BOOK 3 OF THE DARK DUET
Published June 11th 2013 by Neurotica Books, LLC
About the book
I’m writing this because you begged. You know how I love the begging. In fact, you probably know too many things and know them far too well.
Who am I?
Well, that’s what I’m trying to figure out. I was a whore in my youth, a killer since my adolescence, and a monster as a man. I am the man who kidnapped Livvie. I am the man who held her in a dark room for weeks. But, most importantly, I am the man she loves.
She loves me. It’s quite sick, isn’t it?
Of course, there’s more to our story than can be surmised in a few short sentences, but I’m at a loss for justifying my behavior back then. I assume if you’re reading this, I don’t need to make those justifications. You’ve already made your own.
You’re reading this because you want to know about the rest of the story. You want to know what happened that warm summer night in September of 2010, the night I met Livvie at The Paseo. It was the night my life changed all over again.
It didn’t happen exactly as Livvie said. She’s been very kind to me in the retelling of our story. The truth is far more…complicated.
“I wasn’t sure what I would do if Livvie didn’t want to be with me. I didn’t necessarily having anything to go back to except killing and smuggling. Was I a better person? Maybe not. I was only better when I was living for her. I felt like a time-bomb.”
Wow! Epilogue is edgy, twisted, and sharp-witted disguised with a delicate veil of seduction. I was absolutely glued to the pages of this dark tale of redemption that served as the continuation of Livvie and Caleb’s love story.
Where Livvie’s account in Captive in the Dark and Seduced in the Dark were one of survival, Caleb’s story in Epilogue is one of redemption and the hope for forgiveness. I’ll admit up front, I was ready to forgive Caleb in book one… well before he displayed any redeemable qualities. There was something about this character where I felt not only drawn to his struggles but also sympathetic to his dark soul. In Epilogue, I feel he truly displayed the desire to become a better person and I was willing to give him a chance despite his past actions.
“Everything is in the process of becoming something else. It’s the law of change…I’m in the process of becoming something else Livvie. I hope it’s something good, something far removed from the monster you knew.” ~Caleb
It was clear how much he hoped to gain Livvie’s forgiveness for what he put her through, and their attempt at a new beginning was marred with obstacles, including Caleb’s self-doubt that he’d be able to change completely.
“Personally, I’d like to think a person can change for the better…a person has to have a reason to change. They have to believe their situation will be made better by changing. Otherwise, that person is at the disadvantage…”
Overall, I have to admit that I appreciated Caleb’s account in this book. He made me laugh with his crass, yet seductive narrative, and I was easily lured by his direct voice to the reader. Livvie and Caleb’s attempt at normalcy was imperfect to say the least, but at the end you can’t deny the obvious attraction and love they felt for one another. Was this a Prince Charming fairy tale? Hell no, but did it achieve the best possible Happily Ever After? I think Livvie and Caleb came as close as they could despite their horrific beginning.
As Caleb said, "there is no real ending, but only a place where you stop the story," and Epilogue achieved a conclusion where I never imagined one was possible. Well done! I'll never forget these two characters.
4 Suns
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