Scan barcode
itsaemily's review against another edition
4.0
I’m sorry. What?! Ok this is my first venture into the stalker romance scene and holy moly!! I’ll admit that it took some serious suspension of belief to really let myself get drawn in but once I did! Wow! Ok first let me say that I take issue with the stalker romance thing because the guy is always super hot. If he weren’t then this would be a dateline movie instead and that’s a bit messed up psychologically. Anyway, aside from taking a deep dive into the mentality that let me enjoy this book, it was really well done! Van is such a beautiful human, inside even more so than out. He loves his woman and maybe it makes him a bit crazy but doesn’t love make us all just a little crazy. I love seeing Violet’s growth through this book and there were so many “hell yeah, girl!” moments. Give this one a chance even if it’s not your usual scene. I promise it’s worth it!
virgo_reader's review against another edition
1.0
I have no problem with dark romances, psycho heroes, or stalkers… but where I draw the line? Cops who use their power in all-too-realistic ways.
When I realized in chapter 2 of this book that Van was a cop, I almost put it down. When he began to go full-on corrupt cop police brutality, I probably should have.
Example: him pulling over a guy for licensed expiration and saying, in respond to the guy asking why he had to put his hands on the dash, “Because I told you to, and I have the gun and you don’t.”
Another example: him stalking the heroine in uniform and in his police car.
It just felt so… icky. Because of course that can and does happen. I can suspend disbelief for psychos and stalkers but something about it being a cop made it all too real.
Also, they really tried to rationalize him stalking her and her (and her friend) being okay with it. Like, no. It’s never okay to stalk. So lean INTO the psycho. I want to read about a heroine who finds out someone is stalking her and fucks him up or turns it into a game. Not one who’s like, “I know this is wrong. But because you say you love me it’s okay.”
So, yeah. Apparently cheating and shady cops are my hard no’s on romance.
CW: domestic abuse (parent/child), neglect, stalking, violence, corrupt cop
When I realized in chapter 2 of this book that Van was a cop, I almost put it down. When he began to go full-on corrupt cop police brutality, I probably should have.
Example: him pulling over a guy for licensed expiration and saying, in respond to the guy asking why he had to put his hands on the dash, “Because I told you to, and I have the gun and you don’t.”
Another example: him stalking the heroine in uniform and in his police car.
It just felt so… icky. Because of course that can and does happen. I can suspend disbelief for psychos and stalkers but something about it being a cop made it all too real.
Also, they really tried to rationalize him stalking her and her (and her friend) being okay with it. Like, no. It’s never okay to stalk. So lean INTO the psycho. I want to read about a heroine who finds out someone is stalking her and fucks him up or turns it into a game. Not one who’s like, “I know this is wrong. But because you say you love me it’s okay.”
So, yeah. Apparently cheating and shady cops are my hard no’s on romance.
CW: domestic abuse (parent/child), neglect, stalking, violence, corrupt cop
birbpal's review
3.75
⭐️⭐️⭐️ .75 Stars
I want to preface this review by saying I am not a typical lover of dark romance. When I do dabble in the genre, I prefer more "dark-ish" romance rather than actual dark. This book really is the definition of dark-ish.
MMC Van is a simple guy. Beyond being a cop and his darker tendencies of scaring the crap out of people by questionable means, Van is a devoted friend and a passionate guy. This all translates to his stalking of FMC Violet. That poor girl needed an out, and Van snatching her one day was that out.
This book had slightly dark themes but was also oddly funny. Van and his friends were all gym-bros. They made stupid jokes and teased each other. It was really cute tbh. And even though Van was a dominating kind of guy, he really did worship the ground Violet walked on. Her happiness, safety, and pleasure were the most important things to MMC. So yeah, not your typical dark read! 🤷♀️
Spice was plentiful and hot. The crude talk in the book reminded me of Jessa Kane books lol.
I feel like my only complaint is a big one, which resulted in how I rated this book. As I said, Van is a cop. My views on cops in real life are personal, but when reading books about them, I set those views aside since I'm just reading fiction. However, this book brought up actual issues I have with policing in America. Van used his authority numerous times in questionable ways. It made me feel icky, hitting too close to home.💀
I could have done without all that abuse of power, but otherwise, I enjoyed the book. It was not life-altering by any means, but I laughed a lot and swooned as well! I'll definitely be checking out the rest of the books in the series. 💕
I want to preface this review by saying I am not a typical lover of dark romance. When I do dabble in the genre, I prefer more "dark-ish" romance rather than actual dark. This book really is the definition of dark-ish.
MMC Van is a simple guy. Beyond being a cop and his darker tendencies of scaring the crap out of people by questionable means, Van is a devoted friend and a passionate guy. This all translates to his stalking of FMC Violet. That poor girl needed an out, and Van snatching her one day was that out.
This book had slightly dark themes but was also oddly funny. Van and his friends were all gym-bros. They made stupid jokes and teased each other. It was really cute tbh. And even though Van was a dominating kind of guy, he really did worship the ground Violet walked on. Her happiness, safety, and pleasure were the most important things to MMC. So yeah, not your typical dark read! 🤷♀️
Spice was plentiful and hot. The crude talk in the book reminded me of Jessa Kane books lol.
I feel like my only complaint is a big one, which resulted in how I rated this book. As I said, Van is a cop. My views on cops in real life are personal, but when reading books about them, I set those views aside since I'm just reading fiction. However, this book brought up actual issues I have with policing in America. Van used his authority numerous times in questionable ways. It made me feel icky, hitting too close to home.💀
I could have done without all that abuse of power, but otherwise, I enjoyed the book. It was not life-altering by any means, but I laughed a lot and swooned as well! I'll definitely be checking out the rest of the books in the series. 💕
arisuaru's review
dark
emotional
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
tressscale's review
Nothing really happened they got together and there was No other plot point
princess_haveachat's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Love me a possessive alpha!
tj9390's review against another edition
5.0
Well... That sure was fun!
This was my first Daisy Jane and it won't be my last.
You captured possessive alpha male perfectly. And the banter, heart and humour between all the characters was wonderful.
This was my first Daisy Jane and it won't be my last.
You captured possessive alpha male perfectly. And the banter, heart and humour between all the characters was wonderful.
maggiemae2023's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mere's review
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This was a miss for me. I read the 2nd book in th series, Stray 1st. Decided to go back and read the 1st one. Besides learning more about the characters I met in book 2, I did not enjoy this. I'm a dark romance fan, but this felt too shallow for all the happened in this book.
rebeccareadsmut's review
5.0
Overall I enjoyed this book.
The stalking was top tier, probably some of the better I've read, and I've read quite a lot of it. It's one of my favorites.
If your looking for a good kidnapping book, it's not really this one. While it technically happens it was very mild and doesn't really count in my book. After he kidnapped her the book was more on the mild side. I would have enjoyed it if it was darker, but that might just be my warped brain that loves dark romance already. I'm sure someone who only reads "lighter" shades on the romance spectrum would be horrified by the stalking. For someone that reads dark romance I wanted it darker. He was super sweet and carrying, which was adorable, but it felt like his personality flip flopped a bit after the kidnapping.
And he definitely let her family off the hook a lot...if this had been a mafia book they would have been GONE. lol
The stalking was top tier, probably some of the better I've read, and I've read quite a lot of it. It's one of my favorites.
If your looking for a good kidnapping book, it's not really this one. While it technically happens it was very mild and doesn't really count in my book. After he kidnapped her the book was more on the mild side. I would have enjoyed it if it was darker, but that might just be my warped brain that loves dark romance already. I'm sure someone who only reads "lighter" shades on the romance spectrum would be horrified by the stalking. For someone that reads dark romance I wanted it darker. He was super sweet and carrying, which was adorable, but it felt like his personality flip flopped a bit after the kidnapping.
And he definitely let her family off the hook a lot...if this had been a mafia book they would have been GONE. lol