Reviewed by Heather C
Title: Katastrophic Decisions
Author: R.L. Rushing
Series: Cursed Existence Collection
Heroine: Katarina “Kata” Redford
Genre: F/F Paranormal Romance
Length: 184 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 17, 2014
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Katastrophic Decisions serves as the back story of Katarina Redford, a healer. It takes place before she was ripped from her life and forced into Ledger chaos.
Some people would kill for the chance to be endowed with the ability to heal. However, Kata Redford and her few remaining family members have spent the past several years hiding in the rugged Oregon mountains from religious zealots and other crazies who seek to either punish her for her inherent ability or possess it for themselves. Now, at twenty eight years of age, she’s reached a pivotal moment in her life. Realizing that something she’d wanted so badly was not meant to be, with an open mind and an aching heart, she sets off to find her own path in life.
Unexpectedly, Kata is enraptured by the beautiful Levin Chase, an intriguing drummer for the band, Stage a Revolt. Through their equally undeniable attraction, Kata finally learns what it means to live life to the fullest. Thanks to Levin’s strong determination, they begin to build a rock solid future on the heels of a nearly catastrophic decision. But as usual in her life, just when everything starts looking up, her world falls to pieces.
Review:
I received the request to review this book a few months ago and I’ve delayed a bit in reading it because I, for some reason, was expecting it to be more supernatural in nature. So I kinda feel silly, because it wasn’t at all what I expected it to be and I really enjoyed it.
Years ago, Kata escaped to the mountains with her family; living the “simple” life in order to keep her family and her secret safe. Kata can heal people. She can heal the tiniest of cuts to the largest of life ending injuries. And there are people out there that want to exploit her. After being rejected by the man who can’t love her back, Kata ventures into the nearest town planning to drink away her sorrows. At the bar, Kata meets the beautiful Levin playing with her band. Levin is the drummer, but when the band is finished with their set, she begins to sing…and Kata is blown away with the feelings in Levin’s voice. Even though Kata has had a few too many drinks, she’s completely caught off guard when Levin comes on to her; Kata’s never been attracted to a woman before! Kata still can’t deal with the rejection and her life of solitude, so the next night she finds herself hitching a ride with Levin and the band down to San Francisco to visit her twin sister Kassidy. So the story follows Kata…from trying to rekindle the relationship with her sister to falling in love with Levin. A journey that will bring her back to the mountains and ultimately to a place she never wanted to be.
Ominous, huh? Not really…
The Pros:
Once I started reading it, I was quickly drawn in and found myself not wanting to put it down. I wouldn’t say that its a fast paced story, but I was hooked from the very beginning.
I really liked Kata. She’s a bit selfish at times, and even has a little guilt about that selfishness, but I think that at this point in her life, after giving up all that she has given up, she deserves to do for herself for once.
I really liked Levin. Yeah, she’s a woman, but she was hot in a sexy, buff kinda way; not at all butch. Possessive and dominant and…yeah, she was sexy.
There’s some other great characters too. Kassidy and the demon twins and Kata’s family in the mountains. I was even liking Mouse in the end.
The cliffhanger. OMG I was freaking out!
The Cons:
I didn’t care for the “insta-love”. Kata and Levin hardly know each other and it doesn’t take long before they are going all in with a relationship. So I feel like that connection between them was a bit forced upon me, although I clearly felt the attraction.
The last quarter of the book felt a bit too drawn out to me. At that point, I felt that characters were either about to make the same mistakes again, or something really bad was about to go down. Can you guess which one happened?
I wanted there to be more action and drama revolving around Kata’s power. It was there and she uses it, but it didn’t feel like a big focal point of the story other than her having to keep it a secret.
Recommended…I will definitely check out the other book, MissRebel Nights, that is already released and keep the rest of this collection on my radar.
*Note: Apparently this “collection” can be read in any order as the stories do not occur in chronological time, although that leaves me a bit confused about what happens next to Kata after that ending!
Overall Impression: I Liked It!
*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*
The Blogger Girls 