✨Im Literary Anxious✨

Estimated Reading Time🕒: 3 minutes

𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Stacia Black✍🏻 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: 448📖

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀:⭐⭐⭐.75
𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

📚ARC Review📚

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: 4/5
𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁: 4/5
𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4/5
𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴: 3/5
𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 1/5

𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁: Multiple POV
𝗘𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲: HAE
 

“It’ll just be a sharp little sting. But I swear, Mads, I’d never hurt you, love.”
 

🍒Second Chance Romance
🖤Revenge Seeking MMC
🍒Virgin Heroine (probably)
🖤X Dungeon
🍒BDSM
🖤Anti-Hero MMC
🍒Enemies-to-Lovers
🖤So Much Angst

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹… 𝗵𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗻.

This book was not what I expected, but I’m definitely not mad about it. Dom is our emotionally closed-off, tortured, revenge-seeking MMC. Brooke (Mads? Mati? Ana? … take your pick) is the daughter of the greatest villain in his life story—the one person he swore he’d kill if he ever saw her again.
 

So, naturally, when she turns out to be the woman auctioning off her V-card at his event, Dom does what any emotionally constipated MMC would do: he outbids everyone else and kidnaps her. Cue disbelief when she repeatedly insists she has no clue who she is. Dom, sweetie, no one is that good an actress.
 

Now, let’s talk triggers. I’m not typically fazed by much, but even I found myself feeling some kind of way at certain points. Without giving away spoilers, I’ll just say this: prioritize your mental health. Be kind to yourself and check the content warnings before diving in.
 

Dom and Brooke’s relationship is… complicated (to put it mildly). When one has amnesia and the other is hauling around a lifetime of trauma, things are bound to get messy.
 

What really set this book apart for me, though, is how it handled mental health. Most dark romances tend to wrap things up with, “They were broken, but they loved each other, so The End.” Not here. Instead, Stacia took the time to address the characters’ issues thoughtfully. Sure, the pacing of the last 13 chapters teetered on the edge of disjointed to fit it all in, but seeing both Dom and Brooke confront their pasts—and seek help—made the resolution feel earned. (Special shoutout to Dom for breaking out the feelings wheel. Growth looks good on you, Sir 🥹.)
 

If you’re looking for angst, flawed characters, and enough spice to rival a Puerto Rican Christmas dinner, mark your calendars for 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗔𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺 13.
 

P.S. For my Kindle Unlimited girlies: yes, it’s included. You’re welcome.