Oh gods. This is so beautiful. After reading the Suicide Watch which had totally stolen my heart and now, having this, Kelley York definitely gave me morereasons to love her even more. I don't know how to elaborate my feelings but this is really wonderful. Wait- am I the only who thinks the guy on the cover is cute? He is really cute. Anyway, the tone is obviously dark. Deaths were everywhere.Death. Death. Death. And. Death. And it was quite depressing and heartbreaking to see the characters you used to love died. Just ouch. But at the end of the story each pieces of our broken hearts will be stitched back with hope and love.

Kelley, with no doubt is really great in making fabulous characters. I do really love her characters so much that I am willing and desperate to search fairy godmother, to ask her to bring them to life. And give them warm hugs.

Vivian Hilton, this girl was confusing. I don't know what to feel for her. Compassion? Anger? Annoyance? She had gotten raped by her brother's friends and received no justice after. Her life was ruined. And yet, she chose it to be more miserable. Going out with different guys and letting them to use and hurt her. And she didn't even bother to learn something,and kept doing it again and again. Oh gods. That made me want to slap her. Her terrible childhood experiences probably changed her view of life. And she chose it. And I really really feel bad for her, because she was broken and thought her actions were the right and good thing to do, which obviously were not. And some of us do the sameway. And Archer Pond did the same way. But he learned.

Archer was broken inside. With his mom hating him because of the death of his father. And also his obsession of Vivian. Vivian here. Vivian there. Always for Vivian. Oh gods that was tiring. But after he witnessed the rape of Vivian, he grew up promising to himself to avenge her. And he killed for her and he would do anything for Vivian just to make her happy. But Archer's life wasn't his anymore, it was Vivian's. But things started to change when Evan Bishop cameto his life. Okay. This is it. The best part of the story. I liked how they met. How the sparks flew. And it was awkward and cute. And I was like, at last! Bye bye Vivian! Hellooo Evan!!!

So Evan was the good guy who helped Archer in his worst times and to sort things out. And apparently, he discovered what Archer did in the past. And I was glad he haven't freaked out that much. I told you he was the good guy. The chemistry between this two characters started innocently. Which was superbly cute. I mean they felt awkward sometimes when they were together. Especially Archer every time he felt comfort and happiness in Evan.

This book is awesome. You'll definitely love Archer and Evan. Go read it!

Sometimes I forget my coffee at home and post reviews on the wrong book. Oopsie!

 

I happened to win a copy of Revealed, the second book in this series, via a Facebook contest. So, of course I had to read Hushed first and I am glad that I did. Not only does Britni Hill create a great atmosphere, her settings made me feel right at home. Like I was sitting there having a beer with the characters. I would say my biggest frustration is that I never really connected with Tess as a character. Tess seemed intent on avoiding the "bad boys" because her ex-boyfriend treated her poorly, but ends up dating a jerk (Jason) anyway. Nothing from there on out surprised me.

From the very beginning of the novel, I loved the tension between Tess and Blake. Their first kiss was swoon-worthy, so it kind of bothered me that we immediately jump to Tess dating/breaking up with Jason. When you have that kind of instant spark with someone it seems silly to brush it off, and even more strange to date the stepbrother. While I was glad we didn't have to read a lot about the Jason/Tess relationship, I did like Blake's character a lot which is what saved this book for me. The tension that builds over spring break due to their interesting sleeping arrangements was a lot of fun to read. As with most romance, there is always that fatal flaw in the relationship that needs to get resolved and the author does a good job with that without it being overly dramatic.

All in all, I enjoyed the start of the Western Palm series and will definitely read the next installment if only to learn more about the other characters in the series.

The things you do for love.  This story is incredible; bringing you into the depths of despair as you look into Archer's dark and twisted mind as he seeks justice then into hope, with Evan reaching out to Archer, patiently waiting for him.  Archer is seeking revenge against the people who hurt his best friend Vivian when they were kids.  Ticking the names off a hit list, Archer has a goal unbeknownst to Vivian. Vivian’s boyfriend Mickey abuses her and the two of them have a constant off-and-on relationship.  Archer can’t stand Mickey and he is the one who picks up the pieces after their constant battles.  Archer meets Evan, who is compassionate and a great friend for Archer.  Asking for nothing in return, Evan listens to Archer talk about his issues with Vivian and he learns about one of the hits he made against Vivian’s targets.  Archer just cannot let go of Vivian, he feels this connection to protect her even as she pushes against him. As Archer continues to set himself up for failure with Vivian, Evan tries to explain that to him as he waits for Archer to come around for him. Archer finally discovers that he wants Evan but Vivian is not ready to let him go.    As Vivian uncovers the truth about Archer’s doings, the book picks up speed and Archer is caught in the middle.  It’s a complicated romance, a story about relationships and a story that will leave you breathless.

 

Archer was so committed to Vivian; he was bound and determined to bring justice to the people who raped his best friend that night.  Archer didn’t like the fact that she changed after that night and I liked that the author added that into the story.  “The only person she ever wanted was me. Afterwards, everything changed. She changed.” As small as those statements were, they added something dramatic to both the characters of Vivian and Archer.  This story was gripping and intense, as Archer was trying to avenge Vivian’s attackers and Vivian was moving the men around in her life like checkers.    When Evan enters the picture, I thought Archer would see the light and run off with him but he was too attached at the heartstrings.   The things we do for love.

Kelley York is a very talented writer. She creates wonderful characters, jaded, broken and full of angst and despair. But there's always a glimpse of hope in her works. I devoured this book.

Despite what other reviews have stated, I did not find this all that Dexter-ish. Yes, Archer has killed people he categorises as "bad" much in the way Dexter does, but he finds no pleasure in it, and it is not an outlet for him in any way. Actually, he feels quite bad about it. Where Dexter needs to kill, Archer has a hit-list and a very personal reason for each person on his list.

 

Mostly this is a story about the toxic relationship between Archer and Vivian. They were best friends since they were 8 or so - a relationship that started out great, but changed as really crap life-cards were dealt to them both. By the time we meet them in college, Archer is quite introvert and a broken kid who feels unworthy of anybody's love or attention. He will do anything for Vivian, who treats him as her doormat and intermittent rescue guy from her very fucked up life. Throughout the book Vivian slowly looses her grip on reality and Archer struggles against his need to always help her. There is murder, yes, and a scrambling avoidance to get caught, but mostly I felt that this was a book about Archer trying desperately to drag himself out of the black, toxic oozing tar pit hateship he has with Vivian. He is helped along by Evan, who is this little beacon of hope that somebody, for some reason, might actually love him for him, and not just want him around as a facilitator for feeling better about themselves.

 

The book has a very dark undertone, and oh my GOD is Vivian a slappable selfish little bitch, but at the same time it is uplifting as you follow Archer through his struggles to free himself from Vivian. And even though I didn't like Vivian at all, I could still to some degree empathise with the panic she obviously felt when her life spiralled out of control.

 

The story has a fairly slow pace at the beginning, in the sense that things are still somewhat normal. It doesn't mean boring, just that things are happening at a easy pace before gaining more and more momentum until all control of events are slipping through Archer's fingers and we're standing there watching Hurricane Vivian wreck havoc on his life. But throughout all of it, Evan is still this little calm in the eye of the storm - understated and sweet, seemingly shy and a law-abiding, upstanding citizen - that somehow still thinks it is quite all right to hide his boyfriend's less savoury deeds from the police :-)

 

Such a great book. I also liked the nice touch of Archer's slow barely-aware refreshingly angst-less transition into realising that hey! I seem to like boys, and I somehow ended up with a boyfriend.