Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
My first Sierra Simone read. Darker and kinkier than the romance I usually read but very engrossing and easy to get caught up in. The ending is more of a cliffhanger than the promised HEA of the romance genre.
Nicely written. Very detailed in expressing emotion. However, if you're not into kinky stuff. This book is not for you. If you hard
I listened to the audiobook, which was fantastic! This book is told from Tristan’s POV. I typically don’t like books when there are told from one person’s POV but this is the exception.
80% of this book is about Tristan and Mark and the last 20% is about Tristan and Isolde. You can’t help but to love Tristan.
There are so many twists and turns that you won’t see coming. I recommend going into each book in the series blind.
I highly recommend this series as each book is just as good if not better than the next!
80% of this book is about Tristan and Mark and the last 20% is about Tristan and Isolde. You can’t help but to love Tristan.
There are so many twists and turns that you won’t see coming. I recommend going into each book in the series blind.
I highly recommend this series as each book is just as good if not better than the next!
fast-paced
dark
emotional
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood
Minor: Death of parent, War
3 ⭐️ Great intro - Shouldn't have been a separate book.
This entire book is literally just the blurb. All of it. The blurb -aka what you read so it can get you hooked on the story and you want to learn more- tells you the ending. I've spent the last two days reading about a sweet, tortured man fall in love twice... and that's it. He falls in love. No one else. He's not in a relationship with either of the people he's fallen for. They don't fall in love with him. He's nothing to anyone. And it's so f*cking sad.
For reference this is the book's blurb (don't read if you want to read this book anyway):
From there, it's a fast fall into the forbidden for all three of them.
And this book literally ends where the "from there" should begin. There is nothing 'from there'. It's a deliciously torturous beginning to what I'm sure will be a torturous romance. But this isn't it. I wish more than anything that I would've waited to pick up this book until the series was done being published, because this should've been a very long book, not a series. Why make two spare books? The cliffhanger is not even a cliffhanger, is just the beginning of the MMF story. Because the book was half MM bdsm romance and a quarter MF k!nk erotica (the other quarter is just introductions and us getting situated into the story).
This book is NOT -I repeat- it's not MMF! Which is a huge disappointment, since it's targeted as such. The second part of this series, I'm sure, will be MMF. This one is NOT.
The story itself is a great time. I probably would've given it over 4 stars if the story was whole. I really liked the writing and Tristan's portrayal, his personality, his struggles. I was really good. It's plenty dark and the level of degradation k1nk here is through the roof. It's very, very intense, and I surprisingly loved it. I'm not a person that tends to enjoy reading books with degradation -if I'm honest I've actively stopped myself from reading books I know I'd otherwise enjoy because I knew they had degradation in them. What I've realized, though, is that my problem with degradation is that it's always MALE Doms, and the female subs are the ones being degraded. Women being degraded by men is a tad too close to the unfortunate cruelty of the world for me to enjoy as a fantasy. Men being the subject of degradation, however... that I apparently like, because I enjoyed reading Tristan's POV so much. The whole book is narrated from his side of things, and although at first I was skeptical I shouldn't have been. Seeing everything through his eyes, reading about his feelings and experiences is what carried this book. His lack of experience made everything new and exciting.
The protagonist here is Tristan, a 29 year old v1rgin soldier whose life lacks structure and meaning - and he finds it all in Mark. Which I would've liked way more if I could understand why Tristan falls in love with Mark to begin with. Mark is cruel and cold and unfeeling, and I understand that since Tristan's into degradation he would desire someone like Mark... but fall in love with him? Tristan falling for Isolde, sure, that I get. But Mark? That was one of my biggest issue with this book. That and the fact that I kept waiting for the 'F' in this 'MMF' to show up, only for her to make a couple of small cameos and then - curtain- the end.
I really did enjoy this... but it feels like it's missing half of the book. I would not recommend reading this until book #2 is out. You will be very disappointed otherwise.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5
This entire book is literally just the blurb. All of it. The blurb -aka what you read so it can get you hooked on the story and you want to learn more- tells you the ending. I've spent the last two days reading about a sweet, tortured man fall in love twice... and that's it. He falls in love. No one else. He's not in a relationship with either of the people he's fallen for. They don't fall in love with him. He's nothing to anyone. And it's so f*cking sad.
For reference this is the book's blurb (don't read if you want to read this book anyway):
Spoiler
After leaving the army, the young former soldier is in limbo. Until, that is, he's hired by Mark Trevena, the owner of Lyonesse―DC's ultra-secret club―to be Mark's new bodyguard. He's drawn into Mark's dark, seductive world of power and desire, and slowly drawn to Mark himself, even though Mark is everything Tristan knows he shouldn't want: cruel and wicked and shamelessly amoral. But protecting Mark isn't Tristan's only duty: soon, Mark asks him to guard his soon-to-be bride as she travels home from Ireland on Mark's yacht. Tristan is jealous―and hurt to learn that the object of his obsession is engaged―but the former soldier in him is made to obey orders, and he goes to fetch Mark's bride for him. Isolde Laurence is nothing like Tristan expected, however. Young, quiet, and sharp, she's being pushed into this marriage by her family, and as the two travel back to America, Tristan finds himself fascinated with Isolde and the glimpses he gets of the lonely but determined woman behind her reserve. And the fascination is mutual: one night, while sailing under the cold stars, they share a searing kiss.
And this book literally ends where the "from there" should begin. There is nothing 'from there'. It's a deliciously torturous beginning to what I'm sure will be a torturous romance. But this isn't it. I wish more than anything that I would've waited to pick up this book until the series was done being published, because this should've been a very long book, not a series. Why make two spare books? The cliffhanger is not even a cliffhanger, is just the beginning of the MMF story. Because the book was half MM bdsm romance and a quarter MF k!nk erotica (the other quarter is just introductions and us getting situated into the story).
This book is NOT -I repeat- it's not MMF! Which is a huge disappointment, since it's targeted as such. The second part of this series, I'm sure, will be MMF. This one is NOT.
The story itself is a great time. I probably would've given it over 4 stars if the story was whole. I really liked the writing and Tristan's portrayal, his personality, his struggles. I was really good. It's plenty dark and the level of degradation k1nk here is through the roof. It's very, very intense, and I surprisingly loved it. I'm not a person that tends to enjoy reading books with degradation -if I'm honest I've actively stopped myself from reading books I know I'd otherwise enjoy because I knew they had degradation in them. What I've realized, though, is that my problem with degradation is that it's always MALE Doms, and the female subs are the ones being degraded. Women being degraded by men is a tad too close to the unfortunate cruelty of the world for me to enjoy as a fantasy. Men being the subject of degradation, however... that I apparently like, because I enjoyed reading Tristan's POV so much. The whole book is narrated from his side of things, and although at first I was skeptical I shouldn't have been. Seeing everything through his eyes, reading about his feelings and experiences is what carried this book. His lack of experience made everything new and exciting.
The protagonist here is Tristan, a 29 year old v1rgin soldier whose life lacks structure and meaning - and he finds it all in Mark. Which I would've liked way more if I could understand why Tristan falls in love with Mark to begin with. Mark is cruel and cold and unfeeling, and I understand that since Tristan's into degradation he would desire someone like Mark... but fall in love with him? Tristan falling for Isolde, sure, that I get. But Mark? That was one of my biggest issue with this book. That and the fact that I kept waiting for the 'F' in this 'MMF' to show up, only for her to make a couple of small cameos and then - curtain- the end.
I really did enjoy this... but it feels like it's missing half of the book. I would not recommend reading this until book #2 is out. You will be very disappointed otherwise.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5
dark
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
I really like Sierra Simone’s writing. Tristan is definitely a lovable main character. I like that he is the body guard.
I like the relationships he has in this book and I like where the plot is going.
I think the premise wasn’t entirely accurate: we didn’t meet Isolde until almost the end of the book.
I’m on the fence with if I will continue the series or not, but I did enjoy this one.
I like the relationships he has in this book and I like where the plot is going.
I think the premise wasn’t entirely accurate: we didn’t meet Isolde until almost the end of the book.
I’m on the fence with if I will continue the series or not, but I did enjoy this one.