Given To You Book Review

September 10, 2013 / 0 comments

Given To You Book ReviewGiven To You by Carlie Sexton
Series: The Killer Next Door #3
Published by Self-Published on September 24, 2013
Genres: Romance, Suspense
Format: eARC
Source: ARC
Purchase @ AMAZON  or  BN
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Rating 

To give is a virtue. But to give your very self, the ultimate bequest. Offered in love, it can be wondrous. Offered in desperation, it can be deadly.

In Book Two of this three-part epic, young and tempting Kate Simmons at last seems to reach a safe haven of happiness when she moves in with Neil, ambitious and persevering both in his legal practice and his love life. Taking great care to protect his trophy and the surprise he has in mind for Kate, Neil hires security to accompany his soon-to-be fiancé on a scavenger hunt of a lifetime. And it is life, itself, that is in the balance when Kate becomes the hunted as the jilted Roger snatches his prey.

The obsessed minds of Neil and Roger now take aim squarely at each other — with a bare and exposed Kate directly in the crossfire. Knowing her very life will be the winner’s spoil, Kate stares agony in its ghastly face as it approaches for the death dance.

There is no time, no place, no safety in a war of fixation. A war in which the winner will be either the last one standing, or the last one to die.

Liezel’s Thoughts:

Finally the much-anticipated finale of The Killer Next Door saga!  To find my review for Book 1: Fallen For You click  HERE and for Book 2: Taken By You click HERE .

This series is one of those  that CAN NOT be read as a standalone and because of that proceed with caution-this review contains book 2  SPOILERS.

Given To You starts immediately where Taken By You left off with Kate getting kidnapped by Roger. If you’ve read book 2 you know what Neil was planning that night. Neil has always been this amazingly romantic and passionate man and you know his proposal would have been fantastic right? But we never get that far.  I was truly disappointed that we didn’t get to see how all that played out. Does he make up for it in Given To You? Let me just count the many ways…

In the hands of Roger, Kate does just about everything to appease him. She uses every excuse in the book to detain him from the inevitable. I was honestly stressed about this. I was worried for Kate, hoping and pleading that she wouldn’t have to be forced by this obsessed maniac.  Will she ever be able to get away from his atrocious plans?

 She  manipulates him into talking about his childhood which came as a surprise to me. I always wondered why Roger was the way he was but didn’t expect that his story would be THAT insane.   I have to admit that I was worried that the author wouldn’t be able to make it convincing  but she did such a remarkable job detailing Roger’s past. Let’s just say that I totally understand why this man is all crazy psycho…

Was the finale what I expected? I thought that the finale in general was terrific. The subtle clues given throughout the book was  interesting.  The only thing that was keeping me from rating it a 5 was the ending.  In regards to Roger I thought that part  was a little too abrupt.  I’m not sadistic in nature (ha!) but for all the heinous crimes that he committed I thought  he got off waaaaaay to easily.  Can you blame me if I tell you  that three books later  I still wanted more? Otherwise everything else about this story was perfect.

Would I recommend this series? Most definitely! From the very beginning I’ve enjoyed reading this intense and thrilling  series. The wait between books was agonizing but now that all three books are available (or soon to be) that won’t be an issue anymore. Because of that I think that your reading experience would  be even better than mine. Like I’ve mentioned  in my  book 2 review … I am very  impressed with the writing of such a complex story and I am  looking forward to reading more of Carlie Sexton’s work.

The Verdict:

rating-4

Chapter 1 Excerpt : Part 18

Kate noticed that Roger spoke of Paulina in the past tense just like he had when he mentioned Rick. She wanted to cry for the woman who wouldn’t get to see her son grow up. Why would Roger take his child’s mother away from him? He either felt threatened by Paulina or the monster inside of him had grown so powerful that Roger was no longer in control. She grieved for the little boy in the backseat, who was now motherless and destined to be raised by a serial killer. She wanted to cry for herself as she realized that her fate most likely would be the same as Paulina’s, unless her brilliant boyfriend found her in time, or she figured out a way to escape. The chances of him finding her grew smaller with each passing minute.

“I didn’t know that you own a cabin in Big Bear,” Kate said, probing for information to determine if there was any possibility of Neil finding her. The property would be listed on the background report that Neil had done.

“I don’t,” he said. “My sister Joyce does. She gave me a set of keys years ago. She only likes to come up in the summer, so no one will be there right now. We’ll have the place all to ourselves for months.”

“Great,” Kate said with all of the enthusiasm she could muster. She would never be found. Escape was her only feasible option.

“Are you and Joyce close? She sounds like a good sister.”

“You could say that we are close,” Roger said. “I visit her from time to time, but she doesn’t drive since her accident, so she doesn’t make it down to our neck of the woods very often. In fact, I don’t think she really comes up to the cabin much anymore. It’s hard for her to get around.”

Make sure to check out Divasbookblog.com for the final part of the first chapter of Given To You!

 

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About Carlie Sexton

Carlie Sexton has had a passion for reading her entire life. She loves it so that she dedicated her life to educating children. As a teacher, she has had the profound pleasure of teaching children to read and explore their imaginations through a good book. Just recently she decided to write a story that had been on her mind. Now she has several that she wants to turn into additional books. Writing has become a passion that she dearly loves.
Carlie lives with her handsome husband in Southern California. They enjoy the relaxed lifestyle that California provides. They have two beautiful dogs, but on children.



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