Novella: The Donor by Nikki Rae
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Casey Williams and her family are poor. Her parents work non-stop and so does she, just so they can keep the trailer roof from leaking.
They’re getting by fine enough when the headaches start. Then there’s the nosebleeds. And the inevitable doctor’s bills.
Fortunately for Casey, there’s MyTrueMatch.com: an exclusive, quick, and almost easy way to pay it all back before her parents even have to know.
All she has to do is give a man she’s never met whatever he wants from her body.
Inside or out.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I’ll admit it: I thought this book was about sex when I requested it on NetGalley. Considering the blurb, I don’t think that was an unreasonable assumption because a lot of erotic novel blurbs are. I was honestly looking for a little guilty pleasure.
What I got was a poignant, touching story that left me an emotional wreck for a full day afterward.
So obviously, this book is not about sex. No, it’s the story of Casey and her journey to confront not only her medical reality but her long-ignored emotions. It’s a story of forgiveness and dealing with your past, especially the things that hurt you before. And although I can’t really say much without giving away the whole story but it is also a tale of love; not necessarily romantic love but the kind of platonic love you feel for your family. The Donor is a story that can mean many things to many different people and these are just some of the things I pulled out of it; Nikki Rae’s story is so deep that you will probably take away different lessons and themes.
Casey was just an amazing character and I don’t I’ll ever be able to forget her. She’s young, just about to start her life away from her family, but poverty and those medical bills that were mentioned in the blurb are conspiring against her. So she turns to a sketchy and exclusive website where she meets Jonah Black, a mysterious but kind man who decides to make her his donor. Casey’s character arc as she confronts her problems and finally, finally forgives herself is just amazing and although I’m not an emotional person I’m tearing up just writing this review. Both Jonah and Casey were so real, so vivid, that you can’t help but become attached to them as characters.
The real reason The Donor is such an amazing novella (aside from the characters) is Nikki Rae’s writing. She just has an absolutely amazing writing style. It’s simple but poignant, conveying emotion without being too sappy, using symbolism but not being in your face about it. I know that it’s very hard for authors to find a balance between emotional and overly melodramatic, but Nikki Rae found such an amazing balance that if you aren’t left feeling a little something by the end of the book you clearly don’t possess a human heart.
So what can I say? Not everyone will like the ending but it stays true to the characters and the overall tone of the novella. It will leave you an emotional wreck but it will also make you confront your own fears and live your life just a little more richly because of it. There really are no words for how awesome this book is.
Seriously, just go buy it.
I give this book 5/5 stars.