Title: The Tyrant
Author:  Penelope Sky
Publisher/Year:  Penelope Sky 3/19/19
Length:   205 Pages
Series:  Banker #3

Overview

I’ve fallen in love with Cato, and I’m not afraid to say it.

He doesn’t need to say it back. I know how he feels.

Even if he doesn’t have the balls to admit it.

Our daughter will be here soon, and our lives will change forever.

Will Cato let go of the past? Let go of the promise he made to execute me?

Or should I have never come back?

My Thoughts

Oh what a crazy roller coaster we are still on with these two. They are in sooo deep with each other yet both so uncompromising with their beliefs and needs. We were left off on such a cliff last time around that it’s no surprise that this third and final installment has the same and more.

We know that their relationship is true, and real, even if Cato is afraid to admit it. Siena, being the strong woman that she is, she doesn’t need to hear the words since she experiences the protection and love every day. So throughout her pregnancy, when she’s not feeling the best, when she’s not feeling sexy, Cato is right there to make her feel loved.

They have crossed the bridge where things are just for optics – just so that Cato feels like he’s doing what he needs to do in order to keep his reputation intact. Bates still has an unbelievable amount of hatred and distrust in Siena, and it’s through this story that we continue to have hope that it can change.

The underlying themes here though are protection, trust, loyalty and love. We know the demise of Siena’s family and how that really puts fear and concern in every moment of her life, especially now as she’s got the baby to worry about. She was a target once and her baby will become even more of one after birth. The question that we constantly ask ourselves here though is who will come to her rescue when the time is needed, and….is she the one that needs rescuing.

Bates actually becomes a character that you want to root for. that you want to know more about because our author begins to write him in more, begins to give him much more of an active role, and not just in the business itself. Sets us up for his spinoff series which i’m sure is in the making!

Bates prompts Cato to take action that we truly thought we were past. He wants Siena to pay for what happened at the beginning of things and when Cato is convinced to go through with the need to kill her, even for optics, that’s when you have to wonder where the story took a wrong turn. Thankfully Cato has morals and love, but Bates at this point is still questionable, and when shots are fired, and Siena is shot in the head….well all bets are off.

That’s the other roller coaster that we have in this story. Bates is a wild card. With Siena, with Cato. I have to wonder honestly if he’s got some other motivation here and wants the entire business because he’s not just ambitious but he’s greedy. That’s something that i hold onto throughout much of this story.

Then there’s the unknown that we have here. Bates seems to think that Damien and Micah are plotting something since their businesses have gone dark, and Cato is so into his relationship and family that hes’ not seeing what’s right in front of his nose. When catastrophe hits, someone gets kidnapped, someone has a rogue idea for a rescue, and many people die, go to the brink of death….this is where we see the story start to take a new turn.

Even when we think that this may be the beginning of the closure that we need, there are still a good 60 pages or so to go, so we know that it can’t be it. What we learn is that there’s never closure, there’s never compromise and there’s never an opportunity to settle down and resolve things. Comfort and predictability are impossible in this lifestyle and we see that as the story comes to a close. Anything that you hoped for, wished for throughout the first two books becomes up in the air, and we’re left with an ending that’s not exactly playing out as you’d expect.

What this does, this flow of the story – it makes you so engrossed that you have to read on. I started this book yesterday and honestly, when i should have gone to sleep, i couldn’t put it down. I had to continue reading to see how it played out. To see how the intense chemistry that we came to love in books one and two play out in the finale. Where we had grit and raunch before, we have romance and compassion. But that’s not how this story was designed from inception so that’s not something that could lead to a happy ending right? Read it…you’ll appreciate it…and then tell me what you think. Enjoy!