Consequences by Aleatha Romig

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Consequences
Series: Consequences #1
Author: Aleatha Romig
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: B005IP26DG
E-Book Edition

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Besieged by memories of a brutal abduction, Claire Nichols wakes in an unfamiliar bedroom, within a luxurious mansion. Her recollections have one common denominator, the man she just met, Anthony Rawlings. 

Unbeknownst to Claire, for a very long time, she has been within Anthony’s sights. Many of the pivotal events in her life occurred, due to his sinister manipulation. Every action has a consequence, and his actions result in their chance meeting. 

More than a psychological thriller, Consequences is a vivid story of one woman’s struggle to survive incomprehensible circumstances. Every aspect of her being suddenly depends upon the tall, wealthy, dark haired, dark eyed businessman. Anthony Rawlings is known to the world as prosperous, benevolent, and kind. Claire quickly learns that he can also be a menacing controlling captor. 

With few options but concession, Claire attempts to earn her freedom, while enduring a hellish existence that truly appears perfect. Persevering tests and trials, she struggles to retain her pure Midwest values and beliefs. Encouraged by memories of a loving upbringing, she gains strength in the simplest of joys: solitude in nature and good in the face of evil. 

His goal in sight, Anthony’s calculated agenda encounters an unforeseen detour. He becomes captivated by Claire’s beauty, resilience, and determination. The interaction of these two compelling characters instigates strong emotions: fear, anger, love, and lust. Claire and Anthony’s tumultuous journey flows into uncharted waters of intrigue and passion. 

Utilizing vivid detail, this 167,000-word novel unfolds like a movie, before the eyes of its readers. From the opening criminal abduction, through twists and turns, to the unlikely romantic thrills, the suspense climaxes as Anthony’s motivation becomes evident. 

Anthony and Claire must decide if they will stay true to one another, or allow preceding actions to result in justifiable Consequences.

MY THOUGHTS

Holy freaking heck!  Yes, that is the main thought going through my mind after completing this novel.  I am surprised I can even get those three words to compute in my frazzled brain at the moment.  After Mandi from Smexybooks recommended this book to me, I thought she was out of her beautiful loving mind.  I thought to myself  that there was no way I would enjoy this book.  No romance? No supernatural plot? Are you insane Mandi? Then I finally decided to read it and step out of my comfort zone.

This is not — and I repeat — NOT a romance!  Also, if you are under 18 or cannot handle difficult scenes that include rape, violence or abuse, then this book shouldn’t be read without proper warning.  I warned Mandi that I would be tweeting her my progress with my thoughts on this book.  She listened and she supported me through the journey. I seriously could not believe some of the things that happened in this book.

I so wish I could give it a proper review with scene by scene playback.  I am not going to do that though for the sheer volume of space it would take.  This novel was huge and I agree with others in the fact that it could have been worked down to half.  The author goes into a lot of details and scene setups that I believe could have been left out.  Not to say that I didn’t enjoy those scenes, but it became too much with the other things that do happen.

I found myself starting to fall into the same Stockholm syndrome that Claire did.  I started to step into her shoes and think that if she just would have done one thing differently, it could have had a different outcome.  I thought Anthony was going to turn out to be a good guy and Claire was something special to him.  She was going to be able to fix him even if he was her captor.  DO NOT go into this book with a weak mind thinking that what I just said is true.  DO NOT think he will be a different person for her.  DO NOT be fooled as she was.  Remember that she was kidnapped and she had no choice in this.

The ending was a jaw dropper.  Not only did the 40% mark make me wish I had more wine to handle the story, but the ending was torture.  When Claire received that box, everything starts to fall in place.  Then when Anthony “meets” the next girl, you just know this isn’t going to go well.

This is one emotional story that will leave the reader hanging on by barely a thread of sanity and belief.  I personally can’t wait to step out of my comfort zone again and read the next book in this series.

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

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Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline
Source: Wunderkid PR
Genre: Fiction/Sci-Fi/Adventure
ISBN: 9780307887443

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place. 

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. 

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.   

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape. 

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

MY THOUGHTS

After numerous requests from people that I venture out of my comfort zone of romance, I decided to give this book a try.  It was sent to me for review — one I didn’t request — but I thought I would use it as my stepping stone into a different type of read than what I am accustomed to.

Can I just say that this book was completely the opposite of what I was expecting!  I am not a huge fan of Science Fiction, but I will say that this book gave a new take to the genre.  It was set in the new future which added the Dystopia theme to it.  It had undertones of Hunger Games like fighting in it.  It had suspense in it as well.  It was like a gift of several genres all wrapped nicely with a bow on it.  I couldn’t believe I actually enjoyed a book like this.  The writing was even done to a point to where I felt like I was experiencing it like the main character at times.

There were a few things that I didn’t like about the book though. If you are not into the whole 1980’s, then you might want to reconsider.  This book is rich in the eighties culture and has you step back into those horrible years of youth.  Even with that being said, I still say give it a try if you are willing to step into a different comfort zone for your next read.  You might find yourself finding a new story to enjoy.

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*