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A review by darklyreading
Insatiable by Leigh Rivers

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh my God. I finally read Insatiable by Leigh Rivers. My chest is tight, my head is spinning, and I think I just whisper “what the f*ck” into the empty air at least three times. Like… how am I supposed to go back to normal life after this?

I found this book from BookTok (again, they never miss), and as soon as I saw the line “If he can’t have her, no one else can,” I was like — okay yeah, I am in trouble. I thought I was ready for the obsession, but nope. I was not ready for the way it swallow me whole. This is not just dark romance. This is dark-dark, the kind that grab your throat and refuse to let go, and somehow you are grateful for the chokehold?
Trigger Warnings: Please pay attention to the detailed content warnings below! This book is not soft, not sweet, and definitely not safe. It’s a lot.

Now let’s talk about Kade. Whew. This man is a walking trauma dump with a gun. Feral. Dangerous. So broken it hurt to look at him. But you cannot look away. He is the kind of morally gray that cross into pitch-black and still make you pause like, “do I… like him???” He is obsessed with Stacey in this way that is terrifying and twisted and weirdly tender in moments. But also — he needs therapy. Like a lot of it.
And Stacey? My God. She is not loud, not fiery. She is not that kind of heroine. She is quiet. Scarred. Surviving. And the way she just exist through everything that happen to her? That hit me. I don’t think I breathe right for half the book. There is this one part — I will not spoil it — but I swear, I almost cry. Like I felt this lump in my throat that just sit there.

Their relationship is like watching a storm roll in and just standing outside, soaking wet, waiting to get struck. It’s trauma on trauma, but there is also this awful, raw connection between them that feel real. It’s not “I love you” with flowers — it’s “I will destroy the world for you,” and honestly, that do something to me.

The pacing? Perfect for my ADHD brain. Short chapters, fast tension, no long-winded fluff. I kept saying “just one more chapter,” and suddenly it was 3am and I was sweating. The plot is super character-focused, so if you are into twisted dynamics more than huge worldbuilding, you will eat this up.
Leigh Rivers’ writing is sharp. It’s gritty and unflinching and almost too intimate. Some of the lines just hit. This one especially:

“Losing your voice to everyone is one thing, but losing your voice to someone you loved – trusted – is ten million times worse.”

I actually had to put the book down for a second after that one. Just sat there blinking at the wall like, “Welp. That hurt.”

Also — let’s take a moment for the cover. Insatiable looks like what it feels like: dark, sharp, haunting. It fits so well.

If you like your love stories soft and safe? This is not for you. But if you crave that messy, toxic, violent, broken kind of romance — the kind that make your moral compass spin and your heart ache — then yeah. You need to read this. Just… buckle up. And maybe scream into a pillow when you are done.
I am already eyeing book two even though I swore I would not. Because Kade and Stacey have me by the throat and I need to know where this chaos goes next.

And seriously — take care of your heart if you decide to read it. Mine is still recovering.
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