K.A. Tucker (1)

4,9 stars

Book no. 3 for #romanceathon.

This book was a kick in the chest. Possibly because I went in expecting an entertaining hate-to-love romance and got something so much more. I did think the romance was fun, and I actually think it had a really good resolution for a romance story. But the romance on it's own was "only" a solid 4 stars.

That father storyline, though. I'm not gonna lie, I cried pretty much though the last 20% or so of this book. And when I say cried, I mean ugly cried. show more Tears and snot and difficulties breathing were involved. I probably wouldn't have been physically able to finish this if it weren't for the audiobook. I think this might be one of those cases where people with different histories would maybe react in different ways to this plotline, but if you're a person who wasn't moved by it, I don't want to know you.

This was definitely an unexpected romance book, so much so that I'm a little hesitant to clump this into that category. I'm also going to admit that doing this #romanceathon has really managed to broaden my horizons when it comes to romance books and I can see now that I've still held some prejudice, even though I do read romance regularly.

I feel like I need a good sleep after this and no amount of concealer will save my puffy eyes tomorrow morning. show less

“Life has a funny way of creating it's own tests. It throws curve balls that make you do and think and feel things that are in direct conflict with what you had planned and don't allow you to operate in terms of black and white.”


I think I loved this book even more than the first! I was so happy to get into Livie's mind.

Livie has handled everything she has been through without issue so it seems. Losing her parents and pretty much Kacey too. But man this girl is so good at keeping show more everything in check.

“Livie, I think you’re completely fucked up.”

I couldn't agree with Kacey more. Livie has always bottled it all up. She helps her sister, she makes good grades and she knows who she wants to be. But what if she doesn't? This is what I loved so much about this book. It was more about Livie being true to herself and finding out just who she is. I loved seeing her come into her own and having fun!

I loved Ashton. I pretty much loved a lot about this book. It wasn't a light fluffy read though. It made me tear up just as much as it made me laugh. I know one thing about this series so far though, it makes you think. At least it has made me think. Sometimes you have to wonder if you have been lying to yourself your whole life without even realizing it. You tell yourself you want something but then when it gets down to it.. you realize that maybe you don't. Fantastic read! show less

A Fun, Twisty Read

I really enjoyed this book and could not put it down. A little implausible, but the mystery hooked me right away and kept me guessing the whole time, right up to the satisfying and surprising ending. A big theme in the novel was how well can we really know people? As Maggie tries to solve her friend's murder - deemed a suicide by the police - the answer to this question proves to be elusive and dangerous.

What if you had nothing and no one? No roots to hold you to your life. What if you had the opportunity of a lifetime? The most luxurious aspects of life become yours for the taking. What price would you pay?

Evangeline is a girl with no family, no ties to her life. When the glamorous Sofie mysteriously insinuates herself into Evangeline’s life, her life changes in ways she could never possibly imagine. Upon arriving in New York, Sofie introduces Evangeline to Viggo and Mortimer. The fact show more that the three are hiding something from Evangeline quickly becomes apparent. But who can worry about that when wads of cash and loads of clothes are heaved upon you at every turn? Things take a bizarre turn on her first night in New York. A terrifying “dream” has Evangeline meeting strangely beautiful and dangerous people, coming under attack, and waking up with a bump on her head. Night after night, she becomes more involved in the “dream world” and day after day, she is faced with increasingly troubling behavior from Sofie, Viggo and Mortimer. With deceptions coming at every angle, Evangeline is left choosing who she can trust. The wrong choice may certainly cost her life.

In Anathema, K.A. Tucker has created a fascinating world filled with rich characters, alternate realities and psychological drama. Although Evangeline is the main character, Sofie was, for me, the most interesting character. Sofie was by turns ruthless, deceptive and surprisingly caring. Evangeline started the story as a meek character, but developed the strength to handle her circumstances.

To be completely honest, the jumping between Evangeline’s dream world and daily life was a little confusing and left me hoping that there would be a great explanation. Every time she was thrown from one reality to the other, I was thrown off track. Both storylines were excellent, but they felt distinct, not fully cohesive. The dual storylines are explained about halfway through the book, and eventually come together very nicely.

My favorite aspect of Anathema was the deception between the characters. While reading this book, you can never take anyone at “face value”. Each time I felt I knew who Evangeline could trust, the tables were turned. The level of deceit and trickery is astounding. I changed allegiance continuously and by the time I finished reading the book, I was still not sure I, or Evangeline, made the right choice.

K.A. Tucker beautifully set the stage for the sequel, Asylum, due out in 2012. show less