"If the romantic character study is a genre, this fascinating contemporary novel is its exemplar. McCade digs deep into the difficult topics of rape, incest, and sexual abuse via the remarkable voice of Clarissa Leigh VanZandt." - Publishers Weekly
There's something wrong with Leigh.
She's known it her whole life. She knows it every time she spreads her legs. Every time she begs for the pain, the pleasure, the heat of a hard man driving deep inside. She's a slave to her own twisted lusts--and it's eating her alive. She loves it. She craves it. Sex is her drug, and she's always chasing her next fix. But nothing can satisfy her addiction, not even the nameless men she uses and tosses aside. No one's ever given her what she truly needs.
Until Gabriel Hart.
Cold. Controlled. Impenetrable. Ex-Marine Gabriel Hart isn't the kind of man to come running when Leigh crooks her pretty little finger. She loathes him. She hungers for him. He's the only one who understands how broken she is, and just what it takes to satisfy the emptiness inside. But Gabriel won't settle for just one night. He wants to claim her, keep her, make her forever his. Together they are the lost, the ruined, the darkness at the heart of Crow City.
But Leigh has a darkness of her own. A predator stalking through her past--one she'll do anything to escape.
Even if it means running from the one man who could love her...and leaving behind something more precious to her than life itself.
TRIGGER WARNING: 18+
This book contains material that may be triggering or deeply disturbing to some readers, including scenes discussing or detailing rape, physical and emotional abuse, and incest. Please focus on self-care and, if this book is triggering to you, do not be afraid to put it down and walk away, or skip certain chapters. Be good to yourselves. -C
If you saw her on the street you would probably walk right past her. You'd likely even go out of your way to avoid making eye contact or getting too close to her. This girl with the dirty hair and sad eyes. No one sees her pain, or acknowledges the hurt that's as clear as day on her haunted face. All they see is a girl who isn't up to societies standards. You'd judge her just from a glimpse, and then you'd forget her. Too bad she can't forget herself. Her name is Leigh, and this is her story.The Lost was not a pretty story. There is no fairytale ending or a prince charming coming to save the day. There's only Leigh, on her own trying to survive a cruel life, but with no idea why she's even trying. Her story is raw, and gritty, and it takes you to the dark depths of this life that we would rather pretend don't exist.
I found myself enthralled with this book and I hated each second I wasn't reading it because of real life interrupting me. Stupid real life. But when I was reading, I was completely involved in Leigh's story and felt like I was a part of her and on this path to destruction along with her. The author wrote this story in such vivid detail that it was impossible for me to not feel like I knew these characters better than I know myself.The grip that this book had on my heart while reading, and even now after I've finished, was one of the reasons I in love with it. Leigh was a broken character and has a life most people wouldn't understand, yet she was easy to relate to and to connect with. Were the actions she took something people would accept? No. But when you read her story you truly get a sense of understanding as to why she would set herself on a destructive path.
I wish I could give it a full five stars, but the ending was just too abrupt for that. I needed more! At least just a little more to get a sense of closure before it was finished for good. But the bottom line is that this is a huge recommend from me, and a book that I absolutely loved. Though I will warn that this story is not for the faint of heart and any reader should take note of the trigger warnings.
The Found (Crow City Book 2) Now Available on Smashwords
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