Review: Dirty Red

Title: Dirty Red

Author: Tarryn Fisher

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis: Dear Opportunist, 

You thought you could take him from me, but you lost. Now, that he's mine I'll do anything to keep him. Do you doubt me? I have everything that was supposed to be yours. In case you were wondering; he doesn't ever think about you anymore. I won't let him go....ever. 

Dirty Red

Leah Smith finally has everything she has ever wanted. Except she doesn't. Her marriage feels more like a loan than a lifelong commitment, and the image she has worked so hard to build is fraying before her eyes. With a new role and a past full of secrets, Leah must decide how far she is willing to go to keep what she has stolen.

Review:

"Their story will never be over."

Just to clarify, that quote talks about Caleb and Olivia, not Leah.

Warning to those who haven't read The Opportunist yet. I tried to censor this review but there might still be some spoilers here, so proceed at your own risk.

***

To those who hated Leah in the first book, be prepared to have the full-experience where you will seriously consider harming her. I was already wary about reading this because who would want to read the POV of a character you obviously dislike. The first page even manage to piss me and fuel my hate for her.

This started a probably almost a year after Caleb and Olivia's heart-wrenching good bye. With the baby, I seriously expect that maybe Caleb will finally be happy with his family and I am dreading it. A cynical part of me tells me that maybe this will just lead to a closure between Caleb and Olivia but will not bring them back together. After all, Olivia [spoiler]is now married to someone who's actually nice[spoiler]. Luckily, having a baby brings out Leah's true colors.

Since Caleb always wanted a child, he was beyond happy when Estella was born. He got the name from his favorite book, Great Expectations, and guess what? Leah started to think that this is all about Olivia, once again. Actually, she thinks Caleb's every move is because of Olivia and it led her to decide about things based on her. She always gives malice to everything Caleb does and lives behind Olivia's shadow on her own doing.

In this book, we will get to know the real Johanna Leah Smith and her back story. Yes, it was sad and I did sympathize about it but that was not an excuse for what she has done. What I really don't like about her, aside from being a bitch, is how she lived her life in pretense just to have Caleb or her father's approval. She always wanted to be the best but she wasn't even herself.

Here's some awesome stuff Cammie said in Leah's face, by the way:

"They spark. When they're together, it's like putting a hurricane and a tornado in the same room – you can feel the tension. I didn't believe in the cliché of soul mates until I saw them together."

"Now, you've won the guy...and the baby. You won. So, why are you asking about Olivia?" 

"There's a possibility that you feel like you're worth more than being Caleb's marriage of pity, and if that's true then you should jump ship now. It's only a matter of time before the Caleb/Olivia saga starts up again."

Nailed it, right?

As usual, the last chapter brought the bomb and it didn't failed to impress me, although I had some feeling about it. I am so glad Caleb is finally starting to realise how stupid it is to stay in his marriage. Though this book focused on Leah, it also provided some clarifications about Caleb's actions and feelings and I assure you, you will love it.

It might be weird to feel happy about someone's downfall but this just proves that karma is a real bitch and it came back to make Leah's fears come true. Now what I need is the third book and an epic reunion.

PS,
Here's a teaser of Thief, the third and final installment in Caleb's POV. Tweet, comment, email or message me on Goodreads about your thoughts. I want more people to discuss this series with.