After seeing her brother arrested for murdering his best friend, Gabriella struggled. She fought to keep herself sane, and failed. there were times when even the smallest thing could destroy her. But she was better now, she fought and clawed and finally got herself to where she needed to be. She had boundaries, and as long as she looked after herself she was fine. But then Triker, the new leader of the Twisted Hearts sets his sights on her. It didn’t matter that she was with Javier, that they had fought to be together, he wanted her. And what he got he wanted. The Twisted Hearts were known for taking women, breaking them, wearing them down. Can Gabriella remain strong, knowing that Javier will move mountains to find her, or will she find herself doing whatever it takes to survive, and losing herself in the process?
Acts of Manipulation is the third book in Maggie Cole’s Together we Stand series. This one focuses on Gabriella and Javier’s story. Instead of picking up from where book two ends, we find ourselves backtracking, which is normally a pet peeve of mine when I have to relive the same story from an alternative perspective, however, there are some cases where this works, because while the previous book centred around Chloe and and Ryland, this one has us seeing the relationship and troubles that Gabriella and Javier have to overcome, only for adversity to step in. When Gabriella is kidnapped, you can feel the pain and confusion, see the mind games, ask yourself the same questions she asks. It’s an amazing story where you can’t help but become invested in the characters and wonder how it will end.
K.J's Athenaeum 