Fading (Fading #1) by E.K. Blair

Title: Fading
Series: Fading #1
Author: E.K. Blair
Genre: Romance/Dark/New Adult

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: TRAUMA TRIGGERS
Overall Rating:

My Quickie Synopsis: Candace Parker is entering her final year at college and she's excited for the opportunity to continue her dream of becoming a professional ballerina. However, a brutal assault at the beginning of the school year leaves her broken and struggling to pick up the pieces. Ryan Campbell, the owner of a nearby bar, meets Candace by chance and sparks fly between the pair. Ryan wants nothing more than to be the rock that she needs, but his own demons may doom their relationship before it even starts.

(Enjoyment) Factor:
This is not a book for enjoyment, but rather inspiration. I'm going to be blunt; Fading is a story about a rape and how it affects a young woman. You'll see her spiral down, but you'll also see her build herself back up. It's incredibly moving, and extremely honest to the point where you may be left just slightly raw.

Fading is not an easy read by any means; it is profoundly sad at times.

Even through the dark subject material, Ms. Blair was able to keep me hooked onto the story. I wanted to keep reading for the sake of Candace. I wanted to see her obtain as much closure as she could, and I wanted to know that she'd be okay. The only issue I had was the slight twinge of disbelief some of the happy coincidences caused.




Technical Rating: 

Character Building:
I can only imagine how exhausting it must have been to write these characters into being. Both Candace and Ryan are beautifully complex both individually and together. Ms. Blair does an incredible job of making sure that Candace's character truly isn't defined by her assault. There are multiple layers that are explored; we see everything from how she works, her goals, her interactions with her friends, her family dynamics, and how she falls in love and learns to trust. Ryan is just as well-thought out as a character, and even though the focus isn't on him, you still understand everything you need to about him. However, I'm glad Ms. Blair is devoting a book to his perspective.

Plot Strength:
The plot in Fading is concrete, easy to follow and works very well with the characters. I'm not sure what more you could ask for in a book! I have seen reviews that fault the author for having the plot revolve around the assault, but, in my opinion, that's the heart of the book. Should a reader fault Twilight for revolving around the concept of vampires and werewolves?

Sincerity:
Even though I'm not entirely satisfied with how Ms. Blair decides to handle the outcome for the rapist, I can't say that it actually harms overall feel of Fading. There was never a point in time where I thought that these events and these characters didn't fit within the realm of the book. The entirety of the story is full of heartbreaking sincerity.

Editing:
The editing gets an A from me.

Pacing:
The pacing was perfect for the story. The romance wasn't rushed and the story flowed quite naturally. There's a bit of formulaic writing in the book in terms of pacing, but Ms. Blair does it well; it doesn't detract from Fading at all.

My Icing on Top:
I usually try to avoid books that are this heavy for a variety of reasons, but I recently purchased Devour, which is an anthology featuring 8 full length new adult novels. It was only $0.99 and it benefits First Candle. In other words, I couldn't help myself; eight full books AND the profits go to a charity? Sold! I just didn't actually read any of the book summaries. So sue me; I went in for the surprise element!
This book is not a romance of the "bodice-ripper" genre, but rather a story of survival and love. That being said, don't be scared off from reading Fading, even if it isn't your normal cup of tea. As a matter of fact, I encourage you to read this book, or any book that goes into the devastating aftermath of sexual assault. As the end of the book states, "Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. Approximately 2/3 of assaults are committed by someone known to the victim. And only 46% of assaults are reported to the police." That's just in the US alone; can you honestly afford to not seek to understand how this affects everyone? So, what are you waiting for? Start reading!

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K