Calia Read

I held my breath for the first 70 pages. UNRAVEL ripped me apart in a way that I've never experienced before. Naomi's tragedy and love story will haunt me for a long time. Mental illness is difficult to write about, but I think Calia Read did justice to the before and after of Naomi's story.

There’s a point towards the end where I was thinking “wow, I really don’t see what’s wrong with this girl. Why is she in a crazy hospital? I’m no doctor but I can diagnose her as not crazy, just under pressure with all the drama going on, it’s really mean for all these people to make her seem like she is insane” and then BOOM, holy shit, now I see why.

And I immediately mentally went back trying to see how this could be and yeah, the pieces are there I just wasn’t putting them show more together

Because we’re reading from her perspective so we’re the patient. And that tripped my mind up.

SO FUCKING GOOD.

These are becoming my favorite types of books. (the second with this particular disorder that I’ve read this year (and I still didn’t see it coming!) and I’m seriously intrigued).

Dark physiological thrillers. Head fuckers.

I was sickened once everything really started for Naomi and Lana. It was a punch in the gut I wasn’t expecting and not something I’ve read about ever. Not once. And I almost puked in my mouth.

And once it almost wrapped up, I was still sick. Because it was still going on. Even now I’m pissed just thinking about it! What’s wrong with people!?!

Lachlan and Max.

Ah, boy. Most of that was really, really hot.
And then it was sweet.

The story is a good one, it is done well. It is done in such a way that it is not tacky, which is how this book could’ve turned out very, very bad. Unravel is incredibly detailed and complex.

The back story alone is touching and worth the read (and there were so many clues, why didn’t I see!?!?!!).

A well written, edge of your seat page turner. An unbelievably, moving rapture of feelings. Unravel is one of my favorite books this year. show less

"If everyone knew the truth, no one would really ask for love. But when it drops into your life, you can only hope that you have enough strength to hang on."

20/3/13 -
I just finished. Lucky I'm in my own office at work where I can just sit and stare and think. Amazing, captivating, emotional and beautifully, intelligently written.

review to come. I have highlighted nearly every page so need to pick my favourites :)

21/3/13
I’ll start by saying that while this can be read as a stand-alone, I show more would strongly advise to start with Every Which Way so you get some history of the characters.

You know, at the end of Every Which Way I was all team Thayer. I didn’t dislike Macsen. I knew he had his issues. We were given a taste of them in EWW and I knew that once Calia cracked open his shell of protection that we would see just as much about Macsen to love as we did Thayer. I just knew that Macsen had so much more to tell and I was right!

Emilia came into the story right at the end of EWW and she was one to be wary of. I knew that her story was going to tear me up. I mean, who is not intrigued with a Burn List and a plot of revenge and all the emotion that must be behind that. At the end of EWW I was feeling protective of Macsen but at the same time feeling sympathy for Emilia. I wanted to envelope them in my arms and soothe their obvious pain. I knew that BTW was not going to be an easy read. I knew that it would grab me and not let go until I understood them.

From page one I was totally immersed in getting to know Emilia and Macsen, It was a roller coaster ride of emotions. They seeped into the pores of my skin and the psyche of my mind. They made themselves at home in my head and I didn’t want them to leave when I read the last page. Well, they still haven’t left and I’m not pushing them out. I pictured every tortured expression, felt every emotion and lived every memory with them; such is the brilliance of Calia Read.

Emilia came from a tortured family; one with a traumatic past; one that they just couldn’t get over. Emilia felt that to move forward she needed to execute her plan of revenge to those on her Burn List and Macsen was in her sights. She thought she had it all planned out, she thought it would give her closure and peace. What she didn’t bank on was discovering the real Macsen. What she didn’t bank on was love testing her resolve to stick to the plan.

Macsen was the quiet one of the brothers. He kept to himself and, at times, let the world go on around him. He came from a pretty messed up childhood and carried so much weight around from guilt that it stifled him. After his tete-a-tete with Severein he pulled that cloak of protection back over himself and resigned himself to living with what he had done, thinking that nothing could absolve him of his guilt and inner torment.

With every page I turned, I was falling deeper and deeper into their stories. The twists and turns left me bereft at times. At other times I was on the edge of my seat, my heart pounding in my chest from knowing that something was going to happen and not wanting it to happen. At times I was just smiling from ear to ear, happy in the knowledge that they were finding each other.

When the truth of their stories surfaced, I cried inside for both Emilia and Macsen and thought that Calia delivered them perfectly by alternating their POV’s. I really enjoy books with alternating POV’s but not everyone gets it right. Calia nailed it for me.

This book had everything for me, a mix of angst, a well thought out backstory, wit and dry humor and hot, smexy scenes all rolled in together. The chemistry between Emilia and Macsen set my ereader on fire. It sizzled the screen. The air around me crackled with electricity. It set my heart racing.

I like to highlight my favourite quotes when I read a book to use in my reviews and realised that I had a highlight on nearly every page. Instead of adding them all here I will add them to my favourite quotes list on my page.

I love the way Calia writes, from the heart-felt, gut wrenching emotion to the sizzling smexy scenes. She writes with such wit and honesty that I am a fan for life. I can't wait to read more of the Sloan brothers. show less

Wow. This psychological thriller grabbed me from the first page and never let go.

Victoria Donovan is a patient at Fairfax Mental Health Institute. She can't remember how she got there. She's there with her baby Evelyn, and her husband Wes visits her every night, even though everyone else says her husband is dead. What is going on, and why would people say Wes is dead? As Victoria struggles to piece together her memories, she slowly realizes that maybe she doesn't really want to remember, and show more the more she remembers, the less she is able to trust those around her.

With every memory that Victoria managed to recall, I felt a growing sense of dread. I absolutely wanted to know about Victoria's past, but at the same time I was afraid to know. I was just like Victoria. I was mesmerized; I couldn't put the book down. I could feel every bit of Victoria's confusion, frustration, and fear. In fact, in one scene that closed out a chapter, I was so startled at what took place that I literally jumped and almost screamed. As if I had just watched it on a movie screen. Nicely done, Ms. Read! show less