Distorted Hope

by Marissa Honeycutt

HOPE

noun

an expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen


When her newfound happiness is suddenly ripped away, twenty-two-year-old Kyra is thrust into the cruel world of hardened arms dealer, Nathan Pierce. Her calculating kidnapper is a master in a game of leverage and abduction, whose power appears to have no limit.

Confounded by an unexpected magnetism, Kyra’s resolve unravels as she becomes engulfed in
Nathan’s dangerous world, even when she is terrorized by his inner demons.

Is Kyra holding on to the distorted hope of an impossible future or can she find light beyond the darkness?

Genres: Dark, BDSM, Erotica, Romance, Abuse, Dark Romance, Crime

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 13, 2016

About the author

Hi Everyone!

I'm an indie author that likes to write books that will make you feel! Dark is my primary genre with touches of romance, paranormal, political conspiracy, suspense, and thriller. I love meeting new readers, so feel free to touch base with me and introduce yourself!

Find and Follow Me on My Amazon Author Page
Find me on Facebook!
Follow me (and my secret hobby) on Instagram
I'm also on BookBub!
Sign Up for my Newsletter!


MY BOOKS

The Life of Anna
Enslaved (The Life of Anna, #1)
Entwined (The Life of Anna, #2)
Embraced (The Life of Anna, #3)
Ensnared (The Life of Anna, #4)
Emerged (The Life of Anna #5)

You can also read the entire story in one book: The Life of Anna: The Complete Story

Side story to The Life of Anna
Abandoned Grace

Finding Sabrina
Master of My Body (Finding Sabrina #1)
Master of My Heart (Finding Sabrina #2)
Master of My Life (Finding Sabrina #3)

Stand-Alone
Distorted Hope
Gluttony
For the Love of Music

Reviews

[Candace · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I saw that Marissa Honeycutt had released a new book, I was all over it. It is no mystery that I love a twisted, dark story and 'The Life of Anna' series blew me away. So, I figured I was bound to love 'Distorted Hope' as well. After all, the blurb was enticing and captivity/abduction themes are amongst my favorites.

Unfortunately, this book was a big let down for me. I didn't connect with the characters or story in any meaningful way. More often than not, I found the characters, especially the heroine, to respond in unbelievable and ridiculous ways to the situations that they were faced with.

The story revolves primarily around Kyra, a young, naive, twenty-two year old virgin. She's working as a waitress when she catches the eye of Jason, a sexy, young professor at the nearby university. Soon, the two begin dating, her insecurities and lack of experience finally taking a backseat to the encouragement of her best friend. There's a large helping of insta-love that made me roll my eyes, but nothing too appalling at this point.

On the night that Kyra had planned to lose her V-card to Jason, the two get abducted. Apparently, Jason's engineering genius has made him highly sought after by an arms dealer that needs him to develop some sort of top-secret weapon. Of course, Kyra is taken along to "encourage" Jason to comply. This is where things start to go wrong for me.

From the start, Kyra and Jason's responses were nothing like what you'd expect. No desperation, panic or escape attempts here. These two seemed to be completely lacking a fight or flight response. They went into a "forced" captivity like it was just another unremarkable day at work. WTF!

It doesn't take any time for Kyra to be accosted by Mark, the mysterious boss's right hand man. She's so insecure that she supposedly never dated or even kissed a guy before Jason. Yet in no time, Mark has her deep-throating like a pro. Meanwhile, "innocent" Kyra seems more concerned with Mark's asinine flattery than the fact that she'd just been forced to perform oral sex on her captor! Again, WTF!

The ridiculousness continues as the two captives treat their cruise to places unknown as a romantic vacation. Having been informed that she will become a sex slave for Jason's new "boss" when they arrive at his estate in Panama, Kyra and Jason decide to spend their time aboard the yacht making love and dining with their captors like long lost friends. Neither of them seem particularly concerned that Kyra is getting ready to be violated by some stranger and prostituted at his leisure.

When they finally arrive, the absurdity continues. I can't even begin to list the scenes that made me roll my eyes. I wanted to laugh at many of the scenarios portrayed, although this was in no way intended to be a comedy. It was just so ludicrous.

Despite all of this story's shortcomings, I will admit that somewhere around the half-way point I began to get somewhat vested in Kyra's happiness. The story carried along happily for quite some time before tragedy strikes. For a while after, there still seemed to be some hope for Kyra and her new love, Nathan, the boss.

Then, around three quarters of the way in, Nathan does some things that take the story in an entirely new, darker direction. Suddenly, the raw, gripping emotions that were lacking for the rest of this story came to the surface. I cringed and even had tears in my eyes as this new twist played out. I thought that this story had finally redeemed itself. Better late than never, right?

After all the cruel antics, humiliation and degradation that Nathan inflicted upon Kyra over a period of months, she turns around and does something that is one of my biggest pet peeves in a story. With not more than a sentence or two of written apology, Kyra just forgives Nathan for his actions.

Let's be clear. This man hit her, discarded her like trash after months spent as his fiancé and pimped her out to every man that set foot on his estate for months. He treated her horribly, degrading and humiliating her at every opportunity. Yet, she forgives him instantaneously with a single apology in passing! No, no, no, no, no!

In that moment, every gut-wrenching emotion I felt was trivialized. Everything about their relationship now felt insincere. If I could've reached through my iPad screen to strangle Kyra's pathetic self when she gleefully replied "just don't let it happen again" believe me, I would have!

Throughout this story, it also was apparent to me that Kyra was virtually the exact same character as Anna. However, where the incredibly naive thing worked for Anna, it most definitely didn't ring true for Kyra's situation. Similarly, both were ballet dancers and seemed to be unaware of their allure. The shared characteristics were just too many. I would have preferred a heroine that was unique and stood out on her own.

Toward the end, Alex, Sebastian and other characters from 'The Life of Anna' series make an appearance. However, it didn't feel organic. Their appearance didn't seem to serve any real purpose or add to either story in a meaningful way. Like many things in this story, it just didn't work for me.

While this book was a huge disappointment for me, I loved Ms. Honeycutt's other works and will still give her future works a try. When it comes to writing dark erotica, she is incredibly talented and has the ability to masterfully weave a tale. I'm holding out hope that this book was just a fluke and that her future books will once again awe me.

[Booker132 · Rating 1 out of 5]

NEGETIVE STARS!! Good Lord this book was so awful! I read about 25% and just couldn't go on anymore. This wasn't dark or erotic in the least bit. The story starts with the most boring, unimaginative, one-dimensional Anastasia Steele wannabe heroine of all time. She is oh so sweet and innocent, super shy and insecure about her body and of course she is a virgin.

Now our innocent virgin heroine starts going out with boring hero number 1, who is sweet in bed. They go out for a few months and then decide to have sex for the first time but get brutally kidnapped before they get to bang, by boring hero number 2, who is rough around the edges but has a sweet side. Hero 2 forces her to give him a blowjob and finds out she is a virgin and decides not to touch her. However, he does warn her to lose her virginity before she meets his boss, boring hero number 3, who is supposed to be super dark and powerful, yada yada. Hero 2 makes arrangements for heroine to pop her cherry to hero 1, btw they are all on some sort of ship being kidnapped to another country. Hero 1 apologises to heroine for getting her caught up in such a mess, and she's all like "It's ok, let's pretend we're on a romantic cruise." and he tells her, "You're gonna be a sex slave." and to which the heroine replies "me? a sex slave? who would want to have sex with me? my body is not attractive!" are you fucking kidding me?!?! So then they proceed to have sex many times and tell each other 'I love you', and the couple go to their final destination, where she is destined to be a sex slave. The first two boring heroes treat her like a tourist on vacation, cracking jokes to cheer her up. And then they reach their destination and in comes big scary boring hero number 3 who hits her, degrades her and screws her infront of everyone and the other heroes seem to be surprisingly OK with this and the dumbfuck heroine finds herself turned on and submissive.

This was up to the point I read. This story is utter drivel. It's like the author read a bunch of badly written smut books and looked up the term Stockholm Syndrome on Wikipedia and decided to write this garbage. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR READERS OF ANY CALIBRE. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

***3 Stars***

I am afraid this is not going to help anyone.
It's a totally selfish review ;-) but I need to register something to myself.
In order:
Rolling eyes moments.
Good moments.
Very good moments.
WTF?! moments.
Back to the rolling eyes moments.
After reading The life of Anna, I have to confess that I had big expectations for this and I am disappointed.

[Kit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing: ★★★
Story: ★
Characters: ★

Overall rating: 1.6

As much as I love Marissa Honeycutt's books, this one was a letdown for me.

I couldn't connect with the characters, Kyra just annoyed me. And if you've been kidnapped by a psycho who works for another psycho, why would you care if they thought you were pretty or not?

"You're gonna be a sex slave." "me? a sex slave? who would want to have sex with me? my body is not attractive!"

Really? *THAT* is what she's worried about? That her body isn't attractive?

It was dialogue such as that that made me want to throw my Kindle across the room, and I'll admit to basically skimming this book from Chapter 9 on. I'd read a few pages and do something else, like read another book, then come back to this one. Thus the reason it took me forever to read.

[Rea Nicole ✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyra, a naive young waitress, and Jason an engineering genius begin a relationship full of sunshine and rainbows-until they are BOTH kidnapped. Shortly after they both learn of their upcoming fates, but at least they have each other- right?

Nathan, an enigmatic arms dealer, is taken by his newest acquisition- she reminds him of someone from his past. But, dragging up the past isn't always a good thing.

Distorted Hope brought forth a whole slew of emotions for me. First, the first 50 pages were almost a chore to read. I just couldn't buy it- the "forced" kidnapping was non existent- it was like "Hey I have free candy" and "Okay- oops I'm kidnapped." I didn't feel a single emotion from Jason or Kyra- not fear, hate, self preservation, just "Oh we're on a boat- do I look pretty?" I think the beginning would have fit better with more of a business deal gone bad or something not kidnapping.

Once Nathan was introduced the story really picked up for me. I loved him right away- dark, dangerous, and a BOSS. What I really enjoyed about this story is it mixed it up with the usual trope of man kidnaps woman, woman is a slave, man falls in love. This story was almost told in reverse. Nathan was multi-dimensional and wore a different face through each major turning point in the book- I couldn't get enough of him!



Kyra's story is a sad and beautiful one- she goes through so much and always tries to make the best of each situation. She constantly sees the light in others and always maintains a sense of self. She was a strong character despite being characterized as being meek and pliable. I so desperately wanted her to have a happily ever after and felt her despair when things turned south.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED the dynamics of the multiple men in her life- Jason, Nathan, and Mark. Each played a key role in her story and moved the story along for me. I can't share much else but every character is unlike the other.

Although it really took me until 30% to get into this book- I loved it. I am sitting with a huge book hangover right now and a glass of wine. Don't let the beginning scare you off- this is a great dark romance you won't want to skip! <3

[Mirjam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really? What was going through MH's mind when writing this book? Did she not want to make the effort? I read the blurb and thought it would be a nice dark read. God, I am soooo disappointed. It had the ingredients to be a good book. The whole thing annoyed me from start to finish but, against better judgement, I kept hoping it would pick up. And than it suddenly was finished, what a horrible ending. It was just wrapped up. Please pick up something else, and more worth of your time.

[Stepherz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lol okay

[★ Belle The Bibliophile ★ · Rating 1 out of 5]

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

I don't know how else to describe this book except that it's very bizarre and odd. Everything was so weird I kept on asking myself if it was just me because everyone seems to love this book.

The heroine attracted a lot of attention from the opposite sex which was unrealistic but I didn't mind. Our heroine was a very insecure girl and what weirded me out was the fact that at one point in the book, she started questioning why she was kidnapped and her kidnapper was assuring her she was beautiful!!! Reciting an essay about how beautiful she is!! In the midst of her captive!

That's just odd and unrealistic and while we're on the topic, none of the characters in this book behaved like any real person would. You'd understand it if you read the book 'cause I don't to spoil too much. Lol.

There's basically no relationship build up between the Hero and heroine. The Hero ran hot and cold. He became interested in her fot no reason at all. One second he's this sweet old man, then he was the freaking satan, hitting the heroine for stupid reason. The Hero was also wishy washy. He came off as very immature instead of the charismatic person people claimed he was.

There were a lot of secondary characters which I liked better than the Hero. The heroine would fuck them, only for them to be so conveniently removed when they weren't needed. Also, that ending sucked and was very abrupt.

[Marie Vasquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visit My Website | Like Me on Facebook

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
POV: Hers / 1st person
Naughty Factor: 4 out of 5


I don't even know where to begin with this review. My emotions were all over the place with this story. I literally felt like I was in Kyra's shoes the whole time. Distorted Hope is labeled as dark but I would consider it more of a grey romance. Though it has some dark undertones, it's not necessarily dark, for me, based on the ones I've read in the past. Aside from its level of dark elements, it was a memorable story that kept my heart in palpitations from start to finish.

Sweet and innocent Kyra waits tables and crushes on a cutie that comes into the diner she works at. After a short time of dating, strangers show up to enlist him to help on a job and poor Kyra gets taken along for a ride she won't ever forget.

When she meets the boss man, Nathan Pierce, she doesn't know how to deal. He's nice one minute and rude/mean, the next. She's his leverage for making sure Jason stays on task and he makes a point to prove it every chance he can. But things change quickly and Sweet Kyra is in a high as things look up for her...until that's no longer the case.

Throughout the story, I was just as confused as Kyra. I fell in love, but unlike her the love didn't last long, but the. I was back in love. I was frustrated and couldn't understand how Kyra was so easy going with how things went. She took everything in stride and I couldn't figure out if it was evident of her strength or naïveté. Whatever the case may be, her love and devotion for Nathan was undeniable and no matter how things were going for her I, was nothing short of 100% invested in what happened to her and the other characters.

This was my first Marissa Honeycutt novel and I am a new fan and can't wait I read more of her work.

Order your copy of Kyra's story here

[Kim BookJunkie ~ Editor & Proofreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

DISTORTED HOPE is a story that could have and should have been a 5-star favorite for dark erotica lovers. Independently, the setting, the premise and the characters easily could've been combined to create the ideal dark story yet this was not the case.

While reading this book, I repeatedly found myself rolling my eyes at how unlikely or unrealistic things were. In addition to that, I deeply disliked the female main character Kyra. Prior to reading this book, I'd never disliked a character as much as I hate Kyra; She was ridiculously stupid! Kyra's actions, comments and inner musings completely infuriated me at times! On top of all that, I noticed that there were a few extra words in places they didn't belong and some typos. This book would definitely benefit from having a more competent proofreader go over it.

Despite my dislike of Kyra, the editing mistakes and my frustration over the numerous aspects of the storyline that were a tad too convenient or,"easy", there was something about this book that I enjoyed! I can't pinpoint exactly what it was but there was something about the way this story was told that kept me invested, wanting to find out what would happen in the end. It certainly wasn't the level of depravity that piqued my interest in this book as it contained very few dark scenes, those dark scenes being mild in comparison to other sex slave stories I've read. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I was thoroughly entertained by the roller coaster-like life of Kyra. In the end though, without this book being thoroughly edited, I would not recommend it to my fellow dark erotica lovers.

['Q' aka CoCo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm baffled...completely baffled. I read and enjoyed (for the most part) the Life of Anna series. Her character made sense, at least with the paranormal explanation and her upbringing. Kyra? She has zero personality. The only time she ever shows any emotion is when she feels like she isn't pretty. Sure she cries a bit when the man she loves is taken from her, but she's all right. There's no fight in her, no escape attempts, no normal reactions whatsoever. Forced sex? Eh, it's okay. Oh, I'm a slave now? Guess that's my lot in life. She was a carbon copy of Anna's personality but in a different environment and without the paranormal element to explain the bizarre. She even danced! Characters from the Anna series even randomly popped up at the end, making something that made no sense to begin with, make even less sense (I thought Sebastian and Alex were good guys and now they're consorting with the bad???). The killer to this book, though, was Nathan.
So, in the beginning, Nathan takes Kyra from the love of her life Jason. Things are fine, a bit boring, but fine. Then Nathan goes berserk and things start going dark. Nathan reduces Kyra to sex slave status and treats her like crap, sharing her amongst the men, etc. She leaves on a trip with his right hand man and upon his return, Nathan is a changed man. And when I say changed, I mean changed. He's all I made a mistake, can you ever forgive me, I love you so much, blah, blah... All of his transgressions are immediately forgiven. The end. Just no.

[Sonya Tedesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intersting read

This story was quite a bit more tame than Ms Honeycutt's other books (LOA), but damn was it good. It wasnt until the end that I realized its connection to LOA. I am so excited for more to follow this book and see how in depth this story may become. I am not sure what else I can say about this book without LOA readers getting upset with me. Thank you Ms Honeycutt for another wonderful story...when does the next one come out? Lol.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marissa Honeycutt is something else ! Her dark erotica is compelling and at times hard to read but so worth it. This book was captivating and while it was much softer than the Life of Anna series it was still harsh and gritty in places. I really enjoyed this and would have enjoyed more time at the end .. An epilogue would have been great. Can't wait to read more if Marissas books in the future

[Tanya Rae ~ TaSTy WordGasms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that you kept dreading the ending because you didn’t want the book to end. That is how I felt about Distorted Hope. I really didn’t want this book to end, yes this book is THAT good. I read this book straight through. One because I wanted to meet the early deadline and two because I loved this book and couldn’t stop reading it!

This is a dark story. Yet not as dark as The Life of Anna Series. There is nonconsensual sex so if that sets off any triggers you probably shouldn’t read this book. The ending of the book did not end in a cliffhanger and did have a HEA. I haven’t heard anything about this book being a standalone but, I think it is.

This is Kyra and Nathan’s story with a little of Mark mixed in. No I can’t tell you about them. And, you need to read the synopsis that Marissa wrote because that isn’t what I do. I am not very good at giving you a synopsis but, then why should I. Marissa Honeycutt has left you with a perfectly good synopsis.

I think I have a love/hate relationship with Nathan & Mark. Although I really ended up loving Mark and yes even Nathan. Again you need to read this book so you will know what I am talking about.

I loved this book and yes Marissa you can write other books after The Life of Anna! Keep on writing and I will keep on reading your books! I loved this book and even though I received a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review I have preordered this book and will have my own copy on 1/13/16. I give this book 5 stars.

[Stacy Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Queen of Darkness has given us her softer side!
Distorted Hope is everything you could want in a Marissa book and then some...
Kyra and Jason are so innocent and kind. They have so many wonderful days to look forward to...until Nathan.
Nathan an arms dealer kidnaps Jason for a project and as an added bonus gets Kyra too.
Kyra is thrust into a world of power, weapons, and sex...all things she knows very little about.
But the unexpected happens..Nathan sees something in Kyra and soon things change!

I am in love with this book and I know all of Marissa Honeycutt's readers will devour it!

[osomanybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

She's back!!!

Marissa brings to this novel her beautiful flow, and her special touch of dark, as only she can.
Kyra is a meek young lady, unsure of herself, that gets swept away, literally, into a situation beyond her imagination, in which she begins to see her true value.

Nathan is a man of many means, and always gets what he wants, surrounding himself to hide his broken soul.

Never in a million years would I have thought I’d end up here...

I blushed again and played with the hem of my skirt. I was beginning to feel pretty.


Amazing story, a beautiful surprise, truly an awesome read!!

[EroticaAfterDark (Lilith)]

SAVE $4

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

Never miss out on a deal! Subscribe for free: http://goo.gl/eImdom

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marissa new book shows a softer side of her writing and doesn't disappoint.

Gone are the cruelty on her previous books and in comes a softer dark read that will appeal to the readers.

A really enjoyable read, Kyra and Nathan story will pull you in and have you waiting for more

[Parandoush · Rating 1 out of 5]

After the first chapter I realised that this book had to rate in my top 10 of crap books. I did finish the book by scan reading but I seriously thought to myself why am I even finishing this story and wasting my time.

[Susan Ridl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. I have always loved her writing. It was frustrating at times, sad at times, but also had really happy moments also.

[Kristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a dark soap opera.
Unfortunately for me, I'm not a fan of soap operas. Because like a soap, something happens to make the story interesting at the moment, only to be forgotten or ignored later. Everything is surface deep.
Emotions and feelings, promises and evil deeds, none of it meant anything, because it held no substance: the man who loved her one day, was casting her aside another. Promises of safety and care were neglected for reasons of plot twists and sensationalism.
I enjoy darker reads, and am fine with situations considered "triggers", but I did not like what felt like "dark" for the sake of manipulation and lack of story depth.

[booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how to review this.....
After reading Marissa's "Life OF Anna" books, I expected this to be similar. I guess, in a way it is but it's also quite different too. It's nowhere near as dark and twisted but does have some slightly dark parts with some twists. It was a really good read but I do feel like I want more from Nathan and Kyra. I do have some questions left unanswered which I won't mention because, ya know #Spoilers.
What I will say is it had a fantastic plot and storyline that the author could do so much more with, especially with all the side characters we were introduced to.
Overall a really good enjoyable read.

[Valentina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book does not deserve to be published.

[Zoe-Amelia Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as dark as Marissa's other books but still enjoyable!

I liked how it introduced us to some characters from Life of Anna 🖤

[Melissa Mendoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title:Distorted Hope
Author: Marissa Honeycutt
Series:
Publisher:
Release Date: January 13, 2016
Genre(s): Dark Erotica
Page Count: 304
Heat Level: 4 flames out of 5
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Blurb:

When her newfound happiness is suddenly ripped away, twenty-two-year-old Kyra is thrust into the cruel world of hardened arms dealer, Nathan Pierce. Her calculating kidnapper is a master in a game of leverage and abduction, whose power appears to have no limit.

Confounded by an unexpected magnetism, Kyra’s resolve unravels as she becomes engulfed in
Nathan’s dangerous world, even when she is terrorized by his inner demons.

Is Kyra holding on to the distorted hope of an impossible future or can she find light beyond the darkness?

“He leaned forward to kiss me gently on the lips. ‘I want you here for me. And only for me.’”

5 distorted stars!! Another dark and twisted book by Marissa and I loved every d@mn page!!

If you are expecting roses and sunshine this is not the book for you. This book is dark and twisted and I loved single second of it!! Kyra is thrown into Nathan’s world unexpectedly when she’s kidnapped by him. I won’t go any further into detail, but it just gets darker and more disturbing as you read!!! If you love your books dark and gritty, then this is the book for you!!!




ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed by Melissa from Alpha Book Club

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did think Kara fell way to fast for Nathan, I could see how Nathan fell for her right off because of a past trauma and Kyra reminded him of a happier time, but the way she went from loving Jason to loving Nathan was weird. I thought it was weird how she just accepted her new life. But it is a story so I could like shrug and say ok and move on. What I could not do, was how Nathan treated her around the 70% mark, that was unbelievable and horrible..how in the hell do you do that to someone you love? (even if you were trying to get her off your mind) and it continued for months...you know I had a hard time with this in LOA but I was able to get pass it because it was in a different world, but I don't like when this happens to the H and h, and to me again it was like she just accepted it.....no anger, still very polite. And an other thing all it took was for him to say he was sorry and she fell right back into his arms, she gave her love and trust right back to him...around that time I was like what???? I did not believe, could not believe that part. I got emotionally involved with Krya at that point and I felt she kind of let me down. But there is HEA and I guess that really is all that matters. So to wrap up , it wasn't a bad book, there was just some things in here that I don't like in any of my books...

[Nu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have so many mixed feelings about this book. So many questions and many times I rolled my eyes. But when I was about 70% in things really picked up for me. A surprise appearance from one of my favourite German men, a Kunze no less! Saved the day for me! A solid 3.5 stars!

I would have given it more and I feel terrible that I just can't. I think it was the constant descriptions of the place, the room, the garden, the living room that had me somewhat rolling my eyes in the beginning. Also the melodrama of her "innocence". Now please don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have read the whole book if there wasn't something keeping me there....there was....just ....something wasn't clicking for me.

I persevered and was duly awarded with some beautiful Marissa to keep me full. All in all it was a good read, what made it even better was the connection to the life of Anna. That was very exciting to me! And I loved that!

[Buffy the Book Slayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Honeycutt's writing is exceptional. Her elaborately detailed descriptions of how things looked, which grabs you and pulls you into the story even more, reminded me of reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, another great writer whose attention to detail made me a fan.

This was a good story though I feel like it ended a little too abruptly and so much of what was happening in the background (the reason Jason was taken in the first place) was left out, which kind of seemed important to the story. I'm left wanting more. A good read nonetheless.

To any readers who haven't yet read Ms. Honeycutt's "Life of Anna" series...I highly, highly recommend it. Dark and very difficult to read at times, but mesmerizing and gut wrenching. An excellent series from Ms. Honeycutt.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, and it captured my attention and held it all the way thru.
There were a couple of situations where the characters reactions were a bit unbelievable. It did surprise me that neither Jason nor Kyra tried to fight or escape at all after being taken, and Mark seemed unbelievably nice and polite for a sex slave kidnapper. Turns out, there's a reason for that.

She still managed to wreck my emotions with the situations Kyra found herself in, I was heartbroken for her, and I had to finish the book to find out what happens to her and if she gets a HEA or not. Personally, overall I found it to be a great read, I'm rather fond of kidnapping stories! I would recommend this to others, and would probably even read it again!!

[Alyssa Kale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not sure Marissa knows how to write a bad book. First Life of Anna, now this. It's a softer side to her, I'll admit, but still full of drama, angst, and suspense. You want to get your hands on the book ASAP, seriously. There's so many twists and turns throughout this book I wasn't sure who to love and who to hate for the longest time. Then she made me fall in love with the one I thought I was supposed to hate. I don't know how she does it.
Keep writing woman, I'll keep reading :).