by Amber Lynn Natusch
Published on: 3/5/13
Self published
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Returning home after three weeks of captivity in the shadows of her own mind, Ruby discovers the magnitude of the damage her absence left in its wake. With relationships to mend and unsolved mysteries still looming, she has little time to deal with the latest drama at hand: the three disreputable werewolves recently thrust into her life and a missing Scarlet. Ruby must quickly learn to adapt and thrive in her new situation while also treading carefully around it. If not, she will suffer the consequences―and without her genetically built-in safety net present, the ramifications could be epic.
My Rating: 4 1/2 Coffee Cups!!
I cannot stress to you enough how obsessed I am with this frigging series!! I'll be the first to admit that the Werewolf genre can get old, tired and completely overdone. But, nope not this one. Not even close. It's so completely different from the other ones out there and once it gets it's hooks into you IT DOESN'T LET GO. Trust me. 5 books in and I'm still finishing each book in a day's time and then salivating for the next one. Seriously, if I've not coerced you into anything yet with my rantings and ravings, let this one be the one that gets you! The first book Caged is $0.99 on Amazon right now. And just to catch you up a teeny tiny bit, here is the Goodreads blurb about the first book:
I stood in the
middle of the room, unmoving – I barely breathed. My life had just
become surreal, impossible, and one enormous lie. I needed to go, to run
somewhere, anywhere to beat back the reality that was rapidly closing
in around me. The image of him was burned into my retina, flashing over
and over again like a warning. He was trapped somewhere between human
and decidedly not, and I realized that was my new reality.
I was too.
After
the death of her parents, Ruby awakens from a lifetime of shadows and
finds herself alone, thrust into a world of lies, deceit, betrayal and
the supernatural.
As her quest for truth continues to come up short, she realizes that maybe some questions really are best left unanswered.
When
her true identity is finally unveiled, she is forced to choose between
two of the mysterious men who continually seem to crop up in her life.
She chooses poorly.
Now abandoned, Ruby must learn to call on the darkness within to survive, or spend a hellish eternity imprisoned because of it.
Now, if you haven't read the first (and want to) and don't really feel like having things spoiled for you, please don't keep reading. It's book 5 in this series so I won't be able to shield you from too much!!
Ok, onwards.
The end of Scarred and the prologue of Fractured GUTTED me. It had me in tears and left me heartbroken. Oh and the effing Goodreads blurb yup, pretty painful:
I thought about watching
from afar, hidden by the nearby trees or headstones, so I could avoid
the onslaught of grief I was sure to be bombarded with. It was cowardly,
but I was certain that when faced with the totality of my own grief, I
would crumble under the weight of any extra. He was always so strong
both physically and emotionally – I selfishly wished for his strength in
that moment. If I couldn’t be strong, then I would at least be
honorable and bear my pain publicly, for all who loved him to see.
It was by my actions that he was about to be put six feet under, and I owed it to him to be there.
So needless to say I went into this knowing I was going to need a box of Kleenex and possibly a shot of tequila. It didn't help that the author and her fellow author/friend Shannon Morton actually told me I was going to ugly cry at one point in this. After stressing they NEVER cry at books. Fair warning and all that I suppose.
This book picks up about 3 weeks after the end of Scarred. 3 weeks after Sean and Jay's attack. 3 weeks after Matty's death and Scarlet's subsequent emotional breakdown and disappearance. Ruby regains consciousness in the middle of the woods, the last 3 weeks being a complete and total black hole to her with no recollection of how she got there. With the help of three seemingly random werewolves she is taken in, cleaned, fed and taken care of until she can make it back home to New Hampshire. Once there she has no idea what to expect from any of the people she cares about. She first runs into Connor. Can I just segue here and say I love Connor. I've always loved him, even thru his dark period and he doesn't disappoint me here in this book. Ok, back to what I was saying. Her meetings with Connor, Peyta, Alan and finally Sean are harsh. There are definite repercussions to her disappearance that she has to deal with that she would've never thought possible. From all ends. Not to mention she has to deal with Matty's death. The Rev turned him into a crazy wolf, but Ruby remembers and loves him for the man he was before he changed. Her friend, her dance partner, a man who held a part of her heart. It was tough to watch her try and figure out her feelings. 3 weeks may have passed in reality, but to Ruby it was only days ago.
And then there's Scarlet. She has been pretty much non-existent since she released Ruby from her mental cell in the woods. No one can coax her out, Ruby doesn't hear her, doesn't feel any stirrings of her whatsoever. Which leaves Ruby disturbingly vulnerable. Especially when the three werewolves who found and helped her come knocking at her door asking for her and Connor's help and protection. Which, if you know Connor, you can probably guess how that went over. Not well. At all. The three werewolves- escapees from a pretty dangerous pack in the UK- are desperate. Janner, Alistair and Beckett have committed some fouls, lost people they loved and were given the chance to escape, so they run to the one person they believe can protect them the best, the RB.
Enter Sean. Ruby had seen him briefly at Matty's funeral but was in no mental state to talk to him. She was petrified he hated her and blamed her and couldn't deal with another loss on the day they buried Matty. But she couldn't avoid him when he walks into her apartment moments after the rogue werewolves do, demanding explanations and declaring himself as her mate. After some heated discussions and heartfelt admissions he and Ruby are finally back on track. As much as I love Connor, I know that Sean is who Ruby is supposed to be with. He has a monster inside of him that needs to be tamed, just as Ruby does (although not as literally). Ruby balances him and Sean gives her the unconditionally love that she never received when she was younger. He understands and accepts her and all of her screw-ups and never-ending penchant for finding and getting into trouble.
So you have an overprotective Connor (which you find out why exactly that is the case), a relatively damaged Peyta, a Sean that you want to hug and hogtie down so he doesn't change personalities again, an absurdly (and somewhat creepy in that state) happy Ronnie, the three stooges of werewolves, a psycho alpha, a heartbreaking presence that I can't really tell you about, oh and Gavin the man of talking in riddles and planting seeds of distrust. One additional bit of awesomeness- you have the new dynamic of the three werewolves adding to the smart assed hilarity that is Connor and Ruby.
I loved this book. Even as vague as I am being about it, I just want you to go and read it and then tell me what you think. I need to share in this book with you people!!
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