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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
A bit anti-climactic…was hoping for a bigger ending. Everything seemed rushed at the end.
Besides that, the plot was good. I still feel like it lacked something.
Fav quote: “Love is beneath us.”
Besides that, the plot was good. I still feel like it lacked something.
Fav quote: “Love is beneath us.”
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh my God.
I don’t even know where to start. I still feel like I got hit by a truck… in the best and worst ways. My brain hasn’t stopped spinning. My chest still aches. I feel cracked open and rearranged. Like I swallowed the book whole and it decided to live in me now. Rent-free. In the deepest, darkest parts.
I stumbled across this book on BookTok, of course—because where else do we find our next psychological spiral? The cover caught my eye (that red, that title, ugh) and then the blurb slapped me in the face: Briony escapes from a cult.
That was it. That was the moment I knew. Because that storyline isn’t just fiction for me—it’s personal. I’ve lived that kind of escape. The guilt. The confusion. The kind of fear that lives in your skin. And seeing someone write that pain into a story and not make it feel watered down? I needed it. I braced myself. And honestly, I still wasn’t ready.
This book is not for everyone. It is not soft. It is not tender. It is violence and obsession soaked in gasoline and kissed on the mouth. It’s bloody and wrong and messed up in ways that made me question my own morals (again). And I loved it. I devoured it. I wanted to crawl inside it and stay.
Let me get this out of the way now—major trigger warnings apply here. Like, for real, this is not a casual “oh it’s a little dark” kind of book.
We’re talking:
We’re talking:
Dubcon (or just plain non-con)
Graphic violence
Sexual trauma
Cult indoctrination
Kidnapping
Stalking
Intense BDSM/kink scenes
Toxic, obsessive, absolutely feral love
Graphic violence
Sexual trauma
Cult indoctrination
Kidnapping
Stalking
Intense BDSM/kink scenes
Toxic, obsessive, absolutely feral love
Read those warnings again. Sit with them. If that’s not your thing, walk away now. But if you’re like me—if you crave stories that punch you in the soul and make you love the villain a little too much? Buckle up.
Briony is… God, she felt real. Quiet strength. Cracked but not crushed. Her entire existence is trauma and grit and fear trying to wear a brave face. Watching her unravel and survive, watching her want things she’s not “supposed” to want—it hit me in a way I didn’t expect. It’s messy and not sanitized and sometimes uncomfortable, but that’s what made it honest.
And Aero? I don’t even know how to describe him without sounding unwell. He’s every red flag I’ve ever ignored. Every intrusive thought I’ve ever had. Every villain I’ve ever secretly rooted for—but turned up to 100 and dipped in gasoline. He is not a good man. But he’s the kind of man who sees your brokenness and loves it harder. And I hate myself for how much I wanted him to ruin everything.
Every time he whispered something awful in Briony’s ear, I swear my brain short-circuited. Like this line—“You’re a woman without a voice, Briony. Let me be the throat through which you scream.” ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I had to put the book down and just breathe for a second. That line crawled into my spine and stayed.
The dynamic between them is… it’s not romantic. It’s not healthy. It’s not even something I can defend. But it’s raw and real and addictive in that way only trauma-bonded lovers in dark romance can be. It’s not pretending to be soft. It’s claws and teeth and “I’ll burn the world for you” energy. It’s pain that wants to be worshipped.
And the spice? Oh wow. This isn’t your candlelight-slow-kiss fade-to-black type of book. This is the kind of spice that makes you lock your bedroom door and question if you’re still a decent human being. I blushed so hard I had to check if my phone screen was judging me. It’s kinky, explicit, and laced with power imbalance in a way that made my whole nervous system light up. I don’t even know how to quote half the lines because I’d sound like a horny man in a trench coat. But my god, Jescie went there. Over and over again.
Her writing is gritty and sharp—no fluff. It’s not flowery or lyrical. It hurts. It’s fast when it needs to be and suffocating when it wants you to feel the panic. There were a few times I wanted it to slow down, to linger in a moment longer… but maybe that’s just my trauma-bonded little heart begging for more pain.
And the world-building?? The cult felt real. Like, terrifyingly real. I could smell the repression. Feel the shame. It wasn’t just background noise—it shaped every part of Briony’s choices. The way she moved through the world, even outside of it, still felt haunted. And when Aero enters that haunted space? He doesn’t save her. He becomes the ghost that burns everything down and dares her to dance in the ashes.
This book made me feel everything—panic, desire, grief, rage, longing. And I loved every single second of it.
Would I recommend it? Yes. A thousand times yes—but only if you’re already knee-deep in the dark romance world. This is not your entry-level read. This is pitch black. This is trauma-laced, morally depraved, monster-falls-in-love-with-the-girl-he-kidnapped energy. If that sentence makes your stomach twist in the best way? You need this book.
Buy it. Read it. Suffer. Scream. Thank me later.
And to Jescie Hall? Thank you. Truly. For this sick little masterpiece. For Briony. For Aero. For writing a story that hurt in the exact way I needed it to. I’m never getting over it—and honestly, I don’t want to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abandonment
Dubcon (or just plain non-con), Sexual trauma, Cult indoctrination, Intense BDSM/kink scenes, Toxic, obsessive, absolutely feral love, Power imbalance
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
It’s dark and messed up and oh so captivating.
⟡ Tropes and Rating ⟡
⟡ Tropes and Rating ⟡
Sooo many triggers. Completely trashed Christianity and religion - would be super uncomfy even if I weren’t religious. So many questionable things happening here.
dark
emotional
hopeful
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:
No
It has been the spiciest book I’ve read this year by far.