"This little angel was definitely going to get her wings dirty."I just can't get enough of these characters and this series. Ms Halle, what have you done to me? This little prequel of approximately a hundred pages packs a punch that I didn't think was possible. I'm trying to decide which tone was strongest in this story: the sexy or the sad. Because it is definitely both. This is an erotic, heart-breaking novella about first loves and first betrayals. And I highly recommend you do not read this prequel until you have read [b:Sins & Needles|16029994|Sins & Needles (The Artists Trilogy, #1)|Karina Halle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347859611s/16029994.jpg|21799599] - I personally think this is important because [b:On Every Street|17230557|On Every Street (The Artists Trilogy, #0.5)|Karina Halle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1359656866s/17230557.jpg|23745831] makes you view things very differently.
This book takes us back to a time when Ellie Watt was Eden White - a name she had picked for herself as part of an undercover operation to get revenge on the drug lord who had stolen her self-confidence, who had given her the scars she constantly tried to hide. But to get to him, she must seduce one of his henchmen and worm her way into his circle. What she never expected was to fall for Javier Bernal. He was supposed to be the tool she used to get close to Travis, she was supposed to cast him aside without a thought when she was done. Looks like life never turns out the way you expected and sometimes you find things along the way that are stronger than hate and the desire for revenge.
When I read [b:Sins & Needles|16029994|Sins & Needles (The Artists Trilogy, #1)|Karina Halle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347859611s/16029994.jpg|21799599], I loved Camden McQueen and Javier was the villain who attempted to come between Camden and Ellie, but reading this made me look at the story in an entirely different way and I'm no longer sure who I want Ellie to be with. How odd it is that I have often bitched and moaned about love triangles only to find myself right in the middle, torn between Camden and Javier. Ms Halle has stated that she doesn't believe you can be in love with more than one person at once and I'm glad to hear this - it means Ellie should make her decision and there won't be any of the usual angsting all over the place. Not from her, anyway. Me? Well, that's a whole different situation. I'm likely to be angsting about this right until the end.
This prequel is an absolute must for those who enjoyed [b:Sins & Needles|16029994|Sins & Needles (The Artists Trilogy, #1)|Karina Halle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347859611s/16029994.jpg|21799599]. It's very sexy, a little kinky and really quite sad. People tend to say that whatever happens, wherever you end up, whoever you end up with, you never forget your first love and they always hold a piece of your heart. I don't know if this is true but Ms Halle makes a very convincing case for it here.
