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Cathy #1
Easy Connections
A famous English rock star falls in love with a brilliant, seventeen-year-old artist who has wandered onto his property to paint, but after their first encounter, she wants nothing more to do with him.
Paperback
First published May 14, 1984
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557 people want to read
About the author
Liz Berry
28 books127 followersLiz Berry was born and lives in London. She worked in offices, magazines, politics and for a well-known examination body, before becoming a careers guidance advisor, helping young people plan their futures and finding employment opportunities for them. Then, for twenty-two years, she was Head of Art in an East London Comprehensive school.
At the same time she started and ran the East London Gallery for four years
Liz Berry is an artist in oils and mixed media. She also makes experimental embroidered textiles. She exhibits her work mainly in London and southeast England and sells her paintings through Gallery 41.
At the same time she started and ran the East London Gallery for four years
Liz Berry is an artist in oils and mixed media. She also makes experimental embroidered textiles. She exhibits her work mainly in London and southeast England and sells her paintings through Gallery 41.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
October 22, 2023
....because female authors make toxic masculinity sound hot asf.
Maybe it's just me though.
★predatory★obsessive★eerie★unhealthy★toxic
No pun intended, sometimes Easy Connections made me feel almost uneasy. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something ominous was going to happen because the tension just kept building in the book, getting bigger like a snowball falling off the slope.
Apart from that, this is the first romance book that has made me experience a myriad of emotions, morbid excitement and thrill among them, after 4 or 5 depressive months ofmy reading slump complete calm and boredom (I read some classics yay). The thing is... I like my MMCs shameless, obsessive, manipulative and possessive. But more importantly, they need to be disturbingly intelligent since, as you might guess, it's the intelligence combined with a total lack of scruples that leaves real damage and destruction in its wake. 🥰
And finally, after a long fruitless search, I find my man here. Dev. DeV. DEV. Magnificently sick. Sinfully rich. Deadpan. Sated. Bored. Privileged. Brooding. Controlling. Abusive. Volatile. Violent. Angry. Self-destructive. Intense.
A renowned rock star with major control issues and the British accent. He's one of those people who will crush you like a bug and won't think twice about it. He's a 10. Below zero. His personality has so many shades. And all of them are red . ❤️❤️❤️
Unlike some edgy dark romance boys, Dev doesn't need to say he's dark, twisted or dangerous. In fact, there's no self-awareness in this guy, only the audacity and sense of impunity. Mans would beat the shit out of random people at the bar and hit police officers in the face just because he's hurt after getting rejected by Cathy yet again. 🥹 There's no stopping someone who has good lawyers y'all. 😐
Anyway.
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
It's on a beautiful sunny day that Dev and his rock group buddy Chris meet Cathy (FMC), our aspiring 17 y.o. artist. The encounter that ends up changing their lives for good because not only does Dev finally learn the meaning of obsession — he becomes one, and Cathy... well, she'll learn to live with the consequences of it. 🌝
Our boy Dev is truly unhinged.
Love me a jealous king
He's fully aware that he can get with anything and he has no qualms about holding out his hand and taking whatever he wants. He can afford to pay the price, which is something that makes him unbearably attractive in the sickest way possible.Maybe it's just me though👁️👁️
Dev is accustomed to being the center of attention, to rabid fans and groupies who follow him around everywhere and want a piece of his fame, money or him. And he's sick of it. Naturally, when he stumbles upon an intruder trespassing his land, his private property, he gets mad assuming that the girl is one of his never-ending groupies who chase him around all the time and will do anything short of murder to get closer to him. Despite Cathy's reassurances that she doesn't know who the fuck Dev is and her explanations on how come she unknowingly trespassed his land, Dev doesn't believe a single word she says and thinks to himself that he might as well use the situation to his advantage and take his anger out on the girl. 🌝 By teaching her a lesson. A lesson in sin. Or in crime. There's a bit of both in what he proceeds to do, actually. 🌝
The fact that there are hints scattered around the text that suggest it was in Dev's best (self-)interest to assume the worst about Cathy — which basically untied his hands and let him feel at ease doing some pretty fucked up things to a young girl he had met just a few hours ago — made it only more thrillingfor me, obviously. 👄
One has to be blind not to see that from the get-go there's some sexually charged, angry energy between these two despite the obvious mutual dislike. 👁️👄👁️ Dev got it so bad for Cathy... if keeping his eyes off her was already a struggle, not unleashing the sick cravings Cathy awoke in him was just... impossible. The guy loses a battle to his demons. The sane king is dead long live the demented king. 🖐️🌝
I think something truly breaks in Dev's brain, a cultural shock or something of equal magnitude taking hold of his whole body, when Cathy comes into the picture. I guess the idea of a girl who simply couldn't care less about his looks and fame and is 💯 percent focused on her own life and career and has better things to do than fawn over a celebrity is too foreign of a concept to process for Dev's brain so it gets irrevocably damaged. 🌝 The chemistry, the physical pull, the tension, sparks fly, bombs explode, boom. 💥💥
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
And this is how the book begins. I liked the unexpected duality of that first encounter between Dev and Cathy. At the beginning their interaction sets a lighter, almost comedy-like tone for the book. I adored how original, awkward, quirky and funny the 'two-guys-meet-a-trespassing-girl-surrounded-by-cows-that-are-actually-bulls-at-the-edge-of-the-field-by-the-stream' scenario is played out.
The whole interaction begins like a scene from an old romantic comedy, both humorous and entertaining, thanks to Cathy's acute embarrassment and wit, Chris' light-hearted attitude and soft laughter paired with a brooding, angry Dev looming over them like a dark reaper sjsjs. But as the minutes pass, the tone of the narrative gets a little darker, gloomier and it only escalates further in the text as the hints are dropped here and there implying that these two (Dev and Chris) are not as harmless as they might seem at first glance (you bet).
We get to observe how Cathy's gut feeling starts to kick in the more time she's forced to spend in the company of two demented, spoiled musicians that seem almost normal. Wariness, suspicion and fear arise but it takes Cathy time to hear the warning bells chime.
I was literally on the edge of my seat waiting for the culmination of the scene because the suspense of what Dev and Chris had in store for Cathy was killing me. 🌝 The guys were playing with this poor girl so bad. Their subtle smirks and private jokes, loaded glances and double entendres regarding her that Cathy couldn't quite understand — intellectually speaking, but, emotionally, they caused a sense of deep anxiety in her. The eery, tension-filled prey vs predators dynamics had me HOOKED. Two predators circle around their unsuspecting prey, watchful, intense and laid back till the moment the prey senses a threat and one of them strikes. Not gonna lie, at times it felt as if I were reading an erotic thriller. 👁️👄👁️
Even though eventually Cathy manages to get away from Dev, little does she know that it's no use running away from her hometown and the memories of that night because now when Dev has set his eyes on her, there's no... escape. He will find you, baby. 🌝
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
Here I'm gonna take a moment and say that I absolutely loved the FMC, Cathy. Despite her young age, she's very mature, independent and strong-willed. She's passionate about her art, she's driven, and more importantly she's extremely hard-working and insanely talented. It's her first year at the art college in London and she already has a gallery that wants to put her on contract.
She has a bright future ahead of her. Her art is her life and overall she's quite a character. Watching her in action is riveting because she doesn't give up on her dreams easily. She has the kind of self-respect that won't allow her to let people degrade and step all over her. She's the definition of what I call a not-in-the-face badass.
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
In conclusion
If someone asked me to describe this book in short and simple terms, I'd say this book has a whole dark rock star MFM romance vibe. But I'm adamant on not putting labels on this book because as Oscar Wilde rightfully pointed out "to define is to limit".
Normally, when I hear this word combination — dark rock star romance, or any other variation, such as dark romance or rock star romance, my mind immediately conjures up something basic and predictable — tropes like a 'manwhore rock star hero chasing after cheap sex, slutshaming women he sleeps with and drinking more beer than water' OR a 'heroine that has no other interests in life than salivate over a hot guy who sleeps around and treats her like shit but who cares? definitely not her' OR a 'heroine that has inner darkness because she secretly enjoys being abused and raped hehe and still has no interests in life other than getting that dick no matter what'. And sadly, my mind is usually not wrong when it pictures these worst-case romance book scenarios. Many rock star romance books and dark romance books go the "beaten track" route. Authors today promote and define their books as this and that, and sometimes I do wonder if I'm alone in thinking that tropes and labels should be mostly a reader's prerogative, meanwhile authors should focus more on developing their characters — rather than bending over backwards to fit their characters into easily recognizable categories (as in, for example: bad boy/villain vs good girl), concentrate on building the relationship — not shaping it in strict terms of slow burn or insta love paradigma, and so on. In other words, focus on the creative part of their writing. Which is exactly what Liz Berry does. Everything this book features has a truly original and authentic ring to it.
This book is extremely intense in the sense that throughout the whole book I waited with bated breath for some kind of violence, coercion, gaslighting, blackmail (which did happen) and a threesome to occur (which ultimately didn't, not even anything close to it). 🌝 At some point I started doubting that this is a MF and not MFM story. Not because Dev is not possessive of Cathy or anything like that, but thanks to a very bizarre (to say the least) electrochemical reactions between Chris, Cathy and Dev.
Too much electrically charged sexual tension between these three made me feel like the odd one out whenever Dev, Cathy and Chris entered the scene. I almost had the urge to apologize for seeing something I probably shouldn't be seeing, like 'sorry, guys, am I intruding? Should I leave you lot to your own devices hehehe?'🌝🖐️
All I've got to say is that most readers won't see this book as a romance. But for me this story is romance at its finest. The most depressive, unhealthy romance ever that will most likely lead to homicide or suicide. 🖤
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
Special thanks
to my friend Sahara who knows me all too well and always gives me the dopest recommendations. This one was another hit. 🙏🏻
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
NOTES TO SELF
“It was three hundred years old!” She was incredulous. “You dug
up the garden to make a swimming pool?”
He shot her a glance of acute dislike. “You can’t swim in a garden, sweetheart!”
They came to the edge of the lawn, and, hardly stopping in his stride, he picked her up effortlessly and carried her across the gravel, into the stone-paved hall. It was done before she had time to struggle, and she felt how strong and hard his shoulder muscles were under the extraordinary shirt.
“I thought only brides got carried over thresholds,” she said, embarrassed, trying to joke. But his face above her was dark, ruthless, and she was scared stiff now.
★predatory★obsessive★eerie★unhealthy★toxic
No pun intended, sometimes Easy Connections made me feel almost uneasy. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something ominous was going to happen because the tension just kept building in the book, getting bigger like a snowball falling off the slope.
Apart from that, this is the first romance book that has made me experience a myriad of emotions, morbid excitement and thrill among them, after 4 or 5 depressive months of
And finally, after a long fruitless search, I find my man here. Dev. DeV. DEV. Magnificently sick. Sinfully rich. Deadpan. Sated. Bored. Privileged. Brooding. Controlling. Abusive. Volatile. Violent. Angry. Self-destructive. Intense.
A renowned rock star with major control issues and the British accent. He's one of those people who will crush you like a bug and won't think twice about it. He's a 10. Below zero. His personality has so many shades. And all of them are red . ❤️❤️❤️
Unlike some edgy dark romance boys, Dev doesn't need to say he's dark, twisted or dangerous. In fact, there's no self-awareness in this guy, only the audacity and sense of impunity. Mans would beat the shit out of random people at the bar and hit police officers in the face just because he's hurt after getting rejected by Cathy yet again. 🥹 There's no stopping someone who has good lawyers y'all. 😐
Anyway.
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
It's on a beautiful sunny day that Dev and his rock group buddy Chris meet Cathy (FMC), our aspiring 17 y.o. artist. The encounter that ends up changing their lives for good because not only does Dev finally learn the meaning of obsession — he becomes one, and Cathy... well, she'll learn to live with the consequences of it. 🌝
Our boy Dev is truly unhinged.
“I just . . . changed my address. I didn’t know you were looking for me.”
He stared at her. His eyes moved slowly over her body and came
back to her face. “I reckon you ought to be looking for me.”
She tried to hold that gleaming, penetrating gaze, but the color
flooded brilliantly under her skin, burning darker. Telltale.
“So!” He was laughing loudly, exultantly. He caught her to him and kissed her again.
She was suddenly, furiously angry, not scared. How dare he laugh. How dare he kiss her like this—like a possession!
“Let me go!” She struggled out of his clasp. “Why should I look for you? I don’t need you!”
He stared at her dangerously for a second, then he looked directly at Nick.
“Who's he?”
She put out her hand, and Nick came and stood next to her. She slipped her hand into his, and he felt her fingers shaking.
“This is my friend, Nick Howard, from college.”
Dev’s eyes took in their interlinked fingers, went to their faces and
understood. His eyes went black. His hands curled into fists. His manager got up hastily, pushing between them.
“For God’s sake, Dev, remember where you are. What are you trying to do to the girl?”
He's fully aware that he can get with anything and he has no qualms about holding out his hand and taking whatever he wants. He can afford to pay the price, which is something that makes him unbearably attractive in the sickest way possible.
Dev is accustomed to being the center of attention, to rabid fans and groupies who follow him around everywhere and want a piece of his fame, money or him. And he's sick of it. Naturally, when he stumbles upon an intruder trespassing his land, his private property, he gets mad assuming that the girl is one of his never-ending groupies who chase him around all the time and will do anything short of murder to get closer to him. Despite Cathy's reassurances that she doesn't know who the fuck Dev is and her explanations on how come she unknowingly trespassed his land, Dev doesn't believe a single word she says and thinks to himself that he might as well use the situation to his advantage and take his anger out on the girl. 🌝 By teaching her a lesson. A lesson in sin. Or in crime. There's a bit of both in what he proceeds to do, actually. 🌝
The fact that there are hints scattered around the text that suggest it was in Dev's best (self-)interest to assume the worst about Cathy — which basically untied his hands and let him feel at ease doing some pretty fucked up things to a young girl he had met just a few hours ago — made it only more thrilling
One has to be blind not to see that from the get-go there's some sexually charged, angry energy between these two despite the obvious mutual dislike. 👁️👄👁️ Dev got it so bad for Cathy... if keeping his eyes off her was already a struggle, not unleashing the sick cravings Cathy awoke in him was just... impossible. The guy loses a battle to his demons. The sane king is dead long live the demented king. 🖐️🌝
She was intensely aware of Dev lounging
beside her, one arm around her shoulders, his fingers twined in her hair, and the other reaching for her hand with his long fingers.
Whenever she was near him he seemed to need to touch her. She
had thought that his obsession with her would have been over by now. But it seemed to be getting worse.
I think something truly breaks in Dev's brain, a cultural shock or something of equal magnitude taking hold of his whole body, when Cathy comes into the picture. I guess the idea of a girl who simply couldn't care less about his looks and fame and is 💯 percent focused on her own life and career and has better things to do than fawn over a celebrity is too foreign of a concept to process for Dev's brain so it gets irrevocably damaged. 🌝 The chemistry, the physical pull, the tension, sparks fly, bombs explode, boom. 💥💥
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
And this is how the book begins. I liked the unexpected duality of that first encounter between Dev and Cathy. At the beginning their interaction sets a lighter, almost comedy-like tone for the book. I adored how original, awkward, quirky and funny the 'two-guys-meet-a-trespassing-girl-surrounded-by-cows-that-are-actually-bulls-at-the-edge-of-the-field-by-the-stream' scenario is played out.
“What you doing here, girl?”
She blushed vividly and folded her arms around her. She was angry with herself for being found like this, annoyed by his unnecessary rudeness. She caught his faint American accent. She was doing no harm. What right did he have to shout at her?
“Get lost, boy!”
The whole interaction begins like a scene from an old romantic comedy, both humorous and entertaining, thanks to Cathy's acute embarrassment and wit, Chris' light-hearted attitude and soft laughter paired with a brooding, angry Dev looming over them like a dark reaper sjsjs. But as the minutes pass, the tone of the narrative gets a little darker, gloomier and it only escalates further in the text as the hints are dropped here and there implying that these two (Dev and Chris) are not as harmless as they might seem at first glance (you bet).
We get to observe how Cathy's gut feeling starts to kick in the more time she's forced to spend in the company of two demented, spoiled musicians that seem almost normal. Wariness, suspicion and fear arise but it takes Cathy time to hear the warning bells chime.
Now that they were sitting down they seemed utterly exhausted,
not relaxed. There was an unnatural tension about them, and the
pressure of their joint, silent gaze was unnerving, almost sinister.
She prowled uncomfortably about the room. After today she would not see them again, anyway.
I was literally on the edge of my seat waiting for the culmination of the scene because the suspense of what Dev and Chris had in store for Cathy was killing me. 🌝 The guys were playing with this poor girl so bad. Their subtle smirks and private jokes, loaded glances and double entendres regarding her that Cathy couldn't quite understand — intellectually speaking, but, emotionally, they caused a sense of deep anxiety in her. The eery, tension-filled prey vs predators dynamics had me HOOKED. Two predators circle around their unsuspecting prey, watchful, intense and laid back till the moment the prey senses a threat and one of them strikes. Not gonna lie, at times it felt as if I were reading an erotic thriller. 👁️👄👁️
Dev was looking at her in that dark, intense way, and she felt dizzy. Her heart began to race in her throat. He put his arms around
her and drew her close.
There was the same electrifying explosion of sensation that she had felt before. Suddenly, uncontrollably, she was trembling all over. She put her hands on his shoulders, trying to push him away. She had never felt like this with anybody before.
“You don’t want to go. Stay with me, little baby,” he said softly.
She tried to pull away, looking at Chris, but he stared back, grave, neutral, and she realized she could expect no help from him now.
They had made some kind of deal, and he had handed her over to Dev.
The panic rose again. “Let me go. Please, I’m not like that. . .”
“Like what?” He held her closer, hard against his body. There was a strange unreality now, like a dream or a nightmare.
Even though eventually Cathy manages to get away from Dev, little does she know that it's no use running away from her hometown and the memories of that night because now when Dev has set his eyes on her, there's no... escape. He will find you, baby. 🌝
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
Here I'm gonna take a moment and say that I absolutely loved the FMC, Cathy. Despite her young age, she's very mature, independent and strong-willed. She's passionate about her art, she's driven, and more importantly she's extremely hard-working and insanely talented. It's her first year at the art college in London and she already has a gallery that wants to put her on contract.
“I know,” said Cathy. “I can’t believe you really want my work. I’m not ready for it.”
“l'll take these drawings with me today. I'll have my secretary send a list and a receipt. You're on the point of breakthrough, judging by those two paintings you are working on. I'll have those off you straightaway, when they’re finished.” He named a sum for the two paintings, and Cathy felt faint.
She has a bright future ahead of her. Her art is her life and overall she's quite a character. Watching her in action is riveting because she doesn't give up on her dreams easily. She has the kind of self-respect that won't allow her to let people degrade and step all over her. She's the definition of what I call a not-in-the-face badass.
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
In conclusion
If someone asked me to describe this book in short and simple terms, I'd say this book has a whole dark rock star MFM romance vibe. But I'm adamant on not putting labels on this book because as Oscar Wilde rightfully pointed out "to define is to limit".
Normally, when I hear this word combination — dark rock star romance, or any other variation, such as dark romance or rock star romance, my mind immediately conjures up something basic and predictable — tropes like a 'manwhore rock star hero chasing after cheap sex, slutshaming women he sleeps with and drinking more beer than water' OR a 'heroine that has no other interests in life than salivate over a hot guy who sleeps around and treats her like shit but who cares? definitely not her' OR a 'heroine that has inner darkness because she secretly enjoys being abused and raped hehe and still has no interests in life other than getting that dick no matter what'. And sadly, my mind is usually not wrong when it pictures these worst-case romance book scenarios. Many rock star romance books and dark romance books go the "beaten track" route. Authors today promote and define their books as this and that, and sometimes I do wonder if I'm alone in thinking that tropes and labels should be mostly a reader's prerogative, meanwhile authors should focus more on developing their characters — rather than bending over backwards to fit their characters into easily recognizable categories (as in, for example: bad boy/villain vs good girl), concentrate on building the relationship — not shaping it in strict terms of slow burn or insta love paradigma, and so on. In other words, focus on the creative part of their writing. Which is exactly what Liz Berry does. Everything this book features has a truly original and authentic ring to it.
This book is extremely intense in the sense that throughout the whole book I waited with bated breath for some kind of violence, coercion, gaslighting, blackmail (which did happen) and a threesome to occur (which ultimately didn't, not even anything close to it). 🌝 At some point I started doubting that this is a MF and not MFM story. Not because Dev is not possessive of Cathy or anything like that, but thanks to a very bizarre (to say the least) electrochemical reactions between Chris, Cathy and Dev.
She looked at him directly. “I’m not bothered about Chris.”
He was laughing at her. “You're a liar, Cathy. You like him a lot. I don’t care—as long as you like me more.”
Too much electrically charged sexual tension between these three made me feel like the odd one out whenever Dev, Cathy and Chris entered the scene. I almost had the urge to apologize for seeing something I probably shouldn't be seeing, like 'sorry, guys, am I intruding? Should I leave you lot to your own devices hehehe?'🌝🖐️
All I've got to say is that most readers won't see this book as a romance. But for me this story is romance at its finest. The most depressive, unhealthy romance ever that will most likely lead to homicide or suicide. 🖤
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
Special thanks
to my friend Sahara who knows me all too well and always gives me the dopest recommendations. This one was another hit. 🙏🏻
·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·
NOTES TO SELF
May 22, 2024
The writing was super compelling. Both the main characters and the secondary ones are very well constructed. The world building was believable and engrossing. The emotional connection, for me, was 100% there. I felt for each and every one of these fictional characters as if they were living, breathing, human beings. I was angered, disgusted, moved, hopeful, awed, and saddened. Those are pretty much the only positives I can talk about this fucked-up, insane-in-the-membrane, depressing-as-hell book. If you are looking for la-di-da romance with rainbows and unicorns as well as an HEA and epilogue with a basketful of kittens playing with multi-colored balls of yarns, STAY AWAY!
June 6, 2009
This book has become a cult classic in a way and is marketed to young adults. Yes, the subject of rape is controversial, but the way the author handles it is very wrong and plain disturbing. Berry makes it okay to rape a young girl because the rapist is a handsome rich rock star. And when her brother agrees that the victim wanted it and calls her a whore, this is when this book gets thrown against the wall.
It all starts when 17-year-old Cathy Harlow is drawing cows in a field. She wants to become a painter. Two men find her there and drag her back to their house. One of them is Paul Devlin. He is an angry and vain individual along with his band mate Chris who was the first one to spot Cathy. Chris wants her also. They are in a band called Easy Connections and are loved by England and beyond. They both decide through vindictive matters who will get this naive and innocent girl. They think she is a groupie, which the reader knows right away is not true. For some reason Dev and Chris have no reason not to believe her. Cathy ends up with Dev and he rapes her. Cathy runs away hoping to forget the whole ting. She never goes to the police or a doctor or anything of the sort to handle this trauma. Dev decides he wants Cathy to the point of obsession and practically wants to own her soul.
Cathy tries to get on with her life by going to art school and almost falling in love with a boy there. But then Dev finds her again and to make matters worse she finds herself pregnant. Dev stalks her and people begin to side with Dev (mainly because he has money and is loved by millions). The outcome is shocking and leaves the story open for a sequel, which Berry has written called Easy Freedom.
The way everything was handled in this story was just plain wrong and gives the impression just because a man is rich and beautiful, etc... it will give him the right to do whatever he wants, including violating a young girl. Cathy is close to stupid and ignorant from the point she enters the house with these two men. And the fact that people thought she wanted Dev all because of what he is, is something victims of rape have been trying to stop for generations.
I would keep all impressionable teenage girls away from this book. What was Berry thinking when she wrote this? How has this book become so popular? Again rape is such a sticky topic, that when written about, it should be handled with respect and understanding. The author has not done this in any way. I would say it is up to the reader to decide, but recommending a book like this would be wrong.
It all starts when 17-year-old Cathy Harlow is drawing cows in a field. She wants to become a painter. Two men find her there and drag her back to their house. One of them is Paul Devlin. He is an angry and vain individual along with his band mate Chris who was the first one to spot Cathy. Chris wants her also. They are in a band called Easy Connections and are loved by England and beyond. They both decide through vindictive matters who will get this naive and innocent girl. They think she is a groupie, which the reader knows right away is not true. For some reason Dev and Chris have no reason not to believe her. Cathy ends up with Dev and he rapes her. Cathy runs away hoping to forget the whole ting. She never goes to the police or a doctor or anything of the sort to handle this trauma. Dev decides he wants Cathy to the point of obsession and practically wants to own her soul.
Cathy tries to get on with her life by going to art school and almost falling in love with a boy there. But then Dev finds her again and to make matters worse she finds herself pregnant. Dev stalks her and people begin to side with Dev (mainly because he has money and is loved by millions). The outcome is shocking and leaves the story open for a sequel, which Berry has written called Easy Freedom.
The way everything was handled in this story was just plain wrong and gives the impression just because a man is rich and beautiful, etc... it will give him the right to do whatever he wants, including violating a young girl. Cathy is close to stupid and ignorant from the point she enters the house with these two men. And the fact that people thought she wanted Dev all because of what he is, is something victims of rape have been trying to stop for generations.
I would keep all impressionable teenage girls away from this book. What was Berry thinking when she wrote this? How has this book become so popular? Again rape is such a sticky topic, that when written about, it should be handled with respect and understanding. The author has not done this in any way. I would say it is up to the reader to decide, but recommending a book like this would be wrong.
December 22, 2011
First published in 1983, this novel met with great controversy because of the subject matter and to this day opinions are greatly divided between disgust and admiration.
Cathy is a talented artist and has won a place at Art College but before she gets there she inadvertently trespasses on the land of a renowned rock star when staying with her policeman brother whose home backs on to the land. What comes to pass is shocking and unexcusable and the basis of the story, though seen in many different ways by different readers, seems to me to be that nothing is black and white, and not what it seems on the surface. I think that Liz Berry, with the harsh accusations thrown at and dismissal's of Cathy's innocence, actually creates a startling and realistic scenario as regards feelings and opinions and far from seeming to advocate Dev's actions, paints the reality of rape. Many people I think are outraged at some of the comments in the story but I think she is just telling it how it is and because of the reactions her books have received, I would say she has made her point. People do think when they read this and the sequel East Freedom. It asks a lot of searching questions and far from being seen as a 'love story' it should be seen as a very nerve touching, searching novel that asks some very important questions of life and the world we live in. I don't think she glamorises anything, the world of rock and art that she creates in this novel is crazy, amazing, surreal but ultimately soul destroying and damaging. It stayed with me from being a teen and has had no less effect on me twenty years later.
Cathy is a talented artist and has won a place at Art College but before she gets there she inadvertently trespasses on the land of a renowned rock star when staying with her policeman brother whose home backs on to the land. What comes to pass is shocking and unexcusable and the basis of the story, though seen in many different ways by different readers, seems to me to be that nothing is black and white, and not what it seems on the surface. I think that Liz Berry, with the harsh accusations thrown at and dismissal's of Cathy's innocence, actually creates a startling and realistic scenario as regards feelings and opinions and far from seeming to advocate Dev's actions, paints the reality of rape. Many people I think are outraged at some of the comments in the story but I think she is just telling it how it is and because of the reactions her books have received, I would say she has made her point. People do think when they read this and the sequel East Freedom. It asks a lot of searching questions and far from being seen as a 'love story' it should be seen as a very nerve touching, searching novel that asks some very important questions of life and the world we live in. I don't think she glamorises anything, the world of rock and art that she creates in this novel is crazy, amazing, surreal but ultimately soul destroying and damaging. It stayed with me from being a teen and has had no less effect on me twenty years later.
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August 10, 2025
SHOOKETH. Shout out to Irunia for her 10/10 review. RTC
July 21, 2018
I’ve been obsessed with this book since I read it aged 13 some 30 years ago. Finally, finally yesterday it was released on kindle.
Yes it’s of its time and the issues just wouldn’t be issues today but this story influenced so much - from my taste in literary heroes to my career choice - and it made me the book nerd I am today.
I still read it in a day, completely mesmerised and it must be the 800th re-read. Love it.
Still hoping for Chris’s story btw 😍
Yes it’s of its time and the issues just wouldn’t be issues today but this story influenced so much - from my taste in literary heroes to my career choice - and it made me the book nerd I am today.
I still read it in a day, completely mesmerised and it must be the 800th re-read. Love it.
Still hoping for Chris’s story btw 😍
June 17, 2018
A little bit unrealistic for me, but a good read nonetheless!
There's that scene where I was like -_- ..... Guess I would have appreciated the book better if I've been younger!
There's that scene where I was like -_- ..... Guess I would have appreciated the book better if I've been younger!
February 28, 2025
5 crazy good stars
Thanks Irunia for the rec! This filled my dark angst addiction like none other.
Anyone looking for a great dark, angsty, villain romance in the same vein as Sam Marino or Nenia Campbell will love this book and it's sequel.
Thanks Irunia for the rec! This filled my dark angst addiction like none other.
Anyone looking for a great dark, angsty, villain romance in the same vein as Sam Marino or Nenia Campbell will love this book and it's sequel.
June 2, 2018
Great book features a very desperate hero and heroine saying no and meaning it. Whoever want an ecopy for affordable price please contact me
August 15, 2010
This is an explanation about Easy Connections/Easy Freedom from Liz Berry's website (the author):
"Easy Connections, intended to show the disastrous effects that a single act of mindless violence could have on everyone concerned, including the guilty person, was published in the UK in l983 to ferocious criticism and controversy and almost hysterical attacks. Westminster Council (home of the most notorious case of political corruption in two hundred years!) banned it from their public libraries. I think academic snobbery and antipathy to rock music might also have had something to do with it. Despite all this it went into paperback, and then into both hardback and paperback in the States, and then into various editions in other languages. The readers wrote to me and said they loved it, which kept me writing. It stayed in print for over ten years. It is interesting to see that the controversy hasn't completely died, (see a couple of comments on Amazon) and the same misreading and misrepresentation flares up from time to time, mainly from people who haven't read the sequel. Easy Freedom, dealing with redemption and forgiveness, was originally written as part of Easy Connections. 'Too long,' said the publishers, 'They won't read that length. Split it up.' It eventually appeared as a separate book in l985 - to only moderate interest."
- Liz Berry
I read Easy Connections as a teen in the '80s and it did really capture my imagination. What is disturbing to me is not what happens in the book, but that so many readers are horrified that an author would *dare* tackle such a subject, and have the characters react in a way that isn't "acceptable". Since the two books were split up by the publisher, I didn't find out until reading the sequel, Easy Freedom, about a week ago for the first time that the book is ultimately asking if a reprehensible act makes the perpetrator beyond redemption, and if the victim is ever made whole unless they can find a way to forgive. I understand that these books may not be everyone's cup of tea, but in my 39 years I've come to realize that life isn't always tied up neatly in a bow, and that we don't always make the best decisions when it comes to who we let into our lives. Sometimes the picture isn't a pretty one, but that doesn't mean depicting it (as an artist/author) translates into condoning it.
"Easy Connections, intended to show the disastrous effects that a single act of mindless violence could have on everyone concerned, including the guilty person, was published in the UK in l983 to ferocious criticism and controversy and almost hysterical attacks. Westminster Council (home of the most notorious case of political corruption in two hundred years!) banned it from their public libraries. I think academic snobbery and antipathy to rock music might also have had something to do with it. Despite all this it went into paperback, and then into both hardback and paperback in the States, and then into various editions in other languages. The readers wrote to me and said they loved it, which kept me writing. It stayed in print for over ten years. It is interesting to see that the controversy hasn't completely died, (see a couple of comments on Amazon) and the same misreading and misrepresentation flares up from time to time, mainly from people who haven't read the sequel. Easy Freedom, dealing with redemption and forgiveness, was originally written as part of Easy Connections. 'Too long,' said the publishers, 'They won't read that length. Split it up.' It eventually appeared as a separate book in l985 - to only moderate interest."
- Liz Berry
I read Easy Connections as a teen in the '80s and it did really capture my imagination. What is disturbing to me is not what happens in the book, but that so many readers are horrified that an author would *dare* tackle such a subject, and have the characters react in a way that isn't "acceptable". Since the two books were split up by the publisher, I didn't find out until reading the sequel, Easy Freedom, about a week ago for the first time that the book is ultimately asking if a reprehensible act makes the perpetrator beyond redemption, and if the victim is ever made whole unless they can find a way to forgive. I understand that these books may not be everyone's cup of tea, but in my 39 years I've come to realize that life isn't always tied up neatly in a bow, and that we don't always make the best decisions when it comes to who we let into our lives. Sometimes the picture isn't a pretty one, but that doesn't mean depicting it (as an artist/author) translates into condoning it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2015
Re-read Dec 2015:
EASY CONNECTION and EASY FREEDOM must be read together.
It amazes me how, when much younger, I was so moved by Cathy and Dev's relationship in EASY CONNECTION. It seemed unbearably romantic. A beautiful, talented, all-powerful man driven crazy by love for a young ingenue. *sigh*
This round, the relationship seemed UNBEARABLY UNFAIR, a nightmare: a young and very naive girl in an emotionally-volatile relationship with a powerful /predatory /charismatic stalker bent on having her in his life willy-nilly, who casually trample over her boundaries whenever he felt the need, and who has little to no skill in mature communication.
And I realize, this story was always what Liz Berry had always meant to write.
Gods, what strange romanticism young girls have!
EASY CONNECTION seem to end up a triumphant note for Dev, who believed he has finally gotten what he craved -- an acquiescent Cathy, who in turn has given up on all attempts to fight and stand up for herself.
If that was where their story ended, this novel would have been UNBEARABLY HORRIBLE and ought to fall into obscurity for having a horrific, outdated message.
However, EASY CONNECTION and EASY FREEDOM were always meant to be a single novel, and EASY FREEDOM recounts all the pitfalls of their relationship, written in wretched realism. The tension, the lack of mutual understanding, the misery, the talking at cross-purposes, and their eventual and inevitable separation as each move forward inexorably on their own course, into extremes of their personality, toward ultimate self-destruction. They have to hit bottom, and learn from their mistakes, before they could move toward change and freedom.
This is no rosy story of fair tale love, but the harrowing account of one kind of "love" relationship that exist way too often in real life. So much pain. So many opportunities to change course, to be vulnerable with one another, to empathize, all missed out, by-passed, because people were not paying attention to one another, too wrapped up in their own individual interests -- when, so easily, things could have changed for the better.
I highly recommend these two books, to be read TOGETHER!
EASY CONNECTION and EASY FREEDOM must be read together.
It amazes me how, when much younger, I was so moved by Cathy and Dev's relationship in EASY CONNECTION. It seemed unbearably romantic. A beautiful, talented, all-powerful man driven crazy by love for a young ingenue. *sigh*
This round, the relationship seemed UNBEARABLY UNFAIR, a nightmare: a young and very naive girl in an emotionally-volatile relationship with a powerful /predatory /charismatic stalker bent on having her in his life willy-nilly, who casually trample over her boundaries whenever he felt the need, and who has little to no skill in mature communication.
And I realize, this story was always what Liz Berry had always meant to write.
Gods, what strange romanticism young girls have!
EASY CONNECTION seem to end up a triumphant note for Dev, who believed he has finally gotten what he craved -- an acquiescent Cathy, who in turn has given up on all attempts to fight and stand up for herself.
If that was where their story ended, this novel would have been UNBEARABLY HORRIBLE and ought to fall into obscurity for having a horrific, outdated message.
However, EASY CONNECTION and EASY FREEDOM were always meant to be a single novel, and EASY FREEDOM recounts all the pitfalls of their relationship, written in wretched realism. The tension, the lack of mutual understanding, the misery, the talking at cross-purposes, and their eventual and inevitable separation as each move forward inexorably on their own course, into extremes of their personality, toward ultimate self-destruction. They have to hit bottom, and learn from their mistakes, before they could move toward change and freedom.
This is no rosy story of fair tale love, but the harrowing account of one kind of "love" relationship that exist way too often in real life. So much pain. So many opportunities to change course, to be vulnerable with one another, to empathize, all missed out, by-passed, because people were not paying attention to one another, too wrapped up in their own individual interests -- when, so easily, things could have changed for the better.
I highly recommend these two books, to be read TOGETHER!
August 19, 2023
This was an engrossing book. I was glued to the pages. I found the h’s reactions to her circumstance to be understandable for the most part. If you enjoy Sam Mariano, you’ll likely enjoy this. The H has some audacity. He’s very jealous so we get loads of drama. It gets 4 stars because the romance in scarce and the h spends too many pages contemplating abortion. I get it. It makes sense for her to contemplate that, but we linger there a little too long for me. It started feeling a little preachy. I was ready for these two to begin to find their way.
I should have left it there. Pro tip: if you are enjoying this story, skip book 2. It doesn’t add anything to their story but depression and annoyance.
I should have left it there. Pro tip: if you are enjoying this story, skip book 2. It doesn’t add anything to their story but depression and annoyance.
February 5, 2013
I read this when I was a teenager, excited to read it because I had my own "rock star" fantasies. As others have noted, it was marketed as young adult fiction, but the book holds up for me as an adult. There IS controversial subject matter, the rape, of course, but also the way everyone else in Cathy's world reacts to what happens to her. All of the other characters' reactions to the rape are arguably as controversial as the rape itself. I find the way events play out in the story to be very real, especially as they reveal the way people close to Cathy respond to her, as well as their expectations of how she should behave and what she should want from life. Beyond the controversy, what I love about this book is Cathy gets what so many other girls her age are dreaming of, but she doesn't really want it. I love that the book manages to portray rock music as a real art form without making it froofy or snotty or ridiculous; no easy feat. I love that Cathy is an artist herself, just as driven and just as brilliant as the musicians she collides with. It's a book as much about art as it is about real life, but also very much about real life. The kind of book that should be discussed, especially the uncomfortable parts.
January 6, 2014
Berry's "Easy Connections" and "Easy Freedom" novels involve a young girl's involvment with a rock star in the '80s. I personally found some of the plot pretty disturbing (the musician essentially forces her into a relationship, both physically and psychologically)and the characters to be unrealistic. However, this book has something of a cult following. I would recommend Berry's novel, "Mel," which is much more enjoyable and the characters are more realistic (not TOO realistic--"Mel" involves a famous musician but does touch on more relevant social issues).
June 12, 2018
What to say about this book. It might be worth a read. They say it is disturbing so yes I was curious. It has disturbing elements.... I guess, but to me not really. Here is how things go. Rock star meets girl. He thinks she's a lying groupie. She is not. She is an artist who has no idea he is a rock star. He and his bandmate haggle over who deflowers her while getting her drunk. Rock star forces himself on girl because he doesn't believe she is innocent. There is a brief forced scene. It's little more than fade to black and then after that no more sexual scenes. That's pretty tame in this day and age. I've read much more disturbing and you don't have to go far. Just read some newer lousy bdsm book that's all painful marathon non-con sex if you want disturbing. There is obsession here again and it's all pretty tame to me. She hates him of course and refuses to marry him but he won't take no for an answer. She is knocked up and he wants to keep the baby. She isn't so sure. It's not a bad book (smirk...ok it's not THAT good either. I can't lie. I really want to give it a two), and if you want to give it a spin it's worth getting a copy if you can find it cheap. I would not pay Amazon's prices in a million years. Also this is bit of a cliffhanger as I get the feeling things are out of sorts in the second book which mind you is outrageously expensive as well. Truthfully, the writing is meh. Seriously though, I do not regret getting my hands on a copy as these older books need people to keep them up before they fade into oblivion. No one should have to pay $200 for this book, though. So here I am with a cliffhanger and the sequel is out the roof to buy. There's really no hero or heroine in this book. They don't really do anything besides argue. I just shelved it that way for shelving purposes. Yes, I would skim the sequel just to see the trainwreck of a marriage these two have but I would not invest much into a copy of it. Two and a half generous stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2023
I really really enjoyed this. The concept was so unique and fresh. It felt different from anything I have read before. The writing style was captivating and effortless to read. This is the kind of book you read in one sitting because everything that happens is a surprise, and you simply must know what happens next. Which is exactly why I read this in one night. Definitely recommend for readers of dark romance.
My only issue with this is that it wasn't long enough. There could have been more exploration of the mcs dynamic, especially since it was so addicting. Overall, though, this is just amazing. Definitely reread for me.
My only issue with this is that it wasn't long enough. There could have been more exploration of the mcs dynamic, especially since it was so addicting. Overall, though, this is just amazing. Definitely reread for me.
September 7, 2008
Cathy Harlowe is a young artist, only 17 and just out of high school, staying with her brother in the country before going into art school. She doesn't realize she is trespassing on the property of Paul Devlin (Dev), from the band Easy Connections. Apparently he's beautiful, like some kind of elven god, and throughout the book he and his bandmate Chris seem to put everyone into a spell with how dangerous and alive they are. Cathy is "attracted and repelled in equal measure". When they meet Dev is high on alcohol and lack of sleep from a tour and eventually forces her to have sex with him. The messed up thing is that he feels like she is his soulmate, is sorry later for what he did, but then he uses all his money and power to try to make Cathy marry him. She runs away but nothing she does can escape his influence, and even more disturbing, everyone thinks she should marry him too. They either don't believe she was raped because he seems soo in love with her, or they think she should marry him anyway. Her dreams of being a famous painter sort of get swept away in the tidal wave of Dev's fame, money, and power, and the attention of the media.
I spend a lot of the book speechless. For both of these books I say everything seems like this big complex, crazy mess. It was really addictive to read because I was wondering where the author was going! I'm not sure I could even say what the message from these books are. Maybe it's about how difficult it can be to be a young woman, without any means to support yourself? Or is it about rape and it's consequences? Or fame and power? Or what freedom is? Or forgiveness? Or all of the above and more? I wonder if the author *wanted* the reader to be shocked and frustrated, or angry at the main characters.
A very absorbing read, but also a disturbing read. Only read it if the review above intruiged you rather than made you want to run screaming. If you think you may throw these books at the wall - it is quite possible. Yet you may pick it up and still want to see what the eff is going to happen next. I'm definitely going to remember and find myself mulling them over later on. Doesn't really leave you when you finish reading them.
More of this review (with Easy Freedom review) at my book blog -http://janicu.livejournal.com/39145.html
I spend a lot of the book speechless. For both of these books I say everything seems like this big complex, crazy mess. It was really addictive to read because I was wondering where the author was going! I'm not sure I could even say what the message from these books are. Maybe it's about how difficult it can be to be a young woman, without any means to support yourself? Or is it about rape and it's consequences? Or fame and power? Or what freedom is? Or forgiveness? Or all of the above and more? I wonder if the author *wanted* the reader to be shocked and frustrated, or angry at the main characters.
A very absorbing read, but also a disturbing read. Only read it if the review above intruiged you rather than made you want to run screaming. If you think you may throw these books at the wall - it is quite possible. Yet you may pick it up and still want to see what the eff is going to happen next. I'm definitely going to remember and find myself mulling them over later on. Doesn't really leave you when you finish reading them.
More of this review (with Easy Freedom review) at my book blog -http://janicu.livejournal.com/39145.html
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2020
I'm not saying it was a bad book - not gonna lie, the first half was brilliant even.. but everything the characters did and said after that made me so freaking angry and sad.
Dev was a walking red flag and everyone else was seemingly fine with all the shit he's done. And you know, I'm usually okay with dumb main characters, that are too foolish or blinded by lust to see the true colours of their love interest, but in this book.. oh man, they were all dumb. The only reasonable character (at times, like giiiiirl wtf happened at the end) was in fact a 17 year old girl.
I'm not even sure if I want to read the sequel now. Please at least tell me it gets better.
Dev was a walking red flag and everyone else was seemingly fine with all the shit he's done. And you know, I'm usually okay with dumb main characters, that are too foolish or blinded by lust to see the true colours of their love interest, but in this book.. oh man, they were all dumb. The only reasonable character (at times, like giiiiirl wtf happened at the end) was in fact a 17 year old girl.
I'm not even sure if I want to read the sequel now. Please at least tell me it gets better.
April 5, 2010
I read this some time back in the early 90's and had conflicting emotions about it, and this prompted me to seek it out again more recently.
It's quite a frustrating read, for the reasons mentioned in many of the reviews here (the rape, followed by what can only described as a forced marriage) - but still strangely intriguing enough for me to pick up a copy of the sequel - which I must say I preferred as the main character seemed to grow a bit more of a backbone.......
It's quite a frustrating read, for the reasons mentioned in many of the reviews here (the rape, followed by what can only described as a forced marriage) - but still strangely intriguing enough for me to pick up a copy of the sequel - which I must say I preferred as the main character seemed to grow a bit more of a backbone.......
September 29, 2020
Haha I love this kind of villain romance or anything forced marriage
But this book have moments that bores me and thats because I couldn't get enough of Cathy and Paul. I get bored of reading all those painting description and terminology in it and at times the story progresses quite slow
But this book have moments that bores me and thats because I couldn't get enough of Cathy and Paul. I get bored of reading all those painting description and terminology in it and at times the story progresses quite slow
December 18, 2020
Hace años leí en el extinto blog de Angry Librarian (no confundir con otras fuentes homónimas actuales) una reflexión sobre si el Mein Kampf debía desaparecer de las bibliotecas estadounidenses o si, en su lugar, debía acompañarse de indicaciones para que la persona interesada investigase la figura de Hitler desde todas las perspectivas posibles para formarse una opinión propia. Yo, que no soy partidario de la censura, opino que este libro que acabo de terminar debería acompañarse de avisos para que las personas interesadas investiguen el feminismo y la teoría de género desde todas las perspectivas posibles; quizá también algún manual sobre cómo tratar con personas tóxicas.
Desconocía que es una obra de culto amada y odiada a partes iguales por facciones que combatirán entre ellas durante toda la eternidad en nombre de la libertad de expresión. Yo soy de los que la odian y, aún así, voy a empezar la segunda parte en cuanto termine de escribir esto; hay algo sucio y poderoso que hace que lo esté deseando. Pocos libros en mi vida me han hecho sentir un rechazo semejante por motivos éticos; de hecho, solo recuerdo haberme sentido así de incómodo (y era una cuestión más moral que ética) con Flores en el ático. Pero este libro, sin una formación previa o adjunta, puede enseñar conductas indeseables que no pueden justificarse diciendo que era otra época: eran los años 80 en el Reino Unido y su autora dice que pasó décadas trabajando con adolescentes aunque su trabajo proyecte la imagen de no haberse relacionado jamás con seres humanos excepto desde una perspectiva de dominación física, mental y espiritual.
A partir de aquí y durante este párrafo, spoilers. He señalado el libro con tantas notas adhesivas (una por cada pasaje incómodo) que me van a hacer hijo honorífico de Post-It. Decenas y decenas de ejemplos en 160 páginas de todo lo que está mal y no debería ocurrir nunca en relaciones entre personas (llamarlas sentimentales me parece demasiado): objetivación de las mujeres, homofobia, dobles lecturas sobre las mismas situaciones para imponer un punto de vista, violencia física y mental, amenazas de muerte, violaciones que parecen justificarse en que el pobre niño rico estaba cansado y lo había pasado mal en el pasado, toda la puñetera sociedad (su familia, sus amigos, su médico, sus profesores, la gente con la que se cruza por la calle) opinando qué tiene que hacer la protagonista con su carrera profesional, su vida sentimental, su embarazo fruto de una violación...
¿Y la traducción? Poco acertada, la verdad. No solo es que se traduzca impertinentemente characters como caracteres en vez de personajes: es que al principio de la obra se menciona a J.R.R. Tolkien y traduce Elvish lords como lores Elvish en vez de la canónica señores elfos. ¿De verdad un traductor de inglés británico a castellano desconoce la traducción de una obra de este calibre?
En definitiva, opino (y me siento tremendamente puritano y anciano de corazón al decirle) que no es una obra que pueda dejarse suelta por ahí libremente (como la encontré yo por otra parte) sin una contextualización adecuada; incluso así, no estoy seguro de que pueda leerse sin una cierta madurez que, desde luego, no es la de su público objetivo, el adolescente. Jamás la censuraría, pero me aseguraría por todos los medios pedagógicos posibles de que su lectura no condujese a sitios de los que llevamos décadas intentando separarnos como civilización.
Joder, debe ser una obra poderosa para haberme conseguido cabrear así.
Desconocía que es una obra de culto amada y odiada a partes iguales por facciones que combatirán entre ellas durante toda la eternidad en nombre de la libertad de expresión. Yo soy de los que la odian y, aún así, voy a empezar la segunda parte en cuanto termine de escribir esto; hay algo sucio y poderoso que hace que lo esté deseando. Pocos libros en mi vida me han hecho sentir un rechazo semejante por motivos éticos; de hecho, solo recuerdo haberme sentido así de incómodo (y era una cuestión más moral que ética) con Flores en el ático. Pero este libro, sin una formación previa o adjunta, puede enseñar conductas indeseables que no pueden justificarse diciendo que era otra época: eran los años 80 en el Reino Unido y su autora dice que pasó décadas trabajando con adolescentes aunque su trabajo proyecte la imagen de no haberse relacionado jamás con seres humanos excepto desde una perspectiva de dominación física, mental y espiritual.
A partir de aquí y durante este párrafo, spoilers. He señalado el libro con tantas notas adhesivas (una por cada pasaje incómodo) que me van a hacer hijo honorífico de Post-It. Decenas y decenas de ejemplos en 160 páginas de todo lo que está mal y no debería ocurrir nunca en relaciones entre personas (llamarlas sentimentales me parece demasiado): objetivación de las mujeres, homofobia, dobles lecturas sobre las mismas situaciones para imponer un punto de vista, violencia física y mental, amenazas de muerte, violaciones que parecen justificarse en que el pobre niño rico estaba cansado y lo había pasado mal en el pasado, toda la puñetera sociedad (su familia, sus amigos, su médico, sus profesores, la gente con la que se cruza por la calle) opinando qué tiene que hacer la protagonista con su carrera profesional, su vida sentimental, su embarazo fruto de una violación...
¿Y la traducción? Poco acertada, la verdad. No solo es que se traduzca impertinentemente characters como caracteres en vez de personajes: es que al principio de la obra se menciona a J.R.R. Tolkien y traduce Elvish lords como lores Elvish en vez de la canónica señores elfos. ¿De verdad un traductor de inglés británico a castellano desconoce la traducción de una obra de este calibre?
En definitiva, opino (y me siento tremendamente puritano y anciano de corazón al decirle) que no es una obra que pueda dejarse suelta por ahí libremente (como la encontré yo por otra parte) sin una contextualización adecuada; incluso así, no estoy seguro de que pueda leerse sin una cierta madurez que, desde luego, no es la de su público objetivo, el adolescente. Jamás la censuraría, pero me aseguraría por todos los medios pedagógicos posibles de que su lectura no condujese a sitios de los que llevamos décadas intentando separarnos como civilización.
Joder, debe ser una obra poderosa para haberme conseguido cabrear así.
February 21, 2020
I thought long and hard about how I would rate this book. My instinct is to go with 1 star for the obvious reason that morally and ethically, I must hate this book for its treatment of rape and rape victims. Cathy is 17 when Dev rapes her and gets her pregnant. Everyone in her life then pushes her towards him and betrays her over and over again because Dev is famous, handsome and has money. She has so much guilt and shame because he forces her initially and then when they have sex the second time (while they’re still there in the orchard), she gives herself willingly. Still rape.
Objectively, I can recognise that it is awful and does not stand up to 2020 and the way we view and treat women. That being said, I first read this book when I was 10 years old. Mildly horrifying, I know. My older cousin had it from his school library and I liked the cover. He told me I couldn’t read it (and he was absolutely right that I shouldn’t have!) so I stole it from him and read it anyway. Rebel.
This was my favourite book for so, SO many years. I would hire it from the library to read over and over again. About 10 years ago, I got a signed copy of both it and Easy Freedom from Liz Berry’s website and finally got to read the sequel. I still loved it. In fact, this book is probably part of the reason why I wrote my own novel centred around a rock band.
Last weekend, I got the Kindle versions and read them. My head says 1 star, my heart says 5 stars. Despite all my mental objections, I still grew up loving this book and for me, I still enjoyed reading it.
I wouldn’t, however, recommend it to a new reader. If you have never read this before and don’t have that sentimental attachment to it where you loved it before you ever understood what it all meant, your life will be no better off for having read it. Unless you want to do a study in rape culture and how women were treated pretty terribly in the past, then by all means, go ahead.
I actually reduced my rating from 3 to 2 stars as I was writing this because I can’t in good conscience recommend it to new readers.
Objectively, I can recognise that it is awful and does not stand up to 2020 and the way we view and treat women. That being said, I first read this book when I was 10 years old. Mildly horrifying, I know. My older cousin had it from his school library and I liked the cover. He told me I couldn’t read it (and he was absolutely right that I shouldn’t have!) so I stole it from him and read it anyway. Rebel.
This was my favourite book for so, SO many years. I would hire it from the library to read over and over again. About 10 years ago, I got a signed copy of both it and Easy Freedom from Liz Berry’s website and finally got to read the sequel. I still loved it. In fact, this book is probably part of the reason why I wrote my own novel centred around a rock band.
Last weekend, I got the Kindle versions and read them. My head says 1 star, my heart says 5 stars. Despite all my mental objections, I still grew up loving this book and for me, I still enjoyed reading it.
I wouldn’t, however, recommend it to a new reader. If you have never read this before and don’t have that sentimental attachment to it where you loved it before you ever understood what it all meant, your life will be no better off for having read it. Unless you want to do a study in rape culture and how women were treated pretty terribly in the past, then by all means, go ahead.
I actually reduced my rating from 3 to 2 stars as I was writing this because I can’t in good conscience recommend it to new readers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2025
Read this book as a teenager, never forgotten it but I have noticed that my opinion of it has changed somewhat due to my maturity.
The teenage me would have given it a five, it seemed so romantic at the time and like many other young readers, I just bypassed the rape scene in my head cause I was thinking of the hot rockstar "Dev". The adult me would probably give it a two because of the rape scene and the way things were handled. Poor Cathy seemed so alone at times and people seemed to not believe her when she gave little hints here and there as to what happened.
Perhaps I am taking this too seriously, I mean it was marketed for teenagers right?
Who the hell am I trying to kid, I'm mixed up now. I seriously don't know how to feel about this book, I have read book 2 and it does get better for Cathy but I'm still confused, I don't ever want to excuse rape but due to the influence of alcohol in both parties, I'm not sure if she said no strong enough or whether Dev believed her, was he thinking she was hard to get?
I am in no doubt in the belief that the author is a good writer, I've read a few of her books but having re-read this on September 13 2018, I can honestly say that I'm disturbed by a lot of things that I now see through my adult eyes but I'm going to keep it to myself cause maybe the book is about what happens if you don't have choices available to you due to circumstances, maybe it's about a guy who knows he did wrong and wants to get the girl and show her how sorry he is and how he wants to fix things but only knows how to do it by using his influences and leaving little choice to pick another way, who knows I'm rambling folks.
The teenage me would have given it a five, it seemed so romantic at the time and like many other young readers, I just bypassed the rape scene in my head cause I was thinking of the hot rockstar "Dev". The adult me would probably give it a two because of the rape scene and the way things were handled. Poor Cathy seemed so alone at times and people seemed to not believe her when she gave little hints here and there as to what happened.
Perhaps I am taking this too seriously, I mean it was marketed for teenagers right?
Who the hell am I trying to kid, I'm mixed up now. I seriously don't know how to feel about this book, I have read book 2 and it does get better for Cathy but I'm still confused, I don't ever want to excuse rape but due to the influence of alcohol in both parties, I'm not sure if she said no strong enough or whether Dev believed her, was he thinking she was hard to get?
I am in no doubt in the belief that the author is a good writer, I've read a few of her books but having re-read this on September 13 2018, I can honestly say that I'm disturbed by a lot of things that I now see through my adult eyes but I'm going to keep it to myself cause maybe the book is about what happens if you don't have choices available to you due to circumstances, maybe it's about a guy who knows he did wrong and wants to get the girl and show her how sorry he is and how he wants to fix things but only knows how to do it by using his influences and leaving little choice to pick another way, who knows I'm rambling folks.
October 20, 2018
Yes, this book is problematic with the early rape scene and how it plays out, however, I think this is partly what makes it so great. We see people belittling her experience because he's a famous rock star and disbelieving her, exploring the rape narrative (she asked for it, people with power can do what they want). The reader too is drawn into this and implicated as we're asked do we want Cathy to be with him and can we forgive him. For me, the answer was yes. When I type that and I think about it is kind of fucked up. Would I in real life? Hell no. I also love Heathcliffe and forgive all his misdeeds, again would I in real life? Same answer applies. That's the point with fiction though, isn't it? A compelling character can twist our morals during the time of reading.
I loved this book as a teenager because it was so dark and Dev is such a powerful force. It's always kind of haunted me. So much, that I ended up hunting down a copy in my twenties. And now, almost 15 years later I re-read it, staying up until 1 am to finish it. Finding out that I still love it. As soon as I finished I had to get the sequel, which does deal with some the issues raised in this book
I loved this book as a teenager because it was so dark and Dev is such a powerful force. It's always kind of haunted me. So much, that I ended up hunting down a copy in my twenties. And now, almost 15 years later I re-read it, staying up until 1 am to finish it. Finding out that I still love it. As soon as I finished I had to get the sequel, which does deal with some the issues raised in this book
November 2, 2008
Cathy is an aspiring artist in her late teens when she unexpectedly meets an incredibly attractive rock star, Dev. Their relationship is violent, manipulative, and distorted, although he appears to genuinely love her, and some readers are alienated from the book because of his violence to Cathy. While I too find it disturbing that did not prevent me from being very interested in the characters, and I would like to read the newly available sequel.
Although this is billed as a YA novel, it could be disturbing for any reader, let along young teens.
Although this is billed as a YA novel, it could be disturbing for any reader, let along young teens.
April 15, 2021
My friend gave me this book for my birthday as she likes them. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it, how wrong was I!!
It’s awfully written with missing letters, missing punctuation, missing capital letters, random added letters or punctuation.
The story is sad and made me angry in some places, I felt really bad for Cathy.
Hopefully I won’t have to wait too long until I can read the next one!
It’s awfully written with missing letters, missing punctuation, missing capital letters, random added letters or punctuation.
The story is sad and made me angry in some places, I felt really bad for Cathy.
Hopefully I won’t have to wait too long until I can read the next one!
February 25, 2021
Feeling nostalgic with some early YA
April 24, 2024
l have read this a few times over the years & always find myself drawn to it. I love the characters & the compelling chemistry between them, it radiates off the page.
February 12, 2023
This isn't a love story. This is a horrible, terrible...I don't have the words to describe what I am feeling at the present.
June 21, 2025
EASY CONNECTIONS is a book you're either going to love or hate. I find that it helps not to read the book as a romance, but as a grim character study of a girl who is years ahead of her time and has that spirit crushed slowly as she's gaslighted by all the backwards people around her who are so entrenched in their internalized misogyny that they push her to end up with her abuser.
The "hero" of this romance rapes the heroine right in the beginning of the story. This is not a spoiler: it happens in the first fourth of the book. The heroine, Cathy, is understandably traumatized and goes off to try to rebuild her life and her emotions, focusing on her art and seeking out relationships. Dev, the "hero," regrets his actions only when he realizes that 1) Cathy isn't a groupie and 2) she's never been with another man before him. He sets out to pursue her in a way that makes Christian Grey look like a boy scout.
Cathy, meanwhile, learns that she is pregnant even as she's beginning to get recognition for her brilliant paintings. With Dev lurking one step behind her, she finds herself at a terrifying crossroads that no girl should have to face alone-- what is she going to do? Her friends and family all think she should marry the jerk and cast aspersions on her character, and Dev and his band mates terrify her with their life of excess. It feels like she's got a brick prison on the one side and a gilded one on the other. There is no win-win.
Reading this story gave me serious Hana Yori Dango vibes with the whole problematic rich guy pursues plucky lower-middle-class girl storyline, but Dev is way worse than Tsukasa, in my opinion. In some ways, it also reminded me of Nina Pennacchi's LEMONADE, although Dev really doesn't grovel the way the hero of that story did. It kind of felt like Dev just bullied the heroine into doing whatever he wanted, which is why I don't really feel like this is a romance.
I'm giving it four stars because it fascinated me the same way that bodice-rippers fascinate me, and I thought it was a really great story in that it portrayed realistically awful characters (except Cathy, who I loved), and an interesting snapshot of 1980s Britain as its caught between the old (tradition, bucolic farms, rigid societal expectations) and the new (punk rock, chaos, social justice). This is definitely what my mutuals refer to as a "problematic fave," and I'm shocked that it was sold to a YA audience, but my friends recommended it to me because of its dark storyline, and they were right.
4 stars
The "hero" of this romance rapes the heroine right in the beginning of the story. This is not a spoiler: it happens in the first fourth of the book. The heroine, Cathy, is understandably traumatized and goes off to try to rebuild her life and her emotions, focusing on her art and seeking out relationships. Dev, the "hero," regrets his actions only when he realizes that 1) Cathy isn't a groupie and 2) she's never been with another man before him. He sets out to pursue her in a way that makes Christian Grey look like a boy scout.
Cathy, meanwhile, learns that she is pregnant even as she's beginning to get recognition for her brilliant paintings. With Dev lurking one step behind her, she finds herself at a terrifying crossroads that no girl should have to face alone-- what is she going to do? Her friends and family all think she should marry the jerk and cast aspersions on her character, and Dev and his band mates terrify her with their life of excess. It feels like she's got a brick prison on the one side and a gilded one on the other. There is no win-win.
Reading this story gave me serious Hana Yori Dango vibes with the whole problematic rich guy pursues plucky lower-middle-class girl storyline, but Dev is way worse than Tsukasa, in my opinion. In some ways, it also reminded me of Nina Pennacchi's LEMONADE, although Dev really doesn't grovel the way the hero of that story did. It kind of felt like Dev just bullied the heroine into doing whatever he wanted, which is why I don't really feel like this is a romance.
I'm giving it four stars because it fascinated me the same way that bodice-rippers fascinate me, and I thought it was a really great story in that it portrayed realistically awful characters (except Cathy, who I loved), and an interesting snapshot of 1980s Britain as its caught between the old (tradition, bucolic farms, rigid societal expectations) and the new (punk rock, chaos, social justice). This is definitely what my mutuals refer to as a "problematic fave," and I'm shocked that it was sold to a YA audience, but my friends recommended it to me because of its dark storyline, and they were right.
4 stars
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