Black

Clashing Colors #1

by Elin Peer

What if you were born into a wealthy family who didn’t know about you?
I’ve seen the mansion my father owns – from the outside.
He lives there with his perfect wife and perfect kids.
I’m his dirty little secret that he's been hiding from the world.
The quickie behind the high school bleachers 22 years ago, wasn't supposed to result in anything - but it did!

My mom hated him and told me a million times about the money he gave her for an abortion.
She wanted me to be grateful to her, and to forgive her abusive behavior.
I ran as fast as I could when I was fourteen.

Seven years later I’m cynical, skeptical, and on guard.
Then a decorated war hero named Gabriel shows up in my life. Determined to help me. To fix me!
I’ll show him that I’m not one of his soldiers, and that he can't order me around.
I live by my own rules and trust no one!
At least I haven’t so far.

Black is a brilliant opposites-attract-novel that offers a fresh, new style. You might know Elin Peer from her hit series Men of the North and Cultivated.
Elin offers a unique talent of fearless writing. She takes on taboos and creates imperfect characters that you’ll come to love. If you like humorous, fast-paced stories about quirky, flawed people, and you don't mind an emotional roller coaster with a few steamy scenes, then this contemporary romance is for you.

Just one click and you can start reading this amazing new series today!

Please note: This isn't a clean, sweet romance. Expect scenes with explicit language and dialogue that explores taboos.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook, New Adult, Drama, Fantasy

312 pages, ebook

Published September 18, 2016

About the author

With a background in life coaching, Elin is easy to talk to and with over thirty-six books under her belt, fans rave about her unique writing style that has subtle elements of coaching mixed into fictional love stories with happy endings.

Elin is curious by nature. She likes to explore and can tell you about trekking through the Asian jungle, watching the sunset in the Sahara Desert, sailing down the Nile in Egypt, kayaking in Alaska, river rafting in Indonesia, and flying over Greenland in a helicopter.

She enjoys writing books with her talented daughter Pearl Beacon, whom she describes as one of the kindest and wisest people she knows.

To connect or learn more, please visit Elin at:
Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram or simply send an email to: elin@elinpeer.com

Reviews

[Inna · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 40% 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 All the other Elin Peer books I’ve read have been safe, so I was expecting the same from this one. But nope, the hero goes out and sleeps with OW mid book. That’s a deal breaker for me and I personally can’t continue reading this. The heroine knew he went out and had sex with OW and was hurt throughout the first half of the book because he was flirting with this OW. I’m disappointed that Elin Peer wrote this considering how safe the first 12 books of the men of the north series was. There was no reason why this bs had to be included considering they were at a 2 week therapy camp and he couldn’t remain celibate for 2 weeks??? Gross AF.

[Sofii♡ (A Book. A Thought.) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find this and more reviews on my blog A Book. A Thought.

This book is very deep and a little weird somtimes

From the beginning I found this super interesting plot abou a girl with a very hard life that had to fend for herself in the streets without knowing what the familiar love is, without anyone to worry about her, with this mother who made horrible things with her , and this absent father that never helped her in any way , the truth that there was a lot of material to stay hooked with the story.
On the other hand we have a soldier who just comes back from the war and turns out to be Black's uncle (our protagonist). And when he learns that he has a niece and is in trouble, he does not hesitate to go for her, this would be the beginning of everything, then the plot focuses on the development of the relationship between Gabriel and Black

And this is when my problem with the book begins, I thought the book would try of the overcoming of this girl, to solve her personal and family problems, drugs and more.
But the truth that the plot all the time is centered between these two characters , and although the secondary characters make their appearance is quite flat and somehow I feel that I can't never deepen what I was so interested in knowing, which was Black knowing her family, the acceptance between them and for her, well , what happened was a lot of sexual tension between the characters, some moments became absurd, when illogical things began to happen, in order to make these characters find themselves in a sexual position somewhat uncomfortable. I mean, I found many "coincidences" where the characters had to perform a sexual task between them, which was something that at first I took as a joke, and I laughed about but then kept happening and I was there as SERIOUSLY ?.


So I was quite a bit annoyed by the absurdity of all this situation, but then the book takes up quite a bit of the original plot, and I managed to finish by saying, "Yes this was good", it was a good read about acceptance and personal growth.
It was not what I expected, but they could enjoy it if they are looking for a light reading, something sexual, and with a style of writing very easy to read.

I want to highlight again that, the writing was very easy to read and I've enjoy that, so I would surely like to read again something by Elin Peer , especially I would continue with this series, because I think is so original the idea of putting titles of colors and that everything has a meaning, is very intelligent. I feel quite curious about the next "Violet", because we know this character in this book and I've loved her :).

[Coco.V]

💝 FREE on Amazon today (1/1/2018)!💝

Blurb:
Can a man who gives and takes orders for a living help a rebel who lives to break all the rules and answer to no one?

Twenty-one-year-old Black is a homeless "Goth-rebel" who has broken laws to survive ever since she ran away from home seven years ago. When she is arrested for shoplifting, she's forced to reach out to the father who never wanted anything to do with her.

Gabriel is a decorated war hero who just returned from duty in Afghanistan. When he overhears his stepbrother having a phone conversation with a secret daughter that the family never knew about he is shocked to hear the hard rejection she gets. Since his stepbrother won't do the right thing, Gabriel steps up, committed to help his new step-niece get back on her feet.

But what happens when Black is forced to go into drug rehab with an unorthodox therapist whose methods are bat-shit crazy.How far is Gabriel willing to go to help her and can someone as cynical as her learn to trust anyone but herself?

Black is the first book in Elin Peer's Clashing Colors series. Elin Peer offers a new fresh style and a unique talent for developing characters that you will come to love. If you like fast-paced stories with quirky flawed characters, and you don't mind an emotional roller coaster, then this contemporary romance is for you.

[Danielle (Danniegurl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally thought it’d be more

I’m giving this a 3. It was rather weird at the therapy camp. Much of this book is a suspend your beliefs bc this book is unbelievable. The whole thing is crazy. And the events throughout the relationship are also crazy. Crazy bc they happen so fast, crazy because G went against the therapist advice and crazy bc most of the emotional parts of the book were glossed over. Lots of telling and barely no showing. Overall the book is nice but not very deep. It gives you the idea it’ll be deep but everything is glossed.

[Isatta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black is the first book in the Clashing Colors series. In this novel, we are introduced to Darcia "black". She has had a tough life and things come to a head when she gets herself in trouble she cant easily pull herself out of. Fate steps in and she meets Gabriel, her uncle...sort of. Gabriel helps her through the trouble as well as other problems she apparently didn't know she had.
This was an entertaining read but I wasn't impressed by the writing style. I feel like I sound super elitist saying that, but it's the truth. I didn't like the representation of Goths. I also kind of though Gabriel was a cop out, but I won't get into why. I loved how mental issues were handled in this book and I greatly appreciated the fact that Elin finds ways to cal out her characters' hypocrisy throughout the novel. The story was fun even though it left out some things I wanted to see. For the set up novel to other books, this one was pretty good. I am excited to read Violet.

[Darcy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've liked this author, have been working my way through their backlist. I wasn't sure about this one, Black was so prickly, sure she had reason to be, but it was hard to like her. I wasn't sure about Gabriel, seemed to have a savior complex and I thought it odd that he kept calling Black his niece when she was really his step-niece. The big problem why I had issues with that was when they arrived at the drug therapy camp. Black is 21, but the therapy had Gabriel taking care of her like a baby, yes you read that right, bathing her, feeding her, diapering her. Both were uncomfortable, as they should be when encountering this. But the thought of a 29 year old man, who is sort of a relative, ones who met 24 hours before, ick! This is where I'm tapping out. I don't want to see any sort of romance come out of this, this one just isn't for me.

[Chelon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book with an interesting funny approach to a flawed character overcoming her issues. I loved the H, but hated that he had to bend and beg so much just to have her. I would have loved the story more if some of of the h's realizations were of her own doing and not what others manipulated her into. While her life was rough and terrible at times, she made destructive choices not once is she really held accountable for her words or choices in their relationship. I didn't feel enough of a transformation of Cia from Black, she had the mentality of taker in the beginning of the book and she was a taker at the end of the book, not once did I feel she really gave of herself.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll be honest: I read the blurb about the book and downloaded it fully intending to make fun of it. There were a lot of cringe moments, for sure (looking at you, developmental therapy retreat), but this was actually deeper than expected. This book explored themes of abuse and runaways and addiction and family dynamics.
I don’t think the relationship was healthy, per se, but it wasn’t as creepy as I was expecting it to be. So there’s that.
Tbh I would probably rate this lower had my expectations not already been so low to begin with. This surprised me and I like to be surprised.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

She is called Black for a reason. So much pain, sadness, and rejection in life has also helped her hide behind a mask of black, Gothic style. Then her life is turned upside down and in walks Gabriel. An unorthodox camp and some regression treatments and Bruce help her to find Cia. Cia still has a few issues to work out but the difference is she is learning to face her demons and deal with the things in her life that have gotten her to where she is.
Cia isn't the only one with issues. With a bundle of lies to go thru and skeletons in closet this couple aren't the only ones with issues that need to be addressed. And worked out and addressed it is by all.
A soul wrenching story of learning who you are, how you got there and what it will take to move past your insecurities and live. A great touching story and not matter how unorthodox the treatment may have been and boy was it a stretch it worked for them and that's what matters. Great story with a strong cast of character and a wonderful read.

[Whit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This book is cray-cray and not at all what I was expecting!
To avoid going to jail, Cia (Black) has to go away for therapy. What happens next is mind-blowing and probably illegal. Well it probably should be! But Cia does learn that "Every person that comes into your life serves as either an inspiration or a warning." During therapy, when Cia has to confront Tina, her sleazy and abusive mother, Cia realizes she is nothing like her and never will be. And, of course, there are no words for her selfish and coward of a father. His refusal to help, forced this girl to be on her own, at 14 years old. That is a sin he needs to pay, big time for!
There's a lot of really weird and crazy "stuff" in this book, but the chemistry between Cia and Gabriel is sweet and magical.

[Lici · Rating 5 out of 5]

When i bought that book i was not sure were it would take me, but surprise it was great! I love it. Sometimes I got a little anoyed about the male character an his pussy behaviour, but it turned out well.

I have to agree with the main charackter that some things in her therapy can't be legal, but still it was soooo funny to watch her get over with the situations.

This book was funny, earnest, hilarious and truly enjoyable. I would recommend it without bad Feelings :}.

[Secretly Adorkable Readers · Rating 4 out of 5]

KU and was very curious about this series! A homeless goth rebel named Black meet war hero Gabriel!

They are age gap story with a dual pov with some very weird elements throughout the book. I actually laughed during the unorthodox camp scenes so hard that I had to tell my husband what was going on!

This will be definitely different but once you get started, you cannot put it down because you have to find out more.

[Ezi Chinny · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.
Review to come

[Aղցela W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review Coming

[B.A. Malisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

What the fuck even was that?



I could not even believe what I was reading.



But clearly, I kept on reading, like a serial killer watching a crime scene. I just couldn’t look away.




I picked this up, because I read the Men of the North series by this author, which made me want to read all of her novels, and this one just came out of the blue and side smacked me across the face with a shovel. I have rarely been so absolutely stunned when reading a story. I just don’t even know how to put anything that I felt into words.

It ranged from curious:




To absolutely dumbfounded:




To strangely excited, though I didn’t want to admit it:




To shocked:




To slightly disgusted:



To outraged:




To strangely turned on:




Back to momentarily disgusted:




To shocked again:




And then back to accidentally turned on again:




Followed by really into this:



And concluding with the most traditional ending ever for a truly nontraditional story, which made me feel all:




I still don’t know what in the hell I just read, but clearly I liked the majority of this weird, messy, totally unexpected shit that occurred, even though if it had happened to anyone I know in real life, I’d have advised them to run the fuck away and report malpractice to the feds.

But it wasn’t in real life, so instead I watched this shit go down like:




The narration by Noelle Bridges and John Masterson is spot on. John has a nice, deep, sexy voice, and Noelle reads with a lot of emotion.

[Samantha Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black has been arrested for stealing pharmaceutical drugs. She reaches out to her absentee father only to be rejected. Black ran away from her abusive alcoholic mother at age fourteen and has been living on the streets since. Despite her circumstances, she was still able to complete her high school education, which shows her strength. She calls herself black because she dresses as a goth. Her outward appearance is a protective measure to stop others from looking, touching approaching her which has helped her a lot during her years on the streets.

Gabriel has returned home from Afghanistan after being awarded the silver star. He is at home when he finds out he has a step niece whom his step brother has disowned. He gets into his car and meets with her lawyer who suggests an unorthodox regression therapy camp as an alternative to jail. Gabriel signs both of them up for the therapy in the hopes of showing his step-niece she has family who will support her (finally) but as each day passes, the connection they feel for one another grows stronger.

At the initial intake, Black is redressed in the camp's uniforms and is given the chance to rename herself and she chooses Cia. This is her first steps in becoming a new person so each day as 'black' disappears, Cia will become stronger.

The daily role-play exercises were quirky and a little weird but what was being conveyed was clear. To destroy the barriers that have been erected over the years, they had to go back to the basics, back to Cia's childhood and allow her to rebuild her life. As each wall crumbles, Cia begins to reveal parts of her childhood, from the alcoholic mother to the life of neglect, and a new person begins to emerge.

This was a beautiful emotional story of two people from different side of the tracks who learned how to love and trust one another. This book is well written and I felt as if I was taking part in the journey myself. I laughed, got angry, frustrated and saddened as each part of their lives were picked a part but everything was worth it in the end.

[Atlanta Whitlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading The Slave Series by Elin Peer I was excited to see what else she could write as I loved her writing style, however when I picked up this book she has seriously outdone herself. This book is so emotional and it will make you feel emotions that you didn't expect to feel when reading it. I seriously loved Black as in a way the way she felt about her parents I can kind of relate to, don't get be wrong I haven't ran away from home haven't stolen anything but I have experienced neglect and the shame of having to go through something so traumatic. Which is why I loved how her half Uncle Gabriel managed to somehow have such an effect on her, I liked the way she was when she was around him. It's as if you could see the real her and I liked that.

I noticed that Elin's writing has improved as she writes each book and I can tell you now that this book had me hooked from the very beginning. This is seriously a must read book, I honestly can't wait until the next book in the series comes out. Honestly it's worth the read.

[Nelize · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the concept, bad ass girl on her own trying to survive.
I also liked the MMC, thoughtful, caring, etc.

But the last couple of chapters just passed me off... like really, my dude! "My dick shriveles up when you're black..." like WTF??? Then I lost ALL my respect for the guy... and if someone doesn't want to get married the so fucking what! Ahhh!!

I don't know if the author just couldn't write a sex scene, but I felt nothing... it felt like he just wanted to get his dick wet even if she wasn't ready... and she just let it happen??? Am I the only one???

I'm going to read the next one and if the MMC is the same type of asshole I'm not reading further....

Thanks for letting me rant🫶🏼

[Krys]

Maybe this is how many teenaged girls sound, but I can hardly stand the tone of the fem MC. She’s very, I’m a badass, and a tortured soul who doesn’t care about any
anything g, except I really care about everything. Maybe it’s the old chestnut of being told a character is a certain way instead of shown? But honestly I can’t say for sure because I’ve only gotten an hour and a half into the audiobook before deciding to stop. I got to day one of therapy camp before I had to peel into the Goodreads reviews to confirm that the story was going where I thought it was, and it is. A technically incestuous relationship between a mentor step-uncle and his much younger niece. It’s not the related by marriage thing that bothers me, one of my favorite romances is about step-siblings, but the difference lies in the fact that they were of similar ages. When books start wandering into my dad’s best friend/step-uncle/my best friend’s mom territory I get skeeved out. There’s many real-life stories where youth have been taken advantage of in the most awful ways by mentor/older people they trust in their lives, people who fall into these same taboo “romance” categories and I can’t separate real life from fiction when it comes to this kind of story. I’ve tried, several times and I never enjoy the stories like I do the other kinds of romance. I’m aware abusive incestuous relationships occur between step-siblings as well, however, the romance that fall into the step-sibling bin don’t usually share the same blatantly unequal power dynamic the books about DILF/MILFs do, and that makes it a little easier to suspend belief while I’m reading.

I don’t like how therapy is being used as a device to set up the relationship between the MCs in this book. Therapy is supposed to help people, not be the vehicle for corruption and debauchery. Sorry, kid of a mental health counselor here, totally biased I know. But the fact that they use mind games on the clients by making them think they might get eaten by big cats or mauled by bears if they leave the camp on their own, use cameras to spy on every aspect of the clients’ time there, and make non-parents (and even then it’s still friggen disturbing) bathe and dress the person getting treatment is… there’s really no words. It’s like they’re using fear mongering, voyeurism, and forced discomfort to “treat” people instead of even semi-traditional methods of counseling. I know hypnosis-based regression therapy is a thing, I’m not knocking it, but I’ve never heard of regression therapy that involves dressing people up like different age groups and treating them like they’re that age group and having their family member do the same, it seems like it would put many people on the defensive and prevent them from being receptive to any enlightening experiences they may have during therapy. Long story short, this role-play “regression therapy” seems like a contrived way to put the characters into a situation that “justifies” or at least sparks their taboo relationship, which I’ve already said the idea of which skeeves me out.

Obviously, this book is not for me, so I will quit now and save myself the brow wrinkles.

[Yogi Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the weirdest book I have ever read and if it was written by anyone else I would have never finished reading it. I have read the Men of the North and The Slave series so I stuck with the book because I trust Elin.

Black is a beautiful, 21 year old young woman who is traumatized by the unhealthy childhood her mother exposed her to. She ran away from home when she was 14 (I believe) and lived on the streets. She hides behind a goth image of black with the black lipstick, eye make-up, several facial piercings, black combat boots and black cloths. Instead of using her real name she calls herself Black. Black gets busted shoplifting and in desperation calls her dead-beat Dad to bail her out. No surprise that he doesn't but Dad's brother Gabriel overhears the conversation and steps in to help her. This is when things start getting a little crazy.

To avoid jail Black has to go through 2 weeks at the Regressive Therapy Center with Gabriel supporting her (Read the book if you want to know why Gabriel helps.). When they arrive Black is taken to a 'neutralizer room' where she is completely stripped of 'her armor of black.' Who would have thought she was actually a pretty blond and that those piercings were really clip-ons. While Black is being neutralized Bruce, who is the founder of the therapy center, explains to Gabriel the different levels of role play. Role play is used to re-enact childhood situations in order to repair emotional baggage that continues to haunt the adult patient. The 1st level is a baby. Yeah, Black has to be treated like a baby wearing a baby jumper, using a baby bottle, wearing a diaper and using it like a baby would.....and getting bathed by her 'Daddy' who in this case is (guess who) Gabriel. Gabriel has to bathe her, feed her, carry her and change her diapers.....AND.....they can't advance to the next level until they have successfully completed this level. WHAT THE HECK ELIN! If it wasn't Elin writing this book I would not have gotten past chapter 5! I almost did put the book down anyway thinking about what could have happened during that crazy 'play date' with Anna and Mark. In therapy Black sheds her anger and with it her shield of black and agrees to be called Cia which is an abbreviation of her name Darcia.

After therapy things heat up between Gabriel and Cia. They have both learned a lot about themselves and each other during therapy. They develop trust and affection and feel very comfortable in each others company. But when the 1st test of trust is betrayed their fragile beginning is shattered. How do you pick up the pieces and trust again?

This book is filled with colorful characters who will make you laugh and cry. Although this type of therapy is weird, I can see success behind the science of it. Even though this book was a little predictable I liked it very much.

The next book is about Cia's friend Violet who was introduced in this book. I am looking forward to reading her story.

[LuAnn Rodriquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

BLACK by Elin Peer was a unique story that leaves a reader plenty of room for thought during and once done with this book. The primary female character is initially called Black because everything she wears is that color, which means she appears very goth. She has been on her own since the age of 14 and, at the age of almost 21, is caught in the act of stealing addictive medicine from a drug store that she both sells and sometimes takes herself to relieve the stress of the life she is living. Gabriel, the primary male character, has served in the military and risen to a position of leadership before returning to home and family. The two meet at the jail where Black is being held because Gabe, even though realistic about the negatives of family, believes strongly in support of those who need help. Black or Darcia (nicknamed Cee in rehab) is the illegitimate and unrecognized daughter of his stepbrother and that irresponsible man ignores her call for help from the jail so Gabe steps in and rescues her.

Their interaction from the beginning is honest and entertaining. She is forced to take part in rehabilitation; he chooses to operate as family, initially a substitute father, as she has no one else to depend on and this program requires it. Their process from that point is unusual and will make readers consider what their responses are likely to be if required to follow such a program. The relationship of these two people is unique and grows in depth and importance.

Being a voracious reader for many years, I greatly appreciate an author like Ms. Peer who helps those of us who read her stories to look at life from a different lens than we may otherwise be accustomed to doing. Reading can be a magic carpet ride and this author has the capability of giving her readers such a treat. I like her writing style, will look for more of her stories, and encourage those who read reviews to do likewise.

I received an ARC of this eBook in exchange for my honest review of it.

[NickyL · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was crazy, like nuts, and yet I couldn’t stop. Lol

So I picked this up on a whim today, thinking I’d start the audio to listen here and there as I got ready and what not. Here I am finishing it right up, all the way through.

Black, or Darcia is a 21 year old with a rough past, and she starts out getting caught stealing pills trying to get her oxy fix. Cue the court appearance and being bailed out by the step uncle (not actually blood related), 8 years her senior, who just learned of her existence and good guy that he is, came to her aid. Then comes the crazy. The therapist I can only lovingly describe as a crackpot, court ordered therapy, mind you, to keep her from spending a year in jail, and she and her “parent” or at least the only family member available at the moment, Uncle Gabriel, have to undergo this sort of rebirthing experience. Ok, not quite as crackpot as rebirthing, but close. Lol she has to go back through the stages of her childhood with Gabriel acting as her nurturing and supportive parent to remake and replace her terrible childhood memories. Let me tell you, it was a humiliating experience to say the least, but when they got it right, they got it RIGHT.

Ok, so here’s the thing. Were parts of this story completely nuts? Yes. Do they acknowledge this? Yes. Was it so crazy that I wanted to stop reading it at any point? Not even close. Like a hundred times more interesting than the new EL James book. Lol

Here’s the thing. Elin Peer knows how to write a good story. The characters, the dialogue, the dynamics together, the push and pull, the way she plays the characters off each other, it all just makes for a highly enjoyable and entertaining reading experience. Was this as top notch as the Men of the North series? Not in this book, which is why I gave 4 stars, but will I carry on with this series? Absolutely.

[Raluca Andra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a free copy of the book and I got to say that while I love the romance that blooms between Cia and Gabriel and especially the ending, I found the plot lacking in intensity. It is a story of apparently forbidden love between a niece and an uncle(not by blood, but still) and i didn't feel the that crescendo of their emotion, of their physical attraction to each other that was supposed to bring them to the inevitable conclusion: the abandonment of reason in favour of their lust and then love. I feel that their time spent in therapy should have been peppered more with scenes that portrayed more of their inner struggle not to give into lust. I mean, other than the scene of the bath(in witch not much happens), the rest of their interaction is more clinical and friendly.For a time I actually thought that they are going to develop a father-daughter relationship. And what happened with G interest in Therese, or the excursion in town to buy clothes, or how easy Cia gets over her mom betrayal? I feel there are scene missing.
And I could go on...to him she is a wounded bird with a difficult past that he wants to save instead of his stepbrother(her father), but then he has no qualms of getting her into bad and pushing her to accept his proposal. And the idea that brings her into the light and to him is that of unconditional love. That he loves her as Black and Cia. But what if she'd been more promiscuous with Daniel for instance, or if she couldn't have escaped her drug dependency, would he still love her the same?
In conclusion, I liked the ideas behind the story but I think it needs more work to get depth. It touches to many issues to remain just a shallow love story.
I loved Violet character and I think that she deserves to be the heroine of her own story.

[Nicole Kleffner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book one in the chasing color series and I don’t know that if it was not for some friends suggested that I read this that I would have kept going. When this book first started out I found myself being like what did they talk to me into and how will this all work out.

Black “Darcia” has had an awful life and starts to make one bad decision after another. That leads her to find herself in HOT water. She tries to reach out to her estranged father for help, but he doesn't want anything to do with her. But her father’s step brother ends up coming to her save her and offers up a strange way to help her. This is when the book starts to take a strange turn of events that lead me to feel all of the above. As the story goes on further it starts to get better and the strange stuff doesn’t seem so strange anymore.

Gabriel is a war hero that returned home from duty, when he overhears his stepbrother’s phone conversation and decides that he will step up and help out Black since her father will not. I enjoyed Gabriel and all the help that he was willing to offer to someone that he didn't even know. Even if that help was a little weird and different at times.

This book will take you on a wonderful adventure, with flawed people, emotional roller coaster of feelings.

This book was narrated by Noelle Bridges and John Masterson, they did a great job.

[Stephanie Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw Elin Peer on a website where she chatted with fans. She offered Black for free, asking for a honest review. The cover is a bit deceiving, I wasn't sure what to expect. The story read like a YA genre, which I like. I felt sorry for the main character, she had no coping skills so she turned to drugs to lessen her pain. This is a very real thing that happens to people today. Her life in general is a struggle, from a place to sleep to ratting she has to be creative. She seeks family, stability and love.. When she meets her uncle, he is appalled by his half brothers behavior. He wants to help his niece. Black goes to an intervention camp. Now, this is a stretch of the imagination however, some psychologists have strange ways of making us look at ourselves. I believe at this point Gabriel's feeling change.
I enjoyed the journey that this story took me on. I felt it could be very real with drippings of fiction. And excited that Violet got her own story because she is intriguing.

[Rhonda Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this copy thru Bookfunnel for my honest review. Elin Peer has the unique ability to take a real life set of circumstances, meld and twist them with heart break, humor, love, romance and of course passion that makes you become part of an intricate story you won't want to put down!

Daughter of an alcoholic, abusive mother and rick, pompous arrogant father, Black has been abused, neglected, rejected and betrayed her entire life until she hits a breaking point at 14 and runs away. She's been surviving on her own ever since until she turns 21 and manages to get herself arrested for stealing drugs. Gabriel is her father's step-brother who has just returned home from Afghanistan after 3 tours of duty. When Gabriel overhears his step-brother's phone call refusing to help a daughter no one knew Brent had, Gabriel feels duty bound by family loyalty to help the "child". This storyline will take you on an eye opening roller coaster ride into human emotions with an HEA at that end that will leave you felling good about your faith in human nature.

[Henny Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book by the author in return for an honest review. This is by far one of the best books I have read in a long time, its amazing; well written. Its quite an original style, its a bit controversial and I was gripped after the first few pages, I really did not want to put this book down. I almost don't want to say anything for fear of spoiling the read for you; but what I will say is it is written in a sensitive way, and it pushes the personal boundaries of the main characters, it takes a dive into family secrets and how your sins of the past will find you out; and the battle it causes for those left in the wake; and it was not predictable. This is the second book I have read from this author, I really enjoyed the accidental slave; but this one is even better, this author is fast becoming my favourite, I definitely would recommend this book, and will definitely read more from this author.

[Mabel Mumbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

"life could be more than just survival"

"If our eyes saw souls instead of bodies, how different our idea of beauty would be."

"You should only fall in love with a person who enjoys your madness. Not an idiot who forces you to be normal."

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book looking for a bit of a change from my usual read.

It is an interesting story one that held my interest and got me invested in the female lead and curious as to how her life would work out I loved all her friends and will read more books in the series as I'm curious about Daniel and Violet. But I really didn't like the main male lead it was the reason this book didn't get 5 stars, overall there is nothing wrong with him but I personally just didn't like him, the way he behaved or the way he treated Black. I don't think he is worthy of her. But again this is my personal view and taste I'm sure others will love him.

[Space Cowgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dumb and Dumber😱

I'm sorry, this book📑 goes from stupid😱 to even more stupid, and it could have been sooooooo much better!
Black is Darcia. She's basically a goth, loser, street person, due to her mother being only 15 years old when she had her and then turning into an alcoholic. She has a messed up sense of right and wrong, and she's all wrong.
Breaking into a Costco pharmacy to steal opioids 💉 would have been a felony, but The Author makes it into a misdemeanor theft. But She could get a year in jail because she's a repeat offender.
She is rejected repeatedly by her father, who never wanted her to be born. Her mom was just street trash to him to get his rocks off with. GREAT!
Loser Dad's much younger stepbrother, Gabriel, just back from Afghanistan, jumps into help her with both feet!

Then it just got weird and totally unbelievable! Sorry, can't recommend this one.

[K Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little icky

There are some very heavy topics in this book that are not addressed well. Especially when the therapist not only uses really, really sketchy and dangerous techniques but also does not address or report (as is legally required) the child sexual abuse that's disclosed.
The H is a jerk. He has a hero complex but regularly insults the h appearance internally and calls her friends freaks and weirdos, saying things like "wouldn't fit in with my kind"? I couldn't bring myself to like him. He apparently had nightmares but they aren't addressed. A lot isn't. Characters behaviors are super inconsistent.
Aside from the whole age play weirdness in the beginning, it was still a super icky feeling read and at the end I wasn't actually convinced the characters would or even should stay together.