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dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Trafficking
Minor: Drug abuse, Pedophilia
emotional
reflective
medium-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
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I typically don’t enjoy split perspective books but I find this one is well written. It’s very easy to keep track of what’s going on because (for the most part) all of the perspectives are being shared linearly. The characters are complex and deal with real issues that you find yourself relating to, or at the very least understanding. If Urban Romances are your cup of tea, read it, and if you haven’t tried it out before (like me) definitely read it!
The only reason I do give this a 4 ⭐️ is due to the (SPOILERS):handing of Dream’s pregnancy. I personally didn’t enjoy how it felt like most of the characters were guilting or forcing her into keeping the pregnancy when she was considering abortion. The way Demon handled it was not for me, it felt like it came out of a place of possession and not genuine care. This definitely affected my feelings towards Demon but the way the pair were able to reconcile atoned for it! All in all, I love this book and I would love to have more stories that take place in this universe!
The only reason I do give this a 4 ⭐️ is due to the (SPOILERS):
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder
Minor: Trafficking
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
Love in the Shadows: A Haunting Tale of Redemption and Desire
Elle Kayson delivers a darkly seductive romance in Demon’s Dream, a story that pulls you into the gritty world of danger, sacrifice, and unlikely love. This is a tale of two broken yet resilient souls—Demon Montana and Dream Castle—whose collision is as explosive as it is transformative.
Demon is an anti-hero in every sense of the word. Hardened by a life filled with bloodshed and betrayal, he lives by his rules: no caring, no attachment, no love. Yet, Dream shatters the very foundation of those rules. Her strength, intelligence, and vulnerability weave a spell over him that even his dark heart cannot resist. Through Demon’s perspective, readers experience his torment, his desire, and his slow, unwilling surrender to the woman who dares to see the man behind the monster.
Dream Castle is a force to be reckoned with. As the “fixer” of her family, she is fiercely independent, resourceful, and unafraid to confront the darkness in Demon. Her initial wariness transforms into a magnetic connection, revealing a depth of emotional vulnerability that feels raw and real. The power dynamic between her and Demon is beautifully complex—equal parts tension, chemistry, and mutual redemption.
Kayson’s writing style is evocative, immersing readers in a world filled with high stakes, passion, and layers of psychological nuance. The dual POVs allow us to see the story through both characters’ eyes, creating an intimate understanding of their thoughts, fears, and desires. The relationship unfolds against a backdrop of danger and intrigue, making the romance feel even more intense and hard-won.
What stands out most is the emotional evolution of Demon and Dream. Their love story is not just about physical attraction but about healing, trust, and finding humanity in the unlikeliest of places. Demon’s transformation from a cold, unfeeling “monster” to a man capable of love is handled with care, while Dream’s ability to soften and strengthen him without losing herself is inspiring. This book covers a lot of heavy topics and I was very intrigued to the growth of the characters and to also see Smoke and Dayana’s story unfold.
The book is as brutal as it is tender, with scenes of raw violence juxtaposed with moments of quiet intimacy. Readers who enjoy dark romances with morally gray characters and intense emotional depth will find Demon’s Dream utterly captivating.
Elle Kayson crafts a gripping tale of redemption and love that will haunt your thoughts long after you’ve turned the last page. Demon’s Dream is not just a romance—it’s a journey through darkness, pain, and the healing power of love. A must-read for fans of dark, gritty, and emotionally charged stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, Sexual assault
Minor: Pedophilia, Trafficking, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Baby.... I thought you heffas was lying AGAIN... a 700+ Page book/dictionary/ENCYCLOPEDIA? Ain't no way, my guy... I just KNEW you heffas was llyyyyiinngggg BUT BAAAAEEEBBBBYYYY. Yall told the truth and we will never be SHAMED THE DEMON... This was a wild, fun fantastic voyage and I enjoyed it all. This book is extremely far from my normal favorite black romance genres and SHAME ON ME for not being open to trying books like this... ESPECIALLY IF THEY COMING WITH THIS. I have a few very slight complaints or criticisms but NONE of them are even worth mentioning. Reading fiction books are for entertainment, enjoyment and escapism and baby this was allofem...
I read fast but Freeeennnnnd I read the whole book in less than a day. I ate it right up... The story caught me RIGHT UP from the beginning. Push through the first 2 chapters and suspend your respectability politics and bourgeois BS and enjoy a great book with lovely vibrant characters, crazy love, suspense, trauma, drama, spice, surprises, healing, family, and LOVE. I really loved it and I'm sooo glad you heffas were NOT lying about this 700 plus page a** dictionary/encyclopedia of a book...lol @SistaTV loves you and Damien, Dream, Smoke and Bestie, Kam and everryyybody.
PS. We need an audiobook with amazing voice actors and a movie slash television series with doubly amazing actors directors cinematography etc... ASAPTUALLY.
I read fast but Freeeennnnnd I read the whole book in less than a day. I ate it right up... The story caught me RIGHT UP from the beginning. Push through the first 2 chapters and suspend your respectability politics and bourgeois BS and enjoy a great book with lovely vibrant characters, crazy love, suspense, trauma, drama, spice, surprises, healing, family, and LOVE. I really loved it and I'm sooo glad you heffas were NOT lying about this 700 plus page a** dictionary/encyclopedia of a book...lol @SistaTV loves you and Damien, Dream, Smoke and Bestie, Kam and everryyybody.
PS. We need an audiobook with amazing voice actors and a movie slash television series with doubly amazing actors directors cinematography etc... ASAPTUALLY.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I had heard very good things about this book from readers I follow and decided to give it a try. I enjoyed most of the main characters and their growth and the book was gripping most of the way through. I did not like the male lead (Demon/Damien) there were so many things that personally turned me off from him and made it excruciating for me to get through the title character's story. The overall plot was well done but I wish it was paced differently so the parts of the story that weren't about the romance of the characters flowed better. For me, the pacing of the underlying storyline was all over the place and made it difficult for me to really enjoy the story in its entirety. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dark romances with mafia family vibes and high stakes. There wasn't a trigger warning placed in the book so please review the trigger warnings people put in the reviews.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment
Minor: Trafficking
funny
hopeful
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
A “thirty-day fuck” turns into a whirlwind romance. Over 750+ pages of two fine, crazy men (Demon & Smoke) standing on business and showing the world they don’t play about the two feisty sisters (Dream & Dayana) they’ve fallen for. It deserves the hype.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Kidnapping, Pregnancy
Minor: Addiction, Vomit, Trafficking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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
I've finally finished the very very dark novel, Demon's Dream and now at the end of the book I'm left feeling like the juice just wasn't worth the squeeze.
There are so many characters in the novel that you have to keep up with, and to be honest, Elle Kayson does a fabulous job at making them all equally entertaining, intriguing, and the events of their lives are interesting...but then there are a million others mentioned at the end of the novel and your head is left spinning as you try to keep up with who's who. I mean, even the FMC, Dream, gets a new name...Baby?
That said, I wish Kayson had bothered to extend the novel by another two or three hundred pages to give us more insight into the lives of the children at then, even if only Kam/Kalylah.The story fast forwards 10 years, a significant time, and we don't know how the FMC or MMC get along as new parents, newlyweds, or what they do for work - does Demon keep killing? Is Dream still washing drug money?
I'm left with more questions than answers and that's soooo unfulfilling after reading 750+ pages.
There are so many characters in the novel that you have to keep up with, and to be honest, Elle Kayson does a fabulous job at making them all equally entertaining, intriguing, and the events of their lives are interesting...but then there are a million others mentioned at the end of the novel and your head is left spinning as you try to keep up with who's who. I mean, even the FMC, Dream, gets a new name...Baby?
That said, I wish Kayson had bothered to extend the novel by another two or three hundred pages to give us more insight into the lives of the children at then, even if only Kam/Kalylah.
I'm left with more questions than answers and that's soooo unfulfilling after reading 750+ pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have a lot of thoughts about the way this dark, mafia romance was presented. On the one hand. I’m in awe of this author’s ability to stretch this story out for over 750 pages and have action on every single page and not let it drag for one minute. On the other hand, I don’t think this book needed that many pages to tell this story as well. Indeed, to me, it could have benefited from being split into 2 books by character/plot line. As it was, sometimes it felt like we were getting very single character’s POV and I don’t think that was needed I did appreciate the author’s ability to weave together the almost separate storylines and POV’s of the two protagonist sisters’ coming of age plots in a violent, organised crime context.
The premise is that Dream is her crime family’s fixer and after her brother offends the biggest crime boss in the area by eloping with his daughter, she is forced to sacrifice herself entering into a 1-month arranged situation with the closed-off, intrinsically-damaged from a traumatic childhood, cold-as-ice, Damien/Demon (the brother of the crime boss her family offended). Sparks fly as the two clash in every way in that one month where family and safety are on the line, and violence and murder are the order of the day. Dream’s sister, Dayana, also features heavily in this as a subplot with Demon’s only friend, Smoke, Dayana’s foolish ex-fiancée, and an assorted cast of bodyguards, villains, cute kids, and broken people.
Overall, I liked this as a dark mafia romance. It is VERY dark and not for the faint of heart. There’s on-page violence, assault, torture, child abuse, murder, gun violence, the list goes on. I don’t think it needed to be quite as gratuitous as it was, but within the context of being a darker romance, it was good. The length of the book really allowed you to follow the characters on their journey of growth so that you felt part of their character trajectory. This solid character development was probably my favourite part of the book. I also enjoyed the adorable epilogue. This book is inherently problematic in the way of dark, mafia romance. The characters do and say awful things and deeper issues are brought up but never dealt with responsibly. E.g. the abortion plot angle.
In all, I enjoyed this author’s writing. It’s my first book by them and I thought they did a wonderful job keeping this ticking along and to blending an ensemble cast of characters and giving us different POVs without getting lost. Personally, I don’t mind a dark, mafia romance but this is representative of the very dark side of that sun-genre, so you may want to keep that in consideration if you’re checking this out. I recommend this for the right reader- the one who is willing to “just go with it” and read some deeply problematic people who’ve been through a lot of trauma find love even amidst murder, mayhem, brutal violence and craziness. Nobody in this book is alright and it’s so compelling!
The premise is that Dream is her crime family’s fixer and after her brother offends the biggest crime boss in the area by eloping with his daughter, she is forced to sacrifice herself entering into a 1-month arranged situation with the closed-off, intrinsically-damaged from a traumatic childhood, cold-as-ice, Damien/Demon (the brother of the crime boss her family offended). Sparks fly as the two clash in every way in that one month where family and safety are on the line, and violence and murder are the order of the day. Dream’s sister, Dayana, also features heavily in this as a subplot with Demon’s only friend, Smoke, Dayana’s foolish ex-fiancée, and an assorted cast of bodyguards, villains, cute kids, and broken people.
Overall, I liked this as a dark mafia romance. It is VERY dark and not for the faint of heart. There’s on-page violence, assault, torture, child abuse, murder, gun violence, the list goes on. I don’t think it needed to be quite as gratuitous as it was, but within the context of being a darker romance, it was good. The length of the book really allowed you to follow the characters on their journey of growth so that you felt part of their character trajectory. This solid character development was probably my favourite part of the book. I also enjoyed the adorable epilogue. This book is inherently problematic in the way of dark, mafia romance. The characters do and say awful things and deeper issues are brought up but never dealt with responsibly. E.g. the abortion plot angle.
In all, I enjoyed this author’s writing. It’s my first book by them and I thought they did a wonderful job keeping this ticking along and to blending an ensemble cast of characters and giving us different POVs without getting lost. Personally, I don’t mind a dark, mafia romance but this is representative of the very dark side of that sun-genre, so you may want to keep that in consideration if you’re checking this out. I recommend this for the right reader- the one who is willing to “just go with it” and read some deeply problematic people who’ve been through a lot of trauma find love even amidst murder, mayhem, brutal violence and craziness. Nobody in this book is alright and it’s so compelling!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Infidelity
Minor: Body shaming, Trafficking, Classism