Rise and shine, pornies. Ready for the weekend? I have a book I'm sure many of you will enjoy, with an interesting story that will keep you awake at night. I did for me! Today's all about Birthday Presents, by Dianne Hartsock. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy through NetGalley!
- Print Length: 172 pages.
- Publisher: NineStar Press (February 8, 2021)
- Publication Date: February 8, 2021.
- Genres: Romance, Drama, Thriller, Horror.
- Rating: 3 / 5 stars.
For Tracey, life has become a nightmare. Kidnapped from a nightclub in Boulder, Colorado, brutalized and raped by the killer known as Crimson, he’s held captive alongside Kyle, a young man Crimson keeps chained to his bed and is slowly torturing to death. Though Tracey manages to escape with Kyle’s help, he is forced to leave Kyle behind.Gene has never stopped looking for his brother Kyle, kidnapped from a nightclub seven months previously. The case breaks open when Tracey comes forward, claiming to have knowledge of the whereabouts of Crimson's hideout.A manhunt begins, but Crimson’s birthday has come and gone, and he will kill again.
Birthday Presents caught my attention from the first line. I quickly devoured the first chapters, immersed in a fast-paced plot and addictive style that kept me glued to the phone from beginning to end. Things slowed down a little bit in the middle before coming back at full force, and man I was blown more than once with the twists and turns this story took!
I enjoyed the perspectives of several characters pretty much, and although it was the darkest, Crimson's was my favorite as well. There were scenes that shocked me and some that were just too beautiful to be in the middle of such a horrific chain of events. It was nice to see some light in the middle of it all. I would say Dianne Hartsock did a good job making sure there would be a good balance between light and dark.
Why three stars, then? Because it lost force at the end. I was expecting something much better, to be honest, but the story took a safe bet and rushed the final scenes. While I appreciate the bittersweetness in it, because a perfect ending would have been horrible, all the character development and tension lead to something more simpler than I expected. There's even one mystery that I guessed right away and hoped I would be wrong. Spoiler: Hard not to be; and the worst is that you don't get anything else but that single clue, there are no more reasons and hardly a good explanation.
Despite this, I'd still recommend this book if you're interested in dramatic, dark thrillers with a hint of romance. There's a lot of cute scenes, some that even aim at hot and steamy, but the focus is always on the mystery, the drama, the horror. Dianne Hartsock will keep you awake at night with Birthday Presents, that's for sure.
After growing up in California and spending the first ten years of marriage in Colorado, I now live in the beautiful Willamette Valley of Oregon with my incredibly patient husband, who puts up with the endless hours I spend hunched over the keyboard letting my characters play. Currently, I work as a floral designer in a locally-owned gift shop. Which is the perfect job for me. When not writing, I can express myself through the rich colors and textures of flowers and foliage. Website. Facebook. Twitter. Goodreads.
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