Darkness can be stained by light. Light can outshine the darkest of corners.
Behind a window in Amsterdam’s desired Red Light District, Samantha practices the art of seduction. Man after man, she controls them, seeking what they both want. But behind the façade of the glass, lies her truth waiting to be uncovered. An inner battle of light and dark takes place as Sam learns to release the past … the past and truly live the beautiful tragedy that is life.
Red lights and black hearts collide in a tale of heart and soul.
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She hides behind the glass, providing what is asked and taking at the same time. She doesn’t look too close because she doesn’t want them to see, until Max. He wants to see what she doesn’t want to share. He can reach into that place she has hidden. He is philosopher and counselor as he draws her out. She doesn’t want to feel but she can’t resist. He is the sun to her moon.
This isn’t a love story. It isn’t pretty. It is reflective. It is hard. It is sweet. It is sexy. Samantha has hidden for years and now she can hide no longer. It is time to heal. It is time to forgive. It is time to remember. Then there’s Max. He wont let her hide any longer. He keeps on digging and wont stop.
An emotional introspective read with a dark path. This isn’t the HEA you expect but it is an ending. Love these characters and the flow of the story. It is so not what I expected but most definitely worth the read.
Having just finished this, I’m still absorbing the tale that was shared within these pages. Intense. Eye-opening. Introspective. The inside look of a victim and her journey back to the life she was meant to live, taking back her power, becoming the strong woman she is. While I desperately wanted more with Max, I know that that wouldn’t work into the destined path for Sam.
Fabiola has such a wide variety of stories, and each one will affect you in an elemental way. Definite recommendation.
What an amazing book! This story is such an inspiring experience. This is about Sam. She works in Red Light District in Amsterdam. She dances in the window and lures the men in. Once they are alone with her she is in control. And she gets strength from this. In her reality, in her past, she wasn’t in control. Family lied to her. Family abandoned her. Someone that was supposed to love and protect her did the opposite and made love something distasteful to her. So she mistakes controlling men’s pleasure as happiness. She lives a life with no personal relationships, except for Bale who works the door for her. He isn’t a stranger to pain either. Then she meets Max. He sees her in the window and sees more than a beautiful and seductive woman. He visits her every chance he gets. But he isn’t her usual customer. He pays. But just to talk to her. To get to know her. Sam at first is annoyed with him but she starts to look forward to his visits. And slowly but surely he starts to affect her and change her life.
This book is a must a read. There are so many quotes that everyone can live by in this book. This story has something everyone needs. Whether it be a story about healing, tragedy, strength, romance, forgiveness, anger, self discovery… This book has it all. And I guarantee after you read it you will be a changed person. You will look at your life different. I love books that do this. So read this book and let Sam’s story engulf you.
As I started to read this book, I have to be honest, My first impressions of Samantha were that she was a bit of a heartless prostitute, and even though I enjoy dark reads etc, i wasn’t sure this would be a book for me. Well OMG was i wrong or what !!!!! If ever i was to be reminded not to judge a book by its cover, Samantha and Max just kicked my butt into place !!
Having survived a horrendous back ground, Samantha is now successfully working the Red Light District of Amsterdam. She keeps to herself, and enjoys the power she has over the tricks that are lured into her “Office” for a closed curtain on the window session. She gets off on the power she has over their pleasure. She is surviving and coping with life, having her emotions on lockdown determined never feel or show them again. Yes she has a chip on her shoulder, but the more i got to know her, the more I could empathise with everything she was feeling and thought. Max is a man just like all the rest, when he visits her room, but it soon becomes obvious, he’s different. This is a Love story and love isn’t always pretty or easy. Sometimes it just takes one person to reach you on that inner level where it counts. Just one person to help you regain parts of yourself that you thought were dead. One person to show you that even though you are living, that you actually aren’t. Their journey is painful at times, yet it gives so much hope, its uplifting yet it brings the tears !!
Max was one darned special man, he knew how to reach the darkest deepest depths, without invasion. This is a love that grew and developed in the most beautiful way. Two souls that unite in one battle. but can it end with a happy ever after? This author broke my heart, but how this book ends is the right way !! This is a book that has you questioning yourself over and over again and will leave its mark. Sometimes in life and love we have to take a chance !! I am so glad i did with this book and I am even happier that Samantha did with Max !!!
I struggled hard with this book. The story was fine, but by the time it got going I was so over the excessive philosophizing and circular reasoning the character kept using I couldn’t even enjoy it. I felt like Fabiola Francisco was trying to write profound, thought-provoking sentiments, but they came off forced and awkward. Many of the more elaborate sections of the book were quite non-sensical when you slowed down and looked beyond the pretty words to the core of what was being said.
I wanted to love Samantha and Max, but I didn’t connect with them alone or together. Sam was set up to be a very sympathetic character, but her constant refusal to see beyond the years-long pity party she was throwing for herself made me indifferent to her plight. Max, for all his goodness, also gave me little to care about. I didn’t understand his desire to be around Sam, and eventually, I didn’t care when all their interactions seemed to be regurgitations of the previous ones.
Honestly, I started skimming this book at about the 40% mark, and it did seem like there was some redemption for the characters later in the book, but I was so over the writing style, the frustrating characters, and the lack of forward movement in the story I couldn’t find the desire to stop and take the time to find out the details of how their story ended.
Red Lights, Black Hearts could use another editing pass. There was a ton of that/who confusion, sentence fragments, word misuse, and various other editorial issues that need to be addressed.
This was my first attempt at reading anything by Fabiola Francisco, and I can’t see myself reading anything else by her. The writing style wasn’t for me, and it seemed that the actual storytelling took a backseat to attempting to show off her prose. Ultimately, I feel like this author hasn’t quite found her voice yet. The writing felt forced as if she was trying to emulate other authors, but not reaching the goal she was reaching for.
A wonderful story about forgiveness! Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. I became invested in Samantha’s journey and I wanted the best for her.
Max’s character was there to give Sam a nudge, but in the end it was Samantha that had to make the choices to live her life, love herself, and choose to forgive. I was sad that they had to part ways, but I knew that was how this story needed to end and the author wrote the story so well.
This book is dark, raw, and honest, and the light shines through to give us a story of love and forgiveness! A definite must read!