Heaven Denied

Happy Tuesday, fellow readers! Our short month is almost at it's end. I hope that warm weather will find us all soon. This week, I have a book recommendations that is heavy on the emotions. It is called "Heaven Denied" by Ken La Salle and is the sequel to "Heaven Enough."

First, the trigger warnings:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Zero 🌶

Trigger Warnings:

Mentions of death

Grief

Unemployment

Alcohol use

Drug use

Drugging and kidnapping

Sex is mentioned but nothing on page and no details.

As you can see, it deals with a lot of heavy topics. This one is not a light hearted read. There are a few moments that do lighten the mood which makes it easier to read all the way through. As I mentioned with book one, I am not a sad book lover. However, "Heaven Enough" really roped me in, and I loved it despite not trying to do so. It is that book that made me feel for Matt Murphy and that sentiment carried through "Heaven Denied."

I have to say that this one was aptly titled. Poor Matt is definitely denied heaven or any semblance of peace including sleep. The poor guy really goes through it. You can not help but feel sorry for him. He lost so much in book one, and book two picks up just a few months later.

I do have to say that this book did not hook me like the first one. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I don't know, it felt aimless at times, but that could be completely intentional. It also had some elements that felt confusing to me. It also brought up some questions about Heather's past, and if she was truthful with Matt about her virginity. However, a character seems to contradict himself on this particular point and it isn't really questioned by Matt. I don't want to give too much away as I don't like spoilers, so that's as much as I'll say on that part.

Overall, I felt it was well written but maybe just not my cup of tea. That is totally okay, and why I wanted to include it in the blog. You may pick it up and absolutely adore it. I do not regret reading it nor did I struggle to finish it, which is why it deserves the four stars that I rated it. The characters are also well done and the depiction of grief is very indepth.

Here is my official review:

"Heaven Denied" is book two in the series and the sequel to "Heaven Enough." It is definitely aptly named. Poor Matt is really going through it. I grew to care for Matt in book one, and that continued through book two. Though I was content to read this one, I have to say that I didn't love it like I did the first one. It just didn't tug at my heart in the same way. Even though it is very well written, there were several elements that didn't make sense to me. It is still worth the read, though.

The series does continue in book three, "Heaven for Now." If you loved the first two, definitely check it out. If you want to check out "Heaven Denied" you can find it here: https://a.co/d/eQODJui

That does it for me for this week, dear readers. Please join me again next week. Until then, curl up with a good book.