When reading drawn I was always team Damien even when I thought he was really intense and over the top with everything he did in regards to his Henrietta. I wasn't fully convinced that what he and Etta had was fully heart and soul connected kind of love but rather really intense lust, passion and over the top emotional connection. With all that being said I still wanted him to be Etta happily ever after. I wanted them to figure out a way to tone down the lust and find out where their hearts really were in their relationship.
Now on Aaron I thought he was a great friend to Etta. I found that I did believe he loved her but in my opinion if someone is truly in love, whole heart and soul consuming then there is no way he would have been able to stand by her through the wild ride she was on with Damien. I don't care how much you love someone that would be to hard to sit by and watch. So I felt that Aaron's love for Etta even from the beginning was from a really strong friendship even though he didn't see that himself. That is why I chose Damien's story for Henrietta's happily ever after.
Now on to my review of Drawn 2 Redemption now that I explained why I am team Damien.
I was really pleased that Lilliana Anderson started the book off with where things ended in Drawn. It gave the readers a chance to recap what happened in the end of the first book and gave you the series of events that happened between that time and the time Damien showed up at her front door.
Damien really showed great strength and control when faced with Henrietta and Evie. It would be hard for anyone to be faced with the woman he loves and the daughter he didn't know existed and be able to hold back instead of grabbing ahold of both of them and hold on tight like he wanted. The story was told from Etta, Damien and Aaron's point of view which I enjoyed. I like to be able to read what the other characters are feeling and thinking instead of just getting the story from one point of view.
The scene with Aaron and Damien in Etta's front yard really goes to show the level of control he has now verses in the past. Aaron is the one who went off the deep end this time and Damien did not raise to the bait and loose control I was glad to see that change. Having a mood disorder or not being faced with the person who has been living with your family and playing your role would be hard for even a saint. I'm not dismissing the hurt, pain and fear that Aaron was feeling in that moment though. He may not be in a relationship with Etta but he does love her and he looks at Evie as his daughter after all he has been in that role since she was born. He felt like he was loosing everything that he loved as soon as Damien came back into the picture. He knew that Etta and Damien had something that most people don't ever get the chance to experience in their life time. He just didn't know how to stop what he knew was going to happen.
Shay was a great strong character. She loves Aaron the way he deserves to be loved. She stood by him and supported him and she gave voice of reason to the situation. I like that the Author gave that voice to Shay it is easier for someone who is not directly connected to a situation to see it for what it is. Shay help Aaron take care of Etta and Evie regardless of how difficult that must have been for her. Aaron soon realizes that Shay is the one person who gives to him without thought. She does what is best for him and that is what he needs. Aaron needs someone that loves him as true as he will love them. Shay is that person for him. Etta never did and never could have loved Aaron the way he did her in this journey that she is on with Damien. She may not have meant to but she did use him as a crutch and that wasn't fair to anyone not her, him, Damien, Evie or Shay. I was proud of him for standing up for himself when he told her that he couldn't be the one she relied on anymore. You could see that it hurt him to say things he did to her in that moment but he felt the truth of his words and that was a big eye opener for him and her.
Damien really showed Henrietta how much he was ready to move on from the past and make their future the way it was suppose to be. He owns up to his mistakes and he doesn't hold any anger or resentment towards Henrietta about any decisions she made. He lets it be known that it has hurt him that she kept Evie a secret from him but he understands too. He goes back home and leaves her alone so that she can think and come to her own decision without him there to cloud her judgment. Being apart from one another is hard on them both but it was the right thing for both of them. Damien isn't the kind of person to give up control but he does for Henrietta and she does take notice of that fact.
Henrietta does show growth in her maturity and she puts her daughter's need first. Well except for the ocean scene that was really immature but I keep telling myself that isn't what the author was aiming for. I think she was more going for the whole I am overwhelmed and don't know how to deal with all this emotion flowing through me. I'm scared, and confused kind of thing or at least I think that is what she's going for but to me that could have been shown in a different way. All I got from that scene is that Henrietta has lost her dang mind. She's a mother and suppose to be an adult and yet she acts like a child during that scene. The ending of that scene made things better for me though. The gentleness that Damien showed to her and the way she clung to him like he was the one person who makes her whole made me tear up. In that moment I finally saw what the Author has been trying to show since the beginning. Henrietta and Damien may be two separate people but they are not whole without the other. It's like their souls are connected and needs their other half to breath. Aaron is their to witness the interaction between the two and that is when he comes to the decision that he needs to step away and let her make her own decisions. He sees the connection they have to each other and he actually sees that Damien won't hurt her. He still doesn't like Damien though lol.
Damien and Henrietta do get their happily ever after and I enjoyed being able to witness them getting it right. Not only them but Aaron gets his too in this story. It may not be with Henrietta but I was satisfied with the way this story ends. I was planning to read both Aaron and Damien's stories because I adore the writing ability of Lilliana Anderson. I like the way she brings her characters to life and the story she brings to paper. However I will not buy Aaron's story Obsession for the only fact that I don't want to ruin the way Henrietta's story ends for me. I was team Damien from the beginning and I feel that if I now go and read Aaron's story I will be disappointed because I don't want the Happily ever after for him and Etta. I support Lilliana Anderson as an Author and I would recommend her to anyone who wants to read a great story. She really has a gift of capturing your attention and pull you into the story she's telling. You believe in her characters whether you like them or not and you become emotionally invested. She really went above and beyond for her readers. She wrote not just one but two stories and let the readers choose the path they take. To me that shows dedication to her fans and dedication to her characters. She pilled on double the work to be able to pull out two different stories for Henrietta and I'm sure that had to be challenging at times. Great job Lilliana Anderson you rock and I will continue to support you. I will read more of your books with pleasure you are one of my favorite authors I've came across.
If you want to read a great story that you can become emotionally connected to I recommend you pick up a book by Lilliana Anderson you are sure to be satisfied with what ever story of hers you choose.
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Top reviews from other countries
SCP
Great series, but not much conflict/ climax in book 2!
Reviewed in Canada on January 24, 2015
AnnieCampbellAuthor
Damien's happy ending
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 2, 2014
Mrs. F. Richardson
Brilliantly written but has now left me team Aaron
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2014
