Consequences discussion

I saw this book here on Goodreads, read the intriguing description, scrolled through pages of rave reviews, and then picked up the book.

I love kidnapping books. I love books with a sick, twisted, violent hero. I love books where the heroine is subject to the sick and twisted whims of her captor. According to the reviews this book seemed to have it all, and I was excited to dig in. Boy, was I surprised. I soon realized, with a sinking feeling in my stomach, that I was wading through almost five hundred pages of the most stiff, juvenile, and just goddamn POOR writing I have ever had the misfortune of seeing.

Seriously, I don't have high standards when it comes to writing. I'm easy to please. I've loved plenty of books with iffy writing. But this one takes the cake. The dialogue is extremely awkward and clunky, and it's oddly formal at times. It weirdly goes into detail about the stupidest tiny thing and leaves REALLY important things vague. The main character seems to be mentally retarded or something. She wakes up after having been kidnapped and brutalized, but when a lady walks in instead of doing something to actually get out, she has a nice chat with the lady despite being supposedly extremely desperate to escape.

Ugh. Seriously, my face was stuck in a permanent cringe from the horrible dialogue and writing style.

So AM I THE ONLY ONE??? The writing was very noticeably TERRIBLE!!! How did you guys not see it!

i can see what you are saying and understand why you say this. i think because i read this so long ago when i started reading again i didnt notice any of this and really enjoyed the book. i recently went back to re read before the third book and you are right just wow. BUT i still love the story and twist and it drove me crazy so ill still read lol do you have any recommendations ? i love this stuff too!

Yeah I was definitely harsh, because I was just so shocked! I think the premise was interesting and the twist was very twisty though, it wasn't totally without merit. Also, maybe the other two in the series are better.

Try "Comfort Food" by Kitty Thomas. I read that one in one sitting. It wasn't perfect but it was a VERY intense read.

This one (you may have heard of it) is for teens and isn't erotic, but "Stolen" by Lucy Christopher was good as well. It dragged a bit at times but was also pretty intense- I had a swoopy feeling in my stomach the whole time!

I'll post more kidnapping books as I think of them. Do you know of any good ones?

Merav wrote: "Yeah I was definitely harsh, because I was just so shocked! I think the premise was interesting and the twist was very twisty though, it wasn't totally without merit. Also, maybe the other two in..."

the twist just keept getting twistier in the second book and i dont think the writing is any different/better :/

i did read comfort food and i really liked it but i didnt like the ending i felt like it was just so fast and kind of abrupt.

YES i loved The Tied Man by tabitha mcgowan
and gone girl by gillian flynn although not kidnapping still amazing thriller/mystery
The dark duet by cj roberts.
Escape from Paradise
killing sarai

ill post more too :)

havent heard of that one so ill have to pick it up thx!

I felt a little tricked at first. Everyone keeps recommending this as dark erotica when the sex is pretty tame and the brutal stuff fades away like a Lifetime movie. Once I realized that it's not an erotic novel, but a psychological thriller it was easier to enjoy. I wish people would warn people this isn't graphic like the Dark Duet series before recommending.

Merav wrote: "I saw this book here on Goodreads, read the intriguing description, scrolled through pages of rave reviews, and then picked up the book.

I love kidnapping books. I love books with a sick, twisted..."

Yes, I love them, too. But I need a writer who is responsible enough to write with some modicum of realism and skill.

I agree with you about Consequences. I enjoyed the story line and the twists but I definitely thought the writing was somewhat juvenile. I'm going to look for some of the other books that were recommended.

Merav, I'd say we all have different styles we like and I did like the first two books (mostly) but try "Tears for Tess" series. The first book is tame compared to the second - very very dark.

the twist just keept getting twistier in the second book and i dont think the writing is any different/better :/

If anything, I'd say the writing in the second book is not as good as the first. Some things are oddly overdone, as if the author wanted them to sound important. And my desire to edit the book is making it harder and harder for me to enjoy. (She "relishes in the sunlight?") But the story is so fun, I just keep going.

Larissa wrote: "the twist just keept getting twistier in the second book and i dont think the writing is any different/better :/

If anything, I'd say the writing in the second book is not as good as the first. S..."

I agree with you Larissa that the writing in the second book is much worse than that in the first book. I really liked the first book even though it was dark and sad. The second book, not so much. I liked the interaction between Claire and Tony and they don't have much interaction in most of the second book.

Paula wrote: "I agree with you Larissa that the writing in the second book is much worse than that in the first book. I really liked the first book even though it was dark and sad. The second book, not so much. I liked the interaction between Claire and Tony and they don't have much interaction in most of the second book."

My biggest problem with the second book was the attempt to change Tony into a more sympathetic character. It might have worked for others but it felt way too contrived for me.

Yes I agree. Find myself rolling my eyes a lot. Really felt forced.

Frannie wrote: "Merav wrote: "Yeah I was definitely harsh, because I was just so shocked! I think the premise was interesting and the twist was very twisty though, it wasn't totally without merit. Also, maybe th..."

Finished "Killing Sarai", thought it was very good. It felt a little bit like two books mashed into one, I thought the first half was very well fleshed-out and the characters were great. Thanks for recommending.

I really hated Claire throughout all three books,in every climax she does something incredibly stupid,to the point of which I think she is mentally retarded I mean i would have loved at least one failed escape attempt from her,if you read from Tony Pov in Behind his eyes there were soo many times even he thought she could have escaped(in the symphony,or all those shopping trips) but the thought of running never crosses her mind even after soo much abuse,and who in their right mind agrees to marry when the alternative is freedom right after the "accident"!! I mean may be its Stockholm syndrome who knows

The series not my cup of tea, i felt sickness when I read. Claire's mental status, n all her decision n judgement, I question about it. If u told me that's love, sorry I just don't buy it

I agree with you about the writting and also about Claire. Her actions seemed weird most of the times

The story had great potential but I absolutely agree with you - the writing was ridiculous and Claire seemed mentally challenged (no offense, but a mental handicap would be the only excuse for her to keep acting the way she did!!) - she literally sold herself into slavery and rape for a few Cartier sunglasses and Armani dresses! And the author tried to make this sound "ok"! To me that was disgusting...

Once somewhere the author "Aleatha Romig" said that up until the end of the first book and even somewhere in to the second book and even after they got married Claire was suffering from Stockholm Syndrom and that is what the author herself actually admitted. But despite that neither Tony or Claire even hint at that in the book and I get the impression that she was suffering from that syndrom all through the book because she never once fought him even after she was free from prison and they met again, she just ran back in to his arms and didn't even demand explanation for his actions. Tony was mentally sick from the beginning and did he ever recieve professional help?

Mojd wrote: "Once somewhere the author "Aleatha Romig" said that up until the end of the first book and even somewhere in to the second book and even after they got married Claire was suffering from Stockholm S..."

I don't think Stockholm Syndrome explains even Claire's idiotic behavior when she's first kidnapped... it seems it's just an excuse for poor, poor writing and lazy, inconsistent characterization.

Merav wrote: "Mojd wrote: "Once somewhere the author "Aleatha Romig" said that up until the end of the first book and even somewhere in to the second book and even after they got married Claire was suffering fro..."

Yeah, I agree. I had forgotten about how unrealistic was Claire's reaction when she was abducted the first time! as far as I know this syndrom doesn't develop imediately . It takes a lot of time for a captive to feel this way about her captor. The books are just full of big and small errors and I guess the books are so long and so many that ecen the author herself is confused . She wasn't able to wrap it up. Hell even their daughter needs professional help with the kind of parents she has.

I agree with you. I am at the begining of the book and was hoping the writing would improve. After reading this thread I am thinking it won't.

I LOVED this series but I have to agree that I found it difficult to relate with Claire because she didn't try to escape.

Personally I blame this on the lack of details of the more, gruesome things that happened to her. Honestly, I really don't want to read the details of rape and anything else abuse related but because those details weren't there it was difficult to relate with her.

Maybe if they were there I would have been more understanding of what it was exactly that she went through? As it was, I felt like ripping my hair out! Why didn't she try to convince Catherine to free her? Why didn't she try to over power Catherine or the other server? Etc.

I'm not educated with Stockholm Syndrome but I do feel this is what was going on with Claire, not at first though. At first I believe it was fear. It's just we weren't really SHOWN why she was fearful, rather we were TOLD and that makes a big difference in my opinion.