Cellist, Luka, has moved to Bristol to start a new job and recover from the betrayal of finding his best friend and his girlfriend in bed together. He doesn’t plan on the emotional thunderstorm that meeting his next-door neighbour Jess causes.Jess had everything, a man she loved, friends she adored and then the world crashed around her. Depression came from nowhere and slowly started ripping her … ripping her life away. Now she lives a lonely, sad life but the music which she keeps hearing next door is waking her up and she doesn’t know why.
Join Luka and Jess as they discover life after heartache, how to forgive and how to live and love again.
Entrapped is an 18+ Contemporary Romance with several graphic sex scenes
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Entrapped is the debut novel in a contemporary romance series written in 2018 by Claire Ayres. When the blogger and avid supporter of health and wellness announced she was writing a new series, excitement filled the air around me. I love her voice and writing style which made me greatly look forward to her release. I’m not a regular reader in this genre, but it’s always good to push our boundaries. I’m glad I did with this book as it shows you something very different that we aren’t always familiar with in our own little bubbles.
When your heart is broken, and then someone tramples all over it, what can you do besides crawl into a ball and weep? We’ve all been there… which means we must understand how Jess feels at the beginning of this novel. But throw in the added and overwhelming 24/7 struggle of depression, then it’s a whole lot worse. Jess didn’t know she was depressed and when her boyfriend ends their relationship because he can’t deal with her instability, we can’t help but root for her. Then she gets help and meets Luka, but she’s not sure how to trust anyone again. What should she do?
Through a series of connections and obstacles, we find common ground among this couple as they try to re-build their lives separately and together. Luka comes with his own ‘baggage’ while Jess’s ex, Ade, tries to re-establish his life with Jess a year later. He’s changed. She’s changed. What’s gonna happen? These are just a few of the events playing out as we watch a larger group of friends and colleagues try to find happiness and focus in their lives. All among some difficulty.
This story kicks off what I hope will be a long series of novels centered around a fantastic group of 20-something and 30-something adults struggling to make it in life. Ayres takes an in-depth and brave approach to sharing the less traditionally beautiful sides of life… what’s it like to feel depressed? how do you handle being cheated on? who do you trust when your best friend betrays you? Emotions run high in this book. That’s where you realize beauty comes in all forms. Ayres shows from personal experience what it’s like to go through a roller coaster ride when dealing with how you interpret the world around you. When you come out on top, it’s all the more satisfying… just like Jess’s story.
Readers will hopefully look at this book as a fresh and unique approach to how one builds and breaks down a relationship. But on the flip side, the 18+ aspects of the physical chemistry and attractions between Luka and Jess are incredibly strong. While definitely detailed and for a more mature audience, they are tastefully written. You might just get a little too worked up!
Overall… great balance in sadness and hope… romance and erotic attraction… fear and doubt. I’ve already had the pleasure to read the next book in beta version, so I can’t wait to see when it’s released in final form. Kudos to Ayres for delivering this fantastic story and set of characters.
Jess is a sweet shy girl. But Jess is going through a tough time. She is diagnosed with depression and instead of a supportive boyfriend, he is a jerk and walks out and never comes back. So on top of dealing with her depression, she is also dealing with a broken heart. With the love of her two best friends Jay and Katie, she will heal. But will she heal completely.
Luka is an amazing cellist. He has moved to Bristol to start over. His heart is broken and he needs to heal and learn to trust again. Sometimes he feels like his loneliness will swallow him whole. So he pours his heart and soul into his music.
Jess is on the edge of her depression. But one day the music coming out of the apartment next door knocks her for a loop. That is how Luka finds her. In the hall on the floor crying. What has this beautiful girl in tears? He feels protective over her. Can they both heal their broken hearts?
This book was amazing. “Bravo! Bravo!” If I could give it more than a 5 star rating I would, because it deserves it. This book is so emotionally charged. There were so many up and down moments that you will feel it deep in your bones. Love, sorrow, betrayal, self-doubt, happiness…..just……everything. Claire’s writing style is amazing. It feels as if she poured her heart and soul into this novel, into her wonderful characters. Claire really does know how to write an emotional book, that will draw you in and have you invested from the very first chapter.
Overall this book was outstanding. Claire is a very talented author who knows how to blend emotions together and create a wonderful master piece in her story. Her characters are not only lovable, but easy to relate to. This creates a very life-like story. The story flowed at an easy to read steady pace, that contained flash backs to help build the characters up and help the readers to get to know them better. I was so blown away by her story. I can’t wait till the next book comes out. I bet it will be just as good as this one.
*ARC provided by Neverland Blog Tours & Claire Ayres