Anything that was nothing wasn’t human…Stolen from her old life.Stripped of her humanity.Robbed of her voice.Nothing but a number…Lost and alone, she collapsed at the feet of men, silently pleading for help. Only one came forward, protected and defended her from the jackals lusting for blood. With no voice, no ID, no belongings, she was nobody, she was nothing. Inconsequential in the … Inconsequential in the revolving wheel of life.
For Connor O’Malley, she was an angel, fallen from the heavens. Broken and battered, scared spitless of everything and everyone, he knew he had one hell of a job ahead of him. Her wounds were man-made, inflicted by a cruel hand, but the dirty, bloodied girl at his feet couldn’t tell him anything of what happened to her. The brand seared into her flesh spoke volumes, but nothing could prepare him for the full atrocity of what had been done to her.
Death stalks her, wants her back.
How long can she remain speechless?
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Oh my gosh! This book is titled perfectly. It left me completely speechless and in shock! This is one of the best books I’ve read recently. You can almost feel the pain and torture Jenna has been through. You will be so drawn into this book. In the edge of your seat the whole time. It’s just written so perfectly! Connor is an amazing man. Someone you definitely want in your side. You will easily fall in love with him and the man he is. Everything about this writing is perfect. I can’t say enough how much I loved this book!
I’m struggling with how to review this book. The writing is amazing, the blend of pain and tenderness is perfect, the characters are believable and relate-able, and I can’t get it out of my head, even after finishing it. There are some serious triggers in this one, which I almost think should be obvious with Dark Romance, but I’m going to warn readers anyway.
This is one of the most emotional books I’ve read in a while. It’s not just the dark, I read a lot of dark, and it wasn’t just the suspense or danger that permeated the plot. It was the combination of characters that were relate-able, a love story that was more than just sexual heat, and and ending that brought tears to my eyes. This is one of those books that stuck with me so much I started dreaming about it. I didn’t want to put it down, and at the same time I had to walk away because of the pain the story made me feel. As someone who has suffered trauma, although not to the extent Jenna has, the reactions she had were all too real. I was worried I was going to suffer my own trauma while I read the story, but the way that it’s written makes the love between Connor and Jenna overpower the suffering and kept me from slipping into the dark. It wasn’t just Jenna’s pain that brought tears to my eyes, it was also the pain Connor felt while he struggled to help her. The uncertainty of wondering if he was doing the right thing, the fear of people’s opinions, and the uncertainty of the future were not just plot points. They were perfectly described and felt real. I guess I would say that reading the book felt a lot more like reading a “based on a true story” type book more than just a fictional romance. It was that well done.
Everything about this one has made it one of my favorite stories and I know it will be one I will read over and over again.
Speechless is the best book I have read so far this year. It captivated me instantly because the heroine, Jenna, showed so much resilience and strength from the onset. This is a story of triumph despite a tortured past, and a fight to live in the present despite the constant internal demons. Connor is the hero, truly godsend and Jenna’s personal guardian angel.
Speechless resonates with me because it is a story of a young woman with a fierce spirit who overcomes inconceivable atrocities. Jenna was brutally torn from her life, kidnapped by a sick man, tortured and enslaved to serve as a thing; something less than human. She beats all the odds and finds freedom from her forced captivity. The universe rewards her inner strength by placing Connor in her path and their beautiful love story begins.
Connor has got to be the most patient loving male lead I have ever read in a book. He shows an admirable amount of compassion, unbridled devotion and love at its purest form. I fell in love with how he nurtured her body, mind and soul without any promise of compensation in any form. His natural instinct to heal others is driven into overdrive when his soul is touched by Jenna’s delicate condition. His every action guided by the need to protect her, even from herself.
I loved every single page of this book. I have never been so consumed by characters, lead and secondary, and so engaged by an author who has stolen my heart. I will forever be touched by Jenna and by Kay Elle Parker. They will live as legends in my personal literary universe.
This was a very intense and soul shattering story.
Jenna has been through so much in the hands of Sire and then finds Connor who helps her find her voice and herself.
There were so many twists and turns in this story that kept me captivated and unable to put this book down!
This book was dark yes, but it was more emotional than anything. It gutted me many times while i read The story of Jenna, who escaped a sadist who kidnapped and tortured her for years. It will be hard for the average reader, me included, to fathom such cruelty. But that’s where Parker’s deft touch comes into play.
Parker immediately creates a soul wrenching path for Jenna to take back to humanity. Slowly making small strides with Connor, the local doctor. I sobbed during these scenes, where Jenna splintered into Little Jenna and Big Jenna. Connor was a dom, but none of his training or previous experience would assist him with helping Jenna. He, along with his nurse Sarah, had to use instinct and empathy to help Jenna’s progress. Connor was a dreamboat, so sympathetic and loving to Jenna…protecting her from his arrogant brother the sheriff or FBI.
The writing was paced well and riveting. The story bounced from Connor and Jenna, to the bad guy, and Parker does a good job changing the feel of the scenes. From hopeful and beautiful, to sadness and anxiety, to despair. I feel emotional wrung out from this story in only the best of ways.
I do wish some of the European words and phrases were edited for American audiences, as they are distracting. Words like, “bloody” “sorted” and “wanker” are never used in American speech, but luckily they are few and far between. This story is complete with no cliffhanger, but there is a huge reveal at the end that hints at the next book. #nospoilers
This story is truly a work of art and so deserves a million stars my god the pain and abuse and utter terror that beutiful Jenna goes through and then with Connor god bless him I loved him he is everything all wrapped up in one and his family right there with him as these two go through the worst nightmare imaginable. You will hurt intensely right along with them and cry a whole lot of tears and cheer them on all at once, the writing is beyond perfection and so detailed I am so glad I got to read this my first and just WOW!!!!!
Every once in a while fate smiles on you and leads you to discover an author that has never made a blip on your radar and a book that you could have so easily never stumbled across. This is exactly my situation with this amazing author and this stunning read. I must say that it is a very big challenge to try to find the words to describe my feelings for this book and its characters. To say that reading this book will send you and your emotions on a roller coaster ride just doesn’t seem to do it justice. The feels that this story inspires are will truly push your heart and your mind to the limit. I also think that it is essential to issue a huge TRIGGER WARNING for this book. As incredible as I believe this book to be, it is filled with dark and disturbing content. If kidnapping, physical, emotional and sexual abuse are issues for you I highly recommend you do not try to read this book. If you find dark content to be too much for you or just not to your liking, you will not want to read this book. However, if you can keep an open mind and have nerves of steel I highly recommend that you read this astounding book.
This book will quickly ensnare you in its powerful story. This book was very well written. It features a storyline that is as beautiful as it is ugly and as terrifying as it is filled with hope. This read is jam packed with deep emotions, drama, angst, heartache, brutality, suspense, mystery, heat, sweetness, tenderness, poignancy, humor, friendship and love. Combine all that with the harrowing tale of a young woman’s abduction, torture, eventual escape and her painful struggle on the road to recovery and you know that this is a book that will leave a mark forver on your heart, mind and possibly even your soul.
The cast of characters in this book is strong and complex. From the mains, to the secondaries; they all inspire intense feelings from the reader. I can’t even count all the tears I cried for Jenna. She may have needed her coping mechanisms but she was so, so strong and she had the most beautiful soul. The atrocities she endured will make your skin crawl, your stomach turn and leave your heart shattered into pieces. And as for that coping mechanism, it is light dd/lg. This is something that I know not everyone is a fan of but in this case I thought it fit the story to a t and this was all about her needing protection, kindness and care and really had very little to do with anything sexual. So again, please keep an open mind. Connor was just an impeccable book boyfriend. This doctor was one hot, protective, caring, dominate, white knight of a hero. These two were quite simply perfect for each other and 100 percent meant to be.
In the end all I can do is tell you how much I adored this book and that I recommend it highly to any and all that think they are up to taking this epic and emotional journey with Jenna and Connor. I’ll warn you to try to prepare yourself for how hard this book is going to hit you but I know that that is a waste of my breath because you can’t. Trust me, you just can’t.
This book brings you to all.the emotions: suspense, sadness, happiness, scared, love, hope, and so many more. Jenna is my all time favorite heroine. Though she went through hell and back she still has an integrity, grace and strength that is so well.portrayed.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
the title of this book is so appropriate. it left me speechless. as i was reading there were times i was just like…. !!!! this book pulled all my emotions, i was crying, happy and laughing and at times i was so mad i just wanted to hit or throw something and other times i was cheering the characters on. this is a dark harrowing story for our heroine to live thru, and live thru she did to come out the other side stronger then before. the author pulls you in with her story and you live and breathe with the heroine thru her struggles to live with what she has gone thru. thru the progress and set backs and all the emotions that come with it. this is 1 hell of a book and i cant praise it enough. if i could give it more stars i would.
This book was so addicting to read. Connor was such a great hero. He just wants to help Jenna heal. But Jenna has been thru so much and like the blurb says, she may have escaped, but she has been taught that she isn’t even a human. She comes to Connor with no name, no voice and training so ingrained that she can’t stop from following it. Connor is the only one who seems able to break thru to Jenna. But for every step forward there are 2 back. Still Connor thinks Jenna is worth saving. . .
Jenna ended up being such a strong character. She does things to cope but I just think that makes her stronger and a fighter.
I want a Connor of my own. He was such a great character and needed to use his own inner strength as well.
If you like dark romance you have to give this book a try! It is in a league of its own and totally worth reading!
This honestly was the BEST book I’ve read all year! If I could give it 100 stars it wouldn’t be enough! You feel what Connor and Jenna feel through out the entire story. There is so much darkness and pain, both feel it. Jenna has all the fear bottled up, she’s not a person, she’s number 22, she has no voice, if she does her tongue will be cut out. Unimaginable things she’s been through and seen, and she still maintained some strength, when her time was almost done. Connor stepped in, when there was yet another threat. Connor is a Dominate, not a Daddy Dom but Dd/Lg is what Jenna needs, and he will do whatever it takes to get her thru to the other side. This story had a strong group of support characters which was refreshing, they all had a hand in helping Jenna recover, and make her feel safe. There was the integral story though of the crime/crimes that had been committed and who had done them, and you guess all the way through. This story will suck you in, it will make you sad, and smile and cry and and cheer Jenna and Connor on! This is my first story from Kay Elle Parker, I can’t to see what’s next!
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I really don’t know what to say. This story grabbed me from the start and never let go. It’s a long book, over 400 pages but you will never feel it’s too long, it has to tell the whole story, cross the t’s and dot the i’s. Jenna was abducted as a teen and kept captive, tortured, trained and punished as a part of her daily life. She is nothing to her captor, she doesn’t even deserve a name, she is just a number. The night she escapes is the night before her planned death. She stumbles into the bar where Connor, the resident doctor takes her and cares for her the best he can. With the help of his nurse and friend Sarah, they save Jenna, but after the horror she’s been through, she still cannot or will not talk. There are some very interesting characters around also, Cain, I call the good brother and Caleb, the distant but cruel brother who wants to do everything by the book as he’s the local lawman. I cannot review the story further, it’s a story that you need to read to get the full effect of what everyone goes thru. I can say though that if you read this book, you will definitely have all the feelings the rest of us have by the end of the story. Speaking of the end, OMG!!!
I don’t know how to write this review. This book was dark, it pulled at my heart strings. It shattered me, glued me back then shattered me again. The writing was beautiful and the story was amazing.
I just lost sleep over this book…because I could not put it down. Literally. The story grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let me go. As “number Twenty-Two” Jenna has been beaten and tortured within an inch of her life and somehow manages to find help in a kind, protective doctor (which, let’s face it, she NEEDED a doctor). She’s shattered and weak, and can’t make herself speak, and reverts to “little” behavior to cope, but Connor just loves her so much he rolls with whatever she throws his way. As the story progresses, she gets stronger and stronger, until she is speaking and laughing and healing…and then taken again by her captor, Sire. I hate Sire, he is the most disgusting “thing” ever. This story made me angry, and it made me laugh and cry. I loved Connor’s feisty sidekick, Sarah and his flirty brother, Cain. The goofy, protective dog….I can’t give everything away, and there’s a bit of a cliffhanger, because after the bad guy is banished, there is still evil lurking. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
I have a problem…..I don’t think any words I say can truly express how this story made me feel. I was pulled in from page one, the story of Jenna wasn’t just a dark romance….it’s a story of damage, torture, pain and finally, hopefully healing and love.
Jenna, oh my goodness, the pain she endured, I was in tears for her but also in awe of her strengths. How she kept going I just don’t know.
And Connor, just a man, one who’s had his share of loss and pain in his life but nothing prepared him for Jenna…..his heart knew she was important from the beginning but is there any chance she’ll ever be able to over come her trauma, pain and bone deep fear??
This had it all, Sarah….his faithful friend who I grew to love……Cain the brother I’d love to ummm, meet in person and a whole cast of other characters who filled this wondeful world up and made me feel a part of it.
Just have to say….this has it all……I felt ALL the feels and was left with a huge emotional book hangover! Best feeling ever!
This is a story of love. The deepest kind of love a man and a woman can share. Their paths meant to cross as they find their happily ever after. Their journey however, must first deal with the past and the present before they can dream of their future.
“I’m Jenna. I’m broken, I’m damaged and in ways I don’t even understand, but I’m loved by a man who accepts me for who I am and doesn’t compare me to who I used to be and find me lacking.”
Connor wants to help Jenna heal and restore her body back to a healthy one. Him gaining her trust is a priority as he continues to care for her.
“So many scars and old hurts that need to be kissed, worshipped, because each one made you into the woman you are now. ”
Jenna sees Connor as her fierce warrior and the best thing in her life now. She begins to share her memories with him.
“When you can’t talk, you learn how to read. Faces, body language, the nuances of truth and lies.”
As Jenna continues to reveal her previous brutal experiences to Connor, his brother Cain and their friend Sarah, they all pull together to give her their strength, encouragement, love and trust she so desperately needs.
“You don’t belong in the dark, baby. You deserve the light, and you were kept from it for too long.”
Ms. Parker’s story plays out like I was watching a movie. Except, these characters weren’t acting. Her words brought Jenna, Connor’s and all the secondary characters to life. She shows us all the five senses. I see Jenna’s story unfold, I smell her fear, I hear her voice, I taste her tears and I feel their touch.
On multiple occasions I cried, laughed, gripped my kindle as I was glued to my chair and captivated by what I read. Speechless is so worthy of ten stars. I highly recommend this book and all the books in Ms. Parker’s catalogue.
It does not happen often that I get really angry when reading a book!
But this one brought me to the edge of my seat, going for the heavy frying pan!
The absolute depravity, the callous manipulation of human beings to sate a base need, is depicted in such vivid manner, that it made my goosebumps have goosebumps!
And on the other side of the spectrum there is a sweet, real love story.
But… ! Watch out!
This is the best book by Ms Parker I have read so far.
Worthy of **10 Stars** This is one of the most intense, dark, harrowing, emotionally gutting books I’ve read. And I’ve read A LOT, A LOT of dark & harrowing books. But what ratchets the emotional impact to staggering levels in this story, is the superb quality of writing.
Superb writing, plot & characters IMO. Frankly, this one BLEW ME AWAY.
Via Jenna’s (heroine) POV the author takes the reader deep, deep, deeper into the horror she lived, survived & finally managed to escape from to safety. We become intimately familiar with her perceptions, her terrors, her panic, her catatonic shutdowns; our hearts & emotions are effortlessly grasped & controlled by the author’s deft writing. In another’s hands this story could have been too stark, too abrupt, too pared down to merely the shock value of Jenna’s situation, leaving the reader empathetic but somehow distanced from the heroine.
But this author actually takes time to build Jenna’s present via her past, to swirl the reader into this small Montana area that is home to an absolutely heinous evil. Some may think the author should have made this book shorter.
No. Just no.
It is FLAT OUT PERFECT.
I am not one to easily (if at all) tear up during reading: I did. A LOT. A LOT. The author (IMO) does a stellar job investing the reader in her characters, especially Jenna, Connor (H) & Sarah (Connor’s employee). And yet, for every emotional plunge into dark deep waters, a completely uplifting heartwarming ray of sunshine bursts through the dark to light the way to hope, a future, friends, love.
And Connor (H), the man who saves Jenna, cares for her, stands by her, protects her, LOVES her: could a more AWESOME man exist?! Via his POV the reader is privy to his gentleness, his concern, his worry, his rage & determination to keep Jenna safe. And yet, he comes across (& indeed is) as an everyday man. No superpowers, or strength, or brilliance, or billions, just a man who loves & treasures a severely traumatized woman teetering on the razor’s edge of shattering & doing everything in his power to help her heal & regain herself.
And I loved Sarah, tough, relentless in the defense of those she loves, loyal & stoic. As well as Cain (Connor’s brother), Sarah’s husband plus an understanding & gentle but strong Federal Agent. All of these secondary characters greatly added to the story, never mired it or detracted from it.
There wasn’t ONE single part I skipped or was tempted to. Not one.
There is a light DD/bg theme in the book (it is throughout the story but isn’t heavy handed, mostly pet names & physical cuddling/support); Jenna’s ‘little’ is triggered by memories of her horrific experience & is her way to cope when panicked, unsure or frightened. And Connor is there for her in any way she needs, as a ‘big’ or ‘little’.
But I warn you, this one IS dark, you WILL need tissues (many of them), you WILL smile & you WON’T want to stop reading this one until the last page.
For the reader who wants a book with substance, with superb writing, a heartbreaking yet heartwarming plot, with stellar character details, with terror, suspense, danger, some steam; who want a story & characters they are invested in, intrigued by, love & hate, this is IT.
If you’ve never read a book about someone who’s been so badly traumatized or abused that they don’t speak, you need to! This was actually my second book about this profound topic, and the majority of the time, I loved how Parker told the story. The good scenes were absolutely phenomenal, yet there were also a lot of parts I really, really wanted to skim through. In the end, the dark, emotional and medical parts were absolutely amazing, making the dryer parts and the proofreading issues worthwhile!
If you want to read a story that is so emotional, so tragic, yet leaves you with hope, then this story is for you. It’s not for the feint of heart as there are things that happen that will stop your heart from beating and your lungs from breathing. But let me just say, I absolutely was enthralled with this story from the very first word, sentence and paragraph. I can’t recall the last time a story had me so captivated that I didn’t want to put it down for anything.
Jenna has endured things that no human being should ever go thru, but the resilience she has is awe inspiring. So when she meets Connor, there was something about him that she felt he could be the one to save her. Connor is the local doctor and when he saw Jenna for the first time, he vowed down to his very soul that he would protect her at all costs. Connor and Jenna belong together in every sense of the word. But with everything that happened to her, can they get past it? Will outside forces interfere?
This story completely broke me and put me back together. I can’t even tell you how many tissues I went thru. The plethora of emotions I felt was unreal. If you want to read a story that will burrow itself into your heart and your soul, then please do yourself a favor and read this incredible story of second chances.