COVET BY ELLA JAMES
Release Date: February 25, 2019
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Designer: Candi Kane
Cover Photo: Wander Aguiar
Model: Colton R.
Homer Carnegie. Admit it—you know my name. Your kid’s got my e-trading card. Your husband sits up straighter when I stroll onto the TV screen. He knows I’m going to crack the bat and save the day. Even your grandma’s jonesing for my autograph. But women my age? They’re the worst. Or would that be the best?
It’s not my fault they line up at the door. They catch my balls all right, two at a time sometimes, or even three. Believe me, everybody wins.
At least they did—until the video. I heard TMZ paid a million for a bird’s eye view of Homer on his A-game. The only folks who didn’t watch with eager eyes? Red Sox management. They want me benched, or worse, shipped off to rehab.
It’s a long story, what happens next. How I end up on a boat, bound for the world’s most remote island: Tristan da Cunha. Just a speck of dust in the Atlantic.
Except my heart is there.
I don’t know that when I step onto the boat.
I don’t know a lot of things.
What I’ll covet…
What I’ll lose…
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Review
4 Stars
I am a longtime Ella James fan and I've been patiently waiting for the Sinful Secrets novels to be continued, so you can probably picture my excitement when Covet finally got a release date. I absolutely went into it with high expectations and I think EJ hit it out of the park. Just like Sloth and Murder, the characters and the sin they must work through are difficult and EJ does a fantastic job of describing it all. You can feel the ache of temptation, the pangs of loneliness, and the desperation of addiction. Like the previous novels, Covet is a standalone told from the perspectives of two main characters, Declan "Homer" Carnegie and Finley Evans. The only difference, for me, was the cover. Yes, the man on the cover of this novel has an incredible body, but am I the only one who misses the aesthetic of Sloth and Murder? Just me? Ok, I won't speak of it again.
Ella James, like many authors, has the task of creating an original story in a world of books, where authors have written it all. The Sinful Secrets standalone series focuses on the seven deadly sins. While coveting someone isn't new to the fiction world, the characters featured on this tiny island and storyline this novel follows is absolutely fresh. Declan may be the handsome baseball star, but rehab continues to fail him and this is his last shot with his team management breathing down his back. Finley is the girl who survived the worst, the girl who volunteers for anything on the island of Tristan da Cunha, and she's the only girl who wants nothing to do with Declan, at least she thinks that. Their attraction to one another is instant, part of the sparks flying is their natural beauty and part of it is the thoughts they've carried of one another for years. Secrets don't lend themselves to romance though and while the two are willing to shed their skin, they aren't willing to spill their truths, and when they do, the things revealed may be insurmountable.
I was incredibly impressed with how well Ella James described the different stages of grief, addiction, withdrawal, and even love. More than the emotional state of the characters, we see how their interactions change, we see the deep, physical ache that comes from both the known and the unknown, and we see the important memories in the characters that have shaped them. I didn't actually sort out how the sin of coveting played into the story for nearly half the novel though, so I will say that I was surprised with the reveal. The slow pacing of the novel does mean it takes time to warm up to the characters, to the setting, but I have to admit I loved the emotional upheaval I went through as the story, the puzzle pieces, clicked into place.
While I don't know what it's like to live on a remote island with very little outside interaction, I felt like I was right there alongside Declan and Finley, in the rain, in the dark, in the tiny homes hoping to remain undiscovered. It's a heart wrenching, powerful story and I love that the romance isn't glossy and perfect, rather filled with jagged edges and sharp points the characters must climb to conquer.
About the Author:
Ella James is the USA Today and Amazon Top 10 bestselling author of twenty teen and adult love stories. She’s an angst-a-holic who loves exploring difficult situations and the emotions of the people caught up in them. Also, smut. But always, always romance.
Ella James is the USA Today and Amazon Top 10 bestselling author of twenty teen and adult love stories. She’s an angst-a-holic who loves exploring difficult situations and the emotions of the people caught up in them. Also, smut. But always, always romance.
Ella is an Alabama native who makes her home near Boulder, Colorado, with her writer husband, three young children, and hyperactive dog. When she’s not writing, she can be found hiking the foothills, taking nature photos for her Instagram account, and swilling vanilla cream soda.
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