KCBR Blog

Beneath the Burn by Pam Godwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.  Expected publication:  August 1, 2013

Charlee and Jay are two lost souls burned by life.  Their worlds collide and life as they know it will never be the same ever again.
Charlee’s father is a huge loser on so many levels.  He used his daughter as collateral to cover his gambling bets.  He lost his daughter and his own life to Roy.  At sixteen, Charlee is held hostage by a sadistic fuck named Roy…who happens to be an international business owner with a bank account to rival that of Bill Gates. She is forced to live her days chained up and sexually assaulted by Roy in his demented prison penthouse of horrors. Charlee does whatever she has to do to survive.  She creates her own invisible armor to block out her life with Roy.  Charlee gets a bitter sweet taste of freedom but is enslaved by her own demons and never free from him.

Jay is the tormented lead singer of the rock band – The Burn.  Everyday life is a struggle for the beautiful rock god. He is mentally held hostage by horrific childhood memories. Jay’s demons cause him to be repulsed by a strangers touch and ignite deep seeded panic and depression.  His horrific flashbacks antagonize his mind, body and soul.  He numbs his pain through playing his music, drug abuse and mindless sex with groupie sluts. Jay is damaged to the core - never allowing anyone or anything to touch him…to see the real him. One night after a show he walks into a tattoo parlor and allows a beautiful tattoo artist (who happens to be Charlee) to create a veil to cover up his physical scars.  Charlee’s art and her words pierce his heart and he longs to be freed as an emotional hostage to his twisted past.

“How had Jay survived his pain?  If he were hanging in the irons, what would he have done to guard his mind from splintering apart?  How resilient he must’ve been to carry the weight of so many wounds.  She wanted to borrow his strength, imagined it plated over her skin.”

A chance meeting in another time and place once again causes their paths collide.

“She has a memory of a man with a back full of scars.  Beneath the superficial damage was a devotion to survival, as instinct to dominate his future.  Most probably didn’t see that when they looked at him, but she hadn’t just recognized it, she’d felt it and wanted it.”
I don’t want to give away anything about this story.  I hate the word “epic”…but it’s the only way to describe this story….it’s fucking epic.  BtB is the ultimate emotional roller coaster ride of survival and second chances.    I recommend checking out the author’s content warning.  This gut wrenching story is not for everyone and not easily digestible.  It took me to this uncomfortable place and dangled me there to take it in. This story is so emotional and so well written that it will leave you captivated from the first page to the last. This isn’t a pretty hearts and flowers erotic tale of love…this ain’t your mamas 50 Shades of Grey kind of book ;) – so I wouldn’t loop in the same genre because of BDSM factor.

I don’t know where Pam Godwin came from…but I’m sure glad I found her and this book. Her character development is off the charts.  The way she crafted this dark and twisted story to unravel is breath taking and will make you cringe.  BtB is so incredibility raw… fucked up and is one hell of a hard core page turner. FIVE++ BURNING STARS.

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I'm speechless. WOW effing wow. Epic Kindle Crack. Review to follow.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.


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