Review: Hate Me by A. Jade

HATE ME
Genre: Dark Bully Romance
Series: (Standalone in the BLACK MOUNTAIN ACADEMY)
Author: A. Jade
Release Date: January 28, 2020

A Stepbrother Bully Romance

I’m the whispers in the dark you can’t ignore.

The bully you can’t run away from.

I’m the tormentor who makes your life a living hell.

The villain you love to hate.

I’m the vicious stepbrother sleeping in the next room.

The one who knows all your secrets.

And I’ll stop at nothing to make you pay.

 

 

WARNING: This book is recommended for mature readers due to graphic language, sexual content, and dark elements.

AMAZON

Sheridan is nothing more than a pretty little pawn. A means to an end. A heart I intend to shatter into a million jagged pieces. I won’t hurt her physically.
Frankly, that isn’t my style. But I will ruin her.
I’ll ruin her for any other man.

The second I read this blurb, I was salivating for this book. SALIVATING. I’m a sucker for a second chance romance and this one sounded utterly delicious. Admittedly, the blurb is deceiving. Because it wasn’t quite that. And while I did enjoy this book for the most part, there were a few parts that just didn’t live up to the promise of the blurb for me.

The premise of the story is amazing. Sheridan and August are the children of families with a long and dark history rooted in lies and pain. August is the youngest son and doesn’t take much seriously. But when he catches the daughter of his family’s enemy in his pool, he’s determined to make the best of it. He sets out to make her pay for what her father did to his family, or at least what he thinks he did. But it leads to something that neither of them expect.

Sheridan fights the allure of August for as long as she can. He’s the epitome of forbidden fruit to her. His family ruined hers, after all. But August is determined and chases her until she gives in. Thus begins their tumultuous secret relationship.

Now, I loved the complexity of their family history and both Sheridan and August’s characters. The secrets that lie between their families was alluring and had me turning the pages to figure it all out. What left me a bit disappointed was the timeline. August’s fall seemed sudden and quick. It wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped considering the set up where he wants to make her pay and be the pawn. It seems the second he first sleeps with her, all of it is forgotten. It just didn’t seem fleshed out enough to be satisfying for me. I love when the bad boy falls, especially when it’s in spite of himself. And while the set up alludes to that, it didn’t end up that way.

The other piece of it is the blurb. The blurb alludes that they fall apart to crash back together. And while it did happen, sort of, it wasn’t quite as satisfying as it seems. Their separation is really over the span of a few pages and ultimately lasts just a few months. It’s barely fleshed out and happens in the blink of an eye towards the end of the story. I was hoping for a big falling out and a falling back together. But really, they reunite at the end and then just face some family drama. The blurb just felt a bit…deceiving to me. It set up my hopes to one story, but this turned out different.

Did I ultimately enjoy this book, yes. It wasn’t quite what I thought, but I did like it. It was my first book by this author but certainly won’t be my last. I had my quibbles with it, but those things aside, it was a nice read.

Review: Dominate by Pam Godwin

DOMINATE
Series: Deliver #8
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Pam Godwin
Release Date: January 26, 2020

There are many reasons to jump off a bridge, but Rylee Sutton only needs one.
Her husband’s betrayal.
Just before she leaps, she receives an email from a stranger.
The boy’s message is meant for his dead girlfriend, but his anguish speaks to Rylee.
It saves her life.

Over the next decade, Tomas Dine continues to email his dead girl. As he evolves from a teenager into a hardened, vicious criminal, Rylee is there, reading every intimate word.
He doesn’t know she exists.

When she comes forward, he despises her, his cruelty unforgivable. But she doesn’t back down. In a carnal battle of punishment and passion, hatred dominates.
Until he loses her.
Amid looming danger and unsolved murders rises a devotion forged in strife.
Love is lethal in his ruthless world. To survive it, they must fight for answers—and each other.

DELIVER series (HEAs with no cliffhangers – must be read in order):
Deliver #1
Vanquish #2
Disclaim #3
Devastate #4
Take #5
Manipulate #6
Unshackle #7
Dominate #8
Complicate #9

AMAZON

 

Lethally gorgeous. Impossible to look away. He was violence and sex and salvation.
Salvation for trafficked women, not for her.
For her, he was corruption.
Damnation.
Death wasn’t off the table.

This series has quickly become an obsession for me. I live for Pam’s dark and gritty words. Tommy’s book has been a much anticipated one for me. Partly because it’s an age gap with an older woman, and partly because I’m not THIS much closer to Cole’s story.

Interestingly enough, I found this book to be the least dark out of the entire series. And considering how dark the rest of this series is, don’t think this one is sunshine and butterflies. It had just the right amount of intensity to it, but without the pit in the stomach feeling I normally get.

Before Tommy was a ruthless vigilante, he was a 17 year old boy that lost his beloved girlfriend and broke in a way only a teenage boy could break. The only thing that kept him going through it all were the secret emails that he kept sending to his long dead girlfriend. The last thing he expected was for those emails to end up in the possession of another woman, but fate had other plans. Rylee was older and reeling on the betrayal of her husband. About to take her life, the email of a then 17 year old Tommy made her realize that maybe it’s not all bad. Years later, those emails have kept her going but she’s never been foolish enough to give her heart away again. She’s ready to make contact, determined to help Tommy in his mission. And while she expects his anger and resistance, nothing could prepare her for his response.

The one thing that I love about Pam’s writing, is that all of her alpha males have this electric sort of intensity to them. They practically crackle on the pages and Tommy was no exception.

This virile, handsome devil was a dangerous vigilante and killer. He was also a sexual deviant, a kinky freak with an insatiable appetite, who’d lured hundreds of unsuspecting women into his bed.

Pam is also the queen of redeeming the irredeemable. And what Tommy does in this story could surely be just that. Completely irredeemable. He puts Rylee through hell in his search of answers. But through it all, there’s a sexual tension that sizzles between them. And the fourteen year age gap just adds a little spice to the mix. Because while Tommy may be the younger man, he more than makes up for it in dominance and intensity.

I struggled with my rating on this one in all honesty. Like all of Pam’s books, this was a book I devoured in one sitting. It kept me turning the pages well into 3 am and I couldn’t stop. The one quibble that I did have was the relationship development. It went from one extreme to the other in what seemed to be the blink of an eye. Truth be told, I struggled with this a bit. I couldn’t fully buy Tommy’s turnaround. He went from being her captor to being in love and there just didn’t seem enough progression in between to land him there. Rylee also forgave him way too quick for everything that happened.

But ultimately, even with my quibble, I could barely find enough in me to care. Because I was simply that invested in this story and all of the revelations that happened. There’s so many secrets that get revealed, and if you’re a die hard Cole fan like me, you’ll be foaming at the mouth by the end. And the preview into his book? I. AM. DYING.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Pam Godwin, lives in the Midwest with her husband, their two children, and a foulmouthed parrot. When she ran away, she traveled fourteen countries across five continents, attended three universities, and married the vocalist of her favorite rock band.
Java, tobacco, and dark romance novels are her favorite indulgences, and might be considered more unhealthy than her aversion to sleeping, eating meat, and dolls with blinking eyes.
Join my Facebook Reader Group: here

Other Books by Pam Godwin

Tangled Lies Series
ONE IS A PROMISE (#1) – FREE
TWO IS A LIE (#2)
THREE IS A WAR (#3)

Deliver Series
DELIVER (#1) – FREE
VANQUISH (#2)
DISCLAIM (#3)
DEVASTATE (#4)
TAKE (#5)
Manipulate (#6)
UNSHACKLE (#7)

Trilogy of Eve
HEART OF EVE – FREE
DEAD OF EVE (#1)
BLOOD OF EVE (#2)
DAWN OF EVE (#3)

Stand-alones

? STUDENT-TEACHER ROMANCE ?
DARK NOTES

?️ ROMANTIC SUSPENSE ?️
DIRTY TIES

? ROCK-STAR DARK ROMANCE ?
BENEATH THE BURN

? CELEBRITY ROMANCE ?
INCENTIVE

 

Review: Bound by Honor by Cora Reilly

BOUND BY HONOR
Series: Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles #1
Genre: Mafia Romance
Author: Cora Reilly
Release Date: December 14, 2014

Born into one of the leading Mob families in Chicago, Aria Scuderi struggles to find her own path in a world where no choices are given. Aria was only fifteen when her parents betrothed her to Luca – The Vice – Vitiello, the oldest son of the head of the New York Cosa Nostra to ensure peace between the two families.

Now with eighteen, the day Aria has been dreading for years is looming dangerously: her wedding to Luca.
Aria is terrified of marrying a man she hardly knows, especially someone like Luca who got his nickname ‘the Vice’ for crushing a man’s throat with his bare hands. Luca might be one of the most sought after men in New York thanks to his good looks, wealth and predator-like charisma that radiates power, but the society girls throwing themselves at him don’t know what Aria does: that the bad boy aura isn’t just a game; blood and death lurk beneath Luca’s striking gray eyes and arrogant smile.

In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you.

The only way to escape the marriage to Luca would be to run away and leave everything she’s ever known behind but Aria can’t bear the thought of never seeing her family again.
Despite her fear, she decides to go through with the marriage; Aria has grown up among predators like Luca and knows that even most cold-hearted bastards have a heart and she has every intention of working her way into Luca’s.

Books in the Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles:
Bound By Honor
Bound By Duty
Bound By Hatred
Bound By Temptation
Bound By Vengeance
Bound By Love

AMAZON

I’ll burn down the world if I have to. I’ll kill and maim and blackmail. I’ll do anything for you.

Confession time: I totally read this book for the cheating.
What? Don’t you judge me. It’s an enticing hook. But I digress.

Truth be told, this book has set on my kindle for way too long. I’m not sure why I’m only getting around to it now since it’s been on my radar forever. I first tried Cora’s books Twisted Pride and was left….a touch underwhelmed. Then I tried a few of her other recent releases, and felt much the same way. The forgettable heroines. The lackluster romance. The somewhat formulaic plot. It just didn’t entice me to read her earlier books. But I’m certainly kicking myself for it now. Because this book was totally right up my alley.

I love a mafia romance. Make it gritty, raw, and a touch dark and I’m all over it. I think that’s what I really appreciated about this book, the rawness of it. Aria is promised to Luca when she’s 15 and married at 18. She may not be naive to the reality of being a mafia daughter, but she’s still young and naive to her ultimate reality of being married to one of the most feared men and soon to be head of New York Cosa Nostra. Theirs is not a love written in the stars. Theirs is a reality born of duty and alliance.

What I loved about the story is that Luca doesn’t change. I think that’s what I really appreciated about the author here. She took a risk writing a hero that’s imperfect but she stayed true to her characters. I simply wouldn’t buy it if it was any other way. I loved the push and pull dynamic between the two of them. I love that Aria may fear him but also doesn’t back down or cow down to Luca. She doesn’t just take her reality sitting down, and for an 18 year old, this was truly refreshing. I loved seeing her grow into her own and slowly fall for this capo. I also loved watching the cold and unfeeling Luca slowly fall for his young bride. There’s a bit that’s left open ended here which I’m assuming is later addressed in Bound by Love. One thing that’s for sure, I’ll definitely be reading the rest of this series.

Review: Unshackle by Pam Godwin

UNSHACKLE
Series: Deliver #7
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Pam Godwin
Release Date: November 30, 2020

No woman can resist Luke Sanch’s chiseled features, honed physique, auburn hair, and intense green eyes.
While deadly in combat, he’s an indomitable weapon in bed. He can coax an explosive release with only his mouth and annihilate with insidious, mind-blowing pleasure.

When he infiltrates La Rocha Cartel, he must seduce Vera Gomez to determine whether to rescue her.
Or kill her.

Nothing can distract his icy, lethal focus.
Except the cartel’s most feral captive.

The nameless, raven-haired beauty is his key to dismantling Vera Gomez. But the ferocious little fighter challenges him at every turn and unknowingly battles her way into his heart.
A battle that delivers him, physically and emotionally, into shackles.

DELIVER series (HEAs with no cliffhangers – must be read in order):
Deliver #1
Vanquish #2
Disclaim #3
Devastate #4
Take #5
Manipulate #6
Unshackle #7
Dominate #8
Complicate

AMAZON

He wanted this tiny little warrior with a ferocity that felt foreign. Inexplicable. Completely out of his depth.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This is hands down, one of my favorite dark romance series to date. I’m absolutely obsessed with it and somehow it only keeps getting better and better with each book. Captivatingly dark and erotically charged, this story owned me. I read it with a pit in my stomach and a sense of dread with every turn of the page just waiting for the other page to turn. Because one thing about Godwin’s writing, is the woman is completely unpredictable and isn’t afraid to go to the very pits of human depravity and darkness. You never know what you’ll get, and this book is proof of that. Godwin is an evil genius and I will never be the same again.

His stare wasn’t a stare. It was a labyrinth. All high walls, dark corners, and confusing dead ends.

Unshackle is Luke’s story. As a secondary character, Luke was quite unassuming to me. He never really stood out as a character that I was dying to know more about. And then this book came around and tilted my world on it’s axis because his story completely owned me. Luke’s beauty and charm is widely known. This is why he’s the one that’s sent to infiltrate the La Rocha cartel and seduce answers out of Vera Gomez. If you’ve read Manipulate, then you’ll remember Tula’s lost sister, Vera.

Nothing is ever as it seems in this world, and soon Luke’s mission takes a turn when his attention is grabbed by a fierce captive forced to fight in the ring for everyone’s entertainment. He knows the dark reality of the captive women in the compound and knows he can’t save them all, but something about this nameless beauty draws him like no other.

The feelings she unleashed in him were unwieldy. Monstrous. Impossible to tame.

I won’t give you much more details about the plot, but prepare yourself for an all-nighter. Because this book is completely impossible to put down. With every twist and turn, with every new revelation and secret revealed, you get sucked deeper and deeper. My heart bled for these characters and everything they go through. Godwin spares no punches with her gut wrenching details that I found myself almost sick to my stomach reading parts of the story. It was devastating and never failed to invoke a sense of emotion; whether it was anger, lust, or absolute terror. I lived for these characters and I I live for this series. And the set up for the next one? I. DIE. I absolutely DIE. I need the next book BAD. Although not entirely as bad as the last book because OH MY GAWD. I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for the enigma that is him and I need my HEA!!!

Pam Godwin Books GrayScale

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Pam Godwin, lives in the Midwest with her husband, their two children, and a foulmouthed parrot. When she ran away, she traveled fourteen countries across five continents, attended three universities, and married the vocalist of her favorite rock band.
.
Java, tobacco, and dark romance novels are her favorite indulgences, and might be considered more unhealthy than her aversion to sleeping, eating meat, and dolls with blinking eyes.
Join my Facebook Reader Group: here

Other Books by Pam Godwin

Tangled Lies Series
ONE IS A PROMISE (#1) – FREE
TWO IS A LIE (#2)
THREE IS A WAR (#3)

Deliver Series
DELIVER (#1) – FREE
VANQUISH (#2)
DISCLAIM (#3)
DEVASTATE (#4)
TAKE (#5)
Manipulate (#6)
UNSHACKLE (#7)

Trilogy of Eve
HEART OF EVE – FREE
DEAD OF EVE (#1)
BLOOD OF EVE (#2)
DAWN OF EVE (#3)

Stand-alones

? STUDENT-TEACHER ROMANCE ?
DARK NOTES

?️ ROMANTIC SUSPENSE ?️
DIRTY TIES

? ROCK-STAR DARK ROMANCE ?
BENEATH THE BURN

? CELEBRITY ROMANCE ?
INCENTIVE

 

Review: Ruthless Savior by Julia Sykes

RUTHLESS SAVIOR
Series: Captive #5
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Julia Sykes
Release Date: November 17, 2020

My pretty little captive thinks she can run from me. She doesn’t understand how ruthless I truly am…

Guarding my lovely hostage has become my obsession. I protect Marisol from the vicious men in my brutal cartel, including myself. I’ve kept the promise I made to my boss on the night of her capture: No one touches her.

But she runs from me at the first opportunity, escaping the safe cage I built for her.

I’ve denied myself for far too long. She’s made the mistake of believing I’m gentle and forgiving. There’s nothing gentle about what I intend to do to her once I catch her, and she’ll have to beg for my forgiveness.

I’ve spent endless nights imagining so many delicious ways to torment her.

Now that she’s defied the cartel, I can indulge all of my twisted desires.

I’ll never let her escape me again. Marisol is mine


AMAZON 

My dark affinity for dangerous men would be my ruin.

The Captive series is one of my favorite guilty pleasure reads. I’m a sucker for a good captive romance, and Julia Sykes writes some of the most delicious antiheroes. They’re ruthless criminals that become borderline obsessive and uber protective when it comes to their females and I am so here for it.

Ruthless Savior is the story of Marisol and Ruel, who we met in Wicked King. Marisol was Carmen’s maid and a long time captive of the cartel. She yearns for freedom but seems to always get in the crosshairs of dangerous and ruthless men. This time her captor is Stefano’s right hand man, Raul.

Raul is fiercely protective of Marisol, but he’s no different than all other men in Marisol’s life; he wants to own her. She’s been planning an escape and when she finally takes it, she knows he’ll stop at nothing to bring her back. And when he does catch up to her, he won’t let her out of his sight again. She becomes his captive and even though he vows to protect her at all costs, she still knows that he won’t let her leave. Haunted by her past mistakes with dangerous men, Marisol can’t stop fighting for her freedom. her past haunts her and her dark urges for Raul terrify her.

If you like dark romance to dip your toe into the genre, this is the series. It has just the right amount of danger and darkness to be delicious, without being overwhelming. Raul is fiercely protective and dangerously lethal. But there’s enough characterization to humanize this cartel criminal that you also feel for him. I love how Sykes captures that in all her romances. This was a sexy romance full of grit and danger and just the right amount of suspense. I’m already salivating for my next fix in this series.


Julia Sykes is the USA Today bestselling author of the Impossible Series. She has always kept dark stories tucked away in her mind, so she was thrilled when she discovered that other people actually want to read them. Her books blend romance, suspense, and BDSM.

You can usually find Julia in Starbucks with a venti iced coffee clutched in her hand (two pumps of mocha, liberal half and half). If she’s not in Starbucks, you will find her with a glass of prosecco in hand, probably reading Harry Potter. Again.

Connect with Julia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjuliasykes/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julia-sykes
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6469571.Julia_Sykes
Twitter: @JuliaSykes193
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Website: http://www.julia-sykes.com/
Subscribe to Julia’s newsletter: Julia-sykes.com/connect

Review: Morally Corrupt by Veronica Lancet

MORALLY CORRUPT
Series: Morally Questionable #1
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Veronica Lancet
Release Date: November 1, 2020

The first time I saw him I knew he was mine.

I pretended to be innocent, sweet, pure.

It couldn’t be further from the truth.

I lied to him. I married him.

And now he knows.

Hooker. Assassin. Junkie.

I am rotten to the core.

I am morally corrupt.

Bianca Ashby, a certified sociopath with an obsession for her husband, tries to juggle two lives – the demure NYPD Chief Commissioner wife, and the perfect Bratva assassin; all the while keeping her husband safe and blissfully unaware.

But when high-level corruption and a personal vendetta raise the stakes, no one is who they say they are; least of all Bianca’s perfectly dull husband Theo.

From glitzy New York ballrooms and charity events to underground sex rings, drugs, and illegal fights, the best pretender wins it all.

Morally Corrupt is book one of the Morally Questionable series but can be read as a standalone.
Warning: This book explores questionable moral behaviors and includes graphic violence and adult situations that may trigger some readers. Please proceed with caution

 AMAZON

Sometimes, maybe even monsters deserve some redemption.” 

I’m what you’d call trigger shy when it comes to new to me or debut authors. (See what I did there? Assassin? Trigger? Ha! Whatever, it was funnier in my head). I’m such a picky reader, that I’m always hesitant to try a new author for fear that my nitpicking brain will kick in and won’t shut off. Yes, I’m one of those. I own it. But when I read the blurb to Morally Corrupt, I knew that blurb was simply too delicious for me not to give it a try. And you know what? I am so happy I did because I just may have found myself a new author to follow.

I’m a sucker for a dark and gritty read, and when you add into the mix incredibly unconventional characters? I’m putty in your hands. PUTTEH I tells ya! And it just doesn’t get more unconventional than a certified sociopath heroine who is obsessed beyond reason with her husband and happens to moonlight as a Bratva assassin behind his back.
Bianca Ashby was a character that’s vivid and multi-layered. Her quirks hook the reader immediately. Here’s a woman that grew up in glitz and glam, with some daddy issues on the side, and is one of the deadliest assassins out there with absolutely no moral compass. And the only thing beyond her job that she’s more obsessed with is her NYPD Chief Commissioner who treats her like spun glass when all she wants him to do is the opposite. Then you have her husband Theo, who is not quite all that he seems. GAH. Delicious.

Now that’s about all you’ll get out of me regarding this story, because you simply need to experience it for yourself.

What I will tell you, is while this is an author to watch out for. For a debut, this blew me away. It was an action packed thrill ride full of intrigue, secrets, murder, and suspense. Warring mafia families, twisted bonds, a sizzling romance, all of it cleverly crafted to keep the reader at the edge of their seats from beginning to finish. There were some parts that were a bit drawn out, and some details that felt a bit much at times. However, I wasn’t going into a debut book expecting it to be perfect, so it did nothing to distract from the story. I was obsessed. I was obsessed not only with the main characters, but with some of the most intriguing secondary characters. Luckily we’re getting the book for one of them next, but I’m pretty sure if we don’t get Vlad’s book right after that, I may cry a little.

What can I tell you. This book was deliciously morbid. It was dark, gritty, and sucked you right into the dark underbelly of NY’s crime underbelly. The romance was the exact icing on the cake the story needed and I devoured it! Simply devoured it. Told in dual first person POV, it was filled with enough twists and turns to leave her head reeling. Do yourself a favor and read this. Trust me on this. This is one debut you’ll want to check out.

Review & Excerpt: Deliver Us by Pam Godwin

DELIVER US
Series: Deliver
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Pam Godwin
Release Date: October 27, 2020

Deliver Us, an all new dark, intense and gut-wrenching boxed set from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Pam Godwin is now available and perfect for a binge read!

Are you ready to fall in love with a villain?

Van Quiso’s chilling gunmetal eyes will shiver your blood and torment your heart. You’ll fear him and crave him, for behind the cruel mouth lurks a jealous, possessive devil who will sacrifice everything to protect the woman he loves.

Each standalone is a different couple with its own dark love story, all interconnected in a dangerous underworld of murderers, kidnappers, and cartels. Forget your comfort zones. This world isn’t pretty. But it’s oh-so-delicious and twisty.

With over 1000 pages of passion and suspense, this is your next binge read.

More than 200,000 copies sold and thousands of 5-star reviews. No cliffhangers. Available in digital, print, and audiobook.

 AMAZON | NOOK | KOBO | GOOGLE PLAY

The chains fell off his chest and arms and pooled around his waist. His freedom swept through him in ragged breaths.  

She gazed at him with stiff lines of determination on her face, an expression he’d seen a hundred times, the unwavering glare that tortured him, aroused him, conjured his nightmares, and filled his dreams.  

He memorized each twitch of her lashes, the delicate point of her raised chin, every faltered breath. He was consumed with having her and terrified to lose her.  

“Tell me what you’re thinking.” He reached up to brush his fingers through her thick dark hair. 

She recoiled before his hand made contact. A blank mask fell over her face, a wall of ice slamming between them. She moved to the driver seat and faced forward. 

His momentary calm burst into a roaring fire. Hands fisting, heart pounding, he didn’t know what to do with the fury burning through his veins. He tagged his jeans and boots from the floorboard and jumped out. 

He dressed as he walked, jerking on his boots, kicking branches out of his path. His muscles heated, and sweat slicked his bare chest, chilling in the night air. He wasn’t angry at her. He was angry for her. The abuse done to her body. The helplessness of her situation. His inability to free her. 

He slammed a fist into the nearest tree trunk. Again. Again. Pain ricocheted through his hand, down his arm, and fed his breaking heart.  

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught her silhouette standing a few yards away. A slender shadow, shrouded by darkness. And in her raised arms, she held a gun, trained on him.  

He threw another fist. Absorbed the burn. Expelled the rancor. He knew she was holding a gun on him to prevent him from running and putting her family at further risk. Regardless, she wouldn’t shoot him. Not because she needed a slave, but because she loved what was hers with a self-destructing passion.  

He faced her and held out his arms. “I’m yours.”  

The girl and the gun didn’t move. 

“Lose the damned mask and stop hiding from me.” He raked his throbbing hands through his hair. “Scream, cry, hit something. Hit me. But for God’s sake, let it out.”  

The shadowy lines of her body wavered. The gun lowered, returned to her boot. 

He stretched out his arms, savoring the cool breeze brushing over his unrestrained skin. “I stand here without rope or chains, Liv, tethered to you by my own will.” His blood beat with the ferocity of his words. “I won’t be free until you are.” 

Her head jerked back, her body rigid. Then she walked straight to him and unleashed her fists on his chest. She clobbered him over and over, her gasps accelerating with each fall of her hand. 

The lashing didn’t hurt. Not like the whimpers rising from her chest. She was hurting, lashing out for the wrongs that had been done to her. A sharp pain swelled in his throat. The only thing he could do was take it in, try to bear some of it for her.  

He held his arms out and his body open. When her hits ebbed into weak slaps, she stumbled back, hugging herself and clutching her elbows.  

His heartbeat slogged through the ache in his chest. He kept his arms outstretched and whispered, “I’m here.” 

Disbelief widened the whites of her eyes, and her breath caught. He waited. 

In two running steps, she launched at him, climbed up his chest, and curled her hands in his hair. He lifted her, pinning the curves of her thighs around his hips, and took her mouth. His knuckles burned with fever, but the heat from her lips was overriding. She whispered kisses over his jaw, around his mouth, caressing, assuring.  

He angled his head, deepening the reach of his tongue and drinking her in lick by lick. Her hands in his hair, the sweetness of her breath filling his mouth, there will never be another kiss like hers. She knew how to suck his lips and trap his tongue in a way that stroked every nerve ending in his body. More than that, she knew how to reach inside him. She found him, her ferocity defying the odds and pivoting them into place, perfectly interlocked. 

Her thighs squeezed around his waist, her breasts soft against his chest. He palmed her backside with a cautious gentleness, and chased her tongue, spiraling, stretching deeper, falling heart-first into an existence where only she mattered. 

First of all, if you haven’t read this series yet, it’s time to crawl out from under that rock you’ve been living under and see the light. Because this series is LIFE CHANGING. No one, and I mean NO ONE writes a redeemable anti-hero quite like Pam Godwin. They’re beyond anti-heroes, they’re straight out villains that you grow to love despite their darkness. Or is it because of their darkness? I don’t know and I don’t care, but I will say that this series is an absolute must read.

If you haven’t read it yet, now is the chance to get the first three books in one bundle. These are not meant to be read as standalone. You really need to do yourself a favor and read them in order. The characters are all introduced early in the series, so to understand the complexity, it’s best to read each book.

Deliver starts the series with a bang, and we get an anti-heroine. How often do you read that? And nothing will prepare you for the story of Van and Matias. GAH. I loved those books.

If you want to read my full detailed reviews you can find them here:
VANQUISH
DISCLAIM

Now do yourself a favor and jump on these!

 

Pam Godwin is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author

Pam Godwin lives in the Midwest with her husband, their two children, and a foulmouthed parrot. When she ran away, she traveled fourteen countries across five continents, attended three universities, and married the vocalist of her favorite rock band.

Java, tobacco, and dark romance novels are her favorite indulgences, and might be considered more unhealthy than her aversion to sleeping, eating meat, and dolls with blinking eyes.

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#DGRFave & Review: God of Monsters by Keri Lake

GOD OF MONSTERS
Genre: Dark Apocalyptic Romance
Series: Juniper Unraveling #4
Author: Keri Lake
Release Date: September 22, 2020

I’ve heard stories about the Alphas. Violent soldiers, bred to kill both humans and mutations, whose sole purpose was to balance our survival against the infected.

Until they turned on their masters.

Held as subjects of the Calico research facility, they were forced to endure the gruesome experiments that transformed them into callous savages with hearts as impenetrable as their defenses. More terrifying than the monsters that decimated our world with disease and famine.

In the aftermath of Calico’s collapse, many of the Alphas fled, only to be hunted by our own

Legion army. And in their absence, the balance has shifted.

I thought they no longer existed.

Until I met him, the god of monsters.

Now I don’t believe in the stories anymore.

To fall in love with the unyielding heart of an Alpha is said to be impossible.

But to fall in love with a god would be a tragedy.

 AMAZON 


…In the land of monsters, survival comes before everything else.”

What was the last book you read that kept you up all night, turned you inside out, and stuck with you for months to come? I can say this about the ENTIRE Juniper Unraveling series. But God Of Monsters absolutely owned me. A dark, captivating and gut wrenching romance in the midst of hell on earth, this book ripped me to shreds and I’ll never be the same again.

This is a dark apocalyptic romance and if you haven’t read this genre yet, Keri will suck you into this world and keep you on the edge of your seat. Even if apocalyptic isn’t your cuppa, trust me, this series will make a believer out of you.

As for this book? The epic conclusion to one of the most epic series was a non stop, action packed ride. I can’t imagine the series closing with a better book. Thalia and Titus’s story was on a whole other level. It was simply otherworldly. Ha! See what I did there? But I digress.

If you’ve read Kings of Carrion, then you’ll remember Titus. But nothing, and I mean nothing will prepare you for the full force that is Titus as the main character. This man was GAH. He was TORTURED with a capital T. Titus has survived the very depths of human depravity and has seen horrors that most can’t even imagine. He’s lost more than any person could imagine in their lifetimes. He’s a warrior through and through, but this story takes you into the dark depths of his world, and an easy read it is not.

Thalia is a woman that hasn’t truly experienced Calico. She’s only heard stories and warning tales of the Alphas that were created within those walls. She was born with a purpose but her heart doesn’t agree. She yearns for something else, something beyond the life of her small and sheltered village. Something beyond her duty. But nothing could prepare her for what she is about to go through.

Now I will tell you, this book was dark. I mean it was DARK. If there’s one thing that Keri Lake knows how to do, is make her readers squirm. I’m talking, dread in the pit of your stomach, anxiety ridden hot mess of a reader who is just waiting for that other shoe to drop. Keri is not afraid to bring readers into the darkest pits and spare no detail. And she doesn’t. You experience it all; the despair, the violence, the devastation. The story takes you to hell and back and somehow manages to stitch you back together in the end. I sobbed my way through the last 20% of this book and I can’t stop thinking about it months after.

This is a story about survival and love amongst ruins. It’s a story of perseverance and strength. It’s emotional, captivating, and utterly mesmerizing. Easily my favorite series from this author to date. If you read any book this year, make it this one. Trust me. And if you haven’t read this series yet, do yourself a favor and experience it. Because it’s unlike anything you’ve ever read.

Review: Gold Mine by Skye Warren

GOLD MINE
Genre: Dark Romance
Series: The Diamond Trilogy #2
Author: Skye Warren
Release Date: September 15, 2020

Holly Frank is in trouble. The deadly kind.

She and her sister must evade the authorities and the criminals who want them dead. Including Elijah North. The man who took her heart in Paris, her body in a prison cell, and her trust without remorse.

He’s determined to keep her safe. Even if that means losing her forever.

Adam Bisset has his own dark agenda.

She’s caught between the two men, torn apart with every sensual push and pull. Each touch is a lie, each whispered tenderness a trap—but she can’t resist them.

Their lies are tearing her apart. Her enemies are catching up with her. And when she’s taken captive again, she finds out secrets to unravel it all.

AMAZON | iBOOKS | NOOK | KOBO

You can pretend you’re disgusted with me when I make you come so hard you see God.

How many times have you been able to say that book two in a trilogy was even better than book one? Because I can count how many times I’ve felt this on one finger. Yes, I said it. Because it never happens for me. Usually book one hooks me, and then book two is slow paced filler. Not this time. Gold Mine was EPIC. It was a deliciously erotic, heart-pounding thrill ride of one jaw dropping plot twist after another. And this girl gobbled it right up!

…I take what I want. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that, Holly.”
“Have you heard of dating?”
He gives me a small, private smile. “This is better. I don’t want to ask you out. I don’t want to give you the illusion that you can say no, Holly. You’re mine.”

I thought I loved Elijah in Diamond in the Rough, but I was simply not prepared for the full dose of everything that is him in this one. Oh. My. GAWD. This man. He’s so incredibly complex but with a vein of darkness that pulses through him. And this time we finally get a peek beneath that mysterious curtain. The layers are peeled back and it made me fall even harder for him.

There’s also a delicious underlay of taboo here with a splash of dub con that I was drooling over. Elijah is a man that likes it hard and dirty and did I say OMG? Because OMG.

Holly is just as fierce as she was in the first book. She’s fiercely protective of her sister and she’s slowly coming to the realization that there’s something between her and Elijah when he finally catches her again. That something is a little dark, a little depraved, and a lot delicious. It’s unconventional and they’re both definitely struggling trying to understand it. Elijah’s cravings may run on the dark and depraved side, but Holly craves everything that he has to give.

There’s a lot more that gets revealed about the North brothers, so of course I’m already salivating for Josh’s book. But then the jaw dropping revelations for Adam happen and I’m absolutely desperate for his book too.

This installment was a non-stop trill ride that I couldn’t set down for even a minute. I devoured this book in one sitting and now I’m going through withdrawals until my next fix.

Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of dangerous romance such as the Endgame trilogy. Her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. She makes her home in Texas with her loving family, sweet dogs, and evil cat.

Connect with Skye

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Review: Unholy Intent by Natasha Knight

UNHOLY INTENT
Seroes:
Unholy Union Duet #2
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Natasha Knight
Release Date: September 15, 2020

Cristina

In this house of lies and liars, behind every locked door is a monster in wait.

Forced to marry a man I hate, I am now bound to Damian. There’s something between us that needs to be played out. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know that he does. But he and I are locked together for some strange, grim purpose.

Will we survive it?
He may since he’s the one pulling the strings.
But will I?

Damian

My brother will tell you that I usurped his throne and maybe I did, but that’s too bad.

I built our family up from the ashes. I put us back at the top of the food chain. And marrying Cristina was as much to cement my place as it was to keep her safe.

She doesn’t believe that last part yet, but I see how she clings to me in the darkness. And the lock on her door is as much to keep the monsters out as it is to keep her in.

I told her one lie, though. I made her a promise I’m not sure I ever meant to keep. I told her I’d let her go once I had what I wanted.

But in a world of monsters, I need her like man needs air. And I have no intention of letting her go.

 AMAZON

Even as I hate myself for it, I cling to him, my enemy. This monster who doesn’t hide in the dark. The one in whose bed I’ll sleep. My monster.

Raise your hand if you stayed up way past your bed time binging on this book and could barely function at work the next morning and no amount of coffee helped but yet you still couldn’t find two f’s to rub together because this book was totally worth it….
No but seriously though. I think this may have been my favorite from Natasha Knight to date. We already know that her antiheroes are my favorite sort of book crack. But Cristina and Damian’s story was simply on a whole other level.

First of all, I love when an author makes an antihero’s fall believable. And Damian was certainly no knight in shining armor in the first book. Heck he wasn’t even a knight in tarnished armor. He was a straight up villain with a devilish smile and unholy intentions. See what I did there? HA! But I digress. What I’m trying to say, is that Cristina and Damian are very much a slow burn. And where the first book develops the chemistry between them, this book sets that chemistry on fire that’s so hot, it practically singes your fingers with every turn of the page.

What I loved the most is how believable it was. Their relationship is turbulent at best and toxic at worst, but it’s also entirely addictive. Cristina is a fierce heroine. She’s not naive and sheltered as you may thing an eighteen year old would be. Though she may not have been fully privy to her reality and what her father was, she doesn’t take her situation as a victim. She fights tooth and nail and I loved that about her. This is a female that gives as good as she gets.

Damian was just…GAH. I loved him. He’s deliciously wicked. He may be a bad guy, but beneath the sexual depravity there is a hidden heart, and I loved seeing that get revealed more and more in this book.

This was a jaw dropping and unputdownable conclusion to one of the most addictive duets I’ve read. If you like dark romance with a fierce heroine and sinful antihero, you need this on your TBR. Trust me.

USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance, Natasha Knight specializes in dark, tortured heroes. Happily-Ever-Afters are almost always guaranteed, but she likes to put her characters through hell to get them there. She’s evil like that.

 

Connect with Natasha:

Website: http://natasha-knight.com

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/29Cb7vD

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2kg2fRX

Facebook: http://bit.ly/29q3s4b

Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/2xvnZO5

Newsletter: http://natasha-knight.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natashaknight13

 

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