I’ve been a die-hard fan of Rachel van Dyken ever since RUIN. It’s one of the very first NA novels I’ve read so it’s no wonder that this series is very close to my heart. RvD captured my heart with RUIN, gripped me tighter with TOXIC, and still kept pulling me under with FEARLESS.
I was afraid to read SHAME because Lisa isn’t really one of my favorite characters in the first two-and-a-half books. I guess, in my mind, the books preceding SHAME set the bars so high that I didn’t know how RvD would top them.
I’m not disappointed with how SHAME turned out but I’m not totally pleased either. I’m still on the fence whether I want to love it or not so let’s just give it…
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Synopsis:
Everything done in darkness, will eventually be brought into the light.
I ran, but all it did was keep me one step ahead of my past. I tried to start over; new name, new identity. But you can't change your soul.
A fresh start at college was just what I needed. For a while, it worked. I was the party girl, the one that seemed confident, but it was a lie.
When guys kissed me--I felt only pain.
When they touched me--Nothing but fear.
Deep inside, every girl wants to be the beauty in the story, to find someone that will see you as their world.
But the truth? I was the beast. And as much as I wanted redemption, I wasn't fool enough to think I'd ever get it.
Until he walked into my life.
I wasn't prepared to fall for someone. My scars were too deep, the wounds too raw. But he offered me peace, he offered me security. I should have known it was just another lie--I should have known that falling in love with my professor was a bad idea.
But I was powerless to stop myself from falling.
And he was powerless to catch me.
Because the darkness finally caught up to me, and as fate would have it, a cruel twist almost bled me dry. But I'm stronger than I knew. I'm stronger than you think.
You think you know my story, but you don't....after all everyone has Shame in their lives-- and I'm no longer afraid to show you mine.