by Rachael Wade
Series: The Replacement #1
Also in this series: The Prisoner
Also by this author: Declaration, The Prisoner
Published by Rabbit Hole Press on January 27th 2014
Genres: adult, contemporary, new adult, romance
Pages: 344
Format: eBook
*Contains sexually explicit content and mature subject matter, including language and elements of abuse.*
A gritty New Adult drama about a young woman’s self-destructive quest to find purpose, self-worth, and love in a broken world.
My name is Elise Duchamp. I’m twenty-three years old and I’m known as the town whore.
No, not the kind who exchanges sexual favors for money. The other kind. The kind who gives it all away for free, whenever and however she likes. I am that girl. The one everyone whispers about and the one none of the girls seem to like, because all of their boyfriends either want to sleep with me or already have. Promiscuity is my thing—the kind that slowly, violently turns my insides black, but gives me something I need.
All things considered, I’m not completely reckless. I’m safe, and contrary to popular opinion, I do have a heart. I live in a world of careless choices, and with those choices come careless people. I cannot judge them, because I am one of them. I too bow down to the altar of the self-serving. I am not a good friend. I am not and never could be anyone’s girlfriend. I’m convinced any goodness in me shriveled up and died long ago.
But I am a replacement. That is something I know how to be, and this is a story of the lengths I’d go to in order to keep it that way.
Well….here we are. I’ve attempted to read this book 3 times now. This being the third. I cried the first two times any only got to 25%. This may be the hardest review I’ve ever written. I can’t go into it without giving away something personal from myself. Very rarely does a book have content that hits a little too close to home for me. I started it around the time when I was most vulnerable and it gutted me. I didn’t want to read it. I didn’t want this character that behaved the way she did to get her happy ending. I wouldn’t even stick around to see if that happened. Yes, I know it’s fiction but it’s the principle. I just picked the book back up…picking up right where I left off. I thought it would be time for me to face my fears. The sadness is gone but now I feel anger.
Misplaced feelings….it’s a goddamn book! I just made it through! I finished it! I may not have conquered my fears but my head and heart feel so much lighter. I think I needed this book. It put things into perspective for me. This character had a reason for doing what she did, and I accept that. Once I got over my own feelings I was able to enjoy this book and even like this character that my mind says I should hate. I’m glad she got her HEA. The more I think about it, everyone deserves their HEA, even people that do crappy things. We’ve all been there but it’s like I always say “different strokes for different folks.” People do bad things but you never know what their story is. I can’t go and spoil the story but their is a point at the end that made it all make sense. This was more cathartic than anything else for me. I appreciate it more than the author will ever know.
I started off hating Elise Duchamp…. I wanted to go into the book and rip her blonde hair off. Again with my misplaced anger. I was more mad at her than the guys she was sleeping with. Once I got to about 40% I was loving it. She was changing and that Ryder is goddamn scrumptious! I remember the exact moment that made it a wrap for me….this line from Ryder. “You’re still a little piece of heaven, baby,” he pants against my mouth, “even if your halo’s broken.” Yup….dead. I love these two together. It wasn’t all lovey dovey either…. It was raw and intense. I’m really excited to read the novella from this series, The Prisoner, which releases this week!
Rachael Wade is the Amazon bestselling author of The Preservation Series, The Resistance Trilogy, and the upcoming sci-fi series, The Keepers Trilogy. When she’s not writing, she’s busy learning French, watching too many movies, and learning how to protect animals and the environment. Visit her at www.RachaelWade.com and www.LightsOnOutreach.com, or come chat with her on Twitter via @RachaelWade
Author Links:
