I was excited to get my teeth in to Possess, I had heard that it was an emotional and gritty book; but I honestly had no idea just how emotional it was.

This story is about to abused people, who fall in love and then their world explodes around them. You see Liam proposes to Ella; and while Ella is delighted that Liam wants to marry her; she can’t as she is already married to a monster. Liam, who was originally devastated that Ella is married (although on some level he knew); picks himself up and chargers in to freeing Ella from her nightmare…and there I am going to leave it as I don’t want to give too much of the story away.

I think I literally started to cry from half way through the first chapter, all the way until the end. There are some parts where I had such a huge visceral response, that I had to walk away from the book. It is truly not for the faint of heart and if you are looking for the sweet Happily Ever After without any real emotion…yeah this book is not for you! The writing is smooth and from what I could see, the author had well researched the domestic and child abuse themes.

So on to my feelings on the book. I have to say that I really appreciate the format, it is written where both of the main characters POV (which I have to say I LOVED). Liam’s character goes first, and to be honest, by the end of that first chapter I was set to absolutely detest Ella (female lead), and my heart completely bled for Liam. But after a few chapters, I began to like her and by the end, she is truly one of my favorite heroines. There were many other supporting characters’ that I enjoyed, but none who truly stood out for me as a show stopper.

Possess was a fantastic book to read, but not a light hearted in anyway. This book earned 8 out of 10 from me. But one word of warning though! You WILL become addicted to this book! ( )

An excellent wrap up of Liam and Ella's story! After Liam's stunning proposal and the realization that Ella is still married to her monster of a husband this couples future looks dark. With incredible twists and turns this story had me glued to the pages. Full of suspense, darkness, and unending love, this is one book you will want to read. I highly recommend it. ( )

Possess by Laura Marie Altom
Book #2: A Shamed Novel
Source: Netgally
My Rating: 2-3 stars
My Review:

**SPOILERS and a rant for book one and book two!!**

For those of you who follow me regularly, you may be wondering how I could possibly be reviewing book two in this series after the review I left for Control just yesterday. Again I offer you the easy answer, I really, really hate DNFing a book that Netgalley has been kind enough to gift me. So, without further ado, here’s the review for Possess.

Picking up where Control left off, Possess begins with Liam and Ella still reeling from the latest revelation, Ella is still married to her abusive ex and therefore can’t legally marry Liam. Typical of Liam and his inflated ego, he assures Ella everything will fine, they will get married and her ex will not be a problem. Though Ella wants to believe everything Liam is telling her, she knows her ex better than anyone else and assures Liam the divorce won’t be easy to come by. Sure that his money and swagger can overcome anything, Liam barrels ahead intent on a happily ever after. Unwilling to actually listen to Ella, Liam is totally blindsided when Blaine shows up at his home with the police and takes Ella.

As a judge, Blaine is well-versed in the law and knows that as Ella’s legal husband and with her history of being institutionalized, Liam doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Even more damning, Liam rages and lashes out in an effort to get Ella back and lands himself in a world of hurt and jail. Before Liam can get sprung from jail, Ella is across the country, heavily drugged and institutionalized once again. Though Ella fights as best she can, the drugs are fierce and before long she is a zombie. True to form, Liam needs to play the hero and finds a way to spring Ella from Hell. Though Ella is once again being put through a horrifying nightmare, the bulk of her past comes to light while she is inside.

As if the ride hasn’t been long enough already, once Liam springs Ella he once again refuses to listen to her when she tries to tell him Blaine isn’t done. Once again, Ella thinks her plan is better than everyone else’s and so, she traipses off to try and fix everything but ends up making things far, far worse, yet again. In fact, by the time all is said and done, Blaine snaps the tether, takes a hostage and ends up going down in a hail of gunfire.

The Bottom Line: Once again, I cannot realistically complain about the book from purely technical perspective. The author is clearly a skilled writer but this is where the praise ends for me. Liam simply doesn’t learn and his actions and attitude become even more ridiculous in this read. He is a jealous, angry individual who throws money at every problem assuming the problem will just go away for a price. Liam always knows better than anyone else and often refuses to listen to anyone or to actual reason. Ella is little better and though I absolutely applaud the strength it took for her to escape hell, her actions and attitude are often rash and ill-conceived. She and Liam are damn-near toxic and I found myself quite literally hoping they would go their separate ways. As with Control, Possess has a great deal of extraneous stuff including characters and situations. In all honesty, if Control and Possess were stripped of all the extraneous situations and characters and combined into a single read it might make the reads more enjoyable. Might is as far as I am willing to go and now that my commitment to Netgalley has been fulfilled, I can reasonably and without guilt say I am done with this series. ( )

As Ella's story continues in Possess, Liam is so completely smitten with her he can't stop trying to make her life everything it should have been. Liam is determined to confront her estranged husband with any means he has to (even through foul means if he must) so Ella will be free. Just when he thinks everything is resolved, Ella still has doubts. This puts a strain on their relationship and they each wonder if they can weather the storm.

Possess is an intriguing continuation from Control, filled with seemingly insurmountable obstacles to overcome. The issues seemed to be fairly easy to fix though with Liam's vast supply of money. Eventually the problems appeared to catch up to Ella and Liam. The conflict between them added fuel to their already chaotic relationship. This kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting the hero and heroine to have their happily ever after. Ms. Altom enticed us to devour the story by giving us alternate chapters from Ella and Liam's point of view. It was like having an inside track to the hero's feelings and wouldn't we all love the heck out of that in real life?! I was completely engrossed in Possess, always rooting for love to win out in the end. I was slightly disappointed sometimes when Ella seemed a bit "wishy-washy" with her emotions. I was thrilled to see the hero and heroine's lives moving forward in a more relaxed, loving manner and everything coming together in a sweetly romantic way. I'll most definitely be there for more from Ms. Altom! I can hardly wait! 4 Stars ( )

I have to say I enjoyed this book more than #1 in the series. The characters seem to have matured, are stronger, and not so annoying as they were in the book Control. Liam and Ella are more of a team and are fighting less, though Liam has does have moments of jealousy which he realizes himself he has to control. The strength of love and caring that Liam shows Ella as he fights to keep her save is amazing.
There's terrifying drama, and suspense in this story, tender love, and hot, steamy, passion. A great conclusion to a an entertaining story. ( )