Review: Phenomenal!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 20, 2014
Honestly, I don’t know where to start with this review. I was truly speechless when I finished reading. The book follows the development of Jayden and Erin’s relationship as he lavishes her with surprises and treats to celebrate their first year together as Dom and sub, but for both of them, it’s evolved into much more than that. I’m aiming to keep this short, because I really don’t want to repeat myself after yesterday’s review and I’m really running out of superlatives!The first thing I really want to mention about this book is how beautifully it follows on from ‘To Serve is Divine’. Honestly, I can’t remember where the first book finishes and this one starts. To me, as someone who reads a lot of series, this is something I always find to be a sticking point in most series, but like I said, Hargrave follows on directly, you could read it without a gap as if it were simply the next chapter. The greats who do this are people like Tolkien, where essentially, the series is just one very long book, and I get the same feeling with this series. The fact that it carries such momentum from one book into the next is another huge bonus as you are already completely immersed in their love when you open the book. The way it is written is so familiar that you can dip straight into it, without needing to reacquaint yourself with the goings on as well, which is, yet another, huge advantage and strength of these books.Something else that really needs mentioning is the pace in this book. Although the events cover a relatively short length of time (a period of just a few days), each part is told in great detail. There is so much content and such a wonderful grasp of pace that you don’t notice the pages flying by, in fact, it feels like there’s much more going on and that it covers much more time. Before long I was despairing that there were only a few left and then left reeling at where they had all gone to! Although this may sound like the pace is really fast, it isn’t, in fact, there are moments that are so delicate that they are just divine to read. Hargrave truly is a master of pitching the speed of her writing so that it guides the reader through at just the right speed.In addition to a great pace and a wonderful transition, there’s also a fantastically strong plot throughout this book. The whole idea from before is intensified and developed beautifully into a romance that is a delight to read. As with ‘To Serve is Divine’, the storyline and plot development takes centre stage, whisking the reader through a huge range of emotions and situations that are so truly engaging it is, once more, incredibly difficult to put this book down at all. Without spoiling anything, the story weaved to it’s conclusion is simply divine, and the final few chapters are just wonderfully written and have great style. Although with a little hindsight I knew certain things might have been coming, Hargrave carefully holds a little veil of mystery to make sure you can never fully guess what is going to happen. This is perhaps one of the most sublime features of this book, and it is my favourite piece of her writing (so far).I know I mentioned this in my last review, but I really do love the characterisation of Catherine and Jayden. I cannot stress enough how well written they both are, how believable their relationship is, and how well they fit into their respective roles. The best thing though, is how well they interact with the other characters – they’re simply so completely natural that they fly off the page and you could imagine them acting out their dialogue in front of you. They’re tangible, almost touchable, and this really makes me wonder if this book series wouldn’t make a wonderful movie one day, or even a TV series. It just fits so well, and it plays like a film in your head as you’re reading.So, I guess I must conclude, and boy has this week been a whirlwhind which ended with a bang. I honestly cannot recommend this book (and author) highly enough. It is an intricate tale of love, passion and sexual discovery (and recovery on Catherine’s behalf) that is simply exquisite and a true pleasure to read. The synthesis of characters, plot, pace, and all the other technical features are blended wonderfully and I have nothing more I could possibly say to praise this book in the way it truly deserves. Honestly, I’ll be on Tenterhooks until ‘Surreal’ is released, so R E Hargrave, my wonderful new found friend, PLEASE get writing!ARC received in return for an honest review as part of a blog tour on Lily Loves Indie - http://lilylovesindie.co.uk/?p=145