naomig1753's review against another edition
1.0
I f***ing HATE vandal. He doesn’t deserve happiness. He kills her husband, then stalks her, enters into a sexual relationship with her, and lies to her and deceives her. He should have just let the girl be. He ruined her life and he thinks he can heal her. WTF. He is sick. I could barely get through this book. If I could give this book 0 stars then I would. If I could erase this book from my memory then I would. If I could go back and never listen to this book, then I would.
digitlchic's review against another edition
4.0
4- the minus is because of the ending, especially the epilogue
jujelly's review against another edition
3.0
that was a lot better than the 1st book in the series. but HOLY SHIT, the story is so short??? its rlly not about the amount of pages but the story itself is just not long, or more like -- barely anything really happening?
idk dude, i assume it's just how cole writes.
idk dude, i assume it's just how cole writes.
kirillsasha's review
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
grettypop's review against another edition
4.0
The book stars out with the car crash 'Storm' finishes with, so it was no surprise that Vandal is going to lose his daughter - which came as a relief to me that I already knew it and was ready for it. Vandal then goes into deep depression, which is mentioned in the book, and drags on for quite a while, but there is also a good story-line happening. As a way to get out of his own head, he pretty much starts stalking Tabi, and convinces her to get away with him for a little while.
I don't want to spoil much, I enjoyed the book immensely, but it wasn't as great as the first one to the series. There was a lot of back and forth, and a lot of grief and drama and hiding things from each other. Overall, the characters were insanely relatable, and even though I didn't get as pulled in as I did with 'Storm', I was prepared to give this book 5 stars.
However, the last chapter is from Tabi's POV (as are many) and the author reveals something that contradicts basically half the book. (I won't spoil.) But that last chapter did a huge dint in the book. At first, I thought, wow, girl power, but then I thought - what a manipulative b****. Kind of ruined the female lead for me, and I just couldn't really like her from then on - which makes her unlikable now through the entire book.
I loved this book, and I am a huge fan of Carian Cole, but I sure wish the last chapter wasn't included.
I don't want to spoil much, I enjoyed the book immensely, but it wasn't as great as the first one to the series. There was a lot of back and forth, and a lot of grief and drama and hiding things from each other. Overall, the characters were insanely relatable, and even though I didn't get as pulled in as I did with 'Storm', I was prepared to give this book 5 stars.
However, the last chapter is from Tabi's POV (as are many) and the author reveals something that contradicts basically half the book. (I won't spoil.) But that last chapter did a huge dint in the book. At first, I thought, wow, girl power, but then I thought - what a manipulative b****. Kind of ruined the female lead for me, and I just couldn't really like her from then on - which makes her unlikable now through the entire book.
I loved this book, and I am a huge fan of Carian Cole, but I sure wish the last chapter wasn't included.
crm87's review against another edition
4.0
I was apprehensive going into this book. I always read reviews, spoilers do not spoil a story for me. However I don’t like the epilogue and it’s totally un addressed plot point
ankeb04's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
groovygirl858's review against another edition
1.0
Promising premise goes downhill fast
I couldn't finish this book without skimming through the last 3 hours. I just couldn't take it anymore. This book was a mess. It starts off promising, albeit, tragic. You feel for Vandal, desperately wanting his pain to stop. I was looking forward to the journey of this broken hero finding love in his dark world.
But then Vandal and Tabitha met and began their journey in the most unrealistic way. And then they began to have the most unsexy sex I have ever read in a romance novel. BDSM and D/s elements in romance novels do not bother me if done correctly, which is why I decided to listen to this book despite the warning these elements are present. BDSM and the D/s relationship is used in this book as a coping mechanism and substitute for true healing. It was used as a way to feed into the pain when what Vandal really needed was Tabitha to challenge his views.
There was no character development at all and no real build to the romance. It was just sex but it wasn't even hot sex. It just felt like enabling to me. They both were enablers for the other to stay in the place their pain had taken them.
The controversial end mentioned in many reviews is a major flaw with this book and earned this author a place on my "DO NOT EVER READ" list. Not because I didn't like the twist (even though I didn't like it), but because it directly contradicts earlier parts of the book. We are told this story from both Vandal and Tabitha's POV and Tabitha's POV thoughts and feelings in the first half of the book make the "twist" at the end impossible. If the author wanted to introduce this twist, she could have easily presented Tabitha's POV in a different way to ensure continuity.
Overall, this book was a disappointment and I can't recommend it.
I couldn't finish this book without skimming through the last 3 hours. I just couldn't take it anymore. This book was a mess. It starts off promising, albeit, tragic. You feel for Vandal, desperately wanting his pain to stop. I was looking forward to the journey of this broken hero finding love in his dark world.
But then Vandal and Tabitha met and began their journey in the most unrealistic way. And then they began to have the most unsexy sex I have ever read in a romance novel. BDSM and D/s elements in romance novels do not bother me if done correctly, which is why I decided to listen to this book despite the warning these elements are present. BDSM and the D/s relationship is used in this book as a coping mechanism and substitute for true healing. It was used as a way to feed into the pain when what Vandal really needed was Tabitha to challenge his views.
There was no character development at all and no real build to the romance. It was just sex but it wasn't even hot sex. It just felt like enabling to me. They both were enablers for the other to stay in the place their pain had taken them.
The controversial end mentioned in many reviews is a major flaw with this book and earned this author a place on my "DO NOT EVER READ" list. Not because I didn't like the twist (even though I didn't like it), but because it directly contradicts earlier parts of the book. We are told this story from both Vandal and Tabitha's POV and Tabitha's POV thoughts and feelings in the first half of the book make the "twist" at the end impossible. If the author wanted to introduce this twist, she could have easily presented Tabitha's POV in a different way to ensure continuity.
Overall, this book was a disappointment and I can't recommend it.