Wow. This book. I don’t even know where to start fangirling.
Before I do, I want to say a little disclaimer. I do enjoy New Adult very much (see my adoration for Erin McCarthy’s TRUE series), however, there are so many bad novels (aka novels that perpetuate rape culture, victim blaming, makes it seem like a stalker is ok just because he’s beautiful, the list goes on…) I curate the titles with such care you wouldn’t believe. The blurb caught my attention but when I saw how trusted reviewers loved this, I knew I had to read it.
BEST. DECISION. EVER.
Let’s start with the prose. OMG. Such gorgeous prose. All I wanted to do is squeal and sigh and hug my e-reader to my chest because almost every single sentence WAS SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL. I kept commenting on this while I read because I just couldn’t believe I was enjoying such lyrical candy. The beauty reached to such limits that I really took my time to read and absorb and just enjoy the book. This plan, however, backfired horribly after reaching the 50% mark and the tension was so overwhelming that I had to do everything in my power not to skip to the end to make sure I got a happy ending.
(show spoiler)
Ms. Raeder has a real talent for not only mesmerizing sentences but lovable yet flawed characters. I fell for Maise, for Evan, for Wesley, for Siobhan… even with all their flaws and their issues, I just wanted to take them home and hug them.
Evan and Maise… I really thought they would burn the e-pages off my reader, which we know isn’t possible but I SWEAR IT ALMOST HAPPENED. Their chemistry, like a match, ignites from the first page and never lets go. Their scenes are both steamy and heart wrenching because damn Evan has a way with words and Maise has her heart locked up with the key at the bottom of the ocean, and I am speaking in clichés but it’s just SO GOOD to see how this relationship develops.
If you want a fantastic palate cleanser for all the veritable crap that populates the New Adult genre, you need not look far.
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