Review: Romantic Reading Escapes Blog
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 12, 2013
I am truly a masochist....no, I am an insane masochist.  I have now crossed over the line of sanity into the sea of cray cray with Kayla.  Why?  Because I actually started to like one of the most anti-heroes I've ever read!  He's cruel.  He's mean.  He has no gleaning qualities, except I saw a glimmer of hope for Gage Channing and I think the character I loved hating so much now has me wanting to ... like him?  *shivers*Retribution is book #3 in The Devil's Kiss series of novellas and it picks right up where Enslaved left off, so I strongly recommend reading the books in order to get the full emotional impact of the story and to understand what is happening.  Who's the Devil in The Devil's Kiss?  Gage Channing of course!  He could definitely give Lucifer himself a run for his money.  As I said, Gage is just as cruel as ever, but I saw a glimmer of hope for him ... redemption draweth nigh.  At least I hope he's redeemable, as I'm really beginning to like the guy and I'm not sure that's a good thing, but I do understand him so much better.  He's still not excused for his cruelty nor is he excused for his methods of punishment, but I can now see where his deranged actions stem from.While Retribution seemed a little tamer than Ultimatum and Enslaved, it still has its degree of dark erotica and certainly holds a degree of angst.  In the beginning, Kayla gains the upper hand on Gage with the information given to us at the end of Enslaved, and she is quick to confront him.  She can feel freedom within her grasp, but what she finds when she confronts Gage is surprising.  I admit that I was completely shocked as well; Gage was completely vulnerable and out of character.  Was Gage displaying a weakness?  Could it be?  Well, that didn't last long, because Kayla quickly lost the upper hand and Gage was back to his old self and in control once again.  This man is scary, but I really do see something in him that might just make him redeemable in my eyes....and maybe even in Kayla's eyes, too.  He almost showed a flicker of remorse in his actions toward Kayla.  Almost.When Gage began to open up and confide his past to Kayla, it was as though a light bulb went on in my head and I had that first aha! moment.  I actually felt a sadness for Gage and that was the moment I knew I was really in trouble....Gage was getting to me.  He was not only breaking Kayla's walls, but mine as well.  While Gage was winning me over, albeit slowly and with reservations, I was furious with Kayla and had a hard time understanding her.  She has endured so very much at the hands of this monster, yet he was her magnet, pulling her to him as though he was a supernatural force to be reckoned with. Kayla couldn't take herself away from him; even when freedom was one step away to the right, she managed to go left.  She has completely fallen into the deep canyon of insanity.  Her mind kept telling her the right thing to do, but her heart and body kept betraying her.Kayla's inner battle lost time after time.  Gage completely owned her and she let him.  *sigh*  Part of me understands and part of me wants to slap her and say, "Hey!  Remember when he did this?!"  But, Kayla does remember often ... hence the inner battles and fear.  Then Gage goes and does something completely sweet and darn it if he didn't just sweep me off my feet with his confession!  Ugh!  I really want to hate this man, but I can't ... it's so ... so ... frustrating!  THEN of all things, the author throws in something that I never saw coming!  The REAL reason for Gage pursuing Kayla and the ties that bind Kayla, Gage, and Ian together.  While it almost seemed forced and too quick to answer some of my questions, it was still a big surprise to me none the less.  A[...] the author doesn't stop there.  Oh, no.  She still has plenty of angst in a life and death situation for Kayla and Gage that put me on the edge of my seat and had me panting to read more in a hurried attempt to get to the outcome.While I originally believed that The Devil's Kiss was to be a trilogy, Gemma James has seen fit to end Retribution on a presumption" that has me salivating for another installment.  I love book series and I love to read them in order.  I love the angst of a cliffhanger, but I hate the wait for resolution to my agony of not knowing.  Well, really I don't mind it if the story is great and Retribution is one of the great ones.  While Retribution was more subdued compared to the first two books in the series, it still held a great story and I thoroughly enjoyed myself while reading it.  As a novella, this book can be read in a lunch hour or two and still manage to have me feeling as though I've just read a complete novel.  The only thing preventing Retribution from being 5 stars for me was Ian's actions with Kayla in his office.  To prevent spoilers, I won't say what he did, but I felt that it was completely out of the blue and didn't feel right in the story.  Again, that is just me.  Overall, Retribution is quite worthy of the 4 stars I do give it and I encourage readers to immerse themselves into the world of Gage Channing.  It is very important that these books be read in order.  Note to the author:  While I was resolved that there was an end to my crisis ... BAM!  You leave me with an implication that has my mouth drooling for more!  Well played, Gemma James.