Review: Mutual Release
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 4, 2013
I received a copy of this title from Netgalley in return for an honest review.I've recently become a Liz Crowe fan (Honey Red, and Cheeky Blonde were amazing reads), so when this book popped up as a new selection on Netgalley I thought I'd give it a read.  I didn't realize until after I downloaded it that it was part of a series, and since we all know how much I love a series this had my interest peaked.So about this book, Mutual Release, it's a coming of age and a journey through adulthood for Evan Adams and Julie Dawson.Evan is a high school star athlete, golden boy, and fraternal twin.  Life seems to be moving along in a happy sequence of events for Evan until his senior year when his mother becomes the guardian of the son of a friend of hers, Damian.  His arrival sets Evan, and his sister Olivia's world on its ear.  Their lives are changed forever by the inclusion of this monster into their lives.Julie is the daughter of a single mother who sees her as nothing but a burden while she is on the hunt for a rich husband.  Julie's mom finds that husband in the form of another monster, Bart, her new stepfather.  Julie can sense that he's trouble from the start, but once her mother has finally snagged and married him her hell really begins as he starts a months long campaign of rape and abuse.These two incredibly broken people come together and go fumbling and stumbling into a seriously dysfunctional relationship.  Evan during his time with Damian and after has become involved in BDSM, finding that the control he feels there feeds a need.  Julie decides to take back her body and never allow anyone to have any kind of control or power over her again.Is there any way these two truly f***ed up individuals can make it work in a healthy relationship?  The  story woven by Liz works hard to help us get there.  This felt like an incredibly long story, I am usually a speedy reader but this book seemed to take forever to get through, and while I enjoyed the exposition and learning about Evan's quest for justice for Olivia and how it shaped him, as well as Julie's life path based on choices which put her in a position of power in many if not all of her relationships, but left her alone, I felt like the journey there was a painfully long one.This could easily have been two books, their coming of age, and then their chance meeting that ties them together as they fumble through a years long relationship trying to get it right.  At more than 100+ pages longer than any of the other books it's a commitment of time to be certain.  It was however an enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to going back and reading other books in this series.You can find this review and others at [...]