Crossed

This book starts out dark from the prologue, beginning from the point of view of the mmc Father Cade Frédéric. I would say Cade is the darkest mmc of the series so far. He is a product of religious trauma but oddly holds on to his faith until the end of the book. I actually like that, even though I am an atheist myself, that he grows to have his faith in a healthier way. Fmc Amaya Paquette begins the book as a bit of a doormat. That may not be the best way to describe her, rather she has one priority and that is to take care of her little brother Quin, who is one of the most adorable children I have ever read. Abandoned by their mother and left with a sizable debt to the Festivalé, Vermont's most powerful man, Parker, Amaya makes ends meet (barely...sometimes) by working as a stripper named Esmerelda. A large part of what made me love this is the slow burn and chemistry with Cade and Amaya. I also loved the way the book ended. Cade is such a fascinating character though, the author should consider a novella or something with his backstory. 🖤

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review. Book Evaluation: Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️ World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎 Cover:📔📔📔📔📔 Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻 Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️ Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒 Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞 Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂 Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖📖 Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧 Overall View: ✨✨✨✨ First Impressions Crossed is the fifth installment in the "Never After" series and I absolutely had a blast with this one here. This is a story that features two characters that are so different and you would never think that they would be a good match, but this author somehow makes it work. There is plenty of taboo's in this book, so please check the trigger/content warnings before moving forward with this one. It has some aspects to the story that just won't be for everyone. Move forward at your own risk. I however, adore how this author writes romance, she has blended dark with fractured fairy tale retellings so very well. I was very curious how she would do a "Frollo and Esmeralda" retelling and I definitely got a kick out of this one, but it was far different than I actually expected it to be. First Line Festivale, Vermont, Looks different in the dead of night. The Main Protagonists The Hero: Cade Cade is self abusive, a priest and a holy man. He was raised in Paris and abused as a child by a servant in the church. There is a mental illness he suffers from. The Heroine: Amaya Amaya, is guardian over her younger brother who has his own share of struggles. She is forced to pay money to her mothers pimp of sorts when she abandoned them. And to keep the lights on and pay the medical bills, she is a stripper. But is longing for more in her life. Summary When Father Cade comes to town, he is determined to rid any evil in the town. He has a darkness that spreads in him to get rid of evil. But there is a temptation he finds in a stripper club where he finds Esmeralda, who is a exotic dancer and tempts him for things he must deny himself. But when he finds out she is the same woman as Amaya, he is determined to do more than destroy her....he wants her for himself. But there is a unknown factor dealing with the villain of the story.. But when Amaya ends up in trouble for something she didn't do, she is forced to go to the devil for help, but the only one that can be her savior is Father Cade and his form of justice... What I Loved This book totally swept me away immediately. I am not sure why I put it off for so long. I knew I would need to be in the right mood for this and I knew that this would be religiously taboo (not that I am Catholic, so I personally don't understand many of the taboo elements but I am a Christian) and I have to say that this author really pushed my boundaries on this one. I wasn't sure how this retelling would actually happen, but man the retelling aspects were just perfect. But don't expect it to be a strict retelling, but the connections that we see to the original tale was so delightful! There are definitely darker themes in this one, some themes that even pushed my boundaries and its rare to come against a dark romance that really makes me struggle. But some of the actions of the hero was even a bit much even for me. There is also so many forbidden themes to this story. Some aspects totally worked for me and other aspects really pushed my buttons and not necessarily in a good way. This author really wrote this story in such complexity that just clicked in the good and sensually bad ways we all love to see in this author. I really felt for the heroine though. She is just trying to survive and her poor brother. Man my heart went out to this kid. Who had some type of mental illness, not sure what exactly it was, but he seemed to be on the spectrum a bit and what she is willing to sacrifice for her 7 year old brother just broke my heart. I loved what a great mother she is to this child who needs so much love and support. The third act of the story was the most conflicting and yet the way it ends here was so satisfying. What I Struggled With There were some factors I really struggled with. The hero is a bit too anti hero even for me. The scene in the beginning was one I battled with the most. How the hero pushes the heroine away when she really needs help and doesn't see that. He sees all the little details, so I wasn't a fan on how that scene played out. I know why the author did it that way though, so that she would go to her mother's pimp and the one who has control over the town but still it was hard to see how that scene played out. The hero is one that hurts himself (like you know the scene in the Da Vinci Code where the holy man whips himself? Yeah he does that and it wasn't really fleshed out) I am not sure even if the heroine finds out or if she does we don't get that scene and I would have loved to see her helping him heal from that type of self abuse or help him understand himself more where that is concerned. Overall View Crossed is a dark and edgy romance that will push boundaries, have you feeling all the taboo vibes but delivering a satisfying romance that you will want to cheer these two on despite your reservations! Book Details (also in my shelves) Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance Character Types: Priest, Exotic Dancer, Anti Hero Themes: Kids/Teens, Small Town, Taboo, Stalking, Dirty Talkin', Bullying Tropes: Forbidden Love, Sex Worker with a Heart of Gold Book Perspective DUO Pov Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict A blend of both Song This Book Inspires Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine Recommendation For Reading Order You can read as a standalone

Wow. This is hard to review. The atmosphere is incredible, the tension sucked me into the world and characters, and I couldn't wait to see how everything played out. This is probably the darkest book in the series both because Cade is a more of a down to earth, typically trusted community figure that is a serial killer/stalker rather than a mobster type or royal rebellion leader and because of Amaya's circumstances. I wish we had more verbal type emotional bonding moments building up to the declarations. As it is, the love almost seems to come out of nowhere despite the slow burn. SPOILERS SPOILERS Cade was interesting, but not my favorite hero/villain. He had creepier vibes, partially because of the randomness of his kills (everyone can be deemed a sinner for his monster) and partially because of the extent of his stalking. The priest aspect isn't something I liked (which I expected), but I think it was portrayed decently enough. I liked that he still held his faith at the end, just differently. From a swoon standpoint, I loved the French, the intense eye contact, and the tousled hair. Amaya is probably the most complicated female character in the series. She had a very strong voice. I don't really think embracing murder as an outlet fit very well. The violent bursts against people who tormented her? Sudden, but I could see her snapping under years of pressure and after the repeated assault. The epilogue implications of random killings being a continued outlet, not so much. Her ending wasn't very satisfying for me. Together, these two don't really seem balanced to me. They both apparently get the urge to go kill people periodically through the years. Are these random people? Criminals? Eh, not a great place for either. At least Cade beats himself less often? Also, as much as I liked the tension between these two, if I step back, I'm not sure why/when these two fell in love (biggest impact to rating). There weren't many insightful connections; most interactions seemed lust driven or were just run ins. Speaking of the lust, Cade and Amaya's tension was great, the dance was fitting, the blood seemed like a late inclusion that didn't quite fit, and the church scene in Scarred is much more intense. That said, the descriptions seemed less a tad crude in this book, which I appreciated. Next book... Wanted, Tired, or Dreamed? I'm guessing not tired! SPOILERS SPOILERS

I've read all the books of the Never After series. Sometimes it's difficult to sympathize with the villain, they are too much, but the majority of time I usually do. Crossed get quite 'butchery' in the end, unexpected final.

¡La saga de Never After es adictiva y MARAVILLOSA! Y Crossed no decepciona. La historia de Amaya y Cade es 🔥🔥🔥 y los plot twist son geniales. El libro te mantiene pegada a las páginas de principio a fin.

Bra

Super 👍

This series.. I am telling you all, it's a banger. Each and every book in this series do not disappoint. Crossed was interesting and unique in the story idea where monsters and saint inside us collide. I loved everything Cade and especially Amaya, she is so strong and that just makes her more beautiful.