I was sent a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.This has got to be one of the hardest reviews I've had to write in a while. I haven't
has this tough of a time getting myself to give my thoughts on a book since I read
Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong.
Why is this so difficult?- you might be curious about, well, simply put- this is the
final part to a 9 book 3 novella series that I've been so invested in for like five years.
Ever since I won Beyond Shame in a Goodreads giveaway and was completely intimidated
by the concept because it was my first time venturing into books that could typically
would be listed under 'erotica' (I will not be referring to this series as such because,
like I say in all my reviews, while there is a lot of sex, and it's written graphically
this series is about more than that.) Saying goodbye to these characters, at least in
this context, has been extremely difficult, and if it weren't for the impending release
date I would have continued to push off reading it just so it wouldn't have to end
just yet.
Now,I'm quite a ways into this review already, and I still haven't mentioned my thoughts.
Don't worry, they're coming, but first, for those of you who need an extra boost of
excitement for the release, here's a little blurb to get you going.
She’s the heart of O’Kane liquor.
For years, Nessa has been focused on work. She keeps the whiskey—and the money—flowing,
and life is sweet. Sure, she’s tired of being everyone’s baby sister, and she longs
for a man who can stand up to her overprotective O’Kane brothers. But she never
thought she’d meet him in the middle of a war.
He’s the brains of the revolution.
War is all Ryder knows. He was raised with one goal: to ensure the sectors’ successful
rebellion against Eden. His father and his mentor both died for freedom, and nothing
will stop him from securing their legacies with victory. He doesn’t have time for
distractions—especially beautiful, impulsive ones like Nessa.
Opposites don’t just attract, they combust. Together, Nessa and Ryder have a chance
for something more than the lives they’ve always known. But this is war—deadly,
bloody war—and the only way to happily-ever-after is straight through Eden.
Okay, so onto what I thought.
The short answer: I loved it. It was fast paced and wrapped
up this world that has been falling apart in the best and most believable way possible
for a dystopian book.
The long answer: While did thoroughly enjoy the book, I felt like it suffered the
accelerated relationship curse that has plagued the last few installments. Nessa and
Ryder meet and boom, right away they're a thing. Not much build-up, and they get to
know each other when they're already as close to an item as the couples in these books
ever are at the beginning of the stories. We as readers don't know much about Ryder
when he bursts into the story, and that would work, if the book was only told from
Nessa's perspective, but it's not. Ryder gets a POV too, so us not knowing much about
him doesn't make a lot of sense.
Also, without getting into specifics and spoilers, the medical developments in this world
don't make much sense to me at times, they have all of these high grade ways to patch
people up in a matter of hours, but other things, which are super high tech when they
are working seem like they can just dissipate into nothingness when they're not being
implemented. <spoiler> like the contraceptives. Noelle had been taking them her entire
life in Eden, they were in the water supply, then six months after the war, not only
is there no longer anything in the water, but the effects have also completely worn off?
It can take six months for birth control to lose its entire effect now, let alone in a
future where med gel exists. <end spoiler>
Also, my last complaint, I promise, that cover change! It bothers me so much. Had the other
covers matched it, I would have nothing against the new cover, but it goes against the
aesthetic of the all the other books in the series and that will irk me forever.
What I loved, the perspectives. Every book in the series has had chapters told from
the point of view of someone other than the two main characters, and this one brought
back a lot of old favorites. I just wish that there had been more. Even if they were a
page long, just to be able to say goodbye to those character voices.
And this is a bit of both, this book made me tear up. There I was, at work, in public,
tearing up over the loss of characters I didn't even get a chance to get to know, but
grew attached to anyway- and that, I think, is a great credit to the authors.
I will be purchasing this book to put the physical copy with the others on my shelf as
soon as it is available and will no doubt be rereading the entire series soon. In the meantime,
I will dutifully await the release of the first book in the spin-off series.
To all the fans who have fallen in love with the books as much as I have, O'kane for life.
