***********SPOILERS***********Where to begin with this one? This book was such an emotional mess that I don't know if I can describe my feelings over it.
I really, really tried to like Ellie. So damn much. But I couldn't. In the beginning I found her overly dramatic. Her need for revenge against Travis was unfounded in my opinion. The ones to blame for what Travis did to her were the uncaring, irresponsible idiots she called parents. They knew what Travis did for a living, they knew what he was capable of and they still send their only child, a baby, to steal from him. His behaviour was to be expected. You don't get to be the leader of a drug cartel by being a sweetheart. She lives her life believing she is damaged goods and thinking revenge will make her whole. This from a few scars on her leg. No, I'm not a bitch, I was touched by the child's suffering, nevertheless the woman should know better.
And after her misgivings that she could take on Travis and live she had to go and fall in love with her lies. She forgot all about her revenge and fell in love with Javier although it's obvious that he isn't in love with her. Javier was obsessed with the "pure and innocent" Eden, notice how I use the word obsessed? His "love" for her was sick, nothing healthy and natural. Still it wasn't even Ellie, it was Eden, the lie, the real Ellie was no innocent in anything except the bedroom. The real Ellie was jaded, a liar, a thief. Ellie turns a blind eye on all of Javier's faults(and trust me he had a lot) because he loves her when he doesn't even know her. I hate heroines who lie to themselves and make excuses for behaving idiotically. Ellie was a master at lying to others and even better at lying to herself.
Now Javier. God I loved Javier. He isn't a bad boy about to be redeemed, he isn't the anti-hero. He is the "bad guy", the nightmare in the closet. He is a psychopath, a murderer, a cheater. He is everything a hero would never be and I loved every minute of it. The truth is Ellie never fell in love with the real Javier either. She loved the image of him as "her man", someone whose life revolved around her and when she wasn't around he just drifted.
Javier was really interesting. I liked the fact that for once the bad guy knew he was bad and never tried to change. I liked his ruthless side. Would I ever fall in love with someone like that? Nope. Am I dreaming of doing him? Nope again. But he did make an interesting character to read about.
The strange thing is that I never thought that he would cheat on her. Usually obsessed people don't want someone else, the cling to the person of their obsessions. It was good because it finally gave Ellie the decision to leave him but I still thought that it shouldn't be there. And that's another point, she has seen him murdering 5 people. Not one in the heat of the moment but 5 and stays with him but the moment he cheats she is out. The girl has to set her priorities right.
If you haven't read the book don't read the spoiler.
The story was interesting enough and this combined with how hooked I was with Javier kept the book afloat or else Ellie would have sank it right to the bottom. The fact that I know that Karina Halle has a way of developing her characters in ways that make you like them whether you wish to or not is the reason that I will be trying the rest of the series(ok, this and the fact that I want to read about Camden and see what the hype is all about). I just hope that like Perry did in EIT, Ellie will be more mature in the next books.
It's possible that the book deserves a much better rating but I just can't give it more stars with a heroine like that. It's somewhere between a 2 and a 3
PS. Angel is my fav pet name so Javier takes points for this one too!
