A thrilling suspenseful romance that will have you on the edge of your seat by USA Today Bestselling Author Claire C. Riley.The perfect villain… or the perfect victim?Growing up, Carrie was Ethan’s one true love, his fixation and his constant obsession. Friends to the bloody end, they were each other’s rocks whilst navigating through their dark and monstrous childhoods together. But then Carrie … childhoods together. But then Carrie died and Ethan was almost destroyed by the secrets that were revealed in her wake.
It’s now fifteen years later and Carrie is back from the dead… and Ethan is forced to confront a truth he’s tried to deny himself for all these years.
With his obsession renewed, the situation rapidly spirals out of control as their story escalates towards a dark and startling conclusion. Because now Ethan has a singular focus;
Keep the girl, no matter the consequences.
The truth should set you free, but what happens when the truth is the one thing that can destroy you?
Can Ethan’s obsession for the girl he’s always loved ever really be more than that? Or is the idea of her the only thing left to fight for…because perhaps, the illusion of Carrie was the only thing he ever really had.
‘UNPUTDOWNABLE!
The must-read book of 2018’
New York Times Bestselling Author
A. Meredith Walters
‘Riley is AT HER FINEST in this darkly compelling book!’
Speculative Fiction Author
Eli Constant
‘INTENSE, DARK & INTRIGUING…
I couldn’t put it down’
Goodreads Reviewer
‘A FRESH VOICE & AN ADDICTIVE READ,
I never saw the twist coming’
Goodreads reviewer
more
I have read a few books by this author, but none were ever quite like this one. I went blindly into this book, but I knew it was going to be different than anything else I had read by this author, just based on some if the posts I’ve seen on social media. Normally, I’m pretty good at figuring out the direction a story is headed, early on, but this one stumped me completely. It was thrilling, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I especially enjoyed the aspect the story was told from. It was unique, and I loved the fact that this author didn’t candy coat any of this story. It’s raw and keeps you pumped and excited to find out what’s going to happen. This is a story that will stay with a reader, for a while after turning the final page.
Oh wow, what a ride!
This story has completely blown my mind. It is absolutely breathtaking in its darkness, so heart wrenching in its sadness and yet so beautiful that you find yourself desperate to find out more of Ethan and Carrie’s story.
At first I couldn’t like Ethan, couldn’t find any light in his darkness but the more I read and the more the story unfolded the more that darkness became grey and I found myself really feeling for him, to the point where I wanted to hold him in my arms and tell him everything would be okay.
Carrie I had more mixed feelings for, feeling sorry for her one minute then despising her the next, even now I’m not entirely sure how I feel about her, possibly just sad that her life was the way it was…
Many of you will know I love Claire’s other books, be they post apocalyptic or not but this is something completely different from Claire and something I loved so, so much and I really hope we get more work like this from her as it really is the most superb piece of work.
It is a story that keeps you thinking throughout, a story that opens your mind and makes you question things, a story that is more terrifying than all the zombies in the world because you know that this is real, that this could be happening in the next street to yours or even the next house and lets face it human will always be more terrifying because they are unpredictable and that makes them/us much more dangerous than any “monsters”.
This was a very different read. It was very well written, with the two main characters being chillingly real and very damaged. Sick and twisted, dark and terrifying in its depravity, sad and tragic are just a few of the words I find best describe what I felt while reading it. I had a few what the?!? Moments while reading this, which is always a good thing. If your a Claire Riley fan this will be slightly different than what your used too, so know that before going in. Though that does not in anyway mean it does not stand on its on. I have read all her books, and enjoyed them immensely. This one is no different. Truly blew my mind!
“We were the imperfect ones. The ones that didn’t fit in.”
When I read the blurb I was really excited to get my hands on this book. I love dark suspenseful books, and I know that Claire does an incredible job in writing these type of stories. Right from the start I knew I would be in an unpredictable emotional rollercoaster, and I wasn’t wrong about that. I was hooked and couldn’t wait to see how the story would unfold. The book starts with Ethan following his daily routine and giving the reader a look into his thoughts. I didn’t know if he was a good or bad guy. His actions and thoughts gave me mixed feelings, and had me guessing until the end. The author also did a great job in giving glimpses into Ethan’s past and showing the reader how and why he turned out the way he did.
“I couldn’t tell you why I fell in love with Carrie Brown. It could have been because she was beautiful and broken. Or it could have been that she knew I was weird but told me it was okay to be so.”
I will not go into any details, because you’ll enjoy this book the most if you go in blind. There were so many twists and turns, which resulted in me changing my thoughts about the characters several times. Who is the ‘victim’ and who is the ‘villain’? I had no idea! The author wrote this book in a way that confuses the reader in a good wat. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, and hooked until the end to figure out what is going on. One moment I felt bad for Ethan and other times I thought he lost his mind. But one thing I know for sure and that is that both Ethan and Carrie are broken. They both go through things that no person should go through, and it broke my heart to read how it changed them. I also think the ending was fitting but it did leave me wanting more. Hopefully Claire will write more Psychological Thrillers!
“Carrie was a victim, and her circumstance was life. And mine was thinking I could ever save her.”