Title: Razorblade Kisses
Author: RL Griffin
Genre: New Adult/Coming of Age
Cover Design: Michelle Carroll - Silver Plum Creations
Release Date: January 8th 2015
Her name is Emery Shaw...Emily Sanders...Emma Simpson...Ericka Smith.
Her family was well off, she ran. They looked for her, she hid. They found her, she ran again. Tragedy strikes, she gets even.
The fact is, she doesn’t know who she is, she tried to run, to hide and make a life for herself, but that backfired. No one knows her except her best friend Rachel, if that’s even an adequate word for what they are to each other. Rachel helps her build a life for herself below the radar, which is fine until the unthinkable happens knocking Em out of her unfeeling cocoon. When her house of cards comes tumbling down she runs again, until the one person who can change her mind finds her.
Due to adult situations, language and possible scenarios that may be difficult for some readers to handle, take a breath before you start this one. It’s gritty and not pretty. Nothing is pretty here. Whiskey is a good thing.
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“You are braver than you seem and stronger than you think.”
I’ve been a fan of RL Griffin since By a Thread came out. She has a way
to take very heartbreaking situations and turn them into positive ones in the
very end, with endless amounts of twists and turns thrown in. In Razorblade
Kisses, she does just that without fail. RL takes you on a very wild
rollercoaster. She has the ability to take you into the book and enables you to
feel what the characters are feeling, in some cases, you wish you can just wrap
your arms around the characters and comfort them. Sometimes it feels so real,
it’s crazy. I found myself laughing along, crying, my heart broke several
times, and a few curse words escaped my lips for both Emery and RL. In the end,
we are left with our usual HEA, however, I was still left wanting more. But I
always want more.
“How can the day be so pretty when her life was so revolting?”
Emery Shaw has been living the past three years with a smile plastered
on her face, just going through the motions to make it seem as if she was
living. However on the inside, she was anything but. The last time she felt
happy was when her father was alive. But now she was completely numb. For a
teenager, Emery is forced through some situations no teenager should ever have
to face. It’s a secret she keeps to herself and wishes to not share with no one
ever. She wishes she could just vanish to escape her reality, but she needs to
stay to keep her younger sister, Ashley safe. Emery would continue to live in complete
misery every single day of her life for Ashley’s sake.
“I’m talking about a click. Where you meet someone right away and you know that person is going to mean something to you- lover, friend, whatever. You click.”
“We clicked. I heard it. You’ll be important to me.” ~ Rachel
An unfortunate meeting and nowhere to go for hours causes Emery to form
a friendship with Rachel. There’s just something about her that makes her feel
comfortable enough to have her revealing personal things about herself. Things
that she has never thought to have told anyone, even her darkest secrets. With
that said Emery feels a weight has been lifted off her shoulders, it’s like she
has someone to share a part of her with. But queue in the pity looks, something
Emery wanted to avoid. She doesn’t want anyone to feel bad for her. It’s her
burden, no one else’s.
“I love you, Rachel. You saved my life tonight.” ~ Emery
One hundred and fifty six. That number ends here. Rachel has had enough
and will become Emery’s backbone. Emery has endured too much for a person her
age and needs to start living again and Rachel will help her get her life back.
Since her own mother is too blind to see what is really going on in front of
her, someone else must take a stand for Emery. With the help of Derrick,
Rachel’s crush, they will help plan Emery’s escape from her personal hell, with
the promise that Rachel will make sure Ashely is safe. Emery Shaw will no
longer exist.
“I’m going to find where you go and lock the door so that you can never go back.” ~ Noah
“He peeled away all of my protective layers with a razorblade, slowly and carefully. He’s not hurting me. He’s healing me.” ~ Emery
Rachel takes Emily to start a new life with her cousin Noah. He’s your
jock that loves women, lots of them and Emily has made it known to not let her
living there interrupt his routine. He doesn’t know the real reason why she is
there and doesn’t ask. Emily starts to find out who she wants to be and makes a
comfortable life living with Noah. Noah makes her feel safe. He’s given her a
place to stay, no questions asked. He let her find herself without pushing her.
Noah slowly pulled back her layers one piece at a time, as much as she wanted
to give. He’s so compassionate and carefree with her. So very patient and not
pushing her, always taking what she’s willing to give. She knew they could never
be anything. No one could ever love her. But yet, he helped her to live again.
That’s one of the things I love about him. He never once pushed her. And when
she froze around him, he had a soothing sense about him that she just went
straight to him. He wanted to know everything, and find out how to protect her.
When things take a turn between them, she gets discovered and she needs to run.
Emily is no more.
“Know that your soul shines through your eyes.” ~ Tim“I know I can’t save you, Emma. I don’t want to save you, but I want to be there when you save yourself.” ~ Tim
Starting her new life as Emma
is harder since she is all alone. She throws herself into her job, wanting to
help kids who need help. She met Tim on a night out and the connection was so
strong she ran from him. Work brought them together awhile later. Tim made her
feel things she didn’t want to or need to feel since the moment she met him. He
gave her a sense of peace and calmness. Tim saw her for who she truly was even
though she didn’t say it all. It was as if he knew who she was, the real her
deep inside her soul. He accepted her for who she was. Tim knew she was running
from something and he was okay with it. He didn’t push. In time, he knew she
would come to him. Tim was very patient and very confident. I loved that about
him. He knew what he wanted and he was so up front about it, but he put
everything in her hands. He made her feel like running from it all. He gave her
hope. He made her see a future. She couldn’t have a future with him, she
couldn’t have a future with anyone.
“I’m not real.” ~Emery
When tragedy strikes, Emma’s
world crumbles. Her life is over. She doesn’t know what to do. She does what
she does best and the only thing she knows. She runs. She’s alone once more.
“If you have hope it will crush you and leave you bleeding on the floor with her reality of it all. Hope will end you.”
This is a very powerful story
and very close to realistic life situations. I had a very heavy heart ready
several parts in this book. I’ve read this book twice and it got me choked up
even the second time around. I’m glad that Emery was able to have the
friendship she did with Rachel, she was practically her lifeline. Without her
in her life she wouldn’t have escaped the horror that she lived. She may have escaped her past, but she will never
be free. She will always be someone she is not. Her past will continue to haunt
her, preventing her to move on. Noah was able to break the barrier, but
it was Tim who fully got through. Read the entire book, you won’t regret it,
but have some wine and some tissues handy. It’s definitely going to be a
tearjerker.
This review was done by Jenn.
I received an advanced copy in exchange for my review.
I received an advanced copy in exchange for my review.
R.L. Griffin published her first book in 2004. After that she focused on practicing law. A few years ago she began writing the By A Thread series, which is out now. Her goal is to keep readers on their toes, whether it's the plot twist or the book itself, her books are outside any box. There is a little bit of grit in most of her books and a ton of cussing. Most books are enjoyed better with a glass of wine, or whiskey, whatever your poison may be.
She lives in Atlanta with her husband, kid and dogs. She loves to travel and meet readers.
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