E. K. BlairReseñas

I found out about Fading by E.K. Blair through BookBub. I thought it had a good plot and it was only 99¢. Couldn’t really pass it up. It also had four stars on Goodreads with over 5,000 reviews. I’m sorry to say the book did not live up to its ratings.

The premise of the story is part of the reason I decided to pick it up. The story is told from Candace’s point of view. She’s living a seemingly perfect life going to college in Washington as a dance major. She has great friends, but an awful family. She decides to step outside of her normal good girl shell, which leads to her attack (obviously not her fault, though she feels that it is). She turns to her friend Jase (who happens to be gay, so there’s nothing between them except friendship) after her attack and pretty much breaks ties with her friend/roommate Kimber. She eventually meets Ryan, and has to deal with how to be intimate and trust someone after being raped. And that’s the story we watch unfold.

Let me start with the good stuff. The idea of the story as a whole is what drew me in. It reminded me of Tammara Webber’s Easy (A 5 ♥ read). After reading Fading the stories seemed too similar. So, the book had a good plot. And that’s about where what I enjoyed ended.

The story was really slow moving. I know authors are always told show, don’t tell, but this book could have used more telling. We spent a lot of time watching Candace break down after her attack (understandable), but we only needed to see that happen a couple times and be told it was happening more often. Actually seeing so many made it feel less powerful than seeing it happen one or two times. We could have also used fewer descriptions in some of the scenes. For example, we just need to know the characters are making dinner; we don’t need to see their every move. Toward the end of the book we get things more summed up and a much faster passing of time. It would have been great to see more of that throughout.

Three more things I took issue with, and then I’ll be done. First, there weren’t enough contractions. It made the story really stilted and pulled me out of the story. And all the guys in the book had really normal names, all four letter names (Ryan, Jase, Jack, and Mark). Lastly, the characters didn’t seem like college students. They were too level headed for people with the constant pressure that is senior year and being on the precipice of adulthood. One character who is mature for their age would be okay, but none of the character felt like college students.

Now I’m done. My hope for the future is that I don’t have too many more bad reviews, because I want to spend my time reading good books. But I think it’s important to be honest about what I’ve read so that you will know what books are good and which aren’t. There won’t be any more of the Fading series for me. And now I’m off to read better books.

The fairytale

I loved it all, until the epilouge. I loved how strong Nina/Elizabeth was determined to be no matter what she went through.

I had to do a re-read of Bang before starting Echo, there is so much I needed to know. Loved this book, Nina/Elizabeth is such a powerful character. Still many twists to figure out, on to book three.

Lots of twists and turns and, yes, a cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers but I knew when I started what I was in for, so no complaints here. There is so much I already know and so much more I need to know, like, right now. Can't wait for book two. I would recommend!

Like watching a train wreck but oooh so good!

See Tori make one terrible decision after another, tearing her whole world apart in the process.

This was a compelling read. If the backstory is true and this really is written from the personal experience of an author friend of E.K. Blair then I'd love to know who, as I really want to check out that person's work.

"I can see my world slowly crumbling around me, but it isn’t enough to make me stop. Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could."

Oh man, I cannot help but love forbidden romances and Secret Lucidity is no different. E.K. Blair has brought to life the struggles of being seventeen and dealing with the heavy weight of life. She tells the heart wrenching story of Cam, a girl thrust too soon into adulthood, tempted by the things that bring her relief from the pain. From depressive thoughts to self harm, Cam has so much she doesn't know how to deal with and the company of off-limits David is a welcome one. What starts as an emotional outlet grows into something more as Cam's mom gives up on her role as a mother and the people who Cam once considered friends join in on the whispering behind her back. She finds herself running to him more often and soon she's giving him everything, their time together a secret no one must know about.

"Touch.
... A hug laced in tainted innocence.
A hug I don't want to hide away from."

I will kick this off with a warning, Secret Lucidity is absolutely a forbidden romance and there is definitely an age gap between Cam and David that is worth noting for safer readers. It's also a beautifully crafted novel about coming of age, passionate love, and learning to face the bad things that happen. Cam is a hurt young woman who, after a terrible accident, finds herself scarred, heart broken, and feeling unloved. She isn't understood by her peers, by her family, by really anyone except David. He makes her want to heal, he makes her feel life again, but he also presents a lot of complications that young Cam doesn't fully grasp. Their romance is a whirlwind, at first based on desperation and a dire need for compassion and later growing into companionship and love. Cam was, in many ways, so similar to any teenager you might know. She struggles with many of the same hardships, with the same feelings, but hers seem magnified by the massive change her life has had. I hurt so much for her, knowing how it feels to be misunderstood, to want something more, and even to want a way to not feel at all. I really connected with her in those ways and, admittedly, I've definitely felt attraction for an older man, the age gap seeming silly. Though their age gap is large, David really did come across, to me, as a kind, loving, and sincere man. There is so much depth to both of them, even with the novel only being told from Cam's perspective.

"How do they not feel the tension in this room? How do they not see it? How do they not taste it?"

It's obvious they both glossed over the reality of their situation, letting their feelings guide the way. Unlike most forbidden romances though, E.K. Blair gives a lot of attention to the profundity of the sorrow and its power over Cam's life. The detail given on how Cam found herself so lost and alone, how the two found each other, and what each gave to one another outside of just touch really brings the story, the romance, into perspective. There is incredibly deep dialogue between Cam and David, very different from the conversations that Cam has with her two oldest friends. There is pain, there is happiness, and there is a lot of trust and sharing between the two, enough so that their romance stopped seeming so forbidden and their age is forgotten. It's a hard topic to write about and I think E.K. Blair tackled it very well, taking something that is usually reserved for erotica reads and giving it the innocent background that so often comes with these sort of connections.

"They're taking something so beautiful and turning it into something so vile - so repulsive."

It's an emotional story, one that got to me in a very personal way. E.K. Blair has always had a fantastic way with words, but this book is one of her most evocative, in my opinion. I could see the characters, I could feel their pain and I really found myself feeling so much compassion for their plight. It's not dark, by any means, but it is a difficult read and not the sort of light reading you forget about the next day. It's heavy, a book weighed down by life, loss, and love, but it's also truly a phenomenal, worthwhile read.

ARC provided.

4 stars

Interesting story that seemed more of a YA story until the end. This book ends on a cliffhanger but the sequel is out now. Interested enough to see where this story goes from here.

4.25 stars

Addiction is a powerful and debilitating thing. Assault is just as traumatic only in a different way. They both destroy people. Especially those closest to us.They alter the template of who we were. The road to recovery is never easy. Kason and Ady. Their journey wasn't easy. They loved. They hurt themselves, and each other.

Pretty powerful resolution to a story about learning what is most important. Love and trust are powerful motivators in healing.

Great book, forbidden romance is always a thrill. This book is well developed, and so rich. It's heart wrenching, sad, fully of lust, love and the forbidden. I liked this book from page one. Cam Is heartbreaking, beautiful and troubled. David is strong, loving, and beyond words. Great read if you like the forbidden.

I have been conflicted with my thoughts and feelings on this book. Let me start by saying that I have loved E.K.'s books in the past. Her writing has always drawn me in. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of this book and the writing... Let me try to explain...

I am not one to be turned away by most tropes, the one in this book included. These things don't typically elicit such a strong hatred within me. Maybe because I am able to separate fact from fiction. With this book, we are being told that it is true, so maybe that is why I found myself completely loathing the characters in this story.

Another contributing factor to why I loathed these characters (let's face it, if I loath the characters, then the story is completely lost to me) is how the story is written. It is clear that E.K. wants you to empathize with Tori. She wants you to side with her in the fact that her actions are not her own fault. That really got under my skin. Tori never accepts responsibility for her actions. In fact, she blames everyone close to her for her choices.

Tori's blatant disregard for her family made me furious. Nothing in her life mattered, her husband or her children, except her own need for instant self-gratification. I can't stand behind a character so selfish, nor can I stand behind the writing that seems to encourage these things.

Everyone seems to want to know who this story is about. I definitely don't. If this is someone I look up to, I don't want to know this side of them. I don't want to look at them differently. At one point, I wondered if the "true story" was just a publicity thing. Then at another point, I wondered if this were E.K.'s story because of how she wrote it. No matter what the case, I am perfectly fine being blind to the fact that this is an anonymous story.

It is clear I am not in the majority with this book. You might wonder why three stars. Typically, I give a book three stars accompanied with a more positive review with a few drawbacks. Well, for me it is simple. I did my best to take a step back and ask myself if I had not been told this was a true story, what would I rate it? Hence, the three stars. The writing was good, but not great (especially compared to E.K.'s past books). The plot was a little slow-moving and drawn out, but good. There is somewhat enough drama to keep the story moving, even if at a slower pace.

Erotica 2015 ANNIVERSARY Event

Erotica 2015 ANNIVERSARY Event

OK, so almost everyone I know has been raving about this book, like going mad over it. They are so mindfucked and book hungover they can't pick up anything else. They're just blown away. I'm thinking maybe it's just me or something, but it do not have that effect on me. First off, I've watched that show Revenge which is very similar so I think that ruined much of the wow factor for me. I'm jealous of those that hadn't watched it because I think they got a lot more from the book. That being said, I thought the book was very good, better than many books I've read. It wasn't a life-changer for me, but I did enjoy reading it.

I feel like I live in the dark more than I do the light.

Elizabeth and Pike have always been the other's person, each other's ONLY person. These two have been through some deep shit. I do not envy them at all. I was really attracted to the idea of this relationship very much.

"You tell me all the time that I'm all you have, but it goes both ways. I have nothing but you. You're my only family, Elizabeth. Please don't let him take you away from me."

Pike never has left my side.

"You're the only one who can make it go away, Pike."

Nina and Bennett are a couple I don't really know much about. I don't know how their merger came to happen. He's almost like an abstract thought. Do we feel sorry for him? Do we believe he is guiltier than he appears to be? Hmmmm.

Bennett is everything a husband should be, so it was essential that I create fissures within him. Purple flowers being one of them.

Nina and Declan could have been a love story. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, ya know. Declan may just turn out to wiser than previously suspected.

"Taste your lies, Nina."

"Nothing is real until you break down the walls and reveal the ugliness."

"Let go, Nina. Stop fighting me," he says, as if he knows I'm trying with everything I have not to come.

I actually think all three men may be more clever than we've been led to believe.

This story just begs to be discussed. It's that type of book. I have so many little points that I think I caught and so many theories of what has happened or will happen. It's hard to keep a review spoiler free. I believe that every character mentioned has a role from the first social worker to her husband's friend/business partner to her husband's driver to her foster brother's friend/previous roommate to her lover's father. In my opinion, it's a web much larger than for what she was trying to get payback. I plan to go into the future books with no preset notion of who is bad or good or alive or dead.

One of the most interesting things about the whole book to me was Carnegie. I loved how he continued to pop up throughout the story. Caterpillars symbolize being unable to move past an early stage of development. She has not been able to move past the perfect life she had at the age of five.

Neither of us could have possibly imagined how our lives would be forever changed when he opened that door.

I want my daddy. After all these years, I just want my daddy.

Another topic I want to bring up is the series name Black Lotus. A lotus flower's roots grow from mud at the bottom of a murky water source and the bud rises until it is above the surface to bloom into a beautiful, elegant, pure, full flower. This could have been her life after her horrible past, but it isn't. Because of the "black" which does not occur in nature for lotus flowers, the meaning is altered. The following are some meanings associated with unnatural black flowers: the dark side of human nature, the undertaking of a perilous journey from which not expected to return safely, the death of old habits, the end of an era, never fully opened, tragic love, hatred, resistance, vengeance, and of course the ideas of death and mourning.

"There's something about a beautiful, nearly flawless flower, emerging from muddled water."

"Everyone has something beneath that they're hiding."

I've noticed some people had issues with the sex. I feel that the past sex scenes were necessary so that we truly knew the depths of her pain. It also reinforces the bond between the Elizabeth and Pike, everything they went through. There is no way they could come out of it unchanged. The current scenes were so that we could see how not mainstream she was. Nothing about her sex life was anything most people would be doing. And the scene that made many cringe, made perfect sense to me because it lends to the state of mind of both Nina and Declan. The want between them is so much that it can't be expressed through normal means.

I thought it was a good read. I recommend it and plan to read the future releases in this series.

Lights. Camera. Action.

3.5 stars

toni


FangirlMoments and My Two Cents

FULL REVIEW CAN BE FOUND AT http://fangirlmomentsandmytwocents.blogspot.com/2014/06/bang-by-ek-blair-review....

OK, so almost everyone I know has been raving about this book, like going mad over it. They are so mindfucked and book hungover they can't pick up anything else. They're just blown away. I'm thinking maybe it's just me or something, but it do not have that effect on me. First off, I've watched that show Revenge which is very similar so I think that ruined much of the wow factor for me. I'm jealous of those that hadn't watched it because I think they got a lot more from the book. That being said, I thought the book was very good, better than many books I've read. It wasn't a life-changer for me, but I did enjoy reading it.

I feel like I live in the dark more than I do the light.

Elizabeth and Pike have always been the other's person, each other's ONLY person. These two have been through some deep shit. I do not envy them at all. I was really attracted to the idea of this relationship very much.

"You tell me all the time that I'm all you have, but it goes both ways. I have nothing but you. You're my only family, Elizabeth. Please don't let him take you away from me."

Pike never has left my side.

"You're the only one who can make it go away, Pike."

Nina and Bennett are a couple I don't really know much about. I don't know how their merger came to happen. He's almost like an abstract thought. Do we feel sorry for him? Do we believe he is guiltier than he appears to be? Hmmmm.

Bennett is everything a husband should be, so it was essential that I create fissures within him. Purple flowers being one of them.

Nina and Declan could have been a love story. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, ya know. Declan may just turn out to wiser than previously suspected.

"Taste your lies, Nina."

"Nothing is real until you break down the walls and reveal the ugliness."

"Let go, Nina. Stop fighting me," he says, as if he knows I'm trying with everything I have not to come.

I actually think all three men may be more clever than we've been led to believe.

This story just begs to be discussed. It's that type of book. I have so many little points that I think I caught and so many theories of what has happened or will happen. It's hard to keep a review spoiler free. I believe that every character mentioned has a role from the first social worker to her husband's friend/business partner to her husband's driver to her foster brother's friend/previous roommate to her lover's father. In my opinion, it's a web much larger than for what she was trying to get payback. I plan to go into the future books with no preset notion of who is bad or good or alive or dead.

One of the most interesting things about the whole book to me was Carnegie. I loved how he continued to pop up throughout the story. Caterpillars symbolize being unable to move past an early stage of development. She has not been able to move past the perfect life she had at the age of five.

Neither of us could have possibly imagined how our lives would be forever changed when he opened that door.

I want my daddy. After all these years, I just want my daddy.

Another topic I want to bring up is the series name Black Lotus. A lotus flower's roots grow from mud at the bottom of a murky water source and the bud rises until it is above the surface to bloom into a beautiful, elegant, pure, full flower. This could have been her life after her horrible past, but it isn't. Because of the "black" which does not occur in nature for lotus flowers, the meaning is altered. The following are some meanings associated with unnatural black flowers: the dark side of human nature, the undertaking of a perilous journey from which not expected to return safely, the death of old habits, the end of an era, never fully opened, tragic love, hatred, resistance, vengeance, and of course the ideas of death and mourning.

"There's something about a beautiful, nearly flawless flower, emerging from muddled water."

"Everyone has something beneath that they're hiding."

I've noticed some people had issues with the sex. I feel that the past sex scenes were necessary so that we truly knew the depths of her pain. It also reinforces the bond between the Elizabeth and Pike, everything they went through. There is no way they could come out of it unchanged. The current scenes were so that we could see how not mainstream she was. Nothing about her sex life was anything most people would be doing. And the scene that made many cringe, made perfect sense to me because it lends to the state of mind of both Nina and Declan. The want between them is so much that it can't be expressed through normal means.

I thought it was a good read. I recommend it and plan to read the future releases in this series.

Lights. Camera. Action.

3.5 stars

toni


FangirlMoments and My Two Cents

FULL REVIEW CAN BE FOUND AT http://fangirlmomentsandmytwocents.blogspot.com/2014/06/bang-by-ek-blair-review....

Contains Spoilers

Everyone loves this book so my review is not the norm at all. I'm sure it just an issue with me. I know that I'm definitely the odd woman out. Most people loved this book so definitely don't go by my rating to decide if you want to read it.

(does contain some spoiler comments)
I didn't like any of the characters. I was angry through much of it because of how Bennett is still blamed when it was proved that he was not a bad guy (and the whole revenge on him has been stupid anyways). I still can't get past Nina wanting to punch the baby. Most of the book just depressed me. She is completely crazy in a very bad way, and I ended up hating the love interest also. I don't think any of them are redeemable. I just felt sad by everything not excited. Also, for some reason the mystery is easy for me to figure out for the most part. I think that is what is the draw for a lot of people.

Around the last 25% was way better to me than the rest of the book, but it wasn't enough to save the overall story for me, and it didn't last. When she is obviously damaged in her private areas for just being raped (enough so that it's super visible, I guess she's ripped and torn up and bleeding) they have sex and it's suppose to be a beautiful scene. I like to read dark books, but none of them have ever made me feel so down. I feel like I need antidepressants now.

Contains Spoilers

Everyone loves this book so my review is not the norm at all. I'm sure it just an issue with me. I know that I'm definitely the odd woman out. Most people loved this book so definitely don't go by my rating to decide if you want to read it.

(does contain some spoiler comments)
I didn't like any of the characters. I was angry through much of it because of how Bennett is still blamed when it was proved that he was not a bad guy (and the whole revenge on him has been stupid anyways). I still can't get past Nina wanting to punch the baby. Most of the book just depressed me. She is completely crazy in a very bad way, and I ended up hating the love interest also. I don't think any of them are redeemable. I just felt sad by everything not excited. Also, for some reason the mystery is easy for me to figure out for the most part. I think that is what is the draw for a lot of people.

Around the last 25% was way better to me than the rest of the book, but it wasn't enough to save the overall story for me, and it didn't last. When she is obviously damaged in her private areas for just being raped (enough so that it's super visible, I guess she's ripped and torn up and bleeding) they have sex and it's suppose to be a beautiful scene. I like to read dark books, but none of them have ever made me feel so down. I feel like I need antidepressants now.

I truly do not know where to begin with this review...
I finished last night and my mind is still conflicted.

It was a love/hate relationship for me.



The Love.... Was the writing. The Author is very talented at writing an intricate story with just the right amount of details. BANG was fast paced and intriguing. The secrets were revealed slowly, but there were enough of them to keep you sucked into the story.



I appreciate the mind f the book provided. The characters were all a whirlwind of messed up. Each one had their own demons and each one dealt with them a different way. Pain was the mutual conclusion... They all craved revenge and they didn't know it at the time, but they were all pawns in one another's game.



The Hate... Nina was annoying, self centered, and a complete manipulative train wreck. I understand she went through a tough child life, but it was so hard to read about her using and abusing people. I hated being inside her messed up head. It made me bitter and quite frankly put me in a bad mood.



The subject matter was also touchy for me. I have an open mind and usually can read about all different tough circumstances, but there were some parts in this book that left me closing the book mumbling I am done. Of course, I always picked it back up and started again... but WOW! I don't know how the Author wrote some of those scenes.



All in all I think that this book was an intense, suspenseful mind twist that will leave readers wanting more at the end. I know when I read the last word I was thinking No, this can't be the end!

I applaud the Author for taking on such a crazy plot and making it her own...

WOW is all I can say. There are only a handful of authors out there that can take a story through so many twist and turns the reader is left at the end thinking WTH did I just read. E.K. Blair has done that again with Echo. The pain you feel for Elizabeth and Declan is beyond what words can describe. The book is filled with Dark issues and your heart breaks for all the turmoil this young lady has had to endure. OH and the ending....REALLY I thought the cliff hanger in Bang was bad this is even worse......

Dark, Twisted with a dash of flips and dips.

WOW is all I can say. I have some pretty dark and twisted books but nothing like this roller coaster. The twist and turn that double back and twist more. You love and hate Nina (Elizabeth) throughout this whole story. Without give away teasers reading this story puts your mind in places you never knew existed. One minute your thinking why is her life so bad and bang your in the whirlwind of how the hell is this happening. The author does an amazing job bringing the characters to life to the point of having a love/hate relationship with them and even those you feel sorry for or that you can't for them to meet the ultimate Karma. This is one book I do not regret taking heed and reading.

Major cliff hanger at the end that leaves your heart pounding and dying for the next book.

Can a guilty conscience keep wounds from healing?

Fine arts major, Candace Parker, grew up with a mother who thinks image is everything, and her daughter’s perfection will never be good enough. About to graduate college and pursue her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina, Candace decides it’s time to let go and have a little fun. But fun is short-lived when a brutal attack leaves her completely shattered.

The memories that consume and torment Candace are starting to destroy her when she meets Ryan Campbell, a successful bar owner. He feels instantly connected and tries to show her that hope is worth fighting for. But is Ryan harboring his own demons? As walls slowly begin to chip away, the secrets that are held within start to become painful burdens.

At what point do secrets become lies?

This book is not what I was expecting. The story is about a young woman learning to live again after a brutal sexual assault. Candace, our female lead, is a ballerina in her senior year of college when she is attacked. The story is emotional, evocative and haunting. I never connected with Candace as a character, and I think that is because I did not like the way she handled things following the attack. That makes me feel like a huge judgy bitch because everyone would deal with this situation differently. But that is just my reading style. I tend to always envision myself as the lead character so, when I cannot connect, it detracts from the story from me. I tend to find these books somewhat depressing, so I don't think I can continue on with the series right away. But I will probably pick the next one up when I am ready to read something emotional again.

On a side note, I love books that introduce me to new music. Early in this book, we learn that Candace will need to choreograph a solo to a piece of classical music: Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell. Once the piece was mentioned, I went to youtube and pulled it up and let it play as I kept reading. It is a dark and haunting melody - and perfectly matches this story. I don't know what the full length of the composition is, but the copy I listened to was just over six minutes. It was as I was listening to this piece that Candace was sexually assaulted. And let me tell you - reading what happened in conjunction with the music was fah-reaky! It made the event all the more real, even though I disconnected with Candace after the attack. So if you haven't read the book yet, I encourage you to play the melody once it is mentioned in the book.

Such a heart wrenching story. This book truly pulled at my empathy and kept me emotional. Character development helped me connect with multiple characters and feel more involved in the story.

Admito que el primero ya había sido bastante ridículo (muuuuy tirado de los pelos) pero, aunque hasta a mí me cueste creerlo (y eso que me encantó la primera entrega, ridícula como era) , éste sobrepasa mis límites.



Además de haber resuelto el odioso (aunque atrapante) cliffhanger del libro anterior en un modo totalmente estúpido y desquiciado (incluso mucho más desquiciado que toda la novela anterior), se recurre luego a una trama no sólo asquerosamente violenta, sino que, además, se adapta una idea que niega absolutamente el mensaje honesto que en la novela anterior yo misma había alabado como excelente; es decir, del "odio que no se disfraza de obsesión ´romántica'" se pasa a justificar todos los horrores anteriores, y los nuevos!! (que son mucho peores) con el tono insolente de "te odio pero te amo y te necesito" que degenera el último trazo de coherencia con su premisa que le quedaba a la historia.

Después de leer cierta despreciable escena y su posterior tratamiento (dentro de la trama), tuve que abandonar la lectura. Lo que es una lástima, pues no suelo hacerle asco a casi nada. Todo depende del género. Ya que si bien leí sin mucho problema libros como, no sé...Psicópata Americano (que hasta el día de hoy todavía me revuelve el estómago acordarme de su violencia explícita), los grados de violencia a los que estoy dispuesta a someterme en la lectura siempre depende del contexto. Entonces, en algo que quiere pasar por 'romance', no puedo bancarme horrores del estilo para que después me digan que todo es color de rosa porque "los dos son unos enfermos". Nop, eso está bien para la ficción u otros géneros. Pero en un romance, es bien distinto. (Creo yo, no...? Creo que si fuese otro estilo de escritura, otro autor, otro género, tal vez sería más soportable.)

A medida que leía, se iba poniendo cada vez peor y varias veces, esta fue mi reacción...



Y no creo que vaya a retomarla pronto.

Muy decepcionada.

3.5

Primero lo primero: Esta es una de esas novelas "dark" que no le recomendaría a nadie. No es insoportablemente ofensiva ni cruda como los "romances" (que de romance, de hecho, usualmente no tienen mucho que digamos; todo, claro está, dependiendo de qué tipo de "dark" elijan contar: o sea, de si sus historias tiran más para el erotismo sadomasoquista o de si, entre otros casos, se trata de la pequeña minoría que se sale del bondage, para marchar derecho al plano de la violación) del estilo de "Captive in the Dark", y [b:Tears of Tess|18134894|Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark, #1)|Pepper Winters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1372821993s/18134894.jpg|25474810]; pero sí tiene temas muy jodidos que a algunos lectores les podrían llegar a resultar chocantes o difíciles de leer.

Dejando ésto de lado, BANG es, básicamente, la trama de la serie REVENGE, pero con tonos incluso más bizarros (y ridículos a veces), más violentos y muy, pero muy, eróticos.

Sin embargo, Nina o Elizabeth es una protagonista sobresaliente. Absolutamente desquiciada y fría. Su modo de pensar, su determinación (aunque su meta es, sin duda alguna, completamente estúpida y, en mi opinión, exagerada) y sus modos de actuar- su personalidad, en fin- la conforman como una anti-heroina como pocas solemos encontrar en el género. Es ella, y no tanto la trama de "venganza", la gran atracción de la novela. Ella es original, intrépida, loca, calculadora y única. Fue su voz la que me instó a seguir leyendo hasta el final. No está en papel de sumisa (como pasa en CAPTIVE.. y en TEARS...), sino que es ella quien lleva las riendas de la tortura; pero que al mismo tiempo, debe dejarse lastimar, todo siempre con la venganza en mente. La protagonista que fue víctima en un pasado, y hoy quiere ser victimaria. Imposible que te caiga bien, pero atrapante de todos modos. Fuerte y depravada; una villana bizarra, que da tanta pena como asco. Y todavía no creo que a mí misma me caiga bien, en realidad, pero que su historia y su punto de vista fueron sumamente interesantes, no lo voy a negar.

Y, si bien puede ser un poco predecible a veces, los capítulos finales son bastante inesperados; tan tirados de los pelos que la resolución termina tomándote por sorpresa.

El estilo de escritura es bastante aceptable; es decir, nada excelente pero, comparado con las novelas previamente mencionadas, definitivamente superior. Más similar a la prosa de [b:Just One Night|17571567|Just One Night (Just One Night, #1)|Kyra Davis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400898418s/17571567.jpg|43148070] (que es excepcional en el su género), aunque no tan "elegante" y sin las metáforas bien logradas de aquella autora.

La principal diferencia entre ésta y la gran mayoría de novelas de romance dark, es que BANG no quiere convencerte de que lo que enferma a sus protagonistas es amor. En ese sentido, tiene un desenlace bastante honesto consigo mismo, y acorde a sus premisas: nada es romance, ni intenta serlo. Lo que se le parece por momentos la relación entre Nina/Elizabeth y Declan, es sólo la pantalla para las enormes locuras que una esconde y el otro expresa. Por escasas escenas, parecen normales, y ese es el gran suplicio de la protagonista. El no tener la capacidad de convertir la fantasía en realidad; su locura es más problemática, y la autora en ningún momento intenta solucionar su degeneración ni su trauma en una de esas historias enfermizas donde todo se arregla con amor. BANG no tiene solución, no hay felicidad en su trama o, por el contrario, si acaso la hay, esta es efímera, se confunde rápidamente entre mentiras y más violencia.

Repito, no lo recomiendo, pero si son aficionados a los "romances" que no son romances, o a las historias de venganza con protagonistas villanos , esta es la novela para ustedes.

Release date Tuesday May 12!!!!!

Release date Tuesday May 12!!!!!