Review: Deserves more than 5 brilliant stars from me. Utterly amazing!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 30, 2013
ARSEN gave me the huge book hangover to date. Honestly, I haven't read anything yet after I finished reading it past 2am, two days ago. I just can't move on. That's how hang-up I am with this book. Gut-wrenching, powerful and emotionally charged. My beliefs and ideals were tainted and shattered. I was left speechless, devastated, heart-broken, emotionally exhausted but felt relieved, hopeful and much stronger in the end. Emotional roller-coaster is an understatement. It was more than that, words fail me right now on how to best describe it. All I know is, it was an addicting read. The story's concept might be a big turn-off for me but as the story slowly unfolds right in front of me, I was taken into a world where I wish I'd never experience. A forbidden affair. A deceitful relationship that existed out of a supposed to be perfect marriage of Cathy and Ben.Who is Arsen? He was the other guy in Cathy's life, a real man-whore, famous, rich, and women fall at his feet. When he met Cathy, he had seen the sadness and emptiness through her eyes and he was drawn into her despite her married status. There was instant physical attraction between them but at first, they fought against it and tried to remain as friends. But due to Cathy's emotional status, her successive miscarriages that made her detached herself from her husband - her very perfect husband of 6 years, Ben, who has done nothing but love her unconditionally. Ben's perfection pushed Cathy away as she deals with her own demons, having the notion of not being perfect wife to Ben, for not conceiving a child that would complete their family. A child that could save her and her failing marriage.Most part of the book, I hated Cathy so much. So much that I wanted to slap her so that she can wake up from her own nightmare. She was selfish, immature, liar and cheater. Ugh! I felt disgusted and sick to my stomach of all the blatant cheating she did to Ben. I hated Arsen as well. His gorgeous looks won't be enough for me to like him. At any angle, what he did is wrong. And I don't advocate cheating. It's a BIG NO for me. So when, I've read some reviews that there's cheating in this book, I was skeptical. I kept stalling though this has been sitting on my TBR for a while now. But gladly, I took a chance because this book made me feel and understand. It has unearthed a lot of emotions in me that I never thought possible from just reading it book. Boy, I was so wrong. I hated that I loved it. It was a powerful story. I was moved - deeply and passionately. Even without the steamy scenes, I would still love this book. It made me think of my own relationship. What if it happens to me? Oh God, I hope not.Mia Asher did an exceptional job in writing this book. She has created a brilliant masterpiece, a real work of art, that'd forever be etched into my memory. She has written a beautiful but broken love story that uniquely stands on its own. It has given me an in-depth knowledge of cheating and the damage it does to a relationship. Cathy? Our unlikely heroine who kept on hurting our perfect hero - Ben, I got to fully understand her at the later part of the book why she did that unforgivable act. I was really glad knowing the fact that she felt remorseful of her sins and fully embrace and suffer the consequences it has caused. She didn't blame anyone but her self why she ended up alone and miserable at the end, realizing that she has pushed away the right person who could make her really happy. She let go of her soul mate, the love of her life - Ben. Well, cest la vie! You don't know what you got 'til it's gone.Though my heart got broken a lot of times and shed ugly tears for Ben and Cathy, I felt happy & contented with how their story ended. It made me realize that there's always hope after every unfortunate events that happen your way. We could always learn how to forgive but to forget? Well, that's never easy but with true love, it's much easier. The power of genuine and unconditional love should never be doubted, because it can heal wounds, make you whole again and can even move mountains.“Love can destroy you.Love can erase you.Love can heal you.Love can reinvent you,And, if you are lucky enough,Love can make you whole again...Arsen is highly recommended. Trust me, everything will be so worth it. Just read this book with an open mind and you'll never go wrong. This has definitely earned a spot on my top favorite shelf and Mia Asher, one of my favorite authors. I can't wait to read her next book. I apologize if you might find this review lacking in some ways because my thoughts are really scattered up to now and I'm not really good in writing but I hope I've written a sensible review.