Review: This is not your typical fairytale...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 18, 2013
Wow. From the first sentence this book was a wild, crazy, exciting ride. The action was so well written that "my" heart was racing and "I" was holding my breath (my hubs actually asked if I was hyperventilating at on point). Our motley crew of anti-heroes are on the run of their lives. Racing to get to Javi's sister before Travis or his men can and on a mission to save Gus and Elli's mother.The relationships in this book are so multifaceted. Not a single one is cut and dry. Javier and his sister, Elli and Javi's sister, Elli and Javi, Elli and Cam, Javi and Cam, Elli and Gus and Elli and her mother... all are perplexing.Let's talk about Elli and Javi for a moment. Does he love her or is he obsessed with her? I think a little of both. I think he loves the idea of having someone to be his queen. Javi is basically alone in the world. He can trust no one. No one can trust him. He uses every one as pawns in his game of power and the only loyalty he garners either has to be bought and paid for or wrought in fear of him. Does that make him a sympathetic character? Yes and no. He uses people... even if he cares for them. Nothing and no one is as important as his rise to power. We WANT him to show a heart... We WANT him to choose love over power... We WANT him to be redeemed... that makes him sympathetic because we want so badly to love him. His obsession with Elli surpassed love a long time ago. I think he did love her once. I think now he is just sickly trained on owning her. He simply doesn't like to lose.Now let's talk about Elli and Cam. Does he still love her or has she put him through too much? I think it's safe to say that Cam has changed the most throughout this series. He's seen some things and been forced to do some things that will forever scar him. Elli hurt him as a teenager... and Elli hurt him as an adult. He still loves her wants to protect her even if he can't forgive her. One could argue that is obsession, but I don't think so. See Cam is the only one who knew the real Elli from the beginning. His intentions from day one were pure and they haven't changed. He doesn't want to change her he wants to let her be the person she wants to be. He's not trying to force her to fit into his world and if anything he has changed to fit into hers. He's the one making all the sacrifices. Even if he doesn't get the girl in the end he will still bend heaven and earth to make sure she is safe and reunited with the ones she loves. Did you catch that... EVEN IF HE DOESN'T GET THE GIRL... isn't that the definition of love?Working together with both of these men puts Elli in an uncomfortable place. Having to rely on both to survive and also them having to reply on each other. Their grand plans to infiltrate Travis's compound seems like a suicide mission and all is not what it seems. Wheels were put into motion a long time ago for this very showdown. When all is revealed it will leave you speechless.So who gets the girl.... That all depends on Elli. Elli has a choice to make. The choice isn't really about Team Javi verses Team Cam. It never really was. They just represent two different paths. The choice is about who she "wants to be"... not who she "wants to be with".I highly recommend this series and Bold Tricks is definitely one of my Top 5 books of 2013. So go get it...