Book Description:
In Seamless, Stella has no choice but to step into the ring with someone who she once loved. It's a dirty fight that will take all she has. Will she do what it takes to win? Will she make it out alive?
You'll cheer her on until you realize all is not what it seems. Appearances can be deceiving.
Find it on Goodreads: https://www.
Our Review:
**ARC Received for honest review**
Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 Stars
“That may be an appropriate statement, because in order to look seamless, you must need to have an entire world of shit going on under the surface. I don’t see this seamless outside, but I’ll tell you I’ve never felt more lost inside.”
I honestly do not know where to start with this review. My emotions are all over the place, I am happy that Stella got her closure but I am pissed that this series is finished. It is one of those double edged swords…you want to know the end, but you don’t want it to be the end. I would be quite happy to read about this group in perpetuity, such is the connection that I have to this series and the characters in it.
Stella, she is absolutely, totally and utterly amazing. We all know the shit that she has been through in By A Thread and Tension and you know that Seamless is not going to be any different and oh my shit (as Stella would say) does she get it in spades. You are always wondering when Stella is going to catch a break but we know that with the threat of Jamie still hanging over her, it was not going to come anytime soon. This girl has been through the mill and then some, how she has come through it with her sanity intact will forever be a mystery but with the help of a therapist, George and her friends she is making great progress. For the majority of this book Stella really grew, she was becoming more assured of herself, despite the threats still lingering around. It isn’t until she is cruelly let down that she then takes a lot of steps back and regresses to the “old Stella.”
“Why keep putting yourself back together if you’re just going to keep breaking apart?”
Stella makes up her mind in this book, she wants her life back and she is going to do everything she can to achieve it, even if it makes her do some pretty hard and horrible things. I must say that some of the decisions that Stella makes during this journey brought me to my knees, literally. I had tears on tears. I was heart broken. I had to take a breather and regroup, message the author and tell her what a B she was and then got back to it. I have to applaud RL Griffin because she had the balls to go there even though it has probably decimated a lot of hearts in the process. It is a real I HATE YOU moment, but one that is typically Stella.
“Whatever happens, know that everything I’m doing is for you. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise, but know that you are the only one for me. That’s my forever.”
I really cannot go into details with this book, as you know from the series, the plot is intricate and complex and any slight discussions is going to give the game away so I have to keep my lips well and truly zipped with regards to this. Lets just say that it is a roller coaster ride, there are ups and downs, twists and turns, you are going to be scared witless and then relieved, you will be crushed and you will be slowly pieced back together again, it truly is one heck of a journey.
This book really hit me hard, as I said I above, things happened that really took my breath away and I was extremely conflicted, however RL Griffin certainly stayed true to Stella’s character and as this is Stella’s story I am totally supportive even though it darn near destroyed me.
The usual suspects all make appearances in this book, we have the gorgeous George who can totally do no wrong in my eyes. Millie, she is well…Millie…totally the best, best friend anyone could wish for and she is there for Stella as always. Jesse, friends to all and one to definitely have on side and he really does come through for them all once again in Seamless. Billy, well Billy is just Billy, he brings us the spells of entertainment but I am sure that there is a lot more to this character, I am sure we will find out when we get Patrick’s story. Which takes me to Patrick, we all know that he is Stella’s person, I was always a bit wary of his motives, especially in By A Thread and then when the shit hit the fan he went down in my estimations even though I knew why he did what he did. In this book, I fell in love with Patrick, I can’t wait to read his story, my heart broke over and over for him and I was totally crushed. He truly came through for Stella in this book, he went above and beyond, but what will the after effects be? Can Patrick come back from what went down in Seamless?
Stella and George, I love them both dearly. Do they deserve a HEA, yes they do. Am I happy the way it ended, Yes and No. But it was brilliantly written, totally captivating, engaging and totally and utterly unpredictable. RL Griffin certainly has the romantic suspense genre sussed and throughout the whole series I have been sucked in from the first page till the last.
This series is a must read, there is no other series in comparison, it is unique and one of a kind. I am so glad that I stumbled across By A Thread those many months ago and this series and these characters will forever hold a place dear in my heart. What a journey, what a climax and what an ending…RL Griffin, you certainly pulled it out the bag and whilst I have been put through the mill, it was worth every single minute, fantastic series, you should be so proud. I cannot wait to see what this author delivers next, whatever it is will be an auto 1click by me.
“Her love might not be perfect, but what love is?”
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Guest Post by RL Griffin
I'm asked routinely, which I think many authors are, about how I can write so "dark" or so emotionally. This is what I do, my craft, a talent that I was given that can be used to show people that have dealt with certain emotions they weren't alone and its okay to wallow in an emotion for a while.
Books are written to make you feel things, if you didn't feel anything then you wouldn't think it was a very good book, just like movies or TV shows. This means we take you to extremes, the extreme of a certain emotion. The extreme of love, the ecstasy of sex and the deep depth of pain... without those extremes it’s hard to move characters forward and that isn't very interesting.
I believe that Ernest Hemingway said it best when he said, "there is nothing to writing. You just sit at the typewriter and bleed." I think this is why I get this question so often. How could I write a character like Stella, who wallows in her loss for a year, without experiencing something...something?
My experience with loss started early. I lost both of my grandfathers before I was 13. This seemed to be a natural thing and I understood it, even if my Papa O was only 56 when he died. It was in high school when I really learned that life is fucking short, you could die any day and what were your last words to someone? Make sure you think about that.
In high school I remember my first 2:00 am call, it was a friend of mine since elementary school and she was dead. She'd been hit by a drunk driver. She was a beautiful, generous, caring person and one of the best people around, dead. Every night after that, I went to sleep dreading that call. Guess what, it happened 6 more times while I was in high school. One of my really good friends died in a car accident my senior year of high school and I couldn't get through it. I couldn't. I kept a picture of him on the dash of my car well into college. I saw his parents...there are no words to describe the parents of these 7 kids.
So that was my perspective going in to college, life was tenuous. At any moment you could lose everything. I was cautious, until I wasn't. This is the time where I felt everything. I felt the pain of someone extremely close to me die. The ripping feeling when your reality is pulled out from under you. The needle of trying to live when someone you cared about wasn't living. I had insomnia for about 8 months and turned to all the things you turn to when you can't deal with what is happening in your life. It was one of the worst feelings I'd ever had and I felt this helplessness where I honestly didn't know if I would come out the other side.
Every February 18, I remember him and the pain is fresh again, just for that day. I have a tattoo for him, so every time I see it I remember him.
These things changed my perspective on life in general, but especially about living every day without regrets. Going full fucking throttle through life and if you fuck up, own it and move on. I look back on my high school and freshman year of college and they were shrouded in black, grey and loss. I do use those experiences to write real feelings of characters, are they my feelings...I don't know, probably. Things get dark every once and a while for everyone. I want to show you that when that light comes, don't look away, embrace it. Own your pain and let it make you into a stronger person. If you are going through something that you don't think you will get through, you will. It doesn't matter how you get through it; just get there.
About the RL:
R.L. resides in the Atlanta area with her husband, son and two dogs. She was born and raised in the South. She attended Georgia Southern University and moved to Washington, D.C. to intern in the United States Senate during the impeachment trial. Falling in love with the city, she went to law school at American University, Washington College of Law. By a Thread is R.L.’s second book, but is the first in a series of books.
@RLGriffinauthor
Tour Giveaway:
Thank you so much Donna for this wonderful review. It's so perfect.
ReplyDeleteNot yet read but I'm planning too. :) Great blog post Donna! <3
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't read any of the BY A THREAD trilogy yet, thank you for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteRaffle name: Demitra Giote
Haven't read yet but want to :)
ReplyDeleteKim
kgholliday@yahoo.com
Haven't read any but am certainly going to!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of these books but I would love to......thanks for the giveaway :-)
ReplyDelete