awesome read

I will be giving my review without any spoilers (I hate spoilers), so references to specific parts of the book will be intentionally vague.

First off, I'd like to say that I really really enjoyed this book. Throughout the period where I was reading it, I kept finding myself wondering if "I have another episode of that TV show to watch" then realising it was a book. But I can easily see it as a TV series. It is immersive enough and every episode would have tons of excitement and cliffhangers. It is a brilliant story with constant mysteries to be solved. Although I will say that I had the bad guy/guys figured out by around the midway point of the book. But it was still wonderfully executed and the fact that it was slightly predictable (for me) didn't ruin it one bit.

The energy and suspense of the book pulls you along in the manner most readers will recognise as "just one more page" and then an hour later you are still looking for the appropriate place to stop reading and put the book down.

So, the characters... They were all well thought out, but very stereotypical of the role they were playing in this story. Which is sort of OK because it means that you recognise them instantly for the role they are playing - but I did find it quite frustrating that I'd read about these characters before (using different names) in other books. Deacon Shaw is the stereotypical mercenary who (predictably) has a wounded past and a heart of gold. Madison Benchley being the stereotypical damsel in distress. There was a point towards the end of the book where despite all that she had learned, her character seemed to regress and become a bit of an idiot again. I know why the author did this but it didn't make sense that she would trust one character over another, given all that she had learned up to that point, even taking into account the selfishness and idiocy of Madison at the start of the book. Her reaction was not believable in the slightest.

For the most part the book is well written but it grated on me in parts which I will list below:

1. There were many places throughout the book where the character slips from present tense to past tense which is a bit confusing.
2. There were also a few places where "his" was used instead of "her" during some of the fast paced scenes which slowed me down as I had to re-read parts to make sure it was a mistake and I hadn't misunderstood something. Which is a bit confusing. Eg. (This is not a quote from the book but it's very similar to the scene and this is how it was written) "she awoke to find herself tied to a chair, with duct tape covering his mouth" I read it and had to go back to find out who "he" was, only to realise there was no "him", it was an error in the book. 3. At one point the book says (and I quote) "it had to of been from years ago"... OF... Not HAVE... Biggest and most annoying thing to read, ever. It's something that is becoming more and more prevalent on social media but there is no excuse for it in a book that hopefully the editor will pick up on before printing thousands of copies. 4. There was a bit too much "sexual tension" for it to remain "tension". Too many sexual references. Yes I get that his smile melts her and she wants to jump his bones. But when it's described EVERY TIME he smiles or talks to her it's no longer sexy, it's in your face and too blatant. The undercurrent of their relationship could have been subtlety inferred rather than explained in detail each time. I skipped so many paragraphs about his eyes when he stares at her, her weak legs, the special smile he gives her. It was too overt for my liking. 5. I don't know whether it's the copy that I had, but there seemed to be parts missing that were referred to later as if the reader was already party to it. For example the "deal" that Deacon made with Spencer. It is referenced towards the end of the book and when it was referenced I thought "that's not true - that's not actually what happened - he never actually agreed to any deal" but then he confesses to that part. Which (from what I read) was not true. He was actually specifically told completely the opposite and he was threatened should he pursue anything. This happened a couple of times within the story and I'm not sure whether it was just the copy I had - but it was confusing and I felt I just had to "go along with it" because the author seemed to assume I knew what she was talking about and moved on. 6. Lastly - and this one was a big "oh no" moment for me. When referring to an unborn child "she's going to be addicted to sex by the times she's born if we don't give her a breather" Absolutely the worst thing to have been said in any book I've ever read. Ever. It is massively inappropriate and it's actually rather sickening thing to say. I couldn't actually believe that I'd read that. I really hope that someone proof reading that, tells the author that that is completely 100% unacceptable, and they get her to remove that line. Because in a few years, I may not be telling people about this book, but I will definitely speak of the "worst line I've ever read in an otherwise good book" - that WILL stay with me for a long time!

However, all things considered, the book was awesome. The storyline compelled you to keep reading and I really didn't expect it to be as good as it was. If it is ever picked up for a TV show, I will be so excited to tune in!

EDITED:15/07/2016 It's been a day since I finished this book. And it's been a full day of withdrawal from this book. I re-read my review a moment ago and I realised that I didn't really clarify something - The 6 points I made above listing the downsides of the book, whilst they are negative points about the book, they do not detract one bit from the overall storyline in this book. From seeing other reviews I know that others LOVED the sexual references throughout, it's just not to my taste. A lot of the editing is just that, editing. And all books have a mistake in them - someone has to find it. Point number 6, about the baby, I still can't be comfortable with that. But after having a whole day of NOT reading The Perfect Descent I can tell you that it has been in my head all day. I was looking forward to a cup of tea and reading some more pages when my daughter went down for a nap and then I realised I'd finished it and I was so disappointed. Similar to how I felt when Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy ended on TV, it left a bit of a sting for a while when I realised it was over.

So I just want to say to anyone reading this review and wondering if you should buy the book - buy the book. It will cling to you long after you've finished it. And I take back what I said above that years from now I may not be telling people about this book, I have a feeling that I will. It's not often a book gets me the way this one has.

As I finished The Perfect Descent, by Jessica Holbrook, I instantly entered an abstinence stage. No kidding.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. I indeed took a lot of time to read it, but due to personal issues... although I would love to make a living out of writing reviews, duty called as I got a new job (yeah!!!) and I had to avoid pursuing this - for now! So, as I was saying, when things got a bit more stable at my new job, I could go back to my normal rhythm, and OMG, I could not stop until I tried to turn the last non-existing page more than 10 times.

How far and how deep would you go for revenge? How meticulous would you be in order to punish the ones who made you suffer?

The plot is around Deacon, an ex-marine and ex-mercenary, hired to be the bodyguard of Madison, the only daughter of the Benchley couple, multimillionaires who died, murdered, many years ago. Right after Deacon starts working for the Benchley family, one of her brothers and his girlfriend are brutally murdered.

Short after this episode, Madison suffers her first murder attempt, and then the story goes with a lot of murders, intrigues, dark business and conspiracy theories.
"The Perfect Descent" is one of those books you just cannot stop reading. It has everything: suspense, romance, tension, remorse, anger, etc. I was sad when I finished it and I do recommend it to all of you guys who enjoy an intense reading.
Looking forward for Jessica´s next work.