Corrupted Chaos by Shain Rose
Series: Tarnished Empire #2
Published by Greene Ink Publishing on 27 October 2022
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance
Pages: 351
Format: eBook
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My enemy doesn’t make the rules behind closed doors…
Even if he’s my boss.

Cade Armanelli might be an infamous hacker with billionaire status who operates better alone, but I earned my spot working alongside him...
Whether he likes it or not.

It’s precisely why I’m on the first plane to an undisclosed location for our cybersecurity team retreat. I’m ready to prove to our company that I can handle anything…
Except sharing a cabin and a bed with my meticulous, elusive boss.

He’s antisocial.
Ruthless.
Enemy number one.
Unfortunately, he’s also number one in tatted, dark, and dangerous. I quickly come to find that not only are his hacking skills perfection, but so is his performance in the bedroom.

Not that it matters. I have a job to keep, a heart to protect, and our nation’s data to secure.
Cade can’t help me with any of that.
He’s a distraction. One I have to avoid…
Even if it means I’m spray painting a red line down our bed and keeping my boss on his side.

“You can say you hate me all you want but your lies taste so damn sweet.”

Corrupted Chaos by Shain Rose: Caden Armanelli is Head of Cybersecurity for the United States government, a tech mogul/billionarie, a reformed mobster, and Izzy’s boss.

Izzy Hardy is a former addict and desperately trying to maintain the white-knuckle grip she has on her life but trying to squash herself into a neat, little box.

With a presidential election looming, Izzy jumps at a career-making opportunity to secure the voting systems from hackers, even if that means being stuck with her enigma of a boss. Their shared history (introduced in Fractured Freedom) and forced proximity draws out their emotions in the extreme. Izzy and Cade cross a bold, red line that result in dire consequences for them both.

Corrupted Chaos by Shain Rose is the second book in the Tarnished Empire series, focusing on the enemies-to-lovers romance between Caden and Izzy that was teased at the end of book one, Fractured Freedom. It is a dual POV, dark, contemporary, (sort of) mafia romance that is intense and super spicy.

Definitely check the trigger warnings before reading as it contains scenes drug use, suicide, and violence.

I would recommend reading Fractured Freedom first to understand the context and references to previous events that are mentioned in Corrupted Chaos.

Pace

I sprinted through this book and read it in one sitting. The intensity of the characters and the circumstances in which they find themselves whips the plot into a gallop that Rose maintains from start to finish. It’s a straightforward, easy read that doesn’t require much brain-power investment.

Characters

Izzy and Cade are two matching tortured souls and their chemistry burns throughout the book. Caden is a typical alpha-hole male, what with him being the son of an infamous mobster and an expert hacker that holds everyone’s secrets in his pocket. He is intense and irritating and there were scenes where I had an all-out argument with my feminism because he is…something else.

But I really enjoyed Izzy’s character development as she let go of control and reconciled with her innate self, instead of trying to be who she thought she should be. I also loved her growth as she worked through her haunting past and moved on with her future. Rose did a good job at making Izzy’s character relatable despite her outlandish circumstances.

We also get a litter teaser for the next book that will focus on one of Izzy’s and Delilah’s brothers, Declan, who is a professional NFL player (yes, thank you).

The Tropes…

• Enemies to Lovers
• Dark Secret
• Mafia
• “Mine.”
• Second Chance Romance
• Boss/Employee
• Spicy
• Kidnapping
• Forced Proximity

Is Corrupted Chaos spicy?

“Why don’t you come sit on my lap like you did his and see how much baggage I have. Then you can get a good comparison.”

These two are insatiable….. and kinky. I would highly recommend setting yourself up with a milk IV before starting because there is no shortage of spicy scenes. If you haven’t read many spicy books, I probably wouldn’t suggest this one to start since there are some intense sexual scenes of a darker nature which a spice-newbie might want to work up to.

My Thoughts…

While I prefer Delilah and Dante’s story in Fractured Freedom, I still enjoyed the dark, intense romance between Izzy and Caden. Shain Rose is great at crafting relatable, snarky FMCS with an exciting dark edge that seem to attract danger and hot, deliciously possessive men.

This was a breezy read and satisfied my craving for a super spicy, lightly dark, contemporary romance that I could squeeze in a day or two.