Three and a Half Stars

I’ll be honest. I had a hard time rating this one. I had to let it sit for a few days to figure it out.

When I read the description I thought “Man I’m going to love this one!” Then partway in I thought I was disappointed…and then the story went so fast and at the end I was mad it finished, so I figured I ended up liking it, but I wasn’t entirely sure. 🙂

David is a driven business and family man with a guilty secret–and affair he carried on years ago. He ended the affair, but when the woman disappeared with his children, he never stopped looking for them.

The book starts with David getting “the call”. His kids are alive and in a children’s shelter. He learns they’ve been abused and their coping mechanism is to believe they are dark wizards.

David himself is a flawed man. He is afraid of what damage the truth will do and continually hides it throughout the book, from beginning until the end. We see only through this thoughts that he might have learned his lesson finally, but not his actions. I wish we’d seen it more in his actions.

The book was told from an all male POV. First David and then his son Patrick. For me, that was disconcerting because I’m not used to it anymore, but it was handled well. I liked the breaks from David’s point of view to get Patrick, the “level-headed” one of the bunch.

I was disappointed in the ending, because I felt it was leading up to this giant crescendo…that never went anywhere. There was a great battle, that happened off screen. It was a let down…especially when the book ended abruptly right after. Sure, I want to be left wanting for book 2 (and I am…it is coming, right?)…but there was too much left unhandled, too much smoothed over, and not enough of the actual fight at the end. That’s why I had to knock it down to 3.5 stars.

In the end, yes I want to read book 2 whenever it’s finished…but I hope it’s not lacking the same thing this one was.

Destruction is not a romance, it’s more an Urban Fantasy.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own*