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pattyspages's review
1.0
This book started off as intriguing and promised sexy vibes. It had a slight 'Cruel Intentions' vibe about it -a step brother and sister who can't stand each other but have an underlying tension.
However, I had to DNF it because it swiftly became disturbing and glorified sexual violence in a way that made me feel physically uncomfortable to read.
Rich boys having a secret society where to be accepted as one of the women they protect and everyone else sees as being 'in with the elite', you have to allow them to do all the worst things to you just screamed a mixture of privilege, desperation, illusions of grandeur and self esteem/self worth issues.
Who doesn't enjoy a 'forbidden love' type of story? Because I love them, but the direction this was going in (not even with the main characters - just the rich kids that the brother was associated with) gave me enough to know that I had no qualms in missing out on the rest of the story.
There are certain things that just shouldn't be glorified in books. I understand that issues of sexual violence need to be addressed but not celebrated as some sort of coming of age mess.
However, I had to DNF it because it swiftly became disturbing and glorified sexual violence in a way that made me feel physically uncomfortable to read.
Rich boys having a secret society where to be accepted as one of the women they protect and everyone else sees as being 'in with the elite', you have to allow them to do all the worst things to you just screamed a mixture of privilege, desperation, illusions of grandeur and self esteem/self worth issues.
Who doesn't enjoy a 'forbidden love' type of story? Because I love them, but the direction this was going in (not even with the main characters - just the rich kids that the brother was associated with) gave me enough to know that I had no qualms in missing out on the rest of the story.
There are certain things that just shouldn't be glorified in books. I understand that issues of sexual violence need to be addressed but not celebrated as some sort of coming of age mess.
gypsystar's review
5.0
I’m not sure what I was expecting here. I guess kind of a bully, enemies to lovers story. It’s definitely got enemies to lovers and Flynn was a bit of a bully at times. Definitely alphahole antihero material. It wasn’t terribly dark, I’d put this firmly in gray area.
This book is so deliciously good and crazy hot. If you can handle the considerable triggers you are in for a good time.
You’ve got step-siblings Flynn and Isa. I’m can’t recall how much older Flynn was but I’d say maybe 4 years older. Isa is 8 when their parents marry. So stepsiblings who’ve known each other since childhood. Isa is graduating high school, Flynn about to start his last year of college. It’s got an extra layer of taboo in there.
Gonna put a spoiler tag warning here. I am a girl who actively searches for spoilers about things like the ones that happen in this book. Because I want to be mentally prepared for what I’m about to read. This is far from your straight m/f romance. If you want to go in blind stop reading.
The book is definitely more erotica than romance. Tons of sex throughout. Flynn is apart of some secret society that might also be a sex cult. He has lots of sex with lots of people indiscriminately. It’s implied he’s, at least temporarily, limiting himself to blow jobs from OW after getting thoroughly involved with Isa. There’s also undeniable cheating later that comes after the jarring 10 year time jump. I like cheating books but the story here isn’t really rooted in that direction. There’s not some big heartbreak or grovel, it’s not that kind of book. If you need safe books this isn’t the one for you.
The smexy scenes throughout are definitely hot. All different shades of depravity and the dalliances between Isa and Flynn occasionally dip into non con territory, dub con if you’re being generous. You’ll also find sharing and orgies, M/F, M/M, MFM, MFMFM, basically it has it all lol.
As I mentioned earlier there is a sudden 10 year time jump. H/h have been separated during that time, both have been with other people casually and somewhat committed? She’s in a serious relationship (though you eventually find out he’s cheating on her), Flynn is engaged to OW though she’s supposed to be a business arrangement. Flynn and Isa cheat on their relationships to be together too. It’s a whole thing. There’s also a secret baby!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’m absolutely looking forward to the next one!
This book is so deliciously good and crazy hot. If you can handle the considerable triggers you are in for a good time.
You’ve got step-siblings Flynn and Isa. I’m can’t recall how much older Flynn was but I’d say maybe 4 years older. Isa is 8 when their parents marry. So stepsiblings who’ve known each other since childhood. Isa is graduating high school, Flynn about to start his last year of college. It’s got an extra layer of taboo in there.
Gonna put a spoiler tag warning here. I am a girl who actively searches for spoilers about things like the ones that happen in this book. Because I want to be mentally prepared for what I’m about to read. This is far from your straight m/f romance. If you want to go in blind stop reading.
The book is definitely more erotica than romance. Tons of sex throughout. Flynn is apart of some secret society that might also be a sex cult. He has lots of sex with lots of people indiscriminately. It’s implied he’s, at least temporarily, limiting himself to blow jobs from OW after getting thoroughly involved with Isa. There’s also undeniable cheating later that comes after the jarring 10 year time jump. I like cheating books but the story here isn’t really rooted in that direction. There’s not some big heartbreak or grovel, it’s not that kind of book. If you need safe books this isn’t the one for you.
The smexy scenes throughout are definitely hot. All different shades of depravity and the dalliances between Isa and Flynn occasionally dip into non con territory, dub con if you’re being generous. You’ll also find sharing and orgies, M/F, M/M, MFM, MFMFM, basically it has it all lol.
As I mentioned earlier there is a sudden 10 year time jump. H/h have been separated during that time, both have been with other people casually and somewhat committed? She’s in a serious relationship (though you eventually find out he’s cheating on her), Flynn is engaged to OW though she’s supposed to be a business arrangement. Flynn and Isa cheat on their relationships to be together too. It’s a whole thing. There’s also a secret baby!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’m absolutely looking forward to the next one!
pumpkinspicedreader's review
4.0
M Jameson is described as writing "Sometimes dark, sometimes angsty, but sexiness and HEA (albeit not conventional) guaranteed" and this is no exception. I urge you not to take the trigger/content warnings lightly because there are some v mature topics/scenes within this book.
This is a step siblings romance - Flynn and Isabella have always had a mutual hatred for one another and one day the line between hate and love/lust gets blurred and there's no going back from it for either of them. Flynn is part of a secret elitist guild and Isabella will do what it takes to know and have all of Flynn.
We then jump forward 10 years into the "Now" section of the book. I would have liked this to be longer, to get a better understanding of how Flynn and Isabella's relationship developed on a deeper level as adults beyond just the sex but I'm a sucker for a HEA and this gave me that. The conclusion to their story did feel a little rushed and the background plot with St Jude's work sometimes felt forgotten so I am looking forward to learning more about that in the second book.
Overall, was an enjoyable read and would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good dark taboo romance.
This is a step siblings romance - Flynn and Isabella have always had a mutual hatred for one another and one day the line between hate and love/lust gets blurred and there's no going back from it for either of them. Flynn is part of a secret elitist guild and Isabella will do what it takes to know and have all of Flynn.
We then jump forward 10 years into the "Now" section of the book. I would have liked this to be longer, to get a better understanding of how Flynn and Isabella's relationship developed on a deeper level as adults beyond just the sex but I'm a sucker for a HEA and this gave me that. The conclusion to their story did feel a little rushed and the background plot with St Jude's work sometimes felt forgotten so I am looking forward to learning more about that in the second book.
Overall, was an enjoyable read and would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good dark taboo romance.
cacevedo's review
5.0
Love it’s definitely dar has some triggers the story was taboo but I enjoyed it I like that they grew and we got to see them in different times in their life’s definitely worth ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
morganreads_88's review
4.0
Steam ✔️
Forbidden/ stepbrother ✔️
Dark ✔️
Enemies to lovers ✔️
Second chance ✔️
Holy Mother of Theresa! This book was HOT! There were some parts that were degrading and downright nasty but I loved it! Flynn’s backstory messed me up. It’s devastating and disturbing.
Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!
Forbidden/ stepbrother ✔️
Dark ✔️
Enemies to lovers ✔️
Second chance ✔️
Holy Mother of Theresa! This book was HOT! There were some parts that were degrading and downright nasty but I loved it! Flynn’s backstory messed me up. It’s devastating and disturbing.
Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!
kittycait93's review
4.0
TW: inc*st(kind of?), group sex, sexual assault, murder
Isabella is haughty, self assured, and so ready to move on with her life. Away from her family. After graduating valedictorian of her high school class, Isabella is certain of many things in life. The thing she is most certain of though is her immeasurable loathing for Flynn Drake that started when he became her stepbrother. After ten years of dealing with Flynn’s nasty jokes and cruel pranks, Isabella wants to start getting even. After blaming Flynn for causing her to fall off the stage at her graduation, Isabella gets even by keying Flynn’s most prized possession; his car.
Flynn is a hypersexual, spoiled, and rich. He’s hated Isabella since basically day one. And after Isabella keyed his car, he’s at his limit with her. After a drunken game of truth or dare at a rich frat boy like party, lines begin to blur between the two.
Enemies to lovers. Step-siblings Isabella and Flynn have a ten year long feud in which they blame the other for. Neither one of them seem to want to acknowledge that they’re both at fault.
**Possible spoilers**
I’ve read some smutty books, but this one definitely takes a place in the top five. This novel is listed as a taboo dark romance and it most definitely is. I wasn’t expecting how taboo it was going to get. To me, it seems like Flynn has had a thing for Isabella from day one. He seems to over sexualize all women, and constantly pushes back less than brotherly thoughts about his stepsister. The first half of this book was great, but towards the middle there were a few things that happen that just didn’t seem realistic to me. I know books aren’t supposed to be real, but like, I feel like there should have been a little more of an altercation with Roxy when she finds out. It just seemed to play out so easily. I feel like that storyline could have been so much more, but instead it fell flat. I also feel like Flynn was too open with his trauma too fast with Isabella. Also, the fact that they go from a secret, shameful affair, straight to having sex in public, takes away from whole shameful, secret love. And then her parents are super chill about it also seems off. They’re just super accepting.
Although I have some complaints about this book, it was a good read overall. Definitely interested in reading more I the series.
I received an ARC of this book on NetGalley in return for an honest review. This review is based on my own thoughts and feelings.
Isabella is haughty, self assured, and so ready to move on with her life. Away from her family. After graduating valedictorian of her high school class, Isabella is certain of many things in life. The thing she is most certain of though is her immeasurable loathing for Flynn Drake that started when he became her stepbrother. After ten years of dealing with Flynn’s nasty jokes and cruel pranks, Isabella wants to start getting even. After blaming Flynn for causing her to fall off the stage at her graduation, Isabella gets even by keying Flynn’s most prized possession; his car.
Flynn is a hypersexual, spoiled, and rich. He’s hated Isabella since basically day one. And after Isabella keyed his car, he’s at his limit with her. After a drunken game of truth or dare at a rich frat boy like party, lines begin to blur between the two.
Enemies to lovers. Step-siblings Isabella and Flynn have a ten year long feud in which they blame the other for. Neither one of them seem to want to acknowledge that they’re both at fault.
**Possible spoilers**
I’ve read some smutty books, but this one definitely takes a place in the top five. This novel is listed as a taboo dark romance and it most definitely is. I wasn’t expecting how taboo it was going to get. To me, it seems like Flynn has had a thing for Isabella from day one. He seems to over sexualize all women, and constantly pushes back less than brotherly thoughts about his stepsister. The first half of this book was great, but towards the middle there were a few things that happen that just didn’t seem realistic to me. I know books aren’t supposed to be real, but like, I feel like there should have been a little more of an altercation with Roxy when she finds out. It just seemed to play out so easily. I feel like that storyline could have been so much more, but instead it fell flat. I also feel like Flynn was too open with his trauma too fast with Isabella. Also, the fact that they go from a secret, shameful affair, straight to having sex in public, takes away from whole shameful, secret love. And then her parents are super chill about it also seems off. They’re just super accepting.
Although I have some complaints about this book, it was a good read overall. Definitely interested in reading more I the series.
I received an ARC of this book on NetGalley in return for an honest review. This review is based on my own thoughts and feelings.
jessicareadsit's review
4.0
After reading Untethered all I can think is "Holy taboo!"
Welcome to the Order of St Judes, where they share their drinks and their women! As if this wasn't juicy enough it centers around a "step-sibling" enemies-to-lovers scenario that is deliciously wicked.
Flynn is your quintessential bad boy with a dark past who is incapable of emotions, Isabella is a straight-laced goodie-two-shoes who just wants to lose her V card before college.
Flynn was a complex character, being the outsider and the son of an abused prostitute, his past always weighs on his shoulders, reminding him he's tainted, that he's unworthy of love. Bella is his light against the darkness, but he lets her go before his darkness overwhelms her completely.
Bella was such a strong character, having gone through the wringer with Flynn and coming out what more than she could handle. Her strength and ability to stand strong despite her circumstances were commendable.
Now let's get down to the brass, this book was hot, I am talking hot in an uncomfortable "Hrmm is that right?" way. It features a gamut of forbidden tropes but M. Jameson has found an excellent balance between tasteful and erotic. Sure, there are orgies, LGBTQIA moments, and sexual tension dripping off the pages with consensual and non-consensual acts but the passion ignited between the characters was the real winner for me.
I am excited to read further into the St. Jude series and see what's in store for some of the other characters!
Thank you to the author, Entangled Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.
Trigger Warning: There are scenes depicting alcohol consumption, drug use, and overdose
Welcome to the Order of St Judes, where they share their drinks and their women! As if this wasn't juicy enough it centers around a "step-sibling" enemies-to-lovers scenario that is deliciously wicked.
Flynn is your quintessential bad boy with a dark past who is incapable of emotions, Isabella is a straight-laced goodie-two-shoes who just wants to lose her V card before college.
Flynn was a complex character, being the outsider and the son of an abused prostitute, his past always weighs on his shoulders, reminding him he's tainted, that he's unworthy of love. Bella is his light against the darkness, but he lets her go before his darkness overwhelms her completely.
Bella was such a strong character, having gone through the wringer with Flynn and coming out what more than she could handle. Her strength and ability to stand strong despite her circumstances were commendable.
Now let's get down to the brass, this book was hot, I am talking hot in an uncomfortable "Hrmm is that right?" way. It features a gamut of forbidden tropes but M. Jameson has found an excellent balance between tasteful and erotic. Sure, there are orgies, LGBTQIA moments, and sexual tension dripping off the pages with consensual and non-consensual acts but the passion ignited between the characters was the real winner for me.
I am excited to read further into the St. Jude series and see what's in store for some of the other characters!
Thank you to the author, Entangled Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.
Trigger Warning: There are scenes depicting alcohol consumption, drug use, and overdose
heylittlesiren's review
5.0
I had no idea what I was getting into when I first started this book. I know it was going to be filled by sexy, angsty and dark romance but this was on another level. This is a book that I never thought I needed! This book is erotic to the core! There's forbidden love trope that I really love. I just couldn't put it down. I finished it within a day. I wished I read this book sooner. I need more! I need book 2 right now. Time please fly faster. M Jameson is a new author for me and I think will be my favorite author if the next book was as excellent as this one. I just love it so much. Thanks!
Thank you netgalley for this copy.
I just reviewed Untethered by M Jameson. #Untethereddarkromancestepbrotheromanceauthormjamesonenemiestolovers #NetGalley
Thank you netgalley for this copy.
I just reviewed Untethered by M Jameson. #Untethereddarkromancestepbrotheromanceauthormjamesonenemiestolovers #NetGalley
daniquevdijk_'s review
2.0
Uhm. Okay then. Someone should've told me not to read this in public, so I'm telling you now. Don't read this in public.
The story
The story is about Isabella, a rich girl who hates her stepbrother Flynn with all her might. Both push each other's boundaries until there is nothing more to give. Literally.
I'm still a bit flustered. I like my smutty stories, but this one was intense. And when I say intense, I mean intense. Hot damn, where do I start?
First of all, I liked the way the story started. It immediately shows how Flynn and Isa hate each others guts, and are willing to do anything to hurt the other. I really liked this part, because I love a good old enemies to lovers stories. Until I realized that he's her stepbrother. I know that means that they're not technically family, but whatever you say; I just don't like that. It made me think of my brother, and that just made me gag. I tried to put the whole stepbrother thing behind me, but it was repeated quite some times, so that made it hard at first (pun not intended ;)). After a while I was able to kind of see past it though. So, if you don't mind a little family love, keep reading.
Besides that, my real struggles were with the first part of the story - before the 10 year time jump that is. I'm still actually so mad about the way Flynn treated her. I'm really not that difficult to please, and I don't mind reading about almost every kind of sex, but non-consensual?! No thanks. In basically the entire story, Isabella LITERALLY says no to him, but he keeps going. I'm serious, almost every damn time she starts off by saying "Flynn, stop, I don't want to do this, no", or a variation of that. It is so, so not okay that he keeps going anyway "because he owns her" or "he's entitled to her" or some bullshit. Yes, she then gets turned on and kind of wants it anyway - but that's just her body responding to his touch, not her giving her consent or wanting it before the actual act. This is so messed up, I'm actually furious. I've never in my life felt this way over a book, but their sex scenes were non-consensual, and in my eyes started off as rape every damn time. This was just romanticizing rape, and that's not okay. Shit, and the scenes in the beginning where she was literally sleeping while he did stuff?! I'm going to stop now, because I could scream about it for ages.
The St. Jude "cult" is a big part of the story too. I think the idea is quite interesting, the way they show the secrets of terrible people in society. But it's hard not to talk about the elephant in the room; the awakening ceremony. What. The. Actual -
Sex? You mean rape? That Genevieve girl for example. She knew she had to do something to get in, but not exactly what it would entail. And when they were all - ahem - doing their thing, she told them she wanted them to stop, but they didn't. She was bleeding, crying, and still they didn't stop. This is not hot, it's - again - rape.
So besides the sex being non-consensual most of the time, it was a very big part of the story. It was a bit too much for me after a while, but I really started to like the story when there was the 10 year jump. I think this maybe was because they were all older now, and more mature (well not really, but kinda), and most of all because it wasn't just them having some sort of sex every sentence. I liked the story a lot more from that point onward, and that definitely made me give the book a higher rating.
The characters
I don't have a lot to say about the characters in particular, just that the Flynn - Isa relationship is so very unhealthy, but I won't go into that again.
I liked the way Flynn's past was portrayed - it was obvious that he had a dark past, but not what it exactly entailed. We learned more of it going onward in the story, which I liked. I really liked reading from both their perspectives, because if I'd only read this story from Isa's perspective, I would've never, ever liked or understood Flynn. The fact that he really didn't care who he slept with - no matter what gender or form, was a nice touch to me as well. The backstory of some of the other characters was vaguely mentioned as well, and I'm guessing they'll be explained in other books in this series, which should be interesting.
I also must say that I love the name Isabella, it's such a pretty name to me! But what's with Lol. There also was this one scene that had me cracking up so bad, when she said and he said "you can't take that back", I imagined a little child with big eyes pointing his finger, because his mother told him he could have another cookie. Lol, I'm not sure why, but that made me laugh.
Writing
The writing was easy to read, with short sentences that weren't too difficult. Since both of the characters were teenagers in the first part, there weren't any difficult words that I had to look up or anything. There were quite some mistakes in it though, like repetition of words and sentences that weren't correct, but that didn't really bother me.
Overall conclusion
This wasn't a book for me. I didn't realize it would be about a stepbrother-sister kind of love (which is probably my own fault!), which really isn't my thing, and besides the heavy sex scenes (which I honestly wouldn't even have minded if they were consensual) being non-consensual, there was not much left of the story for me. I did like it a lot more after the time jump in the story, which was about 60% into the story. If you don't mind any of the things I had some troubles with, you should definitely check it out, because it definitely is an easy read then!
The story
The story is about Isabella, a rich girl who hates her stepbrother Flynn with all her might. Both push each other's boundaries until there is nothing more to give. Literally.
I'm still a bit flustered. I like my smutty stories, but this one was intense. And when I say intense, I mean intense. Hot damn, where do I start?
First of all, I liked the way the story started. It immediately shows how Flynn and Isa hate each others guts, and are willing to do anything to hurt the other. I really liked this part, because I love a good old enemies to lovers stories. Until I realized that he's her stepbrother. I know that means that they're not technically family, but whatever you say; I just don't like that. It made me think of my brother, and that just made me gag. I tried to put the whole stepbrother thing behind me, but it was repeated quite some times, so that made it hard at first (
Besides that, my real struggles were with the first part of the story - before the 10 year time jump that is. I'm still actually so mad about the way Flynn treated her. I'm really not that difficult to please, and I don't mind reading about almost every kind of sex, but non-consensual?! No thanks. In basically the entire story, Isabella LITERALLY says no to him, but he keeps going. I'm serious, almost every damn time she starts off by saying "Flynn, stop, I don't want to do this, no", or a variation of that. It is so, so not okay that he keeps going anyway "because he owns her" or "he's entitled to her" or some bullshit. Yes, she then gets turned on and kind of wants it anyway - but that's just her body responding to his touch, not her giving her consent or wanting it before the actual act. This is so messed up, I'm actually furious. I've never in my life felt this way over a book, but their sex scenes were non-consensual, and in my eyes started off as rape every damn time. This was just romanticizing rape, and that's not okay. Shit, and the scenes in the beginning where she was literally sleeping while he did stuff?! I'm going to stop now, because I could scream about it for ages.
The St. Jude "cult" is a big part of the story too. I think the idea is quite interesting, the way they show the secrets of terrible people in society. But it's hard not to talk about the elephant in the room; the awakening ceremony. What. The. Actual -
Sex? You mean rape? That Genevieve girl for example. She knew she had to do something to get in, but not exactly what it would entail. And when they were all - ahem - doing their thing, she told them she wanted them to stop, but they didn't. She was bleeding, crying, and still they didn't stop. This is not hot, it's - again - rape.
So besides the sex being non-consensual most of the time, it was a very big part of the story. It was a bit too much for me after a while, but I really started to like the story when there was the 10 year jump. I think this maybe was because they were all older now, and more mature (well not really, but kinda), and most of all because it wasn't just them having some sort of sex every sentence. I liked the story a lot more from that point onward, and that definitely made me give the book a higher rating.
The characters
I don't have a lot to say about the characters in particular, just that the Flynn - Isa relationship is so very unhealthy, but I won't go into that again.
I liked the way Flynn's past was portrayed - it was obvious that he had a dark past, but not what it exactly entailed. We learned more of it going onward in the story, which I liked. I really liked reading from both their perspectives, because if I'd only read this story from Isa's perspective, I would've never, ever liked or understood Flynn. The fact that he really didn't care who he slept with - no matter what gender or form, was a nice touch to me as well. The backstory of some of the other characters was vaguely mentioned as well, and I'm guessing they'll be explained in other books in this series, which should be interesting.
I also must say that I love the name Isabella, it's such a pretty name to me! But what's with
Spoiler
every damn smutty story having a pregnancy in it?Spoiler
she would stay with him, instead of going back to CaliforniaWriting
The writing was easy to read, with short sentences that weren't too difficult. Since both of the characters were teenagers in the first part, there weren't any difficult words that I had to look up or anything. There were quite some mistakes in it though, like repetition of words and sentences that weren't correct, but that didn't really bother me.
Overall conclusion
This wasn't a book for me. I didn't realize it would be about a stepbrother-sister kind of love (which is probably my own fault!), which really isn't my thing, and besides the heavy sex scenes (which I honestly wouldn't even have minded if they were consensual) being non-consensual, there was not much left of the story for me. I did like it a lot more after the time jump in the story, which was about 60% into the story. If you don't mind any of the things I had some troubles with, you should definitely check it out, because it definitely is an easy read then!
cloudsgirl27's review
4.0
Untethered is such a great quick read! I read this book in two days, it was that good. The chemistry between Bianca and Brett was amazing. Bianca and Brett are step siblings and it's forbidden to fall for your sibling, right? Not in this book! Brett has a dark back story and it was different from typical dark romances so it was refreshing. This book is definitely 18+ for mature language and situations. There were a few grammatical errors in the copy I read but nothing too crazy to deter me from continuing reading. I will definitely read the next book in this series, when it comes out later this year.
Thanks to Netgalley, M Jameson and Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for allowing me to read this ARC. All opinions expressed here are my own and I was not compensated in any way for a honest review.
#netgalley #flattenthenetgalleys #summerreading #20booksofsummer21
Thanks to Netgalley, M Jameson and Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for allowing me to read this ARC. All opinions expressed here are my own and I was not compensated in any way for a honest review.
#netgalley #flattenthenetgalleys #summerreading #20booksofsummer21