Has this ever happened to you?

Good morning, afternoon or evening to you, !

If your weekend offers you more time to read, as mine does, I hope that the book you've got lined up to start, continue, or finish today brings you joy.

The one that I started last night—and stayed up way too late reading—infuriated me this morning. I woke up with the story in my mind and couldn't wait to get back to it.

I was at the 65% mark, loving the couples and the forced proximity, fake identity set-up for these two would-be, want-to-be lovers. They still hadn't even kissed, but I was deeply invested in their happily ever after.

Darling Husband brought me a coffee in bed so I didn't have to waste a minute of reading time.

How was she going to tell him she wasn't who she led him to believe she was?

How would he respond?

He hates liars... would he forgive her?

At the 87% mark they'd finally admitted having feelings for each other and spent a chaste but sensual night watching an old Blues Brothers movie, fully dressed, with her head pressed over his heart. I so wanted to experience their HEA with them. And we were so close.... so close.

But at the 89% mark, the real twin who our hero has been charged with guarding comes home. The heroine has to tell him her real identity now, right? RIGHT?

Apparently not. Because the book ends right then... on a cliffhanger! ACK!!

And not just a "I wonder how this will be resolved, but I know it will be" cliffhanger that I could walk away from, telling myself the obvious ending to their story. No, this cliff is Mount Everest and there is no easy way to guess the outcome.

I gave the book 5 stars on the first page after the infuriating, so-called ending because any book that makes me want to toss it across the room in disappointment that I don't know how it resolves is obviously a well-told story.

I kvetched to my Darling Husband about the bait-and-switch but then had a vague thought... I think the author warned me there was a cliffhanger. I checked. Yup. Right there on the sales page it says, ends in a cliffhanger. As does the next book in this 3-part story.

I'm still not sure how I feel about being emotionally forced to choose my next read... but I am so invested in these characters I don't see a choice but to buy the next—and the next—books in the series...

Curse you, Penny Reid. And... thank you, because darnitall, I love your stories.

How do you feel about cliffhangers?

I'm told some people love them. And evidence from several big name authors suggests their readers don't mind being forced to buy two or more stories to reach the promise land of an HEA.

But how would feel if my next series was three books that all needed to be read in order to experience the fuzzy love of the couple's happily ever after? Would you be irritated and stop reading my stories? Or be irritated and begrudgingly buy the next book? Or, do you love stories that need more than one book to reach the happily ever after?

Fresh deals for you. Beware the cliffs!

Well, it's just before noon here on the sunny West Coast of Canada and I think my afternoon will be spent sitting outside with book two of the series that demands I continue reading... I hope you find fulfillment in your weekend, .

love & stuff,

Danika

xo

PS —Since I don't want to leave you with a cliffhanger in this email, the story that has my knickers in a twist is from The Hypothesis Series by Penny Reid. I started with Book 3, Motion, which is the first book of the second mini-series in the full series... hope that makes sense! xo