Book Review: "Sins & Needles" by Karina Halle

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You know you've stumbled upon something pretty darned special when a book opens with:

This will be the last time. I've said that before. I've said it a lot. I've said it while talking to myself in a mirror like some Tarantino cliche. But I've never said it while having a pool cue pressed against my throat by a crazed Ukrainian man who was hell bent on making me his wife. It's nice to know there's still a first time for everything.

Click here for the goodreads link of the book.

Meet Ellie Watt: con artist, professional grifter, ex-girlfriend of a murderous, Latino gangster yet currently posing as an internet-ordered, Russian, virgin bride. Did I mention con artist? Don't worry - she's trying to reform herself; for real this time. To start off, she's gonna hightail it out of her current predicament and drive herself back to her home town in Palm Valley, California. Perhaps she might get a normal job, live a normal life. And perhaps people will one day stop writing Twilight fan-fiction and trying to pass them off as original literature.

Meet Camden McQueen: the only friend Ellie ever had when she was in high school. (After all, the freaks have to stick together right?) He seems to have changed... quite a bit... Gone is the tall, pale, long-haired, trench-coat and purple-lipstick wearing goth boy of many years past. In his place is an intense, tall, muscled, successful, walking tattoo of a hunk who seems to harbour no bitterness over what Ellie has done to him in the past. Which is strange, because once upon a time - 9 years ago to be exact - a girl named Ellie hurt a guy named Camden. She hurt him so bad that something in him got destroyed that day. It never fully repaired itself.

 

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Now, Ellie's back in her home-town. She needs money - fast. Camden seems like the perfect mark; he's successful, he's loaded and most importantly, he used to have feelings for Ellie.... But what Ellie's not counting on is how easily unrequited love can turn into obsession over time. Has Camden really gotten over the events of the past? Or is there still anger, bitterness and pain simmering just underneath that civilised mask - waiting to be let out at the first sign of a mistep from Ellie?

So... I went in expecting a fluff read. (Because that is all I ever read - duh.) Don't get me wrong, the cover is great and all but it doesn't exactly scream, "INTELLECTUAL MATERIAL THAT WILL EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS" does it? To a certain extent, I suppose it is very much immersive fiction. It's got con artists, guns, mafia, casinos, a car chase, a bad-ass mofo girl and a sexy, tattoo artist. However, it's also a story about a girl who once hurt a guy. It's about a girl who had to grow up doing anything it took to survive - even if it meant committing crimes no little girl has to commit. It's about revenge, redemption, justification and hope. And parts of it are oh so dark. I don't mean that in depraved, wtf-are-you-reading type of way though. It is dark because the characters have so much depth and feeling to them that you can't help but but feel the pain and suffering that is buried deep underneath all that other stuff.

“You're a con artist. A liar. A thief. An unredeemable soul. You can't be reformed. You can't be saved. You'll die trying to make the world pay for what it did to you. And you'll die alone.”

   

The writing really surprised me. It might be because I've been wading through some books with the most craptastic prose imaginable but I don't think that's the case at all. Karina Halle has a gift with words. The writing is easily accessible and simple but she manages to convey it in a way that makes it sound so profound. I just want to nod my head and go, "Duuuude, that's so deep man."

They just lay side by side, staring up at the stars and listening to Soundgarden's "The Day I Tried to Live" on his portable speakers, watching for satellites and enjoying that feeling that they, in their fourteen-year-old tragedies, were the centre of their universe. His hand gripped hers and despite how sweaty her palms felt, she didn't take it away.

 

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I'm usually not a big fan of flashback narratives but in this book, my favourite moments came from the Ellie/Cam flashbacks to when they were in high school. I'm a sucker for the underdog plotlines and this story had a very strong fragility-of-youth vibe going through it. It's the same one that I got from watching Perks of Being a Wallflower. (Don't compare those two stories though. Sins & Needles is still predominately a dark, contemporary romance type of book). Also, the use of flashbacks made the book seem so much richer. We got to see the Ellie/Cam relationship of the past and that made everything all the more heartwrenching in the present.

As I've said before, the characters were pretty awesome and very well fleshed out. Ellie kicks ass but at the same time, she's got this emotional fragility when it comes to her scars. Camden... Well Camden is strange. There's a quality about him that is so intense yet inscrutable. You think you've got his character pinned down but then stuff happens and your perspective of him changes. It's a bit frightening for Ellie and the audience to predict what he's going to do next.

Plotwise, I have no complaints. Shit gets real so fast and I got hit with so many developments that I started to feel like one of those crocodiles at Galaxy World. It was great.

 I should probably stop typing in case I start giving away plot points or something. All in all, this is definitely a great book to pick up if you find your reading list empty. I don't have to tell you guys that it is adult fiction despite the teenage flashbacks right? If there are any doubts about the age category, I'm pretty sure this quote puts it all to rest:

“Is the gun really necessary?"

"No," he admitted. "It's just fun to have one."

"Like an extra penis," I mused.

He smiled unkindly. "Something like that.”

*snort* Don't worry guys - the book's not all doom and gloom. There are definitely some fun and light-hearted parts in there.

Oh, almost forgot to mention; this book is part of a trilogy. That is the only gripe I have so far. I hate the waiting game. Hate it with a passion. (Mostly because when I have to wait for stuff, I lose interest in it.) Doesn't help that the book came out on Amazon only about a week ago. So yeah, imma just sit here and mope a lil bit. Don't mind me.