Crawling Over the Pages: Book Review: Tears of Tess

A New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance, not suitable for people sensitive to grief, slavery, and nonconsensual sex. A story about finding love in the strangest of places, a will of iron that grows from necessity, and forgiveness that may not be enough.

“My life was complete. Happy, content, everything neat and perfect.

Then it all changed.

Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility.

For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.

But lusty paradise is shattered.

Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror.

Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.

Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?

Three little words.

If anyone asked what I was most afraid of, what terrified me, stole my breath, and made my life flicker before my eyes, I would say three little words.

Subject: Blonde Girl on Scooter

Barcode Reference: 302493528752445

Age: Twenty to thirty

Temperament: Angry and violent

Sexual Status: Not virgin

Sexual Health: No diseases

Ownership Guidelines: Recommend strict punishment to break temper. Trim body, fit enough for extreme activities

History: No living relatives

Meet Quincy Mercer a.k.a. Q. The heir to Mercer Conglomerates, which was later renames as Sparrow Holdings. He has a really dark past and was said to let anyone love him because he thinks that deep down his subconscious, he’s just like his father. The moment he turned 16, he made a decision to stop his father’s cold-blooded exploitations. Since then he vowed to help women who are maltreated. He collaborated with the police to treat the abused women and help them heal. He has already helped 57 women and most of them were successfully healed. He never once thought that he’ll feel something towards his women, until #58 came, trashing like a wild animal, while held by this people towards his house.

Tess Snow. She’s an unplanned child and has always been reliant on herself since her parents had a hard time acting as parents to her the moment they retired. Her boyfriend surprised her with a trip to Mexico to celebrate their second anniversary. Instead of enjoying their vacation, she was abducted and sold to a master.

I was a bad, bad person and deserved my fate. I brought this nightmare with my wicked thoughts.

Tess is a very sensual person and she’s ashamed of where her mind wanders sometimes when she’s with her boyfriend. So when she got kidnapped, she felt like she was being punished for thinking such thoughts.

She wanted to hate Q but thought the months after she arrived in his house, she came to understand him in a deeper level that nobody seemed to do.

Q, on the other hand, feels a connection towards a slave for the first time and he’s afraid of pursuing his feelings. His feelings are so strong that he wanted to take care of her and provide her with everything. He doesn’t want to break her but wants to empower her more.

Tess keeps on denying her feelings for Q but her body keeps on betraying her. But she can’t help but think of her boyfriend, Brax, who has been left bathing in his own blood inside the bathroom somewhere in Mexico. Is it a bad thing to want something that his boyfriend is hesitant to give? Would it hurt to just give in without thinking of the person she left outside? What would it feel to be loved by Q? Will it make her a bad person if she just quench her desire and do things she can’t do when she gets out of her jail?

Tears of Tess is a very dark, intense, and emotional story of Q, a guy who has had a very traumatic childhood who managed to emerge and make something good out of what happened to him and Tess, a woman, who was brought up believing that she was unwanted, finally standing up and going after what really wants.

The moment I saw this book, I already thought it would be a good one, and man, I was so right. I love the sensuality of the characters, the survival instinct, intensity and imperfection of the main characters, and the construction of the story. However, I would really love to know what goes on in Q’s mind.