Imperfect Intentions by Charmaine Pauls

Charmaine Pauls expands the Diamond Magnate world by finally shining a light on Leon Hart, the second oldest brother in the Hart family. With Damian, Zoe, and Ian already living their happily ever afters, Leon is ready to settle down and find the one. Leon certainly excels at being mysterious, controlling, confident, knowing exactly who he wants—and he has set his eyes on obtaining Violet Starley. I had been waiting for Leon's book ever since he dropped that tiny revelation about wanting a pair of diamond earrings from Damian in Stolen Love. Now we know who it was really for. I loved finding all these details that make the story's world much more memorable, engaging, and enriching. This small taste of Leon's desires, ambitions, and ultimately his motivation for revenge has me excited for the conclusion to his story. The book does end with a nail-biting cliffhanger but thankfully, the conclusion to Leon and Violet's story in Imperfect Affections will be released in June.

"I want her with a desire that consumes me. She cursed me with an obsession for which there's no cure."

As the foil to Leon's character, Violet is extremely independent, feisty, sassy, naive, and has a guilt complex. Due to her disability, Violet has led a life that is not her own because of her mother's sacrifice while being under the watchful eye of her controlling step-father's household. As a result, she yearns to escape and rescue her mother from their predicament. Violet was a difficult heroine to understand and it took some time for me to warm up to her because she was constantly on the defensive and abrasive to Leon who simply wanted to take care of her. While I understood her situation, I was also frustrated because she fell into her scheming step-brother's trap so easily. I wanted to shake her because she was being blackmailed for her mother's transgressions. Nevertheless, I do look forward to knowing more about her—especially because Leon now knows what she did. There are consequences to her actions and I can't wait to see what Leon has in store for her.

"I want her for the fire that burns inside her. I want her for me. I want to tie her to me so that no one else can touch her."

In the end, I devoured this book because Leon truly was a fascinating character with many facets to him as he was sweet but also domineering. We also got a sneak peak of Leon and Violet's sexual chemistry together and it was intoxicating, steamy, and addicting. Charmaine Pauls has always excelled at the push and pull between her characters and I am so looking forward to the angst and heartbreak between these two. Leon has always been an enigma to me and I was never able to figure him out while reading Ian and Cas' book. We're finally given glimpses behind that mask behind Leon Hart and am pleased to say that there is a certain darkness and intrigue to his character that is very different from his brothers. I highly recommend this book to those who like the love/lust at first sight and revenge tropes with a hero who is madly obsessed with his spitfire heroine and will do everything to make her his.

*This ARC was generously provided by the author and publisher for an honest review*

Rating: ★★★★★