Review: Sexy, dark and interesting
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 6, 2014
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.Author Evie Knight has managed to create a dark, sensual story among the world of classical music that brought to mind dramatic concerts, passionate nights and murder.Classical violinist Colin Hoskins just wants to be left alone. After being the center of a criminal investigation, he’s retreated into a solitary life. Bitter and angry, he wants nothing to do with life and especially wants nothing to do with his new assistant.Ariel Parks has no choice but to accept a job as Colin’s assistant. She has fantasized about this man for years but the reality of him is a harsh wake up call, one she’s not sure she wants to deal with. Unfortunately the attraction between the two of them is too powerful to ignore.Ariel’s Song brought to mind images of Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast. It’s not a happy go lucky romance!Colin is pretty damaged by his past and it has changed him into a rude, snarling, control freak. At first his personality left a lot to be desired. He’s such a cruel character at times, knowing when and how to verbally strike at a person to inflict the most damage. How this man still had loyal friends I didn’t know. Though since he’s also a musician, he can be forgiven for some of his moodiness. Colin grew on me after a few chapters and while I never fell head over heels in love with him like Ariel, I sympathized with him and came to understand how he could have become so bitter and mean so maybe that’s why his friends stuck around for him.Ariel was the problem for me. I wanted to like her but I couldn’t get past tolerating her. Here she is, a penniless heiress, stranded far away from home who has to suddenly get a job for the first time in her pampered life. Fine, but she makes a reader believe that she can’t afford to lose the job she has as Colin’s assistant, yet she can’t be in the same room with him for one hour before she’s tossing her clothes off and letting him do whatever he wants to her. She’s desperately attracted to Colin, I get that, but is that more important than getting the money to go home and find out why she’s suddenly penniless? Ariel is weak when it comes to Colin’s sexual appeal, she’s ready to drop her clothes if he so much as smiles at her and he sometimes used that to manipulate her which I wasn’t too crazy about. Ariel should have been stronger than that.Colin and Ariel seem to have a sex only relationship in the beginning, which is hot, I won’t deny that but I couldn’t see how a relationship was going to form between the two if all they did was argue and then have sex. It took awhile, but slowly those two began to actually communicate and learn more about each other than what they looked like naked. It was good to finally get to know more about them individually.Another thing about Ariel’s Song that I enjoyed was how Colin’s “healing” didn’t happen overnight, nor did it seem to come easily to Ariel to “fix” him. It was a real rollercoaster ride, which is expected because we’re talking YEARS of Colin living the way he was. It would have been ridiculous for him to be miraculously cured just because Ariel appeared in his life or shared his bed a few times.Final Verdict: After a few ups and downs, Ariel’s Song settled into a dark, hot ride that I enjoyed. I didn’t enjoy the heroine but the story was interesting, the sex scenes were hot and Colin’s best friend Logan is now on my radar.