Review: Veiled Innocence by Ella Frank

 



Title: Veiled Innocence

Authors: Ella Frank

Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: April 7^th 2014

Format: E-book

Source: Bought

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Tick, tick, tock.

Time.

That’s all I have now.
A small room, a photograph, and time.
They want me to trust them and confess my sins.
They told me they wouldn't judge me—they lied.
I thought we could convince the world that this wasn't a crime.
We were wrong.
Time doesn't stand still.
The clock keeps ticking, the world is unconvinced, and now…
Now he is gone.

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I’ve been gone for a while and when I return I find a new genre. New Adult. Well, it’s not new at all, it have been here, always, but not so well known and used, but I’m sure it will develop more in a not so far away future.

But if you, like me, don’t know what New Adult is, let me explain to you the important characteristics. First, age. Young adult books are for teenagers and people under the age of 18 years old. New Adult is focused on people between the ages of 18 to mid-20s, post high school, where many of the main characters are experimenting with their lives, love, relationships, jobs, and college. Now, the other big factor is sex, and even though New Adult is not so descriptive as many other books are, they are definitive for +18yrs.

Unveiled Innocence is a book that is under the category of New Adult. It is written and self-published by Ella Frank, who already has some other romance novels. This story is the typical forbidden romance, teacher-student, which many people including myself, love and never get tired of. Grayson McKendrick is a History teacher, who has decided to come back to town because his father is sick. Addison is a young girl of 18 years old, but don’t be fooled with her, she knows what she wants, and she’s determined to get what she desires, and the new teacher is one of those things.

My first impression was not good. Addison is different; so don’t expect a naïve, or an innocent girl, because she is not. And that was something that surprised me so much at the beginning that I didn’t like her. But as I continued reading, my opinion changed. She has a dark past, something that she regrets with all her heart, and that has affected not only her behavior but also her parent’s. She is sad, she needs somebody to trust, and to love, and that is when Grayson McKendrick arrives.

I had some troubles understanding their relationship as something else than desire and lust. I found myself in many occasions with my mouth hanging open, thinking how was possible that she was doing certain things, things that I wouldn’t do ever in my life. I mean, that scene in the car and the classroom…OMG! Again, that was at the beginning of the book. There were such scenes that I thought for a moment that this book had in fact nothing more than sex. Fortunately, the story continued in a way that I really enjoyed. It became more dramatic, showed more feelings, and after that I realized that I was somewhat interested in the fate of the characters. The secondary characters are just a few, and their participation is almost none in the first part of the book. Naturally, their presence increases in the second part, but not so much.

I really liked the way Frank worked out the story, how she intercalated the flashbacks with the present, and the point of view of Grayson. It was interesting seeing the story from his point of view too!

Although I wasn’t too happy with the development of the story when I started reading, I ended up falling in love with the story. This is not the best book I’ve ever read, no, and it won’t be, but at least it gave me that curious sensation of happiness when I finished the last chapter. It is a nice reading for those lovers of romance books.

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Ella Frank: I am first and foremost a proud Australian, but currently reside in Texas with my husband. I love to read and write contemporary and erotic romances, but I also like to step outside of the box at times when it comes to telling a story that really speaks to me.