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Friday, November 7, 2014

Review ~ Arsen by Mia Asher ~ JMAC

 
*Synopsis* 
 
 
One glance was all it took…

I'm a cheater.
I'm a liar.
My whole life is a mess.

I love a man.
No, I love two men…
I think.

One makes love to me. The other sets me on fire.
One is my rock. The other is my kryptonite.

I'm broken, lost, and disgusted with myself.

But I can't stop. This is my story.
My broken love story.
 

 
 *JMAC'S REVIEW*
 
I honestly have no idea where to even start with this review.  First, to give this book a 5 star rating doesn’t even sound right because it deserves SO MUCH MORE than that.  Every book I read leaves a mark on me.  There are some books I read that are great, and then there are books that capture me and leave me wanting more.  Then, on a special occasion, there are books I read that no matter what I do, I can’t escape from.  These books especially, leave a mark on my soul.  I don’t have many books that affect me this way, but Arsen, Arsen was 100% one of these books.  I didn’t read Arsen, I FELT Arsen.  I felt EVERY. SINGLE. WORD.  Before reading Arsen, I was warned by many people.  Some said it will kill me, some said it will get me angry, some said it will get me emotional.  All of them were right.  I AM DESTROYED.  Arsen is a book that I know will stay with me forever, and even that is an understatement.  It was one of those books that I just didn’t want to end.  I wanted to actually crawl into the book and live with the characters.  Yes, it was that good!
“Falling in love with the wrong person is easy.  Falling in love with the right person is easier.  But falling in love with your soul mate is easiest.” – Cathy
Cathy has what people on the outside would call the most amazing man, and relationship ever.  What more could Cathy want?  She has Ben, a sexy husband, who worships the ground she walks on.  Ben would do anything for Cathy, anything she would want him to do, he would do it, no questions asked.  Since the day they first met, they were both goners.  11 years later, 6 years married, Ben still cherishes Cathy with every ounce of his being.  Goodness, Ben is the type of guy ANYONE, yes male or female, would want to call their own.  But we all know, everything isn’t always what it seems.  We all have our issues, and every marriage is hard work.  No matter how much the two people in the relationship love each other, keeping a happy marriage is hard work. 
“Life without love, without chasing your dreams, is nothing.  It means nothing.  It’s a sad fuckin empty shell, Catherine.  It’s so easy to drown in darkness, to let it smother you, swallow you whole, to be blinded by it.  But you gotta fight.  You gotta fucking fight.” – Arsen
It’s really hard to write this review not giving away anything, but I’m going to try my hardest.
Cathy and Ben do have a great life, great marriage.  But…. There’s always a but.  Something bad, no something horrible keeps happening to them. It’s something that can jeopardize any marriage, even ruin it if you let it.  Cathy let something that was out of her control, out of everyone’s control, destroy her, and her marriage.  But, I can’t lie, I understood her.  I don’t condone what she did, but I don’t hate her for it either. 
Falling in love with someone is easy.  It’s loving when the newness has worn off, when life gets tough, when things get in the way, when physical passion is gone, that true love remains.  When love can conquer it all.”
This is the point in the book where things take a turn.  
Let’s meet Arsen.  Arsen is just one of those guys you try really hard to hate.  I’m sure there are some readers who did hate Arsen, but I couldn’t.  Arsen is your typical 25 year old playboy.  He’s rich, and only sleeps with the young and famous.  You won’t catch Arsen with some “plain Jane” no way.  At first Arsen tried to get with Cathy, but she wasn’t having it.  She would NEVER do that to Ben, or their marriage.   Arsen is the epitome of beautiful.  Everything about him is DELISH. 
Again, theirs things that happen to people, things that will ultimately change you as a person forever.  Sometimes the change is for the better, in this case it was probably for the worst.  What happened to Cathy and Ben could have been fixed, it could have been talked about, it could have even saved them in the long run.   But Cathy was already broken.  She was done.  She no longer cared.  At this point, the only person she wanted, the only person she craved, wasn’t her amazing loving husband Ben.  NOPE.  She craved what most woman craved.  The excitement of someone new.  Cathy wanted an escape, she wanted to feel alive again, and that’s exactly what Arsen did for her.  Arsen made Cathy feel again.  They didn’t need to get to know each other, in a way, even before they took this step, Arsen became Cathy’s lifeline.  When things at home weren’t that good, instead of running to her friends, Cathy went to Arsen.  And Arsen was there with open arms. 
Now as a married woman, I know firsthand that marriage is hard work.  Like I said before both people in the relationship have to work hard for what they have.  I don’t in anyway, agree with Cathy’s behavior.  Cheating in anyway is never ok.  But again I wonder why I didn’t hate her for it.  I understood where she was coming from.  Mia was so amazingly good at making me FEEL rather than just read what the character was going through.  Cathy was broken, there was no going back for her.  Cathy knew what she was doing, and at the time, she couldn’t have cared less. 
Own me, fill me, break me, repair me, complete me.  Do whatever you want to me.  Just stay with me. I need you.  I need to be able to live.  I need my life back, I need you back.” –Ben
The fact that this is Mia’s debut novel is just crazy talk to me.  I think she has probably a million books under her belt and she’s just fooling us. (LOL)  But seriously, this can’t be her first book.  I won’t believe that.  Mia has a way with words.  I never felt this way about a book ever.  I was so emotionally invested in this book, that as a reader it’s hard for me to even write this review because I don’t want to part with the characters. 
Arsen was an emotionally angst filled rollercoaster.  Just when you thought things got bad, they get worse. 
But the chemistry with Arsen and Cathy is just SCHORCHING HOT.  Like I don’t think things in the sex department could get any hotter for those two. The best part about it was it wasn’t forced with them.  Though I did feel bad for Ben, my heart broke for him, I didn’t hate Arsen and Cathy together.  It was completely wrong of them both, but they worked. 
Anyways, my review in no way has done any justice to Arsen, and no matter how I word it, it never could.  Arsen is just a book you have to experience for yourself.  I will tell you though, that I have never been so attached, or obsessed with a book.  Everything from the characters, to the story, to the way everything was written.  Arsen will stay with me forever.  It goes without saying that Arsen is my number one favorite book of 2014.  Yes, I am aware that the year isn’t over, but I know, and when you know, you know.  And let’s just say that Arsen also made it to my favorites of all-time list.  IT WAS SERIOUSLY THAT GOOD.  It also goes without saying that anything that Mia writes will be one clicked immediately.  Mia you are brilliant, and just such an amazing writer.  You have a forever fan in me!
<3 JMAC
 
 
 
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