Thursday, May 16, 2013

REVIEW: CONSEQUENCES BY ALEATHA ROMIG

Besieged by memories of a brutal abduction, Claire Nichols wakes in an unfamiliar bedroom, within a luxurious mansion. Her recollections have one common denominator, the man she just met, Anthony Rawlings.

Unbeknownst to Claire, for a very long time, she has been within Anthony’s sights. Many of the pivotal events in her life occurred, due to his sinister manipulation. Every action has a consequence, and his actions result in their chance meeting.

More than a psychological thriller, Consequences is a vivid story of one woman’s struggle to survive incomprehensible circumstances. Every aspect of her being suddenly depends upon the tall, wealthy, dark haired, dark eyed businessman. Anthony Rawlings is known to the world as prosperous, benevolent, and kind. Claire quickly learns that he can also be a menacing controlling captor.

With few options but concession, Claire attempts to earn her freedom, while enduring a hellish existence that truly appears perfect. Persevering tests and trials, she struggles to retain her pure Midwest values and beliefs. Encouraged by memories of a loving upbringing, she gains strength in the simplest of joys: solitude in nature and good in the face of evil.

His goal in sight, Anthony’s calculated agenda encounters an unforeseen detour. He becomes captivated by Claire’s beauty, resilience, and determination. The interaction of these two compelling characters instigates strong emotions: fear, anger, love, and lust. Claire and Anthony’s tumultuous journey flows into uncharted waters of intrigue and passion.

Utilizing vivid detail, this 167,000-word novel unfolds like a movie, before the eyes of its readers. From the opening criminal abduction, through twists and turns, to the unlikely romantic thrills, the suspense climaxes as Anthony’s motivation becomes evident.

Anthony and Claire must decide if they will stay true to one another, or allow preceding actions to result in justifiable Consequences.

Where to Find Consequences

Where to Find Aleatha Romig
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***5 Stars***

"Read this." she said, "You'll love it." she said. Normally those famous last words are ones that should send you running in the opposite direction, right? Shelley recommended Consequences telling me how absolutely cray cray it is. And me being me, I said "Sssuuuurrreee" and kept on tiptoeing through the tulips of happiness. Then I started Consequences.... 

1) Claire. We meet her in a scene of haze/unconsciousness like we're feeling it with her. I had read the blurb, but still don't think at this point I had a full understanding of the concept of the story. She's been abducted, but it's clear early that there is definitely more to this tale! She's locked in a room from the outside, it's obvious that wherever she is extremely...opulent..I guess is the right word. Expensive and elegant is not where you would think you'd wake up after being kidnapped, drugged, and seemingly beaten. Sufficiently intrigued yet? No, okay, I'll keep going....So Claire is a beautiful bartender in Atlanta, who hasn't had the greatest luck in life or love. Our story is pretty much told from her point of view, and while opposing points of view came at needed times, I almost wish it was a little longer to get more thoughts from him. (And this is already 160,000+ words/500+ pages, so that should tell you those POV's would be worth it!) Things start to change to where she could in an essence be thought of as a call girl. Designer clothes, expensive trips and more all to be Anthony's arm candy. BUT...there is so much we do not know that I was dying to find out! BUT WHY, ALEATHA, WHY! Just tell us already...but alas, no, you get it one. itty. bitty. crumb. at. a. time. The things that happen to her are IN-FREAKING-TENSE! These are the cray cray parts I was not expecting. Cue tears, hand over my mouth, and mortification. But then, the very next chapter, or even paragraph would have me feeling something completely different and while not forgiving what happened, momentarily forgetting. Aleatha...girl, how could you make me feel this way?!

2) Tony. Anthony Rawlings. Villain. Or is he? He is sinister, horrifying, and had me calling him a lot of names. He is also gorgeous, and wealthy and keeps up appearances exceptionally well. So no one has a clue what he's up to at his McMansion in the middle of nowhere Iowa. While the story is NOTHING, AND I REPEAT NOTHING, like 50 Shades of Grey, you could say Mr. Rawlings takes that sort of controlling behavior to 100x that of Christian. All that, what you'll wear, who you'll talk to, how you should behave, be available to me whenever I want you, business. His rules, to him, are simple. 
  • Do as you are told
  • Do not divulge personal information
  • Actions have consequences
  • Keep up appearances
  • Public failure is not an option
When he's angry, watch out. But as the story goes on, we get glimpses of the soft side of him that I honestly would have bet my life during a few parts did not exist. He made me so confused. I hated him, was scared of him, begrudgingly tolerated him, and then I am ashamed to say liked him here and there. And that just ultimately blew my mind. 

3) The story. I have to say in my personal opinion, which should be valued more (haha, jk) Aleatha Romig should be a household name in the near future. Her writing is incredible, and while I remember Tony saying over and over every action has a consequence, every detail that Aleatha gives you is connected in ways that I didn't see coming. Remember that. Consequences is so intricately weaved but didn't have so many things going on that you can't keep up. I started texting Shelley at the beginning of every chapter (while mostly shocked by what I just read) what my current predictions at that time were. We have quite the fun commentary for this one, and I sincerely hope you all have someone to read along with you because it helps! 
I also loved every one of the quotes that preceded each chapter. That had to take some time and thought to put those together, and each one was perfect! 

Consequences is such a roller coaster ride from beginning to end. It gets pretty wrapped up and still seems like a cliffhanger ending all in one. You know more is to come, but just the ending of it came out of nowhere. I was stunned to say the least, and had to buy Truth immediately. (I had thought I would stick to the things I needed to be doing i.e. laundry if I put off buying it. This didn't last.) You will want to jump into the second book ASAP! The last scene had me thinking of so many scenarios, not one of which were correct, but is a thrilling lead in and while I was ready for what was to come, I wasn't disappointed in how book one. Most notably for all you married folk out there, if you don't appreciate your spouse for only being your kind of crazy, well I will be surprised.


***5 Stars***


1) Claire. Gosh. Her story grabbed me by the throat from the first paragraph and didn't let go until the end of Truth. I was frightened when she was frightened; outraged when she was outraged; stunned when she was stunned; freaked out when she was freaked out....well you get the picture. I was confounded for the entire first part. How could she go with him? Why did he take her? How did she find the strength to give in to him and not lose herself? UGH. Then, as the story progresses I was amazed at Claire's ability to focus on placating him and following his "rules" without losing her shit. I would've just given him a gun and said shoot me now because there is NO WAY I could've been as compliant as she was. Even as I was admiring Claire's ability to handle everything that Tony threw at her, I was trying not to throw my kindle at the idea of her possibly falling in love with her captor. How in the world...?! Is this for real or all part of the game? There are no words...well, there are, but I cannot make them into coherent thoughts. Her story was just so compelling and even though I didn't want to, sometimes, I found myself completely understanding and even justifying her actions and reactions of courtesy and tenderness to him.



2) Tony. Anthony. Anton. Pick a name, any name...see what you get. I guarantee you it will be hard to predict. Some days you get the controlling, ruling overlord of the house...a complete prick. Some days you get the silent treatment, douche bag Tony. Some days you get the gracious, kind, sweet, loving Tony. Always, though, you get unpredictable. Through his POV and flashbacks of his family history you begin to understand, more, about why he is the way he is...not that it is excusable, but it does provide perspective. Without spoiling the story, I'll say that you shouldn't feel surprised if you hate him, love him and love to hate him all within pages of each emotion. I hated his violent rages and yet loved his ability to be protective and generous. UGH!!! He.Is.So. FRUSTRATING!!!!

3) The writing. The writing in this story is phenomenal. Aleatha Romig had me hanging on every word and every chapter. It was definitely a "just one more chapter" until I was up until all hours of the night type of read. I simply could not put it down. The pacing, description, characterization, emotion, attention to detail, the plot....every twist and turn and up and down was put together so painstakingly well that the words flew off of the page and it didn't even feel like reading; it felt like a movie flickering right before my eyes. And having now read it twice, I can say I had the same experience BOTH times. 

I suggest you RUN, not walk, to your nearest bookseller and BUY THIS BOOK...and buy Truth too, because there is no way on this green earth you are going to want to stop after Consequences. I am begging Aleatha with every fiber of my being to get the third one out and soon. I am dying to know how this all plays out. DYING.

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