Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I really agonized on how many stars I should give this novel and I decided to go with a five because I realized that just because I didn't like the subject matter, I needed to judge the book on its merits. That being said it is a well written book that kept me reading even when it upset me. I could not put it down, literally. It also wasn't the kind of book that one wants to necessarily to read, it says "dark romance", it's dark but this is not a romance. It is a tale of abuse from the perspective of both the abuser and the abused. I'm going to attempt to describe the main characters according to what I thought they were like. Our "hero" Julian, what a sadistic, controlling, emotionally vacant person. This is your "typical" love story (cough cough) boy sees girl boy thinks she looks like his dead girlfriend, boy kidnaps girl takes her to island in the South Pacific and keeps her there for over a year. During that year he rapes her, beats her (he's a sadist) and threatens her into behaving by threatening the innocent lives of others....that's just the first book...I'm not even going to talk about second two. Like I said, he is a controlling, obsessive, sadistic psychopath....sure he had a horrible childhood but damn. Julian was never going to be normal because of his upbringing, NEVER! He's a criminal. Ok, enough of his bad qualities, his good ones are that he's hot, rich and has a big penis...I mean it, that's it. He is a despicable character, he's obsessed with the girl and doesn't realize that what he feels is love. With even all that the author manages to make his character almost (a big almost) sympathetic. When we see things from his POV, you can see how he thinks and because of that you can see just how (expletive deleted) he is. The heroine Nora, wow! Poor girl, talk about wrong place, wrong time. She is kidnapped, raped multiple times, beaten and is made to endure psychological trauma. From the beginning she trys to think of ways to get away, trys to remain strong but really in situations like that it'd be hard for anyone. She develops Stockholm Syndrome and starts to love and need her capturer, some would think that that is being weak but double damn, how would anyone remain mentally strong. She's an innocent, caring, strong willed person who's in a hopeless situation and who makes the best out of it. (If that can be possible) There are people in this world who are just like Julian, uncaring and unfeeling, people who kill innocent people, people who kill whole families as a message to keep others in line or for revenge. There are people in this world who have no compunction in taking what they want, no matter who it affects. This book does not flinch away from this reality and presents this in a heartbreaking way and even though I will think about the characters often, I don't know if I could read it again anytime soon. In attempting to gather my thoughts on how I should proceed in my review I had conflicting views, I couldn't quite do it and I'm sure at some point(s) I will edit this review. It is a captivating read, you can't but help but think about the characters and try to imagine yourself in that situation and what you would do if you were in Nora's situation. I would recommend this book but beware it is heartbreaking and a hard read. There is a "happily " ever after but the journey, man, what a terrifying ride.