Release Day Review and Giveaway: DOWNFALL by Willow Aster

DOWNFALL
Kingdom of Sins Series #1

by Willow Aster

Publication Date: October 17, 2019

Source: Wildfire Market Solutions
Pages: 296

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http://bit.ly/Downfall-US

http://bit.ly/Downfall-UK

http://bit.ly/Downfall-CA

http://bit.ly/Downfall-AU

Synopsis

I was naïve to think my marriage to Luka Catano might work.

I was infatuated with him from afar…

Until I met him.

He loved the challenge of his next conquest, anyone would do...

Except me.

A wife was never something he wanted.

Torturous was not a strong enough word to describe how I felt when I was in a room with Luka. Besides hating nearly every word that came out of his mouth, I also drowned with lust every time I looked at him. 

At times I thought he might feel the same.

But nothing prepared me for what his family would make me become.

My Thoughts

“I’m intrigued by him, Yet I loathe him.”

That sounds about right. Like Eden, I loathe Luka. Early on there was a point where I wasn’t sure, I wanted to read a book with a hero like him. I’m fairly new to Willow Aster’s books (this only the second book of hers that I’ve read) and I didn’t know her writing style and how she was going to work it all out. That is why I kept reading.

The thing that made me go GRRRR is Luka has it in him to be nice to her. To respect her and to cherish her. He revealed that part of himself to her. JUST BE THAT PERSON! His behavior could be explained away because of his age, his family background, the fact that he warned her who he was and how their arranged marriage was going to be. But um, seriously dude, do better.

There will be readers who love Luka and find his actions redeemable, but he was infuriating to me.

What I can appreciate about DOWNFALL is this reaction that I’m having to this character. I’m very impassioned about getting these thoughts out. And the funny thing is, while Luka isn’t my kind of hero, I had to know how his relationship with Eden all was going to play out. I needed to know what was what with the royal families. And there are characters I enjoyed getting to know: Eden, Jadon, Ava, and Brienne. My affections toward these characters was a nice balance to all the GRRRRs toward Luka.

DOWNFALL is entertaining for sure. I have some reader friends who will eat it up and I will without a doubt recommend it to them.

Read it. Get impassioned and let’s talk!

AUTHOR BIO & LINKS

Willow Aster is a USA Today Bestselling author and host of Living in the Pages podcast. She lives in St. Paul, MN with her husband, kids, and rescue dog.

Follow Willow Aster

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Living in the Pages podcast

iTunes | Android | Google Play

GIVEAWAY

Tour-wide Giveaway hosted by the author.

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Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC as part of the blog tour hosted by Wildfire Tour Solutions. I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review: SADIE by Courtney Summers

SADIE

by Courtney Summers

Publication Date: September 4, 2018

Published by Wednesday Books

Pages: 311

Source: Library

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Synopsis

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late. 

My Thoughts

This book haunts me. 

The method of storytelling is perfection - giving readers Sadie's mindset and motivations while the podcast pieces together the events that led to her disappearance. It was interesting getting the perspective of the interactions from the people Sadie encountered and how they compared to her account of their interaction. But the most perfect element of this book is the title. Sadie. It's not "the girl who . . ." It's Sadie. In saying her name, she's not just one of the many girls who disappears, vanishes, runs away.

A memorable moment that stuck with me (and there are many) was this observation by May Beth Foster (Sadie's surrogate grandmother):

"She got rid of her books, movies, clothes . . . just everything.

It makes me sick to that about her throwing her life in the garbage like that because that's what it amounts to. Every little bit that made her, everything, was all in the trash and when I found it, I just started to cry because she'd  . . . it wasn't worth anything to her anymore." 

You can see this from the perspective May Beth and the tragedy of it all. And it leaves you wondering what Sadie with thinking as she threw it all away. Did she know she wasn't coming back and didn't want to leave anything for someone else to have to clean up? Or was she trying to erase herself? Erase the girl she was for Mattie? 

There's so much to speculate about this book and that is what makes it thrilling and captivating and tragic. It is not an easy book to read, but it is fantastic.

Macmillan has offered a podcast to accompany the novel titled THE GIRLS: FIND SADIE (listen to podcast). The podcast was made available prior to the publication of SADIE but I decided that I'd wait to listen to it after finishing the book. It definitely enhances the story.

SADIE is a must read!!! I loved it.

Disclaimer:  I obtained this book from my local library and am providing my honest review.  I was not compensated in any way for providing this review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.