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darcynewtonn's reviews
31 reviews
Distance by Luna Mason
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
LUNA! WHAT TYPE OF CRACK DID YOU INJECT INTO THIS BOOK? LORD!
I've had luna Mason recommended to me numerous times and she definitely didn't disappoint.
Distance is the first book from the 'beneath the mask' series - not only is distance the first book in the series but also her first published book.
I found this book incredible but knowing this was her debut makes it even more impressive. To have this quality of writing first time round is outstanding and it's no surprise that the following books in the series meet the same standards and exceed them.
The emotional understanding I developed for these characters is something i'll never be able to comprehend. I cried, I laughed, I smiled and did a little bit of feet kicking I'll be honest. Sienna and Keller are such well developed characters I cant even put words to it, genuinely felt like they were real people and when I got to the end it hurt to leave them behind. At least we get to see glimpses of them in Detonate though :).
The storyline was engaging and never burned out. I think I read this book in a singular day and believe me 458 pages is not a short book, but I flew through it when the drama and plot just kept coming. Luna was spoon feeding me that storyline and I took it all.
Keller the MMC, is a heavy-weight boxing champion who also works alongside his 'brother' in the mafia. Kellers dedication to his boxing career is truly inspiring and the way Sienna supports him made my heart melt. While she isn't a massive fan of violence and Keller's lifestyle, theres no denying the way she fell for him and slowly began to love everything about him - even his violent sides.
Personally i'd class this as a sport/ dark romance and sport romance isn't something i've read before but when mixed into dark romance it works wonderfully.
The ratio of spice to story couldn't have been more perfect and that's honestly all I have to say about that. It was steamy, it was romantic, it was tense and it's just a beautifully written book and genuinely couldn't be more perfect.
I will without a doubt be reading this entire series as well as the spinoffs.
Easy 5 star read.
I've had luna Mason recommended to me numerous times and she definitely didn't disappoint.
Distance is the first book from the 'beneath the mask' series - not only is distance the first book in the series but also her first published book.
I found this book incredible but knowing this was her debut makes it even more impressive. To have this quality of writing first time round is outstanding and it's no surprise that the following books in the series meet the same standards and exceed them.
The emotional understanding I developed for these characters is something i'll never be able to comprehend. I cried, I laughed, I smiled and did a little bit of feet kicking I'll be honest. Sienna and Keller are such well developed characters I cant even put words to it, genuinely felt like they were real people and when I got to the end it hurt to leave them behind. At least we get to see glimpses of them in Detonate though :).
The storyline was engaging and never burned out. I think I read this book in a singular day and believe me 458 pages is not a short book, but I flew through it when the drama and plot just kept coming. Luna was spoon feeding me that storyline and I took it all.
Keller the MMC, is a heavy-weight boxing champion who also works alongside his 'brother' in the mafia. Kellers dedication to his boxing career is truly inspiring and the way Sienna supports him made my heart melt. While she isn't a massive fan of violence and Keller's lifestyle, theres no denying the way she fell for him and slowly began to love everything about him - even his violent sides.
Personally i'd class this as a sport/ dark romance and sport romance isn't something i've read before but when mixed into dark romance it works wonderfully.
The ratio of spice to story couldn't have been more perfect and that's honestly all I have to say about that. It was steamy, it was romantic, it was tense and it's just a beautifully written book and genuinely couldn't be more perfect.
I will without a doubt be reading this entire series as well as the spinoffs.
Easy 5 star read.
Taming Seraphine by Gigi Styx
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
I don't even know how to start this review!
Can I swear on here? I don't know, but holy s**t!
I recently read the mother of dark romance (if yk yk) and I didn't think It could be beaten, but my god this book goes above and beyond!
if you need an easy read to pull you right out of a reading slump this is the one!
Now, my TBR is somewhat 300 books long and a lot of books have been on there for a year or so, but this book didn't even last month on my TBR, I had to jump in and it did not disappoint.
The spice is absolutely amazing, the backstories of the characters are really heart touching and sad but my favourite parts... the plot twists and drops, holy moly, I didn't see a lot of them coming whatsoever and it was shut the book and scream moments.
I loved the characters in this and their personalities are. spot. on.
Seraphine is a hot headed, impulsive young woman suffering trauma and anger issues as a result; Leroi comes to the rescue and flips her life around. The character development in this book is insane and the way Leroi handles her and trains her essentially, is truly beautiful in the sexiest, most effed up ways possible.
I will recommend this book every day till the day I die, but please do check trigger warnings if you think there is anything that could potentially upset or hurt you.
I'm sorry Zade, you've been beaten.
Easiest 5 stars I've ever given and I cant wait for Emberly and Romans story Snaring Emberly on the 31st of March 2024!
Gigi Styx, what an amazing author, I will be reading all books by her from now on!
If you've made it to the end of this review, do send me a friend request as I love connecting with people!
Can I swear on here? I don't know, but holy s**t!
I recently read the mother of dark romance (if yk yk) and I didn't think It could be beaten, but my god this book goes above and beyond!
if you need an easy read to pull you right out of a reading slump this is the one!
Now, my TBR is somewhat 300 books long and a lot of books have been on there for a year or so, but this book didn't even last month on my TBR, I had to jump in and it did not disappoint.
The spice is absolutely amazing, the backstories of the characters are really heart touching and sad but my favourite parts... the plot twists and drops, holy moly, I didn't see a lot of them coming whatsoever and it was shut the book and scream moments.
I loved the characters in this and their personalities are. spot. on.
Seraphine is a hot headed, impulsive young woman suffering trauma and anger issues as a result; Leroi comes to the rescue and flips her life around. The character development in this book is insane and the way Leroi handles her and trains her essentially, is truly beautiful in the sexiest, most effed up ways possible.
I will recommend this book every day till the day I die, but please do check trigger warnings if you think there is anything that could potentially upset or hurt you.
I'm sorry Zade, you've been beaten.
Easiest 5 stars I've ever given and I cant wait for Emberly and Romans story Snaring Emberly on the 31st of March 2024!
Gigi Styx, what an amazing author, I will be reading all books by her from now on!
If you've made it to the end of this review, do send me a friend request as I love connecting with people!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Child abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Hate crime, Death, Kidnapping, Child death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Slavery, and Torture
King of Pride by Ana Huang
emotional
funny
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Ana Huang is one of my favourite authors, I went straight into The King of Sin series after reading the Twisted series but this book just didn't do it for me.
I found the vocabulary and descriptions got very repetitive and King of Pride lacked storyline.
I did DNF this book at 56% but that doesn't mean it's a bad book, I personally just wasn't very gripped.
if you want an easy and fast read i'd recommend this however theres defiantly better books out there.
I found the vocabulary and descriptions got very repetitive and King of Pride lacked storyline.
I did DNF this book at 56% but that doesn't mean it's a bad book, I personally just wasn't very gripped.
if you want an easy and fast read i'd recommend this however theres defiantly better books out there.
King of Wrath by Ana Huang
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.5
This book is a perfect follow up for the twisted series, it features characters from the previous books and feels like you're part of a family. The character development was well done and gave the book a whole other layer of depth of emotion.
The storyline was good and the spice was even better! Very good read, would recommend.
The storyline was good and the spice was even better! Very good read, would recommend.
Moments Of Malevolence by T.L. Smith
Overall this was a great book.
I loved Alaska's personality as i'm a sucker for a powerful woman who can stand on her own rather than the regular innocent women with no experience with 'bad' men. Alaska's job as a sex phone worker further reflects her hot-headed, witty personality as she regularly has to have conversations with pushy, demanding guys. She's an outgoing woman working two jobs, the other being a bar/ waitress job (Hooters sort of) where she's face to face with the types of people she talks to over the phone. She handles them with sass and a confidence that only Alaska can possess.....until she's actually face to face with one of her callers.
Zuko is the type of man who will treat you like a princess in public and treat you on the other end of the spectrum in private. This contrast is demonstrated numerous times throughout the book when Alaska goes through a series of events and Zuko is always right there. Zuko Is definitely a morally grey man who could do with some straightening up and holy moly is that exactly what Alaska does. This woman does. not. tolerate. a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g.
While it was a good book overall, I felt the characters could have been developed better. I felt no real emotional connection to the characters as their backstory and emotions weren't described enough throughout.
It is a relatively short book and has quite a chopped timeline, it felt as though the whole book happened within a week as there was no build up of tension. There was no real plot twist/drop or climax to the story which was a bummer. The two 'problems that happened within the book were resolved way too easily and didn’t seem like that big of a deal and overall seemed like unrealistic scenarios and solutions. I felt like I was holding my breath waiting for something exciting to happen that just never really came.
I would have loved to know more about Zuko's job to 'hunt' as it's all we hear about in the blurb and also throughout the book, he's just described as a 'scary man' with 'power' and we never truly see why besides one or two slightly violent scenes. It sort of felt like he was putting it on to come across as a bigger person than falling in love with a waitress.
I think the plan and intention was definitely there for the book it just wasn't executed brilliantly, the sex phone thing could have been used more and the unknown identity/ fake identity could have been taken further. To take this book to a 4 star I'd say it should have been 400-500 pages.
If you're looking for an introduction to dark romance this is definitely a good place to start as it's an easy read and not too dark.
If you've made it to the end of this review, do send me a friend request as I love connecting with people!
Instagram & TikTok where I post bookish content and more book reviews: darcynewtonn
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Overall this was a great book.
I loved Alaska's personality as i'm a sucker for a powerful woman who can stand on her own rather than the regular innocent women with no experience with 'bad' men. Alaska's job as a sex phone worker further reflects her hot-headed, witty personality as she regularly has to have conversations with pushy, demanding guys. She's an outgoing woman working two jobs, the other being a bar/ waitress job (Hooters sort of) where she's face to face with the types of people she talks to over the phone. She handles them with sass and a confidence that only Alaska can possess.....until she's actually face to face with one of her callers.
Zuko is the type of man who will treat you like a princess in public and treat you on the other end of the spectrum in private. This contrast is demonstrated numerous times throughout the book when Alaska goes through a series of events and Zuko is always right there. Zuko Is definitely a morally grey man who could do with some straightening up and holy moly is that exactly what Alaska does. This woman does. not. tolerate. a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g.
While it was a good book overall, I felt the characters could have been developed better. I felt no real emotional connection to the characters as their backstory and emotions weren't described enough throughout.
It is a relatively short book and has quite a chopped timeline, it felt as though the whole book happened within a week as there was no build up of tension. There was no real plot twist/drop or climax to the story which was a bummer. The two 'problems that happened within the book were resolved way too easily and didn’t seem like that big of a deal and overall seemed like unrealistic scenarios and solutions. I felt like I was holding my breath waiting for something exciting to happen that just never really came.
I would have loved to know more about Zuko's job to 'hunt' as it's all we hear about in the blurb and also throughout the book, he's just described as a 'scary man' with 'power' and we never truly see why besides one or two slightly violent scenes. It sort of felt like he was putting it on to come across as a bigger person than falling in love with a waitress.
I think the plan and intention was definitely there for the book it just wasn't executed brilliantly, the sex phone thing could have been used more and the unknown identity/ fake identity could have been taken further. To take this book to a 4 star I'd say it should have been 400-500 pages.
If you're looking for an introduction to dark romance this is definitely a good place to start as it's an easy read and not too dark.
If you've made it to the end of this review, do send me a friend request as I love connecting with people!
Instagram & TikTok where I post bookish content and more book reviews: darcynewtonn
Where's Molly by H.D. Carlton
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Mental illness, Murder, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Vomit, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Abandonment, Grief, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Addiction, Alcohol, and Cursing
Satan's Affair by H.D. Carlton
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger
The main storyline was the fact that her ex-fiancee disappeared the day before their wedding and didn’t leave any messages for her. Everyone thought he’d died as he was a natural rock climber and didn’t come back from a trip. Everything unfolds and we find out that he was married to someone else for their entire relationship with kids too. He was in the same mafia that Kage is and he did them dirty, taking money out the mafia account and sending it to his own off shore accounts for his own benefit.
Natalie (the FMC) discovers a key and it sooner or later leads her to a different country where she’s talking to her ex-fiancee and Kage shows up. Natalie was a brilliant person but lowered her standards way too low just to feel loved by someone like Kage. Not sure just wasn’t my vibe. But then people like different things so if you like a fast, easy, boring dare I say it, read, then this one of them.
dark
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I started this on the 18th of February and finished it on the 1st of March, I’ve left it a while to write this review as I wanted some time to think about it because I was unsure to begin with. I usually like mafia romances and I’d normally go for a forced proximity or enemies to lovers but I decided to try something different. I liked the characters in this book but I all honesty that was about it. There was very little plot and the plot only picked up in the last 30 or something pages, even so it felt rushed. I can imagine the plot then continues in the other books in the series as this book was left on a cliffhanger but this book was too much of a let down for me to continue the series.
Ive spoken to a couple of people who did continue this series but I’m still not convinced. The romance in this was very insta-love and him being away from her so often it felt more like a breakup getting back together with your ex numerous times, I just wasn’t digging it and in all honesty it took me a lot of effort to finish.
Natalie (the FMC) discovers a key and it sooner or later leads her to a different country where she’s talking to her ex-fiancee and Kage shows up.
Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
This book has whole heartedly changed me.
I'm going to try write this review as in depth as I can without giving anything way, i'll get back to you when in done.
Spoilers?: yeah no you’re safe don’t worry.
Off the back of Haunting Adeline obviously H.D Carlton left us with our butts on the edge of our seats, our jaws on the floor and our hearts in our mouth.
Throughout haunting Adeline, I'm not sure about anyone else but I developed such an emotional connection to the characters Adeline and Zade, in the Hunting Adeline this connection and understanding is only deepened, thoroughly.
Hunting Adeline gets very sad, traumatic, heartbreaking and all round just deep as f**k, very fast.
Right from the first chapter seen from 'The Diamond' aka Adeline, we're thrown into the beginning of her soon to be raging PTSD. The events that Adeline both whiteness' and becomes a victim to truly pulls your heart out, H.D is very good at explaining these events and almost making you feel like you are truly experiencing it.
I said this in my review for Haunting Adeline and i'll say it again... this book is not for the faint hearted! However now I truly mean it, again without giving too much away, If you or anyone your close with have had experiences with g,rape, as brilliant as this book was, please don't read it if you have even the slightest suspicion that it could effect you, chances are it will.
The book does get more lighthearted (if thats even possible when speaking about H.D Carlton's work).
Pulling this to a close, while this book was still incredible, it did make me cry at times, it did make me feel physically unwell at times but it as also completely changed the way I view a lot of things.
I'd say this book is a real eye opener to the real world and the sort of things that can happen or do happen without our acknowledgement.
I loved this book so so so much and I hope other people also see it in the way I did.
If you've made it to the end of this review, thank you, and do send me a friend request as I love connecting with people that share the same interests.
I'm going to try write this review as in depth as I can without giving anything way, i'll get back to you when in done.
Spoilers?: yeah no you’re safe don’t worry.
Off the back of Haunting Adeline obviously H.D Carlton left us with our butts on the edge of our seats, our jaws on the floor and our hearts in our mouth.
Throughout haunting Adeline, I'm not sure about anyone else but I developed such an emotional connection to the characters Adeline and Zade, in the Hunting Adeline this connection and understanding is only deepened, thoroughly.
Hunting Adeline gets very sad, traumatic, heartbreaking and all round just deep as f**k, very fast.
Right from the first chapter seen from 'The Diamond' aka Adeline, we're thrown into the beginning of her soon to be raging PTSD. The events that Adeline both whiteness' and becomes a victim to truly pulls your heart out, H.D is very good at explaining these events and almost making you feel like you are truly experiencing it.
I said this in my review for Haunting Adeline and i'll say it again... this book is not for the faint hearted! However now I truly mean it, again without giving too much away, If you or anyone your close with have had experiences with g,rape, as brilliant as this book was, please don't read it if you have even the slightest suspicion that it could effect you, chances are it will.
The book does get more lighthearted (if thats even possible when speaking about H.D Carlton's work).
Pulling this to a close, while this book was still incredible, it did make me cry at times, it did make me feel physically unwell at times but it as also completely changed the way I view a lot of things.
I'd say this book is a real eye opener to the real world and the sort of things that can happen or do happen without our acknowledgement.
I loved this book so so so much and I hope other people also see it in the way I did.
If you've made it to the end of this review, thank you, and do send me a friend request as I love connecting with people that share the same interests.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Rape, Drug use, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Sexism, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Child death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Stalking, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit
Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
dark
funny
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? Yes
4.75
While I'm still relatively new to reading dark romance or just reading in general, I can confidently say this is one of my favourite books and will remain a favourite.
If you're reading this review i'm going to assume you have a basic understanding of the book because let's be honest here... what dark romance readers haven't heard of Haunting Adeline? Exactly
When I went into this book i'd tried not to research it on booktok as I wanted the book experience without a swayed opinion. This is something I highly recommend doing as it allowed me to enjoy the true content of the book without knowing any spoilers and I think it just made it that little bit better. Admittedly any spoilers put onto TikTok would probably be removed due to inappropriate content so there isn't really much you can research on this book, but anyway, don't.
Yes Zade may be a little effed up, however I still can't help falling in love with him... and I sort of wouldn't mind having my own sexy stalker to throw my life into the air... is that bad? Probably, but hey if you're reading this then you probably got something a little loose up there too so you can't really judge me.
The only true warning I can give is, even if you're into dark erotic scenes, some parts of this book do get deathly dark *literally*. Me and my sister very much read the same books however we have an ever so slightly different reaction to gruesome details and this is one I know she would not enjoy. So please understand the sheer depth of what you are about to read. It is graphic and it is very easy to visualise.
One piece of information I do need to give on Hunting Adeline is that it is substantially darker and sadder reading the... situation?... thats going on. If you do plan on reading Hunting Adeline I strongly suggest you read the duet back to back with as little break in-between as possible, it makes the second book slightly less dark, not much, but slightly.
Overall this book was fabulous and I really did enjoy reading it, especially chapter 30 ;).
I've recommended it to numerous friends even though I think that's a slightly cruel thing to do but I really hope more people can love this book how I did.
If you've made it to the end of this review, do send me a friend request as I love connecting with people who are just as mentally messed as me.
If you're reading this review i'm going to assume you have a basic understanding of the book because let's be honest here... what dark romance readers haven't heard of Haunting Adeline? Exactly
When I went into this book i'd tried not to research it on booktok as I wanted the book experience without a swayed opinion. This is something I highly recommend doing as it allowed me to enjoy the true content of the book without knowing any spoilers and I think it just made it that little bit better. Admittedly any spoilers put onto TikTok would probably be removed due to inappropriate content so there isn't really much you can research on this book, but anyway, don't.
Yes Zade may be a little effed up, however I still can't help falling in love with him... and I sort of wouldn't mind having my own sexy stalker to throw my life into the air... is that bad? Probably, but hey if you're reading this then you probably got something a little loose up there too so you can't really judge me.
The only true warning I can give is, even if you're into dark erotic scenes, some parts of this book do get deathly dark *literally*. Me and my sister very much read the same books however we have an ever so slightly different reaction to gruesome details and this is one I know she would not enjoy. So please understand the sheer depth of what you are about to read. It is graphic and it is very easy to visualise.
One piece of information I do need to give on Hunting Adeline is that it is substantially darker and sadder reading the... situation?... thats going on. If you do plan on reading Hunting Adeline I strongly suggest you read the duet back to back with as little break in-between as possible, it makes the second book slightly less dark, not much, but slightly.
Overall this book was fabulous and I really did enjoy reading it, especially chapter 30 ;).
I've recommended it to numerous friends even though I think that's a slightly cruel thing to do but I really hope more people can love this book how I did.
If you've made it to the end of this review, do send me a friend request as I love connecting with people who are just as mentally messed as me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Blood, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Body shaming, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Body horror, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Deadnaming