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Fate brings together Molly and Tatum, but lies may rip them apart.
Five years ago Molly suffered a tragedy no person deserves. In the time since she has moved on in another part of the country. When Tatum shows up in her small town the attraction in undeniable, but when demons from Molly's past show their true self, will Tatum be man enough to admit his own lies and help her when she needs him most?
Can these two get past the memories that haunt them in order to find one another?
Five years ago Molly suffered a tragedy no person deserves. In the time since she has moved on in another part of the country. When Tatum shows up in her small town the attraction in undeniable, but when demons from Molly's past show their true self, will Tatum be man enough to admit his own lies and help her when she needs him most?
Can these two get past the memories that haunt them in order to find one another?
124 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 4, 2014
74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 31, 2015
Let me preface my review by stating that while I did receive a review copy of this book, my review is based on the final published version. Because the copy I received was a PDF, I used my Prime Lending Library benefit this month to borrow a copy of Alive because I started it in the evening and wanted to be able to change the background and font sizes – purely selfish reasons. With all that said, I am glad that I had this option because had I reviewed the PDF file I probably would have overlooked the excessive number of errors that are found within the book – assuming they would be corrected before publication – and my review may have been slightly higher, but not by much because frankly the only things I liked about Alive was that it was told from both Molly and Tatum’s points of view (I do love dual or multi-POV books), that the bad guy was shot between the eyes in the end, and that it was short.
At 124 pages, this book should have taken me three to four hours to read at most, but I could only stomach the poor writing, the inexplicable insta-love, the unbelievable storyline, and some of the worst-timed sex scenes I have ever read in such small doses that it took me four times that long to make it to the final page. I do not expect perfection in any book, especially self-published books. That said, there were so many errors in Alive that if Ms. Dauphin had an editor or beta readers, she needs find new ones of both; if she didn’t, she definitely needs to consider it for future books. She constantly shifts from present tense to past tense within the same sentence. There are numerous times when the wrong word is used or a word is outright missing. Add to that, Molly having the zip ties cut off her wrist twice during her abduction when there is no mention of them being put back on and a scene in which Tatum calls himself Neil instead of Nate, made it a constant struggle to finish the book.
While Alive just barely falls within the novella category and I readily give more leeway for relationship development in novellas, the speed with which Molly and Tatum move from complete strangers to being in love is more than I could stomach, largely because in a span of less than 48 hours – most of which time they weren’t together – they were already falling for or in love with the other for no apparent reason other than they found one another to be beautiful. That’s it! That’s the whole basis of their feelings for one another. No deep conversations. No shallow conversations beyond the interview and some on-the-job training. Their interactions were so limited, I didn’t feel any chemistry between them so I was left flabbergasted. I don’t have a problem with insta-love in a book, but the author has to make it believable and that didn’t happen here.
If the chemistry-less insta-love weren’t problematic enough, the sex scenes really put me off of Molly and Tatum as a believable couple. The first time Molly attempts to initiate sex is after her office has been vandalized, but Tatum turns her down telling her he doesn’t want to taint their first time together with that ugliness and that it’s “a day for recovery.” Less than a week later, when they do finally have sex for the first time, it occurs less than 24 hours after she was abducted, beaten, stabbed in both arms, and lost enough blood that she passed out. When she woke up she was so weak she couldn't even sit up in bed. But moments later she's begging for sex and he obliges her. REALLY!?!?! Apparently sex after her office is vandalized is off-limits, but after she's nearly killed, then it’s okay. This is compounded by the sex scene near the end of the book when Molly is a week out of the hospital after having spent about a week in the hospital, during which time she was in a coma for several days as a result of being beaten and pistol-whipped multiple times that produced injuries bad enough that she had to have her skull drilled during surgery to relieve the swelling. While I’ve never had a hole drilled in my skull nor been in a coma, I find it impossible to believe that I would want or be physically up to having sex two weeks later. Sorry, but that dog won’t hunt.
While I say the storyline is unbelievable, that’s not being entirely fair on my part (despite the previous paragraph). It may be more of a case of Ms. Dauphin trying to pack too much into too few pages for it to be executed well. Maybe if she had fleshed the storyline out more and provided for more character development of all the major players, then the book would have flowed better and felt more plausible. As it currently is, it feels as though I’ve seen the commercials about the show rather than watching the actual drama play out, and commercials alone are incapable of telling the whole story. But as it stands, it just doesn’t work.
It is not my intent to trash the book or the author, especially the author. Rather I am trying to explain why I hated this book and felt it was deserving of a one-star rating. I don’t like to leave 1-star reviews. In fact, I think I only have one other book with a 1-star rating and less than five with 2-star ratings. I can almost always find aspects of a book that I enjoy well enough to consider it a good read, and thus deserving of at least a 3-star review. However, that was not the case with Alive. There were just too many things I disliked about it to even consider it an okay read (2 stars). This is one of those books that I STRONGLY recommend you download a sample of and read it before buying because had I actually paid for this book, the excessiveness of errors alone would have caused me to return it for a refund. Sorry, but Alive is not the book for me and I have no interest in reviewing its sequels. I do hope that if Ms. Dauphin reads this review that she takes it as the constructive criticism I intend it to be and uses it to improve her writing.
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!
At 124 pages, this book should have taken me three to four hours to read at most, but I could only stomach the poor writing, the inexplicable insta-love, the unbelievable storyline, and some of the worst-timed sex scenes I have ever read in such small doses that it took me four times that long to make it to the final page. I do not expect perfection in any book, especially self-published books. That said, there were so many errors in Alive that if Ms. Dauphin had an editor or beta readers, she needs find new ones of both; if she didn’t, she definitely needs to consider it for future books. She constantly shifts from present tense to past tense within the same sentence. There are numerous times when the wrong word is used or a word is outright missing. Add to that, Molly having the zip ties cut off her wrist twice during her abduction when there is no mention of them being put back on and a scene in which Tatum calls himself Neil instead of Nate, made it a constant struggle to finish the book.
While Alive just barely falls within the novella category and I readily give more leeway for relationship development in novellas, the speed with which Molly and Tatum move from complete strangers to being in love is more than I could stomach, largely because in a span of less than 48 hours – most of which time they weren’t together – they were already falling for or in love with the other for no apparent reason other than they found one another to be beautiful. That’s it! That’s the whole basis of their feelings for one another. No deep conversations. No shallow conversations beyond the interview and some on-the-job training. Their interactions were so limited, I didn’t feel any chemistry between them so I was left flabbergasted. I don’t have a problem with insta-love in a book, but the author has to make it believable and that didn’t happen here.
If the chemistry-less insta-love weren’t problematic enough, the sex scenes really put me off of Molly and Tatum as a believable couple. The first time Molly attempts to initiate sex is after her office has been vandalized, but Tatum turns her down telling her he doesn’t want to taint their first time together with that ugliness and that it’s “a day for recovery.” Less than a week later, when they do finally have sex for the first time, it occurs less than 24 hours after she was abducted, beaten, stabbed in both arms, and lost enough blood that she passed out. When she woke up she was so weak she couldn't even sit up in bed. But moments later she's begging for sex and he obliges her. REALLY!?!?! Apparently sex after her office is vandalized is off-limits, but after she's nearly killed, then it’s okay. This is compounded by the sex scene near the end of the book when Molly is a week out of the hospital after having spent about a week in the hospital, during which time she was in a coma for several days as a result of being beaten and pistol-whipped multiple times that produced injuries bad enough that she had to have her skull drilled during surgery to relieve the swelling. While I’ve never had a hole drilled in my skull nor been in a coma, I find it impossible to believe that I would want or be physically up to having sex two weeks later. Sorry, but that dog won’t hunt.
While I say the storyline is unbelievable, that’s not being entirely fair on my part (despite the previous paragraph). It may be more of a case of Ms. Dauphin trying to pack too much into too few pages for it to be executed well. Maybe if she had fleshed the storyline out more and provided for more character development of all the major players, then the book would have flowed better and felt more plausible. As it currently is, it feels as though I’ve seen the commercials about the show rather than watching the actual drama play out, and commercials alone are incapable of telling the whole story. But as it stands, it just doesn’t work.
It is not my intent to trash the book or the author, especially the author. Rather I am trying to explain why I hated this book and felt it was deserving of a one-star rating. I don’t like to leave 1-star reviews. In fact, I think I only have one other book with a 1-star rating and less than five with 2-star ratings. I can almost always find aspects of a book that I enjoy well enough to consider it a good read, and thus deserving of at least a 3-star review. However, that was not the case with Alive. There were just too many things I disliked about it to even consider it an okay read (2 stars). This is one of those books that I STRONGLY recommend you download a sample of and read it before buying because had I actually paid for this book, the excessiveness of errors alone would have caused me to return it for a refund. Sorry, but Alive is not the book for me and I have no interest in reviewing its sequels. I do hope that if Ms. Dauphin reads this review that she takes it as the constructive criticism I intend it to be and uses it to improve her writing.
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!
August 12, 2015
This book was just painful.
January 26, 2018
I had a very hard time reading this. The writing was not the best seemed really rushed. This has been the only book I have had a problem reading from M. Piper
May 11, 2020
Definitely think the Author should pull this out and have it edited and revamped... it could make a great come back for a novela length story
December 11, 2014
***Received an ARC for an honest review by Bookalicious Babes Blog***
Alive was an amazing debut novel by M. Dauphin!
This story takes you through the lives of Molly and Tatum, and is narrated by them in alternating viewpoints (my favorite!) so it feels as if they are talking to the reader, and you can easily grasp their characters' thoughts. Tatum is a tall, muscular, sexy and sweet...the whole package...can you say hot?!? Local photographer Molly, a red-haired beauty, has overcome a lot in her troubled life and is super strong as a result.
Both Molly and Tatum experience similar life-altering tragedies and struggle to leave their past lives behind. Molly is a kick-arse heroine who doesn't need rescuing, but a hot knight in shining armor in the form of sinfully sexy Tatum doesn't hurt. They deserve a second chance at happiness with the rough hand they were previously dealt, and I hope they find their happily ever after.
Alive was slightly scary, thrilling, intense, raw and hot. Like the title, it made me feel alive! I was on the edge while reading. The twists and turns of this roller coaster of a story suck the reader in...like a thriller-romance movie...and I loved every minute! I can't wait for book 2!
5 sexy stars!
Alive was an amazing debut novel by M. Dauphin!
This story takes you through the lives of Molly and Tatum, and is narrated by them in alternating viewpoints (my favorite!) so it feels as if they are talking to the reader, and you can easily grasp their characters' thoughts. Tatum is a tall, muscular, sexy and sweet...the whole package...can you say hot?!? Local photographer Molly, a red-haired beauty, has overcome a lot in her troubled life and is super strong as a result.
Both Molly and Tatum experience similar life-altering tragedies and struggle to leave their past lives behind. Molly is a kick-arse heroine who doesn't need rescuing, but a hot knight in shining armor in the form of sinfully sexy Tatum doesn't hurt. They deserve a second chance at happiness with the rough hand they were previously dealt, and I hope they find their happily ever after.
Alive was slightly scary, thrilling, intense, raw and hot. Like the title, it made me feel alive! I was on the edge while reading. The twists and turns of this roller coaster of a story suck the reader in...like a thriller-romance movie...and I loved every minute! I can't wait for book 2!
5 sexy stars!
November 15, 2014
This title does some serious justice to the book!! Because that is exactly how I felt while reading Molly and Tatum's story!! Molly was so very far from weak, she was a modern superwoman! And Tatum (sighs) yeah he might have been tough, sexy and come from a background where angels fear to tread but when that man loves he does not do it in halves!! Him and Molly are absolutely perfect for each other!! I never felt that this story was to short or that it didn't feel complete just the opposite really, I loved this story and didnt want it to end because of how awesome Author M. Dauphin drew me in! And she is a brand new author!! This story was beautifully breath taking and soulfully heart wrenching. And on that note I loved Tatum's Dad!!!
------------------Five Stars----------------------------------------------
I was given a copy of this book by the author for a honest review, all my thoughts are my own.
Recommended 18+ due to adult situations.
------------------Five Stars----------------------------------------------
I was given a copy of this book by the author for a honest review, all my thoughts are my own.
Recommended 18+ due to adult situations.
January 2, 2015
A story packed with a punch, full of Drama, Murder, Mystery and Love. Do you believe you can fall in love with the right person overnight? Some time you come across that person that you have such a strong connection to that you just can't help it. The heart wants what the heart wants. These 2 characters, you find out rather quickly have dark sides on both their parts. It comes to haunt them. Will they make it through it all? I am going onto book #2 to see where they are headed now. The only reason it got 4 stars was typo's. I know all books can not be perfect, but editing errors get to me. I am learning to try to read past them. :)
August 6, 2015
The book moved at a good pace and with the introduction of information only when needed making it thrilling to read. I read a PDF copy which had several typos so I couldn't say if the kindle or paperback copy has received sufficient editing or not. I found the inclusion of Evie versus keeping her as a character not directly affected was excessive. The relationship between Molly and Tatum was somewhat unrealistic. Overall, it was a good read.
January 14, 2015
Molly and Tatumn have what I like to call, a fast and furious type of relationship. I don't want to give anything away, but you'll be in for a lot of action that keeps the pages turning. It's fast paced and full and well .... it's ALIVE - like the title says. As soon as I can, I'll be reading book 2 to find out what happens next....Enjoy!
February 11, 2015
A MUST READ.
Just finished this book and wow.
I think I have a new fav book boyfriend.
Such a lovely story but their pasts will make you reach for the tissues.
Well done Mallory Dauphin for a lovely story
Just finished this book and wow.
I think I have a new fav book boyfriend.
Such a lovely story but their pasts will make you reach for the tissues.
Well done Mallory Dauphin for a lovely story
January 31, 2015
Review to be posted.
December 20, 2014
The series name is very descriptive of how I felt about the book. I loved Molly; she's sweet and sassy all rolled into a a wild haired redhead. And I just flat out want more of Tat(y)um.
October 5, 2015
What a amazing story. Molly really has had a bad life things are far worse then she can imagine but then she meets Tatum. What they learn together is awful.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews