★BOOK REVIEW + GIVEAWAY★ The Paper Swan by Leylah Attar

MY RATING

Awesome!

Definitely on my top 10 this year! I loved everything in this book and pretty much have a real author crush.

Book infos & Purchase Links

51kvH+EfVOL._UY250_They say it takes 21 days to form a habit.
They lie.
For 21 days she held on.
But on Day 22, she would have given anything for the sweet slumber of death.
Because on Day 22, she realizes that her only way out means certain death for one of the two men she loves.

A haunting tale of passion, loss, and redemption, The Paper Swan is a darkly intense yet heartwarming love story, textured with grit, intrigue, and suspense. Please note: This is NOT a love triangle.

A full-length, standalone novel, intended for mature audiences due to violence, sex and language. Subject matter may be disturbing for some readers.

Author : Leylah Attar
Title : The Paper Swan
Series : –

Publisher : Pitch73 Publishing
Pages : 390
Release date : August 4, 2015

Genre : Contemporary.

 

My Review

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A SPOILER FREE REVIEW
This story is best enjoyed if going completely blind!

I only discovered Leylah Attar recently and I can tell she became a must read author already.

After reading 53 Letters for my Lover a few weeks ago I had the worst book hangover ever. I just couldn’t let go of the characters and lose myself in another book just quite. I was hung up on Leylah Attar words and her unique way to reel you in.

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See, she builds a tension so high, so palpable that you have no other choice but to drown into the story, immerse yourself in her slice of fake world only wishing all of it to be true.

The Paper Swan literally surprised me. I was very much looking forward reading another perfectly crafted story by this author and was not disappointed. How is it possible that this is only her second novel?

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What to say about the Paper Swan?

The things is, The Paper Swan is a story you’ll appreciate to the fullest if you go completely blind into it.

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I believe the blurb is purposefully stirring you away from what the story really is about. Or maybe there’s a hint into that blurb, who knows? You think there’s a love triangle and are afraid of it? I PROMISE you there is NO triangle in this story.
Please don’t be afraid and make the jump. You won’t regret it.

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I think discovering firsthand the whos and whys in this story is essential. 

So WHAT CAN I TELL YOU?

★The Paper Swan is a beautifully written love story.
It is also a suspenseful adventure.
It is dark and twisted and tangled in a web of memories.
It is not a black or white story.
It is a complex tale of love, passion, disenchantment and vengeance.
It’s a story with a reason.

And it ends with the most beautiful and fulfilling HEA ever. Sigh. 

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The female character breathtakingly stole the show for me. Her inner thoughts truly shows the author’s genius. Her POV is witty, fierce, blunt and fascinating. I loved discovering an heroine with some mordant and cynicism. Contrary to her good looks she was not the sweet and gentle wallflower you would expect her to be. 

That’s right Damian. Slap me and ice me better. Can’t kill me, but can’t let me go either.

How the author managed to almost let you be Skye, cheer for her, hope for her, love through her… 

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The hero’s  characterization —or should I say antihero— was a truly work of art. Through Skye, first, as all she feels is utter disgust and hatred for him, I felt compelled and perplexed by his actions. As much as a villain Skye would depict him, I wanted to know more about him. His silences were fascinating and in a way… intriguing.

Die, Dah-me-yahn, DIE!

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It is uncanny how the author managed to get me to care about the bad guy. One minute I was full of hatred for a man like him, sharing the sheer rage of the heroine, the other I was trying to understand and crack him open.

Miss Attar, congratulations, mindfuck complete!

Live, Dah-me-yahn, LIVE!

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He hadn’t shaved since we’d been on the island, but his beard wasn’t quite full. It made him look free-spirited and bohemian and uber masculine, like he belonged in the pages of a nautical magazine. He had a sharp nose, bronze skin stretched tight over his cheekbones, and black lashes that fringed deep, dark eyes.
Damn. He had a fine, proud profile.

Damian Caballero is one of the best bad guys I’ve had the pleasure to read. He had such a magnetic presence, a spellbinding darkness surrounding him. He was definitely a rough, crude infuriating man… at first. I hated his guts. And I ended loving the man. Loving the kid.

Damian fucking Caballero laughed. And it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

See? The author second name is Insidious. I’m sure of it.

I want to take a minute and focus on Leylah Attar’s writing. She has an unique and singular touch, almost like poetry. Her similes and metaphors are really something to highlight and her style is far from pompous, mind you. 

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Her writing is refreshing. Luscious. Delicate. Powerful. She has this understated way to describe unique and crucial moments, it’s bewitching and I completely fell in love with it.

There was no shades to black. Black was absolute, impenetrable. Black absorbed all the colors. If you fell into black, it swallowed you whole.
Yet, here was a different kind of black. It was black ice and burning coal. It was well-water and desert night. It was dark tempest and glassy calm. It was Black battling Black, opposite and polar, and yet still… all black.

Sheer, raw emotions described in the most subtle yet profound way, light yet meaningful actions literally stole my breath away.
She  sneakily weaves you in with uncertainty, letting you confused, full of doubt. That’s her way to hook you right in and she masters it

How many real, glorious nights had I missed? Nights like this, when the universe dances for you, and you become a tiny but beautiful note of the magical song it sings.

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I started this book at night and it had my mind reeling so hard I couldn’t find sleep. I needed to know MORE. I had to! I was the heroine after all!

His lips found mine and he latched on with a hunger that left me breathless. he was an ocean of want and need. Ann the raging, submerged currents that he’d kept at bay unleashed themselves on me. I tried to keep afloat, clutching at him, but I didn’t stand a chance.
My hurt, my anger, my tears were tossed aside something deeper, something vast and true and powerful and endless.

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The sex scenes in this book were pure erotic genius. Vivid and powerful words that entice and excite. The chemistry between the characters and the intensity of their emotions had me panting and fanning myself. For a while I even let myself fantasize I was Skye. Every scene was crafted with taste and purposeful.

His fingers continued their maddening dance, and just when I thought I was about to explode, his cock slid into me, full and hard. It was pure possession, unbridled and complete. The pleasure came, swift and explosive. I clung to him, unable to suppress the cry of delight as wave after wave of electric fire scorched through me.
He held still, one hand cupping the back of my head, the other on the curve of my hip as I came in tight spasms around him.

On a scale to 1 to a million, I’d rate the steam in this book : a billion. That hot.

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I shut him up with a kiss, because everything he needed to know was in the way my lips moved against his, the way my tongue melded with his, lingering and savoring the way he felt, the way he tasted.

I know I said a lot yet not so much about the story itself, feeding you tiny crumbs and trust me, all I want is to share how exciting and sublime Damian and Skye’ story was, but…
You MUST experience this firsthand!

I much prefer sharing some of my favorite quotes, in visuals and let me tell you, it was the hardest thing to do, to pick quotes that wouldn’t obviously reveal it all!

Just one more thing : READ the book! Now!

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You can either choose love or you can choose hate, because where one lives, the other will die.

Author Bio

51y+ckHfKML._UX250_Leylah Attar is the New York Times and USA Today Best Selling author of The Paper Swan. She writes stories about love–shaken, stirred and served with a twist. Sometimes she disappears into the black hole of the internet, but can usually be enticed out with chocolate.

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9 Comments

  1. I devoured this book in a matter of hours, three weeks ago, and have been majorly book hungover ever since! I feel exactly as you describe in your review, found myself agreeing with every point. I NEEEED everyone to read this book, it’s THAT good.

    1. says: Alleskelle

      I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one still hung up on this book. I didn’t want it to finish! I wish everyone could read it too! I think I’m being mildly annoying to my friends right now with how much I’m still talking about it, lol! Thank you for reading, Barb! 😉

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