Review: Darling Diana by Scarlett Finch

December 20, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

DARLING DIANA
Series: Blackstem Universe #1
Author: Scarlett Finch
Genre: Dark, Dystopian Omegaverse Romance
Release Date: December 9, 2025

“Because you are mine, and I am yours.”

In the ruins of this broken world, omegas are currency—I’ve stayed off that particular radar by pretending I’m not one, utilizing the resources as a nurse in a neutral zone to suppress everything about my scent.

Then he shows up.

He smells something on me that shouldn’t be possible. Something that I’m still grappling with.

Judge doesn’t let go of what’s his, and he’ll burn the whole damn world down to chase after me.

Darkly intense, brutally seductive, and charged with emotional heat. Darling Diana is a dystopian omegaverse novel. For fans of slow-burn obsession, morally black power plays, and heroines who refuse to break.


What type of Omegaverse is this?
-No shifters- -M/F- -scents are everything- -he bites without permission- -estrous- -purring- -knotty times- -craving… so much craving-

Dystopian Wastelands setting, in the frigid winter. Perfect for December <3

TRIGGER: Coerced bite mark, dub-con explicit scenes, graphic violence, assault attempts (nothing on page), substance use + substance used on people, taking people, mental collapse, emotional breakdown, manipulation, betrayal, some stockholm

This is book 1 of 2, and the second book is a guaranteed HEA.

AMAZON

Oh fuck you,” I manage out. He smiles slowly and sits down on the couch. “In due time, nurse.”

I am suing. SUING I tell ya. Suing for emotional damages because what do you MEAN you’re going to leave us like this, Scarlett Finch? My flabbers are gasted my even cannot. This is the kind of emotional damage a reader doesn’t come back from and the sheer audacity to write it so nonchalantly? I bow down to your evil genius. But I digress.

I discovered Charlotte Mallory earlier this year and was immediately hooked. If you haven’t read The Improper Bastards series yet, change that immediately. So when I saw she’s releasing an omegaverse dystopian romance under her pen name, Scarlett Finch? Suffice it to say I couldn’t get on it quick enough. There is just something about the way this woman writes an MMC that is absolute chefs kiss. And she did not disappoint with Judge. Holy walking red flag and morally gray epicness!

When I tell you that I devoured this book, I mean I couldn’t set it down from cover to cover. I was so wholly immersed in this world, that I dreaded finishing. And with good reason too, since that cliffhanger damn near killed me. But I digress. If you like hate lust, enemies to lovers vibes, fierce FMCs and morally gray MMCs, you’ll need this in your life.

In the dystopian wasteland world, Omegas are a currency between powerful and corrupt alpha led gangs. It’s like Mad Max meets romance sort of vibes and I was here for it. Diana has spent years hiding her Omega self by purchasing illegal suppressants that hide her true sent. In a desperate bid for more of the drugs, she stumbles into the crosshairs of one of the most dangerous alphas and a force to be reckoned with, Judge. Judge is the leader of the biker gang and notorious for his violence and ruthlessness. And she also just so happens to be his scent match. Sounds utterly delicious right? It really was!

This is very much a slow burn romance and I loved their chemistry filled journey. I also loved the way that Diana, while in impossible odds, doesn’t back down and holds her ground against a man who makes grown men tremble in fear.

I haven’t read as much omega verse romance and I have no idea why because this book hit the spot so well and so hard that now I’m craving more knotty times. But if you’re looking for something dark, gritty, sizzling, with plenty of tension and deliciously fun banter, look no further.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go die a slow death until the sequel comes out on March 23.

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#DGRFave & Review: God of Monsters by Keri Lake

September 22, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

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.

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#DGRFave & Review: Kings of Carrion by Keri Lake

December 3, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

KINGS OF CARRION
Series: Juniper Unraveling #3
Genre: Dystopian Romance
Author: Keri Lake
Release Date: December 3, 2019

Decades have passed since our world was decimated by the Dredge. Some say it was an act of God. Others believe the devil himself breached the gates of hell and turned the masses into the mindless infected with an appetite for carnage.

Those of us who’ve survived the Calico experiments know the only thing more terrifying than the monsters that seek to ravage what’s left of us, are the men who created them. Ones too capable of hiding their true form, and burying their darkest secrets.

Somewhere beneath the facility lies the answers, a cure for our suffering. To reach it, we’ll have to open the haunting tomb, where man’s deadliest mistakes, the most violent mutations, lie trapped within its tunnels, waiting to be set free.

Our only hope in surviving them are the very Alphas who were designed to hunt us down. The titans forged by cruelty and pain.

Kings of carrion.

We taught them to love, and in turn, they vow to protect us. To deliver the cure for humanity’s sake. Except this world doesn’t give without taking, and any chance of saving us will require the greatest sacrifice of all.

SERIES ORDER:
Juniper Unraveling (Book 1)
Calico Descending (Book 2)
Kings of Carrion (Book 3)

AMAZON

In many ways, we’re the same, though. He’s still the scarred boy who touched my heart. And I’m the wounded little bird, whose wings he made fly again.

When was the last time a book ruined you? I’m talking utterly gutted you. Like wrung every single emotion out of you until you were an inconsolable mess only to stitch you back together piece by devastating piece? Because THIS BOOK. Y’all. I was lucky enough to beta read Kings of Carrion a few months back and I STILL can’t stop thinking about it. I worship at the evil genius feet of Keri Lake. If you’re looking for an utterly unforgettable read, you NEED this in your life.

Kings of Carrion was darkly captivating, emotionally devastating, and positively unforgettable. It owned me from beginning to end and I still can’t get over it. I’m RUINED. Completely ruined.

Full disclosure here, this story emotional eviscerated me. I spent the latter part of the book a hysterically blubbering mess. There was no consoling me. If there’s one thing that Keri Lake knows how to do, it’s to reach into the pits of her readers souls and rip their damn hearts out. This was no exception. This is not a standalone and you need to read Calico Descending first. This is the conclusion of the story that starts there. If you’ve also read Juniper Unraveling, then you’ll be thrilled to get more Six and Wren here.

If you loved Cali and Vladys in the first book, you will fall even harder for them here. I loved Cali’s fierceness and the way she fought for her beloved. I loved Valdys’s undying love for Cali. And everything that happens in between? Unforgettable.

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Review: Praying For Rain by BB Easton

April 11, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

PRAYING FOR RAIN
Series: Praying For Rain #1
Genre: Dystopian Romance
Author: BB Easton
Release Date: April 11, 2019

“None of this matters, and we’re all going to die.”

With only three days left until the predicted apocalypse, the small town of Franklin Springs, Georgia, has become a wasteland of abandoned cars, abandoned homes, abandoned businesses, and abandoned people. People like Rainbow Williams.

Rain isn’t afraid of dying. In fact, she’s looking forward to it. If she can just outrun her pain until April 23, she’ll never have to feel it at all.

Wes Parker has survived every horrible thing this life has thrown at him with nothing more than his resourcefulness and disarming good looks. Why should the end of the world be any different? All he needs are some basic supplies, shelter, and a sucker willing to help him out, which is exactly what he finds when he returns to his hometown of Franklin Springs.

As society crumbles, dangers mount, and secrets refuse to stay buried, two lost souls are thrust together in a twist of fate—one who will do anything to survive and one who can’t wait to die.

Perhaps, together, they can learn how to live.

Before their time runs out.

AMAZON

I’ve finally found what I’ve been missing my whole life, and if I keep it, it will kill me.
No wonder Rain was wearing a black hoodie when I met her.
She’s the fifth fucking horseman of the apocalypse.

Have you ever read a book where the story unravels like a movie reel before your eyes? Because the entire time I was reading Praying For Rain, I could have sworn that I was inside of it. The world building, the mystery, the characters, the totally riveting story line all combined to suck you ride into the story and keep you at the edge of your seat the entire time!

Dystopian is not a genre that I would typically gravitate towards, but when a trusted book friend tells you that a book is a must read, you read the damn book. And if you’re sitting there and thinking on wether or not to take the plunge, I’ll tell you that you NEED TO READ THIS DAMN BOOK!

Rain presses up onto her toes at the same moment that I dive for her parted lips, and our mouths collide like the train wreck that we are.

What would the world turn into if everyone knew they only have days to live? What if everyone was having extremely vivid nightmares that foreshadows the end of days on April 23rd? Nightmares that shows the world burning to the ground and a mysterious entity that’s the cause of it all. Pure chaos and pandemonium would ensue, bringing out the very worst of humanity.

That’s the backdrop of the story in Praying For Rain. Sound delicious? Because it really was. The book introduces Rain, a young woman with secrets and some clearly deep seated issues. Rain has made her peace with the fact that she won’t survive April 23rd. She’s just trying to make the best of the days she has left and numb her pain and memories with anything she can. A chance encounter introduces her to Wes, a man that’s determined to survive. What first starts as a mutually selfish partnership, soon begins to turn into something more.

Wes and Rain were incredibly multi-layered characters. Deeply flawed and broken almost beyond repair, they both have some issues. But as the layers begin to unravel, you begin to see the why’s of it and become more and more invested in these characters and their survival.

While there’s plenty of world building taking place, it’s still very much a character driven story. The first half is somewhat slow paced and it picks up in the second half that leaves you with your jaw on the floor at the end.

This was my first BB Easton book and I now know it will certainly not be my last. I can’t wait for the continuation of this trilogy and see how it all ends.

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