Review ~ Insidious (Tales From the Dark Side, #1) by Aleatha Romig

Reviewed by Donna ~ 4.5 Stars

insidious

adjective

1.  
2. intended to entrap or beguile: an insidious plan.
3. stealthily treacherous or deceitful: an insidious enemy.
4. operating or proceeding in an inconspicuous or seemingly harmless way but actually with grave effect: an insidious disease.

We know that Aleatha Romig can write a book, hell, she wrote the Consequences series and made me love Antony Rawlings and that was no mean feat. So, I was going into this expecting a good book that was thrilling, suspenseful, shocking and where nothing is as it seems and that is exactly what I got. I had been itching to start this one and when it came to the top of the pile it was a case of “at last.” It had been hell staying away from spoilers and reviews; I always try to go in blind and knew that would have to be the case for this one. It demanded it and I highly recommend it.

 

Victoria Conway was a bit of a naïve eighteen year old woman who was just about to graduate. Her mother and step-father had demanded that she keep an appointment they had set up for her with “The Stewart Harrington.” Even though she has little to no relationship with her mother or step father curiosity gets the better of her and she decides to go and see why this appointment was so important.

 

Stewart Harrington was a multi-millionaire, a lot older than Victoria and he was a widow. He kept himself fit and in top shape and was still devastatingly handsome. It turns out that he is helping her step-father and mother with some unsavoury business and needs her 100% co-operation. There is a contract involved, we all know Aleatha LOVES her contracts!! Will Victoria sign? This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship and the start of a new life for her, her sister and half-brothers or is this contract not at all what it seems? Could this be the start of something else altogether?

 

“The world you’re entering is full of piranhas. One day you’ll be able to swim without me, but in the meantime, I’ll be glad to help you grow your teeth.”

 

I have to warn you, you will need to put aside a good few hours when you start this book because you will not want to put it down. From the first to last word I was totally sucked in to this story. It grabs you from the start and your head will be going a mile a minute trying to piece together every clue and come up with all kinds of theories, some of which may be right but I can guarantee that most of them won’t be.

 

“I’ve learned my lessons well and played my role. No longer willing to be a victim, today I’m insidious.”

 

This book is action packed and you will need to concentrate if you want to get the most out of it. Aleatha weaves a plot that is so full of layers, suspense, angst and intrigue that it demands your total and utter dedication. I found myself going through so many conflicting emotions and allegiances. As I said nothing is at it seems and it is the power of the prose that draws you into this dark and erotic suspenseful thriller. Cleverly formulated, this plot will have you asking so many questions, some of which are answered and some which are left to your imagination. The trouble is though, is that these characters get under your skin, I found myself thinking about this for hours and hours, trying to piece together what I had just read. My thoughts were conflicted, there are people that should be deemed the “bad guys” but once you have had time to digest, you actually end up feeling sorry for them and trying to quantify their actions. On the flip side though, you find yourself thinking that actually “the good guys” were not actually that good either.

 

“My fucking contract is complete, but yours with the devil has just begun.”

 

It is this careful web of deceit and lies that has you questioning your own sanity at times and the sanity of the characters that you are reading about. I have to say that this is an ingenious piece of writing and for those that loved The Consequences Series, you will not be disappointed. Pieces of the puzzle are slowly revealed throughout the book and leave you frantically putting them together. The last line of this book is “killer” and so apt for the way that this book was crafted. While the end won’t be for everyone, I can appreciate what the author has done and she has made it a certainty that it won’t be a book you forget in a hurry. Kudos to Aleatha Romig, I got hardly any sleep last night.

 

“Nod if you understand…”