#Review #AudiobookReview Black Iris by Leah Raeder

Black Iris by Leah Raeder
Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
Published by Atria Books, Simon and Schuster on April 28th 2015
Narrator: Grace Grant
Genres: F/F, F/F/M, LGBTQI, Romance, Suspense
Purchase links: Amazon, Audible
Add to Goodreads
Source: NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Audio

The next dark and sexy romantic suspense novel from the USA Todaybestselling author of Unteachable.

It only took one moment of weakness for Laney Keating’s world to fall apart. One stupid gesture for a hopeless crush. Then the rumors began. Slut, they called her. Queer. Psycho. Mentally ill, messed up, so messed up even her own mother decided she wasn't worth sticking around for.

If Laney could erase that whole year, she would. College is her chance to start with a clean slate.

She's not looking for new friends, but they find her: charming, handsome Armin, the only guy patient enough to work through her thorny defenses—and fiery, filterless Blythe, the bad girl and partner in crime who has thorns of her own.

But Laney knows nothing good ever lasts. When a ghost from her past resurfaces—the bully who broke her down completely—she decides it's time to live up to her own legend. And Armin and Blythe are going to help.

Which was the plan all along.

Because the rumors are true. Every single one. And Laney is going to show them just how true.

She's going to show them all.

We received this book/audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.

BOOK REVIEW: 3,5 STARS

I think this is the hardest review I’ve ever had to write in my blogger life, because I loved the audiobook, loved the writing of Leah, liked the book, liked the topic, but…. disliked almost all the characters and hated the ending (which needs an explanation with lots of spoilers). That’s why I give it 3,5 stars (in average).

5 STARS FOR THE AUDIOBOOK’S EXPERIENCE

Let’s start with what I loved the most about Black Iris: The Audiobook. Grace Grant’s narration was perfect! I was a little afraid about her performance because she doesn’t have the voice for a teenager but she proved me wrong because she can do anything, she can narrate a teenager, a girl, a boy, a man, a woman, a bad person, a frightened person and of course, an aroused person, not to mention the situations all these people had to live in this book. She can narrate A N Y T H I N G and A N Y O N E. She did amazing with Lane, Armin, Blythe, Zoeller and Donny. She transmitted all their emotions, hatred, love, highs and lows, anger, depression. Everything. She made the rollercoaster of emotions more bearable. I need to be honest, I started reading the ARC before the release day, but I couldn’t finish it, because it was too intense, crazy, weird, so I decided to wait for the audiobook because I knew it would make it easier for me to finish the book and guess what? It did.

5 STARS FOR LEAH’S WRITING STYLE AND THE TOPIC

I also loved Leah’s writing style. I loved her book Unteachable, and that was the main reason I wanted to read Black Iris so badly since the moment I saw the post in Leah’s FB page about her new book. I love how she describes emotions, actions (the sex scenes were super HOT), places, people. She knows how to develop characters so well, the main ones and the secondary. She created their personalities so real, so believable, so human, that you just end up loving them, or hating them. And, aside from the writing style, she can get a sensitive topic as gender identity, especially in the teen years (Reading how Laney was struggling with her own identity, how she felt like a girl and a boy and nothing at the same time), and write an amazing book View Spoiler »with a horrible ending IMHO, Ugh, I won’t ever get over this « Hide Spoiler. From my limited knowledge of the topic, I think she did it very well. If you want to know more about it, check this article of Upworthy.com. (Thanks to my friend and co-blogger @Lu_Scar_ for instructing me in this matter).

2,5 STARS FOR THE CHARACTERS

Now, the characters. *sigh* This is hard for me, because I had a love/hate relationship  with all of them. The only one I always loved was Donny, Laney’s little brother. He loved her to the moon and back, no matter how disappointed he was on her, or if he had to confront her, he always loved her and supported her. In regard to Laney, Armin and Blythe, they played with my emotions all the time! I knew Laney had a secret, a plan and a revenge from the beginning, she was so broken for everything she went through in highschool and with her mom, but I never, for one second, imagined what really was happening in her head, and with Blythe, and never ever imagined the truth about Armin. *sigh* Maybe I’m as f*cked up as they were but from the beginning I was #TeamArmin, even after knowing all the truth, I’m still in his team. I never liked Blythe, I had a hard time reading/listening to the last quarter of the book, because it was all about how she and Laney were…. well, what they were doing, I’m not gonna give this spoiler. Anyway, Blythe was so sick, so crazy, so obsessed… She was an addict after all.

0 STARS FOR THE ENDING

But the ending was what really made me mad about this book. What in the actual f*ck?, so here goes the spoiler of this book. View Spoiler »I never give spoilers, but I can’t not talk about this, this is driving me crazy! I understand they were in love, I understand they understood each other, but why? WHY? Why did they have to have their HEA if they didn’t deserve it? UGH! That is unnerving! And the worst part is that Laney didn’t learned anything after everything that happened! You dont have to guess that I ended up hating Laney, right?  Because I really hate her! It’s funny because I never expected to hate her so much, I felt pity for her, for what she had to live in high school, with her mother, with Zoeller, I was sorry and I kinda understood her need to revenge, but come the f*cking on, why you had to continue being such an asshole? Ugh! Unbelievable! And as for Armin and Donny, what happened to them after all the truth was out? There is a huge blank in the story that I needed to know! But TBH, I don’t really want to know anymore. I think if the audiobook had failed when it was 90% and the ebook didn’t have the last chapters, I think I would be happy and I’d have given to the story more stars. Sadly, the ending was there, and I finished reading this book (OK, I could have DNF, but I was so curious about how it was going to end that I had to finish it) and Leah was who decided how this story ended and not me… « Hide Spoiler

Yes, I know, I’ve never reviewed a book like this, giving stars to several aspects and ending with an average, but I had to write all this, I needed to let it all out. Leah, I’ll read your next book, and the next one after that and everything you write. I will forget about the ending of Black Iris and everything will be great in the world again *grins*.