Friday, September 11, 2015

review || TRANSCENDING DARKNESS { blog tour } by Airicka Phoenix


Transcending Darkness Cover
Airicka Phoenix | August 29, 2015 | New Adult Romance
★★★★1/2

SOURCE: INKSLINGER PF

One: Sign the contract.
Juliette Romero had a debt to pay, a debt that wasn’t even hers. But it was the only way to keep her family safe and all she had to do was sell her body and soul to the devil. Killian McClary wasn’t called the Scarlet Wolf for nothing. He’d been the head of the McClary Organization since he was fifteen and had built a reputation for being a ruthless son of a bitch when it came to running the city’s underbelly, not to mention merciless when it came to punishing those who betray him. He didn’t believe in weaknesses. Only results. Juliette, with her shy smiles and hot little body was a weakness unlike any other and yet he was powerless to resist one more taste of her sweet flesh.

Two: Become his for a year.
When given the choice between her life or her body, what could Juliette possibly do, but submit to a man whose very name invoked fear in the hearts others? She just never anticipated falling for his dark, hungry eyes and clever hands, or the way the beast in him made her feel oddly safe and cherished. But what will happen when Killian’s dark past finally catches up to him and threatens the woman he can no longer imagine himself without? What will happen when both sides find themselves caught in a web of passion, lies and broken promises? Can Juliette tame the wolf or will her love for him devour them both?

Three: Don’t fall in love.
Boundaries will be crossed, loyalties will be tested and lives will be changed forever.

{ about airicka phoenix } .

Airicka PhoenixAiricka Phoenix is a romance junkie with an incurable addiction to chocolate. She is also a prolific author of several novels written for young adult and new adult romance addicts who love bad boys, hot kisses and a gritty plot. Airicka prides herself in producing quality material her readers can fall in love with again and again.

When she's not hard at work bleeding words onto paper, Airicka can be found cuddling with her family, reading, watching TV shows, or just finding excuses not to do chores.
Be the first for giveaways, teasers and upcoming releases by joining Airicka's newsletter on her website www.AirickaPhoenix.com

{ excerpt } .

Here.

{ review } .

This was a long book, but kudos to Airicka for not making it a drawn out one. This story covers a lot of ground -- we learn about both Killian and Juliette's pasts (they're both on paths to make things right, for mistakes other people made). Juliette's last five, six, seven years have been numbingly long -- three jobs in one day, long. She's the guardian for her teenaged sister, who while she reminds Juliette of herself when she had been that age, is quite frankly a spoiled brat. Juliette finds herself in a terrible situation and with few choices left -- the choice she makes though ends up leading her down a path she never would have fathomed.

Killian's past doesn't leave much room for a happy future, but he finds himself wanting to make an effort where Juliette is concerned. I loved his concern for her, to be honest, and watching him fumble with a woman when he was typically a one-night-and-done guy... it was interesting. He doesn't want to lead her on, he doesn't want to want her... but he finds himself needing her.

One of the biggest let downs, if you will, for this story would be simply the characterization of Killian. Here is this badass mofo man with the nickname Scarlet Wolf (oh yes: and he nicknames Juliette 'little lamb'...) who has the crime man Juliette is muddled with shaking in his boots... and moments after meeting Juliette, he's melting. He's semi-kind, semi-considerate, and he's semi- {err... extra} generous. He finds her without looking. His heart seemingly recognizes her -- and these qualities don't necessarily add up to the picture we're supposed to have of him. However, I just look back and take it with a grain of salt --

Killian makes concessions for Juliette -- he's not nearly as much of a monster as he likes to think he is.

This is definitely not one of Airicka's BABY books -- where those are sweet contemporaries, this one has a more raw, edgy feel, but I think she did an extremely good job with it. The suspense worked for me and the dramatic points were on point. I do kind of wish this had been broken down to a duology or trilogy, though, to give the mind a moment's peace -- but I realize not everyone is a one-sitting reader like myself, so the lengthiness may not bother others!

z-InkSlinger Blogger

No comments:

Post a Comment