Deep breaths. I was stunned, speechless, utterly in love with Lunamare, the first book in the Luna duet, and couldn’t imagine how any other book could possibly compare, yet here I am, feeling the same way about Cor Amare, the second book in the duet by Pepper Winters, all over again.
There is so much agony once again in Cor Amare, made even tougher by such an all consuming taste of happiness that takes place for a time. Yet even while there is such joy taking place in the story, there was an ever present hint of dread hanging over me the entire time I was reading it because I just knew in my gut it couldn’t last. And with the foreshadowing of horrifying things to come dropped into the tale to remind the reader that it’s only temporary, there was no hope of shaking that anxiety.
When things were good for Aslan and Neri, they were out of this world. The romance was heavy, they managed to live their dreams, and the satisfaction and happiness from seeing their story evolve was unparalleled. But when things were dark, boy did they get pitch black with not a light in sight to break up that darkness. And it was impossible to turn away from this. I found myself flipping pages and devouring the words of this story just as voraciously when they were in their darkest moments as at their greatest heights together. Nothing, no matter how awful, could take away from how compelling Cor Amare was, and I am still beside myself with how much I fell in love with this sequel and these characters and their story all over again. It’s not often that a sequel can live up to an outstanding first book, but Cor Amare somehow managed it because I loved this second book just as much as the first.
As with my review of Lunamare, I don’t want to go too in depth into the plot itself for a couple reasons. One, I fully believe this is the kind of duet that one needs to go in blind to in order to get the full experience. Second, I simply want to avoid spoilers and it’s hard to talk about much of the plot itself without that. Simply put, it’s the story of soulmates and the struggles they must endure for their happiness, the story of a man illegally in a country and hiding so he isn’t forced to leave the love of his life, and a woman who is one with the sea and has been dead set that this man would one day give in to her and be with her for all their days.
This. Book. Puts. You. Through. The. Wringer. It is not easy. In fact, it is never easy for Aslan and Neri. They face far more heartbreak and endure the toughest possibly circumstances than they get of happiness. But wow is the journey worth it. It will break you down and then build you up all over again. The number of emotions Cor Amare made me feel is out of this world. This is a book that will stick with me long after finishing and I just know it’s going to take me some time to get over it. I am fully obsessed with this duet and frankly sad that it’s over as much as I needed to know where the journey would take these two characters. To sum it up, I highly recommend Cor Amare, just as I did Lunamare and prepare yourself to be wholly consumed by these books and these characters because they will haunt you long after you turn the last page. Now excuse me while I have a horrendous book hangover and try to cope.
