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The Aces #4
Craving Resurrection
Poet and Amy's story...
Patrick Gallagher’s future was mapped out—and it didn’t include Amy Henderson or the IRA.
She was everything he’d never wanted. Too young. Too naïve.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t help but be fascinated by the girl who took refuge in his old bedroom, staying with his mum more often than not.
She looked like a Renaissance painting and argued like a solicitor. He couldn’t resist her, and before long, he didn’t even want to.
Instead, he loved her unreservedly… then he married her.
But he couldn’t have prepared for what happened after.
Actions, no matter how large or how small, have consequences—and when the IRA comes knocking, he’s sucked into a life that he’d never anticipated.
Choices were made.
Hearts were broken.
Trust was shattered.
Lives were lost.
Through it all, he loved her.
It was a love that spanned decades.
Epic.
Intense.
Unquestionable.
Unbreakable.
Patrick Gallagher’s future was mapped out—and it didn’t include Amy Henderson or the IRA.
She was everything he’d never wanted. Too young. Too naïve.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t help but be fascinated by the girl who took refuge in his old bedroom, staying with his mum more often than not.
She looked like a Renaissance painting and argued like a solicitor. He couldn’t resist her, and before long, he didn’t even want to.
Instead, he loved her unreservedly… then he married her.
But he couldn’t have prepared for what happened after.
Actions, no matter how large or how small, have consequences—and when the IRA comes knocking, he’s sucked into a life that he’d never anticipated.
Choices were made.
Hearts were broken.
Trust was shattered.
Lives were lost.
Through it all, he loved her.
It was a love that spanned decades.
Epic.
Intense.
Unquestionable.
Unbreakable.
394 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 26, 2015
140 people are currently reading
2630 people want to read
About the author
Nicole Jacquelyn
38 books3,574 followersNicole Jacquelyn started writing before she started elementary school, however she didn’t start publishing her stories until her senior year in college. Today, she’s the author of the best selling Aces Series, Hawthornes Series, Fostering Love Series and Bouchers Series. She loves to read, drinks too much coffee, and lives in Oregon with the coolest children in the entire world and an English Bulldog named Blue.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 453 reviews
September 21, 2017
2-I dislike Patrick-stars!
***SPOILERS***SPOILERS****SPOILERS****
To be fair, this book brought out a lot of emotions out of me. Unfortunately, not all of them are positive. If I had been the type of reader who would 5-star book just based on emotions this book has been able to pull out of me, I would have easily easily given this a full 5. But my feelings are a bit more complicated than that.
Patrick "Poet" Gallagher is the VP of Aces MC and is known to never had an old lady. The story is, he already met the love of his life but had somehow lost her, hence, Poet is lost and adrift without his true love by his side.
^^Please ignore my obvious sarcasm for a bit, mmkay?
Anyway, his story started 30 years before in Northern Ireland. Patrick wanted a life free from the influence of the IRA which his father had been heavily involved in. Then he met Amy through his mum, Peg.
Amy is an American girl living in Ireland. She suffers from abandonment issues and abuse from her parents but she befriended Peg and later on, her son Patrick. Amy was instantly infatuated with Patrick.
For his part, Patrick doesn't need the kind of complication that Amy brings to his life. So he acted like a douche and acted on an impulse that would have terrifying consequences on Amy's life.
The writing, the characters were compelling. I could not put this book down. I was captivated and invested in the story.
But as much as the book captured my attention, one character really ruined it for me. And because this character was central to the plot, this character's actions severely affected the way I received the overall message of the book.
This was supposed to be about an epic love that spanned three decades. And by epic, I was kind of expecting big, bold, no-holds-barred-damn-the-consequences kind of love. Unfortunately, Patrick's actions contradicted the narrative the author was trying to sell to her readers.
I didn't see or feel Patrick's epic love. Not in the way he forgot about his promise to Amy while he banged another chick. Not in the way he left Amy, who had become his wife, so he could take care of the same chick he got pregnant. I certainly didn't see his epic love in the way he gave her up so easily, spit on her face and refused to even investigate or even see reason about what might have happened to her. I couldn't see his epic love for her when, even after finding out the reason why Amy pushed him away, he moved on with his life with another woman raising his child and loving that woman.
I'm sorry but not once did Patrick showed his EPIC love for Amy. All I saw were excuses, excuses, and oh, excuses on top everything else. Epic douchiness? YES. Epic love? Haha!
Apart from Patrick's epic cowardice, this book just had so many plot holes. The more I thought about it, the more confused I got.
Because of all these things, I've decided that Patrick had to be the dumbest and stupidest hero ever. Seriously, this guy knew nothing. He allowed himself to be led by his dick and he wasn't even brave enough to right the wrongs he made.
And then that ending...
Seriously?? After all that, suddenly all is forgiven and everybody is happy and somehow Patrick really did give her what she dreamed of in the first place? I wasn't convinced. Not in the least. Had their confrontation happened earlier with Patrick groveling the rest of the way, I would have enjoyed this more but Patrick...ugh...he didn't do anything until the very end. And even then Amy had to make the move.
*sigh*
I did like Peg and Phoenix but the rest of the characters including the MC contributed to Amy's heartache. I really disliked how uneven the circumstances were between Amy and Patrick. She got the very short end of the stick. She got raped, tortured and had her beautiful hair turned prematurely gray because of trauma while he moved on played house with the woman he got pregnant, admitted to loving her and basically living the good life and fucking everything that moves after his "woman" passed away.
And all I can say to that is...
___________________________________________
and
***SPOILERS***SPOILERS****SPOILERS****
To be fair, this book brought out a lot of emotions out of me. Unfortunately, not all of them are positive. If I had been the type of reader who would 5-star book just based on emotions this book has been able to pull out of me, I would have easily easily given this a full 5. But my feelings are a bit more complicated than that.
Patrick "Poet" Gallagher is the VP of Aces MC and is known to never had an old lady. The story is, he already met the love of his life but had somehow lost her, hence, Poet is lost and adrift without his true love by his side.
^^Please ignore my obvious sarcasm for a bit, mmkay?
Anyway, his story started 30 years before in Northern Ireland. Patrick wanted a life free from the influence of the IRA which his father had been heavily involved in. Then he met Amy through his mum, Peg.
Amy is an American girl living in Ireland. She suffers from abandonment issues and abuse from her parents but she befriended Peg and later on, her son Patrick. Amy was instantly infatuated with Patrick.
For his part, Patrick doesn't need the kind of complication that Amy brings to his life. So he acted like a douche and acted on an impulse that would have terrifying consequences on Amy's life.
I love ye, only ye."
The writing, the characters were compelling. I could not put this book down. I was captivated and invested in the story.
But as much as the book captured my attention, one character really ruined it for me. And because this character was central to the plot, this character's actions severely affected the way I received the overall message of the book.
This was supposed to be about an epic love that spanned three decades. And by epic, I was kind of expecting big, bold, no-holds-barred-damn-the-consequences kind of love. Unfortunately, Patrick's actions contradicted the narrative the author was trying to sell to her readers.
I didn't see or feel Patrick's epic love. Not in the way he forgot about his promise to Amy while he banged another chick. Not in the way he left Amy, who had become his wife, so he could take care of the same chick he got pregnant. I certainly didn't see his epic love in the way he gave her up so easily, spit on her face and refused to even investigate or even see reason about what might have happened to her. I couldn't see his epic love for her when, even after finding out the reason why Amy pushed him away, he moved on with his life with another woman raising his child and loving that woman.
I'm sorry but not once did Patrick showed his EPIC love for Amy. All I saw were excuses, excuses, and oh, excuses on top everything else. Epic douchiness? YES. Epic love? Haha!
Apart from Patrick's epic cowardice, this book just had so many plot holes. The more I thought about it, the more confused I got.
Because of all these things, I've decided that Patrick had to be the dumbest and stupidest hero ever. Seriously, this guy knew nothing. He allowed himself to be led by his dick and he wasn't even brave enough to right the wrongs he made.
And then that ending...
Seriously?? After all that, suddenly all is forgiven and everybody is happy and somehow Patrick really did give her what she dreamed of in the first place? I wasn't convinced. Not in the least. Had their confrontation happened earlier with Patrick groveling the rest of the way, I would have enjoyed this more but Patrick...ugh...he didn't do anything until the very end. And even then Amy had to make the move.
*sigh*
I did like Peg and Phoenix but the rest of the characters including the MC contributed to Amy's heartache. I really disliked how uneven the circumstances were between Amy and Patrick. She got the very short end of the stick. She got raped, tortured and had her beautiful hair turned prematurely gray because of trauma while he moved on played house with the woman he got pregnant, admitted to loving her and basically living the good life and fucking everything that moves after his "woman" passed away.
And all I can say to that is...
___________________________________________
and
February 20, 2015
2–I'm conflicted–Stars
I'm not sure how I want to rate this book. There's a part of me that wants to give it 5 stars, as I was completely engrossed by the story, while another part of me wants to give it 1 star due to the hero's jerkiness and cowardly behavior, the plot holes, and the HEA ending.
The quote below pretty much sums up my feelings about the hero!
I think I'll settle for 2 stars. The more I think about this book, the more I realize that it just doesn't make sense. It's riddled with plot holes and narrative contraditons. Just because the author tells the reader that Patrick and Amy have an epic love story doesn't make it so, not when the narrative continually contradicts those claims throughout the whole story. As Abraham Lincoln said, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
My biggest issue with this book, however, was the HEA ending. It just didn't make sense to me. Not at all. Suddenly, at 93%, Amy has a change of heart. All is quickly forgiven after secrets are revealed (that don't make sense) and a heart-to-heart talk takes place. Of course, Patrick gets to live HEA with his ONE TRUE LOVE. Oh please! *rolls eyes* I can't believe I'm saying this, but the HEA pretty much ruined the story for me. I wanted a bittersweet ending for this couple, not the traditional HEA the author gave them. Their HEA didn't fit the main characters actions and behaviors or the ambiance of the storytelling.
As much as this book captivated and intrigued me, there wasn't enough about it that I liked, or even believed, to give it a higher rating.
Geri's review gives a more in depth explanation to the plot hole problems I had with this book.
I'm not sure how I want to rate this book. There's a part of me that wants to give it 5 stars, as I was completely engrossed by the story, while another part of me wants to give it 1 star due to the hero's jerkiness and cowardly behavior, the plot holes, and the HEA ending.
The quote below pretty much sums up my feelings about the hero!
I think I'll settle for 2 stars. The more I think about this book, the more I realize that it just doesn't make sense. It's riddled with plot holes and narrative contraditons. Just because the author tells the reader that Patrick and Amy have an epic love story doesn't make it so, not when the narrative continually contradicts those claims throughout the whole story. As Abraham Lincoln said, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
My biggest issue with this book, however, was the HEA ending. It just didn't make sense to me. Not at all. Suddenly, at 93%, Amy has a change of heart. All is quickly forgiven after secrets are revealed (that don't make sense) and a heart-to-heart talk takes place. Of course, Patrick gets to live HEA with his ONE TRUE LOVE. Oh please! *rolls eyes* I can't believe I'm saying this, but the HEA pretty much ruined the story for me. I wanted a bittersweet ending for this couple, not the traditional HEA the author gave them. Their HEA didn't fit the main characters actions and behaviors or the ambiance of the storytelling.
As much as this book captivated and intrigued me, there wasn't enough about it that I liked, or even believed, to give it a higher rating.
Geri's review gives a more in depth explanation to the plot hole problems I had with this book.
June 6, 2017
3 The Saddest Damn Story Stars
*Spoilers here, Spoilers there, Spoilers everywhere in this review*
“I was so stupid. So fucking naïve.” “Don’t say dat. Yer not stupid. Ye were never stupid.” “I made comments about your experience,” I spoke over him, “I pushed you because I was angry, and the entire time you were fucking other people. No wonder you didn’t mind waiting until we were married.” “Dat’s not how it was.” “So fucking stupid.” I shook my head, scrubbing my hands over my face. “It was one night. One night. Dat’s all. I was pissed—” “You’re really going to use the drunk excuse right now? Really, Patrick?” “I wasn’t in me right mind—” I gripped the arms of the chair, but he was off the couch and kneeling in front of me before I could push myself to my feet. “Please, Amy. Please, listen.”-Amy and Poet
Holy Shit this has to be, hands down the saddest, most depressing damn book I have ever read to date, and still good enough to get a 3 star review. I am all over the place on how I feel about this story. I had to sleep on it before I could even start this review, because one minute I wanted to give it a 5 stars and the next I wanted to give it a 1 Star. I am going to try to explain my feeling on this book clearly, but I have a feeling there will be ranting, rambling, and tons of spoilers so yeah.... Okay so for starters, I went into this book with a knot in my stomach. I read some of the reviews and my heart just sank. I knew this was going to be a hard read for me because cheating is a trigger for me, and with OCD once I start a book or a series, I just can't stop no matter how miserable it makes me. I expected to hate Poet with a passion as hot as the fires of hell, and at first I did, but he wasn't as bad as I anticipated. Don't get me wrong I sure didn't like Poet. I think Poet is a huge asshole. He made 2 huge mistakes ( I will go over those later), but I'm not sure I would call him a cheater.
I sat alone in the silent house for a long time after I got back. I’d fucked up so badly that I knew any chance of righting my life was completely gone. I’d never again step foot in my own country, I had little money to start a new life, and both my mother and my wife hated me. I couldn’t blame Amy for her anger. One poor decision, one mistake, and I’d broken all trust between us. It didn’t matter that we hadn’t yet made any promises to each other. I’d known the morning after my night with Moira that I’d made a horrible mistake, but it had been too late then to right it.-Poet
“You worthless piece of shit,” he hissed, spit from his mouth hitting my face as I tried to pry his fingers from my throat. “You fuckin’ left her there!” I could hear men yelling as they caught sight of us, but all of my attention was focused on Doc’s mouth and the words flying out so fast I had a hard time keeping up. “You left her to be fuckin’ tortured. You left her to be raped. Then you come back here and run your mouth about her? That poor girl that never done anything wrong but make the mistake of loving a worthless piece of trash like you?” -Doc
Now I feel like his "Cheating" would fall into a gray area. See when he slept with Moira(who I hate and think is a triflin' whore) He had only kissed Amy. They weren't even dating. He only slept with Moira one night, and then when he went back home. Where he asked Amy to marry him. The 2 huge mistakes I think he made are that 1st he slept with Moira, and 2nd He left Amy in Ireland to follow him in a week. Okay see this is what happened.
“I’m so sorry—” he started quietly. “Don’t. Don’t, Patrick,” I ordered cutting him off. “I don’t want to talk about it.” “I love ye—” “Go back to your family.” I looked at him then, the handsome boy that had turned into a man almost overnight. “We both have new lives, let’s just leave it at that, okay?”-Poet and Amy
“Ye did not come from me body,” Patrick said fiercely, staring into Nix’s overflowing eyes and cupping his face so gently their skin was barely touching. “But ye are me son. And ye are exactly as God made ye. Dere is not one t’ing wrong wit’ ye, Phoenix Robert Gallagher, and I’ll kill any man who says ot'erwise.”-Poet
Amy meets Poet's mom Peg, walking home from school. Peg is great btw, and becomes like a mom to Amy, because Amy's parents are worthless. That's how Poet meets Amy. He finds her sleeping in his bed, on one of his visits home from college. He ends up kissing Amy right before he goes back to school. They aren't dating, but he makes hints that he wants more. Then when he get back to school while drunk off his ass, he sleeps with Moira. Then the next morning he regrets it. He also gets a call from his mom the next morning that something is wrong with Amy, so he rushes home. Amy's parents kicked her out so Amy moves in with Peg. Poet stays for a little while and him and Amy get serious. He ask her to marry him. Now from this point he is faithful to her the whole time they are together as a couple.(I'll explain that in a minute since they never divorce) One day months after they are married Moira's skanky ass shows up pregnant and beat up. Poet and Amy had planned on go to America together to get away from the IRA that was using Poet as a hit man and killed his father, so they had two spots on a boat to America. Amy being rightfully pissed tells Poet to take Moira to America. Now Poet wants to stay with Amy, but she is so mad she keeps telling him to go. I can understand Poet feeling torn at this point because , he didn't wanna leave his wife, but he wanted to protect his unborn child. So they make plans that him and Moira with some of the Aces will go to America, and the next boat that leaves in a week with bring Amy and his mom Peg. When he leaves, him and Amy have talked and plan on working things out. When Poet leaves with Moira the tramp, her fiance Malcolm a evil member of the IRA kidnaps Amy, shaves her hair off, breaks all of her fingers one at a time with a hammer, and then rapes her to pay Poet back for taking his woman. Now Amy is messed up, and pissed at Poet she blames him for everything. so instead of getting on the boat and meeting up with him like planned she and Peg get a plane to America and don't tell him where they are going. So he doesn't see his wife again for 4 months, when his mom finally lets him see her because she hasn't spoken a word since she left Ireland. So when Poet sees her, Amy instead of telling him she has been raped, just says she is pregnant, and the kids isn't his. Nothing else so of course if thinks she slept with someone as payback. Spits in her face and leaves. Now here is another gray area because even though they are still married he left her. Says she is dead to him and starts a life with Moira. Which pisses me the fuck off, but I'm not sure if it's cheating or they are broke up kinda. Any how, right after the birth of both their kids he finds out that she was raped and he runs back to her begging for another chance she tells him no go home to Moira and raise your daughter. So he does. A few more times through the years he would show up wanting her back and she would turn him away. Because she was angry and bitter which I totally understand.
“I love her,” I told him simply. “You may love her.” He moved his mouth around a bit as if he was looking for the right words to say. “I get it, man. I do. But every time you play your hand, she’s a mess afterwards. For months. It never works the way you want it to, and it never gets any easier—for you or for her. So why can’t you just let it go?” I ran my hand down my beard, scratching my jaw as I tried to explain to Nix something he would never understand until he’d met the love of his life. “I’m incomplete wit’out her—” I stopped, shaking my head. “As long as I live, I’ll never give up. I can’t.” “I think you have to,” Nix said softly. “It will never happen.”-Poet and Nix
“I know that it wasn’t your fault, but God, Patrick, you weren’t blameless, either. But all these years, I knew what happened and you didn’t. You got to move blissfully along with your life, making a family with Moira and raising your daughter… and I was just stuck. I resented you so much for that, for leaving me and spending your life with the woman who was the reason I was ruined.”-Amy
Damn that was a mouth full. Okay so here is my feeling on all that. I loved Amy. Thought she was brave, strong and just awesome. I understood where she was coming from. I am bitter over it all and I'm just the reader. But I don't feel like Poet Cheated the whole time they are apart because I feel like they broke up. She dated and slept with other men while they are apart too. The thing that bugged me the most was that he made a life with Moira. I truly hated that slut and was glad she died. See because he slept with Moira before they where dating I could have, as a read, forgiven him and gave him a second chance. But it drove me crazy that he was playing house with that home-wrecking tramp after what their sleeping together costed Amy. I know it makes me mean but I was not only glad that Moira died but I was glad that Amy ripped into Poet and laughed a little at the guilt and pain he felt, but he did "a little" redeem himself. The way he treated Amy's son Nix so well. I loved Doc. I was so glad when he told Poet off. I was indifferent of their relationship. I didn't care if they made up are not. But I will say this, the story was still an okay, but damn depressing read and I truly couldn't put it down.
I heaved and heaved until nothing was left, and then I heaved some more, tears rolling down my cheeks. I’d been so confident when I’d left Ireland, so unbelievably arrogant in my assumption that my sins wouldn’t catch up to us. I’d assumed that we’d be safe, never imagining that in the few days between our departures, Amy would be the one paying for my mistakes… I hated myself for that. The details of Amy’s attack and the memory of Malcolm’s large frame in comparison to her small one made me livid, and before I was even done vomiting, I was tearing apart the room.-Poet
“I hadn’t known,” I mumbled, shaking my head. “Moira never said shite about Malcolm, not one fuckin’ word. All dese years and I hadn’t known dat he’d done dat to Amy because of me. He fuckin’ tortured her, Charlie.”-Poet
http://jessicasoverthetopbookobsessio...
*Spoilers here, Spoilers there, Spoilers everywhere in this review*
“I was so stupid. So fucking naïve.” “Don’t say dat. Yer not stupid. Ye were never stupid.” “I made comments about your experience,” I spoke over him, “I pushed you because I was angry, and the entire time you were fucking other people. No wonder you didn’t mind waiting until we were married.” “Dat’s not how it was.” “So fucking stupid.” I shook my head, scrubbing my hands over my face. “It was one night. One night. Dat’s all. I was pissed—” “You’re really going to use the drunk excuse right now? Really, Patrick?” “I wasn’t in me right mind—” I gripped the arms of the chair, but he was off the couch and kneeling in front of me before I could push myself to my feet. “Please, Amy. Please, listen.”-Amy and Poet
Holy Shit this has to be, hands down the saddest, most depressing damn book I have ever read to date, and still good enough to get a 3 star review. I am all over the place on how I feel about this story. I had to sleep on it before I could even start this review, because one minute I wanted to give it a 5 stars and the next I wanted to give it a 1 Star. I am going to try to explain my feeling on this book clearly, but I have a feeling there will be ranting, rambling, and tons of spoilers so yeah.... Okay so for starters, I went into this book with a knot in my stomach. I read some of the reviews and my heart just sank. I knew this was going to be a hard read for me because cheating is a trigger for me, and with OCD once I start a book or a series, I just can't stop no matter how miserable it makes me. I expected to hate Poet with a passion as hot as the fires of hell, and at first I did, but he wasn't as bad as I anticipated. Don't get me wrong I sure didn't like Poet. I think Poet is a huge asshole. He made 2 huge mistakes ( I will go over those later), but I'm not sure I would call him a cheater.
I sat alone in the silent house for a long time after I got back. I’d fucked up so badly that I knew any chance of righting my life was completely gone. I’d never again step foot in my own country, I had little money to start a new life, and both my mother and my wife hated me. I couldn’t blame Amy for her anger. One poor decision, one mistake, and I’d broken all trust between us. It didn’t matter that we hadn’t yet made any promises to each other. I’d known the morning after my night with Moira that I’d made a horrible mistake, but it had been too late then to right it.-Poet
“You worthless piece of shit,” he hissed, spit from his mouth hitting my face as I tried to pry his fingers from my throat. “You fuckin’ left her there!” I could hear men yelling as they caught sight of us, but all of my attention was focused on Doc’s mouth and the words flying out so fast I had a hard time keeping up. “You left her to be fuckin’ tortured. You left her to be raped. Then you come back here and run your mouth about her? That poor girl that never done anything wrong but make the mistake of loving a worthless piece of trash like you?” -Doc
Now I feel like his "Cheating" would fall into a gray area. See when he slept with Moira(who I hate and think is a triflin' whore) He had only kissed Amy. They weren't even dating. He only slept with Moira one night, and then when he went back home. Where he asked Amy to marry him. The 2 huge mistakes I think he made are that 1st he slept with Moira, and 2nd He left Amy in Ireland to follow him in a week. Okay see this is what happened.
“I’m so sorry—” he started quietly. “Don’t. Don’t, Patrick,” I ordered cutting him off. “I don’t want to talk about it.” “I love ye—” “Go back to your family.” I looked at him then, the handsome boy that had turned into a man almost overnight. “We both have new lives, let’s just leave it at that, okay?”-Poet and Amy
“Ye did not come from me body,” Patrick said fiercely, staring into Nix’s overflowing eyes and cupping his face so gently their skin was barely touching. “But ye are me son. And ye are exactly as God made ye. Dere is not one t’ing wrong wit’ ye, Phoenix Robert Gallagher, and I’ll kill any man who says ot'erwise.”-Poet
Amy meets Poet's mom Peg, walking home from school. Peg is great btw, and becomes like a mom to Amy, because Amy's parents are worthless. That's how Poet meets Amy. He finds her sleeping in his bed, on one of his visits home from college. He ends up kissing Amy right before he goes back to school. They aren't dating, but he makes hints that he wants more. Then when he get back to school while drunk off his ass, he sleeps with Moira. Then the next morning he regrets it. He also gets a call from his mom the next morning that something is wrong with Amy, so he rushes home. Amy's parents kicked her out so Amy moves in with Peg. Poet stays for a little while and him and Amy get serious. He ask her to marry him. Now from this point he is faithful to her the whole time they are together as a couple.(I'll explain that in a minute since they never divorce) One day months after they are married Moira's skanky ass shows up pregnant and beat up. Poet and Amy had planned on go to America together to get away from the IRA that was using Poet as a hit man and killed his father, so they had two spots on a boat to America. Amy being rightfully pissed tells Poet to take Moira to America. Now Poet wants to stay with Amy, but she is so mad she keeps telling him to go. I can understand Poet feeling torn at this point because , he didn't wanna leave his wife, but he wanted to protect his unborn child. So they make plans that him and Moira with some of the Aces will go to America, and the next boat that leaves in a week with bring Amy and his mom Peg. When he leaves, him and Amy have talked and plan on working things out. When Poet leaves with Moira the tramp, her fiance Malcolm a evil member of the IRA kidnaps Amy, shaves her hair off, breaks all of her fingers one at a time with a hammer, and then rapes her to pay Poet back for taking his woman. Now Amy is messed up, and pissed at Poet she blames him for everything. so instead of getting on the boat and meeting up with him like planned she and Peg get a plane to America and don't tell him where they are going. So he doesn't see his wife again for 4 months, when his mom finally lets him see her because she hasn't spoken a word since she left Ireland. So when Poet sees her, Amy instead of telling him she has been raped, just says she is pregnant, and the kids isn't his. Nothing else so of course if thinks she slept with someone as payback. Spits in her face and leaves. Now here is another gray area because even though they are still married he left her. Says she is dead to him and starts a life with Moira. Which pisses me the fuck off, but I'm not sure if it's cheating or they are broke up kinda. Any how, right after the birth of both their kids he finds out that she was raped and he runs back to her begging for another chance she tells him no go home to Moira and raise your daughter. So he does. A few more times through the years he would show up wanting her back and she would turn him away. Because she was angry and bitter which I totally understand.
“I love her,” I told him simply. “You may love her.” He moved his mouth around a bit as if he was looking for the right words to say. “I get it, man. I do. But every time you play your hand, she’s a mess afterwards. For months. It never works the way you want it to, and it never gets any easier—for you or for her. So why can’t you just let it go?” I ran my hand down my beard, scratching my jaw as I tried to explain to Nix something he would never understand until he’d met the love of his life. “I’m incomplete wit’out her—” I stopped, shaking my head. “As long as I live, I’ll never give up. I can’t.” “I think you have to,” Nix said softly. “It will never happen.”-Poet and Nix
“I know that it wasn’t your fault, but God, Patrick, you weren’t blameless, either. But all these years, I knew what happened and you didn’t. You got to move blissfully along with your life, making a family with Moira and raising your daughter… and I was just stuck. I resented you so much for that, for leaving me and spending your life with the woman who was the reason I was ruined.”-Amy
Damn that was a mouth full. Okay so here is my feeling on all that. I loved Amy. Thought she was brave, strong and just awesome. I understood where she was coming from. I am bitter over it all and I'm just the reader. But I don't feel like Poet Cheated the whole time they are apart because I feel like they broke up. She dated and slept with other men while they are apart too. The thing that bugged me the most was that he made a life with Moira. I truly hated that slut and was glad she died. See because he slept with Moira before they where dating I could have, as a read, forgiven him and gave him a second chance. But it drove me crazy that he was playing house with that home-wrecking tramp after what their sleeping together costed Amy. I know it makes me mean but I was not only glad that Moira died but I was glad that Amy ripped into Poet and laughed a little at the guilt and pain he felt, but he did "a little" redeem himself. The way he treated Amy's son Nix so well. I loved Doc. I was so glad when he told Poet off. I was indifferent of their relationship. I didn't care if they made up are not. But I will say this, the story was still an okay, but damn depressing read and I truly couldn't put it down.
I heaved and heaved until nothing was left, and then I heaved some more, tears rolling down my cheeks. I’d been so confident when I’d left Ireland, so unbelievably arrogant in my assumption that my sins wouldn’t catch up to us. I’d assumed that we’d be safe, never imagining that in the few days between our departures, Amy would be the one paying for my mistakes… I hated myself for that. The details of Amy’s attack and the memory of Malcolm’s large frame in comparison to her small one made me livid, and before I was even done vomiting, I was tearing apart the room.-Poet
“I hadn’t known,” I mumbled, shaking my head. “Moira never said shite about Malcolm, not one fuckin’ word. All dese years and I hadn’t known dat he’d done dat to Amy because of me. He fuckin’ tortured her, Charlie.”-Poet
http://jessicasoverthetopbookobsessio...
June 25, 2015
Disclaimer: I prefer to think of this story as Amy and Peg's "love" story. Poet can go eat some arsenic.
Otherwise...
5 Frustrating as FUCK Stars
Let me start off by saying:
1) I'm sick.
2) I have raging PMS.
3) And I had a reaaaaaaallllly shitty weekend.
I really loved this book.
But it also really pissed me the fuck off.
A lot.
In fact, if I was screaming the pissed off epithets I was yelling at my poor dogs while while reading this thing right now, I would have pissed off Nyquil spittle all over my computer screen.
So, in an effort to save you all some nonsensical cold syrup induced verbal diarrhea, this will be a GIF post.
This book had me feeling either this:
This:
Some of this:
And a whole lotta this:
This is what I wanted to do to poor Amy:
And to Douche King Poet/Patrick:
Over.
And over.
And over again.
Ok I'm done.
But seriously.
Fuck. That. Dude.
He was NOT redeemable for me and I wanted him to burn.
But I digress.
This was super good. I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down.
Always the sign of a 5-star read for me. Despite that asshole Poet.
Okay, one more time.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
1/19/15: Up on amazon and pre-ordered, hells to the yes!
Update 11/21/14: Supposedly coming out Jan 29 now, fingers crossed!!!!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Update 11/21/14: Okay peeps, it's late November now...where the ever fiving luck is the damned book. *pouty face*
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hells to the YESSSSSSSS.
Look, even Peeta wants it.
Otherwise...
5 Frustrating as FUCK Stars
Let me start off by saying:
1) I'm sick.
2) I have raging PMS.
3) And I had a reaaaaaaallllly shitty weekend.
I really loved this book.
But it also really pissed me the fuck off.
A lot.
In fact, if I was screaming the pissed off epithets I was yelling at my poor dogs while while reading this thing right now, I would have pissed off Nyquil spittle all over my computer screen.
So, in an effort to save you all some nonsensical cold syrup induced verbal diarrhea, this will be a GIF post.
This book had me feeling either this:
This:
Some of this:
And a whole lotta this:
This is what I wanted to do to poor Amy:
And to Douche King Poet/Patrick:
Over.
And over.
And over again.
Ok I'm done.
But seriously.
Fuck. That. Dude.
He was NOT redeemable for me and I wanted him to burn.
But I digress.
This was super good. I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down.
Always the sign of a 5-star read for me. Despite that asshole Poet.
Okay, one more time.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
1/19/15: Up on amazon and pre-ordered, hells to the yes!
Update 11/21/14: Supposedly coming out Jan 29 now, fingers crossed!!!!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Update 11/21/14: Okay peeps, it's late November now...where the ever fiving luck is the damned book. *pouty face*
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hells to the YESSSSSSSS.
Look, even Peeta wants it.
September 16, 2018
I hate cheaters and this piece of s#*t was one, Amy deserved someone who could keep it in his pants for her and after everything she went thru because of this douche and the witch. Meanwhile this piece of s#*t got to lived happy with the woman that he cheated and have a daughter. I really hated him I wanted to punch his face everytime he told amy that he loved her. i wanted to cut off his std's balls..
Too bad she forgives him right after she said this...
“You left me in Ireland to take care of a woman you barely knew, and because of that, he tortured me and raped me until I lost consciousness.” I clenched my jaw against the emotion burning in my chest. “You promised me you’d never leave me again. You promised that I’d never have to be afraid. You promised that you’d never love anyone else.”
I watched Patrick’s face go from pale to an alarming shade of gray, but I didn’t stop.
I still didn’t stop.
“Do you remember the day you found out I was pregnant? When you spit in my face and said I was filthy?” I growled at him, tears finally falling freely down my cheeks. “I didn’t say anything back, because I couldn’t disagree with you. I felt filthy. The kind of filth that you scrub and scrub, but it never comes off.”
“No—” Patrick whispered painfully, his voice barely audible.
“You accused me of paying you back for fucking another woman, and I began to laugh, do you remember?” I waited until his eyes squeezed shut with the memory, then hissed through my teeth, “It was hilarious, Patrick. Because I hadn’t paid you back for sleeping with her, he did."
Too bad she forgives him right after she said this...
“You left me in Ireland to take care of a woman you barely knew, and because of that, he tortured me and raped me until I lost consciousness.” I clenched my jaw against the emotion burning in my chest. “You promised me you’d never leave me again. You promised that I’d never have to be afraid. You promised that you’d never love anyone else.”
I watched Patrick’s face go from pale to an alarming shade of gray, but I didn’t stop.
I still didn’t stop.
“Do you remember the day you found out I was pregnant? When you spit in my face and said I was filthy?” I growled at him, tears finally falling freely down my cheeks. “I didn’t say anything back, because I couldn’t disagree with you. I felt filthy. The kind of filth that you scrub and scrub, but it never comes off.”
“No—” Patrick whispered painfully, his voice barely audible.
“You accused me of paying you back for fucking another woman, and I began to laugh, do you remember?” I waited until his eyes squeezed shut with the memory, then hissed through my teeth, “It was hilarious, Patrick. Because I hadn’t paid you back for sleeping with her, he did."
Read
January 27, 2015*********READ FULL BOOK*****************
”He wouldn’t let go, and I couldn’t go back.”
”Please. I love ye, only ye. Forgive me.”
I'm refraining from starring this story because I’m completely torn on whether to fill according to my enjoyment 1 star or for story/writing 4 stars . I mean the author did a great job because I’m feeling, and feeling, and feeling, sadly it’s all hate for the hero that I just can’t let go of. Let me explain, since the first book of the series I have anticipated Poet/Patrick's story and sadly he was EPIC FAIL as a character for me. He's actions and lack of made me so angry but then again the author wanted me to experience this level of hate and anger but I'm positive she expected me to let it go with Amy and embrace this couple's ending but I just couldn’t. I mean I just have to say one word… Moira.
So to reiterate, I NEVER GOT OVER MY HATE FOR PATRICK and all his fails as a human being. This author has only succeeded in writing one wonderful all around alpha … Grease. She excels at giving the strongest older female characters (Gram, Farrah, Callie, Amy) that I have read to date and Poet's mom, Peg was no exception. The story takes us back something like 30 years ago to Ireland where Amy meets Peg and Patrick. The story line is really exciting adding the IRA to the mix and the how Poet goes from being a student to a killer. The author delivers a story that was angsty, infuriating, and heartbreaking but damn it, Amy got the shortest straw at every turn and I hated the story for it. My list of crimes against Amy/me, because let's face it I read the story as if I was her, was way too long and” I love ye” just didn't cut it with either one of us.
”I’d fucked up so badly that I knew any chance of righting my life was completely gone. I’d never again step foot in my own country, I had little money to start a new life, and both my mother and my wife hated me.”
Original ideas and writing wise this was really well done. The author also tied in book one very creatively as was the delivery and original plot of this story. If you’re a forgiving reader and can handle triggers like epic ass of a hero, cheating, rape, having the man you’re married to declare his undying love but never backing that shit up and in his chapters talk about loving the woman he’s with not as much but enough… Oh and let me not forget, spitting in your face when you’re at your lowest thanks to his decisions, then this hero will work for you.
I seriously thank my girl Leslie Logan for buddy reading this one with me. Here’s us getting our hands on Patrick…
Truthfully, if I was a more forgiving person, younger maybe, who knows I would have 5 starred this story. Once again, it was well done but sadly I was left still stewing while the characters ended happy.
”It was as if everything that made her who she was pulled at the opposite trait in me, drawing us like magnets.”
”He wouldn’t let go, and I couldn’t go back.”
”Please. I love ye, only ye. Forgive me.”
I'm refraining from starring this story because I’m completely torn on whether to fill according to my enjoyment 1 star or for story/writing 4 stars . I mean the author did a great job because I’m feeling, and feeling, and feeling, sadly it’s all hate for the hero that I just can’t let go of. Let me explain, since the first book of the series I have anticipated Poet/Patrick's story and sadly he was EPIC FAIL as a character for me. He's actions and lack of made me so angry but then again the author wanted me to experience this level of hate and anger but I'm positive she expected me to let it go with Amy and embrace this couple's ending but I just couldn’t. I mean I just have to say one word… Moira.
So to reiterate, I NEVER GOT OVER MY HATE FOR PATRICK and all his fails as a human being. This author has only succeeded in writing one wonderful all around alpha … Grease. She excels at giving the strongest older female characters (Gram, Farrah, Callie, Amy) that I have read to date and Poet's mom, Peg was no exception. The story takes us back something like 30 years ago to Ireland where Amy meets Peg and Patrick. The story line is really exciting adding the IRA to the mix and the how Poet goes from being a student to a killer. The author delivers a story that was angsty, infuriating, and heartbreaking but damn it, Amy got the shortest straw at every turn and I hated the story for it. My list of crimes against Amy/me, because let's face it I read the story as if I was her, was way too long and” I love ye” just didn't cut it with either one of us.
”I’d fucked up so badly that I knew any chance of righting my life was completely gone. I’d never again step foot in my own country, I had little money to start a new life, and both my mother and my wife hated me.”
Original ideas and writing wise this was really well done. The author also tied in book one very creatively as was the delivery and original plot of this story. If you’re a forgiving reader and can handle triggers like epic ass of a hero, cheating, rape, having the man you’re married to declare his undying love but never backing that shit up and in his chapters talk about loving the woman he’s with not as much but enough… Oh and let me not forget, spitting in your face when you’re at your lowest thanks to his decisions, then this hero will work for you.
I seriously thank my girl Leslie Logan for buddy reading this one with me. Here’s us getting our hands on Patrick…
Truthfully, if I was a more forgiving person, younger maybe, who knows I would have 5 starred this story. Once again, it was well done but sadly I was left still stewing while the characters ended happy.
”It was as if everything that made her who she was pulled at the opposite trait in me, drawing us like magnets.”
January 26, 2015
★★★★ 4.5 Stars ★★★★
Now LIVE!
UK - http://amzn.to/15AAIit
US - http://amzn.to/1BriYl9
This is the story of Poet, the VP of the ACES MC who we met in book 1 when his daughter Brenna returned home after suffering in an abusive marriage. I'll admit, I couldn't really remember much about him other than he was Irish and never had an old lady or anyone special in his life but that's all you need to know really, you could definitely read this as a stand alone. The prologue starts in the present day and then we are taken back to the nineties in the Republic of Ireland, close to the British border amidst the IRA's campaign to unify Ireland.
Amy is a 17 year old American girl whose parents have moved to Ireland for work, she has spent her young life moving around and never staying in one place for long, with parents who are apathetic towards her and like to indulge in sordid activities by night. She catches the attention of her neighbour Peggy, who invites her to spend time over at her house and over time becomes a mother figure and friend. When Peggy's son Patrick returns home from University, he is taken aback by the beautiful and snarky girl that he finds in his home, and once he realises she isn't there to take advantage of his mother he decides he wants to make her his. Patrick has met his match and feels at peace when he is close to Amy.
They are young and naively in love with the idea that they can live happily ever after. What they don't realise it that when you are living in the middle of a war zone everything can come crashing down in the blink of an eye, especially when past mistakes are brought to the forefront of both their lives, and they forced to flee to America for their safety.
What follows is truly heartbreaking - I was not prepared for all the different feelings I went through. Anger, Sadness, Devastation to name a few and I spent a large portion of the book in tears. Amy was such a strong character once she grew up and although she eventually learns to forgive Patrick she can never seem to move on. Patrick, now a member of the ACES MC has only ever wanted Amy but he has a life without her now that Amy is reluctant to disrupt.
If you don't like angst, imperfect hero's or large time gaps then this book is probably not for you. I literally felt like I'd been hit by a bus by the end of the book but I love a book that makes my heart pump out of my chest and swoon at the same time. This is by far, the best book out of the 4. Also, I just want to note that it doesn't focus on the 'biker' aspect hardly at all so you will find it has a completely different feel from the previous 3 books.
P.S I would have given this 5 stars but the 'Irish lingo' was a bit annoying - I've never met an Irish person who speaks like that in real life, specially an educated one such as Poet. I highly recommend that you try your hardest to ignore this otherwise it will annoy the shit out of you and ruin the book. It's worth plodding through.
ARC received from author in exchange for an honest review
Now LIVE!
UK - http://amzn.to/15AAIit
US - http://amzn.to/1BriYl9
This is the story of Poet, the VP of the ACES MC who we met in book 1 when his daughter Brenna returned home after suffering in an abusive marriage. I'll admit, I couldn't really remember much about him other than he was Irish and never had an old lady or anyone special in his life but that's all you need to know really, you could definitely read this as a stand alone. The prologue starts in the present day and then we are taken back to the nineties in the Republic of Ireland, close to the British border amidst the IRA's campaign to unify Ireland.
Amy is a 17 year old American girl whose parents have moved to Ireland for work, she has spent her young life moving around and never staying in one place for long, with parents who are apathetic towards her and like to indulge in sordid activities by night. She catches the attention of her neighbour Peggy, who invites her to spend time over at her house and over time becomes a mother figure and friend. When Peggy's son Patrick returns home from University, he is taken aback by the beautiful and snarky girl that he finds in his home, and once he realises she isn't there to take advantage of his mother he decides he wants to make her his. Patrick has met his match and feels at peace when he is close to Amy.
" We could talk for hours and never run out of things to say, but could rarely agree on anything."
They are young and naively in love with the idea that they can live happily ever after. What they don't realise it that when you are living in the middle of a war zone everything can come crashing down in the blink of an eye, especially when past mistakes are brought to the forefront of both their lives, and they forced to flee to America for their safety.
What follows is truly heartbreaking - I was not prepared for all the different feelings I went through. Anger, Sadness, Devastation to name a few and I spent a large portion of the book in tears. Amy was such a strong character once she grew up and although she eventually learns to forgive Patrick she can never seem to move on. Patrick, now a member of the ACES MC has only ever wanted Amy but he has a life without her now that Amy is reluctant to disrupt.
If you don't like angst, imperfect hero's or large time gaps then this book is probably not for you. I literally felt like I'd been hit by a bus by the end of the book but I love a book that makes my heart pump out of my chest and swoon at the same time. This is by far, the best book out of the 4. Also, I just want to note that it doesn't focus on the 'biker' aspect hardly at all so you will find it has a completely different feel from the previous 3 books.
P.S I would have given this 5 stars but the 'Irish lingo' was a bit annoying - I've never met an Irish person who speaks like that in real life, specially an educated one such as Poet. I highly recommend that you try your hardest to ignore this otherwise it will annoy the shit out of you and ruin the book. It's worth plodding through.
ARC received from author in exchange for an honest review
February 2, 2015
Poet is def on my shit list for being one of the worst male leads in have ever read! He is a cheating and disloyal husband and I am shocked that the author gave him a happy ending! There are some people as a reader I don't think deserve to have their own stories unless the author can show the characters remorse,love and show redeeming qualities about them. I can say that in my opinion the author did not achieve it with Poet but made me dislike him even more he was all talk and contradictions I hated him and returned the book Asap. With all the worthy hero's in my reading shelf he would have been a waste of space.
May 10, 2016
This book was 30 years of torture, for the characters and me as a reader. This isn't a romance, it's a sad fucking story with hardly enough good at the end to help heal the wounds it inflicts.
March 31, 2021
3 ⭐⭐⭐ - OK decent reads.
==============================
I was too lazy to write a review.
cheater + douchebag
=============================
=============================
Great Review Here
Great Review Here
==============================
I was too lazy to write a review.
cheater + douchebag
=============================
“You left your wife in Ireland to take off with the woman you had on the side,” he hissed. “You want to talk about loyalty?” The veins in his neck were throbbing.
“You worthless piece of shit,” he hissed, spit from his mouth hitting my face as I tried to pry his fingers from my throat. “You fuckin’ left her there!”
I could hear men yelling as they caught sight of us, but all of my attention was focused on Doc’s mouth and the words flying out so fast I had a hard time keeping up.
“You left her to be fuckin’ tortured. You left her to be raped. Then you come back here and run your mouth about her? That poor girl that never done anything wrong but make the mistake of loving a worthless piece of trash like you?”
“Let him go, Doc,” Ham said quietly, his words no less than an order.
=============================
Great Review Here
Great Review Here
November 15, 2017
4 - 4.5 ★'s
“I’ve got ye. I know I’m late, me love, but I’m here now.”
I discovered this book in the Amazon discussion forums (RIP) and I've had it for a while. I was definitely interested...after all, it's was touted as super angsty so that's a win-win for me. But...I wasn't sure if I wanted to read the books before it and ~sigh~ it's another motorcycle club.
I finally decided what-the-hell and gave it a shot and can I just say "Wow!" It was nothing like I thought it would be...okay, that's a lie, it is a little how I thought but that's it.
Patrick and Amy meet when she's staying at his mother's house sleeping in his bed. He doesn't live there anymore but came home to visit and found her. He was smitten from the start and so was she. However, she's not quite eighteen yet and he's several years older.
Once she turns eighteen, things progress pretty rapidly. Unfortunately, not as fast as I had hoped especially after reading that prologue! But we do get to read about them falling in love and taking things forward. Their sweet little romance soon gets smashed into pieces.
There's two unfortunate events that happen. The first involves the IRA (they are living in Ireland) and his father. And the second involves a big mistake on Patrick's part...one that comes back to haunt him...and Amy. Let me amend that and say three events because he never should have gone on to America without her.
Not that Amy was blameless, she certainly pushed Patrick quite a bit but she didn't deserve what Patrick did and said to her when he found out her circumstances. Still, it was hard for me not to want them to make things work.
Unfortunately, lady luck is not on their side and they spend a lot of time apart. And there's a lot of those nasty time jumps but eventually time catches up to the events of the prologue.
I really enjoyed the Aces, mainly Charlie and Vera and Dragon and Brenna. It doesn't look like Charlie and Vera have a book per se but one day I might read Craving Constellations, the first book, and see how things got started.
I'm also a little curious as to why so many people don't like/or hate Patrick especially since I didn't feel that way at all. He always wanted Amy...always so maybe there's some other things he did in the prior books?
I also want to give a shout out to Patrick's mom, Peg. She was so awesome. I loved how much she was there for Amy.
I thought the book ended well. Again, since I didn't read the other books, I'm a little in the dark as far as some of the couples go but I still thought everyone was interesting and sweet.
There's already books for some of the kids although I couldn't find one for Nix. I was really hoping he would have one. His story would be really interesting.
“I’ve got ye. I know I’m late, me love, but I’m here now.”
I discovered this book in the Amazon discussion forums (RIP) and I've had it for a while. I was definitely interested...after all, it's was touted as super angsty so that's a win-win for me. But...I wasn't sure if I wanted to read the books before it and ~sigh~ it's another motorcycle club.
I finally decided what-the-hell and gave it a shot and can I just say "Wow!" It was nothing like I thought it would be...okay, that's a lie, it is a little how I thought but that's it.
Patrick and Amy meet when she's staying at his mother's house sleeping in his bed. He doesn't live there anymore but came home to visit and found her. He was smitten from the start and so was she. However, she's not quite eighteen yet and he's several years older.
Once she turns eighteen, things progress pretty rapidly. Unfortunately, not as fast as I had hoped especially after reading that prologue! But we do get to read about them falling in love and taking things forward. Their sweet little romance soon gets smashed into pieces.
There's two unfortunate events that happen. The first involves the IRA (they are living in Ireland) and his father. And the second involves a big mistake on Patrick's part...one that comes back to haunt him...and Amy. Let me amend that and say three events because he never should have gone on to America without her.
Not that Amy was blameless, she certainly pushed Patrick quite a bit but she didn't deserve what Patrick did and said to her when he found out her circumstances. Still, it was hard for me not to want them to make things work.
Unfortunately, lady luck is not on their side and they spend a lot of time apart. And there's a lot of those nasty time jumps but eventually time catches up to the events of the prologue.
I really enjoyed the Aces, mainly Charlie and Vera and Dragon and Brenna. It doesn't look like Charlie and Vera have a book per se but one day I might read Craving Constellations, the first book, and see how things got started.
I'm also a little curious as to why so many people don't like/or hate Patrick especially since I didn't feel that way at all. He always wanted Amy...always so maybe there's some other things he did in the prior books?
I also want to give a shout out to Patrick's mom, Peg. She was so awesome. I loved how much she was there for Amy.
I thought the book ended well. Again, since I didn't read the other books, I'm a little in the dark as far as some of the couples go but I still thought everyone was interesting and sweet.
There's already books for some of the kids although I couldn't find one for Nix. I was really hoping he would have one. His story would be really interesting.
January 26, 2015
I hate it. I was shaking the entire time I read it. I can't forgive Poet. I just can't. I've never felt so emotionally exhausted. I really wished I haven't read this. It tears me apart that that fucking piece of cheating shit gets his happy ending. I really wished he just died. I hate him. I hate everything about him. I mean come on, even on the last scene he was fucking some girl. I guess according to him he "didn't" fuck her YET. That's supposed to be acceptable? In their 30 years of marriage, I don't think there's ever a time he was even remotely faithful to her. I hate how he keeps on saying he loves her and only her but he goes around screwing everything that walks. Amy deserves so much better. God!!! I'm so upset I read this. I wished I can take it all back. I'm never reading anything from this author again!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2015
‘Poets wrote sonnets about her type of beauty.’
What can we say about Craving Resurrection; honestly we’re quite lost for words and if you read our reviews regularly you‘ll know that this doesn’t happen often. We do tend to go on a bit. We just weren’t prepared for everything that was Craving Resurrection.
“Sometimes, the things we need don’t make sense to anyone else. That doesn’t mean you’re wrong to need them.”
What we do have to say, of which we are sure, is expect the unexpected. This instalment is unlike any of its predecessors insofar as themes, storyline and main characters are concerned. It’s incredibly unique, diverse, highly emotional and incredibly bloody sad. We agonised, cried and our hearts swelled with love and if nothing else we wholeheartedly applaud Nicole Jacquelyn as we think this story took guts and tears to write. We can imagine her sitting at her desk drawing deep from within herself crying tears as she wrote. Yes, that is how much sadness we truly felt over this story. Poet and Amy’s story will pull at your heartstrings; it will make you angry, frustrated, and heartbroken and it will make you believe in soul mates and true love despite everything working against that very fact.
‘I instinctively knew that nothing could hurt me when Patrick was there. It was when he left that bad things happened.’
We go back to the beginnings of Patrick and Amy in rural Ireland. Two youngsters brought together by a caring neighbour and Mum. Amy; according to Patrick:
‘She was everything – messy and emotional and pragmatic and snarky and possessive and beautiful – and I couldn’t go another day without making her mine.’
Amy to us was strength. She was fierce and fought tooth and nail in cruel and violent adversity. Amy was a survivor. She was passionate and loving, pure goodness. She was a woman who loved and lost with forgiveness.
‘Christ, hadn’t she figured it out yet? I’d continue to hold her as long as she’d allow it.’
Patrick was a man misunderstood. A man who made mistakes. A man who’s skills and knowledge was quashed by outside forces placing him in situations beyond his control and comprehension. Patrick loved with all his heart but was ultimately a man of honour and responsibility no matter how misguided. Patrick ultimately had a good heart.
‘I loved him, I didn’t think that would ever change, but I couldn’t get past the fact that he’d ruined my life.’
The journey is harrowing and albeit it a hard read at times due to overuse of Irish vernacular it was nevertheless spell-binding and compelling reading.
‘I understood that everyone made choices that they later regretted, some large and some small. It was human to get it wrong, to not see the larger picture until it was too late. But I didn’t know how to reconcile that with the decisions I’d made.’
A story of love, loss, guilt and missed opportunities that absolutely pulled at our heartstrings. Craving Resurrection can be read as a standalone. Nicole Jacquelyn has become a 1Click author for us and this book only cemented our opinion of her talent. It’s certainly one we’ll be talking about for quite a while. A definite recommend from us both.
**Reviewed from an ARC copy provided by the author for an honest review**
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January 24, 2015
Before he was Brenna's father, before he became known as 'Poet', the vice president of the Aces MC, Patrick Gallagher was just a boy, working on cars, taking care of his Mum in Ireland. Craving Resurrection is Poet's story, a journey that spans decades, a story I'll not soon forget.
I've devoured every single book in Nicole Jacquelyn's Aces MC series, loved each and every one. With that said, it'd take an entire constellation to house the number of stars I'd like to give Craving Resurrection. The timeline, the pacing, the angst, the build, the tension, the character development, the sweet joy, the unbearable heartbreak... this book packs EVERYTHING within its pages. Love. Loss. Crime. Pain. Humor. Violence. Brutality. Family. Hope. It's almost indescribable how consuming this story is. It'll undoubtedly be more than some readers can handle, the magnitude of the pain within these pages is, oftentimes, unbearable. Just when you think things can't possibly get worse for these characters, they do.
This story reads like nothing I've read before. 17-year-old Amy Henderson has lived a tragic life. Brought to Ireland by her despicable parents who neglect, mistreat and subsequently abandon her in lieu of drugs and sexual depravity, Amy's lot was an unfortunate one from very early on. The only ray of light in her young life came from a friendly, lonely neighbor named Peg, who saw something special and equally lonely in Amy. Through this unlikely friendship, Amy's life collides with Patrick, Peg's 22-year-old hardworking, scholarly son. Patrick is brilliant and well-read, but abrasive and somewhat cold, an anomaly enjoying working on cars as much as he enjoys reading poetry. Despite their age difference and how much they'd like to pretend an attraction between them doesn't exist, the bickering and witty banter between Amy and Patrick quickly blossoms into more, and a love story the likes of which I've never seen before ensues. It's amidst this tumultuous, but sweet, romance that the fateful trajectory of both Amy and Patrick's lives are altered forever. One secret sets off a horrific chain of events no one ever could have predicted. There was no preparation for how well and truly gutted I'd feel over the course of these pages. The sweet feels so sweet, but it makes the pain hurt that much worse. So, so, so much worse.
With each installment in this series, my appreciation, my awe, and my respect for Nicole Jacquelyn grows exponentially. Therefore, by the conclusion of the 4th book, through her stunning writing and brilliant story telling, my awe is now utterly immeasurable. Her writing is superb. Nicole Jacquelyn's prose is just brilliant...the dialogue and voices and the tone she gives to each individual character is precise and etched out exquisitely. The words bleed right off the page and saturate the reader completely.
This story is told in alternating first person points of view from the perspective of both Amy and Patrick. I think Patrick and Amy are the most unique, interesting, unforgettable characters in this series to date. Everything about them from their appearance, to their accents, their heritage, their family life, their personalities, their dynamic... all of it just makes you want to devour this story. Despite the ruggedness and edgy demeanor Patrick exudes, and Amy's feisty personality, there's a sweetness about their early relationship, an innocence, a naivete. Patrick's brooding, volatile personality is polar opposite to Amy's more vulnerable one, but they work. Almost immediately I found myself consumed with this dynamic, basking in the sweetness and the joy of it...and later....much later...craving that it could be resurrected after all that'd soon be lost. Nicole Jacquelyn busted way outside the biker box with this installment and it's magnificent. Unexpected. Refreshing. Perfect.
I stayed up far later than I should have reading this book. I just couldn't stop. Literally, I COULD. NOT. STOP. And then when I finally forced myself to try to sleep for a bit, I tossed and turned all night long, waking every few minutes completely consumed with the story. I can't shake it. I have wholly loved every single book in the Aces motorcycle series, but this particular book, Craving Resurrection, trumps every book that came before it exponentially. Everything from the writing, the story, the characters, the emotions, the ups and downs, the joy, humor, brutality and pain has soaked into my skin, my brain, my soul and I can't stop thinking about it. I'm awestruck. Craving Resurrection is so much more than your typical biker romance. It's in another league, another planet, another galaxy.... Nicole Jacquelyn has crafted an epic, unforgettable romance that transcends time, oceans, culture, morality, and circumstance. This story goes down as one of, not only the best biker stories I've ever read, but one of the best books I've ever read, period.
I've devoured every single book in Nicole Jacquelyn's Aces MC series, loved each and every one. With that said, it'd take an entire constellation to house the number of stars I'd like to give Craving Resurrection. The timeline, the pacing, the angst, the build, the tension, the character development, the sweet joy, the unbearable heartbreak... this book packs EVERYTHING within its pages. Love. Loss. Crime. Pain. Humor. Violence. Brutality. Family. Hope. It's almost indescribable how consuming this story is. It'll undoubtedly be more than some readers can handle, the magnitude of the pain within these pages is, oftentimes, unbearable. Just when you think things can't possibly get worse for these characters, they do.
This story reads like nothing I've read before. 17-year-old Amy Henderson has lived a tragic life. Brought to Ireland by her despicable parents who neglect, mistreat and subsequently abandon her in lieu of drugs and sexual depravity, Amy's lot was an unfortunate one from very early on. The only ray of light in her young life came from a friendly, lonely neighbor named Peg, who saw something special and equally lonely in Amy. Through this unlikely friendship, Amy's life collides with Patrick, Peg's 22-year-old hardworking, scholarly son. Patrick is brilliant and well-read, but abrasive and somewhat cold, an anomaly enjoying working on cars as much as he enjoys reading poetry. Despite their age difference and how much they'd like to pretend an attraction between them doesn't exist, the bickering and witty banter between Amy and Patrick quickly blossoms into more, and a love story the likes of which I've never seen before ensues. It's amidst this tumultuous, but sweet, romance that the fateful trajectory of both Amy and Patrick's lives are altered forever. One secret sets off a horrific chain of events no one ever could have predicted. There was no preparation for how well and truly gutted I'd feel over the course of these pages. The sweet feels so sweet, but it makes the pain hurt that much worse. So, so, so much worse.
With each installment in this series, my appreciation, my awe, and my respect for Nicole Jacquelyn grows exponentially. Therefore, by the conclusion of the 4th book, through her stunning writing and brilliant story telling, my awe is now utterly immeasurable. Her writing is superb. Nicole Jacquelyn's prose is just brilliant...the dialogue and voices and the tone she gives to each individual character is precise and etched out exquisitely. The words bleed right off the page and saturate the reader completely.
This story is told in alternating first person points of view from the perspective of both Amy and Patrick. I think Patrick and Amy are the most unique, interesting, unforgettable characters in this series to date. Everything about them from their appearance, to their accents, their heritage, their family life, their personalities, their dynamic... all of it just makes you want to devour this story. Despite the ruggedness and edgy demeanor Patrick exudes, and Amy's feisty personality, there's a sweetness about their early relationship, an innocence, a naivete. Patrick's brooding, volatile personality is polar opposite to Amy's more vulnerable one, but they work. Almost immediately I found myself consumed with this dynamic, basking in the sweetness and the joy of it...and later....much later...craving that it could be resurrected after all that'd soon be lost. Nicole Jacquelyn busted way outside the biker box with this installment and it's magnificent. Unexpected. Refreshing. Perfect.
I stayed up far later than I should have reading this book. I just couldn't stop. Literally, I COULD. NOT. STOP. And then when I finally forced myself to try to sleep for a bit, I tossed and turned all night long, waking every few minutes completely consumed with the story. I can't shake it. I have wholly loved every single book in the Aces motorcycle series, but this particular book, Craving Resurrection, trumps every book that came before it exponentially. Everything from the writing, the story, the characters, the emotions, the ups and downs, the joy, humor, brutality and pain has soaked into my skin, my brain, my soul and I can't stop thinking about it. I'm awestruck. Craving Resurrection is so much more than your typical biker romance. It's in another league, another planet, another galaxy.... Nicole Jacquelyn has crafted an epic, unforgettable romance that transcends time, oceans, culture, morality, and circumstance. This story goes down as one of, not only the best biker stories I've ever read, but one of the best books I've ever read, period.
August 23, 2016
What the fuck??!! I don't care how good the writing is. The hero ruined the story for me. I'm pissed he got to live a really good fucking life with his woman (and mother of his child), while his wife's life was shit! Yeah, awesome work there, Poet.
(And this is why I don't do a lot of re-reads because i know my reading tastes have changed. I don't seem to be able tolerate shitty behaviour as much as I did before...)
******************************************************
ORIGINAL REVIEW: 3 stars
Like another review has said, this book was beautifully written. It really was. But as much as I loved the story, for the majority of it, I felt a huge knot of anxiety in my stomach getting bigger and bigger. Patrick and Amy fall in love and get married, but the choices Patrick made ultimately created their end before the two of them barely started. By the middle of the book, I almost hated Patrick. He got to move on with his life, with the woman he created a child with and pretty much left Amy to fend for herself. Even towards the end, somehow he tries to justify it to his daughter by saying he and Moira (Brenna's mother) loved each other in their own way but they weren't in love with each other. Whatever, dude. You built a good life with Moira. You had love for her. It may not have started out that way, but it was essentially inevitable because not only was she carrying your child, but because the responsibility you felt for her would no doubt grow into something more. For someone who professed to love Amy more than he loved anyone else including himself, he had a pretty poor way of showing it.
The book scans over thirty odd years and Amy is angry and hurt about everything that has gone down and how Patrick still refuses to let her go. Frankly, I can't blame her. It seemed that Patrick could come in and out of her life as often as he wanted, not once fighting to stay. He got the best of both worlds, so why would he? Amy was good enough for him to marry, but obviously not good enough to stick around for.
I also hated that Nix saw Patrick as his father, but what about Amy with Brenna? He hadn't even told his daughter about Amy at all, even many years after Brenna's mother had died, and it just seemed another thing to not like about him.
But what I did love about this book was Amy. She was strong and giving, and just wanted the best for her son. And I especially loved the relationship between her and Peggy (Patrick's mother). After everything Amy had gone through as a child, Peggy was her one constant, and I loved that. Amy was so strong and I was glad she made efforts to move on with her life. But the ending seemed so rushed. The whole book leads up to her finally stepping up to make a clean break from Patrick, but she immediately folds and it's instant HEA? I wished the author had thought about fleshing out the ending a little more and not have them back together so abruptly; I would've believed it more if he, for once, put them first and fought for her like he should've done from the beginning.
(And this is why I don't do a lot of re-reads because i know my reading tastes have changed. I don't seem to be able tolerate shitty behaviour as much as I did before...)
******************************************************
ORIGINAL REVIEW: 3 stars
Like another review has said, this book was beautifully written. It really was. But as much as I loved the story, for the majority of it, I felt a huge knot of anxiety in my stomach getting bigger and bigger. Patrick and Amy fall in love and get married, but the choices Patrick made ultimately created their end before the two of them barely started. By the middle of the book, I almost hated Patrick. He got to move on with his life, with the woman he created a child with and pretty much left Amy to fend for herself. Even towards the end, somehow he tries to justify it to his daughter by saying he and Moira (Brenna's mother) loved each other in their own way but they weren't in love with each other. Whatever, dude. You built a good life with Moira. You had love for her. It may not have started out that way, but it was essentially inevitable because not only was she carrying your child, but because the responsibility you felt for her would no doubt grow into something more. For someone who professed to love Amy more than he loved anyone else including himself, he had a pretty poor way of showing it.
The book scans over thirty odd years and Amy is angry and hurt about everything that has gone down and how Patrick still refuses to let her go. Frankly, I can't blame her. It seemed that Patrick could come in and out of her life as often as he wanted, not once fighting to stay. He got the best of both worlds, so why would he? Amy was good enough for him to marry, but obviously not good enough to stick around for.
I also hated that Nix saw Patrick as his father, but what about Amy with Brenna? He hadn't even told his daughter about Amy at all, even many years after Brenna's mother had died, and it just seemed another thing to not like about him.
But what I did love about this book was Amy. She was strong and giving, and just wanted the best for her son. And I especially loved the relationship between her and Peggy (Patrick's mother). After everything Amy had gone through as a child, Peggy was her one constant, and I loved that. Amy was so strong and I was glad she made efforts to move on with her life. But the ending seemed so rushed. The whole book leads up to her finally stepping up to make a clean break from Patrick, but she immediately folds and it's instant HEA? I wished the author had thought about fleshing out the ending a little more and not have them back together so abruptly; I would've believed it more if he, for once, put them first and fought for her like he should've done from the beginning.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2015
When I read a book, I want to fall in love with the characters. I need to connect to them. I want to feel their loyalty and love for one another
In this book, I only had strong positive feelings for one character. One hint who it's not. Patrick..... I really hate you. There was not a single redeeming quality about him that I liked.
I hate him so much that it makes this book a story I really wish I could unread. His decisions and actions..... I just am at a loss for words. I just don't/can't understand.......
Amy is a much stronger person than I am. She was the only positive thing in the book besides Peg that I did like. Her resilience and strength were incredible from the beginning to the end of the book
I need to just go back in my happy place and reread Grease and Caliope's book and try to forget about this one.
#!?!&@ Patrick!!!
In this book, I only had strong positive feelings for one character. One hint who it's not. Patrick..... I really hate you. There was not a single redeeming quality about him that I liked.
I hate him so much that it makes this book a story I really wish I could unread. His decisions and actions..... I just am at a loss for words. I just don't/can't understand.......
Amy is a much stronger person than I am. She was the only positive thing in the book besides Peg that I did like. Her resilience and strength were incredible from the beginning to the end of the book
I need to just go back in my happy place and reread Grease and Caliope's book and try to forget about this one.
#!?!&@ Patrick!!!
Want to read
November 30, 2014Dafuq is up with people giving this book a low rating when it's not even out yet. What's wrong with you?
May 22, 2017
One of the worst book ever! up their with "the ever series" by jasinda wilder and a few others with zheros. Cant even find the words but just a quick recap.... zhero left his wife to take pregnant ow to safety, wife was tortured, raped, traumitized, when H finds her pregnant he spits on her and left her to be with ow. Even after finding out the truth, he left her and still remain with ow/child, keeping in mind his wife was the love of his life! spent 8 yrs with ow, probably would still be with her except she died! then crawled to h bawling for this ow who he 'was not in love with but grew to love".. man, I dont know where the love his here. Took 30 yrs or so to get back together, no children together (they wanted 4 when they got married). So she has a kid from the rape, he has a kid from his cheating, got back together when they are both old and grey?? If this is an epic love story, i've missed something-- need to scrub my brains out. I have to say though that this was a book that got me really emotional and even though the subject or actions were crazy, this book did reach me emotionally and thats saying something about the writing! My rating is based on hated story line and also the writing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2015
5 Lovely Stars
Warning: This is the 4th in the series. Read them in order, even though this one goes back in time to tell the back story of Poet. You still need to read them in order.
So lovely. Smooth. Seamless. Yet so harsh. That is is this book. It is full of emotion and heartbreak and pain. The pain of separation. The pain of unfulfilled promises.
Poet is the VP of the Aces MC Club. We know him from the other books, but here...we get to know him. We know he grew up in Ireland and then moved to the US. But why, with who, and more importantly...what did he leave behind?
Amy is an American living in Ireland. Her shit parents are neglectful at best. When she is taken in by Peg, she gains the family she never had. Peg and her son, Patrick.
Dear God. Freckles. He was an asshole, clearly, but he was the most handsome one I'd ever seen.
Amy and Patrick are so happy together. But you know that's not how the story ends. We know Patrick aka Poet is not with Amy years later. But they have matching tattooes! How can things go wrong when they have matching tattooes? It just isn't right.
I instinctively knew that nothing that could hurt me when Patrick was there. It was when he left that bad things happened.
And oh my do bad things happen. Things that they couldn't control and some things that they could. But didn't.
As we fall in love with Amy and Patrick, it hurts because you know where they are 30 years later. But the in between is so good. This is an emotional, painful book. We see how interwoven their lives truely are. And it is lovely.
If you have not started this series, I am so envious of you. You get to read them all straight through. They are so connected that you will want to read them like M&Ms....by the handful. Ms Jacquelyn has done it again. And now we have to wait for Book 5. Nix? Please say Nix?!?!?!
Warning: This is the 4th in the series. Read them in order, even though this one goes back in time to tell the back story of Poet. You still need to read them in order.
So lovely. Smooth. Seamless. Yet so harsh. That is is this book. It is full of emotion and heartbreak and pain. The pain of separation. The pain of unfulfilled promises.
Poet is the VP of the Aces MC Club. We know him from the other books, but here...we get to know him. We know he grew up in Ireland and then moved to the US. But why, with who, and more importantly...what did he leave behind?
Amy is an American living in Ireland. Her shit parents are neglectful at best. When she is taken in by Peg, she gains the family she never had. Peg and her son, Patrick.
Dear God. Freckles. He was an asshole, clearly, but he was the most handsome one I'd ever seen.
Amy and Patrick are so happy together. But you know that's not how the story ends. We know Patrick aka Poet is not with Amy years later. But they have matching tattooes! How can things go wrong when they have matching tattooes? It just isn't right.
I instinctively knew that nothing that could hurt me when Patrick was there. It was when he left that bad things happened.
And oh my do bad things happen. Things that they couldn't control and some things that they could. But didn't.
As we fall in love with Amy and Patrick, it hurts because you know where they are 30 years later. But the in between is so good. This is an emotional, painful book. We see how interwoven their lives truely are. And it is lovely.
If you have not started this series, I am so envious of you. You get to read them all straight through. They are so connected that you will want to read them like M&Ms....by the handful. Ms Jacquelyn has done it again. And now we have to wait for Book 5. Nix? Please say Nix?!?!?!
September 6, 2015
This was one of the worst things I've ever read.
I hated Patrick, there was not one single redeeming quality about him. He did not deserve to live and he certainly did not deserve Amy.
I am completely repulsed and disgusted with the man Patrick was. He should've been killed off for the scumbag CHEATING dick that he is.
This is NOT a love story, but a tragedy for Amy.
I hated Patrick, there was not one single redeeming quality about him. He did not deserve to live and he certainly did not deserve Amy.
I am completely repulsed and disgusted with the man Patrick was. He should've been killed off for the scumbag CHEATING dick that he is.
This is NOT a love story, but a tragedy for Amy.
![Profile Image for Michelle [Helen Geek].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1448463806i%2F5557851._CR0%2C13%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
February 1, 2015
02/01/2015 --
This series has been a bit hit or miss for me. I sit and wait to purchase and read based on what a few of my GR friends have to say. I know they won't be able to resist. This one is getting tons of chatter. Things like it is good, but some of the situations are uncomfortable and may be triggers for some. I'm not sure it should matter. This story couldn't have been told without being uncomfortable.
I will read this one again. Know it. And, I think this author has hit her stride.
***SPOILER ALERT*** Maybe .. not sure yet.
The GOOD:
1 -- This Irish history lesson. The story begins about 20 years ago in Ballyshannon. A story of an American girl going to secondary with horrid parents. She finds a friend who protects her when her parents don't. Her friend has a son. We really don't hear much about the IRA anymore. Thirty years ago it was all over the news. To hear how it impacted normal lives -- I ate it up. Not sure how much is based on truth [it read real enough for me], but it added a great element to the story.
2 -- The characters. She does a wonderful job weaving the main story and back story for so many characters. This is a failure for many NA authors and especially authors of these MC romances. They rely too much on angst, alpha [unnecessarily over the top] behavior, gratuitous language and sex. They usually [IMO only] lack, seriously lack character development. Nicole Jacquelyn does this very well.
3 -- Many who read this book commented on Patrick's behavior -- did he cheat? Well, I'm not entirely convinced I would consider it cheating. Maybe intent was there, but he was still fighting his attraction and there was no commitment. It didn't bother me and the story couldn't have been told without it. I'll have more on this in "The Bad" section below.
4 -- The length of this book. I love a longer story. One I can really sink my teeth into. Saying this, it kept me up all night reading. This rarely happens to me anymore, but I just couldn't find a good stopping point until I reached the Epilogue. Saved it for my morning read. UGH!
5 -- It stands alone.
6 -- The title takes a bit of thought. I'm not a huge fan really, but if you think about a resurrection and how it means renewal? This story, in the end, really was about the renewal of the relationship between Patrick and Amy.
The BAD:
1 -- I hated how long it took these two to work shit out. Never thought it was going to happen and hated how long it took. We spent quite a bit of time in the first year or so of their relationship. Towards the later part of the book we started taking giant leaps forward in months and years. I really hate when that happens because it can be confusing and it seems incomplete. So, no. Not a fan of this brand of story evolution.
2 -- The IRA element mentioned above was a good/bad. This just seemed to happen quickly. Suddenly it was part of the story. A bit more development or understanding needed for the reader. Then there was Patrick's role -- he didn't fight it enough. Or -- I wanted to see him fight it more.
3 -- The whole Moira thing was so out of character. I thought the story would get a bit darker for Patrick at this point, but it didn't really. She just came out of nowhere and the whole interlude and his thoughts during didn't flow well for me. Then later when he was just so accepting of her to the point of loving her. She never told him about Malcolm. Never. So, was she completely innocent of what she was doing to Patrick and his life? We were left wondering. Maybe a good thing, but I still didn't like it. I can say that even though it may have worked better this way.
4 -- I didn't really like the price. The decision to buy books in a series for me is all about my experience with the series. This series has been hit or miss for me. The first book got 2.5 Stars from me. I liked it, but it had some editorial issues. The second got 3.5 Stars. I didn't read #3. I tried it, but after about 5 chapters, it just wasn't making a whole lot of sense. Thought I'd go back at some point, but haven't yet and may just not. Really not a Farrah fan. So, $4 for a hit or miss author is a bit much. After reading it -- the price fits perfectly, so maybe this is a good/bad?
I'm bumping this to 4.5 Stars. Why - given all I say above? Well, I liked it that much and I think the author did a very good job on this story. I think she shows a polish in her ability. She has courage in her storytelling. She doesn't do angst for the sake of it -- or she didn't here. She writes a mature story that stands out in the crowd. I'll try to read anything she writes.
Happy Reading!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Overall Rating = 4 Stars
Book Cover / Book Blurb / Book Title = 5/ 4 / 4 = 4.5 Stars
Writer’s Voice = 4 Stars
Character / Secondary Character Development = 5 / 4 = 4.5 Stars
“Did I like” Hero / Heroine = 5 / 4 = 4.5 Stars
Story / Background Story Development = 4 / 5 = 4.5 Stars
“Did I like the Damned Thing” = 5 Stars
Ending = 3 Stars
Worth the Chili = 4 Stars -- [$3.99 on Amazon]
Smexy [HEAT] Rating = Mild
394 pages
First sentence: I wasn't nervous as I rolled through the open gate, though I did hope that I'd followed the right directions and an axe murderer wasn't waiting for me at the end of the lane.
This series has been a bit hit or miss for me. I sit and wait to purchase and read based on what a few of my GR friends have to say. I know they won't be able to resist. This one is getting tons of chatter. Things like it is good, but some of the situations are uncomfortable and may be triggers for some. I'm not sure it should matter. This story couldn't have been told without being uncomfortable.
I will read this one again. Know it. And, I think this author has hit her stride.
***SPOILER ALERT*** Maybe .. not sure yet.
The GOOD:
1 -- This Irish history lesson. The story begins about 20 years ago in Ballyshannon. A story of an American girl going to secondary with horrid parents. She finds a friend who protects her when her parents don't. Her friend has a son. We really don't hear much about the IRA anymore. Thirty years ago it was all over the news. To hear how it impacted normal lives -- I ate it up. Not sure how much is based on truth [it read real enough for me], but it added a great element to the story.
2 -- The characters. She does a wonderful job weaving the main story and back story for so many characters. This is a failure for many NA authors and especially authors of these MC romances. They rely too much on angst, alpha [unnecessarily over the top] behavior, gratuitous language and sex. They usually [IMO only] lack, seriously lack character development. Nicole Jacquelyn does this very well.
3 -- Many who read this book commented on Patrick's behavior -- did he cheat? Well, I'm not entirely convinced I would consider it cheating. Maybe intent was there, but he was still fighting his attraction and there was no commitment. It didn't bother me and the story couldn't have been told without it. I'll have more on this in "The Bad" section below.
4 -- The length of this book. I love a longer story. One I can really sink my teeth into. Saying this, it kept me up all night reading. This rarely happens to me anymore, but I just couldn't find a good stopping point until I reached the Epilogue. Saved it for my morning read. UGH!
5 -- It stands alone.
6 -- The title takes a bit of thought. I'm not a huge fan really, but if you think about a resurrection and how it means renewal? This story, in the end, really was about the renewal of the relationship between Patrick and Amy.
The BAD:
1 -- I hated how long it took these two to work shit out. Never thought it was going to happen and hated how long it took. We spent quite a bit of time in the first year or so of their relationship. Towards the later part of the book we started taking giant leaps forward in months and years. I really hate when that happens because it can be confusing and it seems incomplete. So, no. Not a fan of this brand of story evolution.
2 -- The IRA element mentioned above was a good/bad. This just seemed to happen quickly. Suddenly it was part of the story. A bit more development or understanding needed for the reader. Then there was Patrick's role -- he didn't fight it enough. Or -- I wanted to see him fight it more.
3 -- The whole Moira thing was so out of character. I thought the story would get a bit darker for Patrick at this point, but it didn't really. She just came out of nowhere and the whole interlude and his thoughts during didn't flow well for me. Then later when he was just so accepting of her to the point of loving her. She never told him about Malcolm. Never. So, was she completely innocent of what she was doing to Patrick and his life? We were left wondering. Maybe a good thing, but I still didn't like it. I can say that even though it may have worked better this way.
4 -- I didn't really like the price. The decision to buy books in a series for me is all about my experience with the series. This series has been hit or miss for me. The first book got 2.5 Stars from me. I liked it, but it had some editorial issues. The second got 3.5 Stars. I didn't read #3. I tried it, but after about 5 chapters, it just wasn't making a whole lot of sense. Thought I'd go back at some point, but haven't yet and may just not. Really not a Farrah fan. So, $4 for a hit or miss author is a bit much. After reading it -- the price fits perfectly, so maybe this is a good/bad?
I'm bumping this to 4.5 Stars. Why - given all I say above? Well, I liked it that much and I think the author did a very good job on this story. I think she shows a polish in her ability. She has courage in her storytelling. She doesn't do angst for the sake of it -- or she didn't here. She writes a mature story that stands out in the crowd. I'll try to read anything she writes.
Happy Reading!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Overall Rating = 4 Stars
Book Cover / Book Blurb / Book Title = 5/ 4 / 4 = 4.5 Stars
Writer’s Voice = 4 Stars
Character / Secondary Character Development = 5 / 4 = 4.5 Stars
“Did I like” Hero / Heroine = 5 / 4 = 4.5 Stars
Story / Background Story Development = 4 / 5 = 4.5 Stars
“Did I like the Damned Thing” = 5 Stars
Ending = 3 Stars
Worth the Chili = 4 Stars -- [$3.99 on Amazon]
Smexy [HEAT] Rating = Mild
394 pages
First sentence: I wasn't nervous as I rolled through the open gate, though I did hope that I'd followed the right directions and an axe murderer wasn't waiting for me at the end of the lane.
February 3, 2015
Hated Poet to such a degree that I wish I never would have read this book. He's a cheating bastard that never should have gotten a HEA with the women he loved. *rolls eyes* I hated that the author made Amy a doormat toward the end of the book. She wasn't a doormat and it sucked to have to watch her turned into one because the author had to give this couple a HEA. The author cheated Amy's character by writing a male lead so unredeemable but still making her end up with him. I hated that Amy tried to break away from him only to be forced by the author to cave and still want to make a life with him after all he'd done to her over the years. Yeah right! Talk about ridiculous! For a guy who claimed to love Amy like Poet claims to love her, the author did a terrible job showing the reader his love for her.
January 25, 2015
‘Poets wrote sonnets about her type of beauty.’
What can we say about Craving Resurrection; honestly we’re quite lost for words and if you read our reviews regularly you‘ll know that this doesn’t happen often. We do tend to go on a bit. We just weren’t prepared for everything that was Craving Resurrection.
“Sometimes, the things we need don’t make sense to anyone else. That doesn’t mean you’re wrong to need them.”
What we do have to say, of which we are sure, is expect the unexpected. This instalment is unlike any of its predecessors insofar as themes, storyline and main characters are concerned. It’s incredibly unique, diverse, highly emotional and incredibly bloody sad. We agonised, cried and our hearts swelled with love and if nothing else we wholeheartedly applaud Nicole Jacquelyn as we think this story took guts and tears to write. We can imagine her sitting at her desk drawing deep from within herself crying tears as she wrote. Yes, that is how much sadness we truly felt over this story. Poet and Amy’s story will pull at your heartstrings; it will make you angry, frustrated, and heartbroken and it will make you believe in soul mates and true love despite everything working against that very fact.
‘I instinctively knew that nothing could hurt me when Patrick was there. It was when he left that bad things happened.’
We go back to the beginnings of Patrick and Amy in rural Ireland. Two youngsters brought together by a caring neighbour and Mum. Amy; according to Patrick:
‘She was everything – messy and emotional and pragmatic and snarky and possessive and beautiful – and I couldn’t go another day without making her mine.’
Amy to us was strength. She was fierce and fought tooth and nail in cruel and violent adversity. Amy was a survivor. She was passionate and loving, pure goodness. She was a woman who loved and lost with forgiveness.
‘Christ, hadn’t she figured it out yet? I’d continue to hold her as long as she’d allow it.’
Patrick was a man misunderstood. A man who made mistakes. A man who’s skills and knowledge was quashed by outside forces placing him in situations beyond his control and comprehension. Patrick loved with all his heart but was ultimately a man of honour and responsibility no matter how misguided. Patrick ultimately had a good heart.
‘I loved him, I didn’t think that would ever change, but I couldn’t get past the fact that he’d ruined my life.’
The journey is harrowing and albeit it a hard read at times due to overuse of Irish vernacular it was nevertheless spell-binding and compelling reading.
‘I understood that everyone made choices that they later regretted, some large and some small. It was human to get it wrong, to not see the larger picture until it was too late. But I didn’t know how to reconcile that with the decisions I’d made.’
A story of love, loss, guilt and missed opportunities that absolutely pulled at our heartstrings. Craving Resurrection can be read as a standalone. Nicole Jacquelyn has become a 1Click author for us and this book only cemented our opinion of her talent. It’s certainly one we’ll be talking about for quite a while. A definite recommend from us both.
**Reviewed from an ARC copy provided by the author for an honest review**
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May 18, 2016
So, when I saw the first reviews coming in for this I was a bit put off. See, I don’t mind cheating, if it's pivotal to the plot and is not done gratutiously.. Rape and torture I can sort of deal with (even if it means skimming that section – yes I can be a wuss.)
I am so damn glad I decided to go with my gut and read this, what a truly amazing story that was bloody hard to read for most of the second half. NJ lulled me into a false sense of security the first half, with a slow retelling of their history. The second half absolutely gutted me, I think I cried most of the way through it. And not just for Amy either, but for Patrick too.
I loved the growth shown by BOTH characters:
Amy is truly one of my all-time favourite heroines. She came from an abusive home – yes neglect and apathy is abuse. She suffered betrayal. She suffered the most horrific assault. She was a single parent as a result of the assault yet nurtured Phoenix as he grew into man that anyone would be proud to call a son. She was loyal, loving, caring and forgiving.
Patrick – now then I was prepared to hate him, but I couldn’t. My heart broke for him, the chain of events that were set off by that eejit of a father before he was even born was out of his control. His cheating? See, I don’t believe he cheated. He was not WITH Amy when he slept with Moira. Yes, he had strong feelings for her and he was with her shortly afterwards, but they were NOT in a relationship. So how the hell can that be construed as cheating? He loved Amy with all his heart and soul from day one. He was pushed into going with Moira, trying to do the right thing. He knew she could not have done the trip to the US on her own, and both Amy and his mother understandably refused to go with her. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. Amy chose not to see him again after she had been assaulted. I get it, I do but the separation was her choice. Did I like the things he did and said to her when he found out about Nix, no I didn’t but she never once stood up for herself either. They were equally to blame. Did I like that he wore Moira’s “wedding ring” and let Amy see it? No I bloody didn’t – that pissed me the hell off and gutted me. I was prepared to think he was weak and selfish, but I can’t even say that. He never, ever gave up on Amy – how can that be weak. Young and foolish, yes most definitely. A selfish cheater? No, most definitely not!
What let me down was the speed the story was wrapped up, I would have preferred to see more of them in the now rather than half the book spent in the past. It felt like the last three (short) chapters and epilogue were really rushed and whilst I am thrilled they eventually got their happy I needed to see more of it to totally believe in it. That said, I am still rating this as a 5+ star read, the book is just too good to be down-rated. The good way, way, way outshines the rushed ending.
I am so damn glad I decided to go with my gut and read this, what a truly amazing story that was bloody hard to read for most of the second half. NJ lulled me into a false sense of security the first half, with a slow retelling of their history. The second half absolutely gutted me, I think I cried most of the way through it. And not just for Amy either, but for Patrick too.
I loved the growth shown by BOTH characters:
Amy is truly one of my all-time favourite heroines. She came from an abusive home – yes neglect and apathy is abuse. She suffered betrayal. She suffered the most horrific assault. She was a single parent as a result of the assault yet nurtured Phoenix as he grew into man that anyone would be proud to call a son. She was loyal, loving, caring and forgiving.
Patrick – now then I was prepared to hate him, but I couldn’t. My heart broke for him, the chain of events that were set off by that eejit of a father before he was even born was out of his control. His cheating? See, I don’t believe he cheated. He was not WITH Amy when he slept with Moira. Yes, he had strong feelings for her and he was with her shortly afterwards, but they were NOT in a relationship. So how the hell can that be construed as cheating? He loved Amy with all his heart and soul from day one. He was pushed into going with Moira, trying to do the right thing. He knew she could not have done the trip to the US on her own, and both Amy and his mother understandably refused to go with her. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. Amy chose not to see him again after she had been assaulted. I get it, I do but the separation was her choice. Did I like the things he did and said to her when he found out about Nix, no I didn’t but she never once stood up for herself either. They were equally to blame. Did I like that he wore Moira’s “wedding ring” and let Amy see it? No I bloody didn’t – that pissed me the hell off and gutted me. I was prepared to think he was weak and selfish, but I can’t even say that. He never, ever gave up on Amy – how can that be weak. Young and foolish, yes most definitely. A selfish cheater? No, most definitely not!
What let me down was the speed the story was wrapped up, I would have preferred to see more of them in the now rather than half the book spent in the past. It felt like the last three (short) chapters and epilogue were really rushed and whilst I am thrilled they eventually got their happy I needed to see more of it to totally believe in it. That said, I am still rating this as a 5+ star read, the book is just too good to be down-rated. The good way, way, way outshines the rushed ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2015
This was a beautiful love story between a young teenage girl, brought up with shit for parents, and a lonely old lady who brought her into her home. They care for each other deeply. Support each other when needed. Then the old lady's stupid ass son, Poet, fucks it all up. Fuck you Poet, you moron.
January 26, 2015
When I read Craving Constellations in July of 2013, Nicole gave me just enough pieces to the puzzle that is Patrick Gallagher for me to put two and two together and assume I’d come up with four. I realized quickly that Poet’s lady and Brenna’s hippie savior were one in the same, and I concocted a number of possible stories in my head to explain her absence from his day-to-day life, settling on what we’ll refer to as the sidepiece scenario. After having gotten to know both Patrick and his Amy, I can honestly tell you I’m a bit ashamed of myself for having come to that conclusion. Amy Gallagher is not the type of woman who would be any man’s secret—and Patrick isn’t the type of man who’d be down with hiding her. Prior to Craving Resurrection, I thought of Poet only in terms of his relationship with his daughter; he was simply Brenna’s dad. Having read his story, however, he’ll forever be Patrick to me. . . and he’s simply Amy’s man.
I try to avoid discussing the obvious, so I’m only going to touch on the love story. It’s epic, spanning nearly three decades and half the world in terms of time and distance. It’s also gut wrenching, with a twist that comes seemingly out of nowhere, snatching you under and leaving you utterly devastated. Patrick and Amy’s story is raw and emotional and, at its heart, a tale of love that was so imperfectly perfect that no amount of pride or grief could keep them apart. This isn’t a tra-la-la Disney Princess kind of love, ladies. It was a battle, one that was occasionally one-sided, frequently painful and the outcome of which was always inevitable. Love endures all things. . . and for Patrick and Amy Gallagher, it never ended.
It's the strength of the heroine that will make or break a story for me, and I don’t think Nicole could’ve written a better one than Amy. I’m enamored of the tale she’s spun around the two of them and fascinated by how seamlessly she wove the threads of their story into the three previous books, but it was Amy’s indomitable will that pulled me in from the beginning and never let go. We’ve all read stories with heroines who go off the deep-end after enduring heartbreak, who slip into the numbing abyss of drugs and self-harm or turn to risky, self-destructive behavior when life hands them a shitty hand. Wallowing, despondent women are not my thing, and Amy never engaged in either. She endured and overcame horrors that would’ve broken the mind of a weaker woman, gave forgiveness when it was undeserved and embraced the consequences of her trials and tribulations with arms wide open, treating them exactly as they’d been intended regardless of the circumstances—as gifts from God. Patrick wrecked her, but she managed to piece together a life for herself out of the rubble, one that wasn’t at all what she expected, but still full of light and love—because she made it so. Amy’s strength of spirit was inspiring and her journey was beautifully told.
Cliché though it may sound, one of the central messages in this book is that love is more often a journey than a destination. It’s about the in-between, the stuff that isn’t hearts and flowers. It’s about fighting through the dirt and the grit to get to the other side—even if it takes you thirty years—simply because what’s waiting for you is everything you’ve ever wanted. Beautifully raw and gut wrenchingly perfect, Craving Resurrection is a story about the perils of pride, the resilience and strength of a woman’s heart and the power of real, true, lasting love.
I try to avoid discussing the obvious, so I’m only going to touch on the love story. It’s epic, spanning nearly three decades and half the world in terms of time and distance. It’s also gut wrenching, with a twist that comes seemingly out of nowhere, snatching you under and leaving you utterly devastated. Patrick and Amy’s story is raw and emotional and, at its heart, a tale of love that was so imperfectly perfect that no amount of pride or grief could keep them apart. This isn’t a tra-la-la Disney Princess kind of love, ladies. It was a battle, one that was occasionally one-sided, frequently painful and the outcome of which was always inevitable. Love endures all things. . . and for Patrick and Amy Gallagher, it never ended.
It's the strength of the heroine that will make or break a story for me, and I don’t think Nicole could’ve written a better one than Amy. I’m enamored of the tale she’s spun around the two of them and fascinated by how seamlessly she wove the threads of their story into the three previous books, but it was Amy’s indomitable will that pulled me in from the beginning and never let go. We’ve all read stories with heroines who go off the deep-end after enduring heartbreak, who slip into the numbing abyss of drugs and self-harm or turn to risky, self-destructive behavior when life hands them a shitty hand. Wallowing, despondent women are not my thing, and Amy never engaged in either. She endured and overcame horrors that would’ve broken the mind of a weaker woman, gave forgiveness when it was undeserved and embraced the consequences of her trials and tribulations with arms wide open, treating them exactly as they’d been intended regardless of the circumstances—as gifts from God. Patrick wrecked her, but she managed to piece together a life for herself out of the rubble, one that wasn’t at all what she expected, but still full of light and love—because she made it so. Amy’s strength of spirit was inspiring and her journey was beautifully told.
Cliché though it may sound, one of the central messages in this book is that love is more often a journey than a destination. It’s about the in-between, the stuff that isn’t hearts and flowers. It’s about fighting through the dirt and the grit to get to the other side—even if it takes you thirty years—simply because what’s waiting for you is everything you’ve ever wanted. Beautifully raw and gut wrenchingly perfect, Craving Resurrection is a story about the perils of pride, the resilience and strength of a woman’s heart and the power of real, true, lasting love.
February 7, 2015
3.5 stars
The story was engaging, I was definitely pulled in and for that I'll give it 3.5 stars. This is supposed to be a romance but it read more like a cautionary tale of what type of man women need to run the hell away from. Granted it is a MC story so a messy gritty story is to be expected, I was in the mood for that and this book did deliver on that front.
So let's talk about Patrick.......
From the beginning I found little appealing about this character. He was a massive sexist pig with some very outdated views on women that grated on my nerves. In his world there are only two types of women, the ones you have sex with and the ones you marry. Big rant with spoilers ahead......
Even though this was a MC novel, there was very little motorcylcle club elements in the story.
The story was engaging, I was definitely pulled in and for that I'll give it 3.5 stars. This is supposed to be a romance but it read more like a cautionary tale of what type of man women need to run the hell away from. Granted it is a MC story so a messy gritty story is to be expected, I was in the mood for that and this book did deliver on that front.
So let's talk about Patrick.......
From the beginning I found little appealing about this character. He was a massive sexist pig with some very outdated views on women that grated on my nerves. In his world there are only two types of women, the ones you have sex with and the ones you marry. Big rant with spoilers ahead......
Even though this was a MC novel, there was very little motorcylcle club elements in the story.
January 29, 2015
Loved it!
Didn't know that I would enjoy Poet's story as much as I did. The triggers for some were in context and the beauty of the story outweighed those 'oh no' moments.
Adored Peg, And loved the entwined alternate POV scene with the car sale from a previous book. Nice to read the other side of the story :)
This book has made it as one of my favourites for 2015!
Didn't know that I would enjoy Poet's story as much as I did. The triggers for some were in context and the beauty of the story outweighed those 'oh no' moments.
Adored Peg, And loved the entwined alternate POV scene with the car sale from a previous book. Nice to read the other side of the story :)
This book has made it as one of my favourites for 2015!
December 26, 2018
Horrific, does this author hate women? Did not think it could get worse after ‘Unbreak My Heart’, but apparently that was just a warm up! Avoid, avoid,
Avoid!
Avoid!
October 23, 2024
Long review and spoilers
This is not a love story. This is a tragedy. And a HEA that I was not satisfied with and left me wanting
3.5 stars. This is actually hard for me to rate. But I must say that this was the saddest most depressing book I've read this year. I cried constantly. It was just too much. Amy never got a break. Never. All her milestones in her life were stolen and trampled on. Actually more like doused with gasoline and set on fire. Patrick/Poet I'm sorry to say can jump off a cliff. I was actually hoping he would die and Amy got a better hero who actually PROVED that he loved her with his actions. Take your words and shove em up your rear because they mean jack shit.
Their beginning was fine, but then he told Amy she was the type of girl you married not fucked. Then proceeded to tell her he would marry her. So what does he do? He proceeds to return to college and f*** a girl named Moira. So this is where I started hating Poet. He kept telling Amy that she was beautiful. In his inner monologue we're told she's not your typical beauty. But Moira? Oh! His thoughts were she was the most gorgeous woman he's ever seen and needs to f*** her pronto. But we never got that with Amy. No she's compared to the Virgin Mary basically. Strike one for me. Just why NC? He comes back because Amy's starts losing her shit because her parents are rotten assholes about to throw her out while preparing to move to America. So when he comes back and hugs her he hadn't even taken a shower and still smells like the ow. If you guessed correctly yes she did smell it on him, but she's too young and naive yet to say anything.
I'm going to be skipping a lot because there's so much that happens in this book. Seriously my stomach was in knots the entire time. So fast forward they're married. His Da pulls him into the IRA and he does various job's for them. He starts to crack under the pressure. Reasonably so. I felt for Patrick here, but don't worry he changed my mind REAL quick. His Da is killed as a warning for him to not pull away from the IRA. In this time Amy has graduated from high school and is working at a bar. That's where they meet Charlie/Slider and Vera on their honeymoon. They develop a friendship. So while everyone is at Patrick's house a battered, pregnant Moira shows up begging for Patrick's help. Poor Amy. My God it was an awful scene that only got worse. Charlie finds them a way out of Ireland on a boat, but there's only two seats left. If you guessed it Moira and Patrick will go to America while leaving his WIFE and MOTHER behind to catch a different boat a week later. Strike two Patrick. You weak ass excuse for a man. While Patrick and his whore are safely in America, Moira's fiance decides he wants a little revenge on Patrick for knocking up his girl. He kidnaps, tortures, and rapes Amy repeatedly until she was completely broken. While telling her she's not as beautiful as Moira. Not sure why the author decided to rub this in so much throughout the book. Amy hated herself. Doc a biker from the club who was left behind to watch Amy and her MIL f***** up basically. So off to America Amy and Patrick's mum Peg go. But not to where Patrick is. Amy holds hate and resentment now for him. And I was loathing him right along with her.
Strike 3 comes when he finally finds where they are after being tipped off by his mum because Amy is basically losing her shit. Well of course she is. So what does he do? Spits in her face for getting pregnant by another man and calls her a whore basically. Really?! WTAF? She was unable to tell him what happened to her unfortunately because of his reaction which lead to years of distance between them. But why couldn't he tell something else was going on? Her shaved head. Her bandaged fingers. Stupid asshole.
There's actually too many strikes against Patrick that I wanted to kill him. He finally comes back after finding out what happened to her. Not details though. He goes to apologize while wearing Moira's f****** ring on his left finger because by that time he was all for Moira now. Ready to be a family. Already sleeping with her. I can not describe to you how I wanted to destroy something. I haven't felt this violent while reading a book for a while. ANYWAYS, come to find out he actually loves Moira and he's happy playing family while Amy hates herself and her life. Oh yeah and when Moira dies he visits Amy so he can just f*** her to forget about Moira's death. But oh yeah my bad he's in love with Amy so it's ok.
Ok so much more happens with Patrick/Poet messing up that I'm too exhausted to write anymore. He was awful. Unfortunately the author was never going to change my mind with how I felt about him. And Brenna. Guilty by association. Sorry girl. Hate your whole family. Patrick and Moira would have stayed together if she hadn't conveniently died. Let's just put that out there. He never cheated on Moira either. And Brenna kept acting like the spoiled little princess she was.
Overall this book left me saddened above anything else. Even though I hated Patrick I feel the author did a disservice by not having a biological kid between them. Amy got nothing else, but the leftovers and scraps of Patrick. She got the old man now too tired to f*** club whores. Even though Patrick went through some shit he still got everything he wanted. Except a kid between him and Amy. And before I forget. Amy's kid who was a product of rape was a great kid, but he almost gets beat to death when he's a man because he's gay. You see what I mean with this story and poor Amy? 😭😭
Forgot to mention because I'm so bitter after reading this. Patrick's mom Peg was the star of the book. I balled like a baby when she died. She loved Amy so much and refused to have anything to do with Moira and Brenna. Brenna was forced on her a couple of times, bit after that no more. She was Amy's family right until the end
This is not a love story. This is a tragedy. And a HEA that I was not satisfied with and left me wanting
3.5 stars. This is actually hard for me to rate. But I must say that this was the saddest most depressing book I've read this year. I cried constantly. It was just too much. Amy never got a break. Never. All her milestones in her life were stolen and trampled on. Actually more like doused with gasoline and set on fire. Patrick/Poet I'm sorry to say can jump off a cliff. I was actually hoping he would die and Amy got a better hero who actually PROVED that he loved her with his actions. Take your words and shove em up your rear because they mean jack shit.
Their beginning was fine, but then he told Amy she was the type of girl you married not fucked. Then proceeded to tell her he would marry her. So what does he do? He proceeds to return to college and f*** a girl named Moira. So this is where I started hating Poet. He kept telling Amy that she was beautiful. In his inner monologue we're told she's not your typical beauty. But Moira? Oh! His thoughts were she was the most gorgeous woman he's ever seen and needs to f*** her pronto. But we never got that with Amy. No she's compared to the Virgin Mary basically. Strike one for me. Just why NC? He comes back because Amy's starts losing her shit because her parents are rotten assholes about to throw her out while preparing to move to America. So when he comes back and hugs her he hadn't even taken a shower and still smells like the ow. If you guessed correctly yes she did smell it on him, but she's too young and naive yet to say anything.
I'm going to be skipping a lot because there's so much that happens in this book. Seriously my stomach was in knots the entire time. So fast forward they're married. His Da pulls him into the IRA and he does various job's for them. He starts to crack under the pressure. Reasonably so. I felt for Patrick here, but don't worry he changed my mind REAL quick. His Da is killed as a warning for him to not pull away from the IRA. In this time Amy has graduated from high school and is working at a bar. That's where they meet Charlie/Slider and Vera on their honeymoon. They develop a friendship. So while everyone is at Patrick's house a battered, pregnant Moira shows up begging for Patrick's help. Poor Amy. My God it was an awful scene that only got worse. Charlie finds them a way out of Ireland on a boat, but there's only two seats left. If you guessed it Moira and Patrick will go to America while leaving his WIFE and MOTHER behind to catch a different boat a week later. Strike two Patrick. You weak ass excuse for a man. While Patrick and his whore are safely in America, Moira's fiance decides he wants a little revenge on Patrick for knocking up his girl. He kidnaps, tortures, and rapes Amy repeatedly until she was completely broken. While telling her she's not as beautiful as Moira. Not sure why the author decided to rub this in so much throughout the book. Amy hated herself. Doc a biker from the club who was left behind to watch Amy and her MIL f***** up basically. So off to America Amy and Patrick's mum Peg go. But not to where Patrick is. Amy holds hate and resentment now for him. And I was loathing him right along with her.
Strike 3 comes when he finally finds where they are after being tipped off by his mum because Amy is basically losing her shit. Well of course she is. So what does he do? Spits in her face for getting pregnant by another man and calls her a whore basically. Really?! WTAF? She was unable to tell him what happened to her unfortunately because of his reaction which lead to years of distance between them. But why couldn't he tell something else was going on? Her shaved head. Her bandaged fingers. Stupid asshole.
There's actually too many strikes against Patrick that I wanted to kill him. He finally comes back after finding out what happened to her. Not details though. He goes to apologize while wearing Moira's f****** ring on his left finger because by that time he was all for Moira now. Ready to be a family. Already sleeping with her. I can not describe to you how I wanted to destroy something. I haven't felt this violent while reading a book for a while. ANYWAYS, come to find out he actually loves Moira and he's happy playing family while Amy hates herself and her life. Oh yeah and when Moira dies he visits Amy so he can just f*** her to forget about Moira's death. But oh yeah my bad he's in love with Amy so it's ok.
Ok so much more happens with Patrick/Poet messing up that I'm too exhausted to write anymore. He was awful. Unfortunately the author was never going to change my mind with how I felt about him. And Brenna. Guilty by association. Sorry girl. Hate your whole family. Patrick and Moira would have stayed together if she hadn't conveniently died. Let's just put that out there. He never cheated on Moira either. And Brenna kept acting like the spoiled little princess she was.
Overall this book left me saddened above anything else. Even though I hated Patrick I feel the author did a disservice by not having a biological kid between them. Amy got nothing else, but the leftovers and scraps of Patrick. She got the old man now too tired to f*** club whores. Even though Patrick went through some shit he still got everything he wanted. Except a kid between him and Amy. And before I forget. Amy's kid who was a product of rape was a great kid, but he almost gets beat to death when he's a man because he's gay. You see what I mean with this story and poor Amy? 😭😭
Forgot to mention because I'm so bitter after reading this. Patrick's mom Peg was the star of the book. I balled like a baby when she died. She loved Amy so much and refused to have anything to do with Moira and Brenna. Brenna was forced on her a couple of times, bit after that no more. She was Amy's family right until the end
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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