Emery LeeAnn

A short novella containing "case files" of characters in other Emery LeeAnn books. New Brunswick is an insane asylum that is featured in "Insane", "Forsaken" and "Lyssa's Destruction". Characters from those books are listed in this book. We already know about why they are in the asylum from the other books, but in this one we get a bit more in the way of backstory.

It also ties up the end of Lyssa's Destruction and gives a bit of a tie into the other series Emery writes.

If you read Lyssa's Destruction, you may as well read this one.… (más)

This book was ok. I think I skimmed over half of it I couldn't suspend disbelief that a woman who spent the previous ten years being totally defiled and abused could jump into a relationship with a man who fell in love at first sight with her upon seeing her in an insane asylum. Also, the fact that the man was there to investigate her sister's murder and to try and locate her body makes the ending a big plothole. I ended up skimming the relationship. Also, there were major plotholes. Also, I wasn't interested in the "side" relationship. Although, after reading the sequel to this book, I realize that the relationship (or at least the people in it) will be featured in another series.

Although this book is listed as a series, it really is a standalone with a tiny "epilogue" in the second book listed.… (más)

This book is an interesting case for me. Full disclosure: I did out about this book from one of the authors' posting on Instagram. My review is my own and I was in no way compensated for this because I bought the book on my own. My viewpoint is going to be unique on this because of my own bias. I struggled initially with separating this story from one of my own -- CINDERS, as the House of Eden is similar to The Black House of my book. That being said, given that this story takes place in modern day and mine does not, made a great difference.

This book tells the trials and tribulations and later, a murder investigation, of a group of women in the House of Eden -- a brothel managed by the ruthless Mistress Erdene. Credit goes to the authors for making such a dispicable character eminently readable and well-constructed. I found myself wanting to come back to her perspective more often than not because her thought processes are so brilliantly laid out, even while she herself is being uh... laid.

Speaking of, the sex in this book, which is why I suspect most of you will read it, is just ... wow. Yeah. It's effective and does the job, even while including some pretty dark and graphic material that should come with several trigger warnings - see my previous write-ups while I was going through it. The sex scenes are varied, well thought out and deliciously dark. That being said, there is a HELLA disturbing rape scene that occurs about halfway through that was seriously stomach churning. The torture and retribution that follows is less dark, but I suppose that's puritanical values for ya?

The other standout character for me was Mr. Reeves, the erstwhile bodyguard hired by Erdene. Watching him figure out the mystery was engaging and I enjoyed his perspective. It was more nuanced and compelling than the other male characters, who seem to think only with their genitals. Given the brothel setting, this wasn't surprising, but it was noticeable.

The reasons I took off 2 stars were to do with the execution of the plot and the writing style. The plot didn't seem to really come together until the very last minute, with the resolution really only being given in the epilogue. My personal preference is for a more structured plot, so this might not bother you. Second the book seemed a bit uneven in its writing style. For every moment of brilliance (and there are several) there was also some neatening that was needed. This might entirely be due to the fact that there are 2 authors. I don't know who wrote what but some sections stood out to me as excellent while others were okay. Again, you might not notice this and it may not be a bother to you.

So, should you read this book?
Well, do you like your sex on the seriously dark side? Then YES.
Do you like interesting, if immoral, characters? Then YES.

Check it out!… (más)