Review: Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha

Title: Beyond Shame
Series: Beyond, #1
Author: Kit Rocha
Published: September 16, 2012
Pages: 354
Genre: Dystopian/Erotic Romance
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: Self-pubbed
Rating: A+
Reviewed by: Ellie

Favorite quote: “I want you to have other people, find out what you like. Get and give pleasure before you settle on me.”

summary from Goodreads
All Noelle Cunningham has ever wanted is a life beyond–beyond the walls of Eden, where only the righteous are allowed to remain, and beyond her stiflingly restrictive existence as a councilman’s daughter. But only ruins lie outside the City, remnants of a society destroyed by solar storms decades earlier.

The sectors surrounding Eden house the corrupt, the criminal–men like Jasper McCray, bootlegger and cage fighter. Jas clawed his way up from nothing to stand at the right hand of Sector Four’s ruthless leader, and he’ll defend the O’Kane gang with his life. But no fight ever prepared him for the exiled City girl who falls at his feet.

Her innocence is undeniable, but so is their intense sexual attraction, and soon they’re crossing every boundary Noelle barely knew she had. But if she wants to belong to Jas, first she’ll have to open herself to the gang, to a dangerous world of sex, lust and violence. A world where passion is power, and freedom is found in submission.

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Ellie's thoughts:
It has been a very long time since a book knocked my socks off but from page one Beyond Shame did just that. The characters are raw, gritty and so different from anything i’ve ever read. I was sucked into this dystopian world and I never wanted to leave the Sector Four or the O’Kane gang. Things are not pretty in this world but everyone is free to make their own decisions and act as the want without judgement and once you are in the gang you are never alone.

Noelle Cunningham grew up sheltered behind the walls of Eden waiting for her very wealthy and powerful father to make a decision about her life when she finally decided to make one for herself. All Noelle ever wanted was to feel something and because of that she was banished from Eden into the world outside the safe walls that always protected her and right into the arms of Jasper McCray, one of the lieutenants of the O'Kane Gang. As Noelle is taken into one of the most powerful gangs in all of the Sectors she is finally living her life with jasper helping her every step of the way.

I love books set in dystopian worlds and Beyond Shame is set in America after all the electricity has gone out and the world is divided into very specific classes of the wealthy, the gangs and farmers. The gangs control the world outside the walls of Eden where the wealthy live and most make their money off of alcohol and black markets. The O’Kane gang lead by Dallas O’Kane is one of the most successful gangs and Dallas rules Sector Four with an iron fist. Dallas isn’t happy about letting a councilman’s daughter into his gang but Jasper and Lex, the unofficial female leader of the O’Kanes, pushing for it he has no choice.

Once in the gang Noelle discovers a whole new world of possibilities and experiences. The females of the O’Kanes are allowed to do as they please as long as they put the gang first and in return are offered safety. For once in her life Noelle can dress as she wants and finally explore her sexual side which she does right away. The sex in this book is off the chains hot and is written so well that it was easy to get lost in the story and the raw experiences that were taking place.

The men in this book are strong alphas who live dangerou;ly and love their women with everything they have. The relationships in this book are anything from easy especially for Jasper and Noelle. These two take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and by the end of the book I was happily exhausted. Noelle grows so much in such a short amount of time and her character grows from a naive, slightly annoying one to a badass O’Kane girl who I wouldn’t mess with.

I am desperate to get my hands on the next book which I am hoping is Dallas and Lex’s book but I’m not sure. This was hands down one of the best books I’ve read all year and I can’t wait to see what happens next in the O’Kane gang. I am also now obsessed with getting some new ink and I have a feeling the number of tattoos I have will go up the more of the Beyond series books I read.