I was extremely lucky to receive an arc of this book, and after finishing part 2 of Anna's story, I was badly in need of the next one in the series.
So, I always summarise in my reviews, and haven't in the last 2 reviews from this series, but I think it does help somewhat to know what to expect. So I'll give a spoiler free, and kind of hard to understand rambling summary of main events.
Entwined, Part 2 left with Alex feeling confident that he was getting somewhere with his research, in to how he can protect Anna from Devin, her malicious Master without it putting himself or Anna in a worse off position.
Embraced starts off straight after that, and Anna is happy. She is dating Ben, the lawyer from an apartment in her block. She can feel like a normal girl with Ben, and loves it. Her dancing is also going really well, and things seem perfect. Except that usually is a huge warning sign in Anna's life. Anna knows she can't get away with Ben not knowing about her other life, and that somewhere along the line, the 2 lives she lives will inevitably cross.
I already know that for everything good in these books, generally something pretty ugly and messed up will follow shortly afterwards. I read the book waiting for the signs, knowing that the twisted monster that is Devin will somehow be lurking around the corner, and yes, again he was there. Waiting to take control of Anna again, and remind her who and what she was.
Cue shocker number 1. No spoilers in this review, so I won't go on to explain what happens next. After the unspeakable events, we find Anna struggling to deal with pain. Not the physical kind this time, but the emotional. Which she has a harder time coping with. One thing to come out of Anna's grief is this shocking yet amazing fire that she seems to have found. A bit of a new Anna, and it's really quite scary but awesome. Although Anna's feisty side isn't quite enough to stop Devin from doing something even more weirder and messed up than normal.
Anna is made to go spend xmas and new year in Germany with Alex. Yet as Alex left Anna to go back to Germany, without much explanation, when she needed him, he is the last person she wants to spend time with.
But he is her other Master and reluctantly she goes, and we get a chunk of happy Anna and Alex for a while. Although....Again, happy Anna = trouble brewing. Things are going way too good for Anna after her trauma from before, and Devin is far too quiet. Considering what Anna and Alex have been up to whilst away from the US, I just know this time, Devin's punishment will be something beyond bad. Like horror film bad. Peeking through my fingers, not quite brave enough to look, bad. I also had a huge feeling, it would have to top the other shockers in this series.
The following sequence of events, after Germany are quite nerve racking ones. Alex has to go off on a mission, Anna has to do her duty and go to one of the big gatherings as the Elder-Mistress alongside Devin. Alex will be far away, and unable to protect Anna. I was almost scared to read on.
Anyway, enough with the dramatics, I'm not going to spill anything. Of course those following scenes are extreme hardcore, like testing limits and pushing boundaries hardcore. I was expecting dark and nasty but wow. I am beyond glad that I wasn't watching it on a film, I think I would of hid, or puked. Not sure. Perhaps both.
After managing to close my gaping mouth, after the constant back to back shockers. I wasn't sure whether I should be welling up or urging. Anna has pretty much taken far more than is physically, and mentally possible. I have no idea how she is even sane or alive. The bad stuff is thrown at her constantly, and you would think she has reached her limit. Not yet, but it's coming.
The final part of Embraced is beyond sad. I refuse to give up hope on Anna and her future. The daft romantic and HEA lover that I am, is keeping my fingers crossed for the next part. I may have to cross them until February but it could work. It wasn't left in a cliffhanger, I'm just left with a lot of questions. Which will have to wait for now.
So after that bizarre summary of what you get in Embraced, baring in mind I can't actually say much without giving away, well everything. I just want to say, this series continues to blow my mind. Usually by the 3rd part in a series, I start to get bored and lose the urgency to get to the next book. Not with this series. Embraced was a book of epic proportions, not just the massive story but the sheer amount of pages. It was a long story, and every single page with captivating. I have been known to skim pages, if I get bored and not much is happening. There is no way you could even skip a paragraph in this book. You would miss so much. It's packed not only with huge amounts of action and drama, but Anna's internal thoughts are so fascinating. She is such a unique and compelling character, and knowing there isn't any others, out there like her, I just want to know more. Although for every dubious and obvious non consen scenes in this book, there is also a huge dose of extremely hot and intense steam too. Although usually I'm still a bit traumatized over previous scenes to fully appreciate the hotter stuff, and scrubbing my eyes to wipe the visions, but it's all good.
Again, this wouldn't actually be as gripping as it is, without the dark genius that is Marissa Honeycutt. Her story telling and writing skills are intense, and suck you in. Then leave your brain a bit fuzzy, but that's a good sign in my opinion. How will I ever return back to my waiting contemporary romance reads.
So I should really put a warning at the end of this review. Yes, this is finally the end....So, WARNING!! Seriously, don't go in to this book without first reading parts 1 & 2 or you will be totally lost, and missed loads of good stuff. And secondly, DO NOT read this book if you have limits in books, as it's pretty much a certainty this book will cross most of them. If your limits haven't already been crossed, they will probably be lined up for the next book. It is extreme! But also pretty awesome!
Hugely recommended for fans of Dark Erotica. 5 Stars.
(Read Dec 16th 2014)
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