Review of "A Life Without Living"

I really didn't intend to read A Life Without Living in two days, but I have to admit that I really wanted to see what happened. Let me try and let you know what's going on without giving too much away. Four hundred years before Kattarina betrayed the wrong man. Promised to marry Alessandro, she falls in love with Gio, love at first sight, and they plan to run away. Unfortunately, Alessandro found them out and Kattarina paid with her life. As a member of a powerful magical clan, Alessandro curses both lovers. Kattarina is destined to be reborn after each death while Gio is doomed to roam the world trying to find her and win her away from Alessandro.

In this life, Kattarina is Katie and she's married to Alex--Alessandro in this incarnation. Gio, and his friend Willem, have long been tracking Kate. Unfortunately, every other time they've come this close Alex has discovered them and Kate has once more paid. This time, though, Gio has an ace up his sleeve in the form of Claire, a Watcher. The young Watcher has vowed to use her considerable powers to help keep Kate safe.

Will Gio succeed? Will he find Kate after four hundred years of heartbreak? Will Claire help them outwit Alex?

You know when you're watching a movie and you just know something bad is going to happen and you clutch the pillow and watch with one eye open? That's kind of how the second half of this book reads. You just know this whole house of cards is going to tumble down around Gio and Kate. I really liked Gio's character. He was so earnest and at times frantic. At one point, so close to Kate, Willem has to knock him out so he doesn't blow the whole thing. Kate's character took a little time for me to warm up to. I couldn't believe, for a little while, that Gio was so in love with this insecure twit. However, as the story progressed, I saw that she really wasn't a twit. It was the combination of a twisted little spell that ate away at her self-confidence and was fed by her own self-doubts and a classically controlling husband.

I know the author is working diligently on book two. I'm hoping that book two delves a little deeper in Alex's character. I really want to know what he's so evil. What is it about Kate that drives him to such lengths to keep her?

If you're looking for a good suspenseful read, pick up SC Alban's book and give it a try. You won't regret it.

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