Number Thirteen

by Bella Jewel

[Cocktails and Books]

This was quite a different story. I wasn't sure what to expect from any of the characters, but I found myself unsure as to whether William was truly a heroine or something else.

Thirteen girls find themselves being held captive by Master William. He says he's brought them to his home to save them, but the girls aren't so sure of that. Number 13 is the story of how one girl manages to break through the icy walls surrounding their Master to discover the broken man who thinks he's saving them from a greater hell.

Despite the being held by William, each of the girls and William himself, are trying to overcome some sort of evil that happened to them in their lives. Whether the evil was through their own action or those of others, they each learn how to connect with people again, learn to trust. It was an easy road for any of the girls or William, but by the courage of one girl, Number Thirteen, they all fight, learn and trust their way into an unlikely family.

It was hard to figure out exactly what William was up to, especially when he dispensed with his method of punishment, but there were times I forgave him because he was just as messed up as the girls. In his mind, he was doing what was best for these girls, providing them with a home and teaching them skills they can use to live happily n the house. I didn't really start to like him until he started engaging more with the girls and realized that he, just as much as them, needed to learn how to trust and learn to be something other than the young teenager who was attacked and hurt.

This was definitely went a direction I wasn't expecting and it's definitely different from anything I've read by Bella Jewel before.