The Darkness Beyond the Daisies

Break Me, Heal Me #1

by Cori Zahara

My life was good.
My life was normal.
My life was stolen away in the blink of an eye.
At eighteen-years-old, I was kidnapped and sold. Purchased by a couple who'd put their life savings into rescuing a stranger, with only one request... I'd befriend their mentally-unwell son.
So, I did.
And he made it easy, being everything I needed to escape the darkness in my own head.
But it was all lies.
I was never meant to be a friend. I was here for a purpose, a means of controlling someone they couldn't. Someone volatile and unpredictable. Someone who could switch from my dream guy to my worst nightmare without a warning.
And I'd made the mistake of getting close to him before seeing all sides of him.
And that left me defenseless.

This book deals with some heavy topics. CW can be found on my webpage and socials.

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark, Romance, Mental Health, Abuse, Forced Proximity, Smut

546 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 31, 2023

About the author

Just a weirdo, who has imaginary people talking to her...who she then writes books on, starting with the end of their story. Yes, I told you...weird.

Reviews

[Youssra (semi ia- shelving books don't mind me) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars (1 for the book and 1 for Sean Masters and his delicious voice)

So, I initially didn't want to write this review because this book royally pissed me off on so many levels and I felt like just forgetting about it.. I legit took a shower after finishing this book to wash it off me. The demons in my brain said no though, so here I am because I have things to say😭

Feel free to skip this review if you plan on reading it because it will be FULL OF SPOILERS!!

SPOILERS AHEAD STOP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW! ALSO TRIGGER WARNING!!! LOTS OF DARK DETAILS INCOMING!

SPOILERS EVERYWHERE
SPOILERS EVERYWHERE
SPOILERS EVERYWHERE


I am no stranger to dark books and this is not my first pitch black romance-and I use the word romance loosely here-so the dark content here is not the reason I disliked it. The whole execution of the book was flawed and I will explain FOR ME, why this book didn't work.

The book centers around Jolie, who gets kidnapped and taken in with this family of horrible people. One of the family members is Woodrow, 17 years old, and he has DID. He has 2 other personalities; Woody a 7 year old and Hell who is a psychopath intent on hurting everyone in his path. Jolie and Woodrow form a friendship that evolves into love which was sweet because Woodrow was actually very kind to her. Woodrow also has a very tragic and graphic past that made me SICK TO MY STOMACH. I will not mention it here, but just know it was horrible. I have to mention that the way the DID was handled didn't sit right with me.. I am no psychology expert and have no idea how this condition even works, but for some reason it just... didn't sit right with me all the way.

Jolie's behavior was kinda dumb to me. There was no sense of urgency to her situation when she was first taken. She just accepted her fate.. like oh well my dad's dead and these people put a roof over my head, so I should be thankful??? At first, I was trusting the process.. ok this girl is maybe in shock?? maybe trying to convince herself that nothing is wrong? But then.. Hell comes out and r*pes her at the behest of the dad.. while he watched I might add. This is unimaginable trauma to me...to see the face of the boy you love assaulting you and then just accepting that the boy I love has this other self that wants to torture me?? I'm sorry but this is not an "I can fix him" scenario😅 Maybe I'm selfish, but if were in that position, my first thought would and SHOULD be getting THE HELL out of there and NEVER looking back🤣 That boy needs THERAPY not the valley between your legs my girl😭

Another thing that irked me about this book is the flimsy and raggedy plot. The whole reason Jolie was taken was to get "Hell" to release his frustrations and so Woodrow would be ready to take over his dad's business of human trafficking. That's it!! A 20 hour audiobook for this tiny little shred of plot. Genuinely if you strip the book away from the gratuitous dark shit that happens, the book would be like 200 pages. This brings me to another point. THE DARK SHIT It was TOO MUCH!! Not only in quantity but quality. This book had every single kind of trauma jammed into it that by the end I was just numb to it.. I genuinely started to lose interest and not care about anyone...even Jolie because it was EXCESSIVE! I get that the author is trying to convey the reality of a trafficked person's life, but to me, there was no need FOR SEVERAL graphic rape scenes...like we get it we really get it😅 Just because a book is dark, doesn't mean it has to be FILLED TO THE BRIM with SA.. it needs to be done thoughtfully imo.

Yet another thing that bothered me was how the dual timeline was utilized here. The book was basically spoiling itself! The present timeline would spoil very important events of the past timeline and it would genuinely make me lose interest because WHY DID YOU TELL ME? WHY DID YOU DROP THAT BOMB SO CASUALLY??? I would actually just start looking at the invisible camera man in my living room and being like "Can you believe this shit? Did she really just do that and move on?" So in the present timeline she drops this bomb of her escaping, the sister and everyone dying, HER BEING PREGNANT AND LOSING THE BABY, and you're just left flailing for information like a fish out of water. The jumps from past to present were inconsistent and made no logical sense to me.. they were not cohesive and just made me lose the already little interest I had.

Finally, the ending... ohhhh it royally pissed me off because it was just such a cheap way to make sure this book got an HEA. This book does not deserve an HEA imo. Woodrow should not be with anyone...Woodrow needs a lot of therapy and to keep everyone safe from his psychopathic alter ego. The ending basically reveals that everything in the present timeline NEVER HAPPENED!! It was all in Jolie's head.. after escaping, she was kidnapped yet again and rented out to different men for ten years. This man named Ollie found and rescued her and for the past 3 months she's just been daydreaming and trying to give herself a happy ending. I'M SORRY WHAT??? If I were trying to daydream about a happy ending...why would I also daydream about being sexually assaulted? Shouldn't my daydream, which is presumably my coping mechanism, only involve happy thoughts?😅 What was the point of this whole present timeline? Shock value? extra pages? It was just not done well at all! Then in the end, she's reunited with Woodrow because he was also saved by this Ollie person and that's it?? GIRL YOU ALSO NEED THERAPY! SO MUCH THERPAY!!! Not once was actually working through this girl's trauma mentioned in this book. She was just going with the flow most of the time.

In the beginning, I really did feel bad for these characters and what they were going through, but the further I went, the more glaring the issues I had became and the more I lost interest. I usually dnf when I'm not enjoying a book, but I was already so far into it and wanted to know how it would end🤡 Joke's on me because now I know and I wish I didn't😅



_________________________________________________________
pre-read attempt 2: ok going back in to buddy read with Lola so we can trauma bond 😭😭 Will we finish the book or will I dnf again?? I feel icky already😭


________________________________________________________
Tapping out at 36% ( no rating)

Guys I am not god's strongest soldier😭😭 This is just way too dark and heartbreaking omg 😭 Listen the premise is actually not bad, but I feel icky😭😭😭 I can't do it and I really don't have to yk.. because free will and all that😅

TO BE CLEAR: I don't think this book is bad, it is actually beautifully written, SA is NOT ROMANTICIZED here, but it is just making me feel bad and not in a good way😭

I MAY come back to it someday...when I'm in a really dark headspace and wish to possibly prolong the stay there😶‍🌫️
_______________________________________
pre-read:

Haven't read a pitch black "romance" in a while.. hope this traumatizes me.. in a good way?

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this novel for free and in advance of release in exchange for an honest review.
First, let me say, if you do not REGULARLY read dark romance, this is not the book for you, go ahead and walk away.
Now, if you DO regularly read dark romance, then this review is for you. So do I.
What this book does have going for it is an insanely long list of triggers, but in my own PERSONAL opinion, more is not always better. I would much rather an author pick 3 or 4 triggers and really hone and develop them and make me ache from reading them, rather than just stack them one on top of the other. And for me, this book was the latter, not the former. There were MANY triggers, but none of them were crafted particularly well and none of them hit me the way they should have.
Jolie is an 18-year-old girl who witnesses the murder of her father and is then picked up by traffickers and sold to a family as a prize for their son who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. (I wish more research had been done here. This aspect did not ring true to me). Their goal is to use Jolie to help them control their son’s more volatile personality. Woodrow has 3 distinct alternate personalities: Woody, a 7-year-old boy; Woodrow, our 17-year-old male protagonist; and Hell, Woodrow’s bad guy alter who steps in to cause violent disruptive protection and ultimately massive harm. The Heaven last name and the Hell alter ego were a little too on the nose IMO.
This is a long novel, but in the whole thing, Jolie never really tries to escape, not on her own anyway. There are times when she should be absolutely terrified, especially in the beginning, and she isn’t. Times when it makes sense for her to be completely broken, but then all of a sudden, she has some spirit left. Instances that should end her or her life or her fight entirely, but don’t, and not because she has any particular survival instinct going on. Her naivety was infuriating to me, and incredibly unbelievable, especially at the start when she shows up quite literally naked and gift-wrapped. Her fight and pushback come near the end of her struggle instead of at the beginning, which makes very little sense. Logically, that should be the opposite.
And I don’t want to spoil the end for you, in case you are down for just the list itself, but for me, it was disappointing. I can hear my college writing teacher having an aneurism for the tactic that was used to give this a HEA. It uses a device that makes me feel that I wasted a LOT of time to get to where I got. I felt cheated. This book didn’t deserve a happy ending. It deserved tragedy. It required it. And honestly, I feel like the ending was put there to avoid backlash from readers. There is nothing about the content of this book that says these people logically end up whole and happy. It makes no sense. This book had the potential to wreck its readers, and it should have. It should have been soul-crushingly epic, but for me, it felt forced and flat. If this book had ended 40-50 pages sooner, without the happy ending and the big “twist”, I personally feel that it would have been a much stronger story and it absolutely would have gotten a higher rating from me.
This book has graphic trigger piled on top of graphic trigger, crushed in like clown cars to the point where I didn’t feel any kind of way about it other than bored. The characters were not well-rounded enough. They were just vessels for trauma really. Something would happen (like an a$$ault) and I would be left thinking that I should feel tightness in my chest, or want to cry, but I didn’t. I never really became invested in their plight or personalities. And because there were so many triggers to choose from, some even only mentioned in passing in a single sentence or two, none of them had the impact they should have. Instead of focusing on the horror, I started counting them. There is such a thing as too much and in my personal opinion, I could feel the author trying to horrify or upset me. Trying to be the darkest thing I have ever read. And the very fact that I could feel that effort, means it wasn’t. Do some scenes hit well and belong in context? Of course, they do, but they get out shadowed by the number that don’t.
In terms of the actual writing, the opening is a little clunky, likely because the heading is a name NOT a place and drops you in a situation that makes it a jog to catch up. You do catch up though fairly quickly so don’t let that be a deterrent. The first half of the book is overly descriptive and the language doesn’t always fit. At times it is very flowery or literary in a novel that is not that. So, it occasionally felt like a thesaurus was used just to have another way of saying something, even when that word was probably not the best choice in the given situation. And then later, some of the colloquialisms didn’t make sense. For instance, British slang comes out of left field at one point and then goes away again.
I personally needed more character development. Both Jolie and Woodrow read very flat to me. Neither of them seems to have any real development over the course of the tale, and yet this story is supposed to span 10 YEARS. Their personalities oftentimes don’t work well together or in the context of the real world either.
As a reader and lover of pitch-black romance, I wanted to like this, I am disappointed that I didn't. It needs more work. It needs a strong editor. It’s got great potential as an idea, but the focus should be on the story, and not on the triggers themselves.
Ultimately, it comes down to what is most important for you personally as a reader. Was this book for me? Ultimately, no. I would be lying if I said the book wasn’t dark. It is. It is absolutely dark. But I needed more than darkness. For me, I needed a stronger plot and I needed a stronger ending. I haven’t been angry with an ending in a long time, but this one really irked me.

[Jan]

I've read some seriously disturbing shit in the past, so trust me when I say this is one of the most mindfuck reads out there.



I had to pause and walk away from my Kindle many times. I am not sure if I am getting soft or if it was a bit too much. I think readers deserved a breather from all this nightmare here and there. But we had none—no merci.



The ending didn't sit well with me. It was lazy, abrupt and rushed. Not to mention the irrealistic HEA, perhaps written to please most readers who demand a happy ending regardless of the story's context.



I don't know how to rate it. The writing was good or I wouldn't have finished this, so there is that.🤷‍♂️

[Cori Zahara]

So, guys... after fifteen months, the book is finally released. The biggest thank you for reading another of my stories. I'm aware that this one will not be for everyone. It's dark, it's tragic, and the characters will be suffering long after it ends. The trauma for them won't end just because the last page is turned. There's a lot of triggers. The list can be found on my social media pages if you need them... I don't approve of the themes, but this is how our leading couple told me their story... so, that's how it needed to be told. The biggest thank you to all ARC readers, especially those who had them before proofing, which was the case with many of them, lol. I hope some of you will return to hear Remi and Olivier's stories.

A quick warning to readers... the second half of this book takes a very dark turn. Your mental health is important. So is mine, and it's been held together by fraying tethers for years, and for that reason, I'm glad this book is complete, lol! All that said, it's my most complex story, and I am incredibly proud, as a girl who lost out on half of her education due to said mental health, that I have written it.

P.s...I know the ending being so abrupt annoys the Hell out of some of you, yes, pun intended, so, there is a bonus chapter in my reader group.

Cwtches!

[Amber Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read, and buy into one single review for this book, please let it be mine.

This book is brilliant, one of a kind. The concept and storyline is original,far and beyond what it appeared to be at first glance.

Each and every character is flawed, vulnerable and suffering from psychological conditions which cause them to behave in deeply disturbing ways, yet..the main characters are so compelling and draw you into their damaged psyches. I legitimately yearned for their happy ending more than I’ve done for any literary characters before them. I needed to have hope for them after all they’d suffered and triumphed over.

This is definitely a story that I’ll be thinking of for years to come. I don’t know that I could ever read it again due to the overwhelming visceral reaction I had this first read through, but I’m so glad that I experienced this without having read a single review first. I would argue that its critics were too dense to understand the concepts introduced in the book. It’s dark,but so worth seeing through.

5⭐️
I won’t rate the spice level, while reading, you’ll understand why.
I will say, if it were possible to award extra stars for originality and fearlessness in writing, especially when tackling these subject matters, I’d most readily do so.

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was traumatic

[Momma Eureka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just need to know WHO HURT YOU CORI ???? And why did you want to hurt us back?
Let it be known that this book is a pile of misery, sadness, darkness and you can barely see any daisies 😭 ! It’s heartbreaking in the most horrible way, my heart shattered, I can’t find all the pieces and I fear I’ll never get this piece of my heart back 💔❤️‍🩹😢

I know I’ll sound like a broken record here because everyone says the same about this book but PLEASE LISTEN TO US , LISTEN TO ME AND CHECK THE DAMN TRIGGER WARNINGS ! I didn’t check the triggers, dark content like this doesn’t deter me, but the sadness is fucking paralyzing !!
I won’t rate this book 5⭐️ because there were things in the story that sound it off, it didn’t make sense in the situation, also the ending to me was rushed , 2 lines of a happy ending in a big gigantic pile of misery. I needed more of the happy ending, I needed an epilogue with years later, I needed to see them both in therapy and follow their journey. I NEED IT MORE AFTER ALL I WAS PUT THROUGH WITH JOLIE AND WOODROW! I don’t think that was too much to ask. Those characters didn’t deserve 2 lines of a happy ending. They were not even well to be happy together so immediately.
Without giving any spoilers I’ll try to summarize the story.
Jolie is 18 years old traveling with her father when she got caught in California her home state. They killed her father in front of her and took her ! She was sold and arrived in a house in the middle of fucking nowhere in Georgia. She is delivered in a box with a big red bow on top. She is meant to be a gift to a 17 years old boy living in the house.
The family consists in tne father, mother , Woodrow the teenage boy and Nessie the 7 years old ANGEL of a baby sister.
The father and mother are the worst I’ve ever read it, they make Bernadette and Archie from the Edge of Darkness look like sweet kitty cats. Woodrow is the most amazing, sweet, loving and cute boy ever but due to all the HORRIBLE abuse he goes through his mind created different alters so he has DID. He has Woody a 7years old boy who appears when he can’t handle some situations and needs love and he has Hell the atrocious alter that appear to protect him and his is pure violence and misery. Jolie also developed some mental health issues with disassociating known as “daydreaming “
So that’s when I have issues because with the “minimal” DID research I did, emphases on the “minimal”, I don’t need the psychologists and psychiatrists to call me out on that , it’s not that deep, I just did some reading because I wanted to understand the characters and not because I wanted to have a career in psychology! So normally when one alter is violent and that’s mostly not the case, but in this case they normally are there to protect and if they cause violence is against the people hurting them. So I had a hard time reading and accepting that instead of killing the parents he was also hurting people Woodrow loved, hurting Jolie his “moonlight” 😭. Obviously when you read the book and see all the POV’s and conflicted feelings so you DO understand but acceptance is different and that irked me a little. Even seen everything Hell puts her through I couldn’t absolutely hate him. I thought I would want him dead in the end to make it all good , but Jolie NEEDED Woodrow and in a way she needed Woody and Hell too. Jolie in all her pain and misery wasn’t able to see and understand that small little gestures and changes was all that was necessary to make Hell treat her well because he ACTUALLY LOVED her immensely, he was STARVED for love just like Woody in his child way did and Woodrow with all his heart, soul and selfless personality! But again when you read the book you’ll see that some things are not as it seems.
It also bother me how long Ollie took ….. (if you know you know) he could’ve help them both sooner ! 10 years is a long time! But overall I am glad I LISTEN to this because Sean Masters is one of my absolutely favorite narrator and his voice is music to my ears. Mia Moreno also did a fantastic job as Jolie and the audiobook is duet narration !

[Nelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book where the main male character made you wish he were dead? I certainly do. I hate the character Woodrow, and his multiple personalities that seemingly come out of nowhere with no transitions in between. It's hard to like him due to his constant mind games and manipulations. He was a terrible person and I am glad he got what he deserved.

There are so many triggers in this book that it almost seems like it was written more for shock value than anything else. There is abuse, child abuse, incest, rape, torture, mental illness, and more. Readers like myself find it manageable. But on a whole there is no sense to it at all. The book is dark and depressing, but it is not very coherent.

My hatred for Woodrow and Jolie stems from the fact that she was the dumbest Stockholm syndrome character I've ever come across.

It was difficult for me to empathize with either of them because the author didn't make him sympathetic enough. It is important for characters to be relatable and evoke some kind of emotion in the reader, even if that emotion is dislike. However, both characters were too one-dimensional, making it difficult to connect with them.

Ugh. This book had so many possibilities, but it was ultimately a letdown. The writing was too convoluted and the characters lacked depth. It also lacked direction and made it difficult for you to connect with the main characters with the back and forth between past and present.

It felt like the author was trying to do too much with the multiple personalities angle of the book and it wasn't adequately fleshed out.

The plot felt rushed and underdeveloped, leaving no room for the audience to be immersed in the story. The transitions between timelines were confusing and the lack of a clear narrative meant that the reader was unable to fully understand the characters or their motivations. As a result, the story felt disjointed and incomplete.

Also the graphic description of certain scenes didn't really make me uncomfortable, but the way they were written did make me cringe. This is because the lack of cohesion between the timelines meant that the reader was unable to follow the story from one point to the next.

This led to confusion and disorientation. This made the story extremely difficult to follow, which negatively affected my overall experience. It detracted from the emotional impact of the story and made it difficult to truly invest in the characters and their journeys.

It seemed like the author was trying to be ambitious but the story execution was lacking. The characters lacked development and the plot was challenging to follow. It was difficult to get invested in the story due to the numerous plot twists and perspective shifting. As a result, the story felt disjointed and it was difficult to really connect with the characters as the plot progressed.

Overall, the story was confusing and didn't provide a satisfying conclusion. It was a missed opportunity to create an engaging and meaningful story. The lack of a strong narrative arc and emotional connection to the characters caused the book to fall short.

It was ultimately an unsatisfying and forgettable experience.

[Lola]

Guys… I’m gonna DNF this at 30%. 😭

I genuinely don’t know how I feel about this book. It just made me feel sick and… icky. All I want from my reading right now is to have a good time, and this has been the complete opposite.

I love dark romance. I read some dark books. But this? This is PITCH BLACK. It’s actually affecting my mental health, high-key.

The story follows an FMC who was kidnapped and trafficked to this horrific family. They literally bought her so she’d be a companion for their little boy. The MMC has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), with multiple identity states that developed as a response to severe childhood trauma. One of those personalities, Hell, spends his time torturing and abusing the FMC, and I just… can’t do it anymore.

It’s so relentlessly bleak. She just suffers and suffers, and I keep waiting for a moment of hope that never comes. More than anything, it just made my heart ache for the real people who’ve experienced trafficking and abuse. I can’t even cope with reading a fictional version of it, let alone imagine living through it.

I think this is one of those books you’ll either deeply connect with or you’ll feel like it’s constantly escalating the trauma for shock value. I honestly don’t know where I land because I tapped out before I could figure it out. I just know I want out. 😭

Also, shoutout to my bestie Youssra, who DNF’d this on her first attempt for the same reasons and then I convinced her to buddy-read it with me so we could trauma bond. Well… I’m abandoning the mission. 💀 I think she’s actually going to finish it this time, so prayers up for her because she is truly God’s strongest warrior.

That being said… despite everything, I desperately need her to tell me how this ends.

[Nichole Pollock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, i held off on posting this review because i was trying to finish it but at 60%, I’ve decided to DNF.
& not because of the darkness or triggers. Honestly, up to the point I read it wasn’t dark and there weren’t that many triggers (at least for me, others seem to be saying differently or maybe everything happens closer to the end i dunno). I was honestly just bored. Every day was just about the same, it felt very repetitive and I couldn’t force myself to read it anymore.

The dual timelines, split personalities - it was a lot to keep up with and I didn’t feel any connection with the characters.

🖤 I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review 🖤

[Jessica Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Cori Zahara says that this is DARK, and to please read trigger warnings prior to this, then please do! She is NOT kidding!

This is quite frank the darkest book I have read!

This book will not be for everyone, and will discuss a lot of sensitive subjects, so please be cautioned.

But I wanted to say how much I was hooked with this story, and hated the fact that Work stopped me from being able to binge read.

Thank you Cori for allowing me to ARC read this. I’m honoured, and can’t wait to own a physical copy ❤️

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need a drink

[Faiza Daudo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me rejoice in this achievement. I reached a new milestone in my reading journey.
This book took 5 years out of my life and I don't know how to get it back.

I don't even know how to write this review such was the mindf*ck I went through with it.

Listen, If you have a strong stomach and can read stuff like The life of Ana, you are good, but if you were only dipping your toes in this sub-genre and came across someone recommending this book? Do your due diligence and make sure you are prepared for it.

You would be surprised to learn about what actually broke me in this book, and no, it's not even the dark content, which comes in spades here. No, what broke me was the last 25% of this book. The way the events unraveled in the present and the aftermath of it. I can dive deep in the darkest and muddiest waters, but I am an empath and that is what made this book terribly taxing.
I felt.
A lot.

Thankfully nobody called me a chicken because I refused to read this book in the past. My friend Rose only had to say: I need an emotional support friend to read it with me.
See? It didn't take much to convince me. I willingly chose to read a book like this and what's worse, 2 of my triggers were in it.

Maybe I am a masochist after all.

I know I am, this just cements it.
And as if it wasn't enough, the emotional punch in this book, I did all the reading with the saddest OSTs as soundtrack. Just to enhance the punch.

“I can't save the world, Jolie. But I could save the person who means the world. . . to me.”

The Darkness beyond the Daisies tells the story of Jolie, Woodrow, Hell and Woody.

It tells the story of how a girl was abducted and inducted in the skin trade.

Jolie was a happy girl with a lot of dreams and goals and she had a loving father. But all of that changes when they are on a trip and she is targeted.
Soon Jolie finds herself in a warehouse with a lot of other victims.

After being bought by a seeming good family, Jolie finds herself being an integral part of the Heavens.
But not everything is as it seems and it's not long before the facade starts crumbling and their real intentions comes to light.

"But he was slowly slipping away, stolen from me by the Heavens and not the one above–the ones who belonged in hell. Woodrow Heaven—my Hell, and the monster who created him."

This story is told in two timelines and I loved the way the author unveiled what really happened in the past and how this present came to be.

I loved being inside such complex and broken characters. I loved that the villain isn't made known right away, but if you have a sixth sense, you will spot them straight away.

I loved the character Nessie. She was a very important secondary character that at first seemed inconsequential, but the role she had in the way this story is played was brilliant.

As for Woodrow, Hell and Woody, I will leave them as they should be for you to find out on your own: a mystery.

“Sleep well, angel. Never a victim, always a survivor.”

I will part with this review by simply saying that if you can, if you are okay with any of the triggers, dive into this book blindly and get ready to have your mind fucked six ways from Sunday and your heart shattered to pieces by the time you reach the end and get to the biggest plot twist in the history of twists.
I still don't think I can ever get over that twist or forgive Cori for it. Absolutely brilliant and completely mind blowing.

[Medollga]

DNF: It's a struggle to get through this due to many reasons, but mostly it's not engaging me the way I wanted🤷🏼‍♀️👉👈

[SAV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another update: I got the pleasure of listening to the audiobook for this and oh my god it completely leveled up the reading experience for this book! The emotions that the narrators put into this book were crazy, I honestly think they did this book such justice and I cannot stop recommending this book!

I’m not okay enough rn to leave a a proper review or rating but WTF did I just read, idk if I’m happy, sad or angry, I’m so confused with my emotions but I guess I finally found my DID captive book I was on a hunt for by accident?

Update:
I got to sleep on it, I’m still mad but this book took me through all the emotions and the author was kind enough to hear me and my thoughts out until I could discuss my feelings with a friend and not gonna lie but I loved this book🤣 if you do decide to read this pleaseee check tws. This book has easily moved up to the darkest book I’ve read so far because because of the topics discussed and just the plot in general

[Annica ⚡️ annica_reads_books ⚡️]

DNF at 24%, or is it a soft DNF? Not sure.

This definitely could be a me problem because I’m in a weird reading mood, but this book isn’t holding my attention and I’m not sure why. The darkness level isn’t a problem. Maybe I’m just struggling to connect with the characters. For some reason, it’s just not making me feel anything and I’m skimming 🤔

[warhawke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Dark Romance
Type: Standalone
POV: First Person - Dual
Rating:




Jolie’s life was never the same again after she was taken against her will. A turn of events brought her into the Heavens household with the task of befriending their son Woodrow. But the illusion of her good fortune was quickly shattered as she learned their secrets.



This book brought out a myriad of emotions. I’m glad the author didn’t hold back because the things that happened to the characters were brutal and cruel. However, the book is long, and sometimes I felt characters/scenes popped out of nowhere.

I was broken beyond fucking repair—but that was both a blessing and a curse. Because now, he could never hurt me more than he already had.

It was hard not to feel for Woodrow and Jolie, especially on things they didn’t have control over. I liked how they served a purpose for each other.

The Darkness Beyond the Daisies is a story of survival and coping. It would appeal to readers who enjoy dark romance.





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[Siobhan Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Excellent execution of DID.
Very dark, check triggers if you have them.

[Tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emotional rollercoaster…. I don’t have the words to say anything else right now other than I want to bury myself under a carpet and contemplate life.

[MarielleXO · Rating 5 out of 5]

ITS LITERALLY 4am and I finished this book!!

my ass should of been asleep 5 hours ago..

but no… not with Cori.

RTC
side note.. I can’t sleep cuz i’m thinking of this book now.. grrrrrrr

[Kenia Coronado · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not entirely sure how to review this one. It was so dark! Everything was described in detail and i had to look away a few times. Thats the reality for some people and the horrors that comes with human tr*fficking. The first half of the book was a little slow for me but i did like the second half more. Chapters are extremely long and descriptive fyi but i did this on audio and it was easier to get through them.

[readwithhanhan (IG) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am speechless. like actually speechless… this book destroyed me. I am unwell. that’s it, that’s the review. no I’m jk but I have been in a slump for like a week now and nothing was hitting. well this one definitely HIT. holy fuck. I went into this book completely blind like not even reading the blurb, literally just skipped right to page 1, and I’m SO glad I did. this book was written insanely well. but let me say this is a PITCH BLACK book, triggers warnings are there for a reason and I recommend reading them. this was a T O U G H read and definitely the darkest book I’ve ever read and I pretty much only read dark romance. I sobbed MULTIPLE times while reading this, like pretty much the entire time I was reading, I was crying. I felt every. single. emotion. with that being said, this book was both fascinating and fucked up at the same time. my psych major heart was SO happy while reading this because, whew, the mental health issues were REAL in this book and I ate it tf up! I love mental health rep in books. the mmc in this book quite literally gave me whiplash. I would despise him and then love him but fuck, my heart hurt for him and felt so bad for him the entire time. he tried.. he tried to do good, to be good! fuck his parents fr. I hate them so much. he deserved so much better. And Jolie.. she DEFINITELY deserved better!!! ugh my heart broke for her. the things she went through were absolutely HORRIBLE. Is there a word that’s worse than horrible? I can’t even think rn because her story is so sad and tragic. idk if horrible explains just how BAD she suffered.. I have so much more I want to say and could go on and on, but I am gonna limit what I say in this review, because if you can go into this book blind, DO IT. But, do not go into this story looking for a cutesy romance read.. this is NOT that kind of book. please trust me when I say you might want to be cautious and check the TWs with this one. this was my first Cori Zahara book but it’s NOT going to be my last! Adding all of her books to my TBR now! this book will live rent free in my head. I’ll never forget this story. I literally have a million questions but 5 stars.. 5 stars for this book. I love when a book destroys me and also hits me with twists/turns I never saw coming. the storyline and just everything was so different and so unique and it was worth every tear I shed.

[Ms. Tammy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This Isn’t Romance. This Is Trauma Porn Dressed in Prose.

I don’t know what Cori Zahara thought she was doing here, but let me tell you what The Darkness Beyond the Daisies actually is:

It’s trauma exploitation masquerading as dark romance.

It’s the story of a young, trafficked Black girl named Jolie who is raped, emotionally tortured, caged, shaved, scarred, gaslit, and broken, all for the sake of a “love story” that ends with a forced marriage to her abuser.

And no, I’m not exaggerating.

Let’s start with the facts:
• Jolie is kidnapped and sold at 18 to a white family under the pretense of helping their son with dissociative identity disorder.
• That son, Woodrow/Hell, rapes her, cages her like a dog, shaves her hair, and emotionally terrorizes her.
• She is degraded repeatedly, referred to as a “mongrel,” a “gift,” and an “animal.”
• Her trauma is observed by the parents, who are later revealed to be complicit sex traffickers.
• She is guilted into forgiving the man who violated her, because “he’s broken” and “needs her.”

And after ALL of that, we’re supposed to swallow a contrived happy ending where she stays with him?

Girl. Be serious.

The deeper problem?

Cori Zahara is not a Black woman.
She is not writing from lived experience.
She is stylizing racialized sexual violence and wrapping it in poetic language like that makes it okay.

It doesn’t.

In the hands of a white author, this story isn’t bold, it’s irresponsible. It reduces the systemic suffering of Black women to aesthetic suffering. It uses Jolie’s pain as a plot device, not a truth. And it centers the abuser’s redemption over the victim’s freedom.

That’s not romance. That’s literary violence.

Final Thoughts:

This isn’t dark.
This isn’t taboo.
This is trauma porn with a wedding veil.
And if you think that sounds provocative, imagine reading 400+ pages of it.

1 star.
Because Goodreads won’t let me rate it negative.

[Melissa ❤️ bookaddict_fanatic · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Some people are worth suffering for.”

I'm going to start off by saying PLEASE check trigger warnings before reading don't take this warning lightly!

“I can't save the world, Jolie. But I could save the person who means the world. . . to me.”

This book was dark, the evil that lurked at every turn was unimaginable and the unthinkable things that these characters suffered at the hands of the people that were supposed to love them was heartwrenching.

“My moonlight. You light up the dark, and stay with it, huddled in, fearlessly.”

This book definitely grabbed me from the beginning and dug its claws in me until the very end. That ending blindsided me, I was NOT expecting that twist, and now I need more of this world, I need to know Ollie's story!!

"I see the girl I fell in love with ten years ago and the woman I’ll never get over. I see you, Moonlight, your beautiful soul, your innocence, and your one-of-a-kind heart, and it's kept me alive for years.”

This was my first book from this author but it will not be my last! If you can handle dark, darker than dark and have no triggers then read this book. Immerse your self in a journey that will test you, squeeze your heart till its ready to burst and leave at the edge of hopelessness before dragging you back into the light.

[Tessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at about 40%. The triggers and darkness aren’t what stopped me from continuing, it was the writing style, lack of connection with the characters, and the way the FMC felt like the lead role in a bad slasher film where she had a million opportunities to save herself but didn’t.

[Shassii Shassii · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm gonna need a few days. My head is still pounding and my eyes are still sore. My brain is royally f*****.

[Domilė · Rating 5 out of 5]

🇱🇹:Pirmosios 6⭐️?
Nu kaip čia buvo gerai... Mano širdis visiškai sudaužyta po šitų veikėjų, net nežinau kaip apsakyt, net nežinau ar galiu rekomenduot, nes visgi pitch black ir knyga tikrai viena iš žiauriausių ką skaičiau 💔 Taip nesveikai gerai išdirbti veikėjai, tokia jautri ir tragiška meilės istorija, o antraeiliai veikėjai išvis 😭😭💔💔💔💔 Nu whyyyyy...
Tai buvo ta knyga, kur reikėjo nuo jos pasidaryt pertrauką gerai savaitei, nes man jau nei protas, nei širdis nebeišnešė daugiau įtampos, kur tragiški įvykiai ėjo vienas po kito non stopu, ir aš net suprasdama, kad viskas tik knygoje, meldžiausi už veikėjus, kad duotų jiems ramybę bent kartą... 🥹🙏🏻

🇬🇧:My first 6⭐️?
I don’t even know how to describe how good this was… My heart is completely shattered after these characters. I don’t even know if I can recommend it, because it’s truly pitch black and honestly one of the most brutal books I’ve ever read 💔 The characters are insanely well-developed, the love story is so tender and tragic, and don’t even get me started on the side characters 😭😭💔💔💔💔 Like… whyyyyy…
This is the kind of book I had to take a full week-long break from, because neither my mind nor my heart could handle any more of the tension. One tragic event after another, nonstop—and even knowing it’s “just a book,” I found myself praying for the characters, hoping they’d be given even a moment of peace at least once… 🥹🙏🏻

Thank you @corizaharaauthor for such masterpiece 🤍

[Erin A. {midnight_rosepetals} Thorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: The Darkness Beyond the Daisies
Author: Cori Zahara
Rating: ♡5🎧♡5⭐♡5🌶️♡
Narrators: Mia Moreno & Sean Masters

I have literally been sitting here for what seems like hours trying to figure out what to say.

All I can come up with is … WTF?!? 😳
“Emotional Damage” does not seem
like a strong enough word combo.

I did NOT see that coming. The raw unabashed fury and
pain….The screams..
oh the screams.

Masterpiece of anguish mental fúck and pain

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book blind with only going off of the blurb on the back. The prologue sent shivers down my spine in the most thrilling and perilous way. The story launches into action right away. After a few chapters, I was delighted to discover that it features one of my favorite tropes-if you can call it a trope. I am a bit obsessed with it. If you are torn between the villain and the golden retriever, you can have them both in this book.

“𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆; 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑴𝒚 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍. 𝑴𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑴𝒚 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚.”

“𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓.”

The plot gripped me with its intensity, breaking my heart and leaving me reeling from its traumatic and even vile moments. As I neared the end with just a few chapters left, I was convinced that an HEA was impossible, but Cori surprised me by pulling the rug out from under my expectations. I absolutely did not see that twist coming! This hard-fought HEA continues to occupy my thoughts days after finishing the book, leaving me still analyzing its depths.

Young Jolie found herself captured and sold to the Heaven family, who presented themselves as her saviors from the horrors of sex trafficking. Her role was to befriend and assist their son, Woodrow. However, as her time in the Heaven household stretched on, she began to uncover the darkness lurking within. She saw through the lies she had been told and learned the true reason for her captivity there. Despite falling in love with Woodrow, she eventually realized she couldn't reconcile all aspects of him. He was her heaven, her hell, and a child caught between the two extremes.

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝑰 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”

This book contained numerous deeply dark moments that tested my resolve. Among them, one scene stood out as especially brutal and devastating, making me question if I could continue. My heart shattered repeatedly for Jolie, Woodrow, Woody, and even Hell, as their struggles unfolded.

Another favorite aspect of mine is how Cori crafted this story with an alternating timeline. It adds an extra layer of intrigue for me, experiencing the events unfolding in the present while receiving fragments of the past. Initially, we're left questioning how the situation reached its current state. However, as the narrative unfolds, those gaps in time gradually start to fill in, and the shock of realization sinks in deeper with each revelation.

[Sevyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um-What

I hate writing bad reviews on here. But I gotta get this off my chest. This book grated on my nerves. And it wasn’t for the darkness; that was what it was. My issue lies in how it was written, which ruined it for me. Like why wasn’t it just written in 3rd person? Some of the words these 17- 18-year-olds were saying were killing me, as well as the one person's POV miraculously being able to know how the other person is feeling or thinking about a situation without even being told. And it wasn’t because “they just knew that person so well.” No, it was like they were f€\+$ng omniscient! And the massive amount of word salad?! Listen, I get it. You want to paint a picture or whatever; instead of just saying that the moon is beautiful, you’re going to give us a three-page essay about it. Excellent, then how ‘bout you also use those words to explain how; last we knew, MC was sitting on the bed, then in the next breath, he’s standing in the FMC’s face. Did he teleport?!! And that’s just one example.

Additionally, and honestly, this is probably my biggest gripe and why I’m filled with such vitriol. Why, OH, WHY is the FMC seemingly of AA descent? I have an issue with authors writing about major abuse at the hands of a yt character written by a person who is not black. We do not need that kind of inclusion in a book, thank you. I blame myself because I saw one TikTok about it— created by a yt woman, and seeing that beautiful cover, I was intrigued. I was so intrigued that I didn’t even look up the author's deets. But as I read, and absolutely not one good thing was happening —I grew increasingly angry. Did I finish the book? Yes. Did I skim out of anger? Absolutely. But I had to see it through.

All that aside, did I like the book? No. Because the FMC was a weak bish. Like the ones you see in bad slasher films. Just falling over a twig, not running when they have 100x10 chances to do so... I literally had no one character to root for and could NOT get into any “steamy” scenes that weren’t forced (there weren’t many) because of all the abuse. I found nothing enjoyable about 500+ pages of someone being treated like less than a dog doo by an irredeemable person who had nothing to offer but a pretty face. By the time the twist came, I hadn’t given a s*@it. I was (flatly) like; ohh… okayyy….yayy…. But like I still hate all of you because of the 530 pages of pure s%#* I just read about you going through. Like, what was the point of this?