Consequences is a very dark, painful, and complex story. It is not a romance. It's a psychological thriller with lots of twists that will leave you reeling. Sensitive topics such as rape, physical abuse, and mental abuse are not glossed over and left me feeling raw. The suspense of not knowing where this story was going completed screwed with my head. At some point I even thought this book was going to be the death of me and the reason for my lack of sleep.

Claire met Anthony at the restaurant where she bartends. While she worked, they flirted and teased one another. Anthony charms her into meeting him for a drink after her shift. Thinking Anthony is joking when he offers her a job with enough money to pay off her debts, she signs a little napkin that changes her life forever. A week later, she is drugged, kidnapped, violated, and taken to Anthony's beautiful home which is now her prison. She is now at his mercy until her debt is paid in full.

"He hurt her - not just physically but also emotionally - down to her core. He had humiliated and seemed to enjoy humiliating her routinely since she arrived."

Even though a relationship is eventually formed between Claire and Anthony, it never felt...right. The consensual sex scenes even felt wrong at times. And when Claire had to keep compartmentalizing things in order to stay sane, I continued to feel uneasy about the relationship. Because this relationship was strategically created by Anthony in the beginning, and no matter how much I would let my mind hope things could be different for them, I couldn't let go of the malicious and cruel things he kept doing to Claire. My fear for Claire was always close to the surface.

This story made me question my own limits. How can a story as disturbing and appalling as this one keep me compelled to keep going? It pushed my boundaries. Made me angry. And it was almost too painful to read at times. But, to be quite honest, not knowing where the story was going is what kept me glued to the pages!
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Not sure how to classify this book...psychological thriller. I hated much of the book because of the setting, the story, the horrible abuse taking place and yet the book kept propelling me forward to find out what would happen next...and then the ending such an elaborate twist and cliffhanger. The whole book is made for the ending and well the ending might be worth the read. ( )

This is one of the most infuriating, crazy, wonderful stories I have ever read. Anthony is one of the most intense characters I have met, and Claire, she is just powerful. There is so much happening in this book, suspense, thrills, anger, sex, lies, heartache. How that makes a great story, I don't know, but it does, it works. ( )

Gripping, absorbing. i wanted her to fight but then where would the story be. ( )

2.5 stars

I'm at a loss with this book. Did it keep my interest? Yes. Did it disturb me? Yes. Did it have characters that stood out? Those are usually reasons that I like a book. However, this one didn't sit well with me. As a woman, the violence was reminiscent of a battered wife, and that I didn't like. So often in these stories, it is romanticized. However, there was nothing romantic about this. The constant behavior followed by a sorry followed by a repeat is unsettling. Especially, as I am drawn to dark romance. Maybe that is what didn't sit well with me. The fact that this didn't feel like fiction and instead felt as if it could have been an episode of Dateline.


Hence my dilemma. I am intrigued as to the mystery but am not sure I can handle the abuse to get those answers. The only saving grace is the hat the author isn't explicit in the details either sexually or the gore. ( )