Review: Intense Action Scenes, Highly Emotional Read With Too Many Storylines Being Juggled
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 19, 2013
Brazil has a lot going on, almost too much at times. There's two separate storylines, but both of them hinge on the theme of revenge with each of the main protagonists struggling to reach their goals.  This kept them apart for long segments of the story though and made their relationship seem very superficial.  The few times Charly and Leo were together they were either bickering or having sex. Through each interaction there was plenty of sexual tension though.  From the crackling verbal foreplay to the sweaty sexual interactions you could sense the one upmanship that they both took part in which didn't allow them to get to know one another.The action scenes throughout the story were exciting with a strong sense of life and death.  They were gritty, bloody, and didn't always end well.  Along with the story of Charly and Leo came the story of Lydia and Carlos.  Lydia was raised by the drug dealer who killed her family and has been tortured both mentally and physically by him ever since until his second-in-command, who has secrets of his own, decides to save her.  This was the hardest part of the story to read with the brutality done to Lydia.  Carlos was her knight in shining armor and I would've loved to have their story be the sole focus as the emotions were definitely evident between them.  Their story was gutwrenching and ended in an unexpected way that left my jaw on the floor.There's a large cast of secondary characters that overwhelmed the story at times and added even more action to an already overloaded story.  These characters would flit in and out and you'd forget their names and relationship to the main characters as soon as they left. Streamlining the cast would have helped the overall story by cutting down on the distractions.The writing was strong with an exciting storyline and memorable characters.  Streamlining the cast of characters and having more interaction between the main protagonists though would have amped up the romance and made for a more satisfying outcome.  No matter its few flaws, Kenya Carlton has written an exhilarating story that will bring me back to her books time and time again.