| Title | : | Into the Light (Clear Water Creek Chronicles, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1920468854 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781920468859 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 151 |
| Publication | : | First published January 28, 2011 |
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Sheriff Sean Keller hides a terrible secret - he watched a heinous crime committed eighteen years ago and did nothing to prevent it. Now he finds himself face to face with Eden Gray, the victim of that crime, who is now not so much the boy anymore, but the man. Eden makes Sean sit up and remember those forbidden desires he thought he had locked away forever and the guilt which has blighted his life.'
Into the Light (Clear Water Creek Chronicles, #1) Reviews
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I can't give this a Goodreads "rating" because I can't decide how to rank it arbitrarily.
I wrestled with whether I should post this, but in many senses I'm going to review the editing of this book because I believe the single biggest factor to the outcome of this book was the editorial guidance, or lack thereof.
This book left me in a quandary. On the one hand, I love Scarlet Blackwell's writing... all of her skill is brought into play here. The two main characters make sense on paper, the tension builds, and the stakes are high. The seed of the story is high concept and loaded with dramatic possibilities for angst and passion.
BUT... This book is not just about rape, in many senses it IS a rape.
I don't say that to be shocking. Eden the victim/love-interest (and I mean that literally) is brutalized and objectified almost without a pause for the entire book. The power dynamics do not shift, and yet Eden's psychology seems cartoony, unrealistic, and a little unsavory... because his sexualized post-traumatic acting-out is often framed as "desirable" to the hero and the reader. Newsflash: the pain of rape victims is not sexy or romantic. That is not to say that rape victims cannot BE sexy or romantic, but rather that their emotions and motivations are too complicated to relegate to an offstage footnote or late-in-the-game exposition.
Here, I think the fundamental problem comes down to POV. If Eden, the victimized object at the story's center, had been given control of the novel then the reader could sympathize and empathize with him and his bizarre behavior. Instead, the object remains objectified and we are plunked repeatedly in the perpetrators' subjective boots. We stand behind them watching them berate, bully, and harass Eden-the-victim, becoming as complicit in that behavior as Sean (the main character) was at the gang rape witnessed years prior. The Oprah-era posturing about catharsis and confrontation is all shadowboxing: these characters barely have authentic feelings to purge. In one "flirtation" with the hero, Eden references his own gang rape as something naughty and appealing (!?!). Even the name "Eden" exists to remind us of "what was lost" except nothing particularly edenic ever existed to BE lost. There are flaming swords, but no angels here.
I'm reminded of a trashy exploitation film of the 1980s called SAVAGE STREETS, starring Linda Blair. The movie (which is atrocious) was/is excoriated by film critics for the way it used the POV of the rapists to make the audience complicit in the attack on a blind girl (no comment), and worse, the way the rest of the film shamelessly exploits underaged female sexuality as if that exploitation was "empowering" for the ogled females. It's a disturbing film, not because it's brilliant, but because it's so venal and literal and hamhanded. These trashy Rape/Revenge films were a cottage industry there for a while. In them, women are objects to be abused, assaulted, and penetrated; And in the end they in turn become abusive, assaultive penetrators. These movies pretend to be about justice, but they are softcore violence porn. Their intent is about as feminist or empowering as BAYWATCH.
That is NOT the case with this book. Blackwell has put thought into the effects of serious trauma, but some odd POV choices, some terrible minor character arcs, and the incessant sexualization of the victim's suffering doom this book from the start. More damningly, the germ of the plot (victim returns to wreak revenge on his rapists) creates some ugly, unfillable holes and a nasty, unappealing object of desire. Why does Eden focus on the one boy who didn't physically rape him? Why has he waited 18 years except to allow an older cast of characters? Why does he stalk and threaten rather than taking action? Why does he continue to misbehave with flagrant, explosive behavior as if sexuality has no risks in this community? None of this is answered or coherently expressed. The real downfall of this book is the rape victim, and in a book ABOUT a rape victim, that feels like a sloppy betrayal, especially because rape and "victimhood" are explosive subjects. If you pick exploitative topics they must be handled with care. This is where the novel wanders into SAVAGE STREETS territory.
I blame editors on this one... I believe that INTO THE LIGHT wants to be something it isn't; Blackwell has included all of the right elements for a sophisticated slam-bang, tortured-protagonist M/M, but the pieces are jumbled and used oddly in ways that betray the characters more than building them. Someone other than Blackwell must/should have seen these structural and thematic problems. An intelligent edit would have helped this book tremendously. I have a feeling that a rigorous POV rewrite might have made an enormous difference in the way readers perceive it. Had we learned this story from first person or limited third which aligned us with Eden, we could have made sense of his bizarre actions... the attraction to one of his attackers would have felt less ghoulish... the endless degrading epithets (slut, whore, fag, etc) would seem less like neutral observations and more like insults... and the shitty behavior of the townies would have seemed less sympathetic and justified.
As it is Eden seems less tragic than monstrous and repellant. As it is, he is a seductive, sullen orifice who bullies and insinuates and fondles men indiscriminately. As it is, he courts violence and his suffering is sexualized. As it is, I don't believe for one second that I'm supposed to imagine Eden as an ACTUAL man who was ACTUALLY assaulted by an ACTUAL gang. He is a cartoon, and he was raped so that the novel could be a tale of vengeance. This creates the weird problem of making the rape both essential and trivial. Gack. Like Linda Blair in a rape/revenge potboiler, Eden starts to seem irrational and vicious and a little stupid because he dances around this horrifying trauma that supposedly defined his life and fetishizes the history without making his reasons or goals or conflicts clear. Even having finished it, I cannot figure out how a tale of revenge mutated into a tale of semi-vengeful snits punishing the one gang-member who actually didn't rape anyone at all(?!). HUh? Not quite as appealing when you boil it into a logline. Eden is so irrational and unmotivated that we never actually understand what he feels, why he feels it, or why we should care. He REMAINS an object.
Weirdly, Blackwell knows this is a problem and tells us she knows. The book criticizes ITSELF for objectifying the victim. And I quote: "[Eden] seemed to have only one facet to his personality. Where was the man who was damaged and broken by rape as he should have been?" Ummm, good f%$king question!
I feel like this was almost entirely an editorial failure. As I say above, all of the pieces for a moving M/M are here, but because we follow Sean the guilty, angry, closeted sheriff for so long, Eden remains a slutty, vindictive cypher. We have no choice but to see and treat Eden (the incessant victim) as a brutalized object. Eden even brutalizes himself for long stretches, lashing out and acting out sexually. If our POV had been situated WITH him, that behavior would have seemed tragic and painful. As it is now, that behavior is framed in a way that indicates we should read it as provocative and erotic. (?!) We are told over and over that this painful, inappropriate sexualized misbehavior is irresistibly alluring, that Eden acting like a deranged slut all over town is somehow suspenseful and/or justified and/or attractive. And THAT is objectification, and in many senses, yet another rape of the character. And so, as other readers have pointed out, we don't particularly want Eden to have a happy ending, because frankly he doesn't want one. An object cannot want anything.
SO what I'm left with is a book that is occasionally well-written that I would encourage no one to read. I think the writing deserves a 3 or even a 4 as writing for some sections, but I think the editing should rank below a 1 star. Silver Publishing's editing of this book is flat-out atrocious, not just for grammar and typos (n.b. which remain problems, as in most Silver output I've seen) but for sense. Blackwell could have fixed these things easily; She is a supple, imaginative writer. Dark stories can be heartbreaking. These characters have all the makings of a powerhouse M/M couple. The problems are so simple, but so central. And by following the rape/revenge germ Blackwell went off the rails here. Editor Jennifer Colgan and the other proofers at Silver let her down.
I say all this because I love Blackwell's writing, and I think that someone at Silver should have asked for a POV shift to keep the audience out of the abusive subjective boots. But they didn't... I think that her editor should have red-penned some of the outrageous, illogical behavior that seems unmotivated and pointless and insulting. But they didn't... I wish that someone had asked her WHY a victim, scarred by a 20 year-old felony would behave this way at this time with these circumstances logically in the real world, because rape is not something to write about for the "cool" plot opportunities. But they didn't...
AND because SIlver Publishing's editorial staff let Blackwell down, this book ultimately feels like a doodle of a book. RAPE is a very serious topic so it should have been handled more carefully, on the editorial end. Sloppy. Really sloppy. Egregiously sloppy. The pieces are there, the situation is charged, Blackwell knew what she was trying to do, but no one helped her do it. As it is, it feels like the margins of exploitation, and Blackwell is a far smarter, funnier, sexier writer than that.
I realize that I've gone into crushing detail here, but I'm articulating my opinion out of respect and the hope that something in all my opining might prove useful: to readers, to Silver Publishing staffers who might stumble over this, or to Blackwell herself. This could have been a vastly better book.
A disappointment. -
I wished I had never read this book. How can a rape victim be blamed for what happened to him? How can the one who let the rape happen come out healed from his guilt, and the victim remain broken, and this be sold as a HFN - or HEA? This was horrifying, even more so since it was very well written - the good writing concealing the terrible message this transports.
Read the review at reviewsbyjessewave.com -
Eighteen years ago, while still at school Sean Keller becomes a witness when his friends performed a crime to his high-school nemesis, Eden Gray. Sean knows deep down, his cruel and bullying attitude towards Eden in high school is a result of his fear for being attracted to Eden. Now, Eden is back to the town, taunting Sean of his old coward ways ... and Sean wonders if he will ever makes Eden forgives him and tells him the real truth of his feeling.
This is probably THE MOST DIFFICULT Scarlet Blackwell's story that I have ever read. It definitely leaves me UNSETLLED. And believe me, I have read them all. These are few of the reasons.
(1) One, because of the dark history that connects Sean and Eden. Sean was a bully towards Eden in high school, and one night, his friends ended up gang-raping Eden, while Sean stood and watch. HUGE WARNING!!!: the raping scene is present, written for several pages. It makes me feel squeemish; not a huge fan of blatant raping scene in a story that is supposed to be romance. I'm not very comfortable of a relationship based on something that dark.
(2) Two, it's the state of Eden's turbulent complicated personality -- he is a victim of a rape. Later, it is clear that this event makes him tormented, unable to function in a relationship well, AND suicidal. Even if he claims to be in love with Sean, he also hates the other guy for not stopping the rape 18 years ago. And unfortunately, this story is written with Sean as narrator (in 3rd person view), so I don't really know what Eden is thinking and feeling -- other than during his interaction with Sean -- and I wonder if he has deep love enough to finally able to forgive Sean. All I can think of is that this relationship will probably needs a lot of therapy sessions to work ... no matter how the end is written here (which seems to be a start of an HEA).
(3) Three, Paul's character. I can't explain a lot without spoiling everything, but I just don't know whether his whole being is necessary to add more drama to the story. Believe me, the nature of Sean and Eden's interaction is already difficult to begin with without adding this character into the mix. AND, there are times that Paul seems to take the focus out of Sean and Eden, and I don't like it.
... This is not a traditional love-story. It's more complicated, that's for sure. It will challenge you whether you believe that "love does conquer all", especially if the love is connected to something that takes one's dignity so cruelly and makes that man broken for 18 years. You will probably like it or hate it.
Me, I would like to congratulate Ms. Blackwell for being bold enough to write a story like this. It is definitely NOT going to be easily forgotten. Even know, hours after I finished, I still wonder about how Sean and Eden will make it. That is why I give 4 stars, because it makes me think and react to the characters ... even if I swear, reading this is NOT an easy task to get to the end. Not with the feeling I have for it when I'm finished. -
Absolutely horrific.
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DNF @ 28%.
I clearly widely misinterpreted the blurb when I gave it a quick glance. I didn’t realize this was a romance between a bully and his victim. I didn’t realize that I was supposed to sympathize with Sean for having to watch his gang of bullies . Think of his reputation! People would think less of him!
I also don’t understand why Eden has returned after 19 years? Was Sean just too hot to resist any longer? I mean, even Paul, the not gay BFF of Sean goes on about how hot Sean is. Why Paul has POVs in the first place, I don’t know. And Paul hating Eden on sight and thinking Eden would forgive Sean if he just knew how much Sean suffered because of Eden’s trauma.
As for this being a crime romance, I think the crime must be the romance. I thought I was reading a mystery, and the only mystery is why I read 40 pages of this trash. But the moment Sean referred to his bully gang as was the moment I was done with this book. Now, excuse me while I pretend Eden showed back up for some I Spit on Your Grave style revenge. -
This was ... interesting?
Eden was mercilessly bullied and one occasion horrifically abused by Sean and his friends in high school. Eden left town then but nineteen (19) years later he's is back seeking revenge on Sean (the only one left) who is now sheriff of their town.
The plot twist of course is that as a teenager Eden had a crush on Sean and it's continued unabated mingled with legitimate desire for revenge. That's common grist for romance. What's bizarre is ALL the rest.
Sean of course participated and/or instigated the bullying of Eden in school because of his own unacknowledged sexuality while Eden was openly gay. Nineteen years later, despite zero gay encounters, he's pretty comfortable accepting his attraction/fixation on Eden. Only Eden.
For his part Eden hangs the moon for Sean despite (or maybe because of) everything that happened. One could almost say that he's fetishized his past experience. Not outside of the scope of reality. Just off for a romance.
The truly bizarre is the character (I forgot his name) of Sean's best friend. He goes from concern to obsession with Eden. The results are ... and the fall out is ... umm.
Will I continue with this series even though it's on KU? Probably not. It's shallow but the character of Eden is unappealing and Sean is cartoonish and not in a good way. -
I am appalled that this book has positive ratings. Multiple reviews, including one by fellow author Damon Suede, talk about how the rape victim gets blamed by the main protagonist over and over. Some included quotes that alone should have had Eden saying goodbye for good. That the two have an HEA is beyond horrifying. Many reviewers say the guy comes back and gets raped again. I don't know if that's literal or metaphorically meant, but it's definitely the latter either way. Yes rape victims can become self-destructive; yes that can sometimes be sexually; yes they can get involved with their rapists; yes these are not good things but NEVER is a rape victim responsible for their rape! And we shouldn't want the rapist to get the victim especially when he continues to mistreat the victim (including blaming him) 19 years later.
No, I won't rate the book because I haven't read it, but if even a quarter of what the other reviewers are saying is true, I am disgusted by this book. -
It was a train wreck, and like a train wreck you don't want to look but once you start morbid fascination keeps you looking long after you know you should look away for your own peace of mind. For me it didn't work on a couple of levels, flawed characters are one thing but some redeeming qualities would help, perpetually suicidal is not a sign of stability and readiness for a realationship. There was no romance in this novel, no getting to know each other, no realationship development. I knew you twenty years ago (even though I stood by while a horrific, unforgiveable, crime was perpetuated against you) is not I know and love you today. A troubled past works better aka Kathy Love in the Stepp sisters trilogy, cruel and mean but not unforgiveable.
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This book wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. The writing was just as good as in SB's other books but it would have been better if it had been longer with more in-depth characterization. Sometimes it was hard to understand why the characters behaved the way they did. Especially the reason why Paul, Sean's best friend, went from nice computer geek to psycho-killer was hard for me to understand.
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WTF. That's all I can say about this story.
I blow raspberries at the HEA. -
**** 4.5 **** Major spoilers on this review.
Hmm so much controversy on this book which prompted me to insert my own view and comments on this one, but I'll start with saying: VERY POWERFUL STORY.
I say this about this book cause it's what's common fact these days and that's bullying. We see it everyday whether in real life or on the news, we read of it on all venues and we know of it and everyone has been subjected to it in one form or other in their daily lives growing up or currently. You can be subjected to being bullied at any age. From school, home, socially and even in your work place by your piers, co-workers and you own bosses. This story hits dead on to one of these events. This book will give you the reality of it being out there and what's in this book is NOT fiction folks but FACT if you can bring it upon yourself to reading it.
Any-fawking-how, on to my thoughts of this book.
So we have Sean who having his little closeted crush on Eden picked on him in school rather than befriend him because Sean denied the feelings that were hidden away inside himself of his extreme like for Eden and along with the peer pressure of his little gang that he hung with chose the more disapproving method. I recall as a kid growing up that we were told if someone picked on you it was because they liked you and due to the immaturity level chose that as a means to show this instead of coming right out and saying it to the other. This can therefore be demeaning and hurtful without the one party being aware of the others true intentions.
I believe at one point that Sean didn't think when he'd mentioned his anger at Eden showing him up in class that his 'buddies' would take it to the extreme levels that they had when they cornered Eden in the alley on his way home from school. Rough him up some? Yeah, but to take it to such a disgusting, demeaning and criminal level? No. Sean did throw one punch to make him seem tough, but when it came down to the actually crime in question Sean froze and couldn't contribute his part in it although his so called friends jabbed, pressured and tried coaxing him into it. Rather, Sean froze, traumatized and was even the one to remain after the crime of forced rape had been committed.
I personally can and cannot blame Sean here. Yeah Sean was pissed off at Eden from what occurred in the classroom, yet Sean did NOT take part in raping Eden.
Now many of you can say that Sean did nothing, but sit/stand there and watch without getting help so therefore he's guiltly by association and just being present at the scene of the crime when he could have stopped those assholes or at least gotten help and I'm telling you it's not so.
The author I believe must have been in that situation perhaps or knew of someone who had because Sean's reaction or lack there of was done to a T and perfectly. I can tell you this for a fact and here's why: My kid stood during recess and watched a bully pound his best friends face 5 times with his fist. His nose was fractured in 3 places, his braces were damaged which cut into his lips and damaged some of his teeth. When I probed my kid and asked if he did anything you know what his answer was? I didn't! I was so shocked and we didn't expect that to happen. I was froze and just couldn't move! I wanted to help, but I was seriously shocked, but when it got broken up I did give him my water and helped wipe off some of the blood and we took him to the principal's office to report it.
What does that tell you folks? Don't judge unless you've been there yourself a time or two.
But after all Eden came back eighteen years later with his own love/hate for Sean. He flaunted himself with his own intentions in mind and reasoning for what he'd done, but they fell for one another and for Eden Sean came out of the closet, confessed to what he'd done and Eden's request and to me that says a hellova lot for the man that Sean became. I have to sympathize with Sean for the years of torture he'd put himself through. I do think that after Eden was raped if his parents out of shame, yeah I say that because I'm sure that's why Eden's 'rents moved them far away because they didn't want the community shame of knowing his son had been raped to be exposed rather than report it, Sean would have readily taken his just deserts if the cops had knocked on his door then and not have waited all those years after Eden's return. My way of seeing it: The guilt for too many years, the final outcome, Sean fessing up to make Eden happy and love him and his leaving everything behind for Eden? Sean has more than redeemed himself.
In a nutshell, the content of this book is not for everyone mind you, but it was well written, dayum well thought out and if you can obliterate and look past the actual criminal content of what took place in this story it would be an enjoyable read to those looking for that huge touch of angst.
I leave this review with commending the author on a book well written and exceptionally done where I'm concerned.
Bravo! -
This story asks two very interesting and extremely difficult moral questions. The traditional black-and-white answers are easy, but the author has created a set of characters, neither of whom conform to the traditional pictures of ‘good’ and ‘evil. The lines here are blurred, the entire area is gray, and that makes it very difficult to know what is right and wrong or to judge the men entangled in this web of their own making. An interesting moral dilemma to say the least.
First, we have Sean. His part of the story is all about what happens to the accessory of a crime who may blame himself for not helping a rape victim eighteen years ago, but has equally never faced up to the consequences of that crime. Sean is that man. He is now a sheriff, has become an ‘upstanding’ member of the community, but cannot enjoy the fruits of his labors because he still feels guilty. And, unless he can find a way to confess and be forgiven, he will never be happy. He cannot have close friends because they might find out and expose him. His is the life of a coward who lives in fear of his own shadow and, worse even than that, covers that fear with anger.
Second, we have Eden. He is not exactly the typical victim in the way he behaves. A fact that infuriates Sean, but then, it is not the sheriff’s decision to say what the ‘right’ and the ‘wrong’ way of behaving are. From everything we know about Eden, he was always a little on the flamboyant side, so it didn’t surprise me that he tries to cover up his pain by overcompensating. He behaves as if nothing happened. When he finally breaks down and we get to see the ‘real’ him, the pain and desperation (not surprisingly) are enormous.
Both of these men have a deeper truth which is the cause of their inability to deal with each other. For Sean, it is his attraction to Eden, combined with the abject fear that he is gay. His truth is that of many a gay man in denial and he recognizes it as the rape is about to happen: “Sean knew deep down in the bottom of his psyche what this hatred and malice was about, and he hoped that beating it out of Eden would beat it out of himself.” For Eden, it is the attraction he feels for Sean and the resentment that Sean wasn’t his first; he puts it somewhat crudely: “No game," he said. Just that the one guy I would have been interested in taking it from that night didn't give it to me."
I am not saying that Sean doesn’t deserve to suffer. He does. But he also deserves forgiveness once he mans up and proves that he is sorry – in a way that is meaningful to the man he wronged. Painful as it is, that takes up the final third of the book and left me, if not happy, satisfied that these two men may, over time, be able to heal each other.
On the whole, this is a book that made me think about some of the ‘automatic’ knee-jerk reactions we have, even to situations that aren’t as clear cut as we would like them to be. A love-hate relationship is always difficult to understand, but this story valiantly tries. It is not a light read, and doesn’t gloss over any of the raw ugliness of hatred and anger on both sides. But if you are interested in a somewhat unusual look at forgiveness and how tough it can be to obtain, give this book a try. -
I read some of the reviews before reading this novel, so I went in with my eyes open. I admit, I felt like I was going to be made of tougher mettle than the other readers. I don't mind scenes of violence or rape, and I can philosophically analyze books with a suspension of disbelief and ethical reality, but this book was very upsetting to me.
The scenes of rape and violence were understandably upsetting, but what did it for me was the way the author handled Sean's attitude/guilt after his role in the crime. He vacillated between feelings of guilt and a terrible blaming of the victim. Even when he felt remorse it was interwoven with homophobia and a "he wanted it" mentality. Worse, the victim had a similar attitude, and it was never addressed. I felt the messages of rape and victimization were worse than any other book I had read (and I love me a terrible coercive rape fantasy from the 70's) because the messages were so pervasive and passive in the way they were handled. I do get what the author was going for, and I love her other writings, but even though I had hear this was a disappointing read, I was still astonished by its lack of sensitivity, and hence a complete lack of sympathy from me as the reader. -
I was very dissapointed after reading this book. It was very well written and I like most of the author´s work, so I expected more.
Main character Sean terrified me with his anger issues. His best friend Paul blames rape victim Eden and suddenly becomes cold hearted killer. I understand he wants to protect Sean because of their friendship. But blaming innocent and emotionally scarred Eden? The book almost disgusted me with Paul´s inhumanity.
And I just can´t believe in Sean´s and Eden´s love for each other. There was too much HATE between them for me. :( -
Ok m/m romance about a sheriff who's a good man now, but was part of a bullying gang when he was in high school... and other members that gang raped a gay student while he stood by and did nothing. Now the victim of that rape has returned to town and wants the sheriff to pay for his part in the unreported crime. This was a really mixed read for me - I felt that it started out strongly, but by the end had turned into a melodramatic soap opera. :(
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Like many other reviewers, I was torn in rating/reviewing this book. I think I'll hold off on assigning the stars until I ponder this piece more. this is a short story, but it left an indelible impression on me. I'm sure I won't be able to fully express my thoughts on this book, but here goes nothing.
First- the blurb does not have a warning, and it should. A strong one. In bold red font.This book contains semi-frequent violence, strong emotions, and rape . In addition, these events do not occur in a fantasy world, but in a fairly realistic setting. This changes the tone of the story in that events are not softened or blunted by knowing they aren't real (even if you know it is fiction). This story holds no punches.
The Good
This story is all about love/hate, and the author excels at not only conveying that, but drawing you into the web of emotion. I felt both emotions for both characters, strongly, at various time throughout the story. I loved, and detested, both characters. Keep in mind I often empathize with bad guys in crime novels, though. There were not many moments in which my chest wasn't constricted in sympathy/pain, that I wasn't truly nauseous from the story line (even knowing what was going to happen as the basic plot was fairly predictable), or i wasnt simply hanging on every word. The author told this story from an unusual narrator, which offers the reader a unique (and controversial) perspective. In these respects, the author was very successful.
The Bad
I felt that certain portions of the book were completely unrealistic, had little basis in reality, and - in parts - were laughable. Finally there was no depth provided for secondary characters and in fact no explanations were provided for twilight zone-ish actions.
The book was high drama all the time and it and felt like a tele-novella or parody of an extreme soap opera.
The Ugly
As I mentioned above, the character perspective offered was an unusual choice. While I'm sure this was rather intentional, this perspective left a bad taste in my mouth. I literally felt ill after reading this story and I'm no stranger to dark fic. For further information, please refer to Damon's review as he provided a lengthy and detailed opinion on this matter. I agree with Damon that the perspective chosen resulted in the cartoonization (made up word alert!) of one of the characters and that a greater depth or insight into that individual is need.
I can't say that I would recommend this book, but I can say that you should have a strong constitution should you choose to do so. That being said, I will certainly check out another story from this author, as she was quite successful in stringing me along whether i wanted to go or not. This book was like standing on the train tracks looking into the lights of an oncoming train - yet being unable to move. -
From the reviews I read after reading the book I can understand where both sides are coming from. Definitely not for everyone and if you're looking for romance even in the middle of this train wreck, I don't think you're going to find it. One of the reviewers asked the question: how can a rape victim be blamed for what happened to him? The sad thing is that it happens more often than not, especially when the victim doesn't behave as a "victim should"...whatever that means. That was pretty realistic to me, messed up, but I could see how it happens. Everyone reacts to these situations differently and I believe Eden's behavior was a defense mechanism and a cry for help. That's what bothered me the most about this story, after 18 years of dealing with this trauma unsuccessfully to the point of suicide attempts...get the man some HELP! Therapy anyone? A fair chance to heal??? Then again Sean had major issues too and don't even get me started on Paul, what kind of 180 was that???
Now I love a dark read at times with plenty of angst, difficult story lines and complicated, a**holish characters. For the most part with Ms. Blackwell, I know that my emotions are going to be put through the wringer from one extreme to the other. This one didn't work that well for me. I felt the story had holes and certain reactions didn't make sense to me. I would've liked more of Eden's POV or only Sean's, Paul's POV threw me way off. I saw the attempt at the love angle but I didn't buy it and the ending was hard for me to wrap my head around as well. I thought it was a good concept and if a few things would've been handled differently here and there, it would've been a much better read. -
I'm always a bit wary of victims falling for their rapist/bully tropes so I went into this with a bit of an attitude, tbh. No one is more surprised than I that I did like it. It's not an 'enjoyable' story. It's painful with lots of very flawed, human emotions. It's left on a hopeful note, but there is no fairy tale ending (for which I am eternally grateful to the author).
It's well written and the characters are all relatable. Paul was a little OTT for me, at first, but on reflection, his reaction is still one I can see happening given that he's protected Sean from the consequences of his actions for eighteen years.
This isn't as gritty as it could be given the subject matter, but I don't want to be destroyed when I read fiction so that was a relief. It's still raw and painful and I'm planning on reading the sequels ASAP. -
I think that the author was short-sighted at the very least to present the story in such a way that the victim was victimized yet again. This is exactly what the courts do to rape victims who are treated like debris and blamed for causing their attacks.
I have read and reviewed many books by Scarlet Blackwell and I like her writing for the most part however, I couldn’t let this one go without at least expressing my own personal opinion and horror at the shameful treatment of a rape victim in Into The Light -
usually kind of like this author but this book left me with one descriptive word: ridiculous.
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3.5 stars
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This story asks two very interesting and extremely difficult moral questions. The traditional black-and-white answers are easy, but the author has created a set of characters, neither of whom conform to the traditional pictures of ‘good’ and ‘evil. The lines here are blurred, the entire area is gray, and that makes it very difficult to know what is right and wrong or to judge the men entangled in this web of their own making. An interesting moral dilemma to say the least.
First, there is Sean. His part of the story is all about what happens to the accessory of a crime who may blame himself for not helping a rape victim eighteen years ago, but has equally never faced up to the consequences of that crime. Sean is that man. He is now a sheriff, has become an ‘upstanding’ member of the community, but cannot enjoy the fruits of his labors because he still feels guilty. And, unless he can find a way to confess and be forgiven, he will never be happy. He cannot have close friends because they might find out and expose him. His is the life of a coward who lives in fear of his own shadow and, worse even than that, covers that fear with anger.
Second, there is Eden. He is not exactly the typical victim in the way he behaves. A fact that infuriates Sean, but then, it is not the sheriff’s decision to say what the ‘right’ and the ‘wrong’ way of behaving are. From everything we know about Eden, he was always a little on the flamboyant side, so it didn’t surprise me that he tries to cover up his pain by overcompensating. He behaves as if nothing happened. When he finally breaks down and we get to see the “real” him, the pain and desperation (not surprisingly) are enormous.
Both of these men have a deeper truth which is the cause of their inability to deal with each other. For Sean, it is his attraction to Eden, combined with the abject fear that he is gay. His truth is that of many a gay man in denial and he recognizes it as the rape is about to happen: “Sean knew deep down in the bottom of his psyche what this hatred and malice was about, and he hoped that beating it out of Eden would beat it out of himself.” For Eden, it is the attraction he feels for Sean and the resentment that Sean wasn’t his first; he puts it somewhat crudely: “No game," he said. Just that the one guy I would have been interested in taking it from that night didn't give it to me."
I am not saying that Sean doesn’t deserve to suffer. He does. But he also deserves forgiveness once he mans up and proves that he is sorry – in a way that is meaningful to the man he wronged. Painful as it is, that takes up the final third of the book and left me, if not happy, satisfied that these two men may, over time, be able to heal each other.
On the whole, this is a book that made me think about some of the “automatic” knee-jerk reactions we have, even to situations that aren’t as clear cut as we would like them to be. A love-hate relationship is always difficult to understand, but this story valiantly tries. It is not a light read, and doesn’t gloss over any of the raw ugliness of hatred and anger on both sides. But if you are interested in a somewhat unusual look at forgiveness and how tough it can be to obtain, give this book a try. -
Absolutely amazing!
I really think Ms Blackwell did a fabulous job with portraing both Sean and Eden.
I dunno, maybe I've read different book or something, but I didn't see anything that might have implied Eden had somehow called the rape upon himself, or that he's been the one to blame or something equally ridiculous. The only person seriously saying that was Paul and it's obvious the guy had just lost it somewhere along the way, because I don't see any other reason for his violent reaction. I really wish we'd had a better insight in his psyche, because his motives weren't all that clear to me, but personally I think he subconsciously nurtured a crush on Sean, so he's been jealous of Eden, plus he'd had only seen the guilt-induced part of Sean's life, he'd seen him suffering, so maybe that's why he resented Eden so much from the start, which escalated dramatically as Sean and Eden's relationship progressed. Eden himself had said it was his fault, but that was obvious it's just part of his psychological trauma and no one took it seriously and sure not Sean.
I loved the premise of the story, because it's always fascinating for me to watch how such a horrendous crime could affect one of the participants. It's sadly obvious how it affects the victim, but for that to be a turning point for the assaulter, when he realises just what he's just done and is now forced to live almost two decades carrying this guilt - it was done very tactfully and realistically, imo. I also loved how Eden didn't act like a victim at first, putting on his bravado and provoking Sean, who's been wondering why Eden didn't look broken, but then he's got to see a glimpse of real Eden and it's all the more terrible, compared to his earlier flippant facade.
The whole progression of their relationship, the painful push and pull, the slow revealing of all the secrets and the final purge - that was so good, I couldn't put the book down. Breathtaking really.
The ending's been just right - I've read the sequel already, so I knew the guys will get their ultimate HEA (with a wedding, no less :)), but here we're left with the hopeful note which feels like a beginning of a road to recovery for both Eden and Sean. -
I tried to read Just Desserts and then this one, thinking I might appreciate the angsty story more if I first enjoyed the sweet one (yes, sorry, pun intended). I mean no disrespect to the author or her fans, as everyone has different tastes (thank goodness!) but clearly her books just don’t work for me.
I gave some real thought to why all four books I tried turned out to be DNFs, and perhaps the conclusion I reached might help explain the underlying difficulties with this book. Her characters struck me as over-the-top caricatures, not quite far enough for satire but too far to take seriously. And despite these being sold as romances, it was never clear to me why any of the couples were together beyond intense physical attraction.
On Marie Sexton’s blog, she says that One More Soldier was originally written by Ethan Stone. While it never quite worked for him, she was inspired, and after much discussion he gave her his blessing to make it her own. She went on to change it a lot; as I understand it mostly just the seed of the original story remained. I mention this because it shows how something that might not quite work for one author can be brilliant in the hands of another. Not that one author is better or worse than another (I love both Marie Sexton and Ethan Stone), but that it’s about having the right pairing of author and story.
I could see Into the Light being a wonderfully intense, beautiful, and cathartic story in the hands of someone like Amy Lane, ZA Maxfield, or KA Mitchell. With nuanced and realistic characters we’d be sympathetic rather than disgusted and/or contemptuous. If we saw on-page what they loved and found appealing about each other, a HEA would be believable and desirable. As has already been said several times, something this charged needs to be handled carefully; maybe Scarlet Blackwell just wasn’t quite the right author for this particular story. -
What is wrong with these people? There wasn't one character in this book with any redeeming qualities. None! The MCs were toxic. The best friend was absurd, and evil for no reason at all. The judge actually obstructed justice rather than enforced it. And everyone is an alcoholic. Ugh!
A cop who drinks and drives, and another cop who encourages him to do so? A cop who commits numerous acts of assault (pushing, shoving, dragging, brutal bicep grabbing), gay-bashing ("Why don't you get your fucking fag hands off me"), and public indecency (swimming in the nude, in broad daylight)? A man threatens a sheriff with a gun in front of a deputy and isn't arrested? A court trial with testimony that would never be admissible in the real world, where lawyers are allowed to pontificate while questioning a witness, and where the prosecution questions the defendant first?
And all of these things are beside the fact that every character in this book believes that the rape victim got what he deserved, what he wanted. There aren't enough italics in the world to emote my disgust.
But wait, there's more! Actually, there are so many things wrong about this book that I can't even list them without getting pissed off again, so I'll skip the rest. Wish I'd skipped this book.
I usually enjoy this author's work, and I have one more I've already purchased in my queue, but I think now I'll have to wait a little while for the memory of this to dim before I pick up another by her. -
It has taken me a while to figure out how to put my thoughts on this book down, and I am still not convinced that I can do this book any justice. The depth of which Scarlet takes her readers are apprehensively deep, majority of authors won’t even touch on events that transpired after the fact, let alone on page. Emotions were completely invested in the entire story, not exactly sure how to feel or who to feel for. Scarlet does an amazing job of handling the trauma with care, and not showing bias towards either character.
𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔩𝔦𝔡 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩 𝔬𝔣 𝔈𝔡𝔢𝔫’𝔰 𝔟𝔬𝔡𝔶 𝔞𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔱 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔪𝔞𝔡𝔢 𝔥𝔦𝔪 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔱𝔢.
Sean and Eden’s relationship was very complex, with a lot of hatred and animosity towards each other for similar yet different reasons. The traumatic experience forced upon Eden was horrendous, but Sean carried the guilt with him throughout the years that followed. Two men, completely in love, blinded by their differences, but don’t want to let the other go. This was a story of healing, overcoming, and finally realizing love was right in front of you the entire time. Kudos to Scarlet for taking a chance with these two very broken characters, I loved every minute of the story. -
OK. Well this is a VERY different book. I cannot say I like either MC at all - I don't even care too much for Eden frankly (the original victim). These characters have so many personality changes they should be dx with MPD. They are inconsistent -- and there really is no hero here. There is a victim - but sometimes he acts like an ass. I persevered and then hit a point where and Sean disconnects and it felt so damn odd. I suspect many will not engage with this one - I however MUST find out what happens in book #4 as this is not enough for me. I've got to see the wreckage.
I am treating this like something super dark - and not a romance. I'm hopeful that the characters have some epiphany in the future book followed by therapy. It's not that I want them together - but I want to see them healed. -
A coward bully
A self-destructive victim
A well-meaning friend
All these characters say and do things most of us couldn't understand or imagine as we are not in their shoes. But I couldn't help but feel for them. I liked that the ending was not a HEA given these circumstances.
My only con is that the story deserved to be less rushed.
A beautiful story.
