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As he continues showing me their incredible penthouse apartment, I have a terrible feeling about the woman behind closed doors. But I can't risk losing this job � not if I want to keep my darkest secret safe . . .

It's hard to find an employer who doesn't ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want. It's almost perfect. But I still haven't met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I'm sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I'm doing laundry. And one day I can't help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything...

That's when I make a promise. After all, I've done this before. I can protect Mrs. Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe. Douglas Garrick has done wrong. He is going to pay. It's simply a question of how far I'm willing to go...

**This BOTM thread will be open until April 5th @ Midnight (in your time zone)**

I've been wanting to start this series for a while, but hadn't read the first one yet. I read the first one this morning. I couldn't stop. I've jumped right into the second and so glad I've started.

Chapter 23
(view spoiler)[First off, I really enjoy Millie as a character. I love that she was in a relationship with Enzo and that they were saving women from toxic relationships. It felt like a bit of a crazy jump at the beginning, and it's unfortunate that Enzo ultimately had to leave.

I'm unsure about her new boyfriend, Brock. He's really pushing her to move in. I'm wondering if it was him who put the drugs in the Xavier's apartment. I know he acted shocked but I think they were planted there. I was kind of curious if Brock had paid Xavier to make Millie feel uncomfortable to encourage her to move into his apartment and then the plan backfired. I'm curious what Brock will think of her when he finds out about her past.

Douglas is obviously kind of insane but I feel like nothing is as it seems in these books so I'm curious to see where it all leads to. I'm glad Millie figured out that the wife was the one who got her phone number and asked her about it. She clearly needs help! (hide spoiler)]

End of 30
(view spoiler)[Wondering if the car that's been following her is possibly Brock. He seems a little crazy.

I'm glad she got Wendy out but I'm really questioning who Wendy is and if the story is accurate. Also questioning dropping her off at the motel and leaving. If Douglas suspects Millie helped Wendy get away, could he track her information and cards? Wendy did say that he has access to a lot of different technology. (hide spoiler)]

End of 45 - Part 1
(view spoiler)[Ok!!! So I was wondering when Enzo was going to come make and make an appearance. I kind of hate that she turned him down and told him to start dating other people. I'm really hoping they get back together. I love that it was him who set up Xavier.

Wendy has clearly completely fucked Millie over somehow. Also, the guy who they're showing being murdered is a completely different person?! What is happening? She's being set up somehow.

I'm assuming this is where Enzo comes back into the picture to help her figure everything out. Brock is not being all that great but in fairness, he did just find out that his girlfriend went to prison for murder, so I kind of understand him not wanting to represent her.

As usual, it's taken a wild turn. (hide spoiler)]

End of 66
(view spoiler)[Fuck Wendy. This is the second time someone has tried to screw over Millie but unfortunately I can't see Wendy trying to protect Millie in the end.

Is Millie making good choices? Not really. But she is only trying to help women that she believes are in danger.

For some reason, I'm feeling bad for Russell but should I? Maybe not. He did cheat on his wife and they certainly were not trying to hide it. However, he clearly didn't want to kill anyone. He was ok with leaving his wife and ending up with Wendy, even if that meant they had no money. Ultimately, I don't think Wendy cares about Russell and is clearly more concerned about the money. If it were between money and Russell, she would definitely take the money.

I'm glad Enzo is back and helping Willie, but curious how this is going to play out. (hide spoiler)]

Finished
(view spoiler)[Ok well....the wife coming in hot and cutting his throat is one way to do it I guess.

Obviously, very glad Millie got out of it and I'm really excited to see where things lead with Enzo.

Overall, I thought it was a super fun read. While some of it I had guessed would happen, there were a ton of twists and turns along the way.

I like that part way through we get the other perspective as well!

I'm looking forward to reading more of her books in the future. (hide spoiler)]

Ooh, I only just noticed this was BotM *facepalm* I'll see if I can fit it in before the 5th...

Lolololol. I totally screwed this up because I thought I'd read the first one but I'd read The Maid which is a completely different book! Ah well, I dashed that out thanks to a healthy dose of insomnia, and have started on the second. (I was meant to be NOT adding to my TBR, but there we go)

Brittni wrote: "I've been wanting to start this series for a while, but hadn't read the first one yet. I read the first one this morning. I couldn't stop. I've jumped right into the second and so glad I've started..."

Up to chapter 30

(view spoiler)[
I was so disappointed about Enzo! :( I mean, if his mother actually had a stroke then that's understandable but still... I wonder if we're going to find out what happened, if there is any lying going on there... I guess we're meant feel positively about Enzo, but I am totally suspicious about EVERYONE right now.

It was a bit of a jump at the beginning, right? I went straight from the first one into this and I'm kinda disappointed we didn't find out what happened with the friend of Nina's that Millie ended up working for - and her and Enzo's vigilante time. Maybe we'll hear more about it later?

And yeah, I'm totally suspicious of Brock, new boyfriend. I mean, how can anyone be suspicion free in these books? He's totally shady in some way. Do you think he knows about her past? He's a very good actor if that's the case... I hadn't thought of him paying Xavier but it's very possible - good idea! Time will tell...

And Douglas. Yup, clearly insane. Also Xavier. But... maybe they're not. Maybe Wendy is insane and has something over Douglas? I realise this is all a bit random at the moment, but if I learnt anything from the first book it's 'trust nothing!' Lol. (hide spoiler)]

Brittni wrote: "End of 45 - Part 1
Ok!!! So I was wondering when Enzo was going to come make and make an appearance. I kind of hate that she turned him down and told him to start dating other people. I'm really ho..."

(view spoiler)[
Also, very glad that Enzo has turned up again; like I said I was disappointed that we didn't get to see them team up, but I assume we will get to now...? Fingers crossed! I still wonder whether there was some other reason he had to go back to Italy, but I think I might be overthinking it? Who knows with this book?

And I liked your idea with Brock setting up Xavier, but I'm glad it was Enzo - he's very protective.

However... Millie seems kind of... less powerful in this one so far? I mean, what with the massive f*ck up with not killing the guy she thought she'd killed, I feel like she's going to have to rely on Enzo here and I hope it's more of a team effort, but I have this feeling he might end up saving her, does that make sense? I want her to be as kickass as in book one - she did everything on her own basically!

Yes, wild turns indeed! And, yeah, I don't blame Brock for bailing - bit of a surprise considering he's pretty strait-laced. I feel like this won't be the last we'll see of him though...

So, inevitably, the asshole is not necessarily the one we thought it to be - looking forward to seeing what nefarious goings on Wendy has been up to! (hide spoiler)]

Brittni wrote: "Finished
Ok well....the wife coming in hot and cutting his throat is one way to do it I guess.

Obviously, very glad Millie got out of it and I'm really excited to see where things lead with Enzo...."

Finished! I agree with you Brittni that I felt pretty sorry for Russel too actually; he wasn't the best but did he really deserve that...?

(view spoiler)[ So, yeah, it was page-turning and everything, much like the first book, but it wasn't quite as satisfying in my opinion? It's definitely excellent guilty-pleasure reading, but there were things I didn't like...
- Millie had less autonomy; she was partially rescued by Enzo and I wanted her to do more for herself I suppose...
- Enzo/Millie's relationship was definitely unsatisfactory; although that might be remedied in the next book? I mean, seriously, coming back to the US and moving in near her and stalking her instead of saying, 'hi, I'm back!' ?!? Either there's more to it, or that's some dodgy character development IMO.
- Just a bit OTT, is it weird to say that? I mean, what I guess is that it was less believable than book one. Book one was so twisty and it's hard to write a book to follow that I guess. It was more convoluted but I don't think necessarily better because of it? I dunno, maybe I'm being critical. I read it in two goes so I had more time to think about it, so maybe that makes me think more...

I agree that the different perspectives are great, although it could become quickly formulaic. This was more morally grey than the first one, and I'm not convinced she dealt with it all that well... I can't put my finger on it!

It was definitely a fun, fast read; I'm probably being picky. Just felt a bit let-down... which could be remedied by book three of course! (hide spoiler)]

Brittni, do you fancy reading the third one at some point? No worries if you want to concentrate on your TBR (I definitely should lol), but let me know!