THE TUTOR by K LARSEN

‘He stole my magic. He decimated my innocence swiftly and succinctly. And let me tell you something, innocence is like hope – a necessary element for survival. ‘

Wow! What a gripping unputdownable read! We couldn’t move until we finished The Tutor, after becoming instantly seduced by K Larsen’s menacing, taunting and deliciously tempting opening pages. From the sinister feel of the first page, we knew this one was going to be one riveting, thrilling and unsettling read, and one in which we found ourselves easily trusting our hearts and minds to this incredibly talented author. This was our favourite K Larsen read. This story was really something!

“It was all a game. He was the only one who knew who was playing but it was still a game. “

First off, we absolutely urge you to go into this book spoiler free, and our review will be just that. So much of this read could be easily spoilt and it’s truly one where you simply have to trust in the author, because every page ensured our Kindles never left our hands as we constantly tried to second guess how this story would play out.

K Larsen has done a tremendous job of intricately weaving a number of players POV’s into the story as well as a back and forth, past/present composition which she carried out with a seamless flair. We never faltered or got lost along the way as this authors brilliant prose flowed spectacularly.

The story centres on 20 year old bookworm Nora Robertson. Sweet Nora prefers to have her nose in a book rather than out partying every night and whilst book smart, Nora isn’t especially life smart, unlike her best friend Aubry who is the fun to Nora’s seriousness.

“I think my greatest error was believing that if I cast a lovely net, I would only catch lovely things.”

At the insistence of Aubry, Nora attends a party, the fallout of which, would have life changing consequences for Nora resulting in her need to escape and accept a position as a live-in Tutor at a remote cabin in Mount Art working for the ruggedly handsome Holden Douglas, teaching his younger sister. It would turn out to deliver more than she could have ever imagined.

‘I will become his masterpiece, my scars his legacy. He will carve his way through my soul to my heart.’

We learn Nora’s terrifying story as she recounts it to various parties. Nothing is spared as we hear of the pleasure, the pain, the tender, the heartbreak, the brutal, the bravery, the fear…in fact, everything Nora felt, we felt deep within us, as Nora’s memories, conflictions and emotions are constantly laid bare on each page.

‘Fear is a funny thing. It changes the way you think. It alters your being. I’ve learned the heart is a wild beast, that’s why it’s caged inside our ribs… that monsters are real and they look like humans and that love is a fickle beast. All my life, people promised that dreams could come true…but they forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too.’

Despite this being a dark romance, we experienced moments of moving tenderness which were intensified among the dark, unnerving moments, eliciting moments of hope and love in places we didn’t think possible, and in turn causing us to question our every increasing conflicted feelings.

“There are chapters in my life I’d rather not read out loud.”
“Tell me every horrible thing you did and let me love you anyway.”

K Larsen masterfully delivered a brilliantly written story that came to life as she captured the nuances of each character, leaving us teetering on a knife-edge with each twisting turn of the page. By allowing us into the mind of each player, K Larsen ensured we witnessed first-hand the judgements and thoughts of each character throughout this complex story that still keeps playing out in our minds long after finishing.

The Tutor was an absolute 5 star read for sure. You need to bump this book up to the ‘must read’ list, now!

“Your story no longer belongs to you. It’s my story now.”