Insidious

What a disappointing ending to a great book!

I absolutely LOVED reading this book. It was an edge of your seat, erotic, mind numbing and imaginative story and had anyone asked me to review it 3 chapters prior to completion, I would have said Fan freaking tastic. However, here is where the BUT comes into play. The book was fantastic until the complex web of deception, lies and deceit gets comically untangled, leaving the ending with something to be desired. What a disappointment Victoria ended up being too. I actually liked her character so much until she became what she becomes as the story comes to an end. Never expected Aleatha Romig to bring the character down to that level since the final act was not supported at all by ANY facts rather relied solely on her perception and insecurities. Disappointing indeed. Had it not been for the final 3 chapters, this book would have been a 7 out of 5. I feel those last chapters reduce the overall score to a 3.5. A complete shame.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

I never want 2 hear the word "core" again

For me, this was a bit of a new take on millionaire man & financially needy girl getting together. It was a bit of yuck watching a man (Stewart) her (Victoria/Torri) parents' age seduce an 18 yr old, which was Torri's age at the start of her relationship with Stewart. But it also didn't seem impossible. I could buy it. But it's a similar tale to others in Torri's acclimating to her new access to wealth and her millionaire husband being controlling, though he's a bit more kinky. And Torri is definitely a different kind of 18 year old. So much so, that it wasn't believable that she was that young, even though most of the drama in the story occurs when she's older, in her 20s. At 18, she was especially sexually willing, which was also a bit disturbing considering her age. But maybe I'm just showing mine by my reaction to her in that way.
Listeners should be prepared for Stewart's very raunchy sex talk. I listen to plenty of hot romances and erotica, but even I thought at times that the raunchy sex language was a bit over-done, extreme at times. Or maybe it was too often. Or maybe both. In many ways, seemed to have only been chosen for sex, and there's enough of it for sure. Stewart, a widower, is demanding in multiple ways, but their life seems to be a façade based primarily in Miami. And the book moves between past and present, but does so effectively. The ending was surprising enough but also believable. It was nice to see one of the character's true colors. Ultimately, I think I liked the characters, even if I didn't agree with all of their actions. But Romig did a good job of explaining their actions and making them plausible in the world they lived in. As such, it really shows privilege and how some people can get away with some things due to their wealth, beauty, and place in society.
Overall, it's more like 3.75

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Can't believe I paid for this! Very disappointing!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

First of all, I was a huge fan of the Consequences series. But this book is nothing like that series! If you like graphic sex (think 50 Shades but with less likeable characters) and little plot development, this is the book for you! Based on the description, I expected a thriller and some sex, not sex and a very thin mystery plot. No likeable characters, no character development...did not even seem like the same author. But the narrator was good.

Would you ever listen to anything by Aleatha Romig again?

Yes, I am hoping this was a one time bad book.

Which scene was your favorite?

The last one.

Did Insidious inspire you to do anything?

Read the reviews more carefully.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

WOW just WOW

5 WTH STARS!!! This book sucked me in, chewed me up and spit me out!!! I honestly can't say more than that! Fabulous book, Fabulous Narration! MUST READ!

9 of 12 people found this review helpful

5 WTF Mind Blown Stars

Stewart Harrington – What can I say about this fella he isn’t who he appears to be, or is he?
Victoria Harrington – I have words for her but CUNNING is at the top of my list.

This is not a book I would have picked up myself to say the least. But I am in a book club and this book was picked, and so many people have said nothing but great things about it.
I am 150% happy I listened to this book; it’s all dark and twisty. Again not a book I normally go for, but so intriguing as soon as I started it I couldn’t stop.

I have so many thoughts, like why was her mother that way to begin with? Why was she different towards her siblings then she was to Victoria? Was it because of who Victoria’s father was?
Do contracts like that even excite? And if so who legalizes them? Ultimately my only question is who you do the same for your loved ones? I know I would do anything for my sister, I may not have come out the same as Victoria did that’s for sure but I would do what I could for my family.

Lastly because seriously I have to say something about the last line.. I love that its left up to us to decided how things end.

Mwhahahahaa…

And can we give props to this narrator she did such an awesome job, I can't even!

*All my Reviews are 100% honest and my own.*

22 of 32 people found this review helpful

Pleasantly Surprised

I really loved this book. I'm not a fan of dark books but I really likes ones like this. I loved the heroine. In the beginning she was a bit naive but that wasn't her fault. She grew into a strong woman by her own right. I was so tempted to spoil this story for myself because I just had to know what happened. I know some people weren't satisfied with the ending but I liked it. I would definitely recommend this book.

This was my first book from Savannah Richards and she did a great job. Her narration made me buy 2 more books that she narrated. Great job.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Some high points & some low points.

Victoria married young, at 18, to a powerful and rich man, Stewart Harrington. Their marriage came with a contract which spelled out Stewart’s most private desires of his young wife. Now, 10 years later, Victoria is a very different woman and she’s very much tired of Stewart’s desires.

I listened to this book as part of a group read and I had a lot of fun with the discussion over this book. However, it won’t be ending up in my Favorites pile. I’ve seen it listed as an erotic thriller, and while the erotic scenes are definitely there, the thriller part is kind of missing. For the first half of the book, we’re just learning the characters and the landscape of things. Victoria, while not forced into the marriage with the much older (but still fit) Stewart, she was placed in a tough situation back when she was 18. The story is told mostly in the present (10 years into their marriage) with flashbacks to their early days together. The second half of the story is where things finally start to move along, some secrets are revealed, and Victoria starts to strike back. So, I would say this is more erotic suspense than thriller.

I liked some things about Victoria. She’s genuine in that we get to ride around in her head. So even when she’s smiling and pretending all is OK, us readers know that she is not satisfied with the situation. She does tend to strike out emotionally. There’s not much in the way of plotting or planning or being cunning. She makes a snap decision and follows through on it and when the chips land and she has another problem, she approaches it the same way.

The situation young Victoria was placed in was a tough one, but she still had choices. She chose to marry, which honestly didn’t seem so bad at the time, and then decided to stay in the marriage for the last 10 years, even tho there are ways out of the marriage and the contract. And that’s one thing I didn’t like about the book – Victoria never takes ownership of her choices (albeit tough ones) that kept her in a marriage and a contract that she came to despise. None of the other characters point that out to her either and I really felt that should have been mentioned somewhere in the book.

The sex scenes were written well. Young Victoria definitely has an interest in Stewart at the beginning of their marriage and there was some steamy scenes between the two of them. 10 years down the road, there are some steamy scenes with Victoria and someone else. Then there are the scenes where, according to the contract, Victoria is carrying out sexual acts that don’t do anything for her at all. These are especially written well, showing us readers how little Victoria gets out them, how her body doesn’t respond to the other person involved, and how she locks herself away doing her best to just go through the motions and not be mentally present.

There’s secrets surrounding Victoria’s conception that are merely hinted at for the first half of the book. We finally get some answers in the second half and it almost is enough to explain Stewart’s marriage offer when shew as 18. I felt it was a bit of a weak plot point. As Victoria learns more of her family history, the author tossed in some accidental incest which I felt didn’t add much to the plot. Perhaps she needs both these things for a sequel?

Once Victoria finally gets around to taking action, she uses two very specific things. I’m positive one leaves a specific signature, of sorts, and perhaps the second as well and yet the medical community never flags the bodies for investigation. That is another reason I didn’t think of this as a thriller – the main character didn’t have to work particularly hard to cover her tracks nor does she have to contend with the authorities.

Some people have felt the ending was a cliff hanger but I felt it was good. It’s obvious to me what the next few scenes would have been and I didn’t feel that I needed them spelled out. Over all, the book held intrigue for me. I did enjoy the way the sex scenes were used and I liked that we spent most of our time in Victoria’s head. Miami is mentioned as the location, but we never get a flavor of Miami at all. The men are so-so for me. Brody was too needy. Travis said some truths but hid some others. All want to use her and Victoria kept forgetting that lesson, having to relearn it over and over again. I did feel there was plenty of room for development of characters and setting, and that went underutilized.

The Narration: Savannah Richards did a very good job with this book. It was pretty amazing how she could switch back and forth between younger, somewhat innocent 18-year-old Victoria, and the jaded bitter, angry, cussing Victoria of present day. Her male character voices had masculinity and each was easy to distinguish from the other. She was great with the sex scenes, showing no hesitancy on intimate words.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Angry

This was a truly excellent story, but....
It ends in questions, with no answers in the foreseeable future! The only thing I hate more than a cliffhanger is a cliffhanger with no resolution in sight! Really great story, though dark, but when can I read the next book???????

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

Dragged on

I love extreme books...however this one was hard to finish, it seems like she was trying to develop twist and turns but it just didn't get there. It dragged on and on so for me I wouldn't re-read this book or if there were a part two, I wouldn't buy it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Suspenseful and well written

I enjoyed this book. It was different and unpredictable. I love the suspense and the characters were well written. On top of this, it was steamy and erotic. Once I started I was not able to put it down. It's worth a credit.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful