Absolution by Anise Storm
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Absolution is a dark romance with bits of mystery and paranormal elements woven throughout.

Dominic was from the wrong side of the tracks according to his young girlfriend’s father. He would never be good enough for her, but Dominic didn’t care. He was in love with the beautiful Juliana Rutherford. It appeared that they had a bright future ahead of them despite her father, that is until she disappeared after arguing with Dominic. Of course, he is accused of the crime until nearly two years later, he is found not guilty, but he was still in prison while awaiting trial. The one thing that got him through those dark times was revenge and making Juliana’s father pay for trying to ruin his life.

Whitney Greene lives a pretty good life, but she has a secret that she keeps trying to run from. She has psychic abilities that she tries to deny. Yet, one ghost just won’t leave her alone, and that happens to be Juliana. She needs to reach Dominic and give them closure so that they can both move on. Whitney is the key. She just has to get her to listen.

When Whitney first meets Dominic for the first time, it doesn’t go well AT ALL! He accuses her of being Juliana and helping her father in trying to destroy him. Yeah, Juliana failed to mention to Whitney that they both look exactly alike. Not only is Juliana’s father on his revenge list, but now Whitney is. She somehow has to convince him she isn’t his first love and get Juliana’s message across to him.

If you are looking for a sweet romance, this one isn’t for you. It’s dark, but Anise Storm still managed to tap into my emotions as well. Dom was not someone I easily liked at first. I admired him for his tenacity and strength. However, he had a coldness and darkness to him, and I could somehow understand that because of what happened to him. So, seeing him melt a little with Whitney actually helped me like him a lot more by the end of the book. He is the quintessential alpha male.

I liked Whitney from the very beginning, and some of my favorite chapters were her chapters. I enjoyed seeing her learn to use her newfound powers. It was a bit reminiscent of the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, but Anise Storm made this her own heroine and her own story. I can’t not mention Juliana. She was a character in her own right. In the beginning chapters, I wasn’t such a fan of hers either. I felt like she didn’t love Dom in the way in which he deserved to be loved. However, there were layers that still would be revealed about her throughout the book as well. It just goes to show that I should never judge a character at the beginning of a book.

The plot was fast-paced. As I said, there was some darkness to it. There is a lot of sexual content, but I actually enjoyed the twists and turns with the paranormal elements more than I enjoyed anything else.

If you are looking for a book that is a quick read with some darkness and a lot of spice, along with some GREAT twists and turns, this is just the book for you.

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