"I’m intrigued. Tempted beyond what I’ve ever been before. To know her, to open her up. To break her."
In love, sometimes what you fear most is exactly what you need.
Laura Drake is an author. She writes bestselling paranormal romances that continue to top the charts. She is sharp. She is confident. She is in control.
And she doesn’t exist.
Samantha Jansen is the woman behind the wig, the woman most of the world doesn’t know exists. She is shy. She is insecure. She is nothing like her main character or her alter ego. She is scarred—deeply scarred—by a past she can’t let go of and a present she can’t make peace with.
Samantha’s dreams are consumed by one man, the broken hero from her books. Mason Strait is both her wildest fantasy and her most terrifying nightmare.
When Samantha meets Alec Brand, a corporate consultant, it is as though Mason has come to life. Alec is handsome to a fault, as elegant as he is arrogant, and more intense than any man has a right to be.
Samantha is soon sucked into a world that mirrors the fiction she writes. Just like her main character, Daire Kirby, Samantha finds herself unable to resist the forbidden lure of Alec. And just like Daire, she also finds that she is faced with taking a chance on a man who could either set her free or destroy her.
The scale tilts toward destruction when Samantha finds out that Alec is as much a work of fiction as Mason. And he has scars of his own, scars that could ruin them both.
As you may know, this book was pulled from publication. Why? I’m not 100% sure, but I respect the decision of M. Leighton, and her reasoning behind them. If for any reason at all, I think that if it were book bullying, this needs to stop. If you don’t like a book, why can’t you just state the things you DID like, or to simply say this book just didn’t do it for me. To put an author down, or one of their novels is just wrong. I get it, we all have books we don’t like, or we hated. It happens! I say shame on those who have the need to dishearten and berate others for the sake of their own pettiness, cruelty, and self -indulgence. Get over yourselves, and grow up. Words hurt, and can never be taken back.
I absolutely love M. Leighton’s works. This book was so astonishingly amazing, and the concept was completely raw and beautiful. The idea of writing a book about being an author is brilliant. While shedding some light on the intricate workings of the mind of an author, it always plays into the fact that they’re people too. Authors aren’t what they write. Sometimes an author is just a persona, and the person behind the writing is completely different. I seriously loved the idea behind this story. I mean honestly, I never thought about it. I get that authors are real people too, and that they have their own lives outside of writing. As a reader, we compare people we see to those of the characters that we read in our books. I’m pretty sure we’ve all said at one point, I’m in love with a fictional character. Being an author it must be that much harder to differentiate the similarities between the characters in your head, and the people you deal with in your everyday life. Well, if you get what I mean. I’m not trying to say that authors are living in a fantasy realm and can’t distinguish fiction from non-fiction.
“It’s my greatest passion” “…the education of girls like you. Watching desire darken your eyes, tasting sweat as it beads on your skin, feeling your body squeeze mine like a tight fist.”
Until I break is about a woman named Samantha Jansen who writes novels under the pseudo name Laura Drake. While Laura Drake has the persona of the beautiful, confident, sassy, best-selling paranormal erotica author, Samantha is the complete opposite. Samantha goes to extreme measures to conceal her true identity to not be tied to Laura Drake. Being broken does that to people, but not only that, why wouldn’t you want to hide your identity so you can basically live your own life without being bombarded by fans. Personally, I totally respect the decision this character made to do that. I’m guessing it must be completely taxing and stressful trying to keep the two separate, but in the end, I totally get it.
“I feel lost in his eyes, hypnotized by his words. I know I should run, but I can’t. As crazy and stupid as it sounds, I have to see things through.”
At one of Laura Drakes book signings, she sets her eyes on a Mr. Alec Brand. Alec is the epitome of her main character in her series, the vampire Mason Strait. With his stunning likeness to Mason, Samantha becomes infatuated with the idea of Mason Strait being real, with his black hair, pale green eyes that ooze mystery, danger, sex, and the illustrious temptation… She feels the need to know more about this dark brooding stranger.
“Although he’s nothing more than a product of my imagination, he’s both my wildest fantasy and my most terrifying nightmare.”
Alec Brand is a mystery. Fascinated by Laura Drake, he seeks her out to see what she’s really all about. However, Alec has some serious secrets and a sketchy past that makes him take on his on pseudonym. As much as I liked his character, I hated his character at the same time. When secrets between both parties start to unravel and pasts start to collide it’s just an epic cluster-fuck you can’t take your eyes away from.
"I’m intrigued. Tempted beyond what I’ve ever been before. To know her, to open her up, to break her."
I’d say that because this book is written in a dual POV, you definitely get to see the inner workings on both characters accounts, and their characters too. There’s one thing I have to say about M. Leighton is she has such a brilliant ability to completely catch you off guard, and leave you saying WHAT the fuck just happened!? I mean, the plot twists that she comes up with… you just don’t see it coming. M. gets me Every. Damn. Time. So much so that you have to put the book down and take a minute to comprehend what really just happened. I seriously commend her for that, which is why I LOVE reading her books. I mean don’t get me wrong, you know something is coming… but you just don’t know what it is. M. leaves you with so many mind-reeling possibilities as to what could happen, until you get smacked in the face with it and you’re left saying OH.MY.GOD. Yep, jaw left unhinged, you might want to grab it and put it back into place!
“I think I might’ve fallen in love with you that very day. And a little bit more every day after. I tried to let you go. I thought I could live without you, that I could move on. But I couldn’t. I could hardly last a day.”
I really want to tell you how simply amazing this book is and that you should read it. I do hope that if you did get the chance to get this book, that you WILL read it, because it’s probably one of the best and most intricate dark romance’s I’ve ever read. You’re never confused on who is who, the supporting characters are flawless and it really is just an utterly amazing book. I’m saddened that more people won’t get the chance to appreciate this fabulous work of art.
“I was dead before I met you and I’ll be dead again if you ever leave me.”
M. Leighton – if you ever change your mind and want to continue on with Samantha and Alec’s story, let me tell you I’ll be first in line to grab a copy. I’m willing to bet that quite a few others would say the same. ;) Please continue writing and don’t let this hindrance affect you in anyway. We love you, and the brilliant beautiful WORDS OF ART that you make!
Remember people books ARE works of art. Is Picasso for everyone? Don’t think so. Does that make him less of an artist? Nope! The time and effort that goes into novels, paintings, music, theater, and etcetera isn’t meant for you to simply judge… it’s meant for you to APPRECIATE.
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