) may result in a small commission, which helps support the blog and fund giveaways.

Please review the Policies above on the Menu Bar.

© 2012- 2025 A Book Lovin Mama's Blog, All Rights Reserved.

Site Design by JennJ Designs