So, it seems a little unfair having this month’s book bracket considering 5 of the contenders are of the same series.
Bracket position generated by random:
Quarterfinals
Paint It All Red – vs – Scarlet Angel
by S. T. Abby
Book Three against Book Five in the Mindf*ck series! God, Scarlet Angel was great because we are starting to have things unravel. Lana gains a friend and real feelings. We start getting to endgame here. But, Paint It All Red IS endgame. We get Logan having that hard realization. We learn everything and see all of the fallout. Better? sex scenes in Scarlet Angel versus better emotional scenes in Paint It All Red. I think Paint It All Red squeaks this one out and advances to the next round!
All The Lies – vs – Sidetracked
by S. T. Abby
This one is a bit unfair. All The Lies easily wins it. It was my favorite of the series where things start to unravel. We learn all of the heartbreak and end on one of the cruelest scenes in the series. Sidetracked is great because we start seeing the relationship build, but that can’t beat the climax. All The Lies makes it through.
The Risk by S. T. Abby – vs – The Luminaries by Susan Dennard
Oh man this is tough! They are SO RADICALLY DIFFERENT. Adult dark romance against young adult paranormal. I rated both 4 stars and both are book ones of a series. There is one difference that gives the winner an edge – The Luminaries is an audiobook and the narrator really did a great job. Lana and Logan are great and they easily fall into a relationship. There is angst, but it is angst handled with maturity. Winnie and Jay are kids dealing with things they shouldn’t be. They also have secrets, they also have angst, but they do not have the maturity to deal with it. The Luminaries surprisingly pulls through to the next round.
The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón – vs – Asher Black by Parker S Huntingon
Another match between two different genres. The Hurting Kind really spoke to me on an emotional level. The poetry was beautiful and cutting. Asher Black spoke to me on a libido level. The yearning between Lucy and Asher was fire. That said, I’m going to go again with emotion over libido, pushing The Hurting Kind forward. There were poems better than Lucy’s entire character.