Review: Loved it!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 10, 2014
Being Zolt is the much-anticipated sequel to ‘Indulging in Irelyn’. Check out my review for Indulging at [...].... This book picks up right after Indulging leaves off and do not attempt to read this without reading the first.Indulging ends in a HUGE cliffhanger with Irelyn telling Zolt she’s going to marry Marcus and that her shirt is green (seriously, don’t try to make sense of this without reading Indulging!!). Zolt flys off the deep end and ends up behaving in a very old-Zolt kind of way. He’s back at his sex apartment drunk with a no-name that doesn’t know his name. T-bone and Brody barge in, kick no-name out and let Zolt know that Irelyn is in trouble. Irelyn hasn’t been in contact with her best friend, Rachel, Sloan was arrested while he was supposed to be watching for Irelyn and Cory’s sister, Kenna, is also missing and they are sure Marcus has her. Rachel tells Zolt that Irelyn is in love with him and was planning to come back to him after the dress fitting and Zolt realizes how badly he messed up.While Zolt and the gang come up with a plan to get Irelyn back, we find out that Marcus has put Irelyn in a cell that is worse than jail. He’s feeding her all of the food she hates. Other than the clothes on her back, she doesn’t have anything to wear or change into, he’s displaying all of the crime scene photos from Chris’ murder and he’s also playing the footage of Zolt’s accident over and over. He intends to break her. She knows there are other girls (including Kenna) being held prison, because she can hear their screams. The only person she has contact with is the woman bringing her food. After Irelyn reaches out to her, the mystery woman leaves a note for Irelyn letting her know that Kenna is there and alive. The mystery woman is taking care of her as much as allowed and asks Irelyn to not forget about her in the event that she ever gets free. Marcus has announced that he and Irelyn are engaged, so Irelyn must accompany him when a public appearance is required at the Arizona Cardinals (Zolt’s old football team) Charity Ball. Before the event, Marcus flogs Irelyn until she can barely stand.Knowing that Marcus won’t be able to avoid bringing Irelyn to the Charity Ball, Zolt and the gang knows this is their opportunity to get Irelyn back. They come up with a plan and succeed. The problem is that they still don’t have Kenna. While Irelyn recovers from the flogging injuries, T-bones men work on ways to get Kenna back.When Irelyn can’t handle the pressure of waiting for action, she put herself and the entire rescue mission in jeopardy by sneaking out while Zolt is sleeping and going back to her grandparent’s house. Luckily, Zolt wakes up and realizes she’s gone, but Marcus’ men figure it out and chase after them. Marcus ends up taking his operation on the road to prevent Zolt, Irelyn and the gang from getting Kenna back.T-bone’s men are able to crack the password on Irelyn’s brother’s laptop and he gives them a chilling message from the grave. Irelyn and Zolt realize that they’ll have to confront Irelyn’s parents about what’s been going on. Hopefully, they will be able to get them to help bring Marcus down.What happens when they confront Irelyn’s parents? Can they get Kenna back? What made Marcus into the evil person he is? Do they make him pay for his crimes? Who was the mystery woman who left Irelyn the note and can they save her? What does the future have in store for Irelyn and Zolt?Holy Moly!! I have to say that over the course of time I have read pretty much every type of romance novel that exists. The romantic suspense variety is generally the most difficult for me, because I NEED to be able to stay engaged with both the suspense and the romance. Generally speaking, I find that one of these two aspects wins out over the other. That isn’t the case here. If you’re reading Being Zolt, you’re already invested in the AMAZING love story that is Zolt and Irelyn. At no time do you lose that in this book. You also have a pretty decent idea that Marcus is a monster, but you have no idea just how big of a monster or WHY until this. I physically caught myself gasping a few times reading this. For me, the most jaw-dropping point was the showdown with Irelyn’s parents. I absolutely did not see that coming. Zolt realizes pretty quickly how much he has messed up and it’s absolutely beautiful to see him become the true hero in this. His shows in adoration for Irelyn to her in this book where he didn’t so much in the first. Irelyn had a few moments where she pissed me off, but we’ll give her a pass. She did get tortured by Marcus, so it makes sense that she wasn’t the most logical leading lady in history.This is one of those stories that made me want to discuss it afterwards with someone else who read it. I’m sure you’ll feel the same, so don’t hesitate to leave your comments.Yes, I have praised this book/series lavishly, so it wouldn’t be fair to leave out the negatives.1) Did I find some of the story line unrealistic? Yes. Personally, I am ok with this. It’s a story people. I knew going in that this wasn’t real. Also, I sleep better at night feeling like this is a work of fiction. I don’t ever want to encounter Marcus or any one like him.2) I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but I think there was too much sex. There was a lot of sex for the sake of sex. It was hot, don’t get me wrong, but I love Zolt and Irelyn and I want more intimacy between them. The sheer amount of sex was also a bit unrealistic to me.Do I recommend this series? Abso-freaking-lutely!! You need to be in the mood for a romantic suspense though. I found myself constantly on the edge of my seat. All of the unanswered questions get answered in this one…..all except What happens to everybody else? I need to know where Sloan was and what happened/happens with him and Kenna. What happens to Brody? I need more!!!Reviewing on behalf of Fierce and Fabulous Book Diva Blog. Complimentary copy provided in exchange for an honest review. Come check us out at [...].