REVIEW: Thief by Tarryn Fisher

Note to Self

Love is patient; love is kind.
Love doesn't boast or brag.
There's no arrogance in love;
it's never rude, crude, or indecent-it's not self absorbed.
Love isn't easily upset.
Love doesn't tally wrongs.
Love trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what.
Love will never become obsolete.
I'll fight for her.

Thief

Caleb Drake never got over his first love. Not when he got married. Not when she got married. When life suddenly comes full circle Caleb must decide how how far he is willing to go to get the aloof and alluring Olivia Kaspen back. But for every action in life there is a consequence, and soon Caleb finds out that sometimes love comes at an unbearably high price.

BUY IT: Amazon | B&N

I'm so sad that I'm finished with this series. I lived it and breathed it and slept with it for days. I talked about it with Courtney and Jennifer and Jaime. And, I've resisted writing this review because it feels like once I write this, it's over and that means no more Tarryn Fisher books for a while. *sobs*

Going into Thief I was very curious about what the hell was going to happen with Leah, Caleb, Olivia, and Noah. With the exception of Noah, they'd all manipulated and lied so much that at some point in the series they'd all been on my shit list. I'll admit that going in to Thief I was prepared to not like Caleb and there are some things I didn't really appreciate about him like:

• He kept shit going with Leah again and again even though he KNEW IT WAS A BAD IDEA. Dude, listen to your instincts, quit feeling like your guilt outweighs the right thing to do, and hold her ass accountable. Or..novel idea...walk the fuck away. Yes, she did some crazy ass shit but by humoring her and staying with her time and time again--she thought you were okay with it. And the thing is? He was intuitive enough to know all of this and yet he still let himself get sucked into her bullshit.

• Quit lying. They all lied but since he was the "prize" for Leah and the soulmate of Olivia's--his lies seemed worse to me. Had he just been honest and fought for what he wanted and refused to play the games or let them play games, we wouldn't have books 2 or 3. So screw that. Don't listen to me, I liked reading books 2 and 3.

• Fight for Olivia. She wanted you to and you kept walking away. FUCK. And quit hooking up with women who aren't Olivia. SHIT.

...and now I realize I'm talking as if he was a real person and not a character in a book. *smh--at myself* 

Tarryn did a great job of making me like him and while also being annoyed with him. He was smug and so sure and yet sweet and loving and kind and insecure when it came to Olivia. 

I loved how great he was with Estella. 

I loved his jealousy of Noah and his grudging respect for him.

I loved seeing how he saw his mother and stepfather.

I appreciated his honesty, even when it showed unsavory characteristics about him. Seeing how he viewed his history and Olivia and Leah and why he did what he did definitely confirmed that he was a dick, in some instances, and that sometimes I was wrong and he actually was doing the 'right' thing...even if I hated what that was.

I'm sorry I'm giving a shitty, vague review here. I guess I just am having a hard time wrapping my brain around the end of this series--that it's over--and I'm trying to not be spoilery (failing at that). So here's what I really want you to know:

I am happy that the ending of this series felt finished and yet I'm sad that it's over. Tarryn Fisher wrote the hell out of this series--I felt the thrum of emotion--love and hate and angst and despair--underneath and between the spaces on the page. I loved the humor and anger and love and commitment and the entire rollercoaster that I was on while reading this series. It's been a while since I've felt compelled to marathon a book series like this (and had time to do it) and it confirmed for me that I am a Tarryn Fisher fan for life. Whether she's writing romance or psychological mind fucks, I am with her 100% of the way. 

Thank you for writing, Tarryn Fisher. 

ABOUT TARRYN FISHER: 

I would like to write a novel that every, single person loves, but not even J.K. Rowling could do that. Instead, I try to write stories that pull on people's emotions. I believe that sadness is the most powerful emotion, and swirled with regret the two become a dominating force. I love villains. Three of my favorites are Mother Gothel, Gaston and the Evil Queen who all suffered from a pretty wicked case of vanity (like me). I like to make these personality types the center of my stories. 
I love rain, Coke, Starbucks and sarcasm. I hate bad adjectives and the word "smolder". If you read my book-I love you. If you hate my book-I still love you, but please don't be mean to me; I'm half badass, half cry baby.

Find her: Website | Twitter | FB

REVIEW: Dirty Red by Tarryn Fisher

Dear Opportunist,

You thought you could take him from me, but you lost. Now, that he's mine I'll do anything to keep him. Do you doubt me? I have everything that was supposed to be yours. In case you were wondering; he doesn't ever think about you anymore. I won't let him go....ever.

Dirty Red

Leah Smith finally has everything she has ever wanted. Except she doesn't. Her marriage feels more like a loan than a lifelong commitment, and the image she has worked so hard to build is fraying before her eyes. With a new role and a past full of secrets, Leah must decide how far she is willing to go to keep what she has stolen.

BUY IT: Amazon | B&N

Shel: I don't...how...what the fuck. Just what the fuck. How the hell am I supposed to stay on my reading calendar and meet blog obligations when all I want to do is barricade myself in my room and read Thief and then send Tarryn emails (which I would probably delete) and then do that daydream thing where I get to be friends with someone like Tarryn (or, more specifically, Tarryn) so that all I do is inhabit the kinds of fucked up worlds she writes about via conversations about future book worlds that I know are swirling around in that brain of hers. 

*yells for Court who is 3 states away* COURTNEYYYYYYYYYYYY. Tell me to put down Thief and do the responsible thing..because all I want to do is read Thief. 

How did you guys do it? How did all of you OG Tarryn fans wait this out? The waiting for Thief must've been a killer. I have it right here in front of me and it's taking superhumanwillpower to not read it now. HOW DID YOU GUYS NOT DIE WAITING? 

*takes a coffee break*
*tries to get my head together*

Okay guys. Here's the deal. Writers like Tarryn Fisher are the ones that I want to read. The ones that I very grudgingly put the book down at 2 AM because I'm reading with one eye open because I'm too fucking tired to stay up. The ones that I then wake up, blurry eyed, 5 hours later and don't even get up to pee so that I can finish reading the book. Her books,and books like hers, are the ones this blog was born to write about. HOW DID WE GET OFF TRACK? <--- a blog post for another day, I assure you. 

Books like The Opportunist, Dirty Red (and I'm sure Thief once I get to it), Mud Vein, and Marrow are the ones that I text Court about.  I send her things like:

"this book is so addictive"
"I can't wait for you to read it"
"I was up all night and early this morning. It was so worth it"

These are the books I go to twitter and facebook and I tell you you MUST read. 

So, what is it about this book (now that I've freaked out for half a page)? 

First, in case it wasn't clear, you really need to read The Opportunist. So do that.  Now that you've done that, you know. You know that even though this story is told from Leah's perspective--it begins and ends with Olivia + Caleb. Those two consume Leah. Isn't that telling? That this is Leah's book and she still cannot escape Olivia? Rather than this book being about Leah: justifying Leah's actions, garnering sympathy, turning us against Olivia, it's about how she is a complete shell of a human being. No scratch that, she isn't a shell she's filled--filled with her obsession with Caleb and filled with her loathing for Olivia. 

Isn't that sad? I think it is--it's sad that Leah's world isn't really her world--it's a world focused on Caleb and Olivia. I mean, sure, she made it that way, but how sad..right? I bet that many readers who love this series probably use Dirty Red as a reason for why they hate Leah and you know what? I get it. She's a liar. She does despicable things. She's so consumed with her hatred and scheming that she doesn't even seem to appreciate what she has. She's shallow. 

But you know what? Even with all of those horrible traits, I recognized some other things too. She loves Caleb--or the idea of him and what he represents: status, protection, safety, winning, love. She also had a really shitty upbringing. It doesn't excuse her behavior but it definitely explains it. And, if I'm going to be honest here, I thought Leah was hilarious and ridiculous (when I wasn't completely exasperated with her for never seeing Caleb for what he was doing to her).  I bet Leah would be a great friend--she's fierce, protective, and plays dirty.

What this book showed me is ...and I know people are going to hate me for this...but Caleb is a dick. He knew he should not have married Leah and he did. Then, he continued the farce again and again. He's a liar. I mean is he worth the path of destruction he's left in both of these women's lives? Why?  I guess that's what we'll figure this out in Thief. Or, his dickish ways will be confirmed. Or maybe both. Maybe I'll understand him better and will forgive all of this? 

Maybe these books are a lesson about love? Obsession? Or maybe for some, love like this can't be reasoned with, ever...and there's something in that too? I DON'T KNOW. I'm all twisted. I want to be all Olivia + Caleb foreva and FUCK LEAH. But, I can't. They're all fucked up. 

A couple of things that really have no bearing on anything: 

I love Sam. That guy won the book. I kept waiting for him to pop up and throw some truth on Leah and he never failed me. 

Seth. WTF.

Mattie. Thank god for her.

Leah's friends/family?--Wait. She didn't really have that. Those people were not friends or family.

Estella. Please for the love of all that's holy, please let her not get screwed by this completely screwed up situation.

Also..that last line of Leah's to Caleb. WHAT THE WHAT?

What was in that blue box at Olivia's birthday? I think it was the penny. Or something from their past.

Now I want Jumba Juice. 

Read this series and all of Tarryn Fisher's books. I need her to make a ton of money off these books so that she can write all day every day and have adventures so that she can dream up new stories and write more. 



About Tarryn Fisher:

I would like to write a novel that every, single person loves, but not even J.K. Rowling could do that. Instead, I try to write stories that pull on people's emotions. I believe that sadness is the most powerful emotion, and swirled with regret the two become a dominating force. I love villains. Three of my favorites are Mother Gothel, Gaston and the Evil Queen who all suffered from a pretty wicked case of vanity (like me). I like to make these personality types the center of my stories. 
I love rain, Coke, Starbucks and sarcasm. I hate bad adjectives and the word "smolder". If you read my book-I love you. If you hate my book-I still love you, but please don't be mean to me; I'm half badass, half cry baby.

Find her: Website | Twitter | FB

REVIEW: The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

OUR REVIEW:

I'm a huge fan of Tarryn Fisher. I love her fierceness and that she embraces the ugly and pretty, equally. I love that she's devoted to empowering women and that she pushes us all to empower ourselves and those around us. I love what she stands for and that it seeps into everything she does. I see her personality wink at us in various places in all of her novels and it's something I've come to look forward to when I read her work.

In The Wives I swear I saw little bits and pieces of the fierce author and the fierce author persona as her character, Thursday, contemplates what exactly is happening to her and how in the hell she ended up in the situation she finds herself in. Many times, though, I saw a character who seemed so opposite of what I think of when I think of Fisher's strong heroines--she sometimes seemed so lost, so unclear of her purpose, out of control. And it was this disarray of personality traits that I think were a little jarring. Thursday, the character, seemed so self contained and then so completely unraveled. She seemed to be at the mercy of those around her and less making those around her bow to her will. There were times I was so confounded by her narrative and other times I was completely absorbed.

To say that I was kept on my toes, would be an understatement but I'm not sure what to make of it.

I felt both disconnected and connected to Thursday and what was happening to her, with her, and around her. There were times I didn't understand her and how she got into the situation she was in...I still don't know if I understand that, to be honest. Then there were times when I truly felt her fear and her drive to find answers and felt attuned to her.

I don't know. I don't know what to do with this novel and my thoughts. Parts really worked for me--parts of the pacing and dialogue and meditations on life and people really worked. Then there were parts that felt flat, underdeveloped, and needing more time and space to let me know these characters more, better.

So I'm leaving you as I was left: conflicted.

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/2QL4UkJ

SYNOPSIS:

Thursday’s husband, Seth, has two other wives. She’s never met them, and she doesn’t know anything about them. She agreed to this unusual arrangement because she’s so crazy about him.

But one day, she finds something. Something that tells a very different—and horrifying—story about the man she married.

What follows is one of the most twisted, shocking thrillers you’ll ever read.

You’ll have to grab a copy to find out why.

COVER REVEAL: Jackal by Fisher and Aster

Find out why readers are LOVING this new series by Fisher & Aster! Are you ready for Jackal?

Jackal Emerson has never taken himself seriously. Dubbed the “orgy king,” he’s renowned for his reputation as the wild End Man. But with the uprising on the horizon and his best friend missing, Jackal is having a hard time living the same carefree existence.

And then he meets a thief and everything changes.

Phoenix Moyo, principal dancer of a notorious ballet company, lives a life of rigidity. When her world collides with Jackal’s, their chemistry is evident to everyone except her. Forced to work with him to steal the most precious commodity of the Regions, she realizes too late that there is no escaping Jackal’s charisma.

When unimaginable crimes come to light, the Regions begin to crumble. No one is safe. Families divide and secrets are exposed, danger running rampant on every side. For some, sacrifice costs everything.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Pre-order Jackal on Amazon

Release Date: June 29, 2018

 

Start the End of Men series today with Book 1 - Folsom

"Your hearts will be racing as the Gwen and Folsom's story gallops towards its suspense filled ending! Talk about having your heart in your mouth!" ~TotallyBooked Blog

The nation as we know it is a thing of the past.

With the male species on the verge of extinction, a society called the End Men is formed to save the world. Folsom Donahue is one of twelve men whose sole purpose is to repopulate the Regions. The endless days spent having sex with strangers leaves Folsom with an emptiness no amount of women, money, or status can fill.

Until Gwen.

Gwen has wanted a child for as long as she can remember, but when she finally gets a chance to have her own, she uncovers a long hidden truth. The injustice she sees moves her to help save the men whom no one else believes need saving.

A forbidden love, grown in a time of despair, ignites a revolution.

Folsom and Gwen, torn between their love for each other and their sense of duty, must make a choice. But some will stop at nothing to destroy them.

ADD TO GOODREADS

FOLSOM IS FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

Tarryn Fisher is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of nine novels. Born a sun hater, she currently makes her home in Seattle, Washington with her children, husband, and psychotic husky. Tarryn writes about villains.

Website: www.tarrynfisher.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authortarrynfisher

Instagram: https://instagram.com/tarrynfisher/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tarryn__Fisher

Willow Aster is the author of True Love Story, In the Fields, Maybe Maby, Fade to Red, and Lilith. She’s also the co-author of Folsom, The End of Men series with Tarryn Fisher. Willow loves nothing more than writing the day away—anywhere will do. Her husband and two children graciously put up with her endless daydreaming and make fun of her for reading while cooking.

Website: www.willowaster.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willowasterauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willowaster1/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WillowAster

 

COVER REVEAL: Folsom by Fisher and Aster

We are so excited to reveal the cover for Folsom by writing duo Tarryn Fisher and Willow Aster coming on May 29th!

The nation as we know it is a thing of the past.

With the male species on the verge of extinction, a society called the End Men is formed to save the world. Folsom Donahue is one of twelve men whose sole purpose is to repopulate the Regions. The endless days spent having sex with strangers leaves Folsom with an emptiness no amount of women, money, or status can fill.

Until Gwen.

Gwen has wanted a child for as long as she can remember, but when she finally gets a chance to have her own, she uncovers a long hidden truth. The injustice she sees moves her to help save the men whom no one else believes need saving.

A forbidden love, grown in a time of despair, ignites a revolution.

Folsom and Gwen, torn between their love for each other and their sense of duty, must make a choice. But some will stop at nothing to destroy them.

Folsom is book one of the End of Men series.

Coming May 29th

Contemporary Romance with a side of Dystopian

 

 

Tarryn Fisher is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of nine novels. Born a sun hater, she currently makes her home in Seattle, Washington with her children, husband, and psychotic husky. Tarryn writes about villains.

Website: www.tarrynfisher.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authortarrynfisher

Instagram: https://instagram.com/tarrynfisher/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tarryn__Fisher

Willow Aster is the author of True Love Story, In the Fields, Maybe Maby, Fade to Red, and Lilith. Willow loves nothing more than writing the day away—anywhere will do. Her husband and two children graciously put up with her endless daydreaming and make fun of her for reading while cooking.

Website: www.willowaster.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willowasterauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willowaster1/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WillowAster