FicWishes: Rest in Pieces - Melissa's Review of HEAR ME by Viv Daniels

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Rest in Pieces - Melissa's Review of HEAR ME by Viv Daniels

Title: Hear Me
Author: Viv Daniels
Publisher: Word for Wrod
Publication Date: 11/14/14
Source: ARC from the author

Synopsis:

Listen… the bells have stopped ringing.

Once upon a time, Ivy belonged to Archer, body, heart, and soul. They spent long summer days exploring the forest, and long summer nights exploring each other. But that was before dark magic grew in the depths of the wilderness, and the people of Ivy’s town raised an enchanted barrier of bells to protect themselves from the threat, even though it meant cutting off the forest people—and the forest boy Ivy loved—forever.

And there’s a naked man lying in the snow.

Three years later, Ivy keeps her head down, working alone in her tea shop on the edge of town and trying to imagine a new future for herself, away from the forest and the wretched bells, and the memory of her single, perfect love. But in the icy heart of winter, a terrifying magic blooms—one that can reunite Ivy and Archer, or consume their very souls.

Warm up this winter with a sexy, paranormal New Adult romance from Viv Daniels. Contains magic spells, true love, and the hottest scene ever set in a greenhouse. Not meant for readers under 18.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7241888.Viv_Daniels

I really enjoyed reading Hear Me, although it wasn't anything like I had anticipated. The book was really well written, very clean grammatically, and I found the premise very interesting.

That being said, I should tell you that I pretty much always struggle while reading novellas, as I am often left with unanswered questions and generally wanting more from the story. My experience with Hear Me felt akin to looking through a scope at a subject, and being unable to get a clear view of anything surrounding it.

The setting descriptions were beautiful, and I could see it pretty clearly, but some of the character descriptions were a little vague for my tastes. Archer was described very well, but I found myself struggling to picture Ivy throughout the entire story. And I found it strange that almost all of her childhood memories surrounded her and Archer's physical relationship, and that she never talked about any detailed memories of her mother or even her father and Archer spending time together with her. That could've been because the story was shorter, too.

Overall, I really liked this story. I wish I could dive into Viv's mind and see every single detail about her forest folk. I would've loved to know more about their abilities and such, but this truly is a beautiful story and very well written. I also liked that it wasn't primarily a holiday story, if that makes sense? It takes place during the colder months, right around the Winter Solstice, but there isn't a particular holiday theme to it, so you can cozy up with this tale anytime and feel right at home. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!

3¾ Stars!