Book Review — The Contradiction of Solitude by A. Meredith Walters

“I wondered about the scars. I wondered about his false smiles.
I wondered about Elian Beyer and his many, many secrets.”

• Buy THE CONTRADICTION OF SOLITUDE (Kindle)

NOTE: This book is a psychological thriller, not a romance.

Holy wow, this was DARK and TWISTED!!! But also unputdownable. My mind was spinning in a thousand directions, coming up with endless theories, as I tried to figure out what would happen next.

I want you to know up front that this book is not at all like any of the other ones I usually read and review. Not at all. It’s outside the box. Waaaaaaaay way way outside the box. But, I was in the mood for something just totally and completely different than my usual. Sometimes you just need that, and this book gave me exactly that. It was dark and twisted, the ending was shocking, and my expression after finishing the book was pretty much just this, BUT the writing was absolutely incredible — I’m really, WOW!!!! — and the story was unique and thrilling so I’m really glad I gave it a shot (even though I still do wish it could have had a different ending…. my romantic heart is programmed to wish for that. I can’t help it).

This is a spoiler-free review. I’m not going to give anything away regarding the plot but I will say this: if you’re a romance reader and you’re going to read this, you’ll have to throw all of your “rules” right out the window, okay? Even though there is a love story in this, remember that this is a psychological thriller. That genre is completely and totally different. So just keep that in mind always, and you’ll be fine.

Guys, the writing was STUNNING and utterly captivating. I honestly can’t praise the writing highly enough. This book was truly a work of art. I have countless passages in my book highlighted!

“Her eyes gave her away. Dark and wide and bottomless. Coal black. They were sad and devoid of light. But I knew there was a soul inside there somewhere.
Or at least I hoped so.”

What’s the story about? Hmmm, I’m reluctant to tell you more than the blurb. In fact, I strongly suggest that you don’t go trying to find out what it’s about in advance of reading. If you’re intrigued, just dive in. Here’s a part from the blurb…

You may notice me, but you will never know me. I prefer it that way.
I am the daughter of a monster…
But Elian tells me that I’m different.
He tells me that I’m beautiful… that he loves me.
These words terrify me.
I can’t trust love.
Or hope.
Or truth.
Because I fear the beast inside.
It threatens to drown Elian and his sweet, unconditional love.
It’s a beast that will destroy everything.

So many different possibilities raced through my head as I read. At first I had no idea what to think, then I was sure it was one thing, then absolutely positive it was something else… my theories kept changing until I finally settled on one I was sure was right. Turns out, I was almost right in the end.

A lot of people liked him.
But they didn’t know him.
But I would know him. He wanted me to. With every discreet glance and every subtle touch, he pulled me closer.
I drew him in.
We were falling… falling… collapsing into each other.

Then as I read more, I began to get seriously creeped the hell out. Like really! But I was also strangely fascinated. This book really highlights how many different sides a person can have. And how vastly different the person they really are on the inside can be from the persona that they show the world. The dark secrets that stay hidden can be terrifying. And twisted.

Fuck the universe.
Fuck fate.
Fuck whatever gods threw that beautiful, beautiful woman in my path and made me love her. She was everything I longed for. She was everything I had ever desired. She was complicated. She was a mystery. She was depth and intensity behind coal black eyes.

I… I don’t even know what to say about the ending. I don’t want to give anything away, but I want to be sure you know what to expect. It is a standalone — no cliffhanger. But it was a very hard ending for my romantic heart to accept, especially when another possibility was so easily within reach. I can’t really fault the book though because a) I was warned in the blurb, and b) the ending makes total sense given that this book is a thriller.

It’s dark and twisted.
D a r k     a n d    t w i s t e d.
DARK — AND — TWISTED.

Okay?

Be warned. Be prepared. And, if you’re feeling brave (and open-minded)… dive in!

Standalone dark psychological thriller (not romance).
No cliffhanger. Contemporary (not paranormal).

Note: I didn’t rate it on purpose. I have no idea how to rate a story like this, but that’s not at all a bad thing. The writing was utterly amazing. The story was captivating. But … I’m torn up about the ending because of the reasons I explained above. Sometimes its too hard to quantify my emotions down to a single number, but that’s okay! Hopefully the review will give you enough to go on.

• Buy THE CONTRADICTION OF SOLITUDE (Kindle)