REVIEW: Megan Hart's COLLIDE

Title: COLLIDE
Author: Megan Hart
Release Date: 06/28/2011
List Price: $14.95
Publisher: Harlequin - Spice
Language: English
Reading Level: Adult
ISBN-10: 0373605579
ISBN-13: 978-0373605576




My Ratings

Plot: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Originality of Plot: 5/5
Characters Development: 4/5
Ending: 4.5/5
Cover Art: 5/5
Likelihood to Recommend: 4.5/5

Overall: 36.5/40 = 91%


Synopsis

A childhood accident left Emmaline vulnerable to disturbing fugue states that last only minutes, but feel like an eternity. The blackouts are unsettling but manageable…until she meets Johnny Dellasandro.

The reclusive painter gained notoriety in the '70s for his debauched lifestyle and raunchy art films. His naked body has achieved cult status, especially in Emm's mind—she's obsessed with the man, who's grown even sexier with age. Today Johnny shuns the spotlight and Emm in particular…until she falls into a fugue on his doorstep.

In that moment she's transported back thirty years, crashing a party at Johnny's place in his wild-man heyday— the night is a blur of flesh and heat that lingers on her skin long after she's woken to the present.

It happens again and again, each time-slip another mind-blowing orgy, and soon Emm can't stop, though every episode leaves her weaker and weaker. She's frightened by what's happening to her, but she's even more terrified of losing this portal to the Johnny she wants so badly. The one who wants her, too, and takes her—every chance he gets.

My Review

When I picked up this book, I was unsure how I was going to feel about reading this story with it‘s slightly sci-fi twist and turns. For me, most of Megan Hart’s stories are realistic, touching, and poignant. I go back and read them over-and-over again, because they touch me so deeply. I have to admit, COLLIDE has earned a spot on my bookshelf next to my other Megan Hart favorites.

Emmaline is a truly broken character. She suffered a traumatic brain injury due to a childhood accident. Now Emm suffers from lapses in time, which she calls fugues. During these fugues she loses touch with her body and the reality going on around her. They can be as simple as zoning out and as complex as finding herself in an alternate universe. Emm had been fugue free long enough to move out of her parents house, and get a job on her own. The smell of oranges was Emm’s first sign that the fugues were coming back. Once the fugues start to involve fantasies of 70’s movie sex symbol and present neighbor Johnny Dellasandro, Emm questions whether having the fugues were a bad thing. Her fantasies feel so real to her, and she has to asks herself how can they not be real.

Johnny f*ucking Dellasandro! I loved him in his past and present incarnation. Young-Johnny, is cocky, sexy, and enjoys every bit of his fame. He opened his home and life to his creative group of friends. His fame lead him down a road littered with drugs, alcohol, and depression. Present-Johnny is more private, aloof, and has learned from a majority of his mistakes. He’s lived the fame and fortune. Now all he wants is to live his life out of the spotlight and concentrate on his art. Even when present-Johnny was being cold and aloof, there is just something the draws you in. For me, reading about Johnny was like pealing off the layers of an onion, each chapter you discovered more and more about who is his and who he was. Both young and present-Johnny are sexy for their reasons. Why wouldn’t Emm want them both.

I enjoyed that Megan did not try to hide correlations between time travel stories like, The Time Traveler’s Wife and Dr. Who. Not only did she welcome the parallels, she brought them to light in this book. She used them as a reference to help the reader understand the story better. I felt that these references to pop culture references help the readers relate to this story.

COLLIDE, like many other of Megan’s books, grabs hold of the readers and doesn’t let go until the last page. This book was unique, sexy, and dark. I enjoyed it so much, that I had a very hard time putting it down each night. I would tell myself just one more chapter, and then I’d read another two or three chapters. I’d come home from work and want to jump right back into the Johnny’s world. Bravo Megan Hart!



Websites

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