Crossed

This is the 5th book in the Never After series that I have read and the fifth one that I have given 5 stars!!!! Cade and Amaya had so much tension, and Cade was so determined to NOT be with Amaya. This is definitely a slow burn, but worth the wait went that tension breaks. Cade is a priest and gets assigned to a church that is a replica of Notre Dame, but it is in America. Cade has things from his past that haunt him, which cause him to think he needs to rid people of their demons by killing them. Amaya is a young woman who is raising her little brother after their mother, who is a terrible person, leaves them. Amaya's brother, Quinten, has a learning disability and requires a lot of therapy and care and the other kids in town make fun of him a lot. The town does not like Amaya because of her mother. When Cade first sees Amaya, it is while she is dancing in a strip club; and he falls for her that moment, but knows he cannot give in to his temptations since he is a priest. Amaya does not know who Cade is when she first meets him, but is attracted to him from the beginning. Once she finds out he is a priest, she tries to keep her distance from him, but these two cannot stay away. Amaya and Cade start spending more and more time together, at the church, but also while he watches her through her window at night. They keep getting pulled back to each other, even when they know they shouldn't. When they finally give in to each other, its game over; they know they are meant to be at that point. I know this trope of a priest falling in love has been done a few times, but it is still a great trope. And this story was so freaking good. I just love Emily McIntire's writing style. Emily keeps you engaged with the story and obsessed with characters throughout the whole book. Now, I am off to read Hexed, the final book in this series.

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review. Book Evaluation: Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️ World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎 Cover:📔📔📔📔📔 Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻 Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️ Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒 Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞 Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂 Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖📖 Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧 Overall View: ✨✨✨✨ First Impressions Crossed is the fifth installment in the "Never After" series and I absolutely had a blast with this one here. This is a story that features two characters that are so different and you would never think that they would be a good match, but this author somehow makes it work. There is plenty of taboo's in this book, so please check the trigger/content warnings before moving forward with this one. It has some aspects to the story that just won't be for everyone. Move forward at your own risk. I however, adore how this author writes romance, she has blended dark with fractured fairy tale retellings so very well. I was very curious how she would do a "Frollo and Esmeralda" retelling and I definitely got a kick out of this one, but it was far different than I actually expected it to be. First Line Festivale, Vermont, Looks different in the dead of night. The Main Protagonists The Hero: Cade Cade is self abusive, a priest and a holy man. He was raised in Paris and abused as a child by a servant in the church. There is a mental illness he suffers from. The Heroine: Amaya Amaya, is guardian over her younger brother who has his own share of struggles. She is forced to pay money to her mothers pimp of sorts when she abandoned them. And to keep the lights on and pay the medical bills, she is a stripper. But is longing for more in her life. Summary When Father Cade comes to town, he is determined to rid any evil in the town. He has a darkness that spreads in him to get rid of evil. But there is a temptation he finds in a stripper club where he finds Esmeralda, who is a exotic dancer and tempts him for things he must deny himself. But when he finds out she is the same woman as Amaya, he is determined to do more than destroy her....he wants her for himself. But there is a unknown factor dealing with the villain of the story.. But when Amaya ends up in trouble for something she didn't do, she is forced to go to the devil for help, but the only one that can be her savior is Father Cade and his form of justice... What I Loved This book totally swept me away immediately. I am not sure why I put it off for so long. I knew I would need to be in the right mood for this and I knew that this would be religiously taboo (not that I am Catholic, so I personally don't understand many of the taboo elements but I am a Christian) and I have to say that this author really pushed my boundaries on this one. I wasn't sure how this retelling would actually happen, but man the retelling aspects were just perfect. But don't expect it to be a strict retelling, but the connections that we see to the original tale was so delightful! There are definitely darker themes in this one, some themes that even pushed my boundaries and its rare to come against a dark romance that really makes me struggle. But some of the actions of the hero was even a bit much even for me. There is also so many forbidden themes to this story. Some aspects totally worked for me and other aspects really pushed my buttons and not necessarily in a good way. This author really wrote this story in such complexity that just clicked in the good and sensually bad ways we all love to see in this author. I really felt for the heroine though. She is just trying to survive and her poor brother. Man my heart went out to this kid. Who had some type of mental illness, not sure what exactly it was, but he seemed to be on the spectrum a bit and what she is willing to sacrifice for her 7 year old brother just broke my heart. I loved what a great mother she is to this child who needs so much love and support. The third act of the story was the most conflicting and yet the way it ends here was so satisfying. What I Struggled With There were some factors I really struggled with. The hero is a bit too anti hero even for me. The scene in the beginning was one I battled with the most. How the hero pushes the heroine away when she really needs help and doesn't see that. He sees all the little details, so I wasn't a fan on how that scene played out. I know why the author did it that way though, so that she would go to her mother's pimp and the one who has control over the town but still it was hard to see how that scene played out. The hero is one that hurts himself (like you know the scene in the Da Vinci Code where the holy man whips himself? Yeah he does that and it wasn't really fleshed out) I am not sure even if the heroine finds out or if she does we don't get that scene and I would have loved to see her helping him heal from that type of self abuse or help him understand himself more where that is concerned. Overall View Crossed is a dark and edgy romance that will push boundaries, have you feeling all the taboo vibes but delivering a satisfying romance that you will want to cheer these two on despite your reservations! Book Details (also in my shelves) Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance Character Types: Priest, Exotic Dancer, Anti Hero Themes: Kids/Teens, Small Town, Taboo, Stalking, Dirty Talkin', Bullying Tropes: Forbidden Love, Sex Worker with a Heart of Gold Book Perspective DUO Pov Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict A blend of both Song This Book Inspires Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine Recommendation For Reading Order You can read as a standalone

I've read all the books of the Never After series. Sometimes it's difficult to sympathize with the villain, they are too much, but the majority of time I usually do. Crossed get quite 'butchery' in the end, unexpected final.

¡La saga de Never After es adictiva y MARAVILLOSA! Y Crossed no decepciona. La historia de Amaya y Cade es 🔥🔥🔥 y los plot twist son geniales. El libro te mantiene pegada a las páginas de principio a fin.

Bra

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This series.. I am telling you all, it's a banger. Each and every book in this series do not disappoint. Crossed was interesting and unique in the story idea where monsters and saint inside us collide. I loved everything Cade and especially Amaya, she is so strong and that just makes her more beautiful.