PLOT: 3.5/5 CHARACTERS: 4/5 WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5 CLIMAX: 3/5 ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5
My musings
Who doesn’t love an interesting cover? Despite an overused phrase claiming otherwise, the first impression of any book is more or less created by its cover. When I first saw the cover of Love to Hurt You, I was quite intrigued by it.
The cover is what made me pick the book and dig into its mystery right away. This is a book that tempts and lures the reader from the very start but does it deliver what it promises? Read on to know more about my thoughts on the book and about my experience of reading it.
What to expect?
Expect a book that is written in a simple language. Expect a book that has a little dose of erotica in it. Expect a book that is easy, fast-paced and is a quick read – one that might only be meant for beginner level readers. Finally, expect a book that tells us an intriguing story of greed, lust, and addiction.
Who can read?
Owing to its simple language, the book can be easily picked up by a beginner level reader.
Let’s talk about the storyline
Love to Hurt You is the story of three entirely different and unusual characters.
Sasha, the billionaire wife is bored and hungry for love. She likes to overpower her lovers and bring them to their knees. She likes to hurt them where it pains the most and she can be very nasty and even evil. In short, she lives for power.
Maya, the lonely teenager is an author by accident. She grieves the loss of her love and refuses to come out of her dark inner world. She is haunted by the demons of her past and is struggling to keep up with reality.
Garun is the ultimate Casanova. He is fueled by his greed for money and his lust for carnal pleasures. Conniving and scheming are what he is best at. He is ready to do whatever it takes to achieve his dreams.
When their worlds collide, their lives are thrown into a whirlwind but not everyone will come out of it unscathed. Who will perish and who will survive? All the answers lie in this tantalizing tale of greed, lust, and addiction.
How good are the characters?
The characters are by far the most outstanding part of the book. They are intriguing, dynamic and more often than not magnanimous. Even the much humble Maya is a character who manages to create an aura of reverence around her – if not because of her actions than at least because of her achievements.
Sasha and Garun are a different story altogether. They are both greedy for power and this greed drives them to take extreme measures. They both have a certain larger-than-life charm about them that is hard to resist.
What about the author’s writing style?
I like the terse and abrupt narratives and also the intense foreshadowing that the author makes use of. It adds to that vibe of ominous foreboding that keeps the suspense up at all points of time.
The writing is fast-paced and racy. The plot is tantalizing and the characters dynamic, but what the book lacks is a semblance of order. Individually, both the characters and the stories are great but when woven together as a cohesive whole, something seems to be amiss.
The coming together of Maya, Garun and Sasha’s worlds isn’t as flawless as I would have liked it to be. And that is my biggest qualm with the book.
What did I like?
I like that there is an underlying moral at the end of the story. It isn’t hard to get and is something that one would rarely expect in such a book. But nevertheless, there it is – subtle, understated and yet powerful.
What did I not like?
There is an excessive amount of sexually explicit scenes throughout the book. These scenes are often too violent and gory for my liking. I do understand that they are integral to the plot but as a reader, I find them a bit gruesome for my liking.
How good is the climax?
The climax is somewhat predictable. Though the reader doesn’t get an inkling right until the latter half of the book, a faint idea of what would soon conspire isn’t difficult to guess. The thing that I like about the climax is that it comes with a sense of poetic justice and manages to bring closure (if only half-hearted) to the story of the three main characters. Unlike many other thrillers these days, it doesn’t leave you with unanswered questions.
It all boils down to the entertainment quotient
The book does not lack in entertainment. A good amount of layering and new twists and turns introduced at regular intervals manage to create a decent mystery and a sense of foreboding. This, in turn, is enough to keep the reader hooked on to the three characters and their fates.
In the end
In the end, Love to Hurt You is a book that tells us a tale of lust, greed, and power. Written in an easy and simple language, it touches upon many different themes all at once. With a dynamic cast of characters, narratives laced with erotica, an overall aura of mystery and thrill, and a pace that is racy and eager – Love to Hurt You is a book that is bound to find appeal with beginners who enjoy erotic thrillers.
The final verdict
It can be read!
Pick it up
- If you are just getting into reading novels especially thrillers.
- If you are looking for an easy and quick read.
- If you are a beginner level reader.
- If you don’t mind books that have violence and goriness.
- If you like books that have a generous sprinkling of erotica.
Skip it
- If you are looking for a five-star entertainer.
- If you are a voracious reader of mysteries and thrillers.
- If you are not a beginner level reader.
- If you are looking for a serious read.
- If you are below 18 years of age.
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