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Deadly Hearts #1
Fear Me, Love Me
Tyrant Mercer doesn't grant wishes. He collects debts, and he's here to claim me.
All I wanted was my baby brother back from the man who stole him away. My family is in Tyrant's debt, a man they hate, and they disown me when the devil's eyes stray to me. Now there's nothing and no one to protect me from the cruel man who runs this city from the shadows.
But Tyrant's not going to drag me away by my hair just yet. He's going to torment me first.
Tyrant demands that I play his twisted games. He thinks I'll crumble for his amusement, but I'm carrying a secret that's bigger than both of us. A secret that's now in the hands of the worst man possible.
All he craves is me. All he demands is everything. Tyrant will give me everything I've ever wanted-all I have to say is I wish ...
But a wish is a curse when it's granted by the devil himself.
Author's Fear Me, Love Me is a standalone MF romance with dark themes, forced breeding, somnophilia, an age gap, a jealous and possessive alphahole, and a sweet but strong virgin heroine. The story is dirty and delicious, so please read at your discretion. Please be aware that this book contains depictions of cutting and self-harm.
All I wanted was my baby brother back from the man who stole him away. My family is in Tyrant's debt, a man they hate, and they disown me when the devil's eyes stray to me. Now there's nothing and no one to protect me from the cruel man who runs this city from the shadows.
But Tyrant's not going to drag me away by my hair just yet. He's going to torment me first.
Tyrant demands that I play his twisted games. He thinks I'll crumble for his amusement, but I'm carrying a secret that's bigger than both of us. A secret that's now in the hands of the worst man possible.
All he craves is me. All he demands is everything. Tyrant will give me everything I've ever wanted-all I have to say is I wish ...
But a wish is a curse when it's granted by the devil himself.
Author's Fear Me, Love Me is a standalone MF romance with dark themes, forced breeding, somnophilia, an age gap, a jealous and possessive alphahole, and a sweet but strong virgin heroine. The story is dirty and delicious, so please read at your discretion. Please be aware that this book contains depictions of cutting and self-harm.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 13, 2023
About the author
Lilith Vincent
22 books2,897 followersLilith Vincent is a steamy mafia reverse harem writer who believes in living on the wild side! Why choose one when you could choose them all.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,880 reviews
October 4, 2023
To the lovely person who recommended me this book thank you because I needed my fix of a truly unhinged book. I devoured this in two sittings but it wasn’t great imo, ya know???
I am so utterly scared of the MMC and not in an “ahhh HES morally gray and that’s hot” rather more of “AHHHH HES ACTUALLY MORALLY BLACK AND MOM PLEASE COME PICK ME UP BECAUSE IM SCARED” ?????
I am so utterly scared of the MMC and not in an “ahhh HES morally gray and that’s hot” rather more of “AHHHH HES ACTUALLY MORALLY BLACK AND MOM PLEASE COME PICK ME UP BECAUSE IM SCARED” ?????
May 5, 2025
When 19-year-old Vivienne Stone rescues her brother, she garners the attention of Tyrant Mercer.
As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished. After the encounter with the crime lord, Vivienne becomes the pariah of her family and falls further into depression making the timing right for Tyrant’s plans.
Wow. Just wow!! Lilith has become a favorite and FMLM is just another reason why. Not only can she create top-tier alphaholes, but she’ll make you fall in love with her heroines too.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😳🥵🥺🥵😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👫🏻 {Dual}
🗂 Genre: Dark Romance
✨ Tropes: Age Gap (15), Alphahole, Blackmail/Debt Payment, College, Mafia/Bratva/Organized Crime, Tracking/Spying, Touch-Her-and-💀
💋 Kinks: 🩸 Play, Bondage/Restraints, Brėėding, Cum Jammer, Degradation, Discipline/Punishment, Domination, Finger Licking Good, Gagged, 🔪 Play, 🍆 Pacifier, Somnophilia, Spanking, Spit
⚠️ Warning: This book may cause blushing, squirming, combusting panties, and/or self-care.
🚩 Safety Squad: Attempted SA (Not by H), DubCon, UnaIiving, VioIençe, and other potentially triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Fear Me, Love Me is a standalone.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished. After the encounter with the crime lord, Vivienne becomes the pariah of her family and falls further into depression making the timing right for Tyrant’s plans.
Wow. Just wow!! Lilith has become a favorite and FMLM is just another reason why. Not only can she create top-tier alphaholes, but she’ll make you fall in love with her heroines too.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😳🥵🥺🥵😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👫🏻 {Dual}
🗂 Genre: Dark Romance
✨ Tropes: Age Gap (15), Alphahole, Blackmail/Debt Payment, College, Mafia/Bratva/Organized Crime, Tracking/Spying, Touch-Her-and-💀
💋 Kinks: 🩸 Play, Bondage/Restraints, Brėėding, Cum Jammer, Degradation, Discipline/Punishment, Domination, Finger Licking Good, Gagged, 🔪 Play, 🍆 Pacifier, Somnophilia, Spanking, Spit
⚠️ Warning: This book may cause blushing, squirming, combusting panties, and/or self-care.
🚩 Safety Squad: Attempted SA (Not by H), DubCon, UnaIiving, VioIençe, and other potentially triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Fear Me, Love Me is a standalone.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
September 16, 2023
MY REVIEW AND OTHERS can also be found on my blog: ╰┈➤KITTY KATS CRAZY ABOUT BOOKS
📚 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐌𝐄, 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐄 📚 Is a full length romance novel by author Lilith Vincent.
The cover made me buy it 😂
Going into this I thought It was a series, missing gaps within the storyline, confusion hitting, further in realising the past started first, if it started in present time, then the past that would’ve flowed a hell of a lot better thus allowing me to connect with the storyline and the characters at the get go, instead it was like a puzzle with missing pieces. But all in all I still enjoyed it.
This guy was cray cray, but I kind of dug him 😂
Normal guy if a girl is having a panic attack would talk her through it
Tyrant when Vivienne has a panic attack puts his dick in her mouth.
She became his new obsession. And his name suited him to a T (Tyrant)
He ruled from the dark underbelly of the city, everyone knew who he was.
So when nineteen year old Vivienne's father is in dept to Tyrant up to his eyeballs Tyrant steals her stepbrother as collateral, Vivienne decides to take matters into her own hands and goes head to toe with the devil.
This isn't the first encounter she's had of him, from a distance when she was fifteen she saw first hand what he's capable of, her obsession flows within the pages of her diary as she fantasized about him.
That night when she walked into the devil's labyrinth he claimed her as his and nothing was going to stop him from impregnating her. I had to giggle how far he'd actually go to make that happen, a few pharmacies were visited by his truly.
December 3, 2023
Something was seriously wrong with this book and it’s not just the freaky cover.
For the first time ever I regret not reading the trigger warnings because the forced breeding kink is so not for me. Specially if it’s a huge part of the book.
The pace was freakin weird. Books either start with one present chapter then switch to the past then back to the point we started with. Or, they’d switch between then and now every other chapter. This book on the other hand is divided into three parts; now, then, and now. The weird thing is that the first now part is ten chapters. We already knew what happened in the past so why did we have to have another ten then chapters. I don’t know if I’m explaining it well but the pacing was just off and annoying.
Both the main characters needed help. Seriously needed help.
Every encounter between them was so sick, messed up, and freakin grossed me out.
For the first time ever I regret not reading the trigger warnings because the forced breeding kink is so not for me. Specially if it’s a huge part of the book.
The pace was freakin weird. Books either start with one present chapter then switch to the past then back to the point we started with. Or, they’d switch between then and now every other chapter. This book on the other hand is divided into three parts; now, then, and now. The weird thing is that the first now part is ten chapters. We already knew what happened in the past so why did we have to have another ten then chapters. I don’t know if I’m explaining it well but the pacing was just off and annoying.
Both the main characters needed help. Seriously needed help.
Every encounter between them was so sick, messed up, and freakin grossed me out.
September 14, 2023
when you're having a panic attack and his idea of help is to put his dick in your mouth 😍
October 14, 2025
why is bro starting at me like dat?
September 14, 2023
Are you in the mood for something quick, spicy, and absolutely fucking unhinged? If so, search no further! Fear Me, Love Me by Lilith Vincent is exactly what you're looking for! It was created with inspiration from the author's lifelong love of Jareth the Goblin King from the movie Labyrinth and an Instagram post featuring the cover model, Jord Liddell. The result is a crazy combination of weird and hot which I know a lot of dark romance fans will appreciate.
Tyrant terrifies everyone he comes into contact with, except Vivienne. Instead of the big bad wolf he is to most, he's more like her own personal teddy bear...if said bear gave her his fingers and cock to use as a pacifier. Nobody in Vivienne's life looks out for her or cares for her, so who can blame her for falling in love with the only person who does? Sure, he's a little psychotic, but we all have our faults, right?
When you first start reading this, you may feel like you've picked up the book in the middle of the story, but don't worry, the author fills you in on the missing details later. That being said, don't expect super in depth backstories, we're given just enough information on the characters to know who and what we're dealing with. Fear Me, Love Me is a fast paced, violent, twisted, depraved romance featuring a broken heroine and a powerful anti-hero that will end the world to protect, keep, and avenge the woman he's obsessed with/loves.
Dark romance fans, this one is for you!
Tyrant terrifies everyone he comes into contact with, except Vivienne. Instead of the big bad wolf he is to most, he's more like her own personal teddy bear...if said bear gave her his fingers and cock to use as a pacifier. Nobody in Vivienne's life looks out for her or cares for her, so who can blame her for falling in love with the only person who does? Sure, he's a little psychotic, but we all have our faults, right?
When you first start reading this, you may feel like you've picked up the book in the middle of the story, but don't worry, the author fills you in on the missing details later. That being said, don't expect super in depth backstories, we're given just enough information on the characters to know who and what we're dealing with. Fear Me, Love Me is a fast paced, violent, twisted, depraved romance featuring a broken heroine and a powerful anti-hero that will end the world to protect, keep, and avenge the woman he's obsessed with/loves.
Dark romance fans, this one is for you!
January 20, 2024
I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK!!!! Seriously, it’s everything I want in a dark book.
Also… serious TRIGGERS cutting, blood play, forced breeding, somno, age gap, tracking implant.
Vivienne (19, virgin, neglected, likes to sew clothes) goes after Tyrant (34, crime lord, sex god, stalker, seriously freaking hot) after he steals her baby brother as payment for a debt her bastard father ran up. After her mom died of a drug overdose, her absentee dad and stepmom took her in. They don’t treat her with love or kindness. They just tolerate her. She absolutely LOVES her baby brother and will do anything for him. Including breaking into Tyrant’s house. Tyrant thinks she’s just a spoiled girl and contemplates killing her until he finds her diary and sees the scars covering her body. He falls head over bloody heels for her after he takes her virginity. He’s literally unhinged for her.
So this book goes Part I (Present), Part II (Past), Part III (Now). I was pissed at first because you start the book with them having already known each other for a year and he had already taken her virginity. If you know me, you know I hate when I’m deprived of a couple’s first time. Except, in Part II it covers their first meeting, virginity stealing, etc. You just have to wait for it. I might would have liked it better if it went Part II, Part I, Part III. Oh well. Now you know.
I absolutely added this to my favorites and actually read it twice in one weekend. The sex is bloody and off the charts. So mofo hot. Steaming hot. Vivienne is pretty naïve, but she didn’t annoy me that much. I thought she should have just stayed with him from the beginning, but I understand she has issues.
I love how he kills for her, no questions. He has some of the best dirty talk. When he says, “Who’s Tyrant’s good girl?” I’m literally jumping up and down screaming “ME!!! I AM!!! I’M TYRAN’TS GOOD GIRL”.
I’m nearly as obsessed with this book as Tyrant is with Viv.
I have nothing bad to say about it, except who names their kid Barlow??
PS. I recommend reading the book instead of listening to the audio. I didn't like the male narrator. As least listen to a sample of the audio before committing to purchasing it.
Also… serious TRIGGERS cutting, blood play, forced breeding, somno, age gap, tracking implant.
Vivienne (19, virgin, neglected, likes to sew clothes) goes after Tyrant (34, crime lord, sex god, stalker, seriously freaking hot) after he steals her baby brother as payment for a debt her bastard father ran up. After her mom died of a drug overdose, her absentee dad and stepmom took her in. They don’t treat her with love or kindness. They just tolerate her. She absolutely LOVES her baby brother and will do anything for him. Including breaking into Tyrant’s house. Tyrant thinks she’s just a spoiled girl and contemplates killing her until he finds her diary and sees the scars covering her body. He falls head over bloody heels for her after he takes her virginity. He’s literally unhinged for her.
So this book goes Part I (Present), Part II (Past), Part III (Now). I was pissed at first because you start the book with them having already known each other for a year and he had already taken her virginity. If you know me, you know I hate when I’m deprived of a couple’s first time. Except, in Part II it covers their first meeting, virginity stealing, etc. You just have to wait for it. I might would have liked it better if it went Part II, Part I, Part III. Oh well. Now you know.
I absolutely added this to my favorites and actually read it twice in one weekend. The sex is bloody and off the charts. So mofo hot. Steaming hot. Vivienne is pretty naïve, but she didn’t annoy me that much. I thought she should have just stayed with him from the beginning, but I understand she has issues.
I love how he kills for her, no questions. He has some of the best dirty talk. When he says, “Who’s Tyrant’s good girl?” I’m literally jumping up and down screaming “ME!!! I AM!!! I’M TYRAN’TS GOOD GIRL”.
I’m nearly as obsessed with this book as Tyrant is with Viv.
I have nothing bad to say about it, except who names their kid Barlow??
PS. I recommend reading the book instead of listening to the audio. I didn't like the male narrator. As least listen to a sample of the audio before committing to purchasing it.
September 3, 2023
When I started reading this book, I screamed at how OTT Tyrant was!! And I didn't care how many red flags he had that man made me wanna obey every command he asked lol.
When you first meet Viv I felt so bad for her the way her family treats her, she has her own demons she's fighting with day in and out and doesn't have anyone beside her adorable sweet brother who'll she'll do anything for. That's how she got tangled up with Tryant ;) Well, one of the reasons.
Viv was a tiny bit of a brat and pushed away from Tyrant a few times, but I enjoyed it even if this man would kill for me. Give me the world she didn't give in. I would've 🤣. We do get flashbacks on the very first meeting between the two and how their deal was made. He was so cruel and harsh, but lord, I'll let him humiliate me 😉.
As for the spice!! I DIED! on the spice! It was delicious and steamy whenever Tyrant opened his mouth. Hands down, I love Tyrant he's a top Book husband!
No ow/om drama, no cheating, Drama, sexy times, virgin gal and no manwhore
Recommend-yes
Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat level-🌶🌶🌶🌶
Slowinsta
Age gap
19h/34H
Push away from h
Somnophilia
Force breeding
Torture/Murder
Dub-con
Masturbation
Cockwarming
Knife play
Cutting
Self harm
Violence
Attempted SA
Hea
Epilogue
When you first meet Viv I felt so bad for her the way her family treats her, she has her own demons she's fighting with day in and out and doesn't have anyone beside her adorable sweet brother who'll she'll do anything for. That's how she got tangled up with Tryant ;) Well, one of the reasons.
Viv was a tiny bit of a brat and pushed away from Tyrant a few times, but I enjoyed it even if this man would kill for me. Give me the world she didn't give in. I would've 🤣. We do get flashbacks on the very first meeting between the two and how their deal was made. He was so cruel and harsh, but lord, I'll let him humiliate me 😉.
As for the spice!! I DIED! on the spice! It was delicious and steamy whenever Tyrant opened his mouth. Hands down, I love Tyrant he's a top Book husband!
No ow/om drama, no cheating, Drama, sexy times, virgin gal and no manwhore
Recommend-yes
Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat level-🌶🌶🌶🌶
Slowinsta
Age gap
19h/34H
Push away from h
Somnophilia
Force breeding
Torture/Murder
Dub-con
Masturbation
Cockwarming
Knife play
Cutting
Self harm
Violence
Attempted SA
Hea
Epilogue
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2024
Not bad, fairly solid stalker romance that I might’ve/probably would’ve 4⭐’ed had I not skimmed a large chunk of the middle.
I do love a crazy OBSESSED stalker H with questionable/zero morals, and Tyrant Mercer was my kind of anti-H. The dude is a total psycho, but he’s so crazy about the h.
The book is divided into 3 parts and had a unique layout, but I wasn’t digging it. I’m not a fan of the backtrack flashback (I’m an impatient reader), and I REALLY disliked it. My issue was that I didn’t feel that it flowed. The first 40% takes place in the present with Tyrant and Vivienne pretty much already being a couple (ish). We might not have all the specifics, but we know the gist of how they came to be. So, I wasn’t happy to get a "timeout" when it was getting really good forcing me to backtrack for another 40% to fill in crap I didn’t care about leaving me to skim HARD from 40-80%. Things pick up again for the last 20% when we restart the timeline with major Labyrinth vibes.
The good-
🟩 I liked both main characters. Tyrant (34) was crazy man perfection and Vivienne (19) was tough.
🟩 I liked all the villains/action that kept the plot moving.
🟩 I loved Tyrants level of loyalty to the h.
🟩 Dual POV’s
The not-so good-
❌ Very little mafia/crime lord shenanigans. He pretty much just stalks her, so I have no clue who is doing all the gang boss stuff.
❌ The cover is terrible. It reminds me of the Vampire Diaries vampy faces.
❌ The flashback was TOO LONG.
Bottom Line-
Safety/Trigger- No OW/OM drama at all. Previous attempted rape of h (discussed w/out detail), cutting/self-harm, and forced pregnancy.
I do love a crazy OBSESSED stalker H with questionable/zero morals, and Tyrant Mercer was my kind of anti-H. The dude is a total psycho, but he’s so crazy about the h.
The book is divided into 3 parts and had a unique layout, but I wasn’t digging it. I’m not a fan of the backtrack flashback (I’m an impatient reader), and I REALLY disliked it. My issue was that I didn’t feel that it flowed. The first 40% takes place in the present with Tyrant and Vivienne pretty much already being a couple (ish). We might not have all the specifics, but we know the gist of how they came to be. So, I wasn’t happy to get a "timeout" when it was getting really good forcing me to backtrack for another 40% to fill in crap I didn’t care about leaving me to skim HARD from 40-80%. Things pick up again for the last 20% when we restart the timeline with major Labyrinth vibes.
The good-
🟩 I liked both main characters. Tyrant (34) was crazy man perfection and Vivienne (19) was tough.
🟩 I liked all the villains/action that kept the plot moving.
🟩 I loved Tyrants level of loyalty to the h.
🟩 Dual POV’s
The not-so good-
❌ Very little mafia/crime lord shenanigans. He pretty much just stalks her, so I have no clue who is doing all the gang boss stuff.
❌ The cover is terrible. It reminds me of the Vampire Diaries vampy faces.
❌ The flashback was TOO LONG.
Bottom Line-
Safety/Trigger- No OW/OM drama at all. Previous attempted rape of h (discussed w/out detail), cutting/self-harm, and forced pregnancy.
September 18, 2023
“Hearts that don’t beat, can’t break.”
Someone needs to explain to me what happened. I need this to be broken down in it's most simplest form because this author is crazy and quite frankly her characters are unhinged. I haven't felt this tug of war about a hero in a very long time and as I'm writing this review, I still don't know how I feel. Do I embrace the crazy? Indulge in the madness? Or get my head examined?
Vivienne Stone has always wanted to feel like she's worthy and to have a good relationship with her father and stepmother. Family means everything to her and that includes her baby brother whom she would do anything for. That love is tested when the unthinkable happens and Vivienne decides to make a sacrifice that puts her on the radar of the most feared man in her city.
Tyrant is a ruthless king and he apologizes for nothing and fears no one. Don't pay your debts? I hoped you enjoyed your life up until then because he's going to make your final moments extremely painful. Deciding to switch things up a bit for someone who's indebted to him, he comes face to face with a woman that's going to take his possessiveness to a whole new level.
I have to admit that it took a while for me to get into this story. I was not a fan of the hero in the beginning along with the way he went about certain things. He was a bit too much if i'm being honest and as the chapters flew by, it became worse. I'm not sure if it was because we were able to go back into the past and have more of his pov, but I did warm up to him and I loved that he protected the heroine as if his life depended on it.
If you're looking for a hot dark romance with a possessive hero, then this one's for you.
December 8, 2023
Wow. This was.. this was something! But I was riveted the whole way!
I don't usually call books a guilty pleasure, cause I rarely feel guilt. But this one had me on the edge. Haha!
Inspired by Labrinth, we have some baby snatching and possessiveness. Lots of breeding kink, blood play, Spanking and more.
Also, something that IS a guilty pleasure, cock warming. ☺️ I am a slut for that. Haha!
Be prepared for crazy in this one, but also to be like.. am i attracted to this?
4 stars
5 on the spice scale
I don't usually call books a guilty pleasure, cause I rarely feel guilt. But this one had me on the edge. Haha!
Inspired by Labrinth, we have some baby snatching and possessiveness. Lots of breeding kink, blood play, Spanking and more.
Also, something that IS a guilty pleasure, cock warming. ☺️ I am a slut for that. Haha!
Be prepared for crazy in this one, but also to be like.. am i attracted to this?
4 stars
5 on the spice scale
September 16, 2023
I don’t understand why this book has such a bad cover. Anyway. I like this author. I like the way she writes unhinged heroes, and dark reads that don’t take themselves too seriously. I often write reviews that say, “This hero was too bland,” but I almost never need to say that about her stuff!
But this book…isn’t her best. This is about Tyrant (34), a crime lord, and Vivienne (19), a college student. They met because Vivienne’s dad went on a bender at a night club that Tyrant owns, and ended up in debt to him. (Side note: where do crime lord heroes in dark romances find the TIME to run their city’s criminal underworlds AND stalk the heroine?!)
In chapter 1, they’re already in a relationship, pretty much. So, there’s no real journey for this story or their relationship to go on. It feels like insta-love. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of their story, and missing so much context for how they met, and their relationship dynamic.
I will give this book a little credit: it did try to do something interesting with the structure. It starts with them already in a relationship. Then,
Some of my favorite books have this type of structure where it drops you into the middle of a relationship, then flashes back to show the beginning (like Freestyle, or Fearless). But, didn’t work for me, here. By the time the flashback came, it was too little, too late. I was too frustrated by the insta-love vibe, and the lack of relationship development, and the way that the entire first 40% of this story feels stagnant. I didn't feel invested in them.
In books where I like this type of structure, the “present day” relationship is fraught with tension and angst, with a lot going on under the surface. So, it piques your curiosity about what happened between the characters in the past. In THIS book, their “present day” relationship felt surface-level, and was mostly just sex. So, there was no need for the story to have this structure, except to be annoying. This book started in the wrong place in its own timeline. Chapter 1 should have been their first meeting.
The other 2 books in this series are better. Brutal Intentions has a proper “enemies to lovers” journey with a lot more relationship development and character depth. In this book, for a huge chunk of this story, it feels like we skipped over the interesting parts, for no reason.
This author has a way of writing that draws me in, which is why I still gave this 3 stars. And, I’m a picky bitch. So, you might like this more than me, especially if you’re into breeding kink. But, even the way the book does THAT feels like it’s just lazily crossing that off a trope checklist – as opposed to the way Brutal Intentions does it much better, weaving it into its plot in a funny and insane way (because in that book, His ridiculous plan leads to hilarious chaos. THIS book is nowhere near that level of fun unhinged hero, even though it tries to be).
I’ll still read this author’s stuff. But if you’ve never read her before, I wouldn’t recommend this as your first book from her. Read Brutal Intentions instead.
But this book…isn’t her best. This is about Tyrant (34), a crime lord, and Vivienne (19), a college student. They met because Vivienne’s dad went on a bender at a night club that Tyrant owns, and ended up in debt to him. (Side note: where do crime lord heroes in dark romances find the TIME to run their city’s criminal underworlds AND stalk the heroine?!)
In chapter 1, they’re already in a relationship, pretty much. So, there’s no real journey for this story or their relationship to go on. It feels like insta-love. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of their story, and missing so much context for how they met, and their relationship dynamic.
I will give this book a little credit: it did try to do something interesting with the structure. It starts with them already in a relationship. Then,
Some of my favorite books have this type of structure where it drops you into the middle of a relationship, then flashes back to show the beginning (like Freestyle, or Fearless). But, didn’t work for me, here. By the time the flashback came, it was too little, too late. I was too frustrated by the insta-love vibe, and the lack of relationship development, and the way that the entire first 40% of this story feels stagnant. I didn't feel invested in them.
In books where I like this type of structure, the “present day” relationship is fraught with tension and angst, with a lot going on under the surface. So, it piques your curiosity about what happened between the characters in the past. In THIS book, their “present day” relationship felt surface-level, and was mostly just sex. So, there was no need for the story to have this structure, except to be annoying. This book started in the wrong place in its own timeline. Chapter 1 should have been their first meeting.
The other 2 books in this series are better. Brutal Intentions has a proper “enemies to lovers” journey with a lot more relationship development and character depth. In this book, for a huge chunk of this story, it feels like we skipped over the interesting parts, for no reason.
This author has a way of writing that draws me in, which is why I still gave this 3 stars. And, I’m a picky bitch. So, you might like this more than me, especially if you’re into breeding kink. But, even the way the book does THAT feels like it’s just lazily crossing that off a trope checklist – as opposed to the way Brutal Intentions does it much better, weaving it into its plot in a funny and insane way (because in that book, His ridiculous plan leads to hilarious chaos. THIS book is nowhere near that level of fun unhinged hero, even though it tries to be).
I’ll still read this author’s stuff. But if you’ve never read her before, I wouldn’t recommend this as your first book from her. Read Brutal Intentions instead.
September 11, 2023
Genre: Dark Romance
Type: Standalone
POV: First Person - Dual
Rating:
Vivienne Stone’s obligations to her family landed her indebted to the city’s most notorious criminal, Tyrant Mercer. But the freedom she wanted came with a price she might not be willing to pay.
I liked how Tyrant would do anything to get his heart’s desires. But deep down, he was actually quite sweet in his own way. I do wish there was more on his background, though. Vivienne had been through a lot. While I admired her tenacity, I wish she was more assertive in certain situations, but she made up for it by the end of the book.
I enjoyed the overall story, which contains elements I love in books. The characters had good chemistry, which led to fiery, sexy scenes.
Fear Me, Love Me is a story of will and desires. It would appeal to readers who enjoy sexy, dark romance.
🌹🗡🌹. . . (F)BR with Twinsie CC . . .🌹🗡🌹
For more reviews/interviews/book talk/promo visit:
For graphics, trailers & author services visit Warhawke Design Studio.
Type: Standalone
POV: First Person - Dual
Rating:
Vivienne Stone’s obligations to her family landed her indebted to the city’s most notorious criminal, Tyrant Mercer. But the freedom she wanted came with a price she might not be willing to pay.
I liked how Tyrant would do anything to get his heart’s desires. But deep down, he was actually quite sweet in his own way. I do wish there was more on his background, though. Vivienne had been through a lot. While I admired her tenacity, I wish she was more assertive in certain situations, but she made up for it by the end of the book.
“Good girls who stay in my bed and obey all my rules get nice Tyrant. Bad girls who sneak off get mean Tyrant. Keep pushing me, angel, because I fucking love being mean to you.”
I enjoyed the overall story, which contains elements I love in books. The characters had good chemistry, which led to fiery, sexy scenes.
Fear Me, Love Me is a story of will and desires. It would appeal to readers who enjoy sexy, dark romance.
🌹🗡🌹. . . (F)BR with Twinsie CC . . .🌹🗡🌹
For more reviews/interviews/book talk/promo visit:
For graphics, trailers & author services visit Warhawke Design Studio.
July 11, 2024
My intention was to step outside my reading box now and again, just to broaden my horizons. Oh, I stepped in it, all right.
Tyrant is a crime lord with a breeding kink and a blood fetish, likes to end people and protect what’s his, and becomes obsessed with Vivienne. Not being a fan of bloodiness, this was a bit eeewwww for me, but it was only gross instead of abhorrent. Vivienne grew up hungry and alone with her drug addict mother until age 14, then lived with her resentful father, stepmother, and baby brother while secretly cutting herself after an attempted rape. So…a cornucopia of mental illnesses on parade.
In the first half of this book, I was as fascinated as Dorothy in the Land of Oz. So fascinated, in fact, that I was slow to catch on that the author was swinging a blunt instrument for shock value instead of creating a nuanced, escalating thriller/romance. It became cartoonish, the author fatally interrupted the narrative for a flashback that covered hardly any new ground, then spiraled into silliness with the Merrick/Dad betrayal denouement. It was so disappointingly written that I remembered I had towels in the dryer I needed to fold, which is never a good recommendation for a book.
Tyrant is a crime lord with a breeding kink and a blood fetish, likes to end people and protect what’s his, and becomes obsessed with Vivienne. Not being a fan of bloodiness, this was a bit eeewwww for me, but it was only gross instead of abhorrent. Vivienne grew up hungry and alone with her drug addict mother until age 14, then lived with her resentful father, stepmother, and baby brother while secretly cutting herself after an attempted rape. So…a cornucopia of mental illnesses on parade.
In the first half of this book, I was as fascinated as Dorothy in the Land of Oz. So fascinated, in fact, that I was slow to catch on that the author was swinging a blunt instrument for shock value instead of creating a nuanced, escalating thriller/romance. It became cartoonish, the author fatally interrupted the narrative for a flashback that covered hardly any new ground, then spiraled into silliness with the Merrick/Dad betrayal denouement. It was so disappointingly written that I remembered I had towels in the dryer I needed to fold, which is never a good recommendation for a book.
October 18, 2023
“ I suck a wheezing, painful breath into my lungs.
-Are you going to force me to blow you while I’m having a panic attack?”
No thanks. this is too much for me.
-Are you going to force me to blow you while I’m having a panic attack?”
No thanks. this is too much for me.
September 2, 2023
4.5⭐️
I had this author on my TBR for a while now and this is the first book I read of hers and I can’t believe I waited so long. This book was so good. From the very beginning, I couldn’t put it down.
Tyrant is a hot psychopath I couldn’t get enough of him. Tyrant and Vivienne’s chemistry was so hot, their relationship was so toxic and the angst was insane. Not sure what this says about me but I really loved everything about it.
Please check TW before going into this book.
Thank you Lilith Vincent for this ARC
I had this author on my TBR for a while now and this is the first book I read of hers and I can’t believe I waited so long. This book was so good. From the very beginning, I couldn’t put it down.
Tyrant is a hot psychopath I couldn’t get enough of him. Tyrant and Vivienne’s chemistry was so hot, their relationship was so toxic and the angst was insane. Not sure what this says about me but I really loved everything about it.
Please check TW before going into this book.
Thank you Lilith Vincent for this ARC
September 3, 2023
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trope: Dark Labyrinth retelling
Angst: 😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Holy crap, what the hell did I just read? I'll tell you: A dark and twisted retelling of Labyrinth that I didn't know that I absolutely needed!
"𝘝𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘺. 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭."
If you're not a fan of the dark, manipulative hero, you may as well stop reading right here. Everything about Tyrant Mercer is, in the author's words, "a bouquet of red flags", lol. But for those of us who are fans of walks on the darker side, Fear Me, Love Me has all the faves from stalking, to forced pregnancy, to unaliving anyone who *touched* Vivienne, and everything in between. But yeah, it's pretty dark and you may want to take the time to read the triggers, because this one skirted some lines because Tyrant Mercer is an unapologetic psycho and he is completely obsessed.
"'𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘝𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦.' 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺."
Vivienne throws herself in Tyrant's path in order to save the one person who still loves her, her baby brother. She's not had an easy life and has picked up some poor coping skills, and she FASCINATES Tyrant. How she can be so broken, but still pure of heart. His quirky little Angel in her hand sewn clothes - and he plans on "saving her" whether she wants it or not.
"𝘚𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵, 𝘝𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘛𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵'𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦."
This really was a fantastic read that had me gripped from page one. I literally read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Beautifully written despite being so dark and twisted. The smexy times were super hot and dirty in the best of ways and the chemistry between Tyrant and Vivienne was 🔥🔥🔥. I loved the dynamic between the two of them. You would think he was the one with all the power - 15 years older, a psycho that plays and manipulates with everyone around him, but she balances him out. Makes him human. And in return, he makes her see her scars are beautiful and that she is worthy. Worthy of love and of happiness and deserves a happy ending.
⛔️ My bookshelves can sometimes be spoilers
Trope: Dark Labyrinth retelling
Angst: 😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Holy crap, what the hell did I just read? I'll tell you: A dark and twisted retelling of Labyrinth that I didn't know that I absolutely needed!
"𝘝𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘺. 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭."
If you're not a fan of the dark, manipulative hero, you may as well stop reading right here. Everything about Tyrant Mercer is, in the author's words, "a bouquet of red flags", lol. But for those of us who are fans of walks on the darker side, Fear Me, Love Me has all the faves from stalking, to forced pregnancy, to unaliving anyone who *touched* Vivienne, and everything in between. But yeah, it's pretty dark and you may want to take the time to read the triggers, because this one skirted some lines because Tyrant Mercer is an unapologetic psycho and he is completely obsessed.
"'𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘝𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦.' 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺."
Vivienne throws herself in Tyrant's path in order to save the one person who still loves her, her baby brother. She's not had an easy life and has picked up some poor coping skills, and she FASCINATES Tyrant. How she can be so broken, but still pure of heart. His quirky little Angel in her hand sewn clothes - and he plans on "saving her" whether she wants it or not.
"𝘚𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵, 𝘝𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘛𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵'𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦."
This really was a fantastic read that had me gripped from page one. I literally read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Beautifully written despite being so dark and twisted. The smexy times were super hot and dirty in the best of ways and the chemistry between Tyrant and Vivienne was 🔥🔥🔥. I loved the dynamic between the two of them. You would think he was the one with all the power - 15 years older, a psycho that plays and manipulates with everyone around him, but she balances him out. Makes him human. And in return, he makes her see her scars are beautiful and that she is worthy. Worthy of love and of happiness and deserves a happy ending.
⛔️ My bookshelves can sometimes be spoilers
Read
September 18, 2023Dnf at 7% in because of dis stupid flowery bullshit 👇
"Tyrant doesn’t wear clothes. He brings them to life. The suit jacket encasing his muscular shoulders looks like it formed instantaneously around his body from Italian wool and miracles.
And his skin. I used to think there was nothing in the world more wondrous to the touch than buttery satin, fine silk chiffon, and thick velvet that’s been woven from the night sky."
Such wondrous skin that's like buttery satin fine silk hack COUGH what the fuck is this verbose annoying wordage? This is awful
*Italian wool and miracles* snort. What the fuck man....
DNF and I won't read anymore of this cock snot
"Tyrant doesn’t wear clothes. He brings them to life. The suit jacket encasing his muscular shoulders looks like it formed instantaneously around his body from Italian wool and miracles.
And his skin. I used to think there was nothing in the world more wondrous to the touch than buttery satin, fine silk chiffon, and thick velvet that’s been woven from the night sky."
Such wondrous skin that's like buttery satin fine silk hack COUGH what the fuck is this verbose annoying wordage? This is awful
*Italian wool and miracles* snort. What the fuck man....
DNF and I won't read anymore of this cock snot
June 3, 2024
“Tyrant is my knife, and I am his sheathe. He cuts deep, and I am free.”
I am sick for enjoying this too much 😭. Tyrant and Vivienne are very much a sick duo together. But they way he makes sure that she knows she is the center of his universe 🥹. My poor Vivienne angel has been through so much and felt so helpless but Tyrant was there to makes sure knows that there someone out there thinking of her and lemme tell you he was OBSESSED 🤭Also the breeding kink goes insane in this book likeee🫣
I am sick for enjoying this too much 😭. Tyrant and Vivienne are very much a sick duo together. But they way he makes sure that she knows she is the center of his universe 🥹. My poor Vivienne angel has been through so much and felt so helpless but Tyrant was there to makes sure knows that there someone out there thinking of her and lemme tell you he was OBSESSED 🤭Also the breeding kink goes insane in this book likeee🫣
September 22, 2023
4💫 out of 5💫
✨ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇꜱ:-
❤️🔪ꜰᴏʀᴄ*ᴅ ʙʀ**ᴅɪɴɢ
❤️🔪ꜱᴏᴍɴ0ᴘʜɪʟ!ᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴛᴀʟᴋ!ɴɢ
❤️🔪0ʙꜱᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀɴ!ᴘᴜʟᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴛɪ-ʜᴇʀᴏ
❤️🔪ꜱᴛʀᴜɢɢʟɪɴɢ ᴠ!ʀɢɪɴ ʜᴇʀᴏɪɴᴇ
❤️🔪ʟᴀʙʏʀɪɴᴛʜ ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴍᴀꜰɪᴀ
If these above tropes don't convince you already to run ASAP to read the book, idk what will! Daddy Tyrant Mercer is everything one could want in a villainous unhinged Mafia man! he is walking a red flag but Baby I'm so color blinded for him ( actually for every fictional men lol)!! This Man grips me in a chokehold with his filthy mouth and very morally questionable actions🙈! no doubt this is the spiciest book I read this year-Author Lilith Vincent never failed to deliver! He talks and all my feminism just🫠-
wait! Let me give you all a demo of his sexy filthy mouth! I love a dirty-talking hero and he just delivers 🤰
~“𝑾𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍. 𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒔𝒌𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒚.” 𝑰𝒇 𝑽𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑽𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆’𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒎. “𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒚? 𝑻𝒚𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕—” 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍.
~“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚, 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖,”
Can you blame me for being a puddle all over him! like, LOOK AT THIS!! Daddy Mercer is a villain, he is no hero! he is a one-woman man and can do anything to have Vivienne tied to him forever, he is only soft for Vivi! you will find sex in the first chapter only-actually almost in every chapter you will find hot steamy scenes😈✨! it's a fast-paced romance with a good amount of kinky spice, angst, a little bit of suspense, and gore! If you need a spicy fast-paced romance with the above tropes then go ahead, READ IT NOW!!
OK, I realize I don't talk about Vivi (h) much-well you all will sympathize with her past but she appears pretty annoying to me! For the way she acts in the first part of the book but in the second part, I almost understand why the way she acts the way does but again it was pretty annoying to see her siding with her piece of shit father to the very end until she learns the truth, My Daddy was right all along lol!
Note- remember to check out the triggers before reading the book, it's a must!
✨ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇꜱ:-
❤️🔪ꜰᴏʀᴄ*ᴅ ʙʀ**ᴅɪɴɢ
❤️🔪ꜱᴏᴍɴ0ᴘʜɪʟ!ᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴛᴀʟᴋ!ɴɢ
❤️🔪0ʙꜱᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀɴ!ᴘᴜʟᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴛɪ-ʜᴇʀᴏ
❤️🔪ꜱᴛʀᴜɢɢʟɪɴɢ ᴠ!ʀɢɪɴ ʜᴇʀᴏɪɴᴇ
❤️🔪ʟᴀʙʏʀɪɴᴛʜ ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ᴍᴀꜰɪᴀ
If these above tropes don't convince you already to run ASAP to read the book, idk what will! Daddy Tyrant Mercer is everything one could want in a villainous unhinged Mafia man! he is walking a red flag but Baby I'm so color blinded for him ( actually for every fictional men lol)!! This Man grips me in a chokehold with his filthy mouth and very morally questionable actions🙈! no doubt this is the spiciest book I read this year-Author Lilith Vincent never failed to deliver! He talks and all my feminism just🫠-
wait! Let me give you all a demo of his sexy filthy mouth! I love a dirty-talking hero and he just delivers 🤰
~“𝑾𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍. 𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒔𝒌𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒚.” 𝑰𝒇 𝑽𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑽𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆’𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒎. “𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒚? 𝑻𝒚𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕—” 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍.
~“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚, 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖,”
Can you blame me for being a puddle all over him! like, LOOK AT THIS!! Daddy Mercer is a villain, he is no hero! he is a one-woman man and can do anything to have Vivienne tied to him forever, he is only soft for Vivi! you will find sex in the first chapter only-actually almost in every chapter you will find hot steamy scenes😈✨! it's a fast-paced romance with a good amount of kinky spice, angst, a little bit of suspense, and gore! If you need a spicy fast-paced romance with the above tropes then go ahead, READ IT NOW!!
OK, I realize I don't talk about Vivi (h) much-well you all will sympathize with her past but she appears pretty annoying to me! For the way she acts in the first part of the book but in the second part, I almost understand why the way she acts the way does but again it was pretty annoying to see her siding with her piece of shit father to the very end until she learns the truth, My Daddy was right all along lol!
Note- remember to check out the triggers before reading the book, it's a must!
May 12, 2025
Tyrant Mercer the man that you are (crazy, psychotic, toxic, maniacal, sadistic)
December 1, 2025
Absolutely Obsessed!
Love Me, Fear Me by Lilith Vincent was everything I didn’t know I was craving. The plot had me completely hooked from the first page—it’s dark, twisted, emotional, and so addictive. And the spice? Chef’s kiss. 🔥 The chemistry between the characters was off-the-charts intense, and the tension had me flipping pages like my life depended on it.
Lilith Vincent knows how to balance a gripping storyline with deliciously dark romance, and I loved every second of it. If you’re into morally grey men, powerful emotional stakes, and heat that could burn down a building—this is the book for you. 100% recommend!
Love Me, Fear Me by Lilith Vincent was everything I didn’t know I was craving. The plot had me completely hooked from the first page—it’s dark, twisted, emotional, and so addictive. And the spice? Chef’s kiss. 🔥 The chemistry between the characters was off-the-charts intense, and the tension had me flipping pages like my life depended on it.
Lilith Vincent knows how to balance a gripping storyline with deliciously dark romance, and I loved every second of it. If you’re into morally grey men, powerful emotional stakes, and heat that could burn down a building—this is the book for you. 100% recommend!
September 18, 2023
3.5⭐️
Tyrant's a MASSIVE red flag. But I've always loved the color red. Also, I'm color blind sooooo🥰 This book was giving boy obsessed + the breeding kink which equals kinky perfection in my mind hehe. If you're looking for a quick, smutty read with zero drama, then Fear Me, Love Me is the book for you!
Tyrant's a MASSIVE red flag. But I've always loved the color red. Also, I'm color blind sooooo🥰 This book was giving boy obsessed + the breeding kink which equals kinky perfection in my mind hehe. If you're looking for a quick, smutty read with zero drama, then Fear Me, Love Me is the book for you!
September 17, 2023
"She’s right, I’m not her boyfriend. I’m her lover. Her stalker. Her obsessed future husband and the father of her children. I’m the only one who gives a damn about her, but I shouldn’t be the only one."
"I fear him. I love him. I belong to him. Forever."
Dual POV
HUGE breeding kink!
H/Hero/MMC: Tyrant Mercer, 34, Crime Lord of Henson, sexually experienced but never serious about one particular woman, sexy and tatted up in all his psychotic glory, and believes in loyalty to one's family
"Now I know that nothing compares to Tyrant’s warm, touchable skin, adorned with intricate tattoos that cover his body, his hands, creep up his throat, and even decorate his cheekbones and above his brows."
Tyrant Mercer is unhinged if a "hero" ever was!
But man you can't help but love him for it. He would murder the whole world and bathe in their blood while tucking tiny white flowers in Vivienne’s hair. Anything for his woman because even though he's completely obsessed with her to an unhealthy level, unreasonably controlling, and more possessive than an only child playing with his favorite toy in a room full of other children, he is wholeheartedly and irrevocably in love with her.
“The choice was never between Vivienne and another woman. The choice was Vivienne or no one.”
h/heroine/FMC: Vivienne Stone, 19, college student, virgin when she meets MMC, torso is covered in scars from self-inflicted wounds as a means of trying to cope with the memory of an attempted sexual assault by a family friend to which her dad will not believe actually happened, and loves her baby brother more than anyone else in the world.
"The scars are my ugliness, and I’m not sharing them with anyone. If I show him, then I’ll be handing him the power to make me feel even more worthless than I already do."
You can't help but feel sorry for Vivienne. Her mom struggled with addiction until she finally died and of course Vivienne found her body. She then has to go live with her estranged father and his new wife. Her father treats her terribly and acts like he does not want her there and the situation only gets worse when she escapes an attempted sexual assault by her father's best friend at the age of 15 and he refuses to believe her. Her only happiness comes when her baby brother, Barlow is born, because he is the only person that makes her feel loved.
This book is written in THREE parts and those three parts are presented out of order. I kind of found that a little strange, but in the end it worked, so I don't really want to complain about it. FIRST part is in the present, SECOND part is a flashback to a big chunk of the past, and THIRD (and final ) part is a continuation of the present.
This was crazy, maddening love done right. I can't believe that last night I had decided to DNF this story. But when I woke up this morning, I kept thinking about it and I took that as a clear sign that I needed to continue and I'm glad I did.
The spicy scenes were written very well and, more importantly, you could understand how Vivienne could have fallen for Tyrant, despite all his violent tendencies and the fact that he was completely insane. If you're a fan of dark romances with morally grey heroes, then this is definitely a story for you and I highly recommend you give it a try.
"Sometimes it pays to wish for happiness with everything you have."
4.5 Hella Crazy Stars!!!
January 24, 2024
5 ALL THE RED FLAGS STARS!
Fear Me, Love Me was riddled with red flags, darkness and depravity and all the OTT alpha male behavior I crave in my dark romances. Vivienne, in an attempt to save her little baby brother, throws herself in Tyrant's path and changes the course of her entire life. Tyrant is not a good man. He is not merciful, kind or caring. What he is? Possessive, all consuming, dominating and goes after what he wants with a single minded focus with no moral compass. But damn if I didn't love every second of his pursuit to own Vivienne.
Vivienne is broken in many ways but she has a heart of gold that Tyrant wants to keep for himself. She was resilient and loving despite all the pain in her life. Tyrant was the safe space and warmth for her even though she knew he was worse than the devil.
I really loved Fear Me, Love Me. It was kinky, full of tragedy and hope, and love in the form that worked for them. I enjoyed reading about their Now and their Before and how Tyrant and Vivienne got from point A to point B. Super well written read with plenty of twists and turns, plenty of steam and triggers for days. I can't wait for Lilith to write in this world again.
Fear Me, Love Me was riddled with red flags, darkness and depravity and all the OTT alpha male behavior I crave in my dark romances. Vivienne, in an attempt to save her little baby brother, throws herself in Tyrant's path and changes the course of her entire life. Tyrant is not a good man. He is not merciful, kind or caring. What he is? Possessive, all consuming, dominating and goes after what he wants with a single minded focus with no moral compass. But damn if I didn't love every second of his pursuit to own Vivienne.
“Look at yourself being fucked,” he says raggedly, moving in and out of me. “My angel always looks beautiful, but she’s even prettier filled with my cock.”
Vivienne is broken in many ways but she has a heart of gold that Tyrant wants to keep for himself. She was resilient and loving despite all the pain in her life. Tyrant was the safe space and warmth for her even though she knew he was worse than the devil.
“Your pain is my pain. It’s inside me. It’s flowing out of me. I’m bleeding for you, so you don’t have to.”
I really loved Fear Me, Love Me. It was kinky, full of tragedy and hope, and love in the form that worked for them. I enjoyed reading about their Now and their Before and how Tyrant and Vivienne got from point A to point B. Super well written read with plenty of twists and turns, plenty of steam and triggers for days. I can't wait for Lilith to write in this world again.
June 19, 2024
Instagram review: Fear Me, Love Me takes unhinged to a whole new level, drawing inspiration from the equally wild movie, Labyrinth.
Tyrant Mercer isn't your typical wish-granter; instead, he collects debts with a sinister grip. Our hero's journey begins when she tries to save her baby brother from Tyrant, only to be disowned and left defenseless by her family. Tyrant doesn't whisk her away immediately-first, he wants to play his cruel games, aiming to break her for amusement while harboring her devastating secret.
This dark romance pushes boundaries-Tyrant wants everything from her, promising desires fulfilled at a dire cost.
Ever found yourself questioning your taste as you flip through the pages? That was me, throughout this wild ride. Despite its issues, it was an addictive guilty pleasure and my top pick from the Mafia Romance readathon.
For fans of Labyrinth and dark, twisted tales, this book is a definite must-read.
Tyrant Mercer isn't your typical wish-granter; instead, he collects debts with a sinister grip. Our hero's journey begins when she tries to save her baby brother from Tyrant, only to be disowned and left defenseless by her family. Tyrant doesn't whisk her away immediately-first, he wants to play his cruel games, aiming to break her for amusement while harboring her devastating secret.
This dark romance pushes boundaries-Tyrant wants everything from her, promising desires fulfilled at a dire cost.
Ever found yourself questioning your taste as you flip through the pages? That was me, throughout this wild ride. Despite its issues, it was an addictive guilty pleasure and my top pick from the Mafia Romance readathon.
For fans of Labyrinth and dark, twisted tales, this book is a definite must-read.
July 26, 2025
Actual rating 4.25 ⭐️
May 13, 2026
⭐️ 3.5/5 — I went in expecting to sell my soul to Tyrant… ended up side-eyeing everyone including myself 😒😭🙃
🌶 4/5 — Breeding kink so loud it woke my neighbors, but the rest of the spice carried the whole damn book 🔥🍆💦
💭 MY RAMBLINGS 💭
Okay y’all, let’s talk about this chaotic ride because I have feelings 😤 I went into this book fully prepared to let Tyrant ruin my standards forever. And honestly? That man’s obsession with Vivienne was straight-up chef’s kiss 🤌🏻💋. The way he stalked, claimed, and breathed “mine” in every single scene? I gobbled that toxic energy UP. The unhinged “touch her and die” + breeding agenda had me kicking my feet and giggling like a schoolgirl. 10/10 on the obsession porn, Lilith cooked there 🔥✨️
BUT… besties, the rest of the book left me dramatically underwhelmed. 🙂
First massive issue: that non-linear timeline (starting with now, past, now again). Not a big fan. 😑🫤
Then there’s Vivienne. Sweet traumatized babygirl… I tried so hard to love her. But sis kept making choices that had me screaming at my e-reader “WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!” The back and forth, the denial, the “I can pretend this never happened” after getting absolutely wrecked? Girl, the wishy-washyness was strong and it grated on me after a while 😮💨😒
Tyrant… oh Tyrant. This man is 50% certified psychopath, 50% walking red flag parade, and somehow still hot. But his dialogue?? Sometimes delicious, sometimes straight cringe 😬😅🙈. Bro would be mid-thrust dropping dramatic villain monologues and I’d just snort instead of melting. The dirty talk slaps… when it doesn’t miss. 👁👄👁
And can we talk about Owen Stone for a second?! That man was a legendary level piece of shit — neglectful, abusive, gambling addict, all-around trash father. I was READY for an epic, painful, drawn-out demise. I wanted him to suffer, beg, cry, the whole cinema experience. Instead? Quick and clean. Lilith really said “poof, he’s gone” and left me sitting there with BLUE BALLS FOR JUSTICE! 😭 The AUDACITY!! 😤💢🤬
Overall, the spice was filthy and frequent, Tyrant’s obsession was the highlight that kept me reading, but the execution, the pacing, and some character decisions just didn’t fully deliver for me. 🫠😔
Would I recommend it? Only if you’re deep in your “I love toxic men who should be in jail” era and don’t mind a non-linear timeline. Me? I’m moving on but I’ll never forget that man’s breeding agenda 💦💀
---
⚠️ Detailed spoilers below ⛔️
RC and MCs:
🩸🔪 MF
🩸🔪 Tyrant Mercer 34yo and Vivienne Stone 19yo
🩸🔪 Tyrant: Mafia who rules Henson city / crime lord
🩸🔪 Vivienne: Scholarship college student at Henson University, majoring in costume design and art history.
🩸🔪 Tyrant: Dominant, pale blue eyes, tatted-up (body, hands, neck, cheekbones, and above eyebrows), tall, broad, and muscular, 8inches/20cm
🩸🔪 Vivienne: Submissive, green eyes, long dark hair, self cut marks on her ribs
Genre, tropes, and microtropes:
🩸🔪 MF dark contemporary romance
🩸🔪 Mafia romance
🩸🔪 Nonlinear timeline (present-past-present)
🩸🔪 Age gap (15 years)
🩸🔪 Hurt/comfort
🩸🔪 Beauty and the Beast/Labyrinth inspired (explicitly inspired by the movie Labyrinth)
🩸🔪 Insta-obsession (Tyrant becomes fixated almost immediately)
🩸🔪 Blackmail / debt payment (FMC’s family owes the MMC; he uses the debt to claim her after they disown her)
🩸🔪 Found family
🩸🔪 OTT
🩸🔪 Forced breeding
🩸🔪 Pregnancy/breeding kink (central to both plot and sexual dynamic)
🩸🔪 Somnophilia
🩸🔪 Kidnapping/abduction
🩸🔪 J/P obsessive alphahole MMC
🩸🔪 Caretaker, protective, controlling, nurturing MMC
🩸🔪 Stalker MMC (tracking implant chip and surveillance)
🩸🔪 Sweet, kind, vulnerable, resilient, strong FMC
🩸🔪 Touch, love, and acceptance starved FMC
🩸🔪 Virgin FMC
🩸🔪 First times
🩸🔪 He falls first and harder
🩸🔪 Only soft for her
🩸🔪 Touch her and die (literally)
🩸🔪 Pet names: Angel
Safety info:
🩸🔪 Angst: High
🩸🔪 OPD: No
🩸🔪 Cheating/sharing: No
🩸🔪 Third act breakup: No
🩸🔪 Ending: HEA
🩸🔪 Epilogue: Yes
🩸🔪 POV: Dual, 1st person
🩸🔪 Series structure: Interconnected standalone
Spice and kinks:
Power dynamic, D/s dynamic, blood play, impact play (spanking), dub-con, car sex (backseat), fingerfucking, degradation (good little slut), breeding kink, forced breeding, consensual non-consent elements, cock teasing + pussy teasing (rubbing head over clit and lips), dirty talk, no condom, creampie, pushing cum back in (pussy), praise kink (good girl), BDSM, bondage/restraints play (hand tie, gag), somnophilia, knife play, outdoor sex (in Tyrant's labyrinth garden), cherry popping, semi-public sex (in a library), period sex, red wings, cockwarming, cocksuckling (as pacifier for soothing)
CW/TW:
Explicit sexual content, mention of mother overdosed and died from alcohol and drugs, mental health issues, self-harm (cutting), self-harm scars, suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety/panic attacks, body image issues, dubious consent, non-consensual elements, somnophilia, birth control tampering, forced pregnancy, breeding obsession, graphic violence, murder, torture, knifes and gun, blood and gore, kidnapping, stalking, emotional abuse, parental neglect, substance abuse / drug addiction, gambling, family betrayal / disownment, victim blaming, slut shaming, attempted sexual assault not by MC
---
Quotes: ⚠️ Spoilers ⛔️
“You’re stalking me,” she accuses. “Everywhere I go, I feel like I’m being watched, and you keep showing up. If it’s not you watching me, then there’s a stranger across the street, hanging around campus, or in the library when I’m trying to study. You’re driving me crazy.”
I’m making her crazy? She’s the one who’s so lovely and exquisite, and yet she’s not my wife and she’s not pregnant with my baby.
Yet.
-
“You’re only for me, angel. I killed that asshole who cut you, and if anyone else touches you, I will put a bullet in his head.”
-
“I don’t even know why you like me. I’m a mess. I’m ruined.” Vivienne looks down at herself and her eyes suddenly fill with tears.
I lick the tears from her cheeks. If an angel can look at a monster like me with so much softness in her heart, then that monster is going to make her believe she’s beautiful.
“Like you? I don’t fucking like you. I’m obsessed with you.”
-
“Look at yourself being fucked,” he says raggedly, moving in and out of me. “My angel always looks beautiful, but she’s even prettier filled with my cock.”
-
“I want you swollen with my baby, a ring on your finger, and living in my house where I can protect you,” he says, pulling all the way out.
-
Just then, his cum starts to slip out of me. I squeak and tightly cross my legs.
A smirk crosses Tyrant’s lips and he spreads his arm along the back seat behind me. “Don’t worry about it leaking out. You should be pregnant by now.”
“I’m worried about your car.” The black leather is pristine. It’s a crime to make a mess on it.
“Then let me clean you up.” Tyrant opens the center console and fishes out some tissues.
I realize he means to wipe me himself, and I reach for them. “I can do it.”
He holds the tissues out of my reach. “Of course you can. But I want to.”
He wants to? No one ever wants to take care of me. They only ever do it grudgingly.
-
“One of these days, I’ll make you believe that I crave to take care of you, angel.”
-
She’s right, I’m not her boyfriend. I’m her lover. Her stalker. Her obsessed future husband and the father of her children. I’m the only one who gives a damn about her, but I shouldn’t be the only one. How fucking dare the other people in her life neglect her so much and make her so miserable. The thought makes me so angry that I’m snarling when I break the kiss. “Get inside where it’s safe. There are bad people on these streets.”
-
Love makes us feel alive? I’ve been painfully aware I’m alive my whole life, not lovingly aware. Besides, when was the last time we even mentioned love in this tutorial? Every painting we study is about tragedy, blood, violence, despair.
In other words, life.
-
Tyrant’s black velvet voice is in my ear. “Tell me what it is, angel. Do you feel nothing, or do you feel too much?”
-
“If you need to bleed, then I’ll bleed for you.”
Tyrant is a perfect work of art, and he can’t sully himself with my misery. “But your arm. Your tattoos.”
“Fuck my arm. Fuck my tattoos.”
-
His lips are against my ear. “Your pain is my pain. It’s inside me. It’s flowing out of me. I’m bleeding for you, so you don’t have to.”
-
He pins me with a steely glare. “I’m going to fuck my spit into you. My blood into you. My cum into you. All of me, angel. You’re so far from being alone. I’m going to fucking suffocate you.”
-
Tyrant gives me a shake, and now he’s shouting at me. “Why did you do it? What possessed you?”
Fresh tears spill down my cheeks, and I start to sob. “I know I’m disgusting. You don’t have to look at me.”
“I don’t mean your scars.” His jaw pulses in anger and his blue eyes are burning. “Those people. Your father. Your stepmother. They did this to you, and you’re here killing yourself trying to save their child. Are you completely insane?”
-
“I don’t like it when people abandon me, angel. It makes me crazy.”
-
“Let me do this for you, angel. No one’s ever made you feel good, and I can’t stand it.”
-
Vivienne reaches up and touches my face, and says wonderingly, “I don’t feel ugly when I’m with you.”
That’s the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever said to me. “How do you feel?”
She traces my jaw, my lips, as she carefully thinks about her answer. “Like nothing bad ever happened.”
-
“Eyes on me while I fuck you, angel.”
-
“How long was I asleep for?” I whisper.
Tyrant takes his time answering. He’s too busy chasing a droplet of cum down my thigh, drawing it back up again, and pushing it inside me. “About an hour.”
“Did you sleep?”
Tyrant laughs in a way that tells me he absolutely didn’t sleep.
“Are you having fun back there?” I ask as he goes on playing with my pussy.
“The time of my life, angel.”
-
I brush my lips over hers. “Sure. I’m a monster. But there are monsters living inside your head, Vivienne. They tell you that everything that’s happened to you is all your fault. If you stay, I’ll make sure they’re too afraid of me to ever tell you that again.”
-
“You can go home, but you’re my property. I own every inch of you. No one hurts what’s mine, even you. I’m very fucking serious about that.”
-
“You need something in your mouth to make you calm. My finger. A gag. My cock. You relax when your mouth is full.” He keeps a tight hold of my hair as he slowly sits down on a bench and pulls me between his legs. “Suck on me and calm the fuck down.”
-
“You know that I’m obsessed with you, don’t you?” he snarls as he pounds ruthlessly into me. “Nothing has changed. I’m going to put that tracker back in your neck. You’re going to say, Thank you, Tyrant. I still own you. Your blood. Your breath. Your pussy. Everything.”
-
“The choice was never between Vivienne and another woman. The choice was Vivienne or no one.”
-
We’ve been through so much together in such a short time. I think of cutesy couples beaming at each other and saying things like, When it’s right, you just know. For us, it’s more like, When it’s so deliciously fucked up, you just know.
-
“You’re going to be my wife, and my wife doesn’t have a choice. The ring is for everyone else to know you’re mine and for you to know you belong to me. This is for me. These are my wedding vows. Hold still.”
-
“You just keep doing everything I say, and I’ll be your devoted husband who lives only to make you happy. I’m your servant. I’m yours to command.”
-
“Everything I do is for you,” he pants in my ear. “I live for you. I die for you. I’ll never let you go, and I’ll never give up all my secrets. By the time you figure them out for yourself, it will be too late. The monster in the labyrinth will have his claws too deep in your heart.”
-
Beneath her wedding dress, she’s wearing a white lace G-string and suspenders. “Holy fuck,” I murmur in a low voice, dragging my finger up the seam of her sex over the fabric.
“We’re in church,” she moans again.
“I said holy fuck, didn’t I? Put your hands against the wall.”
-
“Is it bad luck to fuck the bride before the ceremony or just to see the bride?”
-
“I’ll walk you up there. I don’t want you to be by yourself, and I’ll be jealous if anyone else does it.”
As we slowly approach the enormous gold cross above the altar, she rises on her toes and whispers to me, “Your cum is on my thighs.”
I smile even wider. “Exactly where I want it when I marry you.”
-
“Tyrant?” I call, and my husband glances up at me. “I love you.”
A smile breaks over his face and he reaches out a forefinger to stroke my cheek. “Angel, I love you, too.”
---
🌶 4/5 — Breeding kink so loud it woke my neighbors, but the rest of the spice carried the whole damn book 🔥🍆💦
💭 MY RAMBLINGS 💭
Okay y’all, let’s talk about this chaotic ride because I have feelings 😤 I went into this book fully prepared to let Tyrant ruin my standards forever. And honestly? That man’s obsession with Vivienne was straight-up chef’s kiss 🤌🏻💋. The way he stalked, claimed, and breathed “mine” in every single scene? I gobbled that toxic energy UP. The unhinged “touch her and die” + breeding agenda had me kicking my feet and giggling like a schoolgirl. 10/10 on the obsession porn, Lilith cooked there 🔥✨️
BUT… besties, the rest of the book left me dramatically underwhelmed. 🙂
First massive issue: that non-linear timeline (starting with now, past, now again). Not a big fan. 😑🫤
Then there’s Vivienne. Sweet traumatized babygirl… I tried so hard to love her. But sis kept making choices that had me screaming at my e-reader “WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!” The back and forth, the denial, the “I can pretend this never happened” after getting absolutely wrecked? Girl, the wishy-washyness was strong and it grated on me after a while 😮💨😒
Tyrant… oh Tyrant. This man is 50% certified psychopath, 50% walking red flag parade, and somehow still hot. But his dialogue?? Sometimes delicious, sometimes straight cringe 😬😅🙈. Bro would be mid-thrust dropping dramatic villain monologues and I’d just snort instead of melting. The dirty talk slaps… when it doesn’t miss. 👁👄👁
And can we talk about Owen Stone for a second?! That man was a legendary level piece of shit — neglectful, abusive, gambling addict, all-around trash father. I was READY for an epic, painful, drawn-out demise. I wanted him to suffer, beg, cry, the whole cinema experience. Instead? Quick and clean. Lilith really said “poof, he’s gone” and left me sitting there with BLUE BALLS FOR JUSTICE! 😭 The AUDACITY!! 😤💢🤬
Overall, the spice was filthy and frequent, Tyrant’s obsession was the highlight that kept me reading, but the execution, the pacing, and some character decisions just didn’t fully deliver for me. 🫠😔
Would I recommend it? Only if you’re deep in your “I love toxic men who should be in jail” era and don’t mind a non-linear timeline. Me? I’m moving on but I’ll never forget that man’s breeding agenda 💦💀
---
⚠️ Detailed spoilers below ⛔️
RC and MCs:
🩸🔪 MF
🩸🔪 Tyrant Mercer 34yo and Vivienne Stone 19yo
🩸🔪 Tyrant: Mafia who rules Henson city / crime lord
🩸🔪 Vivienne: Scholarship college student at Henson University, majoring in costume design and art history.
🩸🔪 Tyrant: Dominant, pale blue eyes, tatted-up (body, hands, neck, cheekbones, and above eyebrows), tall, broad, and muscular, 8inches/20cm
🩸🔪 Vivienne: Submissive, green eyes, long dark hair, self cut marks on her ribs
Genre, tropes, and microtropes:
🩸🔪 MF dark contemporary romance
🩸🔪 Mafia romance
🩸🔪 Nonlinear timeline (present-past-present)
🩸🔪 Age gap (15 years)
🩸🔪 Hurt/comfort
🩸🔪 Beauty and the Beast/Labyrinth inspired (explicitly inspired by the movie Labyrinth)
🩸🔪 Insta-obsession (Tyrant becomes fixated almost immediately)
🩸🔪 Blackmail / debt payment (FMC’s family owes the MMC; he uses the debt to claim her after they disown her)
🩸🔪 Found family
🩸🔪 OTT
🩸🔪 Forced breeding
🩸🔪 Pregnancy/breeding kink (central to both plot and sexual dynamic)
🩸🔪 Somnophilia
🩸🔪 Kidnapping/abduction
🩸🔪 J/P obsessive alphahole MMC
🩸🔪 Caretaker, protective, controlling, nurturing MMC
🩸🔪 Stalker MMC (tracking implant chip and surveillance)
🩸🔪 Sweet, kind, vulnerable, resilient, strong FMC
🩸🔪 Touch, love, and acceptance starved FMC
🩸🔪 Virgin FMC
🩸🔪 First times
🩸🔪 He falls first and harder
🩸🔪 Only soft for her
🩸🔪 Touch her and die (literally)
🩸🔪 Pet names: Angel
Safety info:
🩸🔪 Angst: High
🩸🔪 OPD: No
🩸🔪 Cheating/sharing: No
🩸🔪 Third act breakup: No
🩸🔪 Ending: HEA
🩸🔪 Epilogue: Yes
🩸🔪 POV: Dual, 1st person
🩸🔪 Series structure: Interconnected standalone
Spice and kinks:
Power dynamic, D/s dynamic, blood play, impact play (spanking), dub-con, car sex (backseat), fingerfucking, degradation (good little slut), breeding kink, forced breeding, consensual non-consent elements, cock teasing + pussy teasing (rubbing head over clit and lips), dirty talk, no condom, creampie, pushing cum back in (pussy), praise kink (good girl), BDSM, bondage/restraints play (hand tie, gag), somnophilia, knife play, outdoor sex (in Tyrant's labyrinth garden), cherry popping, semi-public sex (in a library), period sex, red wings, cockwarming, cocksuckling (as pacifier for soothing)
CW/TW:
Explicit sexual content, mention of mother overdosed and died from alcohol and drugs, mental health issues, self-harm (cutting), self-harm scars, suicidal ideation, depression, anxiety/panic attacks, body image issues, dubious consent, non-consensual elements, somnophilia, birth control tampering, forced pregnancy, breeding obsession, graphic violence, murder, torture, knifes and gun, blood and gore, kidnapping, stalking, emotional abuse, parental neglect, substance abuse / drug addiction, gambling, family betrayal / disownment, victim blaming, slut shaming, attempted sexual assault not by MC
---
Quotes: ⚠️ Spoilers ⛔️
“You’re stalking me,” she accuses. “Everywhere I go, I feel like I’m being watched, and you keep showing up. If it’s not you watching me, then there’s a stranger across the street, hanging around campus, or in the library when I’m trying to study. You’re driving me crazy.”
I’m making her crazy? She’s the one who’s so lovely and exquisite, and yet she’s not my wife and she’s not pregnant with my baby.
Yet.
-
“You’re only for me, angel. I killed that asshole who cut you, and if anyone else touches you, I will put a bullet in his head.”
-
“I don’t even know why you like me. I’m a mess. I’m ruined.” Vivienne looks down at herself and her eyes suddenly fill with tears.
I lick the tears from her cheeks. If an angel can look at a monster like me with so much softness in her heart, then that monster is going to make her believe she’s beautiful.
“Like you? I don’t fucking like you. I’m obsessed with you.”
-
“Look at yourself being fucked,” he says raggedly, moving in and out of me. “My angel always looks beautiful, but she’s even prettier filled with my cock.”
-
“I want you swollen with my baby, a ring on your finger, and living in my house where I can protect you,” he says, pulling all the way out.
-
Just then, his cum starts to slip out of me. I squeak and tightly cross my legs.
A smirk crosses Tyrant’s lips and he spreads his arm along the back seat behind me. “Don’t worry about it leaking out. You should be pregnant by now.”
“I’m worried about your car.” The black leather is pristine. It’s a crime to make a mess on it.
“Then let me clean you up.” Tyrant opens the center console and fishes out some tissues.
I realize he means to wipe me himself, and I reach for them. “I can do it.”
He holds the tissues out of my reach. “Of course you can. But I want to.”
He wants to? No one ever wants to take care of me. They only ever do it grudgingly.
-
“One of these days, I’ll make you believe that I crave to take care of you, angel.”
-
She’s right, I’m not her boyfriend. I’m her lover. Her stalker. Her obsessed future husband and the father of her children. I’m the only one who gives a damn about her, but I shouldn’t be the only one. How fucking dare the other people in her life neglect her so much and make her so miserable. The thought makes me so angry that I’m snarling when I break the kiss. “Get inside where it’s safe. There are bad people on these streets.”
-
Love makes us feel alive? I’ve been painfully aware I’m alive my whole life, not lovingly aware. Besides, when was the last time we even mentioned love in this tutorial? Every painting we study is about tragedy, blood, violence, despair.
In other words, life.
-
Tyrant’s black velvet voice is in my ear. “Tell me what it is, angel. Do you feel nothing, or do you feel too much?”
-
“If you need to bleed, then I’ll bleed for you.”
Tyrant is a perfect work of art, and he can’t sully himself with my misery. “But your arm. Your tattoos.”
“Fuck my arm. Fuck my tattoos.”
-
His lips are against my ear. “Your pain is my pain. It’s inside me. It’s flowing out of me. I’m bleeding for you, so you don’t have to.”
-
He pins me with a steely glare. “I’m going to fuck my spit into you. My blood into you. My cum into you. All of me, angel. You’re so far from being alone. I’m going to fucking suffocate you.”
-
Tyrant gives me a shake, and now he’s shouting at me. “Why did you do it? What possessed you?”
Fresh tears spill down my cheeks, and I start to sob. “I know I’m disgusting. You don’t have to look at me.”
“I don’t mean your scars.” His jaw pulses in anger and his blue eyes are burning. “Those people. Your father. Your stepmother. They did this to you, and you’re here killing yourself trying to save their child. Are you completely insane?”
-
“I don’t like it when people abandon me, angel. It makes me crazy.”
-
“Let me do this for you, angel. No one’s ever made you feel good, and I can’t stand it.”
-
Vivienne reaches up and touches my face, and says wonderingly, “I don’t feel ugly when I’m with you.”
That’s the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever said to me. “How do you feel?”
She traces my jaw, my lips, as she carefully thinks about her answer. “Like nothing bad ever happened.”
-
“Eyes on me while I fuck you, angel.”
-
“How long was I asleep for?” I whisper.
Tyrant takes his time answering. He’s too busy chasing a droplet of cum down my thigh, drawing it back up again, and pushing it inside me. “About an hour.”
“Did you sleep?”
Tyrant laughs in a way that tells me he absolutely didn’t sleep.
“Are you having fun back there?” I ask as he goes on playing with my pussy.
“The time of my life, angel.”
-
I brush my lips over hers. “Sure. I’m a monster. But there are monsters living inside your head, Vivienne. They tell you that everything that’s happened to you is all your fault. If you stay, I’ll make sure they’re too afraid of me to ever tell you that again.”
-
“You can go home, but you’re my property. I own every inch of you. No one hurts what’s mine, even you. I’m very fucking serious about that.”
-
“You need something in your mouth to make you calm. My finger. A gag. My cock. You relax when your mouth is full.” He keeps a tight hold of my hair as he slowly sits down on a bench and pulls me between his legs. “Suck on me and calm the fuck down.”
-
“You know that I’m obsessed with you, don’t you?” he snarls as he pounds ruthlessly into me. “Nothing has changed. I’m going to put that tracker back in your neck. You’re going to say, Thank you, Tyrant. I still own you. Your blood. Your breath. Your pussy. Everything.”
-
“The choice was never between Vivienne and another woman. The choice was Vivienne or no one.”
-
We’ve been through so much together in such a short time. I think of cutesy couples beaming at each other and saying things like, When it’s right, you just know. For us, it’s more like, When it’s so deliciously fucked up, you just know.
-
“You’re going to be my wife, and my wife doesn’t have a choice. The ring is for everyone else to know you’re mine and for you to know you belong to me. This is for me. These are my wedding vows. Hold still.”
-
“You just keep doing everything I say, and I’ll be your devoted husband who lives only to make you happy. I’m your servant. I’m yours to command.”
-
“Everything I do is for you,” he pants in my ear. “I live for you. I die for you. I’ll never let you go, and I’ll never give up all my secrets. By the time you figure them out for yourself, it will be too late. The monster in the labyrinth will have his claws too deep in your heart.”
-
Beneath her wedding dress, she’s wearing a white lace G-string and suspenders. “Holy fuck,” I murmur in a low voice, dragging my finger up the seam of her sex over the fabric.
“We’re in church,” she moans again.
“I said holy fuck, didn’t I? Put your hands against the wall.”
-
“Is it bad luck to fuck the bride before the ceremony or just to see the bride?”
-
“I’ll walk you up there. I don’t want you to be by yourself, and I’ll be jealous if anyone else does it.”
As we slowly approach the enormous gold cross above the altar, she rises on her toes and whispers to me, “Your cum is on my thighs.”
I smile even wider. “Exactly where I want it when I marry you.”
-
“Tyrant?” I call, and my husband glances up at me. “I love you.”
A smile breaks over his face and he reaches out a forefinger to stroke my cheek. “Angel, I love you, too.”
---
September 14, 2023
Oh my fucking gosh. Lilith Vincent really popped off with this one. If you love unhinged men who have a single minded obsession for the heroine, an intense breeding kink, and no reservations about shedding blood, pick this up NOW.
"You love it when I’m cruel to you, angel,” he seethes in my ear. “You love me controlling every little thing about your life. I’m the only one who can protect you. I’m the only one who gives a damn about you. Feel my cock? Feel those ropes? You’re so fucking protected.”
I'm swooning and s/creaming over this man. He's so full of red flags, you could see him from space, but that's just the way I like 'em.
Vivienne and Tyrant's story was everything! I loved the way it was told: from both POVs and different time lines--primarily from the present with a section from the past. There was so much squeezed in less than 300 pages and I feel like it was done really well. The characters were fleshed out, there's some twist and turns (see what I did there RE: Labyrinth lol), and just and overall great time. My attention was stuck on this book, I was enraptured.
This was brutal, balls to the walls batshit crazy, and I loved it.
"You love it when I’m cruel to you, angel,” he seethes in my ear. “You love me controlling every little thing about your life. I’m the only one who can protect you. I’m the only one who gives a damn about you. Feel my cock? Feel those ropes? You’re so fucking protected.”
I'm swooning and s/creaming over this man. He's so full of red flags, you could see him from space, but that's just the way I like 'em.
Vivienne and Tyrant's story was everything! I loved the way it was told: from both POVs and different time lines--primarily from the present with a section from the past. There was so much squeezed in less than 300 pages and I feel like it was done really well. The characters were fleshed out, there's some twist and turns (see what I did there RE: Labyrinth lol), and just and overall great time. My attention was stuck on this book, I was enraptured.
This was brutal, balls to the walls batshit crazy, and I loved it.
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