I read Bedlam, the first book in the Twisted Hearts Love Story series, which for me was an ok read. I had it in my intention to read Mayhem, the second book in the series, but never got around to it. Thanks to Quirky Blind Date, I finally got the chance to take it off my TBR list and placed it on my read list.
First off, I have to say that I enjoyed this instalment more than I did the first one. Please note that reading Bedlam before Mayhem is not necessary, however, the characters from book 1 make an appearance in the second instalment.
I enjoyed the story line, which is not typical of what one would come to expect from romance novels. Romance, suspense, and drama permeated the pages of the book and it was enough to keep me entertained. The story pulled me in from the first page and at that moment Dante, aka Tick captured my heart. When I met him in Bedlam he did nothing for me, but learning about him in this instalment changed my entire perspective about him.
The protagonists were dynamic. They were two broken souls living in the pain of their past. Dante lived his life constantly in a prison of his own making. He blamed himself for the loss of his family, even though it was beyond his control. He has lived with this guilt for 10 years. I could relate to him on this matter, having lost someone who was very dear to me. I know first-hand how easy it is to blame ourselves, believing we did not do enough.
Cyma (An unusual name) has been through hell and back. I understood her fears as it relates to getting involved with Dante. I did not blame her after all she had been through its only logical. I admired her strength and independence. I did not like how she almost allowed her pride to prevent from accepting help to save her daughter.
I found the situation with Cyma’s daughter heartbreaking. I empathized with Cyma, having to watch her daughter deteriorating before her eyes, not sure if she will be able to get her help in time. There was a point when I thought all hope may have been lost, but then things turned around for the better. That made my heart leap with joy.
I liked almost everything about this book, except for the part where Dante in practically every thought he had about Cyma kept saying ‘My woman’. I did not see the need to reiterate it.
Verdict
Mayhem was a heartwarming story about two broken souls who never expected to have a second chance at love. It was a captivating read from start to finish. It is a story about loss, love, and rebirth. It demonstrates that grieving the loss of loved ones is natural, but we should not allow it to consume us. It also shows that accepting help does not take away from our independence. We all need help at some time in our lives as ‘no man is an island, and no man stands alone’.
About Autumn Sand
Autumn Sands was born and raised in New York City. Considering herself a true New Yorker in every way from the restaurants that she eats at to the shoe fetish she has. Oh yes at one time Autumn has had a shoe collection of 300 and has the credit card statements to prove it. Other than shoe shopping she has various interests such as reading, writing, and traveling. Autumn has worked in the fashion industry for most of her adult life before pursuing writing. She is reluctant to call herself an author but considers herself a person who writes words that people just so happen to like to read. As you can tell Autumn has a sarcastic sense of humor and loves to make her friends laugh in all occasions. She enjoys a good glass of wine but her go to drink of choice is a Jack Daniels and coke with a twist of lime. None of those froufrou girlie drinks for her.
Nadene's addiction to reading began at an early age, when a family friend gifted her a copy of Wuthering Heights. From that moment she was never without a book.She will read anything as long the material is compelling enough to hold her attention. She gained many experiences through the pages of the books she had the opportunity to read.She created this blog to share her love of books with like minded individuals hopes that in sharing reviews of the books read visitors to the blog will discover their next addictive read. When not reading, Nadene enjoys cooking, listening to music and watching television.
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This sounds good Nadene and I am delighted it holds its own as a standalone
Yes, it’s good. Thanks for stopping by.