Review: Tortured

Tortured by Nicole Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m not quite sure what I had expected when I decided to give Tortured a read. It sounded like a wonderful read, yet I was unsure as to what the specifics would be. It had the potential to go in a number of different ways, and whilst the book did not go in the direction I had hoped for, it was an interesting read. In fact, if the truth is to be known, I was more addicted to this story than I’d initially anticipated I would be.

Tortured started a bit iffy for me, if I’m completely honest. All the time jumps at the start of the story left me feeling as though we were lacking in the emotional depth that the book could have been given. We get an introduction to the lovers – we’re shown how they’re connected, we experience a moment of their love, and then it’s pulled away from us. We then jump forward in time to when our leading lady gets the bad news concerning our hero – this scene had the potential to be highly emotional, and yet it didn’t quite pack the punch I’d been hoping it would, as with the first scene where we were introduced to their love, it seemed to be over far too quick. We then jump forward much further in time, taking us to where we are now – we get some retrospective, yet it isn’t enough to allow us the deep emotional connection we would like, rather than being shown how hard it was to get through the bad, we’re simply told things were bad. All of this amounted to tentatively on my behalf: I feared we would never quite get the emotional depth that a story like this deserves.

Fear not, it does get better. I admit that throughout I felt as though the book never quite reached the emotional high a story of this calibre deserved, but it did increase beyond the glossy time jump start we were given. Yes, I constantly felt like that deep emotional ledge was just beyond my reach; however, as the story progressed the emotional impact did develop to allow us a more complex emotional experience than we’re initially given. Moreover, certain aspects of the story seemed to hit a much deeper emotional depth than other scenes, resulting in certain aspects of the story allowing me to overlook the inconsistencies in the emotions delivered.

One thing I will point out is that this story will not be for everyone. In fact, there are certain aspects of this story that need to come with a warning. The domestic abuse, in particular, should be pointed out before a person reads this story. Whilst it’s not the most violent book I have ever read, it certainly does not gloss over the details. Furthermore, I know a lot of people dislike stories where there is cheating involved. Whilst this is a second chance romance, it does include an element of cheating. This alone will prevent certain people from enjoying it – even though it’s clear from the outset how the story will end, even though you know which characters will end up together, the fact remains that there is cheating involved. Therefore, people need to be aware of these things before entering the story.

Nevertheless, the tale was extremely addictive. Every chapter left me wanting more, each scene left me curious as to what would come next. Throughout, you’re working towards one big event, and I was desperate to see how everything would come together in the end. Although it didn’t quite play out the way I would have liked, although I feel as though it could have done with a bit more depth, I was pulled well into the story from the start until the end.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. Although it will not be for everyone, I’m sure those willing to take the leap will find something about this story that will grab hold of them and refuse to let go.

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