Review: On Every Street

When young con artist Ellie Watt decides to call herself Eden White and go after the drug lord who ruined her as a child, she never expects to fall for one of his henchmen.

But Javier Bernal is no ordinary man. Subtly dangerous and overwhelmingly seductive, Eden finds herself passionately in love with Javier, the very person she's set-up to betray.

With her body and heart in a heated battle against her deep need for revenge, no one will walk away from this con a winner.

Title: On Every Street (The Artists Trilogy ~ Book 0.5)
Author: Karina Halle | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: March 9 2013
Publisher: Metal Blonde Books 
Length: 138 Pages
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Cover Love: Much love!
Point of View: 1st person, following Ellie

My Rating: 5 Stars

“You know,” he began, voice low and full, “if you were to ever leave me, I’d come looking for you, on every street.”

“You promise?”

“Always.”  And I knew he kept his promises.”

On Every Street is a novella that takes place six years before Sins & Needles.  Karina Halle has said it can be read before or after Sins & Needles.  I choose to read it after, and I am quite happy with that decision.  In Sins & Needles you meet Ellie but she keeps her past close to her, and only slowly does she start to share it.  You know that she is running from somebody, and that the somebody in question is very bad news.  I didn't want that suspense ruined.  I wanted to get to know Ellie and Camden first, then to know Javier.

“I’m scared of him.  I’m disgusted by the vile monster he becomes, this beast he lets out.  But I still love him.  I’d still do anything for him.  I can’t just turn off my heart.  I want to, I do, but I can’t.  I love him with everything I have and I hate myself for it.  Because it’s wrong to love him, I know. It’s so wrong.” 

Talk about being very bad news.  Javier frightens me.  There are several times when Ellie describes him as a lion and I can so understand why.  He commands respect in a subtle and smooth way.  It is rare you see him get really upset and he almost always appears calm.  It is that which makes him the most frightening.  A coiled snake, that is another way that Ellie describes him, and yet again it fits perfectly.

“Revenge has been my lover for too long," he said, breath hot on my neck.  He began sliding down my body, toward the floor, arms around me.  "Power, my savior.  I need to learn how to put you first, above those things.  I need you to help me, to teach me.  I don’t want to love anything more than you, Eden, so please, I’m begging you, show me how. You need to be my everything.”

Although, even with all of that said it is quite easy to see how Ellie fell so hard for him so quickly.  He is one smooth operator, and dare I say a romantic.  He is sweet, considerate, and lovely.  You just have to push the fact he is a murderer to the very back of our mind... if you can do that then maybe Javier is the man for you.

“Who is good and who is bad?  Life isn’t black and white, Javier.  You and I, we’re just trying to live in all the grey.  Isn’t that what you’ve done?  Isn’t that what you want?  To live?”

I enjoyed getting to know Ellie a bit more.  It was good learning more about what was driving her. I was surprised to see how green she was at the whole con artist thing.  It was interesting to see the whole learning of the ropes, her struggling with her decisions, and the thought processes that she goes through.  Giving her her heart away to Javier, and seeing him break it.  I am still a bit confused over why he did what he did... would love to get this from his point of view so that we can know what he was thinking.  Maybe he will explain it all in Shooting Scars.

“I want to hurt the man who hurt me.  I want to destroy him for destroying me.  And I won’t be happy, I won’t be free, until I do so.”

I strongly suggest this series, and again you can choose to read On Every Street before or after Sins & Needles.  I really don't think it will ruin anything for you either way, but I am glad I read it after.  I would also like to point out that my 'Team' hasn't changed... I am and always will be all about Camden McQueen.

“I do what I have to do to survive because that’s all I know.  I don’t make excuses, I own it.  This is me, this is who I am, this is my life. It shames me but not enough to stop.”

MORE QUOTES FROM ON EVERY STREET