Sunday, December 21, 2014

Book Review: The Belonging Duet by Corinne Michaels

BOOK 1: BELOVED
 
 SYNOPSIS:
 
 Catherine Pope has never been enough.
She repeatedly let’s men in—only to be left broken.

Then Catherine met Jackson Cole.

Jackson makes her feel alive, desirable, and consumes her with a fierceness she’s never known.
But Jackson struggles with his own past. His training as a Navy SEAL never prepared him for the battle to win her heart. He’s different, honorable, and worth the chance…but he must prove it.

If she gives him what’s left of her heart—will he protect it? Will she get the one thing that has always evaded her – to finally be someone’s beloved?

BOOK 2: BEHOLDEN

SYNOPSIS:
 
Catherine Pope got a second chance at love, only to have it ripped away—again. She should’ve known better.
But she dared to hope.
She refuses to let fate take the reins this time. Catherine decides she’s going to fight.

Jackson Cole risked it all.
He thought this time would be different.
With his loyalties pulling him in two directions—it’s time to make a choice…his past or his future.

Will they be beholden to their fears or will they both fight against their demons and finally find the love they both long for?

MY REVIEW:
 
 
  This duet was soooo worth the wait!! It’s been sitting on my e-reader for months and I had to avoid reading it to review for my licensure exams. But my, this book was worth all the waiting and abstinence I did.

The moment I read chapter one, I knew the story was a keeper. For an impulsive reader like me, the beginning of the story is one the most important parts. Miss Corinne started it with such a fine writing skill that I felt my heart cracking with Catherine’s.

Catherine Pope is an unpredictable character, a strong heroine with her own issues. There are some times I loved her and some times I hated her. But hey, that’s plus points for me because it shows how realistic Cat was constructed. I loved exploring the dynamics of her past, made better by Miss Corinne’s writing prowess.

Jackson Cole is my kind of hero. I loved how Miss Corinne built up his character, showing me a facade of a handsome, dreamy CEO. He first appeared as a perfect guy for a wrecked girl like Cat but towards the end of book 1, Miss Corinne slowly unravels Jackson’s past. He was like a treasure, the thought of him was perfection and the mystery of finding him was so interesting I couldn’t stop digging his story.

The progress of the chemistry between the two of them was perfect. It started as a mere attraction slowly blazing into a need that can never be ignored.
In the second book,  Jackson and Cat explores the realness and stability of their relationship. The major conflict comes in with Cat knowing about Jackson’s marriage history in which she reacts with anger, pain, and a closed mind. Wherein which I also wanted to strangle sense into her thick-headed mind.  My immediate reaction was to shout at Cat to stop being a baby and just succumb to Jackson but I realized that their time away from each other was a significant progress in the book.

I loved reading about Jackson’s past in this story. I semi-ugly cried when he told Cat about his and Maddie’s story, which I guess is a proper payback to Cat’s irrational fit. I loved how he courted Cat again and how he got jealous over Tristan. Everything about Jackson is perfect. I love his asshole moments.
When I was done, I noticed my heart was constricting half of the time because of a mixture of pain and anticipation. Each page will mess with your feelings and each chapter eases it with the beautiful progress of the story. I loved that it didn’t focus on the characters’ relationship but also with each character’s individual issues. It has an perfect romance story with a hot-hot-hot hero sprinkled with rich and remarkable characters. Miss Corinne is an author to look out for. I’m definitely hungry for more CM books!

Side comment:
I loved how evil Piper was! Wow. I am appalled by how great Miss Corinne constructed Piper’s bitchness. Only a few gifted writer could make a villain as bitchy as Piper. Just wow….I did mention that Piper is a bitch, right?

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