A dark and twisted journey behind the eyes of a man who
constantly craved control and who in efforts to dominate a girl
began to lose the very thing he desired the most, as well as the
thing he never considered losing … his heart.
It was deeply disturbing and intense,
insightful and unexpectedly emotional.
Books #4 of the CONSEQUENCES Series – BEHIND HIS EYES – CONSEQUENCES is a reading companion, to be read after completing all of the CONSEQUENCES SERIES: Consequences, Truth, and Convicted. It is not a standalone book and should not be read as such.
This companion was written to explore the thoughts and motivations of Anthony Rawlings, the man behind the consequences. It was not intended as a total rewrite of Consequences, but meant to enhance the reader’s understanding.
BHE-Consequences contains significant scenes from the novel Consequences, as experienced from Anthony’s point of view. It also contains never before read, behind the scenes information, as well as, a glossary of the characters and a timeline devoted to the events within Consequences.
BEHIND HIS EYES CONSEQUENCES is a dark journey into the mind of the man who believes that he controls everything and controls nothing. Because there is more to learn about a man who:
Once upon a time, signed a napkin that he knew was a contract. As an esteemed businessman, he forgot one very important rule—he forgot to read the fine print. It wasn’t an acquisition to own another person as he’d previously assumed. It was an agreement to acquire a soul.
—Aleatha Romig CONVICTED
It was a long and painful acquisition—especially from Behind His Eyes!
Um…. wow. How to process. I’m just exploding with emotions. It’s difficult to explain how a story… with which I am already familiar… somehow is able to take me back so fully to the brutal beginning and completely alter my perspective once again. This is the talent of Aleatha Romig. She give us this guy, whom we hate in Consequences and grow to love? care for? by Truth and then root for in Convicted, thoroughly convinced by the end that his love for Claire was good and meant to be, and now, upon completing this dark journey… this wild ride of a book, I’m back to simply hating his guts. Oh Tony Rawlings, you are an evil, manipulative man! I was frankly stunned at all the feelings this book once again evoked. I wanted to read through the narrow slits of my finger, covering my eyes through some of the more ruthless moments – the consequences – I experienced once more. My gut clenched, my heart broke and I wanted Claire to run far far away. I was bursting with renewed anxiety and trepidation, but also, as before, devouring this dark journey with an obsessive ferocity, cursing the day that Tony made a promise to his grandfather. A promise that would change the life of so many.
It was really intriguing to see how top of mind his plan for retribution was. How thorough. Tony’s thoughts are calculated… always trying to achieve order. Always influencing. Always controlling. I felt like he was a man so twisted, so affected by his past, so driven to fulfill a promise long made, that he carried a deep fury ready to erupt at any moment. His cool and calm exterior was a deceptive allure in contrast to his raging emotions. His desire – his need– to control everything was more essential than his next breath. And when he acquired Claire, she was no different. She was an obsession. A means to an end. A thrilling test to prove that he could own her, train her and mold her as he see fit.
It was horrifying to see how much he enjoyed seeing Claire suffer… or perhaps, really what he enjoyed is seeing just how much he owned her. The thrill was in the domination. I had hoped to see a sliver of mercy, a glimmer of regret in his earlier actions, but there was simply none. His persona exuded power and experiencing his point-of-view was an extension of this frightening man. He enjoyed her submission and he relished in his ability to prove the most important point of all… every action had a consequence. And since he owned her, she had to endure a sequestered life at his whim.
This novel takes us through some of the more significant experiences of Consequences, chronicling the journey from total torment to a slightly more compliant Tony as he began to feel something deeper for Claire. Something more real and beyond domination.
I have to say that I don’t think Tony truly loved Claire by the end of Consequences. He continued to operate as if a contract existed and I think it really took a lot more time for him to learn to be more selfless, learn what it is to truly love someone. This is apparent even at the end as he continues to test Claire’s love and obedience. Furthermore, I don’t think Claire really loved Tony either. I think they both needed to be free as equals, getting to really know each other as whole people, to truly fall in love. Their relationship was just too toxic, too unhealthy at this point. And Tony fails to see just how wrong he’s been all along.
Although as I mentioned above, we re-live only particular chapters from Consequences making the flow sometimes a bit bumpy since you move from scene to scene, as opposed to the continuous chapter to chapter. Regardless, it was really insightful to see it all unfold through Tony’s eyes and that certainly felt new. Fans of the series should most definitely read this book to truly understand Tony’s motivations. The next companion novel, Behind His Eyes – Truth, will be out in March.
Click on the cover image below to purchase through Amazon.
Aleatha Romig is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, who has been voted #1 “New Author to Read” on Goodreads, July 2012 – Present!
Aleatha has lived most of her life in Indiana, growing-up in Mishawaka, graduating from Indiana University, and currently living south of Indianapolis. Together with her high-school sweetheart and husband of twenty seven years, they’ve raised three children. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her pastimes include exercising, reading, and creating heroes/ anti-heroes who haunt your dreams!
Aleatha enjoys traveling, especially when there is a beach involved. In 2011 she had the opportunity to visit Sydney, Australia to visit her daughter studying at the University of Wollongong. Her dream is to travel to places in her novels and around the world.
CONSEQUENCES, her first novel, was released August 2011 by Xlibris Publishing. Then in October of 2012, Ms. Romig re-released CONSEQUENCES as an indie author. TRUTH, the sequel, was released October 30, 2012, and CONVICTED, the final installment of the Consequences Series, was released October 8, 2013! She is now releasing the CONSEQUENCES READING COMPANIONS: BEHIND HIS EYES – A trilogy of companions, from Anthony Rawlings’ POV.
Aleatha is a “Published Author’s Network” member of the Romance Writers of America and represented by Danielle Egan-Miller of Brown and Miller Literary Associates.
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