New Adult Romance
Release: April 2015
Synopsis
Some memories should be buried…
The blackouts started happening when I was eight. There are long periods of my youth I don’t remember. I’ve woken up in strange places, feeling disoriented and unaware of how long I’ve been out.
After two years abroad attending a private school and sessions with a top-notch psychiatrist, I’ve been deemed cured. The blackouts have ceased, or so I thought, until I wake up in a ditch back home in North Carolina. Dare, the guy pulling my broken body from the wreckage, has a restraining order against him. He’s no longer the clean-cut boy I went frog gigging with but road-hardened. His lean, muscular arms, riddled with tats, drag me out of the SUV. I should fear him, but instead, his touch sparks memories that tell me I once worshipped him with all my heart.
Book trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jq6poh1SSI
About the Author
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jq6poh1SSI
Review
★★★★ stars
I've read a handful of new adult romantic suspense novels and they've all been wonderful. I can now add Blackout to that list. This book gave me a sense of familiarity and then in the next moment would pull it all away and leave me feeling like I was reading something brand new.
I was really intrigued by the characters, Teal especially. Returning home is the catalyst for the blackouts to start again, especially when she's near the swamp where she was found ten years ago. I could completely empathize with Teal's feelings about coming back and discovering you weren't "cured". I was surprised by how Darius "Dare" Tucker treated her when they first saw each other after so many years. However once the reason why became known, it made sense he'd have so much animosity towards her. It made sense he'd have changed beyond recognition from the gentle boy Teal had known.
It's hard to deny the chemistry between Teal and Dare but I wasn't happy with how they showed it or dealt with it. It seemed like every time Teal saw Dare he was with another girl and using her. I didn't like how that didn't turn Teal off, but instead turned her on. I was also shocked by what happened when they finally did get together. The intercourse they had was rough, almost too rough. Then there was their lack of contraceptive use and the reasoning behind why didn't seem believable or plausible. I did like the use of objects and symbolism in this story. The use initially seemed to be unrelated to the story, but then it would somehow become extremely relevant to Teal's journey towards the truth.
The mystery behind the incident in Teal's past that caused her bodily and mental harm was really interesting. I liked how slowly Teal was having flashbacks that seemed to be giving her hints into what happened that day. Soon the mystery became convoluted by the addition of someone stalking Teal and perhaps a murder or two. There was also drama with Dare, Teal, and the other women he was seeing. It all came together to make a great story, except somewhere in trying to figure out what was going on with Teal and Dare and trying to figure out what was causing Teal to lose consciousness, I got lost. When the big reveal happened, I was completely shocked, because I wasn't able to connect all of the dots even though I had guessed the identity of her stalker correctly.
It might seem like I was overly critical of this book. The story was great. It grabbed my attention from page one and I was really into the story until the last page. It's just that certain things pulled my attention away or confused me. This book left me reeling. I was so surprised by some of the twists this book took and the revelations left me feeling shaky. Had I not gotten lost at some point, this book would be perfect. It was a great introduction to Chris Myers's work and I'm now really intrigued about his other books. I'd love for the other Tucker brothers to get their own stories as well.
*Thank you to the publicist for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*
Chris Myers suffers from an overactive imagination. She spent her high school years writing torch songs for fantasy guys then moved onto writing thrillers, new adult, and young adult. She has a real job but would love to write full time. Her books have won and placed in the finals and semifinals for several awards including Paul Gillette, Rocky Mountain Gold, and Amazon Breakthrough Novel. Chris lives in Colorado with her daughter, her better half, and BeBe, a rambunctious Bichon.
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