A love so strong fire and torture could not break it. A heart so pure neither death nor hate could taint it. But, left alone in a world of lies and secrets, Ara will find herself down the road of treachery, walking very dangerous ground, while those closest to her fight to keep her safe from dangers unseen.
The boundaries between friends and enemies will blur, and the return of an old friend will see Ara crossing a line she can never return from.
Mark of Betrayal is book four in the Dark Secret Series by A.M. Hudson. And true to its predecessors it was better than the book before it.
Book four in the series brings about the re-appearance of my favorite character (why he's my favorite, I'm not 100% sure, I just know that he is), Jason Knight. Now, don't get me wrong, I like David and all. And I know he loves Ara. But the more I learn about him, the more I wish that it was Jason that Ara was in love with. Despite his monstrous start in the series, he redeemed himself (as weird as that sounds considering WHAT he did). And I find him to be incredibly sweet and endearing and just heart breakingly vulnerable and beautiful.
Ara is true to form in this book. One minute you want to shake her and yell at her to grow the heck up. The next minute you're on her side yelling at other people to back off and give her some credit. She's relatively new to this whole world that she's been thrown in to and she wasn't technically a mature adult when she was "normal" let alone now that she's a Lilithian monarch. There should be some kind of learning curve for the poor girl. But on the other hand, she does definitely act overly childish in a lot of situations and has a tendency to throw tantrums.
This novel seems to be one where you never really know who you can trust. You know who you WANT to trust. You know who was the good guy before and who was the bad guy. But in this book there's a big old monkey wrench thrown in to the mix and now everything is all backwards and you don't know who's Ara's friend and who's Ara's enemy anymore.
I can't wait for the next book in the series. Can't wait for more of Jason and the Lilithian History that we're learning about. Can't wait to see what happens to a "smaller" group of vampires. ::cough:: I'm excited to see where the story goes. If you haven't already started reading, I suggest you pick up book one, Tears of the Broken, and check it out!
Death never leaves us. Once it's touched our souls, it hungers for our return--waiting for us to fall. And if it finds Ara again, she will have no way to escape.
Moving on from David was hard, forgetting the abduction and torture was almost impossible, but nothing as devastating as the thought that now, because of her, David might face the horrific punishments of the Set.
No one knows where David went after he lost Ara, but she can only hope he's the one leaving subtle clues for her to discover, and it makes her desperate to find him--desperate enough that she would risk her life, hanging out with an informant who means to kill her. What truths she is told about David's dark past, though, will threaten to change her heart and destroy the way Ara perceives everything. She must ask herself if it's right to love one monster, then hate the one who tried to destroy her.
In all her searching, the promise of immortality will finally be renewed, but sold at a price Ara's not sure she's willing to pay.
Is love enough to make her submit to this new role, or will it fail her once again and leave her reaching back for the grasp of death?
First of all, stellar cover. I love, love, LOVE it. It's gorgeous. Love the font, the colors, everything. Gorgeous.
Ok... so The Heart's Ashes was sent to me as an advanced copy by the author, A.M. Hudson. And I'm really upset with myself that it took so long to read it. Because it truly is a wonderful book. I've just been in this funk which has resulted in a reading slump, so I wasn't doing much of ANYTHING. I got some reading done at my family reunion but that was about it.
Anyway... I'm not sure what I can say about this book that won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it (or the previous novels in the series)... so I will tell you there are a lot of twists and turns and TONS of surprises. This story leaves me with conflicting feelings for a character that played a terrible role in the last installment. I wanted to hate him... but I found myself liking him more than I probably should have being that he was a "bad guy".
David and Mike are true to form. Forever the gallant and chivalrous protectors. That's what is so wonderful about them, though. You don't find enough of that in real life anymore. It's nice to be able to find them in books. Emily is a tad bit different in this story, but I suppose anyone in her situation would have a little attitude adjustment. And poor Ara. There's some serious head-screwing with where she's concerned. She can't tell which way is up sometimes. Sure she has her moments... she is still a teenage girl, after all. But she goes through a LOT in this story so you've got to hand it to her.
Like I said before, I LOVED the story. Everything about it. If you've read the first two in the series, definitely grab this one as soon as you can.
Blood and death aside...love is all that should matter.
Tragedy brought her to a new place.
Fate put her in the arms of a vampire.
The truth will tear her apart.
Hailed as the most inspiring read since Twilight.
Take a journey of tears and heartache as Ara finds that love is a reason to live.
Will the vampire be her knight, or will the truth about him finish what Fate started?
This review has been a long time coming. And I apologize for that. This is actually the second time I've read Tears of the Broken by A.M. Hudson. This time, though, I had the pleasure of reading the hard copy novel. It's changed a lot since the first pass through and the changes have just made it that much better.
Ara has moved to the US from Australia following the death of her mother and her little brother. Broken inside and devestated by the loss, she starts life over with her father, stepmother, and step brother in a new house, going to a new school, and trying to blend in with new people. Leaving behind everything she's ever known.
She's immediately befriended by Emily, who is spunky and cheerful and takes Ara under her wing. Not to mention she's caught the eye of the school hunk, David Knight. A mysterious, tall-dark-and-handsome boy who, at first glace, seems way out of her league.
Ara's been through a terrible ordeal. She's trying to piece her life back together and move on and that's a hard thing for anyone to do after such a tragic loss. David makes her feel whole again. And she doesn't want to let it go. But David has a secret that can't be told and Ara has to make a decision she doesn't really want to make.
I love the characters in this series. I've said before that Emily kind of strikes me as Patty Simcox from the movie Grease. All peppy and bright eyed. She's warm and welcoming and a genuine friend that would be great to have. Ara is a typical teenage girl with a broken past struggling to make her way in life. It's fun to "listen" to her inner monologues and "watch" her as she zones out while she's debating things with herself. David is very... Edward Cullen-esque but without the possessive "You have to do what I say or I'm going to take apart your vehicle to make you listen" kind of deal. He's sweet and he's sensitive and he truly cares for Ara. I used to DREAM I'd find my own David. He's just... ::sigh::
I almost want to scream at her the ENTIRE book because if it were me? No brainer. But her? Not such a no brainer. She and I have been in similar places in our lives. I found my light and I wouldn't give him up for anything. But she risks losing him because she's holding on to something that just can't be anymore. And it makes me mad.
This was a great read. Both times. I loved book two as well and book three is definitely going to follow in their footsteps. I recommend this to anyone who's read and loved Twilight definitely. Because this is, as I said in my first review long ago, kind of like Twilight but in reverse. And you'll have to read the story to understand what I mean. :-) Go check it out!
Sorry guys for my lack of posts this month. I'm not feeling too well right now. Hopefully all will be back to normal soon and I'll get this back up and running.
For now though I'm re-reading Tears of the Broken by A.M. Hudson. It was great before and I'm noticing things this time around that I didn't pick up on before because I didn't know what I know now... does that make sense?
When you love someone, there's nothing you wouldn't forgive.
But what about murder?
Ara-Rose will learn that life is fashioned from one tragedy after the next, and that sometimes, the truth people hide from you is nothing you could have imagined.
But Ara has secrets of her own, and she's willing to take them to her grave--a place David Knight will fight to keep her from.
You can grab it for free HERE on Amazon for Kindle. Go check it out!
I finished The Knight of the Rose by A.M. Hudson last night. It's book two in The Dark Secret Series. It was an awesome book.
Love was only the beginning of her nightmares. ...
When Ara discovered the existence of vampires, she was given the choice between a life as one of them, or a life without her true love.
But fate has a funny way of making choices for you.
After breaking the heart of the boy she loves with a truth he cannot bear, Ara will find herself in the arms of a predator who will steal her innocence and force the hand of fate.
Will David Knight become her rescuer once again, or will he be too late.
Yes, there is another cover. And when you read the book you'll understand what it represents.
This book was an up and down roller coaster. First, there's David and Ara. With a romance akin to Edward and Bella these two are totally and completely in love and it seems nothing can separate them. Unfortunately, it only seems that way. David is all but begging Ara to let him change her, but Ara doesn't want to lose her human life... her chance to see her mother and brother - who died in a brutal car accident - again.
Thing is, if Ara won't let David change her, David has to leave. And he has to leave her behind. It's a thought that she doesn't want to even begin to comprehend but decision time is coming. As soon as the last leaf falls to the ground signalling the coming of cold weather, she has to make up her mind. Will she choose an eternity with her one true love... her soul mate. Or will she choose life and the man she loved before David ever came along?
My heart broke several times over in this book. I know I don't speak for everyone, but I think the majority of people can relate to having someone leave them. Someone you don't want to go. And being completely and utterly devestated at their absence. To wishing they would just magically appear and tell you everything is going to be ok again. Knowing it's not going to happen, but hoping just the same.
Ara suffered a horrible tragedy in the death of her mom and her brother. Coming to the US to live with her father afterward seemed to help put her back together again. Because she met David. He seemed to fill a hole in her heart that she didn't think anyone else could. She was no longer just a shell of a person. She had love again. She'd left behind all the painful memories. The car accident. The boy she loved before who tore her heart to pieces when he rejected her. She had new friends. Emily, Alana... David.
But she experienced a brand new heart ache when she learned that she either had to change, give up her normal, human life in exchange for David's... or she'd lose him forever. At first the answer seems obvious to her, and all the while I'm thinking "You can't just give him up!" She is prepared to do just that. Until the time comes that she may actually have to. And then losing him is unthinkable.
She's a strong but conflicted character. Prone to zoning out and irrational internal debates. I like her. I feel for her. And while I don't have a drop dead gorgeous, hundred year old vampire boyfriend, I sort of understand where she's coming from. Losing someone you love, having to move on with someone you love but in a different way, and not as much (am I even making sense anymore?).
I love David. He's kind of pushy in an Edward-esque way (i.e. Ara wants to pay for her own gown for the high school ball, and does just that, but David buys her another one and puts it in her closet after she specifically told him not to do that) but he's very gentle and kind to her. And understanding. I also love it when he speaks in French to her. ::sigh::
Mike. Her rock. The guy that rejected her and is now trying to redeem himself. He loves her, probably just as much as David does... but like poor Jacob (I love Jacob) ... loving her with all he has may never be enough. He's promised to take care of her and be there for her. He even wants to take her back to Perth, the home she left after the accident. He's completely right for her and she knows it. And he knows it. He's sweet and kind and just incredible.
Emily I always picture as Patty Simcox from Grease for some reason. A modernized version of her anyway. So no poodle skirt. :-P She's peppy and happy and high spirited and a great best friend to Ara. She's always there for her and isn't afraid to tell her when she think she's making a mistake. She may be my favorite character.
This book, like the first, is beautifully written. AM Hudson is incredible in her descriptions of the most mundane things. It makes it so easy to picture everything I'm reading. Her writing is relatable (hence my anxiety over the entire end of the book) and enjoyable. And the characters complement each other well. I also learned something I never knew about the Wizard of Oz, too. :-P
I definitely recommend this book as a read to fans of Twilight, Afterlight, The Vampire Diaries... but it's a great read for just anyone in general. Again, it is book two in the series so I would definitely recommend reading book one, Tears of the Broken, before picking up this one. Mark your calendars for April because that's when book two will be released. And you won't be disappointed if you grab it!
Thank you to MizB of Should Be Reading for giving us Teaser Tuesday every week!
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
•Grab your current read •Open to a random page •Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page •BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) •Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Like when Dorothy made it home from Oz, she learned that she was never really gone in the first place - that all the fear and loneliness she felt in that world was in her own mind. I have control over my own life, and I get to choose what it is that breaks me...
