Review: Powerful, Dark, Intense, Tragic
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 8, 2013
The Tied Man by Tabitha McGowanSeries: The Tied Man #1Genre: Contemporary (Not quite Romance/Erotica/Horror)Age Group: Mature AdultRelease Date: January 5th 2013Print Length: 395 pagesFormat: Kindle eBookSource: PurchasedReview Date: May 8th 2013Overall Rating: 4.5 StarsReview:This book is so tragic that I had to distance myself from it twice, and take a day off before reviewing it.  I feel like I have to get this review right for Finn's sake.  I know he is a fictional character, but when I was reading this he felt as real as I am.  Mrs. McGowan is a tremendously talented writer, and I know that I would have never finished this book if she had not sucked me so far into the story that I actually could not leave it alone.  I feared that the characters would forever be in this hell (if only in my head) if I did not finish the story.Let me tell you that I have read plenty of dark books, and have enjoyed many of them.  But this one was so dark that at times it was too much for me to handle.  I am VERY sincere when I say it is not for the faint at heart.  It was so raw, powerful, and intense--I was in a constant state of dread.  I was literally emotionally exhausted.  So why do I give it 4.5 stars you ask?  It is hard to put into words.  My best guess would be that I fell in love with the main characters so deeply, and I hated the villain (Blaine) so much that I literally wanted to murder her myself.  I was just so engrossed in this storyline that I felt it in my bones--so I had to give this book a high rating.Finn is an unbelievably beautiful character inside and out. He is also strong, surviving the most unimaginable cruelties as a sex slave, yet he has not broken. He is damaged, but not broken.  He even has enough of himself left to fall for Lilith.  "Lili" is the strongest female character I have ever come across.  She is bold, independent, wild, sexy, and tells it like it is.  She puts her life on the line to save Finn.  It is an almost impossible task, but she cannot leave him there to be tortured.  Will she be able to rescue Finn, or will they both perish trying?I have to mention a few things I would change about The Tied Man.  First, if you are from the UK than this one doesn't apply to you. It was full of English slang that I didn't understand which at times made the book hard to follow.  Thank goodness I read it on my Kindle so many of the words could easily be defined.  And I still don't know what a vest is.  Is it a vest or another type of shirt??  Second, I could not understand why Finn never contemplated murdering Blaine.  I am not a violent person, but if someone threatened the people I loved and continually had me brutally raped, I'm pretty sure I want to kill them.  He was stronger than her, and definitely had the opportunity to.All things considered, this was definitely a book I will NEVER forget.  It has a permanent imprint on my brain, and I'm still trying to figure out if that's a good thing or not.  If you think you can handle it, I recommend you try.  Just have a barf bag and some tranquilizers ready just in case...~StacyHgg