Mimi

I loved the premise of a dark romance with the male lead being both the tormentor and saviour and a male lead being utterly obsessed with the female lead. However, the writing and plot of the book itself was too choppy. Torn between 1 and 2 stars

Firstly the names of the female and male lead were weird.

But then the female lead's reaction to the male lead putting himself in the headspace of the stalker just didn't make sense. And no matter how naive the female lead would have been, her not questioning it was weird. She seemed to cave to the male lead way too quickly.

And the reveal of the male lead being the stalker was also too subtle that I'm surprised that was what it made the female lead realise he was her stalker. Her running away also seemed out of character for someone who liked being stalked and had a crush on the male lead. I also wasn't a fan of the female lead stalking the male lead back. She had no tools to stalk him so it's unbelievable she managed to.

I liked the premise of it but I didn't like the plot, couldn't connect with the characters and didn't see their chemistry though I did like that the male lead was obsessed with the female lead. Wouldn't reread.

I was so sure this book would be a 2 star book. I liked the way the male lead forced his way into the female lead's life and his obsession with her but that's it. I didn't like anything else except the final chapter of the book

Barely any smut in this book despite being tagged as erotica

The male lead's attachment to his wife and child and the female lead's attachment to her husband were so constantly mentioned in the book it was hard for me to see chemistry between them and root for them.

The male lead was surprisingly not very dark for a dark romance.


What saved this book and is what's keeping me reading the next book is the end at which the female lead confessed the FBI is on the male lead's tail and then the male lead kidnapping her. Wow that part was just so good and I'm so excited for the next book.

It initially was looking like a 3 star read - forbidden age gap romance between daughter's best friend and mafia boss. But ultimately it started to bore me and dropped to 2 stars

The random insertion of Scottish words disrupted flow. There was barely any mafia in the book despite the male lead being a mafia boss.

The secret keeping from the male lead's daughter was overblown and resolved so quickly in the end the whole tension around this in the book seemed pointless.

The smut club arc came out of nowhere

And I thought there wasn't adequate romance development and chemistry between the leads.

Wouldn't reread

A fantasy book that was slow at the beginning but when it finally picked up, I couldn't put it down. It became a solid 5 stars from 75% onwards. All the scenes with the male lead were so good and was what kept me going instead of DNF. At the beginning the plot was just so slow where I didn't feel like anything was happening and it took until the male lead becoming the female lead's guard for me to commit to finishing the book.

I was hoping the male lead was “the dark one” and was so glad that was the plot twist and the book when in that direction. The marriage in the next book will be a fun read and Poppy being a half Atlatian.

I was pretty torn on 1 or 2 stars. I did like the main leads and I rooted for their relationship, which kept me going til the end. However, I didn't like the plot at all. The romance between the main leads wasn't really dark. It was everything the female lead went through and the plot that is somewhat dark. Wouldn't reread.

I was torn on a 2 or 1 star. I was invested enough that I found myself reading and skimming through til the end to find out what happens to the main leads but I didn't like the whole plot with the female lead's best friend.

It is a dark romance, the male lead is the female lead's best friend's father. They both pine for each other before the male lead kidnaps her. There is smut and it was ok. I can't say I liked either leads but I rooted for their relationship enough to keep reading.

The hypnosis was new for me but it didn't play as big of a role in the book as I thought. It sort of felt like it was there and didn't improve my experience with the main lead's romance or the plot

The plot was probably the least enjoyable for me. Just didn't like the direction it took.

Wouldn't reread but it wasn't bad.

I loved the first 36% - two twin brothers who are dark and absolutely obsessed with the female lead and good smut. The female lead had no idea there were two stalkers protecting her - one brother sent his brother to look after her on his behalf only for him to date and move her in with him instead. There was also some somno - though brief. I was so sure it'd be a 4 star book.

After the female lead found out the two leads were in fact two different people, all of the dark traits that made the male leads and the whole relationship dynamics appealing just disappeared. The male leads were too much of a simp for the female lead and it no longer felt like a dark romance. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the blood play.

The plot about Maksim was also didn't feel engaging and I felt like the story would have been better without it.

I did like this but the angst and having read their full book already, reading this broke my heart a little. Especially with the ending that the male lead goes back to his ex :(

I really liked this book - for a long while I was torn on 4 or 5 stars. I just loved the male lead and his unhealthy obsession with the naive female lead, devouring this in one sitting. I had to force myself to put the book down at 3am.

The male lead is a dark, toxic, obsessed and manipulative ex who schemes behind the scenes to get rid of any other men and obstacles that stop the female lead from being his - he destroys her chances of getting accepted into Julliard, stops her parents from marrying her off, murders her father, lies to her brother, makes up rumors and schemes so that he is the only option for her to turn to and bashes up any guy who approaches her with more than friendly intent. To everyone else though, he is a golden boy and does not reveal that side of him at all.

He also has a caring side where he'll drop and risk absolutely everything to keep her happy and with him. He threatens anyone who hurts her and he gives her comfort when she most needs it.

What makes it even better is the female lead is so trusting and naive she doesn't suspect a thing until someone tells her.

I normally don't like the cheating trope, but I absolutely loved it in this book. The female lead tries to fight off her attraction to the male lead given he's in another relationship but the male lead just doesn't let her.

I only wish he stayed this dark throughout the book since it's so hard to find a male lead that's so unhinged yet so delicious. Towards the end, he softens and stays away from the female lead, giving her the option to walk away from him. It was disappointing that the author tried to make him redeemable when I loved how dark he was.

I also didn't like the plot of the male lead being abused sexually and physically by his current girlfriend as well as the female lead's self harm and wish that wasn't part of the plot.

The cliffhanger ending was also unnecessary and unsatisfying

Mafia workplace romance where the male lead (mafia/CEO) proposes a sex-only arrangement with the female lead only for them to fall in love with each other anyway.

Most of it was engaging and the main leads likeable enough - it was a solid 3 stars.

I found the two nieces really annoying however what almost made me DNF and discontinue the series was the miscommunication that led to the whole breakup at the end.

It made no sense that the female lead, knowing the launch was happening and the importance of it, couldn't tell Ruslan the Remy situation over a phone call. And what made it even more frustrating is that after Ruslan dropped everything to then pick her up from the side of the road, she STILL did not tell him. I just wanted to throw the book at the wall when she decided sex was a good idea instead of telling him, even after Ruslan returned from dealing with the whole club situation. She had no excuses.

How did Kirill even jump to the conclusion that the female lead was colluding with Remy to con the male lead, when the female lead had to the male lead multiple times in the past she was being stalked and harrassed by him. Not only that, Remy had stalked and scared the kids which the female lead would never forgive or tolerate. It was not a logical conclusion Kirill should have jumped to. Even if Kirill suddenly lost all of his brain cells, for Ruslan to also lose his brain cells and refuse to even hear the female lead's side, I was not going to continue the series.

The only thing that saved this book from a 2 stars was the pregnancy twist at the end. I'm a sucker for the secret baby trope. However, the whole breakup arc was extremely stupid.

I never expected to like this book so much. I go out of my way to avoid books where the female lead is pregnant with another man's baby.

I saw this book recommended so many times on reddit that I caved and put it on my TBR list. But even after that, I procrastinated reading this for months.


This book blew me away however. I was so torn on 4 or 5 stars. This is a workplace romance novel where romance blooms between an executive assistant and CEO so naturally it even catches them off guard. I loved how cute the two were together and even adored the baby. The epilogue was especially adorable and warm.

This book had the most perfect blend of jealousy, love, protectiveness, smut and humour that I devoured this in 2 days. I found myself highlighting so many cute and funny passages in this book. And the way Elliott does consent in this book was so hot and then all of the hugs just made me warm and fuzzy

The gunshot scene towards the end did come out of nowhere and felt unnecessary but would definitely reread this one day.

For a while this book was 3+ stars - I totally dug the powerful mafia lord male lead stalking the female lead, rushing to his club as soon as one of the guards spotted her there and scheming behind the scenes to forcefully marry her.

This book was too long though. At times it was uninteresting and felt like it was dragging. The reveal of the female lead's father was so anticlimactic - it was hinted at the start but then dragged out til the end. We didn't even find out how he ended up being the female lead's father - the female lead's mother seemed so devoted to her son and husband it seems unlikely she'd cheat.

The romance wasn't dark apart from the forced marriage and birth control tampering, which I enjoyed most. The male lead is a big consent king. Even the birth control tampering, the female lead, though mad at first, was soon very okay with it. This made the romance in this book boring because there was no sexual tension or conflict. There was a nice fake kidnapping scene, but there was a cliche insertion of male lead's having a tragic backstory and the female lead not staying mad at the male lead that ruined the vibe for me.

I was torn on 1 or 2 stars for this.

The plot of this book was a struggle to read: difficult to follow and slow.

However, the romance between the male and female lead 10 years ago during their college years before the male lead's accident and the female lead's miscarriage? That whole section of the plot was 5 stars. I wish the whole book was like this. A smart, hot and handsome male lead who is deceptively charming, but stalks and manipulates the female to keep her buy his side. The birth control tampering? The forced pregnancy? Knowing her coffee and muffin order? Purposely staking his claim during the female lead's lecture? I ate all of this up.

The male lead's accident and the miscarriage made the whole book so bleak.

I was so confused about the regenade/doctor arc of the plot and found it really dry. Are they a gang? Do they only take on murder cases? Or do they take up all types of crime? Did Adrian really behind the botching of the male lead's surgery? And why did the female lead's boss hand the female lead over to the male lead? She had already paid the regenade, she doesn't owe them anything. What did the male lead do while the female lead travel around the world?

Eliott was introduced as a potential male interest/villain but that went no where in this book as well.

And given the male lead is the only doctor the female lead knows, why did it take her so long to guess the male lead's identity?

I really liked the Vicious Games duet by the same author.

Unfortunately this book for me completely missed the mark. I was so excited because I was expecting a forced mafia marriage book and the start of it was promising. The “She will be my wife.” in the blurb didn't actually happen until 90% of the book. There wasn't even a scene of the main leads right after the forced marriage. It jumped straight to an epilogue from another character's POV where they fell in love with a character we've never seen before. Essentially, a blurb of the next book as opposed to an actual epilogue.

There were also way too many side characters in this book with no introductions. Even a “Gregor is my cousin and the mafia leader of xyz faction” would have helped. I had no idea who was who. And as if there weren't enough side characters appearing with no intros, there was a scene with all of the wives, again no introduction, that went nowhere. It was completely unnecessary. Even if the plot required a woman-to-woman scene, one wife would have been sufficient. Not 3.

I like reading body betrayal in dark romance but in this book it was completely frustrating. The female lead just caved so easily and pined after him so much there was no sexual tension in this book at all. I do like doormat female leads. But this female lead's fake resistance annoyed me more.

The male lead also didn't feel as smart or calculative than the male lead Zoe wrote in Vicious Games

I also felt like the plot wasn't developed enough. There supposedly were a lot of enemies from the female lead that were after her but we saw nothing.

There was a big fight scene where the main villain sent a whole bunch of men through tunnels to the mansion the main couple were staying at but it made no sense why the villain was even sending untrained young solidiers there. I thought it was a distraction where the villain was carrying a more evil plot elsewhere but it wasn't even that. If the villain wished the attack the male lead, he should have sent trained men. And why was the villain even targeting the male lead? If anyone, the villain should have been targeting Gregor.

The villain didn't even make an appearance in this book nor was the plot resolved. In other words, the mafia plot went nowhere.

In conclusion, neither the romance nor the plot really worked for me in this book.

I really liked this - this book is actually really underrated.

The age gap forbidden romance, how dark, manipulative, obsessed Xander is with Jordan, the breeding kink, the smut and how he would burn the world to find her keep her by his side. I was so worried that main female lead, Jordan would fall for the villain's tricks after escaping his clutches but she's a smart clearheaded heroine which I appreciated.

I would have preferred more moments of Xander and Jordan together after they confess their feelings and reveal the pregnancy, though I did appreciate the epilogue.

I also would have liked the morally grey male lead to stay unrepentant and morally grey at the end though reading the male lead lose his mind at being unable to find the female lead was a fun read and made this ending work too. It also could have been spicier

Would definitely be willing to reread this again

This one didn't hit the mark for me unfortunately.

There were so many side characters and side couples it was difficult to keep track of with no introduction of who they mean to the main leads when they first appear. Even a one sentence that said these people were friends would have helped. All the side characters blurred together.

And the pairing of Brooklyn came out of nowhere and felt forced to create an opportunity for a new book.

I liked the breeding kink, him wanted to force marriage and how possessive the main lead was of the female lead but none of these really went anywhere and there wasn't enough character development for me to get attached to the leads. I didn't exactly like or dislike them.

The plot also didn't do it for me. The yakuza supposedly wanted something from Katia's father but her father had no idea she was kidnapped. Luka knew Katia's father would hire someone else since Luka had failed to being Katia to him yet didn't do anything about it, not even a bulletproof car, and waiting for him to come after them with no plan. There is no way the men would have left Luka alive. Brooklyn should have been shot as soon as Luka showed up at the altar.

I was quite torn on 3 or 4 stars.

I rarely enjoy RH but I really liked how obsessed with Kennedy all of the male leads are - the breeding kink, birth control tampering, the “you're mine”, the obsession of marking her as his and making her go out smelling like him. The smut was good. And loved their manipulative nature - setting her house on fire, sabotaging the other male leads because they're jealous he is spending time with the female lead.

I also really like how obsessed with her happiness the male leads are - they'd do anything to see her smile. And seeing her anxious or sad distresses them.

I was surprised the female lead easily accepted she had 4 love interests given her amnesia. I also found the hockey scenes were hard to follow because I'm not a hockey person. And I'm still getting my head around Carter vs Sebastian vs Jake - they're so often in the same scenes together I'm having a hard time distinguishing them.

I wonder if Carter will have his date - 500k and he didn't end up getting one

Cliffhanger ending. Was torn on 3 or 4 stars.

I was torn on whether to rate this 2 or 3 stars. This is a smutty book with breeding kink as promised. The characters were forgettable and the plot very abrupt, which would have been fine as the smut was decent with tropes I liked but I found the writing way too choppy.

There is cheating and it bothered me a little but the main thing that let this down is the writing style

I don't see myself rereading this.

I struggled with rating this one.

The first half was an absolutely phenomenal dark romance. I don't normally read shifter romances but I gave it a go and I was hooked pages in. I had to force myself to put the book down to take a break and it was so hard for me to do. I just constantly wanted to read more and find out what was going to happen next.

I really liked the dynamics between the main couple and the smut - knotting, biting, body betrayal, mates, main female character tries to run from the main male character, the main male character is absolutely obsessed with the female lead, refusing to let her go and constantly calling her “mine”. I was going to rate it 4 stars


The second half let me down though. There was a lot more focus on the pack and the stories of side characters like Riley, Cat, Bailey, Mason, Amelia and even the female lead's mother. And I didn't care about them at all and their appearances started to annoy me, especially Amelia and the female lead's mom. All of these stories seemed like forced previews of other books that would be written in the series, when I really just wanted the focus kept on the main couple.
And to top it off, all the smut just faded to black afterwards and the male lead just became soft - we didn't see his dark dom side anymore after the party.

This book was so much better than the last one.

The first half was admittedly slow - there were so many variations of the same pattern FMC decides she should try and be good to get the MMC to fall in love with her - FMC loses her temper without a plan - MMC and FMC spar with the FMC losing - MMC revokes all freedoms he gives her - FMC is sorry and says she'll be good, only for the same pattern to repeat again. I actually put the book down a few times because the plot just got boring.

And I still can't really say I liked any of the characters

The second half got way more interesting with the pattern breaking. We got the FMC actually having a concrete plan and an awesome chase/recapture scene.

What held my interest and kept me reading is the FMC and MMC had much more chemistry in this book, I could actually see some romance, and how the MMC is unrepentantly bad and stays manipulative.

He's so possessive he doesn't allow the FMC to look at or speak to other men, he'll take her when he wants her, he trains her to desire him even when she fears him, he sees through any manipulation the FMC tried to pull, he doesn't negotiate with the FMC because he knows he can achieve everything he wants through force, he doesn't hesitate to punish her to train her obedience, he's ruthless to anyone who tries to take her away from him, he'll kill any familial ties of hers to remove all incentive for her to escape and he isolates her so that he's the only one to offer he comfort

I can find the MMC physically abusing the FMC really off putting in books because it's too dark for me but the author toes the line really well.

And it looks like all of this unhingeness is going to escalate in the next book so I'll definitely be picking it up.

I wonder if there'll be the forced marriage and forced pregnancy that's been hinted in this book

I was really torn on 3 or 4 stars for this one. I really liked all the smut - plenty spicy somno and a bit of breeding kink too (though I wish this was touched on more) - and I rooted for the MMC and FMC together - I did think Aurora and Knox had more chemistry in their book though. I loved how manipulative and obsessed with the FMC the MMC was - he tracks her down even when she runs from him twice, drugs her, installs hidden surveillance, manipulates her so that she moves in with him, wants to get the FMC pregnant so that she never leaves (though no birth control non consent) and he can't even get hard looking at someone else.

The subplot on FMC's backstory was okay - it was less confusing to follow than the one in Fierce Obsession but it was just okay. Again, I think there were way too many side characters to keep track of.

There were also some weird scene changes eg the FMC runs away to stay at a friends place, gets the MMC to stay away by denouncing him as her stalker to her friend. Then suddenly, when the FMC and her friend walk out of the building and sees the MMC, she smiles. I was so confused why she smiled, was she planning something? But no, scene suddenly switches to the FMC and MMC in the MMC's condo in an entirely different state

I liked the ending though I would have loved to find out the MMC's reaction to the news

I really liked the start of this book - a dark psychopathic MMC who was instantly attracted and obsessed with an innocent FMC. And the FMC was attracted to the MMC though tries but fails to resist him. The MMC was also super protective of the FMC despite his dark side and the FMC protects him in turn. Contrary to the FMC's belief, they may say goodbye, the MMC already has claimed her as his and isn't letting her go, manipulating and scheming to bring her to his side while befriending her precious cat.

I was so sure this book would be at the very least a 3 star book because I was instantly hooked from the moment the two MCs met.

However, the plot went downhill from me after the MMC took the FMC captive - I lost interest and was really tempted to DNF at the 60% mark. I found it a bummer and cliche that it's revealed the MMC has a tragic backstory so isn't truly dark.

I usually enjoy reading smut but the period sex and the use of intestines as bondage was also too much for me. At this stage, it was sitting at two stars.

But then I wasn't sure the plot made sense after that.

How did Ricco (villain) know the MMC was going to show up that day and try and kill him? Why did Ricco not immediately shoot the MMC once he had him subdued?

How were Ricco and Dr Moss related, how do they even know each other?

Why did Dr Moss even keep Penny alive for so long?

How did Dr Moss find the FMC? Why did he kidnap the FMC in the first place? To threaten the MMC? Because he genuinely thought the FMC needed to be cured?

How does Jess know Dr Moss? Why would she even go to him instead of the police if she suspected the FMC and MMC murdered her fiance? How did Jess know the FMC was involved in her fiancé's murder?

How is it realistic someone the MMC met in childhood and never had contact with again would not only follow the goings on in his life over the years, but also stick out his neck to cover murders?

How is it possible that Penny regains her memories after everything Dr Moss put her through to forget?

I was starting to think this author wasn't for me because I DNF two of their popular books but I really liked this and finished the book in two days. I really rooted for the MMC and FMC together. Every single smut scene was spicing and the MMC was utterly obsessed with the FMC - he refuses to divorce her, he's keeps marking her, he breaks up her current relationship, forcefully moves her in with him, forcefully changes her last name to his.

The flashbacks through manuscripts was clever. I've read a lot of books where flashbacks broken the pacing and tension in the main story and felt unnecessary. But the flashbacks are really well done in this story

There were too many characters in this book. I understand they were likely Easter eggs for those who read previous books but for me, the characters were overwhelming, confusing and hard to keep track.

The plot was engaging though some of it did confuse me - did the FMC know the MMC lived in that building when she moved in, what was the FMC's plan for how the MMC was going to save her - it seemed like she was counting on the MMC to somehow find her despite her having removed the tracker, what happened to Joel, was it Luke's orders that he break up with the FMC, why did Luke call the FMC's dad telling him the FMC had a gambling problem - that plot point didn't seem to go anywhere either

I was also confused why the FMC initially was hesitant to give the MMC Luke's name. She had no reason not to give him the name and ask for help. Luckily the MMC found out very quickly anyway, so this plot point didn't bother me too much.

I was frustrated that the FMC genuinely did ask the MMC to lose his hockey game, giving into the villain, selfishly to protect her money.

In other words, I loved the romance, the subplot, not so much.

I finished this in hours. This is the only book I would never reread again that I have rated 5 stars. Not because it was flawless or even that I loved it from start to end. In fact, for most of the book, I was so sure it would be three stars. There was smut but Mina never truly accepted or gave into Shay, with part of it where she was manipulating Shay and faking, which didn't make the scenes an enjoyable smutty read. Mina was also miserable and bullied at school for a lot of her time with Shay together. I wasn't even sure I rooted for Shay and Mina together anymore. I liked how manipulative Shay was though he became so paranoid and angry all the time so it didn't feel like either of them were truly happy. I really missed the easy and loving relationship Mina had with Shay in book one, though the scenes where Shay loses his mind because Mina runs away or lets slip about Keenan's existence were good. And the scenes where we saw protective Shay and Mina being happy/loving Shay again was everything.

The five stars is purely because of the ending. The ending that broke me. All of the scenes beginning with Shay frantically rushing to James's home to take Mina away, ending with a glimpse of Shay's son and Mina's happy ending with Keenan tore me apart. Shay's crying confession in their trailer about what happened and Mina and Shay's goodbye scene at the park were especially hard to read - the kiss at the park and the mentions of the dog tag especially. We finally saw Mina's love for Shay again. She does care for him. And I'm glad Shay got to see that side of her again before his end I shed a tear reading the scenes of Shay's POV and Mina crying as she understands in Keenan and Gavin's car what Shay was going to do. Then the final daisy??? Pass me tissues

I have never cried reading a published book before. In fact, I have rated books 2 or 1 star just because I hated how the ending was a sad one. And I tried to do it for this book but I couldn't. The book really made me feel so strong anything other than 5 stars made no sense.

And hours after finishing this book, remembering their relationship beginning from young Mina and young Shay at the playground, the feeling of brokenness still is stuck with me.

I loved Shay and Mina. I even loved Emily and James's story. There was a pureness and innocence at the beginning and then so much love, with Mina being the absolute centre of it, Remembering how protective young Shay was with Mina - the flower crowns, the hugs, the gentleness and protectiveness - you can't help but wonder what went wrong? Everyone was so happy but everything went so wrong. So much death, hurt and misery.

So many people failed Mina. And even more people failed Shay. Shay really was a victim of his circumstances. He had no chance of living a normal life from the start. His father failed to give him love, selfishly dumping him at the club instead. The club groomed a young kid starving for attention with violence instead of love as they needed someone to do their dirty work. The club then dragged Shay into the mafia, into the dangerous world of drugs and human trafficking, because they were greedy for more power. And this was despite Shay having tried to warn the club angainst associating with the mafia. Given all of this, his father, his club and his friends still had the audacity to question why Shay was mentally unstable, violent and unhinged. Then came Mina, a ray of sunshine. The only person who was doing things for Shay out of care and she wanted to see him happy. Of course Shay was going to latch onto her, love her.

I know it's twisted but I'm glad Shay got some time together with Mina, even if he was fooling himself how the relationship was going. Shay grew up with so much misery and violence around him and so many people failed him, that he deserved a sliver of happiness. The biggest tragedy is the one person he cared and loved never loved him in the same way. Despite Mina's body betraying her, she never loved Shay romantically like he did her. She never fully gave in and still fought him, despite caring for him. Shay never even got to find out about or meet his son, another person that could have brought him happiness.

The ending hit me so hard. It was beautifully tragic. Shay deserved better and I wished he had a happy ending. But his selfless sacrifice really showed he really would do anything for Mina until the very end and it really was a throwback to their old dynamics with him as her biggest protector.

I wish things could go back to the happiness everyone felt when the two first met at the playground - the innocence, joy and love.

I could have done without the extra bits with Casey though - her parts were unnecessary and clearly a set up for another book. I felt it ruined the vibe even and I only cared about the snippet about Mina and their son.