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Review

“We’d come so far, and I was oddly desperate to see where we could go.”

OMG! Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!!!!

You have to love a book that finishes off a series so fully that instead of leaving you to imagine the happy ever after… you actually get to see it (and all of the mess that comes with it)! And… wait for it… in the hero’s POV! Genius!!! Especially when that hero is a character as complex as Caleb – God, how I love him!

Note – If you haven’t read the first two books in the Dark Duet series, you really should stop reading this review now, because it’s one massive spoiler.

OK, so this book picks up Caleb’s POV in the moment when he and Livvie are reunited in Barcelona after he left her at the US/Mexico border one year previously. In the last book, Livvie says that they kissed and that was the end. Caleb takes us from that kiss and straight into what happened immediately afterwards. And from the very start, it recaptures all of the tension, confusion, fear, love and lust that you would expect from their reunion. And I absolutely love the way it is written – like Caleb is having a conversation with us while telling us the story. And he doesn’t hide anything, he puts everything right out there.

“I am the man who kidnapped Livvie. I am the man who held her in a dark room for weeks. I’m the one who tied her to a bedpost and beat her. I’m the one who nearly sold her into sexual slavery. But, most importantly, I am the man she loves.
She loves me. It’s quite sick, isn’t it?”
…
“I’m at a loss for justifying my behavior back then. I assume if you’re reading this, I don’t need to make those justifications. You’ve already made your own.”

I swear, I read that in the opening, and instantly had a massive smile on my face, just knowing I was going to be reading something very special. And I was not wrong.

Caleb has literally searched the globe for Livvie, and now that he has found her, he is desperate for another chance with her. But he is, justifiably, wracked with guilt for all that he put her through, and even though they clearly still love each other, they have a massive battle ahead of them.

A lot of books feature tortured characters, characters who have endured some sort of trauma, or a hero and heroine who have a murky past with each other. These two have it all, and probably have the most complex history of any couple I have ever read. And not only do they both need to deal with that and come to terms with everything that Caleb put Livvie through, but Caleb needs to earn Livvie’s forgiveness, as well as figure out how to forgive himself for all that he has done to her.

“She wanted me. She wanted to give herself to me. I felt unworthy to accept such a gift, but it didn’t stop me from clutching it fiercely to my chest.”

“You have to give me time. You have to let me be mad at you. You have to promise that no matter what I say or do, you’ll forgive me. You’ll wait for me to let it go.”
So many emotions and I couldn’t let them out. I settled for stating the obvious.
“Livvie, I’ll forgive you whatever the hell you want. You don’t need my forgiveness; you never have to ask for it. It’s yours, Livvie. Anything that’s mine to give is already yours.”

Caleb’s absolute commitment to changing and becoming the man that Livvie deserves is amazing! His feelings, and the depth of his emotion is so vivid, I felt everything that he was going through. He pours his heart out both to Livvie, and in his narrative, and it’s sensational.

“I know you deserve to be happy. I know you deserve someone… better, but I’m selfish. I want you. I want you bad enough to try and be someone better.”

“No, Kitten. I’m not okay,” I whispered. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take for me to be okay. I just know that as long as you’re with me, there’s a chance that one day…I might be.”

Just… wow.

And then there’s Livvie. I love Livvie. I loved her in the first two books of the series, and she just continues on with the awesome in this one. She is such a strong character, and she grows so much over the course of these books. She is feisty, confident, and not afraid to stand up for herself. And she is also very clearly still trying to come to terms with everything that she has endured. In doing that, she is open with Caleb with what she is feeling, and with what she needs from him. Her reactions to him are realistic, and the dialogue is so emotive, even though we don’t get her POV, you feel, and understand everything that she’s going through.

“You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Caleb. You’re also the worst. I’m trying to reconcile those two things.”

Things get really steamy as they find a way to move forward together, and their intimate moments form an important part of the story as they both fight to overcome the past. Especially as Caleb still has a bit of a dark side, and Livvie needs that part of him just as much as Caleb needs to let it out.

But it’s not all uber-emotional dealing with the past, meaningful conversations and intense bedroom scenes. Caleb and Livvie both have a wicked sense of humour, and the banter, teasing and flirting between them is absolutely phenomenal!

I love Caleb and Livvie together! Their story had such a horrendous beginning, that they fell for each other at all in that situation is a miracle. The fact that they fought their way out of that situation, found each other again, and found a way to be together in a way that is believable, is all down to C.J. Roberts’ wonderful writing.

This book is well paced, brilliantly narrated and fully engaging the whole way through. A beautiful ending to an incredible series, and a must read for any fan.

I absolutely loved it – 5 stars.

 

The Dark Duet series