Ember Dante

This was one of those books that pulled me under its spell and WOULD NOT let me go. I don't want to dig too deeply into the story, because anything I say will be a spoiler, but I loved the story telling technique of flipping between Mia's memories and her reality, and found myself questioning her sanity right along with her. I can't count the number of times I wanted to lash out at her family for their reaction (but, who could blame them, right??), especially at her mother's constant attempts to push her toward her fiance Gray. This book left a lasting impression, and definitely earned its place on the “read again” shelf.

Merged review:

This was one of those books that pulled me under its spell and WOULD NOT let me go. I don't want to dig too deeply into the story, because anything I say will be a spoiler, but I loved the story telling technique of flipping between Mia's memories and her reality, and found myself questioning her sanity right along with her. I can't count the number of times I wanted to lash out at her family for their reaction (but, who could blame them, right??), especially at her mother's constant attempts to push her toward her fiance Gray. This book left a lasting impression, and definitely earned its place on the “read again” shelf.

Finally, it's Blake's side of the story! When I read Where I Need to Be (and its sequels), I had a poor opinion of Blake, seeing him as the problem child, and couldn't truly connect with him as a character. Hoo-boy, was I wrong! Yes, Blake still has a curious outlook about life and relationships–and he's definitely got a massive inferiority complex because of his “perfect” brother–but I loved seeing the world through his eyes, and was finally able to empathize with him. Watching him grow as a person, finally maturing, and realizing it was OK to let someone in, was [chef's kiss] amazing. I love a bad/wounded man who finds himself. I loved, loved, loved this book and highly recommend!

My only problem with this book? It ended...and now I'm chomping at the bit for part 2!!

This is the second book I've ready by Alafair Burke. I found it very easy to sink into the story, and the tension between the characters was palpable (and believable). That being said, it seemed a bit formulaic and I figured out the “who dunnit” pretty early on, though it didn't ruin it for me. The journey and how she wrapped it up was still enjoyable.