First, this book is darker than Insatiable and had me on a chokehold all through. I know I gushed about the first book in this trilogy in my previous review, I had no idea what I was in for with this one. Insatiable pulled me into Kade’s and Stacey's damaged world while this second book grabbed and dragged me somewhere far more painful, and I didn't mind because this author tells the reality of our harsh world in monochrome colours. She didn't sugarcoat things.
Voracious continues directly from the cliffhanger ending of Insatiable, so this is not a book I would recommend reading as a standalone. The complicated history between the lead characters, Kade and Stacey, remains at the centre of the story but the stakes are much higher now. Stacey returns home under the protection of Kade's team, hoping for some level of safety only to find herself pulled deeper into a nightmare involving the person who has caused her much pain. At the same time, Kade is fighting his own battle with the darkness inside him, his past and his feelings for Stacey.
The relationship between these two characters remains one of the most emotionally frustrating and compelling parts of this trilogy. They both hang onto unresolved issues of the past which tears them apart every chance they get to make amends. Kade has not forgiven Stacey and Stacey carries pain and secrets that continue to shape the way she sees herself and the people around her. Yet under the resentment is a connection neither of them has managed to destroy.
Kade might be angry with Stacey and hate what happened between them, she remains tied to the part of him that still remembers what it feels like to be human. As the truth about the past begins to unravel, both of them are forced to confront the events that separated them in the first place. Will the truth of those events pull them apart or hold them together?
Genres: Fiction, Dark Romance Publication: November 2023 Pages: 399
My Review And Rating
This book is a rollercoaster of emotions. I finished it feeling emotionally exhausted and wondering how much more the characters were expected to survive. Yet, despite how heavy the story became, I kept reading because I couldn't just stop. The need to know what happens next becomes harder to resist. The plot thickens in this book and the stakes are higher. The author spends good time fleshing Kade and Stacey's story between the past and present.
As I mentioned earlier, Voracious is much darker than Insatiable. The first book introduces the characters, the pain and dysfunction surrounding them while this book spends more time digging deeper into that darkness and boy, is it intense and disturbing. The story deals with severe trauma, abuse, violence and psychological suffering and it does not treat these subjects lightly. Check the trigger warnings before reading.
Still, beneath all the brutality, Voracious is a story about survival. Stacey's journey affected me deeply because I kept wondering how much a person can endure before they begin to lose themselves. Trauma often changes people and Stacy's experiences left marks of fear, distrust and pain on her. There were moments when I wanted someone in the story to give her some peace.
Kade's character becomes more interesting to me in this book. He is still morally dark, possessive, violent and emotionally complicated. We see the lies beneath his anger and hate. For all his darkness, Stacey remains his emotional anchor. Both of them are victims and their endless suffering is heartwrenching. The countless flashbacks of their time together and their joyous memories are the only bright sides of this story.
This book also touches on how dangerous secrets can be when they are allowed to grow in silence. Much of the pain between Kade and Stacey comes from what they believe, what they have been told and what they do not fully understand about the past.
As a reading experience, this book is intense. There is no moment of respite. The danger keeps moving, the emotional tension remains high and the revelations keep adding new weight to what happened before. I found myself becoming more attached to other characters around Kade and Stacey because the story begins to feel bigger than their romance alone.
Like the first book, this one also ends on a cliffhanger that will grip your mind just as it did mine. Clearly Leigh Rivers had no interest in letting her readers close this book peacefully so I'm diving into the third book immediately.
Rating this book, I'd give it 8.5 out of 10 stars.
Images generated with Chatgpt using the e-book cover
Note: Excerpts are from the novel
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Rating: 85/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/books.
