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justvivian

Quirky Musings

(but mostly stupid ones)

Uneven - Anah Crow Just as a forewarning, I apologise for my ineloquence and relatively uninspiring review. I'm not feel the reviewing vibes but I really want to get this out of mind (I know, a fabulous attitude). It kind of feels like I'm having a midlife crisis actually. Without the 'midlife' part.

I started off thinking this would be a wham-bam-thank-you kind of review, but it seems to have turned out different. Must be the power of Uneven.





I adore this book (I feel the need to state this just in case you didn't notice I tagged it under my 'adored' shelf). It was, as everyone has probably said thrice over in their reviews, intense and raw and brutal and any other word thesaurus.com can offer. I know some people may find this a rather dark read (I've long crossed over to the dark side. The cookies must be why I've gained weight. Oh wait, no, that's called aging. Hah.) however if you manage to look past the brutally hot sex, it really is a beautiful and poignant story and a stunning read.

There was once a man who felt as lost as a little boy. Maybe he liked things 'normal' people didn't like, maybe he liked things 'normal' people shouldn't like and don't like. So maybe he wasn't 'normal', and maybe that added a heavy load to his shoulders. But the point is that because he wasn't normal, and people have to be normal, he felt that he wasn't just abnormal: he was Bad. Wrong.

You see, Uneven isn't just some simply a hardcore, raunchy BDSM story. There are people in this world who have sadomasochistic desires-- it isn't something that was made up for the sole purpose of pornography and erotic literature. Being a practitioner of BDSM isn't something you'd advertise, as widely as 50 Shades of Grey has managed to pollute this world, for obvious reasons as it isn't considered 'normal'. As with homosexuality. So reading about Rase's shame, his inability to accept his desires and effectively, himself, is particularly heartbreaking. Not just because as a reader you become emotionally invested in the hero, but also because we've all felt, at one time or another, that we weren't normal, or we didn't belong, or that we couldn't share desires and thoughts because they weren't socially accepted. And though this isn't exactly the plot, as the book progresses we watch the two slowly begin to accept each other and themselves and that in itself is incredibly beautiful and heart warming. And of course, to see two favoured I've-been-fucked-over-by-life-no-make-that-thrice characters fall in love and heal each other is the ultimate catnip for the readers.

I know that some of the reviews for this book must be turning MM readers off because of how dark and gritty it sounds, but honestly the 'dark' moments are wonderfully and exquisitely balanced with tender and humorous scenes. As eye popping and hard-to-look-past as the violent (and hot, did I mention hot) sex scenes are, I found that the gentle, loving care that took place afterwards had the same, if not more, of an impact on me. It was there you could see this bond of mutual need wasn't just some faux-DS relationship, there were genuine feelings and the need was genuine. Of course there were times when Rase's need to be hurt was quite frightening at times, and almost fanatic. It certainly lent a certain edge of desperation and darkness to the novel, but it isn't anything to make you tuck your tail in and scram.

In regards to other elements, I really did enjoy most of the secondary characters. I mean, there was still the typical annoying female bitch antagonist who seems to be a recurring figure in MM Romance novels nowadays, however, let's face it, the plastic trophy wife is a stereotype I will always love to hate. The stereotypical bitch wife was wonderfully balanced by the ex-wife who certainly made me love the novel more (I know my goodreads friends and I have all bitched at one time or another about the female roles in MM Romance) and his assistant and son were utter gems. Gems I tell you.

Some niggles (because I have to pretend I actually cared about them to seem like a reliable reviewer):

-After the novel, I still feel that Gabriel was a bit of a mystery character. I know that loose ends were tied up why he was fired but I felt that certain things needed to be expanded on and developed. I wanted to see his interaction with other people for one, and maybe a bit more fleshing on the lawyer side and just his life in general

-Beginning didn't draw me in, felt slightly cold and bland. However I suppose it really isn't a niggle, I just wish I had a better first impression of the characters and story

- I had a few errors in my copy


Overall Uneven is a fantastic experience and read with a strong impact that skilfully manipulates your heart and - I really can't resist saying this- your loins.


Rating: less than 4.5