A Night of Pleasure and Wrath

by Maddison Cole

One night. Three strangers. A newfound resentment I can't shake. They say bad things happen in threes. For me, however, the fourth came in the form of Club Rapture. Locked in until morning, I'm forced to face unknown truths about myself, especially the lengths I'm willing to go to for praise. The Bloodied Skulls took everything that night. Stripped me bare and left me to pick up the pieces. Abandoned. Humiliated. Thrown into the shadows where my anger festered. Since then on, I seek to find them and reap my revenge. They taught me to find pleasure in my pain, yet a bitter taste of anguish is all I'm left with. Until their blood coats my hands and they beg for my mercy, I won't stop. This time, I'll be in control, and they'll be the ones eager to submit. Trigger Warning : A Night of Pleasure and Wrath is a standalone novel with a HEA. As a MMA fighter with a feisty attitude, Harlow deems this book inappropriate for under 18's. Expect excessive amounts of steam, pushing boundaries, violence and cursing throughout. This reverse harem includes a female character so please be aware of the FF romance included.

Genres: Dark Romance, Why Choose, BDSM, Dark, Smut, Enemies To Lovers, Sports

332 pages, Paperback

Published February 21, 2023

About the author

Maddison Cole is a married mum of two, and a serial daydreamer. As a huge fan of fantasy romance novels for the past 7 years, she has finally decided to put pen to paper (finger to keyboard doesn't sound as poetic) and begin to write her own.

As a child, life was moving around the UK and a short stint in the Caribbean, before Maddison has found herself back in the south east of England where she is now happily settled. With a double award in applied arts and an A-level in art history, Maddison is just your average musical-loving, Disney-obsessed, jive-dancing woman with a dark passion for steamy fantasy books.

Reviews

[Lou Loves Literature · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book is H🔥O🔥T!!
We follow Harlow as her life literally falls apart at the seams at the start of this story.
All she has left is an invitation to a night at Club Rapture... so figuring she has nothing left to lose she attends, and her entire life changes as a result. After meeting Aria, Zeke, and Zane, nothing is the same again.
As usual, I refuse to give spoilers as I really enjoyed the little twists and turns in the story.
Just be sure to check trigger warnings before starting this one, and also make sure you have spare panties to hand, because you are probably gonna need them at some point during this one!
Highly recommend 😈

[kim_is_bookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

I enjoyed this read! I was invested in the story and the characters. There were just some things that weren’t used fully or to their full extent. Some scenes felt a bit too superficial to me, when I would have liked the author to deep dive into the humiliation at play for example! I would also have loved for MMA to take more place in the story since it’s described as a MMA gang romance. The spicy scenes were on point though and quite hot!

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book and these characters really hated Trina and wasn't particularly fond of Freddie I have only discovered maddison Cole this year and have read quite a few books by her and this amazing author can honestly do no wrong

[⋆˚ leyla ✿˖° · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was intense, to say the least... 4 ⭐️. I mean with a note from the author that reads:

"Welcome to a Night of Pleasure and Wrath, where there are no safe words, and your inhibitions need to be left at the door. This a standalone novel between Harlow and a gang of MMA fighters who use her body for one purpose only-to show her the lengths she'll go to in order to achieve her deepest desires for her. "
Now, please sign your NDA, hand over your phone, and come on in. The Bloodied Skulls are waiting for you."

I would have been disappointed if it WASN'T intense. This alone gripped me and just wouldn't let me go. I was so so ready to dive right in.

The love interests couldn't have been more delicious. Aria has my heart. She could ask me to kneel and I'd have been on the floor before she would finish the order.
And Matteo???? Goddamn. Not just on my knees for him but wailing and begging. I have no shame left after reading this I swearrrrrrrr!!!!

So many things in this book were right up my alley, like ff romance in the rh, a good revenge plot, lots of bdsm, MMA fighters, bully-to-lovers romance, and a kickass fmc.
I would read the trigger warnings, but if you (like me) think what you just read is delicious, READ IT. It won't let you down.

[Amy Carrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is seriously one of the spiciest books I’ve ever read—and I couldn’t get enough! 😍 From forced proximity to enemies-to-lovers, this book hits every trope I love and turns up the heat with its fast-burn romance and intense scenes. 🔥

✨ What I loved:
- The tension between the characters is off the charts—especially with that age gap vibes.
- The writing is smooth, engaging, and makes it impossible to stop turning the pages.
- There’s a why choose?dynamic that lets you enjoy everything—from MMA fighters to light FF relationships.
- The chemistry is explosive, especially with a touch of praise kink that amps up the heat.
- What really stood out was the character development.

Watching these characters grow and evolve over the course of the story was so satisfying. Their emotional journeys, especially as they navigate their complex relationships, made the spicy scenes even more impactful. It’s not just heat for heat’s sake—there’s real depth to these characters!

If you’re looking for something fast-paced, deliciously spicy, and well-written, I highly recommend this book! It’s a wild ride with MMA-fueled action, complex characters, and a storyline that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this one! 🔥

[Poppy Greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but extremely dark might be too much for most people

[Ashley's Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this more then I thought I would

I first read this in the anthology and honestly it wasn't my favorite story. I was left slightly confused on the direction this story was going to take. But after reading the full story, I was surprised to find that I enjoyed it more then I thought I would.

Harlow seemed lost and bored with her life in the beginning. And then she was looking for revenge on the 3 people who left her abandoned after a crazy night at Club Rapture. She grew stronger in the years that past until finally finding Zane, Zeke and Aria again. Once their leader Maddox decided to bring her in their group, feeling grew to something more then hurt and anger. She realized they were maybe more alike then she had thought.

The criminal and MMA side of the story was not as big of the picture as I thought it was going to be, but the story was still entertaining and left me content with the growth of the relationships in the end.

[Legacie Janoah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audiobook put me back in my romance era and has a chokehold on me. You have this gripping story that starts with Harlow’s need for revenge, that evolves into something so much bigger. Her initial plan of infiltrating The Bloodied Skulls starts to derail after she slowly starts to become closer to Aria, Zeke, Zane and Maddox. Their evolving feelings and relationship, mixed with the schemes happening throughout this book, had me on the edge of my seat. This wasn’t simply an audiobook, it was a whole production. I felt as though I was watching this amazing book, with all of its twists and turns, play out as a movie.

[Chastian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a lot of potential to it but it a felt to rushed and also to slow on some parts the first almost 30% of the book could have been edited down to one prologue and then fleshed the book out in other parts.

[Inès · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. I really liked all the characters.
The only thing I really was desappointed about was that I would have liked to read a little bit more about how the betrayal of Trina affected Zane, Zeke and Aria because we read a lot about how Maddox was hurt by it and how he dealt with it but we "only" know how they felt betrayed but they seemed really affected by it and at some points we realised they didn't want to talk about it but that's it. Also, how did Trina knew that Harlow would want to collaborate on her revenge against the Bloodied Skulls and how she knew she'd say "yes" to her proposal (if I missed it please remind me)

The spice was giving🔥🔥🔥. Yet, I don't think it was too much in the sense that it was well balanced between the place and importance of the plot and the scenes of spice.

[Mary Edwards Stagliola · Rating 1 out of 5]

1⭐️ - DNF at 25% nothing about this was interesting. I frequently read dark romance and this was so confusing.

Harlow finds herself at rock bottom, she’s fired from her job, her boyfriend is cheating on her, she’s mugged and left with only an invitation to a private club. She shows up and is thrown into level Wrath where she is expected to fight or endure torture. She is met with a group of three people, Aria, Zeke and Zane, who are her “torturers”

All of them seem to have split personalities and nothing makes sense. Stopped reading at the random two years later time jump.

[Laura Beltran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark and good.

This is a standalone in the shared world series Vices and Hedonism. This story was centered on wrath. This wasn't my typical read but I enjoyed the story very much. The charaters are well written. Harlow shows growth throughout the book. There is a ton of steam between her and her harem. I really liked that it was told in multiple points of view. There are a few twists along the way to a fantastic ending.

[Shirley Holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

This is a super sexy read together with one hell of a good storyline. Love Harlow and what a strong character she was. Maddox, Zeke, Zane and Aria were such deep characters and they were like the four just men in the intriguing plot. Thought the twist at the end of their mission was great. A super story and such a pageturner with action on every page. I highly recommend this book from this talented writer.

[Sunita Bhattarai · Rating 1 out of 5]

0 star .I read books with very open mind regardless of what the rating is ,but this is hands down the worst book I have read. This will be the last book I will read f I’m this writer.The moment Aria calls Harlow her little pet and how she wants to make Harlow her bitch and compare Harlow with cat and dogs in carpet 8 . For first 15 percent is just Torture of Harlow, then 2 year alter there is no story development , character , relationship development. Out of blue everyone falls in love with Harlow .I dislikes this book so much I dive multiple zero star to this book.

[Amycate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harlow and her gang. What a ride. When the spice hits, man does it hit. What a twisted world of underground MMA, sex and power plays. It is dark and beautiful. I stoped reading as I didn’t want it to end.
Harlow was the missing peace that Maddox, Zeke, Zane and Aria needed to unite. The book was fast paced and had me turning the pages. Each person POV allowed me to see into how they thought and seen each other. The dynamics between them was well written with all of them being who they are.

[Lucy Scrupps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fab-U-lous

This book has a little of everything thrown in, RH, Age Gap, MMA, BDSM and much more. But it all ties together perfectly to create a gripping dark romance that you’re not going to want to put down.
I loved every second of this book as it dragged me through a rollercoaster ride of words.
Definitely one to add to your TBR.

[em · Rating 5 out of 5]

actually surprised me how much I loved it since i usually end up hating dark romances i get off tiktok, but i absolutely loved this,
loved the concept, the plot, the execution, the characters and the FF in a RH
i need more instantly
the only thing i could say is that i wished the post-rescue at the end hadn’t just timeskipped because i am an absolute sucker for angsty healing.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could be better

I really liked the plot and the characters as well as the overall story. I wish the writing itself had been better. There were far too many grammatical errors for me to be fully invested in the story. I think a few edits and some tweaking of the character development are needed.

[Catherine Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow! that was fantastic

This book completely blew away all expectations- like completely and utterly blown away.
The suspense and mystery was well written, had me on the edge if my chair. Loved that I could never guess what would happen next.
The blood, pain and steamy scenes were hot AF and completely mesmerising.
Overall a excellent read.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook and it was so sinfully delicious!

Ya’ll THIS book right here! I devoured it. It was soooooo good. I loved everything about it.

The dedication alone had me excited to read this. 🖤

The audiobook was perfection. It was filthy and sexy. Narrators @nowhereeternity.va and
@katrina_the_narrator had me blushing the entire time.

[monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lacking so much editing and research...

The spice is good, like a C.
Story is rushed, but eh, fine I guess. I'm here for the smut mainly.
However, so many things were clearly not researched well or at all. Examples: GTA, kimonos, and martial arts moves (roundhouse kicks).
Please, for the love of gods, just do a quick Google search. It's not that hard.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy sh*t!!! This was crazy good!!!! I don’t usually read books with f/f but dammmmm this was amazing. Not only the chemistry between these characters was off the charts but the story totally kept my in suspense. Awesome read❤️

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy yumm

Love love every aspect of this book, the Harlows journey, and all her loves, finally a book that has a decent FF love. I am seriously Jealous of Harlow, where can I find my own harem of droll worthy humans?

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not for the faint of heart. TW galore. I fell into the dark side of BookTok TikTok land, but luckily survived, and enjoyed the storyline.

Enough twists and turns to keep my attention, who needs sleep anyway.

This author delivers on spice!

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasure and Wrath" swept me off my feet. The characters are so well-crafted, I found myself falling for them in the first few pages. The smut I say was utter perfection. The reverse glory hole being my favorite. 👌😌

[Jenny Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

After chatting to this author and wanting something super spicy I decided to give this one a go.
I was not disappointed.
I loved some characters, hated some characters, some got on my nerves … thoroughly enjoyed this book

[Srish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot af!

[Amerah · Rating 4 out of 5]

i am on my KNEES for Maddox you don’t understand 🙏

[Shell · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the book, I felt that some of the elements were not well developed and did impact how I feel about the book overall.

[earthboundsoul · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNFd about 1/4 into the book.