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USA Today bestselling author RC Boldt delivers a seductively unique romantic suspense with a paranormal twist in Beyond My Darkness...
Twelve years ago, I fled, vowing to never again use my power. But everything changes when I break that vow and bring two bodies back to life in the morgue.
It sends me spinning directly into his orbit.
Arrogant. Menacing. Enigmatic. That’s Bronson Cortez, the notoriously violent gang leader who remains elusive to authorities.
He breaks the law at every turn and answers to no one. But when he offers me an alluring glimpse of what lies beneath that iron-clad exterior, I realize there’s more to him than meets the eye.
The man who fiercely guards his heart somehow manages to claim mine.
But he doesn’t know the truth about me.
I wonder if he could be the first to accept me for who I am—what I am.
I wonder if he’ll be the first to see beyond my darkness.
REVIEW: 3.5 EERIE STARS
"A knight in shinin' armor is fuckin' useless."
Well then!!! I have been looking for something a little different in my reading repertoire and if this one didn't fit the bill, I don't know what will. As I have shared a few times on my Facebook page, I have been wanting to get into mafia/gang trope reads - but I have to ease in because I usually find myself going, "Well, this is so predictable." while I end up rolling my eyes or cringing because of "shock value" writing. Clearly, that is NOT what I want. Lo and behold, this comes across my feed and I knew I needed to check it out. I have read RC Boldt before, so I know her easy flow and her chill style of writing. I also enjoy her storytelling, so I knew jumping into this one with the magical side of a "demonic ability" coupled with the power of a strong man in charge of his own world, it would give me a little bit of excitement.
I was not disappointed!! To be fair, this was a super light, super easy read with these elements so I do want to make sure people aren't wandering in for some super dark, twisted, horrifying read. The "dark" side of this book wasn't dark at all, so the step over to it was really fairly easy for me and it tittered on the side of paranormal - again, not a lot of reference to it, but enough to fit into that category. I was immediately intrigued based on the synopsis since my favorite show is Pushing Daisies - and this kind of skirts that line in a very loose way. It definitely held my interest from start to finish.
"I'll never be normal because I'd rather spend my time with dead bodies than real people."
Georgia is her own person - and I know I often talk about how I love a strong female, but I have to point them out when I see them, and Georgia is just that: strong. She was feisty and determined, given everything she had been through, so watching her make her way through this was rather interesting. She definitely took a few routes I wouldn't have taken, but "knowing her" made it understandable. I liked her sassy side, and loved the way she spoke to Bronson and his crew. She was young enough in some aspects to be naive to things, but experienced enough to back up her bravado she needed to traverse the different sides of her own city.
Bronson was this super abrupt, but completely entrancing man that not only ruffled feathers, he had that look that melted ice cold hearts: mine, especially. I liked his demeanor. He ran a tight ship but made sure he had his morals in check. Hard to believe, being he was a gang leader - but he did. I just liked who he was and how he handled things. Boldt gave him a mission and his need to fulfill it was evident. He was a little soft around the edges at times, but I feel like he was justified given everything going on around him. I loved the way he pursued Georgia and how they both taught each other about matters of the heart, as stubborn as they both were. Their dynamic was a fun one to watch.
I just really liked the characters A LOT and I thoroughly enjoyed the dance they had during the entire book. I could have kept reading their story...
The step away from reality in my reading was a nice reprieve and I think it made this the fun read that it was supposed to be for me. The only issues I could really bring up were the transition from the suspense side of the book into the finale and wrap up of the story. I also didn't feel like I got the full extent of the whodunnit aspect because it was fed to me instead of figuring it out. Not bad, but the whodunnit bothered me a bit. The ending almost felt abrupt, but as I was explaining this to my husband, he asked the most simple question: do you think you just weren't ready for the story to end. I gave it a good think, and I can honestly say that was my biggest hangup, so maybe I wasn't done with them just yet. I could have kept reading about the ways that Bronson sought her out, touched her, loved her. I could have reveled in that a while longer. He was definitely the kind of man that made the heart beat a little faster. Again, I enjoyed the writing and the story as a whole, so I will most definitely read more stories/authors in this trope because I did enjoy the curiosity it allowed me.
END NOTE: This was such a fun read! I really, truly enjoyed it and think it's a fun 'tweener for those of us that haven't dallied in the dark part of the book world yet, as well as the 'magical powers' aspect of it. I liked being able to suspend belief and just go with the flow of the story, making it a super easy book to read. I definitely walked away knowing I had a smile on my face. RC Boldt is a lighter writer, so I know what I am getting into with her worlds and I always enjoy them. I don't have to overthink things and can usually power through them with a smile. OH!!! AND, there happened to be a link at the end....so, you know I clicked that so darn fast. So, now the countdown to October 25th officially begins because *I NEED* this next story something fierce. Kthxbye.
"They say history will repeat itself if one doesn't learn from the past."
~BEE
October 25th release
~MEET RC BOLDT~
RC Boldt is a USA Today bestselling author currently living in part of the
Costa Rican jungle with the love of her life and her mini-me.
~CONNECT WITH RC~
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