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What an addictively angsty and heart-wrenchingly intense return to the Sin City world! Contempt is a twisting, menacingly intriguing, raw, and powerfully moving story of heartbreak and second chances, mistakes and redemption, trauma and healing. A. Zavarelli delivers a story that is somehow tragic yet hopeful, devastating yet restorative, heartbreakingly heart-healing. Contempt is a powerhouse of an emotional journey, immersively rich and thoughtfully penned.
A Zavarelli never fails to create a story that captures me completely- and from the very first, I knew Madden and Bianca’s story would be a showstopper. Theirs is a story that hasn’t ever quite been their own, a story of past and present, one plagued with dubious circumstances, guilt, secrets, misplaced blame, and so much pain. An epic, star crossed love story that spans more than ages, it’s a story that extends beyond the breaking point of the human heart…and the human mind. This is not an easy love story- far from it. It’s heavy, hopeless at times, tragic and brutally raw. The tension, the challenges, the heartbreak is so HEADY that these two get consumed and lost in it- multiple times. But it is also just so achingly beautiful- how two clear soulmates somehow can find their way back to each other despite the most devastating of journeys. These two battle SO Much to be together- more than just memory, they battle each other., they battle destiny and time, and I was so enamored with every bittersweet and poignant moment.
This is by far one of the most emotionally rich love stories I’ve read from A. Zavarelli- Bianca and Madden’s path to each other is quite Herculean. Told in vignettes of the past and present, she seamlessly infuses a love story that starts innocent and through an epic twist of fates turns so very complicated with a present day love story that is broken and battered, rife with anger and misunderstanding, hurt and contempt. A.Z. brilliantly introduces many twists and misdirections- which not only add layers to an already layered and deeply dimensional story but also introduces a clever twinge of unreliable narration. These characters' conceptions of both themselves and the past…as well as the present…are not aligned, not only creating great romantic tension but also keeping us as readers just on the edge of truth and reality- we’re piecing together the puzzle pieces as much as our characters, we’re trying to wade through all of the heavy emotion and calcified hurt to find what is true.
Ultimately, I really LOVED this story- especially the second half. A. Zavarelli deftly weaves romantic suspense with a complicated plot with utterly captivating character chemistry. Neither the romance nor the mystery feel out of proportion or at odds- they seamlessly blend for an emotionally immersive experience, both elements juxtaposed in ways that heighten the other. The chemistry is some of the best I’ve read - rich, complicated, soulful and combustible. And she builds so many dimensions as we see their chemistry over time and as it evolves in the present- so many nuances that make this such a character rich story. Their relationship is somehow both toxic and healing, restorative and destructive all at once. And I loved them together so much. The angst was HEAVY, the mutual longing thick. This is truly a really brilliantly told tale- and it would be a perfect first star if not for times that I felt the pacing pulled me away. Some of that is just the narrative construct- the ping pong between past and present with shorter pithy chapters at times can feel like the the story is more static in both tenses, but the second half was perfection, even with that dynamic, so I think it might have just been the first part moving a bit too slow for me- perhaps taking too long to give me some crumbs to nibble on. But once the story gains full momentum, I was feeling and reeling- and certainly, it’s a story that still is dwelling in my heart and mind days after. The emotional is palpable and clings, the love story epic, and the themes meaningful. Love can win, and true love holds on even when it feels hopeless. Even when it feels like it’s gone. Even when it feels tainted with contempt and pain and loss. Love will find a way.
4.5 Stars
A Zavarelli never fails to create a story that captures me completely- and from the very first, I knew Madden and Bianca’s story would be a showstopper. Theirs is a story that hasn’t ever quite been their own, a story of past and present, one plagued with dubious circumstances, guilt, secrets, misplaced blame, and so much pain. An epic, star crossed love story that spans more than ages, it’s a story that extends beyond the breaking point of the human heart…and the human mind. This is not an easy love story- far from it. It’s heavy, hopeless at times, tragic and brutally raw. The tension, the challenges, the heartbreak is so HEADY that these two get consumed and lost in it- multiple times. But it is also just so achingly beautiful- how two clear soulmates somehow can find their way back to each other despite the most devastating of journeys. These two battle SO Much to be together- more than just memory, they battle each other., they battle destiny and time, and I was so enamored with every bittersweet and poignant moment.
This is by far one of the most emotionally rich love stories I’ve read from A. Zavarelli- Bianca and Madden’s path to each other is quite Herculean. Told in vignettes of the past and present, she seamlessly infuses a love story that starts innocent and through an epic twist of fates turns so very complicated with a present day love story that is broken and battered, rife with anger and misunderstanding, hurt and contempt. A.Z. brilliantly introduces many twists and misdirections- which not only add layers to an already layered and deeply dimensional story but also introduces a clever twinge of unreliable narration. These characters' conceptions of both themselves and the past…as well as the present…are not aligned, not only creating great romantic tension but also keeping us as readers just on the edge of truth and reality- we’re piecing together the puzzle pieces as much as our characters, we’re trying to wade through all of the heavy emotion and calcified hurt to find what is true.
Ultimately, I really LOVED this story- especially the second half. A. Zavarelli deftly weaves romantic suspense with a complicated plot with utterly captivating character chemistry. Neither the romance nor the mystery feel out of proportion or at odds- they seamlessly blend for an emotionally immersive experience, both elements juxtaposed in ways that heighten the other. The chemistry is some of the best I’ve read - rich, complicated, soulful and combustible. And she builds so many dimensions as we see their chemistry over time and as it evolves in the present- so many nuances that make this such a character rich story. Their relationship is somehow both toxic and healing, restorative and destructive all at once. And I loved them together so much. The angst was HEAVY, the mutual longing thick. This is truly a really brilliantly told tale- and it would be a perfect first star if not for times that I felt the pacing pulled me away. Some of that is just the narrative construct- the ping pong between past and present with shorter pithy chapters at times can feel like the the story is more static in both tenses, but the second half was perfection, even with that dynamic, so I think it might have just been the first part moving a bit too slow for me- perhaps taking too long to give me some crumbs to nibble on. But once the story gains full momentum, I was feeling and reeling- and certainly, it’s a story that still is dwelling in my heart and mind days after. The emotional is palpable and clings, the love story epic, and the themes meaningful. Love can win, and true love holds on even when it feels hopeless. Even when it feels like it’s gone. Even when it feels tainted with contempt and pain and loss. Love will find a way.
4.5 Stars