Review: Fading by E.K. Blair

Posted October 21, 2013 by Karen in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

17304237Title: Fading

Author: E.K. Blair

Genre: New Adult

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Publication Date: June 19th, 2013

Publisher: E.K. Blair LLC

~ Synopsis ~

Can a guilty conscience keep wounds from healing?

Fine arts major, Candace Parker, grew up with a mother who thinks image is everything, and her daughter’s perfection will never be good enough. About to graduate college and pursue her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina, Candace decides it’s time to let go and have a little fun. But fun is short-lived when a brutal attack leaves her completely shattered.

The memories that consume and torment Candace are starting to destroy her when she meets Ryan Campbell, a successful bar owner. He feels instantly connected and tries to show her that hope is worth fighting for. But is Ryan harboring his own demons? As walls slowly begin to chip away, the secrets that are held within start to become painful burdens.

At what point do secrets become lies?

(17+) This book contains mature subject matter that is not suitable for those under the age of 17.

2d724-addtogoodreads

Karen’s Review

And though she be but little she is fierce  ~ William Shakespeare

We are wives, mothers, daughters, girlfriends, sisters, best friends, nieces, co-workers, and one in four of us will be sexually assaulted in our lifetime.  Most sexual assaults go unreported because of shame and humiliation. The statistics say that at least 2/3 of victims know their attackers.  The book Fading deals with the subject of date rape.

First of all the term date rape is a horrendous one, as if going on a date with anyone sets you up for being raped.  In the book aspiring ballerina and college co-ed Candace Parker meets a guy who should be perfect, but the sparks just aren’t there.  Dating and having fun are fine, but Candace doesn’t want to take the relationship further than kissing.  Well, the guy calls her the dreaded tease name and forcibly tries to take what is not his to take.  Candace does escape, but the reprieve is temporary.  Candace becomes a statistic, or does she? Because you can say one out of every four women is sexually assaulted, but what does that really mean?  It means in any gathering of women who get together, there are survivors in the mix.  Also if one out of four women are victims, then we have a huge problem…for each victim there is a perpetrator. A power hungry male who thinks that he is entitled to a woman’s body without her consent.

It was hard to categorize this book.  Yes, it does have a love story in it, but it isn’t just about the romance.  This isn’t a book that fits a specific genre.

Fading isn’t an easy read; it was a very hard, thought-provoking read.  One that should be read by every woman and the man who loves her.  For some it will bring back memories of their own attacks; for the lucky ones it will explore a dark fear every woman has, as well as the shame and humiliation that comes with it.  You can say a rape victim shouldn’t feel shame or humiliation, but the fact is someone bigger and stronger than they were asserted dominance over them and robbed them of their freewill.  They want to hide, and they will even blame themselves, and the ‘what ifs’ will spin throughout their heads like they do in Candace’s.

Candace does what a lot of victims do; she tries to ignore what happened.  Ignoring what happened will not help Candace; trusting that she is the stronger one, that the rapist was the weak one, will help her survive.  No, Candace’s story isn’t a fairytale ‘Happy Ever After’ makes it all better because surviving makes it better.

The majority of the book takes place after the attack and how Candace goes about living in the aftermath of the attack.  Candace also happens to be an emotional abuse victim.  She is an only child who was raised by affluent, cold, and judgmental parents.  Instead of her home being a safe place to fall, she has learned to fly without a safety net, while at the same time living with her parents’ mental abuse.  The old adage sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me, is full of hooey.  Words hurt and her parents’ words, especially her mother’s, have cut Candace to the quick her entire life.  Imagine being alone and isolated, without any emotional support, in your formative years except for nannies, who were paid to care for you because your parents were too busy to bother.  Instead of a child, Candace was an accessory, a lonely vulnerable pretty doll their parents brought out to impress their friends.  A child who they don’t really want to bother with unless it suits them and their plans for her.

The relationships in this book are powerful ones. The relationship that develops beween Ryan and Candace is breathtaking and heart rendering.  Ryan has carved a space out in my heart as one of the best male characters in a book.  Ryan is perfection.   Then you have the relationship that Candace has with Jace, her best friend.  Jace is an amazing character, and I fell in love with this kind and wonderful man from the very beginning.  The men in Candace’s life are real blood and bones guys, who any woman would be grateful for.  They are shining lights; every hero should be like these guys.   Then there is  her relationship with her roommate Kimber, her sister in all but blood.  This relationship is devastated by the events that take place to Candace.

What I came away from with this book was not that Candace was a victim, but that she was a survivor.  No, she will never forget what happened to her, but she will be able to live with it and become a stronger, more vital woman because of her own inner strength.   This novel is in my top ten of this year’s books.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IBooks 

About the Author

6b6e6d05dc7a0ac1d1882b.L._V356739996_SX200_USA Today bestselling author and International Amazon bestselling author, E.K. Blair takes her readers on an emotional roller coaster with her FADING series. A former first grade teacher with an imagination that runs wild. Daydreaming and zoning out is how she was often found in high school. Blair tends to drift towards everything dark and moody. Give her a character and she will take pleasure in breaking them down, digging into their core to find what lies underneath.

Aside from writing, E.K. Blair finds pleasure in music, drinking her Starbucks in peace, and spending time with her friends. She’s a thinker, an artist, a wife, a mom, and everything in between.

Facebook | Twitter

This book was purchase by the reviewer.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.