Much About Books

True love doesn't have a sick desperation to it, an undercurrent of doom. People who burn that brightly still get burned in the end, and I'm sure if it hadn't been for him cheating on me, it would have ended some other way.

I have to admit that I was really afraid of this book... leaving book 1 knowing that Ellie went with Javier and Camden was standing on the steps with his ex-wife and his 3 year old son... I just couldn't imagine how I'd ever get through a 2nd or 3rd book.

IMO, Javier is a true psychopath, and what he wanted with Ellie made me more than a little nervous. Did he still have an obsession with her? Did his promise to hurt anyone who hurt her include Ellie? And more importantly, would Ellie fall for this guy again?

This book is told in dual POVs - both Ellie's and Camden's, which went a long way towards soothing my fears before I even picked up the book. Since Camden's POV was just as important as Ellie's I KNEW that Camden had to still be in the picture and trying to find Ellie.

But what Camden has to go through to get there - INSANE! Just when you think you have something figured out in the book, BANG! Ms. Halle changes it up and sucker punches you in the face with a clever new reality. Poor Camden! Luckily, he knew how to get in touch with Gus.

I'm only barely familiar with the Baja and western coastal tourist towns of Mexico, so the driving all over Mexico was a little dizzying and very unfamiliar. But it's clear that we were in a foreign place, on foreign soil for most of the book.

Yes, this book is still scary (to me) - still full of that grit and darkness that make it Ellie's, Camden's, and Javier's story. But Ms. Halle weaves a story that wasn't nearly as horrific or dark as I'd imagined. Her version is MUCH BETTER than mine ever could be.

So hats off to Karina Halle for another success! And for making me read this 2nd book and love it, when all I wanted to do was hide my head and forget about Ellie, Camden, and Javier.