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Review

6 phenomenal stars!

HOLY FREAKING PERFECTION!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!

OH.MY.GOD!! Karina Halle has completely and utterly blown me away. The emotion and angst in this book is out of control! And God, I loved it!!!!! But despite this intensity, it also retained the hilarity of the previous books, as well as some fantastic character development and heaps of swoon. Apologies in advance for my long and overly quotey review, but you’re just gonna have to bear with me here, because I cannot help but gush.

The story picks up immediately after the end of On Demon Wings with Perry and Dex on very shaky ground with each other. However it doesn’t take long for Perry to realise that for the sake of her own safety and sanity, she needs to get away from her family, and that escape comes in the form of Dex. Yep, he offers her (a mostly platonic) sanctuary with him in Seattle. With no other real options, and despite all that she has been through with Dex, and her emotions being all over the place, Perry agrees.

Commence flirty, smutty banter and explosive UST! Woohoo!

The situation is strained and awkward as all hell, but there is some sensational teasing and flirting that goes on, I laughed out loud at the antics of these two, just brilliant! And when Dex and Perry get asked to go back to Experiment in Terror, the two of them take their teasing and angst-filled ‘relationship’ on the road and travel to the Canadian Rockies for a brand new assignment out in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, on the hunt for an elusive monster.

“We are really fucked up,” I finally remarked.
“Yeah, kiddo, we sure are. Now come on, let’s go hunt Sasquatch.”

And then there’s even more banter, and it’s dirty and flirty, and God, I loved it!

I noticed Dex’s eyes weren’t quite on the road but on my chest.
I sunk back into my seat a bit and lowered my scarf over my V-neck. “Can I help you?”
He grinned … “Just wondering why your breasts are on display when we’re heading up to the Canadian Rockies at the end of winter. That’s all.”
I grunted and pulled my cardigan around me. “I’m running out of clothes. This was the only clean shirt left.”
“You know we could make a clothing optional rule around each other. That way we’d always be naked and never have to do laundry.”
The way he said it made me shift in my seat uncomfortably.
“All right, Dex, quit it. You’re beating a dead horse.”
“I’m beating something horse-sized, that’s for sure.”
I shot him an unimpressed look. “Do you really think you’ll win me over by having sex with me?”
He scratched the side of his chin. “Well, they say the way to a woman’s heart is through her vagina.”

Dex is so incredible in this book. He’s still an arrogant, smirking ass who teases and flirts with Perry constantly, but he has changed so much, and is now also very open and honest, and very expressive in his feelings for Perry. This is an entirely new dynamic in their relationship, and regardless of whether she wants to hear it or not, he just lets it all hang out and it’s sensational, and oh so swoony!

“I was trying to be a better man, Perry. For you … And I’ll keep trying … Until I get it right.”

But Perry is still very hurt from all that has happened between them in the past and she holds back from him. I was soooooo torn by her actions in this book. Yes, to some extent I understood where she was coming from, and why she felt the way she did, and my heart did break for her. But damn, she drove me crazy. I wanted to smack her so many times!

And then the big blow up that we’ve all been waiting for finally happens. It all comes out in one epic, epic scene. Seriously… so much emotion – good and bad, it’s all there, and when Dex lets it all hang out… just… DAMN! I was cheering him on the whole way.

Spoiler

“Do you know why I freaked out? Because I realized I’d fallen in love with my best friend. The very same person who had just told me she didn’t love me. Call me an asshole for overreacting but that’s why happened. You’re not the only one who is hurting here, Perry. At least I didn’t do it deliberately.”

…

“This is me trying, Perry,” he said softly, the anger being drained of his face. “This is me taking my heart out of my chest and putting the bloody mess in your hands. I can’t give you much more than that.”

…

“I’m not supposed to be anything else than a man that’s stupidly in love with you. That’s what I know.”

FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!! The pain!! Oh God the pain!!! It hurt so much!!! I burst into tears as Dex poured his heart out, and then ugly cried my way through the rest of the scene. It was so brutal, and my heart was aching! But OMG, it was sensationally written! It hurt, but every moment of that scene is just pure, heart-wrenching perfection.

All this, and the resulting fall out, happens while they are wandering through the Canadian wilderness, on the run from a mysteriously horrifying ‘creature’. Is it sasquatch? Is it a hoax? Is it something different entirely? There are the usual thrills, action, and nail-biting tension, and even a llama called ‘Twatwaffle’. And because it’s all tied in with what’s going on between Dex and Perry, it’s all hyper-emotional, and I was feeling everything so much more intensely that I normally would have. But it all adds to the ride, and it’s so descriptively written, I could see it all unfolding in front of me like a movie, and it was awesome!

Having read the entire series up to this point back to back, I am now stuck waiting a few months for the story to continue. It’s going to be a hideous wait, but I’m really happy with where things were left off. The ending had me in tears yet again, and left me utterly, utterly wrecked. It was absolute perfection!

Spoiler

“You are always a part of me Dex. You’re every part of me. Always have been. Always will be.”
…
“I love you Perry … I love you so fucking much. And I’m losing myself. I’m losing myself to you and I don’t care anymore because there’s never been a better feeling in the whole fucking world. I love you. So much. Too much. Always.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIL!!!!!!! And yay Perry!!!

Karina Halle, you are a goddess, I worship at your feet, and cannot WAIT until June so that I can get another fix of what has become one of my all-time favourite series.

6 phenomenal stars!

Thanks again to my EIT posse for putting up with my ranting, gushing, and tearful ourbursts while reading. And yes, I’m fully aware of my Quote Whorishness, comments are not necessary 😉

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REVIEW FOR BONUS SCENE – ‘ON TARGET’

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

OK, so this is going to sound really weird, but this little short was actually my first exposure to Experiment in Terror. I had heard so many things about the series, but was never too sure whether it would be my thing. Then I saw this little bonus pop up and I thought I’d check it out so I could get a feel for it and see if I liked it. OH MY GOD!!! I was instantly sucked in, I laughed so hard, and had a serious case of insta-love with these two bizarre characters. It propelled me into a mad reading frenzy which has seen me read 5 books and 2 novellas from the series in the last week.

The short that takes place during book 6 – Into the Hollow, when Dex and Perry are roomates (with a WHOLE lot of history behind them), and tells the tale of them shopping together in Target. It sounds like such a mundane thing, but with the chemistry between them in full swing, and Dex being Dex (the whole thing is from his POV, and God, I love being in that man’s head!), it turns into a hilariously banter-filled and dirty outing – with an ‘interesting’ interaction with a lost little boy.

“Mommy,” Tyler tugged at her terry-cloth sweatshirt, “Mommy, he told me he’s going to take me away for some candy and I can pet his fat dog.” LMAO!

Perry and Dex are both brilliant! Definitely two of my favourite characters ever, and this little story is a fantastic reflection of them and where they are currently at. I’m totally obsessed with this series, and anybody who hasn’t read it – you need to get onto it… right now!!!!