Counsellor (Acquisition #1) by Celia Aaron

Synopsis from Amazon:

In the heart of Louisiana, the most powerful people in the South live behind elegant gates, mossy trees, and pleasant masks. Once every ten years, the pretense falls away and a tournament is held to determine who will rule them. The Acquisition is a crucible for the Southern nobility, a love letter written to a time when barbarism was enshrined as law. 

Now, Sinclair Vinemont is in the running to claim the prize. There is only one way to win, and he has the key to do it — Stella Rousseau, his Acquisition. To save her father, Stella has agreed to become Sinclair's slave for one year. Though she is at the mercy of the cold, treacherous Vinemont, Stella will not go willingly into darkness. 

As Sinclair and Stella battle against each other and the clock, only one thing is certain: The Acquisition always ends in blood.

My review:

I have received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book might be twisted at times, but it's an interesting read. The concept of this huge kind of secret society and a completely different and twisted world of some very rich people isn't new - secret societies have existed for centuries, but this book takes it that one step further.

Yes there is pain involved and some chapters that are uncomfortable to read, but let's be honest there are some sick people in the world and so this to me is quite believable.

I actually liked Sinclair's character. He is the ultimate bad guy, arrogant, selfish and heartless. But is he? Not really, he just has the world on his shoulders and the only one (apart from his mysterious mother) that knows the full consequences of a failure.

Stella comes across like a strong character, hard to break, woman of opinion and she doesn't hold back in letting Sinclair know how she feels about him.

I felt a little sorry for both Stella and Sinclair towards the end and I am looking forward to reading the next book to see where the story will move on to.

My rating: 4/5