Pretty Little Things Paperback – March 11, 2014

I received a copy of this book form the publisher/author to review for Stephanie's Book Reports.I was young enough not to understand that my life was different. Colin became the one person that I could count on to protect me. He suffered for the both of us by carrying the burden of our secret. We were the lucky few that got a chance to start over. A fake family, a new home and a pretty little life built on lies. But while our lives continued to intertwine, we were put on very different paths. Now it was only a matter of time before they collide and the beast behind the beauty is exposed.This is the story of Colin and Annie. These two have had quiet the childhood and I mean that in a not the best in the world kind of way. They had each other though and that helped them both to survive and become as strong as they are. Their only weakness would have to be each other. Annie is a girl who is in high school but is eighteen and she is faking the life that she lives and does a really good job of it too. She is trying to have a normal like and really that is all she has ever wanted and Colin is the only person in this world that knows the real her and he does anything in this world to protect her. He even pretended one time that they were brother and sister for both of them to remain safe. Colin on the other hand is super conflicted and he isn't even really sure who he is and what he wants in this life he is afraid that he can not have it. This guy was born to be a protector even when he feels like a predator. I know this is vague and you have to read the book to find out exactly what I am talking about. I don't want to give away anything for anyone. I enjoyed this book.

Holy crap! Teresa Mummert has stunned me silent! I’m just in awe of everything about this book! From the nerve-wrecking, nail-biting plot to the deeply flawed and beautifully written characters…everything about this book screams originality in it’s best form.I have such a book hangover right now that I’m seriously debating going back and re-reading this book. I had it devoured within hours of it hitting my kindle app and I’m upset at myself for reading it so quickly, but it was just too good to stop.Like I previously said, this book is very original. I haven’t read any other books with this type of storyline. The things these characters went through gave me chills. At times, I was scared for Annie because Colin is just so intense and so..so…broken. The things both of them had to do and endure to survive was heartbreaking. It was tragic and disturbing and Teresa Mummert made it feel as if you were there with them in those moments. That’s how vivid her writing style is….it’s something everyone could get lost in in the most amazing way!The only thing worse than the depraved acts I was forced to witness was having our leader deem we useless. I’d seen what happened to those who didn’t conform, and I wasn’t ready to meet my maker.-Colin.When I was first introduced to Annie I immediately could see that she was a survivor and she didn’t back down from anything. I really liked that about her and the fact she tries hard to not let her past affect her present. Colin is one heck of an alpha male who is very intimidating, but Annie stands her ground with him. She doesn’t just roll over and submit to him and it drives Colin crazy.He came to a stop in front of me, forcing me to tilt my head back. It was challenging to glare at someone from this angle and still look menacing.-AnnieColin is a man in his own universe! He’s….*stops to fan myself* unlike any other male character I have ever read about and that’s a good thing. His character is deeply flawed and because of his past he is twisted and disturbed but boy does Teresa make him hot and drool worthy. Even though he scared the heck out of me at times I couldn’t help but to be drawn to him because of his protective nature over Annie. He may be messed but he’s fiercely protective and loyal to her and in a way, it’s endearing. She’s his savior and their chemistry is hot, hot, hot.“This what you wanted, little one?” I asked as I slid my hand toward her center, pushing the seam of her jeans against her. “Tell me to stop,” I pleaded as my hand moved back and forth against her. Her hips rolled forward, begging for more. She was no longer the innocent girl I needed to protect. -Colin.When their chemistry becomes uncontrollable and everything crashes down around them, things become complicated and Colin is forced to do something he thought he’d never do: leave. This is when the story picks up and things start becoming really fast-paced. I loved it and hated it because I felt like from this point on the story progressed just too fast but I think that has more to do with the fact I didn’t want this story to end. I kept wanting more and more of Colin and Annie. That’s how good it was.PRETTY LITTLE THINGS surpassed all of my expectations and I am completely in love with it! I knew I’d enjoy it because Teresa Mummert is one of my favorite authors and everything she writes is amazing but seriously people….this book blew me away. Colin was just…more than I expected. He consumed me until the very end and then I was left wanton and miserable because I couldn’t get anymore. If you want something that will keep you on edge, make your heart break for the characters, and get you all hot & bothered then this book is definitely for you!!! This book should come with it’s own freakin’ warning label: WARNING! MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SEND READERS UP IN FLAMES WITH WANT AND NEED FOR COLIN BLAKELY. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK![...]

This was my first book by Teresa and I had no idea or any expectations when picking it up; the blurb and the early reviews intrigued me. I'm glad I picked it up though because the plot and its characters were something else, I liked the suspenseful feeling Teresa create with her characters and setting. Not everything in the story will be explained right away.... you're somehow left in the dark and I like that a lot. It's just how Stephen King once said: "Good books don't give up all their secrets at once."This is the story of Colin and Annabel who met at The Decendants, which is "country-wide organization" luring people in, claiming to 'help' them. Yeah you might guessed it right, we'd call it a cult. Annie met Colin right there after she and her mom got lured into it. The founder of this so called organization had special plans for Annie." 'This one is a pretty little thing. You'll like her [Colin]. ...' He spent years trying to mold me into him but he only succeeded in wearing away at my conscience until sick and twisted perversions were the only thing that made me feel at all." ~ColinThe leader of this led families into his church to basically abuse and molest their kids - yeah sick, I know. Anyhow, when Colin and Annie met all the brainwash didn't help to hurt sweet innocent Annie. Nothing about her was evil; nothing about her needed punishment or redemption. So Colin and she played a dangerous game fooling their leader amidst in closed circle of The Decendants until their time ran out... and they had to escape."I needed her good to balance my bad, and she needed me to keep her safe. I was all she had left."There was a lot of tension between them when living their new, fake life and I was waiting until the tension snapped and Colin would let lose. You could easily detect that underneath everything that happened, all the cruel dehumanizing things he has done, he truly loved Annie... I felt how torn he was. He didn't know what to do or handle certain emotions. He never felt love or got taught to love." She looked at me like she could see the person I was meant to be, not the twisted manifestation of Taylor's sick perversions."" I don't know what I would do if I lost you," he whispered....I enjoyed this book. I liked the originality of the plot and that it was written in dual pov, which is always a big plus. What I missed in the book was more fill-ins. I needed more depths of the characters feelings and thoughts. Certain parts seemed too rushed and I asked myself 'How did that happen?!' I need the emotional build-up so I can connect with both characters. I wanted to feel how they feel; no matter if it was good or bad.The ending including the epilogue felt rushed and I was sad when it was over because the story had lots of potential and I enjoyed it so far... it just needed 50+ more pages in my opinion. I like to assume things while reading, I like the anticipation to finally find out the truth but I don't like rushing and keeping things short.The book in general is not dark, it has some disturbing things in it but the author doesn't go into depths which was good - your imagination gets the drift and you get a good picture about what happened in this community. I think many will enjoy this book but also assume lots of you'll share my opinion that it need more... more of a lot of things. For me Colin was a very interesting character that just deserved more depths - he was a young man with many faces." 'Everything is yours,' His voice was deep as gravelly. 'I'm yours.' ""She was my hope, my reflection, my everything. "

Teresa Mummert's Pretty Little Things is not a book which should be read by people who sensibilities are easily offended! This story, though short, delivers a plot line which is bursting with sexual tension, raw passion and intense emotions.Annie and Colin both have tortured pasts, escaping together from a person they still hide from. Colin is the anti hero, Annie's savior and protector, but mentally and physically damaged by the years he spent in a cult, preventing him from having a 'normal' relationship. Annie is the good girl turning bad, ready to rebel against the status of her foster father and brother and to reach a point of self awakening, sexually and emotionally.Teresa Mummert presents her reader with situations and events in the story which we may question the morality of, but I never felt Annie and Colin's relationship was one of these.I did feel that Jake's insertion as a narrator almost interrupted the flow of the novel and apart from revealing Colin's jealousy I questioned why he was given so much importance.Pretty Little Things may be slightly twisted and deviant but I loved it!

Annie & Colin meet as children when her family become involved with a commune run by Colin's father, a depraved individual who has forced Colin to witness and replicate his sick behaviour so that Colin now believes that this behaviour is the norm. As adults, he escapes with Annie and they start a new life where all the locals think they are brother and sister. They are attracted to each other but fight their feelings because of the history between them and Colin doesn't want his 'darkness' to consume them both. The story is well written with good character development and started very promisingly, I was drawn in from the start. I felt that the story concluded too quickly though, ending abruptly at 89% and with no epilogue. I did like the fact that it didn't end with the usual hearts and flowers that a lot of books succumb to so there's no wedding bells or a baby on the way! I still enjoyed the book as the build up was good and the suspense well crafted but it was just lacking a really satisfying ending which left me feeling a bit disappointed.

I loved this book from start to finish. The story is fantastically written and i'm glad i read it after a friend recommending it. After reading it, i'm not sure how to feel about Annie and Colin's relationship. His father did a number on him and you see some of his darkness but i couldn't decide if i liked him or not. He saves Annie twice from his father but he can't seem to stop his dark side coming out on occasions. Annie is so naive that i never would have imagined the two together and their relationship is really flawed and so complicated but all these things made the book amazing! I was just really gutted when i came to the last page of the book.

Okay, I'm going to have to read this one again I think, it took a while for me to straighten it out. The plot line is good and the writing very good but it felt like I was getting a watered down version of the story unfortunately. It covers a really difficult subject quite well but there was room for more, for the book to expand. The characters were good enough but I lacked a little connection with them as I felt they were also a little underdeveloped.Could have been so much more but otherwise a worthwhile read! 3.5/5

It was very good and interesting story from the very beginning to the end. I loved all the characters and their story . I was in awe of Colin and Annabel support for each other as well during their fight with their pasts. It was captivating and moving book , a little bit different from others - in a good way. It was worth it to spend money on such a very good book. I am loving Teresa Mummert books and I am a big fan of her style of writing. Just give it a chance you won't be disappointed at all.