Novella Serial Review: Naked by Kelly Favor

Serial Saturdays: On Saturdays, I review serialized series (a series that is released in parts that would normally make up a whole novel) to see if the series is worth keeping up with or starting. Here is this week’s offering:

Series: Naked
Author: Kelly Favor
# of Parts: 7 (Naked, Bad, Wild, Wrong, Ache, Raw, Scar)
Complete?: Yes
Genre: New Adult, Dark, Romance, Contemporary
Heat Rating: warm
Point of View: Third Person

Thoughts:

I think if you going to read this series you have to remember that it is a serialized FICTION series–or else you are going to roll your eyes right out of your head at how fast everything progresses in this series and how rashly the characters act. And that line right there–about rolling your eyes–is probably going to give you the wrong impression of this series. Because nothing is really THAT over the top with this book–it’s actually surprisingly realistic in some parts of its delivery–but I just want to remind readers that the romance in serialized stories moves fast and often on the basis of an “insta-connection” (which if you are like me will normally drive you nuts reading a full sized novel).

That being said, I really didn’t mind their insta-connection. As I said before, I found the series to be fairly realistic in terms of the situations Caelyn and Elijah found themselves in–though there were of course moments that were a little too “fantasy” for me (especially how they meet). BUT, I was open going into the book knowing it was a FICTION series so I decided to have a little fun with it.

It helps to have all parts of the series with you when you read because it is a little addicting. Most parts end with a cliffhanger so you really want to see what happens next. But, don’t buy all of the series at once until you are sure that you like it. Naked, part 1, isn’t the most accurate representation of the series as it has a different feel to it. I think a lot of people will enjoy it but not necessarily like Bad, which is part 2. In Bad we learn more about Elijah and the book progresses into its more “dark” aspects.

By “dark” I mean that this isn’t your typical New Adult read with characters that have tragedy filled past. While both characters have tragic pasts there is also more going on with the plot that we don’t see in other reads. I don’t want to give it away but let’s just say that Elijah is the definition of a bad boy (and I’m not just saying he is a playboy that sleeps with a lot of girls like some other books try to sell).

I was getting a little tired of the “but I love him” bits by the end of the series though. I didn’t particularly love Caelyn as a character either but I liked Elijah. However, I was always entertained as I was reading it because the plot moved in a direction I never thought it was going to go.

Conclusion:

I don’t think the majority of people will like this series because it is a little on the darker side in terms of plot events. It’s an insta-connection romance that doesn’t have much substance to it. But, the plot is always moving with lots of interesting spins so it is entertaining if you are looking for a break from the usual New Adult fare.

Rating: 3/5

Similar Reads: Wanted by Amanda Lance (Wanted Series #1) and Heartless by Catou Martine

Synopsis for Naked (from Goodreads):
Caelyn Murphy is broken.

She’s broken because of something that was done to her–something she can’t even bear to think about. So she does the only thing she can think of…she runs. Away from her Ivy League college, away from her perfect life, and away from the man who hurt her. Only she runs straight into…

Elijah.

Elijah Daniels is hardened from a life that’s seen the worst the world has to offer. But when he meets Caelyn, he knows there’s something different about her. She’s been through hell and back, but she hasn’t given up.

Caelyn can see that Elijah is gorgeous on the outside, but she also knows he’s dangerous. And the last man she trusted hurt her so badly, she may be beyond repair.

But the harder she tries to resist, the more Elijah’s persistence strips her of her armor and leaves her naked and vulnerable.

In the end, neither of them will be able to predict just how far they might have to go to save themselves…and each other.