Review: Fascinatingly awful...
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 09 2, 2013
Spoilers********************************************************************************Gringa - A Modern-day Love Story, books 1-4 was awful, and really deserves one star.  I gave an extra star based on the horrendously cheesy, but funny covers (books 1-4).  Have you ever seen a more pathetic-looking "hero?"  Apologies in advance to any wannabe cavemen out there, but this guy looks more like a wild stinky caveman, than a romantic hero.  The story takes place in some rural area of Mexico and "Gringa," or really "Gringaaaa!!" is what the heroine Payton is constantly referred to as by our hero (and others).  BTW, each of the four "books" are more like extended episodes, than books.Anyway, I heard about Eve Rabi on a discussion board.  There were both wild raves and warnings and being the somewhat intrepid reader that I am, I couldn't resist.  I'm glad I did because one of her books that I picked up (free, BTW) "You Will Pay for Leaving Me," was great IMO, although tragic.  However, Gringa is a real mess of a book.  The criminal drug-lord hero was a sadistic rapist, murderer and unsuccessfully tried to kill the heroine of the story, for no actual reason.  That he didn't succeed is a mystery, because she was shot three times and thrown off of a cliff and left for dead.In spite of how comically awful it was, I kept going, hoping that everything would fall into place and make sense.  None of the characters were fleshed out very well and there were so many things that didn't make sense, that I felt like I was watching an extremely violent Mexican version of Twin Peaks.  Payton acted like an psycho-idiot with a suicide wish.  The evil stepsister and stepmother were caricatures, the ex-boyfriend now step-BIL a joke and the father a non-entity.  The whole family being in Mexico together for an extended period made no sense.  Why Diablo tried to kill Payton in the first place.  Why he kidnapped her and eventually fell for her.  There was no chemistry between them.  It would have made more sense if he had lusted after her and kidnapped her from the beginning - why add in the attempted murder?  So she could be nursed back to health by a kind woman who conveniently spoke perfect English and learn some Spanish in the process?  How exactly did the woman heal her -- using pickled herbs and spices, LOL?!!  How could Payton have no lingering effects from her near-murder?  How could Payton be with Diablo/Diago voluntarily after he tried to murder her, raped her repeatedly (especially anally, w/o lubricant) along with all the other horrific things he did?  The over-the-top craziness of the mom, Christa, and implied-incestuous relationship between Diablo and his sister, Santana went on way too long.  I knew that there had to be an explanation for Diablo and Santana and of course there was, but why go there in the first place?  It added nothing to the story.  The FBI sub-plot was also ridiculous.Diablo was abused as a child, and his parents murdered, so that means he can abuse and murder others?  I saw no true redemption.  With Payton's assistance on their way to Hell, the wicked "mother" and uncle are out of the way, and Diablo/Diago turns into a better person.  Puleeze, this is a vicious murderer and rapist.  I could go on and on, but why bother.  At one point, Payton calls herself psychotic and on that point, I agree.  It didn't even appear that she had Stockholm Syndrome, nope she just fell for Diablo and thought that he was the best thing since - well you get the picture.  Payton reminded me of the women who lust over sick criminals like Manson and Bundy.  Thankfully, I borrowed this book through Amazon Prime so didn't waste any money on it.Though I'm not too familiar with her work, I hope Eve Rabi was having a joke with her readers with this one.  That she is capable of so much better is demonstrated with "You Will Pay for Leaving Me," so I will give some of her other work a try, hopefully with better results.Note: there were grammar errors, typos and leaps in logic that did interfere with the story.