Review: Brutal Obsession by S. Massery

December 27, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

BRUTAL OBESESSION
Author: S. Massery
Genre: Dark, Bully Romance
Release Date: November 30, 2022

He shattered my leg, and now he wants to ruin the rest of me.

Greyson Devereux is a menace–but only to me.
To everyone else, he’s charismatic.
He’s the son of a senator and the star of the university’s hockey team.

When all I want is to be invisible, he drags me into the spotlight.
He wants my blood, my fear, my attention.

Resisting him only worsens his obsession.
Fighting solidifies it.

He’s brutal, and he draws out a sick darkness in me that enjoys it.
But I’ll be damned if I let him become my downfall.

AMAZON

She’s breathing hard, although I’m not sure if she realizes it. Her chest rises and falls rapidly. It’s an elixir I didn’t know I needed, so I open my mouth and give the only order she’ll listen to. “Run.”

If you know me even a little then you already know that I love my fictional men mean. Like MEAN. Ya know? I want to hate them for the majority of the book and then I need them to change my mind irrevocably at the end. And Greyson Devereux is a menace to my ovaries if I ever found one. I am OBSESSED. Completely obsessed. And if you’re a fan of the bully romance trope, this book is not to be missed.

So let’s see. Greyson is a cocky, rich and privileged with some extreme daddy issues. Coming home one night he gets into an accident that causes a severe injury to the other car’s occupant. So what’s a guy to do? Put his date in the driver’s seat, check to make sure the other occupant is alive, call his dad, and then escape the scene of the crime. Suffice it to say he’s not a good guy.

Now look, if this already sounds like it isn’t your cup of tea, then I suggest skipping this one. This girl? Needed a good redemption arc and happy to report I got one.

Violet Reece is back at school following an accident that took the dream of dancing from her. So imagine her surprise when the guy behind the wheel of the other car that night of the accident is at her school, and looking at her like she did something wrong.

Thu begins their back and forth dance of hate lust, pure hate, blackmail, bullying, and unwanted attraction. I saw the author mention that this is the darkest book she’s ever written, and while I didn’t find it to be particularly dark, I can see it won’t be for everyone. There’s dubcon, blackmail, and bullying. And while I love my MFC with a backbone and thought Violet gave in too easily in some parts, I did love the way she fought back in others. One scene of blackmail in a locker room particularly comes to mind. But I digress.

Was this book a sweet romance? Not even a little. Did I find it dark? No, but it certainly had dark undercurrents. Was it addictive? Very much so. Do I need to read everything else by this author immediately? Absolutely.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark, New Adult · Tagged With: , ,

Review: The Bad Guy by Celia Aaron

December 26, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

THE BAD GUY
Author: Celia Aaron
Genre: Dark Romance
Release Date: May 21, 2017

My name is Sebastian Lindstrom, and I’m the villain of this story.

Camille was a damsel, one who already had her white knight.

She was caught in a world of lies that glittered like truth, secrets painted to seem harmless.

I could’ve left her there. I didn’t.

I never abandon the things I want, never lose sight of their shine, and Camille outshined all others.

She was my breath of spring, an apple ripe for poisoning.

After all, every fairy tale has a villain, someone waiting in the wings to rip it all down.

A scoundrel who will set the world on fire if that means he gets what he wants. That’s me.

I’m the bad guy.

AMAZON

I’d do anything for you. Except let you go.”

I’m too lazy to write a full review for this one but I’ll try a quick sum up.

I love a good stalker romance with a sexy psychopath. This one promised to deliver on both with the alluring psychopath and successful CEO, Sebastian. Camille is dating a man who works for Sebastian’s company, and when he lays eyes on her he becomes instantly obsessed. So much so that he stalks her incessantly, plots to run into her several times, and ultimately kidnaps her and forces her to stay with him until she falls for him. Sounds delicious, right? It somewhat was.

I think for someone who is just dipping their toe into this trope would probably enjoy it. But for a dark romance reader, this book just felt too mild for what it was if that makes sense. I found Camille to be dry. Having her boyfriend’s POV in the book really drove her naivety home for me. Sebastian was delicious. I loved him and his calculating obsessive ways. Perhaps this was letting my expectations get the best of me, but I just felt very underwhelmed with the story. It dragged in parts and was too tame in others. The ending felt cliche and anticlimactic with a splash of cheese.

Did I like it? Yes. Is it something I’d come back to or super memorable. Not really.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark · Tagged With: , ,

Review: Broken Queen by Natasha Knight

November 15, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

BROKEN QUEEN
Series: Ruined Kingdom Duet #2
Author: Natasha Knight
Genre: Dark Mafia/MFM Romance
Release Date: November 15, 2022

Betrayal. Destruction. Truth.

He says you can only rise up once you hit rock bottom.
Only be made whole once you’re fully broken.

I don’t know that there’s anything left to break.

Time is running out for me. Enemies are closing in at every turn.

But this time I won’t be alone.

One brother has vowed his protection. The other reaffirmed his hatred of me.

Yet they both want me.

But something dark is unraveling inside me.
An event too terrible clawing its way into my consciousness.

And even as things begin to change between us, it’s those memories that may undo us all.

AMAZON | NOOK | KOBO | iBOOKS | GOOGLE PLAY

START WITH BOOK ONE
 
RUINED KINGDOM

AMAZON | iBOOKS | NOOK | KOBO | GOOGLE PLAY

And as they wipe the tears that fall while they make love to me and I too them, I know that we belong to each other. The three of us, we have always belonged to each other.

There’s a reason Natasha Knight books are pure crack for me. It doesn’t matter how many times I read a different variation of a similar trope, I will never grow tired of it. The woman just delivers each and every single time and this book was no exception.

After that shocking cliffhanger in Ruined Kingdom, I was dying for the conclusion. I just knew that this would be the book that would defrost the icy heart that Bastian has and I was not wrong. These two brothers go from ruthless, revenge driven beasts to ruthless, revenge driven beasts who would burn the world down to protect their woman.

I think that Vittoria Russo is one of my favorite heroines from Natasha to date. There’s just something so fierce about her. This woman is the definition of fighter and when you peel back the layers on her past, you see how much of one she is. She doesn’t stop fighting no matter how much the odds are stacked against her. And seeing her inevitably fall for her two captors melted my cold black heart.

I devoured this book in one greedy sitting. Emotional, gritty, and full of dark passion, I couldn’t get enough.

 

Natasha Knight is the USA Today Bestselling author of Romantic Suspense and Dark Romance Novels. She has sold over a million books and is translated into six languages. She currently lives in The Netherlands with her husband and two daughters and when she’s not writing, she’s walking in the woods listening to a book, sitting in a corner reading or off exploring the world as often as she can get away.
 
 
AUTHOR LINKS
 
Website: http://natasha-knight.com
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/natasha-knight
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Natasha-Knight/e/B009MIHIFG
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashaknightauthor
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1752075498339742
Newsletter: http://natasha-knight.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natashaknight13

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark · Tagged With: , ,

Review: Velvet Cruelty by Eve Dangerfield

October 11, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

VELVET CRUELTY
Series: Snow White trilogy #1
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Eve Dangerfield
Release Date: October 11, 2022

 

Once upon a time I was promised to a powerful man.I was raised to be dutiful and innocent. But on my wedding day, I’m stolen by four men. Men who loathe my fiancé. They’re going to use me to fulfill their vendetta.

One of them only wants my body.
One of them wants me as his wife.
Another one offers freedom… at a price.
And the last wants me dead.

I was raised to be a good society wife. Now I’m facing a battle of wits and breathless desire. My only hope is to set aside my innocence. Or learn to use it as a weapon.

Author’s Note: VELVET CRUELTY is a scorching romance between a woman and four beautifully dangerous men in which she never has to choose. Read at your own discretion.

Welcome to the Midnight Dynasty… The warring Morelli and Constantine families have enough bad blood to fill an ocean, and their brand new stories will be told by your favorite dangerous romance authors.

WARNING: This book is intended for readers eighteen years old and over. It contains material that some readers could find disturbing. Enter at your own risk…

AMAZON | iBOOKS | NOOK | KOBO | GOOGLE PLAY

Even twitching on the carpet, she looks too pure to exist. Like she’s been kissed by angels. It makes a man want to violate her. Or at least it makes me want that.

Brace yourself and prepare to clutch some pearls, because this book was everything my toxic morally gray men dreams are made out of!!

Now look, this book is not for everyone. But if you love your men toxic, and I really do mean TOXIC. Unapologetically mean, crude, and darker than sin, prepare for a ride of your life because WOW. As for triggers, umm…all of them. Yes, all of them. This has dub con, degradation, captive, why chose, antiheroes and all of it together was simply delicious. Oh…and some breath play.

I like choking. Knowing I’m holding a woman’s life in my hands as I make the blood rush to her head.”

This is why I love Eve’s writing, the woman is simply not afraid to go there. And this book definitely went there. Deep there. As deep as it goes there. But I digress.

This is a Snow White reimagining…well, if instead of the prince she had 4 morally gray and dangerous captors. There’s Domenico ‘Doc’ Valente, the deranged horny one. Roberto ‘Basher’ Bassilotta, the sweet one who’s already halfway in love with her but hides a dark undercurrent. Adriano Rossi, the borderline serial killer. And Eliott Morelli, the king on the throne. And between all that is the sweet and virginal 18 year old child bride who they steel on her wedding day.

Admittedly naive virginal heroines are not my cuppa in the least. And January Whitehall is as naive as they come…sort of. Let me explain. The girl has been sheltered and hidden for most of her life. All of her steps supervised and controlled. She’s been promised to a man she only knows as Mr. Parker since she was just a little girl and now that’s she’s 18, all she’s known is the arrangement and she’s going willingly. But beneath the innocence is a woman who’s smarter than she even knows she is and while she may be naive, she’s got some willfulness which made it easy to connect with her.

Now if you’re expecting a fairy tale, pick a different book. This one is rude, crude, and is definitely a whole mood. But sweet it is not. It’s dark and these boys are mean. What they put January through is evil and they’re evil personified. If you like your fictional men on the mostly psychotic side, these guys bring that in spades. But there’s also just enough of a hint to something more with each of them which left me fully obsessed and completely enraptured.

If you liked Royals of Forsyth type of dark anti heroes, this one will hit every spot you didn’t even know you had. And that cliffhanger? Should be illegal in every state. There needs to be a warrant for Eve Dangerfield’s arrest because it was nothing short of cruel and unusual punishment. And the wait for book 2? CRUEL. Just cruel. I’m about to throw hands and riot. We ride at dawn!!

Eve Dangerfield has loved romance novels ever since she first swiped her grandmother’s paperbacks. Now she writes her own stories about complicated women and gorgeous-but-slightly-tortured men. Her work has been described as ‘genre-defying,’ ‘insanely hot’ and ‘the defibrillator contemporary romance needs right now’…and not just by herself or those who might need bone marrow…OTHER PEOPLE! She lives in Melbourne with her boy and a bunch of semi-dead plants. She can generally be found making a mess.

 

Connect with Eve

Website: www.evedangerfield.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14427168.Eve_Dangerfield

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Eve-Dangerfield/e/B094XMD32K

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evedangerfieldbooks/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/621731822071777

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evedangerfield

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@evedangerfield

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/eve-dangerfield

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark · Tagged With: , , ,

Review: What Lies Between Us by H.D. Carlton

September 13, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

WHAT LIES BETWEEN US
Series: Heartless Heroes Anthology
Genre: MM Romance, Dark Romance
Author: H.D. Carlton
Release Date: September 13, 2022

Some heroes want to save the world. Some will burn it down for the one they love.
Call them villains, anti-heroes, criminals, and monsters.
But these dark men love deeply and fiercely, and are ready to go to the ends of the earth to save their soulmate.

They will tempt you.
Captivate you.
Drag you into darkness, and leave you breathless.
They’ll show you how good love can be in the dark.

There’s a spark between these pages, and these Heartless Heroes will set your world on fire.

Morally grey is the favorite color of these twenty new and bestselling authors. Grab your copy now to read all the dark shades of love painted by these Heartless Heroes.

Authors in this set include:
J.L. Beck & C. Hallman, Sahara Roberts & Dori Pulitano, Sonya Jesus, H. D. Carlton & CE Ricci, Lola West, D.S. Wrights, Elizabeth Miller, Lily Wildhart, Morgan James, A.R. Breck, Brynn Ford, Indie Black & Sienna Cousins, Isabella Phoenix & Victoria Pauley, Suki Williams, Ashley Gee, D.W. Marshall, M.L. Philpitt, and Ember Evans

AMAZON

Review for What Lies Between Us by H.D. Carlton

“Which makes you angrier, golden boy? The fact that you want to fuck your sister’s ex-boyfriend or that you want to fuck her murderer?”

The second that I saw H.D. Carlton is writing a dark MM romance, I was immediately salivating. But I was not at all prepared for the savage chokehold this story would have on me.

This is a novella and a bit of preview to what will be a full length novel for Link and Echo. But what I loved is how H.D. is able to give us a deliciously addictive hook and have it be equally satisfying while still making you salivate for more. She gave readers just enough to get them hooked on this story, but didn’t drop your typical shock value cliffhanger and I could kiss her for it.

The set up for this story? OHMYGAWD! If I was more hooked I’d be hunting her ass down at her house and standing over her shoulder glaring menacingly until she finished the story and immediately gave it to her. What? The woman created Zade, I think she wouldn’t mind this. But I digress.

Echo is whispered about through the halls of the Godric University. But it isn’t for his sinful good looks or manwhore ways. He’s the guy who brutally killed his ex girlfriend and got away with it. Or so everyone thinks, even though he was found innocent. He’s used to the whispers, but they’re no less hard. Especially when he’s forced to deal with the violent hate from his ex’s twin bother and ex best friend. Who he kinda, sorta also has the hots for. Talk about complicated.

But I’m making too light of what this story was. Because it was full of signature dark and creepy undercurrent that only HD can write so well. There’s a dark mystery that runs parallel to the chemistry between Link and Echo of who truly killed Link’s twin and getting Link to see the truth of what Echo is saying.

The novella was enough to immediately hook you and I do mean immediately. I loved a dark academia romance and this one ticked all the boxes. I’m seriously salivating for the full dose of this story because the whodunnit mystery just may kill me in the wait.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark, MM · Tagged With: , ,

Review: Nicky The Driver by Cate C. Wells

September 7, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

NICKY THE DRIVER
Series: Underboss Resurection #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mafia
Author: Cate C. Wells
Release Date: September 2, 2022

He can’t take his eyes off me.

I remember Nicky Biancolli from school. Back then, he was always staring. My cousin warned him off, and after that, he faded into the background.

Now, ten years later, he’s in my mother’s kitchen at two in the morning, and there’s a dead man in a pool of blood on the floor. Lucca Corso—the rat who killed my father—says that if I don’t marry Nicky to make peace between our families, the little brother I raised is next.

I don’t have a choice.

I have to go with the man who looks like he wants to eat me alive, and I have no idea whether this is about following orders or something much darker.

All I know is that Nicky isn’t stalking me anymore. He owns me now, and no one is going to stop him from taking what he wants.

Nicky the Driver is a dark mafia romance. It’s the second book in The Underboss Insurrection series, but it can be read as a standalone. Intended only for adult readers. HEA guaranteed.

NOTE: This story contains scenes that may be difficult for some readers. Please check the Look Inside for details.

AMAZON

Some men have Jesus. God and country. A dream. Ambition. I have Zita.

I became instantly obsessed with this world when I first read Run Posy Run. And when I saw that it will be a series? Sign me up immediately!!! And when I read the blurb to this book, I had to have it! I love me a good stalker, and beyond the cold blooded killer for hire persona, Nicky is a dang cinnamon roll. He’s completely and entirely obsessed with Zita beyond all reason, and when I tell you I was here for it, I mean I WAS HERE FOR IT. Oh and an arranged marriage? Yes please!

Is this when you rape me?” I squeeze my balled fists tighter, so hard my knuckles ache.
He rolls onto his back and stares at the ceiling, his mouth twisting in the corners. “Not tonight. I got a headache,” he says.

Zita is a mafia princess who grew up in the life and no stranger to the darkness of it. After the death of her cold and brutal mafia boss father, she’s still dealing with the fall out. Her only desire is to keep her family safe, especially her younger sibling. She’s happily engaged to her high school sweetheart, but the sins of her father still hang over her family. So when their life is on the line and she has the choice to keep them safe in exchange for marrying her stalker from school, she’s not thrilled, but she agrees.

She’s beautiful. Her smile fucks my heartbeat up. Her body haunts my dreams. I know she doesn’t see it that way, though.

I loved the build up of this book. I loved how obsessed Nicky is with Zita yet he handles her with kid gloves. He will literally do anything for her and my heart swooned. Zita in turn took a bit to warm up to. She’s a complex character and watching her deal with her ED was very painful, particularly when you see how aware she is of the toll it takes on her and yet unable to stop. At times I wanted to scream at her for the way she pushed Nicky even though you can see the man would sell his soul for her. But given that she was happily engaged and forced into the marriage, I understood it too.

Up until the end this was a solid 4 star read for me. But then the lackluster rushed ending brought it down. It felt like there should have been half a book left when I finished. It didn’t feel satisfying nor complete. We literally go from 0 to 60 to come a screeching halt to 0. There was so much that was left unresolved, but the main part was the relationship. I just didn’t buy it. They spend the entirety of the book with Zita pushing Nicky away. We don’t get the satisfaction of seeing her fall for him. We didn’t get the satisfaction of the love. It just felt very surface level. I also felt like for the big chunk of the book that Zita’s ED made up, it was also left not dealt with. I did see that Cate will have a bonus epilogue in her newsletter, but I can’t help but feel this book needed more. It could have easily been twice longer and not suffered for it. I would have loved more of these two and felt so much was left unresolved by the time we hit the end, that I couldn’t felt a pang of disappointment.

Did I enjoy the story? Absolutely! Was it my favorite, not quite, but you can’t love them all. Ultimately this was one of those middle of the road reads that I enjoyed but just didn’t love.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance, Dark · Tagged With: , ,

#DGRFave & Review: The Mindf*ck Series by S.T. Abby

August 30, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

THE MINDF*CK SERIES
Series: The Minds*ck Series (entire collection)
Genre: Dark, Romantic Suspense
Author: S.T. Abby
Release Date: November 29, 2016

They took too much.
Left too little.
I had nothing to lose…until him.
*****************
~Lana~
I didn’t expect him.
I didn’t want to fall in love.
But I can’t let him go.
Logan Bennett makes the world a safer place.
He’s brilliant.
He’s a hero.
He locks away the sick and depraved.
But while he’s saving lives, I’m taking them. Collecting the debts that are owed to me.
Ten years ago, they took from me. They left me for dead.
They should have made sure I stayed dead.
Now I’m taking from them.
One name at a time.
I’ve trained for too long.
I’ve been patient.
I can’t stop now.
Revenge is best served cold…
They never see me coming, until I paint their walls red.
Logan doesn’t know how they hurt me. He doesn’t know about the screams they ignored. He doesn’t know how twisted that town really is.
He just knows people are dying.
He doesn’t know he’s in love with their killer.
No one suspects a dead girl.
And Logan doesn’t suspect the girl in his bed.
They’re looking for a monster.
Not a girl who loves red.
Not a girl in love.
I’m a faceless nightmare.
At least until I tell them the story they’ve pretended never happened.
But in the end, will Logan choose them? Or will we watch them burn together?
**Graphic
**Adult language
**Some triggers could be too much for the easily disturbed reader
**Sexual content
**Fucked up moral compass; read at your own risk.

AMAZON

It’s all cloak and dagger right now. That’s what happens when you’re a serial killer dating a FBI profiler who hunts serial killers.

Have you ever had someone recommend a book to you and think, there’s no way this is as good as they say it is? No? Just me, then? Because I wear the cone of shame for letting the covers to these books sway me for entirely too long. Considering how much hype this story gets, you’d think that may sway me? But nope. I’m leery of surer popular books because I’m so tired of them not living up to their promise for me. But after losing the entirety of my day to binge reading this entire series in a day, I will tell you that I’m not seriously kicking my own ass for not believing what everyone was trying to beat me over the head with. This book doesn’t just live up to the hype, it blows it out of the water.

There’s a certain high you get from fooling the world into thinking you’re the lamb instead of the rabid wolf.

First of all, if you look at my shelf, you’ll see I’ve read a lot of romance, and dark is where it’s at for me. So please take that into consideration when I tell you that Lana Myers is easily my favorite FMC I have read. Ever. Period. No competition.

I’m a 5’4 package of vengeance that no one sees coming.

I was completely sucked into this story from the very first chapter. And after I finished the first book?

Oh.
My
GOD
Are you kidding me?

A female serial killer with a vendetta she’s plotted for years falls for an FBI profiler who hunts serial killers and is actively investigating her victims? Yes, please, and thank you. This is like the sexy love child of Criminal Minds and Dexter and I was so here for it, it physically hurt to put the book down for anything. Like I will now refer to things as life before Minfuck and Life After Mindfuck, because this story changed me. I don’t think I’ll stop thinking about it for years to come.

It’s one thing for the burn the world down if you hurt her trope, but when it’s reversed and she’ll burn the world down for him? GAH. And don’t get me wrong, Logan is no beta. This is a man who crackles with intense energy himself. But what made this book for me is not even the romance, which was absolutely epic. No. It was the actual plot. The mystery of Lana’s past that slowly gets unraveled with each book. The flashbacks of a night ten years ago that unequivocally changed the entire course of her life. And with every new kill she makes, more of those details become unraveled to paint a grizzly tale that’s full of corruption, evil, and revenge.

This is not your typical morally gray character. Lana is not an anti-heroine in my opinion. This is a woman who takes justice into her own hands knowing that the legal system won’t. And she’s who I want to be when I grow up. *dreamy sigh*

But I digress. I can talk about the brilliance of the plotting, the story telling, the clues hidden in plain sight, and the clues that get unveiled in time. I can talk about the incredible romance. I can talk about the friendship between Lana and Jake and all the amazing secondary characters like Hadley and Leonard, but I won’t. You need to discover it for yourself.

So if you’re an idiot who like me left this book skate right under your radar, get your life together immediately and read it. You can thank me after.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: Dark, Romantic Suspense · Tagged With: , , ,

Review: Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger

August 16, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

PEN PAL
Genre: Erotic Thriller
Author: J.T. Geissinger
Release Date: August 16, 2022

The first letter arrived the day my husband was buried. It was postmarked from the state penitentiary, and contained a single sentence:

I’ll wait forever if I have to.

It was signed by Dante, a man I didn’t know.

Out of simple curiosity, I wrote back to ask him what exactly he was waiting for. His reply?

You.

I told the mystery man he had the wrong girl. He said he didn’t. I said we’d never met, but he said I was wrong.

We went back and forth, exchanging letters every week that grew increasingly more intimate. Then one day, the letters stopped. When I found out why, it was already too late.

Dante was at my doorstep.

And nothing on earth could have prepared me for what happened next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WARNING:

This novel is an erotic thriller that contains content intended for a mature audience only. Due to explicit language, graphic sex, detailed depictions of death and grief, intense power play dynamics, and other possible triggers, it is not suitable for sensitive readers. (Full list of TWs on author’s website.)

AMAZON 

He’s pulled a string I didn’t know I had hidden inside and unraveled me from the inside out.

Holy.
Mind.
F*ck.

Wow. My mind is spinning and I’m left with my jaw on the floor. This book took me for a hell of a ride and I’m still taking my jaw off of the floor days after finishing.

I’ve seen an interesting debate on what to categorize this book. I saw JT changed it to an erotic thriller. I went into it knowing it’s a non traditional romance with a non traditional HEA, and found it to be exactly that. It was in the vein of Perfect Strangers type of mind f*ck, or Sinner’s Creed type of non traditional. But my one piece of advise, don’t go digging for spoilers on this book. Go in blind. Trust me. This is an experience unlike any other, but make sure you don’t read it alone in the dark, because it will f*ck with you.

Having read practically all of JT’s backlist, I have come to realize that the woman can craft one complex tale full of twist and turns. I’m obsessed with her words, and this book is the perfect example why. Whatever you’re expecting, she turns it on it’s head, puts it in a blender, and then adds some spice to it to make it an unputdownable read. Because this girl binge read it with shaking fingers turning the pages. It was spooky, thrilling, suspenseful, with JT’s signature brand of twisty that will leave you reeling.

While she can write a hell of a spice scene, I did find it to be a touch much here. Like it could have cut a scene or two and not suffered for it with the story in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, it was hot as hell, but at times I did find it taking a bit away from the story. That aside, this is a convoluted story of a woman who is working through a devastating loss in a house that seems to have a pulse of it’s own. Through it she meets a man who turns her world on it’s axis and then things really take an interesting turn.

It was a thrilling page turner full of heat and emotion, a dark undertone, and enough twists and turns to suck you deep into story and not let you go until the end. I devoured it and won’t be forgetting it any time soon, and that’s something coming from someone who forgets most characters a day after finishing a book.

J.T. Geissinger is a bestselling author of emotionally charged romance and women’s fiction. Ranging from funny, feisty rom coms to intense, edgy suspense, her books have sold more than one million copies and been translated into several languages.

She is the recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book, the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, and is a two-time finalist for the RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America®. She has also been a finalist in the Booksellers’ Best, National Readers’ Choice, and Daphne du Maurier Awards.

Her first novel was published in 2012. Since then she’s written eighteen more novels. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking wine, surfing the internet, and daydreaming about all the things she’s going to be when she grows up. She lives near the beach in Los Angeles with her husband and deaf/demented rescue kitty, Ginger.

Connect with J.T. Geissinger

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |  Pinterest | GoodReads |  BookBub |  Join Geissinger’s Gang Reader Group |  Stay up to date by joining J.T.’s mailing list | Website 

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark, Erotic Rom · Tagged With: , ,

Review: Does It Hurt? by H.D. Carlton

July 22, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

DOES IT HURT?
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: H.D. Carlton
Release Date: July 22, 2022

Who am I?

I’ve forgotten the answer to that question long ago. Ever since I ran from that house, so desperate to escape, I left with only the clothes on my back and socks on my feet. After that day, I’ve only ever walked in stolen shoes.

Could I be a girl who is searching for the meaning of life in faceless men? They were all so forgettable. Until he came along. He took me under a waterfall and made me forget my name, and in return, I took his instead.

Enzo Vitale.

An enigmatic man that will only ever love the deep sea. Or rather the predators that inhabit it. Turns out, he’s not so different than the monsters he feeds. He lured me onto his boat like a fish in the ocean, seeking vengeance for my crime. Had I realized his intentions, and that a massive storm would leave us shipwrecked, I would’ve ran.

Now, I’m a girl who’s seeking refuge in a decrepit lighthouse with a man who loathes me almost as much as he craves me. He wants to hurt me, but the old caretaker of the abandoned island may have intentions far more sinister.

It’s no longer a question of who I am, but rather, will I survive?

AMAZON

“Does it hurt, baby?” he asks quietly. “Not being able to scream for me like you want to.”

The second HD Carlton teased with this book, I was eagerly stalking her for every little morsel of detail. So obviously the second it dropped on my kindle, I dropped everything to read it. And that page of trigger warnings at the beginning of the novel? Well, color me ALL OVER IT.

Oh God,” I cry, trying to keep my voice down but failing miserably.
“Can you see him, baby? Ask him for forgiveness.”
“Why?” I pant, another high-pitched moan nearly swallowing the word.
“Because you worship me now.”

If there’s one thing I’ve come to know about this author, it’s her ability to create some of the most vivid and memorable characters. And I’m not just talking main characters, I’m talking about all the secondary characters. I’m a reader that will forget names, plot, almost all details, yet her characters and stories stay with me. And this book was no different.

Sawyer is on the run, forced to steal identities to survive. If there’s one thing I love, it’s morally gray characters, and she definitely serves some morally grey character energy. This is a woman who has been forced to do things she never thought she would, including sleeping with men to steal their identities after. She’s riddled with remorse but unable to stop. Then she runs into an enigmatic stranger at a bar who’s as rude as he is unforgettably sexy. So what does she do when he gives her the best sex of her life? Leave like a thief in the night with his identity in hand. But this time is different, because he tracks her down with every intention of punishing her for her sins.

Enzo is a shark expert with his own dark secrets. When he realizes the woman he spent the night with stole his identity, he doesn’t call the cops. He wants to deal with her himself. So when he runs into her again, he’s determined to make her pay. And so he lures her to his boat…completely blind to the deadly brewing storm.

Barely surfing the shipwreck, they find themselves on an island with an abandoned light tower, and forced to endure each other to survive.

Now I may be slight desensitized, but I didn’t find this book as dark as the trigger warning made it seem. It has a dark vein for sure, but it felt more suspenseful and creepy. The darkly veiled mystery running parallel to the romance was also deliciously intriguing. Enzo was everything I love in my main characters; grumpy, enigmatic, possessive, and with a mean streak a mile long. Sawyer, admittedly, took me a bit longer to warm up to. She’s a survivor, but I did wish she’d stand up more to Enzo. But she felt like she had to atone, and her tears would wash her sins away. I did get frustrated by her in parts, but then she fully grew on me towards the end when the full scope of her past gets revealed. She’s an incredibly complex character, full of many layers, and while I didn’t love all of them, I did love her as a heroine.

I binge read this book, eager to unravel the dark mystery. This author can definitely write one hell of an enrapturing read, and this one owned me from beginning to finish.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark · Tagged With: , ,

Review: Brainwashed by Nyla K

July 7, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

BRAINWASHED
Series: Alabaster Penitentiary #3
Genre: Dark, Erotic MM Romance
Author: Nyla K
Release Date: July 7, 2022

 

Monster.
That’s what they call me.
Lock your doors, hold your loved ones tight. The Carver is on the loose.
Except I’m not. I was caught.
The days of allowing my inner depravity to run wild are over. I’ve been sent to prison for good, something of a celebrity in this dark, dank hell-hole they call Alabaster Penitentiary.
The only thing I have left to offer the world is my story, and unfortunately for me, the Warden has the rest of my life to get it out of me.
Being poked and prodded, examined and tested on isn’t something I enjoy very much. Until they send him…
The new doctor is here to study me and my crimes. And I’m beginning to think we might not be as different as it seems. He craves knowledge the way I crave the blood of my victims. Despite his robotic nature, there’s just something about him… Something I want.
But I’ll have to be careful not to smother it to death.
After all… It’s kind of my thing.


** Brainwashed is a dark MM doctor-patient romance with content that may be disturbing/triggering to some readers. Our protagonist is a sociopath. Please proceed with caution. While this story follows a new couple, it is strongly recommended to read Volumes 1-2 first, to avoid spoilers. **

AMAZON 

Felix Darcey is exactly that. A dangerous animal behind bars. And I just can’t help wanting to step inside his cage.

It’s official, this series is total CRACK. CRACK. Crack I tells ya. It’s sick, depraved, dark, disturbing, toe curling, finger licking GOOD. I mean, it’s just…GAH. I’m obsessed more than Felix was with his psychiatrist.

You know what it looks like?” I ask, turning my face to his.
“What’s that?” He breathes with my mouth hovering over his.
“It looks like I own you, sick boy.” My lips brush his and he quivers. “You’re my monster.”

Now if you’re thinking of reading this as a standalone, don’t. Trust me. While each book stands on it’s own, it’s all a puzzle piece of one uniquely fucked up world, and you need to read it in order. You will learn to appreciate every nod and nuance in the previous books as you read the next one. And I love the amount of thought Nyla put in the plotting of this because it shines like a beacon. And this reader? Devoured it!

Felix Darcy is the infamous serial killer known as The Carver. Do I have to tell you what he does to earn that nickname or can you use your imagination? The second the man arrived in Alabaster Penitentiary, he’s been a unique mystery. He’s a brutal killer to some, and a thoughtful friend to others. The fact that we’re introduced to him through his friendship with Dascha in Distorted really helped set the foundation of this character. But nothing prepared me for the full force that was him as the main character.

Dr Love is the antithesis to his last name. He’s a psychiatrist whose luck with love is worse than his believe in it. He’s also very straight. Until a very sick little monster tilts his world on its axis.

This is so much more than a dark romance. This is a twisted tale full of complex layers, secrets, betrayals, and enigmas known as The Warden. This is like the Hansel and Gretel of dark romance. There are bread crumbs dropped everywhere, you just have to keep your eyes peeled to pick them up. And when you do? Oh man. Addictive.

I loved the romance was deliciously satisfying. I loved watching Dr Love fall for his patient, in spite of his dark rep. I loved seeing the softer side to Felix. And I loved getting more and more of the gaps I had from books one and two be filled in this one.

But in typical Nyla fashion, for each of the gaps that she fills, she leaves the reader with at least double the questions. I’m already salivating for the next book because GAH. I’m addicted. Completely addicted.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark, Erotic Rom, MM · Tagged With: , ,
Copyright © 2015 · Dirty Girl Romance

%d bloggers like this: