Steal Me
(Haunted
Roads Book 1)
Author: India R AdamsCategory: New Adult/Fiction/Drama/Romance
Suitable for: Adults
My Rating: 4
Stars
Format Read for Review: Kindle mobi provided by
author
Pages: 313
Description: The
story centers around a teenage boy named Maverick who recently lost his dad.
His mother being unable to cope with the death of her husband turns to pills,
leaving Maverick alone to raise his adorable little sister. Looking for a fresh
start and an escape from their sadness, the family moves to a small town where
Maverick makes new friends who have also recently experienced great loss and
other heartaches. Together they heal and time passes but can they ever really
escape the Haunted Roads?
In Short: This book is an emotional ride that shows you the
darkest and lightest sides of the human experience. Like many of India's books
it alternates between laughs and tears and hits you right in the feels
relentlessly throughout the book. It talks a lot about loss, each character has
experienced death. If you are looking for a beautiful drama look no further.
Pros: This book
is very well written and well edited and effectively makes the reader feels so
many emotions. The romance elements of the novel were perfection. It is a sort
of blend of romance and erotica that avoids all of the stereotypical issues sometimes
found in those genres. The sexual content is varied and creative, and the
romance is sweet, well paced, realistic and at times a meaningful struggle. I
loved the meaning behind the title 'steal me' and the creative, repeated use of
it in the story, as well as the theme of the Haunted Roads. I thought India did
a good job overall at writing male first person perspectives. I love the use of
parallels. For example, there are three sets of big brothers who had to look
after little sisters after they experienced a great loss. This created a powerful
connection between the characters while also adding a artistic beauty to the
story. The characters and the dialogue are amazing. There were times when I
thought, "Wow, this is such a realistic relationship." When Maverick
and Delilah went off to college and were struggling to balance their
relationship with their new busy lives it was really realistic and created a
great emotional conflict that was satisfying when it was resolved. I loved that
this story contained real relationships that you don't always find in novels.
The dialogue and banter often had me laughing. It is amazing how this book
could have you crying one second and laughing the next. I don't usually read
sad books, I prefer to just be happy all the time, but I made an exception for
this at times painful book because from reading other books by India R Adams I
knew there would be beauty and tender moments as well. I was not mistaken.
There are countless touching scenes that make up for any heartache. Sometimes
it is good to have a nice cry, this book reminds me of those sad movies that
are perfect for that. It is impossible to accurately express how beautiful and
touching I find this book and if you like the genre you will not be
disappointed.
Cons: At times it
was hard to remember these characters are teenagers because they often act so
wise and mature. The most noticeable is Maverick's knowledge of how a woman
experiences sex and that being unlikely for a 16 year old boy. Not having the
same equipment means it would be difficult for men of any age to know what it
feels like for women at any specific point during sex. On the plus side it
portrays Maverick as a skilled and generous lover (a perk for fans of
romance/erotica). I was thrown off by the perspective switching in the middle
of the book. It happened right after a mysterious and shocking little hint of
something big occurring. As I was dying to get back to the timeline I was
previously on, and find out what happened to our star character I had to time
travel back and reread (many repeated scenes) from another character's point of
view. This added more back-story for some of the other characters and also
revealed the things Maverick didn't see from his point of view. But I thought
much of it was redundant or implied the first time through and I was just
really anxious to return to Maverick's story and find out what had happened
after that little 'cliff hanger' the whole time. It was satisfying when it did
bounce back at the end and I did enjoy the ending.
Parent's Guide & Trigger Warnings: This book contains
potential triggers for rape and abuse. There is swearing, graphic sexual
content, violence, alcohol use and prescription drug addiction.
I received a free copy of this book in return for my honest
review.
If you are looking for a book equally beautiful but with less adult themes check out my review of My Wolf and Me and Blue Waters
