Little Dove by Jaden Wilkes

 How can you ever hope to find normal when your life is anything but?

Determined to make amends for his past, and show Columbia he truly is a changed man, Dimitri sets out to right wrongs and decimate those who bring nothing but sorrow to the world.

Something goes wrong and Columbia is taken, spirited away into the underground world of sex trafficking and international crime syndicates.

Dimitri must fight his way across the Europe to find her and bring her home. He would rather see the world burn than live without her in it.

He will tear the world apart looking for his little dove.

This is a tragic story exploring the consequences of daring to love in the midst of chaos and terror.

****As with The Beast, this book contains graphic depictions of physical abuse, rough sex and dubious consent. It may contain triggers for several different reasons, so please read with caution. That being said, it is also a book filled with hope, love and light in the dark.

Wow, it has taken me two days since finishing this story to even form a few words about how I feel.  The top words that keep coming to my mind are amazing, awesome,intense, emotional, raw and twisted.  I am a huge fan of the dark and twisted reads, to see the worst in humans battle against the best but this book took it to a whole new level of mind F’ing because I found myself wanting the dark side of Columbia and Dimitri to power through while hanging on to the good side they had finally found in each other. 

I won’t spoil this dramatic read for you.  It is the third book to this series and you MUST read the first two so you can not only understand what is going on but so you can totally encompass what you are reading.  The struggle that has gotten Columbia and Dimitri to this point in life, why hanging on to the people they are today is so important.  Their life has been a struggle from day one and just when they think they are on the edge to happiness, life throws them a new batch of demons to deal with. 

The author also gave us the story of other characters that have also felt their share of heartache and are seeking revenge.  I pray that there will be spin offs and more books coming about Boian, Ioana and Iryna.  Just as I am not even close to being finished with Dimitri and Columbia, I crave more about those three and what happens to them. 

Little Dove for me was a story about losing your soul to someone who loves you for the first time and experiencing acceptance and forgiveness.  To see past the mistakes and deeds that had been done in the past and allowing them to make amends for the damage they have caused others.  To risk your own life in order to preserve the life of someone you love.  For a person to try and find humanity and kindness in a world that has made you so jaded you can’t even stand to look at yourself.  These people are broken but not always by their own choices.  Human trafficking not only shatters the victims but we see the damage it does to those forced into the business.  To survive one must shut off your emotions and close your heart, but to love and be loved, you have to open those avenues up and risk being hurt.  Jaden shows us how even the most damaged of humans can find ways past the flashbacks and nightmares and feel the sensual touch of a lover gain, to feel the power of trusting another with your mind, body and soul. She paints a very powerful picture of survival in this book, inspiring the reader to never give in to fear.

I admit, I sat on my sofa reading, moving to the edge of my seat, bent over and gripping the kindle with white knuckles a few times.  When the kindle died because I wasn’t paying attention to the power level I instantly went for my app on the phone and by the end of the book I was sobbing and shaking.  My husband looked at me and panicked thinking I had just received some horrible news on my phone only to find out my heart was breaking and I was an emotional wreck because of this book.  Yes that is a sign of a five star book for me, when I get so emotionally invested in the story I have to sit for a while and cry and just recover from what I have read.  This is what Jaden Wilkes does to the reader, she slowly engages you with characters that are captivating and then when you least expect it she rips your heart out and twists it into a condition that you are not sure you will ever recover from, only to hand it back to you with a ray of sunshine.  I recently found out about Jaden in a group that I had joined and I can tell you I am going to be finding more of her books ASAP because the ride she takes you on is epic.   

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