Genre: Romance (18+)
Pages: 340
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Please make sure you read the content warnings about this book before picking it up! It is for mature audiences only.
Well, I kind of knew what to expect. I mean, I read the warnings lol. But I still don’t think I was ready for this one. In fact, I don’t think anything could have prepared me for twenty pages in when he’s fantasizing about screwing her on top of her father’s corpse. It made me question whether I truly even like the dark and the despicable because this just went a little too far for my tastes. Perhaps the upfront shock and awe is simply to weed out the weak of heart. But nevertheless, somehow I persevered.
Part of me doesn’t like the instant, and seemingly insubstantial, feelings that develop. But the other part of me couldn’t get enough. It is heady in a way. While I knew this book was said to be dark, nothing wholesome or good about it, I was still a little taken aback at times. Maybe I’m just growing out of the whole ‘defile and ruin me’ stage, or maybe I’ve just gotten more cynical. I don’t really like the virgin thing. It just didn’t make sense to me in this story, when all of her actions and desires speak otherwise, and it really had no bearing on anything else within the story.
Everything is pretty cliche, it’s all a combination of overused tropes. And while it comes with the bad, it also comes with all the good too. There is a reason we love that possessive, alpha male character, and it’s common because it works. And I have to admit, I ended up really loving Hook. I felt for his tragic past, and I swooned when he opens up with her more than he ever has with anyone else. Wendy and James have their soft and tender moments and I’m here for it. The spicy scenes are okay, nothing earth-shattering or breathtaking. And some of the lines of dialogue are so cringy and eye-roll inducing that I was laughing so hard.
At first I felt the book to be completely plotless, completely lacking in characterization, and completely lacking in world-building. It feels like the bare minimum of narrative. (I think I learned my lesson with this book, that I don’t like smut for the sake of smut.) However, by about halfway through it starts to get some momentum and depth, and I found myself invested in the outcome and the characters. It does start to pick up and with the turn of events I changed my mind about it. I really like the whole mob boss culture aspect, and I thought this was an interesting twist.
Despite everything, despite all the things, I still found myself inexplicably turning the pages. We’ll call this one a guilty pleasure because I just couldn’t help reading it. I’m sticking with a solid three stars. I have a love-hate relationship with this book. Maybe I love hating on it, or maybe I hate that I love it. Probably some of both. I’m glad I read it. I can see why all the hype has built around this book.
Disclaimers:
Huge thank you to Netgalley and Bloom Books for gifting me an early copy of this amazing story! I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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