Buy the Book
DANCE. Guns.
MUSIC. Bullets.
RHYTHM. Pain.
Music in my head, dance in my body, the rhythm of my heart.
How far can you fall in just one month? How quickly can the human spirit be broken? Where does evil hide in plain sight?
Ash wants to dance. Needs it. To leave behind a life of expectation and duty, to set his soul free.
But life is never that simple. Every step is a journey on a new road.
For every action, there is a reaction.
Every choice has a consequence.
And when you meet the wrong person, all bets are off.
Laney tolerates her limitations, pushing quietly at boundaries. But when Ash crashes into her world through rage and violence, it sets off a chain reaction that neither of them expected.
♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♫ ♪♫♪
This is one of the most difficult reviews I’ve written lately. Oh, where to start with this one???
This book deals with a lot of issues that I didn’t expect from the blurb. Rape, forced cock sucking, prostitution, murder, slave trafficking is not exactly hinted at from the description.
When I read the synopsis I thought a good dance story with a romance attached and maybe a murder mystery weaved in so I am completely surprised by the story that unfolds in Slave to the Rhythm.
There is a dark theme with some really bad guys. There is suspense and a few twists and surprises. The reader does need to suspend disbelief in some ways. The people who bring Aljaz (Ash) Novak to the US for a dance audition are Russian mafia. He is dancing in a major casino, walking around Las Vegas with his fellow performers and living in fear that the backers will abuse and/or murder them if they don’t do as told. I’m not so naive as to think that sex slaves don’t exist but, from watching all the news stories the people involved do not allow their captives to walk around and mingle with the general public—at least not in the early stages of their captivity. Also some of the activities that are so open and in public are unbelievable and require a hand-wave.
The characters in this book are perfect in the beginning. I like them all a lot. I love the fact that the heroine, Laney, has a disability and is strong enough to save Ash and get him out of an ugly situation and help from her father. I love her family. Her family is huge and loving. They are truly caring and want her happy. Laney’s friends are supportive and treat her as “normal” and see the person not the handicap. I love Ash he is hot, unstoppable, and fun even after all the bad that has happens to him.
I love the evolution of Laney and Ash’s relationship. It grows from a friendship to a loving romance. Laney’s dad is a police captain and very suspicious of both their relationship and the story that Ash tells about his stay in Las Vegas. It is understandable that a dad would question the intentions of a man spending so much time with his daughter but, at the same time he recognizes Laney's feelings. I love the way she stands up to the police in her dad’s squad, her ex-boyfriend, and others. She is feisty and fun. I love the exchanges between Laney and Ash. They are fun, supportive, and loving.
There are good times, emotional moments, and really harsh scenes. With all these positives it surprises me that this book doesn’t jump into my heart and make me shout from the roof tops to everyone “read this” but it doesn’t. As a woman who is disabled and in braces and/or wheelchairs since I was four the way Laney changes from the self-confident, head-strong, resilient woman at the beginning to the defeatist person at the end is a disservice and perpetuates a negative stereotype. I can’t explain my thoughts without spoilers but the scene with Ash & Laney in the epilogue should be prior to his tour in the U.S. Laney’s reasoning and decisions don’t feel right and are a copout. Jane is a talented author. It feels like Jane gave up on Laney at some point when she was writing Slave to the Rhythm and that makes me sad. Most people will not see what I see and will love the story. Unfortunately, I’m a little disappointed.
As with Sharon's review, Slave to the Rhythm was the hardest review I have ever done for this author. I was so conflicted with this story.
When I was given the Synopsis and was told by the author that this would be about dance and the goings on in this world I was so looking forward to reading the book. What I discovered from the beginning was that this was not a normal story about someone who loves to dance, this story was about so much more. We are introduced to Male Rape, Sex Trafficing, Prostitution and even Murder. These things happen all over the world and I am not going to say I am naive to not know this but I didn't expect it in this book.
The theme of this book is totally different for Jane Harvey-Berrick, she has gone dark on us, there is suspense but there is also light where you think there can only be darkness.
Ash (Aljaz Novak) was brought to Las Vegas from Slovinia to dance with the theatre company, something he has wanted to do all his life, it was his way to a new life, new dreams, new hopes and maybe one day new love. It was not long after he arrives he realise that it is the Russian Mafia who have organised his travel to the US and that they practically run things.
Laney at first is feisty, she is strong willed, knows what she wants to do and does not want anything or anyone stopping her. She is disabled but she pushes through and loves how her friends and family treat her as if there was nothing wrong with her. She has a great support system which helps her along the way.
Ash is hot, built, couragous and strong willed. He has been through crap but he doesn't let it stop him.
Laney does help Ash through a terrible event which brings these two together in what is a very difficult situation and you just have to applaud Laney for doing that. Once these two start to actually get to know each other, you can see a great friendship appearing, although frought with some temper tantrums the other times are full of laughter and compassion. The friendship does grow as you would hope, however in order to help Ash, Laney does something that no one would ever think she would do and her family and friends do as anyone would expect them to do, have reservations about what she has done.
The disappointment I have with this book is the way it goes from Positive to Negative with Laney, she went from very strong willed to someone who to me gave up. I was also surprised that after everything Ash went through nothing more was said, no counselling, it was just swept under the carpet. The ending really annoyed me with Laney and Ash if I am honest, however, I feel that will just be me.
Although I love Jane's writing and books, I am sorry to say that this book just didn't grab me like her other books. I feel the story would have been great if expanded on areas.
Sharon and I both had different issues with this book so we combined our rating to get the overall rate for our review.
4 STAMPS OVERALL
Laney POV
I tiptoed into the living room to get a couple of cookies from the kitchen. I noticed that Ash had left the drapes open and it gave me a chance to study his beautiful face, younger and softer in sleep.
But he wasn’t asleep, and I froze.
He was stretched out on the couch, his bare chest almost luminous in the glow of the street lamps.
One hand rested on his chest, but the other…
The thin sheet was pushed down to his thighs and he was stroking himself. His long fingers that had massaged me so thoroughly earlier in the evening were firmly grasping his hard dick and working it up and down, his thumb sweeping over the wide head. His eyes were closed, his mouth slightly open, and his breaths were quick and shallow.
I knew I should turn around and go, leaving him alone in this very private moment, not watching like some creepy voyeur. But I couldn’t. I was mesmerized by the sight of him pleasuring himself, his hand moving faster, his firm chest rising and falling rapidly.
He muttered something in his own language, and I could tell by the tightness in his face that he was close. And God, if it wasn’t the hottest thing I’d ever seen.
♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♫ ♪♫♪
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to write. Perhaps it was growing up in a village well known for its mystery and folklore, which sparked my imagination as a child.
I enjoy writing in several different genres, and I've just published my first romcom, 'Dazzled'.
All my books have a little me in them, and I'm inspired by the personal stories of those around me. It's often from a simple discussion overheard in the train ('Exposure'), in a café, or in the street, where ideas for characters or scenes come to me.
I fell in love with both Sam ('The New Samurai') and the eponymous Sebastian in 'The Education of Sebastian' and the sequel 'The Education of Caroline', and missed them desperately once I'd finished their stories. I love writing dialogue and always try to include touches of humour in the most poignant stories.
Whether you like adult romance novels, new or young adult writing, thrillers, or fantasy, I hope you'll enjoy the journey through my stories.
Author Links
No comments:
Post a Comment