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BOOK ONE
Title: The Replacement
Author: Rachael Wade
Series: The Replacement #1
Publication Date: January 27th 2014
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary
BLURB
*Contains sexually explicit content and mature subject matter, including language and elements of abuse.*
A gritty New Adult drama about a young woman’s self-destructive quest to find purpose, self-worth, and love in a broken world.
My name is Elise Duchamp. I’m twenty-three years old and I’m known as the town whore.
No, not the kind who exchanges sexual favors for money. The other kind. The kind who gives it all away for free, whenever and however she likes. I am that girl. The one everyone whispers about and the one none of the girls seem to like, because all of their boyfriends either want to sleep with me or already have. Promiscuity is my thing—the kind that slowly, violently turns my insides black, but gives me something I need.
All things considered, I’m not completely reckless. I’m safe, and contrary to popular opinion, I do have a heart. I live in a world of careless choices, and with those choices come careless people. I cannot judge them, because I am one of them. I too bow down to the altar of the self-serving. I am not a good friend. I am not and never could be anyone’s girlfriend. I’m convinced any goodness in me shriveled up and died long ago.
But I am a replacement. That is something I know how to be, and this is a story of the lengths I’d go to in order to keep it that way.
Review
Elise Duchamp's mother always taught her daughter that "beauty is power" and this is the mantra by which Elise chooses to live her life. Elise enjoys sex and uses her beauty to fulfil her physical and emotional needs, regardless of the morality of the situation. If The Replacement's main character had been a promiscuous male we would never hear names like 'whore' and 'slut' spoken by the residents of Gig Harbour.
The Replacement is an emotional book which will provoke an individual response from a reader, depending on their personal circumstances. Elise is self-destructive, plagued by "daddy-issues" and a low self-esteem. We follow her journey, continually hoping that Elise will realise she is worth the love being offered to her, both romantic and familial.
There was a point in The Replacement when I felt that Ryder's attraction towards Elise was a flawed as Tim's, Christian's and Nate's. Yet the relationship between Ryder and Elise moves past its initial lust to a point where he is ready to accept her and her past, unconditionally.
The book's final chapter is perhaps the most intense, but in my opinion the unnecessary epilogue detracts from this, although it does close the curtain firmly on Elise's story.
I would recommend The Replacement, especially for its emotional quality and Rachael Wade's ability to force us to consider our attitudes towards those who make different life-choices than the majority.
Rating:
NOVELLA
Title: The Prisoner
Author: Rachael Wade
Series: The Replacement #1.5
Publication Date: July 24th 2014
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary
BLURB
***THE PRISONER is a novella (approx. 25,000 words) intended to be read AFTER The Replacement. Contains explicit material and language.***
My name is Christian Walker, and Elise Duchamp is my drug of choice.
No matter how hard I try to break the habit, it’s a lost cause. Okay, maybe I haven’t really tried to quit this particular habit. All I can think about is owning her. Making her mine. Can you really blame me? With that sinful body, luscious mouth, and wicked tongue, she’s every man’s dream, and she knows it.
No one is immune to her charm, not even me, a man who has everything—a beautiful wife, an office with a view, and more money than most people can spend in one lifetime. Only I know how to make her toes curl. Only I know her body better than the other men she screws in her free time. None of them can compare to me.
But the joke is on me. I’m the prisoner.
The one who will never compare to him. The one man who makes me see red. His name is stored in her cell phone. It’s the first one she calls out to, the first one she cries for when all hell breaks loose. Ryder Jacobson.
The name makes me cringe.
She loves him, and I love her. In my own way, I always will. But the bad guy doesn’t always belong with the bad girl. Sometimes the bad girl needs a good man to believe in her, to give her that final push toward ultimate transformation. I wish I was that good man. That I could be her happily ever after. I guess that’s the thing about prisoners, though. They’re left alone with their torment, and in the end, they have no one to blame but themselves.
No matter how hard I try to break the habit, it’s a lost cause. Okay, maybe I haven’t really tried to quit this particular habit. All I can think about is owning her. Making her mine. Can you really blame me? With that sinful body, luscious mouth, and wicked tongue, she’s every man’s dream, and she knows it.
No one is immune to her charm, not even me, a man who has everything—a beautiful wife, an office with a view, and more money than most people can spend in one lifetime. Only I know how to make her toes curl. Only I know her body better than the other men she screws in her free time. None of them can compare to me.
But the joke is on me. I’m the prisoner.
The one who will never compare to him. The one man who makes me see red. His name is stored in her cell phone. It’s the first one she calls out to, the first one she cries for when all hell breaks loose. Ryder Jacobson.
The name makes me cringe.
She loves him, and I love her. In my own way, I always will. But the bad guy doesn’t always belong with the bad girl. Sometimes the bad girl needs a good man to believe in her, to give her that final push toward ultimate transformation. I wish I was that good man. That I could be her happily ever after. I guess that’s the thing about prisoners, though. They’re left alone with their torment, and in the end, they have no one to blame but themselves.
Review
"Love propels you to change, because love is evolution. Obsession shackles you into repeating the same pattern over and over, until it drives you both mad. Sometimes they go hand in hand, but at least this time I know the difference."The Prisoner is an unusual book, Rachael Wade choosing to tell Christian's story, who had a secondary role in The Replacement as one of Elise's lovers. Although I would have preferred to read a novella concentrating on Ryder, Christian is an intriguing character whose addiction to Elise and their physical relationship, changes him in unexpected ways.
After reading The Replacement we know that Christian is married and in The Prisoner we see that Elise is not his only mistress. Christian is arrogant, rich and likes to dominate situations, but the more he meets with Elise, the deeper he becomes involved, handing her the control. By his own admission he wants to possess her entirely, but she refuses to engage in 'pillow talk', preferring to keep their relationship purely physical.
Christian's development is slow and his catalysts for this are Ryder and the events with his wife, which we witnessed during The Replacement, but he exhibits a potential 'nice guy' attitude towards the end of The Prisoner, leaving us with a satisfied smile.
This novella is a must for any fan of The Replacement!
Rating:
About the Author
Rachael Wade is the Amazon bestselling author of The Preservation Series, The Resistance Trilogy, and the upcoming sci-fi series, The Keepers Trilogy. When she’s not writing, she’s busy learning French, watching too many movies, and learning how to protect animals and the environment.
This sounds like an emotional roller coaster, and I love these kinds of gritty reads! Great reviews! :)
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