This Man (This Man, #1) by Jodi Ellen Malpas Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I wish I could get every minute I spent reading this book back. The premise of this book reminded me subtly of Fifty Shades of Grey only in the slightest, but good grief Jesse Ward is hands down one of the most ridiculous male leads I have ever come across. He is a man child and a whiny little boy when he does not get exactly what he wants. And when what he wants is Ava to basically never leave his sight, you can only imagine how out of control he becomes. Jesse basically is terrorizing the town whenever Ava has to go to work, sees her friends, or literally just tries to go to the office to do her job. His hobbies are literally stalking and mild breaking and entering in order to have eyes on her at all times. Get a grip!!

That being said, Ava is basically no better than Jesse, but in a different regard. She is setting feminism back decades every minute she spends with Jesse. Yes, she does have her moments where she tries to hold her ground and give him a reality check, but it literally never works and always ends up with her crying, fleeing the scene, or having Jesse barge in like a caveman at her place of work or her apartment. I wanted so badly for her to actually grow a spine at some point, and just when you would think she was about to, all of her progress would go out the window. I found myself rolling my eyes at nearly everything she did - she became unbearable towards the end. What grown woman acts this way?

I literally cannot express it enough on how much this book gave me a migraine. Jesse keeps far too many secrets and Ava does not seem to have the motivation to even uncover them. For crying out loud, she does not even know how old Jesse is!! Like girl, if the man you are sleeping with will not even tell you his age, you need to be running across state lines, not running into his bed. I was literally losing brain cells while reading this book - there was not a redeemable quality of this story that I could find - even the side characters would not get involved in Ava and Jesse's drama. Jesse's friends low key are just as evil as he is because what do you mean you literally instigate so many situations where you know he will freak out on Ava? Ava's friend is relatively fine in the sense she kind of just hangs around - I will give her props for giving Ava a place to live though.

The smut scenes were... something. I have read better material written by a 13-year-old on Wattpad. We seriously need to be reevaluating the content of books that are being published because how in the world did anyone ever think that this was readable content? The writing is not nearly at the caliber it should be and the plot is mind-numbing. Now if you see me reading the rest of the series in the future... mind your business. I like to see series through to give a cohesive opinion.

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Dirty Little Promise (Forbidden Desires, #2) by Kendall Ryan Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Dirty Little Tease and Dirty Little Secret on my blog, now! Dirty Little Tease is available for free as a preview novella for Dirty Little Secret -- you do not need to read the novella in order to start the series, as it is an introduction/preview to the first 100 pages of Dirty Little Secret, accompanied by some exclusive content from the author.

Emma and Gavin's relationship faces a lot of obstacles in this second installment, and nothing short of dangerous is thrown into their lives. Considering I read Dirty Little Tease and Dirty Little Secret about two-and-a-half years ago and was able to quickly orient myself back into this series, I have to say that the author does a pretty good job at keeping readers up to speed. This book had a great combination of action, emotion, and spice - the book flowed very well and honestly kept me fully engaged the entire time.

Do I feel bad for Cooper? Absolutely. Do I think he needs to get a grip and move on? Sure thing! His friendship with Emma was so great, and unfortunately not everything is made to last and his own feelings seemed to get in the way of their friendship ever getting back to the way that it was before Gavin came into the picture. I think the relationship between Gavin and his brothers took more of a forefront in this book, and I was happy to see Gavin really start to work through his own feelings and past experiences. Given that in many romance books we do not see the male leads actually work towards being better and opening up to others, it was a pleasant surprise.

Gavin and Emma definitely had some things to work through - we get a much better picture of the horrors of Emma's last relationship and we see Gavin grabbling with a past that has come back to haunt him and linger over his relationship with Emma. Both have to tackle things on their own, but they were able to support one another once they each decided to reveal information about their pasts and allow themselves to be open with one another - in more ways than one.

The spice in this book was crazyyyy. I do not know how Emma came out of this book without having her limbs dislocated with the way that Gavin was throwing this girl around. The author really upped the game from the prequel novella and first installment - compared to the minimal presence it had in the first book, this truly upped the game and honestly showed how much Gavin and Emma trusted one another. Their chemistry literally feels like it is coming off the page and the author truly makes readers invested in the development of their relationship. I truly ate this book up and honestly look forward to seeing where we are taken next with Cooper's story.

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Tease Me Once (Shame on You, #1) by Willow Winters Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews for other works by Willow Winters on my blog, now - Do You Want Me?, It's Our Secret, and A Single Glance.

I am no stranger to W. Winters, and with a number of their works available for free on iBooks and Kindle, it makes an easy choice to continue to dive into yet another series. Maybe one day I will actually finish one instead of only reading the first installment as a filler book - this book certainly makes a case for that hope. Declan and Braelynn share a history that is seemingly glossed over a number of times throughout this book - Braelynn mentions through her internal dialogue and to her close friend that she knows Declan from "before" but we never see how they were actually connected, unless I somehow managed to miss that. I would have loved some more explanation or even flashback chapters from Declan or Braelynn's perspective to understand how entangled they are and what the tension they share is from.

Braelynn is too easily convinced of, well, everything - she trusts easily, which I found odd, considering her past, and seemingly falls into a number of inopportune scenarios that would have been completely avoidable had she either paid attention or minded her business. I wanted her to use common sense so bad throughout this book that I was willing to donate some of my brain cells to the cause. She eventually smarted up at one point, but I still wish she was aware of what was going on around her - she needed to lock in and realize that she cannot trust everyone in her life, especially when it seems too good to be true.

Declan... good lord. The author should have given us some background on him - clearly we get the face value details of him and his brothers, but still no exploration into why he is the way he is or why he is into the things he is. I will say that he is an effective communicator and actually sits down with Braelynn explaining to her that she needs to be very clear with him about what she wants and what she does or does not like - he is not good at reading people and needs her confirmation before moving on with more delicate matters.

The spice was going wild in this book - definitely on the more extreme end of dark romance and juicy, I ate it up. Some of it was a little out of pocket considering Declan basically threw Braelynn into the relationship and only asked her if she was willing to do whatever he said - she basically nodded her head and then was in the middle of an intense BDSM relationship without even knowing what she signed up for. And I say "signed up for" in the lightest of terms given they did not even talk about anything before launching into this relationship. Declan is a wild man and Braelynn just does not know what to do, so she seems to go along with anything that anyone tells her to do.

Looking at the mafia plot - I will be honest, it felt like a little bit of a mess. Declan and his brothers are clearly involved in some super shady stuff, and readers are exposed to much more than Braelynn ever saw. However, it did not feel finished and Declan's involvement felt unpolished to me - it would have been interesting to see more of his leadership and what he has done to get to this position. I know there are more books to get through, but considering this is our introduction to the character, it would have been helpful information in case it influenced his character.

With an ending like that, I will be continuing on with this series in order to see what in the word Braelynn has gotten herself into. I can only imagine the tomfoolery that she allowed to happen right under her nose, and considering Declan is not a forgiving man, I know she has a world of punishment in her future. You can read this series in its three installments, or in its complete work, Only for Him.

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The Devil's Vice (The Dark Triad, #1) by Mindy Paige Review

This is a spoiler-free review! A list of content warnings can be found here.

I downloaded this book forever ago during a Stuff Your Kindle Day, and considering I have decided that I am now on a romance kick, I knew I had to make way through my electronic TBR and put a dent in books that have been sitting around for while. I have definitely read books with a similar trope to a doctor or nurse saving the head of a gang or mafia leader, so I knew this would be up my alley - it was the execution that needed to deliver, and oh boy it certainly did. I read through this book so fast I could not believe it and I was literally eating this up - I have not read a dark romance in a hot minute, and this was just the hit I needed to remind myself why I love the genre. This book definitely is not for the faint of heart, and I would recommend it to more established dark romance readers.

When Lillith saves the life of one of the most notorious members of the Hellfyre Motorcycle club, she has no idea what effect her presence will have on him - and how her life will be forever changed. Kain's fascination of Lillith quickly turns to obsession and readers bear witness to the quick-festering mild stalking to lady-napping pipeline. With pacing that moves quickly and maintains the attention of its readers, the book seems to fly by and mimics the way that Lillith's life changes in an instant. 

A quick little lady-napping and Lillith is plucked from her everyday life and thrown into an erotic and unexpected relationship with Kain, much to her initial annoyance. I did spend the entire time wondering what all of Lillith's coworkers thought about where she disappeared to and why she had not shown up to work - it would be suspicious to me! I would not be surprised if there was an off-page moment where Kain had an explanation in place for her sudden departure.

The author included a number of flashback scenes that allowed us to see what past trauma impacted both Kain and Lillith, and how their pasts are connected. This made both their journeys more impactful, as well as making their development and bond all the more intriguing. The side characters in this book were nothing short of diabolical, and it seemed that everywhere Lillith turned, she was in danger, either before she truly knew Kain, or constantly after the fact once they were intwined.

I wish the motorcycle club was actually incorporated into this book - we started out strong, but fell flat quickly and the plot was lost in efforts to have Lillith and Kain's relationship develop. However, when it is marketed as an organized crime dark romance book and the organized crime aspect gets thrown out the window, it is disappointing. Additionally, while the flashbacks were helpful, there never was an explanation on why exactly all of these events occurred, and it left me confused on what the motive was in causing these tragedies. I wish that Kain was more forthcoming to Lillith and did not hide so much from her, considering she was constantly in danger. That being said, she literally did not seem to care at all that she was kidnapped? She did not even pretend for a few days that she was upset about it - she immediately was like wait why am I enjoying this? Girl, get it together!

The main villains of this book did not seem to have a clear motive at all as far as I could tell, and it made the climax of this book not as exhilarating - I did not feel as though Kain was up against much. I was honestly here for the vibes and the vibes only - I did not expect the plot to be super solid considering I was reading it for the romance aspect, but I did enjoy reading this a lot. The dark romance... could have been a lot darker - it was dark for about three chapters and then seemingly abandoned in place of the slight crime plot, but it should have stuck true to its genre. It moves quickly, and while there are a few things I would have changed or added to the book, I had a great time reading it.

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The Taker (Men of Malice, #1) by Mae Malone Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised. A list of trigger warnings is available at the beginning of the novella.

After literally throwing himself in front of notorious mafia killer, Leo finds himself at Rocco's every beck and call. In order to continue to provide for his younger sisters, he is forced to take a job being Rocco's personal employee. I really enjoyed how we jumped right into the story - since this is a novella, I was hoping that there would not be too many chapters focusing on random things, and I was pleased to see that the author sends us right into the story with enough background information that sets the stage.

Leo goes through a number of conflicting feelings throughout this story, and the introduction of Rocco into his life as he takes care of his sisters has a number of effects on his safety and anxieties. We really take a deeper look into his psyche and how his mental health is affected by being thrust into life with a mafia man while trying to maintain a balance with normalcy surrounding his sisters. Essentially becoming Rocco's possession, Leo is exposed to so much more than he could have imagined - even with his father being involved in the past, Leo was never this close to the action.

Rocco becomes completely enamored with Leo when he does something drastic - and brave - without thinking. Once he set his sights on Leo, there was no way that Leo was going to escape him. With dual perspective chapters, it was a great way to see into Rocco's mind and his "psychotic" tendencies as he did everything in his power to have Leo all to himself. He basically sabotages everything in Leo's life in order to get him to do what he wants, and while that is a major red flag in real life, this is a dark mafia romance, and I would not expect anything else.

This novella is a piece of cake to read - if you are a quick reader like myself, this can easily be tackled in an hour or so. Once you pick it up, the pacing moves fast enough that you can finish it in one sitting, or take a quick break before continuing on. In all honestly, I would read this as a full-length book, since the characters are so intriguing, and I would love to see more of them in the future. From my understanding, this is the first in a series of interconnected standalone novellas, so I certainly will be waiting for the second installment.

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Lights Out (Into Darkness, #1) by Navessa Allen Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

TikTok has led me to places I never knew I would go, and after seeing about one hundred videos about this book, I knew I had to see it out for myself. With the way it is described, I thought it would rival Butcher & Blackbird and maybe Haunting Adeline in terms of being dark, but I was left wanting more and feeling slightly misled. Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed Aly and Josh's story, but even the tagline on the cover notes "The couple that slays together, stays together," and yet there was not a ton of slaying at all throughout the entire book. This leans more towards a stalker romance with BDSM elements, but I would not call it a dark romance in true form.

I was not in love with the first person perspective - it is never my first choice, but Aly's inner dialogue felt underdeveloped and she was constantly referencing her "lizard brain" when she is a whole adult woman. However, her character as a whole was pretty entertaining to read, and while she does make some choices I was not pleased with, she added the "quirky" aspect to her and Josh's relationship. She was so real for spending hours on TikTok watching and favoriting the thirst trap videos because girl... same. Aly must have a horror kink because this girl is horny about twenty-four hours a day, and she literally does not care how dangerous the situation is.

The second Aly thinks she knows who her stalker is, she starts tracking him, and when she realizes that he is hot, she literally celebrates. This reminded me so much of Haunting Adeline, and I just know her and Addie would be friends. Her self preservation goes out the window and across the yard at nearly every scenario - going into a room alone with a known rapist... girl, get out of there!!

Josh is hands-down one of the funniest stalkers - compared to Aly's inner dialogue, I found his much more enjoyable and humorous. I did not love his Batman voice and references, and I thought he would be more dangerous throughout the book - it felt like Aly was more prepared to commit crimes than he was even though he is a literal stalker. Based off of the summary, I was under the impression they would be killing or committing crimes a lot earlier in the story, but it really was not towards over halfway into the book. Together, they literally commit one crime together and it was not even that exciting.

The scariest part of this book is that Aly said they were not going to have any safe words, and when she told Josh that he could do anything he wanted to her, his first thought was knife play. Like let's be so serious right now, this probably would have sent her spiraling. Their spicy scenes were pretty good, but I would have preferred them more spaced out rather than being somewhat lumped together in the second half of the book.

The epilogue was a fun way to wrap up their story, and I would have loved to see more chapters like that in the actual book. Josh was a fun male lead, but he could have been a little more wild, especially compared to other stalker romances out there. If you are looking for a tame introduction to stalker romances or dark romances in general, Lights Out definitely provides the gateway.

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Moonlit Thorns (Midnight Manor, #1) by P. Rayne Review

This review contains mild spoilers for Moonlit Thorns - no major plot points are revealed!

I love a dark romance Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I have to say that I had the time of my life reading this book. An older, billionaire romance with a bunch of spice is right up my alley, and even though I have read my fair share of these type of retellings, it never gets old. When Anabelle's father passes away and her family's estate is slipping through their fingers, she finds herself employed and housed at a manor occupied by the Voss billionaire brothers. Asher Voss, the 36-year-old billionaire with a cold side has somehow ended up with Anabelle at his fingertips, and her curiosity is about to lead her down a path she may not be ready for.

Anabelle's ex-boyfriend literally coming up to her and telling -- not asking -- her that they are going to get married actually had me laughing out loud. This man is living in the land of delusion, and I was glad to see that she did not put up with it one bit. That being said, she traded him in for a 36-year-old man that is set on tormenting a 22-year-old girl for giggles and because he was low-key bored, which I have to say, not Asher's best moment. I fear Anabelle has a curse on her, because she somehow finds herself in danger or in trouble nearly ever chapter.

The entire contract agreement that Asher presents to Anabelle is literally so insane - taking her phone for a year, only paying her minimum wage, and only letting her leave on Saturday nights - at least she had the good sense to read over every page before signing it. She basically becomes an indentured servant to Asher, and he does not even give her a decent uniform - he has her wearing what I can only picture as clogs, for crying out loud.

Dual POV in romance books are my gold standard, and I was so glad to see that this was held up -- it is always so fun to watch the perspective change when the female lead thinks the male lead hates her, and then we see that he is utterly obsessed with her. I was cackling when he put in one of her AirPods and started listening to her audiobook because girl, same. Watching Anabelle literally walk into danger was infuriating at times - I wanted to reach into the book and shake her to warn her about the red flags she was ignoring.

Asher's' brothers are giving off major bad vibes when they are first introduced - maybe not all of them, but the breakfast scene had my skin crawling a bit, and I was glad Asher stepped in. Preston, and even the sheriff that Anabelle used to date, are certainly no better, and yet you become glad that Asher is there so at least someone is trying to protect her, even if he does have ulterior motives. Not entirely sure why Anabelle is suddenly okay with basically becoming Asher's sex bot in his house when she clearly has stronger feelings towards him. Like girl, he is paying you minimum wage and now instead of his maid, you are his secretary/assistant - I need you to stand up.

Anabelle is thrown into a pretty horrible situation, and someone literally pulls the line "Maybe she consented?" Boy, she was drugged and unconscious, let us use our big brain cells and think logically - she obviously did not. She honestly has to deal with a lot in this book, and this is far from the first time that she is found in a dangerous situation. As the story goes on, we reach more "action" scenes towards the end, and it reminded me so much of plot points from Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James.

I had a blast reading this book - I was literally doing laps around my room at every chapter, and the story moves at a great pace to keep you completely enthralled with the characters. I do wish Anabelle stuck up for herself more often, and that Asher could tone it down a bit when he treated her rudely in the beginning, but overall it was a fun read and I will definitely be returning to this series.

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Fear and Desire by Sophie Kisker Review

This is a spoiler-free review! This book contains graphic material - please look up the trigger warnings before reading.

I have not read an undercover crime book in what feels like years, and luckily enough I was downloading books like no tomorrow at the last Stuff Your Kindle Day. Fear and Desire kept popping up in my recommendations based on my past reads, and needing a quick read, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to put it to the test.

This is not a causal read, and certainly not for dark romance beginners -- I would argue it is approaching Haunting Adeline to be quite honest, and I would only suggest this book to readers who are comfortable reading this genre at length. I genuinely think that I have read everything under the sun -- there was nothing in this book that I have not come across before, but the author certainly goes into extensive detail when it comes to dark themes.

Laura is in an incredibly horrifying and insane situation -- her reasoning has gone out the door after she is taken to be sold at an auction. An auction that her best friend Dan has been working undercover for two years to take down traffickers, and with Laura now being used to test his loyalty, they both need to do things neither ever thought they would be forced to do. I did find myself yelling at her a lot -- she has more information regarding the situation she is in compared to the other girls, but I feared that she would ruin everything that Dan has worked towards nearly every other page.

I enjoyed getting multiple perspectives in this book -- seeing more than only Dan and Laura's thoughts definitely added another layer to this heavy situation, and Josh's perspective were somehow adding a lightness in between intense chapters. Claire's chapters really laid into the despair and hopelessness that the girls were experiencing, whereas Laura has so much more knowledge on what is happening around them.

Around two thirds into the story is where the plot really lays into the seriousness of the situation everyone is in, especially regarding making sure Laura and the rest of the women end up safe. There are a lot more people in play compared to the beginning of the story, and with a decent amount of perspective changes, the author is able to give readers a pretty good sense of what is happening on all fronts.

The progression of Laura's state of mind as the story goes on was handled very well, and even in such an extreme situation, she had a shred of hope to hang on to and as much as a support system as she could get from Claire and Dan. Chapters in Dan's perspective really allowed the reader to understand all sides of the story, and to be able to see how Dan was personally handling what Laura had to go through, essentially at his own hands, added to the depth of the book and their character development.

For fans of Shantel Tessier's L.O.R.D.S. series and Debt Inheritance by Pepper Winters, this dark romance stand alone is not for the light-hearted. If you are looking for something dark, gritty, and taboo, this is the book for you.

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Broken by Ashe Barker Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Broken is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

The day I decided I was finally going to dive into this book was the same day that I found out that the author was a grandmother, and from that moment on I knew I was in for a treat. As one of my many downloads from Stuff Your Kindle Day, you can only imagine why I decided this book was one that I needed in my library -- I am a sucker for anything involving a forbidden romance.

I genuinely did not know what to expect with this storyline, and to be completely honest, the beginning really threw me for a loop. So much happened in a short amount of time, and with so many character introductions, it was a touch hard to keep track of who was who at times. Once you get into the swing of things, the plot moves quickly, and before you know it, our good sister Jenna has found herself in some real trouble... exactly the reason I downloaded this book.

Zafar is a man who knows what he wants and certainly has no limitations to stop him from getting anything, being the brother of the Crown Prince of Akram. The dynamic between Jenna and Zafar is at an all-time intensity from the moment they first interact, and it escalates to levels I have only seen by characters written by Shantel Tessier.

With an equal balance of plot and straight up spice, the author is able to create an enticing story between an unlikely pair. I really did not know what to expect when I first started reading, and was pleasantly surprised by the pacing and characterization throughout the story. A quick and steamy read, it would have been great if the book was longer - I would have loved to see what else was in store for them and how their relationship would progress beyond the ending. That being said, I was satisfied with the ending and did not feel rushed getting there.

The side characters definitely added a great layer to the story, and tied the plot together without taking away from Jenna and Zafar's budding relationship. Members of the royal family made a generous amount of appearances, and were characters that I enjoyed Jenna making them into her acquaintances. Looking at Melisa's storyline, it was unique and she played a much larger role than I anticipated for her character, which was a great choice by the author.

If you are looking for a standalone dark romance, Broken may very well be the introduction you need to enter the genre. And if you are already a long-time member of the dark romance club, this will fit right into your tastes.

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Mafia Captive by Kitty Thomas Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I am a sucker for a good mafia romance, and Mafia Captive's free download was calling my name as I searched through iBooks for my next read. It has been some time since I have come across a dark romance that really entertained me, and this book really got me back into the groove of things. I had so much fun reading this book -- the pacing was just right, and the inner conflicts of Faith and Leo shown through their dual perspectives makes readers get a great sense of their characters.

After Faith witnesses a horrible crime, she is gifted to Leo, a member of a powerful mafia family who maintains his doctoral duties while indulging in some debauchery when the sun goes down. This was a surprise age gap romance to me, with Faith only twenty-two and Leo in his early forties. Thomas does a great job at showing the restraint and maturity in Leo, while mirroring it with Faith's naivety and minimal knowledge of how casual crime is in this family.

At first I thought there was going to be some form of love triangle between Faith, Leo, and Leo's brother, Angelo, but that was quickly dismissed -- however, that did not mean that there would be an end to the conflict between the brothers and how they view Faith's role in their family. With Angelo only saving Faith to basically torment his brother, the dynamic between the three of them becomes complicated to say the least.

Faith is constantly on high alert, and I cannot blame the girl -- she really was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and was thrown into the most insane circumstance in order to survive. Her development throughout the story seems slower to Leo's in comparison, but she is really the one that has to adapt to a new life, whereas Leo needed to adapt to having Faith in his life. I truly felt bad for Faith, she never seemed to have a moment of peace without someone threatening her, forcing her to put up a farce, or scaring her at every corner.

Leo genuinely does not know what to do with Faith once she is thrown at his feet by Angelo, but his perspective really allows readers to work through his inner struggles as he confronts his past and who he wants to be now that Faith is tied to him. You can tell that Leo wants to do good by Faith, but he certainly had his faults that makes readers second guess on how saintly he really is, especially when it comes to what he wants to do to Faith.

For a stand alone novel, Thomas really captures the full story in a sufficient amount of pages without drawing out the plot -- I never felt as though there was a dull moment while reading this book, and honestly I had to force myself to not finish it in one sitting. Leo and Faith's story is complex and at times heartbreaking for both characters, as they are both going through so many adjustments in order to save themselves.

I will definitely be reading more works of Kitty Thomas -- this was a great introduction to her work, and I cannot wait to see what her other books have in store. If you are looking for a dark romance to read after Mafia Captive, I highly recommend Debit Inheritance by Pepper Winters.

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His to Keep (Club Wyld Doms, #1) by Violet James Review

This is a spoiler-free review! His to Keep is currently available for free on iBooks and Kindle.

Once again the free book section on iBooks has roped me in and I just had to see what this book had in store. Clocking in at under 200 pages, His to Keep is a quick read that gets right to the point with Luke and Rebecca, who have a chance encounter that is the catalyst for their relationship. 

Much like the coincidence we see in Fifty Shades of Grey, Rebecca and Luke find themselves drawn to each other right off the bat and have an immediate connection. With Luke being extremely protective of Rebecca from the start, we can all imagine how their relationship plays out the more they become involved with one another. There is a hint of will-they-won't-they in the beginning of their story, but as it plays out you can tell just how much they cannot stay away from one another.

Now when I say we jump right into the story, I really mean it -- within the first twenty pages we see Luke and Rebecca already enamored with one another in a less than conventional way of meeting. With two perspectives, we see how both characters are feeling during this very intense first meeting, especially when it comes to Luke trying to understand what Rebecca is going through. The author spends a lot of time making sure the reader -- and Rebecca -- understand the lifestyle that Luke participates in and the dynamic they need to have in order to make sure that they are both being taken care of.

Even though this is a quick read, it does not feel too insta-lovey, which is a pleasant surprise considering I half expected Luke and Rebecca to start declaring their love for each other three chapters in based off the page length alone. It was refreshing to see how concerned Luke was for Rebecca, and his constant reassurance to her when she was in a vulnerable position really stood out as a great characteristic.

The more spicier scenes were pretty good, but definitely on the shorter side for the sake of the plot -- which we do get a decent amount of and led to a pretty good plot in this story that had me intrigued. So much so that I would have loved for the book to be a touch longer so we could have gotten some more angst and action regarding the situation that Rebecca was in. To avoid any spoilers, the book's plot point keeps a pretty strong focus on Rebecca's struggles, and that includes a not so great partner, Aden, that continues to wreck havoc on her life.

This was a quick and fun read that made for a good palate cleanser in between books. To those who enjoyed His to Keep, I would recommend Praise by Sara Cate, one of my top recommendations to give for fans of this genre.

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A Single Glance (Irresistible Attraction, #1) by Willow Winters Review

This review contains mild spoilers -- no major plot points are revealed in the review! A Single Glance is currently available for free on iBooks and Kindle.

After the death of her sister Jennifer, Bethany is determined to find out what really lead to her death, and lucky for her, Jase is the one to deal with her constant snooping. Bethany has zero self-preservation skills when it comes to finding out the truth, and while her common sense does seem to be in fact, she is pretty reckless to say the least. Jase, on the other hand, is calculated and does not make a move without being ten steps ahead and two back up plans in place.

In her efforts to seek the truth about what happened to her sister, Bethany finds herself entangled in an unconventional contract with Jase, who is quite literally counting down the minutes when they are together. But what Bethany does not know is what truly is in store for her when she agrees to the unknown with Jase, and the more time she spends with him, the less she may want it to end.

"It's only a pocket knife" GIRL be so serious I am begging you. Bethany literally does not care what happens to her, it is actually so hilarious to watch her get thrown into less than safe situations and her just roll with every punch. Getting kidnapped? No big deal to Bethany, it is just like playing hide and seek!

The smut scenes are actually really well done and not completely over the top that they make you think that they simply are not possible. I really enjoyed the progression of Bethany and Jase's relationship -- it was not insta-love and had its ups and downs, making it much more realistic compared to a lot of mafia or dark romance pairings. With this series having the male lead own a club, we are not super far removed from the mafia world, but I think it was a great choice having him involved in crime that way compared to being a mob boss.

Jase is over here lighting Bethany on fire (safely?) and I am twirling my hair, giggling thinking it is so romantic and swoon-worthy. Perhaps this is the reason why I took a month long break from mafia romance books, because boy oh boy I am back on that ride for the upcoming month. The author actually does a great job articulating both Jase and Bethany's thoughts and emotions through their dual POVs, and we really start to see how similar they are to one another.

The way that Bethany seems to think things through only to do something completely unhinged in order to get closer to finding out who killed her sister actually had me cackling at some points. She literally does not care what happens at all, as long as she is able to finally get answers about what exactly went down between Jenny and someone from The Red Room. As she finds out more information from Jase about her sister, we see her really start to go down this path of throwing logic out of the window in place of rational thinking.

"Why did I have to fall for a villain?" Bethany, sister, that is a question I ask myself with every single book that I read. Too relatable. She really started putting the pieces together right at the end of the book, and the author did a greta job of weaving in the chapters of the book left for Bethany and her actual perspective together in order to make readers uncover what she was at the same time. I wish we were able to see more of Jase's backstory, and I am sure there must be more to it in the next book, I just wish it was a touch longer in this first installment.

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Debt Inheritance by Pepper Winters and When it Raynes by Montana Fyre. I had a lot of fun reading this book, and with it being such a quick read, it definitely paces well enough that it makes you want to dive right into the next book.

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The Sinner (L.O.R.D.S., #2) by Shantel Tessier Review

This review contains spoilers for The Sinner. A list of trigger warnings is available at the beginning of the book. You can read my review of The Ritual on my blog, here.

I won't even lie, reading the list of trigger warnings in the beginning of the book made me even more excited to read it -- I loved the ritual and when I found out The Sinner was set in the same world, I knew I had to read it. We get to see glimpses of Ryat mentioned throughout the book, since The Sinner takes place at the same time as The Ritual. You can read these as stand alones or consider them a series, whichever you prefer.

It always makes me laugh realizing that Sin -- and Ryat -- are literally seniors in college during their books -- imagine a twenty-one-year-old guy just casually being a part of a secret society where they murder people over twice their age because some rules were broken. Sin is definitely high up on the wild scale -- even before he gets to his senior year, he is doing unthinkable things to Elli while she has no idea who the man behind the mask is.

I used to think that Ryat was literally off the walls wild, but not even one third into The Sinner had showed me that Sin is on another level. He definitely crosses the very blurry line between what is okay and what is not way earlier with Elli compared to how Ryat was with Blakely, but Sin takes it to a whole new level. I really liked that this book took place at the same time as The Ritual, because if you read it already, it provided these extra little details from someone else's perspective without spoiling the book for you. And if you did not read The Ritual, then you get a little taste of Ryat before diving into his story with Blakely.

Sin is literally going feral over Elli at every chance he gets, and my god does this boy have some pent up rage that he needs to release. He is the moodiest twenty-something I have ever seen, and when it comes to Elli and her stubbornness, it really pushes him over the edge. For crying out loud, he threw the girl overboard and then told her there were sharks in the water, and she retaliated by fake drowning only to head butt him as soon as he got her out of the water. There is not enough holy water on this planet to cleanse my mind from what I have read in this book, and as an avid dark and taboo romance reader, that says a lot. If I even tried to step into a church now, I would burst into flames.

The way that Elli was so casual about realizing that Sin was the masked man and the one who killed her stepfather James actually had me laughing out loud because this girl really does not give anything a second thought. James was an awful person and the things that he did to Elli when she was so young made me wish that Sin did more to him than a single gun shot -- he definitely deserved a worse fate that what he was dealt.

Sin is so much worse that Ryat was -- and when I was reading The Ritual, I did not even think Ryat was that bad, definitely a little bit off his rocker, but really cared about Blakely from the beginning. Meanwhile, Sin is committing every crime under the sun and lying to Elli every chance he gets, while also doing and saying some pretty awful stuff to her in the process. Yes, he did a majority of it to protect her and try to keep her safe, but I would say that the tattoo on her back was something I did not love him doing to her.

The smut scenes were significantly crazier compared to The Ritual, and definitely rival scenes in Haunting Adeline. Not even a quarter of the way into the book, I thought I was going to have to wash my eyes out with holy water and by the time I was just over three fourths of the way through, I considered going back to church. Tessier knows her stuff and does not hold back when it comes to pushing the boundaries of dark romance.

You can really see Elli go through it during this book, especially with her dealing with her drug habits and coping with the grooming and years of abuse she went through with so many authority figures in her life. She does not know where else to turn to or understand why she feels and thinks the things that she does, which ultimately leads to her being put in the most insane situations I have ever read. She really cannot catch a break -- it felt like every fifty pages we were finding out that she was assaulted by yet another Lord, and for some reason Sin seemed to think this was somehow partially on her? His logic was all over the place and honestly made me so annoyed with after a couple hundred pages, I wanted him out of Elli's life.

However, the last one hundred and fifty pages or so definitely had my mind changed about him, especially seeing the lengths that he went to in order to try to keep Elli safe and well, alive. He was killing people left and right and striking up deals with anyone who had a pulse at one point, so props to him for the determination on his end. I do wish we got to see just a little bit more of Sin and Elli in the end actually talking about what they both had been through and get on the same page, because it always seemed that Elli was the one drawing the short end of the stick when trouble came about.

If you are looking for a lengthy taboo dark romance, The Sinner is for you -- filled with some of the wildest scenes I have come across, the reader does not know what is in store for them.

You can add The Sinner on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!