Author: Cecilia London
Book: Dissident (Bellator Saga #1) – RELEASES TODAY!
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tl;dr recommendation: intellectual, witty, suspenseful and sexy – i’m loving this political romance!
Book Summary:
She once was important. Now she’s considered dangerous.
In a new America where almost no one can be trusted, Caroline lies unconscious in a government hospital as others decide her fate. She is a political dissident, wanted for questioning by a brutal regime that has come to power in a shockingly easy way. As she recovers from her injuries, all she has are her memories. And once she wakes up, they may not matter anymore.
Part One of a Six Part Series. Each part is a full length novel between 60,000-120,000 words and ends in a cliffhanger. For readers 18+. This saga contains adult situations, including non-gratuitous violence, explicit (consensual) sex, psychological and physical trauma, and an oftentimes dark and gritty plot (particularly in part two).
Longer Review:
This may be Cecilia’s first book/series but it most definitely shouldn’t (and won’t) be her last. I don’t even know what sub-genre to really put this book in, but if I had my way it’d be political dystopian intellectual smut. Sound enticing? IT IS.
I love it when the characters intelligently banter back and forth in a way that leads them from the debate into the bedroom. It’s sort of a weakness of mine and this book hits all of my buttons. #talknerdytome
We start with a scene that we know is happening in the present day – Caroline and Jack are running through the woods to escape…something…or someone. We later find out that the US government has gone to shit – I don’t know why yet – and Caroline and Jack have information that they are trying to get across the border into Canada. All of those ‘I’m moving to Canada’ jokes suddenly seem very possible.
So you’re thinking, oh…a political drama? SORT OF BUT BETTER. Political Drama + Romance + Sex. Yup, I’m in.
So after getting a taste of the present, we’re then thrust (hehe) back into how Jack and Caroline get together and ahhhhh, I love them. This is where the heat starts to rise. There’s so much delicious word porn in this book. YES, WORD PORN. One utterance of the word ‘laconic’ and I was ready. If they started fucking his his library next I was pretty sure my vagina was going to explode.
There’s a ton of romance before there’s a ton of sex and I liked that. We read plenty of books (ok, at least I READ PLENTY OF BOOKS) where the sex comes first, and I like those. I do. But it was nice for Jack to try to have a relationship with Caroline that was built on trust and friendship before he started licking his way down her body. Don’t worry – because that’s in there too.
I would talk about the ending but i’m not sure I can without using all caps. Let’s just say that we know there’s a cliffhanger – I mean, there’s six parts to this story so OBVIOUSLY there’s a cliffhanger. After a few curses, I calmed down. I’ll just have to wait for book 2….LE SIGH.
Mostly, I’m in love with the fact that this book wasn’t dumbed down. It’s unapologetically an intellectual smut novel, which made me all warm in all the right places. There’s suspense, danger, anger, love, and (most importantly) delicious sex. GIVE ME MORE.
[I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]
About the Author
Cecilia London is my pen name. I am a native Midwesterner who never thought I’d end up in Texas and yet here I am, determined to help Keep San Antonio Lame. I have been known to dabble in the practice of law. I can apply Simpsons quotes to everyday life, and I live for baseball season. I’ve been writing off and on since I was a kid, but never really thought I’d have any idea that could turn into a single novel, let alone a series. There aren’t many books about how dystopias/totalitarian political regimes come into existence, and I wanted to touch upon that topic while still maintaining a primary focus on the epic romance. Dissident is my first published novel.
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