Madame X (Madame X #1) by Jasinda Wilder

Title: Madame X
Series: Madame X
Author: Jasinda Wilder
Genres: Romance/Drama/Dark/Adult

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING: TRAUMA TRIGGERS* 

Overall Rating:

My Quickie Synopsis: Madame X lives in a plush world of sophistication where she caters to only the privileged and most elite of society-but it's not in the way that you might expect. She's a mistress in the art of class, confidence and control; her job is to impart this knowledge to the entitled yet thoroughly ignorant sons of her clientele. However, her carefully constructed reality and identity threaten to come crumbling down when a few chance encounters force her to question her lifestyle and circumstances.

Micro Review: I typically don't like doing micro reviews because I feel that they do a disservice to the book and author. That being said, I also realize that most people don't give two flying craps about technicalities. I get it and I can appreciate it. So, I'll try the condensed version out for a while. We'll see how long it lasts!
On to the juicy bits though-
Madame X is probably going to be unlike anything you've read in a while and I say that purely from the standpoint of the writing style. There are certain aspects of the story told in a kind of diary-style second person; it takes a while to get used to, but it certainly adds a richness to the story. On top of that, I can't think of many authors that would be brave enough to tackle that point of view and then go on to excel with it.
That's just the tip of the iceberg here; the most compelling aspects of the book are the characters themselves. The titular character, Madame X, is a veritably complex woman and you can't help but to feel an emotional connection to her the deeper you find yourself immersed in her world. The supporting cast of characters each come with their own skeletons and emotional baggage, and X's interactions with each of them spark a slow shift in her perspective. These interactions alone will probably have you reading all night just to see what X will get herself into next.

You're hurting my heart, X!

I will say that I personally was disappointed with a few of X's choices, but the fact of the matter is that everything made perfect sense, And honestly, as a reader, you can't really ask for anything more. There are several difficult topics explored within Madame X, and each one is handled with a certain poise alongside a dose of harsh reality that you just don't see as often in modern romance novels. Don't get me wrong; there's plenty of romantic fantasy to be had within the story, but it's grounded by the heavier issues that Ms. Wilder introduces in a seamless way.
In line with the majority of reviews that are already out regarding this book, I too do not want to give too much away. It's a book that has to be experienced with a fresh pair of eyes.

My Icing on Top:
It's really rare for me to rate a book at five stars. This is only the second book I've rated as such for books I've read in 2015. To put that in a bit of perspective, I've rated 83 books this year. I know that this book won't be for everyone, as the subject matter is on the graphic side; however, if you're up for reading a superb modern drama with a twist of dark romance and plenty of thought provoking moments, please pick up Madame X the next chance that you get.

Check out my informal review on goodreads!

As always, happy reading!

-K

Always You by Missy Johnson

Title: Always You
Author: Missy Johnson
Genres: Romance/Drama/Young Adult

Maturity Rating: 13+
Some graphic sensuality, but okay for a mature teen reader
Overall Rating:

My Quickie Synopsis: Wrenn is taken in by her aunt when tragedy befalls her family; her aunt also happens to be the headmistress of her new all girls school. Still acclimating to her new surroundings, Wrenn is blindsided by her substitute teacher Dalton Reed. He's everything she never knew she wanted and more, but Dalton's secrets and position of authority threaten to derail their relationship before it even begins.

Enjoyment Factor:
And here we go again; here is yet another book that claims it's new adult, but screams young adult fiction again and again. Our main heroine is in high school and our main hero is her hot, young, substitute teacher. No matter how you look at it, the relationship is sketchy as hell. Yes, she's of legal age, and yes, the age difference is acceptable; however, this particular love story just doesn't ring true. Why would a man who has spent the better part of his life avoiding commitment suddenly give in to having a go with a girl who could potentially ruin his career?

This is a joke...right?

Even if I could overlook that glaring inconsistency in the name of super duper insta-love syndrome, I can't get over how painfully immature Wrenn is. Honestly, it killed the book for me. The way Wrenn reacted when she confronted Dalton about his secret was juvenile, and I can't believe that Dalton just took it. To top it off, the girl has no filter. She flat out asked a character what it was like to watch her husband suffer. There was no easing into the question, and there was no softening context. The girl is just plain rude and selfish; I don't see why a character like Dalton would become hung up over her just because of her blunt, simplistic world views. It's still not ranking with the worst books that I've ever read though, so it gets a two star enjoyment rating; I know there's an audience for this, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Technical Rating:

Character Building:
For as much as I disliked the heroine, I can't say that she was an underdeveloped character. As a matter of fact, all of the characters had depth to them, with the possible exception of Paige. But, thankfully, the story wasn't about her, so I'll let that one slide. I think my favorite character though had to be Wrenn's best friend. She was a good dose of quirky in a desolate landscape of romantic angst.

Plot Strength:
The premise of the story is actually pretty good; taboo romance, hot-for-teacher action, and heavy secrets should all make great ingredients for a steamy good read. But there was no follow-through! If this were a cake, the story would be the equivalent of mixing all the ingredients but never actually putting it in the oven. There was an overall lack of cohesiveness in the plot elements that made it feel like I was being bounced around from scene to scene.

Sincerity:
I find myself struggling on how to rate this category; on one hand, I still fail to see how the characters would ever end up together. However, if I maintain a healthy distance from my own reservations, I see the glimmer of a possibility. Perhaps she's so broken and he's so dense that they actually work together. I can partially accept that.

Editing:
I honestly think that the editor went through the first half of the book and said to themselves that it was decent and then proceeded to ignore the latter half of the novel. If I went back to re-read this, I could probably point out the exact page that marked the beginning of the editor's holiday. It was jarring; there I was sailing through the book and then suddenly I was hit with rough waters. It's not a pleasant feeling.

Pacing:
The accusations that Paige made were so quickly brushed off that it made my head spin. What was the point of even dropping that bomb if you weren't going to dedicate serious time to exploring it? I'll make another analogy since I'm on a roll: It's like making a tutorial that only shows the beginning and the end steps. Pointless. Outside of that warp-speed fast-forward, I think the pacing was adequately handled, so a half star it is!

My Icing on Top:
I'm going to be honest here; the secret that Dalton has is one that was similar to a secret my own boyfriend had to share. All I felt was heartbreak when Wrenn started to throw a tantrum over it; I couldn't fathom being so cruel. Did that affect my enjoyment rating? Absolutely. But I tried to not let that bleed into my technical rating. This isn't an awful book, but it is awfully predictable. It's an average tale of two people with less than stellar pasts who come together in a somewhat taboo romance. Consider Always You to be a midnight snack of books; it can be your guilty pleasure, your little secret, until you get to read a more fulfilling story at a later point in time. But don't come complaining to me about remorse; I told you so!

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Genre: Young Adult/Drama/Romance

Maturity Rating: 13+
Overall Rating:

My Quickie Synopsis: Hazel Lancaster is a young woman with terminal cancer who has been blessed with receiving ground-breaking medicine that has hindered the growth of her tumors. But Hazel knows that it's only a temporary fix; she doesn't want to get too close to anyone because she feels like a ticking time bomb. That all changes the day she meets Augustus Waters.

Enjoyment Factor:
I finally gave in and read this book, primarily because I was considering going to see the movie. Now that I've read the book, I'm actually wondering if for once the movie might be better. There is a bucket load of pretentious writing in this novel. Granted, being a little on the cavalier side is a popular trait in teens, but this took the cake. The following quotes are just a few nuggets of the philosophical rhetoric that fill the novel:
"My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations." 
“We’re as likely to hurt the universe as we are to help it, and we’re not likely to do either."
“It seemed like forever ago, like we've had this brief but still infinite forever. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.” 
“Pain is like fabric: The stronger it is, the more it’s worth.” 
"You're arguing that the fragile, rare thing is beautiful simply because it is fragile and rare. But that's a lie, and you know it."
I'm sure that by now you've seen tons of memes/graphics/posts that spew out these lines. On their own they do hold meaning, sure. On their own they are bright, vibrant beacons of thought provoking sentiments. However, The Fault in Our Stars is drowning in these one-liners and I think that the over emphasis seriously detracted from the story. If the point is to show that you have to live life to the fullest and not let ailments define you, I think the book failed. It's full of defeatist mentality; I'm not buying that the sarcasm of the main characters shows that they are above their predicament. Honestly, the main thing I took away from reading the novel was that I must be a glutton for self-inflicted emotional sabotage.

Except you can't; your tear ducts have been hijacked.

The Fault in Our Stars is probably one of the better crafted contemporary stories out there designed to make you feel. The entire book read like a long eulogy of the reader's heart. Seriously. There's a pretty good chance that you'll cry at the end.
But even with its shortcomings, The Fault in Our Stars is a good read. It's nice to see the ebb and flow of Hazel's relationships with her family, her friends and, of course, Augustus. I enjoyed it, but it's not something I'm too keen on reading again.




Technical Rating:

Character Building:
I think that the character building was fine, although perhaps a bit monotonous. It seemed like the majority of the cast of characters had the exact same personality just to varying degrees. I can't particularly fault the book for that though because in the end, it works.

Plot Strength:
For every strong plot element in The Fault in Our Stars there seems to be an equally weak element lurking nearby. The exposition was great; you get hooked on the characters and their life stories because Mr. Green pulls you in right away. But then the rising action feels lacking; the love story seems forced at times as if we were reading a manual on how romance ought to be. Augustus may have been on a roller coaster that kept going up, but the plot was on a crazy inverted roller coaster of exhilarating highs and sickening lows.

Sincerity:
The sincerity of the novel was both a hit and miss for me. Sometimes it felt like I was being artificially manipulated to feel for these characters; there's something to be said for a book that can evoke emotions organically. The story also felt a lot like being talked at, and not in a good way. I would prefer not to be preached at about how we are all simply side effects of dying! That being said, I did get an emotional rise or two out of this book, so I can't completely knock it on the sincerity front.

Editing:
The editing was fine. I did get the sense that Mr. Green struggled with how to make his characters sound like teens. "Like" and "um" are both peppered throughout Hazel's inner dialogue as well as forced modern euphemisms such as "I'd tap that." Even so, I don't think it was necessarily detrimental, so full marks here.

Pacing:
I think the ending felt a little rushed in spots, however, I think it all goes back to the remark in the book that you get to choose how you tell the story. Here, they chose not to dwell so much on sad times but rather on the happier moments throughout the book. So, even though it isn't what I'd normally say was appropriate, I think the rushed spots were meaningful in their own way.

My Icing on Top:
Honestly, the more I think about it, the more that I believe that this story was meant for one person and one person only: Esther Grace Earl. It was a chance for Mr. Green to write something beautiful for a young woman who passed away without ever experiencing her own romantic moment of happiness. And it was also a way for Mr. Green to pay homage to the time that he worked with ill children; apparently he had wanted to write a story about children as cancer patients for ten years! Perhaps the faults that I found within the book simply stem from the fact that the book wasn't written for me, or for any general audience. It is a tribute piece that isn't for everyone. If you're looking for a young adult fiction with a moving love story, a la Nicholas Sparks, then give The Fault in Our Stars a try!

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

Very Bad Things (Briarcrest Academy #1) by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Title:  Very Bad Things
Series: Briarcrest Academy #1
Author: Ilsa Madden-Mills
Genre: Young Adult/Romance/Dark

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

My Quickie Synopsis: Nora Blakely seems like she has the best of everything; she's talented, smart, beautiful and comes from a well-to-do family. But Nora is harboring excruciatingly dark secrets, and she's tired of having to put on a face of perfection. She's ready to give in to her darker side.

Enjoyment Factor:
This book had me seriously scratching my head over what constitutes being a new adult book. In my head, I always considered new adult as being anything that happens post high school up until the late twenties, early thirties range of adulthood. But this story, which was promoted as new adult fiction, focuses entirely on a girl who is still in high school. Sure, she's nineteen, but she's still in high school. There's still locker-side talk going on. This book read like a young adult fiction that desperately wanted to be in the big leagues of adult fiction but settled for calling itself new adult. I'm not buying it.

A cotton candy book playing with trauma triggers?

Mislabeled genres aside, this book just came across as weak. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't fantastic either. The main characters felt so extraordinarily cookie cutter and I just didn't connect with them the way I would have wanted to. I was actually more invested in what happened to the supporting characters; perhaps the author was more invested in them as well since she goes on to tell their stories in subsequent books.
My main problem with Very Bad Things is that it puts a nice veil on a very serious topic. Everything is handled so incredibly casually and with such shallow convictions that the story lost quite a bit of its much needed poignancy. Everyone deals with trauma in their own way, but I feel like Very Bad Things glamorizes the after-effects. Instead of actually dealing head on with what Nora was going through, everything seemed more like a long-coming rebellious phase that was due to an overbearing, evil mother.To make matters worse, there definitely was some rose-colored shading going on as well. I could understand if the author didn't want to focus much on Nora's traumatic past, but the fact of the matter is that she made it a huge plot point that was only brought up when it was convenient. If it weren't for this indelicate handling, I'd probably rate the book slightly higher. As it stands though, I do realize that there's an audience out there that would eat this up without batting an eye, so it gets a solid two stars from me!

Technical Rating:

Character Building:
I touched on this a bit in my initial response, but to reiterate, the main characters needed quite a bit of work. Both Nora and Leo are extraordinarily flat in their character builds; any complexities that they had felt like mere ornaments to their personalities instead of having actual intrinsic value. The supporting cast of characters were a bit more grounded, which was refreshing, but disappointing at the same time. If only the main characters had been developed as much!

Plot Strength:
I'm not sure if you'll recall when I explained what a cotton candy book is, but I'll redefine that here. A cotton candy book is one that looks amazing, sounds like it's interesting, but when you read it, you realize that even though it might fulfill a base desire, there isn't actually much there to it. Very Bad Things is one such book. There's no actual edge to this book, and the plot elements are as weak as the character builds of the main characters. The climax? Anticlimactic. The resolution? Loose at best. However, the elements are there so I gave it half a star.

Sincerity:
The supporting characters save Very Bad Things from getting a big fat zero in this category. The main characters are borderline unbelievable in their actions. A lot of pieces don't really add up when it comes to the pair, and I can't even chalk it up to fairy tale syndrome.

Editing:
I can't particularly recall anything that made me cringe or stumble, so full marks here.

Pacing:
The only time that I took real issue with the pacing was towards the end. Everything was speedily wrapped up for the HEA (Happily Ever After). I did skim a few parts, but to my recollection it had nothing to do with a slow paced story, I just was getting fed up with the main characters! So an okay pace overall, I give it a half star.

My Icing on Top:
In all fairness I read this from the anthology Devour, which I mentioned in a previous review. Unfortunately, the anthology is no longer available for purchase (it was a limited time kind of deal) so you'll have to settle for buying this lovely tale on its own. For the reasons stated above, this book was not my cup of tea. However, I do know that this will come as a happy diversion book for many readers out there. If you (like me) take issue with traumas taken lightly, don't read this book. But, if you're just looking for your next fluff piece that has decent insta-love, give Very Bad Things a shot.

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

As always, happy reading!

-K

One More Night (One Night #2) by A.M. Willard

Title: One More Night
Series: One Night #2
Author: A.M. Willard
Genre: Romance/Adult

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: VERY GRAPHIC SCENES

My Quickie Synopsis: Angela is finally back home and she's ready to figure out where things stand with her husband. But Christopher isn't being as receptive as she would have hoped, and his secretive behavior isn't helping matters. As Logan's determination to see her again increases, Angela quickly finds herself at a cross-roads. Is her marriage worth saving, or is her future with Logan?

Enjoyment Factor: 
As a quick recap, I did a review of the first novella for this series here. I've opted to not do an overall or technical rating until the series is complete because of the length of these novellas. On to the review!
I'm still not overly impressed with the editing, but it is a lot better! My main concern is the lack of semicolons! Don't be afraid of them; they are your friend! See what I did there? I'm a semicolon pimp, and possibly a little neurotic. I'll give an example because the teacher in me demands it. I'm pulling it from the first page, so you don't have to worry that I'm spoiling anything.

"I can't think straight, I thought I would never see him again after he left my room last night."

There are a few different ways that the above comma splice can be fixed. Obviously, as a semicolon pimp, my number one fix would simply be to change the comma.

"I can't think straight; I thought I would never see him again..."

The next fix would be to use a subordinate conjunction. The semicolon actually implies it, but sometimes it's better to show the relationship between the two clauses.

"I can't think straight because I thought I would never see him again..."

Finally, you could separate the two independent clauses. I would only use this fix if the two clauses weren't related at all. That isn't the case here, but I'll show it for the sake of the example.

"I can't think straight. I thought I would never see him again..."

But enough about that! On to the good!

How I wanted Angela to respond at the end!

The writing flowed much better this time around. Instead of spending time explaining what characters were about to do, we got right into the action. And there was quite some steamy action there! The dialogue felt a bit more natural, and it was easier to focus on the story as it developed. I'm rooting for Angela; I'm not sure how I'd react in such a situation!
The ending made me laugh a little though; the word "examine" in the last sentence felt a little clinical and cold. It would have worked if I thought that Angela was truly that detached from it all, but considering the fact that she responded, I think a warmer phrasing could have been used. I know that's vague as hell, but I'm trying to avoid giving anything away; buy One More Night so you can see what I mean!


My Icing on Top:
One More Night is an example of why I generally enjoy reading from new authors, and I do mean that sincerely. When it comes to a dedicated author, you get to see incredible development sometimes. There is a great deal of improvement between the first novella of the series and the second. Could it still use work? Absolutely. However, I'm happy to see growth already! It's my hope that this pace of refinement continues into the third novella and onward. I look forward to the conclusion of the One Night series; let's hope Angela gets what she wants!

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

Blood Shadows (Blackthorn #1) by Lindsay J. Pryor

Title: Blood Shadows
Series: Blackthorn #1
Author: Lindsay J. Pryor
Genre: Romance/Paranormal/Adult/Urban Fantasy

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: VERY GRAPHIC SCENES
Overall Rating:

My Quickie Synopsis: Caitlin Parish is running out of time; she knows that whatever killed her parents is going to come after her next, even if no one believes her theories. Her best bet is to get answers out of the elusive vampire, Kane, a being notorious for his cunning brutality and irresistible charm. But Kane has his own agenda concerning Caitlin and it may not include playing nicely.

Enjoyment Factor:
For the most part, Blood Shadows is a very engaging read. I enjoyed the world-building immensely, although I do wish that Ms. Pryor went into more detail about the lore surrounding it. However, as it is with most paranormal/fantasy series, I'm sure that she'll reveal more over the span of the next installments.

You've been warned.

The sensuality of this book is through the roof; I will admit that some of said sensuality is a little questionable (slightly dubious on the consent at times). Kane is quite the persistent vampire and Caitlin, in my opinion, is just a tad unstable.
I originally wanted to give Blood Shadows a four out of five. I finished this book a couple of days ago and was all set to give it a nice and glowing review. But now that I've come back to it and reviewed my notes, I had trouble justifying the rating. That's never a good sign! The story is memorable, but it sometimes drags. A great deal of the book is spent solely on the interactions between the main characters in one locale; it gets old pretty quickly. Yes, I enjoyed the steamy bits, but give me more non-sexually-charged action, please!

Technical Rating:

Character Building:
Every scene, in its own way, lends a hand to building the personalities of the characters, and it's extremely well done. The only character that could have used more work was Xavier; I understood Rob and Max in their supporting character roles, but Xavier felt a little incomplete.

Plot Strength:
While I don't necessarily believe that there's such a thing as the over-development of characters, I did see a lack of balance between their build and the strength of the plot. Ms. Pryor has such a great concept in Blood Shadows, but her focus on the growth of the relationship between Caitlin and Kane drowns it out. A lot of the heavier plot driving doesn't come into play until the book is nearly over.

Sincerity:
My heart went out to both Caitlin and Kane numerous times! Their situations felt very real and it was absolutely heartbreaking. It's not an easy feat to humanize a story that's set in a world steeped in fantasy, but Ms. Pryor successfully did so.

Editing:
There were a few minor glitches here and there, such as misplaced words. For example, there was a sentence that said "within in" instead of "within it." So, like I said, little things. But, if you haven't noticed already, I'm a little neurotic when it comes to errors! However, they're so few and far between in Blood Shadows, so it doesn't really affect the story.
As a side note, I am far from perfect, and I make mistakes all the time. In fact, there are a few in this very blog! Don't worry; I'm just as harsh on myself, guys!

Pacing:
Because the character development and the plot development weren't balanced, the story dragged at times. Instead of character growth being woven into the plot, Ms. Pryor seemed to take a series of character time-outs. It almost felt like each character interaction had its own little time bubble surrounding it, where the plot slowed down considerably.

My Icing on Top:
I'm not going to lie; I want more Kane and Caitlin! But, guess what? The next books aren't even focused on them! Believe me when I say that I was not a happy camper when I found out. Blackthorn is one of those paranormal series that bounces around between different couples until the story lines converge. Alas, I was not looking for that kind of commitment! These series can become incredibly long, and if you become overly attached to one couple over the others, it can quickly become very frustrating and expensive to keep up. But, if you love these kinds of series and are looking for a hot paranormal read, look no further! Blackthorn is shaping up to be a solid series, and Ms. Pryor is now on my list of authors to follow.

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

One Night (One Night #1) by A.M. Willard

Title: One Night
Series: One Night #1
Author: A.M. Willard
Genre: Romance/Adult

Maturity Rating: 17+

My Quickie Synopsis: Angela Stephens is beginning to realize that she's at a standstill in her marriage with Christopher; their jobs have them constantly traveling, and they rarely see each other these days. Planning on rekindling her relationship with Christopher, Angela is derailed by a handsome stranger she meets on a business trip. Will she be able to resist his charm, or will she succumb to an offer of one night?

Enjoyment Factor:
I want to tackle a couple of things before I get into the reasoning behind this rating. First and foremost, I probably would not have had this novella on my radar if it weren't for a friend's recommendation. This is a new author, and I'm going to go on a limb and say that my friend is acquainted with Ms. Willard and wanted to help spread the word about her debut. Secondly, I'm not going to give One Night an overall rating or a technical rating; it isn't because I don't think it's deserving of one, but rather that I don't think there's much to go on at this point. If I read the next two novellas I'll give the full series an overall rating and a true technical rating.

I'm not trying to be a jerk; I really do understand that it's not easy to write a book!

So, why did I give this only two stars? The writing, the writing, the writing. I think the plot itself has potential, and the characters are likable enough; however, it's all wrapped up in some very awkward and stiff writing. Honestly, it was to the point where I had difficulty reading through. There was a great deal of telling instead of showing. Don't tell me what your character is going to do, just show the action. It's a waste of valuable page real estate to have a character explain what they are going to do before they do it, especially if it's something as mundane as taking a shower. The dialogue wasn't as consistent as it could have been; there were times where contractions weren't used and they should have been. It would be one thing if you had a character who never used contractions because they're supposed to be "proper," but when the voice of the character isn't consistent, it creates a stilted read. I do feel that One Night could benefit from another round of editing; misuse of commas, missing commas, run-on sentences, and a slew of other grammatical errors plagued the story. Regardless of the length, I just can't get into a story that has such rough writing.

My Icing on Top:
I really don't like giving books low ratings, especially when it's a book that comes recommended. It makes me feel like I'm being so disloyal! That being said, I do believe that Ms. Willard has potential. I think that with a bit more polish and more writing under her belt, she could really go far. I would recommend this book to fans of the adult romance genre who aren't particular about grammatical errors; as I said before, the story itself is okay, it was just the presentation that I took issue with.

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

Drawn by Lilliana Anderson

Title: Drawn
Author: Lilliana Anderson
Genre: Adult/Romance/Dark

Maturity Rating: 17+
*WARNING*: VERY GRAPHIC SCENES
Overall Rating:

My Quickie Synopsis: Henrietta is suffocating under the overprotective thumb of her father. However, she finally gets the chance to make her own rules; when she turns 18 her father agrees to let her leave the nest. While enjoying her freedom, she meets the highly attractive Damien and sparks fly. But, is Henrietta simply trading in her new-found independence for the shackles of lust?

Enjoyment Factor:
Oh, boy. What the hell did I just read? I'm not going to lie; I skimmed through portions of this book (namely the multitude of sex scenes). I can't recall being this incredibly naive when I was 18. I don't even recall anyone I knew at the time being this dense. I honestly just wanted to slap Henrietta. And her mom. And her dad. Just line them up and we can get this over with quickly. The book started off okay and it seemed like it had some good material to work with. But then it just kept devolving until it was unbearable. The sad thing is, I can still see why others would enjoy this read. For that and the ending alone, I give Drawn two stars.

How I felt for at least 75% of the book.

I understand that the story is supposed to be dark, but I didn't see a point to any of it. I didn't care about these characters. At all. If they have any redeeming qualities, they're all lost in the swamp land of a plot.







Technical Rating:

Character Building:
Ms. Anderson's characters do have potential. There are the faint beginnings of foundation elements for her main heroine/hero, but they aren't as strong as they could be. A lot of their personality traits feel forced on the reader, to the point where I was more annoyed than sympathetic. The supporting characters are full-on terrible though; Aaron's role didn't sit well at all.

Plot Strength:
Was there really a plot? If so, I missed it. Maybe their relationship in itself was the plot? Seriously, I'm at a loss here; why did I just spend time reading about a naive girl and her controlling boyfriend? There's nothing there to keep a reader engaged (unless you're reading it for the smut). The attempts at plot elements were weak and uninspired; I'm honestly surprised I finished the book.

Sincerity:
I still have a difficult time believing how someone could be so naive, but it works (to a point) in terms of how Henrietta grew up. The "darker" parts of the story felt the most sincere, oddly enough. But everything else just seemed so shallow and fake. I had a hard time believing that Henrietta's father would condone Damien being around his daughter at all. And Aaron was just so lackluster! So much for having someone to root for!

Editing:
There was a lot of awkward wording and dialogue in Drawn. Sometimes I wonder if it was due to a cultural disconnect; the author is Australian, so I did stumble over some of the slang. I'm not discrediting the editing for the slang though; it's always interesting to learn new things. However, I think overall Drawn was just a little too verbose in places and stiff in the presentation.

Pacing:
Too much smut and too little story-telling made the book drag in a bad way. There were spots where Ms. Anderson did okay keeping the book moving forward, but it's hard to keep a good pace when there are so many plot holes to stumble on.

My Icing on Top:
The epilogue felt a little rushed and jumbled; it seemed more like a preview into the next book instead of an actual epilogue. That being said, apparently Ms. Anderson is writing two separate concluding books in a "choose-your-adventure" kind of fashion. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that; although, then again, I'm not sure I care enough to read on anyway. I'd suggest Drawn to readers who want their fix of dominant male smut, but don't necessarily want to be bothered with too much story.

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K