Thursday, September 4, 2014

Blog Tour, Reviews and Giveaway: The Drawn Series by Lilliana Anderson


Welcome to Making it Happen's stop on the Drawn Series Blog Tour!  The Drawn Series by Lilliana Anderson is a contemporary romance series where you get to choose the HEA...so which guy should Etta end up with?  Take a look-you'll start with Drawn, then you can choose which ending you'd prefer-Drawn 2: Redemption (Etta & Damien) or Drawn 2: Obsession (Etta & Aaron).  Or read both endings and pick which you like better.  

Drawn Series Synopsis:


Drawn:
***Content warning*** it's advised that readers be over 18 years of age before reading this novel due to sexual content and adult situations.

From the best-selling author of the Beautiful Series, comes Drawn, a powerful tale of a relationship that rides the edge of hate and love and everything in between.

Have you ever felt so drawn to someone, that you will put up with anything to be with them? That’s how I feel when I’m around him.

Most of the time, I want to hate him. I want to stay as far away from him as possible. He’s so cocky, and arrogant. And he gets in the way and tells me what to do. He’s all things that I normally detest in a man. But, when we’re alone… I can’t even think for myself – the pull is that intense.

I know I should run, I know I should stay away. But I can’t. I don’t know if I’m strong enough.

What do you do when you just can’t stay away? Even when you know you should…
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My Review
To me, this story was not really once of romance-it was more of obsession.  The primary male character, Damien, is an overbearing alpha male almost to the extreme-controlling and domineering...as well as hot, sexy, mouthwatering...you get the idea, right?  In sharp contrast is Etta, our lead female character.  A sweet, accommodating and naive young girl just turning 18 who honestly is not really mature enough and strong enough to handle the relationship she falls into with Damien.

Etta's character came across as extremely weak and not able to stand up for herself.  Because of these character flaws, when she gets involved with Damien he winds up controlling everything.  And while the two of them have totally unreal physical chemistry (and the steamy sex scenes that you'll find throughout the book are a solid testament to that), that's really all I can see that they have.  The two of them feel it is something stronger than love, something more, but I just didn't see how it could be anything but lust and obsession on a physical level.

Then there's Aaron.  Sweet, wonderful, helpful, loving Aaron who truly loves Etta and is willing to wait for her.  *sigh*

I thought the writing itself was good, the story did flow well and kept me interested.  And the tension that built and came to a head at the end along with the bit of a cliffhanger had me wanting to dive into the next two books to see both possible resolutions.  

What holds me back from giving more than the 3.5 stars that I'm rating this first installment is Etta's character.  I just wanted to knock some sense into her, tell her to stand up and get some control.  Her being so weak and always giving in to Damien just drove me nuts.  I'm heading into the next two books hoping she is able to change.

Drawn 2-Redemption
Choose your hero wisely.

Have you ever wanted the power to decide who the heroine of a story will ultimately end up with?

Now is your chance with Drawn 2 where you have a choice of TWO sequels in which the characters follow TWO different paths to lead them to your chosen 'happily ever after'. This is not two stories told from different points of view. This is not an alternate ending - it's an entirely separate path that readers who choose to read both sequels will appreciate the 'sliding door' moments that set our characters off in a different direction.

Different choices. Different fates.

You hold the power You get to choose - Damien... or Aaron.

In Drawn, we met Etta and watched as her obsessive relationship with Damien sent both of them into world of darkness and self-destruction. We also met Aaron, the constant in Etta's life - the man who was willing to do anything it took to keep her safe.

Two Men. One woman. A decision that will change everything...

That decision is yours...

Three years have passed since Damien lost Etta. His obsessive and irrational behaviour drove her away and destroyed his life.

For three years he has languished in prison. Every day he had but one thought - Etta. She is the holder of his soul and he can't see a life without her in it.

When he is finally released and tracks her down, he is faced with something he didn't expect. His daughter, and Aaron.

Damien needs to redeem himself in the eyes of the woman he loves. He needs to prove to her that he is the kind of man she can build a life with - even if that means telling her all of his secrets and possibly ruining everything for good.

In Drawn - Redemption, we follow Etta, Damien and Aaron. They will walk the path you set them on when you make the choice to support DAMIEN. To support Aaron, you will need to read Drawn – Obsession.
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My Review
In Drawn 2-Redemption, we get to see how things would turn out if Etta winds up with Damien in the end.  We see the choices that all of the characters make that lead them back to each other, and how those sometimes deceptively simple choices can really make a huge difference in how your life ends up.

Etta's choices-both words and actions-change her relationship with Aaron, and not necessarily in the way you'd expect.

Damien's character actually gets put back on the right road-a road of understanding, giving up his overly alpha-male attitude, and truly allowing Etta to choose for herself instead of him being the one to control everything.  This paves the way for a REAL relationship between them and not just the lust-filled sex romp they seemed to have in the first book.

I really liked that you got to see things from Etta, Damien and Aaron's points of view.  Having all three characters' POV gave more of an understanding to how they all end up at the end and really adds to the enjoyment of the book.

I did like this better than the first one, and give it 4 stars.

Drawn 2- Obsession
Choose your hero wisely.

Have you ever wanted the power to decide who the heroine of a story will ultimately end up with?

Now is your chance with Drawn 2, where you have the choice of TWO sequels in which the characters follow TWO different paths to lead them to your chosen 'happily ever after'.

This is not two stories told from different points of view. This is not an alternate ending - it's an entirely separate path that readers who choose to read both sequels will appreciate the 'sliding door' moments that set our characters off in different directions.

Different choices. Different fates.

You hold the power You get to choose - Aaron... or Damien.

In Drawn, we met Etta and watched as her obsessive relationship with Damien sent both of them into world of darkness and self-destruction. We also met Aaron, the constant in Etta's life - the man who was willing to do anything it took to keep her safe.

Two Men. One woman. A decision that will change everything...

That decision is yours...

Three years have passed since Aaron rescued Etta from Damien. In that time, things have changed, and they have made a life together.

When Damien returns, demanding what he feels is rightfully his, Aaron will have to stand his ground or risk losing everything he holds dear.

Their love, trust and commitment will all be put to the test in this tale of fighting for those you hold dear - even if the consequences could be catastrophic.

In Drawn - Obsession, we follow Etta, Aaron and Damien. They will walk the path you set them on when you make the choice to support AARON. To support Damien, you will need to read Drawn – Redemption.
Buy Links:
My Review
Drawn 2-Obsession...where we get to see how everyone's choices lead Etta to wind up with Aaron.  Now, for me personally, while I do love the bad boys in books Aaron just really appealed to me more than Damien did.  BUT, with that said-seeing how the circumstances and choices faced by the characters in this path shaped who Damien wound up becoming in this version, my heart went out to him as it tore me up to see how dark he became.

With this version being in support of Aaron, it was wonderful to see the relationship between him and Etta become reconnected and grow into so much more.  And when Damien returns with his hardened attitude, it all sets the stage for some crazy fireworks between the characters that will keep you glued to the pages to see what will happen.

Damien's character going down the path that he did in this version just struck me as not the way his character should have ended up.  I know the way this version turns out is a way to show how totally different life can be based on those seemingly insignificant decisions-no matter how small-that we make, but I personally did not like how things ended up for Damien...which led me to my 3 star rating since that overshadowed everything else.

The book is still captivating, and will keep you on edge until it all plays out.


My Conclusion

I liked the concept of having the two different endings-it creates a unique reading experience and lets you choose how you want the characters to end up paired off.  My preferred ending based on these two endings--Redemption.  To me, it just turns out better for all the characters involved...though honestly if Etta could have a man who is a cross between both Damien and Aaron, that would be the best of both worlds ;-)
Lilliana Anderson Bio:
Bestselling Author of the Drawn Series, the Beautiful Series, and the Confidante Trilogy, Lilliana has always loved to read and write, considering it the best form of escapism that the world has to offer.
Australian born and bred, she writes New Adult Romance revolving around her authentically Aussie characters as well as a biographical trilogy based on an ex-Sydney sex worker, named Angelien.
Lilliana feels that the world should see Australia for more than just it's outback and tries to show characters in more of a city setting.
When she isn't writing, she wears the hat of 'wife and mother' to her husband and four children.
Before Lilliana turned to writing, she worked in a variety of industries and studied humanities and communications before transferring to commerce/law at university.
Originally from Sydney's Western suburbs, she currently lives a fairly quiet life in suburban Melbourne.

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