The Darkest Joy by Marata Eros – a Review

The Darkest Joy by Marata Eros – a Review

 

The DArkest JoyLinks to order The Darkest Joy:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / The Book Depository


Description:

A sexy and poignant new adult novel from New York Times bestseller Marata Eros, about two lost souls who find each other in the wake of tragedy, only to learn that love may not be enough to heal the wounds of a dark and tortured past…

Twenty year-old Brooke Starr has escaped the aftermath of a brutal tragedy by abandoning her music studies and moving north to take a summer position as a part-time deck hand on a deep-sea fishing boat. When her survivor’s guilt becomes unbearable, Brooke realizes there’s only one thing she can do to finally erase the pain.

Deep sea fisherman, Chance Taylor, has just wrapped his guitar set at the local saloon when he sees the silhouette of a young woman in repose, the full moon highlighting her shadow as she plummets from a pier too high for diving… into water too cold to survive. Without thinking, he plunges in after her, saving Brooke from drowning.

As Chance works to save her from her own emotional fragility, Brooke finally begins to learn how to save herself. But when their chemistry begins to consume them, Brooke withdraws. She’s determined to be the master of her own destiny… until the past catches up with her in a cataclysmic plan so dark, so final… it threatens their love and their very lives.

 

Review:

When I received this book to read and review, the first thing I noticed was the nice sexy cover.  I assumed (I know ) that this was an erotic novel.  I enjoy steamy sexy books in my stories, but I prefer my books a mix,  not just full erotic, so I never planned on reading this book.  A few days later, I read the blurb on the back cover, and discovered that this was a New Adult and it sounded good.  I decided to read it.  I am so glad I did, as I loved The Darkest Joy and came away very impressed with the writing of Marata Eros. 

The Darkest Joy blows you away with a beginning that by the time I was on page 2, I was already hooked. Our heroine, Brooke, who is a young pianist prodigy awaiting to be admitted to Julliard.  She is on her way home from school for Christmas, when she gets a call from her mom, who is worried about her travelling home.  What follows is a few minutes of hell, as Brooke while talking to her mom, hears the doorbell ring and then begins to hear the terrifying sounds of her family being brutally murdered.  Having lost her mother, father, brother and aunt, Brooke goes into shock, with anxiety attacks when she thinks about it.  She has a hard time dealing with it, and decides to sell her home and go to Alaska for a few months to get away from every one.  The aunt who was also murdered, left her a cabin in Alaska.

Chance Taylor is a fisherman, who runs his own business, and is our hero.  Chance is a hottie, who also plays the guitar.   When Brooke arrives in Alaska, she is befriended by Evan and Tucker, and she is invited to the local tavern that night.  It is here that she sees the gorgeous guitar player, not knowing he will be her boss, since she starts the next morning working as a deckhand.  But before that, listening to Chance play a certain song, brings on an anxiety attack and she runs away.  Brooke, thinking she doesn’t deserve to live, then attempts to kill herself, as she jumps off the bridge.  Chance comes upon her when she jumps, and he saves her life. 

What follows is a fascinating story of Brooke trying to accept her loss, handle her anxiety, and move on with her life.  She falls hard for Chance, as he does her.  Slowly Brooke realizes that her family would not want to her give up on life, and with the help of Chance, she begins to live again. She enjoys the different type of life in Alaska, and they friends she makes.  Her best friend from home, Lacey, constantly calls her to give her updates.  Just when Brooke is getting a handle on things, there are more murders of families from other upcoming pianist prodigies.  The FBI tries to warn Brooke that the killer is probably coming after her.

Since I do not want to give spoilers, this is a great story that has everything, tragedy, romance, sex, emotional turmoil, danger, brutality,  excitement, and suspense.  The first half of the book, Eros pulls all your emotions, and the second half you are on the edge of your seat.  There are some twists,  surprise at the wild ending as we reached the climax.  

Besides loving Brooke and Chance together, I thought Marata Eros has created a wonderful group of secondary characters from Evan, Tucker, Jake, Clearwater, and Lacey.  She has also created a terrible villain. 

This story was told in both Brooke and Chance’s POV.  I usually don’t like that, but it was good to see things from both perspectives.  Amidst all this tense emotions, Eros managed to give us a wonderful couple, who fall in love and find the joy from within the darkness.  The Darkest Joy was a terrific read and one of the best books I have read this year.  Marata Eros has put herself on my list to make sure I read more of in the future. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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A Terrible Love (Terrible Love #1) by Marata Eros-a review

A TERRIBLE LOVE (A Terrible love #1) by Marata Eros-a review

A Terrible Love

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 2013

Jess Mackey is living a meticulously fabricated lie of necessity. She’s left the secret tragedy of her past behind along with who she was and is forging ahead with a clean slate. But Jess soon discovers that passion can’t be left behind—neither her own, nor that of the one man who sees who she really is…and whose unexpected presence may breach the peaceful life Jess has painstakingly created for herself.

Devin Castile didn’t expect to meet a young woman who may be the missing puzzle piece to his existence…and who is also the victim of a heinous crime. Devin convinces himself that he can remain emotionally distant even while indulging his physical desire for her. But when Jess’s lies begin to crumble in the face of their undeniable attraction and the truth is revealed, one of them might pay with their life.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: A TERRIBLE LOVE is the first storyline in Marata Eros (aka Tamara Rose Blodgett) contemporary new adult series-A Terrible Love. A companion novel -A Brutal Tenderness –that parallels the timeline in A Terrible Love was released in August 2013, written in the hero’s POV. It is the same story, but told from Devin Castile’s point of view and much of the storyline overlaps.

The premise of A Terrible Love follows university sophomore Jess Mackey, who for the previous two years, has hidden a secret and her true identity from everyone at school. A former ballet student who once had aspirations of a dancing career, Jess is on the run, hiding in the halls of a post secondary institution, hoping that her past and her family do not uncover her whereabouts. But fate has not been kind to Jess, now that two men are vying for her affection. And in the end, her secrets will place everyone she knows and loves in danger and some of them will not survive.

A Terrible Love is a story of mystery, suspense and a building relationship. The reader is taken on a roller coaster ride of one woman’s indecision that threatens to destroy them all and the past that comes full circle.

The storyline also features a love triangle that set my anxiety radar into over drive. Although this isn’t a young adult storyline-the heroine’s attitude as it pertained to her safety; the men in her life; and the potential for a very bad outcome was immature and ill conceived. Jess instinctively wants both men-one is safe (as far as she knows) and one is the epitome of the bad boy-tattoos, leather and foul language. And to add more mystery, there is a serial killer on the loose on campus, and the killer has recently upped his body count and his intent.

What ensues is a bitter and ugly battle for Jess Mackey’s affections and one that disguises a deadly intent. The relationship between Jess and Devin is one of forbidden love and sensuality; Devin wants the one woman he has sworn to protect and their antics will become fuel for those hoping to bring them down.

A Terrible Love is an interesting storyline about a woman with a secret past, who is desperately trying to remain hidden behind the façade of someone else. But her past will eventually catch up, and when it does, no one is safe from its’ deadly reach.

Copy supplied by the publisher.

Reviewed by Sandy

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