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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
✨Every move she makes is sensual and my f-cking heart is racing. I need her.
The intensity I feel dancing with Anya-even just being near her-is indescribable.
It’s the kind of intensity I want to feel all the time.
It’s the splash of cool water on a hot summer day. It’s the rush of performing for a crowd of hundreds. It’s dirty s-x on a public f-cking beach. I’m just about to drag her into my arms, but the chance is taken from me.
Just like everything else has been taken from me.
✨Oh my heart! I had the absolute pleasure of reading another amazing new to me author last month and loved Counts of Eight.
✨I listened to this story on audio
The intensity I feel dancing with Anya-even just being near her-is indescribable.
It’s the kind of intensity I want to feel all the time.
It’s the splash of cool water on a hot summer day. It’s the rush of performing for a crowd of hundreds. It’s dirty s-x on a public f-cking beach. I’m just about to drag her into my arms, but the chance is taken from me.
Just like everything else has been taken from me.
✨Oh my heart! I had the absolute pleasure of reading another amazing new to me author last month and loved Counts of Eight.
✨I listened to this story on audio
Death by ballerina.
There’s a pathetic way to die, though it makes for a killer headline.
I gave myself a whole day to sort through the mess that was my brain before writing this review.
I wasn't supposed to read this book anytime soon because I had to prepare myself mentally and emotionally. But I only had to watch an eerily beautiful dance between a ballerina and a contemporary dancer to the beat of one of my favorites songs to abandon everything I was doing and just dive in. (watch the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlUEs4LJ3Mo)
I only knew this book dealt with Human Trafficking and that it was about two dancers.
And boy. Do I regret having waited 3 years to finally read it.
This was my first Brynn Ford experience and I am forever changed.
This book was packed with a lot of emotional and scary moments.
My anxiety spiked several times while reading this book. I also had a few momentarily breakdowns and I might have cried.
Ezra is a dancer. He was abducted and transported to the middle of nowhere in Russia. He was brought to be a partner to Anya. A talent slave that belongs to Nikolai. The Head Master of the russian branch of the Four Families.
Anya has been groomed by Nikolai to serve the four families. She is a Ballerina that was plucked from her world 3 years prior.
Anya and Ezra only have two choices: Dance or Die. But Anya has already made the choice for them. And she will do anything to survive her ordeal.
“I don’t want you to just survive. I want you to live, Anya. You deserve a real life. You deserve heaven and he’s giving you hell.”
Nikolai is a possessive Master.
“Anya is mine. (…) . You are her dance partner and nothing else. Make sure that remains so, mal’chik. It doesn’t faze me to hurt her in order to control you. I would sooner kill her before letting her fall for a boy like you. Now you’ve seen the proof.”
He is manipulative and calculating. There's something so alluring about his character. He is the embodiment of a Seductive Red Flag that should be avoided. There's nothing redeeming about his character. And that's what makes him so captivating. The fact that he was able to pull contradictory feelings from me.
“I hate him almost as much for being beautiful on the outside as I do for being so disgusting on the inside.”
From the very first page the tone is set. We get a glimpse into how dark the series will be and please don't be fooled by the fact that the Prologue ended on a "closed door" note. You wont get that courtesy again throughout the book.
And that's about everything I will disclose.
Please read this → https://www.brynnford.com/triggers and if you are okay with them, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND READ THIS BOOK.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4 stars
This book had a very different premise than i was expecting. I hurt for the characters and what they were going through. I was wanting more of the backstory and mindset of a couple of the characters like Nathan.
Still, a good book that had me interested from the start.
This book had a very different premise than i was expecting. I hurt for the characters and what they were going through. I was wanting more of the backstory and mindset of a couple of the characters like Nathan.
Still, a good book that had me interested from the start.
I don't know why I waited so long to read/listen to Counts of Eight. I was hurting so much for what Anya had to endure at the hands of Nikolai and the only way for her to survive was to dance? That is a completely new plot I haven't read before so it was interesting to read. With how sadistic Nikolai was towards Anya, I kept expecting him to do something to Ezra but he never did so that's a mystery in itself and I wonder if it'll be explained in the next book.
The narrators did such an amazing job with the accents. They were able to bring so much emotion into their voices when it was needed and make the scene that much more emotional/heartbreaking and powerful.
I am definitely adding the rest of the series to my tbr especially Dance With Death because that cliffhanger, what the HECK!!
#TheFlockOnTour #TheFlock #PinkFlamingoProductions
The narrators did such an amazing job with the accents. They were able to bring so much emotion into their voices when it was needed and make the scene that much more emotional/heartbreaking and powerful.
I am definitely adding the rest of the series to my tbr especially Dance With Death because that cliffhanger, what the HECK!!
#TheFlockOnTour #TheFlock #PinkFlamingoProductions
Oh my lanta, this was such an amazing read. It gripped me from page one, kept tension going in every way and had such a deep story.
I have got to have a copy of the next in the series after that cliff hangar of an ending.
Surprisingly, the hottest character to me was Nikolai. I could sense he was so much deeper than his obvious abuse of Anya.
I have got to have a copy of the next in the series after that cliff hangar of an ending.
Surprisingly, the hottest character to me was Nikolai. I could sense he was so much deeper than his obvious abuse of Anya.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A slow build with the relationship and plot - things really get moving after the 50% mark. It makes the second half very tension filled with the desire between Ezra and Anya but also unknown of what will happen after they perform. The cliffhanger is going to slowly kill me while I work today. I need to know!
With the relationship, I loved how slow to develop the relationship was morphing from hate, to understand, and then finally into desire. Ezra was so conscious of how Anya had been changed by everything she's endured. He makes a concerted effort to to further trigger her by reigning in his own desire, moving slow, and ensuring she's truly okay at every step. He plays the game with their captor not because he's broken down but because he wants to protect Anya and please her.
With the relationship, I loved how slow to develop the relationship was morphing from hate, to understand, and then finally into desire. Ezra was so conscious of how Anya had been changed by everything she's endured. He makes a concerted effort to to further trigger her by reigning in his own desire, moving slow, and ensuring she's truly okay at every step. He plays the game with their captor not because he's broken down but because he wants to protect Anya and please her.
ARC received from author
First book I have read by this author, and I can’t allow it to be the last!
This book is perfect for those fans Pepper Winters. It’s pretty dark. Counts of Eight follows Anya and Ezra, two dancers both stolen from their lives. While this book is a dark romance involving a kept slave, it avoids the tropes often seen in this genre. Nikolai, the master, is simply the villain; she doesn't love him and that’s not where the romance is in this book. Secondly, the book is less focused on Anya’s captivity. Her capture is a thing of the past and this isn’t about breaking her. This book starts with the introduction of Ezra into the mix and the process of his submission. It provides a different story within this genre and one that is refreshing.
Between the three of them there is the clear hierarchy and the visual hierarchy. Visually, Ezra is at the bottom, with Anya in between. She was given instructions to train him into submission and to give him orders. In reality, both are only slaves and neither are one up from another.
The Four Families gather each year, and each family hosts the rest. The host has to provide “talent slaves” to perform for everyone. Anya was chosen right from childhood and has spent years performing ballet. Each year, she gets a partner to perform with and each year, the partner doesn’t please Nikolai so he does away with them. This year it’s Ezra’s turn, only instead of ballet they adopt his contemporary form of dance. What’s most interesting about the whole scenario is that it has less to do with the performance and more to do with Nikolai’s vision. He wants a certain something and is looking.
The romance is beautiful, involving two souls finding one another in the darkness. They connect on a new level. The story involves them working together on the dance routine, mainly, while stealing moments away with one another. The writing is this book’s best feature. Byrnn Ford really knows how to write a book! The writing is flawless and almost poetic.
As per the synopsis, this book ends on a cliffhanger. I suspect he’ll sell her to his colleague in the next one, and that absolutely terrifies me to no end. Until then, I’ll be biting my fingers!
I enjoyed reading this book so much and had a difficult time taking breaks from it.
First book I have read by this author, and I can’t allow it to be the last!
This book is perfect for those fans Pepper Winters. It’s pretty dark. Counts of Eight follows Anya and Ezra, two dancers both stolen from their lives. While this book is a dark romance involving a kept slave, it avoids the tropes often seen in this genre. Nikolai, the master, is simply the villain; she doesn't love him and that’s not where the romance is in this book. Secondly, the book is less focused on Anya’s captivity. Her capture is a thing of the past and this isn’t about breaking her. This book starts with the introduction of Ezra into the mix and the process of his submission. It provides a different story within this genre and one that is refreshing.
Between the three of them there is the clear hierarchy and the visual hierarchy. Visually, Ezra is at the bottom, with Anya in between. She was given instructions to train him into submission and to give him orders. In reality, both are only slaves and neither are one up from another.
The Four Families gather each year, and each family hosts the rest. The host has to provide “talent slaves” to perform for everyone. Anya was chosen right from childhood and has spent years performing ballet. Each year, she gets a partner to perform with and each year, the partner doesn’t please Nikolai so he does away with them. This year it’s Ezra’s turn, only instead of ballet they adopt his contemporary form of dance. What’s most interesting about the whole scenario is that it has less to do with the performance and more to do with Nikolai’s vision. He wants a certain something and is looking.
The romance is beautiful, involving two souls finding one another in the darkness. They connect on a new level. The story involves them working together on the dance routine, mainly, while stealing moments away with one another. The writing is this book’s best feature. Byrnn Ford really knows how to write a book! The writing is flawless and almost poetic.
As per the synopsis, this book ends on a cliffhanger. I suspect he’ll sell her to his colleague in the next one, and that absolutely terrifies me to no end. Until then, I’ll be biting my fingers!
I enjoyed reading this book so much and had a difficult time taking breaks from it.
Counts of Eight
The Four Families, Book 1
By: Brynn Ford
Narrated by: Elle Sonali, Jeffrey Holz
Suspense and romance! Nothing is better than that and Brynn Ford takes us on the beginning of a wild ride with the Four Families, Counts of Eight! Anya was taken at a young age, and kept captive. Dance is her outlet, her passion, but her life is far from a happy one. Now a new partner, Ezra, has been brought in, another she must tame and keep under control so the performance of a lifetime can keep the families happy and the two of them alive. Little did she know her feelings would get involved this time. Ezra is determined to find a way out, but how? Talk about chemistry! From the very start these two have it in spades. The constant eye on them though is a huge deterrent. I am on edge,now as the cliffhanger has left me wanting more, leaving these two in a terrible situation. Bring on the next book! I need to keep counting!
Elle Sonali and Jeffrey Holz give a phenomenal performance telling this story.Accents are spot on, the duet is perfectly set up with each character having their own voice. There are a lot of interesting side characters in this story, and these two pulled out the best voices for them. This is a fantastic listen and I cannot wait for more.
The Four Families, Book 1
By: Brynn Ford
Narrated by: Elle Sonali, Jeffrey Holz
Suspense and romance! Nothing is better than that and Brynn Ford takes us on the beginning of a wild ride with the Four Families, Counts of Eight! Anya was taken at a young age, and kept captive. Dance is her outlet, her passion, but her life is far from a happy one. Now a new partner, Ezra, has been brought in, another she must tame and keep under control so the performance of a lifetime can keep the families happy and the two of them alive. Little did she know her feelings would get involved this time. Ezra is determined to find a way out, but how? Talk about chemistry! From the very start these two have it in spades. The constant eye on them though is a huge deterrent. I am on edge,now as the cliffhanger has left me wanting more, leaving these two in a terrible situation. Bring on the next book! I need to keep counting!
Elle Sonali and Jeffrey Holz give a phenomenal performance telling this story.Accents are spot on, the duet is perfectly set up with each character having their own voice. There are a lot of interesting side characters in this story, and these two pulled out the best voices for them. This is a fantastic listen and I cannot wait for more.