The Thorns Remain by Jennifer Hartmann and Chelley St Clair

Posted August 20, 2022 by Debbie in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

4.5 Stars  for The Thorns Remain

by

Jennifer Hartmann and Chelley St Claire

VENGEANCE.
Hiding deep within the shadows of human nature, it smolders…
Simmers…
Waits.
Only, for me, it was no longer a hibernating beast.
The day I discovered the wrongs committed against me, vengeance clawed its way right through me. The beast had emerged from its lair with a burning need to destroy the man who tore my marriage apart.
And now?
Now, it was my lifeline.
My dark lover.
My. Whole. Purpose.

REVENGE.
They say it’s sweet in the end, and I believed them. I could almost taste that honey on my tongue, like a balm I needed to quell the bitterness.
But it was all a lie.
I was blindsided.
And not once did I think about who I might hurt along the way. I never considered the casualties that may fall across my path of destruction.
No…
Revenge is not sweet. Retaliation does not end in reward.
Vengeance is not justice.
The promises whispered by that beast within?
They’re all hollow.
All it ever wanted was to be set free.
In the end, I never expected things to be worse than when it all began.
I never expected the wreckage left in my wake.

I never expected her.

“The Thorns Remain” is a contemporary romance standalone, previously titled “What We Deserve.” 

 

~ My Thoughts ~


I’ve seen it time and time again where readers say that the author literally crushed their souls, how they will never recover from the story and how the characters will stay with them forever. I’ve seen video reviews of readers crying and trying to convey to others why it’s imperative that everyone read the book they are talking about. To those readers please let me warn you, nothing can prepare you for The Thorns Remain.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love local authors and one of the authors of this book Jennifer Hartmann is local. I love that I can see with crystal clear perfection the restaurants and bars mentioned in the story as I have visited them many times. I love that I can feel the essence of the town and place myself within the story line.

The characters which are written with such vibrancy they appear three dimensional and feel so real like friends you would surround yourself with.

The stunning realism of the emotions laced throughout the book is staggering. The authors literally took hold of my entire being and little by little crushed my heart, my soul and my mind. I was left spent, defeated, shocked and desperate for redemption.

This book, this story was not at all what I expected. It was so much more. So beautifully tragic it had me gasping and praying for redemption and forgiveness. It left me shocked and rocked my senses when it went in a direction that was completely unexpected.

Thank you Jennifer Hartmann for deciding to update this book and bring in Chelley to co-write it with you.

What an incredible story of family, lies, deception, love, hate and realizing one’s self worth.

 

 

Jennifer Hartmann resides in northern Illinois with her devoted husband and three hooligans. When she is not writing angsty love stories, she is likely thinking about writing them. She enjoys sunsets (because mornings are hard), bike riding, traveling, binging Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns, and that time of day when coffee gets replaced by wine. Jennifer is a wedding photographer with her husband. She is also excellent at making puns and finding inappropriate humor in mundane situations. She loves tacos. She also really, really wants to pet your dog. Xoxo.

 

 

 

 

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