I had the pleasure of buddy reading this with my girl, Ilze! ♥ We did this on a whim in preparation of the movie coming out next month and 4.5 Stars!
I had the pleasure of buddy reading this with my girl, Ilze! ♥ We did this on a whim in preparation of the movie coming out next month and holy batman balls, this book was intense and so crazy good. We couldn't even put this book down if we wanted to. I couldn't even care about the writing style issues I had with it (which I highlighted in the first book review) but the plotline was cray cray that had me flipping pages pronto. Also it was gruesome and a little bit of a mindf*ck.
"I never expected her. Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don't know how you ever lived without them."
What a4.5 STARS! ★★★★☆
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"I never expected her. Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don't know how you ever lived without them."
What a complete hidden gem read! Who is this author and why haven't I read any of her books before? This needs to change pronto. I know there's already so many stellar reviews on this read, so I'll get straight to the point and tell you how this one absolutely worked for me.
Let me just say that I haven't picked up a NA contemporary college romance read since The Hook Up and that was equally a 4.5 stars read for me too. Ever since then, I've been wary about picking up another until this gem came flooding over my feed. I'll be honest: I wouldn't have thought of picking it up just based on the cover or blurb. Is there anything extraordinary about this trope? Nope. But did I enjoyed the hell outta it? Abso-facking-lutely.
"Exactly how old is your penis?"
"He's twenty, like me." Garrett answers seriously. "But he's way more mature than I am."
It really proves to show that you don't need an extraordinary plot to produce a spectacular read if you have the writing skills to put your own unique spin to an overused trope. With Elle Kennedy, she did just that and she aced it. From the likeable characters that came off real to the endless smartass banters, I completely devoured this one and I came off this read with a goofy smile on my face. Scratch that, I pretty much had a big dorky goofy smile on my face the entire time reading it. Also, I may have chuckled out loud a few times in public *cue the locker room scene*
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There's nothing I love more than a slowburn romance and with Hannah/Garrett, their relationship developed at an almost perfect pace. It's the kind that starts off with some love-hate banters, then grows into a delicious sizzling kind of unresolved sexual tension and finally BOOM! it happens. So much so that when it happened, I literally did an airfist and celebrated while sending squeeing text messages to my girlie, Rachel.
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I also liked that while Garrett came off like a manwhore, he was nothing but sweet and caring. He wasn't the typical reformed manwhore that changed his ways for the nerdy quiet girl. He was still who he is but there was just a side you didn't see before until Hannah came along. And Hannah, I loved that she didn't caved in to Garrett's persistence and I felt her insecurities due to her past was portrayed well and not OTT at all. It didn't take away her wonderfully witty persona or let it overshadowed her, it only strengthened her.
"You won't let anything bad happen to me, will you, Garrett?"
"Never."
Overall this is one of those that will take you by surprise because it sure as hell did for me. If it wasn't for all my book buddies recc'ing me this, I wouldn't have gave it a second glance and for that, I am very thankful :) And to those who haven't pick this up, this is where I urge you to give it a shot. Sure it may sound like your typical NA college romance read & it's predictable but the writing that Elle Kennedy brings to her characters and their banters truly made this read shine.
Oh and also, the sex is hot hot hot. What more can you ask for seriously? ;)
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The Deal is a standalone New Adult contemporary romance read.
♥ Thanks to my lovely girl, Rachel for the amazing buddy-read! Had so much exchanging all the amazing banters from the book & squeeing over these characters through the phone! ♥ ...more
10 THE UNHOLY TRINITY STARS!!!!! AND WHAT A MOTHER OF BLOODY CLIFFHANGERS!!!!
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After all you ladies have teased me about that gigantic cliffy, I10 THE UNHOLY TRINITY STARS!!!!! AND WHAT A MOTHER OF BLOODY CLIFFHANGERS!!!!
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After all you ladies have teased me about that gigantic cliffy, I was freaking the fuck out. My gut feeling was right about that twist coming but OMAIGOD HOW IT ALL COMES TOGETHER, FUCKING BRILLIANT!!!! I'm just all crying and shaking now. SHAKING AND CRYING ALTOGETHER.
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Thank heavens. Thank God. Thank horses. Thank you Tiffany Reisz. If I didn't have the next book with me right now, I AM OUT TO SHOOT SOMEONE. THIS IS NOT A JOKE.
SHIT GOT REAL PEOPLE. I repeat, shit just got mighty real with that ending!!
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Quick thoughts (in the state of my incoherency and inability to calm mah tits down, I apologize!!):
* Found my ultimate new ship in this one. LOVE IT. I FUCKING SHIP IT! (view spoiler)[Kingsley and Søren!! GAH I DONT CARE IF NORA IS KICKED TO THE CURB!! She can makes babies with Wes because they're so adorable and vanilla together anyway. KINGSLEY AND SOREN FOR LIFE!! ♥♥ What they both shared in their St Ignatius days, my heart goes out to Kingsley one absolute hundred percent. He deserves to be with Søren ugh!! (hide spoiler)]
* I enjoyed reading the North chapters, past and present WAY TOO MUCH. I'm sorry Nora and Wes, I love you both and your horses and whatnot but I'm gonna have to admit my mind was dying to be in North the entire time.
* The teasing and suspense drove me nuts!! I needed answers to what the hell was going on. NEED ANSWERS. THE AGONY.
* Okay the South chapters were still kinda cute and fluffy with all the vanilla and horses. And also all those horse jokes were pretty amazing ;D
* I'm gonna kill a certain bitch. WE ALL KNOW WHO THAT IS.
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* My point still stands that Tiffany Reisz is godsent and this book now sits as my top fav in the series purely for MY ULTIMATE NEW SHIP. I'm a sucker for sadists and masochists, what can I say? ;D
Sorry no proper review from me today, ON TO THE NEXT ONE!!! ...more
“There are laws. There are rules. And when you break them, there are consequences. Laws of nature and laws of lif2.5 PARTING WATER STARS ★★☆
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“There are laws. There are rules. And when you break them, there are consequences. Laws of nature and laws of life. Laws of love and laws of death.”
Once again I find myself in an awkward situation where all my buddies love a book and I'm that black sheep in the pack, yikes. Honestly I was really looking forward to love this book after seeing all the 5-stars reviews and even when I wasn't even planning to read it, I still caved in because I've heard about this author's writing and the emotional punch she brings to her reads. But sadly, I didn't get a lot of that from this one and this is likely to be a case of my preference, so please don't take my rating/opinion for what it is :)
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Prior to picking this one up, I've only read 2 early reviews and in one of them, I was already made aware of that one element that was incorporated in the book which wasn't hinted in the blurb or overall genre itself. So to say that I went in blindly without knowing what laid ahead is not true, the only question would be HOW it was gonna be incorporated into it. And for what it's worth, I did enjoy that part of the read and made it a rather compelling story for me.
But sadly a whole lot of other elements in the book just didn't work for me. I know this puts me in an absolute minority when I say that I couldn't get into the author's writing. Being my first read from her, I really didn't have much expectations but from the first 20% itself, I struggled getting into the story. Her writing style was a little too rich for my liking and there was too much inner monologue and so little dialogue. I find myself spacing out from the story and kept wondering if the story was going to move at a pace that seems rather dragged out.
Also another thing I didn't anticipate were the heavy biblical references lying around this book. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against them but at times, I found them to be a little off-putting when they spurted out of nowhere (view spoiler)[I was rather taken aback when Moses' grandma came off so strongly about reminding Moses on how he was named after a prophet and in the Bible, how Moses parted waters and etc (hide spoiler)]. Maybe I should have seen it coming judging by the title itself but I think it would've been more fair if readers were made aware before jumping into this one.
Character-wise, I have to admit that I couldn't connect to both MCs for the most parts. The connection between both MCs seemed to have just transpired out of nowhere; one moment they seemed to be distant and in another, it escalated so quickly. I was hoping for more of a substantiated connection but I didn't get any of it here at all. At one point of the story, I had to ask a buddy about (view spoiler)[why Moses keep saying he can't love anyone? Is it because of his 'cracked' brain? Is it because how he has been perceived by everyone? (hide spoiler)]. It was tough cracking Moses even given with his POV & it frustrated me that there wasn't a solid reason enough for me to buy his hot and cold behaviour towards Georgia.
But I think the major plotkill for me was at the midway when the author decided to (view spoiler)[drop the pregnancy bomb of Georgia. And that's RIGHT before the time jump of 7 years. Honestly, this trope being thrown in for the idea of a second chance romance just didn't entirely appeal to me (hide spoiler)]. What I didn't enjoy more was that (view spoiler)[it would take Georgia & Moses's dead child to finally get Moses to find back Georgia. So in a way, had they not conceived a child, Moses would have never bothered to fight back for Georgia? He would have gone on with his life and never looked back? (hide spoiler)]. Honestly, this made me even more hesitant to buy their love story.
Apart from the issues I had with the book, there were still redeeming qualities that still managed to grab my heartstrings. It was completely heartbreaking to read a certain scene and I'm sure which evoked a lot of emotions from the readers. My favorite parts of the book were how (view spoiler)[Eli, their dead son kept communicating with Moses. I thought that was a nice touch to the PNR element brought into this read. Completely heartwarming yet heartbreaking. (hide spoiler)] And the "5 Greats" theme was another lovely addition to this book that I believe everyone can take away from this read.
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Overall I appreciated how the book conveyed a powerful underlying message of forgiveness and the varying colors of life may it be anger, sadness or happiness.
While I felt that it was a truly interesting premise that the author explored, sadly the other parts of the book just didn't work for me. However, I believe fans of this author's writings would surely enjoy this read and please don't let my review/rating deter you from picking this one up :)
Thanks Supreet, Sandy & Ilze for putting up with me during the buddy read! ♥♥ ...more
"This is about the taboo, about rescuing the filthy side of the human soul, letting it come unchained for just a5 ‘NOT A WHORE’ STARS! ★★★★★
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"This is about the taboo, about rescuing the filthy side of the human soul, letting it come unchained for just a brief moment."
♥ Buddy Read with the fantabulous Kat Stark! <- Click to read her review! ♥
After mulling over this read for an entire day, I am still picking up the remnants of my feels that this book blew into pieces. Even during the last 10% of the book, I don’t understand the confliction of my emotions with all 3 characters! Do I love Audra more? Or do I love Robbie more? Or maybe I love Lucas the most?IDK REALLY. I just can’t pick one!! It’s possible I love them all equally and maybe that makes me a crazy person.
Can I just stress how much I LOVE the dynamic of this amazeballs trio? WELL I FREAKIN LOVE IT AND I’D LIKE TO REVEL IN IT ALL DAY LONG. Seriously tho, that’s usually such a rare feat to achieve in most reads which made this one even more awesome than it already is.
*******
Taboo Unchained starts off with a man named Lucas Carter who repeatedly claims that he is not a whore despite being paid to have sex with his "clients" who require him to fulfil their darkest, or shall we say, taboo fantasies (think knives for starters). For a moment, I felt like this was an exorcism of demons...well except in a more sexual manner.
“I taste the blackness and I fuck out the light. I will teach you to turn the filthy, the nasty, the most putrid parts of your soul into sheer bliss, into an addiction you can't shake instead of a miserable, stilted, blighted existence.”
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Having the story told from his POV entirely really brought out some of the best moments in the book. I can only say that I was VERY perplexed by his persona for a good majority of the book because I couldn't understand this man at all eventhough I was practically living inside his head!
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It's like there were two sides of him:
- One which I found to be highly entertaining as he was being such a cocky, arrogant gigolo guy who seems to be rather anal about well...almost everything. Not to mentioned, he's quite the OCD type (hey, I felt sorry for his Italian couch too if someone did that to mine!).
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- Another one which then left me feeling sympathetic towards him as he struggled with this "beast of darkness" inside of him.
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To spice things up, bring in two ladies into his life, one each at the total opposite sides of the spectrum. Audra, the redhead bombshell who could match Lucas's insanity and Robbie, the sweet literal girl-next-door who has a crush on him. I admit at first, my heart was already set on one woman but slowly another one crept its way into it too. I started questioning my feelings and yelling at Kat in caps lock on who I was rooting for.
Up till now and even with that ending, I honestly cannot give a definite answer on who I’d preferred Lucas to be with. There is just no right or wrong choice which just makes up another damn reason this book is absolutely fantastic. The fact that it leaves me in this state of confliction.
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I was left very intrigued with even all of the side characters; some more whacked up than the others (I have a love/hate rship with Clarice LMFAO). And with the dark humor that the author brings out in her writing, she managed to turn a seemingly dark, gritty read with tons of kink into a rather entertaining one, which I felt brought a great balance of light and dark in this book.
Plot-wise, I really enjoyed the unpredictability of it although it was a little hard to get into at first with Lucas constantly referring himself in 3rd person. And as far as the love triangle goes, this book definitely brought a whole new meaning to it. I can’t really explain it because you’ll need to read this one to understand how this flippin amazing dynamic works.
But put it this way:
If you’re fan of ‘em, you should definitely read this. If you’re not a fan of ‘em, you should most definitely read this.
*******
Overall, I found this to be a very refreshing read for a dark lover like myself. The exceptional writing, the sheer craziness of it all and leaving me in puddle of messed-up emotions; this was one of those reads that sticks with me for a good long while ;)
I rarely give a dark read 5 stars unless it involves some major mindfuckery but this was a complete exception because it brought out something else much more than that. It proves that a dark read can still be so alluring even without that shock factor.
Dark lover or not, I would highly recommend this read for everyone :) I wouldn't consider it to be a dark romance because the romance itself was a rather unconventional one but the overall theme of the book is indeeddark with the kinks, some violence involved and mostly disturbing dialogues. So proceed with caution!
★★★★★ 10 I'M IN THE EIGHTH CIRCLE HEAVEN STARS!!!! ★★★★★
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I'm gonna skip the usual pleasantries or my little doodles because this book deserves ★★★★★ 10 I'M IN THE EIGHTH CIRCLE HEAVEN STARS!!!! ★★★★★
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I'm gonna skip the usual pleasantries or my little doodles because this book deserves a one of a kind review from me. An attempt to write a proper coherent one would be a 10-pages review on how much I want to make babies with this book and everyone in it. And let's face it, no one wants to read that unless it's written by Nora Sutherlin or Tiffany Reisz.
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This book, this series and all that is Tiffany Reisz; it deserves a class on its own. It deserves the highest of highs because there is just NOTHING that comes close to this. Reading this was like falling in love all over again and falling HARD. I went on a blind date and it was love at first sight. What can I say about Nora? Utterly captivating, alluring, bold and snarky.
At 4%, I knew I'd love her. At 20%, I fell hard for her. By the halfway mark, I would let her whip me any way she wanted because she got me on a tight leash. Cut it short; I just wanted to make babies with her, there I said it.
Have I mentioned Nora is a lady? Let's face it, I'd go lesbian for her.
I've read books that I adored the heroines. Heroines that I wanna be best friends with. But Nora Sutherlin is in a whole other league. She is THE heroine. The one that I'd like to be. She owns the character and she owns it so f@cking well. In the words of Søren:
“Eleanor, there are suicide bombers on the Gaza Strip who are less dangerous than you are.”
I know I said I'd go lesbian for Nora but damnit I'd totally go bi with the likes of Wesley, Søren and Kinglsey. You guys must be wondering, "Jasmine, have you lost your mind?!" No I swear I've not because Tiffany Reisz writes her woman and men WITH EQUAL PERFECTION. I have the hots for not one, not two but all THREE of them. I don't know if there is a Team Søren/Wesley/King but I AM IN ALL.
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And lastly, Tiffany Reisz writing is like no other. I know when I say I adore an author's writing usually, an adjective like exquisite or brilliant or amazingly beautiful comes to my mind easily. But with TR, there is no adjective that I can think of that puts justice to what she writes. I'm thinking of other-worldly or along the lines of 'out of this universe' because the whole time I read it, I kept asking myself "What planet does this lady come from and how does she write like this?!".
The writing style is seriously beyond phenomenal and it astounds me on so many levels. It's filled with contradictions that leave you in such a deep and profound state. I was sent into a trance by the seduction skills of her writing. I absorbed every word this lady gave me and she gave me a one way ticket to the 8th circle heaven. It's really nothing like I've read before, it's not even mindfuckery, it's not magic but TR's writing is just another league on its own.
Honestly I'd like to stay inside TR's head and build a colony there.
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I realize I said pretty much NOTHING about this book and its plot but that's my point. It's about going in blind and let the writing take you by the hand. The writing alone will do its job in seducing you and send you spiraling into a pleasure like no other.
“Let me show you what life is like lived in the moment. No past, no future, just the one perfect moment you’re standing in and there’s no guilt and there’s no shame and there’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of…”
There are books I like, some I love and few that I really, really love but this one gets a shelf on its own for books I'd married if I could. This series should have a genre on its own, it transcends normalcy and the traditionalist romance/erotica/BDSM reads. This one sets new standards and for all those reasons alone, my love for this book and its characters is insurmountable. Honestly I'd give this more than 10 stars because it's. just. EPIC. My mind is consumed in its entirety.
PS: Now all you ladies are allowed to kick me for not reading this sooner. Because God knows what I've been missing out on all my life before this book came along.
PPS: I am supposed to BR this with my lovely ladies but so sorry I got way ahead of myself! Nora wouldn't let me go!! And to Allison, I'm NOT sorry that you started re-reading this because of me ;D ...more
"As long as we're both under the same moon, we'll always find a way to each other."
Is it possible to be left alm5 BUTTERSCOTCH STARS! ★★★★★
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"As long as we're both under the same moon, we'll always find a way to each other."
Is it possible to be left almost breathless after putting down a book? I really didn't think so until now that I've read Mia Sheridan's writing. What an absolutely phenomenal experience to be part of this beautiful world that Mia brings to the table with her flawless writing. How is it that I've not read any of her books sooner?! *smacks self*
Okay hopefully this will be a quick review as I need to jump into the next book ASAP!
*******
Becoming Calder is the first book in a 2-part series inspired by the astrological zodiac of Aquarius and depicts the forbidden love story of Calder and Eden.
Taking place in a present-day setting but far from the norms of today's modern society, we are introduced to the city of Acadia where we first meet a young Calder. In Acadia, people live without any modern conveniences. They are loyal to their ruler, Hector and they worship their Gods without question.
One day when Hector brought back a young girl named Eden and claimed her to be the sign from the Gods that will save the city from an imminent flood, he vowed to marry Eden once she is of age. It is during this announcement ceremony that Calder first laid eyes on Eden and they shared an immediate bond.
*******
I'm not even sure where to begin on writing how I feel about this book. All I know is that my feelings are all over the place right now. There is a certain elegance to Mia's writing and the story screams originality which made this read felt like taking a breath of fresh air. Her words had the power to bring out some poignant moments throughout the book and she has a gift in story-telling that captivates you.
"A morning glory is a beautiful flower, delicate-like. Blue, just like your eyes. But the thing about a morning glory? The thing about a morning glory is if you let it, it will totally take over your crops, because it's not just a flower. It's also a weed, totally invasive. Stronger than it looks."
The forbidden love aspect was painstakingly beautiful in this book and got me hooked from the start till the end. The secret meetings they shared, their intense love and longing for each other, the pure joy that exudes from them in each encounter after they struggled so hard to meetup; ALL of these emotions that both of them shared, I genuinely felt them too.
"I'm going to take it slow this time. We're going to burn every stroke, every touch, and every kiss into our skin so when we're back together, it will only then just be cooling. While we're apart, we'll still be keeping each other warm."
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Mia Sheridan has brought their love story alive through these pages and it was almost like I felt this need to protect them like my own child. My heart pounds for this couple and with every step of their journey in fighting for their love, I was right there with them. I swear there were moments that my heart went from soaring with joy to suddenly being absolute heart-wrenched!
"If this is the last piece of heaven I get before I'm dragged down to hell, then I'll gladly take it."
*******
Overall, Becoming Calder is undoubtedly an amazing start to a unique compelling, powerful tale of two young souls who strongly fought for their forbidden love. Two people who dared to dream more and willing to take chances at their shot of freedom.
I cannot stress enough how much I LOVE the writing in this book. I swear my fingers had a damn good exercise highlighting half of my Kindle pages!
Okay I cannot wait to jump into Book 2, Finding Eden to continue rooting for this couple and make sure they get their deservedly HEA. I'm just really over-the-moon thankful that it's being released the same day as Becoming Calder. SO EXCUSE ME WHILE I CONTINUE TO SWIM IN THE AWESOMENESS OF MIA SHERIDAN'S WRITING NOW.
Over and out!
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~ Buddy Read with my lovely GR ladies (Ami, Ada, Andrea, Fran, Ilze, Jeanne, Arabella, Supreet, Chelsea, Ashu)! ♥♥♥ Love y'all mwahs! xoxo~...more
“I'm the heir of torment, Amber. I'm the slippery footprints in your carpet. The creaking floor that steals air from your lungs. The hand that holds the gun. I'm the inescapable curse that caught you when you opened your door.”
After reading Deliver, I just couldn't wait to jump into Van’s story. I just know this was right up my alley because I love me some messed-up alpha male heroes! He was a complete enigma in the first book and now that an entire book is dedicated to his story, being excited would be a complete understatement for me :D
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******
Vanquish picks up after the events in Deliver, where Van Quiso escaped death after taking a shot from Liv. Now that Liv & Josh are starting a new life, Van is still the same ole’ Van. He lurks in the shadows and stalks on them by camping out at the next-door house every night; he can’t seem to let go of Liv but most of all, he yearns to meet their daughter, Livina whom Liv has visitation rights to. During one of his stalking trips, he inadvertently stumbled across Amber who is actually the house owner of his little hideout spot.
Amber Rosenfeld, an ex-beauty pageant queen is far from perfect. She suffers from agoraphobia and have multiple issues ranging from OCD to self-esteem ones. Even making trips from her door to her mailbox outside proves to be an impossible feat for her. Her previous marriage has completely shattered her self-confidence and the thought of herself being seen in public would send her into a panic attack.
Once Van first spotted Amber, he was completely intrigued by her oddities and that stirs up a desire in him which he hadn’t felt for a woman in a while.
He wants her. And what Van wants, Van catches.
******
I must say that I truly enjoyed this so much more than I did with Deliver. Pam Godwin has a way of writing unique dark, gritty stories with well-written damaged characters. Even with some disturbing scenes written in, I didn't find them revolting at all and instead I was completely captivated.
Okay excuse me while I gush about my dear Van now in this part of my review.
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Van is a pretty intense, complex character to begin with. He’s one of those dark, deadly and dangerous anti-heroes that I completely loved. He’s definitely no saint with all that he’s done in the past and even with his creepy doll fetishes or his brutal ways, I was still completely enamoured by his character.
"His scarred beauty radiated seduction and danger, a deadly combination."
Beneath that tough and terrifying exterior, we got to see a vulnerable side of him. We get to see a man who is not seemingly heartless and aches to be loved. Everything that he’d ever done has been masked with his best intentions at heart; you can’t even hate this man if you want to. He may be all sorts of fucked up but he’s trying so damn hard to be the father he aims to be for his daughter.
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His character definitely shined throughout this book and literally had my feels all over the place. I appreciated that Pam did a fantastic job in executing the transition of Van’s character without completely butchering his initial dark & intense side. Even when he cared a lot for Amber, it was still obvious that his intensity and brutishness still remained. And with more light being shed on his past and allowing us to have glimpses of the damaged little boy he once was, my God, did it make me love Van even more.
Also, there was this one powerful scene that I absolutely loved which completely tugged at my heartstrings: (view spoiler)[The scene where Van confronted Liv and gave her the doll but Liv completely rejected the idea of him meeting Livina. Oh sweet jeezus I wanted to bitchslap Liv so badly at that point and just go hug and cuddle Van (hide spoiler)]. God, my heart genuinely ACHED so badly for him.
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It took me a while to warm up to Amber’s character at the beginning but as the story progressed, I could slowly start to appreciate the struggles she’s been dealing with. She really had some strong moments which I loved. But taking her character as an entirety in this story, I wasn't completely sold. I almost felt like her issues here were simply served as a reason for Van to try to fix her & eventually form a bond with her. I just wasn't fully convinced that there was a proper solid connection between these two, given that Van & Liv shared a stronger one due to their history together. However, I did start feeling more invested in both Van & Amber’s relationship towards the 2nd half of the book & finally found myself rooting for them.
"I will always love you, I will always want you, and I will never ever be disappointed in you. - Van"
Overall, Pam has delivered yet another exceptional story with Vanquish. A heart-achingly story of two damaged souls who found love and acceptance in one another. Despite the dark and gritty storyline, there was a good dosage of wit and humour that balanced out the entire story. Added in with some angst and hot, steamy scenes, I can easily say this was no doubt a highly enjoyable read for me.
Would highly recommend everyone to read this if you're into dark romance (and so that we can all gush about Van together!) ♥♥♥
**Huge thanks to my ever awesome bestie, Penelope for picking this for our BR! Best choice made yet! :D** ...more
"At one time I was that unwilling participant, dragged into the depths of malevolence. That was years ago. I've learne4 INSIDIOUS STARS ★★★★
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"At one time I was that unwilling participant, dragged into the depths of malevolence. That was years ago. I've learned my lessons well and played my role. No longer to be a victim, today I'm insidious."
Ever since I picked up Aleatha's Consequences series a year ago, I've been eagerly waiting for her to give us another taste of her brilliance. If you've read that series, you will know that this author is capable of some of the most twisted mindfuckery you've had the pleasure of reading.
******
Insidious tells the tale of Victoria Conway. Married to Stewart Harrington at the age of 18 to a then 40-year old Stewart, the innocent yet strong-headed Victoria had no idea what she signed up entirely for when she agreed to marry him under a contract to settle her family debt and protect her siblings.
For 10 years of their marriage; to most people, she's the wife of a successful, mega-rich business tycoon. But to a small handful, Victoria is forced to take upon a role more than just being a doting wife and that is to submit to her husband's darkest desires.
"As Mrs Harrington, your pleasure, as well as your pain, will work together toward my pleasure. You'll be my wife and my whore."
*******
Without spoiling away too much about the book, I will just say that Aleatha Romig still brings out one of the best suspenseful, erotic stories around. Whatever this woman writes, I'd read it in a heartbeat. This one was no exception and I simply could not put down this book once I started the first page.
Insidious will bring you on a thrilling, dark ride that continuously keeps you on the edge as your mind starts to spin theories faster than you realize. Lines will be blurred and nothing is always as it seems, it will leave you guessing from start till end.
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Although some people may be put-off by her detailed and lengthy writings, I for one, am a huge fan of it. To simply enjoy her books, one must appreciate that the devil is in the details. After Consequences, I have no doubt in her storytelling skills and with this one, she will suck you into this world of games, seduction, deceit and revenge. Oh and trust me, her erotica scenes will make you wish you're not in public reading it.
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As much as I loved her writings, however this read wasn't entirely a winner as I felt that the answers we needed were all crammed up in the last quarter of the book. I was hoping for an expansion on some of the revelations we learnt but alas, this is a standalone novel, so I guessed all loose ends had to be tied up quickly and neatly. Also, the last 10% definitely took me by surprise and I wished I could have understand better why it went in that direction.
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Overall, Insidious still proves to be a worthy read if you're looking for a dark, edgy thrilling read with a tinge of romance plus a good dose of sinfully erotic scenes. Although with minor hiccups, I can still definitely say that I highly enjoyed it as I couldn't bring myself to put it down. Without a doubt, I'll be eagerly waiting for another book from this author.
Insidious is a standalone novel in a new series of Tales from the Dark Side.
♥ To my ladies; Sandy, Feifei, Karez, Ilze & Kirsten: thanks for the amazing buddy read! {Click on their names to check out their reviews!} ♥...more
"This wasn't about the chase. We all knew who would win. It was about defiance."
After being let down by my previous highly anticipated read, naturally I was wary about picking up another sequel by one of my favorite authors. And thank heavens Pepper Winters did not disappoint at all. After Book 1 that left many readers in shock with Jethro's downright stone-cold demeanour, this one definitely shine a whole new light on him and will have you begging for more Jethro by the end of it.
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First Debt picks up right after the end of Book 1 where we have Nila running for her freedom as Jethro begins his hunt for her. In an almost dramatic manner where Jethro hunts her down on his horse, an attempt to escape proves to be a futile one on Nila's part (and not to mention some Hunger Games imagery when Nila starts climbing a tree LOL). These two certainly had each other at their throats as neither one would back down and further fueled with lust, there was no denying their attraction for each other.
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Jethro's character definitely took a turn in this book as we got to tap deeper into his psyche and getting glimpses behind those cold walls. Although I was a little thrown off with the change in Jethro almost taking effect from the first chapter itself, what I appreciated was the author still allowed us to see the struggles Jethro constantly faced with his actions towards Nila. That for me, felt realistic as I didn't feel that the author drastically changed Jethro just because he was such a cold-hearted bastard in the first book. Which by the way, he's still pretty much one in this one and that pleases me.
"There was no way any other man could ever compete with the elegant chillness of Jethro. He was exactly like the iceberg he favoured, only in different lights, more truth shone. Some bright and light and binding, others black and deep and terrifying."
The only person who could possibly be close enough to burn those cold walls down is Nila who constantly challenges him and pushes him to the brink of allowing his real self to surface.
"I see you, Jethro Hawk. I see what you're trying to hide, so don't delude yourself into thinking I buy your hypocritical bullshit."
What I felt was truly compelling about this read was the power play between Jethro and Nila. What started out as Jethro seizing full control over Nila, the author certainly had the tables turning in this instalment. You'll be wondering who's the hunter and prey now as Nila plays a dangerous game, knowing where to push Jethro's buttons. Neither one is willing to relinquish control and that really brought out an explosive dynamic between these two that is equally agonizing and sizzling to watch.
"We're on even ground. Orgasm for an orgasm. Don't think it gives you power, because it doesn't."
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Also, the constant appearance of Kestrel who's the polar opposite of Jethro didn't really do much for me because I've always been on #teamjethro (I'm all for the bad guys, good guys kinda bore me LOL). But I'm all for it if it's gonna fan some fire of jealousy in that ice-cold Jethro.
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With this one shedding light on some unanswered questions from the prior book and presenting new ones, this book surely gripped me from the get-go and I simply couldn't put it down. Ms. Pepper continues to dish out her brilliant yet twisted writing that leaves me begging for more.
And as for the reveal of Kite's identity, this one definitely proves to be a game-changer move and I absolutely cannot wait to see where the series will take us now.
First Debt is part of the Indebted series and cannot be read as a standalone....more
"I love you, Butterscotch. You have the most beautiful heart of anyone I've ever met. And maybe you feel like a 5 MORNING GLORY STARS! ★★★★★
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"I love you, Butterscotch. You have the most beautiful heart of anyone I've ever met. And maybe you feel like a mess sometimes, and life is a mess sometimes, but the way I see it, you're the beauty that came from the mess."
As I write this review, I'm still reeling over how breathtaking this 2-part series is. There is nothing more that I love when a story comes back full circle and what an absolutely beautiful ending that Mia Sheridan has delivered here. Tears were pooling in my eyes as I flipped to the last page and everything since Becoming Calder just came back together perfectly.
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Finding Eden is the second book in a 2-part series inspired by the astrological zodiac of Aquarius and depicts the forbidden love story of Calder and Eden.
I can't divulge into the plot of this one as it would give away spoilery details from Becoming Calder. This book picks off from the ending of Book 1 and even before 10% into the book, I was already in tears reading it. There were so many plot revelations that made me understand better the events in Book 1 and I really appreciated that as some of the events in the prior book left me feeling a little dissatisfied.
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I don't know if I should blame my unstable girly hormones or Mia's exquisite writing for my constant tearing up, but what I do know is my strong fierce love for this couple. I would be lying if I said I was not utterly consumed by their unconditional love and every scene was even more powerful than the last.
Admittedly I thought I would get sick of their endless profession of love and be diabetic by the end of it, but surprisingly I wasn't. Mia continued to deliver these flawless lines that made me want to relish every single moment of it.
"And we'll spend as much time as we need just escaping from the world. That's our plan because I swear to you, my beautiful, sweet love, everyone deserves a love story that doesn't hurt."
My heart went through a turmoil with this read; it left me overwhelmed with a multitude of emotions from frustration to soaring happiness to anger and mostly heart-wrenched. But I loved every single moment of it. In fact, I fell in love so hard with this series, these endearing characters and their emotional journey. I would do it all over again.
"We were the love." I whispered. "In that moment, we were the love."
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Overall, Becoming Calder/Finding Eden will go down as one of the most unforgettable series I've come to love. It's one of those series that you simply just have to read to experience and feel and let it consume you. Mia Sheridan not only just delivered a powerful love story, but a story that speaks volume on the power of healing and forgiveness.
“We have to figure out how to forgive, not for the people who wronged us, but for us. We can't keep bitterness attached to our hearts because eventually, it might become part of us—so deeply ingrained we can't work it back out. I think we have to focus on the beauty we've been given in this life, and make that the thing that defines us.”
Just a fair warning would be that this series does touch on the subject matter of religious cult (rather heavily in Becoming Calder but almost none in Finding Eden) and may come off uncomfortable for some readers.
But if you could look past that, then I would highly recommend this series to anyone who is looking for a refreshing read from the usual NA contemporaries, doesn't mind sugary sweet and is a complete sucker for forbidden love.
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~ Buddy Read with my lovely GR ladies! ♥♥♥ ~ ...more
"Sometimes the most precious things in life are the result of just letting it happen"
Wow that was a long ride!3.5 - 4 SINCLAIR STARS! ★★★★
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"Sometimes the most precious things in life are the result of just letting it happen"
Wow that was a long ride!
First things off, Past Tense Future Perfect is an omnibus of Andrea Smith’s previously published Maybe Baby series (3 books), so some of you may already remembered Trey Sinclair & Tylar Preston from back then.
Trey & Ty’s love story stretches across the entire series and brings you on an emotional journey. There’s everything from angst to steamy to suspense and *wait for it* DRAAHHMAAA. So if you love your romance stories with all of the above, then this is a series you should try out.
I admit that it started out slow for me and I couldn’t really connect to both MCs. At times, I even zoned out from some filler scenes & skimmed through because they were way too detailed and didn't do much to pique my interest. But once the suspense element was thrown in, I was back on track and it became a page-turner for me!
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However, there were some twists that felt a little too rushed for me & would have preferred if it would have been done in Book 2 instead. That being said, Book 1 was my least favorite of the series but since it ended off on a cliffie that had a great potential going into Book 2, I decided to take a chance.
Book 2 was my favorite one in the series having much more maturity shown between Trey and Ty since the events of Book 1. There was also more depth in the plot as we delve more into Trey’s family and Ty’s past. I can appreciate Ty & Trey’s relationship better in this book as they worked towards being a better couple even with all the drama and angst going on. Added in with some humor and sexy fun time, this book definitely covered all the aspects I loved in a romance book ♥
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Well I liked Book 3, but didn’t love it as much as Book 2. This book went in with a more heavy tone. Also, there was (view spoiler)[cheating (hide spoiler)] which I tend to naturally dislike. But I will commend Andrea for handling it in a realistic manner & not completely rush it. There were some heart-melting moments that made me aww-ed for sure :) Also I enjoyed seeing more of the side characters’ life (loved Gina & Tristan!) & overall, it was a great conclusion to an emotional journey for everyone.
The series as an overall was definitely an emotional one with all the suspense, drama and angst thrown in but it was well-balanced without it being OTT for me. If anything, it has definitely highlighted the strength of Trey & Ty’s relationship after facing all those trials and tribulations. Added in with some great humor from side characters like Gina and Tristan and a dose of steamy scenes from T&T, it was an overall enjoyable read for me :)
~ BR with all my lovely ladies & Andrea herself! Also a HUGE thanks to Andrea Smith for generously providing me a copy ♥~...more
"My structured world — my rules and agendas — were not something that had room for twists and turns. Unless I was the4.5 BRUTAL STARS! ★★★★☆
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"My structured world — my rules and agendas — were not something that had room for twists and turns. Unless I was the one creating them."
I must admit that dark romance is my guilty pleasure read and throw in some mind-fuckery, it is the perfect concoction for me. The thing about dark romance reads for me is that I go in with a completely different mindset and my expectations are built upon the extremities of how dark a story can get without completely butchering the story & make it completely revolting to read.
When I think of Pepper Winters’ books, the words “sexy, dark & gritty” always comes to mind. After her Monsters in the Dark series, I expected nothing less from Ms Winters, but instead she pushed some serious boundaries in this first installment of her brand new Indebted series.
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This is a story of two wealthy families and an old debt that dates back to centuries. And in that debt, the first-born Weaver daughter will be forfeited to the first-born son of the Hawks to pay for the sins of the Weaver’s ancestors past.
Nila Weaver, the first-born Weaver daughter has been well-protected by her father and twin brother as far as she can remember. Her life looks all well planned out; she’s rich & on the verge of being a young successful designer. But when that day Jethro Hawks comes into her life, everything she has is about to be taken away.
I had no problem liking Nila’s character. She may have come off as naïve and gullible, but truth is she has quite the balls & had no problem standing up to Jethro. I loved the development of her character as she struggles to deal with not only her possible feelings for Jethro, but also the awakening desires that stir within her.
“My heart hates you but my body…I’m drenched. I’m begging. So stop your endless questions. Stop taunting me and deliver.”
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Pepper has completely outdone herself with her anti-hero this time around. Jethro Hawk is manipulative, calculative and often described akin to a predator in this story. If you’re looking for any sort of compassion from this guy, clearly you won’t be finding any of it here yet. The alternating POVs would allow you to see how Jethro is nothing short of cold and brutal. Every word he utters is so precise & straight to the point, there is no sugar-coating about his intentions for Nila on what’s to come for her.
“Be afraid of me, Ms. Weaver. Be afraid because your life is now mine and I’m the master of everything that happens to you. But know this…it’s not just me you’ll have to fear.”
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Jethro certainly brings out that kind of intensity that burns through the pages & have you gripping the edges of your Kindle. His actions & words will strike terror in your soul but equally leaves you turned on and wanting for more. And also sue me, but I’m weak for men with sexy British accent ;)
“Tell me a secret. A dirty dark secret. Admit you want me. Admit you want your mortal enemy.”
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One of the reasons I adored Pepper’s writings is that she has a way of writing dark stories with such elegance and finesse that draws you into the darkness and leaves you captivated. Like a moth to a flame, her heroine characters are always strong and resilient but yet can’t help be drawn to the sinfully dark heroes. She has a way of telling a terrifying, provocative story that makes you feel the raw emotions of the characters & have your heart pounding!
Overall, Pepper has once again left me begging for more as I craved for the next book. It ended on a cliffy but it was a well-played one ;) The book toyed with my emotions from rage to fear to erotic and I was completely hooked to the thrill of what’s to come in every chapter. I went through some epic mind-fuck in the last 30% and I admit that even that luncheon scene was a little disturbing for me (hence the lack of 0.5 stars in my rating).
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But with Pepper, I know she’s capable of messing with our minds & even the mystery of Kite will be left etched in my mind as I await the next book ;)
~ A huge shoutout of thanks to my awesome bestie, Penelope for the enjoyable Buddy Read!!! ♥♥ ~...more
I’m not even sure if I’m more upset that I’m actually rating a CoHo book less than 5 stars or the fact that almost 2.5 UNDERWHELMING STARS ★★☆
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I’m not even sure if I’m more upset that I’m actually rating a CoHo book less than 5 stars or the fact that almost everyone loved this book but me :( :(
This was definitely one of the most anticipated releases for me this year & as a huge fan of CoHo, I was so ready for her to blow me away again with her writing that could bring me to unimaginable places where my heart would squeeze thinking about her story and feel her characters’ emotions & let the story sink in my mind for days.
But I Felt Nothing Here.
So I’m gonna have to write this review in a spoiler tag because I can’t possibly express my thoughts without revealing major parts of this story.
(view spoiler)[ What majorly ruined the book for me: 1.The writing style & the whole alignment/poetry style.
Prior to the book release, I was already aware of this new alignment style CoHo was gonna adopt into the book for Miles’s POV. The first chapter of Miles POV, I found it bearable & I thought he was an adorable dork for an 18-year old as he experienced his first love with a girl named Rachel. But what I truly didn’t anticipate was that it was written in that style for the ENTIRE POV of 18-year old Miles. I think I could have lived with it, would it have just been emphasizing certain emotions (like in the Slammed series, which I LOVED), but it was a total overkill to my brain for it to be in every chapter for almost an entire length of his POV. I felt that the short sentences were distracting & annoying and it didn’t help at all to enhance my connection to Miles at all :(
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2.Tate
I didn’t like her at all. I found myself really annoyed with her and her thoughts. You know that first kiss in the bathroom? She sounded like a 15-year old when she says things like this:
Good Lord. He’s kissing me. Oh, my God, his mouth is so possessive. His fingers are splayed out again, digging into my hip. Holy hell, he just groaned. His hand moves from my waist and glides down to my leg. Kill me now. Just kill me now.
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Sorry but that just COMPLETELY ruined a supposedly good scene D: I cringed and I find myself wondering if I’m listening to a 24 year old woman or a 15 year old raging hormonal teenager. It would have been so much better if it was more of a descriptive scene instead of making me hear her hyperventilating thoughts.
And correct me if I’m wrong, but this would be the first time CoHo writes a doormat heroine like Tate. I’ve always loved CoHo’s heroine characters which is one of the main reasons I love her books, and seeing Tate offering herself to Miles for a no-strings attached relationship, I just couldn’t bring myself to like her =\ I tried to find reasons to justify Tate acting like this but I couldn’t feel any sexual tension between them & with Miles initial cold demeanor towards her, I’d like to think she would have had more dignity & respect for herself. And again, she says things like this:
No, Miles. I follow. That’s how it is with us. You’re solid, I’m liquid. You part the waters, I’m your wake.
Seriously? I can’t even…
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General thoughts I’m heartbroken that I didn’t experience any ugly crying or any tears throughout reading this because it makes me feel like a heartless bitch reading Miles’ past :( I agreed that I found it heartbreaking and my heart genuinely ached for him. However, the whole writing style ruined it for me to able to relate to Miles’ pain when reading in that so-called poetic manner. Perhaps if it was written in a proper descriptive manner, I’m quite sure I would have sobbed. (hide spoiler)]
Overall, I found it to be rather cliché, ending was a little too rushed & I couldn’t relate to both MC’s. Completely underwhelmed by my initial expectations of how I wanted this story to play out. I wanted to fall in love with this story but sadly it didn’t work for me.
After all the ugly things, there are still parts that I could say I enjoyed and it would be the scenes where Cap (Sam) was inside. I loved the things he said & it was the only thing that reminded me why I love CoHo’s brilliant writings in the first place :)
If you’re a fan of CoHo, I still definitely recommend you to try this out. This book could be either a hit or miss, depending on your reading preference ;) Even though this book didn’t work for me, I’m still a fan of CoHo & will be checking out her future writings no doubt.
~Thank you to all my lovely ladies in the Group BR! You made the read enjoyable! ♥♥ ~...more
♥ Most epic Buddy Read with my funny ladies: Eda, Flo & Supreet! Thanks lovelies, couldn't have done this without youZERO FARK GIVEN STARS *RAGE MODE*
♥ Most epic Buddy Read with my funny ladies: Eda, Flo & Supreet! Thanks lovelies, couldn't have done this without you! ♥
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In today's lesson on how to ruin an initially great series, here's an easy step-to-step guide.
Step 1: Write a trilogy and announce at the end of the book that there'll be more books to come! [image]
Step 2: Make your readers wait for 1 and a half year for the next book to be out. [image]
Step 3: Releases said book to only find out later that it's filled with nonsensical bored out of my freakin mind filler plot. [image]
Step 4: Charges $8 for said book. [image]
Step 5: Ends the book by saying the next one is coming soon. WELL, RINSE AND REPEAT PEOPLE. [image]
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Well now that's outta the way, I'm not even gonna say it's a huge disappointment because clearly, I give ZERO FARKS about this series anymore.
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But to sum this book up for me, basically this is what I honestly think SD felt when she wrote this book.
SD: Oh dear, my readers love Gideon & Eva so much, I can't let this trilogy end yet. Perhaps I should write more books and continue this series. But what else can I write about these two anymore? HMMM.
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(6 months later) SD: Oh gosh, I'm still stuck but I need to write SOMETHING soon. Perhaps I should let my readers wait a little longer.
(Another 6 months later) SD: Okay they're all hounding me, I'm gonna do this! Gideon and Eva...okay I'm just gonna leave them to their dysfunctional ways and have them yelling back and forth at each other. Now let's throw in some jealousy, everyone loves a good drama. Okay Corrine and Brett, it's your time to shine again!
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SD: What else...how about some more filler scenes with Cary, Gideon's mummy and stepdaddy. Family drama is always so much fun! And let's throw in Megumi too although I'm sure no one cares about her. Oh and of course, let's not forget those sex scenes! Office scene anyone?
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SD: Now for some emotional scenes, get my readers to ache for Gideon's awful past and his damaged self. And Eva dear, let's make her a crazy insecure wife that drives Gideon mad because she's so damn good at it. I think my readers will love watching these two getting so frustrated at each other, it'll be so fun!
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SD: Anddd voila! Now that'll satisfy my readers long enough to keep them waiting for the next one :D
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And there you have it. It truly felt like the author couldn't even be bothered to write a proper book after making her readers wait for what seems to be an eternity. What a complete joke. The writing and plot was completely half-arsed and almost like she wrote the book JUST BECAUSE SHE HAD TO. Boring, boring and for crying out loud, AWFULLY BORING.
Gideon and Eva's relationship was in a constant loop of insecurities and basically rehashing the same old shit over and over and over again. "Oh stop hurting me!" "I can't live without you!" "Let's just fight and have awesome make-up sex!". And although the descriptive sex scenes were cut down, it was still all "let's just have sex everywhere because it fixes all our problems". Yup, we're talking morning sex, bathroom sex, kitchen counter sex, limo sex, office sex etc AND ALL WHICH I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FARK ANYMORE.
This could have easily been Entwined with You 2.0 where basically it was all filler and no progression. What's new?
Nothing. Nothing at all *yawns*
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I have ZERO respect for this author anymore and I think I speak on behalf of all the readers that felt cheated by this awful filler read after making us wait for so long. And not only did she write a book that isn't worth the money we paid for, she didn't even bother to thank her readers in her acknowledgements. Instead she thanked her damn publishers at the end...like WTF? Are they the ones giving her sales or we are?! Smh.
So congratulations SD if you're trying to drive this series into the ground so deep under that it can never recover because you think you can earn a bucketload by playing us readers.
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Aaaand I'm done. Sylvia Day, you have officially lost a reader forever. And for the record, I'm giving this NEGATIVE 5 STARS because I can #sorrynotsorry. ...more
“He was there to tell me I was beautiful. He was there to tell me I was going to be okay. In the dark, he seduced me. I 5 KITTEN STARS ★★★★★
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“He was there to tell me I was beautiful. He was there to tell me I was going to be okay. In the dark, he seduced me. I didn’t want the seduction to end.”
WOW. This book just catapulted the series from a 3.5 stars to a 5 stars one for me. So to say that I am completely blown away by this read is mildly putting it. Honestly after seeing all the buzz on this series and not entirely loving the first one, I thought I was going to be in the minority but damn. I love being proved wrong.
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The first book definitely laid down the right amount of groundwork for Caleb & Livvie aka 'Kitten', setting the tone of the series and later propelled Seduced in the Dark onto a whole new level of darkness. CJ Roberts spun such a profoundly emotional read that holds back no barriers when dealing with such a disturbing topic that would leave her readers appalled yet compelled by it.
Disturbing, intense and gritty; I devoured this book up in no time.
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“The naïve girl in me had been bitch-slapped into womanhood. I’d been razed by pain, grief, loss and suffering, and honed by lust, rage and an acute awareness of my need to survive.”
One thing that made this book an absolute winner for me is how the characterization on Caleb and Livvie was amazingly done. This book left me feeling strongly for both MCs equally as you witnessed the transformation. Caleb; the amount of love and hatred for him that I struggled internally with but ultimately capturing my heart. Livvie; her resilience, her strong belief and her love for her captor, my heart and mind was at war just as Livvie was when it comes to loving Caleb.
Put them both together, you'll feel the turmoil of emotions they put you through because in the most unimaginable ways, they found love in the darkness.
“Once upon a time, Caleb held me captive in the dark, now he used it to seduce me.”
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CJ Roberts' method of storytelling was flawless and flowed effortlessly with the way she weaved in the present time with flashbacks of events leading up to the present. The more it unfolds, the more the story intensifies. It's the kind of read that captivates you from the start, grips you throughout and leaves you overwhelmed by the end of it.
““I've been doing this a long time- manipulating people to get my way. That's why you think you love me. Because I've broken you down and built you back up to believe it. It wasn't an accident. Once you leave this behind...you'll see that.”
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I've read a good amount of dark reads and to be amazed and left stumped by one like this, it really does take some mad skills (and a whole lot of messed-up stuff that give me the cringes & shudders). After being spoilt by authors like Lily White and Pepper Winters to deliver me the dark gems, I'm going to need add CJ Roberts to that list.
This is a read that many will find it hard to stomach, leave you shaken to its core but you'll walk out of it feeling like you've just witnessed something epic and lastly, a sense of loss to see it end.
It was brilliant, it was helluva dark and it was pretty darn phenomenal if I must say. This is an ABSOLUTE must-read by all dark romance junkies and why has it taken me over a year to read it? I frankly don't know; just like I don't have the answer to life but I'm gonna have to kick myself for that.
♥ Buddy Read with Sandy & Kirsten! ♥
Seduced in the Dark is the second part of the Dark Duet series and cannot be read as a standalone....more
“I believe in fate and I believe you were supposed to walk into my life, so Mason could walk into yours.”
I've had this on my TBR for almost a year and when my awesome GR buddy, Rachel suggested this for our BR, it was all the motivation I needed to finally check out this author's books.
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Exquisite is about Dr. Lena, a paediatrician who has her heart guarded up ever since the passing of her little sister, Carly in a car accident. For 9 years, she has been carrying the guilt of losing her and sworn never to let anyone get too close to her.
All of this changes one day when one man ended up delivering her flowers.
Meet Mason, the owner and head chef of his restaurant, Exquisite. Fate is a funny thing when this sexy chef ended up helping his mum be a floral delivery man for one day and little did he know, he would encounter one uptight woman who completely infuriates him.
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After seeing some rave reviews for this one and this author's books, I do find myself disappointed that I'm in the minority for not entirely loving it. For the first 20% itself, I couldn't see myself connecting to either MCs. In fact, things escalated so quickly between these two that it came off a little unrealistic for me. I can make some exceptions for instalust/love sometimes but these two totally had it for each other before Chap 1 ended, what?!
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My biggest problem with this book definitely lies with the heroine, Lena. She totally got on my nerves for the first half of the book, her outburst of temper tantrums totally took me aback and it annoyed me how much she over-reacted at some scenes. I felt like her misplaced guilt wasn't a strong enough reason for her to act the way she did.
Honestly, I didn't understand why Mason is so attracted to her in the first place and thought he deserved so much more than Lena! And even after she nearly screwed over Mason's career, there was so little grovelling done on her part and it made me upset cause I was looking for that angst to deliver but it didn't at all :(
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I did however enjoyed the banters between Lena and Mason and I'm glad Mason stood up to her at one point because she was starting to go overboard with her crazy outbursts. The second half of the book was definitely more bearable for me with some emotional scenes but if I viewed the book in its entirety, I thought the story plot was completely lacking and there was barely any character development.
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Overall this book just didn't work for me as I would like to. I skimmed a lot after a while and even the steamy scenes can barely catch my attention anymore. I can't even begin to tell you how ridiculous this one scene (or actually, a line) sounded because if the author was trying to make it sound hot, trust me it did the total opposite.
It would probably be a good read if you're looking for a quick, sweet and emotional one with some great secondary characters plus a dash of steamy scenes (the peaches one was quite interesting LOL). But since I have a tendency to rate my books heavily based on the heroines & character development, Lena definitely did not excel in that department.
Having heard that the 3rd book in this series is the best one and hearing most of my buddies liking this author's work (especially the M/M ones), I would still give her books a shot in the future :)
Thanks so much Rachel for the amazing BR! So glad we have the same issues with this one & I enjoyed your rants! :) Hope our next one will be better! ♥...more
"He was my tormentor and my solace; the creator of the dark and the light within."
Okay just a quick review from me since I'm 3.5 STARS ★★★☆
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"He was my tormentor and my solace; the creator of the dark and the light within."
Okay just a quick review from me since I'm actually reading this as part of the Dark Duet: Platinum Edition and the first instalment is a rather short read. It's not as dark as I imagined it to be yet and maybe if I read this back then, I'd probably love the dark outta it. But it's probably just me since I've put myself through much darker and twisted stuffs these days ;D Caleb definitely makes a great anti-hero and the little bits of his awful past certainly had me grieving for him. Although I'm a little surprised that with a past like that, he isn't as messed up as I though he'd be. I also admired Livvie's resilience after seeing her finding out about her fate and her determination to still fight on certainly gets a plus in my heroines' books.
Overall the writing was good, it was a compelling read but I expected a little bit more. It also did gave me some deja vu feeling from Pepper Winter's Tears of Tess in some scenes and although it does start off slow, I'm keen to see how the next two books will play out and having characters like Rafiq coming into play very soon ;)
Buddy Read with my lovelies, Sandy & Kirsten! ♥...more
Re-read with my funny ladies; Supreet, Flo & Eda ♥♥♥
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Well...that's a whole load of bullcrap in one book. I'm a little abhorred that I rated Re-read with my funny ladies; Supreet, Flo & Eda ♥♥♥
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Well...that's a whole load of bullcrap in one book. I'm a little abhorred that I rated this 5 stars previously (that says a lot about my book taste back then, damn you FSOG frenzy and my desperate fix of withdrawal).
So this is my attempt of an unconventional review because honestly, I'd like to write a letter to this author.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Book 3 if you haven't read. But then again...I'm pretty sure 90% of you have already read it. So moving along.
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Dear Sylvia Day,
I'm not sure why you would make any reader wait a year and a half for another book in this series or why for a matter of fact, that you would not let this series end already. If you'd think that us readers have a memory capacity of a size of a whale, I'm deeply questioning your motives of even bothering to continue writing this series. Heck I couldn't even remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday morning, let alone the last time you publish this book.
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Honestly I read 3 pages in and I couldn't remember for the life of me who the frak is 90% of the people in this series except Gideon and psychobitch Eva. Also her annoying bisexual roommate, Cary.
And who the hell is Brett, Corrine, Deanna, Magadelene again? Of course after some head cracking and thanks to my wonderful lady Flo who tortured herself with Book 1 and 2 re-reads, this was what I conjured up and correct me if I'm wrong:
Brett: Eva's ex who is now a lead singer in a band who's still overly fixated on Eva (cue the music video scene in which depicts their old love affair) and is still dying to stick in his dick in her.
Corrine: Gideon's No.1 ex-fiance and ex-slut. Centerpiece of all drama llama. Has a husband now named Giroux who can't keep the leash on his wife.
Deanna: Gideon's yet another ex-slut. Annoying reporter who threatens to reveal about Gideon's past. Yet another drama llama queen.
Magadelene: Gideon's idk-what-number ex-slut because [image]
And can we talk about that book plot....oh wait.
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Seriously, all I got was SEX, SEX, DRAMA, FILLER, SEX, DRAMA, SEX, FILLER, SEX, BACKDOOR ACTION, BOOM SECRET MARRIAGE, SEX, SEX, ABRUPT ENDING.
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Why Slyvia, WHY?!?! There was just so much filler, zero plot and it was an absolute snoozefest for me. I literally dozed off 3 times whenever I attempt to re-read this. You should have just left this series at Book 2 and stopped ruining a possibly good series.
Honestly, I'm not even sure what's left to read about because Book 2 was a whole bullocks of filler and so was this one. And Gideon apparently gets away with murder, these two are shagging in every place possible and Cary knocks up his girlfriend, WHICH I do not give an absolute frak about. Just tell me, what exactly do you possibly still have to write about that doesn't make me wanna bash my head in?
So the million dollar question is, will I still read your next book that's coming out next week?
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Because apparently I enjoy inflicting pain on myself.
I'm doing this in the name of Gideon, SO LORD HELP ME.
You may win this time, Sylvia but I can't say the same after Book 4 is out.
Yours sincerely, An eager beaver who is still pissed for making everyone wait.
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To my lovely ladies who will be BR-ing Book 4 with me,
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But I know we'll still have shit tons of fun, possibly ranting the hell outta that book ;D...more
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