batam's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Definitely a dark book. I was relieved that the scenes in the first parts weren‘t that descriptive. Nobody should ever deal with things like that. Rape, group rape, human trafficking, child abuse and murder.
But it was nice to see hoe they healed themselves within their relationship. Even when they couldn’t show their emotions… The plot-move of her in the end was the right move. Without it i think they could never get together like they almost were. But this event let them be them without their selfbuilt walls.
But it was nice to see hoe they healed themselves within their relationship. Even when they couldn’t show their emotions… The plot-move of her in the end was the right move. Without it i think they could never get together like they almost were. But this event let them be them without their selfbuilt walls.
aschae's review against another edition
5.0
Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review..What an incredibly fabulous book!! I devoured the first two books in the series and Alexei & Talia's story sucked me in from page one! My heart broke over and over for these two, both two haunted souls unable to move beyond their pasts. Struggling to feel worthy in anyone's eyes... Talia finds strength in his overpowering dominance and in her he finds solace. A dark yet incredibly beautiful book about two people who slowly come to realize that no matter how screwed up any of us are, we are all worthy of love and forgiveness. HIGHLY recommended book, series and author!! Five stars just aren't doing my heart any justice on this one!? ;-)
deedoll76's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
reading_with_2_book_lovers's review against another edition
5.0
wow what a great read. ghost by a.zavarelli is a amazing read. the boom really pulls on your heart strings, so many emotions i laughed, cried and swooned.
such a great book.
i received this ARC for an honest review
such a great book.
i received this ARC for an honest review
_valorie_'s review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I feel like there's something wrong with me after seeing all of these five star ratings. I really did want to like this but it fell short....
Everything was slightly off. I never really felt immersed in this world or the characters and while I did care about Talia, I could not really like Alexei. Its not that I couldn't sympathise with him, I could, its just that I found him very unlikeable. Perhaps, this book was not for me but I still feel like I have to give my honest review and opinion on this.
The story starts off very dark, Talia is sold into sex slavery and we get some very visceral descriptions of her being raped and abused. I nearly DNF'd right then and there because it was quite triggering but I pushed myself past that point and kept reading. I feel like this storyline really had so much potential but everything felt rushed. This book is around 300 pages but I feel like it could have been extended to maybe 500 and made me feel more connected with the characters.
I didn't like the writing either, lots of simple sentences that just felt like: I ate a banana. I went to the toilet after. I brushed my teeth and went to bed.
Like okay? Give me something more complex and stimulating that actually makes me feel something. Initially I liked that there were a lot of simple sentences because it kind of reflected the state of mind that Talia was in but Alexei's POV's were in this format as well which made the writing very repetitive and boring. This was a relatively quick and entertaining read but there was really nothing noteworthy about this. It was fun while I read it but if you ask me about this in a weeks time, I won't remember anything about this.
Moving on to why I didn't really like Alexei. The first thing he does when he "rescues" Talia is spank her. Yes, you've read that right. THE FIRST THING HE DOES TO A GIRL THATS BEEN RAPED AND ABUSED FOR A YEAR IS SPANK HER. Why, you might be asking. He was angry she tried to kill herself by getting out a moving car. Honestly, I don't understand why he was mad or shocked. She's been through hell and he knew she was keeping pills to kill herself so I don't find it that strange that she would subsequently try to kill herself by hurtling herself out a moving vehicle.
I thought, well maybe this is just the start and he will treat her better in the future. Oh, how wrong I was. He's constantly hurting her and manipulating her and it just feels like Talia fell in love with him just because he was her saviour. He doesn't even tell her he loves her until like the last 5 pages or something. The build up to this love felt so rushed that it almost seemed unbelievable. Also, tell me why this man was wearing flat caps?? Seriously? Like he's 80 years old. Just the image of a Russian mafia guy wearing that makes me cackle while writing this.
Overall, this was a dissapointing read.
Everything was slightly off. I never really felt immersed in this world or the characters and while I did care about Talia, I could not really like Alexei. Its not that I couldn't sympathise with him, I could, its just that I found him very unlikeable. Perhaps, this book was not for me but I still feel like I have to give my honest review and opinion on this.
The story starts off very dark, Talia is sold into sex slavery and we get some very visceral descriptions of her being raped and abused. I nearly DNF'd right then and there because it was quite triggering but I pushed myself past that point and kept reading. I feel like this storyline really had so much potential but everything felt rushed. This book is around 300 pages but I feel like it could have been extended to maybe 500 and made me feel more connected with the characters.
I didn't like the writing either, lots of simple sentences that just felt like: I ate a banana. I went to the toilet after. I brushed my teeth and went to bed.
Like okay? Give me something more complex and stimulating that actually makes me feel something. Initially I liked that there were a lot of simple sentences because it kind of reflected the state of mind that Talia was in but Alexei's POV's were in this format as well which made the writing very repetitive and boring. This was a relatively quick and entertaining read but there was really nothing noteworthy about this. It was fun while I read it but if you ask me about this in a weeks time, I won't remember anything about this.
Moving on to why I didn't really like Alexei. The first thing he does when he "rescues" Talia is spank her. Yes, you've read that right. THE FIRST THING HE DOES TO A GIRL THATS BEEN RAPED AND ABUSED FOR A YEAR IS SPANK HER. Why, you might be asking. He was angry she tried to kill herself by getting out a moving car. Honestly, I don't understand why he was mad or shocked. She's been through hell and he knew she was keeping pills to kill herself so I don't find it that strange that she would subsequently try to kill herself by hurtling herself out a moving vehicle.
I thought, well maybe this is just the start and he will treat her better in the future. Oh, how wrong I was. He's constantly hurting her and manipulating her and it just feels like Talia fell in love with him just because he was her saviour. He doesn't even tell her he loves her until like the last 5 pages or something. The build up to this love felt so rushed that it almost seemed unbelievable. Also, tell me why this man was wearing flat caps?? Seriously? Like he's 80 years old. Just the image of a Russian mafia guy wearing that makes me cackle while writing this.
Overall, this was a dissapointing read.
achiu99's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
alimoo511's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
niihariiikareads's review against another edition
2.0
Ironic how the Russian mafia boss always talks about his loyalty and family, but ends up locking his pregnant wife on a secluded floor for 2 months because he found some questionable emails on her computer. I want his audacity.