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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This why choose dark romance is book 2 in the Halston U series. I'm usually a sucker for a hockey romance, but I felt like this did not contain enough hockey to count... like the author threw in a bit of hockey, just enough to be able to label it as such to attract the hockey romance girlies, but I feel like this was bait and switch. Also, I really felt a disconnect in the plot, a bit of a roller coaster between the different characters, where it sometimes was really dark (check the triggers) and sometimes it felt almost like a rom-com and that didn't make sense to me. Almost like Logan was really out of place in the plot. It was a nice break though from all the frustration the other characters brought on. It was sometimes a bit hard to follow on audio, but that might have been on me because it took me many listening sessions separated over a couple of weeks. I hated Grayson with every fiber of my being, and I feel like he has ruined the book. I won't keep going with this series, even if it has a lot of elements I usually love, it wasn't for me.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
dark
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:
No
NetGalley Review:
I throughly enjoyed listening to this novel on audio. The narrators did a great job bringing the story to life.
I throughly enjoyed listening to this novel on audio. The narrators did a great job bringing the story to life.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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:
No
I wasn't expecting this book to be so dark and I also wasn't expecting to read it in one sitting.
It makes sense that this book has a sequel because the main male characters need to do a LOT of grovelling. I was fuming at them the whole time. The main character deserves the world, and I hope she gets it in the next book, I'll definitely be reading the next one.
Be sure to check the trigger warnings before reading this book.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!
It makes sense that this book has a sequel because the main male characters need to do a LOT of grovelling. I was fuming at them the whole time. The main character deserves the world, and I hope she gets it in the next book, I'll definitely be reading the next one.
Be sure to check the trigger warnings before reading this book.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Okay I have to tell you guys something, and I hate to be just like those assholes that give books 1 star ratings based on specific triggers they knew existed before starting the book because it’s on the trigger warnings page.
But I’m not gonna do that exactly okay?
Just bear with me.
I’m fine with noncon.
Bloodplay? More like child’s play.
Kindapping? Count me in. What was it that drew me back you ask? The child.
Yeah.
The freaking child.
How unhinged am I that that’s the part that bothered me?
And it’s not that it triggers anything in me, I just find it boring. The pregnancy trope, single parent trope, any kind of trope involving children gives me the ick. All that talk about children’s shows and you know, the cutesy family stuff, not what I’m here for.
BUT since it was my fault for not reading the trigger warnings list (I tend to skip it cause it often spoils stuff and let’s be honest, it’s very hard for a book to trigger me), I will not hold it against the author (yes, I’m looking at you, Karen. Seriously, stop giving books 1 star because it triggered you. It’s right there on the first page. Did you think these boys were going to be sweet fluffy little bunnies? If you’re not cool with it, don’t read the book.)
This book is a drug.
A Pringle. You can’t have just one but with pages.
OMG
Even with the whole child drama, I found this book so entertaining. It gripped me from page one, I was so intrigued to know what else would happen, and it actually started pretty tame you know? Things seemed to be going well and I kept thinking, how are things going to go to shit?
It doesn’t seem like they will.
But they do.
Oh yeah, they do.
I’m so excited to read book two and get started on that sweet, sweet redemption arc (because yes, Karen, of course it will happen. That’s what these bully romances are all about okay? Untangle your panties).
If you’re wondering wether you should read the book or not, I’d say it’s a yes if you don’t mind the dark themes (READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS) and you aren’t expecting squeaky clean love interests.
These guys are assholes okay?
They are fucked up in the head.
If you think Christian Gray was awful and problematic, just don’t read the book. You’re not gonna like it.
If you understand these men are assholes and know that they will get better later, I think you’ll find this quite fun because the pacing is super fast and the MC is actually not a terrible female lead. She actually does stuff you know? Takes control of her life.
If you don’t think you can handle love interests that are gonna do shitty things to the MC, then don’t read the book. (Seriously Karen, put the book down.)
Fine, we’re over with the non-spoilery part.
I don’t know if I can talk about each character without spoiling, so consider yourself spoiled if you go from here. They’re gonna be light but they’re gonna be there.
You’ve been warned.
It you’ve read it or don’t mind spoilers for some reason, let’s talk about the characters shall we?
*SPOILERS FROM HERE*
*SPOILERS FROM HERE*
Logan: the first guy we meet. Typical golden retriever athlete that has a swarm of girls pining over him. Super cute. Nothing bad to say about him really. Yes, he has a moment where he’s a dick, because he’s conflicted between this girl he really really likes and his best friend he’s known forever, so if you ask me, his reaction is pretty normal. I’d think anyone would react the same with the information he knew.
I read some reviews that were upset about him being weirded out by period blood, but like, when? He went out of his way to buy stuff for her even when he had no idea what he was doing, he bathed her and cleaned her and put her to bed.
Where did he react badly exactly?
I don’t think he was being rude or anything, he’d just never faced a situation like that before. Men sometimes don’t know things, they aren’t educated (this is a real issue girlies, I’m sure you know how often men don’t know about female anatomy).
Is this sad? Yes, but I think it says more about our education system than about men. And don’t get me wrong, I’m always up for shit talking men, but in this case, I think ignorance really comes to play. I remember when I was twelve and we were starting to get “the talks” in school. When it came time for the period talk, all the boys would be taken out of class. That’s where it starts.
We are super used in the dark romance genre to men pulling out tampons and eating girls out, which is great, but that’s not the case all the time.
I mean come on, I bleed every month and sometimes it gets a bit too visceral even for me.
I think his reaction was pretty sweet, funny and endearing.
Royce: I think he was my favorite one. There’s something so good about a moody love interest that hates everyone except the MC. He’s the least red flag of the boys, even if he initially seems like the worst one. The way his protective side came out even at the beginning when some random idiot was bothering her even if he’d only seen her twice, I loved that. He has a filthy mouth but a pretty heart.
Grayson: It wouldn’t be a good reverse harem if it didn’t have the almost unredeemable LI who’s mad at life and wants revenge.
Would I date someone like him in real life?
I wouldn’t date any of them in real life, that’s why we’re here right?
But, since we are here, we need to put ourselves in dark romance mindset to understand okay? He’s been traumatized, he doesn’t have all the information. He was manipulated by the adults in his life to believe what he believes.
Is it okay? Hell no.
Did I like him? No. Not at all. I didn’t find him even a little bit attractive.
Will there be a redemption arc for him? Yeah of course.
Who knows if it will be good or not, but as of now I’ll be waiting to see what happens next before I give my final judgement on him. Other than his red flags, I think I didn’t like him that much because the book doesn’t give us the time to connect much with him. He doesn’t really appear a lot, but I’m sure he’ll have more screen time later.
Riley: I usually hate female leads in books. It’s so hard for me to connect with them because most of the time they’re just so stupid you know? But I think Riley was pretty cool. She’s independent and she has a mind of her own and she doesn’t let people push her around. I liked the way her trauma was written, I felt it was pretty accurate to how trauma feels like (of course I can only speak for myself. If you have a different perspective, that’s absolutely fine too. We all deal with life’s bullshit differently).
Overall, I was just super entertained. It was exactly the kind of book I was looking for to get me out of an SIX MONTH reading slump.
Book 2, I’ll find you next.
But I’m not gonna do that exactly okay?
Just bear with me.
I’m fine with noncon.
Bloodplay? More like child’s play.
Kindapping? Count me in. What was it that drew me back you ask? The child.
Yeah.
The freaking child.
How unhinged am I that that’s the part that bothered me?
And it’s not that it triggers anything in me, I just find it boring. The pregnancy trope, single parent trope, any kind of trope involving children gives me the ick. All that talk about children’s shows and you know, the cutesy family stuff, not what I’m here for.
BUT since it was my fault for not reading the trigger warnings list (I tend to skip it cause it often spoils stuff and let’s be honest, it’s very hard for a book to trigger me), I will not hold it against the author (yes, I’m looking at you, Karen. Seriously, stop giving books 1 star because it triggered you. It’s right there on the first page. Did you think these boys were going to be sweet fluffy little bunnies? If you’re not cool with it, don’t read the book.)
This book is a drug.
A Pringle. You can’t have just one but with pages.
OMG
Even with the whole child drama, I found this book so entertaining. It gripped me from page one, I was so intrigued to know what else would happen, and it actually started pretty tame you know? Things seemed to be going well and I kept thinking, how are things going to go to shit?
It doesn’t seem like they will.
But they do.
Oh yeah, they do.
I’m so excited to read book two and get started on that sweet, sweet redemption arc (because yes, Karen, of course it will happen. That’s what these bully romances are all about okay? Untangle your panties).
If you’re wondering wether you should read the book or not, I’d say it’s a yes if you don’t mind the dark themes (READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS) and you aren’t expecting squeaky clean love interests.
These guys are assholes okay?
They are fucked up in the head.
If you think Christian Gray was awful and problematic, just don’t read the book. You’re not gonna like it.
If you understand these men are assholes and know that they will get better later, I think you’ll find this quite fun because the pacing is super fast and the MC is actually not a terrible female lead. She actually does stuff you know? Takes control of her life.
If you don’t think you can handle love interests that are gonna do shitty things to the MC, then don’t read the book. (Seriously Karen, put the book down.)
Fine, we’re over with the non-spoilery part.
I don’t know if I can talk about each character without spoiling, so consider yourself spoiled if you go from here. They’re gonna be light but they’re gonna be there.
You’ve been warned.
It you’ve read it or don’t mind spoilers for some reason, let’s talk about the characters shall we?
*SPOILERS FROM HERE*
*SPOILERS FROM HERE*
Logan: the first guy we meet. Typical golden retriever athlete that has a swarm of girls pining over him. Super cute. Nothing bad to say about him really. Yes, he has a moment where he’s a dick, because he’s conflicted between this girl he really really likes and his best friend he’s known forever, so if you ask me, his reaction is pretty normal. I’d think anyone would react the same with the information he knew.
I read some reviews that were upset about him being weirded out by period blood, but like, when? He went out of his way to buy stuff for her even when he had no idea what he was doing, he bathed her and cleaned her and put her to bed.
Where did he react badly exactly?
I don’t think he was being rude or anything, he’d just never faced a situation like that before. Men sometimes don’t know things, they aren’t educated (this is a real issue girlies, I’m sure you know how often men don’t know about female anatomy).
Is this sad? Yes, but I think it says more about our education system than about men. And don’t get me wrong, I’m always up for shit talking men, but in this case, I think ignorance really comes to play. I remember when I was twelve and we were starting to get “the talks” in school. When it came time for the period talk, all the boys would be taken out of class. That’s where it starts.
We are super used in the dark romance genre to men pulling out tampons and eating girls out, which is great, but that’s not the case all the time.
I mean come on, I bleed every month and sometimes it gets a bit too visceral even for me.
I think his reaction was pretty sweet, funny and endearing.
Royce: I think he was my favorite one. There’s something so good about a moody love interest that hates everyone except the MC. He’s the least red flag of the boys, even if he initially seems like the worst one. The way his protective side came out even at the beginning when some random idiot was bothering her even if he’d only seen her twice, I loved that. He has a filthy mouth but a pretty heart.
Grayson: It wouldn’t be a good reverse harem if it didn’t have the almost unredeemable LI who’s mad at life and wants revenge.
Would I date someone like him in real life?
I wouldn’t date any of them in real life, that’s why we’re here right?
But, since we are here, we need to put ourselves in dark romance mindset to understand okay? He’s been traumatized, he doesn’t have all the information. He was manipulated by the adults in his life to believe what he believes.
Is it okay? Hell no.
Did I like him? No. Not at all. I didn’t find him even a little bit attractive.
Will there be a redemption arc for him? Yeah of course.
Who knows if it will be good or not, but as of now I’ll be waiting to see what happens next before I give my final judgement on him. Other than his red flags, I think I didn’t like him that much because the book doesn’t give us the time to connect much with him. He doesn’t really appear a lot, but I’m sure he’ll have more screen time later.
Riley: I usually hate female leads in books. It’s so hard for me to connect with them because most of the time they’re just so stupid you know? But I think Riley was pretty cool. She’s independent and she has a mind of her own and she doesn’t let people push her around. I liked the way her trauma was written, I felt it was pretty accurate to how trauma feels like (of course I can only speak for myself. If you have a different perspective, that’s absolutely fine too. We all deal with life’s bullshit differently).
Overall, I was just super entertained. It was exactly the kind of book I was looking for to get me out of an SIX MONTH reading slump.
Book 2, I’ll find you next.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one was wild! It did have a pretty slow start for me personally but once it picked up I was hooked. I love a good dark romance and this definitely hit the mark
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I honestly don’t know what to say about the book. I didn’t hate the writing per say, but I also don’t find it super realistic. All of her relationships through the book are super abusive and messed up. I was hoping for a character who grows from her trauma. Unfortunately, none of the characters grow. If anything they all become worse people. The main FMC has been raped by her stepfather and has a kid from it. Her evil mother is barely taking care of the child while she goes to school. She works as a stripper to pay for herself, her Child and her mom. Then she falls for a guy who then kidnaps her for his friend (her step brother) and is forced to dance for them and another trashy friend. Which basically ends with him taping her. His friends walk in on it and tell him to stop but instead of calling the police they give her alcohol and lay next to her. She’s kind of a doormat and they should all be in prison. I don’t know why when she has her phone or goes to see her daughter she doesn’t go get help. Plus the reason she doesn’t is apparently she thinks it’s hot. I just don’t see someone who has been sexually assaulted being like hey kidnap me and every time you try to have your way with me I’ll just start kissing you because it’s hot. Plus her stepbrother even without the drama with his dad literally keeps going when she says to stop and pulls her hair out of her head. The one she wanted a relationship with pretends like he’s a protector but doesn’t actually protect her. This passes the line of dark morally grey and just skips to immoral.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a really incredible New Adult dark romance and book 1 of a series. There are some dark themes, so please check triggers before reading.
The story begins with the FMC, Riley, who is beginning her time as a scholarship student at Halston University, which is a haven for the rich and powerful. She finds herself in the thrall of three friends - Logan, Royce, and Grayson. Riley and Grayson have a history - he was her stepbrother until an accusation against his father split their family apart.
The book is pretty dark - Grayson is out for revenge and will stop at nothing to get it. But Riley's connection with each of the guys grows and changes during the story, and it's interesting to see how things change over time. Even with the darkness, the spice is hot, and the why-choose aspect adds a lot to the story. As an FMC, Riley is interesting because she's scrappy and resourceful -as a single mom she has to do anything she can to get by for her family. Her backstory and relationship with her mother further complicate things as well.
I loved this book on audio - the narrators were excellent. I only wish that the times when one character was narrating but another was speaking, they used the narrator for the person speaking - it was weird to hear Logan's words in Riley's voice (even if deeper), especially when there are multiple narrators for the book. The only other little distraction was that at times the dialogue was stilted - "However" was used a lot in a way that college students would never use it.
I found myself becoming attached to the characters and wanting them all to come around and get together. I'm hoping to hear more about how things evolve in Book 2!
The story begins with the FMC, Riley, who is beginning her time as a scholarship student at Halston University, which is a haven for the rich and powerful. She finds herself in the thrall of three friends - Logan, Royce, and Grayson. Riley and Grayson have a history - he was her stepbrother until an accusation against his father split their family apart.
The book is pretty dark - Grayson is out for revenge and will stop at nothing to get it. But Riley's connection with each of the guys grows and changes during the story, and it's interesting to see how things change over time. Even with the darkness, the spice is hot, and the why-choose aspect adds a lot to the story. As an FMC, Riley is interesting because she's scrappy and resourceful -
I loved this book on audio - the narrators were excellent. I only wish that the times when one character was narrating but another was speaking, they used the narrator for the person speaking - it was weird to hear Logan's words in Riley's voice (even if deeper), especially when there are multiple narrators for the book. The only other little distraction was that at times the dialogue was stilted - "However" was used a lot in a way that college students would never use it.
I found myself becoming attached to the characters and wanting them all to come around and get together. I'm hoping to hear more about how things evolve in Book 2!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Classism
I really enjoyed this book. I can't wait to see what happens with the characters in the next book. And how their individual relationships grow and how the group relationship Grows
5/5 What did I just read?! I have cried, laughed, felt enraged, and everything in between. Riley is such a strong FMC! Logan and Royce have some major groveling to do and Grayson can go kick rocks!!