Review: On Every Street by Karina Halle

Book: On Every Street (The Artists Trilogy #0.5)
By: Karina Halle
Published: March 9, 2013
Published by: Self Published

Description: When young con artist Ellie Watt decides to call herself Eden White and go after the drug lord who ruined her as a child, she never expects to fall for one of his henchmen. But Javier Bernal is no ordinary man. Subtly dangerous and overwhelmingly seductive, Eden finds herself passionately in love with Javier, the very person she's set-up to betray. With her body and heart in a heated battle against her deep need for revenge, no one will walk away from this con a winner.

This 50K word (100+ pages) novella takes place six years before Sins & Needles. It can be read before or after Sins & Needles and may also be read as a standalone.

My Thoughts: Want to know why I love Karina Halle? It's because she puts out book, after book, after book, multiple times in one year (granted some are novellas, not full novels) and you arent left waiting an entire year to see more of the series you are obsessing over, and they're all great. On Every Street is one such novella, released a mere 2 months after it's predecessor, Sins and Needles (though it takes place before the events of Sins and Needles) and it doesnt disappoint.

On Every Street details the events that shaped who Ellie Watt (con name Eden White) is today, why she is so terrified of Javier Bernal, and why she fell in love with him in the first place. It's crazy, we know how the story will end (if you've already read Sins and Needles) but we cant help watching it happen. Some masochistic tendancy inside me allows me to be won over by Javier just in time to have him ruin me. I mean seriously, who wouldnt fall for a man who says things like:

"I once told you to leave and not to love me,” he cried out, muffled. “I’m taking all of that back. Not because I deserve it or because I’m worthy of your love. But because I need it like the air I breathe. I need you. I need you to believe in me. I need your love to make me feel like I can be redeemed.”

“I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. More than I thought I was capable of. Eden, you’ve taken my heart by surprise from the day I first saw you. It hasn’t been my heart since.”

"I want to stain you, Eden. I want myself imbedded in your skin, in your heart, in your soul."

That last quote alone sends shivers down my spine. OMG, I want to scoop this (seemingly) broken man up in my arms, cradle him on my chest, and show him what love is all about. I want to fix him, and I want him to stain me in all the ways he can (TMI?...I mean seriously, he is an amazing lover...okay back to the point). This love between Eden and Javier is passionate, strong, intense, and all consuming. It's blind and vindictive and tragic. I knew what was going to happen but I couldnt help but be blinded into a false sense of security, only to have my heart ripped out of my chest. I wanted to un-see some of the events of this book, and go back to my blissful ignorance
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This book is so amazing it's terrible. How dare Karina Halle do something like this to me?

If you havent yet read ths series, you need to. Sins and Needles, and On Every Street can be read in any order but just know it's real. Yes, I know it's fiction, but these fictional people have real vulnerabilities, make real mistakes, and are more like real life people than most non-fiction books are (not that I read much non-fiction). I wouldnt be surprised if, at the end of the trilogy, Karina told us that the story was based off the life of a real  person's diary or something. I dont know how she does it.

If you dont listen to anything else I say, listen to this, read something in the Artists Trilogy. It'll have you looking at life in a whole new way. I have no doubt you know my rating.....5 stars.

Oh, and I finally met Karina at the Boston Author Event!!! She's just as amazing in person as I imagine her in my head!

So, why havent you read Sins and Needles yet?