Review & Giveaway - Dust to Dust by Karina Halle

Series: Experiment in Terror #9

Release Date: August 11, 2014

Publisher: Metal Blonde Books

Genre: Horror/Romance

Source: ARC provided for honest review
Add to Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17608220-dust-to-dust

The dramatic conclusion to the Experiment in Terror Series.

Perry Palomino and Dex Foray.

On their own, they’re uniquely brilliant. Together, they’re an unstoppable team.

Until now.

Because after everything the duo has encountered, they haven’t come across an evil quite like this. An evil that has been years in the making, an evil that will stop at nothing until they, and everyone they care for, are destroyed.

Dex and Perry’s love has survived a multitude of sins.

But can it survive the end?

THE END.

Two words you never want to see when you fall so deeply in love with a series. Some book series are like TV shows and each book is like a TV season. The first 5 seasons are really good and you can't wait to see what is going to happen. But then the network just keeps making seasons and you're like DUDE stop making this show and put us out of our misery.

The Experiment in Terror series has never been like that for me. This is the 9th book in the series (not including the novellas) and I didn't want to see those 2 words at all in this book. This is the series I want go on forever and always. Dex and Perry have become apart of my life.

These books didn't just bring me joy and nightmares, they introduced me to people who feel the exact same way I feel about Karina Halle. This series brought me to my happy place and helped me see that I am not alone in my Karina Fangirling. It might sound over the top, but this series kind of changed my life and I am forever grateful that I was introduced to it by Nadine at Hook Me Up Book Blog.

"If there is anything I know about me and Dex it's that nothing is never an option"

Karina Halle has written a book that is captivating, dark, terrifying with heart stopping suspense. You will be sitting there just reading along and out of now where you are GASPING for breath and are left crying such ugly tears and questioning your own sanity. (this happened way to many times for me to even be sane right now. I hurts still to think about it while writing this review, tears are streaming down my face)  

Perry Palomino has been written so brilliantly from the very first page of Dark House, that I question myself on the daily because I think she is real. I want her to be real. Even after so many books, after so much shit, Perry is still one of my top 5 favorite Heroines. I love that she isn't perfect and she has come to find that to be her strength. I have watched her grow into such an amazing women and I am proud to call her my friend.. (SHUT UP. I know she is fake and I still think she is my friend. DON'T JUDGE ME) 

"Sometimes your instincts were wrong. Your body wants you to survive but sometimes there are more important things than just surviving."

Dex has always been the asshole, douchecanoe who I want to have my way with one moment and then kick him in the balls the next. This is who Dex Foray is. But now he has Perry, the love of his life, the women that has changed him and given him the reason to live, to love, to breath, to fight. It's a beautiful transformation. He is still the smart ass man, the man that makes a joke in the worst possible situation, but he is better since finding and loving Perry. I have been married for 10 years and I really hope my husband feels about me the way Dex feels about Perry. It's a one of a kind love and I get it.

"Perry, I love you," he said, voice gruff and full of conviction. " I love you absolutely, resolutely. There is no question, no doubt. This love just is. It exists and because it exists, I exist." He brought his face closer so that the tip of his nose grazed mine. "When you're my wife, I know I'll be a good husband so as long as I never let you forget that, that you, only you, just as you are, are my reason for being."

This book scared the shit out of me, had me wishing I didn't read it before bed and wanting to snuggle next to my husband because I was scared to turn the lights out. It had me crying so hard, my husband thought my mom died, it was that bad. It still hurts and I refuse to talk about it. I can't talk about it. I wont' talk about it. I slightly hate KaHa right now, but not like hate hate, like I hate that I can still love her like I do after this book.

Life will never be the same with out this duo. I will miss the days that I sat looking at my kindle thinking oh, KaHa is just writing away about my Dex and my Perry and I will have them soon. I am happy that they are happy, but I am sad and selfish and I WANT MORE. I always want more from Karina and that will never change.

I vividly remember every moment of reading Darkhouse. I remember feeling a connection with Perry and instantly falling in love with Dex. My fate was sealed as soon as they grasped hands in the lighthouse. I knew then I was a goner and that I would follow them anywhere. I didn’t know where exactly there was then and I don’t think I could even imagine all the places. Moments frozen forever in my mind in some fucked up nostalgic romantic way. Even now it’s all playing back in my mind like a movie complete with a soundtrack full of Billy Joel, Faith No More, and Mr. Bungle.

To say this book has had an impact on my life is too simplistic of a sentence it makes me puke just typing it. I’ve tried over time to articulate fully how much it means to me and I can’t find the right words. I’m okay with that. I don’t think there should be a word for feelings like that.

I love this series for a lot of reasons. It’s romantic, scary, hilarious, and entertaining. It’s also a community of people. People who have come into my life and left impressions. It’s about finding out where you belong. I am forever indebted and in awe of Karina Halle. Big thank you hugs to her!

Now, let’s get this emotional mess that is me on to talking about Dust to Dust. Spoiler free of course! I will say D2D scared the crap out of me. There were a couple times I woke up thinking someone was pounding on my door. I am freaking myself out right now just thinking of some of the scary parts. I love horror and Halle is a master. There is also something really raw about D2D. I don’t know if that comes with it being the end or if it’s just all the craziness that is going on throughout the book. The fear is raw, the pain is raw, and the love is raw. It’s exposed in a way that we haven’t seen before. There is a sense of urgency in holding on and keeping it together. I cried more in this book than I have in any other in the series. And, we all know there has been a lot of previous crying fits. Halle breaks our hearts. I may sound like a sadist but that is another thing I love about her writing. There is a realism and darkness that lives in the dark corners of her writing and stories. However, her real strength comes from finding the light. She’s not afraid of it.

Dust to Dust is a fitting accolade to say THE END. Perry and Dex’s story may be over for now but they will always live on in us.  

 

   Over two years ago I had several friends that kept recommending a series to me, Experiment in Terror.  I remember I put a note in my phone and every time I went to the library I looked for the book, Darkhouse, but they didn’t have it. I mentioned it to my friend and she told me that the author, Karina Halle, was an Indie author and you either could buy the ‘eBook’ from Amazon or purchase it from her website. This was news to me! Up to this point I only read traditionally published books and had no idea that there was this whole big world of indie authors. So, I went and got myself a Kindle and the first book I downloaded was………you guessed it! Darkhouse (lucky me it was free). This began my journey into the Indie book world and introduced me to Dex & Perry.

   I LOVE this series! I love how spunky Perry is and insecure she can be. I love Dex and his sarcastic mouth and sexy tongue. I think that Dex and Perry are the perfect duo and LOVED all of the trouble they got themselves in. There are so many things that I love about this series and that I will miss. Ginger Balls aka Maximus, Ada (Little Fifteen), Rebecca......and let's not forget Fat Rabbit. This group of characters have brought me so many laughs, tears, terrors and WTF moments these past two years. It makes me grateful that I have them on my kindle to visit anytime I want.

  

  To say that I am sad that Dust to Dust is the last book in the Experiment in Terror series is an understatement. I knew the series could not last forever, but I am not sure that I am ready to let go of Dex & Perry. Throughout this series they have changed a lot. Perry has discovered strength within her that she never thought she had and Dex, well he discovered the best thing of all. The love of a good women, and that love saves him more ways than one in Dust to Dust. They must rely on their friends and family if they want to survive the horrors that await them in New York. Maximus, Ada, Pippa, and even Perry’s mother all play a huge role in Dust to Dust. They must face the demons of their past if they want a future together.  Their story comes full circle in this epic conclusion.  

   This book is scary, gritty, humorous, sexy, emotional and full of love! I don’t want to give too much away because you need to experience this for yourself.  I am sad to say goodbye, but grateful for what this series has brought me. The Indie world! And all of the fabulous people who are in it.

5 ‘TOTALLY ADDICTED’ Skulls

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