Review: Near Perfection Yet Again From Shay Savage!!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2013
REVIEWED FOR: Sinfully Sexy Book ReviewsDark, twisty brilliance...thy name is Shay Savage!! Holy puppies and rainbows, Batman! I don't think Santa Claus exists in the fertile, scary playground that is the mind of this author, and I know he doesn't exist in the world of Otherwise Occupied. But, you know what?! I LOVE IT!!! I'd probably go so far as to say that I can't get enough of this author and her thoroughly unapologetic a****** anti-heroes!The story begins not long after the events of the novella, Otherwise Alone (book #1). DO NOT try reading Otherwise Occupied without reading Otherwise Alone FIRST!! You will be lost and confused, and, even if you aren't, the story won't mean anything to you if you forgo the novella. Evan Arden--mob hitman, Iraq War Veteran and former POW--has returned to Chicago, called back by his boss in order to resume his duties. Quietly suffering severe PTSD and obsessing over leaving Lia Antonio behind, Evan has been basically losing his s*** for quite some time. Making kills is only speeding up the process. Unable to sleep, he begins a one-sided relationship with a fairly new-to-the-trade hooker. Life as Evan knows it deteriorates rapidly from there. Otherwise Occupied is, for the most part, a front-row seat to the unraveling of a man's mind.Very honestly, there is no romance in this story, other than, perhaps, some of Evan's memories of Lia. Frankly, I alternated between fascination and frustration reading Otherwise Occupied. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for Lia to appear, and the fact that I waited SO LONG was frustrating! However, Shay Savage has such a way with crafting characters and story that, ultimately, fascination won the day. I was appalled and horrified by Evan's actions and thoughts on more than one occasion, and yet...I also found myself sympathetic and...dare I say...rooting for him?! Quite the contradiction, and that's one of my very favorite things about this author's writing. Truthfully, she's brilliant. These stories, these characters, grab me by the heart and the gut every single time, and I am held riveted until the very last page.The ending included a partial wish of mine. The rest of it? Oh, my Lord!!!! I need book number three ASAP, Shay Savage!! I must have some resolution! I must know what happens! Yup. This one ends on a cliffhanger, folks! Grrrr. Is it still worth reading? Uh...YEAH!!! Fascinating, frustrating, dark, twisty, brilliant, thought-provoking....Otherwise Occupied has nearly everything I LOVE in a great book! I highly recommend it and everything this author writes!!