The Lost by Cole McCade Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Tumblr
Published by Amazon Digital Services on August 25th 2015
Genres: Abuse, Dark, Romance
Purchase links: Amazon
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Source: NetGalley, Rock Star PR
There's something wrong with Leigh.
She's known it her whole life. She knows it every time she spreads her legs. Every time she begs for the pain, the pleasure, the heat of a hard man driving deep inside. She's a slave to her own twisted lusts--and it's eating her alive. She loves it. She craves it. Sex is her drug, and she's always chasing her next fix. But nothing can satisfy her addiction, not even the nameless men she uses and tosses aside. No one's ever given her what she truly needs.
Until Gabriel Hart.
Cold. Controlled. Impenetrable. Ex-Marine Gabriel Hart isn't the kind of man to come running when Leigh crooks her pretty little finger. She loathes him. She hungers for him. He's the only one who understands how broken she is, and just what it takes to satisfy the emptiness inside. But Gabriel won't settle for just one night. He wants to claim her, keep her, make her forever his. Together they are the lost, the ruined, the darkness at the heart of Crow City.
But Leigh has a darkness of her own. A predator stalking through her past--one she'll do anything to escape.
Even if it means running from the one man who could love her...and leaving behind something more precious to her than life itself.
TRIGGER WARNING: 18+
This book contains material that may be triggering or deeply disturbing to some readers, including scenes discussing or detailing rape, physical and emotional abuse, and incest. Please focus on self-care and, if this book is triggering to you, do not be afraid to put it down and walk away, or skip certain chapters. Be good to yourselves. -C
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: 4 stars
This review is really hard for me. I’m struggling to bring my thoughts into order. But I’ll give my best. So, here goes:
“The Lost” came with a long list of warnings from the author. After reading the blurb and the many warnings, I’ve already prepared myself mentally for a very disturbing and dark book. So, now I’ll tell you what it really was: A story about the hard fight and struggles of a young woman, trying to overcome her fears and issues and building herself a new life. A happy, or at least contempt, life. Away from everyone that made her former life living hell. Her name was Leigh aka. Clarissa.
My first attempt is to clear up the warnings of the author a bit. I try my best to do that without spoilering; and the reason why I do this, is that many people will be spooked from reading it just because of those warnings. Facts are the following: There is no abduction in this book; there is no actual incest, I’d call it “morally incest”; we get to read about a few sex-scenes with the female MC which are not with the male MC but with strangers; there is domestic abuse and rape and references of addiction in this book.
Whereas I would call “The Lost” not a dark romance but more of a romance with a very critical sight of life and a lot of shit happening – pardon my French, but I can’t call it any other way – you should take the warnings serious. There were a few scenes, but particularly one, in this book that made bile rose up my throat.
The writing was very special. I have to admit, that I was very curious about it since it happens so rarely that authors in the romance/erotica genre are male. But no matter if male or female, I had a hard time getting used to the writing. It was… strange. Very special. It was almost poetic but with a bit of weirdo woven into it. Yeah, that describes it pretty good. But after I got into it, I was glued to the pages. One thing was for sure: The author made me FEEL. I felt every little emotion. I got choked up, pissed, horny, scared, and angry and I fell in love. With the characters and the beautiful love-story that was in fact woven into the ugly and scarred parts of the book so perfectly.
As much as it was a beautiful love story, it was also a journey of a young woman who was fucked over by everyone around her, everyone she trusted. Until she broke – or rather, her wings broke – and she fell to the hard ground of a reality she painted for herself; main color: Black. She struggled, tried to overcome her issues and get back on track, whatever the right track for her might be. She was courageous, brave and overall a damaged but oh so beautiful character. In my opinion, everyone gets what Leigh goes through – if not to that extreme – because who didn’t struggle with her or his identity; no matter in which part of life.
Overall, it wasn’t a cookie-cutter romance with feel-good-effect, but not a shocking dark romance, either. I would recommend to read the book with a very open mind. Due to the trigger warnings and a few quite shocking scenes, I agree to the recommendation that readers should be 18 years or up. I’ll rate “The Lost” with 4 stars.
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