“My only desire in the world is to have my revenge against everyone who hurt me, disbelieved me, and made me into the bad guy. After that, I don’t know… But, right now, nothing in the world matters but my payback. And I’m going to love every sick, twisted minute of it.”
Siren is such a messed up story. So freaking messed up. It goes far beyond normal messed up and shoots into the realm of the ‘no return type of messed up’. It’s a wtf type of story.
Honestly, I think this is one of the most messed up storylines/characters I have ever had the (mis)fortune of reading. Jaimie Roberts sure knows how to create depraved characters that are literally the stuff of nightmares.
The story focuses on Scarlet, a femme fatale with a desire to exact vengeance on everyone who wronged or failed her growing up and continued to to this day.
She grew up abused and raped by her father (at least, someone she thought was her father) and no one looked close enough to see the signs. Even when she told her mother and sister outright that she was being abused, they denied it and refused to believe their own flesh and blood.
Years later, she’s on a mission to get her revenge starting with her dad, next on the list is her mom and last, but not least, her sister Amber. They all managed to fail her in the worst way possible, so I, truthfully, was happy to see them in pieces by the end.
Now, this isn’t a classic revenge book. There’s a lot of disturbing moments that you’d think would not happen after everything that occurred during Scarlet’s childhood, yet they happened anyway. It’s so wrong and not right at all. There is nothing redeemable about any of those f-ed up moments.
The only redeemable thing was seeing Scarlet with Stuart. It was like seeing a switch flick: one second she was a dark void, the next she actually had something to live for, something that made her happy. I love Stuart. He’s amazing.
Then there’s Reid, Scarlet’s business partner/in-between boyfriend. In the beginning, I thought he was okay except for his obsessive and possessive qualities. However, Reid and Scarlet’s relationship was incredibly toxic. I despised all conversations between the two and especially those “missions” where they would target specific marks to bamboozle them.
Reid is a prime example of nature outweighing nurture whereas Scarlet is all nurture. Scarlet grew up in that environment which lead up to her ultimate revenge plus all her unhealthy activities/obsessions. Reid, on the other hand, ended up following in his father’s footsteps. I hate Reid. I really do.
There is a cliffhanger, so even if you’re not a big fan, you’ll probably end up reading it just to figure out what happens. The guy who she ends up with really comes out of left field. I never saw it coming.
Subject Matter Warnings: Child molestation, rape, abortion, cheating, physical abuse, bdsm and sick obsessions that will leave you incredibly uncomfortable and confused as to why they are even a thing. This book deals with some difficult subject matter, so you should be aware of that going into it.
Interested?
If you’re someone who can only take small doses of dark novels, this may be a bit too much to handle.
If you don’t typically read the dark genre, I would not suggest to start with this one either…unless you just want to throw yourself into the deep end. Then go ahead.
However, if you love sick, messed up, depraved storylines with questionable characters, then you’ll love Siren by Jaimie Roberts. It’s probably one of the strangest books I have ever read.
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Some Advice: If you consider yourself to be a sick reader who has had some questionable feelings/thoughts about some questionable storylines, I think you’ll enjoy this. It’ll make you feel things that you never thought would be possible to feel given the circumstances. I hate that discontinuity between what my brain is telling me to think versus how I am actually thinking.
The one thing that made no sense was Stuart. One second they were about to escape into the night and then he disappeared. Never to be seen again…and I’m not talking about murder. He literally became a distant memory. I just want to know where he went and why it ultimately did not work out?
If you Liked Siren by Jaimie Roberts, TRY…
IF YOU LIKE A TABOO RELATIONSHIP….
Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma – This story might top the cake for the ‘is this seriously happening?’ storyline. It’s about a brother and sister who are forced to step in for their alcoholic mother to take care of their younger siblings. Logan and Maya had to grow up fast which created a bond between the two that went way past the normal brother/sister relationship.
I actually shed quite a few tears towards the end, but I won’t say why…you’ll have to find out yourself. That is, if you think you can deal with a taboo love story.
IF YOU LIKE REVENGE/VENDETTA…
Corrupt by Penelope Douglas – Corrupt is a suspenseful story featuring Erika (Rika) Fane and Michael Crist. Three years ago, Michael’s best friends were put behind bars and Rika happened to be involved in their arrest. Now that they’re out, they all want their revenge and Michael especially wants to have his fun. Ruthless, corrupt, violent and manipulative, you can’t put anything past Michael. However, Rika is one determined person, so don’t count her out.
Told through a dual POV, Cryptic is a thrilling read that flows from the past to the present. If you’re not a big fan of going back and forth in time, you may find this annoying, but you should definitely give it a chance. The next two books, Hideaway and Kill Switch, are top-notch.
Another few recommendations I have include The Risk by S.T. Abby and The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis.