OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel)" by Light and Lowell.]

We start off our story at Vardel Academy where there are two types of students, the normal and the gifted. Rome Navarro (our resident bad boy) has received a scholarship to the illustrious school and is sure that they have made a mistake. Within only a few hours, he has made two life-altering acquaintances. Ariahna VayRen is a petite redhead that is entirely out of his league but brings out Rome’s protective instincts. Not to mention that he immediately feels the connection between them. And then there is Kaleb, half vampire/half witch and the heir to the King of the Vampires. Kaleb is strange in more ways than one but seems to have a thing for Rome.

Throughout the story we come to find out that there are six families that are the most prominent to the supernatural realm. Rome, Ariahna and Kaleb are descended from three of them. Also Dallas (Ariahna’s best friend and neighbor) is another descendant along with a couple of other less important characters. The problem is that the Navaros and the VayRens are cursed to love and lose each other. There are several other prominent characters that bring a lot to the story line. I’m not really sure how much more I can say without spoiling the story.

As far as how this book was written, it’s a superb job! I only noticed one or two typos and the grammar and story line flows excellently. I love the formatting of the book and the chapter heading that they have in place is beautiful and goes perfectly with the story. The character development was great, you really felt connected with all the different people. They did a great job of pulling them all together.

For me, this story was very difficult to get through. I had no idea that there was such a strong m/m theme in this book. The book summary didn't hint at it at all. I would strongly suggest putting something in there to let people know that it does lean heavily on the gay side. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this was going to be so prominent until about half way through the book. I contemplated putting it down at that point but decided to go ahead and finish. For me, it left a very bad taste in my mouth because of how strong it leans on that. Also, there is the fact that the main characters are either having sex, talking about sex, or thinking about it 90% of the time. Add to that, they are only 15 or 16 years old. Yes, I know that teens have sex, but seriously, it was a little off putting to realize that our main heroine (15 years old) is having sex with someone she barely knows. Also, all of the sexual situations were very close (in my opinion) to rape. They almost always started with one person being very aggressive and demanding and the other one asking them to stop and not wanting it but not really having a choice either. For me, this was not right. I would have loved this story if it had been about Rome, Ariahna and Christian. I thought it would be so much better if Kaleb wasn't in the story. To me, that really threw everything to a weird angle. That being said, I’m sure that this story will appeal to a certain genre. Definitely not my type, which is sad because I was really looking forward to reading this based on the book summary. As I've already stated, please put something in the summary so that people know that it is very strong on the m/m relationship. I have one more thing to add. The amount of vulgarity and cursing in this book was astonishing. Seriously, how many times can you say the “f” word? And then to think that they are all high-school students. Wow. If this is where our teen society is at, it says a lot about who we are as a country. I thought there could have been a lot more in the story plot if they would have taken out some of the cursing and sex. Basically it felt like a teenage, hormone-driven fantasy. Not at all what I expected from the summary.

With all of that being said, I am giving this a 2 out of 4 stars. Not my style but the writing was good and will most likely appeal to a certain genre of readers.

***
Buy "Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel)" on Amazon

I want you to think about a warm summer breeze. I want you to imagine how it moves, how it dances. And understand this: for the wind, it's not about the direction, or the destination. It's not about speed or time, but rather the journey that takes it there. It's about all the things it's seen, all the places it's been. And stranger yet, a breeze never struggles, only stills. It doesn't choose what to be, it just is - and it knows it doesn't have to stay the same. It can be gentle, soothing; or it can be furious, like a tornado or a sandstorm. It doesn't matter if someone is there to see it. It's content in being what it is, either way. It's constant through all seasons, and through all cycles. But to do that, it has to adapt to the things around it. And if we as people can learn from something as simple as the air we breathe, then we've already taken one step closer to the thing we often fear most: change.

Because life isn't about being comfortable - it's not about knowing what comes next, or avoiding obstacles or challenges or things we don't like. It's about change. And if you don't let the things you experience change you, then I'm afraid to say that you've missed out on all the best parts. You have to embrace what you're given, and you have to be open to possibility. The possibility that anything could happen, and for any reason. Even if we don't understand it at the time, there's always something to take away, something to learn.

And lastly, life doesn't come with warnings. It doesn't come with a manual or a detailed synopsis. If it did, the world would be a very different place and our very lives would take such different turns. If we knew every disaster that was headed our way, if we sidestepped every heartache, every painful moment, every tear, then we would never be able to learn from those experiences. We wouldn't be able to truly appreciate all the things in life that make us happy, and most importantly, we'd never have the chance to understand why those things happened to us in the first place.

With that said, we love your review. We love the fact that despite your unease with certain topics that you kept reading right up until that very last page. Not everyone could do that, and certainly not everyone will. But it's our hope that maybe along that journey, that some of those pages will make people think, make them question, make them consider. Like you said, had you known, or been warned about everything in this book, you might not have picked it up. But that's the point, isn't it?

Sincerely,
Light & Lowell