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It may not be completely fair, but most of my ratings include how I feel about the grammar - if there are several punctuation errors, mispelled words, and other mistakes. Because of the grammatical errors in the majority of the Consequences series, these books did not receive the star rating I would have preferred to give them. Consequences and Truth both received 3 stars, but can become a 3.5 rating with corrections. Convicted I gave 3.5 stars, but could easily be 4 stars after editing. Revealed earned 4 stars from me - the grammar, punctuation and spelling were much, much better, therefore this was the highest rating I will give it. Beyond the Consequences was only given 3 stars.
Below I have included my separate reviews for each book.

Truth: I'll be perfectly honest. I've become so familiar with reading from the first person perspective, it's a little difficult to fully immerse myself in a story written in third person; partly because the point of views change so quickly, sometimes without warning, and there are so many, it's hard to keep up with. In Truth, we read (in third person) through Claire's, Tony's, Harry's, Phil's, Sophia's, Derek's, Nathaniel's, Marie's, and Catherine's point of view. In fact, there may even be one or two I'm forgetting. The point is, it was kind of hard to concentrate, especially when the POV changed without any real consistency. However, despite this and some easy to overlook, but not completely dismissed, grammatical errors, I truly enjoyed Truth. I read Consequences over a year ago and have been desperate to find out how the story continues. The first book left me appalled, disgusted, and just as determined to seek revenge as Claire. However, this book left me completely shocked. There were so many twists and turns, so many events that I was in no way prepared for - I loved it. Aleatha kept me on my toes and I couldn't have predicted anything that happened. Of course, my one real worry is that Claire took Tony back. I told myself that, if one were to pretend the events in Consequences didn't occur, Tony's attempts to rekindle his marriage with Claire would be sweet. However, I can't just forget those things happened. Tony hit her, he isolated her, he kidnapped her and controlled every aspect of her life, he manipulated her and abused her more ways than physically. He raped her. In candor, the first of his several sins could probably be overlooked if he were completely and totally dedicated to not only making it up to Claire, but to making sure those moments never occurred again. However, I absolutely cannot get over the fact that he raped her, repeatedly. Something like that can't, and shouldn't, be forgiven. In the first book, I assumed he had successfully brainwashed her into believe she loved him, so I could forgive her for forgiving him. But in Truth, she was able to step away and realize just how much power she could wield over him, yet she fell right back into his arms. I look forward to reading from Tony's point of view to see whether or not I can be persuaded to agree with Claire and her love for him. Until then, I will continue to have my reservations.

Convicted: Man, what a roller coaster! Romig kept me guessing throughout the whole book and, honestly, worried about how everything would turn out. I had my fears from the beginning - with each new chapter, they grew and grew. I actually caught myself hoping Claire would get the happily ever after she so desperately wanted, even if that included Tony. In reality, I still find it hard to chew that the fact Tony raped her could actually be overlooked. However, there is this magical sense of self-preservation called "suspension of belief", which allows us readers to, well, suspend our beliefs to morally accept something from a book that we most certainly wouldn't in real life. I even found myself cheering the couple on, completely forgetting about the past, only to be reminded and question myself. Whether it's absurd for me to have eventually made peace with Claire's decision to love and forgive Tony for his trangressions, that's what happened. Despite the typical grammatical and punctuation errors dotted throughout the book, I rated Convicted with 3.5 stars instead of 3, because I was truly enthralled from beginning to end. It was a worthy read and, as usual, I'm a little sad to be officially parted with Claire and Tony (if you don't include Tony's POV books), but I'm happy with the way their story ended.

Beyond the Consequences: The grammar matched that of Revealed - much improved from the first 3 Consequences books - but I felt incredibly bored throughout most of it. I felt like it was being dragged out; if Aleatha had made it so Patricia and Rudolf were working together, I believe it would have made this story shorter and, therefore, more enjoyable.
  
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The Most Dangerous Thing
6
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the first Laura Lippman novel I've read. I had heard fantastic things about her writing style & her ability to write real life characters in real life, yet intriguing situations. This book fits into both of those molds.
The Most Dangerous Thing bounces around through the lives of 5 children. Its focal point is one summer in 1979 & the events that happened while the kids were having adventures in the forest around their homes. The story bounces around quite a bit, but is never hard to follow. The story arc is interesting & very believable. The many & varied characters you meet throughout are all interesting, but not too over the top to prevent you from thinking they couldn't be real. The story really isn't completely known until the very end of the book. I kept guessing at what was what & who did what. I skirted around what "really happened" but never did manage to figure it out.
So, what makes me give it a 3? Well if there were 1/2 stars it would be a 3 & 1/2 if that helps. It was interesting, but I could put it down & not have that burning itch to know what was going to happen. Yet at the same time it was satisfyingly frustrating...I was never quite sure what was going to happen to the main characters.
  
Mad about the Boy
Mad about the Boy
Beth Laycock | 2019 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mad About The Boy is a contemporary romance stalker story. Eli has things he wants to do with his life, like setting up a dog's boarding home and rescue kennels. He is working to do so, but strange things start happening to him. Luckily for him, he has his friends and Dominic there to help him.

I will be honest here, at points in the story, it is Dominic who comes across as a bit stalkerish. He was intense. However, it all worked out well in the end. As for the other characters, they are all very good. They do what they are supposed to, and that is support the main character, or move the story along.

There were a few loose ends that weren't tied up, not to me at least. I did enjoy this book, and am very glad I've read it. I was wavering between 3 and 4 stars, and have gone with 3 simply because of those loose ends. Perhaps it's just me not seeing them. I definitely recommend this book, because then you can see what I mean, and tell me where I couldn't find them!

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
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