“Your…acceptance of me,” I said. “That’s really my favorite thing about you. I don’t know why you put up with my shit, but I’m glad you do.” ― Shay Savage, Surviving RaineI put off Surviving Raine because of my own silly preconceptions. At first when I read the sample on Amazon, I thought it was a historical (silly me) and the tone didn't really mesh with the setting. I'm glad I persevered because this really turned out to be one of my favorites.Told from Captain Bastian Stark's point of view, Surviving Raine, follows Bastian and Raine after their ship sinks due to an underwater earthquake. Stranded on a raft for days without his handy bottles of liquor, Bastian is forced to detox.In close quarters with Raine, he is unable to hide behind the haze of alcohol and all of his pain, nightmares, fears, and memories are brought into the light. It's a highly emotional journey for him to relive things he's buried for years. Every revelation made me fall more and more in love with him, despite his asshole-ish tendencies. All he needed was for someone to show him love and affection, which he quite literally had never received.“Don’t touch me,” I clarified. “Why not?” Because I want it and I don’t deserve it.” ― Shay Savage, Surviving RaineAn alpha-male to the core, Bastian uses his highly honed survival skills to battle lack of food, water, and no land in sight to keep them alive. (Spinal cord fluid, nuff said.) There are a few brutal moments where you see just how far he's willing to go, but I find that it didn't detract from my view of him as a person. His circumstances are vastly different from that of an average person. Once he opens up to Raine he becomes very possessive, which I can understand coming from him, with his background.“You want to know,” I corrected. “The problem with that is you can’t ever un-know something. If I tell you, and you don’t like what I have to say, I can’t take it back…” ― Shay Savage, Surviving RaineI don't know what it is about books written from the male perspective, but I love them. Maybe it feels like I can finally understand what's going on in their heads or something. Savage did an awesome job with it. I was able to understand his motivation, why he didn't feel worthy, and watching him fall in love was beautiful. He was also quite funny.“I loved mornings on the island. Fucking loved them. Emphasis on fucking.” ― Shay Savage, Surviving RaineRaine was an intriguing love interest, obviously very compassionate and determined to put up with all of Bastian's shit. She's strong, capable, caring. Limited by Bastian's POV, I didn't feel like I knew her as well because my understanding of her was limited by his perceptions. I'd be totally interested in a book with her side of the story.There were also some HOT, HOT, HOT scenes. Bastian is basically a sex fiend. The scene on the boat was very good.“I could do it you know...I could make you come without even touching you.” ― Shay Savage, Surviving RaineThe ending is a positive one, with a definite opening for a sequel. I'll be interested in seeing how their relationship progresses now that they're no longer stranded and have outside influences to affect them.Visit my blog for more reviews and recommendations!Join the Miss Construed Review's Facebook community!
