Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
main character: ayla
the guys: marcus, ryland, and theo
summary:
ayla goes to a club and makes a brief connection with a guy from across the room (this guys turns out to be marcus constantine). ayla decides that she's done with the club, heads outside, sees marcus and two others waiting on the curb. as she's deciding how to proceed, ayla sees a car pull up with a gun pointed directly at marcus' back. for some inexplicable reason, ayla decides to jump in front of the shot, thereby saving their lives. when we flash forward to the present, we find out that ayla has lost a part of her arm because of that night. after leaving the bar she works at, ayla is almost mugged, but marcus and the two other mystery dudes save her. this leads to them deciding to step out of hiding to actually be in her life after having been in it without her knowledge since the night of the shooting. what she doesn't know is that having them in her life is not necessarily going to be the easiest thing.
my thoughts:
overall, i liked it. it had a different take for a reverse harem storyline. but, as much as i realize reading is about suspending disbelief, some of the plot didn't quite make sense to me. first off, ayla didn't even know marcus and the guys...why did she feel so pressed to save him? like, i get glancing at someone from across the room and feeling something, but like enough to potentially die for that person...? also, realistically, any girl that found out she'd been stalked for two years (cause that's what marcus and the guys did) would run for the hills screaming, not fall into their arms. but, i get it's just a story. i'm not gonna lie-- it's a nice idea thinking that you have these three dudes just trying to keep you safe. and like, their hot or whatever. i did really like that ayla had something that she had to grapple with after the shooting, but that she was doing a good job of handling it. she's a good heroine for sure. the guys were the usual combo of: one that is the leader and has the first/strongest connection to the heroine, another that is the comedic relief at times and quickly connects with the girl, and lastly, the one who tries to stay away for the sake of the girl, but comes off as hating her. all in all a classic reverse harem that i really enjoyed.
the guys: marcus, ryland, and theo
summary:
ayla goes to a club and makes a brief connection with a guy from across the room (this guys turns out to be marcus constantine). ayla decides that she's done with the club, heads outside, sees marcus and two others waiting on the curb. as she's deciding how to proceed, ayla sees a car pull up with a gun pointed directly at marcus' back. for some inexplicable reason, ayla decides to jump in front of the shot, thereby saving their lives. when we flash forward to the present, we find out that ayla has lost a part of her arm because of that night. after leaving the bar she works at, ayla is almost mugged, but marcus and the two other mystery dudes save her. this leads to them deciding to step out of hiding to actually be in her life after having been in it without her knowledge since the night of the shooting. what she doesn't know is that having them in her life is not necessarily going to be the easiest thing.
my thoughts:
overall, i liked it. it had a different take for a reverse harem storyline. but, as much as i realize reading is about suspending disbelief, some of the plot didn't quite make sense to me. first off, ayla didn't even know marcus and the guys...why did she feel so pressed to save him? like, i get glancing at someone from across the room and feeling something, but like enough to potentially die for that person...? also, realistically, any girl that found out she'd been stalked for two years (cause that's what marcus and the guys did) would run for the hills screaming, not fall into their arms. but, i get it's just a story. i'm not gonna lie-- it's a nice idea thinking that you have these three dudes just trying to keep you safe. and like, their hot or whatever. i did really like that ayla had something that she had to grapple with after the shooting, but that she was doing a good job of handling it. she's a good heroine for sure. the guys were the usual combo of: one that is the leader and has the first/strongest connection to the heroine, another that is the comedic relief at times and quickly connects with the girl, and lastly, the one who tries to stay away for the sake of the girl, but comes off as hating her. all in all a classic reverse harem that i really enjoyed.
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
These men have infected me. Changed me. And I can't ever go back to who I was before.
This is a RH romance to be but in this book it’s solely MF.
Tiktok made me read this one.
One night FMC sees Marcus at a club. His eyes are the first thing she notices; one is brown and the other green.
Later on, as she got bored of the club vibes, she leaves behind and sees Marcus with 2 other guys. And they are also really attractive. But instead of approching them and make her move, she goes to the other way. But when a man with a gun appears, pointing towards the three guys, mostly Marcus, her first instinct was to block the bullets… three of them. Which leads to heavy bleeding and loss of a limb. Now two years later, she is still haunted by that night. She didn’t expected to see one of them saving her from mugging. Ryland saves her and tells her that they(all 3) have been following her since that night and protecting her.
She is confused and easily turned. Which makes her extremely conflicted. Her body says one thing; her brain the other; her heart another…. Her dreams went from traumatic to horny land:
Marcus Constantine has invaded my dreams since the night I stopped three bullets meant for him. But now that he's invaded my life too, it feels like he's everywhere. Like he's in my fucking head, in my soul, tearing me apart from the inside out.
Since she now knows of them, they become more present in her entourage: the club she works at, grocery store, mall, et cetera.
Marcus is fucking with my life.
He and his two shadows are growing more and more bold.
They're no longer going to be satisfied with just following me around, showing up at the library or the bar. They're insinuating themselves into my life, messing with shit that isn't theirs to touch.
I don't really care about Natalie, but that was my battle to fight. My shit to deal with.
Anger rises up inside me, burning away the confusion and panic.
I'm done.
So fucking done with this.
-
At first, her attraction was mainly on Marcus, since he is the only one stalking his claim and actually making moves. There were a lot of questions that she kept thinking of…
This is a RH romance to be but in this book it’s solely MF.
Tiktok made me read this one.
One night FMC sees Marcus at a club. His eyes are the first thing she notices; one is brown and the other green.
Later on, as she got bored of the club vibes, she leaves behind and sees Marcus with 2 other guys. And they are also really attractive. But instead of approching them and make her move, she goes to the other way. But when a man with a gun appears, pointing towards the three guys, mostly Marcus, her first instinct was to block the bullets… three of them. Which leads to heavy bleeding and loss of a limb. Now two years later, she is still haunted by that night. She didn’t expected to see one of them saving her from mugging. Ryland saves her and tells her that they(all 3) have been following her since that night and protecting her.
She is confused and easily turned. Which makes her extremely conflicted. Her body says one thing; her brain the other; her heart another…. Her dreams went from traumatic to horny land:
Marcus Constantine has invaded my dreams since the night I stopped three bullets meant for him. But now that he's invaded my life too, it feels like he's everywhere. Like he's in my fucking head, in my soul, tearing me apart from the inside out.
Since she now knows of them, they become more present in her entourage: the club she works at, grocery store, mall, et cetera.
Marcus is fucking with my life.
He and his two shadows are growing more and more bold.
They're no longer going to be satisfied with just following me around, showing up at the library or the bar. They're insinuating themselves into my life, messing with shit that isn't theirs to touch.
I don't really care about Natalie, but that was my battle to fight. My shit to deal with.
Anger rises up inside me, burning away the confusion and panic.
I'm done.
So fucking done with this.
-
At first, her attraction was mainly on Marcus, since he is the only one stalking his claim and actually making moves. There were a lot of questions that she kept thinking of…
"Why do you care?" I whisper.
"Why?"
"You saved my life," he murmurs.
"It was an accident."
"You saved my life," he repeats more emphatically. "Every day since then, every fucking heartbeat, I owe to you. For two and a half years, my heart has continued to beat because of you. Do you know how many heartbeats that is, Ayla? One hundred million."
"That's a stupid way to measure time.”
"I think it's the only way.”
"You're here to repay the debt? Is
that it? How? How can you pay back a hundred million heartbeats?"
'"I can't."
"Then what do you want?"
"You, Ayla. I want you.”
But whenever they kissed or full on make out in public, both Theo or/and Ryland are witnessing it all.
-
At the end of the book, FMC realizes that they are in a gang where ina group of 13 guys only one can inherit the position of the richest man in the city(since he has no heir): "There are only three ways out," Ryland adds quietly. you either die, hand over your life and allegiance to someone else.
or you win.”
Ayla is a tough girl. Being a foster child doesn’t help either. Money runs low all the time. In order to hide her trauma, she had tattoos: I got the ink done for me. As a way of reclaiming my
broken body. Of making it mine again.
The presence of the three guys in her life had brought a lot of confusion and a lot more dreams or nightmares? Attraction and revulsion.
Pleasure and pain. Desire and fear.
Not gonna lie, her mouth is a potty mouth. She is not afraid of talking back even though she knows how sketchy they are. And her banter/talkbacks with Marcus are entertaining; she uses sarcasm to hid her hidden trauma: "If you're looking for my hymen, it's long gone already,"
A slow, predatory smile spreads across his face. As he drops his head, lowering his voice. "I don't want your
hymen, Ayla."
"No?"
"Then what do you want?"
"Everything.'
-
I mean this guy actually has tattoo of the day she got shot. As a dark romance reader, I am conflicted. Am I turned on or creeped out. Probably both, in this scenario: The markings on his fingers aren't random symbols. They don't spell out "love" and "hate" or some shit like that.
They're numbers.
The month, day, and year of the night I was shot.
Theses mens are feral. I mean we only get to see Marcus, but god damnnn;
His gaze is still locked on my face, consuming my features with hungry focus, and for the first time, I think I can truly feel the weight of the years he's spent watching me.
Obsessing over me.
Craving me.
I may not know this man, but in a strange way, he knows me. Maybe better than anyone else I've ever met.
-
At first Ryland’s attractions to Ayla wasn’t present. He was always detached to her. Like she was a vermin; but she learns the truth, I think he won’t: Ryland's eyes flicker as they meet mine. "No. You're like a
fucking drug, Ayla. We spent two and a half years hovering on the periphery of your life, but the moment we stepped into it that night, the moment we got close… it was like a barrier came down that was impossible to put back up. It was the first fix And we kept coming back for more.”
Theo on the other hand seems to be a golden retriever with hidden guns; that’s probably how Ayla feels; He's my calm in the storm that is Ryland and Marcus, the one whose voice and touch always soothes and
never hurts.
Because the kiss they share was very intimate.
"Sometimes I want to break you, angel. Sometimes I want to break you apart just to see what's inside.”
If we see this book from a romance perspective, I would say it was mainly Ayla and Marcus: He's always doing this. Breathing me in like I'm his oxygen. [..] “Poke around all you want. What's mine is yours.”
We love a man that knows his priority.
But that ending?!?! Cliffhanger!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Stalking
Moderate: Cursing, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Religious bigotry
adventurous
dark
tense
Sweet Obsession
Did somebody become a rock climber because that cliffhanger was insane!
Let’s get this out of the way, I love Ayala! Her inner turmoil, her fight, her insecurities. She is a realistic representation of a person who has experienced the devastation in her life. She is no vapid Princess. I am so excited to see her growth and development as this series continues!
I am a huge fan of the boys! We have Marcus; the cold blooded protector, Theo; the relaxed comforter; and Ryland; the hot and cold not quite sure what he is thinking. Each man has a distinct voice and purpose in this story, allowing for a cohesion between the group that work perfectly.
This story was fantastic from start to finish, with the classic Callie Rose twist and turns.
Your mind is a wonderfully magical place, this story is perfection!
Happy Reading
T
Did somebody become a rock climber because that cliffhanger was insane!
Let’s get this out of the way, I love Ayala! Her inner turmoil, her fight, her insecurities. She is a realistic representation of a person who has experienced the devastation in her life. She is no vapid Princess. I am so excited to see her growth and development as this series continues!
I am a huge fan of the boys! We have Marcus; the cold blooded protector, Theo; the relaxed comforter; and Ryland; the hot and cold not quite sure what he is thinking. Each man has a distinct voice and purpose in this story, allowing for a cohesion between the group that work perfectly.
This story was fantastic from start to finish, with the classic Callie Rose twist and turns.
Your mind is a wonderfully magical place, this story is perfection!
Happy Reading
T
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Is it bad that I really liked this book? I mean, sure, it's twisted af but that's the best part about it, but you gotta keep life interesting somehow!
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes