Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Dark Delights by Mila Kane

3 reviews

booklovinmamas's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Dark Delights is the second book in Mila Kane’s Dark Hockey Bully Romance series, Hellions of Hade Harbor. After reading the first book, I thought Cayden was unhinged; no, in the second book, Beckett proves to be even more unhinged and possessive of the FMC, Eve, who actually is supposed to be off-limits to him. Yes, this is a bully romance and it gets dark at times on what the MMC does to the FMC, so if you are not a fan of bully romances, this book may not be for you. But if you enjoy Bully Romances, this book is right up your alley. 

I’m a reader who loves bully romances, and I also love morally grey characters like Beckett, even when he’s bullying Eve, because there is going to be a hidden story about why he is the way he is, and it’s a devastating one. It takes someone like Eve to help deal with his demons and also piece him back together. Eve knew how to handle Beckett and I loved her character immediately because she wasn’t going to let Beckett just push her around. Beckett and Eve are also from opposite sides of the track, and they go back and forth on their differences, but once both realize they have feelings, watch out because they will be hard to break apart, especially when it comes to Beckett and how he feels for Eve. No one messes with Eve but him, and he lets others know right away. This man will confront not only what he’s dealing with and the people who keep trying to flirt with Eve around him but also the one person who could potentially ruin his chances with Eve, and that is her very protective twin brother, Asher. 

This was one book I had a hard time putting down. It ticked all the boxes, especially with tropes I enjoy reading in romance books. It’s not only a Bully Romance, but it has Brother’s Best Friend (My fave trope right now to read), Enemies to Lovers (The MCs don’t like one another initially, and one is out for revenge over the other), and then there’s Forced Proximity (Eve is forced to live with Beckett in his dorm after a mistake with her dorm). When I was forced to stop reading due to other obligations, I found myself still thinking about the characters and story. Now, after finishing it, I need more of this series and these OTT Jealous/Possessive Hockey Players that play at Hade Harbor University. 

This book touches on some dark topics, and I recommend everyone check the TW before reading, especially when it comes to Beckett’s character and what he has been dealing with. I felt for Beckett and wanted to help him, just like Eve did in the book. This book has some twisted and sick antagonists, and they definitely get the justice they deserve. 

I’m looking forward to the next book in the series now more than ever, and I’m so glad I found Mila Kane’s books. The best part is that while I wait for the next book’s release, I can check out her backlist. She has a character in this book who is in another series that she has written, and I need to read his story. 

Story Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Steam/Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Hellions of Hade Harbor Series, but each book follows new MCs and can be read as a standalone. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are a fan of spicy new adult/dark romances with hockey players who are morally grey and are obsessed with their heroines, even though they tend to be unhinged at times, then this book/series should be added to your TBR.

Genre/SubGenre: Romance | New Adult Romance | Dark Romance

Trope(s)/Element(s): Sports/Hockey Romance | Bully Romance | Enemies to Lovers | Brother’s Best Friend | Forced Proximity | Opposite Sides of the Track | OTT Jealous/Possessive Hero | Tattooed Hero | Scarred Hero | Breeding Kink
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lacyparrish's review

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4.5

The author is upfront with the CW and TW note at the beginning of her book -- read it and proceed well-warned. Eve Martino's twin brother is one of the Ice Gods, but she's never been kissed -- everyone is terrified of being caught by Asher. Beckett Anderson is the beyond-wealthy only son the richest man in town ... and Mrs Martino is their housekeeper. Eve helps her mom out from time to time and has had several run-ins with Beckett. When Mrs Martino reports
finding drugs (like a lot of them) in Beckett's room
, Eve ends up in Beckett's sights ... Asher is away and he is ready for revenge.
Their first time in the bathroom while hiding from robbers at the local pharmacy breaks both of them in very different ways. Beckett is medicating to forget childhood SA from his stepmother that his father won't acknowledge; Eve's dealing with lots of money and health issues with her mom as she gets ready to go off to college. When her room is cancelled, but not her brother's, she ends up with Beckett as a roommate and he can intensify his control over her. They end up in a push/pull relationship, like magnets that cannot stay away from each other. As the semester continues, we get a lot of information about their actual feelings and traumas that they are both processing.
This is a pretty classic college romance with the very bleak overlay of bully and control.
I appreciated the conflict in this book, because both of them need to deal with and figure out their own stuff, while trying to navigate this uncontrollable attraction. The prolonged grovel was *chef's kiss* and I loved that Eve finally brought Beckett the family that he deserves, including turning his father back around to see what was going on all along.


Full Rating (out of 10 possible): 8.000 (based on a modified CAWPILE system)
Romance level (out of 5 possible): 4 (for on-page, detailed intimacy scenes) 
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sistershelves_fasya's review

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

*banging desk vi0lently* I LOVE IT!!!

I have been waiting impatiently for Beckett and Eve story ever since I tasted the crumbs in Bad Intentions. And I am not disappointed with Dark Delights! 

You can call this a modern-day Cinderella retelling. Eve is the daughter of the maid who works in Beckett's mansion and also the twin sister to Asher, Beckett's best friend. They first met when they were 13 and because she was in the wrong time and place, Beckett held a wrath toward Eve ever since. Fast forward to college year and another unfortunate event, Eve had to share a dorm room with Beckett. Things heat up (in a good and 'bad' way) after that 😏

“𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆,” 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕.
𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. “𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒕. 𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏.”
“𝑨𝒎 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏?” 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝒅𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒕.
𝒀𝒆𝒔. “𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕,” 𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈.

I gotta say I love Beckett "6'5 broken unhinged possessive hockey player billionaire 🚩" Anderson akh!!! He came to be unhappy, angry, lost, and vulnerable at the same time, all because of what happened during his teenage years. The enemies to lovers between Beckett and Eve is immaculate. I love their tension, banters, angst, the longing, etc! I love the chemistry and how they connect to each other! Oh, and the grovel!!! *melt*

Overall 5 dark delightful stars!

Check this book if you wanna read:
🏒 Dark bu11y romance
🏒 Hockey romance
🏒 Rich boy x poor girl
🏒 Brother's best friend 
🏒 College setting
🏒 Latina FMC
🏒 Touch her and 💀
🏒 Br33ding k1nk
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