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A review by bookladysreviews
As Dust Dances by Samantha Young
5.0
*I received this book for free, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own! *
I'm getting quite repetitive when it comes to Samantha Young's novels but, whatever she writes, I'll gladly read without second thought! I jumped at the chance to read and review As Dust Dances, even though I haven't read Play On yet! I absolutely loved it, let's start with that!
I'm not going to talk about the plot in depth because I feel like this is one of those books you have to read in order to actually get the meaning of but, we're obviously going to discuss everything else! First of all, the premise was quite intriguing and authentic, which you don't usually expect from New Adult/Romance novels! Not saying that to sound negative but, I personally haven't come across such a unique Romance novel in a while and it wa such a breath of fresh air that I felt my faith in the world restored after finishing it. Yes, that might sound a bit dramatic but, you can either take it or leave it! The main character has a very well thought out background that is revealed through flashbacks, which has become one of my favorite techniques when it comes to novels in general, especially Contemporary of any sort! They just become so much more relatable that way and they're proof that the characters had a past, which makes their stories even more reliable and easier to connect to. Skylar's past ewas mainly what the book itself was base doff of but, it wasn't brushed aside nor ignored in favour of other, more mainstream topics that readers would swoon over. It was addressed in the best way possible and handled in a way that shows the author's ability to write fiction while describing reality, something that's evident in every single one of her novels that I've read this far! She has the impressive ability of making you experience every single thing the characters she so masterfully creates are experiencing and that's not something a lot of authors can easily achieve nowadays! I've also come to realise that Scotland is a recurring setting and I'm actually desperate to visit every single place she vividly describes, novel after novel! I should've probably made a list because that would've definitely made things easier for me!
Back to Skylar, whose story was written in the most powerful way possible! It was raw, poignant and absolutely heartbreaking! A story worth writing, reading, feeling with every fiber of your being and going back to when you need something that feels true to ground you, while giving you hope.
Skylar was such a tortured soul and while reading about everything she went through, you become a bit more humble and realize that fame is not what's cracked up to be! I really admire the way it was put in perspective in the novel and how she managed to distance herself from it in the end, while finding true happiness. That's the most important thing any of us can do, right?
Moving on to the love interest, Killian. He was such a forced to be reckoned with and I lost count of how many times I swooned throughout the novel. He came off as being so cold and controlling but, the moment that control of his broke was probably one of my favorites. It was so vividly raw that it felt real, let me tell you. I loved how their relationship started out as business and even though the sexual tension between them was more than obvious, I didn't feel like it overshadowed the importance of everything else that was going on. I do think that things worked out for Skylar, better than they would've worked out for someone else in the sense that, there are so many people who don't have the opportunity to help themselves out there or be discovered and saved from a life in the streets like she was but, the author did a great job of bringing more awareness to that fact since I'm here, writing about it! Their relationship was such a roller coaster of emotions and I loved being part of it. Skylar's development as a character and a human being was quite amazing and even though the healing process drained the life out of her, it was worth it in the end. Seeing her make peace with her past and come to terms with what happened was more than I could've asked for and yes, Samantha Young delivered!
Moreover, I immensely enjoyed reading about the secondary characters in the novel! Autumn was a breath of something new and I cannot wait for her story! Skylar's former bandmates were also quite supportive of her and her decisions. They were there for her and truly cared, even when she didn't want them to. That is the meaning of friendship after all!
The writing was, once again, phenomenal and I'll probably never stop admiring the author's ability to make me feel things like I'm experiencing them myself! She's one of the only authors that has manage to do that for me, both as a reader and as a person, throughout the years!
Overall, As Dust Dances was a masterpiece and I fell in love with it as soon as I started reading it! I cannot recommend it enough guys! It was real, heartbreaking and I devoured it in a matter of hours!
I'm getting quite repetitive when it comes to Samantha Young's novels but, whatever she writes, I'll gladly read without second thought! I jumped at the chance to read and review As Dust Dances, even though I haven't read Play On yet! I absolutely loved it, let's start with that!
I'm not going to talk about the plot in depth because I feel like this is one of those books you have to read in order to actually get the meaning of but, we're obviously going to discuss everything else! First of all, the premise was quite intriguing and authentic, which you don't usually expect from New Adult/Romance novels! Not saying that to sound negative but, I personally haven't come across such a unique Romance novel in a while and it wa such a breath of fresh air that I felt my faith in the world restored after finishing it. Yes, that might sound a bit dramatic but, you can either take it or leave it! The main character has a very well thought out background that is revealed through flashbacks, which has become one of my favorite techniques when it comes to novels in general, especially Contemporary of any sort! They just become so much more relatable that way and they're proof that the characters had a past, which makes their stories even more reliable and easier to connect to. Skylar's past ewas mainly what the book itself was base doff of but, it wasn't brushed aside nor ignored in favour of other, more mainstream topics that readers would swoon over. It was addressed in the best way possible and handled in a way that shows the author's ability to write fiction while describing reality, something that's evident in every single one of her novels that I've read this far! She has the impressive ability of making you experience every single thing the characters she so masterfully creates are experiencing and that's not something a lot of authors can easily achieve nowadays! I've also come to realise that Scotland is a recurring setting and I'm actually desperate to visit every single place she vividly describes, novel after novel! I should've probably made a list because that would've definitely made things easier for me!
Back to Skylar, whose story was written in the most powerful way possible! It was raw, poignant and absolutely heartbreaking! A story worth writing, reading, feeling with every fiber of your being and going back to when you need something that feels true to ground you, while giving you hope.
Skylar was such a tortured soul and while reading about everything she went through, you become a bit more humble and realize that fame is not what's cracked up to be! I really admire the way it was put in perspective in the novel and how she managed to distance herself from it in the end, while finding true happiness. That's the most important thing any of us can do, right?
Moving on to the love interest, Killian. He was such a forced to be reckoned with and I lost count of how many times I swooned throughout the novel. He came off as being so cold and controlling but, the moment that control of his broke was probably one of my favorites. It was so vividly raw that it felt real, let me tell you. I loved how their relationship started out as business and even though the sexual tension between them was more than obvious, I didn't feel like it overshadowed the importance of everything else that was going on. I do think that things worked out for Skylar, better than they would've worked out for someone else in the sense that, there are so many people who don't have the opportunity to help themselves out there or be discovered and saved from a life in the streets like she was but, the author did a great job of bringing more awareness to that fact since I'm here, writing about it! Their relationship was such a roller coaster of emotions and I loved being part of it. Skylar's development as a character and a human being was quite amazing and even though the healing process drained the life out of her, it was worth it in the end. Seeing her make peace with her past and come to terms with what happened was more than I could've asked for and yes, Samantha Young delivered!
Moreover, I immensely enjoyed reading about the secondary characters in the novel! Autumn was a breath of something new and I cannot wait for her story! Skylar's former bandmates were also quite supportive of her and her decisions. They were there for her and truly cared, even when she didn't want them to. That is the meaning of friendship after all!
The writing was, once again, phenomenal and I'll probably never stop admiring the author's ability to make me feel things like I'm experiencing them myself! She's one of the only authors that has manage to do that for me, both as a reader and as a person, throughout the years!
Overall, As Dust Dances was a masterpiece and I fell in love with it as soon as I started reading it! I cannot recommend it enough guys! It was real, heartbreaking and I devoured it in a matter of hours!