You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
imme_van_gorp 's review for:
The Darkest Temptation
by Danielle Lori
➛First read: August 2024 | ★4.0 stars
➛Second read: February 2025 | ★2.5 stars
EDIT after my re-read:
I can still see why I liked this so much the first time around, but upon reflection and after reading it again, I must, unfortunately, admit that this really was much too smutty, repetitive, and (at times) problematic for me. The first time, I had somehow found a way to ignore or turn a blind eye to a lot of little (and big) things that really annoyed or bored me this time around, but now… not so much.
My most major issue was with the fact that so many of their interactions were centered around sex or lust, while I personally wanted to see more emtional intimacy, depth and affection between them. It made the whole thing feel more shallow and superficial than it could have been: the potential of their sunshine/grumpy, captor/captive, innocent/evil dynamic could have given us so much more if only it wouldn’t have all led back to sex and lust.
Not to mention, some of the things that were said and done here just irked me or rubbed me the wrong way. Ronan’s treatment of Mila could be highly uncomfortable to say the least, and I was much less forgiving of that this time around. I couldn’t find it in myself to swoon for this man anymore.
Honestly, I think this book can be best described as a ‘guilty pleasure,’ which apparently worked for me really well the first time, but, sadly, not so much now.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Yup. I liked this. I liked it a lot. It really hit a lot of the right spots for me.
For some reason I have always loved the trope of the cold, hardened, cruel mobster boss who hates the whole entire world, but somehow develops a soft spot for one sweet, sunshiney girl, and this book executed that trope perfectly.
The captor/captive trope is a more difficult one to get right and definitely has the potential to be really annoying or frustrating. Fortunately, this book managed to stay away from all potential aspects I hate about that trope, such as the captor having a sadistic streak or just treating the captive like trash in general. Luckily, that never happened here.
Ronan was completely whipped for Mila, and I loved to see it. He was obviously reluctant to develop any feelings for her, and he pushed those emotions away for quite a bit, but even so, he never pushed her away. He always wanted her in his orbit; he wanted her attention, her affection, her smiles, her banter. He just wanted her, plain and simple. And he would have burned the world down for her to be his forever.
Last but not least, I truly loved Mila as the heroine. She was naive, soft, and vulnerable, but her kindness never seemed weak to me. She had a genuinely kind and beautiful soul, which made me understand why Ronan fell so hard for her. Also, not unimportantly, she could be very witty and funny; she truly made me laugh a few times and she was undoubtedly charming.
That said, I might have wanted her to give Ronan a little more pushback from time to time and perhaps made him work a little harder for her affection, but I still never felt like she was a doormat. She did voice her displeasure whenever she felt it, but it’s just that she was a very easy-going and forgiving person, which was something I had to accept soon enough, even if I didn’t always like it.
All in all, I really liked these characters and I genuinely thought they had a very swoon-worthy, if tumultuous, romance with a lot of tropes I love. The writing was nice, albeit a bit smutty for my tastes, and I really managed to feel whatever these characters were feeling. It sucked me in from beginning to end, and I surely enjoyed the ride it put me on!
➛Second read: February 2025 | ★2.5 stars
EDIT after my re-read:
I can still see why I liked this so much the first time around, but upon reflection and after reading it again, I must, unfortunately, admit that this really was much too smutty, repetitive, and (at times) problematic for me. The first time, I had somehow found a way to ignore or turn a blind eye to a lot of little (and big) things that really annoyed or bored me this time around, but now… not so much.
My most major issue was with the fact that so many of their interactions were centered around sex or lust, while I personally wanted to see more emtional intimacy, depth and affection between them. It made the whole thing feel more shallow and superficial than it could have been: the potential of their sunshine/grumpy, captor/captive, innocent/evil dynamic could have given us so much more if only it wouldn’t have all led back to sex and lust.
Not to mention, some of the things that were said and done here just irked me or rubbed me the wrong way. Ronan’s treatment of Mila could be highly uncomfortable to say the least, and I was much less forgiving of that this time around. I couldn’t find it in myself to swoon for this man anymore.
Honestly, I think this book can be best described as a ‘guilty pleasure,’ which apparently worked for me really well the first time, but, sadly, not so much now.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Yup. I liked this. I liked it a lot. It really hit a lot of the right spots for me.
For some reason I have always loved the trope of the cold, hardened, cruel mobster boss who hates the whole entire world, but somehow develops a soft spot for one sweet, sunshiney girl, and this book executed that trope perfectly.
The captor/captive trope is a more difficult one to get right and definitely has the potential to be really annoying or frustrating. Fortunately, this book managed to stay away from all potential aspects I hate about that trope, such as the captor having a sadistic streak or just treating the captive like trash in general. Luckily, that never happened here.
Ronan was completely whipped for Mila, and I loved to see it. He was obviously reluctant to develop any feelings for her, and he pushed those emotions away for quite a bit, but even so, he never pushed her away. He always wanted her in his orbit; he wanted her attention, her affection, her smiles, her banter. He just wanted her, plain and simple. And he would have burned the world down for her to be his forever.
Last but not least, I truly loved Mila as the heroine. She was naive, soft, and vulnerable, but her kindness never seemed weak to me. She had a genuinely kind and beautiful soul, which made me understand why Ronan fell so hard for her. Also, not unimportantly, she could be very witty and funny; she truly made me laugh a few times and she was undoubtedly charming.
That said, I might have wanted her to give Ronan a little more pushback from time to time and perhaps made him work a little harder for her affection, but I still never felt like she was a doormat. She did voice her displeasure whenever she felt it, but it’s just that she was a very easy-going and forgiving person, which was something I had to accept soon enough, even if I didn’t always like it.
All in all, I really liked these characters and I genuinely thought they had a very swoon-worthy, if tumultuous, romance with a lot of tropes I love. The writing was nice, albeit a bit smutty for my tastes, and I really managed to feel whatever these characters were feeling. It sucked me in from beginning to end, and I surely enjoyed the ride it put me on!