Nose Graze — Book Reviews
I wanted Epilogue to be amazing. It was the book I turned to in my hour of darkness, when my "bad book" tally was up to 2 books in a row. I needed something great—a "guaranteed to be amazing" book. I chose Epilogue (no pressure). On the one hand, I was psyched. I loved Captive in the Dark and Seduced in the Dark so it seemed like Epilogue would be a slam dunk. But at the same time, I was afraid I was going to overhype it. Maybe I'd build it up to be so great, that when I read it, it would only be "okay"...
I'm very pleased to say that was not the case!
Epilogue rocked... hard. We get a whole book dedicated to Caleb and his fucked-up-ness, and his sexiness. This book certainly don't glorify Caleb. It shows us some of his darkest moments and confirms that he is a bit of a monster; but there's also something more there. He's not only a monster. He has feelings, emotions, and love. Caleb is the embodiment of "complex". This Dark Duet series has the best saying ever: some stories aren't black and white. This could not be more true for Epilogue and the rest of the Dark Duet books. It rings so true on every page.
"I'm in the process of becoming something else, Livvie. I hope it's something good, something far removed from the monster you knew."
In Epilogue, Caleb shows us how he struggles to accept himself as someone capable of love, and he struggles to accept that Livvie actually wants to be with him—a monster. Caleb also shows us how Livvie tries to come to terms with the fact that she loves Caleb. She can't help but wonder: is there something wrong with her for loving him? He kidnapped her, he raped her, he abused her... but she loves him. That is wrong and fucked up on every level, and Livvie has to deal with that.
"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. Help me?"
Livvie
Epilogue is bursting with raw energy, complexity, and dripping hot sex. I'm honestly not into BDSM myself, but The Dark Duet continues to have some of the hottest sex scenes I've ever read. It actually felt even more amplified in Epilogue, but maybe that's because we were constantly in Caleb's head and, let's face it, he has a dirty mind. ;)
"We're pretty far from perfect, Kitten. I'm the most fucked up person you know."
I didn't just love Epilogue because of the sex though (I swear!). This book—this whole series—has so much depth to it. It's seriously one huge mind fuck, but that's why it's so amazing! You can't help but think about it over and over. It gets under your skin, it makes you cringe, but it also makes you kind of hot..
I really like how Livvie completely held her own in Epilogue. In huge contrast to Captive in the Dark, Livvie had several moments where she was in control. She was sexually confident, but also just confident in herself. She had friends, hobbies, interests, and overall she had a very strong life. I was.. kind of proud of her! It's like seeing someone grow into their skin. And even though she is pretty fucked up, I was just so proud of the woman she had become and how she really took charge in her relationship with Caleb.
"I want you. I want you bad enough to try and be someone better."
Caleb and Livvie have to work together to heal through the past, and they do so beautifully. There are no rainbows and fairy tales in this book; there is pain, humiliation, and hurt. But Caleb and Livvie have to work through that to get to some slightly-off shade of normal. It's not an easy journey and they have to confront their fears and their pasts. Caleb was hoping they could just push the past away and start new, but they can't. They can't ignore the past, they have to face it head on and deal with it, then move forward.
"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."
CJ Roberts rocked it fucking hard with this book, as I knew she would. Part of me is devastated that the series is over. The Dark Duet has been one of my absolute favourites for so long, and I know I'm going to miss Caleb and Livvie and their fucked up world. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what Roberts has in store for us next (no pressure!).