Book Review: Buttons & Grace

Title: Buttons & Grace
Author: Penelope Sky
Genre: Romance, Dark Romance, Fiction

What It’s About: Cane is hanging out with Adelina in his house, when he gets a call from Pearl about Crow, so he grabs his guns, calls his guys and then tries to make chase toward’s Crow’s location, but the tracker that was implanted into Crow has disappeared. Then he gets a call from Tristian telling him that he needs to exchange Pearl for Crow, and that he won’t accept Adelina back. Tristian also gives him a deadline, after which he will kill Crow, so Cane tries to find him in any way possible, but he isn’t able to find Crow.

Pearl then gives Cane the idea that he should call Tristian and get Crow to tell him where she is, with the hope Crow figures out what they’re trying to and give them some information. Crow figures out what they are doing, telling Cane about a memory that they shared with their father, that never actually happened, and finally Crow tells them all that Pearl is in the Serengeti, giving Cane an additional 12 hours to find him.

Cane does find the location where Crow is being held, but realizes very quickly on that he’s not able to actually storm the place as there’s over 100 people, and he doesn’t have enough resources to hire. Or there’s not enough time. Crow in the meantime has suffered horrendous tourture–broken ribs–but knows that Cane is probably not too far away, though he’s not certain why Cane hasn’t broken into the building yet. Tristian comes by and tells him that they’re not as smart that they think they are; that he has over 100 men in the warehouse with him, and there’s no way that Cane will be able to get in, save Crow and get him out alive. Tristian will kill the brothers and then search far and wide for Pearl.

Cane speaks with Adelina who tells him that Tristian has probably figured out what the brothers were doing, as he had been obsessed with having a fight with Cane when he dropped Adelina off with him again, and had told her that he had a lot of men at the ready. She suggests that he call Pearl and tell her what’s going on to get her perspective. Cane hadn’t wanted to do it because he wanted to give Pearl good news, but he realizes that Adelina was right.

So he calls Pearl, and they try to figure out what they can do. At first they can’t think of anything because he’s not able to get enough men, and then Pearl asks him if he can’t get the Skull Kings to help him in exchange for his weapons business. Cane thinks it over, and calls them up with the offer. With the Skull Kings’ help, his whole regiment gets in, kills Tristian’s men, while Can gets Crow out of the warehouse onto a helicopter, and later on he shoots Tristian himself between the eyes. Cane calls Pearl with the good news, but tells her that Crow is in surgery and Pearl asks him to clear travel for her and Lars to go back home so she can be there for Crow. She arrives while he’s still in surgery, but not much longer after that, they release him into his own room, and she goes to see him with Lars and Cane. Crow wakes up thinking that he has to call her, but she’s already there.

Over the next few days and weeks Crow takes time to heal from his injuries though he is absolutely restless because he has nothing to do. Cane does decide to take him up on the vineyard business, and begins his research of potential locations for the vineyards out of boredom. Adelina is happy that Tristian is dead, but when she voices the idea of going home to the US, Cane shuts down as she doesn’t love him, and tells her that she’s not leaving–she has to work off what she owes him after all he’s done for her. Eventually, Adelina sneaks out to see Pearl and tells her what is going on. When Crow and Cane return from viewing land for the vineyard, Pearl has some choice words for Cane about how he’s treating Adelina. Both Crow and Pearl talk some sense into Cane, telling him that he needs to let Adelina go–she needs to realize for herself that things have changed and that he’s the person for her; that the life she had and was planning on continuing to have, is not for her anymore.

After apologizing to Adelina, and telling her that she will only be able to flourish here with him, Cane drops her off at the airport on the day she chooses. He tells her he set up an account for her in the US with some money that would allow her to buy a house and continue her education should she wish. Then he gives her a kiss and drives off without ever looking back at her. He then gets very depressed, and over the time that he waits for Adelina to come back, he just doesn’t seem himself, going as far as getting drunk and driving. As a result of that stint, Crow has to pick him up from jail, and babysit him at home. When Cane finally wakes up the next day, Crow gives him a stern talking to and tells him to clean up his act.

In the meantime, Adelina has tried to adjust to living back in the US, and she’s enrolled in college–but everyone knows her as the victim of human trafficking that people in her town have begun avoiding her. At one point, her mom asks her to call Cane to thank him for what he did for her, which she obliges. Adelina calls Cane back later that same day to talk to him for a bit, and tells him about how thing are for her, before telling him that she misses him and hanging up on him. She then finds her own apartment-home, which is not too far from her parents’ house.

When Adelina speaks to Cane over the phone again, he tells her he loves her and hangs up, but it breaks his heart to see how things aren’t going the way that Adelina expected. So he shows up at her apartment, and they end up spending the night together in bed. Adelina confesses that she loves him, which makes Cane the happiest ever. He then asks her to come back home with him to Italy, and at first it’s hard for her because of her parents, with whom she’s close, but she agrees. So the two of them go over to her parent’s, who are surprised to see him, and even more surprised and upset over the fact that Adelina wants to return to Italy with Cane for good. Adelina tries to soften the blow by saying that they’ll visit each other often, but it’s still obvious that the parents, especially her mom, are saddened by the idea of losing their daughter. Cane then offers for them to move with the two of them to Italy–he’ll purchase a home for them just down the road, so they can see Adelina any time. This offer shocks everyone, but when Cane communicates that he’s good with it, Adelina is so happy. After a bit more back and forth, her parents agree to move to Italy with them. Her mom, however, adds that she hopes that he’s making this a permanent thing because it would be rough for them to upend their lives and move to Italy for it to only turn out to be something temporary. As a result, Cane asks Adelina to marry him, without a ring, and she accepts.

A few months later, Adelina gets married to Cane under the oak tree on his property in a beautiful ceremony. Then a couple of months after that, Crow has sex with a 9 month pregnant Pearl, who thinks her body is hideous, though he is absolutely enamored with it. She hides after they’re done, and he goes down to his study where he meets with Cane, who had been announced. The two talk and chuckle about how their lives have changed. Suddenly, Pearl screams for Crow that her water has broken, and they rush to the hospital. Four hours of labor later, Pearl and Crow welcome a baby boy whom they name Conway. Cane visits them with Adelina, who is three months pregnant at this time. Crow and Pearl even have a little get together at their home once their boy is a few weeks old, and Crow holds Conway while Pearl talks to Adelina’s parents. Cane comments that Crow has never looked happier than he is at this moment, and the men agree that their lives have changed for the better–letting the criminal underworld go, even if it was a lot of money, gave them happiness.. Six months later, Adelina and Cane welcome their own baby boy, whom they name Carter.

My Thoughts: I love how Cane is so different from his brother, but also how protective he is of his brother. I love seeing how he’s such a softie for Pearl and knows that he must do all he can to get Crow back home, though it guts him when he feels like he can’t get him back. I also found Cane to have grown differently as a character through these books, but in particular with this one, he shows his growth and change a lot. He gets pissed when Adelina wants to leave, but listens to Crow and Pearl when they say to let her go home to realize it. He realizes he was wrong, and apologizes for it, and then suffers a lot as a result of letting Adelina go because it’s what she wanted. He falls into a depression, gets super drunk because of it and the fact that he’s loved his business, but after Crow straightens him out, he cleans up his act, starts working around the vineyards. And then he goes to get Adelina and bring her home–but because he knows how important her parents are to her, he offers to bring them all with him so they can always visit each other. I think that’s beautiful.

A great end to the series, seeing how both families grow together and have children as well. Loved the book and would recommend.