The Wicked Side

The Dark Side #2

by Ash Coley

He's my best friend's little brother...

I protected him for years - kept him safe from his parents and took care of him when his older brother couldn't.

I'll do anything in the world for him just to make him happy.

But I keep my distance, too, because being in love with my best friend's little brother is scary enough. Knowing he's straight just makes the pain worse.

Then, Solomon comes out to us. He announces he's gay. On top of that, he announces that he's going on to a party with a guy we don't know, that we haven't vetted. We only have Solomon's word that he can be trusted. Letting him go without protection makes my skin crawl and itch.

Which is how I end up at a college frat party and how I end up interrupting Solomon and his date in one of the rooms.

That night changes everything for us in both the best and absolute worst ways.

Because my reckless decision that night brings horror to my boy's life, and I'm not sure if I'm going to be enough to protect him.

**Please read the author's note at the beginning of the book before deciding to read.

Genres: M M Romance, Dark Romance, Dark, Contemporary, Romance, Stalker, LGBT

175 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2023

Reviews

[♡ cal ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

has the potential

[Emna · Rating 1 out of 5]

The wicked side❌️
People you're gonna feel embarrassed for✅️

[Caroline Forrester · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I’ve ever read. Review loading…

[Alison Wilkinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slightly better than the first book, but since the first book was literally the worst book I've ever read, it isn't saying much. I wish I hadn't wasted my time with either of them.

Problematic and not in a sexy way, inconsistent characters (again), pornhub-esque "f-f-f-fuuuuuuck" sex scenes that were drier than a desert, and just urgh.

There's potential with this author. She CAN make a good book, potentially. But she needs her characters down more solidly (potentially make a character sheet for each person's personality), with their motives and feelings solidly decided, and CLEAR points where if those feelings and motives change then the changes are explained. When she's got that, she can stop writing like an emo 13 y/o and ease off on the brooding 1-liners and edgy monologues. There's 100s of ways you can make your character dark without them talking about how much they hate the world in their brain.

I don't mean to be mean. She can write. Just at the moment, it's not very well. Maybe her future books if she wants to improve. She might be happy with this level of stuff and it's successful enough to be a paycheck and move on to the next. I'd respect the hustle. But I don't personally think there's much here we couldn't find on ao3 and better.

[yazaleea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uhh slightly better than book 1 but that’s really not much lol. At least no rapey shit! Sol was adorable. A whole star goes to Jude, the best character and friend, surprising in such a terrible book.

I think the author is allergic to writing sexy sex scenes, it’s so boring it’s sad. Especially for a sexy novella. Oops.

Same domineering shit. Except this time the nickname is not little blondie (gag) but baby boy. Every. Damn. Sentence. It’s so bad.

It was just really bad, i love the best friend’s brother / brother’s best friend trope but this was so… flat. Side plot with the stalker was random af. Again, Sol was cute and soft and baby and Jude was the best I love him.

[Mel Polk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was surprisingly delightful and unhinged in my favorite ways. Love how ride-or-die Jude was. Definitely lets you know you've missed something if you didn't read the first book, but still totally understandable regardless.

[audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

the only reason im giving this 4 stars is because i wanted it to be longer. like 400 pages longer. solomon was sooo fucking cute like i really loved him. ezra was sexy and totally possessive and it was delicious. this has me wanting to go back and read #1 for amadeus omg

[kota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating : 4.5 / 5

I'm obsessed with this. Solomon and Ezra are so good. I loved how protective Ezra was. This was such a quick but good read. I highly recommend but read the author's note!

[Kassu · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a second in series and in my opinion not stand-alone. All allusions to past events are super vague and while I don't need an actual recap, I'm left with a feeling of missing out half of the story. The book does not claim to be stand-alone and it's also not its fault that I'm not interested in the first title in the series. So this is not a huge deal for me, just something to mention right away.

I don't think the book is super dark, I feel like probably most of the really dark stuff also happened in the first book. The relationship dynamics are possessive and overprotective, and there's a stalker, some violence and rough sex but the story here is not twisted or anything.

I was interested in the family dynamic and initially this really felt like an actual forbidden romance. I wish some of the cult background was explained better, now I just had to take these guys words that they had "monsters inside them" because of their past. Many things in the story were said again and again but not really showed in action.

In addition to telling instead of showing, I found it a bit jarring how often people were referred to by their relationships to others. Many times I would have just used the character's name or pronoun instead of X's best friend or brother or wife. In case it wasn't completely clear for everyone, the fact that Ezra was Solomon's brother's best friend is told several times, as the other way around. 'Best friend' is mentioned in the book 58 times.

I did find a few things here and there interesting and since I intentionally missed out on the first book with the actual cult stuff, I wouldn't want to bash the book, but I can't say I liked it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[TaurReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this was an interesting story. I haven't read part one (which is M/F) and I think a good bit of context for this story was told in the first. However, it wasn't hard to follow regarding Ezra and Solomon.

Solomon is in love with Ezra who happens to be the best friend of his brother Amadeus. Ezra is in love with Solomon as well. They both fear letting their love known based on the perceived reaction from Amadeus.

Due to a traumatizing experience that happened to Solomon, his brother Amadeus and Ezra are insanely protective of him. Solomon also suffers from severe anxiety attacks.

Eventually Solomon and Ezra get their HEA with a some bumps along the way.

I have to say my favorite character was Ezra's best friend Jude. Solomon and Ezra were written pretty decently. However, Ezra's having a severe panic attack in just about every interaction was a bit much.

Personally, I didn't consider it that dark. I'm sure some people will, but it was rather tame in my opinion. Overall, the story was pretty good.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[LJ Henley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't your average MM book. There are many triggers so reader pay attention to the authors warnings. This is a dark story that features several main characters. Solomon was abused by his parents, Amadeaus, his older brother did everything he could to protect his brother, but the scars are still there. Ezra is Amadeaus' best friend and has been in love with Solomon for years. Jude is Solomon's best friend who is such a great support for Solomen. Lillian is Solomon's sister in law and she carries scars and trauma from her childhood that helps Solomon during his time of need. There is a lot going on in this story and it is very interesting. You may not like how Ezra treats Solomon, but it works for them.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I really enjoyed it, I know it is book two in a duet but I was able to read and understand the story without having to read book one, saying that I think book one would definitely give you more on the backgrounds of the characters, I loved how protective and caring the characters in this story are for each other after all they’ve been through they have made their own family unit. I really liked Solomon and thought Ezra was so perfect for him. I also loved the strength of the friendships between Solomon and Jude and also Ezra and Amadeus, this is a darkish read so please read the trigger warnings but this story is definitely well worth a read.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book radiates protective, possessive, and forbidden vibes.

While Ezra and Solomon are pining for one another they also know each other is off limits. Ezra is Solomon’s brother’s best friend. But when Solomon tries to date Ezra’s possessive nature comes out.

It’s not a fairytale story for them. It has its twists & turns and does get dark. This was a nail biter at times because of the tension (between them and due to an external factor). But when you love someone as much as these two do you protect the one you love.

[Angel Roo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good story, but I feel like I'm missing a lot of important information needed to fully understand these characters.

While the book is listed as a stand alone, it's not ... at least not fully. I do love the characters of Ezra and Solomon... but I don't really understand how they got to the relationship they start with in this book.

It was written well enough that I will probably go back and read the first book in the series. And perhaps more in the future.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lutfia Valley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I should write the exact same words of my review of the first book for this one because this was perfect, too.
I'm glad the author got the main characters and the main supporting characters' interaction correct this time. Because they actually interacted. In the first book, the MFC wasn't even introduced to the MMCs brother and best friend, but then suddenly they knew each other, but they hardly even spoke or interacted.
I loved that we got to see deeper into that relationship even though it was from this POV.

[Spookie Mo 🖤 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh I loved this so much. I knew I would cause the first book was soo good! Solomon is utterly adorable. I just want to put him in my pocket and protect him always. Ugh Ezra is the epitome of touch him & die. He is so protective of Solomon, but so sweet to him too. It melted my heart. I literally devoured this book in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. Between the plot and the smut scenes I was hooked. I don’t know what of drug the author puts in her writing but I am here for it.

5/5 ⭐️
🖤 MM Dark Romance
🖤 Stalking
🖤 Possessive & Obsessive MMC
🖤 Panic Attacks

[audiobook_chaos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is book 2 you don’t need to read book 1 which is Amadeus and Lilian’s story to follow this book. This book follows Solomons who is Amadeus’s younger brother and Ezra his best friend Solomon and Ezra have always wanted each other without either realising how the other felt. When Solomon tells them he’s going on a date Ezra isn’t happy so he follows them and warns Drew off but will Drew just let things lie.

[Aimee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 for potential. Both in the series were actually pretty terrible. Really lackluster on the story line, could have done a lot with it. Also very cheesy. I mean, Ezra sounds like the man, but literally no context as to how Solomon ended up being a cross dressing bi??? Poor Lillian uttered like 3 words the whole book. Yeah, not for me.

[Adhana Tapia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly what I had hoped it would be. Could've definitely done without the lack of communication but Solomon stabbed Ezra and stood up for himself when fighting his stalker so we'll ignore that since Ezra eventually gets his head out of his ass and stops the stupid work travelling. Once the two were together officially, they were sweet and very spicy together, and the ending???? Loved it.

[Ashley -Goldstarreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an intriguing and interesting dark romance. Although I would say it was on the lighter side of a dark romance, it dealt with stalking not between the main MC’s; and violence also not between the main MC’s. This is a book 2 in a duet, the first one is a MF about Amadeus and Lillian. Amadeus is Solomon’s older brother who was more of a father and Ezra’s best friend. I didn’t read the first book but I get the impression that you should, it seems we miss out on the entire traumatizing backstory of Solomon and Ezra. And while this story tells us, it’s just a quick mention. Aside from that, these characters, Solomon, Ezra, Amadeus and Lillian (and Amadeus’ and Lillian’s son), make up a family that stands together and is protective of each other; to a very unhealthy codependent level. It’s sweet and wonderful how much they care for one another. Ezra has been in love with Solomon for a while and Solomon in love with Ezra, but neither do anything because of Amadeus. Until Solomon introduces Drew and Ezra gets a bad vibe from him and then goes all “touch what’s mine and you die”, which is hot AF. The story starts off with a bang and then slows down. There’s a lot of back and forth, missed moments with Ezra and Solomon. Personally, I don’t like the back and forth stuff. I was expecting more steam than we got considering how these two go together, and I was expecting kinky and rough sex…and it delivered to a point, it took a bit to get there, almost like a slow burn since it was quite far into the book before another spicy scene happened. The writing was done well, the author created characters that you care about and want to see get their HEAs. It was a good read that sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down until I was done. It really sucks you in.

[Mary S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was some story! Ezra and Solomon had a difficult lives , but thanks to Solomon brother Ezra and Solomon were able to have a beautiful and happy life. Love reading their story and the hard journey this two have to finally have their happy ending.

[LOLA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to read book 2.

[7 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan at all

[lewcifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise was so interesting, but the story really just felt like an edgy wattpad fanfic from 2014 in the worst way possible.

[Zusan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE ITTTTTTT!!!!

Virgin bottom AND top. Sign me the fuck up!!!!! Totally recommend, I do advise to read the trigger warnings first though.

[Aleksa · Rating 2 out of 5]

“He sent a heart emoji,” I grumbled. Jude snorted. “That’s what’s got you looking constipated?”

[Natalie]

DNF. It was going in circles. That’s a no!

Oct/31 I couldn’t stop wondering what happened so I finished the book. It was ok, but at least now I know!

[Sammy Standing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this story and admittedly, I have yet to read the first book in this series. But I absolutely devoured this book.

I loved both Solomon and Ezra, this book really delves into trauma for both of these characters and I just loved seeing their journey and where they ended up.

This is 100% worth the read and I will be reading the first book as soon as I can.

[Samantha Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this book. Once Ezra got over his shit, him and Solomon were unbreakable. I love how protective he was of Solomon. They are the definition of soulmates.
I received a free advance copy from Booksprout for an honest review.

[Alexsis Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ezra and sol.
Older brothers' best friend.
This was the second book in the series so I’m not sure if I just missed a lot of context from the first one or not since I didn’t read it but honestly there was a lot of missing pieces in this story. I was very lost about their background and what was happening and I wish this was a little longer so that we could’ve gotten more explanation for what was going on with their background.

Also, there was insta love which was also not my favorite. There just wasn’t really any connection for me and it all happened so fast they were just immediately in love no questions asked.
The drew situation was probably the only decent plot but that was also rushed and could’ve been done better.
It was a quick read and a good concept I just think it could’ve been done so much better to be able to have a good impact.