Books I’ve Read this Week - Embellish

Embellish © 2009 by R. L. Sloan

ISBN: 9781432740368

Publisher: Outskirts Press

Date of publish: Aug 29, 2009

Pages: 388
S.R.P.: $21.95

About the book: As a young girl, Solis Burkes is raped at the hands of ruthless school bullies-an incident that haunts her into young adulthood. Then she meets Nacio, a strikingly handsome man who seems to know everything about her-including the painful past Solis hasn't told anyone about. But what Solis doesn't know is that Nacio has been with her every step of the way, protecting her ever since that fateful episode.

 
It's a destiny he's been working up to for the last 257 years.

Now, as Solis enters a dark world of vampires, voodoo, and passion, she'll need all the protection she can get. Unbeknownst to her, those responsible for Solis's rape have returned. Connected to the evil voodoo Priestess Auldicia, they'll stop at nothing in their plans to spew violence and mayhem throughout the city. And an old family feud dating back centuries puts Solis first on their list of targets. But not if Solis can unravel the clues fast enough, and inflict her own brand of revenge...

Embellish mixes sexy romance with high-stakes paranormal intrigue for a keeps-you-guessing, fast-paced and savvy thriller, right up until the shocking finale.

Before I say what I thought about the book, I just want to remind everyone that I only write MY opinion.  Someone else may have a completely different take on the book.  That said, I thought the story idea good but poorly written.  The premise of a young woman finding out she has a vampire who loves her and vows to protect her from her enemies has the makings of a very good, paranormal romance.  However, the book didn’t deliver (IMO). Solis had been raped as a child.  Her mother died young and her grandparents raised her.  She tells us she acted out by sleeping with so many guys she couldn’t remember their names.  Then along comes Nacio, the 257-year-old vampire, who swears his love for her and does she have sex with him?  Nope, just lots of passionate kissing.  Not very believable. 

There were too many unneeded bits of drivel in the book like the fact that Solis’ biology professor spit when he talked.  That had nothing to do with the story.  I think the author tried too hard when it came to descriptive phrases, too.  Like this sentence, “He pulled me in close to his chest and slowly glided his tongue over the muscle and pulsing vascularity  that warmly established my life force within me.”  Why not just say, “He slowly licked the pulsing vein in my neck”?

Let’s just say this book had all the elements for a really good story but it didn’t come together for me.  If I was rating on a 1-5, I’d give it a 3.