mignon mykel { reviews }: review || MEET ME IN THE DARK

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

review || MEET ME IN THE DARK

Meet Me In The Dark (A Dark Suspense) by JA Huss

Publisher: Science Future Press (4/15/2015)

Genres:Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Source: Purchased

Purchase links || amazon | bn | kobo || add to goodreads

Rating: ★★★★1/2

He’s empty, inhuman, dishonest, and cruel.

She’s never wanted anyone more.

Sydney has lived in fear for eight years after freelance assassin, Merc, failed to rescue her from a cult-like militia group. Left in the hands of a sadistic man, she did whatever it took to survive. But Merc’s last words gave her hope. Hope he’d be back to finish the job.

After Merc is betrayed by her father, Sydney becomes his target. He wields sex, drugs, lies, and love like weapons. Merc knows just what to do with a fearful girl like Sydney. He’s in control. He’s always in control.

But Sydney Channing is not what she appears. And Merc’s only redeeming act—the very one that made Sydney’s life a living hell—might just be his worst mistake yet.

WARNING: Meet Me In The Dark is a STANDALONE, non-traditional, DARK ,CAPTIVE ROMANTIC SUSPENSE. It is not intended for sensitive readers.

MEET ME IN THE DARK IS A STANDALONE, romantic suspense novel ON SALE NOW.

about JA Huss || JA Huss is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty romances. She likes stories about family, loyalty, and extraordinary characters who struggle with basic human emotions while dealing with bigger than life problems. JA loves writing heroes who make you swoon, heroines who makes you jealous, and the perfect Happily Ever After ending.

You can chat with her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AuthorJAHuss), Twitter (@jahuss), and her kick-ass romance blog, New Adult Addiction (www.newadultaddiction.com).

If you're interested in getting your hands on an advanced release copy of her upcoming books, sneak peek teasers, or information on her upcoming personal appearances, you can join her newsletter list (http://eepurl.com/JVhAr) and get those details delivered right to your inbox.

website | facebook | twitter | goodreads

{ review } .

I debated about which point I should stop my thoughts from coming across in this review, but in the end I decided, "You know what? I review romances so therefore it is ok for me to touch on the romance of this dark disturbing novel."

But please make no mistake -- this story certainly isn't rainbows and butterflies.

Even with the warning that this was a dark romance, my goodness gracious it was almost disturbingly dark. I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into, and I couldn't fathom how it was going to turn around to become romantic in any shape or form.

The beginning has Sydney scrambling to get away from a terrible life, and who she thinks is her savior ends up growling at her and leaving her to fend for herself because he was there for the other girl, Sasha, but he leaves her with the promise he'd be back for her...

...not said in a loving way, of course, but a "you best watch your back" kind of way. Sydney has held on to this comment for years, hoping and praying that he'd be the one to save her.

For as much darkness as Sydney had seen in her life, she was awfully optimistic and naive when it came to Merc (or is it Case -- a distinction he hates her using?). Even when he was stripping her and dousing her with cold, hard-streamed water, part of her held out for the good. Eventually, though, she begins to break down and realize that he's exactly what he says he is...

The problem is, when she starts to realize this, he starts to realize the way her life has been broken and re-formed, and it, quite frankly, pisses him off. But while it angers him, he tries to use these new realizations to his advantage -- he is, after all, certain that she holds the answer to his biggest question.

"..that's all life is. Just one moment after another. Stacked on top of each other...Stackable moments lead to things. Sometimes things you planned. But sometimes they lead to new things. Things you didn't plan."

The moments that formed the lives of Sydney and Case were dark and hard. When Case started being (consistently) kind to Sydney, I was a bit baffled. There was some sort of disconnect to me but I did enjoy the change. Thankfully, though, Sydney had lost her naivety by this point and it took Case some work to get her to trust him.

I originally read this book when it released -- it was my midnight one click purchase (dangerous button...). After a few failed starts, I read it from front to back in four hours, completely attuned to their deep, twisted story. However, it then took two months to figure out how to write the review. I would open this draft up, look at the paragraph I had, and close it again. I would do the same a week later, and the week after that, and the week after that. I don't think I hit on everything that dragged me in to the rabbit hole (ooh, see what I did that? No? You should read the book) that was MEET ME IN THE DARK, but it is definitely a book I'll revisit. The next post on this blog will belong to the next book in this 321 series, and it's Sasha's book. These books are complete standalones, but I'm curious if we'll get any more Case/Sydney insight... Because like I said, I was disturbingly drawn to them.

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a quick note from { mignon } ...

I AM NO LONGER ACTIVE IN REVIEWING

The last two years has been incredibly rewarding, giving me the opportunity to pick up new-to-me authors, as well as new-to-the-world authors. I have enjoyed supporting publishing houses as well as the indie author, and in doing so, I learned a lot about the marketing aspect of writing a book and selling it as a self-published author.

I have re-focused my journey to more writing-minded. I still read and review! But not nearly at the rate I was; three books a day has turned to three books a month.

I will no longer be accepting individual review requests (unless it's specifically author-to-author, then it will be highly considered).

I will definitely be posting reviews for commitments I have already made, though.

Thank you for understanding, & thank you to all those I have worked with over the last year plus!

~ Mignon

http://mignonmykel.com

GOODREADS updates

Dirty Saint: A Secret Baby Sports Romance by Vesper Vaughn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book almost failed to get my attention. Why?

The hero.

He is the exact public person I despise. You know the type -- all biblical with publicized praying and verses all over his public persona. Great. Good for you. Bet you're not like that behind closed doors...

Which is exactly what Esther thinks of him.

Saint and Esther attend the same super religious college. Esther is on the fast track to becoming a nun, and no I do not kid, and Saint, given name Francis, can do just about whatever he wants, because he is the star athlete and the school knows he has connections. What in the world can these two have in common? The actions of their parents.

But where Saint does what his father says, usually, because his father is pushing him toward a pro-football careers, Esther follows her parents (father) because if she didn't... Her life would literally be a living hell.

I really enjoyed these two, once we started to get to know Saint a little bit better. My only drawback with the book would be the last half goes by in super-fast time. While it helped to keep the story moving, I would have liked to see more of that time drawn out so the feelings and emotions of our two characters felt more genuine and real -- rather than simply a two month courting that their lives demanded.

I'm giving the book the full 5 stars because it came out of left-field for me. It was a book that I didn't expect to like, but the author wove it in a way that I fell hard for our characters both as individuals and as a couple. I liked watching Esther grow and find her voice in life, just as I liked watching playboy, always for the chase Saint, settle down and find a person to be terribly protective over. I loved him most in the last two chapters.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review

Everything by Erin Noelle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here's something you may know about me if you've followed my reviews -- I'm an epilogue reader. I will almost always read the epilogue first. Call me a spoilsport or no fun, or whatever but that's how I've been reading books for years. It's no wonder that when I write books, I tend to have the epilogue all figured out before I even start with "Once upon a time...".

That said... I read this epilogue and while I liked it, I just couldn't get past the ages of our characters. Couldn't do it. So I read the beginning. Still... If anything, the age of our characters was even more pronounced. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to read this. You see, I have an issue with "Happily ever after" and the hardly-twenty crowd, let alone an eighteen year old.

But that's my hang-up.

Another thing you may know about me? I will sometimes read a book in what I call a inside-out fashion. I jump all over the place until I find a snippet of story that absolutely grips me. And people -- there are a few of those parts in Everything. So because I found those gripping parts, I put my faith in Erin Noelle, and I started from page one -- and I gave Everett and Belle a chance.

And I'm so glad I did.

Everett and his twin sister have been making music forever -- literally. They're the children of a rockstar; music has always been their life. When their father's group decides to get back together (dad always said he'd go back when the twins were done with school), Mason tells the label -- if you take me, you're taking my kids: thus, giving Everett and Ashlynn the opportunity to take their music to a larger level than they have before.

Along the way, with a local gig, Everett meets Belle -- and so begins their story.

This is a story about growing up. This is a story about following your heart -- be it for a person or a career, or even both. It is about learning to trust the person you are giving your heart to, and about taking the ever-looming jump into unknown feelings. When you put your life, your wants, your desires in someone else's hands, the world opens up -- and it certainly does for Everett and Belle.

The part I most appreciated was that the author made Everett true to his age and situation. Belle was too, yes, but it was Everett and his new lifestyle that had me wanting to see true characterization for. He's a guy; he's a musician; he's new to love. He makes mistakes. And for those mistakes, I truly got on board with this story.

Everett and his Tinker Bell were incredibly cute. I liked that there's a decent time jump at the end, further allowing -- you guessed it -- growth of our characters. I'm excited to watch more of them when (if?) Ashlynn's story comes out.

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review

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Wednesday, June 10, 2015

review || MEET ME IN THE DARK

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