Retribution by Mandy Lou Dowson, which released today, is a very well written and thoroughly
thought-through, masterminded story... but for my taste, it is almost
TOO thought through. It held no surprises or plot twists before I was about 96%, according to kindle-status, in – and then it was only a short-lived surprise, as the book
ended on a cliffhanger. I do understand the purpose of one –
drawing the reader in for the next installment – but I honestly am not sure if I will be able to give the story another chance. I did like the end, but that unfortunately didn't make up for the disappointment I had felt towards the rest of the book. It's
lack of surprising elements just made it a mostly boring read to me, and
there was more than one occasion on which I debated giving up on
reading the whole book, the only thing that kept me going being the great writing and hope for some twists and turns that would catch my interest - because the story itself could be interesting, it just, to me, didn't sell. Part of that was due to, unfortunately, not being able to connect with the
characters, no matter how hard I tried. Braxton Alexander is
hot, dark, dangerous and has an interesting back-story –
consequently, he should absolutely be my kinda book-man, but even he
was lacking something to keep me interested. I did, however, like the various points of views the reader gets to have a look at the story from, but I do believe a first-person narrative would have made it easier to connect with the characters emotionally, and thus with their stories.
That being said, I do think the book was really well written, and I do believe it's based on a really interesting idea that could make for a great story - I just wasn't convinced of the book as a whole. To me, it was lacking something crucial (twists, turns, surprises - something that wasn't given away too soon and couldn't be foreshadowed from the beginning) - but I am rather confident that the next book will be a better package, as the cliffhanger of Retribution holds the promise of a bumpy ride.
3.5/5
Title: Retribution
Author: Mandy Lou Dowson
Genre: Dark Romance
Release Date:
May 4, 2015
Synopsis
Three people irrevocably linked.
A remorseless killer.
A shady businessman.
A woman caught in the cross-fire.
Braxton Alexander is a beast without remorse; a vessel filled with hate. Imprisoned for the murder of the one girl who loved him, now he is free, and hell bent on taking all of his pent up rage out on one person in particular.
Brycen Cole knows he must stop Braxton from taking everything he has and turning it to ash.
Gemma Woods has loved Brycen for years, but ever so slowly the happiness she once felt in the arms of her lover has turned to fear and resentment.
Braxton has one goal, one thought, and one mission – destroy Brycen Cole, by any means necessary.
Braxton Alexander is a beast without remorse; a vessel filled with hate. Imprisoned for the murder of the one girl who loved him, now he is free, and hell bent on taking all of his pent up rage out on one person in particular.
Brycen Cole knows he must stop Braxton from taking everything he has and turning it to ash.
Gemma Woods has loved Brycen for years, but ever so slowly the happiness she once felt in the arms of her lover has turned to fear and resentment.
Braxton has one goal, one thought, and one mission – destroy Brycen Cole, by any means necessary.
He will not stop.
He will not fail.
Like a juggernaut, he will keep coming, destroying
everything in his wake.
Brycen runs a successful corporation and provides a lot of pay-checks; he also has a shady past and a dark talent for hiding things.
Gemma spots the wolf in sheep’s clothing but cannot stop gravitating towards him again and again.
What happens when the lines between good and evil become blurred?
Brycen runs a successful corporation and provides a lot of pay-checks; he also has a shady past and a dark talent for hiding things.
Gemma spots the wolf in sheep’s clothing but cannot stop gravitating towards him again and again.
What happens when the lines between good and evil become blurred?
What happens when the one you love is the one you
should fear?
What happens when the one you fear becomes the
only one you can trust?
Links to Buy
Author
Bio
Mandy Lou Dowson was born and raised in a small town in Ireland, in 1983, and at this stage in life, she's pretty sure the town won't let her leave. Family is a huge deal to Mandy. She has three wonderful children (most of the time), and two Siberian Huskies who are each as naughty as the other – in fact, she's sure they egg each other on in silly cartoon voices when nobody is looking.
~
“Climb out the window and get covered in mud.”
“No, I did it last time. You do it!”
“R'uh, r'oh, here SHE is. Shhh.”
~
When she's not writing, reading, or plotting her next book -- or, you know, world domination – , she likes to relax with a few glasses of wine and some karaoke. You can usually find her procrastinating on social media of some sort, chatting to fans and talking nonsense.
Mandy started reading at quite a young age and her
appetite for the written word has only increased with time. It would not be at all surprising to find her reading anything and everything
from shampoo bottles to Edgar Allan Poe.
She is the author of three different genres of romance
books. The Moon Bound series,
which is in the Paranormal Romance genre, and is gathering rave reviews, and the Taboo series, which is Contemporary with a hint of the
forbidden, the first of which has gathered very mixed reviews across the board, from one extreme to the other.
She has also made a foray into Dark Romance recently, with her first title in the genre, Retribution, releasing in Summer 2015.
She has also made a foray into Dark Romance recently, with her first title in the genre, Retribution, releasing in Summer 2015.
Author
Links
Giveaway
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*** I received an ARC through Give Me Books in exchange for an honest review. ***
*** I received an ARC through Give Me Books in exchange for an honest review. ***
