Upper Hand by Amelia Wilde

Upper Hand by Amelia Wilde is the continuation of Gabriel Hill and Elise Bettencourt's story as they battle feelings for each other while overcoming the secrets and dangers of the consortium that Mason Hill first attempted to unravel in Net Worth. There is no denying that Gabriel is a broken man; he will need a strong and empathetic heroine to be his anchor and "home." Elise is that woman but her heart keeps getting broken by him. Despite my frustrations with these two, I thought Gabriel and Elise were perfect for each other because she understood him and his reasons for revenge and never faulted him for using her. It was clear that Gabriel never wanted to hurt Elise but his path was already set and determined for him. In addition to thinking of himself as worthless and undeserving love, Gabriel has always used his charismatic facade as both a weapon and shield against others—Elise was the only exception.

"I want him on a level beyond guilt and debt and revenge. I want him because nothing else feels as good as being in his arms."

I do have to mention that there was a scene I particularly disliked because it made me extremely uncomfortable and took me out of the romance between Gabriel and Elise. Unfortunately, it had to do with the consortium and their initiation. As Gabriel becomes more entrenched in their clutches, Elise makes a decision that may have dire consequences for the both of them. Elise was an interesting heroine to root for because she grew up learning about her family's cruelty, especially her father's evil manipulations, and tried to leave it all behind only to get pulled back into the fold by the man she loved. It was frustrating to see her struggle and hurt by her family because she was just as deserving of love as Gabriel.

"I'd rather die than live without her, but I'll pay any price to keep her alive."

In the end, I enjoyed this book and will be looking forward to the conclusion of Gabriel and Elise's story in Fair Game because no surprise—their story ends in a shocking cliffhanger that left me reeling from the parallelism. I refuse to believe Gabriel and Elise were that naive into thinking that Bettencourt would not retaliate against them. I liked that the author particularly focused more on the romance in this installment because Gabriel and Elise's feelings for each other were finally recognized. Their love scenes, while few, were sensual and erotic. I highly recommend this to those who like reading angst and the enemies to lovers trope with a broken and self-destructing hero who loves and will do everything in his power to protect his hopelessly sweet and caring heroine.

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

Rating: ★★★★☆