Saturday, December 23, 2017

Beautiful Survivors (Five Forgotten Souls #1) by C.M. Stunich

Beautiful Survivors (Five Forgotten Souls, #1)Source: KindleUnlimited.

Beautiful Survivors (Five Forgotten Souls #1) by C.M. Stunich


Five forgotten souls.
All of us misfits, outcasts, throwaways.
Orphans.
But me and my four best friends, we're family.
These boys, they make the group home we live in bearable.
They're my family, almost like brothers.
Except...I don't want them to be my brothers.

I want them to be my boyfriends.
Only, I can't decide on just one.

Everything changes the night we decide to escape.
Just the five of us on the run, five teens alone in the city.
Nash. Gunner. Maddox. Hitch.
And me, Merit Burden.
Falling in love wrapped in the gritty arms of reality.
Poverty, danger, uncertainty.
And the only way we can tackle it is together.

BEAUTIFUL SURVIVORS (Book #1 in the Five Forgotten Souls Trilogy) - a full-length novel with no cliff-hanger and a happily ever after waiting at the end of the trilogy. This is a reverse harem story (one girl with four love interests aka MFMM romance) set in the new adult/young adult genre with steamy scenes best suited for ages 18+.





I read and adored Stunich's Rock Hard Beautiful trilogy earlier this year, so when I came across this reverse harem on KindleUnlimited I was excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, this series isn't off to a good start with me. 

I think my biggest problem was the length of the book. The description clearly says it's a full-length novel...but it's not even 200 pages. Which would be fine if these less than 200 pages contained an entire story. But it's really just the beginning. We got introduced to the characters, we got shown their situation, and then we made it to their inciting incident that will spur on whatever comes next -- but that was it. It was the START of a book, portrayed as if it were a book in and of itself. And I find that so frustrating.

Why do I find it frustrating? A few reasons. First of all, the description said it's a full length novel with no cliff-hanger. So I was sitting down to read that -- but it was a lie. Second of all, this book is essentially my least favorite part of any book -- the exposition. I love characters and their stories, but I hate having to wade through getting set up in the world in order for things to really get going. And third of all, I was left in a place where I'm somewhat interested in the characters, but I definitely don't like them all. So the entire book left me with a mad taste in my mouth.

Also, let me point out something: there IS, in fact, a cliff-hanger. 

Sigh. That said, this intro to the series did pique my interest and I will most likely pick up book two...at some point after it releases. But I'm not exactly jumping to do it. However, I have to give credit where credit is due and I really like the premise and two of the characters (Gunner and Maddox). I also loved how tight-knit Merit and the guys were. I have high hopes for where their relationship will progress! 

Overall, this was a decent beginning to a story, but as a novel by itself I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd have liked. I will be continuing the series, however, and I look forward to seeing more of my faves Gunner and Maddox.


3 stars - Somewhat disappointing, but I liked the bond between the characters and I'm interested enough to continue the series.

1 comment:

  1. I really liked the setting of the book -- kids in a group home -- because one of my dearest friends is a caregiver at a group home here. However, the fact that this girl was torn between the "brothers" and wanted them to be her boyfriends....in 200 pages...I don't think I'd be able to finish this one.

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