Guestreview by Susan
TITLE: Shadows of the Past I
SERIES: Temporary Bliss #2
AUTHOR: Alexander Ward
LENGTH: 424 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 10, 2021
BLURB:
The second book in the Temporary Bliss series continues the story of Raymond Ward and Aleksandr Petrov.
After life-changing events, Aleksandr Petrov struggles to come to terms with his new reality. Irreparable mistakes have been made, blood has been spilled and there is no taking it back. Now his only way out is to dive deeper into the lies and schemes of the people around him.
The secrets bother him. The uncertainty disturbs him. There is nothing more he wants than unravelling Raymond’s mystery, but the lies run deeper than he could possibly understand.
With Temnota advancing boldly into new territory, they both find themselves on the brink of an unstoppable gang war. As if that wasn’t enough, misunderstandings between Raymond and the leader of Roza aggravate a decade old conflict which shakes the organization to the core.
Aleksandr and Raymond must find their balance and reach an understanding before the shadows of the past can bury them both.
Raymond Ward and Aleksandr Petrov are two of the most tragic and broken characters I’ve read about since, well, since I’d read their first book, Dead Inside. This second installment picks up right after the first book, and I was excited to finally get some answers. Be warned, for those who like an immediate happy ending, it doesn’t happen. Yes, book one leaves you hanging, and yes, you get some very unexpected questions answered in this book, but no, their story is not yet finished. Unfortunately, it was a long time since I’d read book one, and with all the foreign mafia names, I was struggling to reconnect. So, I had to close it up and do a quick skim / reread of book one. Once I was comfortably back in Romania, the setting for this series, I was able to restart book two and it made for a much better and enjoyable outcome, well, at least for me, Ray and Alek are still a mess.So, to reiterate something I’d written in my first review of Dead Inside, “harsh, cold, cruel, heartless, helpless, and hopeless”, still holds true in this installment. I was really hoping that Raymond would be a standup guy and save Aleksandr immediately, but hey, the adjectives above tell you that was not the case. As a matter of fact, Raymond became sort a big tragic character this go round, and I was, again, left wondering how in the world this couple, and this series, could possibly end on a high note.Good news, Aleks is not beaten within an inch of his life all the time anymore. I said, all the time, as he does still spend some time battered and bruised, but he seems to have grown a spine. Make no mistake, he is still a victim, but he definitely reached the end of his rope. Another warning, there are even more triggers for some folks, mainly attempted suicide and a ton of hardcore violence. Be cognizant that this is still not a warm and fuzzy love story, although we get flashes of hope. We also learn more about where Aleks came from and his surprising familial relations. I did not see that coming. Let’s just say, he may have been better off being an orphan.Even though this is not my typical go-to kind of book, this author’s writing style really calls to me. I am not one to harp on small grammatical or editing errors because so as long as they don’t throw me out of the story, they don’t really impact my reading enjoyment. What I will say, this author only has two books to their name and I am completely impressed, even with a few mistakes. With this kind of talent and creative ingenuity, they have a big career ahead of them. Once they get the experience under their belt and tighten up the editing, this author will impress the masses. Or at least the masses that enjoy having tortured protagonists. I, for one, look forward to book three, and whatever else this author decides to grace us with.
