Reviews with content warning for Murder - Welcome to the Dark Side

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Welcome to the Dark Side by Giana Darling

14 reviews

jellystorm's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I’m going to go ahead and say this book is not going to be for everyone. The age gap is significant and the fmc has known the mc since she was seven. There’s no romantic overtones until she says something at sixteen and he shuts that down immediately, but most of the book does take place while the fmc is seventeen.

And the author is not shy about that. They lean into it pretty much the whole book, even giving them a daddy kink just to make it more obvious.

And it’s still a good book. It’s a little heavy handed with the autism representation, but that’s not uncommon.

LouLou is a serious brat and I’m here for it. She acts her age and doesn’t think shit through and pretends to be stronger than she is and just. She’s a badass.

And Zeus tries so hard to be a good guy. He has a moral compass and a code he lives by, and LouLou just shreds it all to hell.

It’s a tense ride through threats and dangers, but it’s fun and steamy asf. I enjoyed it and intend to eventually read more in the series.

Content Warnings

shaykay's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have been curious about this book since finishing the first book. I read them back to back since I'll be posting my TikTok/Instagram reviews back to back, but there was actually an almost 2-month gap between these two reads. We kind of go into this one already knowing the main couple, and I'm fine with an age gap. But things get a little complicated for me when the older character is like a parent figure throughout the younger character's whole life. Granted, Zeus is a complicated man in prison for much of this. And he isn't a parent figure but a pen pal with Lou. Then, the second she takes things a little too far, he cuts contact with her. He also brings up a lot that she's the same age as his kids, there shouldn't be any relationship with her, and then when she's a teen, he talks about how he shouldn't feel this way towards her or even think about crossing that line. But Lou is obsessed with this man and knows that this is her soulmate from the second he saves her. There were moments I loved in this thing, and I was obsessed, but the book gets a bit steam-heavy, and I wish we had more of the MC. I am curious about later books in this series. Still, I'm not rushing to pick up book 3 because it's another age gap, and I need more of the MC. I know from the epilogue of this book that Zeus refuses to let Harleigh in the MC. She ends up with the cop, so I know I'll eventually pick it up, but I need a break from it now. I'm curious about other Darling books, so what was your favorite book that Giana Darling read?

Content Warnings

isajidy's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

ellafaereads's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

kodafaith's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I started this series just for this book and OH MY HEART😭 how Gianna Darling makes the things Zeus thinks about Lou not be totally creepy when they should be is beyond me. This book was more emotional than I expected in a lot of ways but wow did I cry!
I love this guardian monster so much and I honestly was do shocked by Loulou’s personality but in a good way. Excited to continue this series but I don’t know if I’ll be able to like any of the books more than this one.

Content Warnings

cocpop_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Zeus Garro and LouLou have my heart. I loved this book the first time I read it, and I love it even more the second time around.

This is taboo romance. Large age gap, and the FMC is 17. So if any of that is too much, I would not read this book.

I loved Lou from the start. I loved that she pushed herself, and chose to do things for herself. My heart broke for the parents she was given, and it really forced her to grow up fast. I can never say a bad thing about her. I think my favorite relationship besides her and Zeus, was her and Mute. They just had a pure connection, and this book broke me.

And ain’t nobody throwing down quite like Zeus. He was very aware of the optics of his relationship with Lou, but you could tell her never did anything to harm her. He loved his girl from the start, and while that may be off putting to some, their connection just made sense.

5/5 on the spicy scale. The mouth on Zeus, and the fact that Lou was just as dirty as him. My favorite scene will forever be her stripping for him. Just because of the confidence on her, and the determination to get what she wanted.

Content Warnings