Review: OUTSTANDING!!!!!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 9, 2013
The one thing I always know for certain, without a doubt, 100% when I start a book by Ranae Rose, is that I won't be disappointed. Another thing I have also learnt as I have read more of Ranae's work is that she makes sure she has fully researched the subject she is dealing with. Whether it be the intricacies of being a tattoo artist, or the down-right desperation and uncertainty of PTSD. This book is no exception, for all of the above reasons and then some.Hell Without You is a classic tale in the sense that it follows well known and established patterns with regards to a suspenseful romantic storyline. However, Ranae has put her unique spin on it and given us something new and fresh to enjoy.Clementine and Donovan have been in love since they were teenagers. Clementine lives in comfort with her mother, step-father and step-brother, while Donovan lives in a rundown pink trailer with his siblings and drug addicted mother. Despite or maybe in-spite of their differences they form a strong bond as teenagers that develops into love. This love is shattered by one unthinkable event, that leaves Clementine studying at college, alone in a strange city, and Donovan enlisting in the Marines, which ultimately leads him into a tour of Afghanistan.7 years later and they are both different, yet the same people. A chance meeting and it becomes quickly apparent that the connection they shared although lain dormant, hasn't diminished. Donovan is haunted by his experiences in Afghanistan, and Clementine is still fearful of reprecussions of events from her past.Donovan - "My soul has been trapped outside my body for the past ten years."Clementine - "Really."....."Where is it?"Donovan - "Sitting right across from me."....."Don't pretend you didnt know that."It is difficult to put into words how much I loved Donovan..(tbh pretty much every one of Ranae's lead men are in my top ten BBF's). He doesn't usurp Ryan Moore, but he is a very close second. This is a man who has suffered, at the hands of people who should have been looking out for him. He struggles with anxiety as a result of PTSD, and the vulnerability he displays in the extremes he is prepared to go to to ensure Clementine doesn't leave him again bought tears to my eyes.Donovan - "The only thing I am afraid of is a life without you."........"There's nothing you can say to scare me off. Nothing I wouldn't want, as long as it was with you."Another positive point for Ranae is she writes books about run of the mill men and women, and the challenges they face. By that I do not mean they are boring, but you won't find a billionaire businessman with emotional issues within her pages, her characters have believable issues and relatable conditions that are within the realms of possibility, and because of that it is so much easier to fall in love with them through a level of association. The dips back to their teenage years in Hell Without You added to the flow of the story at points where it was of benefit, and added an extra insight and depth to their story.Being a lover of Chopin, Ranae's reference to Raindrop in the book was particularly poignant as it really pulled me into the emotion of what she is trying to express (I recommend you listen to this piece at the point it is mentioned, as it gives the following paragraphs so much more feeling).I always seem to end my reviews for Ranae's books in the same vein, by encouraging you to read her work. If this review even inspires one person to one-click Hell Without You I will be happy. If you want to start with something a little shorter I urge you to have a look at the Inked In The Steel City Series, or even better take the time to acquaint yourself with the unforgettable Ryan Moore -Battered Not Broken -UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battered-Not-...US - http://www.amazon.com/Battered-Not-Br...Rough Around The Edges -UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rough-Around-...US - http://www.amazon.com/Rough-Around-Ed...My thanks as always go to Ranae, for giving me the opportuntiy to read an ARC of Hell Without You.