Review: This is a surprisingly good story with far more depth and breadth than I expected and I'm very glad I gave it a try
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 18, 2014
I'll start off by saying this isn't my usual genre. The whole billionaire/poor girl with shades of kinky sex isn't something I usually go for. I gave Fifty Shades of Grey a try, but couldn't get past the third chapter. Mostly because the characters were too unlikeable. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for erotica, but if I want to read erotica, I buy it, not something with a thin plot that tries to pass as something else. But there was something about this series that intrigued me and this is definitely not dressed up erotica. It is truly dark romantic suspense.It started off a little slow, but by midway through the first book, it had me hooked. By the middle of the second book, it had me turning pages when I should have been doing something else, and by the end of the third book, I couldn't get to Amazon.com fast enough to pick up the fourth book in the series. It's a thoroughly engaging and fascinating romance.PlotThe plot is the strongest part of the first three books in the series. There are plenty of turns and twists and some unexpected moments. I have to admit, the author totally threw me at one point. I thought I had it figured out and at the end of Book 1, and was instead left with my mouth hanging open. Things go from shocking to interesting and then tragic as I worked my way through Books 2 and 3.CharactersI started off feeling like the characters were superficial and not particularly interesting. Especially the main character, Faren. She describes herself as having creamy skin and hair that is rich and honey-colored. I couldn't help wondering who the hell thinks about themselves that way? I didn't much care for her and I wasn't a fan of billionaire Jared "Mick" McKenna either. I mean what kind of man owns a series of strip clubs. And then there's strip club manager, Ty, who is a total lecherous perv.But once again, Marata Eros surprised me. She actually created far deeper characters than I expected. No one is exactly as they seem and as we get to know them through the books, we learn that while they're far from perfect, they are human and each one of them has redeeming qualities that we can't help liking.Bottom LineThis is a surprisingly good story with far more depth and breadth than I expected and I'm very glad I gave it a try.