A review by magnafeana
Monster Bully by Sam Crescent

fast-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

2.25

<b>A 2.25 star read on a dark bully age-gap romance</b>

<b>DISCLAIMER</b>: I received this ARC via BookSirens in exchange for an honest review. All my thoughts are my personal opinions.

<b>SUMMARY</b>
When Grim met stranger “good” Eve, he knew her light would drown in his darkness—and he didn’t care. For Eve, Graham Doe is a little odd, but he’s charming in his own way. And for both of them, marriage becomes a natural conclusion to their romance.

Until one year later showed Eve her husband was nothing more than a lie.

Now Eve is trapped with this mysterious, murderous Grim, and Grim is stranded as his wife is desperate to leave him. Whether Eve likes it or not, Grim won’t let her leave.

And he won’t let anyone who touches her leave alive, either.

***

  • <b>Found On</b>: BookSirens (ARC)
  • <b>Available On</b>: Amazon (US)
  • <b>Audio</b>: N
  • <b>Genre(s)</b>: bully romance, (semi) dark erotic romance
  • <b>Demographic</b>: Adult
  • <b>Page Count</b>: 108 pages
  • <b>Tropes</b>: secret identity, cruel MMC, virtuous FMC, strangers to lovers to enemies to lovers, fast burn
  • <b>POV</b>: dual, past
  • <b>Reproduction</b>:
    Y
  • <b>Third Act Conflict</b>:
    External
  • <b>Intimacy</b>: sexual intimacy w/ penetration (graphic), sensual (minor), emotional (minor)
  • <b>Standalone</b>: Y
  • <b>Connected to Other Works</b>: Y
  • <b>Other Notes</b>:
    negative depictions of care homes, “when women refuse”, entrapment (MMC to FMC), abuse, body betrayal syndrome, murder/death of side characters, assault (FMC), blood
  • <b>Personal Rating</b>:
    2.25 ⭐️ | 0 🌶 | ♨️|
     

***

<b>CHARACTERS</b>

<b>Grim/Graham Doe</b>. Foster kid. Self-proclaimed “evil”. Cruel. OTT J/P. 2.5 ⭐️

<b>Eve</b>. “Good”. Helpful. Determined. Sees the best in people. Body betrayal syndrome. No flaws. 2.5 ⭐️

***

<b>OVERALL</b>

The story’s net positive was in its summary. I’m a sucker for bully romances and dark romances. Learning this one would be about a man who lured in an unsuspecting but trusting woman to be his wife under his carefully-crafted persona, only for the illusion to shatter, and she’s trapped with him?

My bread and butter.

Unfortunately, I think I lost the plot.

This is a fast burn and something I wouldn’t read, as well as very intense with things being black and white. Rather than the audience also falling for the illusion Grim set up, falling in love with him as Eve does, we’re notified point-blank he’s a “bad guy” in a bit of a Jojo Siwa “Karma” way. He emphasizes how cruel, evil, and uncaring he is, while Eve is perfectly perfect in every way. “Good” and “Evil” are used a lot. From Eve, the most I understood from her is that she’s “good” and easily fooled, and, while she’s in dismay about her husband lying to her, she’s not really wanting to escape him. There’s no struggle with her morality or ethics in staying with him either.

This being around 20 or so pages too many from being a novella coupled with my complaints may have led me to having a lower rating.

I’m not a fast-burn reader, so I cannot appreciate this pseudo-novella. As a dark romance, dark erotica, and dark fiction reader, I would have preferred a fleshed 300-page novel or so, in which in the beginning, we’re in Alice’s perspective, and we see what she sees in “Graham Doe”. We fall for him, though we sense something about him is dangerous, and, at the moment, that excites her. From there, we follow Alice in her marriage with “Graham” and all the intimate details. We also get to where Eve is kidnapped, and she’s doused with the reality her husband is Grim. From there, I could be satisfied in either splitting between Grim and Eve’s perspectives or keeping this in Eve’s point of view. We’re all left on the edge of our seat, not understanding Grim but recognizing his actions are very considerate and romantic towards Eve.

This was a bit of a disappointing read, as I was in the mood for something dark and depraved, and it tricks your mind into believing one thing and then shocking you into another. I wouldn’t necessarily classify this under bully romance as “bully” is self-prescribed by the MMC of how he treats others. He’s not a bully towards the FMC at all, which is a shame. I like bully romances ☹️

<b>BOTTOM LINE</b>: This book is for fast-burn novella readers who want something that doesn’t linger too much on the emotional beats and is very cut-and-dry with “good” and “bad”. Not the book for me, but it could be the book for you.