Between the Lines: REVIEW: Master Over You By, Cerys Du Lys & Ethan Winters

November 3, 2014

REVIEW: Master Over You By, Cerys Du Lys & Ethan Winters

There's a monster in every closet, and I'm in yours.

My name is Noah. I'm not a nice person. This isn't cupcakes and candyland, love.

I'll take you, break you, and offer you to the highest bidder without a second thought. You're mine now. It's business, nothing personal. You wouldn't understand, and I'm not going to explain it. Sorry, love, you don't mean a thing to me.

Just know that there's a monster in every closet, and I'm in yours.

Author Note - This dark romance novel contains themes that may be discomforting to some people. If you are sensitive to depictions of violence, then this book is not recommended for you.

Man’s POV = Ethan, Woman’s POV = Cerys

There is a light at the end of every dark tunnel, no matter how dim it may seem.

I am not a reader that shies away from dark or intense books and if you are one of those readers (there is nothing wrong with that) I would not pick this book up. I wouldn’t even think about it. This book is dark, intense, and emotional. Even with all of those things I really enjoyed reading it. It was something different and original. Don’t get me wrong it is a love story. There are many many moments that are hard to read. But if you don’t mind getting through those parts this is definitely a book worth picking up.

“You either have a monster in your closet, or you are the monster in someone else’s closet. There is nothing else. That’s the only rule in this fucked up game of life.”

This book starts out with Chastity White. She is naïve, innocent, and has no idea what is hunting her. We don’t really get to know her that much. She is the first victim in this story. Noah has been paid to take her. Train her. She has only been in his hands for about a day before everything changes and she finds herself with an even bigger monster.

Chastity’s character was a little unnecessary for me. It did show us everything Noah was talking about. It only took one day for her to fall in love with him. She was just really unintelligent. I don’t think that she was supposed to come of as that as much as she did. She was definitely naïve. Her few chapters were a little hard for me to read. She really bothered me.

“I’m not good or bad, I just am. I exist as Noah. For better or for worse. I’ll let someone else figure out which it is. I don’t have time for that.”

Then we have Noah. He kidnaps and trains women to be sold as sex slaves. He has his eye on a very specific girl because of a very specific request. After he takes her he has a day before his whole life changes. He is taken by a woman. He wakes up to find himself chained to a wall. He is now the one begin abused and learning to follow the rules. The only problem is this woman seems to want something else from him. Noah just doesn’t know what yet.

Noah is the hunter, the trainer, the predator. His world changes when he becomes the prey, the student, and the hunted. Noah was rude and rude with most of his chapters. There were a lot of eff bombs dropped. Some more unnecessary than the other but Ethan really made Noah jump off the page. The writing was fluid and you can see all of the different sides to Noah. Even though he has rationalized his job in his head you can see he has some remorse. There are some lines he won’t cross. There is a history and a reason he does what he does and Ethan manages to give Noah a depth I wasn’t expecting.

“I didn’t even fucking think to do anything to her before, because, fuck me, I thought assholes going after women were more important to keep tabs on. Who the fuck knew that she was the worst monster of all? She was the one in my fucking closet and I never even tried to turn the lights on.”

Angeline has been stalking Noah for a long time. When she takes him she has her reasons. She is dead inside but he makes her feel. Even for a few seconds and that mean everything. Angeline is trying to make him remember. She needs him to remember without her telling him because he might not forgive her. There is more to Angeline then anyone ever knew.

“I fell in love with a monster and she ate my fucking soul. I let her, though.”

Angeline was a complex character. She didn’t have a normal upbringing. It was as horrible and dark as she is now. She doesn’t know how to process emotions. She doesn’t really know how to be normal. Cerys did an amazing job writing this character. There was so much she had to express through her writing. Angeline is a psychotic bitch but there is a craziness that you need to realize when you read this book. Even getting a look into her head doesn’t give you any answers. You can’t rationalize crazy. She talks in riddles and circles but you come to realize she is vulnerable and is a way naïve.

“I would remember him and I would smile, even if only for a fraction of a second. The emotion was fleeting, but it was there, and it was very real to me.”

Angeline and Noah were written by two different authors but the flow worked. It didn’t read as two different books. Their writing styles complimented each other and created a story that was original and interesting. With the dual POVs there was a lot of redundancy at the beginning of the chapters. But if you can get through those little parts the rest is totally worth it.

“I want to love him for forever and for always and for eternity and for more, too. I do not just want it, I need it. It is my reaction to his existence. I am unable to do anything else. I will always be this way.”

Even with my problems with some of this book, Master Over You, was a twisted and enjoyable ride. There was more to this story than you get in the beginning. The characters are complex and the story will keep you turning pages and promising just one more chapter. The book shows you that everyone can survive and fall in love. Life is hard, dark, and twisted sometimes but if you can keep surviving you might find something that is worth it.

“I’m sorry. Thank you for loving me anyways. I promise I’ll love you forever. I always have.”