A Terrible Love

by Marata Eros

Jess Mackey is living a meticulously fabricated lie of necessity. She's left the secret tragedy of her past behind along with who she was and is forging ahead with a clean slate. But Jess soon discovers that passion can't be left behind-neither her own, nor that of the one man who sees who she really is…and whose unexpected presence may breach the peaceful life Jess has painstakingly created for herself.

Devin Castile didn't expect to meet a young woman who may be the missing puzzle piece to his existence…and who is also the victim of a heinous crime. Devin convinces himself that he can remain emotionally distant even while indulging his physical desire for her. But when Jess's lies begin to crumble in the face of their undeniable attraction and the truth is revealed, one of them might pay with their life.

• ISBN10: 1476752192
• ISBN13: 9781476752198
• Publish Date: 10 October 2013 (first published 26 April 2013)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 17 February 2016
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Gallery
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

A Terrible Love wound up being a very different story than I thought it was going to be, but not in a bad way. Jess's best friend was murdered by her stepbrother, and now she's in hiding so she won't be next. It's been two years, but now she's going to school and thanks to a new friend, has rediscovered her passion for ballet. Then she meets the two men who will change her life forever, again. Mitch seems sweet and safe, but Devin lights a flame in Jess that she didn't know was there. She attempts to date both of them (not secretly), but obviously, it doesn't work out. Especially since all three of them are keeping secrets.

There is a pretty great suspense plot at the center of A Terrible Love. Jess's stepbrother was never caught, so she's always looking over her shoulder. She died her hair, got contacts, and changed her name. But that's not going to be enough to protect her. There's also a serial killer loose at her university, which has everyone on edge. The men in her life also tend toward violence. There's Brock, who uses his fists to keep her out of his way. Devin just exudes physical power, and jumps in at Jess's defense. Even sweet Mitch has his jealousy moments which veer toward domination (and not the sexy kind!). She just can't escape it. Of course, not all is as it seems...

My lower rating has to do with the romance. At first I loved Jess trying to date two guys that she likes for different reasons. They know about it, and don't like it, but she reminds them that they don't own her. Obviously, she has to choose one, who is obvious from the blurb. I would have picked Devin anyway, because their chemistry is sizzlin'! They have some super hot scenes together! However, I didn't believe for a second that they were in love. They have sex twice and don't have any conversations, but Jess is desperately in love with him? Sorry, I don't buy it. I would have liked more development between them to bring their relationship from lust to love.

In the end, I did really like A Terrible Love. It certainly kept me engaged as Jess tries to navigate her new life, while not letting the past smother her. There was always a sense of danger, since the reader knows her evil stepbrother is out there and it's only a matter of time before he finds her. Everyone has secrets, which eventually come out. I was shocked by some, but not by others. The ending felt rushed, and I would have liked to have learned more behind the bad guys' motivations.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Cocktails and Books]

2.5 stars

This one had such strong potential but it fell completely flat. The writing style was disjointed and seemed to jump from scene to scene...even if the scene we were just in left you hanging.

I felt bad for the heroine, Jess/Jewel, but more times than not, it seemed like she was encouraging trouble to come find her rather than moving forward in her life. One prime example...the door knob on her dorm room was broken and it was taken campus maintenance forever to fix it. So if you were on the run because of something horrible your stepbrother did, would you let a broken doorknob go? Hell no!!! And that is one example of Jess/Jewel doing things that just made it hard to feel sorry for her.

Then here was Cas. He wanted her, claimed it was just for sex, and basically treated her like dirt. Then we find out who he really is and what his feelings are and the two Cas' don't mesh at all. I get that his job required a certain amount of acting, but at some point (especially given how long he'd been doing his job) you'd think it's be pretty hard to put on the dickhead act and not make your feelings know.

I'm bummed this wasn't the edge of your seat book that it had the potential to be.