Goodreads Avg Rating: 4.24 - 1,247 reviews My Rating: 6.75/10 Love is a circus
"Every day,” he says lowly, “I hold a person’s life in my hands. The circus is based one-hundred percent off trust. I give it all to someone, and they give it all to me.” The best aerial technique won’t land 21-year-old Thora James her dream role in Amour—a sexy new acrobatic show on the Vegas strip. Thora knows she’s out of her element the second she meets Amour’s leading performer. Confident, charming and devilishly captivating, 26-year-old Nikolai Kotova lives up to his nickname as the “God of Russia.” When Thora unknowingly walks into the crosshairs of Nikolai’s after-show, her audition process begins way too soon. Unprofessional. That’s what Nik calls their “non-existent” relationship. It’s not like Thora can avoid him. For one, they may be partners in the future--acrobaticpartners, that is. But getting closer to Nik means diving deeper into sin city and into his dizzying world. Thora wants to perform with him, but when someone like Nikolai attracts the spotlight wherever he goes—Thora fears that she’s destined to be just background to his spellbinding show.
Characters: Thora and Nikolai. They're adequate. Nothing special about them, as far as I'm concerned. Well, except for their acrobatic talent.
Story: It wasn't spectacular nor was it life changing. But I was hooked to it to the point that I started reading around 2am, finished, looked up and it was almost 6am. I had no idea how that happened. I would say that this is a pretty light read. The conflict wasn't too intense, the climax wasn't too obvious. It's interesting, in the mildest manner, and it's good enough to put in your 'read' shelf.
What I love: Acrobatic movement is very physical and I'm sure it was a challenge for the writer to give us the play-by-play on how the characters performed. Those parts were impressive if you ask me. Sometimes a simple performance would take the writer 3-4 ebook pages to describe. Commitment!
Recommended to those who enjoyed The Night Circus and if you're fascinated about Las Vegas lifestyle.
If I tell you right up front, right in the beginning that I lost him, it will be easier for you to bear. You will know it’s coming, and it will hurt. But you’ll be able to prepare. Someone found him in a laundry basket at the Quick Wash, wrapped in a towel, a few hours old and close to death. They called him Baby Moses when they shared his story on the ten o’clock news – the little baby left in a basket at a dingy Laundromat, born to a crack addict and expected to have all sorts of problems. I imagined the crack baby, Moses, having a giant crack that ran down his body, like he’d been broken at birth. I knew that wasn’t what the term meant, but the image stuck in my mind. Maybe the fact that he was broken drew me to him from the start. It all happened before I was born, and by the time I met Moses and my mom told me all about him, the story was old news and nobody wanted anything to do with him. People love babies, even sick babies. Even crack babies. But babies grow up to be kids, and kids grow up to be teenagers. Nobody wants a messed up teenager. And Moses was messed up. Moses was a law unto himself. But he was also strange and exotic and beautiful. To be with him would change my life in ways I could never have imagined. Maybe I should have stayed away. Maybe I should have listened. My mother warned me. Even Moses warned me. But I didn’t stay away. And so begins a story of pain and promise, of heartache and healing, of life and death. A story of before and after, of new beginnings and never-endings. But most of all...a love story.
The high GR rating gave me high expectations and that usually gets me excited. This book did not disappoint. I shed some tears, albeit some of them were probably hormonal.
The Characters: Georgia and Moses. My favorite character is Georgia. I love that she is beautifully flawed - her grammar is poor, she's very forward, and sometimes a bit nosy. But she's a book character you can never hate. Moses is the main character (duh, title) and I like him. He's something.
Moses is half-black/half-white. I envision him looking like this
The Story: I don't think this book would fall completely under the New Adult category. It feels a bit Contemporary to me. Either way, it truly is a story about family and love. More family even.
[G & M talking about Lucky, a wild horse given to G which she was trying to break but had numerous failed attempts]
"And Lucky is just like you!" I said.
Moses just stared at me blandly, but I could tell he was enjoying himself. "Because he's black?"
"No, stupid. Because he's in love with me, and he tries to pretend every day like he doesn't want to have anything to do with me," I shot back.
[This part was one of the most artistic and descriptive lines in the book.]
Nobody told me that resisting would feel like trying to breathe through a straw. Futile. Impossible. Unrealistic.
So I'd pulled the straw away and filled my lungs with air, filled my lungs with Moses, pulling him in with great big gulps, unable to slow down or focus on anything but the next breath.
I recommend this for anyone. And take my word for it, look out for "Eli".
The day of my breakup, I got hired so I officially have a new job (on top of my writing job) this January. So I thank the heavens for giving me something to celebrate about despite that sad day. I pretty much had no time to grieve because I was planning my commute routes by afternoon.
And I'm a free spirit so... Well not really, I'm sort of dating someone at the moment. I'm not even sure if dating is the right term for it. We've promised exclusivity but it doesn't mean we're together just yet. I just don't like multi-dating. One guy at a time. Besides, new guy is a big fan of taking things super slow and I'm not complaining, I just got out of a relationship and although I don't really believe in the "3-months rule" bullshit, it seems a little bit disrespectful on both parties to start having a relationship 3 weeks after my last one. Plus things need to get settled first before we move forward.
What else...
I was sick last night but I am so grateful that I got a Gatorade 6 pack because that shit made me sweat out my fever. I couldn't sleep at around 2am because my body and joints were aching so I decided to down a glass of gatorade and within 15 minutes, I was sweating my tshirt off and the pain subsided. Hoorah.
I still can't believe it's over. And all because of what? That?
My conscience keeps telling me I should've stayed. I should've tried to walk with you and pick you up when you're on your high and low. But I look back at the night when we've ended everything and you made it pretty clear than you'd rather walk on this phase alone. I am not going to try to push myself unto someone who doesn't want my help or my company.
I wish you'd grow up and see the shit you're putting yourself in.
I wish you'd regret that you'd let me go because you can't let go of something so temporary.
I wish you'd see that as hard as you try, you can never get someone like me again - who cared and loved you so much despite who you are and were.
I wish you'd try to be a better person than the people around you.
I'll move on, like I always do. It hurts like a bitch now and it takes all my energy to just keep myself from calling you. But I'll see that one day I will stop hurting and I won't even get any more urges every time I read your name. I love and loved you, but time will heal that anomaly and one day, I'll finally stop loving you.