Review: Brandon

Brandon by Julia Sykes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Earlier this year I read Dark Lessons by Julia Sykes and was instantly left wanting to read more of her work. I went ahead and brought her Impossible series, the entire notion intriguing me. Another series, her Dark Grove Plantation series, also grabbed my attention. I looked everywhere for Awakened, Taken, and Broken, but I could not find them. I found out they were being extensively re-written and re-titled, and I instantly put them on my to-read list. Holden is the first of these re-written and re-titled books and it was a great read. As soon as I was finished with Holden, I jumped into Brandon the second of the re-written and re-titled books. Like Holden, Brandon was a great read.

In all honesty, I’m not usually a big lover of stories of this length. I have a serious love-hate relationship with short stories. That being said, I’ve really enjoyed the first two Dark Grove Plantation books, and I’m positive I will continue to enjoy these short stories. I admit to having some issues, but as a whole I loved them.

In all honesty, my feelings towards Brandon are pretty much the same as my feelings towards Holden. They’re very different stories, but the things I liked and disliked are pretty much the same. I believe this is simply a reflection of my views regarding short stories. I’m super picky when it comes to stories of this length, and such a thing is reflected in my feelings towards this series. For those who have not read my review of Holden, I will summarise the good and bad from my perspective.

I’ll begin with the good.

The characters were great. Quickly we fall in love with both of them, and the chemistry between them was wonderful. Told from alternating points of view, we get to see inside the minds of both the characters. They’re two very different characters, but they go so well together. I especially enjoyed how we got to know more about Ella, a character who intrigued me in Holden.

The romance was swoony worthy. It was steamy, exactly as you hope for from a Julia Sykes read. As I said, the characters have real chemistry, and this always helps with ensuring the steamy scenes are great. Not to mention, Julia Sykes simply seems to know how to write the hot stuff.

The storyline was interesting. The tale was slightly more complex than Holden, but it was still a simple read. There’s nothing overly complex, meaning you’re pulled straight into the story, and your attention is held throughout. For such a short story, there is a lot to be found in this one. The drama in particular is wonderful. Plus, as with Holden, it leaves you curious about what is next in the series.

Then the things that left me feeling somewhat unsure.

The relationship and emotions moved much too fast for me. I understand there is a past between the characters, but I would have liked to see more of it. The speed at which everything changed felt like too much. It took place over a very short time period. Those who enjoy their tales to take place over such a short time span will enjoy this, but I would have liked more depth when it came to the heavy emotions.

The final chapters felt too reminiscent of Holden. I enjoyed the way the story came together, I enjoy the events, yet the ending was too similar to the ending of Holden for me to be content. It was enjoyable, I cannot deny that, but I would have liked something different to bring things together in the way they were.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. I’ll certainly be reading the next Dark Grove Plantation story, as this series promises to be a lot of fun. Well worth the read for anyone looking for a quick steamy read.

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