Title: Goddess Rising (Complicated Creatures #0.5)

Author: Alexi Lawless

Date of publication: 22 September 2015

Genre: Romantic suspense, New Adult

Author's links: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

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My rating: 3 Stars

She’s a bad-ass. 

He’s a bad-boy. 

One photograph changes everything.

Samantha’s been living in the shadow of her father all her life. But now she’s got plans of her own… and they don’t involve the university’s hottest walking one-night stand. 

When Samantha Wyatt finally gets out from under her father’s thumb, she sets her mind on one thing: making a name for herself that has absolutely nothing to do with him. But when she meets the incredibly distracting and utterly relentless Wesley Elliott, she realizes there may be more to life than a good reputation.

Wesley’s the undisputed king of easy-come, easy-go—until a beautiful, mysterious girl walks right past his camera… and his photograph of her becomes an obsession.

But Samantha’s no easy lay, and she’s definitely not a typical college girl. She’s fierce, driven, and completely focused on winning the Ranger Challenge, one of the toughest military competitions ever created. Wes now finds himself in unfamiliar territory—busting his ass to keep up with her and discovering the extent of his own talents in the process. 

Goddess Rising is a coming-of-age novel unlike any you've ever read, and it will leave you asking: Who says you have to do what you’re told?

Review

This is a prequel to the Complicated Creatures romantic suspense series. It tells the story of Samantha during her college years when she meets Wes and how she came to be the amazing and fearless lady we meet in Complicated Creatures.

This is a New Adult full length novel and I liked the overall idea of reading about Sam's journey towards adulthood. The writing was just as strong and as addictive as in the rest of the series but there was something missing for me.

It's told from dual POV - Sam and Wes, though other characters spoke up occasionally. The romance was the best element of the story, together with Sam's military training. I liked seeing a younger Sam, more vulnerable, inexperienced, yet strong and determined. We see a lot of Wes as well and though Jack is my favourite in the series, now I have better understanding of Wes and why he did the things he did. 

That said, here is the main issue I had with this prequel. The characters really didn't read like college kids - 19/20 year-olds. I understand the unique and privileged position Sam comes from but Wes and she and all the other college kids acted far too mature/knowing for their age. In a way I felt we met the same Sam from Complicate Creatures with just some shyness and inexperience added.

As much as I like Sam's character as this amazing, determined girl growing up, literally fighting her way to be an awesome, strong, independent lady we meet in the later books, I strongly disliked how every man she met fell for her. I 'm not really a fan of the trope of a beautiful girl who is a bit of Tom-boy and  who is not aware of her beauty and has every male who meets fall in love with her.

I was also expecting more of the ending. I felt an important part connecting the prequel with the next book was missing. I still want to finish these series, the intrigue just gest more and more complex and exciting. I hope the final book will clear all uncertainties and Sam will get her much deserved HEA.

Today's guest at my Author Spotlight post is Ms Alexi Lawless, author of the romantic suspense series Complicated Creatures. You can read my reivews of Part One and Part Two. If you are curious, you can the first book, Complicaed Creatures: Part I which is currently free on Amazon. 

Favorite Place:

Miami—hands down. It’s humid hot, sensual, gorgeous, a bit deviant and extremely diverse. I feel totally at home there. It’s a tantalizing combination of refuge and retreat. I used to run away there for long weekends back when I was a corporate raider. I still recall those moments of respite fondly. 

Favorite Food & Drink: 

Sushi and bourbon, though never together. I can eat my weight in fish. If you told me I could never eat red meat again, I’d eventually get over it after a lot of pouting and moaning. But if you denied me fish, I’d go apesh*t, I kid you not. 

As for drink… it’s no secret I’m a bourbon girl. This evolution came about after years of consuming more than my fair share of vodka martinis at rowdy bars and chic eateries. But the more I started writing, the more I craved something slow and easy—a lovely, unfurling burn late at night, just me and my pages. Thus the late-in-life love affair with a full-flavored, handmade sour mash. I highly recommend Willett or Four Roses if you’re hankering for a try. 

I’m a big fan of indies and I mean that for musicians, artists and writers. People who are brave enough to go out and make art, music or write books without huge signing packages are incredibly inspiring to me. I’d go to concerts, art shows or download books from indies all day long if I could. That said, I’ll share some of my favorites. I can’t write without music, so you’re listening to some killer bands who have really influenced me while I was writing Goddess Rising: 

https://soundcloud.com/lawlessness-1/sets/complicated-creatures_prequel 

Favorite Hobby:
Wish me luck.

Top 5 Books of All Time:

Samantha’s been living in the shadow of her father all her life. But now she’s got plans of her own… and they don’t involve the university’s resident walking one-night stand. 

When Samantha Wyatt finally gets out from under her father’s thumb, she’s got her mind set on one thing: making a name for herself that’s got absolutely nothing to do with her dad. But when she meets the incredibly distracting and utterly relentless Wesley Elliott, she realizes there may be more to life than good grades.

Wesley’s the undisputed king of easy-come, easy-go—until a beautiful, mysterious girl walks right past his camera… and the photograph he takes of her becomes an obsession.

But Samantha’s no one-night-stand and she’s definitely not a typical college girl. She’s fierce, driven and completely focused on winning the Ranger Challenge, one of the toughest military competitions ever created. Wes finds himself in unfamiliar territory—busting his ass to keep up with her and discovering the extent of his own talents in the process. 

Goddess Rising is a coming of age novel unlike any you've ever read, and it will leave you questioning: Who says you have to do what you’re told?

Here are the October picks for my monthly meme with Recommended reads from the previous month.  

I was contacted by the author, Ms Alexi Lawless, with a request to review the first book in this series back in the summer. I usually don't take such request since I don't really have the time, but something in the blurb of the book told me to make an exception. And I was so glad I did since I ended loving Complicated Creatures: Part I so much that I recommended it to all my friends on GR. It ends with a cliffhanger and I couldn't wait for its sequel. Complicated Creatures: Part II didn't disappoint. It has everything I look for in a good book - competent and strong writing, engaging story and characters, plot twists and turns, passionate love. 

Feel free to share your Recommended Reads from September in the link up tool or the comments. I'll be happy to check them out :)

Author: Alexi Lawless
Date of publication: 24 Oct 2014
Genre: Romantic suspense

Author's links:Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

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My rating: 4.5 Stars

Synopsis

"Isn't it terrible when love is not enough?" 

In the action-packed sequel to Complicated Creatures: Part One…

Jack Roman was perfectly happy living the life of a high-powered and charismatic philistine. He had time, money, women and a penchant for the fast life. Until he met his match in Samantha Wyatt and his obsession with her would take him to hell and back… 

Wes Elliott’s been dreaming of the muse he let go of as a young man—the woman he never forgot throughout his travels and the successes he’d left her to find. He always thought he’d see Sammy again—he just never expected her to be fighting for her life when he did… 

Samantha Wyatt is being challenged by her past, tested by her decisions, and hunted by her nemesis. As her dangerous present and enigmatic past collides, Samantha conducts the riskiest operation of her life, and the men who love her will be forced to decide: Do they trust her enough to let her protect them? And do they love her enough to let her go?

Review

This was an emotional and action-packed sequel to Complicated Creatures: Part I (my review) which I thoroughly enjoyed. Its'w ritten in the same engaging style - detailed and well-researched with a lot of depth of feeling. We see even more character development and plot twists kept me on the edge and turning the pages impatiently. 

While this books continues Sam and Jack's many additional characters also take center stage. Wes tries to find his way back to Sam and even though he is a good guy by all means and I was not happy about the love triangle that he fromed with Sam and Jack. There was a particular episode in the story which some might consider cheating, thought I personally don't thing so, yet it made me feel a bit uneasy and really bad for Jack.

Sam's personal and professional life goes compeltely off in this installment. Everything around her is in motion and changing but this also leads her to re-examine a lot of her personal issues. For the first time we see this warrior-like woman who appears so strong and in total control, in a state of inner turmoil and completely lost.

Things get even more difficult for Jack and I felt bad for him. His love for Sam is so strong, all-encompassing, yet it scares and confuses him. He is led by the best of intentions but he also makes some costly mistakes that affect everyone around him. 

The story is told in multiple POVs and it's working really well, giving the readers different perspectives. This creates a lush background to all that is happening with the characters, main and supporting. 

The book ends with a kind of cliffhanger, not the worst possible, yet there are lot of things left to be cleared in the final installment in the series. Things could go either way for all the characters and there are still secrets from Sam's past to be revealed.

It's a recommended read for anyine who have read and enjoyed the first book. If you like romantic suspense with strong and intriguing characters and a lot of military action, you should give this series a try. There is also a novella told from Rush's POV coming in between books 1 and 2 and you can get it for 0.99 on Amazon and for FREE if you sign-up for Ms Alexi Lawless newsletter.

Waiting on Wednesday is a book meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it features books that we are eagerly awaiting to be released.

Jack Roman was perfectly happy living the life of a high-powered and charismatic philistine. He had time, money, women and a penchant for the fast life. Until he met his match in Samantha Wyatt and his obsession with her would take him to hell and back… 

Wes Elliott’s been dreaming of the muse he let go of as a young man—the woman he never forgot throughout his travels and the successes he’d left her to find. He always thought he’d see Sammy again—he just never expected her to be fighting for her life when he did…

Samantha Wyatt is being challenged by her past, tested by her decisions, and hunted by her nemesis. As her dangerous present and enigmatic past collides, Samantha conducts the riskiest operation of her life, and the men who love her will be forced to decide: Do they trust her enough to let her protect them? And do they love her enough to let her go?



Why am I waiting for this? - I read the first book after the author send it to me with a request for review and I rarely, if ever accept such request these days since my reading schedule is very busy. After giving it a chance I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this romantic suspense. It was well written, compelling story of love and ambition. It ended in a cliffhanger, so I just can't wait to read the sequel.