"Temptation" by Travis Thrasher

Please take note that there are some minor spoilers in this review.

Another awesome book I got from Netgalley. Another awesome book from this extremely talented author.

I absolutely love this series, because not a single string of action, not a single word is out of its appropriate place. And also because everything in it is so unbelievably complicated. So complicated in fact, that you get the feeling that the tight knot of events and mysteries and unanswered questions would never ever get untied. And it's so complicated because people - real people - are complicated. Only a true writing master can portray fictional characters as if they were real, tangible, and Thrasher does a marvelous job of it.

During the entire novel I felt like I knew Chris as if he was in my own circle of friends. I felt like he was a boy from the neighborhood, whose life I was privy to. It was an incredible experience, walking alongside him, seeing through his eyes, feeling through his heart, and figuring things out through the cogs and wheels in his brain.

Absolutely fantastic!

Well, I can't say that all his decisions were great, but hey - we're talking about a 17 year old boy here. A teenager who's been through so much, and the miracle here was that he's still standing, and he's still willing to fight. Yeah, he got pretty beat up by the reality of who was pulling the strings, but I can't really blame him. Fighting hadn't really won him any freedom. Or answers.

Now the temptation to give in is stronger than ever and it almost felt like Chris was ready to just let go and stop fighting.

The twists and turns were incredibly strong. I had no idea what was going on half the time, and I got blown by a heap of surprises. It was an amazing experience... not knowing what would happen in the next scene and just anticipating some sort of an outcome.

I was on an emotional roller-coaster from the very first chapter till the very last one. The tides kept on coming and going, leaving me speechless. It was like a storm had been unleashed, ready to strike over and over again over my exposed heart. And I loved it!!

Sure, there were times when I just wanted to kick Chris unconscious. Like when the only thought in his mind was sleeping with Lily. Or when he kind of abandoned his mom. Or especially when he left his mom in Solitary, while knowing that the bad guys would be pissed at him. Seriously, I was pulling my hair out as I read that he took Kelsey with him, but left his mom!!!! Urghh!!! Silly boy!!! But that's all a part of getting to know the characters, getting to love them, and just feeling that somehow they're real. Not just a flat image on a page of text.

Anyway, the answers we got in this book were so vital, so dark and sounded so realistic, that I was creeped out the entire time. And I can gladly say that Thrasher is a master in making the readers forget themselves into the story.

Also, I can't not wonder the following: How on earth is Chris going to pull off that task of denying Jesus, when all he wants is to hold on to Him with both hands??? That would be something interesting to see, that's for sure!

Which is to say that I just can't wait for the next installment to come out, so the mystery would finally be revealed, and HOPEFULLY the bad guys would get their rightful punishment.


Obviously, I can't rate this book with anything else but a solid