Review: TOTALLY WORTH READING...A STORY THAT WILL GRAB YOU WITH A HERO THAT IS TO DIE FOR!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 24, 2014
"I used to like books and movies where the hero rides in to save the day.Sure, the stories were usually romanticized and over-the-top, but they still felt real to me. The world needs saving, but justice and sacrifice really mean something. The person who lives them out should be able to make a difference in the world.I stopped believing any of that on Tuesdsay, March 11 at about four o'clock in the afternoon..."Salvation by Noelle Adams was an intense, emotional story that details a young woman’s struggle after being brutally raped. While I was immediately drawn in by the blurb, I hesitated to start the book because of the difficult subject matter. I tend to shy away from some of the more emotional reads but decided to give this one a try and am glad I did."We tell ourselves stories-over and over again- about how help comes just in the nick of time, about how we get saved at the very last moment, about how the bomb is defused with only a few seconds left on the timer. I was still scared, but something inside me believed that would be my story too.This was bad. It was really, really bad. But I would still somehow be okay."While I don’t want to give too much away in my review, I do want to say that while the issue of sexual abuse/rape is never easy to read about, the author did not spend a lot of time on the actual rape, there are no graphic details, etc. The sexual assault happens very early on in the book and my initial thought was that the author missed an opportunity by not spending more time on the actual “event”. As difficult as it would have been to read about, I thought by not giving more details about the actual experience the heroine goes through, the reader misses out on what should have been the most intense moments in the story. As I continued to read though the story became less about the actual rape and more about the journey the heroine, Diana, must take to learn to live after her attack and the relationship she has with FBI Agent, Gideon.The many struggles Diana goes through are heartbreaking, the nightmares and desire to self harm...The struggle she has to discover and understand who she is after the rape compared to who she was before was very well done."In your mind, is the Diana who was raped the Diana you used to be or the Diana you are now?I had no idea how to answer that...."While I felt for Diana the whole story, I have to admit the real star of this book for me was Gideon. I throw the term “hero” around a lot in the reviews I do but Gideon is a true hero, in every way. His steadfast devotion, his desire to protect and care for Diana, his loyalty and patience make him the ultimate hero. I absolutely loved him and admired his actions, from beginning to end. Ultimate book boyfriend, right here!Salvation is a stand-alone novel and is told from Diana’s point of view. At times it read almost like a diary. While I would have loved some of the book to have been from Gideon's perspective, I thought the POV worked as it was written. This is my first book by Noelle Adams and I despite the difficult story line, I enjoyed it and will definitely read more from this author.Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review