dark romance

He Sees You When You’re Sleeping

He Sees You When You’re Sleeping is out today! Thank you to Valentine PR for the ARC. 

This was a surprisingly cute romance! I saw ‘stalker’ and was expecting it to be darker but the romance was actually quite adorable, other than the whole stalking thing. It was more of a darkish romcom than a dark romance.

Jack is a fireman obsessed with Chloe, a woman he rescued years before. He’s obsessed with her safety and will go to any length to protect her. I loved that he’s really conflicted about his behavior, he knows stalking isn’t okay but he just can’t quite bring himself to stop and things start to escalate the more he gets to know her in person.

Chloe was a bit of a scrooge and I loved that about her. She’s torn between two men – the sweet fireman who keeps showing up and the masked man she’s talking to online. She has some darker fantasies and they were explored in a way that prioritized consent. It was high heat by my standards!

I also really enjoyed how their relationship progressed, Jack was so obsessed with her and I love when he falls first. It did start to get pretty repetitive, which made me lose interest by the end.

Overall though it was a cute romance, especially if you are looking for a pretty lightly dark spicy holiday romcom!

Lights Out

I’m not usually one for stalker romance (or so I thought) but I’ve seen so much hype for this that I just had to give it and try. And honestly, it was so fun!

It was laugh out loud funny, completely unhinged, and just thoroughly entertaining. 

It’s about Aly, a nurse who enjoys watching masked man content on social media when she has a free moment, and her number one social media crush who stalks her when he realizes she’s into him. 

Our masked MMC was one part morally grey and one part golden retriever and I thought that was such a fun combination. I just really loved him and wanted to give him a hug. 

There are some darker tones and trauma both characters have been through and I loved how that juxtaposed with all the hilarious moments. 

There’s also a long list of kinks explored, some I didn’t know much about and this felt like a safe way to read about them for me since they existed in a romcom. I love learning something new!

The plot did fall apart for me a little about midway and I lost a little interest but it was still entertaining and I look forward to more in this world!

I did the audio for this one and the duet narration by Elena Wolfe and Jacob Morgan was 🤌🏻chef’s kiss🤌🏻 amazing. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed the book as much as I did if I had eyeball read it. 

(Check trigger warnings, there are a lot!!)

Butcher & Blackbird

Well, this is a hard one to review.

I think it was so funny and wildly entertaining. Is it kind of gross? Sure, at times, but in a funny way. The trigger warning list is a mile long, and I think the shock of the triggers is part of the appeal as long as it’s safe for you to read. It is about two “good” serial killers who compete against each other to kill “bad” serial killers so there are lots of violent and murdery elements.

It’s definitely insta-love for the MMC, and I loved how all in Rowan was even when Sloane couldn’t see it. It was very much a slow burn but does get spicy by the end. I don’t think it was the absolute best developed romance (I never think insta-love is) but it was a lot of fun. Their banter was excellent and they had me laughing out loud so much. I also loved the side characters and look forward to their stories.

The audiobook experience was even better for me than the eyeball reading thanks to the duet narration. Both narrators do a great job, and while I wasn’t 100% sold on Joe Arden’s Irish accent, I loved how they played off each other. The trigger warning list alone had me laughing thanks to their narration.

So for entertainment value I’d give it 5 stars, for the actual romance more like a 3.5 but overall it was so fun and funny and outrageous. Definitely recommend it if you’re not squeamish! Especially the audio!

The Stars Are On Our Side

Happy Tuesday! The Stars Are On Our Side is out today. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interconnected standalone based in the same world as Still Beating and Lotus, and I do absolutely recommend reading those first. We first met Tabitha in Still Beating and fell in love with Gabe in Lotus (I did anyway) and I’ve been very excited for their story!

This is an emotional friends to lovers, unrequited love romance that will pull at your heartstrings and take you on an emotional rollercoaster. It’s told in dual timelines, taking us back to Earl’s basement in a series of flashbacks, as well as showing us where Tabitha is today and how the effects of her trauma impact her every day.

Gabe is such a sweetheart, I loved him so much in Lotus and loved him even more here. He was so so so good  and kind and loving and patient. Tabitha has been through so much in her short life and I just felt so much for her. 

It didn’t pack quite as emotional of a punch for me as Still Beating and Lotus, or at least it didn’t have me feeling emotionally distraught for days after – but to be fair it would be hard to top those. The conflict and drama (as hinted in the blurb) did kind of drive me insane but whatever. It was still great to be back in that world and hanging out with Oliver, Sydney, and Cora!

I definitely recommend this one as long as you’ve read the first two!