FAITHLESS by JULIE JOHNSON

‘With every muscle she moved, every touch of her hands, every brush of her body against mine, I felt myself sink further into her depths.’

From the very start of this book, I began to experience those excited little book flutters and knew I was going to love Erasing Faith after being captivated by Julie Johnson’s expressively beautiful prose. This author sure does have a way with words and uses them in such a beautifully intoxicating and hypnotic way. Her words were like a seductive temptress: luring me in and never letting me go. I felt as though I wanted to pause life until the last page had been turned as Julie Johnson’s words held me captive. 

“I’m not your prince, Red. The dark knight, maybe. But don’t confuse me for the valiant hero.’

The sinister atmospheric feel of the prologue set the scene for down the track, leaving me with a mixture of excitement, anticipation and dread stirring in me as I wondered how the story was going to unfold and bring us to that point in the prologue.

‘Monsters aren’t all tentacles and teeth. Sometimes, they’re far less obvious – wrapped up in charm and charisma, cloaked behind secrets and seduction’

The story held me spellbound during the suspense, the charming and witty banter between our two main characters put a smile on my face, the sexual chemistry sizzled  and the mystery and secrets that abound throughout Erasing Faith kept me glued to my Kindle. 

‘He was a man lost in shadows.’

Faith embarks on a journey to study abroad in Budapest in a quest discover who she is. Although coming from a large family, Faith is a bit of a loner and seems to revel in the life of the carefree traveller working for a courier firm whilst studying History in Budapest.

An accidental meeting with Wes, a handsome stranger stirs feelings in Faith as she feels an instant attraction to him. As they spend time together Faith feels a connection to Wes…it’s as though this guy ‘gets her’.  Faith believes their meeting was fate but was it fate or a calculated move on Wes’s part?

‘I’d wonder later, after it all fell apart…if I’d known how it would turn out, would I have ripped that plane ticket into pieces? Would I have stayed in my life….and chosen never to meet the man who’d splinter my world – and my heart – into fragments.’

Told in alternate POV I was afforded an insight into Wes’s motives and Faiths naivety as their relationship progresses.  Wes struggles internally between his feelings for this refreshingly effervescent and beautiful girl who appears so pure and so honest, intelligent and fierce, against his loyalty and commitment to the task at hand.

‘Her beauty was elemental. It radiated from beneath her skin, painted her in color against a grayscale world.’

Just who is Wes and why is he so interested in Faith? All was revealed as Julie Johnson took me through the streets of Budapest on a vividly descriptive journey, that had me breathing in every moment of Wes and Faith’s story as I uncovered the truth behind the solitary and mysterious Wes, and the discovery of what Faith had unwittingly walked into. I don’t want to give anything away so I’ll leave it up to you to find what mystery is afoot.

‘This, right here, with my mouth pressed against hers, was the safest I’d felt in years.’

This standalone had it all. Suspense, mystery, intrigue, romance, humour and passion, together with characters full of spark, all beautifully woven together by an author who really did caress me with her words, not to mention a book boyfriend to swoon over!  The only reason this wasn’t a solid 5 star for me is because the second part felt a little rushed and I would have loved a little more ‘afters’ with Wes and Faith .  A definite recommend without a doubt!