Six of Hearts by L.H. Cosway Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
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Synopsis:
Step right up and meet Jay Fields: Illusionist. Mentalist. Trickster.
I think in triangles. You think in straight lines.
I show you a table and make you believe it’s a chair.
Smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand, misdirection. I trick and deceive.
But most of all, I put on a good show.
The world thinks I killed a man, but I didn’t. Bear with me. It’s all a part of the plan.
Revenge is what I want. I want it for me and I want it for her.
I want it for all six of us.She doesn’t remember me, but she’s the reason for everything. She’ll be my prize at the end of all this – if I can hold onto my willpower, that is. Maybe I’ll slip up a little, have a taste, just a small one.
So go ahead and pick a card. Come inside and see the show. Look at my hands, look so closely that you can’t see what’s happening while you’re so focused on looking. I’ll be destroying your world from right here in the spotlight.
You’ll never see me coming until it’s too late.
I’ve only got one heart, and after I’ve pulled off my grand deception I’ll hand it right to her.
So, sit back, relax, and let my girl tell you our story. You’re in for one hell of a ride.
When I start a New Adult book, I’m always really, really wary. I mean, I got bored or worse, pissed so many times that now I pop into vigilance mode right away. I thought I might not enjoy Six of Hearts. I was so wrong.
✔ Banter everywhere. Now, I’ve never hidden that I’m a sucker for badinage and repartee, and let me tell you : these two make us feel the perfect kind of dizzy feels. That is to say, filled with giggles and irrepressible laughter.
✔ Jay. You know what? My thoughts are all over the place as I’m. so. damn. confused. I tried to gather my thoughts and well, that was a pretty difficult task to do on a Sunday afternoon. Sorry, you’ll have to do with the rambling I wrote during my read.
It starts here : Jay’s sexy you know AND he’s an illusionist. No joke, the guy can do some crazy stuff. Passionate and angry. Lunatic? Oh, right, and he’s a f*cking tease. But I forgive him. Absolutely straight-forward and yet vulnerable. And must I say? Freaking adorable at times. Frustrating, childish at some point, but who’s never? His inappropriate sexual comments are infuriating but seriously smile-worthy – filled with confidence but never disdain.
” He’s one of those people that you can’t tell if you want to be with him or just you want to be him.”
Okaaay, I’m completely aware I’m being contradictory. The thing is, a lot of things Jay does could be seen as abusive but, in the end, I can’t bring myself to think of him like that. I could overanalyze his behavior and taken one by one, some of his actions are debatable. But I don’t want to. Yes he’s infuriating and yes he pushes – a lot, but does he have bad intentions? Is he disrespectful towards Matilda? I don’t think so.
By the way, he is an absolute, complete, utter tease. I kind of adored that about him.
✔ Matilda‘s awkwardness is seriously likeable – and funny. Oh, yes, funny. And the inner b*tch? You’re so damn right girl! Plus she owes me a couple face palms next to her comments. Moreover, thank you thank you, she’s not a virgin. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any problem with twenty-something’s virginity, but that twist has been used so many times in New Adult that I have a hard time suffering it anymore. Matilda isn’t experienced, yet she’s not a virgin at 23 and her story is so much believable as it is. Overall, she can be seen as weak sometimes but that makes her more credible in my opinion, and who are we kidding? She deals with Jay for Pete’s sake, the girl does what she can.
✔ An healthy and genuine relationship between Matilda and her best friend. Yay! I must admit that I was a bit wary at first, but as it turned out, Michelle is pictured like an actual friend and not in that bitchy way we often found in New-Adult. Plus, they aren’t any slut-shaming or girl-hate. Even if Matilda is fully aware of the way Jay captures women’s attention, and sometimes she gets jealous (who wouldn’t be?) but she never allows herself to be mean about that, and I found it very refreshing.
✔ Revenge, guys! Jay’s plan is mischievous – Comte de Monte-Cristo’s devilish, and I enjoyed every second of it. I won’t say anything more, but trust me, the guy knows how to handle his reproaches. In a masterful way, no less.
“This is fucked up. This is… amazing. I can’t believe the sneaky, clever, trickster bastard managed to pull this off.”
✔ Sexual tension. Remember when I said Jay was a tease? Yep. Also, I could feel the chemistry between Matilda and Jay from the beginning, and although it should be mandatory, that’s not always the case in NA so the only thing I can say is Bravo.
“It’s not weird. We’re bonding. Lots of animals sleep together in order to bond. Don’t you ever watch the Discovery Channel?”
“We’re not animals.”
He gives me a devilish grin. “Speak for yourself.”
✘ Insta-love. Nope, that’s not right. Insta-lust. But then, the later doesn’t bother me as much as the first, because while I don’t believe in insta-love (sorry sorry romance) I can totally contemplate insta-lust. But still, as that happens to be one of my peeves, I have to count it as a cons.
✘ The mystery. While it makes Jay even more interesting to follow, I still guessed a major proportion of it almost instantly. Then, maybe we’re supposed too.
✘ I’m worse than a little kid with illusionists and magic so as you can guess, I’d have loved to read more about Jay’s capacities. Although I understand the author’s intends in the end – and I can agree with her statement to a certain extend – I can’t help but feel a bit cheated. Yeah, what a pouter kid I am.
✘ As I said earlier, even if I forgive him, some Jay’s actions can be considered as creepy. He does have good intentions, still his behavior is sometimes not far from where I draw the line between in love and stalkerish.
Overall, the pros overtake the cons by far, especially since what I despised can be justified by the plot’s needs. Then, as always when I enjoy a New-Adult book, I end a bit stunned, slightly dizzy, and definitely happy about it.
