Review: heartbreaking and beautiful
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 20, 2013
If Obsession tore me down, Redemption built me back up. I did not realize how much I was still feeling the pain of the first book until I started this one. I had to struggle along side Noelle through this entire book. I went through my own pain of seeing the wrong in Gabriel's actions. Hating him, loving him and forgiving him. Noelle's grief was not just her own. It was ours.Six months have passed and she is still plagued with nightmares. Noelle can't grasp the darkness in her nightmares. Her desire to dominate and hurt Gabriel like he hurt her, punished her. But it's been months and nothing is getting better. Jax is still her rock, he holds her every night but he is not enough to put her back together again. He doesn't understand that this darkness is part of her - it is not just part of her rage and anger over what was done. She has a beast within her that she must learn to embrace. She must let go of everything and build herself back up as the person she wants to be.Submitting to Gabriel, losing him... gave her the knowledge that she did not desire to be at someone else's mercy. She craved the desire to dominate someone else. She wanted to punish them, hurt them, give them what they craved and care for them.When nothing else seemed to work to bring her back, she finds herself at the Manor, Master Henway is going to teach her to cope with her pain and Master Blue is going to teach her to own it. She begins a vigorous regimen of therapy and watching Master Blue at work. As he shows her how to control the beast and give the submissives what they need he also gives her so much more.Master Blue was down right delicious and I was so torn between their friendship and sexual connection that I was not sure what I wanted to happen between the two of them. The instant trust and friendship was so beautiful to watch unfold. She was not his to dominate, but he cared for her as if she was his own, like he wanted to keep her.Noelle's journey to find herself again brought with it the harsh realities of what this lifestyle would bring. Jax was what kept her afloat all those months - her life just teetering on the edge; but when faced with her need for this it creates a void that friendship and love may not be enough to fill. Watching her and Jax was bittersweet. He was so perfect and so wrong for her all at once. Every man seemed to have fallen a little in love with Noelle. But only one surprising choice might be what she discovers she needs. I am not sure if there will be another book in this series or if we are expected to make up our own ending to her story; but I am not sure if I am ready to fully let go of her.I have slowly become attached to so many of the characters in this book and part of me needs to see them find their own peace. I was not sure what to expect when I picked this one up. I was fearful of reading it for a while, remembering how shattered I was after Obsession; but I was completely caught up in the spell that was cast by Ivory Quinn. This was a heartbreaking and beautiful story of letting go and finding it in yourself not only to embrace living, but to embrace life and who you truly are inside.