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Heart Search #3
Betrayal
One bite started it all . . .
Joshua, Remy, and the twins are settled in their new life. However, life doesn’t always run smoothly. An argument between Becky and her twin causes unforeseen circumstances, an admission by Samir almost costs him his life, and the traitor provides critical information to Liam. But who is it?
As Jakki’s visions begin to focus on the turncoat’s activities, a member of the coven disappears, and others find themselves endangered.
And when Liam’s coven attacks, who will endure?
Fate continues to toy with mortals and immortals alike, and as more hearts descend into darkness, can they overcome the dangers they face and survive?
Joshua, Remy, and the twins are settled in their new life. However, life doesn’t always run smoothly. An argument between Becky and her twin causes unforeseen circumstances, an admission by Samir almost costs him his life, and the traitor provides critical information to Liam. But who is it?
As Jakki’s visions begin to focus on the turncoat’s activities, a member of the coven disappears, and others find themselves endangered.
And when Liam’s coven attacks, who will endure?
Fate continues to toy with mortals and immortals alike, and as more hearts descend into darkness, can they overcome the dangers they face and survive?
- GenresFantasy
372 pages, Paperback
First published February 5, 2015
10 people want to read
About the author
Carlie M.A. Cullen
10 books25 followersCarlie M A Cullen was born in London. She grew up in Hertfordshire where she first discovered her love of books and writing.
She has always written in some form or another, but Heart Search: Lost was her first novel. Book two, Heart Search: Found, and book three, Heart Search: Betrayal followed. She's since launched OF ICE & AIR, a standalone fantasy. All books are released through Myrddin Publishing. Work has finished on her fifth novel - Lorelian, book 1 in The Seven Doors series - and the first draft of book 2, Kankanoor, is almost completed. She writes in the Fantasy/Paranormal Romance genres for New Adult and Adult.
Carlie is also a principal editor at Eagle Eye Editors (http://eagleeyeeditors.me).
Previously holding the reins of a writing group called Writebulb, she led the members into publishing. They have published five anthologies through Myrddin Publishing, three for adults and two for children. All proceeds from these books go to support a local hospice. Unfortunately, she had to pass the reins over as she moved too far away to continue.
Carlie currently lives in Suffolk, UK with her fiancé.
Find me at:
http://carliemacullen.com
http://www.facebook.com/CarlieMACullen
She has always written in some form or another, but Heart Search: Lost was her first novel. Book two, Heart Search: Found, and book three, Heart Search: Betrayal followed. She's since launched OF ICE & AIR, a standalone fantasy. All books are released through Myrddin Publishing. Work has finished on her fifth novel - Lorelian, book 1 in The Seven Doors series - and the first draft of book 2, Kankanoor, is almost completed. She writes in the Fantasy/Paranormal Romance genres for New Adult and Adult.
Carlie is also a principal editor at Eagle Eye Editors (http://eagleeyeeditors.me).
Previously holding the reins of a writing group called Writebulb, she led the members into publishing. They have published five anthologies through Myrddin Publishing, three for adults and two for children. All proceeds from these books go to support a local hospice. Unfortunately, she had to pass the reins over as she moved too far away to continue.
Carlie currently lives in Suffolk, UK with her fiancé.
Find me at:
http://carliemacullen.com
http://www.facebook.com/CarlieMACullen
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 11, 2015
I received an ARC from Carlie M A Cullen in return for an honest and unbaised review. I loved the first two books and jumped at the chance to read Heartsearch, Book III: Betrayal.
Spoiler Alert: This is Book III of the Heartsearch series. The books do need to be read in order.
Carlie M A Cullen takes a common theme, vampires, and spins it in an amazing, creative and original way. I mean, a vampire couple raising their baby vamps. How cool is that? They have unique powers that will be necessary when the ultimate betrayal strikes at the heart of the coven.
The cliff hanger from Book II is over. Remy has found Joshua and she is determined to make it work.
Samir is Joshua’s creator, but Joshua had split off to create his own coven with his mate, Remy and the twins, Aidan and Ashley. Samir is forced to confess his secrete to Joshua, causing another problem they really don’t need right now.
Liam wanted revenge against them all and had a spy on the inside to help him. The ‘visitor’ made it sound too easy. Liam wonders, could it be true, or is he being set up?
Becky, Remy’s twin sister, has not seen her for seven weeks. Why wouldn’t Remy answer her texts or phone calls? They have a special connection and she feels as if she has lost a piece of herself. She feels herself changing – she can’t sleep and her need for rare meat is something new. She finds it hard to control her wild mood swings. She needs answers and only Remy can give them to her. Becky is determined to find her and decides to do the same Remy did to find Joshua, go house to house until she does.
Jakki is Remy’s best friend and a part of her vampire world, but poor Becky and the rest of Remy’s family have no idea that Remy is a vampire. And the babies…Jakkie is a witch and is able to receive warnings from the future. Will it help them to survive?
Remy has a special connection to animals, and the birds that come to her of their own free will be there to help her in her time of need.
Vampires have their own rules and politics to live by. Disobeying or breaking them could be fatal. Just because they are vampires and immortal, does not mean they are never in danger and unable to be killed. Betrayal, distrust, revenge, double cross, jealousy and the need to protect their loved ones is the same as us humans. The blend of human and vampire is written so well, I almost forget at times that they are not human.
The story goes on, drawing me in, deeper and deeper, so engrossed I know nothing going on around me. I just want more, more of Joshua, Remy, Aidan and Ashley. A family that will have you eating out of their hand. :lol: All other characters are important, creating their own roles to support the main ones.
I never could have seen the events to come. When…I was crushed. WTF?
Good and bad, just like you and I. They have all the feelings we do, deep love and loyalty, anger and rage, the need to protect and seek revenge. So much action going on, yet the story is easy to follow, coming together in a wonderful ending.
I am awed by Carlie’s writing, by her creativity and the ability to take a vampire romance story and twist it so originally and uniquely. I do not want to spoil it for you, so I will shut up and hope I have not already said too much. If you love vampires, this is a MUST READ!
Spoiler Alert: This is Book III of the Heartsearch series. The books do need to be read in order.
Carlie M A Cullen takes a common theme, vampires, and spins it in an amazing, creative and original way. I mean, a vampire couple raising their baby vamps. How cool is that? They have unique powers that will be necessary when the ultimate betrayal strikes at the heart of the coven.
The cliff hanger from Book II is over. Remy has found Joshua and she is determined to make it work.
Samir is Joshua’s creator, but Joshua had split off to create his own coven with his mate, Remy and the twins, Aidan and Ashley. Samir is forced to confess his secrete to Joshua, causing another problem they really don’t need right now.
Liam wanted revenge against them all and had a spy on the inside to help him. The ‘visitor’ made it sound too easy. Liam wonders, could it be true, or is he being set up?
Becky, Remy’s twin sister, has not seen her for seven weeks. Why wouldn’t Remy answer her texts or phone calls? They have a special connection and she feels as if she has lost a piece of herself. She feels herself changing – she can’t sleep and her need for rare meat is something new. She finds it hard to control her wild mood swings. She needs answers and only Remy can give them to her. Becky is determined to find her and decides to do the same Remy did to find Joshua, go house to house until she does.
Jakki is Remy’s best friend and a part of her vampire world, but poor Becky and the rest of Remy’s family have no idea that Remy is a vampire. And the babies…Jakkie is a witch and is able to receive warnings from the future. Will it help them to survive?
Remy has a special connection to animals, and the birds that come to her of their own free will be there to help her in her time of need.
Vampires have their own rules and politics to live by. Disobeying or breaking them could be fatal. Just because they are vampires and immortal, does not mean they are never in danger and unable to be killed. Betrayal, distrust, revenge, double cross, jealousy and the need to protect their loved ones is the same as us humans. The blend of human and vampire is written so well, I almost forget at times that they are not human.
The story goes on, drawing me in, deeper and deeper, so engrossed I know nothing going on around me. I just want more, more of Joshua, Remy, Aidan and Ashley. A family that will have you eating out of their hand. :lol: All other characters are important, creating their own roles to support the main ones.
I never could have seen the events to come. When…I was crushed. WTF?
Good and bad, just like you and I. They have all the feelings we do, deep love and loyalty, anger and rage, the need to protect and seek revenge. So much action going on, yet the story is easy to follow, coming together in a wonderful ending.
I am awed by Carlie’s writing, by her creativity and the ability to take a vampire romance story and twist it so originally and uniquely. I do not want to spoil it for you, so I will shut up and hope I have not already said too much. If you love vampires, this is a MUST READ!
February 28, 2015
This series started with two young people in love. When Joshua went missing, Remy was inconsolable. She set out to find him and when she did both of their worlds changed forever. Joshua was now a vampire and she and the twins he hadn’t known about had no place in his world.
In the second book of this series, Joshua and Remy are together again and multiple plots put them and their twins in danger.
Now we get to the last book, the end of this awesome series. It’s always exciting and bittersweet when you read the last book. You can’t wait to see how it ends but you’re sad to say goodbye to the beloved characters and their world.
In case you haven’t met these vampires before I feel I should explain them a bit. They are as human as us in their love, loyalty, and struggles to survive. yet, once turned, they change. They have no trouble feeding on humans. They don’t just prey on the evil. They choose their dinner, feed until full, and dispose of the bodies with no thought about that person. Who they were, if they had loved ones.
They sometimes appeared cold and distant in their actions. This didn’t make them monsters to me. It actually made them more believable, which I appreciated. I also had no problem becoming attached to them.
Remy and Joshua love each other as much as any human can. Their devotion and adoration for their twins, Aidan and Ashley, is perhaps even more powerful, as they are predators and protect them like a momma bear would. Other members of the coven have loving relationships also.
There are the bad apples though, just like the humans. Vampires that relish the hunt, toy with the humans before feeding. And the ones who don’t hesitate to kill other vampires. To take what they have.
This is what is coming for them. Joshua and Remy, Samir and Jakki, Pavel and Iskra, and the rest of the coven. Liam, a vampire created by accident, has plans to destroy them, to take what is theirs. And he is creating an army of fresh vampires to kill them all.
This is just the tip of the iceberg with the story.
Josh and Remy have their hands full with the twins, Aidan and Ashley, half vampire and half human. They are unique and developing mutiple gifts. Intelligent and fast growing, they are small weapons in their own. A decision will have to be made whether to use them in the battle to come.
And the worst thing possible has happened. There is a traitor in their midst. Goes by the name of Phoenix. And this traitor has been sharing with Liam and his coven plans to their compound and security systems.
There are kidnappings, deaths, and distrust racing through this story. You become immersed in this world of vampires, you care about them or hate them accordingly. And the more you come to care, the more hurt and enraged you become.
I knew not everyone would survive the final battle, but I felt so bad when the deaths were revealed. One in particular had me near tears. This character was very important and I wonder if there is a story to be written there.
Carlie wrapped up her series in style. Lots of intrigue, action, and dramatic scenes. I couldn’t have asked for more.
I received this book for my honest review.
In the second book of this series, Joshua and Remy are together again and multiple plots put them and their twins in danger.
Now we get to the last book, the end of this awesome series. It’s always exciting and bittersweet when you read the last book. You can’t wait to see how it ends but you’re sad to say goodbye to the beloved characters and their world.
In case you haven’t met these vampires before I feel I should explain them a bit. They are as human as us in their love, loyalty, and struggles to survive. yet, once turned, they change. They have no trouble feeding on humans. They don’t just prey on the evil. They choose their dinner, feed until full, and dispose of the bodies with no thought about that person. Who they were, if they had loved ones.
They sometimes appeared cold and distant in their actions. This didn’t make them monsters to me. It actually made them more believable, which I appreciated. I also had no problem becoming attached to them.
Remy and Joshua love each other as much as any human can. Their devotion and adoration for their twins, Aidan and Ashley, is perhaps even more powerful, as they are predators and protect them like a momma bear would. Other members of the coven have loving relationships also.
There are the bad apples though, just like the humans. Vampires that relish the hunt, toy with the humans before feeding. And the ones who don’t hesitate to kill other vampires. To take what they have.
This is what is coming for them. Joshua and Remy, Samir and Jakki, Pavel and Iskra, and the rest of the coven. Liam, a vampire created by accident, has plans to destroy them, to take what is theirs. And he is creating an army of fresh vampires to kill them all.
This is just the tip of the iceberg with the story.
Josh and Remy have their hands full with the twins, Aidan and Ashley, half vampire and half human. They are unique and developing mutiple gifts. Intelligent and fast growing, they are small weapons in their own. A decision will have to be made whether to use them in the battle to come.
And the worst thing possible has happened. There is a traitor in their midst. Goes by the name of Phoenix. And this traitor has been sharing with Liam and his coven plans to their compound and security systems.
There are kidnappings, deaths, and distrust racing through this story. You become immersed in this world of vampires, you care about them or hate them accordingly. And the more you come to care, the more hurt and enraged you become.
I knew not everyone would survive the final battle, but I felt so bad when the deaths were revealed. One in particular had me near tears. This character was very important and I wonder if there is a story to be written there.
Carlie wrapped up her series in style. Lots of intrigue, action, and dramatic scenes. I couldn’t have asked for more.
I received this book for my honest review.
February 26, 2015
Heart Search 3- Betrayal
I received an ARC of Carlie Cullen's HS3-Betrayal to review, having read and reviewed the first two books in the trilogy.
One nice thing about trilogies is the opportunity to watch story arcs unfold over a longer period than a single book gives you, and Carlie exploits this to its full advantage.
In brief, in books one and two we were introduced to a paranormal world running in parallel to our own, with covens of vampires living a nocturnal existence alongside our own. New vampires- neophytes- are created from inoculation of venom into a human's system. Vampires have the usual enhanced senses and physical prowess, and also latent abilities (sometimes several) which resemble superpowers in many places. The ruling caste are the Commissioners, the oldest of the kind, who the covens owe allegiance to.
At the end of book two, when Remy found Joshua ( who had turned in bk1 at the outset), she became a vampire and took her twins to live with Josh and best friend Jakki, in a neighbouring mansion to the main coven. During these events, Josh had found a bomb planted at the mansion, placed by Liam- a neophyte created in a reckless moment by one of the coven.
Book three takes these two plot strands forward. Remy is getting used to life with Josh and the twins, but struggling with her new identity, the remnants of her old life ( being very close to her twin) and Josh's altering dominant persona. Liam's plans to attack the coven are facilitated by a traitor, whose identity is kept secret until the final chapters.
This disquiet and distrust makes the book very enjoyable, as you try and second guess who the traitor is (codenamed Phoenix) and the tension strains relationships, and also puts a previously minor character into a hostage situation.
Of the three key characters, Jakki shines the most for me. Her personality, her independence and challenge to rigid tradition in the coven, and her precognitive ability make her great to read. Remy, whose story I loved in books 1and 2 wasn't as strong for me this time, although the struggle with her past life is a key element.
Finally, Josh is a tricky character to take to. He's clearly awesome at everything, but the prior rise to dominance in the coven has created an arrogance and irritability that I didn't like. His manner of speaking to his men is midjudged, and his relationship with Remy complicated.
The book raised some intriguing ideas with me. I like the formality of the coven, the way they address one another and interact. It can make dialogues drag out too much, but it complements Carlie's very detailed prose. Their disregard of human life as a food source is disturbing in places, and leads to some very dark humour as they kill their victims. The involvement of the half -vampire toddlers in the proceedings treads the line between inspired and bonkers, and their acceptance of feeding on prey touches the edge of disturbing.
Yet why shouldn't it be disturbing? The current spate of Vampire teeny paranormal series dance around the darkness of the subject. These aren't clean nice model vamps, these are predators who munch their way through half of Essex by the end of the book. They swear, they fight, they murder, and they have sex. In fact the sex scenes in the book pull no punches- with graphic detail that would push this book into Adult category (and make HBO keen on filming it!!!).
The end comes with great pace and excitement, with twists and surprises galore. The conclusion felt a little rushed, and there were some loose strands that didn't resolve to my satisfaction. I think Erika's ordeal and it's consequences could have been explored, as well as Josh and Uppteon's dagger. Yet these are small points in an otherwise excellent conclusion to the trilogy, and I do wonder if one day Carlie will return to the paranormal world she has created?
I received an ARC of Carlie Cullen's HS3-Betrayal to review, having read and reviewed the first two books in the trilogy.
One nice thing about trilogies is the opportunity to watch story arcs unfold over a longer period than a single book gives you, and Carlie exploits this to its full advantage.
In brief, in books one and two we were introduced to a paranormal world running in parallel to our own, with covens of vampires living a nocturnal existence alongside our own. New vampires- neophytes- are created from inoculation of venom into a human's system. Vampires have the usual enhanced senses and physical prowess, and also latent abilities (sometimes several) which resemble superpowers in many places. The ruling caste are the Commissioners, the oldest of the kind, who the covens owe allegiance to.
At the end of book two, when Remy found Joshua ( who had turned in bk1 at the outset), she became a vampire and took her twins to live with Josh and best friend Jakki, in a neighbouring mansion to the main coven. During these events, Josh had found a bomb planted at the mansion, placed by Liam- a neophyte created in a reckless moment by one of the coven.
Book three takes these two plot strands forward. Remy is getting used to life with Josh and the twins, but struggling with her new identity, the remnants of her old life ( being very close to her twin) and Josh's altering dominant persona. Liam's plans to attack the coven are facilitated by a traitor, whose identity is kept secret until the final chapters.
This disquiet and distrust makes the book very enjoyable, as you try and second guess who the traitor is (codenamed Phoenix) and the tension strains relationships, and also puts a previously minor character into a hostage situation.
Of the three key characters, Jakki shines the most for me. Her personality, her independence and challenge to rigid tradition in the coven, and her precognitive ability make her great to read. Remy, whose story I loved in books 1and 2 wasn't as strong for me this time, although the struggle with her past life is a key element.
Finally, Josh is a tricky character to take to. He's clearly awesome at everything, but the prior rise to dominance in the coven has created an arrogance and irritability that I didn't like. His manner of speaking to his men is midjudged, and his relationship with Remy complicated.
The book raised some intriguing ideas with me. I like the formality of the coven, the way they address one another and interact. It can make dialogues drag out too much, but it complements Carlie's very detailed prose. Their disregard of human life as a food source is disturbing in places, and leads to some very dark humour as they kill their victims. The involvement of the half -vampire toddlers in the proceedings treads the line between inspired and bonkers, and their acceptance of feeding on prey touches the edge of disturbing.
Yet why shouldn't it be disturbing? The current spate of Vampire teeny paranormal series dance around the darkness of the subject. These aren't clean nice model vamps, these are predators who munch their way through half of Essex by the end of the book. They swear, they fight, they murder, and they have sex. In fact the sex scenes in the book pull no punches- with graphic detail that would push this book into Adult category (and make HBO keen on filming it!!!).
The end comes with great pace and excitement, with twists and surprises galore. The conclusion felt a little rushed, and there were some loose strands that didn't resolve to my satisfaction. I think Erika's ordeal and it's consequences could have been explored, as well as Josh and Uppteon's dagger. Yet these are small points in an otherwise excellent conclusion to the trilogy, and I do wonder if one day Carlie will return to the paranormal world she has created?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2015
Betrayal, by Carlie M.A. Cullen is a gripping book. I have to say, I love the cover--it really represents the story well, and the book beneath that cover does not disappoint in any way.
BUT FIRST, THE BLURB:
One bite started it all . . .
Joshua, Remy, and the twins are settled in their new life. However, life doesn’t always run smoothly. An argument between Becky and her twin causes unforeseen circumstances, an admission by Samir almost costs him his life, and the traitor provides critical information to Liam. But who is it?
As Jakki’s visions begin to focus on the turncoat’s activities, a member of the coven disappears, and others find themselves endangered.
And when Liam’s coven attacks, who will endure?
Fate continues to toy with mortals and immortals alike, and as more hearts descend into darkness, can they overcome the dangers they face and survive?
MY REVIEW:
Where to start? It is the third book in the trilogy, and so it picks at the end of the previous book, of course–but a new reader could start with this book and be intrigued.
For me, this book is a roller-coaster of events and emotion, as Samir’s and Joshua’s covens prepare to defend themselves from an upstart rival’s attempted takeover. The disappearance and kidnapping of one of their own casts suspicion on several people, and the discovery of a traitor in their midst is an unpleasant monkey-wrench tossed into the works, making it difficult for Samir and Joshua to know who to trust.
This book has many, many threads that are woven together to create a compelling story of intrigue, Stockholm Syndrome, and the arrogance that comes with immortality. It is filled with strong characters and inventive plot twists—some creepy, some chilling, and some downright horrifying.
Phoenix, the hidden traitor in their midst is an arrogant, self-absorbed twit. We don't find out until nearly the end just who Phoenix is, man or woman. This traitor claims to care for the person handed over as a hostage, but does it anyway, knowing the hostage will not be treated well. Phoenix manages to cause nothing but trouble before their identity is finally revealed.Their enemy, Liam, is a low-class thug who has no problem starting the equivalent of a gang-war within the vampires’ society. His heavy-handed bullying of his subordinates and cruelty to his victims is evidence of that. His second in command, Max, is a much smarter vampire, a man who could have been quite decent under other circumstances and isn't quite sure that his maker is all that sane.
This is a fitting climax to a wonderful series. It’s a paranormal romance, so some graphic sex and a great deal of violence make this book definitely an adult read.
BUT FIRST, THE BLURB:
One bite started it all . . .
Joshua, Remy, and the twins are settled in their new life. However, life doesn’t always run smoothly. An argument between Becky and her twin causes unforeseen circumstances, an admission by Samir almost costs him his life, and the traitor provides critical information to Liam. But who is it?
As Jakki’s visions begin to focus on the turncoat’s activities, a member of the coven disappears, and others find themselves endangered.
And when Liam’s coven attacks, who will endure?
Fate continues to toy with mortals and immortals alike, and as more hearts descend into darkness, can they overcome the dangers they face and survive?
MY REVIEW:
Where to start? It is the third book in the trilogy, and so it picks at the end of the previous book, of course–but a new reader could start with this book and be intrigued.
For me, this book is a roller-coaster of events and emotion, as Samir’s and Joshua’s covens prepare to defend themselves from an upstart rival’s attempted takeover. The disappearance and kidnapping of one of their own casts suspicion on several people, and the discovery of a traitor in their midst is an unpleasant monkey-wrench tossed into the works, making it difficult for Samir and Joshua to know who to trust.
This book has many, many threads that are woven together to create a compelling story of intrigue, Stockholm Syndrome, and the arrogance that comes with immortality. It is filled with strong characters and inventive plot twists—some creepy, some chilling, and some downright horrifying.
Phoenix, the hidden traitor in their midst is an arrogant, self-absorbed twit. We don't find out until nearly the end just who Phoenix is, man or woman. This traitor claims to care for the person handed over as a hostage, but does it anyway, knowing the hostage will not be treated well. Phoenix manages to cause nothing but trouble before their identity is finally revealed.Their enemy, Liam, is a low-class thug who has no problem starting the equivalent of a gang-war within the vampires’ society. His heavy-handed bullying of his subordinates and cruelty to his victims is evidence of that. His second in command, Max, is a much smarter vampire, a man who could have been quite decent under other circumstances and isn't quite sure that his maker is all that sane.
This is a fitting climax to a wonderful series. It’s a paranormal romance, so some graphic sex and a great deal of violence make this book definitely an adult read.
February 7, 2015
As the story of Remy and Joshua came to a close, I realized how much I would miss their universe, so ably created by author Carlie Cullen. Her clear prose and character development made this paranormal trilogy stand out in a crowded field.
In Heart Search: Betrayed, Cullen has hit her stride as an author. The plot arcs are handling with a deft touch, revealing several fascinating stories at once. Jakki, who was one of my favorite characters in the second book, has a large part in this section. Remy and Josh have their own story to bring to a conclusion, as well as Remy’s identical twin, Becky.
There is the internal political conflict within the world of vampires, and this leads to the main betrayal of the title. A shadowy Phoenix masterminds a terrible kidnapping, developing one of my favorite parts of the story. Erika, a minor character, must survive a terrible ordeal – one she handles with intelligence and grace.
Betrayal is an ongoing theme in the book. Becky feels betrayed by Remy who, in turn, feels betrayed by Joshua. All of this interacts in a fascinating web of development, complete with another set of twins with strange powers, birds who listen and respond to Remy, and the history of vampirism.
In the end it is a sense of self that raises the characters above their circumstances. Remy comes to terms with her new identity as mother, wife, and vampire, while Becky discovers something very interesting about the family’s past.
This multi-layered tale unfolds so effortlessly it’s easy to miss the mastery behind the writing. Cullen’s prose drew me in and made me get lost in the story.
It’s always a satisfying but sad moment when a series comes to an end. I’ll miss Remy and Joshua, but I’m certain Cullen has more for us up her sleeve.
In Heart Search: Betrayed, Cullen has hit her stride as an author. The plot arcs are handling with a deft touch, revealing several fascinating stories at once. Jakki, who was one of my favorite characters in the second book, has a large part in this section. Remy and Josh have their own story to bring to a conclusion, as well as Remy’s identical twin, Becky.
There is the internal political conflict within the world of vampires, and this leads to the main betrayal of the title. A shadowy Phoenix masterminds a terrible kidnapping, developing one of my favorite parts of the story. Erika, a minor character, must survive a terrible ordeal – one she handles with intelligence and grace.
Betrayal is an ongoing theme in the book. Becky feels betrayed by Remy who, in turn, feels betrayed by Joshua. All of this interacts in a fascinating web of development, complete with another set of twins with strange powers, birds who listen and respond to Remy, and the history of vampirism.
In the end it is a sense of self that raises the characters above their circumstances. Remy comes to terms with her new identity as mother, wife, and vampire, while Becky discovers something very interesting about the family’s past.
This multi-layered tale unfolds so effortlessly it’s easy to miss the mastery behind the writing. Cullen’s prose drew me in and made me get lost in the story.
It’s always a satisfying but sad moment when a series comes to an end. I’ll miss Remy and Joshua, but I’m certain Cullen has more for us up her sleeve.
July 11, 2015
I’ve thought long and hard about reviewing this story. This trilogy. Someone much better than me advised not to say anything, to act as though I didn’t plough through the entire trilogy, and I’m going to disregard that advice because, well, I rarely leave a book unfinished. I made myself go through fifty shades, after all. And I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t review this, and review it in a way that makes sense to me. The problem is … it’s hard to give an honest review when you know the author. Which is why I’ve been putting this one off.
Because – and I will endeavor to be honest throughout – I did not enjoy this book. These books. At all. I usually rate books on how much I end up talking to myself through reading; the more vocal my internal voice, the worse the book is for me. My internal voice didn’t shut up. For all three books. And though this is going on the third book in the trilogy, my review counts for all three. As ever with my reviews, there will be spoilers while I talk through my points.
There are a lot of fundamental flaws in this series. Weak characters, inconsistent world-building, a meandering plotline and grammatical errors. It was arduous to plough through, though I did find the second book was a slightly easier read. Mostly, it reminded me of Twilight fanfiction (no disrespect to fanfiction. I write my own. There are some incredible writers out there in the fanfiction world) and I'm not entirely sure that's what Carlie was aiming for.
So, as far as I can tell, the overall arc for the three books is that Joshua gets bitten by Samir and joins his coven. As he adapts to life as a vampire, his (now ex) fiancée, Remy, begins to search for him (I guess hence the title, Heartsearch?). She discovers that she’s pregnant, and she conceived while Joshua was beginning to change. Once she gives birth, and begins a routine of raising her two young children, her friend Jakki is also taken by the coven. Remy manages to find Joshua, and reveals their children, and he decides to change her too. However, he was dating one of the existing members of the coven, who then decides to destroy the coven as Joshua left her to raise his children, joining forces with another vampire to exact her revenge.
I think that arc would have been better suited to a standalone book, rather than a trilogy. And as a result of stretching the storyline over three consecutive books, the story suffers. There’s poor pacing and a virtually non-existent sense of suspense throughout the story. I was never gripped, hoping that the coven(s) would be okay, wondering if Remy was in danger from her children. In an attempt to create suspense, there were several chapters (I haven’t counted, but it became more noticeable towards the end) that ended in an exclamation mark. It confused me, more than anything, to have that many exclamation marks ending a chapter.
The stretched storyline is why I think it meanders so much. Remy spends a good 80% of the first book looking across England for Joshua, for instance. The chapters alternate between Remy’s first-person account and Joshua’s third-person account, so this means that approximately half of the first book is purely Remy, driving across the country and staying in bed and breakfasts. I didn’t understand her search methods, which were to find a bed and breakfast to stay in (where the management would go out of their way to make her life easier) and while staying in said bed and breakfast, going to visit other establishments with a picture of Joshua’s face. Most of this time, she is in floods of tears. Crying seems to be her knee-jerk reaction. It didn’t take me long to get pissed off with Remy. I thought ‘get over him, and move on, and STOP CRYING for God’s sake.’
Remy wasn’t the only character who was almost catatonic with their misery. Jasna and Samir, two of the vampires in Joshua’s coven, were also prone to dramatics when things didn’t go their way. Jasna climbed into a cupboard and starved herself near to the point of death, and Samir was nearly paralysed at one point. Why? Well, Jasna had been called fat by another member of the coven. And Samir sent said coven member away. But here’s the thing: he sent her away when she accidentally changed another man, with a sentiment akin to ‘I almost settled for you as my partner, and now I’m glad I don’t have to do that’ so his emotional turmoil as a result of his own decision made no sense.
The entire vampire lore in this series made no sense. For instance, Joshua takes approximately two weeks to change. He experiences some discomfort, which only becomes debilitating towards the end of the fortnight. Then, when Liam (the other vampire, made by Dayna and in cahoots with a spurned Jasna) and Jakki are turned, it takes a few days. Again, there was some mild discomfort that builds into agony in the final throes of the change. When Remy is changed? It takes hours of sheer pain. I don’t understand the world build for this. Why does it take so long for Joshua, and progressively less time for the rest throughout the book? There’s some retcon at one point where there’s a discussion about Joshua fighting it, but it wasn’t enough to explain why it took at least ten extra days for him to become a vampire, and we never find out why it is so quick for Remy.
Also, a few weeks after Joshua is turned, he reads a story in a book, and is then told that it features the eldest vampires in existence, who he is about to meet. They are the vampires in charge of all other vampires – the Volturi, if you will – and they create a challenge for each new vampire. Jakki, when she is changed, waits a few days. Remy never takes the test. The rules for the test are simple – complete a task throughout the night, or else you’re terminated – which is fine, but Liam is never made to take the test. They do not terminate him (or Remy, for that matter). His existence and subsequent plot should be irrelevant, according to the rules of the world.
Speaking of Liam, another inconsistency in regards to his character I noticed, was his connection to Dayna, and to the vampires that he in turn creates. When Joshua is first created, he has a telepathic communication with Samir that allows him to find the coven, and we’re informed that this is typical of the vampire realm. But Liam doesn’t seem to have the same thing with his creator, or with the vampires he creates. If he was painted as a flawed vampire because of a complication with his creation, I would accept that, but there was none.
Liam’s motivations for his actions are weak at best. His entire desire to remove the coven from their home and create a war is because his mother left him, and when his fiancée left him, he became abusive to women. Despite Dayna leaving the coven, he still carries a vendetta against them. He just seems like the antagonist that needs to be there because you need an antagonist.
A further inconsistency I noted that came from Liam’s storyline was the heavy reliance on numbers, from both Liam’s camp and the covens. It was made canon very early on that Samir only changed those people whom he could sense a strength, a hidden ability in (for example, Jasna was telekinetic, Joshua could see through walls, Remy could communicate with and control birds) and therefore every member of the coven had at least one unique weapon at their disposal. And yet they worried that their numbers were not equal to Liam’s. When Jasna informed Liam of the growing numbers, he too focuses on numbers, rather than coming up with suitable defences and attacks against the extra powers. They become moot for the big fight. But also, Samir suddenly condones turning just anyone, and then expecting these “lesser” characters to protect the coven with no pay off … and no one complains, or rebels. None of them are asked to complete the commissioners task, because they are expendable. It came across as cold and callous, to turn people that they knew were just going to die.
Also, a sidebar that I had thought from the off and became apparent at Liam’s creation – these vampires are going out and claiming at least two bodies per night. At first, this is a nightly death toll of ten, but before the final battle, the toll grows to approximately four hundred, to satiate everyone’s thirst. I thought, very early on, that the death toll would make news but there was no mention of suspicious deaths until Liam claimed his first victims. The explanation seems to be that he didn’t dispose of the bodies in a ditch, but I think that’s irrelevant. A ditch is a common place to stumble across a body. Also, I had a blood condition develop a few years ago that meant my blood was destroying itself. I was almost sanguined, so I can be a little hypercritical of vampire lore, but still – it seems unlikely that so many bloodless corpses could be strewed across the country without arousing some suspicion. There are few blood disorders that do what mine did, and it’s considered a rare disease as it is. I know of another sufferer whose platelets hit zero, and he survived. He ran out of blood, and survived – though, admittedly with a good medical team supporting him. So when I read that these vampires were draining bodies, but not fully, of course for me it raised a huge amount of questions. How could it be? How could you be poisoned if you carried on consuming after the blood ran out? Was this pertaining only to red blood cells, or blood in general? In which case – what is left in the veins when your blood has fully drained? So far as I know, capillaries collapse when there is no liquid flowing in them – my arms swelled up and became stiff from the lack of blood flow. They had to try and take blood from my feet, which proved impossible - like I said, I know my experience is rare, and that it heavily colours the way I perceive vampire lore, and that this may be contributing to the weak world build in my eyes. But shouldn’t these questions have already been asked and therefore inserted into the storyline, regardless of previous illness?
On the topic of extra powers (so backing up slightly, apologies for the disjointed nature of this review) there were a few that were utilized throughout the final battle. But to me, it was horrific. The two babies, Aiden and Ashley, were trained from the moment they joined the coven and revealed their powers to fight. Yes, they were elevated out of reach, but regardless – there were no qualms about teaching two toddlers to fight, to murder, to cause harm to others. Regardless of the threat to the family, those children should have been protected. Referring to Twilight – Renesmee, despite her powers, was only supposed to be present in front of the volturi before the fight, to prove their case. Bella had arranged with Jacob that when the fight began, Renesmee was meant to get the hell out of there, out of the country, and Jacob was the one to take her. For all its faults, Bella’s decision made sense for a mother. Remy and Joshua encouraging Ashley and Aiden to fight made me feel nauseated. The worst scene for me was when Remy agreed that they needed to create a fake blood for the mannequins that the children were practicing with so that they would become desensitized to blood. They’re not even two. And despite how well they seemed to take out the enemy despite their young age, none of it seemed to make a difference, the house was still bombarded with the enemy. When Ashley is struck by an arrow at the end, they are calm and accepting of what has happened, clinical in the way that they set about saving her, and I find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn’t be hysterical to see their toddler with an arrow protruding from her chest.
Another issue I had with the battle was how long it seemed to go on for. Since it was hand-to-hand combat and we’re informed that the coven have weapons (but we’re given no indication of weapons for their guard or the opposition, so regardless of the coven’s talents, their extra weapons should have made it a cake walk) and we’re also informed that there’s approximately a hundred fighters on each side, the fight seems to last all night. From all the fantasy I’ve consumed in my time, I don’t understand why this battle lasted for longer than half an hour. Who can win against an onslaught of flying blades, hand-held swords and fireballs (when fire is your greatest weakness)?
Further to note – Joshua is the only vampire who can walk in the day, the others all submerge into a kind of stupor while they avoid the sun. The coven know roughly where Liam and his group reside. Even if I suspend belief and accept that Liam is allowed to live in the first place, why isn’t Joshua sent to slaughter Liam in his sleep before he became a viable threat?
Changing the topic to before the battle, I noticed that the storyline was rife with misogyny. From Pavel trying to decide who could be a temporary replacement for Samir during his stupor (he was debating between Farrell, who had been changed first, and Joshua, who … well, who they seemed to love unconditionally despite joining the coven maybe a month ago. Erica and Jasna were not even up for debate) to the way other women are spoken about (for example, the police officer in the second book who had a legitimate concern that Remy might be connected to Joshua and Jakki’s disappearances since she was the common factor between them and their MOs were fairly identical. She was demoted and shamed by Remy’s connections, and demonised as unprofessional despite trying to climb the ladder) leading to a ridiculous scene with Iskra, where she is almost caught by eleven of Liam’s crowd. She manages to kill one and maim seven, between her prodigious skill and the blades attached to her shoes. And yet, despite proving herself lethal, she is still chased until she comes in sight of Samir and Pavel. When her pursuers spot them, despite Pavel and Samir looking clueless as they try to work out what Iskra is doing, they run away. Why are two stationary men a legitimate threat when one woman who killed your friend with her shoes is not?
This review is so far five pages in word. Five pages. And yet I haven’t covered other elements of the book that left me disgruntled, like watching Erica and Max have vigorous sex, which required changing positions when she is meant to be weak with hunger, and he is yet to feed her. Like the fall out of her having sex with Max, despite being committed to Farrell, which didn’t seem to come up at all. Or the way Dayna was unfairly treated in the first book, only to suddenly be okay in the final book because she doted on the babies. Or the typos I noticed, like “If I hadn’t of” (surely, grammatically, it should be have, not of? I mean, grammatically, you’d go with a totally different sentence structure to avoid that kind of problem) or a quarrel of arrows (quiver. My kindle kindly informed me that quarrels do exist in the world of archery, but they are the arrowhead of a type of missile used with crossbows) or another word in the first book that had the same flow as the intended word but meant something entirely different. The run on sentences. The fact that all the characters seemed to merge for me, and yet there were so many names that I became confused as to who was who – Pavel and Samir seemed interchangeable. Becky, Remy’s sister, got mentioned at one point and I completely forgot who Becky was.
Like I said earlier, I think this would work better as a standalone. I also think there’s a lot of issues that should have been addressed before this review. It will be interesting to see what Carlie publishes next.
Because – and I will endeavor to be honest throughout – I did not enjoy this book. These books. At all. I usually rate books on how much I end up talking to myself through reading; the more vocal my internal voice, the worse the book is for me. My internal voice didn’t shut up. For all three books. And though this is going on the third book in the trilogy, my review counts for all three. As ever with my reviews, there will be spoilers while I talk through my points.
There are a lot of fundamental flaws in this series. Weak characters, inconsistent world-building, a meandering plotline and grammatical errors. It was arduous to plough through, though I did find the second book was a slightly easier read. Mostly, it reminded me of Twilight fanfiction (no disrespect to fanfiction. I write my own. There are some incredible writers out there in the fanfiction world) and I'm not entirely sure that's what Carlie was aiming for.
So, as far as I can tell, the overall arc for the three books is that Joshua gets bitten by Samir and joins his coven. As he adapts to life as a vampire, his (now ex) fiancée, Remy, begins to search for him (I guess hence the title, Heartsearch?). She discovers that she’s pregnant, and she conceived while Joshua was beginning to change. Once she gives birth, and begins a routine of raising her two young children, her friend Jakki is also taken by the coven. Remy manages to find Joshua, and reveals their children, and he decides to change her too. However, he was dating one of the existing members of the coven, who then decides to destroy the coven as Joshua left her to raise his children, joining forces with another vampire to exact her revenge.
I think that arc would have been better suited to a standalone book, rather than a trilogy. And as a result of stretching the storyline over three consecutive books, the story suffers. There’s poor pacing and a virtually non-existent sense of suspense throughout the story. I was never gripped, hoping that the coven(s) would be okay, wondering if Remy was in danger from her children. In an attempt to create suspense, there were several chapters (I haven’t counted, but it became more noticeable towards the end) that ended in an exclamation mark. It confused me, more than anything, to have that many exclamation marks ending a chapter.
The stretched storyline is why I think it meanders so much. Remy spends a good 80% of the first book looking across England for Joshua, for instance. The chapters alternate between Remy’s first-person account and Joshua’s third-person account, so this means that approximately half of the first book is purely Remy, driving across the country and staying in bed and breakfasts. I didn’t understand her search methods, which were to find a bed and breakfast to stay in (where the management would go out of their way to make her life easier) and while staying in said bed and breakfast, going to visit other establishments with a picture of Joshua’s face. Most of this time, she is in floods of tears. Crying seems to be her knee-jerk reaction. It didn’t take me long to get pissed off with Remy. I thought ‘get over him, and move on, and STOP CRYING for God’s sake.’
Remy wasn’t the only character who was almost catatonic with their misery. Jasna and Samir, two of the vampires in Joshua’s coven, were also prone to dramatics when things didn’t go their way. Jasna climbed into a cupboard and starved herself near to the point of death, and Samir was nearly paralysed at one point. Why? Well, Jasna had been called fat by another member of the coven. And Samir sent said coven member away. But here’s the thing: he sent her away when she accidentally changed another man, with a sentiment akin to ‘I almost settled for you as my partner, and now I’m glad I don’t have to do that’ so his emotional turmoil as a result of his own decision made no sense.
The entire vampire lore in this series made no sense. For instance, Joshua takes approximately two weeks to change. He experiences some discomfort, which only becomes debilitating towards the end of the fortnight. Then, when Liam (the other vampire, made by Dayna and in cahoots with a spurned Jasna) and Jakki are turned, it takes a few days. Again, there was some mild discomfort that builds into agony in the final throes of the change. When Remy is changed? It takes hours of sheer pain. I don’t understand the world build for this. Why does it take so long for Joshua, and progressively less time for the rest throughout the book? There’s some retcon at one point where there’s a discussion about Joshua fighting it, but it wasn’t enough to explain why it took at least ten extra days for him to become a vampire, and we never find out why it is so quick for Remy.
Also, a few weeks after Joshua is turned, he reads a story in a book, and is then told that it features the eldest vampires in existence, who he is about to meet. They are the vampires in charge of all other vampires – the Volturi, if you will – and they create a challenge for each new vampire. Jakki, when she is changed, waits a few days. Remy never takes the test. The rules for the test are simple – complete a task throughout the night, or else you’re terminated – which is fine, but Liam is never made to take the test. They do not terminate him (or Remy, for that matter). His existence and subsequent plot should be irrelevant, according to the rules of the world.
Speaking of Liam, another inconsistency in regards to his character I noticed, was his connection to Dayna, and to the vampires that he in turn creates. When Joshua is first created, he has a telepathic communication with Samir that allows him to find the coven, and we’re informed that this is typical of the vampire realm. But Liam doesn’t seem to have the same thing with his creator, or with the vampires he creates. If he was painted as a flawed vampire because of a complication with his creation, I would accept that, but there was none.
Liam’s motivations for his actions are weak at best. His entire desire to remove the coven from their home and create a war is because his mother left him, and when his fiancée left him, he became abusive to women. Despite Dayna leaving the coven, he still carries a vendetta against them. He just seems like the antagonist that needs to be there because you need an antagonist.
A further inconsistency I noted that came from Liam’s storyline was the heavy reliance on numbers, from both Liam’s camp and the covens. It was made canon very early on that Samir only changed those people whom he could sense a strength, a hidden ability in (for example, Jasna was telekinetic, Joshua could see through walls, Remy could communicate with and control birds) and therefore every member of the coven had at least one unique weapon at their disposal. And yet they worried that their numbers were not equal to Liam’s. When Jasna informed Liam of the growing numbers, he too focuses on numbers, rather than coming up with suitable defences and attacks against the extra powers. They become moot for the big fight. But also, Samir suddenly condones turning just anyone, and then expecting these “lesser” characters to protect the coven with no pay off … and no one complains, or rebels. None of them are asked to complete the commissioners task, because they are expendable. It came across as cold and callous, to turn people that they knew were just going to die.
Also, a sidebar that I had thought from the off and became apparent at Liam’s creation – these vampires are going out and claiming at least two bodies per night. At first, this is a nightly death toll of ten, but before the final battle, the toll grows to approximately four hundred, to satiate everyone’s thirst. I thought, very early on, that the death toll would make news but there was no mention of suspicious deaths until Liam claimed his first victims. The explanation seems to be that he didn’t dispose of the bodies in a ditch, but I think that’s irrelevant. A ditch is a common place to stumble across a body. Also, I had a blood condition develop a few years ago that meant my blood was destroying itself. I was almost sanguined, so I can be a little hypercritical of vampire lore, but still – it seems unlikely that so many bloodless corpses could be strewed across the country without arousing some suspicion. There are few blood disorders that do what mine did, and it’s considered a rare disease as it is. I know of another sufferer whose platelets hit zero, and he survived. He ran out of blood, and survived – though, admittedly with a good medical team supporting him. So when I read that these vampires were draining bodies, but not fully, of course for me it raised a huge amount of questions. How could it be? How could you be poisoned if you carried on consuming after the blood ran out? Was this pertaining only to red blood cells, or blood in general? In which case – what is left in the veins when your blood has fully drained? So far as I know, capillaries collapse when there is no liquid flowing in them – my arms swelled up and became stiff from the lack of blood flow. They had to try and take blood from my feet, which proved impossible - like I said, I know my experience is rare, and that it heavily colours the way I perceive vampire lore, and that this may be contributing to the weak world build in my eyes. But shouldn’t these questions have already been asked and therefore inserted into the storyline, regardless of previous illness?
On the topic of extra powers (so backing up slightly, apologies for the disjointed nature of this review) there were a few that were utilized throughout the final battle. But to me, it was horrific. The two babies, Aiden and Ashley, were trained from the moment they joined the coven and revealed their powers to fight. Yes, they were elevated out of reach, but regardless – there were no qualms about teaching two toddlers to fight, to murder, to cause harm to others. Regardless of the threat to the family, those children should have been protected. Referring to Twilight – Renesmee, despite her powers, was only supposed to be present in front of the volturi before the fight, to prove their case. Bella had arranged with Jacob that when the fight began, Renesmee was meant to get the hell out of there, out of the country, and Jacob was the one to take her. For all its faults, Bella’s decision made sense for a mother. Remy and Joshua encouraging Ashley and Aiden to fight made me feel nauseated. The worst scene for me was when Remy agreed that they needed to create a fake blood for the mannequins that the children were practicing with so that they would become desensitized to blood. They’re not even two. And despite how well they seemed to take out the enemy despite their young age, none of it seemed to make a difference, the house was still bombarded with the enemy. When Ashley is struck by an arrow at the end, they are calm and accepting of what has happened, clinical in the way that they set about saving her, and I find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn’t be hysterical to see their toddler with an arrow protruding from her chest.
Another issue I had with the battle was how long it seemed to go on for. Since it was hand-to-hand combat and we’re informed that the coven have weapons (but we’re given no indication of weapons for their guard or the opposition, so regardless of the coven’s talents, their extra weapons should have made it a cake walk) and we’re also informed that there’s approximately a hundred fighters on each side, the fight seems to last all night. From all the fantasy I’ve consumed in my time, I don’t understand why this battle lasted for longer than half an hour. Who can win against an onslaught of flying blades, hand-held swords and fireballs (when fire is your greatest weakness)?
Further to note – Joshua is the only vampire who can walk in the day, the others all submerge into a kind of stupor while they avoid the sun. The coven know roughly where Liam and his group reside. Even if I suspend belief and accept that Liam is allowed to live in the first place, why isn’t Joshua sent to slaughter Liam in his sleep before he became a viable threat?
Changing the topic to before the battle, I noticed that the storyline was rife with misogyny. From Pavel trying to decide who could be a temporary replacement for Samir during his stupor (he was debating between Farrell, who had been changed first, and Joshua, who … well, who they seemed to love unconditionally despite joining the coven maybe a month ago. Erica and Jasna were not even up for debate) to the way other women are spoken about (for example, the police officer in the second book who had a legitimate concern that Remy might be connected to Joshua and Jakki’s disappearances since she was the common factor between them and their MOs were fairly identical. She was demoted and shamed by Remy’s connections, and demonised as unprofessional despite trying to climb the ladder) leading to a ridiculous scene with Iskra, where she is almost caught by eleven of Liam’s crowd. She manages to kill one and maim seven, between her prodigious skill and the blades attached to her shoes. And yet, despite proving herself lethal, she is still chased until she comes in sight of Samir and Pavel. When her pursuers spot them, despite Pavel and Samir looking clueless as they try to work out what Iskra is doing, they run away. Why are two stationary men a legitimate threat when one woman who killed your friend with her shoes is not?
This review is so far five pages in word. Five pages. And yet I haven’t covered other elements of the book that left me disgruntled, like watching Erica and Max have vigorous sex, which required changing positions when she is meant to be weak with hunger, and he is yet to feed her. Like the fall out of her having sex with Max, despite being committed to Farrell, which didn’t seem to come up at all. Or the way Dayna was unfairly treated in the first book, only to suddenly be okay in the final book because she doted on the babies. Or the typos I noticed, like “If I hadn’t of” (surely, grammatically, it should be have, not of? I mean, grammatically, you’d go with a totally different sentence structure to avoid that kind of problem) or a quarrel of arrows (quiver. My kindle kindly informed me that quarrels do exist in the world of archery, but they are the arrowhead of a type of missile used with crossbows) or another word in the first book that had the same flow as the intended word but meant something entirely different. The run on sentences. The fact that all the characters seemed to merge for me, and yet there were so many names that I became confused as to who was who – Pavel and Samir seemed interchangeable. Becky, Remy’s sister, got mentioned at one point and I completely forgot who Becky was.
Like I said earlier, I think this would work better as a standalone. I also think there’s a lot of issues that should have been addressed before this review. It will be interesting to see what Carlie publishes next.
February 5, 2015
Review to follow.
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