Book Review: The Darkest Joy (The Darkest Joy #1) by Marta Eros

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The Darkest Joy
The Darkest Joy #1
By:  Marata Eros
Published:  Feb. 18, 2014
Publisher:  Gallery Books
Source:  Publisher

GR's Summary:

A sexy and poignant new adult novel from New York Times bestseller Marata Eros, about two lost souls who find each other in the wake of tragedy, only to learn that love may not be enough to heal the wounds of a dark and tortured past...

Twenty year-old Brooke Starr has escaped the aftermath of a brutal tragedy by abandoning her music studies and moving north to take a summer position as a part-time deck hand on a deep-sea fishing boat. When her survivor’s guilt becomes unbearable, Brooke realizes there's only one thing she can do to finally erase the pain.

Deep sea fisherman, Chance Taylor, has just wrapped his guitar set at the local saloon when he sees the silhouette of a young woman in repose, the full moon highlighting her shadow as she plummets from a pier too high for diving... into water too cold to survive. Without thinking, he plunges in after her, saving Brooke from drowning.

As Chance works to save her from her own emotional fragility, Brooke finally begins to learn how to save herself. But when their chemistry begins to consume them, Brooke withdraws. She’s determined to be the master of her own destiny... until the past catches up with her in a cataclysmic plan so dark, so final... it threatens their love and their very lives.

 My Thoughts:

The Darkest Joy, is the third book that I have read by Marata Eros.  I love how she combines suspense, action, mystery, and danger with hot romance in her stories!  When I got offered, The Darkest Joy for review, I was happy to dive right in.  For one, the cover is absolutely beautiful, and the book summary sounded very intriguing!

The story complety hooked me, and had me turning pages like a crazy woman from the very beginning.  Brooke is a local piano prodigy in Seattle, who is looking forward to her upcoming tryouts for Juilliard.  Playing the piano has been her passion and the dream of both herself and her family for many years.  Brooke is running late on her way to her parents house for the holidays, due to a car accident.  On her way home, she is talking to her mother on the telephone when the door bell rings.  What follows is the violent and excruciating screams of her family members, as she hangs on to the telephone helpless and in shock.  Then, she hears the killer breathing in to the telephone.  After the killer hangs up the phone, Brooke goes in to shock.  At this point in the story, nothing could have turned me away from my kindle.  What follows, is the confirmation of her mother, father, brother, and Great Aunt Milli's deaths.

Brooke leaves Seattle, because she needs a new beginning, and there are too many memories there.  She leaves for Alaska, to live in her Great Aunt Milli's cabin, and gets a job as a deckhand on a fishing boat for the summer, with the sexy and good-looking Chance Taylor.  What follows is a dark love story about Brooke's journey to heal, and move on with her life.  Along the way, she finds herself falling in love with Chance, but can she trust him, when the locals warn her that he isn't a one woman kind of man?  Soon, Brooke learns from her best friend Lacey, and FBI agent Decatur Clearwater that the murderer is killing other family's of piano prodigies that were also competing to attend Juilliard.  Unfortunately, Brooke learns that you can't escape your past, and she may be in danger.

I enjoyed, The Darkest Joy, by Marata Eros!  My favorite aspects of this story was the suspense, mystery, and complex plot!  I think that the story would have been better with less description, and more development in the relationship between Chance and Brooke.  There were a lot of sexy love scenes, and I enjoyed seeing how strong and resilient Brooke was as a character.  I admired the way Ms. Eros did an excellent job of realistically showing us the various stages of grief through Brooke's eyes.  I could see and feel all of her emotions; from shock, to anger, to sadness, and then finally to acceptance, and healing.  Chance had an air of mystery to him, and I enjoyed learning his secrets and background.  I give  The Darkest Joy by Marata Eros 3.5 Emotional, Riveting, and Suspense Filled Stars!  If you enjoy romantic suspense, and stories where you get to unravel the mystery of a serial killer, I recommend that you check out, The Darkest Joy!

My Favorite Quotes:

"This is the nature of grief.  A small, seemingly insignificant comment or memory comes to the surface in an unguarded moment.  You're helpless against it.  Like the tide, it washes over you and however much you cling to the rocks, the ocean breaks you down with its tireless cycle, until the bits of you are carried away on the current."  (eARC, Loc. 379)

~Brooke

"The darkest joy is better than none at all.  Imperfect, vital...it comes like a thief in the night and robs your heart of its energy to resist the love that has been offered."  (eARC, Loc. 2084)

~Brooke

Chance & Brooke:

Courtesy of Ms. Eros' Pinterest

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About Marata Eros:

Marata Eros (a pseudonym for Tamara Rose Blodgett) is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of dark, romantic new adult novels, including A Terrible Love and its companion novel A Brutal Tenderness. A passionate writer who loves interacting with her readers, Marata lives in South Dakota with her husband.

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