Review: Hold me for Ransom!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2014
The definition of used from Merriam and Webster [...] is :usedadjective \ˈyüzd, in the phrase “used to” usually ˈyüs(t)\: having been used before: having had a previous ownerThat is Denver Dempsey in a nutshell.  She is used and uses others to numb her pain.  She is determined to take control of her destiny and recruits her best friend and “Golden Boy” Greer in her battle to determine her own fate.  The problem is she is painted with a broad brush and the name “slut” stuck on the wall around her heart.  Her lack of control in her personal life has taken her down a path in which there is not happy ending for her until she and John Ransom cross paths.  She has to decide whether to follow the path she was on with Greer by her side or take the road less traveled that could end up being her road to happiness.As many readers do, we fall into ruts when we make our book selections.  I tend to go for the sure thing with rockers, tattooed alpha males and lean away from the uncharted territory.  After reading Used, this book is uncharted territory and with that comes anticipation, exhilaration and fear of the unknown.  I had no idea what I was getting myself to.  This story is best described as heavy.  It’s neither sweet nor dark; it’s heavy with no sunshine and flowers.  The major hurdle the characters have to deal with is the definition of sexual assault.  This is not as black as white and one may seem it’s more like 50 shades of gray.  This subject matter I tend to lean away from since I get emotionally attached to my characters and I visualize the story in my head.  Assault is something I don’t like replaying in my dreams at night but that being said I didn’t feel that way after reading this book.  I understood the circumstances and thought process around it from all the parties involved.  This didn’t give me happy butterflies in my stomach but it did give me pause and made me think what would I do in this situation.This story is not your typical love story.  It is dynamic, thought provoking and what I would consider a palate cleanser.  There is nothing “typical” about it.  It has elements that are familiar in other book genres but I haven’t read anything like it to date.  By the end of the book I liked the story. I was left wanting to know where the story was going.  It isn’t a HEA but as a cliffie it was more of a ledge than a cliff.  I was ok where it ended; I just wanted more which makes me anticipate the next book in this series.