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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
I loved this book and I thought it was so well written!
But I wanted something MORE in the end. More story, more love, more everything. It almost felt like a cliffhanger or something. Based on the content of the book and the story I wanted to be a little bit more re-assured of where their story goes and how it ends.
But I still loved it :)
But I wanted something MORE in the end. More story, more love, more everything. It almost felt like a cliffhanger or something. Based on the content of the book and the story I wanted to be a little bit more re-assured of where their story goes and how it ends.
But I still loved it :)
Holy fucking shit! This book is so damn emotional and rips you apart but it does it so well that you can’t do anything but fall inlove with it. Also I don’t feel bad for Julia fuck her. She kept breaking Madison down making her codependent.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
A bit too twisted for me but it was okay anyway
If you enjoy a good dark and twisted read then this might be the story for you I enjoy a good dark messed up read but after finishing this book I am still unsure if I loved it I did like and enjoy it but there was just nothing about James or Madison that I liked it is a book that will suck you in though and the writing was really good well worth a read
4.5 stars
Good lord. This book covered a lot of topics that are heavy and not often talked about. It was ugly. It was tragic. Yet, it was beautiful. Sometimes, people need to be reminded that beauty comes from pain and all the things like; tragedy, ugliness, betrayal, heartache, and despair. For, in those moments and out of the ashes comes clarity, peace, and solace.
Good lord. This book covered a lot of topics that are heavy and not often talked about. It was ugly. It was tragic. Yet, it was beautiful. Sometimes, people need to be reminded that beauty comes from pain and all the things like; tragedy, ugliness, betrayal, heartache, and despair. For, in those moments and out of the ashes comes clarity, peace, and solace.
A War Like Ours by Saffron A. Kent is one of those novels that does not make for light nor easy reading. It is heavy in a way that makes you think, deep in a way that makes you wish the story would just continue for all eternity, and darkly delicious and sinfully delightful in the way that only Saffron can deliver.
Madison Smith and James Alexander Maxwell’s paths cross each other under the most innocuous of circumstances. Madison who lives with her girlfriend and believes that men aren’t for her, and James who hides from secrets that he harbours, lying to himself and the one person that matters to him the most, day in and day out because he knows he would not be able to handle the aftermath of facing the truth.
What brings these two together is James’ daughter, who brings a lightness to the otherwise at times dark themes explored in the story. There is Madison’s girlfriend who continues to subject her to the kind of toxicity we have been brought up to believe happens only in heterosexual relationships. Madison’s inability to face the truth of the effects of her past which had left a resonating mark deep within her, makes it extremely difficult for her to accept her burgeoning feelings towards James.
James might not like the fact that he is drawn towards Madison, but that does not stop them from exploring the explosive passion that rises forth between them. Madison and James communicates with each other through their coming together, each of them leaving a bit of themselves with the other every single time. Neither of them admits to what is happening between them, that is until things come to an explosive confrontation whereby each lays down the dark and harrowing scars inside them, punching the reader in the gut with the rawness of the emotions that seeps through the story.
While I do not know how I felt about certain aspects of the story, one thing is for certain. I have never read any other book like this where both protagonists are equally flawed and broken to a point where you weep for their pasts and anguish over their future while at the same time, a part of you hopes against hope that everything works out. This is perhaps darker than the other Saffron Ken books I have read thus far, and that is saying something.
James with that visceral guilt of his that had manifested and grown under the abject lack of care from the one person who should have given it to him unconditionally, resulting in the kind of warped psychology that would have broken most completely, was fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time. There is a gentleness to James even then, and there is a ferocity to his need and love that speaks to you on so many levels.
It truly broke my heart when James did the bravest and the hardest thing any parent might have to do in his life. While I know deep in my heart that it was for the best, there was always that tiny part of me that wanted a different resolution in terms of what had happened on that front. But I also know the courage it took for James to do that. So for that and more, I love him, forever more.
In the deepest corners of my heart, I see James and Maddie married with 2.5 kids and nothing but happiness plaguing them. Because they have had more than their fair share of suffering and abject misery to last them for multiple lifetimes.
Maddie’s spunk and protectiveness of James was endearing even in the destructiveness that was the theme of their non-relationship, which I believe was the reason why I fell for Maddie and rooted for her through and through.
Recommended for fans of dark romances which explores aspects of mental health that proves to be insightful. Every single time I pick up a Saffron Kent novel, I am amazed by how her words speak to my mental health issues. For that and more, I would always continue to come back for her stories, whenever they maybe published.
Final Verdict: A story of destructive forces, emotional turmoil, psychological aftereffects of childhood neglect and trauma, and the healing power of love – none of what James and Maddie goes through makes for easy reading, but these are characters who would claim your heart and leave you better for having known them.
Rating = 4.25/5
For more reviews and quotes, please visit A Maldivian's Passion for Romance </
Madison Smith and James Alexander Maxwell’s paths cross each other under the most innocuous of circumstances. Madison who lives with her girlfriend and believes that men aren’t for her, and James who hides from secrets that he harbours, lying to himself and the one person that matters to him the most, day in and day out because he knows he would not be able to handle the aftermath of facing the truth.
What brings these two together is James’ daughter, who brings a lightness to the otherwise at times dark themes explored in the story. There is Madison’s girlfriend who continues to subject her to the kind of toxicity we have been brought up to believe happens only in heterosexual relationships. Madison’s inability to face the truth of the effects of her past which had left a resonating mark deep within her, makes it extremely difficult for her to accept her burgeoning feelings towards James.
James might not like the fact that he is drawn towards Madison, but that does not stop them from exploring the explosive passion that rises forth between them. Madison and James communicates with each other through their coming together, each of them leaving a bit of themselves with the other every single time. Neither of them admits to what is happening between them, that is until things come to an explosive confrontation whereby each lays down the dark and harrowing scars inside them, punching the reader in the gut with the rawness of the emotions that seeps through the story.
While I do not know how I felt about certain aspects of the story, one thing is for certain. I have never read any other book like this where both protagonists are equally flawed and broken to a point where you weep for their pasts and anguish over their future while at the same time, a part of you hopes against hope that everything works out. This is perhaps darker than the other Saffron Ken books I have read thus far, and that is saying something.
James with that visceral guilt of his that had manifested and grown under the abject lack of care from the one person who should have given it to him unconditionally, resulting in the kind of warped psychology that would have broken most completely, was fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time. There is a gentleness to James even then, and there is a ferocity to his need and love that speaks to you on so many levels.
It truly broke my heart when James did the bravest and the hardest thing any parent might have to do in his life. While I know deep in my heart that it was for the best, there was always that tiny part of me that wanted a different resolution in terms of what had happened on that front. But I also know the courage it took for James to do that. So for that and more, I love him, forever more.
In the deepest corners of my heart, I see James and Maddie married with 2.5 kids and nothing but happiness plaguing them. Because they have had more than their fair share of suffering and abject misery to last them for multiple lifetimes.
Maddie’s spunk and protectiveness of James was endearing even in the destructiveness that was the theme of their non-relationship, which I believe was the reason why I fell for Maddie and rooted for her through and through.
Recommended for fans of dark romances which explores aspects of mental health that proves to be insightful. Every single time I pick up a Saffron Kent novel, I am amazed by how her words speak to my mental health issues. For that and more, I would always continue to come back for her stories, whenever they maybe published.
Final Verdict: A story of destructive forces, emotional turmoil, psychological aftereffects of childhood neglect and trauma, and the healing power of love – none of what James and Maddie goes through makes for easy reading, but these are characters who would claim your heart and leave you better for having known them.
Rating = 4.25/5
For more reviews and quotes, please visit A Maldivian's Passion for Romance </
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
EVERYTIME!
Everytime I read Saffron Kent my heart expands and explodes! It's agony and ecstasy in words. I loved this book so hard. I loved James and Maddy with all their brokenness. He is full of guilt and shame and she is full of anger and fear, but together they are perfect. I want to think of words that will explain the reasons why every human needs to read this book, however I am not a wordsmith. This book is an emotional roller coaster ride that will make you cry, smile, scream in frustration, explode and then it stitches you back together. Saffron Kent is the reigning queen of writing about the human condition with all its nuances. She captures the ugly, the beauty, the grief, sadness and joy, but most of all, she captures the love. I highly recommend this book!
Everytime I read Saffron Kent my heart expands and explodes! It's agony and ecstasy in words. I loved this book so hard. I loved James and Maddy with all their brokenness. He is full of guilt and shame and she is full of anger and fear, but together they are perfect. I want to think of words that will explain the reasons why every human needs to read this book, however I am not a wordsmith. This book is an emotional roller coaster ride that will make you cry, smile, scream in frustration, explode and then it stitches you back together. Saffron Kent is the reigning queen of writing about the human condition with all its nuances. She captures the ugly, the beauty, the grief, sadness and joy, but most of all, she captures the love. I highly recommend this book!