Rellik by Teresa Mummert

I have read a number of books by this author and I have to say that they are always interesting, never run of the mill and can be quite difficult to drop into a category but Rellik is in a class of its own, it has me completely stumped because I’m not at all sure how I feel about it, my mood changes the more I think about it, so I am going to get my review done now while I have the desire to put my thoughts out there.

I placed my advance order MONTHS ago for this book, based on nothing that some very, very interesting teaser pictures and the evasive blurb. (I now know why it was so evasive... I get that it is hard to put the story into a brief synopsis)

But because of all of that I made the fatal mistake of opening the page with preconceived expectations, why, I don’t know.

Rellik delivers a punch but it just might not be the one you are expecting!!!!!

Parts of this book were absolutely exceptional, others left me confused but what was never in doubt was the fact that these characters were superbly written, I just got the feeling that their story was curtailed, that they had more to say, there was more detail to divulge and that they were being confined.

This story could have been huge but it fell a little short, in that the story itself just seemed to be too big for the words that were trying to tell it, if that makes sense.

Ella and Rellik (Ryder) were complicated characters with histories that had shaped and formed their personalities, both had suffered immeasurably and both had been dealt a shit hand by those that were supposed to care for them.

But their paths were inextricably linked and that link would be their saving grace.

Ella was on the run from the hell that had driven her for years, searching the answer to her prayers, little did she know that when Rellik, stepped in to save her in a dark alley, that this man was the one she needed all along.

Rellik was getting by, fronting his band and making ends meet with the guys as they gigged around the country in small venues and bars, the demons that he hides from may appear long since relegated to his music but he lives with them every day and that is not an easy task because they just might destroy him.

Or can he get to them first?

I can’t say that I got the attraction between the two of them to begin with, Ella was the double of Katie, the one person that he had ever loved, so I would have thought that would have been uncomfortable for him to accept on a purely surface level but I suppose that was the draw, but the facts were that fate was at play and they had a link that when the story unfolded went far deeper than mere appearance.

The tie between the two of them is inexplicably woven, it took me a little more re-reading than I would have liked to finally get the whole picture, it was slightly complicated but when it finally made sense, I felt for them both. It is true that things worth having are worth working for and you have to work for their story, they don’t give it up readily!

I was so pleased at the end when their tormentor got what he deserved but what really made it for me was the fact that Rellik had his friends with him, they helped him to erase his demons, to right his and Ella’s wrongs and they did it because he was their friend and they loved him.

I can’t wait to see if we are going to get the stories of the rest of the guys in the band, I especially want to hear more from Hangman, something about him just has my interest peaked.

I worked my socks off with this book, made me earn every minute of enjoyment but I have to say I did enjoy it, I would have just liked a little more… or is that just being greedy?

Rating 4 out of 5