Sweet Venom (Vipers, #2) by Rina Kent Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Beautiful Venom on my blog, now! Content warnings include references to mental illness, depression, suicidal ideation, and emotional abuse, including parental neglect and child abuse. It includes graphic violence, murder, torture, stalking, attempted child sexual abuse, the death of a family member, and mentions of multiple abortions and drug use/overdose involving non-main characters. Specific kinks in this book include consensual non-consent (CNC) and somnophilia.

I was a little weary going into this second installment, as I did not love Beautiful Venom and was worried that a recounting of the same timeline from different perspectives would be a drag, however I was pleasantly surprised that the author somewhat flew through the events of the first book fairly quickly and then dived into a "new" events. This was definitely a better direction than what I was expecting and I found myself enjoying Violet and Jude's story more than Dahlia and Kane's journey - there was just something about them that I could not click with.

Comparing Jude to Kane, I would dare say that I liked him more - there was just something about the way that he was written and the way that he interacted with others in this book that made his character more alluring. The same goes for Violet - compared to Dahlia, she was a breath of fresh air and actually had some common sense. While she definitely had her moments of me wanting to put my hands through the pages and shake some sense into her, the majority of the time she was pretty level-headed. Jude felt more unhinged than Kane and I honestly embraced it more than I expected. He was much less focused on this whacky secret society compared to Kane, and while Jude did have his little kill list, at least he had an actual reason to be on this crusade.

Considering Kane and Jude share the same friends, I echo my sentiment from my Beautiful Venom review and have to say the comedic relief that they provide certainly keep the reader entertained. Preston grew on me exponentially throughout this book, and considering he is taking the lead in the third installment, I can only imagine what nonsense the boy will get into with his story at the forefront. The story itself in this book was more intriguing than the first installment - there was more nuance to what Violet and Jude had to go through and discover, and it made the story feel like there were actual risks and consequences, unlike in Beautiful Venom where it felt like Dahlia and Kane were just running in circles around each other.

I wish Kent would abandon the text chain conversations in her books - the dialogue does not seem to flow with the overall writing style and often times the conversations make the characters seem five years younger and extremely immature. To be honest, the majority of her male leads or side characters are immature, so I should not have been too surprised that it continues in the majority of her books. She could truly improve upon her work if she abandons the notion that the male characters are these "silly goofy" boys when at the same time, they are killing people or terrorizing towns and college campuses. It honestly just makes them look really ridiculous and takes the reader out of the bubble that they are supposed to be running everything around them.

This was juicier than I expected, but with Rina Kent, I truly can never tell if I am going to eat up her books or feel slightly unsatisfied. Her MM books are definitely her strong suit, and if she one day decides to create more depth for her other characters, I can see it really taking off. For now, I continue to manage my expectations before diving into her works, but fans of dark romance will certainly be reaching for her on the shelf.

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Game On (Into Darkness, #3) by Navessa Allen Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Lights Out and Caught Up on my blog, now!

I honestly did not set my expectations high for this final installment - I was not overly obsessed with Lights Out like the Booktok community and felt let down by Caught Up. I think I was hoping that this series would follow through with the dark romance with comedic relief, much like what I saw in Butcher & Blackbird, but instead I was let down once again. At least in the first book we saw a glimpse of the dark part of what a dark romance should be, but in the remaining books, it felt as though the original essence was abandoned. This is also the first time I have read an age gap romance where the female lead was older than the male lead, and safe to say this was not my cup of tea. However, I did appreciate that the author did not constantly bring up their age difference, it was only mentioned a couple of times.

Tyler seemed to be clouded by revenge, understandably so, but I still found myself aggravated with his reasoning on why he was targeting Stella in the first place. I kept wanting a big reveal to happen and have him go totally off the rails to actually fall in line with the dark and mysterious vibe he was going far, but it just never came. He definitely is dedicated, motivated, and passionate when it comes to collecting a debt and seeking revenge, but I wanted him to have that extra something-something to really draw me to him. He is certainly enthusiastic when it comes to getting spicy and exploring new things about himself, so I can give him that.

Stella's characterization was something that felt surface-level to me, which feels wild considering she does have a few moments where she is seen to be more fleshed out, but it does not seem to last long. I wanted to her grow into a more intense character, and when it came to getting freaking with Tyler she definitely excelled in that, but when it came to the overall plot of the book, she was lacking. Yes, she is willing to do anything for her younger brother, but I wanted the author to have her grow even more than the minimum growth and self-reflection she did experience. She is presented as this alternative tattoo artist with a troubled past but her character was just not drawing me in at all.

The little callouts to the prior books is always fun and I do love a Josh appearance, but the overall premise of this book was not alluring after I began reading. Tyler's "ruthlessness" in the beginning made me start to have hope that this would be an improvement from the second installment, but unfortunately it did not seem to stem too far and left me unsatisfied. The spicier scenes were tame in comparison to other books I have read, however the scenes that included AJ definitely were the highlight of those moments in the book. Tyler and Stella's relationship development throughout their story was pretty predictable and the fact that the most exciting parts were when they added someone else into the mix showed me that their relationship needed something more to make them exciting.

I really wanted to enjoy this book and while I did finish it in one day, it was more so in an effort to see it through and have a justified opinion on the series as a whole. I found myself not invested in Tyler's revenge scheme and bored with his constant rants - whether internal or not - about how angry he was about his life and how he wanted every wealthy person to pay. If you are looking for the "lighter" types of dark romance, this series could be a hit with you, but if you are looking for something with a little power, this would be a skip.

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Beautiful Venom (Vipers, #1) by Rina Kent Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Beautiful Venom contains themes of consensual non-con, dub-con, and primal play. It also includes on-page depictions of road accident-related trauma and violence.

You can read my reviews of the entire Legacy of Gods series on my blog, now: God of Malice, God of Pain, God of Wrath, God of Ruin, God of Fury, and God of War. You can also read my review of Kiss the Villain on my blog!

I do not even know what I was thinking... a dark hockey romance... it is hockey, for crying out loud. It is an idea almost as ridiculous as the basketball players the town are supposed to fear in the Devil's Night series. Nevertheless, I was intrigued and needed to see how this book played out - honestly, anything hockey-related is fine to get me through the Heated Rivalry drought. I will take what I can get at this point. Unfortunately, all hockey romance is ruined for me as nothing will ever live up to Shane and Ilya, so I must accept future disappoint from other books. And it appears that this was the very case with this book.

Boy, does Rina Kent LOVE an initiation.... thought I was finally free from reading about them and yet here we go again. This one was definitely somehow more uncomfortable to read unlike the ones in Legacy of Gods - there was just something about it that made it feel more humiliating for Dahlia on a scale that took me out of the "fantasy" of the book and launched me back into reality. I was screaming that this girl needed to file a police report by the end of those chapters. Kane is basically a Shein version of Jeremy Volkov from Legacy of Gods and it was physically painful to read him calling Dahlia "wildflower" as a term of endearment when it honestly read like more of an insult.

The whole secret society aspect of this book would have been intriguing if it actually lead anywhere interesting. Instead, it leaves readers with glimpses into some corrupt dealings with these leading members of the town that conveniently are composed as the star hockey players that basically terrorize people for fun. While I am a lover of dark romance and fully understand that genre is Kent's cup of tea, it just seems as though she begins the concepts strong in the summaries but often times it results in the ideas not coming to fruition in the end, leaving readers wanting more. That being said, God of Fury and Kiss the Villain are definitely her best works - of the ones that I have read so far - so when I heard you needed to read Kiss the Villain before reading Beautiful Venom, I thought some of that storyline would come into play here.

Dahlia is probably one of the most insufferable and weak-minded female leads that I have ever come across, and that is saying something. She's championed by the author as being this badass lead that is set on seeking out revenge on the person who hurt her foster sister, but she basically abandons that crusade at numerous points during the book in favor of being ravaged by Kane and being at his mercy. I wanted to like her and admire her determination in getting justice for Violet, but her character read as insincere and naive. 

Kane is honestly no better than Killian Carson from God of Malice - I wanted to strangle him at numerous points and honestly hated his attitude for the majority of the book. It is more so the way that he is written rather than his actions - considering the L.O.R.D.S series has characters doing the unimaginable and I still root for them, that says a lot. Do I feel bad for all of the horrors that he went through since he was younger? Sure, absolutely. Do I think that he should have used that as a constant justification for all of the crazy and illegal things he does? No way. He definitely got justice for some of the things that were done to him, and I agree with the way he went about it, but ultimately Dahlia had to suffer in order for it to happen.

The only remotely interesting side plot line that was present in this book was Kane's friend group being little menaces all the time. They somehow were able to provide some mild comedic relief and while they were no angels in any means, they definitely seemed to have some backbone - maybe not Preston - but at least the others. Frankly, this book put me into a slump and I had to force myself to sit down and try to power through, which is a shame considering I was able to consume some of her other works fairly quickly. I can only hope the remaining books in this series improves upon the story readers had to endure with this installment.

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Bratva's Secret Girl (Obsessed Bratva Bosses, #1) by Evie Rose Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I have been in a reading slump for far too long and despite me saying I would read more literary fiction this month, I once again find myself in the throws of mafia romances. I am such a sucker for an age gap romance, and when presented with one that includes some more-than-toxic tendencies, I simply cannot resist the temptation. However, the excitement was short-lived with this novella, and I found myself less-than entertained as I flew through Hayley and Maxim's story. While my expectations were not through the roof, I was hoping this novella would be more captivating, but instead it fell flat and while I was able to speed right through it, I was left unsatisfied.

The writing felt juvenile - sentences were not well-structured and the entire thing read like an early Wattpad publication. If you are looking for a novella with plot, abandon ship now - the author chose smut over plot lines in this novella, and even calling it smut is overstepping in my opinion. The "erotic" scenes were nothing short of the bare basics when it comes to what should be included in dark romance, and none of them read well enough to have my jaw on the floor. The scenes felt as though they were somehow supposed to push Hayley and Maxim's story forward, but instead made it feel like Hayley was this naive little girl when she is an adult.

Maxim's characterization, at first, seemed like everything that I wanted in a male lead - that was quickly shattered when any of the anticipation of him wanting Hayley was bypassed by the author in favor in going straight into the story with Maxim and Hayley having a more formal working relationship. I was hoping for some raw tension, and instead I was presented with Maxim, the rough and tough mafia man, counting cash in a money laundering front in order to spend time with Hayley. It would have read much better if he had honestly was stalking her to at least give some darker undertones to their relationship rather than basically make them friends from the beginning.

If you are looking for a quick little tale to make you move from one book to the next, this novella provides enough pages to get you back into the flow of things. If you are looking for something with a little more meat on its bones, you can pass on this story.

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Kiss the Villain (Villain, #1) by Rina Kent Review

This review contains spoilers - read with caution. Content warnings include: Consensual non-con, dub-con, self-harm, violence, and mild homophobia. It also contains non on-page mentions of suicide, rape, child sexual assault, and domestic abuse. Specific kinks featured in this book include degradation, mild consensual feminization, mild BDSM, and praise.

You can read my reviews of the entire Legacy of Gods series on my blog, now: God of Malice, God of Pain, God of Wrath, God of Ruin, God of Fury, and God of War.

This was juicy juicy right off the bat - I may have had a little distain for the constant run back to initiation night in Legacy of Gods, but by now I have honestly grown attached to it. It genuinely cracks me up seeing the other couples and characters run around basically terrorizing each other, and considering we have experienced the majority of relationships now, I will be sad to see it end. That being said, with Gareth being the one surprised on initiation night, we take a turn from our leading man being the aggressor to having the story flipped to him being the prey. After Gareth's attempt to humiliate Yulian does not go according to plan and he finds himself on the receiving end of some unexpected advances, his entire world gets flipped on its axis.

Gareth proceeds to go through the most insane bi-awakening I have ever scene on page - the boy is getting thrown around like no one's business while simultaneously claiming everything that he and Kayden get up to doesn't count. The boy was in denial while getting split in half. Kayden and Gareth's relationship definitely starts out as wild as the other relationships we see in Rina Kent's books, and this is certainly no exception with an age gap, professor-student dynamic with some stalking undertones and ulterior motives by our resident law professor. I really enjoyed how out of control and possessive both Kayden and Gareth acted - while Kayden was pretty much set on Gareth being his target and basically owning him, Gareth was slowly becoming more attached and going into his obsessive tendencies.

The smut was crazy style - definitely on the same level as Niko and Brandon in God of Fury, but the dynamic was much more intense with Gareth and Kayden. Maybe it was because of the "forbidden" aspect of a professor-student relationship or the fact that Kayden was basically out to ravage Gareth within an inch of his life, but the spark between them was unmatched. Gareth's internal struggle to figure out if he even liked men or not - or basically if he just liked Kayden - while trying to tackle giving up control made the deeper plot of this book really drawing to readers. We watch as this intense, psychotic-in-nature, law student suddenly lose the perception he had of himself and try to understand if there is more to himself under the surface and if he can open himself up to loving someone he never expected to fall for.

Guys. Are we serious?? Y'all did not prepare me for the last third of this book - I feel like I was shot in the chest. I was literally speechless and my jaw was hanging open reading all the scenes with Gareth basically being held hostage and tortured for hours on end. He did not deserve to be put through that, especially when he was not even directly involved in Cassandra's passing. Obviously we know that he was targeted in order to punish his family, but good grief the guy is twenty-one and had no idea of Kayden's past until literally moments before all of this went down. My heart was aching for him when we got to the chapters of Kayden finding him and Gareth basically being catatonic after banging his head on the wall for who knows how long. Out of everyone that I have seen suffer in the Legacy of Gods series and this first installment in Villains, I would have to say Brandon and Gareth take the cake for being the most tortured characters.

I had such a fun time reading this book - it really sucked me in as much as God of Fury, and while the relationships in those two books certainly have their similarities, the characters go through their own struggles that makes their stories their own. If you are looking to make your way into some more smutty dark romance, you will definitely get a kick out of this.

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Chokehold by Leigh Rivers & Harleigh Beck Review

This review contains minor spoilers - no major plot points are revealed. Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.

Blaise and Cole - two stepbrothers who cannot seem to stand one another - find themselves in a most peculiar scenario when a game of Chase at a party leads to a scandalous encounter between the two in the woods. This honestly reminded me a little bit of the initiation scenes from the Legacy of Gods series by Rina Kent - I would definitely say that it was much more elevated in this book, especially considering what happens between Blaise and Cole in that initial game of Chase. The authors waste no time introducing readers to our two leading men and make it abundantly clear they do not like each other one bit - or so they think. I was really in the mood for a juicy hate to love book and this certainly did not disappoint when it came to that element.

You can see that Cole and Blaise fall into a natural categorization of "older, more tortured" brother and "younger, more prioritized" brother when it came to how Blaise's father viewed them. Blaise's father simply sees Cole as a nuisance stepchild that he has to tolerate, whereas he somewhat pampers Blaise - at least to the extent where he thinks he is taking care of him - even when we see him as more of a neglectful father. Even when he is "taking care of" Blaise, you can tell he does not give it his all, especially when he uses all of his time blaming Cole for everything under the sun that goes wrong or disrupts their lives.

The dynamic between Blaise and Cole is definitely not for the weak or light of heart - we literally see them beat each other up multiple times and take things to the extreme when they want to get their way with each other. If you are a fan of The Ritual and The Sinner by Shantel Tessier, this book is well up your alley in terms of pushing the limits to the extreme. You have to be in the mindset to walk into books like these knowing that there is going to be some seriously triggering content. If you are prepared for that form of intensity, then you will not be able to put this book down. Just when you think things could not get any more wild, suddenly they are chasing each other around town and swinging bats like nobody's business.

Juicy, juicy, juicy spicy scenes that put a lot of books I have read to shame when it comes to making my eyes bug out of my skull. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it certainly kept me locked in and had my jaw on the floor for the vast majority of the book. The fact that it is a taboo romance makes it all the more enticing and while some of the plot points were all over the place, it kept me entertained enough that once I started, I could not stop.

The side characters added enough to the plot to continue to drive the story forward, but for the life of me I could not stand Allie and Mia - they were annoying and only provided more issues for both Cole and Blaise as the story went on. I understand what the authors were trying to do with their characters, but my god, every single time they popped up on the page I wanted to throw the book across the room. I guess their presence served their purpose considering the authors truly were able to make me despise them, along with a select few other characters that seemed to have it out for Blaise and Cole for one-sided reasons.

If you are looking for a raunchy, taboo romance to make your blood pressure rise, Chokehold may be calling your name. I know for certain that it has taken me out of my reading slump and thrown me right back into the dark romance scene.

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Conclave (Devil's Night, #3.5) by Penelope Douglas Review

This review contains spoilers - please read with discretion. You can read my reviews of Corrupt, Hideaway, and Kill Switch on my blog, now!

Like an addiction you cannot kick, I cannot seem to stop reading these books, no matter how many brain cells I continue to lose. I always expect a different outcome and yet I am continuously shown that these books are nowhere near the hype everyone gives them. I truly wish the case was different, because I can definitely see the potential in these characters and their stories, but unfortunately they do not hit the mark.

We see Damon and Winter mostly in Part 1 with Rika and Michael taking more center stage in Part 2 in this novella. Of the three installments that I had read, these two pairings are my least favorite, which only indicates how I was going to feel when reading these updates to their stories. I will never forgive Damon for the way he treated Rika and the extremes he took in terrorizing her in Corrupt and the relationship between him and Winter will never sit right with me. Michael is probably second worst to Damon and the fact that he spent so much of his time tormenting Rika in their book and now I am being tortured with their relationship drama.

Damon wants Winter to have eight hundred children and is dead serious when he asks the doctor how long until Winter can get pregnant again after literally pushing a child out of herself mere moments prior. I hate men. Meanwhile Rika is hiding the fact that she has a very high probability of never being able to conceive from Michael, and therefore putting off their wedding for as long as she can... a match made in heaven, apparently. The boys basically spend the entire novella crying over the fact that Will is not there with them instead of focusing on their own relationships. Might as well be dating Will and dumping their wives/girlfriends at this point.

The smut once again is as underwhelming as ever - which is a shame considering the smut in Credence was diabolically addictive if my memory serves true (Uncle Jake, I miss you...). Thankfully there are only two more installments to go and then I will be free from this prison that this series currently holds me captive in. I really do not like to yuck anyone's yum, but unless Douglas manages to truly do a 180 with the next book, I fear these remain lackluster in my eyes.

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Kill Switch (Devil's Night, #3) by Penelope Douglas Review

This review contains minor spoilers! Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion advised. You can read my reviews of Corrupt and Hideaway on my blog, now!

I kept putting this book off because I genuinely hated Damon with such a burning passion that I could not even imagine being able to sit through nearly 700 pages of him whining about situations he directly put himself into on his own. There were so many moments in the first two installments that had me wanting to pull my hair out when he would show up, and if you think he gets some sort of redemption in Kill Switch, you are surely mistaken. Things from his past are revealed which certainly changes his trajectory, but by no means excuses what he got up to in the first two books, and frankly, what he gets up to in this book as well.

"That little girl belongs to me" YUCKKKKKKK!!!! What was Damon's obsession with constantly referring to Winter as "little girl" and "kid"? It truly was making this book so much harder to get through because he was always commenting on how he was older than Winter - especially when we were in the chapters where she was sixteen. It got real old, real fast, and it made me want to stop reading on so many occasions. Suddenly Damon develops a moral compass halfway through the book?? He is such a dumb idiot... you literally set Rika up to get harassed and then decide that she does not deserve it?? Obviously she doesn't! Truly cannot stand him.

I have so many questions for Winter... starting with, why are you, as a blind girl, goes through a haunted house on your own??? She has the survival instincts of a fruit fly. The entire book is her literally walking into the most horrible situations on the planet and then getting into danger. She truly does not have a drop of common sense in her body - that being said, maybe if her parents got her a guide dog or a cane, she would be better equipped to be running around town with the world's most overhyped basketball players and their girlfriends. How do you not get your daughter the proper aid devices when she is blind??

Why would you let a blind girl drive your car!?! Damon's decision making skills continue to baffle me beyond belief. Every chapter he chooses to do the most unhinged things I have ever seen, and considering what he put everyone through in the other books, that speaks volumes. Looking at Damon and Winter's complicated history together, I was honestly surprised to see that everyone in town did not believe Winter and were backing up Damon when everything came out. How on Earth does an entire town back up someone who was convicted of statutory rape of a blind girl?? The politics in these books never ceases to amaze me on how stupid the people are.

There was no reason for this book to be nearly as long as it was... there simply is not enough interesting information or plot to dive into to make the author write a brick of a book on one of the worst characters to grace this series. I cannot believe my eyes were bearing witness to what was written on these pages - I could feel my brain cells fighting for their lives. There is not a single character that I was rooting for at any point, and even Winter was pushing it considering she was basically a prop to Damon's so-called character development. Once again, there is absolutely no reason for basketball players to have this much power in a town. They CANNOT be that good of players for them to be town celebrities.

The smut was basically nonexistent in this book - that actually surprised me, considering what we saw in the first two books. Honestly, chapters twenty-nine and thirty were the only points in the book where I actually enjoyed reading the book - everything else was subpar or not worth writing home about. And yet, here I am, continuing to read these books and act surprised when nothing gets better and the only thing holding me to keep reading is that I have to see the series through to the end. Honestly, as long as I do not have to read Damon's perspective any longer, I will consider it an improvement.

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Electric Idol (Dark Olympus, #2) by Katee Robert Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Stone Heart and Neon Gods on my blog, now!

I feel like I am purposefully putting myself in situations where I expect to have my expectations changed and yet I am constantly disappointed again and again. The concept of these books are great, but the execution just simply is not there and often feels as though they are marketed as dark romances, there really is no "dark" aspect to them - they would be better marketed as erotic romances. Eros and Psyche's unintentional relationship spurs from necessity over anything else, and while I am truly a sucker for a marriage of convenience trope, this felt lackluster in both romance and in general plot development. There were a few moments where I thought it was going to turn around and be an improvement to Neon Gods, but unfortunately it never made it that far.

Psyche as a character is definitely endearing and you want to root for her as the reader - she is kind and just wants to move through life without thinking too much about what other people think about her. She has an aura surrounding her that makes those around her not harness any ill-will, but that soon changes once her mother sets her eyes on making an arrangement for Psyche that she wants no business with. Desperate to dodge a potential suitor, Psyche finds herself in the warpath of one of the Thirteen who does not hold back.

The spicy scenes were just mediocre at best - there was not anything in there that I have not seen before, and to be perfectly honest, I have read young adult romances that have been raunchier than what this book contains. Once again, I was looking for an improvement to the previous installment, and was let down more than I anticipated. Considering this book has "Unspeakably hot" as the tagline on the cover, you would have thought it was have blown me away. Honestly, the scenes were few and far in between with the plot taking the main focus over spice - in some scenarios, I would have welcomed that, but in this case, I wanted to be left speechless. Instead, I was left speechless at the fact that I wasted time reading this book.

Eros' characterization would be the highlight of this book - he is a "bad boy player" that is now thrust into a marriage of convenience of his own doing. He suddenly cannot do the one thing he has always done - killing - and thinks that a marriage to Psyche will shield her from Aphrodite's wrath. I wish he was more of a mystery in the beginning of the book - it felt too obvious that he would fall for Psyche in a matter of weeks which ruined the illusion that he would become this reformed bad boy killer to a lover man.

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Sick Bargain (Vile House, #1) by Nordika Night Review

This review contains minor spoilers! Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.

WHY IS REMI WEARING CROCS AND SOCKS??? I would be able to look past this if it was a one time situation, but I kid you not this man was mentioned wearing crocs multiple times throughout the book. This was more shocking to me than some of the dark scenes Krypt was pulling on a regular basis and that says a lot. Maybe it is because I am a croc hater for life, but it was such an ick while reading and I could not help but think of Remi running around town in crocs. He is a grown adult and should not be within three hundred feet of a pair of crocs, especially after he is basically shackled to Krypt of all people.

Krypt reminds me of Killian Carson from God of Malice - this is an insult. It is like I am back at chapters one and two of that book all over again, and I wish I could scrub my brain of both of those instances. I did not like Krypt for approximately 85% of this book - I felt like his character was all over the place, and sure, that is definitely a component of why he is so uncontrollable, but I thought at some point it would be toned down a bit. I would argue that he gets more aggressive as the book goes on, and while he does eventually get a sliver of emotion in him, there were points where I truly thought he was going to hurt Remi.

This book does not beat around the bush when it comes to more darker themes like assault and graphic depictions of violence, but I was surprised to feel as though it could have been much darker. There are a number of scenes between Krypt and Remi that are straight up assault and while they both acknowledge it, they also are into it and yet still seem to fight how much they like it. It was definitely interesting seeing it impacted both of them in their own ways, since Remi was an outsider in the beginning and did not understand what he was getting into, while Krypt was discovering something new about himself and this seemed to be the only way his mind was able to make him express it. That being said, it certainly is not for everyone and I would definitely reiterate that readers show go into this with caution if it is not their typical genre.

Remi's brother, Soren, was so mysterious and protective and Remi - I found myself wanting him to show up more often because I was so intrigued by his characterization. He is stoic and controlled, yet his shell definitely cracks when it comes to his brother, even though he does not want anyone to know it. He is constantly hooting and hollering at Krypt during this whole book - whether it was truly in Remi's best interest or not, that man was up face to face with Krypt at every chance he got. All of the little Vile House boys were intriguing and added an interesting dynamic to the story - I have not come across a group of unhinged boys truly testing the limits - the closest I can think of is the group in the Legacy of Gods series by Rina Kent.

I high-key wish this book was crazier and I know that sounds insane but from everything that I heard about it, I thought I was going to reach Butcher & Blackbird meeting Haunting Adeline and The Ritual levels of insanity happening, but I was simply just left more surprised by the amount of non-con that anything else. I was really looking forward to a truly dark romance, one that approached pitch black levels, and while Sick Bargain was definitely going in that direction, it did fall a little short. The writing was not the best, and at times it was going on and on more like a quickly published Wattpad fanfic without any proofreading rather than an actual published book. I will be intrigued to see how the second installment pans out in regards to upping the craziness.

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Neon Gods (Dark Olympus, #1) by Katee Robert Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Stone Heart on my blog, now!

In an attempt to continue on with series that I have not seen through, Neon Gods finally had me intrigued enough to crack it open. I honestly do not know what I was expecting, especially since I was well aware these are interconnected stand alones, but good lord why does it feel like this series literally makes no sense. The world-building should be much more concise, considering you do not need to read the prequel novella in order to read the series. I just cannot seem to be fine with hearing Greek gods talk about trust funds, jobs, and the mortal world. I still find it odd that people can "become" one of the Thirteen and that they are just not set in stone like the original mythology calls for.

Persephone, girl... I need you to LOCK IN and fight back against your mother. The woman set you up with a known wife killer and you do not seem to be nearly as angry as any rational person would be. Totally understandable response to high tail it out of that situation because your life definitely depended on it, but perhaps you should be more vocal about your displeasure towards her. I am glad that her sisters sided with her and did not try to make her see that marriage through. She spends nearly the entire book just going on and on regarding how she just needs to make it to her next birthday so she can get her trust fund and leave... like girl I think you have much bigger problems than just leaving home to deal with.

Hades is broody and moody and honestly a more refreshing take on him than what I have seen in other retellings. He is honestly the most rational of everyone in this book and actually thinks about his actions before doing anything, which is more than what I can say for the rest of the characters. However, it still feels as though the author was holding back on expanding on who he was as a character. Sure, we get his background in bits and pieces throughout the book, but there was never a point where I felt as though I knew his character in its entirety. I would have loved to see some more fleshed out chapters focusing on him rather than reading about Persephone begging him for a thousand sexual favors at every waking moment.

This is some of the worst dialogue I have ever read. I literally wish I could wash my eyes out after reading the nonsense that Persephone would say to Hades. You are an adult, please, for the love of god, speak like one!! The writing honestly feels juvenile, which is strange considering the subject matter is anything but so. Do not even get me started on the smut... it was below average and read like a bad nightmare. The author attempts to dive into a BDSM aspect but falls so incredibly flat it becomes unbearable at times. I totally understand that this series is just "dark romance with Greek mythology" but I fear it does not even resemble the structure of a dark romance novel.

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