Review ~ Relentless (Shattered Hearts #1) by Cassia Leo

ebook received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: 19th December 2013

Publisher: Random House UK, Transworld Publishers

Description:
Claire Nixon is a twenty-year-old college dropout with a secret she’ll never tell. Then she meets sexy Adam Parker. Claire knows the flirting is harmless, but guys like Adam mean trouble. Then a seemingly innocent comment spurs a bet between them: if Adam can get Claire to reveal the secret that made her leave her college and her life behind, she has to re-enroll. 

Claire’s sure she can win. She's perfected the art of forgetting her past. But she isn't prepared for Adam's relentless pursuit, and she's definitely not prepared when her first love, rock-star Chris Knight – and her heartbreaking secret ­– comes banging down her door.

My Opinion

When I saw all three books up on NetGalley I couldn't resist requesting them all. I was so sure I was going to like book one that there was no question in my mind about wanting to read the next two. And you know what? I was right. Relentless was a brilliant read that I couldn't put down. In fact, rather than write this review last night, I moved straight onto  reading book 2, which kept me up until 3am (I decided I needed at least a few hours of sleep by that point).

Anyway, back to Relentless...

Relentless was a sweet yet tortured book about Claire struggling with her decisions made in her past. I thought the author captured her emotions extremely well and created a character that you not only sympathised with but connected with as well and grow to love. I liked that Claire wasn't whiny about her past. She suffered because of it but her stubbornness to keep it to herself so that people didn't think bad of her made her realistic and an appealing character to read about. The fact that we don't know what she has done adds to the engaging story as her emotions build it up as I couldn't begin to think up what she could have done to feel so bad. 

I loved the author's use of flashbacks with Claire to drop hints about her past. I have read a lot of books that this happens in so I've seen it done brilliantly and poorly. It's safe to say that Cassia Leo did a great job. They were dispersed throughout the novel and cleverly linked to the events taking place. For once I feel they added to the story rather than break up the flow. 

As well as this I loved Adam. He wasn't as fearful of his past like Claire but he too has his own issues. However, unlike Claire he comes across as sweet and gentle (when not angry) and so caring towards Claire that you just can't help but like him. His corny joke telling was a nice addition too. I will admit a few of them took me a few minute to understand as they probably work better spoken than read but they were nice ice/tension breakers.

Their relationship was realistic and I believed in it. It's one of those relationships you can't help but get drawn into and engage with the characters wholeheartedly. I was invested in the relationship and you just can't help but hope for the best. Everything develops realistically and the build up was great.

When everything was revealed, I did find myself slightly surprised. Normally it's obvious what a character has done but Cassia Leo did a great job of concealing Claire's secret-there were so many options I didn't bother to guess so I liked that I had that surprise.

If there is one thing I didn't like about this book it was the chapter titles which is probably me being picky. Each chapter started with Relentless followed by another word e.g Relentless emotions, relentless secrets, relentless desire. I just found it a little cheesy and would have rather not have had titles. That's my only issue though and it does nothing to detract from the book.

Overall, Relentless is a quick, engaging read that I couldn't stop reading. It doesn't leave you on a cliffhanger but it does suggest how the next book is going to go (I guessed right, I'm reading it now). I would definitely recommend this book.

4.5