Fearsome by S.A. Wolfe
Series: Fearsome #1
Publication date: September 27th, 2013
Pages: 464
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
Jessica Channing's big city life should be more exciting than sixty-hour work weeks and popcorn nights with her girlfriends, but it's not. She has worked hard fulfilling her role as a child prodigy and graduating college years before her peers. She's the good girl, the brilliant girl.
Unfortunately, she's also the dateless young woman.
That all changes with one phone call. Jess's rigid, predictable life upends when she must visit a small, obscure town to deal with a relative's death. This isn't just any little speck of a town, though. Long lost memories come crashing down on Jess's world when two men, the Blackard brothers, seem to lure her in.
Dylan is cover model handsome, and pursues Jess the minute she comes to town. Then there is tall, dark and gorgeous Carson, who hides his own secrets behind his hardened reserve.
For someone who has been governed by her own obsessive behaviors and fears, Jess lets her guard down and jumps at the opportunity to have an affair with a man she actually finds attractive for a change.
There's just one problem. Jess discovers that she can't have a simple romantic fling because true passion does indeed come with some very big strings attached to it. She will have to own up to her own truths about love and face the two extraordinary men; both troubled in their own ways and both determined to have her.
This novel contains graphic sexual content and strong language. It is intended for mature readers.
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Review:
I received an e-copy of this book from the publishers at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have made it my personal mission to get through some of the long awaited books I have gotten for review and have been doing so as of recently. This was one I had requested for review and even requested the rest of the series to read as they came out. It has been waiting patiently for me to devote my attention to it and finally I did. I was interested to see how this love triangle between brothers played out. The plot snagged me from the very beginning.
Jess never knew her aunt and now she never will. She received a phone call telling her that her aunt had passed away and that she had to come to the small town of Hera in orer to have the will read to her and collect what her loving aunt had left her. From the moment Jess steps off the bus she is transported into small town life. She learns that her aunt left her house and all her belongings to Jess after only ever spending one summer with the girl when she was very young. Jess is confused and sets about trying to piece together the long forgotten memories from her time here.
Enter Dylan and Carson who she soon learns also spent that one summer with her and had never forgotten her. Dylan the charismatic golden boy and Carson the brooding mysterious stranger are so different and yet so alike. Dylan pursues Jess as soon as he can attempting to remind her that they had spent a lot of time together the summer she was here and how he had never forgotten her. Jess is taken in by Dylan, but even though she is with him, she can't help but always search for Carson whenever she is in a crowded room.
Eventually, Jess must make a choice between the two men, but the most troubling part of that is that both men carry secrets. Both men have issues and Jess wonders if she is built to love either of them. She must ultimately decide whether to risk her heart at all for either of the two eligible bachelors.
So, I liked a majority of this book. There were some aspects that just struck me as weird. Like the fact that the big 'L-word' (no, not lesbians) is thrown around A LOT. Not by our tight-lipped heroine, but from others around her. Call me old fashioned but I don't believe love can blossom from watching someone from afar or spending one summer together as children. That just seemed too unrealistic to me. Coupled with Jess's wishy-washy (yes, she actually calls herself that at one point... at least she's aware) antics. Her determination to keep one man at arm's length while embracing the other fully despite having stronger feelings for the one she's pushing away. It got to the point where half the book was Jess being all in her head about things. Got to be a bit tedious.
However, the writing in this book is absolutely phenomenal. I picked it up and within the first few paragraphs I was praising the heavens for a less well-known author actually knowing how to be eloquent. I also adored the fact that there were parts in the book where I literally laughed out loud. I cannot say that happens very often. Normally I internalize book funnies, but this made me giggle outwardly and caused many a brow raise from people around me.
This book was good, but there were parts in it I would have liked to have seen different. I would recommend this book to those who want a little humor to counteract a touchy subject read. This book has issues, but we don't judge because it's also a tad bit brilliant in other ways.
