I really don't want to do this. I can only imagine how much blood, sweat and tears are involved when writing a full length novel, that's why I hate giving bad reviews. I particularly hate that, since this book hasn't received many ratings so far, mine will affect the overall rating considerably.
But my honest opinion is being expected, so here goes.
This book didn't work for me at all.
From the first page, hell, probably the first sentence, I disliked the heroine. And that had nothing to do with her profession as a stripper. I hated her voice, her actions, her manipulative ways, her strange lusting after two men she'd just met. Her constant horndog behavior was eye-roll inducing.
Oh, hey Officer! What? You're telling me I'd been missing for two days without me noticing it or having any memory of it? Oh well, whatever. You're hot. I'm naked. Wanna fuck?
Hi there again, Officer! I've just seen the devil murder an old lady, I am traumatized and will probably be the prime suspect. Man, is it getting hot in here? I really need you to fuck me now. Take me home with you? *seductively fluttering my eyelashes*
Whoa, Lucian. You've literally just told me that you killed my ex-boyfriend and soul-mate, but God, I'm hot for you. Fuck me!
The 'hero', if you can call him that, was nothing short of a creepy, obsessed stalker. Nothing remotely intriguing about him. I usually love anti-heroes, and I don't need fluffy. But I just couldn't see how I was supposed to be rooting for Lucian at all. He just made my skin crawl.
Jakob was alright, I guess, but he was a pretty bland character, and not important enough to get invested in anyway.
The story felt rushed and still bored me. I'll admit, I skimmed. A lot. Especially the first half of the book was rather grating for me. After the 50% mark, it got a little better. Less lusting and dancing, more mystery. But it was rather repetitive and for long stretches, I felt like nothing really happened, and I kept sneaking glances at the percent bar at the bottom of my Kindle.
I'm afraid I probably wouldn't have finished this book if it hadn't been an ARC.
I didn't hate this book, hence not a 1 star rating. I just didn't like it. The writing was alright and the idea was promising, but it just turned out to be not my cuppa. I do appreciate the author's effort, though.
So, 2 stars it is.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.