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Thursday, July 31, 2014

ARC Review: His Reverie by Monica Murphy


I'll be honest, I am completely irritated after just having finished His Reverie by Monica Murphy. Not only did I have some issues with the book, but I think that it is the author's responsibility to let the reader know ahead of time if a book will be a standalone or if it is part of a series. This book's blurb gave no indication that it was anything other than a standalone, but yet ended with a cliffhanger and a note from the author that the story would continue in the next book. While she does say that the next book comes out in about a month, I felt like I had been completely duped and I am not happy about it. I wish I would have known before starting this book what I was in for.

Nick has just been released from jail after they finally realize that he was accused of a crime he did not commit. Withing two months of being released from jail, his mom dies of cancer. Needing to find a way to support himself on his own, Nick takes a job working for Reverend Hale. Things start off strange when he is forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to work there. While Nick adjusts to his new life and working for the Hales, he meets Reverend Hale's daughter Reverie. They are both drawn together, but there are many reasons for them to stay apart. Reverie is sweet and innocent, and has no idea what Nick's past is like. Nick tries to stay away from her, but the draw between them is too strong. Nick and Reverie begin to secretly see each other and things quickly change between them. While Nick and Reverie both try to figure out where the relationship is going, Nick's ex will stop at nothing to get him back. But when everything suddenly changes after a shocking turn of events, will Nick and Reverie be able to make it out together?

I liked Nick at times, and at others I didn't. He was kind of wishy washy and didn't really seem to stand on his own. He was struggling with the life he had been dealt, but I also felt like he wasn't doing much about it either. He let Krista get away with too much and I didn't understand why he would even consider doing anything with her after everything that she had done to him. It made me really dislike him at times. Reverie was better, but I felt like she was extremely naive and sheltered. She had been raised that way, but she also never stood up for what she wanted or expressed herself to her parents. She complained about her situation, but just went along with it rather than stand up for herself like her brother Evan did. I just struggled a lot with these characters, and I found them hard to relate to or root for. While Nick and Reverie were attracted to one another, I felt like their relationship was lacking as well. They hardly had any interactions where they really were able to get to know each other, and most of their exchanges were very brief with few words exchanged. Beyond the attraction and the physical aspects to their relationship, I really just felt like things were too rushed and too insta-love for my taste. I just didn't find the love they claimed to be real or believable.

While I really liked the fact that this story was mostly told from Nick's POV, I did feel like it would have been nice to see more of Reverie's as well. I thought that the idea to use journal entries of Reverie's for her POV was really interesting, but I did feel as though the way it was done wasn't the best. Reverie came off much younger and way more immature than her actions showed. I felt like it almost made her character lose the positive attributes from the rest of the story. It didn't feel true to her character at all unless I misread her maturity level from other parts of the story. I think if we had been given her thoughts and feelings the reader would have seen Reverie in a completely different light and would have been able to identify with her character much easier. I also felt like the whole storyline with the blackmail and ex-girlfriend was just unnecessary. There was enough drama and problems between them from their circumstances and Reverie's family and their employees without adding that in as well. It just felt like too much. I am honestly really torn after finishing this story, because although I want to know what happens and I hate leaving things unfinished I am just not sure that this is one that I will be very excited for. I am sure that I will end up reading the next book, but honestly this whole thing of not knowing about the cliffhanger and series just left a bad taste in my mouth. If you do decide to give this one a shot, just be prepared for the cliffhanger and abrupt ending.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N |





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