Monday, March 9, 2015

ARC REVIEW: Vandal {Ashes & Embers #2} by Carian Cole


“Loving me will not be easy, loving me will be war. You will hold the gun and I will hand you the bullets. So breathe, and embrace the beauty of the massacre that lies ahead.”
 - R. M. Drake

~Perfection~
I love that quote so much 

"Without you, I wouldn't want to live, Tabitha. That’s where I was when we met. I wanted to die, just like you did. I was slowly trying to kill myself. I was drinking all the time, and taking pills, cutting myself, torturing myself.I got kicked out of the band. My life was destroyed, and I didn't give a shit."

Wow! The quotes above pretty much tell you everything you need to know going into this one!
It also means that this isn't 
the easiest book for me to review. 
It's a darker read than Storm - it packed a lot in. 
I'm pretty sure that had the story line been simpler and a bit more loving I could have hit a 4.5/5, 
but it is what it is and it didn't really ignite me 
the way that I hoped it would.

I think my biggest problem (and the dropped star) was that Vandal Valentine just wasn't my cup of tea. Between him being a millionaire, Dom wanting a 24/7 sub, (from a woman that he should have been much more honest and decent with) 
a rock star, a tattoo artist, 
self harming control freak with 
a bad attitude toward his friends and family 
(no wonder they didn't seem to be around much!) but above all a grieving father 
- it was almost too much for me - like everything and the kitchen sink was thrown at it.
I think prefer the main character to be one or two 
of the above and that the plot follow just one or two paths? I don't know? But all of that took a bit away from the story for me. I think if you love Vandal, you'll fall hard for him. Personally I preferred Storm.

I don't think there's a way to explain how I feel about the story line without major spoilers and going into how strange I found Tabi's behavior
(like not wanting to know Vandal's name/band etc 
 I don't know a single woman on the planet that wouldn't want to know those things)

Overall, I enjoy this authors way with words 
she's a talented lady - I sincerely hope that this book does well and that 4 stars puts me in the minority. I wanted this to be a 5 star read so badly!


My Storm Review...


Quick mention for Sterling the blind cat 
(and star of the book!)
I really, REALLY loved his inclusion, his story 
and that the real life Sterling is being looked after. 
He's definitely a 10!!
Well done Carian for helping him 
with a portion of sales from the book.

click the pic to go to Sterling's page!




 In exchange for an honest review 




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