Brutal Nights by Isla Vaughn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Anticipation. Once again, I cannot get enough of the Hidden Valley Elite series. Isla Vaughn’s ability to weave such complex emotions and twists into an effortless story is mind blowing. Book four, the second book in the Brutal duet about Damon and Skylar picks up once again in the same moment the first book ended in. They are coming down from an intimate moment when her mom and Gia are standing in the doorway having caught them.
What follows is nothing less than expectation with the fallout between Gia and Sky, fear of a teen pregnancy, and the overwhelming reality that while they try to label it all as fake it’s anything but. All along a greater threat is around the corner, Sky’s dad is set to be released from prison forcing both her and Damon to confront their feelings now or risk never seeing each other again. Damon on the other hand never cared as much as his brother about football and the NFL is more of a maybe for him but Skylar makes him see more beyond football. As everything builds to its climax Sky can no longer handle the guilt and tries to talk to Gia, leaving her with the parting words that “he’s getting out soon and we’ll be gone.” Admitting to Damon she doesn’t want to leave him he does the one thing he never wanted to do. Damon asks his dad for help, sees pictures of what happened when Sky was seven and some of the hatred, he holds for Raelyn is replaced with some respect. He realizes that Sky’s situation is very similar to Riley’s and her moms from the previous year, only no one is there to help Sky and her mom. Finally filling in Cole about everything with Sky, and her dad situation he gets a call from Gia……He’s there.
Will Damon make it to Skylar’s in time? Can Skylar and her mom survive and stay safe? Will Skylar and Damon finally get a chance to drop the “fake” from their relationship? This series has truly become my number one go to for an escape from the realities of life. The world, while nothing more than reality, the characters are what keep you drawn in. Over the course of two books the characters both take a journey, growing and becoming well rounded. Leaving you routing for them to come out on top and get their happiness ever after. Once again, knowing that a happy ending is always coming doesn’t take away from the story, it leaves you in anticipation of how they achieve it when everything seems against them, even themselves sometimes. I already have a countdown for the next book in the series, Cruel Start, June 29th, 2023, which is like Cole’s duet with the Savage Start prequel, this book serves as the prequel into Phoenix and Aspen’s duet, book one Cruel Hate, August 31st, 2023.

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