Murder. Guilt. Obsession.When Bella stumbles upon her dead sister’s diary, she sets out on a mission to find her sister’s killer, but it leads her to the wrong side of town.And right into the path of Rocco, a loner, a bad boy, who is determined to keep her away. After all, you protect your own, and Bella certainly doesn’t belong with the likes of him.But it’s hard to move on when you’re chained … hard to move on when you’re chained to the past, and Bella is intent on getting justice for her sister…even if it’s at the cost of her own life.
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I have been struggling to write this review because there are parts of the book that I really liked and parts but other parts that, for me, just didn’t sit well.
I liked the characters and the storyline. It’s definitely different from ones I have read in the past. And ignoring the parts that did not sit well with me, I really got sucked into the book and the ending has stayed with me for days.
The story made me smile, anxious, and sad throughout. I don’t want to give anything away telling about the couple of parts that took me out of the story but definitely recommend this.
This is my first book by this author and I will definitely be checking out her other books.
I purchased this book on its release day. Yes, Reliving Fate has been sitting on my kindle since 23rd June 2017. I love this author’s work. Natasha Preston is one of my one click authors. History shows that what I will read from her, I will love. Why did I leave it so long to read you may ask? Well to be honest I think all readers get sidetracked from their reading plan but we tend to get there eventually. However there are times, like this one, where you just want to kick yourself for not reading a book sooner.
What can I say about this book without spoilers? First of all it is OUTSTANDING!! This will definitely be one of my top reads not only of the year but of all time, that is for certain and deserves more than the five stars I can award it. I felt the author wrote the most perfect story….. true to what was meant to be. The book was one that I struggled to put down, in fact it got to a certain point and even if my house was on fire I couldn’t have not continued reading this incredible story. Emotionally Reliving Fate had everything – there was angst, sadness, humour, love, joy and heartache. I swooned over Rocco – he will forever be a favourite character of mine. Bella and her family – well you know from the blurb that they have lost a daughter/sister, and my heart aches for all of them but especially for Bella because as you may have read, she tries to seek justice for her sister and you need to know the reason why!
An unforgettable story that will have me deep in thought and probably drying my eyes for quite some time. It is one that I feel everyone must read and I am certain you will love it just as much as I did.
A slow beginning of a story that you won’t be able to put aside. It just lures you in and won’t let go…
Bella’s sister was murdered when she was just a little girl. Even though her family is doing everything they can to honor her memory, Bella can’t seem to get over her loss. With secrets still buried deep inside her, she’ll do whatever it takes to reveal her sister’s killer. One night, she meets Rocco and there’s an instant connection. Every day they’re getting closer and closer but with her sister’s death and her path to get to the truth looming over them, it’ll lead them straight to the path they need to take… to have justice…
Oh man. This book. Before I even get into it I would like to thank Natasha and her PA Kim for sending me an e-arc of this book it is very much appreciated. So now that is done this book oh it is the most beautiful and heartbreaking book I have read. When I started this I honestly thought it was going to be a slightly fluffy cute read and it was that but it was so much more. This is a non-spoiler review so sorry if I’m a bit cryptic I don’t want to spoil it for you.
We follow Bella who is trying to discover who murdered her sister and whilst she is trying to discover this she meets Rocco. From the moment we met Rocco I fell in love with him immediately, he had a slightly cocky attitude and the first time they meet although he is cocky he was still slightly concerned that Bella was in the bad part of town so late at night. The banter and I wouldn’t really call it arguing more like sniping made me fall in love with the two of them so fast, and the fact that both of them kind of bounced off each other throughout the story made it even better. The relationship between them just grew and although it changed from being friends to in a relationship to eventually saying I love you, they still had the banter (even funnier when it came to meeting the parents) but it was my favourite thing about the novel. I’ve said before that for me it is always about the characters and these two were the perfect characters. I have so much more I want to ramble but I feel like I’m going to repeat myself. I finished this last night so coherent thoughts are still all over the place.
The way Bella opens up to Rocco about her sister’s death it was so lovely especially for the most part she had been very closed off with him in terms of her family and her life. And she tried to get as much as possible out of Rocco so her opening up to him it was such a different side of Bella especially as she always tries to be strong and doesn’t like to show her weakness really. So it was really lovely watching her open up and tell him what happened to her sister.
Bella’s family I understand that they are super over protective because of what happened to their daughter and just want what is best for them, but you would think they would want them to be happy. Bella struggles with the relationship with her sister and parents, it was good seeing the effect of losing someone on a family and how you could either express it or hold it in. But I totally thought that they were very judgemental when it came to Bella and her choices especially in terms of university as well as her relationship. They like to compare her to her twin a lot whether they mean to I don’t know but they also bring up that she is jealous of her.
For once a man that doesn’t use the bad childhood excuse to be a total dickhead, Rocco could be a twat at times but he wasn’t a dickhead, he didn’t emotionally blackmail or abuse her (which seems to be a theme in those books with bad childhoods) despite how he earned his money other than working at the garage he was really sweet and caring towards her even with the slutty jokes. Rocco was just perfect I’m in love with him.
I loved this book I want to talk more but that means spoilers and it was really hard writing this without spoiling you guys so I’m probably going to do a spoiler one later on. But this book was heartbreakingly beautiful and I do think this probably just became my top book of 2017. But oh I love it. I also cried I can’t tell you why though! You should all definitely check this book out! You will not regret it!
When Bella Hastings,18, was 6 years old her older sister, Celia was killed and when she finds her diary she is off to find out who murdered her. Her family has never gotten over the loss of Celia and Bella feels that her twin sister, Olivia, is the perfect child and she struggles to fit in.
Rocco is 22 years old and from the bad side of town. He meets Bella out on the beach one night and feels the need to keep her safe. He is extremely attracted to her but is hesitant to get involved as they are from two different worlds.
But Bella and Rocco challenge each other in ways they were not expecting and the two find themselves together with passion and intensity. Bella vows to find Celia’s killer but will Rocco be able to keep her safe when she begins to ask questions? When Bella’s parents find out about Rocco will they approve of the tattoo’d bad boy?
This book was filled with twists and turns that kept me wondering what was going to happen next.
I thought Bella was a great character who was really trying to find her place and thought she could get some closure if she was able to find out who killed her sister. She had a wild side and was constantly sneaking out of her grandparents place which did have me a little worried. She was headstrong and ready to go into “battle” while not really being prepared.
Rocco was my dream man and I loved the banter that he had with Bella. He was so protective over her and wanted to keep her safe as much as he could. The two had chemistry that was absolutely sizzling and I loved how they listened to each other. Rocco was rough but he was proud and gentle with Bella when it came to how he felt about her.
The twists and turns were awesome and my gut told me not to trust one person but I doubted myself but I was onto something!
My heart broke when Bella got into the huge fight with her parents about Rocco and how everything went from there. I was proud of Bella though as she knew what she wanted and how Rocco was truly right for her and she knew a side of him that her parents didn’t.
The end just gutted me and I can’t figure out why it had to be that way. I was so mad at the author for that as it wasn’t right!!
This is my very first novel read by Natasha Preston.
Was my expectation high? Yes.
Did I know what to expect? No.
Was I hoping for brilliance? Yes.
And that is exactly what I got.
The struggle to write this review is real guys. My emotions right now are all over the place. My heart is broken, I have that dull ache in my chest and I’m still wiping my tears.
This novel has destroyed me.
And I absolutely loved it.
We meet Bella.
Her sister was murdered when she was only six years old.
Guilt consumes Bella.
And after twelve long years, Bella still has one thing on her mind.
Revenge.
Her sisters killer was never caught, but Bella will put her whole life on hold to bring justice and peace to her family.
But at what cost?
Will Bella find the truth?
What monsters lurk in the shadows?
Will Bella find solace?
Or will it ultimately destroy her life?
And Rocco?
Who is he?
What part does he play?
Can he give her the answers that Bella is so desperately seeking?
I honestly don’t want to say anything more other than you definitely need to read this.
It’s raw, confronting, sinfully delicious, heartbreaking and breathtaking. It’s edge of your seat suspense, gut-wrenching and everything in between.
It’s a beautiful disaster.
Thank you Natasha Preston for giving such an emotional read. It will stay with me for a very long time.
5 stars.
This book is my top pick. I loved it so hard!