Black Iris

by Leah Raeder

[whisperingchapters]

This review can be found on Latte Nights Reviews

A dark and twisted tale of an anti-heroine who will seduce you, lure you in and scare you.

I had no idea what I was going to read. All I knew was that the blurb definitely got me hooked and Natasha from Book Baristas kept saying the book was amazing and everyone had to read it.

This story is so twisted like you cannot begin to imagine! For the first time in my life, I enjoy a story that openly talks about lesbianism and bisexuality. Our heroine, or shall I say, anti-heroine of the story is not one you usually tend to like. Laney has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, which means she is a very mentally and emotionally unstable human being. She is a character who has "manipulating" as second nature.

I am not the heroine of this story... I'm diagnosed borderline and seriously fucked-up. I hold grudges. I bottle my hate until it ferments into poison, and then I get high off the fumes.

Her past is not one you want to have. Her parents are very dysfunctional. Laney didn't even have friends in high school, especially after a scandal video made it's way into the hands of her classmates. If she used to be an outcast, she was the dust beneath your shoes after that video. One night she meets an interesting pair: Armin, a guy who treats her as if she were a psychiatric client but can't help loving her. And she meets Blythe, an intoxicating woman that Laney cannot stop thinking about. They make her feel so energetic and alive. You would think that being them will help her find redemption and save her... In the end, she is not the only one who needs saving.

This book was a major mind-fuck, the kind that I love to read. I love stories that give me a headache, trying to figure out what is going to happen, only to receive a major slap in the face at the end. It is filled with flawed characters and plot twists that you will never see coming.

Leah Raeder is an author that has a beautiful writing. Her writing is intricate, poetic, lyrical, at times metaphorical... All of these laced together can bring a very imaginative and compelling story that will leave readers excited and impatient for more.