A War Like Ours

<b>4.5 Stars!!</b><br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1477939914i/21011921.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><p> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1487955762i/22068293.jpg" width="400" height="300" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </p><br><p>Saffron A. Kent’s debut novel is simply enthralling. I like nothing more than to be blown away by a debut author and this author totally accomplished just that. She managed to captivate me from the beginning with her amazing writing and her engrossing storytelling. <em><strong>'A War Like Ours'</strong></em> is fantastically written. It’s compelling, unique and addictive. It’s an unconventional story that kept me immersed from beginning until the end. I couldn’t put it down for one minute - that’s how much I enjoyed it!</p><br><p> <strong> <em>“Let the pain take over. Let it own you, turn you inside out. Let it win, Madison.”</em> </strong> </p><br><p> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1487955762ra/22068294.gif" width="400" height="197" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </p><br><p>James Maxwell is a tortured man who doesn’t know how to deal with his past. He has many regrets and does not know very well how to deal with the guilt regarding some aspects of his life. He feels lonely and now, more than ever, lost. His wife is gone. She’s dead. And his four year old daughter doesn’t know anything about it. Because he is weak, a coward, a liar,“wrong in the head”, and doesn’t know how to deal with everything. He needs some time alone with his daughter, Katie, to figure out how to break the news of her mothers death. He decides to take Katie to a summer resort for three entire weeks.</p><br><p> <strong> <em>“A beating heart doesn’t mean that I’m alive.”</em> </strong> </p><br><p> <strong> <em> “No, it only means you want to be. It’s the nature of all living things. They want to live, break free. They want a miracle. It’s called hope. Hope that one day something will transform <u>our</u> life, transform us as we know it.”</em> </strong> </p><br><p>Maddison ‘Maddie’ Smith is broken. She’s depressed. She’s sad and she hates men. All she feels is disgust for them. She wants to forget about her tragic past and about her mother’s death, about her childhood and about the fact that her mother wasn’t there enough for her over the years. Maddison has a job at a summer resort she doesn’t particularly enjoy, being in a relationship with a woman, her boss, who in her opinion saved her over the four last years in more ways than one.</p><br><p> <strong> <em>“She kept pushing, and I kept straddling the precarious line of control and chaos.”</em> </strong> </p><br><p>James had never expected his life to be so irrevocably changed by a strange woman. She’s assertive and sharp-witted and tries with every opportunity to make his life miserable. So why he finds her to be so irresistible? Maddison thinks she figured out the stranger who seems so raw and angry. She thinks the darkness she sees in him is dangerous, so she’s more surprised by the attraction she feels towards him.</p><br><p>Everything changes between Maddison and James with just a simple kiss. Soon, lust spins out of control between them, but in order for them to have something real and meaningful, they have to figure out if their relationship is toxic or not, if their attraction is worth fighting for.</p><br><p> <strong> <em>“Tell me a dream.” (…) </em> </strong> </p><br><p> <strong> <em>“You and me.”</em> </strong> </p><br><p> <strong> <em> She frowned. “We’re a dream?”</em> </strong> </p><br><p> <strong> <em> I swallowed. “We are.”</em> </strong> </p><br><p> <strong> <em> Sifting her fingers through my hair, she asked, “Do your dreams ever come true?”</em> </strong> </p><br><p> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1487955762ra/22068295.gif" width="391" height="289" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </p><br><p><strong><em>'A War Like Ours'</em></strong> was most of all original. I liked the premise, but I have to say that I loved the execution. If you are a fan of dark-ish, rough and edgy stories, then trust me, you don’t want to miss this one. Mrs. Kent’s debut was flawlessly written, the writing here, actually being one of my favorite aspects of the story. It is captivating and evoked so many emotions in me. I enjoyed the story-line a lot, loving how the story unfolded.</p><br><p>To say that James and Maddison’s relationship is unconventional it’s an understatement. The push and pull between these two is fantastically done. The ups and downs between are many and I loved to see how these two try to overcome their pain, the pasts and everything new and complicated there is between them. James and Maddison are wrong for each other in some way, but at the same time very good in a f@cked-up, intriguing way. I liked them together an I liked how their complicated relationship was done. As the story unfolds, you will truly believe they can heal each other, without destroying themselves in the process. At least, I did...at some point, even if their relationship is so unconventional, so implicitly, unrelatable. I liked how their relationship progressed, the passion and intensity between them and even the 'ugliness' that for sure you will feel between them.</p><br><p> <strong> <em>“Every day I fight with myself to stop seeing you. I tell myself that I can end it, that I don’t need to see you to feel something. But every day I fail.”</em> </strong> </p><br><p> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1487955762ra/22068296.gif" width="406" height="198" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </p><br><p>While I liked them as an item, I can’t say I liked them too much individually. I mean...I liked some of their characteristics. Both James and Maddison are intricate, flawed characters I have struggled to like or connect with, but not because they are not well portrayed, because they are, but because I got so frustrated at times with their decisions and actions. Both these characters annoyed the hell out of me at some point and I honestly wanted to punch them in the face a couple of times. However, I understood some of their decisions, even if I didn’t totally agree with them. James and Maddison are both fragile in some way and twisted, their emotional turmoil being fantastically done. I loved the emotional aspect of the story very much!</p><br><p> <strong> <em>“It was addictive, the things I felt when I was around him. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted him to hurt me. I wanted to bite him so he’d bite back. It was masochistic, sadistic, twisted, tangled and so very, very us.”</em> </strong> </p><br><p>All in all, <em><strong>'A War Like Ours'</strong> </em>was a fantastic, unique read I urge you to try if you like unconventional stories and if you’re not afraid of raw, broken characters.</p><br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1477593383i/20969921.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><b>Find me on:</b><br><br><a href="https://www.facebook.com/SteamyReadsBlog/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1477498810i/20958471.jpg" width="40" height="40" alt="Follow us on facebook" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/steamyreads/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1477498810i/20958472.jpg" width="40" height="40" alt="Follow us on instagram" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><a href="http://www.steamyreads.net" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1477498810i/20958473.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a>

Definitely not for me.<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1487978205ra/22070337.gif" width="200" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>I completely misinterpreted what this book was about. My laziness and hastiness have finally caught up on me. This is what happens when you pick up a book based on the cover and the title <br><br>Unfortunately, this book contains all the elements I’m usually avoiding like the plague.<br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1510504825i/24426022._SX540_.jpg" width='400"/' class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">

<b>3.75-4 STARS</b> <br><br><img src="https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16938830_10210152779588656_3524545583268641245_n.jpg?oh=26763b5bb532c858c8c5c10d93460fec&amp;oe=594067E3%20" width="430" height="450" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Wow I’m completely blown away that this is the author’s debut novel. The story was extremely well written, am I’m interested to hear where the author got the idea for the plot, these characters, and the setting. <br><br>Please take the author’s warning very seriously as this was a hard/painful read for me. I found the characters’ misery and self-harming ways at times unsettling. Though the storytelling is extremely strong and I was eager to see where the author was bringing these damaged characters.<br><br><b> <i>”I wondered what it would feel like to be loved like that, with such abandon and ferocity. Love that destroyed everything. Love that felt like war.”</i> </b><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1492188549ra/22491986.gif" width="430" height="150" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>The heroine, Madison Smith doesn’t like men at all. She’s in a not so healthy lesbian relationship. Her girlfriend feeds off of taking care of Madison's pain. Madison works at a resort wherein she meets a lovable young girl wearing red lipstick and her father James, who turns out to be the liar of this story. <br><br>The attraction between the hater and the liar is intense as is how they express their feelings for one another.<br><br><b> <i>”…no matter how much I tried, his words still echoed in my ears. He just wouldn’t go away. He’d said this couldn’t happen again. Well, it could and it would. He’d said whatever we had was a game. It wasn’t. It was a war, and I’d do anything to win.”</i> </b><br><br><span>[image error]</span><br><br>As James and Madison show one another their scars and mark each other with more. They do fall into a sometimes brutal love. This love at times tips into unhealthy as the two characters are so emotional damaged a reader wonders how this story could end well. This is the aspect that kept me turning the pages. The sex scenes are intense and definitely pass my level of comfortable cutting and violent. <br><br><b> <i>“She kept pushing, and I kept straddling the precarious line of control and chaos.”</i> </b><br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1487957315i/22068439._SX540_.jpg" width="430" height="150" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>My intrigue was in my wondering if either character can ever be happy and of course little Kate. This standalone is powerful, yet extremely painful read, be warned I’m not sure I liked the journey but definitely appreciated the story as a whole and the delivery.<br><br><b> <i>”I don’t care if you’re abnormal or crazy or whatever. I don’t care if you want to see my cry or if you get off on it. I don’t care if you’re the bad guy. I just want you to be my guy, okay? I want you to be mine.”</i> </b><br><br><i>*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*</i>

<b>RATING: 4.5 Pain Hearts!! &lt;3 :D</b><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1487779585i/22050313.jpg" width="400" height="310" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><i>A War Like Ours</i> is a dark and unconventional story, one that weighs heavily on our minds and hearts as we’re taken out of our comfort zones, yet enthralled by both Madison and James’ painful lives. Nothing about this debut sings a familiar tune, their story compulsively readable, and we find ourselves turning the last page before it feels as though any time has passed.<br><br>Both Madison and James are a study in extremes: strong mentally and physically as survivors of violent pasts, yet at the same time both are emotionally vulnerable to a staggering degree as they feel deserving of penance for such pasts. Ms. Kent’s brilliant writing evokes a barrage of emotions that stunningly depicts Madison and James’ characters—the pain of their lives visceral and unforgettable. Their story is not one of steady growth and love-heals-all, instead both realistically struggle all the way through, making several steps forward only to fall back several a few chapters later. Through every hard-fought battle however we cling to the hope that Ms. Kent will build them up without tearing them down and finally grant us their happiness.<br><br><blockquote> <b> <i> “Let the pain take over. Let it own you, turn you inside out. Let it win, Madison. That’s the only way to stop this, to stop feeling.” </i> </b> </blockquote><br>The romance in this is turbulent (to say the least), eradicating the boundaries of typical love stories, instead embracing the dark where pain is pleasure, and pleasure is pain. The dark elements coupled with hints of tender love makes Madison and James’ relationship all the more deliciously tense and seductive. <br><br><blockquote> <b> <i> “I can’t cry. I don’t know how.”<br>She placed her palm on my chest, over my beating heart. “Crying is just a distant promised land for people like us. It doesn’t deliver. It doesn’t make you forget. But still I come here every day, thinking today will be different.” </i> </b> </blockquote><br>Overall, <i>A War Like Ours</i> easily captures our attention with two broken characters and their twisted love story. Ms. Kent impresses with her dark contemporary tale and I will certainly be looking for more of her in the future. <br><br><br><br><i>~ Arc generously provided by author in exchange for an honest review ~</i><br><br><br><br><i> <b>Posted: February 22, 2017</b> </i>

<img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1485402768ra/21811416.gif" width="420" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>COVER REVEAL! <b>INTRIGUED!</b><br><br>Stand-alone.<br>Release: <b>February 24, 2017</b><br>Giveaway: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://goo.gl/sSo8mL">https://goo.gl/sSo8mL</a><br>ARCS: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://goo.gl/SPTsPQ">https://goo.gl/SPTsPQ</a><br>Pre-order: Coming soon!<br>Blurb:<br><i>A liar…<br>Three weeks ago, James Maxwell’s wife died in a car accident, but he hasn’t been able to tell his five-year old daughter the heartbreaking truth behind her mother's death. Instead, he packs them up and leaves for a summer resort in upstate New York to spend a few peaceful weeks and to gradually break the news. But a spirited and outspoken maid at the resort has figured out his secret.<br><br>A hater…<br>After witnessing her mother’s violent death at the hands of her stepfather, Madison Smith has turned aimless and bitter toward the world—men, in particular. Her dead-end job at the local resort and her convenient girlfriend barely keep Madison from falling apart. When she meets James, however, she’s driven to protect his child from the darkness she sees inside him.<br><br>A forbidden kiss…<br>But Madison doesn’t expect to find that very darkness irresistible. Drowning in guilt and memories, neither does James expect to be drawn to the sharp-witted woman who has made his life miserable. When their tempers flare, a brutal kiss triggers a need that blurs the lines of hate and desire. As their lust spins out of control, they must decide if their attraction is worth fighting for or if love is the real enemy.</i>

<a href="http://readingunderstreetlamps.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1489172708i/22192505._SX540_.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><b>4.5 <i>completely fucked up</i> stars</b><br><br><em> <strong>Before I talk about the book, I just want to say that this is one book I would really heed the warning too. It's very dark, and not just because it contains non-consensual sex, and rape, but also because of the entire tone of the book. It's very disturbing, and even to someone who mostly reads dark romance like I do. And that is not a warning I give out very easily, so please keep that in mind before reading the book. Strong trigger warning.</strong> </em><br><br>Well I felt like that warning was a must, because I was pretty surprised by this book, and at this point there isn't much that particularly surprises me anymore.<br><br>The story is about a lesbian chick, Madison, who hates men on sight because of bad experiences in the past, and a newly widowered father, James, who doesn't know how to tell his 5 year old daughter that she had lost her mother. And Madison hates him for that.<br><br>So yes, while that remains the main focus of the story, there is a lot more going on. This book was a lot more than just two people clashing and being all humorous and cutely arguing with each other as foreplay.<br><br>Nuh-uh.<br><br>That <em>is what I thought</em> was going on before I started reading, and I was very quickly set right to my thinking.<br><br>Both Madison and James have had a traumatic past, which resulted in both of them being psychologically damaged. Only problem was, they couldn't recognize it. In their own way, they were both masochistic, and craved pain- because they believed that that was what they deserved.<br><br>James blamed himself for his father's abandonment in his childhood, and his wife's untimely death, and because of that he has a lot of repressed self-hatred that he releases in the form of self harm. In the book, Kent starts us off with bloody hands that come with brutally punching punching-bags, and then slowly escalates to cutting. Yes, James is a cutter, and usually I wouldn't lay out the spoiler for you just like that, but I felt because of the entire tone of the book, it was a bit necessary for me to mention.<br><br>Madison on the other hand had a dreamer of a mother who had been constantly abused by her boyfriends, until one of them finally killed her. Not stopping at that, her mom's partner then raped her when he was drunk, because of how much she resembled her mother. All those experiences made her into a man-hater, and dependent on a really viperous woman. Now, some might not call Julie, her girlfriend as viperous, but the thing about that woman was she loved that Madison was generally unhappy and miserable, she liked the fact that Madison was broken, and never let her heal, breaking her back down whenever Madison showed signs of healing. And Madison clung on to her, because she felt like no one else would love her.<br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1488458478i/22117530._SY540_.png" alt="awlo_teasernew4" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>This book deals with a lot of issues. Let's try and see if I can list them all:<br> <br> →child neglect <br> →rape <br> →spousal abuse <br> →self-harm/cutting <br> →depression <br> →PTSD <br> →toxic relationships <br> →cheating <br> <br>Think I got it all?<br><br>Well all those many issues, and Kent dealt with them brilliantly. Not once in the entire book did I feel a situation being half-assedly written, because usually by this time authors lose their charm, and start just plotting cliches just for the sake of completing the book. But not this one. Oh no.<br><br>Kent did not write a book about two characters who were flawed but quirky, and easily lovable. Making the reader love the characters was not what her goal was with this one I think. I think she wanted to show us two really fucked up people who got together, and learned how to deal with the current situation, and how to heal. (Mind you I've read about a lot of fucked up characters, and it's pretty safe to say that these two were the most fucked up of them all).<br><br>Kent doesn't make you love the characters, fuck that, she doesn't even make you root for James and Maddy to end up together. By the 65% mark I was just wishing for all this angst to get over. I just wanted to know that they fought their demons, and honestly I didn't care if they ended up together or not, not because I didn't care or didn't want them to, but because that was not the focus of the story I feel.<br><br><em> <strong>This is not a lovestory, it's a story about two really damaged people coming together, and healing with their own perverse sort of medicine.</strong> </em><br><br>What can I say, this book was very well written. It is not one of those books that you can just sit down with, and read in a go. You need to take your time with it because the book on the whole is just so goddam depressive. The entire tone of the book made me feel like I had a rainy cloud over my head, and that is something not many books could do.<br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1488458652i/22117579._SY540_.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>For a debut novel, this was <strong>brilliantly bold</strong> and <strong>darkly unique</strong>. I would definitely be keeping my eyes on Kent, and watch out for what she puts out next, because if it is anything like this, then it's going to be magnificent.<br><a href="https://readingunderstreetlamps.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1486676641i/21940268.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a>

<blockquote><b> Smiling</b>, <b>he bent down and caught my salty tears on his tongue… He pressed his forehead to mine and whispered against my wet cheeks</b>,<b> 〝Every day I fight with myself to stop seeing you. I tell myself that I can end it</b>, <b>that I don't need to see you to feel something. But every day I fail.〞He breathed against my lips.〝All night</b>, <b>I can't sleep. I count seconds until I'll see you again. Touch you</b>, <b>fuck you</b>, <b>make you cry.〞</b></blockquote> <br /><br />this was soo fucked up, i should’ve despised it—part of me wanted to, the rest of me didn’t care to. i am soo fucked up.

<b>3 Pain Stars</b><br /><br />I think I should stop reading books with unusual relationships. Okay, just for a while! These books play with my feelings. I don’t know I enjoy them or not. I read a few of these books and enjoyed most of them but this one was a little harsh for me! Actually, I’m not good with <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="c31b92bf-63af-47c0-8d4f-a8f6bc97a32f" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="c31b92bf-63af-47c0-8d4f-a8f6bc97a32f">people who cut themselves and don’t get treatment.</label><br /><br />Madison is a hater. She hates everything that is around her. she is an addict, not to drugs but to sadness. Because of her mother’s relationship with men and her murdered, Madison hates all of the men. She feels broken. She is full of anger. She doesn’t want to care for anybody, but eventually she cares.<br /><br /><i>"Dead. I’m dead. A ghost, Cruella. Call me whatever you want. In fact, call me all the bad names you know. It turns me on."</i><br /><br />James lost her wife in a car accident, recently. He has a four-year-old girl, Katie. She is so adorable. He can’t tell her daughter that her mother is gone. He thinks of himself as a coward, a liar, wrong in the head! And he finds his solace in pain!<br /><br /><i>"That was all I was good for-tainting things, killing them, polluting their goodness."</i><br /><br />Madison and James find each other through Katie. When they meet each other, they were like two depressed people that desperately need to be loved, but in their own way.<br /><br /><i>"You’re right. Every moment with us is a battle. A war. And I’m going to win this war, James. You’re going to lose."</i><br /><br />It was really heartbreaking reading about their emotions and feelings, about their lives. It was so sad. But the writing is in such a way that intrigues you to continue. I, myself, don’t understand why they do such things and I think I will never realize it. but if you like some harsh and nasty relationship, you should read this one and surely it pleases you!

Saffron A. Kent has captured me with her exquisite and poetic prose. First with The Unrequited which I loved tremendously. So much that I immediately had to read A War Like Ours. She does it again. Wow! A War Like Ours was beyond amazing. It was my kind of edgy and dark. The flawless prose again in a league of its own.<br /><br />Madison and James are two very flawed and broken people. Battling their own demons and these demons definitely showed their ugly and scary heads multiple times. The push and pull between James and Madison was phenomenal. I loved how she had to provoke him and how he struggled to resist. When he finally gave in it was twisted, gritty but erotic as hell. A fight at times but one they both reveled in and needed. They both saw sides of themselves in one another. Especially the ugly and it gave them comfort and silenced their demons.<br /><br />Nothing is certain when I read a Saffron A. Kent book and she proved that yet again. She's a force to be reckoned with. One thing is certain. I need her books in my life.<br /><br />5 BadAssDirtyBeautifulTearsStars

<b> 5+++ STARS</b><br><br>What? A Debut novel? No way! <br><br><a href="http://imgur.com/r1JexU4" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1425577772ra/13907824.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>This book. Damn, this book is original through and through, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. It's unlike anything you've ever read before and so worth the read! I promise you, it'll leave a lasting impression on you. I love reading unique romance stories that tug at my heart and mess with my brain. This is one of those books!<br><br><b>"Love that destroyed everything. <br>Love that felt like a war."</b><br><br><a href="http://imgur.com/y0AnpQZ" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1409081091ra/10931236.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br><b>Saffron's writing is superb, her characters are complex and flawed, and the story is painstakingly real.</b><br><br>James and Madison, at times, are hard to like and disturbing, yet I found myself rooting for them. Even when I didn't want to or thought I shouldn't. And there were moments that were like a train wreck and as much as I wanted to look away, I couldn't!<br><br>I was buzzing while reading this, my senses warring with anticipation, angst and dread. Saffron’s words leap off the page and seep into your bones. I found myself thinking about this story long after I’d finished it. <br><br><b>“Let the pain take over. Let it own you, turn you inside out. Let it win, Madison. That’s the only way to stop this, to stop feeling.”</b><br><br><a href="http://imgur.com/1JuBB3G" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1416110525ra/11891839.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>If you're one to try something new or different, or looking for that next read that will rock your world, this is it!<br><br><a href="http://imgur.com/hk7avUF" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1415509540ra/11802920.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>I can't wait for what's next from this author. It'll be different. It'll shake things up and I know I'll be gobsmacked.<br><br><a href="http://imgur.com/nrZeapR" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1432872111ra/15014965.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>**ARC generously provided by author in exchange for an honest review.**<br><br><b>For more reviews and blog posts.</b><br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1456487234i/18240613.png" width="400" height="148" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">