Julie and Kim knew better. They went anyways!When an innocent road trip takes a dark turn, two young women will end up fighting for their lives.To celebrate her college graduation, Julie Edwards and her best friend, Kim, take off on a road trip across the country. But a simple pit stop becomes the end of the road when the two young women get tangled up into something they never saw coming… in … women get tangled up into something they never saw coming… in their wildest dreams!
What people are saying about Unreal:
Didn’t expect the change of events to begin and continue so close to the beginning of the story. The who-done-it character is a surprise. The ending was satisfying. – S. Burkhardt
Enjoyed reading it very much. Liked the characters. It moved along quickly. Would definitely recommend it. Difficult to put down. – Amazon Customerpegg
Fast paced……trigger warning for those who have been through sexual abuse this book is hard to read. Well written though. – Christina Powers
I read # 1 and #2 and now reading the last in series.. so hard to put down!! Can’t wait to see what happens in the end !!!! – Roberta F. Goslicki
Disturbing, intense and believable. Couldn’t put it down. The characters were well portrayed and felt very real while reading. Plan to read in all in one sitting. – Lori Hughes
This book is for mature audiences only. It deals with topics such as abuse and is recommended for readers 18 and older.
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I absolutely hated some of this or part of the story but I was captivated by the story and held to read it. I see there are 2 more books and I’m looking forward to reading them. I really loved the book. Brutal yes, but because I’ve been in this situation, and grew up with this, the story must be told.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
OVERVIEW OF STORY: Julie and Kim have a big plan for their last adventure before settling into adulthood. A road trip. No maps, no plans, no worries. Unfortunately for the friends, they don’t know that evil is waiting for the perfect moment to derail them in a horrific and unexpected way. The first stop they make is at a little cafe, they meet two boys on the same sort of trip. The foursome wanders into the woods, drinking and talking the day away. Julie wants to return to their trip but Kim, the freer of the two, tells her to loosen up. Julie wakes up bound and naked. She and Kim are now being prostituted unwillingly. Ethan is invited through a new client for a weekend of fun that turns out to be debauchery. While there, he is thrust into a room with Julie horrified by her situation he vows to leave and return with help for her and Kim. Leaving Julie’s room, he finds out Kim is dead, and Julie can’t wait for help. So, they make a run for it, fight their way out of the woods and manage to make it to freedom. One of her captors dead the other maimed. And this whole thing is a lot bigger than anybody thought it would be. It turns out that Julie’s step-dad is the one who set them up for their little detour. When this comes out her formerly over-protective mother sides with her husband. Julie finds that the only person she can stand to be around or even remotely trust is Ethan. They form a tight friendship that grows into a relationship she thought she would never be able to have after everything she endured.
OPINION OF BOOK: I thought Unreal and the way it was told were original. I don’t read blurbs or reviews, I like to be surprised. I had no idea where this was going, and it was a terrible and terrific ride all at the same time. The author did a wonderful job of getting into the characters heads and divulging their emotions and driving forces without stating outright they did this because of this. The characters were well rounded and felt like people that I knew by the end of the book. There were a whole host of villains that I loved to hate. From the two guys who took Kim and Julie, the men who so callously used them and the man who had ultimately set them up. I was shocked by Julie’s mother’s reaction to what happened to her daughter. I expected her to be horrified. Instead, she believed the lies her husband told her about Julie wanting this, and Ethan hadn’t saved her but was a John. It’s no wonder Julie turned to Ethan who saved her in so many ways. All in all, this book carries the ugly truth about something that can and probably does happen far too often. But it also goes on to show how people can come out the other side of it. They will never be the same again and they may never be whole again. But they can live again.
OPINION OF WRITING: Unreal is in need of editing. There was an overuse of italics and improper word choices. Sentences would change direction or cut off mid-stream. Without using all the graphic details of the assaults, the same things were said repeatedly. And it started to feel a little lecture-like. The explanation of the kidnapping of the girls seemed a little contrived and left me with a lot of questions. How did the boys know where the girls would stop? And the bad guys just happen to have a cabin conveniently located within walking distance of where the girls stop for food? Why was there so much attention paid to the restaurant when it was inconsequential to the movement of the story?
This book is definitely not for the feint of heart! It’s a very dark story that left me needing to continue to read the book so I could see what was going to happen next. The adventure that these two women went on turned in to their worse nightmare and then some! I received this book free from Booksprout but I then purchased it from Amazon as well.