Good evening and happy hump day, my bibliophiles! I am so sorry for my brief absence. I have zero excuse except for the fact that life has been insane, and I’ve spent my spare minutes either immersed in a book or addicted to my new favorite Netflix show. Once again, my blog posts are stacking up, but I promise, they’re coming. Slowly but surely!
Anyway, I feel like I haven’t brought you guys a review in awhile, so tonight, I’m going to do just that. Tonight, I’m talking about Black Swan Affair by K.L. Kreig.
This was a book I wanted to hate, hated a little bit, loved to hate, and then… just straight up loved. Obviously, having a triangle of sorts is going to leave emotions in a sloppy mess all over the place. Black Swan Affair was no different. I met Maverick, a girl on her wedding day, who is feeling anything but that sense of euphoria you’re supposed to have before walking down the aisle (so I’m guessing.. eternal cat lady, here). The question is, why? Simple. Her groom is Kael Shepherd, the brother of the man she’s been in love with since she was a child. Where is the love of her life, Kael’s brother, Killian? Oh… he’s just married to Maverick’s sister, Jillian. You probably want some answers right about now. I know I certainly did… almost right from page one.
Although I didn’t particularly identify with any of the characters, I sympathized with the struggle (to an extent anyway) of mixed feelings, unrequited love, and certainly regrets. What do you do when you love one man but marry his brother instead? Like I said… sloppy mess. If only I could share in Maverick’s misery and have two men fighting for my affection. My goodness…
While I could certainly feel for Maverick and how torn her heart is, I have to admit it was an easy choice for me, not that it was my choice to make in the end. Killian was a bit of a bad boy, and had that mystery surrounding him which made him this kind of elusive creature. He was the typical guy most women go for (I’m not sure why). He toyed with Maverick’s heart for years, and he married her sister without any explanation. That was a complete turn off, and I couldn’t take Maverick’s side when she longed for him in spite of all his faults. Call me heartless if you’d like…
Instead, it was a no brainer, at least in my eyes. I adored Kael right from page one. I didn’t need to struggle to come to the conclusion as to whether I wanted him or his brother, Killian. Kael always looked out for and adored Maverick in the way that all girls want to be loved and worshipped. Maverick, on the other hand, needed to decide if she’d choose the boy she always kept in her heart, or if she’d find closure with her past and open her eyes to see the perfect future she could have with Kael.
While many consider this a classic love triangle (which it is on some level), I personally consider it more of a coming of age tale. It’s about being stuck between a rock and a hard place and trying to make life-altering decisions in order to find the bliss, satisfaction, and love we’re all striving for in this world.
Fair warning, if you couldn’t tell already, this book will leave your heart in your throat, because while there are moments of happiness, you travel through the pages just wondering when the shoe is going to drop, so there’s a constant underlying sense of anxiety or dread. As long as you’re prepared, you should be fine as the drama unfolds. If I’m being honest (which I always try to be), it took me awhile to get through this book because it just made me too nervous. As much as I wanted to binge and get to the end and breathe a sigh of relief, every chapter left an unknown that made me wary to continue because I didn’t want anything bad to happen. I’m a big, fat chicken. I’m sorry.
That being said, Kreig kept me on my toes from beginning-to-end. I may have wanted to smash my iPad to bits when my emotions were affected, but it was absolutely an adventure I needed to take. I survived! Now it’s your turn! Go meet the Shepherd boys and yell at Maverick to put her big girl pants on and choose the right man!
My Final Rating: five out of five stars
