Vanquish (Deliver #2) by Pam Godwin

Her life is like a prison cell.
A self-made, to-hell-with-the-free-world existence that locks from the inside.
Stop judging. Her agoraphobia doesn’t define her. It simply keeps her safe.

He belongs in a prison cell.
The 6x8, make-me-your-bitch variety that locks from the outside.
But he’s free. To hunt. To take. To break.
And he just found a sexy new toy.

Capturing her is the easy part. Her fucked-up mind, however, makes him question everything he does next.
But he’s a determined bastard. If all goes his way, this will hurt like hell.

Warning: Graphic sex and violence. Age 18+ only
It is recommended to read after Deliver, but it can be read as a stand-alone. 

5 capturing stars 

After reading 'Deliver', I have to admit that I was really anxious and curious to know more about Van, a character that I surprisingly liked since the first book. Yeah, I definitely have a thing for bad boys, fucked up alpha males. 

This story comes after Deliver, but I can assume that someone can read it as a stand alone. Personally, I think it's wiser to read firstly Deliver. It makes things and facts more understanding. It also solved a couple of things that made me curious about them on the first book. Nonetheless, I didn't know how his story would continue, but I'm glad that I stayed to find out. 

Vanquish shows a small prologue where it shows the last moment we saw Van in Deliver, but from his POV. Then his story starts a year later from those incidents. Van doesn't change overnight. He keeps being a stalker, always spying on other people's lives. While spying on someone we know from the previous book, he meets Amber.

"What exists in the light doesn't go away in the dark." 

Amber is a really problematic woman. She has many issues, such as agoraphobia, OCD, low self esteem etc. She can't step out of her door and that's why she has guys delivering things to her. But something forces her to get out to her mailbox and that's when she meets Van. 

“You don't have anyone...at home?”

His pulse hopped through his veins. His honesty had opened a precious doorway into hers. “No one, Amber. There's not a soul that cares if I live or would miss me if I died.” 

I really loved their story. I hadn't read before about such a female character. Her issues seemed overdramatic to me, but I realized that there are people out there who are really like that and it takes a lot of strength to deal with these issues. I truly adored her character though. She was so feisty and fun and she was a cool character. 

“What's with the toothpicks?”“It used to be a tree trunk. I'm so badass I chewed it down to a toothpick.” 

Van was a character that probably not many appreciated in Deliver, maybe not even here. But I loved him. I loved the fact that I got to know more about him and his upbringing. I also loved that I got to know more about his hobby, it broke my 'dolly' heart. 

"He was a perfect imperfection." 

**SPOILER ALERT**
I honestly loved how overprotective he seemed to be with Livanna, even though it was such a small part on the epilogue. And the hug he shared with Liv was also something that I appreciated after having read Deliver. Also how Amber defended him to her and when Liv tried to explain her affection for him in Stockholm Syndrom, Amber's reply made me fist jump. Honestly, I couldn't have said it better, I'm so proud of her ;)