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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I tend to love or hate stories that go back and forth in time. It took a while but this one was worth it! Going back and getting Lucians story was really half of the plot but it was also integral to seeing why he is the way he is and piecing together the mystery that is his life.
But honestly, all I could think for a while was that this story was going to be a whole lot of “well my daddy is a sadist so now I’m a sadist… it’s genetic 🤷🏻♀️” but it really wasn’t that type of vibe. His reputation was earned but he wasn’t quite the devil everyone thought. The circumstances of his life and every relationship he had were things that would’ve driven most people mad.
Isadora wasn’t my favorite character who ever existed, but she was brave and somewhat relateable (minus the musical prodigy thing). She came from not so great circumstances and she was thrown in to some pretty bad situations and had to make tough choices at a young age. I really appreciated how mature she was since we had such a large age gap. Nothing like trauma to age you!
The angst and the tension between these two was fantastic. And the forbidden aspect and his particular… tastes? were something completely out of the ordinary.
This still had a gothic, dark vibe and it enhanced the book so much. The description for this beautiful home and cove are forever going to be some of my favorites, too.
Tropes:
Age gap
Tortured Hero
Forbidden
Morally Grey MMC
Gothic
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
But honestly, all I could think for a while was that this story was going to be a whole lot of “well my daddy is a sadist so now I’m a sadist… it’s genetic 🤷🏻♀️” but it really wasn’t that type of vibe. His reputation was earned but he wasn’t quite the devil everyone thought. The circumstances of his life and every relationship he had were things that would’ve driven most people mad.
Isadora wasn’t my favorite character who ever existed, but she was brave and somewhat relateable (minus the musical prodigy thing). She came from not so great circumstances and she was thrown in to some pretty bad situations and had to make tough choices at a young age. I really appreciated how mature she was since we had such a large age gap. Nothing like trauma to age you!
The angst and the tension between these two was fantastic. And the forbidden aspect and his particular… tastes? were something completely out of the ordinary.
This still had a gothic, dark vibe and it enhanced the book so much. The description for this beautiful home and cove are forever going to be some of my favorites, too.
Tropes:
Age gap
Tortured Hero
Forbidden
Morally Grey MMC
Gothic
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
medium-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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
I enjoyed the poetic story telling mixed with sarcastic responses. I just wish we had more of Isa and Lucian. It felt rushed towards the end, there could have been more
I read this after I read Nocticadia by Keri Lake, which I LOVED and was one of my all time favorites. This book was just not it for me. I don’t know when the 2 main characters started liking each other, the twists this book took didn’t really interest me, and for a book that started out pretty gritty the rest was kind of dull. There was also reference to child SA, for what seems like no plot development. That’s a really odd and heavy topic to put into the book if you aren’t going to really delve into how that affected the characters. It was just not my thing.
Two stars for the plot. I was interested in the mystery/ thriller elements and Lucian's backstory. I enjoyed the twists at the end. But I couldn't stand Lucian and Isa's relationship, or really Isa in general. She was a very flat character, typical dialogue of a snarky romantic lead in these kinds of books- and yet she was also supposed to be so special, so "not like other girls", which is the worst. We get it, you don't have social media, you don't watch movies- you like to read and you're a gorgeous piano genius and no one your age understands you.
If I had read this at her age, 19, I probably would've loved it. I also came from a rough place and felt like I was more grown up than my peers. I daydreamed about older men. But now, I'm closer to Lucian's age than Isa's and the age gap creeps me out. Vulnerable teens from rough childhoods with fucked up parents are exactly the kind of people that fucked up older men prey on in real life. So yeah.... just personal preference I guess, but not my cup of tea to read about.
If I had read this at her age, 19, I probably would've loved it. I also came from a rough place and felt like I was more grown up than my peers. I daydreamed about older men. But now, I'm closer to Lucian's age than Isa's and the age gap creeps me out. Vulnerable teens from rough childhoods with fucked up parents are exactly the kind of people that fucked up older men prey on in real life. So yeah.... just personal preference I guess, but not my cup of tea to read about.
This was a very weird book. There were parts that were good, and others that were slow. I really feel like there was too much stuff happening. I had quite a few wtf is going on moments. What genre was I reading? A dark erotic romance, a thriller, a mystery.
Lucian is supposed to be bad, but he is/isn't. He doesn't seem like someone in his 30's. It had a real twilight vibe to it. I guess everything was sort of tied together, but not in a good way.
The way Isa reacts to some of the stuff is weird. I didn't believe her a lot of the time. The part where she
The mum part, the dad part. Plus how she suddenly can't stand Lucian's dark side, but he reminds her of hers. The ending with Boyd. It was all a bit too much for me.
Lucian is supposed to be bad, but he is/isn't. He doesn't seem like someone in his 30's. It had a real twilight vibe to it. I guess everything was sort of tied together, but not in a good way.
The way Isa reacts to some of the stuff is weird. I didn't believe her a lot of the time. The part where she
Spoiler
decides that stealing a doll is the easiest way to make 50k lmao. Seriously, wouldn't you just steal some jewelry or cash???The mum part, the dad part. Plus how she suddenly can't stand Lucian's dark side, but he reminds her of hers. The ending with Boyd. It was all a bit too much for me.
I don’t think Keri Lake can write a bad book.
This was gothic, psychologically thrilling and so spicy.
Phantom of the Opera x Beauty and The Beast but make it gothic and haunting.
I loved this, it was right up my alley.
I will say, to no fault of the author, I did find a new trigger - which is child death. That did not affect my rating of the book, but showed me that it’s something that haunts me when I read it. So there’s that note.
As for most dark romance, check the TW’s before delving into this one but I think it’s a great book to read for spooky season :)
This was gothic, psychologically thrilling and so spicy.
Phantom of the Opera x Beauty and The Beast but make it gothic and haunting.
I loved this, it was right up my alley.
I will say, to no fault of the author, I did find a new trigger - which is child death. That did not affect my rating of the book, but showed me that it’s something that haunts me when I read it. So there’s that note.
As for most dark romance, check the TW’s before delving into this one but I think it’s a great book to read for spooky season :)
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A