Book Review - Surrender to You

Happy Thursday, everyone! Wow. I can't believe the week is almost over. What a crazy time it's been, too. NaNo isn't gonna happen for me this year, I'm afraid. But, I plan to work on Markaza and M, so you can all have something new by me to read early next year. Of course, Fractured Glass will release this year, too. Anyway, enough of all that. Let's get to what you came here for: a book review. This is the second to last novel I'm reviewing for my Indie Fever 2014 Reading Challenge. As a collective, the 29 readers in that challenge have read and reviewed 351 Indie books! What an awesome thing to be part of. I'm not doing a recap today, but my last book review will come the first week of December and my review video will be ready sometime that week as well. I'll recap then.

Here's a little about the book up for review today:

Title: Surrender to You (Pierced Hearts #1)
Author: C. S. Janey
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Length (print): 252 pages
Buy Links: Amazon Kindle $2.99

Synopsis:
Stefan never thought she’d come home…
After five long years, she’s within his reach and he’s determined to find out what she kept hidden from him, while hoping that his own secret won’t tear them apart again.

Simon never expected to fall in love with her…
Asking her out had been impulsive, but suddenly the Doctor is falling for this woman who makes him ache like nobody else ever has and he’s determined to make her his.

Elizabeth never knew she’d feel so strongly for two men…
Torn between the love of an ex she pushed away in the past and the love of a new man that makes her feel alive again, she must make a decision that will ultimately result in a broken heart for one of them.

When tragedy strikes, will she be confident in her final decision?

(Contains mature content and adult language; suitable for 17+) - Can be read as a standalone.

***Will not appear in review elsewhere. Man oh man did I love the cover for this book! Perfect set up for the story. I was nervous at first, thinking I was getting into a series, but the standalone note is something to take into consideration. As of the time I'm writing this, there aren't any more books in this series out.***

Now for the fun stuff!

I picked up this book during my 12 Days of Christmas event, where I ask Indie authors to pitch me their books for purchase and review. I read all the samples, and this one grabbed me because of the excellent writing style. But, let's move on to what's inside.

From a Reader's Perspective:
I was really caught up in the relationships in this novel. First, there's the love between Stefan and Elizabeth. She's confused, angry, and hurt by everything that passed between them through much of the beginning of the story. I saw her grow as a person during the tale, and that's really what a main character should do over the course of a novel. Plot was awesome, and pacing was spot on. I never felt like the story dragged.

I did tear up a time or two, but I refuse to tell you why because it'll spoil the story. There are a couple of twists and turns I didn't see coming, but I enjoyed the way they were woven in. No insta love here, which is great. In the last 1/3 of the novel, there's a little bit where, if you aren't paying attention to the timeline, it seems like things are rushed; but, overall, there's a good progression of the different relationships developing. I could totally identify with Elizabeth, and I even enjoyed the tension between her and her best friend.

One thing that bugged me was how Elizabeth kept talking about how not buff Stefan is, but how he's still good-looking. It happened enough that I noted it. Other than that, the story was great and the characters felt real.

From an Editor's Perspective:
There were a number of errors, but they were mostly wrong word usage or dropped words. It wasn't anything that tripped me up too badly, but it'll lose the book half a star for editing. A good proofreader could clean the MS up in a few days.

Rating:
+ 1 Star for making me tear up
+ 1 Star for great twists and turns
+ 1 Star for the lack of insta love
+ .5 Star for friendships I could believe were real
- .5 Star for the repeated rebuffing of Stefan's physique
+ .5 Star for punctuation, sentence construction, and writing
- .5 Star for dropped words and incorrect usage
Overall: A solid 4 out of 5 stars. Recommended for those who love a romance with angst, or those who wish for a well-written read.

What do you think? Will you check it out?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo