Steal Me

(Haunted Roads Book 1)

Author: India R Adams
Category: New Adult/Fiction/Drama/Romance

Suitable for: Adults

My Rating: 4 Stars

Format Read for Review: Kindle mobi provided by author

Pages: 313

Description: The story centers around a teenage boy named Maverick who recently lost his dad. His mother being unable to cope with the death of her husband turns to pills, leaving Maverick alone to raise his adorable little sister. Looking for a fresh start and an escape from their sadness, the family moves to a small town where Maverick makes new friends who have also recently experienced great loss and other heartaches. Together they heal and time passes but can they ever really escape the Haunted Roads?

In Short: This book is an emotional ride that shows you the darkest and lightest sides of the human experience. Like many of India's books it alternates between laughs and tears and hits you right in the feels relentlessly throughout the book. It talks a lot about loss, each character has experienced death. If you are looking for a beautiful drama look no further.

Pros: This book is very well written and well edited and effectively makes the reader feels so many emotions. The romance elements of the novel were perfection. It is a sort of blend of romance and erotica that avoids all of the stereotypical issues sometimes found in those genres. The sexual content is varied and creative, and the romance is sweet, well paced, realistic and at times a meaningful struggle. I loved the meaning behind the title 'steal me' and the creative, repeated use of it in the story, as well as the theme of the Haunted Roads. I thought India did a good job overall at writing male first person perspectives. I love the use of parallels. For example, there are three sets of big brothers who had to look after little sisters after they experienced a great loss. This created a powerful connection between the characters while also adding a artistic beauty to the story. The characters and the dialogue are amazing. There were times when I thought, "Wow, this is such a realistic relationship." When Maverick and Delilah went off to college and were struggling to balance their relationship with their new busy lives it was really realistic and created a great emotional conflict that was satisfying when it was resolved. I loved that this story contained real relationships that you don't always find in novels. The dialogue and banter often had me laughing. It is amazing how this book could have you crying one second and laughing the next. I don't usually read sad books, I prefer to just be happy all the time, but I made an exception for this at times painful book because from reading other books by India R Adams I knew there would be beauty and tender moments as well. I was not mistaken. There are countless touching scenes that make up for any heartache. Sometimes it is good to have a nice cry, this book reminds me of those sad movies that are perfect for that. It is impossible to accurately express how beautiful and touching I find this book and if you like the genre you will not be disappointed.

Cons: At times it was hard to remember these characters are teenagers because they often act so wise and mature. The most noticeable is Maverick's knowledge of how a woman experiences sex and that being unlikely for a 16 year old boy. Not having the same equipment means it would be difficult for men of any age to know what it feels like for women at any specific point during sex. On the plus side it portrays Maverick as a skilled and generous lover (a perk for fans of romance/erotica). I was thrown off by the perspective switching in the middle of the book. It happened right after a mysterious and shocking little hint of something big occurring. As I was dying to get back to the timeline I was previously on, and find out what happened to our star character I had to time travel back and reread (many repeated scenes) from another character's point of view. This added more back-story for some of the other characters and also revealed the things Maverick didn't see from his point of view. But I thought much of it was redundant or implied the first time through and I was just really anxious to return to Maverick's story and find out what had happened after that little 'cliff hanger' the whole time. It was satisfying when it did bounce back at the end and I did enjoy the ending.

Parent's Guide & Trigger Warnings: This book contains potential triggers for rape and abuse. There is swearing, graphic sexual content, violence, alcohol use and prescription drug addiction.

I received a free copy of this book in return for my honest review.

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If you are looking for a book equally beautiful but with less adult themes check out my review of My Wolf and Me and Blue Waters

Read my interview with India R Adams