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keraniluna 's review for:
House of Cards: A Dark Captive Romance
by Logan Fox
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to the ARC team for an advance copy of this book! It's very dark - please check triggers before reading.
This book focuses on the FMC, Zoey, who starts out in a predicament - she's stuck with a crazy family debt to a shady character, and she then gets caught counting cards in a mob casino to try to make the money to get out of trouble. Of course, this leads to more trouble - she now owes a debt to the MMC, Smith, who trains submissives for a "club" of sorts within the mob's purview. When Smith catches her, he offers her a deal - agree to work off her debt to him by becoming one of his subs.
Unfortunately,this club is more sadistic than truly BDSM - while they vet their clients, they seem to allow any rich men who would like to torture women to join. Zoey is stuck between the club and the men who would like to truly hurt her and Smith, who grows attached to her but isn't able to show his love without causing her pain. Without the safety and consent aspects of BDSM in this relationship, she is often confused and really hurt. Smith would like to keep Zoey safe, but he isn't able to figure out how to do that in a healthy way. Fortunately for him, Zoey finds that she likes the pain he causes, even if she doesn't understand why.
There are twists and turns as the characters discover each other, and each is darker than the previous one. The story is wild, and I couldn't put it down.
This story is refreshingly unique and fun to read. While there is a mafia aspect, I didn't feel bogged down in that part as I often do - the story focused on the main characters and their drama rather than getting caught up in little details of the mafia life. The tension between Smith and Zoey are the main driver of the plot here, and their chemistry is fun to watch. And Zoey's internal dialog is hilarious at times, adding some much-needed levity.
I gave 4.5 stars rather than 5 because I felt we were missing two things at the end of the book. First, because the club isn't a good representation of BDSM and the healthy and safe power exchange that can happen in a scene, I found myself wishing that the characters figured out how to properly negotiate and execute a scene by the end. There was more trust (and even a safeword) in one scene at the end, but it's quite different than the rest of the play scenes in the book. Second, Zoey first enters the world of the club and finds that it's darker than she expected - but we don't ever circle back to any understanding that the setup of the club is toxic and manipulative for these women. I would have liked to see Zoey push Smith to help change (or end) the club.
Overall, a completely twisted and dark read, but so much fun!
This book focuses on the FMC, Zoey, who starts out in a predicament - she's stuck with a crazy family debt to a shady character, and she then gets caught counting cards in a mob casino to try to make the money to get out of trouble. Of course, this leads to more trouble - she now owes a debt to the MMC, Smith, who trains submissives for a "club" of sorts within the mob's purview. When Smith catches her, he offers her a deal - agree to work off her debt to him by becoming one of his subs.
Unfortunately,
There are twists and turns as the characters discover each other, and each is darker than the previous one. The story is wild, and I couldn't put it down.
This story is refreshingly unique and fun to read. While there is a mafia aspect, I didn't feel bogged down in that part as I often do - the story focused on the main characters and their drama rather than getting caught up in little details of the mafia life. The tension between Smith and Zoey are the main driver of the plot here, and their chemistry is fun to watch. And Zoey's internal dialog is hilarious at times, adding some much-needed levity.
I gave 4.5 stars rather than 5 because I felt we were missing two things at the end of the book. First, because the club isn't a good representation of BDSM and the healthy and safe power exchange that can happen in a scene, I found myself wishing that the characters figured out how to properly negotiate and execute a scene by the end. There was more trust (and even a safeword) in one scene at the end, but it's quite different than the rest of the play scenes in the book. Second, Zoey first enters the world of the club and finds that it's darker than she expected - but we don't ever circle back to any understanding that the setup of the club is toxic and manipulative for these women. I would have liked to see Zoey push Smith to help change (or end) the club.
Overall, a completely twisted and dark read, but so much fun!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury