Random Reads is a segment created by Books A-Brewin' to tackle my TBR list in light of the mandatory quarantines going on due to the Coronavirus. I have created a list of all review requested books I have accumulated (there are A LOT) and, using a random generator, I have it select the book I read and review. Today's Random Read is...
Crave the Rose by Karen Kincy
Publication date: February 14th, 2015
Pages: 117
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
They both know what it means to be broken.
Bram, an Irish charmer, hides dark secrets behind his wolfish smile. Since dropping out of Oxford, he struggles with epilepsy, fighting to remain whole. Cassia hides behind her tattoos and bad girl attitude, hurt one too many times to believe in a happy ending.
Together, they work on Wolfenwold Hall, a crumbling manor house tangled in a garden run wild, while the attraction between them blazes out of control. Can they find a second chance before it's too late to save each other?
Available at:
Review:
This segment has really given me the opportunity to read books I would normally skip right over. It is probably why a lot of them have remained on my reading list for ages without me snagging them up and giving them a chance. As I continue on with this blog event I hope you all can join along with me and try doing the same. You may find some diamonds in the rough, or find ones you had high hopes for that fall flat which puts any question of their appeal to rest.
Bram is an easy-going Irishman from a privileged upbringing. One he would rather do without on most days. He has his life mapped out for him and is not permitted the chance to discover himself or what appeals to him. He is stuffy, uptight, and constantly questing for his mother's approval. He hopes that the project for Wolfenwold Hall will put him back in his mother's good graces after he drops out of Oxford. All the while, Bram struggles with his epilepsy. His fits wear his body out and puts his mind in a fog. The medications effects are questionable. But, despite all this, Bram still believes in happily ever afters. He believes there is love in the world and it is worth striving for. His questions whether he found it the very moment he set eyes on Cassia.
Cassia has the persona of a carefree, flower child (literally) with no desire for commitment and affection outside of quick, hot sex. She feels drawn to Bram but must fight her instincts to fall into him when he knows love only leads to heartbreak in the end. Cassia has a plethora of guilt from a previous relationship and it makes her keep Bram at arms length, but Bram is determined to pull her closer despite her baser instincts. Can Cassia protect her ideals or will her heart win?
I do not give this kind of review lightly. I rarely, if ever, refuse to finish a book. I am a perfectionist to the highest regard and always have a compulsion to finish whatever I start. However, this book made me shy away from my Kindle for days. Every time I reached over to grab the device I remembered the struggle I was having enjoying the book I was reading and pulled my hand away with resignation. This book is scattered. It is completely confusing. In one breath Bram is saying "no no I want love not just sex" and the next he's "c'mere and let's do this as dirty as possible". And, sure, characters can have internal struggles like that, but usually there is some resistance so the reader realizes they're going against what they want/believe but its out of character. This book didn't offer that. So it made me very confused about Bram. Cassia I just didn't like. Hands down. No redemption. She went from sweet and funny to kinky whore who's dirty talk made me grimace. I got exactly 50% through the story before I called it quits as is my personal rule. I gave the book more of a fair shake than most reviewers would but it just wasn't for me.
You are welcome to try this book out for yourself, but this wasn't my cup of coffee.
