Review: This is Stockholm Syndrome at it's peak!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 7, 2012
I'm not even sure that I was kept safe while reading this book.  What do I mean?  I've read some very dark books in the past, but this one is quite different than any I've read before.There is sex on the very first page of this book!  Holy erotica, Batman! Sex. On. The. First. Page.  But not just any sex...rape.  Consensual rape!  What an oxymoron!  I have to admit that I had no idea what I was getting myself into with this book.  It is not for the faint heart.  I'm convinced there has to be a training or workout of some sort that is required prior to reading this book....maybe a baptism or spiritual anointing.  Book those therapy appointments in advance, if you plan on tackling this one.  This book contains harsh physical and emotional abuse, rape, and human suffering as I've never read in any book before.  I have never had such a difficult time getting through a book before due to the content, but I had to keep reading, hoping for a HEA at the end.  Did I get one?  Well, that is in the eye of the reader.  I'm really not so sure that I got my HEA, but at the same time, maybe I did?  I just can't tell.  I can't wrap my mind (which is now warped, I'm sure) around it.Let me start with what I liked about this book.  I really liked that the story was told in Rachel's point of view.  It really read like it was her personal journal in the beginning.  That allowed me to feel everything she was feeling...and I'm not sure that was a good thing.  It's wonderful that an author can do that, but believe me when I say, I didn't want to feel what this heroine was feeling! Oh EM GEE!!  I loved all the twists around Zachary, the hero....and there were many twists and connections made where he was concerned.  The relationship that developed between Rachel and Zachary was strange.  We've all heard of Stockholm syndrome...where the victim falls in love with his or her abuser.  Well, this relationship was instant Stockholm at it's peak!  I did enjoy the shift of power from Zachary to Rachel in one scene....and Rachel enjoyed it, too.  Zachary was such a contradiction.  I mean, he is only one of Rachel's many abusers, yet he is also her savior.  He is her *spoiler*, but submissive at the same time.  Yes, I think Zachary is a closet sub.There is a lot of angst in this book, and I love a book filled with twists and angst.  The abuse scenes were so well written, I had to check my mirror to see if I was covered in red welts and bruises.  I was sick to my stomach while reading a few scenes.  I actually did throw up a little in my mouth.  I'm telling you, I felt everything!  Just when I thought the worst was over....BAM!!  The abuse kicked up 10 notches...on a scale of 1 to 10!Now, with all that said, there were a few things I didn't like about the book.  I really didn't like the progression of the relationship between Zachary and Rachel.  It was rushed and forced.  Perhaps if this was a novel instead of a novella, the author would have carried this out a bit more to my liking.  What I liked about Rachel in the beginning of the story - her strength - very quickly vanished when 18% into the book.  Can you say weak and naive?  I mean, the girl had just been brutally abused, for Pete's sake!  She was so forgiving and excusing of Zachary's behavior...WTH?!  Why wasn't she angry?!  I was furious!  Rachel is certifiable in my eyes.  I also felt that one of the scenes was out of sequence, and the story seemed a bit far fetched at times toward the ending.  I actually made a note to myself at the end of the book.  That's it?!  That's all there is?!  I had to double check that I wasn't missing anything...I wasn't.Hmmm...how to rate this one...I just don't know.  The plot is good, though seemingly out of sequence in only one area.  The angst kept me glued to the pages.  The descriptions were very good, as I was able to feel everything Rachel felt, and I really liked her...at first.  I didn't like the rushed relationship and the fact that it seemed to skip parts of the relationship...not to mention that Zachary and Rachel never kissed once in the entire book, but they love each other?  Rachel is one screwed up chicka, and this is one mind screwing book.  So, I reminded myself that I rate books based on the feeling the book gave me while reading it and not on content. This book gave me conflicting feelings.  I liked it, I felt it...but it was missing something for me.  So, I give this book 3 stars and hope that the next installment (another novella) is a little lighter on the dark (for my own sanity) and with better story progression.  *Note: When I mentioned that I had purchased the first two books in the series, the author did tell me that Keep Me Safe was the most raw of the three in the trilogy.