Appetite for Innocence

I absolutely could not put this down once I picked it up. My god. It wasn’t too graphic which I found nice. Easy to read as well.

I did enjoy this book. It definitely left me on the edge of my seat and was physically painful to read at times. My biggest complaint is for an author whose writing is based on realism I would have thought she would do some research on the setting that a good portion of the book takes place in. Ella is from Aurora Colorado, as someone who is from Aurora it is not a small mountain town. Aurora is a city that is a good 30-45 min drive from the nearest foot hills and at least an hour to an actual mountain town. I’m sure for most this is a non issue but for me it just threw off the vibe of the book when in my head the setting is just not adding up. Other than that this book was everything I was expecting and more when it comes to a psychological thriller.

This book was one of the best by Berry I’ve ever read. It was creepy, could be triggering, and ended with the perfect twist!

The aftermath of a kidnapping ...just as traumatic as the event itself. Worth the read but will not read again. It haunts me.

I downloaded this a while ago based on recommendations but then passed it over multiple times for other books. Turns out I should’ve started it. It was good. Yes you could see where it was going the whole time and no there weren’t any twists but it was still gripping and kept me turning the pages. Now I just have to say that I have ZERO triggers but that hanger scene had me gagging. I mean I was squinching my eyes, holding in a gag and trying to speed read through it. The pain was described so vividly I couldn’t help but imagine and feel it with her and I just could not. 🤢🤕 the mom really pissed me off. I just don’t know how realistic that was. You just got your daughter back from being kidnapped and months of torture and instead of doing anything for her you immediately go and do the exact opposite of what she’s asking?! Then she’s telling you the girl essentially helped keep her hostage and helped him with all of it and you just say you thought it’d be good for them both to live together again, all with you loving on her all in your daughters face?? I don’t believe it. I think any mom, especially one as good as she was described would do ANYTHING for the child that they got back when everyone else’s is dead. anyways it was a quick read and I definitely recommend it to anyone who is trying to decide whether to read.

A serial rapist is kidnapping teenage virgins. He hunts them by following their status updates and check-ins on social media. Once he’s captured them, they’re locked away in his sound-proof basement until they’re groomed and ready. Nobody escapes alive. Until Ella. Ella risks it all to escape, setting herself and the other girls free. But only Sarah—the girl whose been captive the longest—gets out with her. Ella and Sarah are the key to the FBI's investigation, but Sarah’s hiding something and it isn’t long before Ella discovers her nightmare is far from over. APPETITE FOR INNOCENCE is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that follows the harrowing experiences of the young girls who fall victim to a depraved sexual predator. The story takes place before and after the girls' thrilling escape from their captor, which kept me captivated from start to finish. Lucinda Berry skillfully develops the characters while preserving the suspense surrounding Sarah's actions and Ella's strength and trauma-induced distress. It was an oddly realistic experience to be inside that evil house with those characters. Because of Berry's meticulous portrayal, I was able to empathize with the victims' experiences. Although some sections were difficult to read, they were written with respect. The conclusion leaves room for interpretation, suggesting that the nightmare may not be over yet. I value that lingering fear, and I believe everything came together perfectly! I highly recommend APPETITE FOR INNOCENCE if you're looking for a disturbing and fast-paced read with dual perspectives.

Interesting premise – POV switching between two teenage victims of a kidnapper/rapist. The POV of both girls switches between the past and present. Sarah Smith was John's first – first girl he took, the first girl he conditioned for his sick purposes. Problem was due to her horrendous childhood before he took her she gets things mixed up in her head and he becomes her life – her everything. She would do anything for him – including conditioning the new girls he takes and getting rid of them when he is finished. Ella is/was the latest girl taken. As with every girl that has been kidnapped and put in the celler all she thinks about is how to escape. After a while she sees that she is going to have to endure horrific things to be able to achieve that. The books start out right after Ella was taken and put in the cellar with Sarah and Paige (another girl who had been taken) giving us both Sarah and Ella's POV of that. You can see right off that Sarah is not quite right in the head but aren't sure if she is totally on the side of John or has just learned to accept her fate. The we jump to present day with Ella in the hospital – she had managed to escape and is being questioned by the police and FBI about the man who kidnapped and raped her. She is understandable in a very fragile state. We soon find out that both she and Sarah escaped and are both in the hospital. From here we bounce back and forth between past and present until the timeline catches up. The present shows us how the two girls cope with being free and the intense therapy they both start. John is not captured until towards the end of the book so one girl is in fear he will find her again and the other wants him to find her. These two girls couldn't be more different. You feel Ella's pain the most and at first struggle with how to feel about Sarah. Her past is slowly revealed and its an even uglier one than what she went through with John. But in the back of your mind you know she had a psychotic break at some point and may be irredeemable. Even though the POV is from the girls and the subject matter is very dark. This was a decent read that I found through BookBub daily deal of the day...

How am I just finding Lucinda Berry books ?! This is my 4 th one this week and I'm hooked. This book is emotional, and devastating . Check your triggers. Then if u can, Read this book. The way she delves into all these different aspects of abuse is Phenomenal. I couldn't put it down. Definitely check the triggers , it's definitely a tough subject to read about .