Review: I did not see this coming
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 3, 2014
I finished this book yesterday and it left me so emotionally drained I had to wait a day to review it. No spoilers here, I despise them, I want to experience the best parts of a book through the book, not a review.I adore this book, it's well written, the characters are real and you can connect with them emotionally. This book took twists and turns near the end threw me the biggest curve ball of all. It was a shock and not the direction I saw this book going in.Gabriel Hallow is a damaged man. Rock star, producer and public enemy number one, he sees his redemption in quiet, wholesome school teacher Noelle Winters. Crashing into her life like a wrecking ball, he smothers her innocence and leads her down the razor's edge between submissive and victim, opening her eyes to things she didn't even know could happen between a man and a woman. Overwhelmed by his generosity and charm, how far will she go to save his soul? And when is it too late to turn back?Gabriel. The man does have some serious issues, his need to be in control could have been portrayed in a thousand different ways, but his chosen path was BDSM, which honestly doesn't give him the ultimate power, but gives it to the submissive. His past has made him who he is and this is his idea of control.Gabriel was a strong character, I loved him and despised him. I wanted him to find peace, come to terms with his haunted past and find some type of closure with it. Not to save him, not to change his entire lifestyle but I wanted him to understand it more and be able to become more than just a man living to rid himself of his past.Noelle. The simple school teacher. She's only had vanilla sex and never been with a man like Gabriel. I know realistically her choices were what most people would make, not rushing to fall in love and marry a man she didn't know all she needed to know about. She looked at their relationship logically which I appreciate. I understand her character but to an extent I didn't connect with her as much as I would have liked. She's a strong female character which I love, but I honestly didn't see how Noelle and Gabriel could have a lasting relationship. Really she made smart choices concerning their relationship, if your not completely comfortable with the situation then don't jump to commit to it. I got that but at some point in this story I began to blame her for Gabriel's inability to become the man I hoped he would be. I realize after giving the book a day to settle that I was wrong to do that, but while reading it, you realize how much Gabriel needs her, wants her to accept him, love him as he is, as no one has done before. It's not Noelle's fault, but I need someone to blame.I'm still coming to terms with the last 6% of this book. I really had no clue this is the way things would end. Even though I considered Gabriel's behavior in the end once he left the final meeting, I honestly was shocked by what happened. I cried. This was not what I expected, there were no real signs this is how it would end, it was a slap in the face, a shock to my system, and broke my heart.There's nothing better than a book that draws you in emotionally and won't let you go. Obsession did that for me. You don't get closure at the end of this book, the story continues and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.This is not your typical BDSM novel, it's not your typical boy meets girl happily ever after.There is no happy ending.There is second book to continue this journey.It's been awhile since a book hit me as hard as this one did, and I'm grateful it did, this book is what I love about reading, the range of emotion it drags out of the reader, the feelings you have in regards to each character, the not knowing whose side you truly want to be on because while each character has their flaws, you see a future for both of them, one where they are complete, have what they need to be the person you envision they can be. By the end of this book neither of them became that person. And only one of them came to terms with their choices, their life and their behavior. Honestly the morning after I'm still broken hearted for both Gabriel and Noelle, as well as Jax and Roger.Thank you Ivory Quinn for an amazing story.