Lots of twists and turns and, yes, a cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers but I knew when I started what I was in for, so no complaints here. There is so much I already know and so much more I need to know, like, right now. Can't wait for book two. I would recommend! ( )

OK, so almost everyone I know has been raving about this book, like going mad over it. They are so mindfucked and book hungover they can't pick up anything else. They're just blown away. I'm thinking maybe it's just me or something, but it do not have that effect on me. First off, I've watched that show Revenge which is very similar so I think that ruined much of the wow factor for me. I'm jealous of those that hadn't watched it because I think they got a lot more from the book. That being said, I thought the book was very good, better than many books I've read. It wasn't a life-changer for me, but I did enjoy reading it.

I feel like I live in the dark more than I do the light.

Elizabeth and Pike have always been the other's person, each other's ONLY person. These two have been through some deep shit. I do not envy them at all. I was really attracted to the idea of this relationship very much.

"You tell me all the time that I'm all you have, but it goes both ways. I have nothing but you. You're my only family, Elizabeth. Please don't let him take you away from me."

Pike never has left my side.

"You're the only one who can make it go away, Pike."

Nina and Bennett are a couple I don't really know much about. I don't know how their merger came to happen. He's almost like an abstract thought. Do we feel sorry for him? Do we believe he is guiltier than he appears to be? Hmmmm.

Bennett is everything a husband should be, so it was essential that I create fissures within him. Purple flowers being one of them.

Nina and Declan could have been a love story. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, ya know. Declan may just turn out to wiser than previously suspected.

"Taste your lies, Nina."

"Nothing is real until you break down the walls and reveal the ugliness."

"Let go, Nina. Stop fighting me," he says, as if he knows I'm trying with everything I have not to come.

I actually think all three men may be more clever than we've been led to believe.

This story just begs to be discussed. It's that type of book. I have so many little points that I think I caught and so many theories of what has happened or will happen. It's hard to keep a review spoiler free. I believe that every character mentioned has a role from the first social worker to her husband's friend/business partner to her husband's driver to her foster brother's friend/previous roommate to her lover's father. In my opinion, it's a web much larger than for what she was trying to get payback. I plan to go into the future books with no preset notion of who is bad or good or alive or dead.

One of the most interesting things about the whole book to me was Carnegie. I loved how he continued to pop up throughout the story. Caterpillars symbolize being unable to move past an early stage of development. She has not been able to move past the perfect life she had at the age of five.

Neither of us could have possibly imagined how our lives would be forever changed when he opened that door.

I want my daddy. After all these years, I just want my daddy.

Another topic I want to bring up is the series name Black Lotus. A lotus flower's roots grow from mud at the bottom of a murky water source and the bud rises until it is above the surface to bloom into a beautiful, elegant, pure, full flower. This could have been her life after her horrible past, but it isn't. Because of the "black" which does not occur in nature for lotus flowers, the meaning is altered. The following are some meanings associated with unnatural black flowers: the dark side of human nature, the undertaking of a perilous journey from which not expected to return safely, the death of old habits, the end of an era, never fully opened, tragic love, hatred, resistance, vengeance, and of course the ideas of death and mourning.

"There's something about a beautiful, nearly flawless flower, emerging from muddled water."

"Everyone has something beneath that they're hiding."

I've noticed some people had issues with the sex. I feel that the past sex scenes were necessary so that we truly knew the depths of her pain. It also reinforces the bond between the Elizabeth and Pike, everything they went through. There is no way they could come out of it unchanged. The current scenes were so that we could see how not mainstream she was. Nothing about her sex life was anything most people would be doing. And the scene that made many cringe, made perfect sense to me because it lends to the state of mind of both Nina and Declan. The want between them is so much that it can't be expressed through normal means.

I thought it was a good read. I recommend it and plan to read the future releases in this series.

Lights. Camera. Action.

3.5 stars

toni


FangirlMoments and My Two Cents

FULL REVIEW CAN BE FOUND AT http://fangirlmomentsandmytwocents.blogspot.com/2014/06/bang-by-ek-blair-review.... ( )

OK, so almost everyone I know has been raving about this book, like going mad over it. They are so mindfucked and book hungover they can't pick up anything else. They're just blown away. I'm thinking maybe it's just me or something, but it do not have that effect on me. First off, I've watched that show Revenge which is very similar so I think that ruined much of the wow factor for me. I'm jealous of those that hadn't watched it because I think they got a lot more from the book. That being said, I thought the book was very good, better than many books I've read. It wasn't a life-changer for me, but I did enjoy reading it.

I feel like I live in the dark more than I do the light.

Elizabeth and Pike have always been the other's person, each other's ONLY person. These two have been through some deep shit. I do not envy them at all. I was really attracted to the idea of this relationship very much.

"You tell me all the time that I'm all you have, but it goes both ways. I have nothing but you. You're my only family, Elizabeth. Please don't let him take you away from me."

Pike never has left my side.

"You're the only one who can make it go away, Pike."

Nina and Bennett are a couple I don't really know much about. I don't know how their merger came to happen. He's almost like an abstract thought. Do we feel sorry for him? Do we believe he is guiltier than he appears to be? Hmmmm.

Bennett is everything a husband should be, so it was essential that I create fissures within him. Purple flowers being one of them.

Nina and Declan could have been a love story. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, ya know. Declan may just turn out to wiser than previously suspected.

"Taste your lies, Nina."

"Nothing is real until you break down the walls and reveal the ugliness."

"Let go, Nina. Stop fighting me," he says, as if he knows I'm trying with everything I have not to come.

I actually think all three men may be more clever than we've been led to believe.

This story just begs to be discussed. It's that type of book. I have so many little points that I think I caught and so many theories of what has happened or will happen. It's hard to keep a review spoiler free. I believe that every character mentioned has a role from the first social worker to her husband's friend/business partner to her husband's driver to her foster brother's friend/previous roommate to her lover's father. In my opinion, it's a web much larger than for what she was trying to get payback. I plan to go into the future books with no preset notion of who is bad or good or alive or dead.

One of the most interesting things about the whole book to me was Carnegie. I loved how he continued to pop up throughout the story. Caterpillars symbolize being unable to move past an early stage of development. She has not been able to move past the perfect life she had at the age of five.

Neither of us could have possibly imagined how our lives would be forever changed when he opened that door.

I want my daddy. After all these years, I just want my daddy.

Another topic I want to bring up is the series name Black Lotus. A lotus flower's roots grow from mud at the bottom of a murky water source and the bud rises until it is above the surface to bloom into a beautiful, elegant, pure, full flower. This could have been her life after her horrible past, but it isn't. Because of the "black" which does not occur in nature for lotus flowers, the meaning is altered. The following are some meanings associated with unnatural black flowers: the dark side of human nature, the undertaking of a perilous journey from which not expected to return safely, the death of old habits, the end of an era, never fully opened, tragic love, hatred, resistance, vengeance, and of course the ideas of death and mourning.

"There's something about a beautiful, nearly flawless flower, emerging from muddled water."

"Everyone has something beneath that they're hiding."

I've noticed some people had issues with the sex. I feel that the past sex scenes were necessary so that we truly knew the depths of her pain. It also reinforces the bond between the Elizabeth and Pike, everything they went through. There is no way they could come out of it unchanged. The current scenes were so that we could see how not mainstream she was. Nothing about her sex life was anything most people would be doing. And the scene that made many cringe, made perfect sense to me because it lends to the state of mind of both Nina and Declan. The want between them is so much that it can't be expressed through normal means.

I thought it was a good read. I recommend it and plan to read the future releases in this series.

Lights. Camera. Action.

3.5 stars

toni


FangirlMoments and My Two Cents

FULL REVIEW CAN BE FOUND AT http://fangirlmomentsandmytwocents.blogspot.com/2014/06/bang-by-ek-blair-review.... ( )

I truly do not know where to begin with this review...
I finished last night and my mind is still conflicted.

It was a love/hate relationship for me.



The Love.... Was the writing. The Author is very talented at writing an intricate story with just the right amount of details. BANG was fast paced and intriguing. The secrets were revealed slowly, but there were enough of them to keep you sucked into the story.



I appreciate the mind f the book provided. The characters were all a whirlwind of messed up. Each one had their own demons and each one dealt with them a different way. Pain was the mutual conclusion... They all craved revenge and they didn't know it at the time, but they were all pawns in one another's game.



The Hate... Nina was annoying, self centered, and a complete manipulative train wreck. I understand she went through a tough child life, but it was so hard to read about her using and abusing people. I hated being inside her messed up head. It made me bitter and quite frankly put me in a bad mood.



The subject matter was also touchy for me. I have an open mind and usually can read about all different tough circumstances, but there were some parts in this book that left me closing the book mumbling I am done. Of course, I always picked it back up and started again... but WOW! I don't know how the Author wrote some of those scenes.



All in all I think that this book was an intense, suspenseful mind twist that will leave readers wanting more at the end. I know when I read the last word I was thinking No, this can't be the end!

I applaud the Author for taking on such a crazy plot and making it her own... ( )

Dark, Twisted with a dash of flips and dips.

WOW is all I can say. I have some pretty dark and twisted books but nothing like this roller coaster. The twist and turn that double back and twist more. You love and hate Nina (Elizabeth) throughout this whole story. Without give away teasers reading this story puts your mind in places you never knew existed. One minute your thinking why is her life so bad and bang your in the whirlwind of how the hell is this happening. The author does an amazing job bringing the characters to life to the point of having a love/hate relationship with them and even those you feel sorry for or that you can't for them to meet the ultimate Karma. This is one book I do not regret taking heed and reading.

Major cliff hanger at the end that leaves your heart pounding and dying for the next book. ( )