The dark new standalone romance from best selling author Jane Harvey-Berrick“The perfect balance of dark suspense and heart-warming romance, this was a book that I could not put down, and loved in all its devastating, gritty, yet unreservedly romantic and compelling beauty.”NATASHA IS A BOOK JUNKIE“This story is so wondrously written that if I could give it more stars I would. Because even though … would. Because even though I am somewhat stingy with my five-star ratings, I’d throw many more at this incredible piece of art in the blink of an eye.”
THE SUBCLUB BOOK CLUB
“If there’s one thing we can say about Jane Harvey Berrick’s writing, it’s that she always manages to capture our imagination with the beauty and visionary of her stories!”
TOTALLY BOOKED
*******WARNING****
This book contains scenes that some readers may find distressing, and is not for anyone under the age of 18.
The criminals in this story are NOT men who love their mothers, put family first and are noble villains, but monsters who traffic in human misery.
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DANCE. Guns.
MUSIC. Bullets.
RHYTHM. Pain.
Music in my head, dance in my body, the rhythm of my heart.
How far can you fall in just one month? How quickly can the human spirit be broken? Where does evil hide in plain sight?
Ash wants to dance. Needs it. To leave behind a life of expectation and duty, to set his soul free.
But life is never that simple. Every step is a journey on a new road.
For every action, there is a reaction.
Every choice has a consequence.
And when you meet the wrong person, all bets are off.
Laney tolerates her limitations, pushing quietly at boundaries. But when Ash crashes into her world through rage and violence, it sets off a chain reaction that neither of them expected.
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Oh wow! I just finished reading this book and I am thoroughly impressed how well written and well researched this book is. But I’m not really surprised. I’ve read Jane’s other books I loved them all. Every time I finish reading her book I felt like I know her characters’ inside and out, the world they live in, their jobs, their passion. I am totally in love with Ash and Laney. Now looking forward to Luka’s story. Another five star read from one of my favourite authors.
Esclave du rythme est une histoire qui monte crescendo et qui saura nous faire vibrer jusqu’à la dernière minute . Je découvre la plume de Jane Harvey Berrick avec ce roman et je peux vous dire que j’ai adhéré à cette histoire qui nous plonge à la fois dans le monde de la danse et du danger.
Laney Hennessey est une jeune femme de 29 ans qui n’a pas une vie comme les autres car elle doit subir des crises qui la tétanisent et qui la font souffrir l’obligeant même à utiliser un fauteuil roulant dans les pires moments. Depuis dix ans, elle vit une relation amoureuse avec Colin mais elle ne semble pas aussi épanouie que cela car il la considère comme une victime et ne la pousse pas à se surpasser . Il veut d’une vie bien précise et il ne faut surtout pas sortir du cadre. Il sera surnommé le connard par quelques personnages et je partage leur avis car j’avais envie de lui mettre des claques à certains moments. Mais revenons à Laney et son combat car malgré les souffrances, elle est capable d’une énorme empathie et Ash saura la toucher comme personne d’autre. Elle va lui venir en aide sans rien attendre en retour et elle sera propulsée à la fois dans le monde merveilleux de la danse mais surtout dans celui de la violence.
Elle a des amies fidèles avec Vanessa et Jo et ces dernières sauront apporter un peu de légèreté mais elle sera dans sa bulle une fois qu’Ash aura fait irruption dans sa vie. Ce que j’ai aimé chez elle est le dépassement de soi qui la caractérise. Elle semble avoir l’habitude de venir en aide aux plus démunis et son empathie est vraiment sublime. Ses proches sont sans doute un peu trop protecteur et auront tendance à la couvrir pour qu’elle se préserve mais ils ne semblent pas comprendre qu’elle a besoin d’être épaulée certes dans les moments les plus difficiles mais pas infantilisée. Elle a une grande maturité et est très réfléchie , ce qui la conduira donc à prendre de grandes décisions qui pourront avoir de grandes conséquences. Elle saura aussi imposer son opinion face aux gens qui l’aiment.
Ash Nowak est notre héros de 23 ans qui a cru pouvoir vivre son rêve en dansant à Las Vegas mais derrière les néons se cache le sordide. Bien souvent dans les romances où la mafia est impliquée, il s’agit des femmes qui subissent ce que notre héros va subir mais ici , l’histoire se distingue par les événements tragiques qui va le conduire à tomber très bas. A Las Vegas, il pourrait compter sur Gary Benson pour apporter un peu de “légèreté” à l’intrigue , tout comme Yveta mais très vite la réalité va le rattraper et le réduire à néant. Il n’est pas faible mais n’aura d’autre choix que d’obéir aux ordres. Il va tenter de fuir les ténèbres mais il est pieds et poings liés. Las Vegas sera donc un parenthèse très sombre de sa vie et dont il ne parlera jamais, comme si c’était un honteux secret dont il ne fallait plus parler. Mais pour se reconstruire il faudra se confronter une nouvelle fois à l’horreur.
Heureusement la danse est un magnifique exutoire et lui permettra de s’en sortir un peu. Il est talentueux et ce qu’il ne parvient pas à dire , il le fera passer par la danse. Les émotions sont à vif et il devra rebondir pour espérer aller de l’avant. Les difficultés seront sur son chemin mais il ne renoncera pas pour autant. C’est un homme loyal mais qui a cette rage et cette violence en lui qui pourrait tout faire exploser. J’ai adoré le fait que la danse soit aussi présente et qu’elle permette de passer des messages mais aussi qu’elle contribue à l’évolution du personnage. On espère donc que la flamme ne s’éteindra jamais et que sa passion pourra continuer de le faire avance.
Bref, si vous n’avez pas encore lu ce roman , je ne peux que vous le conseillez car j’ai passé un très bon moment de lecture. Les personnages sont travaillés et on a envie de les faire toucher le bonheur qui leur tend les bras. La romance est magnifique tout comme les thématiques abordées et j’ai désormais envie de découvrir le second tome qui se focalise sur Luka ( et peut être Sarah) , un ami d’Ash
Title: Slave to the Rhythm
Author: Jane Harvey-Berrick
Publisher: Harvey Berrick Publishing
Amount of Pages: 291
Genre: Dark, Romance
Date Read:21-02-2018
Favorite Quote: “We don’t make any sense, nothing about us fits, but we’re real.”
“Why have a beating heart if you don’t know why it beats-or for whom.”
Review:
I was really surprised by this book. I’ve read from this author before but didn’t like it much so I didn’t have high expectations of this one. Well I was prove wrong! I loved this book, it was so so good.
It was well written and very interesting. It showed a different side of human trafficking, that it can involved men as well. It was very horrific what happend to Ash. Whats sad to realize is that it happens to allot of people. It’s a very real topic and thing for many people in real live.
I loved how the characters developed. How they worked stuff out together, grew together. Very well done.
What is this book about:
This book is about Ash and Laney. Both come from very different back grounds. Ash is a dancer from Slovania. He gets a to good to be true offer for a job in Las Vagas. In Ash his case it’s definitely to good to be true. He gets trapped in the claws of the Bratva. He is desperate to find a way out, a way to get away from the sexual abuse waiting to happen, whats already happening, the physical abuse, the emotional abuse. The Bratva is breaking him in every way they can.
Layney is a smart girl but because of her RA (rheuma) she is being treated like she’s made of glass. Because of her RA she is in allot of pain and when it flairs she’s wheelchair bound.
On a night out Ash and Layney meet. Besides the situation Ash is in he is immediately taken by Layney. He asks her to dance but doesn’t realize she is in a wheelchair and can’t dance. Layney leaves and they never thought they’d meet again and in what horrific circumstances they meet again. They meet in a bathroom stall where the Bratva are brutally whipping Ash, who was forced to take of his clothes, and would probably have done way more to them if they didn’t get interrupted. Layney manages to save Ash with the help of her friends. Layney offers to help Ash and let him stay with her for as long as he needs.
The Bratva on the other hand aren’t as willing to let go of the handsome boy. They aren’t to please with their property getting away and they will do whatever to get him back.
What did I love about this book.
I love Ash. My heart went out for him. He wasn’t dealt a fair hand and it was terrible to see him struggle.
I loved how willing Layney was to help him. Both of them are so different but they work really well together. It won’t be easy, there are a few obstacles in the way, like Layneys boyfriend (whom she loves but isn’t in love with anymore (no worries, there’s no cheating in this book), Ash being an illegal immigrant and the Bratva.
I was happy (with a lack of better word) to see a characters as strong and beautiful as Layney with a disability. You don’t see that very often in books. It was well written and felt realistic.
Overall this was a very good read. I loved reading it and it was totally unexpected. There were a few things that didn’t add up or where a bit of tiny plot whole but that only stood out to me after I finished and spend days thinking about the book.
Rating:
5 Amazing Stars
“We were dancing, together, our rhythm matching perfectly, because I was moving to his rhythm.”
This is now my favorite book by Jane Harvey-Berrick. This book was amazing. It will grab you right from the start and it won’t let you go until the end, and even then you’ll want more! Jane did such an amazing job with this book. She really did her research and delivered us a heartbreaking and beautiful story. At times certain scenes weren’t easy to read but they were REAL. This story isn’t a fairytale about two characters meeting and falling in love right away, these characters go through so much as individuals and as a couple. I can’t even come up with the right words and sentences to explain how much this story touched me.
“Laney was above the need for oxygen. Moj sonček- my sunshine.”
I can’t really tell anything about the story because I think the best way to fully experience this book is to go in blind. This story will open your eyes to a dark world which most people are unaware of. Our main Ash is a dancer, and dancing is his life. He travels to Las Vegas to work there as a dancer. He is very excited and imagines a new world opening up for him. But nothing is like it seems. Laney is also in Las Vegas but for other reasons, she is there for a weekend away with her friends.
“Laney was the sun, my sun. She warmed me, she dazzled me. She lit the way like a beacon of hope.”
This story is so unique and heartbreakingly real. I had so many different emotions running through me. It is also very unpredictable, you just don’t know what will happen next. I also want to mention that the author did an amazing job in not rushing through the story. There are so many books where the author rushes through the last 15-20% of the book, that it ruins the story BUT Jane Harvey-Berrick kept the steady pace going. It was absolutely perfect in my eyes. You still get so many new information the last part of the book and it will keep you intrigued and interested till the last word of the epilogue. There are secondary characters who deserves their story told and I am so happy that at least one of them will get to tell his/her story.
Seriously READ this book!! You won’t regret it!
Wow, wow, wow.
Stupendous. Phenomenal. Pulse-Pounding. Heartrending. Tragic. Inspiring. Just a few of the words I would use to describe Slave to the Rhythm, the newest book from Jane Harvey-Berrick. This story pulled me in from the Prologue and hasn’t let go even days after I finished reading it.
Times like this I wish I was a writer so that I could write a review deserving of this hauntingly beautiful book. The Prologue had me intrigued, but it was the first chapters that held me captive. They were intense, at times uncomfortable and tough to read, heartwrenching, and I was blown away.
This is the story of Ash, who’s arrived in Las Vegas to make his mark as a dancer, and Laney, who’s come to Vegas for a girls weekend…neither expecting a brief run-in to put them on a collision course that would forever change their lives. Ash and Laney come together in the most unexpected way…these are 2 people that on the surface should in no way make sense together, but as we get to know them and take this incredible journey with them, I can’t imagine one without the other.
Reading this book was such an experience, a stunning, surprising, extraordinary experience.
Slave to the Rhythm is such a poignant and memorable book, I don’t think I will forget the love story of Ash and Laney for a very long time.