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The Innocent: A Myth
"I was eaten, plain and simple. It felt like being burned alive, like every cell in my body was exploding. Then everything stopped--my breathing, my heart, my pain. . ."
Alexa Wyndham is a painfully sheltered girl from Brooklyn with a mysterious past. She's an innocent in every sense of the word. Her romantic view of the world formed from the poetry and literary novels she reads. Now on her own at a Manhattan College, she finds the big bad city is just waiting to devour her. A kiss from a stranger nearly ends her life. He is after her energy as are all the supernatural creatures, and they are willing to do anything to get it.
Alexa’s only hope of survival is Cristien La Roche, a monster, a medieval knight, and a man tormented by his past. Alexa is everything he desires but with a touch that can kill, he is just as likely to take her life as he is to save her. Cristien is damned if he helps her and damned if he doesn't. Even if he can save Alexa a hundred times from those who seek her power, he still won’t be able to protect her from his own deadly past. In the end, one will come face to face with the white light and the other their darkest nightmare.
Together, Alexa and Cristien will have to answer the question, “Which is stronger Love or Death?”
The Innocent is a contemporary retelling of Cupid and Psyche (Beauty and the Beast). At once a coming of age story and guide to life’s most mysterious and powerful force: Love. The Innocent/i> is no ordinary romance, it follows a young woman’s journey from sorrow and death to fulfillment and understanding as she takes the sacred and mythic path toward self-knowledge and enlightenment. The Innocent is as heartbreaking as it is humorous, thought-provoking as it is uplifting. It will take star-crossed lovers Alexa and Cristien from suffering to heroism, from hatred to forgiveness, from Death to Life. It will teach them to see beyond the skin to the beauty within us all. A truly powerful and transformative read.
Alexa Wyndham is a painfully sheltered girl from Brooklyn with a mysterious past. She's an innocent in every sense of the word. Her romantic view of the world formed from the poetry and literary novels she reads. Now on her own at a Manhattan College, she finds the big bad city is just waiting to devour her. A kiss from a stranger nearly ends her life. He is after her energy as are all the supernatural creatures, and they are willing to do anything to get it.
Alexa’s only hope of survival is Cristien La Roche, a monster, a medieval knight, and a man tormented by his past. Alexa is everything he desires but with a touch that can kill, he is just as likely to take her life as he is to save her. Cristien is damned if he helps her and damned if he doesn't. Even if he can save Alexa a hundred times from those who seek her power, he still won’t be able to protect her from his own deadly past. In the end, one will come face to face with the white light and the other their darkest nightmare.
Together, Alexa and Cristien will have to answer the question, “Which is stronger Love or Death?”
The Innocent is a contemporary retelling of Cupid and Psyche (Beauty and the Beast). At once a coming of age story and guide to life’s most mysterious and powerful force: Love. The Innocent/i> is no ordinary romance, it follows a young woman’s journey from sorrow and death to fulfillment and understanding as she takes the sacred and mythic path toward self-knowledge and enlightenment. The Innocent is as heartbreaking as it is humorous, thought-provoking as it is uplifting. It will take star-crossed lovers Alexa and Cristien from suffering to heroism, from hatred to forgiveness, from Death to Life. It will teach them to see beyond the skin to the beauty within us all. A truly powerful and transformative read.
373 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 2, 2014
19 people are currently reading
855 people want to read
About the author
Candice Raquel Lee
9 books35 followersCandice Raquel Lee writes about love. She likes characters who grow, deep passion, and classic literary references.
She enjoys writing books that make people think, help broaden their horizons and make them see the world and other people in different ways. She likes creating smart books with depth and many layers.
Her first book to be published is the "Innocent." It is a story about many different kinds of love, between a man and a woman, between friends and even between a parent and a child. It explores the positive and negative aspects of love.
Candice is a passionate reader of classic love stories like "Jane Eyre," "Pride and Prejudice" and "Wuthering Heights." She also loves Medieval Romances like "Erec and Enide," "The Knight of the Cart," "The Knight with the Lion" and other good stuff like that. She is a big book nerd.
One of Candice's main characters in "The Innocent," Cristien La Roche is based on the heroes from Medieval Romances like those written by Chretien De Troyes (Yep, I used his name) and Marie De France with a little Mr. Rochester thrown in from "Jane Eyre."
She hopes you enjoy her books,that they make you laugh and cry. She hopes they make you believe that good, light, love or whatever you call the best in the world, will find a way to conquer that which is not.
She enjoys writing books that make people think, help broaden their horizons and make them see the world and other people in different ways. She likes creating smart books with depth and many layers.
Her first book to be published is the "Innocent." It is a story about many different kinds of love, between a man and a woman, between friends and even between a parent and a child. It explores the positive and negative aspects of love.
Candice is a passionate reader of classic love stories like "Jane Eyre," "Pride and Prejudice" and "Wuthering Heights." She also loves Medieval Romances like "Erec and Enide," "The Knight of the Cart," "The Knight with the Lion" and other good stuff like that. She is a big book nerd.
One of Candice's main characters in "The Innocent," Cristien La Roche is based on the heroes from Medieval Romances like those written by Chretien De Troyes (Yep, I used his name) and Marie De France with a little Mr. Rochester thrown in from "Jane Eyre."
She hopes you enjoy her books,that they make you laugh and cry. She hopes they make you believe that good, light, love or whatever you call the best in the world, will find a way to conquer that which is not.
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April 27, 2014
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads - and I couldn't be more happy about it!
Let me start off by saying I love romance, myths, paranormal creatures and happy endings a little too much, so when I won this book I was really excited because I knew I would really like it. But when I was reading it, I knew it was already exceeding every expectation I had: I LOVED IT!
It was deep, poetic, sweet, romantic, breathtaking, beautiful, hilarious, heartbreaking, mind-blowing...
It made me laugh. SO MUCH!
It made me cry too. A lot.
The characters were all special in their own ways, each one of the personalities were very solid.
I really loved Lance, he was so sweet and funny! But of course I loved Cristien even more, he was just PERFECT!
There were moments when it was TOO MUCH for me and I had to stop reading, just so I could process what was happening, and I didn't want it to end! I tried to go slower sometimes but it was difficult because I had to know what was going to happen; I was afraid of the ending and I had my own theories, but I was wrong, of course, and it surprised me and made me super happy!
This is one of my favorite books ever and I will read it again soon!!
Let me start off by saying I love romance, myths, paranormal creatures and happy endings a little too much, so when I won this book I was really excited because I knew I would really like it. But when I was reading it, I knew it was already exceeding every expectation I had: I LOVED IT!
It was deep, poetic, sweet, romantic, breathtaking, beautiful, hilarious, heartbreaking, mind-blowing...
It made me laugh. SO MUCH!
It made me cry too. A lot.
The characters were all special in their own ways, each one of the personalities were very solid.
I really loved Lance, he was so sweet and funny! But of course I loved Cristien even more, he was just PERFECT!
There were moments when it was TOO MUCH for me and I had to stop reading, just so I could process what was happening, and I didn't want it to end! I tried to go slower sometimes but it was difficult because I had to know what was going to happen; I was afraid of the ending and I had my own theories, but I was wrong, of course, and it surprised me and made me super happy!
This is one of my favorite books ever and I will read it again soon!!
May 12, 2014
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well written and a pleasurable journey. This book was draped with poetry throughout and was well appreciated.
'" I was in love with love". While reading, I nearly opened a bottle of wine to compliment this book, but decided against it as there was no need. This was much more than a romance novel. It also contained spiritual, mythical components and no one part outweighing the others. Alexa and Cristien's characters were well put together. Alexa's mother on the other hand, reminds me of my mother....ugh!!! I love her to death, but I can't deal with her half the time. Lances character was very similar to my own. I loved the development in his character as well. I know this was the authors first book, but I am soooo looking forward to another one of her literary works of art!
'" I was in love with love". While reading, I nearly opened a bottle of wine to compliment this book, but decided against it as there was no need. This was much more than a romance novel. It also contained spiritual, mythical components and no one part outweighing the others. Alexa and Cristien's characters were well put together. Alexa's mother on the other hand, reminds me of my mother....ugh!!! I love her to death, but I can't deal with her half the time. Lances character was very similar to my own. I loved the development in his character as well. I know this was the authors first book, but I am soooo looking forward to another one of her literary works of art!
April 17, 2014
The Innocent is seductive, intoxicating, and completely enthralling. Candice so deftly blends Western belief with Eastern philosophy in telling her story of a love that could as easily be part of a classic romance of the 19th century as it is current. Alex and Chistien are so know-able and yet so heroic, one cannot help cheering for them both from page 1 onward. There is the battle of good and evil, and Candice has written it believably and, forgive the repetition, seductively, so that I could not put the book down for anything other than emergency or (ugh!) work. Brava, Candice!
May 11, 2014
Given by author in exchange for a honest review. ....
This was such a beautiful story and yet very different from what I have read so far.... I think this is the 1st I've read where there has been so much poetry involved, it was a nice touch!
I think the story line was very amazing and very creative....
The ending was pretty interesting especially with the whole dad situation, I loved it! (kind of hard to describe without giving spoilers).
Mythology, romantic, poetic, Demigods, what more do you need for this kind of love story! ♡
This was such a beautiful story and yet very different from what I have read so far.... I think this is the 1st I've read where there has been so much poetry involved, it was a nice touch!
I think the story line was very amazing and very creative....
The ending was pretty interesting especially with the whole dad situation, I loved it! (kind of hard to describe without giving spoilers).
Mythology, romantic, poetic, Demigods, what more do you need for this kind of love story! ♡
May 18, 2014
What I liked about this book is the passion between the characters. I don't mean just the love but the friendships and hate also. Especially the friendship between Cristien and Lance.
The first couple of chapters are extremely confusing. I thought it was just me but the 2 girls I buddy read it with was too.
Alexa is a bookworm that gets dragged out on her birthday which also happens to be Valentines day by some girls that live in her dorm. She meets Cristien and it completely changes her life. They're drawn to each other in what they believe to be a supernatural way they can't fight.
What I didn't like was the insta-love, poetry and her mom.
I like poetry but this book had it on almost every page until the end. It was just too much for me.
Her mom is very controlling and is insistent that Alexa can't date until she gets a degree because otherwise she has nothing to offer and men will just be using her. How she dealt with her as long as she did I'll never know.
I was sent a copy by the author in exchange for a honest review. Thank you.
The first couple of chapters are extremely confusing. I thought it was just me but the 2 girls I buddy read it with was too.
Alexa is a bookworm that gets dragged out on her birthday which also happens to be Valentines day by some girls that live in her dorm. She meets Cristien and it completely changes her life. They're drawn to each other in what they believe to be a supernatural way they can't fight.
What I didn't like was the insta-love, poetry and her mom.
I like poetry but this book had it on almost every page until the end. It was just too much for me.
Her mom is very controlling and is insistent that Alexa can't date until she gets a degree because otherwise she has nothing to offer and men will just be using her. How she dealt with her as long as she did I'll never know.
I was sent a copy by the author in exchange for a honest review. Thank you.
January 15, 2014
I enjoyed "The Innocent" for several reasons. First, as a professor of medieval English with an appreciation for fantasy and sci-fi, I only read material of a high literary quality. Frankly, I don't have the time to read much contemporary stuff, and when I do, I want good, intelligent writing, which Candice Raquel Lee delivers. Lee's work not only held my interest throughout but moved me emotionally. Intellectually, there's also a good deal that one can take away from the plot as a philosophy for living (how to deal with suffering, how to navigate the ups and downs of life, for example). Lastly, it's rare to find a book that can do romance without the reliance on sexuality as a substitute for developing the love story; "The Innocent" presents a spiritual love that does not sacrifice passion (think Tristan and Isolde), which is really fun given that one of the main characters is an incubus!
March 7, 2014
This book actually changed my life. My partner and I were going through a tough time when I read this last month, and the touching love story in it made me realize the importance of our relationship. It made me cry (and laugh too). I just wanted to share that and thank the author.
June 15, 2014
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review as part of LibraryThing's Members Giveaway program. This is a long review and brief plot spoilers may follow.*
I didn’t like Alexa at first; she was so skittish and scared of everything that I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through the book having to read about her various fearful reactions to everything under the sun concerning Cristien. Actually, I knew I wasn’t going to finish the book if she was going to continue to be that afraid, but thankfully she grew so much throughout the book that I was proud of her when it ended. I thought the ‘not a morning person’ angle was blown a little out of proportion; she was just demanding for no reason. But even that was easily overlooked because as a whole, she was pretty kickass by the end of the book and that agreed with her much more than being a delicate flower.
I can’t say the same, however, for Cristien. I had to learn to like him because at first I found him obsessive bordering on creepy, way too harsh on himself and a little bit too intense for comfort. And I thought Edward Cullen was bad, lol. But then I thought about it and if I had been around for 800 years, causing pain without realizing the magnitude and suddenly I was shown said extent, not to mention the death of every person I’d been with, I probably would have done the same. On that note concerning the sexual parts, his actions on one occasion ran the boundary line of rape and I really hated that Alexa forgave him so quickly when he didn’t even really feel he’d done anything wrong. It took him a while to redeem himself after that.
Despite that, I couldn’t deny that the two of them belonged together and he helped encourage her to grow up some, and I think said maturity toughened her for what she later had to do in order to save him…and herself, at a level. I was a huge fan of how deep their love was, how they seemed to fuel and strengthen each other. Excluding a few times in the middle of the book, Lance was obviously the comedic relief in this book and I enjoyed it. He kept things light-hearted and made sure Cristien didn’t take himself too seriously, which he seemed to be on the verge of doing most of the time. Without going into detail, I thought the revelation of his relationship to Alexa was sort of convenient, but I realized that I didn't have too big a problem with it regardless. I was pretty sure from jump that Abe was going to be a problem so it wasn’t too surprising when I ended up being right. There weren’t too many other characters and I was glad for that; I hate filler characters and situations.
As for the plot itself, I enjoyed that as well. I liked the underlying spiritual themes weaved into the plot; there wasn’t an overt religious tone to the book and I wouldn’t even go as far as to categorize this as a spiritually inclined novel. It definitely does have a presence though and it does raise some intriguing questions in terms of how we typically think of things and how we relate situations in our lives to God’s love for us. Most of the spiritual parts of the book were raised as questions or points in conversation or said in platitudes, which were sort of annoying (and I believe Cristien said the same somewhere in the book lol), but they were valid and deep questions, as were the questions at the end of the book, which makes this a suitable novel for book clubs and the like. Even though I’m extremely aware that there is a difference between good and evil, I do realize now that the good/evil argument is also entirely subjective and until I read this book, I hadn’t considered that angle at all before. I felt that it was a very cut and dried line, but it’s really not. It’s cut and dried to me, for my sense of morals. But is it overall? No, I guess in the larger picture of things, it’s not. It was strange to realize that because it’s quite obvious to me now, but it is. What may be evil to me may not be evil at all to the next person, which shapes their actions just as much as it shapes mine. That was an interesting thing to explore through this book.
Something else that I liked is that despite the characters’ supernatural abilities, they were not invincible by any means, and they didn’t carry themselves with an arrogant, all-powerful or knowing mentality. I read a lot of supernatural books and I tend to notice an invincibility complex with many of the characters, and the older ones are always worse. By that pattern, Cristien should have had a God complex. Not only did he not believe that, he was still learning himself and I liked that. There were some errors here and there but they didn’t take anything away from the story. Some of the speech was a little too flowery for me, like the constant reciting of poems, I had to remember Cristien’s age and the fact that Alexa seemed to identify with those things, so that was just the dynamic of their relationship. They understood each other and I liked reading the struggle and internal conflict they both went through as the book progressed. But just as Alexa was coming into her own and Cristien was able to see for himself the depth of Alexa’s love for him, the book ended so I would love a second story about these two and what comes next for them. This book flowed very well in my opinion; it left a few windows open for further exploration or chapters, and it really showed the depths of a love or passion that can either strengthen or kill you.
I didn’t like Alexa at first; she was so skittish and scared of everything that I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through the book having to read about her various fearful reactions to everything under the sun concerning Cristien. Actually, I knew I wasn’t going to finish the book if she was going to continue to be that afraid, but thankfully she grew so much throughout the book that I was proud of her when it ended. I thought the ‘not a morning person’ angle was blown a little out of proportion; she was just demanding for no reason. But even that was easily overlooked because as a whole, she was pretty kickass by the end of the book and that agreed with her much more than being a delicate flower.
I can’t say the same, however, for Cristien. I had to learn to like him because at first I found him obsessive bordering on creepy, way too harsh on himself and a little bit too intense for comfort. And I thought Edward Cullen was bad, lol. But then I thought about it and if I had been around for 800 years, causing pain without realizing the magnitude and suddenly I was shown said extent, not to mention the death of every person I’d been with, I probably would have done the same. On that note concerning the sexual parts, his actions on one occasion ran the boundary line of rape and I really hated that Alexa forgave him so quickly when he didn’t even really feel he’d done anything wrong. It took him a while to redeem himself after that.
Despite that, I couldn’t deny that the two of them belonged together and he helped encourage her to grow up some, and I think said maturity toughened her for what she later had to do in order to save him…and herself, at a level. I was a huge fan of how deep their love was, how they seemed to fuel and strengthen each other. Excluding a few times in the middle of the book, Lance was obviously the comedic relief in this book and I enjoyed it. He kept things light-hearted and made sure Cristien didn’t take himself too seriously, which he seemed to be on the verge of doing most of the time. Without going into detail, I thought the revelation of his relationship to Alexa was sort of convenient, but I realized that I didn't have too big a problem with it regardless. I was pretty sure from jump that Abe was going to be a problem so it wasn’t too surprising when I ended up being right. There weren’t too many other characters and I was glad for that; I hate filler characters and situations.
As for the plot itself, I enjoyed that as well. I liked the underlying spiritual themes weaved into the plot; there wasn’t an overt religious tone to the book and I wouldn’t even go as far as to categorize this as a spiritually inclined novel. It definitely does have a presence though and it does raise some intriguing questions in terms of how we typically think of things and how we relate situations in our lives to God’s love for us. Most of the spiritual parts of the book were raised as questions or points in conversation or said in platitudes, which were sort of annoying (and I believe Cristien said the same somewhere in the book lol), but they were valid and deep questions, as were the questions at the end of the book, which makes this a suitable novel for book clubs and the like. Even though I’m extremely aware that there is a difference between good and evil, I do realize now that the good/evil argument is also entirely subjective and until I read this book, I hadn’t considered that angle at all before. I felt that it was a very cut and dried line, but it’s really not. It’s cut and dried to me, for my sense of morals. But is it overall? No, I guess in the larger picture of things, it’s not. It was strange to realize that because it’s quite obvious to me now, but it is. What may be evil to me may not be evil at all to the next person, which shapes their actions just as much as it shapes mine. That was an interesting thing to explore through this book.
Something else that I liked is that despite the characters’ supernatural abilities, they were not invincible by any means, and they didn’t carry themselves with an arrogant, all-powerful or knowing mentality. I read a lot of supernatural books and I tend to notice an invincibility complex with many of the characters, and the older ones are always worse. By that pattern, Cristien should have had a God complex. Not only did he not believe that, he was still learning himself and I liked that. There were some errors here and there but they didn’t take anything away from the story. Some of the speech was a little too flowery for me, like the constant reciting of poems, I had to remember Cristien’s age and the fact that Alexa seemed to identify with those things, so that was just the dynamic of their relationship. They understood each other and I liked reading the struggle and internal conflict they both went through as the book progressed. But just as Alexa was coming into her own and Cristien was able to see for himself the depth of Alexa’s love for him, the book ended so I would love a second story about these two and what comes next for them. This book flowed very well in my opinion; it left a few windows open for further exploration or chapters, and it really showed the depths of a love or passion that can either strengthen or kill you.
May 14, 2014
I truly enjoyed reading The Innocent: A Myth. At first I thought that the pacing was slow but as it turns out it isn't. It was written in a dual pov between Alexa and Cristien. Reading from both their perspectives made me liked them more especially Cristien. Alexa is your typical shy/ nerd girl and Cristien is that has that bad boy type but there's more to him especially when their relationship starts to bloom. The pacing between their romance was just so right and although I do understand Cristien's feelings when he gets frustrated but at the same time I'm glad he didn't cross the line with Alexa. You would think it started off as ordinary but there's more to the plot especially between the H/h.
I really like Alexa especially when she grew a backbone. I disliked her relationship with her mother who seemed to be a control freak and over the top protectiveness despite there being a reason for it. I loved the poems she write for Cristien. It was so romantic and when they started reading lines from other poems I thought they were really a match made in heaven.
I felt for Cristien the most because of his past especially that of Lily (I really hate her but I got m wish about her). Their first meeting turned out not to be so great but of course what he wants he gets, so he was able to do the dating thing that he never did before. His feelings for Alexa was confusing but he thought it was because of the Compulsion. But due to the help of Chandraswami his feelings for her was cleared up and he was able to make things right with her. When he was reminiscing about his past you could really feel his pain and his decisions of what he does now. It's nice that he changed and especially since he met Alexa because he started living. Despite experiencing many hardships and sorrow, he was able to live and surpass them in order to meet Alexa. And even though he was stubborn in the end because of what happened to him I'm glad he didn't have the strength to resist Alexa. I liked his friendship with Lance although I do hate Abe but I'm glad that part ended. Did I mention he was so sweet when he spoke poetry to Alexa? I swear that was one of the sweetest things that happened in the book besides the ring he made for her.
I really liked Lance. I actually didn't see that part about him till he went to Alexa's house. But I so loved it. I don't want to spoil but it turns out to be something good for him and some else as well.
Although there are some questions that I wished that were answered and well some of those questions pop out at the "Understanding the Innocent".
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really like Alexa especially when she grew a backbone. I disliked her relationship with her mother who seemed to be a control freak and over the top protectiveness despite there being a reason for it. I loved the poems she write for Cristien. It was so romantic and when they started reading lines from other poems I thought they were really a match made in heaven.
I felt for Cristien the most because of his past especially that of Lily (I really hate her but I got m wish about her). Their first meeting turned out not to be so great but of course what he wants he gets, so he was able to do the dating thing that he never did before. His feelings for Alexa was confusing but he thought it was because of the Compulsion. But due to the help of Chandraswami his feelings for her was cleared up and he was able to make things right with her. When he was reminiscing about his past you could really feel his pain and his decisions of what he does now. It's nice that he changed and especially since he met Alexa because he started living. Despite experiencing many hardships and sorrow, he was able to live and surpass them in order to meet Alexa. And even though he was stubborn in the end because of what happened to him I'm glad he didn't have the strength to resist Alexa. I liked his friendship with Lance although I do hate Abe but I'm glad that part ended. Did I mention he was so sweet when he spoke poetry to Alexa? I swear that was one of the sweetest things that happened in the book besides the ring he made for her.
I really liked Lance. I actually didn't see that part about him till he went to Alexa's house. But I so loved it. I don't want to spoil but it turns out to be something good for him and some else as well.
Although there are some questions that I wished that were answered and well some of those questions pop out at the "Understanding the Innocent".
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 29, 2014
The Innocent: A Myth is a very interesting read for me. I don't know every character it brought out, like Psyche and Cupid and Lilith. I actually searched for Lilith and I actually wanted to read about Cupid and Psyche because I really have no clue and having a hard time to connect with the characters. But I still enjoyed reading it because of the story line and how it goes. I never expected the connection between Lance and Alexa and it was really a shocker: a good shocker. I really liked Lance's character. He was a really good friend. The way he takes care of Cristien even though Cristien was way older than him, the way he stood up for him and his loyalty to him. I also loved Cristien and Alexa. Their love for one another was just so amazing. The way they can't live far away from each other literally because they fed out off their love for each other was exactly how love should be in real life if you find "the one". You just can't live without the other and you make each other better and grow. It's a matter of give and take equally and no matter what happens, your love will not be tainted with all the changes life will bring. I can go on and on and on about how great their love was but I think I should stop and go on with the review. I loved that this book was covered with many poetries that makes it more romantic.
Recommended to all those who loves romantic supernatural stories.
A copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Recommended to all those who loves romantic supernatural stories.
A copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
July 25, 2016
The Innocent: A Myth is a YA romance with sweeping love at first sight, obsessive incubi, and an underlying True Love Conquers All mentality. I must admit, when I started the book, I was afraid it would fall into so many cliche romances and it didn't hold my interest. That lasted for less than two chapters, and then I was hooked.
The love interests, Alexa & Cristien, come from opposite worlds. She's a book-geek in college trying for her business degree. He's an ancient incubi that turned off his emotions centuries ago. Their instant attraction might have to do with the Compulsion, but their continued interest may have more to do with Cristien quoting Alexa's favorite love poems from memory and Alexa's vibrant personality bringing life back to Cristien's stagnant existence.
But of course, it couldn't be that easy or it would fall into the cliche category. So throw in some jealousy, maybe a demigod or two, and some life-or-death situations which don't always come out how we want them, and this story transcends most of the normal cliches. However, it's the internal struggles from the characters that make them more real. Alexa finds Cristien too good to be true, and (under normal situations) she'd be right. Cristien feels like his past makes him unworthy to be Alexa's protector, and he's kind of right too. But love is greater than that, and in the end, love really does conquer all. So if you want a happily ever after story, this one just might be for your.
The love interests, Alexa & Cristien, come from opposite worlds. She's a book-geek in college trying for her business degree. He's an ancient incubi that turned off his emotions centuries ago. Their instant attraction might have to do with the Compulsion, but their continued interest may have more to do with Cristien quoting Alexa's favorite love poems from memory and Alexa's vibrant personality bringing life back to Cristien's stagnant existence.
But of course, it couldn't be that easy or it would fall into the cliche category. So throw in some jealousy, maybe a demigod or two, and some life-or-death situations which don't always come out how we want them, and this story transcends most of the normal cliches. However, it's the internal struggles from the characters that make them more real. Alexa finds Cristien too good to be true, and (under normal situations) she'd be right. Cristien feels like his past makes him unworthy to be Alexa's protector, and he's kind of right too. But love is greater than that, and in the end, love really does conquer all. So if you want a happily ever after story, this one just might be for your.
January 3, 2015
"The Innocent" is a beautifully written paranormal romance unlike any I have read. The superb writing ties in classic literature, poetry, humor, and philosophy, to a fascinating supernatural romantic storyline.
The basic plot began with elements similar to Twilight. We see the innocent young girl, Alexa, and the ancient, unearthly handsome paranormal guy, Cristien. He has never loved in all his years, but is compulsively attracted to Alexa. (He even can't help coming into her window at night.) This is where the similarity to Twilight ends. We are taken through Cristien and Alexa's perilous journey to find true love. The secondary characters are strong, especially Lance. The dialog is witty and hits on life, love, birth, death, and in the wild end gives us a dose of spiritual philosophy.
If you are interested in a unique and well written paranormal, that will have you laugh, cry, and think, I recommend "The Innocent".
The basic plot began with elements similar to Twilight. We see the innocent young girl, Alexa, and the ancient, unearthly handsome paranormal guy, Cristien. He has never loved in all his years, but is compulsively attracted to Alexa. (He even can't help coming into her window at night.) This is where the similarity to Twilight ends. We are taken through Cristien and Alexa's perilous journey to find true love. The secondary characters are strong, especially Lance. The dialog is witty and hits on life, love, birth, death, and in the wild end gives us a dose of spiritual philosophy.
If you are interested in a unique and well written paranormal, that will have you laugh, cry, and think, I recommend "The Innocent".
May 23, 2014
***I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review***
It took me a couple of days to fully absorb this story before I could write this review. I felt the story started really slow, and I actually had a hard time getting through the first half or so. We meet Alexa, a college book worm that is following her mothers rules by living a life of school and studying...NO BOYS! Alexa goes about her life happily until some classmates drag her out dancing for her birthday! In comes Christien...gorgeous incubi that is about 800 years old and seems to be drawn to Alexa. The story takes off when their relationship blooms and we learn about Christien's world and his past. At that point I couldn't put it down. The relationships are amazing...loved the friendship between Christien and Lance. Its twilight mixed with lots of old literture and poetry. Great book, so different than most of the stories I have been reading.
It took me a couple of days to fully absorb this story before I could write this review. I felt the story started really slow, and I actually had a hard time getting through the first half or so. We meet Alexa, a college book worm that is following her mothers rules by living a life of school and studying...NO BOYS! Alexa goes about her life happily until some classmates drag her out dancing for her birthday! In comes Christien...gorgeous incubi that is about 800 years old and seems to be drawn to Alexa. The story takes off when their relationship blooms and we learn about Christien's world and his past. At that point I couldn't put it down. The relationships are amazing...loved the friendship between Christien and Lance. Its twilight mixed with lots of old literture and poetry. Great book, so different than most of the stories I have been reading.
May 17, 2014
I received this book for my honest review and I have to say that I was skeptical at first you have what you think is a vampire Cristien but turns out he is half angel and half demon. But something about this woman catches him in a way that no one has before Alexia she is a 19 year old celebrating her birthday on valentine’s day and her friends take her out little did she know that she would meet her prince charming. Throughout the book you follow the journey of two people that are in love but are fighting tooth and nail to accept it. You will enjoy their journey and the path that they lead. Love sometimes conquers all.
July 26, 2016
I loved this book. I really liked that christien and alexa knew what they wanted and they weren't afraid to go for it. Most books push the other away in the beginning because they believe it is what's best for them. But in The Innocent they knew they were better a nd stronger together. I have to say it was one of the best I have read in a long time. Great job Candice Raquel Lee. Absolutely amazing story. Full video review on YouTube channel Adventures-IN-Print. https://youtu.be/-KuF3KmMD-g
November 4, 2014
I won a copy of "The Innocent" by Candice Raquel Lee on Goodreads for an honest review.
Without giving away any spoilers I can say "The Innocent: A Myth" was beautifully written, and I was not disappointed. The story line pulls you in, and the book is a real page turner. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
Without giving away any spoilers I can say "The Innocent: A Myth" was beautifully written, and I was not disappointed. The story line pulls you in, and the book is a real page turner. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
February 9, 2017
this one actually was a complete surprise
you can't take a book named like this with a cover like that seriously
but is was amazing and beautifully written and despite the name it was a clean book kinda PG13 really.
the poetry and the angst the love story and the metaphysical and the spiritual aspect of it all
i like this book a lot
you can't take a book named like this with a cover like that seriously
but is was amazing and beautifully written and despite the name it was a clean book kinda PG13 really.
the poetry and the angst the love story and the metaphysical and the spiritual aspect of it all
i like this book a lot
August 7, 2015
I usually wouldn't pick up a book like this too read because there have just been too many mediocre mythological books in my reading past... But I was really blown away by this one. I highly recommend reading it, it was so much better than I expected. I couldn't put it down
September 16, 2015
This is a story that has surprising twists and turns. You will want to find out what is happening next. A must read. Can't wait for the next sequel.
June 7, 2014
A beautiful and passionate love story. People from opposite ends of the spectrum come together with such intense need for each other. He may have turned off his emotions, but this smolders!
May 10, 2018
Mystifying
I give this mystifying read five stars, 'cause that's all I'm allowed. But, wow, Candace Raquel Lee really rocked it with this powerful tale of 'angels and demons'. You will feel every emotion under the sun. And is love strongest emotion of all?
I give this mystifying read five stars, 'cause that's all I'm allowed. But, wow, Candace Raquel Lee really rocked it with this powerful tale of 'angels and demons'. You will feel every emotion under the sun. And is love strongest emotion of all?
July 25, 2018
DNF
Amateurish writing
Dual POVs
I tried hoping it would get better, but it didn't.
Both MCs annoyed me.
Heroine was immature and the hero was supposed to sound alpha, but he sounded sappy.
I liked the premise, but it did not work for me.
Amateurish writing
Dual POVs
I tried hoping it would get better, but it didn't.
Both MCs annoyed me.
Heroine was immature and the hero was supposed to sound alpha, but he sounded sappy.
I liked the premise, but it did not work for me.
March 7, 2019
Intriguing
This was definitely worth the read, although the author did get a tad long winded at times. Overall I enjoyed it and Alexa grew into quite the person, and Christien had to learn to love all of himself, which I think a lot of is need to work on.
This was definitely worth the read, although the author did get a tad long winded at times. Overall I enjoyed it and Alexa grew into quite the person, and Christien had to learn to love all of himself, which I think a lot of is need to work on.
June 20, 2019
i read it
it name was the virgin and the incubus
dont really rember it
it name was the virgin and the incubus
dont really rember it
January 2, 2022
Este libro es muy distinto a lo que estoy acostumbrada a leer. Mezcla mucha poesía con narrativa y la historia es muy interesante. Aun así siento que le faltaba algo.
January 24, 2015
DISCLAIMER: I received this book as part of the Member Giveaway program.
*mild spoilers*
Frankly speaking, I don't even know where to begin with which part of this books I disliked more.
Alexa is a college student with the emotional mindset of a 13-year old. Fortunately, her naivety and spinelessness evolve toward the end, but for the majority of the story, good lord. She's always treated and comes across as very baby-ish (endurable only for the portions of the story that's she's sick), and every development (integral to the plot or not) is treated with life or death severity. And yes, some of these developments are legitimately deciding factors in their im/mortal fates, but the treatment of the lesser, wholly over-dramtized issues completely dulled the impact of the important ones. Some of this is explained by Alexa's coping strategy of shutting down rather than dealing, and now that she's trying not to do that it's a systems overload for her, but honestly, it ruined any chance of her being a sympathetic character for me, which really damns the entire resolution of the story.
And Christien. Where, oh WHERE do I begin with this little darling? Christien is an incubus. Incubi feed off energy gleaned through sex. Okay. Sure. I can get on board with that. What I can't get on board with is using this as a starting point to then tell a story about sex being redemption. I can't accept sex as a mindless food source characteristic of demon-kind and also in the same breath present it as the very thing that redeems demons from demon-hood. It's a complete contradiction regardless of the motivation (which Lee does make a point to distinguish). It's just not believable to me.
And then there are the lesser side characters. I get that supporting characters are not the focus of the story and thus we don't see their many facets. With Alexa's "friends" this isn't such a big deal, but her mother was so flat and unbelievable I couldn't overlook it. She's such a hot and cold personality that it pulled me right out of the story every time. And for Cristien the Incubus to be afraid of her bipolarity? Just… ugh. Why?
I can't decide if it's the characters I dislike, or the plot, or simply its presentation. The sentences themselves didn't really blow me away, but I'm inclined to give Lee the benefit of the doubt and attribute that to the characters' personalities and points of view. I think at its root this tory has potential, but I'm ultimately very unimpressed with it.
*mild spoilers*
Frankly speaking, I don't even know where to begin with which part of this books I disliked more.
Alexa is a college student with the emotional mindset of a 13-year old. Fortunately, her naivety and spinelessness evolve toward the end, but for the majority of the story, good lord. She's always treated and comes across as very baby-ish (endurable only for the portions of the story that's she's sick), and every development (integral to the plot or not) is treated with life or death severity. And yes, some of these developments are legitimately deciding factors in their im/mortal fates, but the treatment of the lesser, wholly over-dramtized issues completely dulled the impact of the important ones. Some of this is explained by Alexa's coping strategy of shutting down rather than dealing, and now that she's trying not to do that it's a systems overload for her, but honestly, it ruined any chance of her being a sympathetic character for me, which really damns the entire resolution of the story.
And Christien. Where, oh WHERE do I begin with this little darling? Christien is an incubus. Incubi feed off energy gleaned through sex. Okay. Sure. I can get on board with that. What I can't get on board with is using this as a starting point to then tell a story about sex being redemption. I can't accept sex as a mindless food source characteristic of demon-kind and also in the same breath present it as the very thing that redeems demons from demon-hood. It's a complete contradiction regardless of the motivation (which Lee does make a point to distinguish). It's just not believable to me.
And then there are the lesser side characters. I get that supporting characters are not the focus of the story and thus we don't see their many facets. With Alexa's "friends" this isn't such a big deal, but her mother was so flat and unbelievable I couldn't overlook it. She's such a hot and cold personality that it pulled me right out of the story every time. And for Cristien the Incubus to be afraid of her bipolarity? Just… ugh. Why?
I can't decide if it's the characters I dislike, or the plot, or simply its presentation. The sentences themselves didn't really blow me away, but I'm inclined to give Lee the benefit of the doubt and attribute that to the characters' personalities and points of view. I think at its root this tory has potential, but I'm ultimately very unimpressed with it.
July 2, 2016
I have read less than 10 romance-science-fiction-fantasy-fairy tale books including this book. It just isn't my genre, but I was very intrigued by the description. The comparison to the 'Beauty and Beast' style love story intrigued me. I want to start out saying that this book was very well written and I thought the author did a brilliant job at the end of doing Q/A and elaborating on her inspiration for this book and how she compares her characters to other famous love story characters [Pride & Prejudice, Wuthering Heights] etc. I am always reading. My iPad is never too far from me and I read every single night for at least an hour without fail. It helps to shut my brain down. This book woke my brain up. While the story was interesting, it was the author itself that woke me up and not the characters. The way the author wrote honestly made me think. You can tell by the poetry and literature she has her characters love and quote she writes with intelligence. This is not just your average 'fall in love, wham bam thank you ma'am, happily ever after book' that so many people are writing these days. It's almost sad that I've started so many books like that only to put them down that when I find a book [like this one] that has more than just sex in it I'm left wondering if and when that is going to be the main focus of the book. This book is a love story and more about the actual characters and their personal development singularly and together vs just physical relationship. I think there was so much personal development I would have liked more development of the two characters together. I thought that they fell in love so quickly for it to be realistic BUT after reading more into their story and the actual history associated with them I understood better towards the end of the book than I did in the beginning. This was a slow build for me. I was about 1/3 of the way into the book before I went, 'whoa' and realized Candice's writing had hooked me and I hadn't realized it. Overall, I liked it and I would read the next book!
Some excerpts I really loved:
"If you could go to heaven, wouldn’t you as often as you could? If it was sitting there waiting for you with arms open, how could you say no?”
"She could draw me like blood from a vein..."
"Light near a black hole has more freedom..."
"There's nothing that drives women crazier than being loved by the one we love. It's like two mirrors facing each other, reflecting endlessly. It's forever..."
Some excerpts I really loved:
"If you could go to heaven, wouldn’t you as often as you could? If it was sitting there waiting for you with arms open, how could you say no?”
"She could draw me like blood from a vein..."
"Light near a black hole has more freedom..."
"There's nothing that drives women crazier than being loved by the one we love. It's like two mirrors facing each other, reflecting endlessly. It's forever..."
May 21, 2014
Rating 3.5
Very Promising YA novel...
First, let me gush over what a wonderful concept the author has devised with this plot. The story takes an entirely unique twist on the mythical figures of incubi and succubi, weaving them into a powerful, enthralling tale of love. Mixed with the creative elements of the Cupid & Psyche myth, the Lilith myth (which I really loved), and all of the allusions to classical romantic literature and you've got one mother of a story. The Innocent deserves 5 stars on concept alone.
Other great things:the pacing of the storyline is right on target, the minor characters are wholly engaging and well executed,and there are unexpected, on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments of suspense that compliment the story well.
Only a few things are holding me back from giving The Innocents a higher rating and, truly, they're just personal preference things. Like, I had trouble reconciling the inconsistency of Cristain's and Alexa's attitudes sometimes. They both run hot and cold a lot, especially Alexis, to the point that her immaturity and fickleness were grating my nerves. I also had trouble with the little issue of Alexis experiencing a momentously big reveal on her wedding day-something that was supposed to have caused her a lifetime of doubt and pain-and she takes it lightly, even jokingly. That hit a sour note with me. I felt sometimes that the youngish-ness of the character's attitudes did not match the more mature tones of the plot.
That being said, the things that I disliked about it will most likely not be an issue for a YA audience; older audiences may have mixed emotions as I did. And it was not enough to deter me from becoming engrossed in the story and needing to know the end.
This is a great story and I look forward to what Lee has cooked up next!
Very Promising YA novel...
First, let me gush over what a wonderful concept the author has devised with this plot. The story takes an entirely unique twist on the mythical figures of incubi and succubi, weaving them into a powerful, enthralling tale of love. Mixed with the creative elements of the Cupid & Psyche myth, the Lilith myth (which I really loved), and all of the allusions to classical romantic literature and you've got one mother of a story. The Innocent deserves 5 stars on concept alone.
Other great things:the pacing of the storyline is right on target, the minor characters are wholly engaging and well executed,and there are unexpected, on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments of suspense that compliment the story well.
Only a few things are holding me back from giving The Innocents a higher rating and, truly, they're just personal preference things. Like, I had trouble reconciling the inconsistency of Cristain's and Alexa's attitudes sometimes. They both run hot and cold a lot, especially Alexis, to the point that her immaturity and fickleness were grating my nerves. I also had trouble with the little issue of Alexis experiencing a momentously big reveal on her wedding day-something that was supposed to have caused her a lifetime of doubt and pain-and she takes it lightly, even jokingly. That hit a sour note with me. I felt sometimes that the youngish-ness of the character's attitudes did not match the more mature tones of the plot.
That being said, the things that I disliked about it will most likely not be an issue for a YA audience; older audiences may have mixed emotions as I did. And it was not enough to deter me from becoming engrossed in the story and needing to know the end.
This is a great story and I look forward to what Lee has cooked up next!
June 13, 2014
I received The Innocent via a GR giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
As a debut novel, I thought this was a great love story. The writing is just so beautifully crafted; you can really feel the power of love between the characters Cristien and Alexa throughout the book.
However, I did have some problems with the story, that I felt if tweaked could have made this a 4/5 star book. Firstly there is a lot of poetry in this book. A lot. I can understand the placement for some of the references, but felt it was far too OTT for me. Also, I felt a huge chunk f the story is repetitive; a lot of the text goes into describing how much Cristien adores Alexa. Which for a 300+page book is quite excessive.
I would have liked to have seen a lot more action and conflict in the plot with less focus on the relationship. At the beginning of the story we encounter werewolves and vampires, I feel combined with the concept of Cristien being this powerful incubus, there was a lot of scope for more action. I also thought the character of Lily was not explored enough in the story. Here was a chance to present this evil character within the storyline, yet I felt we only got to know her slightly through Cristien’s recollections. Leaving me with a number of questions, especially towards the end of the book…meh.
Overall, I think this is a great storyline, but for me needs a few changes for it to be a great read. Would I read a sequel? Yes, if there was less focus on the romantic side and more action definitely!
As a debut novel, I thought this was a great love story. The writing is just so beautifully crafted; you can really feel the power of love between the characters Cristien and Alexa throughout the book.
However, I did have some problems with the story, that I felt if tweaked could have made this a 4/5 star book. Firstly there is a lot of poetry in this book. A lot. I can understand the placement for some of the references, but felt it was far too OTT for me. Also, I felt a huge chunk f the story is repetitive; a lot of the text goes into describing how much Cristien adores Alexa. Which for a 300+page book is quite excessive.
I would have liked to have seen a lot more action and conflict in the plot with less focus on the relationship. At the beginning of the story we encounter werewolves and vampires, I feel combined with the concept of Cristien being this powerful incubus, there was a lot of scope for more action. I also thought the character of Lily was not explored enough in the story. Here was a chance to present this evil character within the storyline, yet I felt we only got to know her slightly through Cristien’s recollections. Leaving me with a number of questions, especially towards the end of the book…meh.
Overall, I think this is a great storyline, but for me needs a few changes for it to be a great read. Would I read a sequel? Yes, if there was less focus on the romantic side and more action definitely!
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