Breaking her heart is the key to my power—or my downfall.For centuries, I’ve reigned as the God of Anger. Now I’m an exiled rebel. Banished from my immortal world and jilted by the love I can’t forget, I prowl the human realm with a shattered soul.That’s when I meet her.For the life of me, I can’t understand why I’m so drawn to this starry-eyed misfit called Merry. She’s an outcast like me, but … called Merry. She’s an outcast like me, but she’s different from anyone I’ve ever known.
And she’s hiding just as many forbidden secrets as I am.
As a revolution simmers between celestial renegades and ancient rulers, I discover that Merry’s the key to my retribution. According to a dangerous legend, she alone can help me resurrect my power, reclaim my place among the magical elite—and mend my broken heart.
The price: I have to break hers in return.
Step into this seductive world where young gods rule, mortals are toys, and forbidden lovers collide. Torn is the second book in the Selfish Myths urban paranormal romance series by Natalia Jaster. If you like starcrossed enemies, badass goddesses, arrogant immortal gods, and sexual tension with heart, this slow burn tale inspired by Greek mythology will leave you wanting more. Pick up your copy and swoon!
Mature young adult/new adult: sexual content and language. For readers 17 and older.
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Love Love LOVED this!!! This series is sooo great!!! Anger and Merry are my favorite characters, so far. On to book three!!
Natalia has such a beautiful way of writing, I wonder if she speaks the same way. She conjures up feelings inside of you, and breathes so much life into the story. The world seems so real and the characters are living, breathing entities. When the book ended I felt as though I had lived in the pages, and didn’t want to stop. I wanted to reread it all over again. If you haven’t read something she has written, you are missing out on a very special delicacy of words.
“She’s a female the likes of whom he’s never met or conceived of. Someone who’s been conjured by the stars and then overlooked. Someone who’s blindsided him while casting a new light on the world, revealing layers that he hadn’t noticed before. Colorful layers. Bright layers. Imperfect layers.”
Natalia always spins such beautiful and incredible words to make a truly romantic story. I’ve been waiting forever for Anger’s story, and he did not disappoint me!
I loved seeing Anger’s struggles over his past love—named Love—and himself. I was also glad that he was still head over heels for Love instead of the feelings just vanish. So to see the transition of him getting over that and connecting with Merry was perfect. Oh, and Merry, such a freaking doll! I love her and her style and everything about her! So cute! And this book isn’t just about romance, there is so much going on with freewill and more!
I’m very anxious to see Wonder’s story next because as you read this book you will definitely begin to wonder how her relationship is going to play out! And yes, we get to see all the characters from the last book as well as a crazy, mad, exiled named Malice! Malice was a real cup of something! Overall, this story was absolutely perfect and well worth the wait!
Dang it! I was so psyched for this book and had so much hope for it following such an amazing and hard to forget predecessor that was Touch and written by the genius behind Foolish Kingdoms. Clearly a lot of people seems to love Torn so maybe the issue is with me, but I did not feel that Torn measured up to the first book.
The intrigue was there for sure with polar opposite characters like sweet and perky Merry and distant and and regal Anger. Their first abrupt meeting and their different but yet the same goal with getting to know each other was the hook reeling me in. Among that there were both sweet and intense moments and twists that pulled me in. However, this was not enough for me to keep my nose stuck between the pages from start to finish, because inbetween those moments were just … I don’t know exactly what. Nothing was distinctly bad or dull or anything, but nothing really seemed to be going on either to keep me fully invested.
Building the base of the relationship and Merry and Anger developing a romance should have been the main plot of the story considering what they both were striving for, and I guess it technically was since it was a lot about Merry and Anger getting to know each other and learning about one another. However, instead of writing their interactions out on page and letting me follow the development a lot of it was me being told about what they did and talked about and then a lot of skipping. It left me out of the buildup of the relationship and the characterization. It also took away that needed depth and made the story seem like it stood still. It simply took away what was necessary for me to get fully into the story.
Instead of giving the romance the room it needed the story went into many unnecessarily long ramblings and tangents that also made me lose interest in the plot. It all seemed to be for building a bigger plot with the whole free will and breaking free from the traditional way the Fate Court preached. In a way it actually was kind of similar to Foolish Kingdoms with fighting for a big change in the world and recruiting people to a new side for the greater good. In FK this worked well with the world and story given to us, whereas in this book though this theme felt forced and a bit overkill. One, because it forced the focus away from a deeper relationship that was the main plot and two, it ruined that beautiful and slightly bittersweet ending Touch delivered. Although it was great to see Love and Andrew again, that perfect ending they had was rendered pointless with the turn this book took.
What I can truly appreciate in Natalia Jaster’s books is her unique and poetic writing and, even though it was a tad too much in Torn which made it a bit too gooey and sappy, it still was this books strongest quality, along with the drama and betrayal between Merry and Anger, their sweet reconciliation and last but not least the foreshadowing of Tempt. I loved both Wonder and Malice in this story and the mysterious bond between them. It has made me very curious to read Tempt!
OMG, this is the story that I desperately needed! I found myself in sweet Merry the whole time. It was amazing to see how Jaster crafted a character in the same ways that I think and look at life. She was unabashed with her determination and stayed true to herself throughout the whole story despite the obstacles that she was faced with. I love how Anger went through the entire spectrum of thoughts and feelings to arrive at the conclusion that he does, in fact, have the ability to love again after a broken heart and that he is worthy of that love.
This story was an emotional rollercoaster and when I flipped the very last page I bellowed in rage that it was over. I could read about these characters for days on end and not get bored. Their story ties so closely in with what humans, us, experience. I cannot recommend Jaster’s glorious lyrical way of writing and how she knits her stories into your soul.
I am very lucky to be on Natalia Jaster’s ARC team but I honestly wasn’t expecting to get the chance to read Torn ahead of its release date (June 20th) because for some silly reason, I had it in my head that I was only on the team for her Foolish Kingdoms series! So when this little beauty found its way into my inbox last month I may have screeched and jumped around a little (it wasn’t pretty!)
Torn was one of my most anticipated reads after finally reading (and loving) its predecessor Touch (my review for this was posted yesterday – I can’t believe I forgot to write one when I read it! *face-palms self* I was going to do my utmost to get this review out on release date but since I had to scramble and get Touch up, I’ve decided to hold off until today (it’s only a day late after all).
Anger was one of the most intriguing side characters in Touch and his unrequited feelings for Love made my heart ache. When I found out he was getting his own story; I was overjoyed. He definitely deserves a happily ever after of his own.
After the events of Touch, Anger has been left in a difficult position. Although his own feelings for Love were very strong, he still did everything he could to secure her future with her lover Andrew even if it meant giving up on her himself. He still cannot forget that trouble-making former goddess even though she no longer has any memories of him. Torn between his feelings of love, and also no small amount of bitterness at the predicament he has found himself in (exiled among the mortals but not one of them), Anger stews.
Merry is an aberration. A discarded goddess who was deemed to be a failure and cast aside without the chance to ever wield her own bow and arrow. She lives among the mortals, unseen, spending her days whimsically exploring on her trusty skateboard with the earbuds in her ears an almost permanent fixture.
Merry isn’t the only exiled outcast though and not all of the inhabitants of the celestial city where she dwells are friendly. After accidentally encroaching on another cast-off’s territory, she catches Anger’s eye and he feels compelled to help her fight Malice, who has issues with Merry even as he has schemes of his own.
Merry is instantly taken with Anger, immediately infatuated. Anger finds her to be somewhat lacking but ends up spending a great deal of time in her company when Malice tells him there may be a way to return to his celestial home in the sky. The only problem is, in order to do this he must break Merry’s heart…
You know, despite been a massive Natalia Jaster fan (she has more than earned the rank of auto-buy author for me) I wasn’t initially sold on Merry and Anger as a pairing, despite liking them individually.
I love Anger, don’t get me wrong, but the connection between them seemed very one-sided on Merry’s part – at least initially. Merry was instantly in love with Anger and instalove is something that I side-eye at the best of times. At first they seemed too different: Anger too broody, Merry too airy-fairy and flighty. It also seemed to not be a relationship of equals and they both had an agenda albeit they went about it in very different ways.
However, at about the half-way mark I realized that Merry wasn’t anywhere near as delicate and fragile as she initially appeared. She had a spine made of pure iron – and she didn’t let Anger get away with his less than stellar behaviour. Anger in turn, showed a softer, more gentle side. That was it – I was sold on them as a couple. I probably slightly still prefer Love and Andrew’s love story but Anger and Merry came damn close.
It was also amazing to see the rest of the class again. Wonder is a favourite of mine and I am so happy she will have her own story next (and I was super intrigued by her connection with Malice). Malice… was a deeply troubling character yet I was drawn to him in a way I didn’t expect. Some of his actions were downright horrible but I couldn’t help but have some small empathy for him. I an eager to know more about him so the next book can’t come quick enough!
All in all, this was another beautiful story from Natalia Jaster. Anger and Merry broke my heart time and time again. There relationship was not without its bumps in the road but felt earned and deserved by the end of the tale. I am glad Anger found someone to love him and also got over Love (while still caring about her as a friend). I am glad that Merry got a chance to finally shine and show her worth to the world (both celestial and otherwise). The journey they took together was breath-taking (my favourite bits were at the empty fair ground – so much spark and energy between them!)
I cannot wait to see where the story takes these amazing characters – I have no doubt at all that I am going to love the journey every step of the way!
(I received an ARC of this book through the author in exchange for an honest review!)
When I read Touch for the first time following my interest in the Foolish Kingdoms series, I was not prepared for the engagement, emotions, and excitement I felt reading about the tale of these incredibly imperfect archers, mainly Love. Aside from the writing, I was genuinely engaged in the story, the romance, and the characters. While the first book left Love and Andrew in a perfect place, I was still wondering where the rest of the archers would end up.
Imagine my joy when Natalia began writing Torn, and imagine it now that I can happily say the second book in the Selfish Myths series delivers all of the enjoyment and magic of Touch, but expands upon the lore, characters, and character relationships in even better ways.
It goes without saying that Anger is a complex character, so much so as his namesake. He suffers with his own internal conflicts and delivers that externally in imperfect ways, knowing whether unintentionally or not that he will hurt those he loves. However, he is still a kind and empathetic character, one I rooted for without question. Seeing the story he brings with him from Touch, it is easy to call him the boy left behind or unchosen by the girl he loves. However, his emotions did not feel disingenuous.
In addition to this, because it does relate to Anger’s character, the way Natalia expanded upon the would-be relationship of Love and Anger and how genuine Anger’s love for Love was very refreshing, to say the least. It is so often I see readers, including myself, wondering about the what-ifs of certain characters being together. However, Natalia addresses this by simply saying that maybe these characters could have been in love the way Love and Andrew or Anger and Merry are, but in fact didn’t . And that’s okay, because they found people to love regardless and who love them back for who they are.
And since I mentioned here, I should talk about Merry now, who I loved with my whole heart. Jumping into her character, I was intrigued by her voice and how she would compare to Anger. That being said, her quirkiness, ability to jump into talking and animation, and unadulterated expression of herself was a sight to behold. I love Love, and will always love her, but I definitely resonated with Merry in more ways beyond the points I’ve already discussed. While she is vocal and expressive, she can be vulnerable and afraid of addressing her fears, her yearnings, her love for a boy who is cold on the outside. And I loved her for that, and Anger too, not because of their mythological power, but for their realism outside of the fantastical elements.
Were you expecting me to say I didn’t like the romance? If you did, you’re sadly mistaken. The relationship between Merry and Anger had me gasping, crying, laughing, and yearning. Their development up to the moment they meet to the minute we can sense the two are in honest and deep love is authentic and valuable. Not just because they are the main characters of this story, but because they slowly reveal who the two are to each other, something Anger himself acknowledges he had never done with a lover previously before. I loved the two together because they felt both fated and gradually magnetized to one another, because the feelings involved were as genuine as possible. And sure, the two are scheming in their own ways, but in the end, everything between them is as real as they are.
Of course, I could go on about Natalia’s descriptiveness, the world-building, and how all the other little details are impeccable, but I think with the gigantic rant I just went into about the characters, it is safe to say this is one of my favorite reads of the year. It was such a nice surprise during my birthday month for this book to come out, and to read and review it early was an outstanding pleasure. While I may be insanely biased since Natalia is my favorite writer, the stories never fail to impress me, and I am sure I would still feel this way objectively, too. Her stories are filled with heart, tragedy, triumph, and self-exploration in a way that not only questions the self, but how we understand the world at large. What fate is, if there is fate, and if free will exists. These were all questions I pondered in between turning the pages for the characters and love story, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be there for the story to be engaging, but these questions the author brings up I must say are commendable.
So yes, Torn was and is one of my favorite reads of 2019, not that I was expecting any less! Thank you Natalia for continuing this series, and I cannot wait for the third book in the Selfish Myths series
Note: I received this book from the author and I voluntarily give this review, it is my honest opinion.
Torn is the second book in the Selfish Myths series by Natalia Jaster and it was wondrously fantastic! After finishing the first book in the series I needed to know what happens to Anger, I need more of his story and I was super excited to find out he was getting his own book. I have been waiting years for that book and it was just so amazing, the story centers on Anger after the event in Touch and what happens when he meets a few outcasts.
The story is told from dual-perspectives, one being Anger and the other is Merry an outcast god who has a unique way of seeing her world. Merry is bright, funny, caring, positive, smart, romantic and dramatic. Merry is such a unique character and I love her so much. She is so many joyous things and after meeting Anger is on the hunt for an old legend but when he collides with Merry, his world is never gonna be the same.
I love this story and I can’t believe I am saying this but it was better than Touch and I gave Touch five stars. The storyline had me from the beginning because even though it has things that were familiar to me, the world and characters are so different. While Touch centered on the couple and the mortal world, Torn is centered on the couple but shows the aspect of the immortals’ version of the human world they co-inhabit. The powers and the way they interact with the world is totally different than in Touch, Torn is a bit more fantastical and I love it.
Natalia has an amazing romantic lyrical way with words and I haven’t come across anyone with her writing style. She just pulls me in with her words and how she describes things. When I was reading Merry pov, I felt what Merry had felt deep in my soul and the same thing could be said for Anger.
Torn is full of the mythical and magical, romance and drama, ruling immortals and rebellion, old friends and new characters. I was invested from the beginning to the end and enjoyed every minute of it. If you love mythology, a good fantasy or if you read Touch and couldn’t get enough then I suggest you pick-up Torn. I have no idea if there will be another book in the series but I really hope there will be because I am finished with these myths just yet.