jjbookaday's review against another edition
5.0
This book was sent to me, by the author in exchange for an honest review.
As someone who is a fan of movies like “I spit on your grave” or of the genre “Female fights back” this book was right up my alley. It kind of reads like I spit on your grave which I admired. But something interesting that I didn’t expect is how the two main characters are handled. They’re handled in a way, without spoilers, that provided a lot of character development for the very short novella. The author has a skill for the fast paced action with high stakes and it was done well! Ashley came off as someone who has fight in her and Jake is a dude who you hate for how vile he is, but you also want to know more about where he came from. I was also sent the prequel to this that details how Jake came to be how he is and with how this one set his character up, I’m excited to know more because the ending indicates there is a lot more at play here than just what we’ve read!
Thank you, Mike Duke for sending me this one!
As someone who is a fan of movies like “I spit on your grave” or of the genre “Female fights back” this book was right up my alley. It kind of reads like I spit on your grave which I admired. But something interesting that I didn’t expect is how the two main characters are handled. They’re handled in a way, without spoilers, that provided a lot of character development for the very short novella. The author has a skill for the fast paced action with high stakes and it was done well! Ashley came off as someone who has fight in her and Jake is a dude who you hate for how vile he is, but you also want to know more about where he came from. I was also sent the prequel to this that details how Jake came to be how he is and with how this one set his character up, I’m excited to know more because the ending indicates there is a lot more at play here than just what we’ve read!
Thank you, Mike Duke for sending me this one!
bryanhmoyer's review
5.0
A nice new twist on the rape/revenge subgenre. Duke delivers not only a great tale, but characters you can't help but feel for. Ashley and Jake are three dimensional, and the leap off the page into your mind with feral claws that refuse to let go. Ashley's Tale is the first in a trilogy, and with such a strong and amazing beginning, my hopes are high for the remainder of this brilliant descent into psychological horror.
lanternsjourney's review against another edition
5.0
Woah. This little novella went so quick. It was well written, perfectly paced, and kept me guessing. As soon as I thought I knew where the plot was going the story surprised me again. I'm already starting the sequel, Making Jake, because I NEED to know where this goes. I really dont want to say more about the story except that it's about a sexually abused woman (trigger warning) named Ashley who gets kidnapped and is forced to make tough choices for her captor's twisted games.
ghostinthepages's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
3.0
gabibitting's review
5.0
Absolutely fantastic little piece of horror. This is a fast-paced twist on every young woman’s worst nightmare. The plot was unpredictable and exciting while including scenes that made my heart race and made me NEED to find out what happens next.
My only complaint is how short it was
My only complaint is how short it was
jbfrias94's review
4.0
4.5 short novella was awesome! It gave me a lot of suspense and kept me wanting to keep turning the pages. The only reason I didn’t rate it a 5 ⭐️ is because I didn’t like how weak Ashley was from the beginning but I understand that was the point of the book. It just made it seem like victims are weak and not capable of fighting back without being rewired. I would’ve kicked that mans ass from the beginning. I would’ve at least looked for a way out of that room not just sat there and waited. All in all it was a really good book and I will definitely read more from this author.
aperfectmjk's review
3.0
"The living always have a chance the dead never get." This is a story of survival.
So I must admit, this did not turn out at all as I expected it to. When I read the synopsis, I thought "Oooh, this sounds like it would be a really good short story". Once I started reading it I even had high hopes, as the start was really on to something I thought.
It starts out as every woman's nightmare, Ashley is kidnapped and taken captive by a man who gives her the option between physical pain, or emotional pain in the form of rape. "That which breaks the spirit, pierces the heart and crushes both. That's real hurt." Ashley faced with the impossible, chooses physical pain; she can't go back, she can't relieve the years of rape that she endured as a little girl. It all sounds enticing right? Well, the story takes a drastic turn. I'm not going to go into how. I'll leave this for you all to figure out, but I'll just say that while it wasn't disappointing, it wasn't at all what I had expected. This is not the dark tale I thought it was going to be based on the synopsis, I'll just say that.
In the end, it was an interesting story, and the writing was good, so it was worthy of 3 stars. I'm not familiar with this author, so I may have to check out some of his other work and see if there is anything else that may spark my interest more.
So I must admit, this did not turn out at all as I expected it to. When I read the synopsis, I thought "Oooh, this sounds like it would be a really good short story". Once I started reading it I even had high hopes, as the start was really on to something I thought.
It starts out as every woman's nightmare, Ashley is kidnapped and taken captive by a man who gives her the option between physical pain, or emotional pain in the form of rape. "That which breaks the spirit, pierces the heart and crushes both. That's real hurt." Ashley faced with the impossible, chooses physical pain; she can't go back, she can't relieve the years of rape that she endured as a little girl. It all sounds enticing right? Well, the story takes a drastic turn. I'm not going to go into how. I'll leave this for you all to figure out, but I'll just say that while it wasn't disappointing, it wasn't at all what I had expected. This is not the dark tale I thought it was going to be based on the synopsis, I'll just say that.
In the end, it was an interesting story, and the writing was good, so it was worthy of 3 stars. I'm not familiar with this author, so I may have to check out some of his other work and see if there is anything else that may spark my interest more.
theboldbookworm's review
4.0
This is a unique take on a kidnapping story. It's rather short, so I don't want to go into detail because I don't want to give anything away. It's very descriptive and well-written. I can't wait to read the next two books!
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