Review: Fragments by Nyla K

FRAGMENTS
Series:
Alabaster Penitentiary #4
Genre: Dark, Erotic MM Romance
Author: Nyla K
Release Date:
August 15, 2023

Survival is all that matters in here.
Still, it gets tricky when evil lurks around every corner, wanting to play.
To the arsonist, everything is a game.
Warren Xavier isAlabaster Pen’s resident manipulative liar. The former pretty boy prince of Manhattan’s elite is now locked away with the rest of us. Nothing but time to sit and stew… Scheme and obsess. And I’m the unlucky soul he’s made the object of his cunning affections.
On the outside, I would never entertain the kinds of things Ren wants from me… Unfortunately, being trapped for so long in such a hellish place can wear down even the strongest of minds.
I’d be a fool to fall into his mess of lustful deviance again. After all, I’ve been burned before.
But that silver tongue is wrapped right around my heart. The next time his flames engulf me… I might let them.

Prison life can be fun when you hold the handcuff keys in your sullied hands.
My skills give me power over guards, prisoners… Pretty much everyone. I control these men without lifting a finger. Maybe bending at the waist…
But not him. Not the one I truly want.
Lex “Luthor” Deon is too perfect to be rotting in this dungeon. He’s a hacker, a genius; a shimmering diamond lodged in a dreary black pit of decay. Sweet, loyal… inexperienced.
In short, he’s way too good for me.
But I’m too stubborn and volatile to ever let him go.
I won’t allow fragments of the past ruin us. When it all comes crumbling down, Lex will have to make a choice… Risk everything, or play it safe.
Whether he likes it or not, he wants to believe me…
But sometimes even I can’t tell when I’m lying.


**Fragments is a dark MM romance set in the world of Alabaster Penitentiary. While it follows a new couple with their own HEA, it is recommended to read the rest of the series first to avoid spoilers and get the full effect of the Isle. May contain sensitive subject matter. Heed foreword and proceed with caution.**

AMAZON 

When people see you as bad, they stop expecting you to be good.

Oh how I have waited for this book. And what a book. This was one which beech. And I mean THICK. Like 700+ pages thick.

We’re already in Hell. Whether it’s wrong or not, I will keep Lex Luthor Deon here so he can burn with me forever.

As a reminder, do not read this series out of order. The timelines in each book overlap and run parallel to the previous books, unearthing revelations and plot twists that will leave your head reeling. And that’s precisely what this book did. It left me reeling. My favorite in this series remains Dash, Distorted, and boy did this one deliver some mind exploding revelations about his story. Things that left me scratching my head in his book suddenly made sense in this one. Not all of them. But a good chunk for sure.

I have to appreciate the level of plotting that Nyla has put into this series. These are not just inter connected standalones, they’re so much more. She drops a hint in one book, only to hit you over the head with a revelation about it in the next one. No small part of the story is untouched. Everything is there for a reason.

Now this one is a book that I have a feeling most people will either love…or not. I don’t see much in between. Ren is a complex character full of self loathing and obsession for the one man that he can’t have. We get a hint at his proxy kink in the previous books, but you really experience his whorish ways in this one. But you also get to understand him. To somehow fall in love with every broken piece of him too.

Lexington is impossible not to love. The poor, sweet soul who happens to be a virgin, rotting away in a prison for something he didn’t even fully understand. But as all things in Alabaster Pen, not all is at it seems. And everything you think you know, you quickly find that you didn’t have a clue.

Is this what you want, Ren?” I hiss, so close to him, the tips of our noses are almost touching. “A fucking reaction, you goddamn attention whore?? Well, here it is!”

Ren and Lex’s journey is not an easy one and at times had me wanting to chuck my kindle at a wall for these two to just get their sh*t together. Their push and pull is borderline toxic. Heck, actually it’s pretty dang toxic. The story is told in fragments (see what I did there?). You get snapshots of both Lex and Ren’s past before they land in Alabaster and also the time they spent there that brought them to the point of hate/love they have today. Admittedly, I’m not sure how a book can feel too long but yet I don’t think any page was wasted at the same time? Like I’m genuinely confused. I feel like it took me forever to read it. But when I think back, I can’t think of any page that can be removed without taking away from the story.

The ending while delivering a HEA for Ren and Lex, still leaves you with more questions than answers. So obviously I’m now ravenous for Kang’s book next.

DGRFave & Review: For The Fans by Nyla K

FOR THE FANS
Genre: MM Romance
Author: Nyla K
Release Date:
February 23, 2023

Kyran Harbor is everything I’m not.

Rich. Popular. A superstar football player who’s awfully broody for someone who has it all. Basically, he’s a preppy jock who hates me. Oh, and he’s also my stepbrother.

That’s right. We’re stuck together, sharing a school, a house… A bathroom. Honestly, I wouldn’t care… If he wasn’t such an uptight control-freak who messes with me just because we’re different.

I had every intention of avoiding him when we got to college… Until abrupt misfortune forces us both into a compromising position.

Now the grouchy jerk I was hoping to evade might be the only person who can help me out of it.

Avi Vega is everything I despise.

A dreamer. A flake. An artist who smokes too much weed and thinks aliens exist. And by some sick cosmic joke, he’s now my stepbrother, following me on what should’ve been my escape plan.

It was already a disaster. Add a sudden financial disruption to the mix, and let’s just say my options are heavily limited.

If I want to stay an all-star quarterback on the way to the NFL, I’ll need to do something drastic. Unfortunately for me, and my desperate desire for control, the perpetually smiling stoner has a plan.

Maybe we can stop hating each other just enough to pull this off. As long as we remember we’re only doing it… for the fans.

** For The Fans is a full-length standalone MM forbidden romance with an HEA. This book contains sensitive subject matter that could make some readers uncomfortable. Please heed foreword warnings and proceed with caution.

AMAZON

This is for the fans, right?”
He nods again. “For the fans.”
Moaning softly, he whispers, “Suck on my ear.”
A slightly triumphant smirk tugs at my lips while I move them up to his ear. “Say please.”

I am shooketh! SHOOKETH! This was, hands down, my favorite Nyla K book to date. But it was so much more than that, too. It was emotionally charged, packed with feels, banter, and romance so sizzling it was incendiary. And easily one of my favorite enemies to lovers romances I’ve read. It was everything.

This always seems to happen to us. It’s like something about our molecules in close proximity melts hate into desire, and I just don’t get it. It makes no sense, but it feels good. And I hate that it does, because he’s such a raving jerk.

Kyran and Avi are as polar opposite as they get. Avi is the easy going stoner, who loves art and has no interest in most things school related. After losing his father at a young age, his mom became his best friend, and the relationship Avi had with his mom was easily one of my favorite things. Then Avi’s word gets turned upside down when he learns his mom is engaged and he’s going to have a stepbrother. Except the second they lay eyes on each other, the hate and animosity between them is instant.

Kyran is a typical jock. The popular kid, the people pleaser, the one with daddy issues that hide a dark pain. He’s a football star who is well on his way to his NFL dreams and his new stoner stepbrother is the last thing he needs, with his stupid backwards cap, ever present smirk, and irreverence.

They meet in high school but then fate puts them in the same college, still hating on each other. Until a family revelation leaves them reeling and desperate to make ends meet. And Avi decides to put his good looks and chemistry with his stepbrother to use on his OnlyFans.

Fuck, I don’t know what it is about his dominant side that destroys me so damn good. Maybe it’s because he’s not like that in regular life… So it’s like there’s a side of him that only I get to see. His regular cockiness is turned up to the max when we’re alone, and he becomes this demanding, growly, filthy-talking beast with a huge dick who orders me around. And something about it calls to my submissive side I never let out… For anyone but him.

I loved watching these two guys discovered themselves in their on way. Avi who embraces his bisexuality with the easy nature that he has, and Kyran who has a more troubled road to his own sexuality.

While Nyla knows how to write one heck of a sizzling love scene didn’t hold back on the emotion and boy did this story pack it. Kyran may be the football college superstar, but his wounds run deep. And the more you learn, the more your heart hurts for him. The more his animosity and hate to his stepbrother makes sense too.

Maybe the reason I’ve been fighting this so hard is because I knew it was inevitable… The chemistry of hate was never strong enough to overpower the hunger of want.

Yes this book is long. Like super long. Like crazy long. But there’s not one wasted page. I devoured this book and dreaded finishing it because I didn’t want to leave these two.

I fell so hard and fast for Kyran and Avi. There was something so vulnerable about Kyran beneath his typical jock persona. And the way Avi loves him and helps him melted my cold black heart. I swooned, I sweated, and I cried. I loved absolutely every single page of this book and cannot recommend it enough. And if Nyla doesn’t give us a book for Theo and the coach next, I will riot. That is all.

Review: Brainwashed by Nyla K

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.

Review: To Burn In Brutal Rapture by Nyla K

TO BURN IN BRUTAL RAPTURE
Genre: Forbidden/Taboo Romance
Author: Nyla K
Release Date:
October 22, 2020

From the author of PUSH comes a new epic tale of unexpected forbidden romance…

The ache of tragedy sunk deep, like the claws of a wicked monster.
To heal was to remember what my godfather told me when I was six…
Pain is a part of life. If you prepare for it, it will hurt less.
He would know, after all. Lazarus Weston is pain personified.
The scowling man with stormy eyes and tattoos covering his excessive muscles is not only my godfather, but also my dad’s business partner and best friend. A permanent fixture in our lives. Well, in Dad’s, not mine.
But when grief mixes with confusing new feelings, I’m forced to see Lazarus differently, in a way that severely complicates my world.
Because he’s too old for me. He’ll never be mine.
I’m not allowed to have him, but obsession burns a fine line between can’t and won’t.

I can’t want her…
The curse on my heart is heavy, the tale of my malediction drenched in brutal loss. Wearing ink like scars reminds me of the tomb I left behind.
I’ve been expecting pain all my life, yet I’m still unprepared, failing to see my downfall until she’s wrapped around my soul like barbed wire.
Tracien Wright. My best friend’s daughter. Part of my life strictly through association. She was never meant to be more than that.
But Traci is a trickster. A skilled predator in the most unexpected package, oblivious to her own power.
She’ll learn the hard way that not all beasts should be hunted.
I’m not what she thinks I am, having rose from a pit, only to bury myself in secrets and lies.
Deep down I’d love nothing more than to have her. But I don’t get to keep nice things.

**To Burn In Brutal Rapture is a standalone novel which contains sensitive subjects that may be triggering to some. Open-minded readers only! Please do not read or post spoilers.**

AMAZON

We’re a chemical reaction. Explosively beautiful. Dangerously exquisite.”

Clearly I have been living under a rock. How am I only reading this book now when it’s been out for almost a year? Me! ME! The reader that lives for all things taboo and forbidden. And it simply doesn’t get more deliciously forbidden than father’s best friend. This is an age gap with a bite, folks, and I was so here for it. DANG.

Every droplet of joy in this life comes at a price,” his jagged voice breaks through the silence, and the sounds of people chatting in the next room. “Happiness… It always turns to pain in the end.”

One thing I will advise is for you to go into this book absolutely blind. Seriously. I didn’t even read the full blurb let alone reviews. I first discovered Nyla with Distorted and am now just systematically making my way through her backlist because I’m obsessed. All I knew about this book was it was taboo and I needed it!

Now what can I tell you about this story? Well, almost nothing. *evil grin* It’s for your own good, trust me. But I will say, the one thing I’ve come to strongly appreciate about Nyla’s writing is that she’s not afraid to go there. This is clearly an author that writes for herself and her characters and not what she thinks is safer or would be more accepted. And I seriously love that. These characters are flawed and fucked up, my second two favorite f words. Ha! There are some twists to this story that were just UGH. To be honest, I’m still processing them and don’t know how I feel. Did I like it? No idea. I’m conflicted as fuck. But I digress.

One of the things that can be a make it or break it for me when it comes to age gap, is the heroine. I’m just not a reader that enjoys reading about sheltered ingenues. But Tracien (Trix) while young, was one of the most relatable characters. This is a girl with some deep rooted issues of her own, stemming from the loss of her beloved mother, to lusting after her father’s best friend. She’s not perfect by any means. She’s an old soul of sorts and that clearly comes across. She’s also not the typical rich girl and I loved that about her.

Lazarus was one of my favorite tortured souls. This is a man that your heart just hurts for.

But that’s all you’ll be getting from me. I will tell you that this story is fucked up. It’s downright uncomfy at times. It’s also sizzling hot and full of depth and emotion. I devoured this thick ass book in a span of two days and had a hangover from hell to follow. Did I love all parts of it. Well, there were parts that I’m still figuring out how I feel about. But what I will say, is if you like age gap/forbidden tropes, this one is simply not to be missed.

DGRFave & Review: Joyless by Nyla K

JOYLESS
Series:
Alabaster Penitentiary #2
Genre: Dark, Erotic MMF Romance
Author: Nyla K
Release Date:
September 30, 2021

Alabaster Penitentiary, Volume 2

Correctional officers get a bad rep. But in our case, it’s fully justified.
We’re not ???? people… We’re guard dogs. As twisted as the inmates we patrol, courtesy of the monster who created us.

Prisoners ourselves on an island of manipulation, we’ve spent years drowning in vices to dull reality. If these walls could talk, I’m telling you… they’d scream.
They call me Velle, but that’s ??????? ???????? to you. Hands dirtier than my mind, I have no qualms with staying ruthless to keep these creatures in line.
And I’m not alone.

??? ??????? is my partner in crime, and my ex. Together we rule Alabaster Isle like Bonnie and Clyde, only prettier and far more dangerous. It’s the two of us against this wicked, secluded world.
Until he shows up…

Although we need him, the rookie is a problem. Flipping me upside down, using my own hidden desires to tempt me.
????… with his green eyes and country boy smile…
He has no business luring me into something that will get everyone hurt.

Let it be known, denying myself and dominating this role is my default setting. But with him in the picture, I’m struggling to keep it intact.
The mask is slipping, control I can’t lose wavering as we welcome our newest psycho to the roster.

Let’s hope, for all our sakes, ?????? #101 doesn’t do anything stupid.

**Joyless is a MMF romance with its own HEA, and while it explores new characters, it is highly recommended that you read Volume 1 first, as the timeline mirrors that of Distorted and there will be references to Distorted in Joyless that could spoil book 1.**

AMAZON 

 

You’re like a rollercoaster, baby. Scary as fuck, but just the best shot of adrenaline.”

Holy.
Fucking.
Shit.

This book. I don’t even have the words right now. Gimme a minute here.

Being a self professed erotic romance addict for many years, I went on record a few years ago to state that I have steel plated ovaries. Like a book can be hot, but it’s not going to get me that hot because I’m desensitized to it. Ok. It’s what I thought. So what did I do? I read this fucking book in public. I was cocky and I miscalculated. Bite me.

So there I was. Squirming uncomfortably in the waiting room while getting my oil changed. Paranoid as fuck that everyone in the room and also outside of it knew exactly what I was reading. With my loins burning and my ovaries hurting, rethinking my stupid steel plated ovaries statement to hell and back. But I digress. Let’s talk about the fuckery that is this book for a hot second, kay?

Welcome to Hell, rookie.”

Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT read this as a standalone. Yes it has different characters from Distorted, but just trust me. You want to appreciate what is Nyla K’s deeply twisted, depraved, evil genius mind by reading this series in order. The time lines overlap and you will miss some huge plot nuances and do yourself a big disservice by not reading Distorted first.

So what’s this book? It’s a super sizzling, super fucked up, super dirty and deliciously kinky MMF menage. And this bitch? I WAS SO HERE FOR IT.

The second Velle made an appearance in Distorted, I knew I had to have his story. The big, bad, tatted and pierced prison guard that takes no shit just had to have a good story arc, right? Wrong. It wasn’t just good, it was fucking amazing. MY GOD. But I digress again.

So what can I tell you without spoiling anything? This book brought it, ok. It bought it big time. The revelations. The secrets. The backstories of Velle and Joy and how they came to be guards at Alabaster Penitentiary really lays the foundation. We get more glimpses at the mysteriously evil Warden, and when I say I never thought I’d hear myself say that I’m desperate for that man’s book, well let’s just say I’m still shocked as shit. But here I digressed again. FOCUS. GOD. OKAY.

One of my favorite things about this story was the dynamic between Rook, Joy, and Velle. How neither one of them are what they seem on the surface. I loved Joy’s sexual freedom and how she just owns her sexuality. This is a woman that’s not shy about her sex drive, her body, or her desires, and we need more heroines like this in romance. But Velle. Oh my baby Velle. He was the most dynamic, multi-layered of the three. Velle with his dark secrets and darker desires. He completely stole my heart.

A-are you gonna… lick me?” My breathing is truly out of control. “No.” He bites his lip. “I’m gonna eat you alive.”

Now this is not a story for the faint of heart. And what I appreciate about Nyla’s story telling is that she’s not afraid to go there. She’s not afraid to really dive right into the pits of true depravity if it’s what her characters demand, and it just WORKS. This is a book that if anyone else wrote it, I’d say had way too much sex. But when I tell you that EVERY SINGLE sex scene added something to the story, well that’s talent, folks. Because there was a lot of sex. A LOT. It was hot. It was incendiary. Seriously. It was fucking sizzling as hell. My loins are still burning.

There’s also nuances that get revealed from Distorted, and hints dropped about future characters. And just OMG. I FUCKING LOVED THIS BOOK.

It’s dark. It’s fucked up. It’s seriously fucked up. And I loved every depraved page of it. And the set up for the next one? HOLY SHIT!!!

So if you like your book dark as hell, sizzling enough to set ovaries on fire, and fucked up enough to make you uncomfy while reading it? READ THIS FUCKING BOOK.

That is all. I’m now off to calm my tits. And I thank you,

Review: Distorted by Nyla K

DISTORTED
Series: Alabaster Penitentiary #1
Genre: Dark, MM Romance
Author: Nyla K
Release Date: March 18,  2021

This is Alabaster Penitentiary…
Where they send you when the world thinks you’re dead. And trust me, you’ll wish you were.
We’re the stain on society. The freaks, the creeps, your favorite Netflix documentaries come to life.
They lock us up and throw away the key, because we deserve it.
But not me. I’m just a lowly bank robber. I don’t belong here, surrounded by psychopaths and killers with no remorse… At least, I don’t think I do.
Getting by unscathed is my top priority. Unfortunately for me and my fellow prisoners, those in charge are more dangerous than we are.
You see, the guards run the show, and I seem to have caught the attention of the most twisted one.
He has a name, but it might as well be Officer. We move around one another like a sun and a moon, revolving in an axis of confused lust and torment until the truth is distorted, and the thing I once feared becomes that which I crave; my vile addiction, somehow so exquisite.
Reality warps in the dungeon, and I’m left wondering which prison is worse… the one holding my body, or my mind.

**Distorted is the first book in the Alabaster Penitentiary series. It is a full M/M romance, with HEA. Each book in this series is technically a standalone, though they are interconnected, so it will be recommended to read in order, as references to this story will be made in future books.

Distorted is intended for mature audiences and open-minded readers ONLY! If you prefer the same old story, this book won’t be for you. This story is dark, probably darker for some than others, so please proceed with caution, and if you’re easily triggered, steer clear.

AMAZON

If you’re stuck in Hell for eternity, it’d be wise not to poke the Devil.”

Oh.
MY.
GOD.

What in the ever loving hell did I just read? Why am I only now discovering this author? And how the hell are more of you not reading her?

Because holy hell. HOLY HELL Y’ALL!!!!

First of all, if you like a dark, taboo MM read with an epic mind fuck thrown in, READ THIS BOOK!
Oh my god! Why are you not running to grab this immediately?
I’m about to go violent recommendation on all of your asses here, people! DO IT!

But I digress. First of all, I’m seriously kicking myself for not discovering this author sooner and super grateful to my lovely friend Francis for telling me she’d be right up my alley. And being a huge lover of all things dark and twisted, I couldn’t agree more. This was one of the most epic mind fucks I’ve read in a long while, and I’m already desperate for my next hit in this series. But I digress.

This book. THIS BOOK. A convict falling for a prison guard with plenty of dub con thrown in. GAH. Be still my heart. I can actually feel my ovaries fluttering. But I digress again.

Dash is the furthest thing from normal as you can get. He has his issues and plenty of them and he’s no stranger to criminal activities. But one risky robbery finally lands him in prison, and it’s a hell unlike any other, reserved for the worst of humanity, and he’s convinced it’s a mistake. As days begin to bleed together, the one sanity that he realizes he has, is his personal tormentor who he knows only as Officer.

Now let me tell you guys, this book is dark. Like seriously DARK, okay. There’s triggers for a good reason, so if you’re sensitive to those things, you’ve been warned. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. It’s twisted. It’s perverse. It’s DELICIOUS. What else it is, is completely unputdownable. It’s 450+ pages of unpredictable story with a romance so delicious, you don’t even see it coming. To say I’m hooked on this series is an understatement. This series is crack and Nyla K just became my favorite dealer.

Copyright © 2015 · Dirty Girl Romance

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