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Corrupt Cupid #1
Be Mine, Twisted Valentine
Fifteen years ago, I helped put my abductor behind bars. With the help of my hypnotherapist, I’ve sealed away the memories of my traumatic past. Until the dreaded phone call. Duncan Whittaker’s out on parole. The first time I confront him, I intend to kill him. Then something snaps inside me. The memories I’ve been repressing have returned. Duncan Whittaker’s the only man who’s ever made me feel desire. He’s also the one who held me captive for almost a year. Isolated me to make me grateful for his presence. Deprived me of sensation to make me crave his unwanted touch. Duncan Whittaker’s a sadist who’s broken something inside me. For the second time, he’s about to ruin my life. And God help me, I can’t stop him. I don’t want to stop him. Be mine, Twisted Valentine is a part of a multiauthor collab. Ditch the hearts and flowers and step into the dark world of Corrupt Cupid. Each book can be read as a stand-alone, but why not grab each and every deranged romantic tale as you slip into a place where darkness rules?
228 pages, Hardcover
First published February 7, 2023
332 people are currently reading
1886 people want to read
About the author
Gianni Holmes
106 books1,281 followersGianni Holmes is a USA TODAY Bestselling author who's embracing her love for literature by wielding the pen and creating stories of her own. She's the author of the popular series The Grimm Tales of Smoky Vale and The Taking Care series. Gianni is a former teacher of Spanish Language and Hispanic Literature.
These days she can be found writing books, hanging out with her readers, and raising her daughter as a single mother. You can keep in touch with her in the following places:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/authorgiannih...
Newsletter: https://www.gianniholmesauthor.com/ne...
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/giannigems
These days she can be found writing books, hanging out with her readers, and raising her daughter as a single mother. You can keep in touch with her in the following places:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/authorgiannih...
Newsletter: https://www.gianniholmesauthor.com/ne...
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/giannigems
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 420 reviews
February 12, 2023
“Who says we need to be healthy?” Duncan clutched my arms. “Fuck all those making shit up about what a relationship should be like. We may not be healthy, but we’re real. What we have is real, and that’s enough.”
Well, this was an unexpected treat.
This isn’t something I’d normally read, considering it features a lot of trigger warnings that I usually stay away from, and the relationship between the characters is borderline toxic, but there’s always a first for something, right? Be Mine, Twisted Valentine is one of the only books of this series I was actually interested in reading. I read the prologues teaser on this author’s website and admittedly became more invested, so my anticipation for this short and twisted read was increasing.
Gianni Holmes can be a hit or miss, as I’ve discovered, but this makes the second book I’ve enjoyed from her, so I’d say I can give her another chance. There’s a warning at the beginning of the book warning readers of what to expect when reading this. While the blurb can be enough, there are certain trigger warnings that can still put readers weary, but I think those aspects made the story shine. The love between the two characters is intense—possessive, obsessive, toxic, cruel, chaotic, and rough. There’s rough sex, rough feelings, and rough emotions. They’re manipulative, controlling, jealous, and every opposite of kind. The borderline feelings are calculating.
Yet their love is loyal.
By whose definition is it considered loyal or love?
By their own.
It was sick. It was twisted. But for someone to go through so much just to be with me… How could I give up on him?
I loved how the author wrote the relationship between Duncan and Teddy. We see every thought both characters have, making it easy to see and understand what they’re thinking, why they’re doing what they’re doing, etc. I found Teddy’s to be aggravating but also complicated. There’s a push and pull relationship that provides no reassurance whatsoever, lingering on nothing but impulsive control, need, lust, and want. It’s not weary at all, with no remorse for anything or anyone. Teddy’s regret comes after the actions are done, with no plan to stop soon. His actions, thoughts and emotions are written so well that it was easy to get lost in his mind. We see him go from someone scared and fearful to controlled again, yet his obsessiveness wins him that feared price.
Teddy’s way of thinking is one reason this really worked for me because of the psychological difficulties presented in every scene between Teddy and Duncan. He’s ashamed, embarrassed, and humiliated, yet his confusion makes him want it more; he’s afraid of asking for more for how it’ll make him look. He has no boundaries to the relationship he starts building up with Duncan again, and it’s all his own will. His brain says no, but his body says yes. His heart is slowly but surely being captivated once again. Overall, his character was so interesting to me. I really enjoyed seeing him go from scared and unsure to confident and abrupt. He was a complex character, unsure of what he wanted but sure it was wrong; deeply rooted in hate and fear yet knew he could get what he wanted. Gianni surprised me with his character.
“And that lets you off the hook?” he snarled. “You beat me until I begged you to stop. You waterboarded me until I pissed myself. Cut me open with your knife, tied me up, monitored me like I was an animal in a zoo. You shaved my fucking head. Do you know how dehumanizing that was?”
“That was the point of it.”
While Duncan doesn’t necessarily have an excuse for how he treated Teddy, his growing yet unconscious fondness of the boy is delightful. There’s teasers of his weird soft heart. As Gianni explained in the beginning, this book is a mixture of sweet and dark. Duncan is that. One moment he’s tying Teddy up to the staircase, giving him poppers to loosen his ass, and tugs the belt around his neck as he fucks him. The next he’s cleaning up his vomit caused by the poppers, wondering how that isn’t enough to show him love, runs him a bath, and washes him. And they say love is dead. Pfft!
“Fuck almighty. Isn’t it bad enough that you shot me?”
“You deserved it. I was aiming for your heart.”
“If you wanted it so badly, you could have done the polite thing and asked for it.”
I love how dark/twisted characters confess their love. It’s captivating because it sounds cruel. Their way of showing love is complicated and probably unacceptable, yet it works for them. Duncan was a character unsure of how he felt but came to accept it the moment it happened. He tried to forget and feel differently but his obsession consumed his thoughts. It’s entirely relevant for how his character is. He knows what he wants and will do anything to get it. Everything he did to Teddy when he had him kidnapped was part of the plan, yet becoming completely absorbed by him wasn’t.
I also really appreciated how Duncan never changed. While his love for Teddy becomes sweet towards the end, he never faulted himself. He doesn’t regret anything and doesn’t deny what he did. Everything he did had a purpose, and his goal at that moment was met, it was just translated into more. Yet, his character remains somewhat mysterious. He’s unpredictable, unashamed, and uncontrolled. There was never anything he lied about or bullshitted. He was confident and accepting, understanding what he did may be something he came to not like anymore but doesn’t deny his sole purpose. His enjoyment changed from pain to pleasure. There was always a spot for Teddy in his heart he hadn’t realized he’d carved out.
“I’ve never felt this way, so I don’t know if what I feel is love. Fuck, because we’re being real here, I don’t even know if I’m capable of loving, but I know the thought of you hurting makes me want to kill whoever is responsible for causing you pain. I know I’ll do the fucking worst shit known to man to make you stay. I’m not above kidnapping you and tying you to my bed to make you mine. Fuck, I’d fake both our deaths and move away with you to somewhere we can start over, and I wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in anyone who stands in my way of having you.”
The forbidden aspect of this was amazing and so well-written. Seeing Teddy feel no remorse for having the dick of his abductor from fifteen years ago in his mouth while his pregnant wife was miscarrying? Brilliant. When I say forbidden love, this is the intensity I want to see. Regret and guilt washes over the character yet they do nothing to change it. Duncan still had a hold on Teddy without physically taking action. It was all mentally and socially, tearing him apart yet putting him back together once he was done playing. His character is nothing but obsessed. With some hints of sadism and masochism, the two are a whirlwind—pushing and pulling till they finally decide what they have is enough. The relationship is rough in the sense that it’s entirely and primarily sexual. It’s filled with intense need and nothing but lust. Both men have a craving for each other that runs deep down in their system there isn’t any other to get rid of it. It’s angsty with their denial and confusion. They fight, they argue, they make up roughly. There’s hardly any care for each other, yet they don’t need it. They go back to their lives as if nothing is happening between them—Teddy goes back to his pregnant wife, and Duncan lies to his parole officer. Their codependency keeps them alive, granting them access to each other’s lives. They breathe, feel, and need each other to the point where it’s an itch they can’t scratch without the help of the other. It was quite blissful reading their relationship progression. I found it entertaining and even sweet at times.
“I’m curious, though. You left your wife’s bed and traveled all that way to kneel for me. What would your wife think? Sucking the cock of the man who you claimed tortured you for months? What did you call me? A twisted fuck? And what does that make you, Teddy?” He was pale now, and his discomfort only fueled me to hit harder. “Can all the twisted fucks in the house raise their hands, please?”
There were a couple things that didn’t necessarily falter my enjoyment entirely but some things did contribute to some annoyance.
I didn’t necessarily find Duncan’s past and how Teddy’s father killed his brother an excuse for what he did only because it went entirely too far, but it’s something you simply need to accept and move on with. However; it wasn’t that, but more how I got a little annoyed with Teddy’s thoughts and how he said he understood why Duncan did what he did a little more. It presented him as somewhat weaker. I also expected more of their past to be shown. We see some of the scenes of Teddy kidnapped by Duncan and what he does to him through some flashbacks, which helps connect some dots more and paint the picture, but it didn’t give enough of a background. I think I would have liked this more because of how it could have added to Teddy’s character, in particular. While we see how messed up he becomes, I would have liked to see him go through that process himself while being abducted. The abductor/abducted and stockholm syndrome tropes aren’t my favorite because of how little sense there is in the characters. There’s hardly anything to root for because of how easily both characters give in, but especially the victim. I understand this book would hardly have an emotional connection that I normally look for in romances, so that wasn’t what bothered me. It was just how little of the timeline we really see. We’re more aware of Teddy and Duncan in the present than the past. Admittedly, we don’t see that much here, yet it still worked for me. However, in my opinion, it would’ve added strength to the characterization if we saw Teddy become mentally challenged.
Overall, it’s Gianni Holmes, so many people are not going to enjoy this. The author may be known for their OTT and some messy plot points, but this was a fun ride. It was unhealthy, but that was the whole point. It never tried to be something it wasn’t. It kept its tone set for the entire novel, only with some changes made to make the relationship somewhat lighter, yet the mood of it all was kept dark. It had some very eye-rolling and laughable moments, but I simply found it enjoyable.
July 21, 2023
a very cute romance book. such a healthy relationship. goals! 💘😋
May 23, 2023
4.5 Stars (rounded up)
I love some twisted, toxic, possessive love and wow did this book deliver!!!
I treasured every bit of the pain. When I was alone, the pain kept me company. Kept me from losing what was left of my mind. Because when I was hurting, it meant I was still alive.
Duncan kidnaps Teddy when he was 18 in order to get revenge on Teddy's father for a heinous act he committed. Teddy is subjected to a special kind of torture by Duncan. However, as we learn throughout the book, nothing is quite as clear cut as it may have seemed. Eventually, Duncan gets out of prison on parole after serving 15 years for what he did to Teddy.
“You didn’t come here to kill me. You came here because you missed this. You miss the one thing only I can give you.”
You guys. The way Chapter 12 had me in a CHOKEHOLD. I had to read it twice in a row before moving on. I was just fully immersed in Teddy and Duncan here. I feel like this is when we really got a real taste of what they had going on between them all those years ago.
He had shattered the nice, fun life I’d been living when he abducted me, but then he’d taught me how fake it all was. This was real. The need was too raw for it to be anything else.
The lengths that Duncan went to in order to keep tabs on Teddy when he was in prison were VERY thorough. I think that gives some insight into Duncan's feelings for him. Teddy even recognizes these actions in the same way. Most people would probably be completely freaked out, but Teddy thought it was kinda sweet.
I loved him so damn much. I’d fallen in love with him the first time I’d kidnapped him. That was the reason I’d let him go.
Teddy and Duncan are extremely codependent and toxic, but they love each other in a way that only they can understand. And that's all that matters.
“Other people might have run after they found out how manipulative, obsessive, and possessive you are, but I find myself attracted to you even more at the extent of what you have done for us to be together. You’re one scary man, Duncan.” “Then you should run, pet.” “But it’s so much more fun to be caught.”
I've already read the two bonus scenes Gianni released. I cannot wait for more from these two in the future.
***I received an ARC of this book from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion.***
I love some twisted, toxic, possessive love and wow did this book deliver!!!
I treasured every bit of the pain. When I was alone, the pain kept me company. Kept me from losing what was left of my mind. Because when I was hurting, it meant I was still alive.
Duncan kidnaps Teddy when he was 18 in order to get revenge on Teddy's father for a heinous act he committed. Teddy is subjected to a special kind of torture by Duncan. However, as we learn throughout the book, nothing is quite as clear cut as it may have seemed. Eventually, Duncan gets out of prison on parole after serving 15 years for what he did to Teddy.
“You didn’t come here to kill me. You came here because you missed this. You miss the one thing only I can give you.”
You guys. The way Chapter 12 had me in a CHOKEHOLD. I had to read it twice in a row before moving on. I was just fully immersed in Teddy and Duncan here. I feel like this is when we really got a real taste of what they had going on between them all those years ago.
He had shattered the nice, fun life I’d been living when he abducted me, but then he’d taught me how fake it all was. This was real. The need was too raw for it to be anything else.
The lengths that Duncan went to in order to keep tabs on Teddy when he was in prison were VERY thorough. I think that gives some insight into Duncan's feelings for him. Teddy even recognizes these actions in the same way. Most people would probably be completely freaked out, but Teddy thought it was kinda sweet.
I loved him so damn much. I’d fallen in love with him the first time I’d kidnapped him. That was the reason I’d let him go.
Teddy and Duncan are extremely codependent and toxic, but they love each other in a way that only they can understand. And that's all that matters.
“Other people might have run after they found out how manipulative, obsessive, and possessive you are, but I find myself attracted to you even more at the extent of what you have done for us to be together. You’re one scary man, Duncan.” “Then you should run, pet.” “But it’s so much more fun to be caught.”
I've already read the two bonus scenes Gianni released. I cannot wait for more from these two in the future.
***I received an ARC of this book from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion.***
February 15, 2025
Be Mine, Twisted Valentine is one heck of a crazy ride. This romance is dark, complicated, and completely addicting. Duncan and Teddy have a love story that is anything but conventional. Their story involves a kidnapping and captor/captive elements. What I especially loved about this story is how messy and possessive the love story is. Duncan and Teddy are unhealthy individuals who went through many traumatic events and because of these events have bonded significantly with one another.
Duncan and Teddy are obsessed with one another, and they must possess each other in the most primal way. I completely devoured this insanely, crazy story. I needed to know how everything would end and how this couple would achieve their HEA, which does happen, but it is not an easy one, but it makes perfect sense for this crazy couple.
Overall this is the perfect dark Valentine's Day romance. I loved how insane everything was, in the best brutal way. An unhealthy love story is fascinating to me and I absolutely loved this demented love story for all of its problematic ways. Loved this first entry and cannot wait for the rest!!!
Duncan and Teddy are obsessed with one another, and they must possess each other in the most primal way. I completely devoured this insanely, crazy story. I needed to know how everything would end and how this couple would achieve their HEA, which does happen, but it is not an easy one, but it makes perfect sense for this crazy couple.
Overall this is the perfect dark Valentine's Day romance. I loved how insane everything was, in the best brutal way. An unhealthy love story is fascinating to me and I absolutely loved this demented love story for all of its problematic ways. Loved this first entry and cannot wait for the rest!!!
![Profile Image for Lilly [Hiatus due to School] .](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1663899589i%2F10381707._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
July 18, 2023
"You're mine now. Just like a dog belongs to its master, you belong to me."
I stayed up until 4 am reading this book. I could not put it down.
Be Mine, Twisted Valentine was messed up and twisted as it was sweet, just like Gianni Holmes promised.
We have Duncan, who kidnaps Teddy, the son of the police chief, after killing his little brother. He wants to make him pay using his son. He keeps him captive, torturing, beating, and humiliating him for almost a year. However, during those long months, something happened that changed both men. Now 15 years later, Duncan is out on parole and is ready to pick things up and claim Teddy once more.
Teddy has tried to move on with his life after sending Duncan away. In the past 15 years, he's gotten married, has a child on the way, became a lawyer, and started healing. He has tried to forget his kidnapper and tormenter, but some scars do not heal. When the man who broke him down both physically and mentally comes calling, he can not resist.
I do not want to say much about the plot because I do not want to give away anything, and honestly, it is best to go in blind. (Only if you have no triggers, your mental health is a priority), so I will focus on their relationship.
I loved Duncan and Teddy. Nothing about them is healthy or socially acceptable. The obsession, the codependency, the jealousy. Duncan is a selfish man who does not care, has no remorse, and does not feel bad - his sole focus is Teddy and how to get him back - despite knowing he is jeopardizing his own freedom.
This story is so messed up in terms of their relationship that I don't know where to start. It was over the top, insane, and wild (It seems like I will be describing the relationships in this series like this).
I also liked seeing how messed up and twisted Teddy was or became. He was conflicted about doing the right thing, trying to be normal, and creating a facade to avoid getting dragged into the madness. Did it work? Nope. Did he also hurt people? Yes. So is he an innocent party? I do not know.
The sex was so hot, filthy, and rough…I loved it. Gianni knows how to write them, and this was no different. That kind of depraved dirty possessive sex is right up my alley, so I enjoyed every minute of it.
Overall I enjoyed it, it was a crazy and twisted ride, and I honestly loved Duncan and Teddy.
Be Mine, Twisted Valentine was my most anticipated book of the series as I love Gianni's writing, and it delivered for me. If you enjoy Stockholm syndrome, possessive characters, obsession, codependency and twisted love, this is it.
Please do check the TWs. The author posted a note under a spoiler tag going over it in detail on GR.
I stayed up until 4 am reading this book. I could not put it down.
Be Mine, Twisted Valentine was messed up and twisted as it was sweet, just like Gianni Holmes promised.
We have Duncan, who kidnaps Teddy, the son of the police chief, after killing his little brother. He wants to make him pay using his son. He keeps him captive, torturing, beating, and humiliating him for almost a year. However, during those long months, something happened that changed both men. Now 15 years later, Duncan is out on parole and is ready to pick things up and claim Teddy once more.
Teddy has tried to move on with his life after sending Duncan away. In the past 15 years, he's gotten married, has a child on the way, became a lawyer, and started healing. He has tried to forget his kidnapper and tormenter, but some scars do not heal. When the man who broke him down both physically and mentally comes calling, he can not resist.
I do not want to say much about the plot because I do not want to give away anything, and honestly, it is best to go in blind. (Only if you have no triggers, your mental health is a priority), so I will focus on their relationship.
I loved Duncan and Teddy. Nothing about them is healthy or socially acceptable. The obsession, the codependency, the jealousy. Duncan is a selfish man who does not care, has no remorse, and does not feel bad - his sole focus is Teddy and how to get him back - despite knowing he is jeopardizing his own freedom.
"She's an obstacle to me. That's all. You were never hers, Teddy. You belonged to me first. These years with her were borrowed, now I'm taking back what's mine."
This story is so messed up in terms of their relationship that I don't know where to start. It was over the top, insane, and wild (It seems like I will be describing the relationships in this series like this).
"You beat me until I begged you to stop. You waterboarded me until I pissed myself. Cut me open with your knife, tied me up, monitored me like I was an animal in a zoo. You shaved my fucking head. Do you know how dehumanizing that was?"
"You've shaved my head, branded me, beaten me, done all sorts of things to me, and I'd never felt as humiliated and like nothing as the day you left me at the gas station and drove away."
I also liked seeing how messed up and twisted Teddy was or became. He was conflicted about doing the right thing, trying to be normal, and creating a facade to avoid getting dragged into the madness. Did it work? Nope. Did he also hurt people? Yes. So is he an innocent party? I do not know.
"Let's get something straight," he whispered. "When you're in my bed, nobody else matters. You don't have a wife. You only have me....Now say my name again."
The sex was so hot, filthy, and rough…I loved it. Gianni knows how to write them, and this was no different. That kind of depraved dirty possessive sex is right up my alley, so I enjoyed every minute of it.
Overall I enjoyed it, it was a crazy and twisted ride, and I honestly loved Duncan and Teddy.
Be Mine, Twisted Valentine was my most anticipated book of the series as I love Gianni's writing, and it delivered for me. If you enjoy Stockholm syndrome, possessive characters, obsession, codependency and twisted love, this is it.
Please do check the TWs. The author posted a note under a spoiler tag going over it in detail on GR.
![Profile Image for Megan [At The Cottage].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1634561405i%2F25103878._UY200_CR50%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
July 4, 2024
MM Romance
Taboo/Forbidden
4 Stars ⭐️
🎵Narrated by John Solo🎵 5 Star Audiobook ⭐️
When I saw one of my favorite books was going to be narrated by one of my least favorite narrators I wanted to cry 😭 but I gave it a whirl anyways and I fucking loved it but I’m so confused. John Solo absolutely rocked this audiobook. He slayed as both Duncan and Teddy but especially Duncan and I’m super confused because I’ve listened to multiple audiobooks by JS and have hated his voice on all of them but this one had a whole different feel to it. I’d say it’s because I love the book so much but there are books that I love and legit cannot listen to because this narrator or Joel Leslie are on them so why is this one different? Every once in a while I’d hear the annoying part of his voice but it usually only lasted a few seconds then disappeared. So I highly recommend this to anyone who usually struggles with this narrator or anyone who loves him because I loved the fuck out of this book even more on audio.
Teddy and Duncan 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 Now I need to go find the bonus stories this author wrote for this couple because I forgot to do it the first time and I NEED more!!
=====================
Original Review Below
=====================
This book was so fucking depraved and I enjoyed the hell out of it. Duncan and Teddy were so fucking toxic but the obsession, possession and need they had for each other just won me over. If anyone has triggers, I’d definitely heed the warnings because this one is a wild ride.
The premise of this book is that Teddy’s dad is a cop who got Duncan’s brother killed approximately 16 years ago. In order to get revenge, Duncan kidnaps Teddy with the intent of torturing, killing and mailing him in pieces back to his father. However, these two develop a twisted relationship during the 9 months together and when Duncan gets out of jail after serving 15 years, they cannot stay away from each other.
This book is so twisted because Teddy has tried desperately to move forward from his kidnapping but the minute he learns Duncan is paroled, he starts stalking him despite being married to a woman who is pregnant with his child. Teddy knows what he’s doing is wrong but Duncan is the only person whose given Teddy what he needs despite how wrong his desires may be. Duncan is still on probation for 5 years but there is nothing he won’t risk to be with Teddy. He’s even considering kidnapping him again! 😂
These two were so delightful to read about because they were both depraved in their own ways. I really thought I’d 5 star this but the last 15% was a bit rushed and I wasn’t a huge fan of the outcome of everything but I’m still giving it 4 stars because I couldn’t put this train wreck down once I started it and fuck me was this book hot 🥵 This author writes great taboo books and I need to read more of her backlist asap.
Taboo/Forbidden
4 Stars ⭐️
🎵Narrated by John Solo🎵 5 Star Audiobook ⭐️
When I saw one of my favorite books was going to be narrated by one of my least favorite narrators I wanted to cry 😭 but I gave it a whirl anyways and I fucking loved it but I’m so confused. John Solo absolutely rocked this audiobook. He slayed as both Duncan and Teddy but especially Duncan and I’m super confused because I’ve listened to multiple audiobooks by JS and have hated his voice on all of them but this one had a whole different feel to it. I’d say it’s because I love the book so much but there are books that I love and legit cannot listen to because this narrator or Joel Leslie are on them so why is this one different? Every once in a while I’d hear the annoying part of his voice but it usually only lasted a few seconds then disappeared. So I highly recommend this to anyone who usually struggles with this narrator or anyone who loves him because I loved the fuck out of this book even more on audio.
Teddy and Duncan 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 Now I need to go find the bonus stories this author wrote for this couple because I forgot to do it the first time and I NEED more!!
=====================
Original Review Below
=====================
This book was so fucking depraved and I enjoyed the hell out of it. Duncan and Teddy were so fucking toxic but the obsession, possession and need they had for each other just won me over. If anyone has triggers, I’d definitely heed the warnings because this one is a wild ride.
The premise of this book is that Teddy’s dad is a cop who got Duncan’s brother killed approximately 16 years ago. In order to get revenge, Duncan kidnaps Teddy with the intent of torturing, killing and mailing him in pieces back to his father. However, these two develop a twisted relationship during the 9 months together and when Duncan gets out of jail after serving 15 years, they cannot stay away from each other.
This book is so twisted because Teddy has tried desperately to move forward from his kidnapping but the minute he learns Duncan is paroled, he starts stalking him despite being married to a woman who is pregnant with his child. Teddy knows what he’s doing is wrong but Duncan is the only person whose given Teddy what he needs despite how wrong his desires may be. Duncan is still on probation for 5 years but there is nothing he won’t risk to be with Teddy. He’s even considering kidnapping him again! 😂
These two were so delightful to read about because they were both depraved in their own ways. I really thought I’d 5 star this but the last 15% was a bit rushed and I wasn’t a huge fan of the outcome of everything but I’m still giving it 4 stars because I couldn’t put this train wreck down once I started it and fuck me was this book hot 🥵 This author writes great taboo books and I need to read more of her backlist asap.
February 8, 2023
With Gianni Holmes, it's always a hit or miss for me.
Thankfully, this was a hit. It was so deliciously good.
The cheating is for the fact that Teddy cheats on his wife with Duncan, the no-cheating is obviously for the fact that they don't cheat on each other at all.
Teddy and Duncan are as twisted as could be. They start out with Duncan kidnapping Teddy when he was 19/20 years old (we don't get Duncan's age. I'm guessing he's around 5 years older than Teddy, maybe more. In present that would put him around 40, 42, maybe more? Idk. Somewhere in his 40's, though) and holding him for 9 months, 9 twisted months of beatings, torture, deprivation, isolation, and sex....lots and lots of sex.
Duncan did it to get back at Teddy's father, who was a cop who murdered his little brother during a drug raid that he wasn't even supposed to be at.
Duncan wants to get back him, so he feels destroying and breaking the man's son is close to what he suffered, losing his brother who he loved so dearly by that man's hands. Probably planned to kill Teddy too.
But Duncan never meant to be attracted to Teddy, he never meant to want him, to crave him, to become obsessed with him.
These two are in no way healthy. And they are very aware of that fact. Which makes this so delicious. they're aware of their fucked-upness and all the things they do wrong and how bad they can be, and yet they're so obsessed with each other in the end they can't muster up a fuck.
Teddy tries, for a long time. After he lets Teddy go, he's arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison. In those years, Teddy meets a woman and gets married and at the start of this, they're expecting a baby.
But 15 years later, and Duncan gets out on parole, and all the seemingly hard work Teddy made to forget the man goes up in smoke.
And while Duncan calls Teddy and never says anything - violating his parole, but you know...obsession, so - Teddy is the one to seek him out, to stalk him, to reach out.
Teddy might have been kidnapped, and what Duncan did to him was all kinds of fucked up, but he's just as obsessed with Duncan as Duncan is with him, and he knows it, deep down, no matter how he tries to deny it.
As fucked up as their love is, it is love. Duncan let Teddy go because he was in love with him. He does some fucked up shit, still, and yet he wants to stop hurting Teddy, eventually. But he also wants Teddy all for himself. They're made for each other.
It's so deliciously good. All the times they fuck while Teddy has a pregnant wife at home. All the times Teddy gives in even as he tries to protest. The way they consume each other.
Is it healthy? Fuck no. And they're probably never going to be. But it's fiction, and well, they're it for each other. No one can stop them in their possessive, obsessive, unhealthy ways. I absolutely loved it, I loved them together.
I highly recommend if you're into dark romances and don't mind some MC's being supremely fucked up to each other - mainly Duncan toward Teddy, but Teddy becomes fucked up towards others because of his own obsession towards Duncan - then I say go for it, definitely read this, you won't be disappointed.
Definitely, this was a win for me. I couldn't put it down and read it within a day. Two MASSIVE thumbs up from me. Will definitely be reading the next one in this series by April Jade. Can't wait!
Thankfully, this was a hit. It was so deliciously good.
The cheating is for the fact that Teddy cheats on his wife with Duncan, the no-cheating is obviously for the fact that they don't cheat on each other at all.
Teddy and Duncan are as twisted as could be. They start out with Duncan kidnapping Teddy when he was 19/20 years old (we don't get Duncan's age. I'm guessing he's around 5 years older than Teddy, maybe more. In present that would put him around 40, 42, maybe more? Idk. Somewhere in his 40's, though) and holding him for 9 months, 9 twisted months of beatings, torture, deprivation, isolation, and sex....lots and lots of sex.
Duncan did it to get back at Teddy's father, who was a cop who murdered his little brother during a drug raid that he wasn't even supposed to be at.
Duncan wants to get back him, so he feels destroying and breaking the man's son is close to what he suffered, losing his brother who he loved so dearly by that man's hands. Probably planned to kill Teddy too.
But Duncan never meant to be attracted to Teddy, he never meant to want him, to crave him, to become obsessed with him.
These two are in no way healthy. And they are very aware of that fact. Which makes this so delicious. they're aware of their fucked-upness and all the things they do wrong and how bad they can be, and yet they're so obsessed with each other in the end they can't muster up a fuck.
Teddy tries, for a long time. After he lets Teddy go, he's arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison. In those years, Teddy meets a woman and gets married and at the start of this, they're expecting a baby.
But 15 years later, and Duncan gets out on parole, and all the seemingly hard work Teddy made to forget the man goes up in smoke.
And while Duncan calls Teddy and never says anything - violating his parole, but you know...obsession, so - Teddy is the one to seek him out, to stalk him, to reach out.
Teddy might have been kidnapped, and what Duncan did to him was all kinds of fucked up, but he's just as obsessed with Duncan as Duncan is with him, and he knows it, deep down, no matter how he tries to deny it.
As fucked up as their love is, it is love. Duncan let Teddy go because he was in love with him. He does some fucked up shit, still, and yet he wants to stop hurting Teddy, eventually. But he also wants Teddy all for himself. They're made for each other.
It's so deliciously good. All the times they fuck while Teddy has a pregnant wife at home. All the times Teddy gives in even as he tries to protest. The way they consume each other.
Is it healthy? Fuck no. And they're probably never going to be. But it's fiction, and well, they're it for each other. No one can stop them in their possessive, obsessive, unhealthy ways. I absolutely loved it, I loved them together.
I highly recommend if you're into dark romances and don't mind some MC's being supremely fucked up to each other - mainly Duncan toward Teddy, but Teddy becomes fucked up towards others because of his own obsession towards Duncan - then I say go for it, definitely read this, you won't be disappointed.
Definitely, this was a win for me. I couldn't put it down and read it within a day. Two MASSIVE thumbs up from me. Will definitely be reading the next one in this series by April Jade. Can't wait!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2023
This book will sink its teeth in you, chew you up good, and then spit you out used like an old piece of gum.
Please mind the triggers, they are real! Starting directly on the first page, there is no sugar coating. I nearly peed in my pants reading the first chapter.
The triggers: stalking, coercion, kidnapping, Stockholm syndrome, branding, humiliation and degradation, white torture, forced isolation and loneliness, forced co-dependency, attempted murder, murder, extrajudicial killing of a teen, drug trafficking, the use of drugs during sex (poppers), physical assault of a parent, homophobia, incarceration, self-harm, miscarriage, and possibly more.
Teddy and Duncan are absolutely fucked up. It’s completely unhealthy to read this, but I loved it. The two are absolutely addicted to each other, the relationship, if you can call it that, is absolutely sick. Teddy's struggles to live a normal life are wonderfully portrayed as well as his conflicted feelings about his twisted attraction to Duncan. This book is perfectly toxic and dark, you don’t know dark, if you haven’t read this one.
The image of a blond, blue-eyed boy with pouty lips and a sexy ass flashed through my mind. After fifteen years, the details were a little faded, but my heart still raced every time I remembered. His sweet body spread out under mine. How he hung on to my shoulders and wrapped his legs around my waist when I fucked him missionary style. The way he didn’t want to let go, even when we were both drenched in cum. He’d beg me to fuck him again to get me to stay with him. 😳
The first time I’d had to tie him up. By the day I’d set him free, he’d come all over the bed as soon as the knife nicked his skin.
Everyone blamed me for what I’d done to him. But he was as fucked up as me. 😳
I needed to be on my knees for him that night. Needed to remind myself what it felt like to be used by him.
And the worst part was that I’d felt like that was where I belonged. At his feet like the dog he treated me like. 🤤
I might not need him for food and taking care of me like I was back then, but the need for him was still there. The need to be around him, to have his attention on me, to be used by him and then comforted by him. 🖤🖤🖤
Please mind the triggers, they are real! Starting directly on the first page, there is no sugar coating. I nearly peed in my pants reading the first chapter.
The triggers: stalking, coercion, kidnapping, Stockholm syndrome, branding, humiliation and degradation, white torture, forced isolation and loneliness, forced co-dependency, attempted murder, murder, extrajudicial killing of a teen, drug trafficking, the use of drugs during sex (poppers), physical assault of a parent, homophobia, incarceration, self-harm, miscarriage, and possibly more.
Teddy and Duncan are absolutely fucked up. It’s completely unhealthy to read this, but I loved it. The two are absolutely addicted to each other, the relationship, if you can call it that, is absolutely sick. Teddy's struggles to live a normal life are wonderfully portrayed as well as his conflicted feelings about his twisted attraction to Duncan. This book is perfectly toxic and dark, you don’t know dark, if you haven’t read this one.
The image of a blond, blue-eyed boy with pouty lips and a sexy ass flashed through my mind. After fifteen years, the details were a little faded, but my heart still raced every time I remembered. His sweet body spread out under mine. How he hung on to my shoulders and wrapped his legs around my waist when I fucked him missionary style. The way he didn’t want to let go, even when we were both drenched in cum. He’d beg me to fuck him again to get me to stay with him. 😳
The first time I’d had to tie him up. By the day I’d set him free, he’d come all over the bed as soon as the knife nicked his skin.
Everyone blamed me for what I’d done to him. But he was as fucked up as me. 😳
I needed to be on my knees for him that night. Needed to remind myself what it felt like to be used by him.
And the worst part was that I’d felt like that was where I belonged. At his feet like the dog he treated me like. 🤤
I might not need him for food and taking care of me like I was back then, but the need for him was still there. The need to be around him, to have his attention on me, to be used by him and then comforted by him. 🖤🖤🖤
May 23, 2023
"Fuck almighty. Isn't it bad enough that you shot me?"
"You deserved it. I was aiming for your heart."
"If you wanted it so badly, you could have done the polite thing and asked for it."
This book was a wild ride.
I have to give a lot of props to Gianni Holmes for making this twisted love story work. I don't know how they did it, but I was rooting for our couple. They did such a good job developing Teddy's and Duncan's romance and making it real.
I shook out my pants. “Where’s my underwear?”
“I’m keeping it.”
Arguing with him was useless.
__
In an act of revenge against his father, Teddy is abducted by Duncan and brought to his secluded cabin. Teddy's father gave the order that lead to his brother's death at the hands of the police, so Duncan decides to take his anger out on the man's son; Teddy is caught in the cross-fire.
During the nine months they spend alone together, the lines start to get blurred. Teddy begins to crave Duncan as his only connection to another person. Through the toxic environment and torture at the hands of his abductor, a relationship forms. But when it gets too real Duncan releases Teddy.
The main story picks up 15 years later after Duncan is released from prison for what he did to Teddy. The years haven't dulled the obsession that developed between them during those nine months.
“Let’s get something straight,” he whispered. “When you’re in my bed, nobody else matters. You don’t have a wife. You only have me.”
The tables turn a bit when Teddy begins to basically stalk Duncan, when he finds out he's been released. Despite his better judgment and everything he's done to try move on Teddy just can't stay away him.
March 13, 2023
→ the way homie went from:
"I'll destroy you so I can have you all to myself" to
"I'll destroy the world so I can have you all to myself"
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
4.5
"I'll destroy you so I can have you all to myself" to
"I'll destroy the world so I can have you all to myself"
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
4.5
May 24, 2023
✰ 3 stars ✰
This story is twisted and fucked up. The possessiveness and co-dependency were insane. I loved the push and pull and how Teddy’s confusion was portrayed. He tried to resist Duncan, but despite everything that happened between them he couldn’t help but always find his way back to him. It was oh so toxic. Even after 15 years of not seeing each other, the unexplainable need was still there like it never left. The first half was a solid 4 star for me, but it lost its momentum quickly after. They had pretty much zero connection or chemistry in my opinion, so I got a little bored. But they were still entertaining to read about so I continued.
✦ Duncan ✦ – He kidnapped Teddy as revenge against Teddy’s dad. Along the way he started to find himself wanting Teddy in a way he never expected. He’s never been interested in a man before but he found himself starting to fall for him. Now after 15 years, he's getting out of prison early for good behaviour and he wants Teddy back. Duncan is a man of no remorse, he doesn't regret capturing Teddy because it brought Teddy to him. He will do anything to get Teddy back, he does not care what it is.
✦ Teddy ✦ – Teddy is a lawyer who is now married with a child on the way. For 15 years he’s been trying to make himself forget what happened between him and Duncan but he knows what he has with his wife doesn’t give him that spark or intensity that he had with Duncan. He's deeply scarred by what he's gone through but he’s even more tortured over how he still needs Duncan.
Definitely fuck love because I wasn’t feeling the love between them at all even by the end. I’m not sure what I was really expecting because this book is dark and depraved so…but I did want to see their connection develop, but it remained sex sex and sex. The whole book was Teddy trying to resist Duncan, talking shit and then them having sex again. I mean obviously that’s expected with the history they had. But I got kind of annoyed and bored. If there was some sort of relationship progression along the way I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Plus, Teddy kept saying he was 100% straight? Even after he slept with multiple men to see if he could find what he had with Duncan.
Gianni Holmes does now how to write sex scenes, possessiveness, and jealously like nobody’s business though. The sex was intense and rough. I loved Teddy’s neediness and the cockwarming?…omg.
What to expect:
🖤 dub con
🖤 captor/captive
🖤 cheating (not between MCs)
🖤 stockholm syndrome
🖤 bondage
🖤 spicy spicy spicy
🖤 bi-awakening
🖤 second chance
🖤 OTT possessiveness and co-dependency
🖤 HEA
TWs: dub con, kidnapping, stockholm syndrome, cheating on a pregnant wife, bondage, strangling, torture and white torture, miscarriage, homophobia, self-harm, manipulation, humiliation and degradation, drug use (poppers), branding, murder and violence.
This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen. All I’d wanted was revenge, but when I’d taken him, removed his blindfold, and stared into his blue eyes, I’d felt the most intense pain squeezing my heart. Like an arrow had been thrust through it. And I’d known then that, for better or worse, our lives would never be the same.
This story is twisted and fucked up. The possessiveness and co-dependency were insane. I loved the push and pull and how Teddy’s confusion was portrayed. He tried to resist Duncan, but despite everything that happened between them he couldn’t help but always find his way back to him. It was oh so toxic. Even after 15 years of not seeing each other, the unexplainable need was still there like it never left. The first half was a solid 4 star for me, but it lost its momentum quickly after. They had pretty much zero connection or chemistry in my opinion, so I got a little bored. But they were still entertaining to read about so I continued.
After fifteen years, the details were a little faded, but my heart still raced every time I remembered. His sweet body spread out under mine. How he hung on to my shoulders and wrapped his legs around my waist when I fucked him missionary style. The way he didn’t want to let go, even when we were both drenched in cum. He’d beg me to fuck him again to get me to stay with him.
✦ Duncan ✦ – He kidnapped Teddy as revenge against Teddy’s dad. Along the way he started to find himself wanting Teddy in a way he never expected. He’s never been interested in a man before but he found himself starting to fall for him. Now after 15 years, he's getting out of prison early for good behaviour and he wants Teddy back. Duncan is a man of no remorse, he doesn't regret capturing Teddy because it brought Teddy to him. He will do anything to get Teddy back, he does not care what it is.
❝You beat me until I begged you to stop. You waterboarded me until I pissed myself. Cut me open with your knife, tied me up, monitored me like I was an animal in a zoo. You shaved my fucking head. Do you know how dehumanizing that was?❞
✦ Teddy ✦ – Teddy is a lawyer who is now married with a child on the way. For 15 years he’s been trying to make himself forget what happened between him and Duncan but he knows what he has with his wife doesn’t give him that spark or intensity that he had with Duncan. He's deeply scarred by what he's gone through but he’s even more tortured over how he still needs Duncan.
❝Fuck love. What we have is stronger. Better.❞
❝You can’t honestly think that.❞
❝You can’t honestly think otherwise. You feel it. This connection we have. It’s strong and powerful, and it’ll survive this. ❞
Definitely fuck love because I wasn’t feeling the love between them at all even by the end. I’m not sure what I was really expecting because this book is dark and depraved so…but I did want to see their connection develop, but it remained sex sex and sex. The whole book was Teddy trying to resist Duncan, talking shit and then them having sex again. I mean obviously that’s expected with the history they had. But I got kind of annoyed and bored. If there was some sort of relationship progression along the way I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Plus, Teddy kept saying he was 100% straight? Even after he slept with multiple men to see if he could find what he had with Duncan.
Gianni Holmes does now how to write sex scenes, possessiveness, and jealously like nobody’s business though. The sex was intense and rough. I loved Teddy’s neediness and the cockwarming?…omg.
What to expect:
🖤 dub con
🖤 captor/captive
🖤 cheating (not between MCs)
🖤 stockholm syndrome
🖤 bondage
🖤 spicy spicy spicy
🖤 bi-awakening
🖤 second chance
🖤 OTT possessiveness and co-dependency
🖤 HEA
TWs: dub con, kidnapping, stockholm syndrome, cheating on a pregnant wife, bondage, strangling, torture and white torture, miscarriage, homophobia, self-harm, manipulation, humiliation and degradation, drug use (poppers), branding, murder and violence.
February 16, 2023
This is exactly what I want out of a dark romance. It took that crazy obsessive shit to a whole new level and, damn, was it fun to read! I literally just finished it and already want to read it again. 😆 This is my new standard. Anything claiming to be dark but not possessing this level of toxicity will be labeled an utter disappointment. 🤣 5 stars. I can't wait to read the next story!
February 9, 2023
This book is so f*cked up... I mean, it's a dark romance, you expect that, but at the same time, you don't. We have here a captive and kidnapper situation, the guy went to jail but our Mc still pines for him, he tried to move on with is life but when his kidnapper comes out of jail he just can't stay away. He looks super brainwashed and have a lot of shitty atitudes also this book have cheating, so if that's a no no you are warned. The smut is really hot (in my kinky opinion), I didn't really felt the love, but they have an amazing chemistry, we have a bad guy that actually had a good motive to be sh*tty (Eliot greyson take notes pls) and we have an extremely codependent relationship. If you want a dark romance with good smut and no brain plot this is the book for you. Great to turn off your brain and just enjoy.
February 17, 2023
Hot Diggity Damn, I pulled an all-nighter to read this book. It's dark, depriving, degrading, and freaking delcious. This book is a masterpiece.
Two words: I’M Obsessed.
Who here is excited over trigger warnings? That would be me. I was like a kid at a Candy store with these triggers. Needless to say, the book isn’t for everyone, and that is okay.
Duncan and Teddy have a complex history; fifteen years prior, Duncan kidnapped Teddy. Neither expected what would happen. Now Duncan is out of prison, Teddy wants answers, and lines and feelings become blurred.
Duncan shocked me and exceeded my expectations. He is a dirty-talking, filthy man ( he is my kind of dirty) that knows what he wants and does anything to have it. H
These two are sizzling hot; the degradation is top-notch. This is where toxicity is explosive together. This is my kind of Valentine's book. It's also my first book from the author and definitely will not be my last. I hope to read more of these two in the future
July 6, 2024
Let’s get something straight,” he whispered. “When you’re in my bed, nobody else matters. You don’t have a wife. You only have me.”
UMMMMM OKAY DUNCAN 🥵
This book is deliciously twisted in all the best and worst ways! Check the trigger warnings, but it’s worth it! Teddy and Duncan were so toxic for each other and I ate that shit up 🍴
UMMMMM OKAY DUNCAN 🥵
This book is deliciously twisted in all the best and worst ways! Check the trigger warnings, but it’s worth it! Teddy and Duncan were so toxic for each other and I ate that shit up 🍴
April 26, 2023
Listen!!!! I'm PSYCHED!
I've just read the 5th bonus of this crazy, possessive couple's love saga and it looks like the author is thinking about writing a 2nd book.
I just want to say YES.
YES YES YES!
The bonus shorts are amazing, the MCs I can't get enough of, the side characters amazing (YES, I want Cam and Volkov's book!) and I'm begging, literally BEGGING for a second book!
Better yet!
Turn these babies into a series!
♥️Teddy and Duncan are fucking amazing and I can't wait for their story to continue!♥️
🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡
🔵 Original review - 2-Apr-23 🔵
Wow.
Wow.
This book is a dark, depraving Stockholm syndrome romance gone very, very good .
Fantastic, even.
💛 Kidnapping - can I say forced proximity?
🧡 Physical violence, lots of it
❤️ Age gap - one MC is 20 at the time of the kidnapping, the other is, I believe, about 7-10 years older?
💜 One MC is a vicious drug dealer and killer, is he a psychopath? It's not specified, but considering how he's described, he's not far off
💗 Double GFY, because both MCs aren't attracted to other men at all, only to each other
💙 Cheating - but not between the MCs
💚 Homophobic family of the kidnapped MC
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Kinky, hot, filthy sex
Where do I even begin?
My god, this book has put a silly smile on my face all day today . I cannot tell you how much I loved it. It has a lot of TW that would make me run in the opposite direction , but I beg you to consider and give it a shot, because it's just deliciously sick , no other words for it.
This amazing dark story is about Teddy, who gets kidnapped and is put in a hostage situation when he's 20 years old. He's a student, has family and friends, he's a nice, sweet guy and his father is a police officer who's a part of a drug operation, where a group of drug dealers get caught or killed and one of them is Duncan's little brother.
Duncan is a drug dealer and a killer, that's his life. He basically has no heart, he has no family, it's only him and his little brother, whom he takes care of and doesn't want him involved in his world. But he accidently gets involved and when he gets killed, Duncan decides to take his revenge and kidnaps Teddy. He plans on torturing him and eventually murdering him, but things take a different turn.
This was my Teddy.
As we find out throughout the book, Duncan really dives in and lets it all out. He's keeping Teddy at a cabin, alone in one room, most of the time alone for days or weeks, he's beating him up, waterboarding him, carving him up with a knife , seriously, it's bad, but then something shifts between them, and I think it was because Teddy needed someone, anyone, to get through his dark night of the soul. So he started having consensual sex with Duncan, as much as it can be consensual, since he's being kept a hostage, but he wasn't raped, ever.
Both straight, completely (aren't they always?), but they started doing anything and everything sexually and first I thought there was no attraction, no real feelings between them, only that need for not being alone, but we find out later on that Teddy actually fell in love in that cabin, surprisingly so.
This was Duncan, just so you know. This cover is from author's bonus content and this guy is just ngghh 🔥
When Duncan lets Teddy go, he goes to prison and serves his 15 years in jail. When he gets out on parole, it's Teddy who seeks him out.
They start hooking up, meeting up, getting to know each other, if you can call it that, soon both realizing they can give each other something that noone else can .
This is Duncan making them breakfast.
Yes, Teddy is married and expecting a child, he's cheating basically, but we find out later on that his wife is someone who's been put there by Duncan to keep tabs on Teddy.
Psycho? Well, it turns out that that was Duncan's way of experiencing love and attachment to Teddy that I don't think even he realised was feeling. He thought of it as obssession, but that's only because he never loved anyone and didn't know what love is, didn't think himself able to love, but he definitely and absolutely loves Teddy.
I absolutely loved both MCs, I loved how possessive Duncan was and how he wanted to taketaketake, but he gave Teddy options-love. Their sexual awakening, the transforming of something that is essentially completely wrong and bad to something worth fighting for . Love. It was the only thing worth fighting for and they both found it in the most unusual place and troubling circumstances.
Not to mention the sex was insanely hot .
I think a connection on a different scale was at work here.
Teddy and Duncan's relationship was based on fear and the power dynamic being what it was, but I feel like that changed when they met 15 years later , because then, Teddy was a grown man with years of therapy behind him, so he had freedom and could make his own choices. And yet, he choose a man who did the unspeakable to him. Teddy knows he's damaged, but at this point I think he realises that Duncan is the only remedy for all the suffering he's going through.
The story is very complex and I feel like the author didn't put as much detail into the story as she would've liked, but she's making it up with her bonus chapters, where she's adding bits to the original story and continuing after the epilogue in this book.
The dialogues between the MCs were great, but between them and all the side characters - not so much. Even so, I'm giving this story a full 5⭐, because I absolutely loved Teddy and Duncan and their twisted, hot love story, I'm probably re-reading it tonight, I'm positive.
I absolutely hope we'll get another book of this wonderful couple, or at least a very long and satisfying epilogue, because Teddy and Duncan absolutely deserve their happy ending.
I want to see that proposal happening, I want to see them married and I want to know all about their life together.
I've just read the 5th bonus of this crazy, possessive couple's love saga and it looks like the author is thinking about writing a 2nd book.
I just want to say YES.
YES YES YES!
The bonus shorts are amazing, the MCs I can't get enough of, the side characters amazing (YES, I want Cam and Volkov's book!) and I'm begging, literally BEGGING for a second book!
Better yet!
Turn these babies into a series!
♥️Teddy and Duncan are fucking amazing and I can't wait for their story to continue!♥️
🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡
🔵 Original review - 2-Apr-23 🔵
Wow.
Wow.
This book is a dark, depraving Stockholm syndrome romance gone very, very good .
Fantastic, even.
💛 Kidnapping - can I say forced proximity?
🧡 Physical violence, lots of it
❤️ Age gap - one MC is 20 at the time of the kidnapping, the other is, I believe, about 7-10 years older?
💜 One MC is a vicious drug dealer and killer, is he a psychopath? It's not specified, but considering how he's described, he's not far off
💗 Double GFY, because both MCs aren't attracted to other men at all, only to each other
💙 Cheating - but not between the MCs
💚 Homophobic family of the kidnapped MC
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Kinky, hot, filthy sex
Where do I even begin?
My god, this book has put a silly smile on my face all day today . I cannot tell you how much I loved it. It has a lot of TW that would make me run in the opposite direction , but I beg you to consider and give it a shot, because it's just deliciously sick , no other words for it.
This amazing dark story is about Teddy, who gets kidnapped and is put in a hostage situation when he's 20 years old. He's a student, has family and friends, he's a nice, sweet guy and his father is a police officer who's a part of a drug operation, where a group of drug dealers get caught or killed and one of them is Duncan's little brother.
Duncan is a drug dealer and a killer, that's his life. He basically has no heart, he has no family, it's only him and his little brother, whom he takes care of and doesn't want him involved in his world. But he accidently gets involved and when he gets killed, Duncan decides to take his revenge and kidnaps Teddy. He plans on torturing him and eventually murdering him, but things take a different turn.
This was my Teddy.
As we find out throughout the book, Duncan really dives in and lets it all out. He's keeping Teddy at a cabin, alone in one room, most of the time alone for days or weeks, he's beating him up, waterboarding him, carving him up with a knife , seriously, it's bad, but then something shifts between them, and I think it was because Teddy needed someone, anyone, to get through his dark night of the soul. So he started having consensual sex with Duncan, as much as it can be consensual, since he's being kept a hostage, but he wasn't raped, ever.
Both straight, completely (aren't they always?), but they started doing anything and everything sexually and first I thought there was no attraction, no real feelings between them, only that need for not being alone, but we find out later on that Teddy actually fell in love in that cabin, surprisingly so.
This was Duncan, just so you know. This cover is from author's bonus content and this guy is just ngghh 🔥
When Duncan lets Teddy go, he goes to prison and serves his 15 years in jail. When he gets out on parole, it's Teddy who seeks him out.
They start hooking up, meeting up, getting to know each other, if you can call it that, soon both realizing they can give each other something that noone else can .
This is Duncan making them breakfast.
Yes, Teddy is married and expecting a child, he's cheating basically, but we find out later on that his wife is someone who's been put there by Duncan to keep tabs on Teddy.
Psycho? Well, it turns out that that was Duncan's way of experiencing love and attachment to Teddy that I don't think even he realised was feeling. He thought of it as obssession, but that's only because he never loved anyone and didn't know what love is, didn't think himself able to love, but he definitely and absolutely loves Teddy.
I absolutely loved both MCs, I loved how possessive Duncan was and how he wanted to taketaketake, but he gave Teddy options-love. Their sexual awakening, the transforming of something that is essentially completely wrong and bad to something worth fighting for . Love. It was the only thing worth fighting for and they both found it in the most unusual place and troubling circumstances.
Not to mention the sex was insanely hot .
I think a connection on a different scale was at work here.
Teddy and Duncan's relationship was based on fear and the power dynamic being what it was, but I feel like that changed when they met 15 years later , because then, Teddy was a grown man with years of therapy behind him, so he had freedom and could make his own choices. And yet, he choose a man who did the unspeakable to him. Teddy knows he's damaged, but at this point I think he realises that Duncan is the only remedy for all the suffering he's going through.
The story is very complex and I feel like the author didn't put as much detail into the story as she would've liked, but she's making it up with her bonus chapters, where she's adding bits to the original story and continuing after the epilogue in this book.
The dialogues between the MCs were great, but between them and all the side characters - not so much. Even so, I'm giving this story a full 5⭐, because I absolutely loved Teddy and Duncan and their twisted, hot love story, I'm probably re-reading it tonight, I'm positive.
I absolutely hope we'll get another book of this wonderful couple, or at least a very long and satisfying epilogue, because Teddy and Duncan absolutely deserve their happy ending.
I want to see that proposal happening, I want to see them married and I want to know all about their life together.
July 9, 2024
this was so unhinged lmao but i had the best time
February 12, 2023
"He sounded demented. For sure, what he described was not love...could not be love, but god, I wanted it so much."
Star Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
POV: Dual, First Person
HEA: Yes
Spice Rating: 5/5 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
"Even in death, you're still mine."
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review
Overall Opinion
Wow, to say this book was dark is a big understatement. It was twisted and messed up and completely wrong but at the same time it couldn't be more perfect! It follows Teddy, a married lawyer who was kidnapped and held hostage 15 years beforehand by Duncan, who stole Teddy to get revenge for his younger brothers murder. Despite Duncan being locked up for 15 years and Teddy trying to move on, neither man can forget the other and what they awoke in each other. I loved the dynamic between these two, how one minute they are toxic and degrading, and the next are sweet and almost loving. There is an almost unhealthy level of co-dependency and pining, obsessed to the max, that it seems it would burn bright and burn out, but alas that was not the case. The chemistry and spice was insane and fiery and downright dirty, and a complete guilty pleasure to me. Overall I really loved this beginning to a dark series and I cannot wait to see how it continues to play out!
Read if you like:
❣️ M/M Romance
❣️ Bi-Awakening
❣️ Age Gap
❣️ Size Difference
❣️ Stockholm Syndrome
❣️ Second Chance
Trigger and Content Warnings: Stalking, cheating, coercion, kidnapping, Stockholm Syndrome, branding, humiliation and degradation, torture, forced isolation and loneliness, forced co-dependency, attempted murder, murder, drug trafficking, drug use, physical assault of a parent, homophobia, incarceration, self-harm, miscarriage, and violence.
Star Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
POV: Dual, First Person
HEA: Yes
Spice Rating: 5/5 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
"Even in death, you're still mine."
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review
Overall Opinion
Wow, to say this book was dark is a big understatement. It was twisted and messed up and completely wrong but at the same time it couldn't be more perfect! It follows Teddy, a married lawyer who was kidnapped and held hostage 15 years beforehand by Duncan, who stole Teddy to get revenge for his younger brothers murder. Despite Duncan being locked up for 15 years and Teddy trying to move on, neither man can forget the other and what they awoke in each other. I loved the dynamic between these two, how one minute they are toxic and degrading, and the next are sweet and almost loving. There is an almost unhealthy level of co-dependency and pining, obsessed to the max, that it seems it would burn bright and burn out, but alas that was not the case. The chemistry and spice was insane and fiery and downright dirty, and a complete guilty pleasure to me. Overall I really loved this beginning to a dark series and I cannot wait to see how it continues to play out!
Read if you like:
❣️ M/M Romance
❣️ Bi-Awakening
❣️ Age Gap
❣️ Size Difference
❣️ Stockholm Syndrome
❣️ Second Chance
Trigger and Content Warnings: Stalking, cheating, coercion, kidnapping, Stockholm Syndrome, branding, humiliation and degradation, torture, forced isolation and loneliness, forced co-dependency, attempted murder, murder, drug trafficking, drug use, physical assault of a parent, homophobia, incarceration, self-harm, miscarriage, and violence.
August 10, 2024
Audio - 3 stars
Story - 2.5 stars
Story - 2.5 stars
![Profile Image for melancholy_reader [hiatus].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1749135172i%2F159391289._UY200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
August 5, 2024
“You're one scary man, Duncan.”
“Then you should run, pet.”
“But it's so much more fun to be caught.”
This one goes straight into the darkest, most twisted, sickest romances I've read.
I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!!! Please call me a toxic bitch. 🗣️🗣️
“Then you should run, pet.”
“But it's so much more fun to be caught.”
This one goes straight into the darkest, most twisted, sickest romances I've read.
I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!!! Please call me a toxic bitch. 🗣️🗣️
June 3, 2024
Wow! I devoured this book in one sitting! I was captivated right from the start and loved this dark, twisted journey between Teddy and Duncan. I was on the edge of my seat the whole read. Be Mine, Twisted Valentine was exciting, emotional, and hot as hell! I couldn't get enough, loved the concept, and the resolve. Another amazing story by Gianni Holmes, highly recommend!
Just reread via audio, and I'm even more obsessed with this, so freaking good!! Fantastic performance by John Solo!
Just reread via audio, and I'm even more obsessed with this, so freaking good!! Fantastic performance by John Solo!
February 14, 2023
The first half of this book was delightfully fucked up. Then it got all maudlin and OTT and bored me to tears.
I planned to say something about the ridiculously inappropriate cover, but after that (corny AF!) ending, I think it’s actually pretty fitting. 🙄
Mind the TWs. If you’re expecting something really dark, though, this will probably disappoint you.
I planned to say something about the ridiculously inappropriate cover, but after that (corny AF!) ending, I think it’s actually pretty fitting. 🙄
Mind the TWs. If you’re expecting something really dark, though, this will probably disappoint you.
February 18, 2023
tw: stalking, dubcon, humiliation, torture, physical assault, self-harm, homophobia
“You see, you aren’t the only one who sought revenge. I needed to punish you, not for kidnapping me, but for not caring about me.”
Toxic.
Twisted.
Revenge.
Kidnapping.
Stockholm syndrome.
OTT possessiveness.
Extreme co-dependency.
Humiliation kink.
A different kind of love.
“You see, you aren’t the only one who sought revenge. I needed to punish you, not for kidnapping me, but for not caring about me.”
Toxic.
Twisted.
Revenge.
Kidnapping.
Stockholm syndrome.
OTT possessiveness.
Extreme co-dependency.
Humiliation kink.
A different kind of love.
July 3, 2023
So a guy abducts another guy, and tortures him for 9 months. He gets sent to prison and then they get together 15 years later.
This story is all sorts of fucked up and I’m a little mad at myself for liking it. Anytime an author can make me enjoy something I’m incredibly uncomfortable with I’m super impressed. I gave this book an extra half star just for that.
This story is all sorts of fucked up and I’m a little mad at myself for liking it. Anytime an author can make me enjoy something I’m incredibly uncomfortable with I’m super impressed. I gave this book an extra half star just for that.
August 23, 2024
“You're one scary man, Duncan.”
“Then you should run, pet.”
“But it's so much more fun to be caught.”
Audio: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book itself: ⭐⭐⭐.5
- captor x captive
- age gap
- stalking
- dubcon/noncon
- Stockholm syndrome
- branding
- degradation & humiliation
- torture
- forced codependency
“Then you should run, pet.”
“But it's so much more fun to be caught.”
Audio: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book itself: ⭐⭐⭐.5
- captor x captive
- age gap
- stalking
- dubcon/noncon
- Stockholm syndrome
- branding
- degradation & humiliation
- torture
- forced codependency
February 10, 2023
Woooweeee! This was so far out of my comfort zone I swear I must have been possessed when I decided to read this.
Luckily, the dark wasn’t too dark and even though it was not my sort of thing, it was tame enough that I was able to get through it and even sort of enjoy it? Yeah. It wasn’t so bad. I’ve realized I’ve read a few of this sort of book so somewhere in my psyche I must have a thing for it? I don’t necessarily want to investigate that any further but yeah, I think as long as they aren’t too out there, I might like a little Stockholm Syndrome in my romance every now and then.
This had a couple twists I didn’t see coming that upped my enjoyment, they definitely made me feel better about myself at least. HAHAHAHAHA! It certainly wasn’t healthy and there were some pretty serious things going on, but overall, it was really just a different sort of romance. Not everyone’s cup of tea but it for sure worked for Duncan and Teddy.
Honestly, I think that I read so many romances I thought it would fun to read an anti-Valentine’s Day romance in February and it was fun.
I’m going to take a look at the others in the series, they are all from different authors and I don’t know if they are connected in any sort of way but I figure they are worth looking at. It’s February all month long after all.
**This book was provided by GRR in exchange for an honest review.**
Luckily, the dark wasn’t too dark and even though it was not my sort of thing, it was tame enough that I was able to get through it and even sort of enjoy it? Yeah. It wasn’t so bad. I’ve realized I’ve read a few of this sort of book so somewhere in my psyche I must have a thing for it? I don’t necessarily want to investigate that any further but yeah, I think as long as they aren’t too out there, I might like a little Stockholm Syndrome in my romance every now and then.
This had a couple twists I didn’t see coming that upped my enjoyment, they definitely made me feel better about myself at least. HAHAHAHAHA! It certainly wasn’t healthy and there were some pretty serious things going on, but overall, it was really just a different sort of romance. Not everyone’s cup of tea but it for sure worked for Duncan and Teddy.
Honestly, I think that I read so many romances I thought it would fun to read an anti-Valentine’s Day romance in February and it was fun.
I’m going to take a look at the others in the series, they are all from different authors and I don’t know if they are connected in any sort of way but I figure they are worth looking at. It’s February all month long after all.
**This book was provided by GRR in exchange for an honest review.**
May 3, 2023
This story is definitely messed up and twisted and managed to pack a surprise or two, but I really couldn't feel any chemistry between the MCs and I didn't have the emotional attachment I needed to care whether they wound up together.
I've read plenty of dark twisted tales with relationships that are obsessive, codependent, and Stockholm Syndrome-type stories, but I need to be invested in the situation of at least one of the men or be charmed enough by their twisted nature to root for it in the end. I started off feeling for Teddy, but as things went on I sort of lost interest. The connection just wasn't there for me, but I was intrigued enough to read the whole story.
I've read plenty of dark twisted tales with relationships that are obsessive, codependent, and Stockholm Syndrome-type stories, but I need to be invested in the situation of at least one of the men or be charmed enough by their twisted nature to root for it in the end. I started off feeling for Teddy, but as things went on I sort of lost interest. The connection just wasn't there for me, but I was intrigued enough to read the whole story.
February 2, 2025
Teddy + Duncan 🖤
Toxic AF | Kidnapper + Victim | Obsession
Entertaining, toxic chaos is what this was.
⚠️potential spoilers in detailed tropes and trigger warnings below
Tropes:
Toxic AF
Double bi awakening
Kidnapper + victim
OTT/JP
Marking
"You'll always be mine."
Cheating to be together (Teddy is married to a woman)
Strict roles
Touch him and die
💦 in pants while giving BJ
Needy bottom
TWs:
Stockholm syndrome
Power imbalance
Miscarriage
Betrayal
Lies
Violence
Abuse
Death
Hospital stay
Coma
Gun shot wounds
Jail time
Parole
Cheating
Humiliation (forced to pee on the floor because he's tied up)
Branding (off page)
Toxic AF | Kidnapper + Victim | Obsession
Entertaining, toxic chaos is what this was.
⚠️potential spoilers in detailed tropes and trigger warnings below
Tropes:
Toxic AF
Double bi awakening
Kidnapper + victim
OTT/JP
Marking
"You'll always be mine."
Cheating to be together (Teddy is married to a woman)
Strict roles
Touch him and die
💦 in pants while giving BJ
Needy bottom
TWs:
Stockholm syndrome
Power imbalance
Miscarriage
Betrayal
Lies
Violence
Abuse
Death
Hospital stay
Coma
Gun shot wounds
Jail time
Parole
Cheating
Humiliation (forced to pee on the floor because he's tied up)
Branding (off page)
March 20, 2023
3.75/5 stars
April 23, 2025
Ummmmmmm 🤨 This is a lot. Duncan is pretty fucked tbh. 3 stars I guess.
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