I received an ARC of this book form the author and I voluntarily reviewed it. Thank you India R. Adams!

​I don't know about you, but I've waited over TWO YEARS for this book. Man was it ever worth the wait. It's Adams' rawest book to date. She pushes herself as a writer and tries to do justice to Delilah. It's edgy and, well, brilliant. 

I don't think I've been this moved by a book before. This is a book about survival. A book about resilience, and weakness. It's about how life isn't all love and roses, and how not everything is black and white... How the spectrum of grey is impossibly vast, and how the line in the sand can be wiped away by the wind or a wave. Sometimes that wave turns into a tsunami and wipes you out, and you need to find a way to swim back to shore. 

This book has some darkness to it. It will definitely make you emotional and punch you in the gut. It's not a book for everyone. It's trigger galore, but if you are strong enough to get through it, you will be rewarded by the profoundness of the story and the quality of the writing. 

Like all of her books, Adams' captures us into her world. When we read this book, we are so entranced by it, all we can focus on is her storytelling. I don't know how many times I have to say it, but India R. Adams is one damn talented author.  You WILL want to throw your kindle at your wall. You WILL want to cry and and proceed to go into the fetal position. But you will LOVE the torture.

Adams' also rewards us with some of her sexiest writing yet. I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised, and found myself craving for more. (Maverick IS my husband after all *shrug*). 

So to recap: READ. THIS. BOOK.

That's all!

So I had read this book for the first time about a year and a half ago... and I had fallen in love with it. The second time around? I fell in love with it all over again. The little details that I had forgotten about from the first time I had read it made it seam like I was reading it for the first time all over again.

Reading it a second time made me realize how much foreshadowing there is in this book. The little clues that are like little breadcrumbs outlining what is to come, yet they are so subtle, you have to be paying attention to notice them.

The second time around, I fell in love with the characters even more. Mav, Delilah, Tuck, Viola, Diesel... all of them. I love them all mkay? All MINE! Fight me *smirk*

There is so much content in this book. So many themes; loss, grief, sexual assault, family dynamics, yet the word that comes to mind when I think of the book as a whole is : “beautiful”. Yes, even though my kindle was nearly flung to the wall a couple of times. Lucky for my kindle, I said “nearly”.

The second book will sure to shatter me even more... and I cannot wait for it.

I received a ARC copy of this book from the author and I voluntarily reviewed it. Thank you India R Adams.

What I love about Adams books, is that although they are bricks, every single page holds a truth we must know; has a purpose; a reason to be present. So much happens from the very first page you read to the last one. The whole story evolves, like a caterpillar turning into  a butterfly.

One of Adams' many strengths is that she is able to trick you so effortlessly into believing something that turns out to be counter-proven in the end. You don't even see it coming, because that "fact" was so deeply rooted in you, and the whole story, so you believed, stemmed from it. As you know, I'm typically good at predicting what will happen, which is no fun, but the fact that Adams can break from the clichés is just so refreshing.

My favourite aspect of this book is Adams blurring the lines between "good" and "evil", between 'black" and "white", and shows us the beautiful spectrum on gray tones. She will make you fall for those darker shades of gray, and well as the lighter ones. She shows us the importance of balance,  and of nature. She shows us the complexity of human nature, and humans in general... and well elves too. She shows us that every action has immeasurable consequences, and that sometimes certain outcomes are unavoidable. 

The spiritual undertone of this book is beautiful. I could not help feeling blissful as I was reading the novel. The underlying spirituality brings with it and incontestable lightness; hope.  Something so undeniably India R. Adams.

I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you India R. Adams!

Can I give this book 7 stars? Sadly, that rating does not exist, so I shall invent it. ★★★★★★★

First of all, this book had ALL the feels. I mean ALL of them. I laughed, I teared up (I had to contain myself as I was in public), I smiled, and I ached. All from a beautifully written book. This demonstrated how amazing India is as an author.

Secondly, India immensely impressed me. The book was written in two male perspectives. Yes. MALE perspectives, and she hit a bulls eye with both. She got the teenage male psyche down to the T, and created completely natural and believable characters. Also, totally "'yum" worthy (I'm quoting India here). Maverick and Tucker are the most kind, caring, and protecting men I have ever read about. India, are you setting an unreachable standard that the future men I meet need to achieve? Okay, back to the book.

All of the characters in this book are so incredibly strong; showing us that everyone has a past they would like to keep under wraps. They are all so complex and layered. They add depth to the story and demonstrate just how skilled India is. I was especially intrigued by Delilah, the main female character. She has so many layers, we, the readers, have only just begun to peel back. There is still so much we don't know about her, because it is not told through her perspective (another ingenious decision).

Now I am out of India books to read as I have read them out... Sadness and despair... The anguish is real...

I received a Beta copy of this book from the author India R. Adams. Thank you infinitely India!

This book definitely lived up to its predecessor, Serenity. It was just as heartfelt and emotional, yet had a different level of maturity. One of the aspects I thoroughly enjoyed was Serenity's character development and how India really pushed the envelope; pushed Serenity out of her comfort zone. It really accentuated the maturing of this incredibly strong character, and showed growth on the author's part as well.

Something new about this book that I also enjoyed was the double narrative with Destiny and Serenity. It allowed for an exploration of the similarities and profound connection between the two wonderful females.

Lastly, India is such a poet, it blows my mind. The sporadic poems and songs really grabbed my attention and made me love the book so much more. They are elegant, sophisticated, and absolutely natural in the story. I swear, if she wrote a poetry book, I would buy it.

As soon as this book goes live, every single person should buy it. And if you haven't read Serenity, what are you waiting for?
https://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Forev... (less)

I received an ebook of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you India!

I read this book in two sittings, and not by choice. If I could have, I would have read it all in one. In between the sittings, this beautiful story consumed my thoughts. It also fed my already existing fantasy of having a pet wolf; not really a desired side effect, haha.

My favourite aspect of this book were the characters.  In this story, they were  so easy to connect with, and become invested in that one becomes fully and completely enthralled in the story. The main characters in this story, Marley, Romy, Jimmy, and Trevor, have beautiful souls and hearts. India has this affinity to creating immensely powerful bonds between beautiful characters. I'm not going to lie, my eyes may have welled up at a fee instances because of their friendship.

I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'm going to finish by saying that the plot was unpredictable and that the last quarter of the book was emotionally packed, riveting, and out of this world - pun may be intended.  If you haven't picked this book up yet, what are you waiting for?

​My sweet, you know who you are, I have two words for you: absolutely stunning.

First thing, those journal entries are so great! They are poetic and abstract, and I love them. And absolutely adored their presence throughout the novel.

The first words that come to mind after reading this book are: elegant, beautiful restraint, and balance. Yes this book put me through heartache followed by extreme joy, but the overwhelmingly constant feeling was a sense of calm; Serenity.

At first, I didn't know what to expect, and I wasn't too sure I would like this whole "aura seeing" plot line, thinking it would fall into the cookie cutter YA story line trap. Quickly I realized how terribly wrong I was; I should've known India would add her magical goddess touch to it and make it memorable, like every other one of her novels I have read.

(I just realized I wrote the word "first" for my three beginning transitional phrases - oh well haha, I just wanted to say everything first)

I really took my time reading this book so that I could really absorb every little bit of magic India has planted in this novel. The hardship and suffering was shocking yet the writing was enchanting. It ticked all the boxes - even some I didn't know could be ticked.

And last, but not least, even though this book, at its core, is quite dark and serious, and made me want to cry on multiple occasions, it me laugh many times over! India and I have the same sick sense of humour and I love it! (For those of you who follow me on twitter, you know which passages I'm talking about) At the end of the novel, it is stated: "Her novels are perfectly balanced between laughter and tears, letting readers see how to empower their own perfect imperfections", and I couldn't agree more.

So thank you, thank you, thank you India for this memorable book!

I received an ARC of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you India!

This book was packed with action and feels, and it made my heart ache many times over.

Black Waters is basically Blue Waters shown through the eyes of Link. It was extremely well executed as we saw a completely different perspective of events and relationships. I may have had a few tears in my eyes at times. Seeing this side of Link made me like him more because we have an insight on where he's coming from, and why he did certain things in the first book.

India R. Adams, why torture is like that. I both love and hate the pain the events caused. Such beauty and horror. In Black Waters, Adams unveils what really happened with the Russians and how far back it stems; how everything and everyone is "Link"ed in more ways than one. (Ha, nailed it)

Anyways, absolute must read!