The Black Rose

I've begun to think that the author is toying with my emotions. I read [b:The Killing Game, Part One, the Blood Negotiators|18601420|The Killing Game, Part One, the Blood Negotiators|The Black Rose|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1382939218s/18601420.jpg|26371762] in the summer of 2014 - absolute lifetimes ago. After a wait of actual months that took several years I finally had [b:The Chase|24563253|The Chase (The Killing Game Serie Book 2)|The Black Rose|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421601929s/24563253.jpg|44167372] in my impatient hands. Now that I'm well and truly hooked only the first half of The Denial is released! What sort of reader torture is this?

Ok, rant over.

The first half of The Denial is the best book in this series. Ives comes into his own, bringing all facets of his fantastic personality to a concise point to deal with the departure of the one he loves. He's smart and quick thinking - but maybe a bit too pedantic for my liking. As soon as Allina was assumed to be alive I wanted Ives on a plane and braking down doors. He didn't do this, he wants to be smart. Perhaps Ives could use a few less brains and have a slightly faster reaction time. I found this to be maddening. However, I could also understand how every bit needed to be set up just right - my hope that it will make the ending all that much more sweeter.

Outside of being pedantic, Ives major character flaw is that he always seems to underestimate Allina. She loves him, all of him, why in the world would she ever be upset if he has to cross some lines to bring her to safety? Throughout the Killing Game Series he continuously underestimates Allina's ability to understand forgive. While that brought will they/won't me drama in the beginning, I think their relationship has moved past that.

This has moved from a book review to character analysis. It can't be denied, The Denial is very exciting and filled with action and mystery that picks up perfectly from the end of the last book. It is thrilling.

Just don't pick up this book first, I definitely recommend reading the first two books in the series beforehand, I think it would really help with understanding the plot.

… (altro)

There are a lot of words you can use to describe a book you truly enjoyed. Wonderful, fun, unable to put down - and I think, singular to this book, a romp through war time Sarajevo. What is a true testament to a good book is not just saying nice words about it, but missing one's train stop while reading it. Three times.

Tess is a fascinating and complex character. I really liked that she was a writer. The Black Rebel is romantic and mysterious and a total bad ass. He's like the Robin Hood of Yugoslavia.

I was really impressed with the authors ability to regularly change the stories point of view seamlessly. It wasn't hard to keep up.

My only complaint is that the will they or won't they bit goes on for a touch too long. I would have liked to seem them actually together a bit more.

Overall this was a fantastic read that made me miss my stop and gave me a total disregard for the following morning. I would definitely recommend it to others.



… (altro)