4 out of 4 stars
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H M Irwing has outdone himself in this book. He tells a tale that is heart-wrenching, mind-blowing, exhilarating, tearing, and numbing, and a real page-turner. It’s a romantic book set in Australia. My feelings in reading this book were angry, disgusted, confused, extremely excited, anxious, aroused, and hopeful, and at the same time disappointed. I have never felt so in awe of Irving's work as I have been captivated with this book. I have indeed been rendered speechless.
The author created Jane Simmons character to mirror the worst fear of any girl, woman, and man living. She is just 18 years old, had lost her father at a tender age, went through life with an abusive stepfather only for him to die, and leave Jane, and her mum with a monster, murderous stepbrother, John Simmons. She isn’t the brightest at studies, suffers from acute low self-esteem, and has been continuously going through heaps of bullying that you can’t help but sympathizes with the girl. It is very sickening how she goes through that much sexual assault at the hands of her boyfriend, and his family, when they drugged her for their enjoyment. What kind of twisted family can do that to a person? What the Preston family do to Jane repeatedly is nauseating, and the gal of them thinking they own her never ceased to amaze me, Indeed their corruptness is award-winning. But what’s even more maddening is finding out that the master planner behind this heinous act to Jane’s person is none other than her stepbrother.
Rafael Browns’ timed show up in Janes’ life is a huge welcome, for she would have died of depression. He is just another troubled war hero with his own demons to fight but he sees this fragile, lost girl who is on the verge of destruction as reflected in her eyes, that his heart goes out to her. He is trapped by the pain, and sorrow in her eyes, that he swears to help her out. He knows even without asking that they share the same pain. He may not have found justice yet from his oppressors but vows to help Jane attain justice. Rafael empowers Jane, becomes her rock, her confidant, her lover, and above all, they both become pillars of strength to each other.
The way the author develops Jane and Rafes’ character is unique in its own way, they both have dark pasts characterized by Rape, yet they manage to grow strong in the face of their problems. They understand each other perfectly so it’s expected when they become lovers. It is very easy to feel at ease with someone who empathizes with your experiences, the way Jane does with Rafael. It is very difficult to talk about your ordeal with a stranger knowing they may be judgmental towards your case yet Jane finds herself trusting Rafael which contributes greatly to her healing.
Jane is incredibly courageous when she decides not to tell her mother that she has been raped. However, I have mixed feelings about her decision. It’s a mother’s right to know what happens to your child, more so the bad stuff because you want to protect, help and support them. What Jane decides is a huge step, as it makes her feel so alone and very depressed. However, at the same time, she is protecting her mother from the heartache that will be inevitable if she ever finds out. She displays brevity when she goes undercover to find evidence against the Preston family even though that led to her being raped again, but still, she tried. Her decision to join the army is another strong point for Jane. She doesn’t want to feel helpless again so she decides to do something about it, which speaks volumes about her character.
H M Irwing writing this time makes readers reflect much about being raped, and enjoying sex with multiple partners without your consent after being drugged, which happens to be the case with Jane; does it qualify as rape? “What would you do if such an instance happened to you?” Jane is confused whether she was raped or not. She hates the fact that she enjoyed herself immensely during the assault, and never said no even though she knew what was being done to her was utterly wrong; she is powerless against the feelings the Preston’s aroused in her. This brought so many mixed feelings of self-loathing disgust confusion to me just like Jane felt. To be honest I wouldn’t like to feel like that. Am frustrated that the law to punish victimizers like the Prestons’ is almost nonexistent, such people find a way to put holes in the law rendering it crippled, which doesn’t sit well with me knowing they get away with it. The theme of the book is sexual assault.
I enjoyed the scene where Mathew Preston gets a biting from Rafael; the idiot doesn’t know when to stop when he taunts Rafe after finding him with Jane. He is so deluded that he thinks Janes’ controlling Rafe from biting him is because she still wants him. This act consoled me from the failed justice that Jane deserved to get. The support characters introduced later in the book when Jane joins the army are very welcome and add greatly to the development of the plot. Jane’s team in the army contributed to her newfound charisma, and empowerment; they were brothers, and sisters in arms who would watch her back no matter what.
The character I don’t dig is that of Jane’s best friend, she is supposed to look out for her friend but she leaves Jane all alone in the classroom with those goons leading to her second assault, after the humiliation she had just gone through in class, and can you imagine she was also laughing at Jane. Even if she didn’t know what had transpired, she had guessed about Jane and Mathew Prestons’ breakup which would have raised her head that her friend needed her, after all, she is supposed to have her friends back, but then again her character wasn’t much of a friend. Then there is Eric Dayton, Rafe's captain in the army, and his raper who is another parasite on the society whose character portrays that of powerful men who take advantage of their authority to terrorize other people.There are mistakes in the book that make it hard to read, for example, “if one could called seeking justice the act of vengeance,” “If the bag had be live,” to quote but a few.
I rate this book 4 out of 4; it is very memorable, interesting, and a great read. It will have you shaking your head, laughing, and shocked at the same time. Lovers of romance novels, this is a must-read. For those who don’t like explicit sex scenes, this book is not for you. I definitely look towards reading the second book in the series.
Heartaches-Bad Boy Vibes
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Heartaches
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