Series: (Deliver, #1) But can be read as a standalone.
Author: Pam Godwin
Genre: Dark Romance
Cliffhanger: No
HEA: Yes
***This is a love story, a romantic thriller, and a stand-alone (no cliff-hanger). Warning: Graphic sex, violence, and psychological abuse. Age 18+ only.***
His name was Joshua Carter. Now it's whatever she wants it to be.
She is a Deliverer.
She lures young men and delivers them to be sold. She delivers the strikes that enforce their obedience. She delivers the sexual training that determines their purchase price.
As long as she delivers, the arrangement that protects her family will hold.
Delivering is all she knows.
The one thing she can't deliver is a captive from slavery.
Until him.
And her stubborn slave thinks he can deliver her...from herself.
I had been in the mood for a dark romance, and after staying up until 3:00 in the morning to finish Deliver, I realized that it had definitely ‘delivered’ literally EVERYTHING I wanted in a dark romance—and more!
This dark, erotic romance was written in third-person, alternating POV’s so we get to see and understand each aspect of the story…which really allowed you to connect with each character; to understand how they felt, and to feel it with them.
But what really captivated me about this book, was that that the captive was a man, while the captor was a woman. And since it’s told from both POV’s, you’re not only the captive, you’re also the captor. A dynamic like that, you don’t see very often, and it utterly mesmerized me... the entire story did.
Put a ‘DE’ before Liv’s name, and ‘ER’ after it, and you get what Liv does: DElivER young men and women to be sold. But when Liv captures Josh, their entire worlds start to slowly, irrevocably, crumble around them.
But through all the heartache, all the pain and fear, Liv and Josh form a bond that cuts so much deeper than Liv’s whip ever could. They don't just get underneath each others skin—they crawl into each others' minds, steal each others' hearts, and share each others' souls.
"You said you freed me, but freedom isn't defined by chains or walls. You, alive, with me. That's my freedom."And it was beautiful and heartwarming to witness the feelings between Liv and Josh, captor and captive, develop. No matter what horrors Liv had to put him through, Josh saw the goodness inside of her—and wanted to care for her, to save her, regardless of how she’d destroyed his life...
(I’m literally getting tears in my eyes right now thinking about it; What? Don’t judge me… *sniffle, sniffle*)
...Which brings me to say how much I adored Josh's character. Seriously. It's impossible to go into this book and not love him in the end. Throughout the entire book, he was firm in his convictions. And even though Liv metaphorically set him on fire, burning everything he once was, Josh never lost himself; if anything, he found himself—who he truly was—among the ashes.
The heroine, Liv, was such a badass, but she had these moments of fragility that ripped my heart to shreds. She had to be so strong—and she undoubtedly was—but underneath it all, Liv was just as scared, just as alone, and just as afraid, as each and every one of her slaves had ever been
"She was stolen innocence, following the rules of monsters. Somewhere along the way, she'd become one."As the book went on, I kept worrying "What the hell are Liv and Josh going to do?!?" I wanted so, so desperately for them to get their happily ever after, but I had no idea how that could ever happen. Everything evil in the world had stacked their odds against them.
Then it happened: a twist I never expected, never would even fathomed. But I thoroughly enjoyed the direction it took the story in. In fact, I give the author a virtual hug for her saving-grace brilliance. *hug!*
Even though, throughout the entire book, I smiled, giggled, and flat-out laughed, don't let me mislead you: this book was very, very dark. In between all the redeeming romance, Deliver was about the bad things, terrible, unforgivable things, good people can, and sometimes will do, to when forced to survive. You should be careful reading this if you're faint of heart; It's explicit. It's a psychological mindf*ck. It's violent. It's erotic. It's heartbreaking.
This book didn’t just show you the darkness, it dragged you into the pit of it. But to me, there is nothing better than a dark book that breaks your heart over and over again, only for your heart to get mended in the end.
Deliver most definitely earned its spot on my favorites shelf. In fact, it’s probably in my top 5 favorite dark romance’s, like, ever. Because it had everything I love in a book: strong characters, an amazing romance, dark elements, but also laughs and smiles and a lightness that made the entire book perfectly balanced.
So if you’re a fan of dark romances, do yourself a favor and 'deliver' yourself this book; I strongly recommend it.
(P.S. Pardon all the cheesy puns; I couldn’t resist. ;)
ROUNDED BOOK RATING:
