A review by _onemorechapter_
The Annihilator by RuNyx

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

𝑻.𝑾:  If you are going to read this book please check the TWs listed by RuNyx at the beginning of the book. It's heavy!

“He wasn't a believer, but she was his miracle.”

💭The Annihilator is the fifth instalment in the Dark Verse series. This was the definition of a man obsessed and touch her you'll die because they literally died. This 5th instalment isn't so action-packed, but it is full of development. Jumping between present and past, we get to meet these main characters who have both been through SO MUCH, together and individually speaking, so it shows a lot of trauma, but also a lot of growth and healing. 
This book is definitely the darkest in the series so far, I don't think it compares to the previous books because it was very intense and heavy. I felt disgusted, angry, heartbroken and devastated, especially for everything Lyla went through. 
This book was heavier and heartbreaking, but it was also sweet and heartwarming at times, so imagine that contrast. As for the plot and the writing, it just gets more and more engaging and I just love how the pieces fall into place and some theories start to add up.
I will try not to give any spoilers because this book needs to be read blindly so that you can truly enjoy it.

The Shadow Man -  a mysterious man with heterochromia eyes, who’s been around and helping out the protagonists of the previous books through their stories (even though they do not fully know it) and his darkest, deepest obsession—Lyla, as she’d always been called. He not only belongs to but rules the darkness. He is feared, controlling, absurdly selfish, and obsessed. He is an assassin who watches romance movies!! He is Manipulative, intelligent, possessive, and obsessive, he is the definition of dark and delicious!
I think it's hard to find a middle ground between love and hate because that man was INTENSE, but we always knew he was an obsessed anti-hero and not a prince charming. I was not his biggest fan. How could I be when I have Tristan and Dante to compare him to? Especially Dante.

Lyla/Flamma- She is such a strong girl who has been forced to live through unspeakable, despicable things, but has never let go of her humanity. I think her growth and development throughout the book were realistic in the sense that she's not magically cured of her traumas. She's still struggling and it's going to be an ongoing battle for the rest of her life, but I'm proud to see that she's trying every day. She's an absolute angel.
She's his obsession. She's light—even though she hadn't been in there for a long time and had lost her own. She's also beautiful, attractive, strong, intelligent, fierce and resilient. One of the strongest characters I'd ever known. I sympathized with her, I loved her, and all I wanted was to give her a well-deserved, big, warm hug. The power and strength that she holds is commendable.

Shadow Man & Flamma
“There is no reality where you and I exist that we don’t end up exactly where we are now. None.”

The relationship between Lyla and him (I'm trying not to spoil his name) was something. It's not your usual relationship and it's a very different dynamic to the previous couples. He was a constant presence in Luna's life for a few years and he's obsessed with her, he stalks her and he's the kind of guy who will kill anyone who gets in her way, the type who would burn down the world for her (and damn if that isn't hot, in a twisted way). She feels too much, he feels too little, but somehow they work. The chemistry between the two main characters is also off the charts with how Shadow Man always puts her first and despite his lack of understanding of what love actually is, he works to make sure his feelings for Lyla are conveyed properly and Lyla can be herself another chance to love, another freedom to be with someone despite all that she went through with him, was very very heart-warming. Their exchanges with one another were so beautiful especially notes with roses daily!
He's possessive and will never let her go. I know he has ulterior motives, but he's helped Lyla in a lot of ways. I have some mixed feelings because I think Lyla deserved better, he knew where she was for so long and he knew about her family, he could have gotten her out sooner and told her the whole truth, especially when he knew how much she was suffering. But it makes sense that he didn't, because he's a selfish man and there was always a bigger game to play. I don't deny that he was manipulative as fuck, and somewhat selfish, but I can see the vision. After all, he also helped her "get ready" to face the truth.
But for those SIX months, no amount of explanation or reasoning can be accepted!

If I’m being honest I didn’t know exactly how I was going to rate this book. The Annihilator was definitely the more darker book out of all the others. For like 60% into the story I couldn’t for the life of me understand why anyone would like Shadowman as a character. But as the story progresses I began to understand especially when he was helping Lyla with the trauma she faced. Still find him a conflicting character that makes me a bit annoyed. Hence only a 3.75-star rating!

In the matters of the main plot of the series, this book gave me many answers I was looking for at the same time it did give me more and more questions. I think that it's absolutely beautiful how RuNyx had developed the stories of every protagonist, of every couple and family, and linked them until now, and I literally just can't wait to see how this—how their story (yes, as in one only story)—will end.

Stalker? CHECK
Mafia Romance? CHECK
Obsessed Hero? CHECK
Touch her and Die? CHECK
Traumatic Pasts? CHECK  
Age Gap? CHECK
Captivity? CHECK
Forced Proximity? CHECK

Overall, this series has become an obsession and I commend Runyx for writing such complex characters and a plot that will keep you up all night!

𝐏.𝐒 Can't wait for the final book - The Syndicator

𝐏.𝐒.𝐒 It should have been at least 100 pages longer, I find it too short!

🔸𝑴𝒚 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: ⭐⭐⭐.75
🔸𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 4.17 (26100)
🔸𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆:Mafia Romance  
🔸𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒚: 🔥🔥🔥
🔸𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔: Dark Verse (Book 5)
🔸𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: Yes!!
This book is so emotional and heartbreaking. I felt frustrated so many times, but it definitely hooked me that I finished it in one sitting.

🔸 𝑭𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑸𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔

“I am darkness.” He kissed her softly. “I live it, I breathe it, I am it. There is no redemption, no emotion, nothing for me. Nothing but you. You’re the moon to my dark night, flamma. You’re the only thing in this black sky that can thrive when I swallow everything else whole. The stars don’t exist in this space. Just you and I. You need me to glow and I need you to exist. It’s simple as that.”

“The world isn't ready to see who I become if this —” his thumb pressed on her pounding pulse “—ever stops.”

“The world could tilt on its axis, flamma, and I'd still be the most certain thing in your life.” A soft kiss. “You're the oxygen that feeds my flames—without you, my existence is questionable.”

“I'll always come for you.”

“You have many wishes left in you, flamma, and I will lay every single one of them at your feet. Just keep fucking breathing, got that?”

“If you ever choose another, make sure you kill me first. Because I—” he bent to whisper against her lips “—will annihilate the fucking world before I let you go.”

“I think it’s feeling safe,” she told him after a long moment of thinking, a moment where he patiently waited for the answer. “Emotionally, sexually, physically, safe in every way. It’s knowing you can be yourself with someone and they won’t judge you. It’s feeling like equals when need be and being able to give up control if need be. It’s... feeling like you can trust someone with the darkest secrets and knowing they’ll keep them safe. It’s the ability to trust without thought. It’s—” her voice shook as his gaze intensified “—being able to give up something important to yourself if it will help the one you love. It’s putting their needs above your own. It’s unconditional. That’s... that’s love for me.”

“She would be an inferno, and he would be the devil who controlled it.”

“They all looked at her but no one saw her, none except the man who watched her like it was his religion.”

“The deepest desires of your heart, the softest secrets of your soul, the meanest moments in your mind. I know them all, I own them. Every desire, every secret, every thought.”

“They were perfect, she and him— her soul full of emotion and light and his of void and dark.”

“She stared at the shelf in wonder. Not only did he know she liked the cute bottles, he was giving her options to try. Again. He was giving her the chance to experiment and see what she liked.”