Bang

The Black Lotus Series

E.K. Blair

Overall

Performance

Story

It all begins and ends with a bang.

E.K. Blair is a New York Times Best Selling Author, Bang (Black Lotus #1) (The Black Lotus Series), is the first book I've read by her. Bang is heart wrenching. I finished the first book in this series in one day and am now traumatized waiting for the second and third to be released.

Last week (Feb 27, 2015) while interviewing indie author Nicole Collet, she recommended Bang and a few other books for me to read. This is the first book in her long list of recommendations that I dove into, head first. I nearly cracked my head and heart open with this book (diving head first).

Bang took me by surprise, it's not the typical la-di-da romance I recommend. The book tears you up, puts you back together again, along with the main character, and then rips you back to shreds before leaving you wondering if there is hope. Unlike Ms. Collet, I tend to love books that have a bit of suspense but offer a predictable happy ending. My emotions get wrapped into books and characters very easily, so I avoid horror films, torture, and violence.

Bang is a book about a girl born into luxury. At an early age Elizabeth, who later renames herself Nina, is torn from her happy life due to circumstances you will have to read the book to find out. She's initially placed with nice, well-to-do foster families but makes bad decisions and finds herself in the worst possible situation. By reading this book, you practically live out unspeakable torment in gruesome-vivid detail. I made the mistake of starting this book before bed, I recommend not doing that.

As I said, the book moves Nina into a happier richer lifestyle thanks to her beauty, grace, and luck. Perhaps her luck was a bit more scheming, but regardless she finds herself as a rich wife. The whole time her secrets, schemes, and plots work against her. This book is about a woman who never knows when to walk away. She never seems to know when to run. Elizabeth/Nina doesn't even seem to know who really loves her until it is too late.

The end of the book makes you wonder if there is still hope, I wonder if certain events are rushed intentionally. I wonder who gets banged. I wonder a lot of things, but can only offer you questions because I do not want to give too much away.

Gone. Vanished.
I never even had a choice. I mourn that life. Mourn the what-ifs.

Until now. I’m ready to take back what was always meant to be mine.
But every plan has a fatal flaw. Sometimes it’s the heart.

I want to read the next book and highly recommend BANG, with the caveat that it is not for children, young adults, anyone who is squeamish, and certainly not if you are looking for a feel good book. This book will twist your gut and wrench your heart. This book will leave you wondering a million things, more than just what will happen in the next book, it will make you question dating, humanity, the DHS system, and in small ways will offer you glimpses of love and hope. Most of the book is pretty hard to swallow and has the potential to leave you in tears or make you want to throw up.

Good luck. I'd say happy reading, per usual, but I just can't. This book is the Schindler's List of erotic thrillers, it shines a light on a lot of negative aspects of modern life.

Editorial Review

"BANG is one of the most talked about books of 2014, quickly earning E.K. Blair acclaim for her ability to weave a dark, twisted tale of revenge that will keep you on the edge of your seat till the last word."
They say when you take revenge against another you lose a part of your innocence.
But I’m not innocent.
I haven’t been for a very long time.
My innocence was stolen from me. Taken was the life I was supposed to have. The soul I was born with. The ruby heart embedded in a life full of hopes and dreams.

Due to the dark and explicit nature of this book, it is recommended for mature audiences only.

"There's so much we would love to say about just how disturbing, fascinating and riveting this story is. The concept and characters were a brave risk to take, however, what {E.K.} achieved was thrilling and shocking. Bang was un-put-down-able and the end result was nothing short of brilliant! Standing ovation!" -Totally Booked

"E.K. Blair has created a complex puzzle. A woven mystery, dragging me deeper into its web of darkness and revenge, characters who have so many facets it's hard to know truth from fakery." -Pepper Winters, New York Times Bestselling Author

"Bang is a dark, twisted tale that will leave you reeling and begging for more. E.K. Blair has created a cast of intriguing characters that will forever lurk in the corners of your mind. I couldn't get enough. Hot. Suspenseful. This dark tale of thriller-meets-romantic-suspense is a do not miss!" -Aleatha Romig, New York Times Bestselling Author

"E.K. Blair's boldest, most daring work to date. Twisted and completely brilliant. You're in for a wild ride with this tale that's so beguiling and intriguing. There's suspense and steaminess, hopelessness and hope, romance and hate. It's simply damn good." -Vilma Gonzalez, USA Today

"Blair went where many authors just won't or can't go, and let me tell you, it was fan-flipping-tastic! This is by far my favorite dark read of 2014. Hell, truth be told, it's one of my top five dark reads I've ever read." -Seductive Romance Reviews

"This is one of my favorite books to date. E.K. took risks I've yet to see any author take. She found a way to fit a square peg into a round hole. Bang is sexy, lustful, and deceitful. Absolutely brilliant. Absolutely incredible!" -Denise Tung, Flirty and Dirty Book Blog

About the Author

E.K. Blair, takes her readers on an emotional roller coaster with her dynamic and intense writing style. Noted for her ability to create fleshed-out characters that will evoke a realm of reactions, you can be assured that her stories will linger with you far beyond the last word.

A former first grade teacher with an imagination that runs wild. Daydreaming and zoning out is how she was often found in high school. Blair tends to drift towards everything dark and moody. Give her a character and she will take pleasure in breaking them down, digging into their core to find what lies underneath.

Aside from writing, E.K. Blair finds pleasure in music, drinking her Starbucks in peace, and spending time with her friends. She's a thinker, an artist, a wife, a mom, and everything in between.

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