Erica O'Rourke

I was offered the second book in this series by the publisher. I had not heard of the series before, but when I looked it on Goodreads it sounded really interesting. I had some time before the second book released and I wanted to read book one first anyways. I know that some people can read books out of order, but I am not one of them, plus I hate feeling like I am missing something. So I went to the bookstore and picked up Torn and began reading.

The first thing I want to address is how show more perfect this title is for this book. Our main character, Mo, is torn in many different directions. She has just lost her best friend, Verity, in a brutal murder that she witnessed. She has no idea who is behind the attack, but she knows the culprits don’t seem to be human. She is desperate to learn more about what happened to Verity and ends up getting thrust into a world of magic that she is neither prepared for, nor understands. She is also guilt stricken over not being able to help Verity and feels obligated to do all she can to avenge her death.

We are going to have to talk about this love triangle now. If you follow my blog or reviews at all then you probably know I am not a fan of them. I think a lot of it has to do with just me wanting the guy I am rooting for to not end up broken hearted, lol. I know selfish right? But I also don’t like how sometimes they can be added to a book just to add tension where really it is not necessary. However, I am going to admit to the fact that the love triangle in this book actually makes total sense. Why you might ask? Well, as the title says, Mo is torn, she has two roads she can take in her life and the guys represent part of those choices. Luc, is a little dark, a little dangerous and he will take Mo on a perilous journey she is not sure if she is ready for. He is also a direct connection to Verity and Mo is not sure if Luc likes her for who she is or if she is just a substitute for Verity. The other guy, Colin, is safe, reliable and will help protect her from any harm that might come her way. While I can say I did not like him at the beginning of the novel, he grew on me and he seems to genuinely care for Mo and it made him very endearing. I can honestly see Mo going with either of them; the problem is she needs to decide who she is and what she really wants out of life. Only then will her heart lead her to the guy she is meant to be with and the path she is meant to walk.

As for the plot, I really appreciated the beginning of the book because we get to jump right into it. There is no fluffy filler introduction and I was so happy to just get down to the action. The book opens with the aftereffects of the attack on Mo and Verity and how Mo is trying to deal with it. The problem is Verity was supposed to be the savior for so many, but was killed. Have you noticed that in paranormal or fantasy books there is always a prophecy, but it always seems to get fulfilled somehow in the end, by who it is that is destined to fill it? Well, that was supposed to be Verity and she died, so now what? Mo is trying her best to step up, but she has no magic so how much can she really help? She is also frustrated because so many decisions are being made for her and her free will is being revoked. I can understand how frustrating that must be for her. Torn is about Mo trying to discover who killed her friend, but it is also a journey of self-discovery. She really thought she was one person, but now that she is being challenged she is discovering that she might actually be someone completely different. There is a passage in the book that sums it up pretty well. It is Mo mentally venting after someone else is tells her what to do.

“God, I was tired of people telling me how careful I needed to be. There’s been too much change- Verity’s death, Kowalski’s prying, Luc’s evasiveness-careful and quiet didn’t fit me anymore. It was unsettling. Lonely, too. I spent seventeen years quietly following every rule in the book. And it had turned out okay, mostly. But Verity’s death had cracked my life in two-before and after- and nothing worked the way it was supposed to.”

Life changes people, events change people, and we are witnesses to Mo’s changes in Torn. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this book and am so thankful I already have the second book on hand so I can keep going on this journey with Mo. Erica has written a fascinating world that has a little bit of everything. I am excited to see what will happen to Mo after the events at the end of this book and look forward to more from Erica in the future. show less

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I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve been really picky with books lately. I’ve been picking things up and abandoning them when they don’t keep my interest. Despite the fact that Dissonance is almost five hundred pages, Dissonance kept my attention consistently. Considering that I’ve not been able to make it through some much shorter books, this means something. This book is parallel universe awesomeness. I show more liked it from the start, but the ending was just as solid. Dissonance is a fabulously unique debut and a wonderful start to a new series.

Delancey is just my sort of heroine, by which I mean that she’s a bit of a bitch. Del’s the sort of girl who doesn’t take to well to authority. She skips class constantly, disobeys orders, and sneaks out of the house. Plus, she totally puts her wishes above those of others. Though she really loves her grandpa Monty, she tends to keep people at a distance and is constantly fighting with most people. She’s judgmental of those around her and generally not all that nice. I know some readers aren’t big fans of heroines like Del, but I love them. Of course, when I was a teen (and now too lbr), I had issues with authority (though I was a total rule-follower) and I was a judgmental bitch, so you know I get these girls.

Anyway, I have to say that the world building is the strongest element of Dissonance. Sure, I come for the characters and stay for them, but this world building is totally boss. Del is a Walker, like the rest of her family and a whole network of people around the globe. Walkers have the ability to sense Pivots, places where someone’s choice has created a new echo of the Key World. The Walkers can travel to these Echoes and seek to maintain the safety of Key World, by fixing or cleaving the echoes from it. There’s also this musical component to being a Walker. They all have perfect pitch and can tell the worlds apart by their musical tones or, in the case of echoes out of whack, their dissonance. Obviously parallel universes have been done before, but the musical tie was such a cool touch. Plus, I’m just amazed by how well O’Rourke managed to describe everything that I am nodding along like OF COURSE and not going CHICKAWHAT.

The ethical quandaries central to Dissonance are the sort of philosophical consideration I love to consider. Are the echoes real or not? The people in them take on their own unique personalities, disparate from the Key World and live their own lives. Given enough time, they can become quite different. However, if the person dies in the Key World, their echoes go too. Are they real? Should their lives be maintained or cleaved? What function do the echoes serve? There’s so much to wonder and debate in this world. It is RICH with possibility.

Dissonance is one of those books where the things that sort of irked me early on actually get handled and resolved in a good way. Del, at the start, has this horrible relationship with her sister Addie. Those two are terrible to each other. However, Addie isn’t an unrelenting villain. They don’t become best friends, but they learn a lot about each other over the course of Dissonance. They have an actual arc, which is all I ask.

I was also concerned about her relationship with her best friend, Eliot, who has a very obvious crush on her. I don’t know about you guys, but I have been burned by this before. However, it’s handled in a very non-dramatic, non-love triangle-y way. Plus, Del is badass and won’t let people make her feel guilty for things she shouldn’t feel guilty for and it’s great. Much like her relationship with her sister, things are still on unstable ground, but I like the arc so far.

Then there’s the romance, which obviously I have to talk about. It’s not a SHIP, but it’s a solid ship. To be honest, they instalove on each other a little bit, but I’m totally not gagging. I believe that they feel that way, whether or not it’s true. They do have a connection and also things are complicated. What especially makes me like them is that they do have some issues that they work through rather than everything being perfect in their relationship.

Basically, if you are into parallel universe things, YOU WANT THIS. Also, if you like complex stories and the bitchy sort of heroine, again THIS. show less

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

I love trilogies. I love how clear and purposeful each book is. I especially love reading the final book, the one where everything comes together and all the emotional and plot driven story-lines converge. Reading BOUND by Erica O’Rourke, the third book in the Torn Trilogy, I was reminded all over again why trilogies are so satisfying. In both of the preceding books in this trilogy, the endings were fantastic. So powerful and exciting. As the show more ending to the whole series, BOUND captures the same energy and emotionally gripping feel from the first to last page, and delivers by far the best book of the series.

The magic of the Torn Trilogy has always been the fine balance between Mo’s mob connected family life and her accidental but irrevocable connection to the supernatural Seraphim. Each side has a guy that Mo is drawn to, a villain that wants to use or kill her, and an obligation to protect the innocent. O’Rourke’s skill has been making both world equally compelling, and finally in BOUND, thrusting the two together. The consequesces are just as severe as I would have expected. Betrayal, and bloodshed, and heartbreak follow.

My only real complaint is how the romance turned out. Not because I was rooting for the other guy, but because I thought Mo was too capricious in her choosing. She was in an intimate position with one guy declaring her love and readiness for sex and then in an almost identical situation with the other guy way too quickly for my taste. Her speech to the guy she didn’t choose was in complete contrast to everything she had been saying to him the entire book. It didn’t sit right.

As a series overall, the Torn Trilogy is unique and exciting. The mythology is new and inventive, and Mo as a character grows so much over the span of the series. I’m sorry there won’t be more books in this series, but the ending feels right for the plot and characters. After a series like this, I’ll be on the look out for whatever Erica O’Rourke writes next.

Sexual Content:
Kissing. Scenes of sensuality. A non graphic sex scene show less

The problem with writing the review for the last book in a trilogy is EVERYTHING COULD BE A SPOILER! Here goes, you’ve been warned.

Mo has decided to stay in Chicago with Colin, no more magic. As the reader we know this isn’t possible. Magic won’t let Mo go and Colin won’t forsake his obligations. We learn some surprising things about one of Mo’s classmates which explains a lot about why she handled things the way she does.

I thought this last book really tied things up nicely in a show more satisfying conclusion, while their future is unknown, all the current issues have been dealt with. Another enjoyable read. show less