The title of this book sucked me in. How interesting (I thought). A corpse candle is part of a ghostly legend coming from Wales and the British Isles. It is a mysterious light that hovers over graves and outside houses where death is imminent. Or, more prosaically, it’s a large candle used while watching over the corpse of a loved one before his or her interment. Either way, it stoked my interest.
Well. What a disappointment. I have no idea why the writer chose this title for the book because there is no corpse candle in it, neither metaphorical nor actual.
The story ends on a cliffhanger that the writer kept undisclosed, and I find that inexcusable. Any writer who produces cliffhangers needs to announce them as such. Otherwise, the writer is behaving like a huckster, selling her/his books in hopes of selling more. If a writer uses cliffhangers, then he needs to be proud of them and declare them in all the advertising blurbs.
The story is brief – 77 Kindle pages – and is more of a short story than even a novella. It starts out well: from a horrendous situation, a full-on strong, intelligent young woman, who is on the run from human traffickers, manages to stay ahead of her pursuers for two years. Yes, she’s had survival training from the cradle thanks to her Special Forces dad. And yes, she is almost preternaturally clever and astute. I was enthralled…this kind of heroine is unique, and I was looking forward to her tale.
As the story unfolds, we learn that she is after revenge, was 18 when the horrendous event that changed the course of her life occurred. She is now 20. Very young but a strong survivalist with serious skills. So…why does she turn into a simpering miss at first sight of the handsome (of course) president of the Reckless Omens MC? She’s been raised since birth to trust herself and her dad yet when the MC president tells her to trust him, she does so immediately. She is filled with insta-lust, as is he. At 30% completion, this story goes sideways.
I think the writer was in such a hurry to get into scripting the sex scenes that the plot was overlooked. The sex scenes are adequate, more huff-and-puff than erotic. After the initial 30%, the book fell into a downward spiral. One unbelievable action after another hurls the doomed reader towards the cliffhanger end.
There are a few mistakes. For instance:
“…time fly’s when you’re having fun.” That old saw should read, “…time FLIES when you’re having fun.”
“If he ever wants to go a couple round sparring….” That should read, “If he ever wants to go a couple ROUNDS sparring….”
I rated this book a disappointing 2 stars. After starting out with a bang, this book ended with a sad whimper.