Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Crow's Row by Julie Hockley

Crow's Row -- what an enthralling read. ~OK so I read the blurb and wasn't that fussed -- but you know the great saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" (well blurb in this case) well that's what I did and I got totally proven wrong~ This book grabbed me from the start -- it seemed like a detailed pop-up book ~Yes I know I am comparing it to a child-like layout sort of book~ when it seemed like you had everything sorted out -- more things would unfold and the book would pull you in so much more...

So lets step back inside the book and talk about what happens -- basically the book revolves around Emily Sheppard, a freshman university student at Callister University -- a girl who threw away her rich status to live a "non-cliché" life. Emily is plagued by her older brother's (Bill Sheppard) death -- Emily lives in a half existence life while trying to figure out why her brother died. One day she runs into Cameron ~Yes everyone he is the dark, brooding, mysterious hottie also known as the love interest~ while visiting her brother's grave -- but what she doesn't know won't kill her -- Cameron is the key to figuring out Bill's death and Emily is consequentially kidnapped when she witnesses a murder. Emily is dragged into the criminal drug world of Cameron.

Emily, I really liked her lots and lots ~To be completely honest with you I didn't fall in love with her as much as I expected to..~ she portrayed a sense of innocence in the first 1/3 of the book -- yes that would be expected but I didn't like how she lived a half-life.. it seemed as if she just existed rather than thrived in the first part of the book.. ~Ok so I like ballsy chicks in books.. Obviously this girl didn't have any to start off with -- I was a bit disappointed with that.. But hey its not like all characters have to be the same..~ It wasn't until she got involved in the criminal underworld where things really started to heat up.. ~Yes this girl gained some customary strength everbody -- be proud, because I certainly was~ I liked that Hockley actually built her into her own -- It gave her a real sense of genuinity.. This girl made tough decisions and I actually liked that she stuck to her guns, Hockley managed to actually manipulate the story to reflect her strengths rather than have her flail around.. It was clearly evident that being a criminal was Emily's piece of cake -- I liked that she was able to hold her own against everybody ~Yes I know that I've already said it -- I'm repeating it because it is totally true -- to be honest I couldn't deal with anything if it was a real life situation~

Oh mmmi gosh ~yes I'm spelling it wrong just to show you how frustrated I am~ Cameron was just a total love-hate sorta guy -- there were definitely times in the book where all you could do was just shout at the book or just be totally frustrated about what he did... although I do admit there were tender moments to him and I praise him for it -- the things he went through to get where he was.. totally amazing ~I mean I could never be strong enough to break the poverty cycle and just overcome total hardship -- yes turning to criminal acts wasn't the best choice but Hockley sort of made it the only choice that was good enough for him.. I'm actually going against my morals and saying that it was a good choice~ Cameron is a strong and mysterious character -- there is a hard and strict part of him that I cringe at most times -- yes he leads a effective drug ring but the choices he makes affect a lot of people ~Yes in a bad way~ but is "apparently" good for the business.. But there is a tender part to him that makes you totally fall for him ~He isn't like Gideon Cross (from Sylvia Day's Bared to You Trilogy) or Christian Grey (from E.L. James' the Fifty Shades Trilogy) who are totally over-controlling/dominating guys -- who are actually heavily affected by their pasts~ that is a good thing because there is a prescence of emotion there -- he doesn't have the urge to dominate but rather is more reserved but has emotion ~I can't find words to explain it -- I'm actually happy that this isn't a BDSM book~

The relationship between the two was really really sweet -- Cameron made Emily strong and Emily released Cameron's emotions and made him less tense ~Yes that sounds like it was constant sex sex sex but it wasn't -- to be honest I don't enjoy sex books that are all sex and no plot -- they have to have a balance~ This was the sort of book that didn't need sex to be a good book -- the plot made up for it immensely ~I actually can't remember if they even did the deed -- hang  on why the hell am I talking about sex when it is supposed to be about the relationship!~ I really felt sorry for Emily in the climax of the book and the ending put a big strain on the relationship ~I would've done exactly what she did -- trust me that when I say that it was bad, it was BAD~ The thing I didn't like about this relationship was the trust part -- Cameron didn't trust Emily when it came to criminal matters, he didn't keep her in the loop and in some situations this didn't help at all ~yes I do see his reasoning behind it -- he didn't want to taint her soul and all -- that was fair... but he didn't understand what Emily wanted~ But there is both to blame -- Emily didn't trust that Cameron loved her with all his heart and strived to satiate her needs -- she didn't value herself enough to understand that she was worth the fight.. ~All in all, this relationship I felt was actually genuine and was innocent and sweet~

The secondary characters were actually very enjoyable, I loved Carly and Rocco the most.. they had the most genuine feel about them -- not only that but both of them were really fleshed out ~That is what I loved about this book -- yes the protagonists were fleshed out effectively but so were some of the secondaries -- that is the key to a good book~ ~I really connected with these characters which I liked a lot because that usually doesn't happen in some books..~

Wow, just summing up the whole book is a big task -- basically it was one of my favourite books I have ever read, the plot is actually really really creative -- I loved it because I couldn't predict what would happen next.. The characters are really really great -- they are easy to connect to and have a real sense of genuinity to them -- they are really fleshed out well and the thing is -- it is only the first book in the series.. I would recommend this book to any young adult reader who doesn't even sway towards these types of books because this book will draw you in. Just read it -- It was amazing for me and it could definitely be amazing for you! So go out and read it.

Ryan:)


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