Tuesday, June 2, 2015

#HEAGirls Book Review: Kane's Hell by Elizabeth Finn

KANE'S HELL
Author: Elizabeth Finn
~ SYNOPSIS ~
Kane and Helene were the best of friends until a nightmare devastated them… Hopes were destroyed, dreams shattered, a budding teenage love torn to pieces. Eleven years later their lives are nothing like they once were. Time has changed them … and not for the better.

Helene is smart, driven, and accomplished—her education and achievements a smoke screen hiding the frigid and fragile child wounded long ago.

Kane is equally obsessed with his coping mechanisms—fighting … drinking … screwing … compulsively destroying himself one vice at a time.

When their paths collide again, their past becomes an obstacle no coping mechanism in the world can protect them from. But confronting the past so they can heal in the present is no easy task. Can Kane reach Helene and recapture what used to burn so warmly between them, or will his own self destructive demons pull her into his hell?

A woman determined to look forward. A man always looking back. A love desperate to be restored. 

“You’re the brightest, warmest star in my universe. You’ll never be less than everything to me.”

WARNING: This book contains darker subject matter and violent content that may be difficult for some readers.




 ~ 5 STARS ~
★★★ Spoiler FREE ★★★

Let me start right off by saying that Kane’s Hell is a fascinating 5-star, MUST READ novel! Drop everything and one-click this book NOW. Really. AMAZING. Emotionally gripping, RAW, addictive, heart-wrenching….oh, my!!! I could NOT stop reading to save my own life. Some scenes were VERY hard to read, mind you, and yet, I could not stop turning the page. I could NOT look away. I was SO nervous and anxious of what might happen next that I practically held my breath throughout the entire book! It was THAT phenomenal. Gosh – it’s so hard to put into words the EXPERIENCE that was reading this book. It’s something you need to go through yourself to fully understand the depth of all the EMOTIONS you WILL feel.

 “I’m not good at much in this world… But I’m good at loving you.”

Helene and Kane had an easy-going friendship in high school. They were both very sarcastic and had a smartass attitude that made them click. They had this sort of sexual tension between them that truly sizzled off the pages.  To me, it was crystal clear they both wanted each other...that they both cared deeply for each other.

But then….it happened.

“How can one little thing destroy you so much?”

And destroy them, it did. There was no going back after that night. And let me tell you, those scenes were incredibly HARD to read. My heart ACHED. My stomach was in KNOTS. My vision was blurred with tears… This author truly NAILED IT. She made me, as a reader, truly FEEL the pain Helene and Kane felt. I was an emotional mess. A WRECK.

 “I needed you, and you left me. You left me in this place to deal with…everything on my own.”

Now, this book goes back and forth timeline-wise and it all fit perfectly. It allowed my connection to the characters to become stronger by the page. Everything made sense. Everything fell into place at a perfect pace. We’re taken through one hell of an emotional and passionate journey that is the love story of Helene and Kane. The love they shared was pure and deep. I felt it in my bones. So honestly, that only made my heart break even MORE for both of them. They had faced and continued to face so many obstacles…and not easy ones, mind you. FAR, FAR, FAAAAAAAAAAAAAR from easy. They faced challenges that would easily BREAK anyone.

“The only thing in the world I want is to be close to you.”

Okay – I will NOT go into any more details regarding the AMAZING plot in this novel. Like I mentioned in the beginning, it’s something you must EXPERIENCE for yourself. Trust me, you’ll thank me. Not knowing what happens will make it that much better. Oh!!! And the ANGST. Oh my gosh – THE. ANGST. It will certainly have you wanting – needing – more.

This was my 3rd novel by Elizabeth Finn and it was yet another 5-star read for me. Kane’s Hell was a true page-turner, without one ounce of a doubt. I read it in one sitting! Another massive plus for me is when book titles have deeper meaning than the one that meets the eye, and this one, well, this one was truly fascinating and made me fall in love with the story even MORE. Seriously, if you haven’t yet, check this author out! You won’t be sorry! And DEFINITELY ONE-CLICK Kane’s Hell…now!



~ 5 STARS ~

I am so excited to do this review with my #BlogSister, Lydia!! 

So we received this book at the same time and are so pumped to review this together. This is my first book by Elizabeth Finn, but it is Lydia's third....so she already knew of her writing. When she bragged about how much she loved her other books, I knew I was in for a treat. It was amazing to be able to have the support of my #BlogSister right there because some of the subject matter in this book was really intense. If anyone has triggers, heed the warning before going in....it was hard for ME to handle, but it was written with powerful emotion and precision. But, to say that it was intense is an understatement. It was a powerful book; one that made me actually think about and look at things from a different perspective, and it had such a deeper meaning. I wanted to stop reading it a few times....I'll be honest, but their story kept calling to me. It needed to be read....because they were explaining to me their emotions, one word at a time. I knew that I was going to wind up falling in love, but getting to that point was a rough road to hoe. 

~I hated this day, this night, this pain, and the terror that had led to it.~

Phew! I had to get that off my chest and I feel so much better....ok, moving along! Overall, I loved this book.
LOVED. IT.

First of all, one of my favorite things about a book is finding out the meaning of the title, and finding this one out was amazing. You figure it out as you are reading the book, but the intensity of the meaning is magnified as you continue to read. By the end, it's embedded in your heart. Their love story was just....wow. It was a very perfect telling of their story. Perfect.

Second of all, Kane is a dirty talker and I am fairly certain I blushed and giggled a few times while reading from his POV. HOT. Ok? HOT. I loved the way he talked to Helene and the way he treated her, with the utmost dirtiest of respect....in a good way!! He said things that I dropped my jaw on and the way it worked for their story and the way it turned her out?? Oh My Gosh!!! So sexy...so damn sexy!!! He knew how to push her, but he knew how to pull back as well.

This book was poetic in nature, but it didn't lose the seriousness or the sexiness.  Kane spoke in orgasms....I am pretty confident in that statement!! He feels her...actually 'feels' her physically within him, and that is powerful. They gave a new meaning to being in sync. They were totally in tune with each other, but it was so fierce....so extraordinary. It was beautiful to witness.

~I feel the presence of you coursing through my veins every day. You touch every part of me in a very physical way. I feel it.~

Kane and Helene have a very open and sarcastic friendship while in high school. One that, looking back on, a lot of relationships start out as--fun, easy going, flirty and sarcastic. However, horrific events blemish that relationship and mar the very existence of innocence and comfort in their world. Kane and Helene's love story was done justice in this book.....pure brilliance in a book. I was pulled into their world and really enjoyed getting into their minds and their story. I felt the hurt, the pain, the sorrow, the happiness, the love and the beauty in this book. I absolutely loved it. It's one of those stories that tears your heart up, but puts it all back together, one piece at a time. Seriously, amazing.

~She'd warmed me in the cold, she'd comforted me in the pain, she'd loved me in the nightmare.~

The set-up for this story was really neat in the way it was told and I really thought that it added an element of discovery every time we got to go back in the past to find out a little more of Kane's Hell. I will most definitely be checking out more of Elizabeth Finn's books now that I have read one and really enjoyed her 'voice' in it.

*An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review*








~ Elizabeth Finn ~

Elizabeth Finn is a multi-published contemporary romance author. Her passion is creating stories packed full of angsty believable conflicts, characters who leave you rooting for them, and romance that might just short-circuit your e-reader. She likes her characters flawed and scarred, but they always find the best part of themselves on their journey, and her readers find themselves devoted to her authentic, honest and heartfelt voice.

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