Review: Captivating, spellbinding and absolutely screwed with my heart and my head!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 17, 2013
4.5 "Blue Eyes" "Candy" "heartbreakingly lovable" "I was lost to him the moment I saw him..." KissesWow...yeah, how do I talk about this book? I read it when it was four separate novellas (To Have, To Hold, Till Death, Do Us Part) and then I re-read it as The Dumont Diaries to get the full effect...because after each novella, I had to stop to write my reviews so I wouldn't get confused. As a whole, all the emotions that I initially experienced in the four novella's, I felt the same - times ten because there was no pause, no break - just a straight hit to my emotions. The plot, the characters, the writing - it's all a mind f^@% and I was 100% hooked.Candace Deanna Tapers is living a s#!%$# life. She graduated college with high hopes only to come to the realization that while you may have the best plans and intentions those don't always work out. Candy is 26 years old and stuck working as a stripper, renting a disgusting room from an even more disgusting guy, barely living and struggling to make ends meet. But it's thru those circumstances that leads her to her new life...because Candy no longer exists...in her place is Jennifer Kinsey...or Jennifer Ann Kinsey-Dumont. In the span of a few weeks her entire life has changed. While financially she doesn't have a care in the world...emotionally that's not so true. She knew what she was signing up for but I guess you never know what the real price will cost you. Candy...the more I read her, the more I like her. She's got spunk and she's throughout the book she got gutsier...I was definitely impressed. She grew and changed...in positive ways, in my opinion. Towards the end of the book she held my heart! Usually (and for obvious reasons) it is the guy that I'm 100% hung up on, but I was fist pumping every word she said, every decision she made - if there ever is a head cheerleader for the `I love Candy' team - it's me! This girl is aaaaamazing! Blew my socks off completely.`My view of love is an unfair one, created by Nicholas Sparks novels, Lifetime movies, and Michael Buble love songs. I recognize it for what it is - a fairytale fantasy, at least for a girl like me. Maybe I will be Julia Roberts, and a dashing, dignified Richard Gere will fall madly in love with me and whisk me away to a lifetime of diamonds, caviar, and True Love. But it is a long shot, and the last few years have proven that I carry poor odds.'Nathan Bane Dumont...Mr. Blue Eyes. He's an enigma. A man of very few words but the words he uses...Mmmm...he knows what he wants and he usually gets what he wants. And turns out...he wants Candy! He's strong, silent, hot, demanding, alpha, brooding, mysterious and I want him badly. I don't know what it is about him, maybe the fact that I had so many unanswered questions throughout the book and not knowing drove me insane! And every time I got answers to some, I would then have more! Why he is so closed off, why he needed Candy/Jennifer so badly, why all the walls...he's a tough nut to crack. That's part of the intrigue know...not knowing makes me crave it that much more. By the second half of the book he became more human, which scared me...a lot! I started to like him more...a lot more. More than I thought I would. I understand him more, which is tough...because I was enjoying thinking that he was just an @#% hole! Lol He's a very loveable @#% hole...and I mean that as a compliment. And then, by the end...oh boy...I loved him, I wanted him, in my brain I molested him - but he liked it, so it's okay, right? Then the last few chapters...I wanted to choke him...throttle him...cause him bodily harm for being a dumb @#%...but I didn't. Because I had faith he would pull his head out of his @#%...and he did. Thankfully...he did have me worried for a little bit there.`I love his eyes. They are the only way I can read him. His body gives so little away; he controls his emotions so well. But his eyes are traitorous to his carefully maintained control. They blaze when he is angry, they soften when he is yielding, they grow heavy with need when he is aroused.'I will mention Drew because...he piqued my interest from the beginning. He is one of Nathan's bodyguards and basically watches over Candy since she arrives at Nathan's house. Well...there were a lot of things about Drew that made me wonder...made me raise my eyebrow...I predicted early on there was more to Drew...that he was very important to whatever might be going on, and I was right. I call him the unforeseen complication, if you will. I can't disclose more or else it will spoil things but he is a huge part of the story. If Nathan is closed off and surly, Drew is kind and open and patient. I really liked Drew...Nathan just gets me all fired up and Drew is this calming spirit. Hard to explain really, but I just get `good guy' vibes from him. And honestly, at the end, I felt bad for him! And once again I don't even know him that well but I guess it's the whole 'good guy' thing...by default he's got a soft spot in my heart. I do love his relationship with Candy though...I know I shouldn't and it makes me feel all conflicted inside, but I can't help it.`His whispered voice is so thick, so full of emotion and need. It matches the need in my heart. I need this so bad. I need to be held, to be protected, to be embraced. He nuzzles the skin on my neck, placing a soft kiss there before continuing. "I just...I couldn't go to sleep without touching you."'This is a quintessential Alessandra Torre book for me. Gorgeous writing...captivating and alluring characters and a plot that keeps me on my toes the entire time. Another thing I have come to expect from Alessandra is completely delicious, eyes rolling in the back of your head fabulous, need to change your panties, hot sex. Super hot. Like...d@#^...I wish I wasn't reading this book in public hot. I mean...yes this is an erotica but this book is more than just sex, it has substance and plot...works for me! And speaking of the plot, there is no way to explain this plot without spoiling it...but it's an on the edge of your seat, white knuckling your kindle, never know what's going to hit you next story line. There were so many huge twists that I did not expect, didn't see coming or really how I felt about it! I'm was torn and my emotions were on high alert because every time I thought I knew how I felt about something...something else would happen and then I really didn't know how I felt. It might sound very confusing...but I loved it! I remember thinking when I was reading each book separately how well each one built off the other...and it was the same here, if anything it might have been a little more powerful, because like I said with the four novella's, I broke off between each book rather than reading straight through.`Even if he doesn't fall in love, being with him, feeling his hands on my body, his eyes on my soul, his laugh on my lips...that will be enough.'The characters and original story line of where the book was taken is what completely held my interest...it's rare for a book to catch me so off guard but this one did it and did it very well. If there was anything that left me wanting more it would be two things, and it's more a `resolution' factor if you will...Drew and Cecile. I feel like the way things were left with Drew were very open ended - there was no final 'talk' and I think there should have been, just for closure. Now Cecile - I have soooooo many questions...I get the relationship, I understand the dynamics and all that but there are a lot of unanswered questions - the who, what, when, where and more importantly the why!!!! I am sad that I will never know that...would ease my poor little battered and bruised heart.`A woman's desperation is most clearly spoken in a kiss. And I'm afraid, in this moment, that I bare my soul to him. Everything that I have contained, held back, lied to myself about, comes to the surface, all of my emotions revealed at once, both to me and to him.'Still even with those two factors I completely loved this series. Alessandra has a knack for beautiful writing...it's effortless and catches me off guard with how she can bring out such emotion and power with her words. I can't explain it but she just has a way of taking something that would seem very mundane and making it amazing. I loved Candy and Nathan's story...I will always hope for more and maybe someday we will get that - she did throw me for a loop at one point and gave me a tid bit from Nathan's journal - would LOVE some more of Mr. Blue Eyes POV. A Drew spin off would be awesome too because he is another nut that needs to be cracked. The Dumont Diaries is a heart gripping, panty melting, and hands down fabulous series - an absolute must read!