Tuesday, September 10, 2013

[Kame's Review]: "Hell Without You"


Hell Without You by Ranae Rose
Publication Date: September 5th, 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance


Seven years is a long time – long enough to transform Clementine from a small-town teenager with a broken heart into a woman ready to take on the world, but not long enough to make her forget about the man she was never supposed to see again. A temporary return to tiny Willow Heights thrusts her back into Donovan’s life and home, unearthing heartbreak and obsession that have stood the test of time.

He left seven years ago too, for war and other things Clementine can only imagine. Coming back to the town where he grew up in the shadow of poverty and drug addiction makes no sense, and neither do Clementine’s feelings for him. He could never forgive her for leaving, could he? Even if she had no choice.


Now, she has the freedom to choose … and so does he. Every day in Willow Heights makes it clearer: all he ever really wanted was her, and nothing will change that. Not even a taste of the hell that drove them apart in the first place.







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Kame's Review:



Clementine left town 7 years ago, went to NYC and attended Columbia. Now one internship and MBA later she has decided to come home and look for a job.  She can not resist driving by her grandmother’s house.  She knows her mother sold it after her grandmother’s death, but just driving by will make her grandmother feel close. That is what Clementine needs now, she feels so alone in her hometown. She is in the driveway wanting a closer look when she hears the gravel crunch beneath a car’s wheels. Out steps the reason she left seven years ago Donovan Kemp.


I started this book blind, I am not sure I even read the blurb. But within pages I was drawn into the story.  Clementine and Donovan have a deep love for each other even seven years later. It is quite evident early on that Clementine and Donovan have a past, but this past is slowly revealed to the readers. At first you as the reader have no idea why they went their separate ways, but the characters understood perfectly; so it was sort of like coming in on a conversation half way through.  As their renewed relationship progressed and sparks flew you started to learn what caused them to part. Clementine was a determined hard working woman, and fiercely loyal. There were many times during the book I was cheering for her; one such time was when her mother came to Donovan’s house (no spoiler but I did give her a mental high five for how she handled the situation!) You don’t realize the depth of Donovan’s dedication to Clementine right away. Donovan’s character was a man of few words, but when he did talk his dialog had high impact.



“The kind of love that waits for seven years without changing is the kind of love that makes you stupid, sometimes.”



The plot had a nice arc, but I craved detailed. The title of the book is Hell Without You and I wish more of the hell was described; I do understand that for seven years Donovan longed to see Clementine, however I wonder if that was the only source of his anguish. We got to see just the tip of Donovan’s character; I wish we knew more of his thoughts and how he lived his life in the seven years he was apart from Clementine.  We know he went into the military and then lived in Florida.  Did he have other relationships, how would his military service be characterized are all questions I have about Donovan. 


As I have come to enjoy in Ranae Rose books, this is not straight forward, been told a thousand times plot. There are nuances and twists that make this a fresh read. I did enjoy every page and must confess I am still unclear if this is a start of a new series – I hope so - I think Donovan’s best friend needs a HEA!



  4 STARS!





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Kame received an e-ARC of this book from the author , in exchange for her honest opinion.

 *Note: The quote used belongs to Ranae Rose; Kame and TBQ's Book Palace do not claim it. 
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Meet Kame:

Kame is part of a family of readers; one day she picked up the Nook she purchased for her husband and discovered her love of e-books. A few months later he purchased one for her so he could have his back! Kame’s Nook is never far, and she is hard pressed to pick a favorite book, genre or author. As long as there are characters that make her want to sit down and have a chat and a plot keeps the pages turning, she’ll read it.

Kame's GoodReads 
 



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Thanks for the review, Kame! :) I *love* this cover, wow! How did I miss it for L4C? And the book sounds great, too, it's definitely going on my list. 

Have you read Ranae Rose? Do you have a favorite book of hers? 











Enjoy!



Until Next Time,
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*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

2 comments :

Ranae Rose said...

Thank you Kame for the review and The Book Queen for hosting it. I appreciate it! :)

Kame said...

Happy to do so!