{"id":14210,"date":"2016-12-09T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=14210"},"modified":"2017-05-08T19:17:40","modified_gmt":"2017-05-08T23:17:40","slug":"arc-review-riddick-the-saints-1-by-kathy-coopmans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=14210","title":{"rendered":"ARC Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: Riddick (The Saints, #1) by Kathy Coopmans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"riddick-banner\"<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Buy<\/strong>:\u00a0 Amazon US\u00a0 <\/a>|\u00a0 Amazon UK<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 iBooks\u00a0 <\/a>|\u00a0 Nook\u00a0 <\/a>|\u00a0 Kobo<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

She told me Heaven would knock on my door one day.
\nThat I would be swept away from the hell I lived in.
\nShe was right about one thing and so wrong about the other.
\nHeaven came in the form of an angel just like she said.
\nBeautiful.
\nPerfect.
\nAn angel.
\nAnd then.
\nMy life became hell.
\nShe disappeared. Vanished.
\nI left. Went to war. Killed. All for her.
\nEvery face was the man who took her.
\nEvery dream filled with her.
\nFor twelve years I existed in hell. Breathed in the fires from down below.
\nUntil her, the woman on the beach outside of my home.
\nCaptivating.
\nEnchanting.
\nMesmerizing.
\nIt couldn’t be my Cora, my angel, my heaven on earth.
\nShe was dead.
\nWasn’t she?<\/p>\n

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\"Passionate<\/p>\n

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BOOK TRAILER<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A powerful love and an intense second chance romance<\/b><\/p>\n

3.5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m such a sucker for this kind of storyline, and as soon as I saw blurb for this book, I knew I had to read it. This is my first read by Kathy Coopmans and I was easily caught up in the intensity of her story of two tormented souls finding their way back to each other.<\/p>\n

Cora and Riddick were a modern-day Romeo and Juliette \u2013 falling in love as teenagers from rival families, only to be torn apart in violent, heartbreaking circumstances.<\/p>\n

My heaven was robbed from me. Short-lived. And now I live in hell.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cora found her way with the help of a family that took her in, cared for her and helped her get back on her feet. Riddick took his rage and devastation and become a soldier, fighting in Afghanistan before returning home and entering the Police force. For 12 years they have each lived in torment with the shadow of grief over them, believing the love of their life is gone forever, but their dreams of a life together living on the beach has drawn them to the same place, and all of their longing comes to an emotional end as they unexpectedly find each other again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re my heaven on earth, my angel.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Their reunion is intense and emotional and clearly a reconnection of two soul mates who are destined to be together. There\u2019s no game playing and I love how functional they are together and how neither of them hold anything back. Their love had burned brightly in all of their years apart and they weren\u2019t going to waste another moment without each other, and I loved that!! I could feel the emotion between them and the \u2018rightness\u2019 of them as a couple, and their journey felt more like a continuous love story than a second-chance-romance.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo-one is going to stop us this time. Or ever again. I\u2019ll kill anyone who tries to come between us. I swear to fucking God, I will.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But the evil that tore them apart isn\u2019t done with them yet, and as they untangle the questions from the past, they realise the very real danger that still exists for them.<\/p>\n

I enjoyed this book. Written in dual POV, Cora and Riddick\u2019s story is interesting, intense and full of emotion, and moves at a great pace. The romance is captivating and exciting, the sexy time is intense and passionate and a little bit dirty, and the love between them is evident in each and every interaction. I also loved the strong theme of family (real and made), especially Ethan\u2019s part in the story, and I thought that all of the relationships were nicely developed.<\/p>\n

However I wasn\u2019t initially as emotionally invested as would have liked to have been. I would have liked to have seen Cora and Riddick happy and in love in the past – to see what their relationship was, what they meant to each other and how they were together. Instead, we are just told that they had this all-consuming love and we never get to experience that with them. I think I would have felt their reconnection more had I seen<\/i> and felt<\/i> the depth of their feelings for each other in the past rather than just being told about it.<\/p>\n

I also felt that some of the narrative felt unrealistic and unnatural with the way the characters would talk, it seemed like inner monologue at times rather than actual conversation. And the writing didn\u2019t always flow smoothly for me, I found myself having to reread certain passages more than once. For example:<\/p>\n

I wish whatever repetitious thoughts he has right now he would recite to me before I completely lose my shit. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Huh?<\/p>\n

And while I enjoyed watching the story play out, I did think that the ending was abrupt and I would have liked to have seen more closure, and more of them claiming their HEA. But I guess their story will continue on in future books of the series, so I look forward to catching up with them again then. There is set up there for some of the side characters to have their stories told and I\u2019m curious to see how that\u2019s going to play out. Jude is up next, and he has a hell of a lot of grovelling to do!<\/p>\n

So obviously I didn\u2019t love this book, but I did like it. Cora and Riddick\u2019s love story was really beautiful, and though I did have some issues, for the most part I really enjoyed their story.<\/p>\n

3.5 stars.<\/p>\n

An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

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The Saints series<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"riddick\"\u00a0 \"\"<\/p>\n

Riddick (#1)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy: \u00a0Amazon US\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0Amazon UK<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0iBooks\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0Nook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0Kobo<\/a>\u00a0| Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Jude (#2)<\/strong>
\nBuy: Amazon US<\/a> | Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

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Excerpt<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Jesse\u2019s threats should make me want to shut my mouth; they don\u2019t. I\u2019ll make all the noise in the world to find out why I feel like I\u2019m being dragged to my death.<\/p>\n

Oh God, please tell me they do not know!<\/p>\n

Without warning, Cutter grips me by my hair, yanking me out of my spot in the corner. My backside is landing on the rough gravel with a solid thud. The sharp stones are penetrating through the flesh on my back. I scream out in agony as this man bores his fingers into my cheeks, digging into my skin enough to draw blood with his fingernails penetrating through my flesh. They\u2019re going to kill me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re finally getting a chance to get out of here. If you fuck this up, I\u2019ll kill him. Do you get me?\u201d What? I ignore his comment about leaving here. That rolling in my stomach starts to turn, spinning out of control until it crashes into my chest, making it hard for me to breathe. I know exactly whom he\u2019s referring to, and the thought makes me want him to stick his dick in my mouth so I can bite the repulsive little thing off. He\u2019s talking about Riddick. Cutter nods my head for me using his greased, stained hands, his fingernails so dirty I gag at the sight. Those hands that make me cringe every time they touch me leave my face and go right back to my hair, where he pulls me behind him across the lot while I stifle my cries of pain. Not from the gravel clawing and embedding into my skin. From the words he spits out like it\u2019s an everyday occurrence to threaten me with the only thing that can plunder my soul. This is the first time he\u2019s physically hurt me, which makes me realize that whatever I\u2019m here for is the worst kind of bad.<\/p>\n

My life is not my own anymore. It belongs to my brother, and I\u2019m a nut job because of it. I live inside my own head, talk to myself, pretend like I\u2019m carrying on a conversation with the one person I want with me all the time. Riddick. I stare at walls for hours upon hours of the day and night, daydreaming of a better life on the ocean, where I can roam freely. Feel the wind swaying in with the tide, my hair blowing back away from my face as I breathe in the salty air. These conscious fantasies are a young woman\u2019s fairy tale we all wish to come true. Riddick knows how much living on the ocean means to me. He is going to kill them for thinking they can put their slimy hands on me. This will be the end to the street fighting gang war my brother seems to think he\u2019s the king of. People stay clear of Jesse Barrick for a reason. He\u2019s maniacal crazy. Certifiably teetering on the edge of insanity. And whatever his reasons are for mistreating me have crazed him out to the point where I\u2019m tumbling over the edge first.<\/p>\n

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GIVEAWAY<\/strong><\/h4>\n

ENTER TO WIN A $50 AMAZON GIFT CARD<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Escapist Book Blog is not responsible for this giveaway<\/em><\/p>\n

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About the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"kathy-coopman-bio\"<\/p>\n

Amazon Best Selling Author Kathy Coopmans, lives in Michigan with her husband Tony where they have two grown sons.
\nAfter raising her children she decided to publish her first book and retiring from being a hairstylist.
\nShe now writes full time.
\nShe\u2019s a huge sports fan with her favorite being Football and Tennis.
\nShe\u2019s a giver and will do anything she can to help another person succeed!<\/p>\n

FACEBOOK<\/a> | TWITTER<\/a> | WEBSITE<\/a> | \u00a0GOODREADS<\/a> | NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Buy:\u00a0 Amazon US\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon UK\u00a0 |\u00a0 iBooks\u00a0 |\u00a0 Nook\u00a0 |\u00a0 Kobo Blurb She told me Heaven would knock on my door one day. That I would be swept away from the hell I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":3.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,9,24,29],"tags":[59,534,48,533],"class_list":["post-14210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-badasses","category-romance","category-second-chance-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-kathy-coopmans","tag-review","tag-the-saints"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Riddick.jpg?fit=150%2C234&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-3Hc","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}