Tag: Thriller (Page 10 of 16)

BOOK REVIEW – Bold Tricks (The Artists Trilogy #3) by Karina Halle

August 15, 2015 / / 0 Comments
BOOK REVIEW – Bold Tricks (The Artists Trilogy #3) by Karina HalleBold Tricks (The Artists Trilogy #3)
by Karina Halle
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Raised by con artists, Ellie Watt has a lot of crazy childhood memories-but none crazier than being scarred with acid by the demented crime boss Travis Raines. Now Ellie is a full-grown woman who lives for revenge, and Travis is a full-blown drug lord who kills for pleasure. The sadistic bastard has kidnapped her good friend Gus as well as her mother, whom he's been holding as prized possessions in his heavily guarded lair. And Ellie has only one chance in hell of getting them out alive-using two dangerous men who love her to death . . .

One is Camden McQueen, a talented tattoo artist who's made a permanent mark on Ellie's heart. The other is Javier Bernal, her fiery ex-lover who's busted more than a few heads in his time. From the crime-ridden streets of Mexico City to the predatory jungles of Honduras, this unlikely trio forms an uneasy alliance in the deadliest game of all-a gun-blazing battle to the finish that will pit enemy against enemy and lover against lover. And Ellie must choose the right man to trust . . . or die.

Review:

*Spoilers for Shooting Scars #2*

Bold Tricks was the perfect way to close this stunning trilogy!  The angst kept me on the edge of my seat, the love made my heart swoon, and the dark, twisted storyline quickened my heartbeat and at times filled my veins with dread.  This book was so good.  So insanely freaking good!

…there was something so goddamn sexy about seeing Camden handle a gun, the shiny metal against his big arms and wide chest, muscle against muscle. With the blood smeared on his face, dripping down onto the tats that teased at his neck , he was 100 percent man. I just wished he was 100 percent mine.

We jump right into the story were Shooting Scars left off.  Ellie, Camden and Javier have barely escaped from Travis’ house and they know it is a matter of time before they are found.  They are on the run for their lives, together.  And they will need to work together to keep Javier’s sister safe and to rescue Gus and Ellie’s mother.  What follows is an action packed, intense ride that was completely unpredictable at times.  It was impossible to put this book down.

“You own my heart. Please let me have yours.”

This book was only told from Ellie’s voice.  And while I was sad that I didn’t get to be in Camden’s head, it made a lot of sense.  We needed to feel as though we were in Ellie’s shoes.  Because her heart and soul had been ripped apart.  She desperately wanted to be back together with Camden, but she betrayed him in the worst sense.  Ellie tried to make Camden see the light, but with Javier there it was impossible.  Javier’s presence was slammed in Camden’s face every second of every torturous day.  The anger, jealousy, betrayal and lust from all of them was beyond palpable.  I loved it!

“What happened to your glasses?” I asked him.
He bit his lip, his eyes darting to the car. “They fell off somewhere. Probably when I fell. I can’t remember. That whole thing was… a blur.”
“Can you still see?”
He smiled, all beautiful white teeth, full lips, and dimples. “I’m nearsighted. Which means I’ll be a lousy shot until I get a new pair or some contacts. But at least I can see you clearly. The things up close. The things that matter.”

Ellie was one of those characters where it was easy to vacillate from liking to hating her.  Her actions and thoughts could be entirely messed up, but I still wanted the best for her.  Maybe it’s because I felt her suffering and remorse towards Camden.  I felt her desperate need for him to forgive her.  Or maybe it’s because finally in this book Ellie became a total bad-ass!  She knew who she wanted to be and where she wanted to stand.  She finally figured out all of her shit.  She even had me laughing at her in scenes that were entirely inappropriate for laughing, like when she stole a weapon from someone, but gah, I was so ecstatic that she became the person I thought she deserved to be!

This was no longer a matter of good or bad.
This was all gray.
Hazy, fuzzy gray.
I squeezed the trigger.
The chamber clicked.
Loudly.
Empty.

I can’t end this without talking about Camden.  I loved how dark he continued to be in this book.  A sexy, glasses wearing tatted up guy who would do anything to keep you safe, to do what is right, even if it meant not blinking an eye to kill someone?  UH, YES PLEASE!  I was so sad to say goodbye to him and Ellie (sooo not mentioning Javier here besides this part haha).  This whole series was utterly addicting, crazy, and entirely messed up but so, so, so good!  It’s unlike anything I have ever read before and I plan to devour many more of Karina Halle’s books!

Reading Order & Links:
Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
sins & needles karina halle
Sins & Needles #1
Reviews:
Jen
Chelsea		karina halle shooting scars
Shooting Scars #2
Reviews:
Jen
Chelsea		Bold Tricks Karina Halle Arttists Trilogy
Bold Tricks #3
Reviews:
Jen
Chelsea

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BOOK REVIEW: I Am Not A Serial Killer (John Cleaver #1) by Dan Wells

August 14, 2015 / / 0 Comments
BOOK REVIEW: I Am Not A Serial Killer (John Cleaver #1) by Dan WellsI Am Not A Serial Killer (John Cleaver #1)
by Dan Wells
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it.

He's spent his life doing his best not to live up to his potential.

He's obsessed with serial killers, but really doesn't want to become one. So for his own sake, and the safety of those around him, he lives by rigid rules he's written for himself, practicing normal life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation.

Dead bodies are normal to John. He likes them, actually. They don't demand or expect the empathy he's unable to offer. Perhaps that's what gives him the objectivity to recognize that there's something different about the body the police have just found behind the Wash-n-Dry Laundromat---and to appreciate what that difference means.

Now, for the first time, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can't control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could.

Dan Wells's debut novel is the first volume of a trilogy that will keep you awake and then haunt your dreams.

 

You are evil, said myself. You are Mr. Monster. You are nothing. You are me.

 

Well well well…what an odd slice of fun this was. Simplistic and understated, this book really doesn’t try to be anything other than what it says it is, making for not only a fun, easy read, but a very touching one, as well. It’s not easy to read about a diagnosed sociopath…well, at least not for the average person. For me? It felt more authentic and real. I became entwined and engrossed with this character in the early stages of the book, making it enjoyable from page one all the way until the end. And then there’s that damn middle part that just…ugh…it was so…ah, fuck it-It made me laugh. Hard.

“So you have coincidental links to two serial killers,” he said. “That’s a little odd, I admit, but I’m still not seeing a cosmic conspiracy against you.”
“My last name is ‘Cleaver,'” I said. “How many people do you know who are named after two serial killers and a murder weapon?”

I mean seriously?? He really went there? You’ve got to be kidding me. And yet….is it odd that, in the end, I kind of loved where this went??? I can now see why some people didn’t like the direction this novel took, but I actually, after my initial shock, LOVED IT! It took a bit, I’ll admit, to get past the absurdity with which this was presented. But let me ask you this: For me, being the type of reader that I am, why wouldn’t I love the fact that this little twist made it all the more perilous? Yeah, it was totally unbelievable. Yeah, it was an odd direction to go. And, yes, it will not be for everyone. But, for whatever reason, I decided I really liked it-Logic be damned.

I think that fire is more alive than we are-brighter, hotter, more sure of itself and where it wants to go. Fire doesn’t settle; fire doesn’t tolerate; fire doesn’t “get by.” Fire does.
Fire is.

I really did have an internal struggle on whether or not I liked what was happening in this one. I wrestled with the idea that, while I am in love with these types of books, this was really dumb. But it comes down to more than that, it comes down to if the positive outweighs the negative…and, for me, it did. And that big positive that made this whole book worth it? Our main character, John.

People scurry around, doing their little jobs and raising their little families and shouting their meaningless emotions to the world, and all the while you just watch from the sidelines, bewildered. This drives some sociopaths to feel superior, as if the whole of humanity were simply animals to be hunted or put down; others feel a hot, jealous rage, desperate to have what they cannot. I simply felt alone, one leaf sitting miles away from a giant, communal pile.

Emotionless, lacking empathy, and a social outcast, John was my favorite type of character, at the moment. Well, I like a little more empathy in my boys, but, hey-You get what I mean. Not without the quirky inner monologue or the twisted humor of the writing would this book have succeeded-of that I’m sure. John would not be a likable character to read about had we not gotten his odd rationalizations of the goings on around him or the way he views human flaws, such as love and loyalty. In a way, he’s broken. He longs to feel something, anything, if only to be like those around him-He can’t even cry. He gets jealous that others have this ability, and that’s why he is so fascinated with serial killers-weird sounding, I know! But, when you feel like you’re on the verge of being one yourself, it only makes sense to latch onto the one connection in this world you are sure is your only like to humanity.

“You’re weird, man,” said Max, taking another bite of his sandwich. “That’s all there is to say. Someday you’re going to kill a whole bunch of people-probably more than ten, because you’re such an overachiever-and then they’re going to have me on TV and ask if I saw this coming, and I’m going to say,’Hell yes, that guy was seriously screwed up.'”
“Then I guess I have to kill you first,” I said.

You heard me right-He thinks he is destined to be a serial killer. And, because of this, he has a set of rules he rigidly follows. And it has worked…until a serial killer comes to town. Every day his ‘monster’ threatens to leak out, to identify with this new murderer-sorry, sorry, not murder…SERIAL KILLER-in town. But when he finds out who is killing, he takes responsibility into his own hands. Who better to find a serial killer…than a destined-to-be serial killer?

“I’ve been clinically diagnosed with sociopathy,” I said. “Do you know what that means?”
“It means you’re a freak,” he said.
“It means that you’re about as important to me as a cardboard box,” I said. “You’re just a thing-a piece of garbage that no one’s thrown away yet. Is that what you want me to say?”
“Shut up,” said Rob. He was still acting tough, but I could see his bluster was starting to fail-he didn’t know what to say.
“The thing about boxes,” I said, “is that you can open them up. Even though they’re completely boring on the outside, there might be something interesting on the inside. So while you’re saying all of these stupid, boring things, I’m imagining what it would be like to cut you open and see what you’ve got in there.”

 

-lol, is it deranged I laughed and loved that?

Stellar, spot-on writing, wicked humor, and absolutely gruesome scenes that make you think deeper about life in general….I really liked this book. And, after looking at book two ratings and reviews, it seems book two is even darker, grittier, better. I cannot wait until I get the time to read book two. Because once John’s exterior cracked? I fell in love with him. I can’t wait to see how he wrestles with his dark side.

BOOK REVIEW – Visions (Cainsville #2) by Kelley Armstrong

August 8, 2015 /
BOOK REVIEW – Visions (Cainsville #2) by Kelley ArmstrongVisions (Cainsville #2)
by Kelley Armstrong
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

As #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s new Cainsville series continues, Olivia’s power to read omens leads to the discovery of a gruesome crime with troubling connections to her new hometown.

Omens, the first installment in Kelley Armstrong’s exciting new series, introduced Olivia Taylor-Jones, daughter of notorious serial killers, and Gabriel Walsh, the self-serving, morally ambiguous lawyer who became her unlikely ally. Together, they chased down a devious killer and partially cleared her parents of their horrifying crimes.

Their success, however, is short-lived. While Olivia takes refuge in the old, secluded town of Cainsville, Gabriel’s past mistakes have come to light, creating a rift between the pair just when she needs his help the most.

Olivia finds a dead woman in her car, dressed to look like her, but the body vanishes before anyone else sees it. Olivia’s convinced it’s another omen, a sign of impending danger. But then she learns that a troubled young woman went missing just days ago—the same woman Olivia found dead in her car. Someone has gone to great lengths to kill and leave this young woman as a warning. But why? And what role has her new home played in this disturbing murder?

Olivia’s effort to uncover the truth places her in the crosshairs of old and powerful forces, forces that have their own agenda, and closely guarded secrets they don’t want revealed.

➸ book 1 : Omens ★★★★ (4.5 stars)

“We are imprisoned by the truth we dare not see.
We are imprisoned by the questions we dare not ask.”

► The story starts when Omens ends, Olivia still trying to make sense of everything that happened to her – and to her serial-killers biological parents. While Omens was meant to be read as a thriller more than anything else, in Visions the mythology introduced there starts to be unraveled and more we learn about the different fights at stake, more I found myself completely enthralled in Kelley Armstrong’s story. Indeed whilst the mystery elements are still present, I can’t deny that the paranormal aspects increase in importance in this second book.

Every answer leads to more questions, and the different threads we follow seem so intricate that despite the clues given to us the mystery thickens and isn’t solved by any means.

Again I felt captivated from the start, the investigation pulling me in and the incredible dialogues holding my interest through and through. As I already said, I really, really love reading about these characters. This series is addictive, trust me on this.

▨ Olivia is resilient, stubborn, flawed, and still completely enjoyable. Despite the fact that I didn’t agree with all her choices, I genuinely care about what will happen to her in this strange world she discovered, because frankly? Her actions ring true to me and I can always understand her : she refuses to be used as a pawn yet she’s ready to play games to grab the answers she needs. Who wouldn’t?

In a word, she’s fierce and never, ever annoying. About how many MC can I say that? So few, guys, so few.

▨ Gabriel. GAH. I need to make a statement here : I completely fell for this manipulative little shit who is so much more than he appears. What can I say? He makes me laugh in his bossy way, I care so so much about him! His secret is… He’s incredibly multi-layered : from his words to his facial expressions or instant-jerk reactions, we readers have to observe him carefully to try making sense of his character and well, okay, I’m fascinated. Also, he cracks me up. SO MUCH. And I just love the practical and unfeeling way he talks, with maybe, just maybe, feelings lurking behind (I know! Such a crazy theory!)

Once again the quality of the secondary characters strengthens grandly what could have been a weak plot : From the Cainville’s inhabitants to the strange creatures people (?) Olivia meets, every character is interesting, none is wasted, and it adds so many layers to the story!

I feel the need to talk about the men gravitating around Olivia and the way relationships between them are handled. In my honest opinion we don’t have a love triangle in Visions (and even less in Omens).
✔ James is a controlling asshole whose relationship with Olivia ended.
✔ Gabriel is… Well, I’ll come back to their relationship after, count me on this (yes, because that’s by far my favorite part of the book, duh)
✔ Ricky is the only one who can be seen as a possible love-interest at the time. Period.

But the best thing about this book is by far the way the development of Gabriel & Olivia partnership is handled : as far as characterization is concerned, we have good character development and then we have excellent dynamics growth. Let me tell you something : I rarely met characters whose relationship gradually evolves in such a splendid way that Gabriel and Olivia’s. From their somewhat untrusting and forced collaboration in Omens to the partnership they develop in Visions, nothing feels forced but everything brings real vibes. Really, it’s fucking fantastic how Kelley Armstrong can give us so little hope at first and slowly build foundations for a friendship. Until we starve for more. Damn, I feel like cheering because maybe, just maybe, they’re friends now. I know, I’m pathetic. Move on. But I’m not gonna lie : the fierceness they show when they protect each other made my day. As Olivia rightly said, “You read actions and ignore words.”

► To sum-up, Visions offers us a strong sequel to the story started in Omens and I can’t see why you wouldn’t love it if you enjoyed book 1. Strongly recommended.

PS. I chose to not add quotes (or barely) even though I saved plenty of them (mostly from Gabriel, of course), because I prefer let you discover them for yourself, especially when it comes to Olivia and Gabriel interactions. Trust me, it’s worth it^^.

BOOK REVIEW – Omens (Cainsville #1) by Kelley Armstrong

August 7, 2015 /
BOOK REVIEW – Omens (Cainsville #1) by Kelley ArmstrongOmens (Cainsville #1)
by Kelley Armstrong
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.

“First you buy me a mocha. Then you let me help you hide a body. Now you take me to a biker clubhouse. Best. Day. Ever.”

Wow. Color me surprised : I certainly didn’t start Omens with high expectations and yet… It kept me on the edge of my seat right up to the end.

The first thing you need to know is that it is NOT Urban Fantasy by any means. Although I was more than okay with that because UF never was my favorite genre (that’s an understatement), the blurb and the shelves can be misleading and you would be disappointed if that’s what you expect.

Think… Criminal Minds meets Supernatural. A murder investigation with sparks of paranormal. A mystery that will keep you guessing the whole time, glued to the pages, where you need to pay attention at every omen and even every dream. Just sayin’.

“I sat there, feeling sick and shocked and angry, most of all furious with myself for being such a fool, such a damned fool.
This wasn’t a game. It was serious and ugly and I wanted nothing to do with it. And yet, in wanting nothing to do with it, I was a hypocrite.”

As for the writing, don’t expect purple prose or beautiful sentences here. Yet despite the pretty generic writing, I enjoyed it immensely for what it is : to the point, true. And it works : I genuinely laughed. Smiled. Feared. Freaked out. Ate it up.

If Olivia’s POV (in first person past tense) owns the show, the story is interspersed with passages in random people’s POV that are told in third person. How unsettling as it sounds, strangely it didn’t bother me at all but on the contrary I thought that it added interesting layers to the story.

But what I preferred were, by far, the dialogues. Indeed they were clever and funny in a non show-off way, the kind of private joke funny that doesn’t allow me to take a sentence off context and say LOOK AT THIS! THIS IS HILARIOUS! Nope. Yet in context? With all the characters’ dynamics background? I laughed. I giggled. At the most random parts.

To sum-up, we have :
An enthralling mystery to resolve ☑
An interesting background filled with fae folklore ☑
Several scenes really creepy ☑
A compelling writing ☑

In my opinion Kelley Armstrong handled her characterization perfectly : quietly, she set her characters in motion and just…. let the reader manage them, scrutinize them. I can’t express how much I loved how she let me forge my own opinion without never telling me who they’re supposed to be. Indeed she never tells us what to think, and that’s brilliant – and so, so rare. Actually it’s when we stumble upon books like this one that we realize how often we’re told how the characters are in many books : This character is nice. He is hot. She is mean. Not an once of this telling strategy with Omens characters, and I’m so grateful for that.

Both main characters are manipulative and selfish. BEST. FEEL. EVER. Oh, also, their banter is fabulous.

The heroine, Olivia, is relatable, believable, willing to be strong but quite stung by the news, as everyone would be : how would you react if you learnt that you were adopted and that your biological parents were famous serial-killers? Huh? Does she hide behind her soon-to-be-senator fiancé?

She’s going to handle it her way, thank you very much. Courageous this one. Frankly, I cared for her from the start. Don’t get fooled, though : she’s not our perfect little one, faaaaar from it, but she’s ready to do anything to unravel the truth and we follow her wanderings like nice puppets. Trust me, Gabriel is right : she does have a backbone, and I loved that.

“You’re not shooting the cat. It would leave a mess.”
“True. Also, the killing of small animals is the entrance ramp onto the serial killer highway.” I paused. “Damn. I bet the cat knows that. He picked me because I can’t hurt him, or I’d be fulfilling my biological destiny. So I’m screwed. The cat stays. Unless you’ll kill him…” I glanced at him. “How does fifty bucks sound?”

SPOILER ALERT : Don’t worry, nobody harms the cat. Yet. (I kid, I kid)

Now, Gabriel.

“My nephew is a manipulative, scheming, unscrupulous son of a bitch. And those are his good qualities.”

I’m a sucker for multi-layered and quite untrustworthy characters, that’s why it won’t come as a surprise that I’m completely drawn to Gabriel’s character, and not in a romantic way : here’s a man who is fascinating and not because he’s a love-interest but because what I saw of his personality (I know! Not eight-packs or other shining things guys always have *in books*) appeals to me and above that, intrigues me. The problem I usually have with controlling – or powerful – male-leads lies with the fact that the heroine spends more time drooling over them than standing for herself : there’s no romance here, therefore I can focus on his moral ambiguity without feeling the need to rage – I already said that : more than the characters alone, the characters’ dynamics are important to me and influence my reading experience. Let me get to know them first. We’ll see about the romance later (maybe).

“He had nothing to feel guilty about. If he knew one thing about life, it was this : look out for yourself. No one else would do it for you.”

Gabriel isn’t a “good” guy, and I sure don’t want him to be. He’s bossy, but trust me, Olivia knows how to handle him, and is even more bossy perhaps. To be frank, it pleased me to no end to see her snapping at him and analyzing his behavior. Really, I’m shameless : I loved seeing her destabilize him and push his limits (and I can’t wait to see how their relationship will evolve).

To sum-up, we have :
Strong and interesting heroine ☑
Captivating male-lead ☑
Well-developed secondary characters ☑
A cat (yes, that’s important, duh) ☑
Awesome dialogues between the characters ☑
Real character development ☑

► Kelley Armstrong offers us a strong debut for Olivia and Gabriel’s story : I will definitely recommend it to any reader who loves mystery and good characterization. As far as I’m concerned, I’m off to read the sequel right now.

BOOK REVIEW – Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy #2) by Karina Halle

August 4, 2015 / / 2 Comments
BOOK REVIEW – Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy #2) by Karina HalleShooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy #2)
by Karina Halle
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A Dangerous Kind of Love . . .
When Ellie Watt offered herself to her thuggish former lover Javier to save Camden's life, she never imagined the twisted game Javier had planned for her. Trapped by him and his entourage of killers, Ellie is forced to commit a dangerous, heinous crime-or Javier will kill Camden. Now ex-con artist Ellie must find a way to stay ahead of the game . . . before it destroys her and the only man she ever loved.
Camden McQueen can't forget Ellie Watt. Seeking revenge and pursued by the authorities for a crime he didn't commit, the talented tattoo artist does things he never thought himself capable of to save Ellie. As Camden straddles the line between love and retribution, he vows to do everything in his power to get her back. But if Camden unleashes his dark side, will Ellie still love him?

Review:

*Spoilers for Sins and Needles*

I was the angel of death, walking arm in arm with Lucifer. – Ellie

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh.  Wait, let me take a deep breath because that was amazing!  Shooting Scars was a phenomenal second installment that was even more dark and twisted than the first!  Not only was I glued to the pages, but I loved that I could never truly guess all that would eventually unfold.  Ellie, Camden and Javier could be such wild cards at times, and I loved that about them.  Their emotions, motives and persona’s always kept me on the tip of my toes.  Just like the storyline!

Even at her very worst, she made me want to be a better man. To be good enough for the both of us. – Camden

Elie has sacrificed herself for Camden’s happiness.  She has agreed to go away with Javier and his entourage of killers, so Camden can have his family back.  But what she doesn’t realize, is what is in store for her.  Ellie is going to be forced to commit a horrific crime, and if she doesn’t comply then Camden will be killed.  Now for a girl that I found myself struggling with liking from time to time, she had this amazing ability to pull vasts amount of sympathy from me.  Because in this story, she goes above and beyond what I consider forgivable.  My ability to like or even root for her was obliterated.  Or so I thought.  But somehow she managed to swing back around to my good side.  Again. Ugh, I don’t even know how it happened.  Maybe it’s the sympathy or the way she is manipulated and brainwashed to think that she is truly bad?!  I don’t know.  But somehow by that last page I liked her again.  Ellie constantly messed with my head!

All I knew is what I felt. And that the woman I loved, had always loved, had sacrificed herself for me. There was no getting past that. She’d embedded herself in my skin, like a tattoo I could never give myself. – Camden

Do you want to know what my favorite thing about this book was?  That we got to alternate between being in Ellie and Camden’s head.  Listening to Camden’s thoughts…..sigh, I was ecstatic to be there.  But at the same point, we truly got to know him inside and out.  And ohhhhh Camden, how dark can one person turn?!  The things that he thinks and the things that he does, well at times it was horrifying.  There’s this one part where uhhhhhh I never thought of something turning out that way and my stomach twisted again and again.  *shudders*  I was terrified that Camden was teetering on the edge of becoming someone evil.  Someone like to Javier.  And if you read my ON EVERY STREET review, you’ll know how much I despise that man.  But I’m holding out hope for Camden, just like he holds out hope for Ellie.  Because Camden is sweet, faithful, has so much love in his heart, and always tries his hardest to do what’s right!  I’m rooting for him all the way!

“Sometimes I’d do anything to be good.” – Ellie

Shooting Scars encompassed love, revenge, torture, hope and despair while keeping me on the edge of my seat.  While I wish there wasn’t so much time spent between Ellie and Javier, because I loathe that man, I get why it had to happen.  The conflict and struggles it created was paramount to this story.  BUT that ending?!?!  Must start the third and final book now!

Reading Order & Links:
Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
sins & needles karina halle
Sins & Needles #1
Reviews:
Jen
Chelsea		karina halle shooting scars
Shooting Scars #2
Reviews:
Jen
Chelsea		Bold Tricks Karina Halle Arttists Trilogy
Bold Tricks #3
Reviews:
Jen
Chelsea

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