In the Gray

by B.B. Reid

In the Gray is an all-new wickedly sexy and boundary-pushing standalone from bestselling author B.B. Reid.

ATLAS

I know what they say. Grief makes you do things.
After the year I’ve had, I’m bathing in it.
Dad’s dead.
Mom is…mom.
My boyfriend and best friend are too busy screwing to comfort me.
When a letter arrives with no return address telling me where to go for a new start, I don’t hesitate.
I pack some clothes and what’s left of my life and run.
But I didn’t expect the fire waiting for me when I arrived. I didn’t count on the burn.
Rowdy Wray.
They call him the lion of Idlewild.
Me…I call him boss.
He’s the key to my past and the path to my future.
What happens next is our twisted secret.

ROWDY

Who is this girl?
Atlas Beck.
This damaged young thing shows up at my place of business and tells me she’s my new receptionist.
I should have fired her.
I would have fired her if she hadn’t begged so beautifully.
Atlas told me not to let her go, but she didn’t know what she was asking. And now?
It’s too late to put the crazy back in the cage.

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Dark, Enemies To Lovers, Workplace Romance, Suspense, Erotica

500 pages, Paperback

First published June 8, 2023

About the author

B.B. Reid is a bestselling author of several romances, including Crucible, the imaginative retelling of Goldilocks. She’s most known for her dark, diverse, and contemporary romances but began her career writing new adult. B.B. grew up in North Carolina but currently resides in Atlanta with Ivan, her moody tuxedo cat. When she’s not being a nomad, she enjoys gaming, home decor, and retail therapy.

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Reviews

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

ღ 🅸🅽 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🆁🅴🆈 ღ Is a full length romance novel by author B.B. Reid. Spoken in 'dual perspectives.'

It’s been two and-a-half years since B.B. put her heart and soul into publishing a book, and I for one was along for the ride. This was one book I was highly anticipating. It only seemed fitting that I turned off life and jumped into this world the author had created.

B. B. Reid came out guns blazing.

With things on a downward slide in her hometown a letter and an old faded photo of five teenagers, urging her to go to Idlewild has her packing up things on a whim and hightailing it to new beginnings which leads her on the doorstep of 'Pride of Kings' four working class men who at a young age had pooled their funds together to open up a workshop.

Now decades later..

Her eyes always got drawn to 'One KIng' in particular, whom she found out later was Rowdy Wray. Who quickly became her obsession before he even knew she existed.

What a crazy ride this one turned out to be, this age gap romance had me inhaling the pages, their road was paved in turmoil, never running smooth at the best of times. Obsession frequently had him with gun in hand wanting to take out any threats which looked at her more than a few seconds.
His obsession and her making him lose all sense of his sanity, these two were perfect for each other.

They narrowly escaped a twist in the story which could’ve derailed them.

 

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[Melluvsbooks]

DNF @ 10% - I love BB Reid’s older books. Love. She has been an auto buy for me since Fear Me. I DNF’d Lilac and assumed it was just a fluke.. you can’t like everything an author writes… right? 🤷🏼‍♀️ But here I am again. Scratching my head.

WTF is this?? Since when does BB do instalove, from a 40’year old man no less? That was the weirdest scene. I was cringing. The “shivers”. The biting. The dumpster. “I’m 14”. All of it was bizarre. Then our “badass” h decided to go to a random house party in a town she just arrived in, by herself… and gets black out drunk in a house full of drunken strangers…. And when she wakes up she’s in bed… naked… with a girl?? And besides a little hungover confusion, she’s pretty casual about the whole thing… even admiring the unclothed strange girl’s naked ass… not at all what you’d expect from a girl who has only had one sexual partner, her ex BOYfriend…

Anyhoo.. the meet-cute, the mechanic/mobster/gangster set up, and the weird vibe I got in this ONS scene…. Well it led me to review diving… and all I was seeing were these cryptic mentions of “super taboo” stuff…. And ya know, this ain’t my first rodeo. I’ve read it all. What could it possibly be that was causing all the side eyes and secrecy??? Is the H her dad or uncle or something??? 👀

Well, friends, I finally found a reviewer who enlightened me…

Yes, the H could *possibly* be her father. Apparently he was banging her mom right around her conception… so it’s definitely in the realm of possibilities… I guess this explains the cringetastic instalove 🥴

And apparently, the h begs the H to eff her “friend”??? And there’s golden showers involved? Honestly, I don’t really care about context with either of these things. Neither thing is for me no matter how it goes down or why.

I guess I’m losing another favorite to the lure of Tiktok notoriety… just adding in OTT kinks for views and buzz. That’s not my jam.

Womp womp.

[Kursed Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

As her life is falling apart, Atlas Beck receives a cryptic letter encouraging her to travel across the state to unravel a mystery that is somehow connected to her.

Despite her best efforts, she falls for the Lion of Idlewild, a player nearly twice her age. Navigating a budding relationship proves to be more challenging than either could have predicted.

I really liked all the characters, particularly the sassy, take-no-$hït, Atlas. The full cast of side characters are interesting as well. There were some elements of the story I don’t prefer, but the overall storyline was interesting and kept me engaged from the start.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 🤔😢🥵😲😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👫🏾 {Dual}

📌 Genre: Romantic Suspense

✨ Tropes: Age Gap (16), Alphahole, Band of Brothers/Found Family, Coming of Age, Curvy Woman, Enemies-to-Lovers, Forbidden, Forced Proximity, Jealous/Possessive, Kidnap/Captive, Manipulation, Organized Crime, POC, Reformed Player, Workplace

💋 Kinks: Daddy (Mild), Domination, Finger Licking Good, Sharing, Spanking, Squirt

⚠️ Warning: This steamy read will leave your panties wet and reaching for BOB.

🚩 Safety Squad: Miscarriage (Off Page, Not h), OW Drama, and other potentially triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!

📣 Type: In the Gray is a standalone.

🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.

[Shawnaci Schroeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5
I was so close to a DNF with this book but I’m so glad I didn’t because it got so much better! This is definitely a taboo read and an emotional rollercoaster, but if you enjoy a strong protective mmc you might love this one! I thought the most taboo thing about this story would be the age gap but boy was I wrong!! I loved how the author really keeps with invested the entire story. The spice was spicyyyyy so keep that in mind if you go into this one!

[Sonya ♕Chatterbooks book blog♕ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whew!!! Dang what a ride! I went into this story almost completely blind and even though I had a pretty good idea where this was going, the plot twist felt like a record scratch. I became too comfortable with these characters and they're day to day process and in return, the author completely swept the rug from under me.

Atlas Beck has been through her fair share of trauma over the past year so when she gets an anonymous note, she decides to start over in the town of Idlewild. There she meets the four owners of a popular mechanic shop where she starts to work and right from the start she's drawn to the most dangerous one of them all.



Rowdy lives by his own rules and does things his way and if you have a problem with that, then you're going to be facing a cold metal steel against your skull. For years he's done his own thing and nothing and no one is going to change that. Or so he thinks.

From the moment Rowdy meets Atlas, he knew that she was different but just like him, she has secrets of her own and she's not about to hand them over. Will these two who are so wrong for each other in every way, manage to do the unthinkable and love each other?




I'm going to be brutally honest and say that I did not love how certain things were handled in this story and I was not a fan of the hero for a good portion of the story. As much as these two brought out the best in each other, they also brought out the worst and in return chaos ensured. They were brutally toxic, unforgiving, reckless and I was scared they were going to burn the place down!! But somehow underneath all of that, they were loyal and passionate and when they loved? You really felt it.

If you're looking for a complicated, highly addictive read with a fierce heroine, then this one's for you.

[🅙𝔲𝔩𝔷 · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst stories I’ve ever read. The characters sounds like bad gangsters. The hero is a man whore who slept with his bf wife and might have got her pregnant. The heroine is adopted and turns out she could be the hero’s daughter. The fact she is sleeping and inlove with a man that was sleeping with her biological mom for 20 something years is just gross. They have a 3 some and the heroine begs the hero to have sex with her friend! Then pisses on him?! I mean common. The whole story, characters, plot was just gross

[kiriahsbookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!!

What did I just read?!? I need to start looking at reviews, reading the synopsis or some before diving into books because W T F!

Let me first say I don’t even know how I even finished this. The things happening in this book was so bad that I couldn’t stop reading. Honestly don’t know how it has so many great reviews.

Atlas Beck receives a letter telling her to basically uproot her life to go this place because it has an answer to a mystery that she needs to know. There she meets Rowdy, who is old enough to be her damn daddy and PLOT TWIST NEWSFLASH, she learns that’s it’s a possibility that he may be but that doesn’t stop them from still having s3x and her calling him daddy and I don’t mean like father.

The EXCESSIVE AGE GAP, the choking, the biting WTF WAS THAT ABOUT??? That man is old enough to be her daddy.

And that 3some with them two, and Ruen wtf was that? & WHY?

I said what the fuck so many times reading this. It’s laughable.

I enjoyed no parts of this book, not even the spice, well maybe just a little but also like yuck because of the age gap. 😭 It wasn’t an enjoyable read. Why did I keep reading you may ask? Because I had to see it through & I regret it. Should have DNF the first 10%.

All in all, in good faith I could not recommend this book, unless you like stuff like this but even still I wouldn’t advise.

This book is one of those ones you read once and try to forget you ever read it!

[Justine · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

I read the TWO FIRST chapters lmao and every second of it I was wondering what the actual jesus fuck I was reading bcs the male characters were so immature EVEN THO THEY ARE WRITTEN BY A GROWNUP WOMAN.

The mmc O-M-G i was so turned off by him.

How can you be attracted to a man this childish ? This physically violent for fucking nothing ? And the way he justified about not beating women bcs it’s not appropriate, LET ME DOUBT IT really. He slapped a poor guy three times for nothing like common chill man 🤣

And the way he talked about this girl he was sleeping with on a daily basis, I quote, “as the bitch I’d been fucking on a semi-regular basis” “with good pussy and even better head. That was about as much as I cared to know about her”

Oh, and his friend talking like this : “Go get us our usual and hurry the fuck up.” to a waitress ????? You think that’s normal ??? NO, even tho the girl was weird.

It’s so out of reality for me to write about a disgusting man like that and be okay with it.

And let me tell you, I read many many dark romances/mafia romances, so I know how to like a disturbed man. So yeah, Rowdy and his friends were just poorly written. When you don’t know how to write a good alpha man, just don’t even try gurl 😘

[Jahda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I want my time back ….

[Nay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have DNFd but I thought it was going to get better nope it gets worse. I don’t see the hype around this book at all. I didn’t like the age gap as dude was as old enough to be her father and could have been her father literally. The whole letters was annoying as it didn’t give no suspense. Now back to dude possibly being her father. Even after she finds this out she still wants to fck him and doesn’t care. Incest is never an okay taboo. Also what was the point of the 3sum at the end.

[XxTainaxX Curvy and Nerdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s no secret that I’m a huge BB Reid fan but you are simply NOT ready for all that is Rowdy and his intensity. He and his boys are on a whole other level of alpha. When I tell you this book had me hooked… I was helpless as the hours ticked by and I couldn’t stop reading. Morning came and the responsible adult in me that had to work in a few hours was STILL no match for the pull of this book.

Atlas is a bad@$$ in her own right. She is so dynamic: strong, sassy, mischievous, vulnerable, curious, and much more. I couldn’t have picked a better match for Rowdy. The chemistry she and Rowdy share is so powerful and unique. I couldn’t get enough!

The plot was well developed and just when you think you have it figured out… BAM. Plot twist. The plot twist was just what the story needed to up that intensity to the next level.

It goes without saying that I recommend picking up this book asap. You’d otherwise be missing out on quite an experience.

Complementary copy received and voluntarily reviewed.

[Shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 50%. I typically enjoy B.B. Reid as I love a good bully trope, however, this was a struggle. There was a lack of depth to both main characters and many typos that began to drive me crazy. The business the Horseman ran seemed unrealistic (who runs a mechanic shop with 4 owners, a business manager, 2 receptionists, and mechanics, but still manages to make the kind of money these guys were slinging around)? Idk. Seemed off to me. Not to mention they were all mid-thirties, and still not doing much after hours but partying, except for Atlas who is all of 19. After 50% in there was still no backstory on her, except for her mom ignoring her and her dad who had passed away. I didn't see a lot of grieving though, or discussion of a boyfriend or best friend as mentioned. Then we ran into the rumblings of the dreaded insta-love which is the death of a book for me. Zero connection between these two characters despite the lust that is quite forcefully dumped on the reader. At that point, I could not go on. I did not see anything coming that could possibly redeem all that was lost in plot development. Honestly, It's probably for the best based on some of the spoilers I read. One, in particular, is a hard limit for me, and that is saying a lot! Haha!

[Nayema · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review

4.5 stars.

OMG OMG OMG OMG, my mouth has been wide open since i started this book. wow what a way to come back after taking a step back after publishing lilac. OMG, this was not at all what i was expecting and that made it so much more enjoyable!

THE SMUT…. THE PLOTWIST… ROWDY…. I can’t even begin to write down all of my thoughts on this book. Just know it was amazing and it had me hooked and I love this direction BB is going into. INSANITY and i ate up every moment of it!

[Taees_Cozy_Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book don’t owe me nothing!!! B.B. Reid you did this !!!

So first I want to say I’m a slow reader lol and when I see a book longer than 250 pages I instantly get weary lol cause what do you need to say that require that many pages lol.

But Baby!!! This books was soooooooo good and kept me captivated…

[ohnelreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clutching my pearls 😅

So I want to start off by saying this was interestingly good read. But when I say age gap’s stress me, and baby did this 16 year age gap stresssssed me.

Rowdy was crazy in a good way but also in a crazy crazy way. His love for Atlas was honestly never a question , he just showed it in the craziest ways.
I honestly felt for atlas I mean she was being hit with like every freaking curve ball in the world, and then she sent on this journey to find her her way. I love that when she started working, she was able to create the bonds with Tuesday and along with rock and golden. The fact that she gained a cousin and best friend in Demi probably made me the happiest.
Also 7 I mean seven kidssss ? They wild 😅

Now let’s get into why I feel like it just wasn’t a five star for me. Age Gap !
I was thoroughly put off when it rowdy had the potential to be atlas his father, and they decided that they were still going to be together no matter what. That was weird and nasty to me. Also, I’m not gonna say that I really wasn’t here for the threesome ,honestly in my opinion it was pointless because they still end up hunching each other. I just feel like that blurred the lines too much with her friend. And we don’t know if they’re still friends.

Can we talk about how the professor was so messy , I get trying to break up Jada and Roddy situation but she literally wanted to mess with Atlas life specially when she’s already going through so much which was so weird. I just feel like there probably could’ve been a little more to it versus just I was in love with him, and I told my best friend only for her to sleep with him


I feel like I’m also left with so many questions like why did Joren and Atlas feel so much distaste towards each other when there was no reason why. I feel like I would like a short story on Golden just because he was mysterious and I feel like it’s so much more to him. I definitely would love to see Demi and Roc get their story . I feel like they could be a

[Carly · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
I tried so hard to love this but I just can't. Normally I devour anything BB puts out but not this one for me it was a definite miss.

[Bookish.Midnight. and. black · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't want to be mean but this book was really really bad. awful actually!

The beginning was interesting, with the heroine receiving a misterious letter in which the sender told she must find something important about her life. after that, all the violence and the shouting were over the top and exhausting . I skip read the sex scenes because they were a lot and I think that without them the book would have been better. anyway, I hated the hero and the drama between the main characters was plain stupid.

the worst parts: the heroine trying to kill the hero because he was flirting with someone else, the heroine committing murder, the children speaking like adults and using 'fuck' as they were not 4or 6yo, the heroine asking her lesbian bff to have sex with the hero because she couldn't and then, moments later she could, the heroine pissing over the hero.. wtf was that anyway? was this a shifter romance? the heroine was actually a wolf and she was trying to mark her territory?

I read books by this author in the past and I remember liking those but this was... this one was a mess!

[Trinity]

DNF @ 9%

Sorry but wtaf is this?

I hated the MMC on sight. He is so fucking childish and this man is meant to be 35 years old? Please, he needs to pull himself tf together, my god. I hate the way the characters were portrayed, like some wannabe gangsters, it was so cringe and everything just gave me the ick - it wasn't hot morally grey or even omg, he's so violent *swoon* it was just yuck

Sorry not sorry, but I don't like the way these Black characters were portrayed 🤷🏽‍♀️ maybe it's because I'm not American, idk, it just made me cringe

Side note, the receptionist's name is Tuesday and idk why everyone was acting like that was perfectly normal + this book needs an editor

and yes, I got all of that from 34 pages

[Shabby -BookBistroBlog · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutal enemies-to-lovers romance. A bit of grumpy-sunshine and age gap too. It's gray and dark with hidden secrets which Rowdy Wray holds the key to.
Atlas picks up an old photograph of five teenagers, and gets on the road to end at Idlewild.
The Auto Garage of Pride Of Kings holds the secret to her past and way to her future.
It's a closet full of skeletons actually that she stumbles upon and her deciphering them gives her a whiplash.
Its typical BB style. Hard hitting, primal and streetwise
4 stars For Leonine Pride

[Tay · Rating 5 out of 5]

So well written and beautifully executed. I loved it.

[Charmy Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is gonna be a tad bit lengthy (well, that's nothing new for me lol)

I ended up giving this book a 3.75/5. This was...an experience. An experience that I will be grateful to never have again. But, still an experience. Personally, I have parameters set up for the age gap books that I read and this one definitely didn't meet those parameters. This was a book that was chosen by my book club so I decided to put my big girl draws on and wait until the absolute last minute to start reading the book so I could discuss even a little bit with the group lol. Yay for me, I made it to 81% before the meeting. At that 81% I was ready to give it up...throw in the towel...wave the white flag. But like the supportive book besties they are...my book club cheered me on to continue with the mess post meeting.

My quick synopsis of the book: Atlas randomly pops into the town of Idlewild with a mysterious photo in hand from an unknown sender on a mission to basically find herself after finding out a secret her parents have kept from her all of her 19 years of life. In this mysterious photo are a group of male friends that own a car shop plus two women who were part of that friend group. One of the men in that friend group is 35 year old Rowdy who, at his first glance at Atlas, lost all common sense and just had to have her. No, literally... was ready to drag her behind a dumpster (with strong protest from her) to get what he wanted. Only when she lied and said she was 14 did he take a pause. *cringe* And then there was a smorgasbord of randomosity that follows... including Rowdy falling in love with Atlas and her returning the sentiment.

Now, if I summarize the book that way, why would I give it a 3.75, you ask? Because even though it wasn't my cup of tea content wise... B.B. Reid wrote this book in such a way that just like when you come up on a 15 car pile up... you want to mind your own business and pass it on by but you just can't. You gotta keep looking to see what's actually going on.

I just knew that this was going to take a hard turn when Rowdy asked Hudson for advice on taking someone on a date. Hudson made the comment that Rowdy was old enough to be Atlas' father and Rowdy clarified that they were only 16 years apart. And to this Hudson asks Rowdy "you were having s3x at 16, weren't you? (sorry for the random number. I'm not sure what can and can't be typed in a review here). I knew right then that things were going to get weird. And weird they got.

It seemed that Rowdy was just out here poking every hole he could. Some he couldn't even remember. Turning women feral that they weren't getting chose over the "almost jail bait." Had me looking at my Kindle a few times saying "girl, stand up!!!" One of the people he happened to have slept with was Jada...who was the wife of his best friend, Joren. And why is Jada important aside from being the wife of Rowdy’s best friend, you inquire? Because Jada was Atlas' long lost mother who got pregnant while she was sleeping with Rowdy and Joren. Which makes Rowdy....a potential candidate to be Atlas' father! Not to mention that Rowdy had been having Jada any which way he wanted for the past 20 years. But don't panic! Joren was a serial cheater...so it was ok.. **sarcasm**

And I know what you want to ask. What was done with this information after both parties (Rowdy and Atlas) were made aware? They got a DNA kit that was going to take months to get the results for but still continued their physical relationship in the meantime. Oh...and don't forget about that random golden shower. TF!? For a second I thought I was reading a 90s Lifetime special because WHAT THE WHAT!?! Thank Big Sandals in the bright blue sky that they ended up not being father and daughter because...EWWW! Oh, and don't forget that lady that was ready to off Atlas when she hadn't even slept with Rowdy. That man must've been laying something serious when the women who ain't even got it yet are certified.

But it definitely reminded me of why I have parameters on age gap reads. And going forward I will be honoring those parameters with a little more strictness than I did before.

If age gap and potential taboo is your thing...you'll likely love this! I say go for it! Dive in head first and have a ball. As for me and my house...I'm good on age gap for a minute.

[lucia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m actually speechless.
I’ve read my fair share of dark romance and there is not much that throws me off.

This book managed to make me wholeheartedly e say: what the actual fuck. Out loud. And only a few manage that. Chapeau!

This was toxic as hell. Throughly fucked up in many aspects. And I had the time of my live with it.

If you want an obsessed and possessive mmc, that knows no boundaries and does whatever he wants and a relationship that’s toxic, but making you slightly obsess over the book then read this one right here.

It’s spicy the way you need some holy water afterwards.

I devoured this book and was physically unable to put it down. It’s captivating and exciting and the best kind of toxic. 4-5 star rating in so far.

My only problem was the throughly over the top fucked up-ness that was everything after the 75% mark. I would have preferred everything from that to be different. This book managed to find the one thing that truly makes me uncomfortable. Did not see that coming.

I would have preferred to just not have this entire thing in the book? The plottwist would have still worked just as fine. And I would be slightly disturbed by Rowdy. Some dramas and plottwist where not necessary in my opinion but maybe you will enjoy this particular wtf-moment. Who am I to tell you, ok what level of weirdness your „huh“ and „what am I reading here“-radar should be activated.

I was about to recommend this to all my fans of darkish romances, but after that twist I recommend it to only the well-verses dark romance lovers out there. You get some… treats. And those won’t be of everyone’s taste.


there’s a spoiler with details about what goes on in the last 25% of the book. If you want to go in unknown skip till I marked it safe to read :)

*SPOILER for certain triggers/plottwist that could make you uncomfortable*

this book, out of the blue and totally unnecessarily, throws a possible incest twist upon us readers. And to make matters worse: with the unconfirmed fact hanging over their head… they proceed to continue their physical relationship on several occasions.

To be fair here and the only thing redeeming this book for me: they we’re fairly certain it’s not true. Did they have proof it’s false? no. But hey, the mmc was SURE she can’t be his daughter. He would have FELT it. He is convinced he can’t be that fucked up, that he would have sex with his own daughter. Therefore he decides to have sex with his maybe-daughter. Because she can’t be his right?

Yes, the situation hadn’t been confirmed yet so it was still a big unknown. BUT JUST THE POSSIBILITY SHOULD BE LIKE COLD BUCKET BRO. Not for our man Rowdy tho.

And Atlas, our sweet and till then actually highly enjoyable FMC, decides to just fuck it. And therefore fucks it. It being her possibly or maybe not father.

Oh she also gets jealous over him fucking some other girl, in a random and totally out of character threesome (he initiated it? He was ready to kill everyone that just looked at her before that. But finding out you might have been fucking your daughter over more that 6 month does stuff to your brain.) As I was saying: Atlas gets jealyyy. Therefore the only reasonable thing to do: she pisses on him. With other girl (who is her best friend) still in the room. Fun times huh?

*SPOILER OVER. SAFE TO READ FROM HERE ON*

That being said: the book was great in general. Toxic and twisted and it was all fun and entertainment and slight obsession on my side till the 75% mark.
So in favor of that and because it’s a dark romance - we don’t have morals here - I’m giving it a 3.5.

But this may not be for everyone!!

3.5🌟

thank you B.B. Reid and Valentine PR for the arc in exchange for an honest review <3

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this book so hoping to love it, but it just wasn't for me. I liked the writing and was very entertained for the first half or so. But it got into some of the more taboo stuff, I found that it just wasn't my kind of taboo. I've enjoyed my fair share of taboo books, but there are certain things I just deal well with, so that's on me. I don't want to spoil the book for those who intend to read it, so I will not explain the specific taboo piece I had an issue with. Honestly, if that part hadn't been in the book (and it was indeed the main conflict of the book), it would have been a solid 4-star read for me.

Beyond that, I think I just wanted more of the suspense that was teased. I felt that it could have easily been the main conflict of the book and the other pieces were just unnecessary. And, I know a lot of people love him, but Rowdy is just a little too much of a bully for my taste. I did appreciate his journey, though, and him trying to be a better man for her. As for Atlas, she's just very very young. I will say, BB did a great job of portraying her age, because she absolutely felt young to read. I also enjoyed the dynamic of the Kings and would have liked to dive into that a bit more. I could see this growing into a series.

I know a lot of people have enjoyed this book, and this is absolutely no hate to them. Nor is this any hate to the author. We all have different tastes and thresholds and this just went beyond mine. If you've enjoyed this book, I think that's wonderful. I think I may read more of BB's work, because I found the writing entertaining, it was just the subject matter that wasn't for me.

[LaTosha Webber · Rating 4 out of 5]

What did I just read

Ok I gotta start with my chief complaint, the subplot did not get nearly enough attention. Second, why make it seem like Golden knew something but not have him say anything? Lastly, chapter 43, why sis just WHY???? Now with all that said I will love B.B. forever for giving me and all black taboo, dark romance. FOREVER! She left no stone unturned in this one. Furthermore, the epilogue and cooper makes everything she put me through worth it. If you don’t enjoy truly toxic relationships and depraviltiy don’t even darken this door because this isn’t for you and you ain’t ready. But if you enjoy testing the limits of dark romance buckle up and take this ride. I honestly don’t know how I feel about either of the mains except they deserve each other. Now give me Roc and Demi!! Cause emotional I’m not ready for Golden but please take care of him, B.B.

[Bookiemonster · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. Nah uh.
I’m sorry, B B Reid, I love you, I’ve enjoyed so many of your other books in the past, but this right here? It was so BAD. You’re telling me that they could have been FATHER AND DAUGHTER, and they continued fucking with that risk?
Wham bam, no thank you ma’am. Not my cup of tea. Nope.
Gonna go bleach my eyes.

[Jena]

Self note
H slept with her mother🤮.

Melluvsbooks has details https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Also threesome scene with FMF, he has sex with her bestfriend and during this the h got so jealous that she peed on him.🤷🏻‍♀️

He’s 35, she’s 19.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Love doesn’t always appear in black and white. It gets messy, it gets grey, and sometimes it will even make you abandon your morals completely.” – BB Reid

Atlas is a 19-year-old reeling from the death of her father and the betrayal of her boyfriend and best friend. She flees to Idlewild, MS after receiving an old photograph and a note from “Unrequited” telling her that she needs to find the Pride of Kings. Not only does she find the Pride of Kings, but she also finds Mr. Lion of Idlewild himself, Owen “Rowdy” Wray. Atlas and Rowdy are immediately drawn to each other, I’m talking on sight!!

Atlas and Rowdy were a toxic pair, but their connection was out of this world. It bothered me so badly that Rowdy was a 35-year-old man and never romanced a woman; however, he did an excellent job explaining why he never gave women anything more than release. Rowdy was possessive, violent, unhinged, and unwavering in his love for Atlas. She was young, but just as unpredictable as he was… Ms. Don’t Play! They have a few obstacles to cross but that love is a sure thing.

BB Reid wrote in her Author’s Note that she stepped out of her comfort zone for this book and I definitely stepped out of my reading zone. She also wrote if you saw the plot twist coming, you had time to stop before getting too deep. Honestly, my foreshadowing ass saw the possible plot twist about 30% in and I wasn’t stopping. This is described as an age gap, dark romance with taboo, and aside from how twisted it was and even could have been, BB accomplished that. (ma’am, that was definitely some “uncultured” sh*t though). This is not for the weak, and I would not recommend it if you’re not good at separating fact from fiction — otherwise, READ THIS!

My mouth is too big and I talk too much – I will give a story away so I won’t say much. I want more Roc and Dem – who’s Dem’s best friend? Joren was a miserable soul with his bald head; Jada was a lonely, sneaky thing. Can we get more Golden, I feel incomplete. Sissy, burn in hell.

Definitely stayed on my toes throughout this story and enjoyed it!

Side-eyes:

1. Let’s be real, I enjoy age gaps but I wish Atlas was at least old enough for alcohol consumption.
2. I hate the word “dreads”.
3. Why did Atlas have to refer to Rowdy as “Daddy”!
4. The continuance of intimacy “in the grey”.

[Vanessa Booked Up · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

This was a crazy one. I loved the first half. This was my first read by this author, so I was hugely excited to get my hands on some of her work. I did love the grit and BB's writing style overall. I also loved that the story kept me invested and glued to the pages.

Rowdy wasn't a "gray" character...he was downright dark. There were a few times he had me cringing honestly. Some of his actions were a bit too much and crossed the line.

Atlas Beck receives a cryptic letter when her life is basically falling apart, urging her to travel across the state to unravel a mystery that is somehow connected to her.

The plot twist downright swept the rug out from under me and I never saw it coming. I had some issues with the execution. It was a little messy. Felt like the author was throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the reader for a good 5% of the book there. I also felt like Rowdy and Atlas were toxic to each other at times.

Overall, I would recommend this book to readers who:
- Like a story that will push them WAY out of their comfort zones
- Like their H and h to both be broken and scarred
- Enjoy the "found family" trope
- Are ok with some VERY WTF plot twists

I have Lilac by this author and am looking forward to reading it soon. I just felt like this one missed the mark for me.

I received an E-ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Lady Lauren Explorer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update: Aug 11 2023

I just finished annotating one of my physical copies and I must say, I still throughly enjoyed it. For being 500 pages, it kept me engaged with the story and I loved the spicy. I did wish there was more. I still love the build up of sexual tension and how toxic/crazy they both are (more with Owen) together and just in general.

I am so happy that BB Reid made this and I would still recommend this!


ARC Review

I wanna so badly just unpack what I just read, but I can’t give any spoilers! 😩

I will say it, I went in thinking one thing and along the way realised that BB Reid definitely went out her comfort zone on this.

Rowdy/Owen/ hell Daddy, is toxic and over the top. I absolutely LOVE him, but he might not be for everyone.

At first you’re going to wondering just how the two of them actually fit in a relationship.

I think they balance each other out! So much went down in this!

I will be getting a physical copy of this most definitely!

This is a toxic mess that you won’t be able to put down.

Just know that you are in for a wild, but great ride! This is up there with my love of Fear Me & The Prince & The Pawn!!!!

Read it, buy it, and just vibe with my Toxic king!

[Rhi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uhhhhh WHAT DID I JUST READ 👀 the book started off promising (in the first chapter)but I didn’t like Rowdy from the moment he wasn’t taking no for an answer when he tried to drag Atlas behind a dumpster so he could fuck her, the only reason he stopped was because she lied and said she was fourteen!! From the moment he saw Atlas through the gates of the mechanic shop he instantly thought Queen but he sure didn’t treat or speak to her like a Queen, Atlas should have taken his gun and shot him in the dick and walked the fuck away. There were so many times Atlas annoyed me too, I know she was young and naive but girllll come on you can smell the toxic surrounding Rowdy and in the words of Rowdy Wray I found myself asking “The fuck you doing?” Also that plot twist had me saying a whole lotta nope and rereading to see if I did in fact read what I thought I read cause nahhhhh. From around 70-75% BB thought imma go balls to the wall and throw some crazy shit at my readers let’s test their morals 🫠you might think why did I keep reading? Well this book was like a train wreck I literally couldn’t look away 🤣