A Taste Of Light

Tartarus Club #1

by Joelina Falk

Smart, secretive, and powerful enough to stay out of trouble no matter what, Kai Auclaire
Everything he did was to protect his family, and for a while it worked. For years nobody was able to harm him, until he found himself stuck in a contract.

She was everything he didn’t expect, but most importantly, she could do immense things to him that he never thought were possible.

Ruthless, revengeful, and yet sweet if she had to be, Flora Adams had been living a joyful life with nothing to worry about, at least until she ruined it.

One dumb decision lead to a majority of consequences, but the worst one was her new relationship status. She needed protection, and there was only one person who could give her that.

He was possessive, and no matter how hard she tried not to find it the least bit charming, it was nice to have someone who cared about her.

There was only one way out of their engagement… they had to work together.

Their love was bittersweet. Every door they opened revealed a new secret. Every hurdle they thought they dodged brought another. The question left was whether their love was meant to sustain the complications, or crumble at resistance.

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Mafia Romance, Dark, Thriller, Forced Proximity

367 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2023

Reviews

[Tetiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lady’s , I present to you my new favorite mafia novel.
I'm not a big fan of this type of novel now, but a few years ago I loved novels with this trope. I have read more than 100 mafia novels🙈
I’m delighted with this book and the characters.
I can say that this is the most comfortable dark novel I have ever read!
Kai isn’t typical dumb Alpha hero. He’s intelligent and powerful. He also wears glasses😮‍💨 I envy Flora🥹
I adore his relationship to Flora. He fell in love first and harder🤌🏼
He even bought a bakery with Flora's favorite sweets so that it wouldn’t close😭
Flora is really a ruthless but joyful girl who enjoys her life and nothing bothers her
She really gave Kai a hard time (as she should☺️) But it seems to me that this man only fell more in love after that🤭
Side characters also added a special atmosphere❤️‍🔥 Lola is such a sweet little bun (but with surprise🤭)
Milo and Sterley are so incredible. I dream of a book about them🥹
Thank u so much for the ARC, Joelina🫶🏼

[Tetyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
Тропи:
-договірний шлюб
-від ворогів до закоханих
-він закохується першим і сильніше🫠

Мені сподобалося. Хоча на початку головний герой дуже бісив своєю поведінкою, зверхністю, характером і мораллю. Його дії і вчинки взагалі не можна ніяк виправдати. Тому я не розуміла, як між ним і Флорою може бути якесь кохання. Зате я прям повірила у їхнє від ворогів до закоханих

І спостерігати за тим, як Кай міняє ставлення до Флори закохується в неї, варте тих бісячих перших розділів. Його турбота, одержимість, обожнювання, поклоніння. Те що він не заперечував своїх почуттів і не боявся їх висловлювати, як він завжди старався задовольнити Флору і змусити її посміхатися і виконував усі її забаганки. А як він пестливо називав її любонькою і квіткою 🫠🫠🫠

Тому моя оцінка з 3 на початку різко підвищилася до 4. Єдине, що хотілося побачити сильніші почуття з боку головної героїні, тому що в їхніх стосунках він явно кохає сильніше. І не сподобалося, що вкінці якогось екшену навалили. Зате не було драми висосаної з пальця і розриву в 3 акті, за що авторці великий, жирний плюс. Бо я дуже хвилювалася, що вкінці хтось з героїв якусь херню вичворить, але ні, все було дуже мило.
Коротше кажучи, книга викликала в мене багато емоцій, тому я лишилася задоволеною. Пішла читати 2 частину.

[Halya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Мені більше сподобалась дана частина, бо тут видно ріст, як пари
Від ворогів до коханців і все таке
Інколи Каю зносить башку, але то ж Кай
Сумна звісно його історія з матірʼю. Цікаво б було прочитати все ж що за причина, чого вона так знущалась з нього
Флора жінка з 🔥. Сподобалось, як вона поставила на коліна Кая
Книга непогана для прочитання

Офігіла, що він дитину навчив стріляти в такому ранньому віці. Ну і момент з псевдо-весіллям трішки крінжовий

[Caity ✨SaltiReads✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is 4 ⭐️ purely for the fact it stayed interesting and captured my attention… and Kai calls Flora ‘Darling’ and ‘Flower’ even though he’s this big-murdering-lawyer-man 🥹🫶🏼.

However, the writing style was completely cooked. The first 5 chapters were serious ‘wtf’ moments, it was like watching a movie trailer and you just got snippets of what was actually going on as the story just kept jumping around. Very abruptly written and confusing! But, we got there!

[Anna Kobeleva · Rating 5 out of 5]

a taste of light is amazing. if you want a soft dark romance to start your journey, this is for you. i love this kind of dark romance where it isn't too dark or too sweet. atol is right there. you have spice, you have love, you have arranged marriage, and you have a new book boyfriend. 
 
you have to give it a chance. it will be a 5⭐

[Sonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Мені сподобалось
Можна рекомендувати
Мені лайк їх сцени 😏😈
Але, напевно, це було на один раз, бо я щось нічого не пам'ятаю (((

[Seph🌱]

"𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐀 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞."

𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅’𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒆. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆.
“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧?” 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝. 𝐈’𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐈’𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐈’𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐈’𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫. “𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥, 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐭?”
“𝑰𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝑨𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒔, 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝑰 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕.”“𝑰𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝑨𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒔, 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝑰 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕.”

[Lilly H. Dove · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost, thank you Joelina for sending me this ARC and giving me the opportunity to read this book before release. It was a pleasure.
Second, this book was amazing. This was my second ever arranged marriage book, and my first ever dark romance, and I loved it. Not gonna lie, dark romance scared me for a reason, but I’m definitely going to look at more because of this book. It had everything you want, with murder. I finished it in a day, just as I did Nine Days, because Joelina honestly writes the best books I can never put down.
I loved Flora. The name first, because I am such a flower girl. Her attitude and personality>>>. I aspire to be like her (although probably within the killing people part).
Kai was just 🫠🫠. He was protective, and the softness he felt for Flora was even more 🫠🫠🫠. Also, I think everyone needs to join a Julie hate club because how dare she.
One thing I wish we got is a real wedding scene at the end, because k wanted my girl in the white dress she originally wanted.😭. But it’s okay though, we still got her being a girl boss😙😙.
Lastly, Lola is adorable. She needs more scenes even though she got so many. I hope she avenges her dad some day, I’d definitely join her.

[demett · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was boring and he was too much of an asshole for me to like

[lena ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked it but i feel like it dragged on for ever.
and seriously? a little kid knowing how to shoot a gun and what not. it got a little weird towards the end

[Athena · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wth was that? Bad storyline ...cliche dialogue and all 🤮

[Lillie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been anticipating this book since Joelina teased it, and she said "Hold my notes, I got his." When I say she delivered, I mean she delivered.

Flora is the most badass FMC I've read about in a while. She's the perfect mix between grumpy and kind. I loved how she didn't let Kai talk to her like she was some puppet and that she fought back. Miss Adams had me kicking my legs and feet when she got revenge on Kai for trying to tell her what to do. As I said, badass bitch.

Kai had so much depth to his character. He was the typical "don't tell me what to do"-guy, but he was so endlessly sweet, he didn't even notice. Everything he did, he did for his brother and Lola. He's so misunderstood, which is his fault tbf, but man, I love him so much. He's the definition of appearing cold-hearted but being a soft teddy bear instead. And the way nobody was able to harm him but Flora quite literally overpowered him? *pressed face into the pillow and screams*

They went from enemies to lovers so subtly, I had to check twice to make sure I didn't miss anything. Yet despite their hatred for the other person, their teamwork when needed was top-notch.

The plot? At first, I thought I was being a lil smarty-pants because I thought I figured it out, but then Miss Author said, "Oh, you thought you figured it out? Try me." and hit me right in the face with something I did, in fact, not see coming at all. I was blown away!

Lola was so unintentionally funny, I cannot. Her love for violence should be concerning, but it was so hilarious. It fit right in and was the perfect comedic relief. When Kai said that it would've been weird if Lola knew how to fire a gun before she could read, I died. It came so unexpectedly that I had tears in my eyes from laughing.

When the tropes list said "touch her and die", Miss Author meant take her name in your mouth and die. Kai did not hesitate to shoot whoever said a single bad thing about Flora, and I lived for it.

I'd sell my tits to re-read this for the first time again.

[lisa’ · Rating 4 out of 5]

arc review!

This book was so chaotic at some point, like in one page we got 3 plot twists, I LOVED IT. Anyway, this book was good, it’s definitely a change in the author type of romance, but she slayed her first dark romance book I must say. Lola was iconic (and no, she is not the main character but she deserves being mentioned).

[Rethika Athukorala · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read nothing too serious. The chemistry between Kai and Flora was very entertaining to read about. He killed a man for looking at her - as he should 💅🏽❤️‍🔥

[Tasnim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it 😻
this book is underrated

[Jenni Schlachta · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC - review

first of all i am so grateful that i received an advanced readers copy by joelina!! she’s one of my favorite authors since i read nine days by her this year🫶🏼

this book includes the tropes:
-enemies to lovers
-arranged marriage
-forced proximity
-single dad
-praise kink connected with a lot of spice of course
-he falls first and harder
-no third act breakup
-touch her and die
(-grumpy x sunshine (sort of))

my rating:
spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️5/5
plot: 💡💡💡💡4/5
sadness: 💧💧💧💧4/5
characters: ♾️ infinity/5

overall: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️5/5

i adore flora and kai with everything i have and can say that they both have an extra special place in my heart❤️
flora is an independent and strong woman and i adore her for how she handled every challenge in her life by herself.
kai, i really could write an whole essay about but in short form i would say that he is an amazing character. he had to go through so so much and the way he cared about others was admirable. i loved his relationship with ares and even more his relationship with lola (she’s such a cute kid, I wanna hug herrrr)

whatever joelina put into that book was addicting!!
honestly i couldn’t put it down even if i wanted to, i simply couldn’t


for anyone who is looking for a good enemies to lovers book with a lot of tension and great badass characters, this is definitely going to be a unforgettable read.
i can’t wait for the next book!!


one of my favorite books from now on and kai auclaire is definitely one of my favorite book bfs

[Mila · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I liked it I was completely hooked in from beginning to end but it wasn't perfect. There were some chapters that felt like incomplete... It ended in one place and then on the next chapter begins on another one. I even sometimes thought that I skipped a chapter but no. Then the whole plot twist at the end was kind of confusing and rushed I didn't quite understand it really. I loved Kai character and how he develops feelings for her once he says I love you you believed that however with Flora's character was a different as we didn't see much of a change within her feelings towards him until he says I love you to her it just seemed convenient and not genuine. Like you could tell she was attracted to him physically but you didn't buy the fact that she truly loved him as the majority of her povs are regarding her physical attraction and that's it. Then regarding Lola's background I was kinda conflicted. I can understand Kai wanting to protect her therefore making her being able to defend herself with a gun but I felt like there was a little too much of a glorification with the fact that she was okay with murdering people or seeing Kai killing someone knowing also her age... so yeah it was a little too much I think. Even we got scenes from her I feel that we could have gotten more than we did.
And also I believe that the whole issue with the father was left inconclusive at the end and should have been addressed as I didn't quite grasp why he did what he did to her daughter.

So yeah as you can see it wasn't perfect but that won't change the fact that I liked it even though it has some plot holes and inconsistencies along the way . I loved also the secondary characters such as Milo, Flora's sister(dont remember her name), Ares, and even Lola well when i forget she was 6 years old 😅etc.
I also like the writing in general i prefer when there is more dialogues than description👍 I like that the chapters were quite short so it was quick and easy to read and I loved their chemistry and spice🌶️❤️ i recommend 💯

[Indy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

IVE RECEIVED AN ARC! Thank you Joelina!

Ahh I can’t believe I’m finished! This book is amazing. After founding out about the author with her other series I knew I had to read whatever was next on her writing schedule since her writing style is one of my favorite. This book did not disappoint.

It contains:
- enemies to lovers (and I mean they hate each other!!!!)
- arranged marriage
- spiceeeeee (we love that)
- protective H/h
- dark romance!!

Starting off, this book was really good written. It made me want to read it so fast because I just had to know what was happening and I needed the spoilers asap.

Kai and Flora hate each other on first sight. But goddamn they are Fire and Water together. Flora is an amazing queen for standing up for herself and not letting anybody walk over her and still wear heels when she does it. Kai is (almost) immediately obsessed with flora and he can’t take his eyes of her.

The whole plot is amazing. The romance was romancing. I loved them together, they are an amazing match. And hello, kai wears glasses, GLASSES!!!

Normally I really don’t like kids in books since I don’t like the way authors write about them and how they supposedly talk. But with joelina I knew I could trust her after seven months, so Lola was everything. She was mature for her age and she was an angel but also the devil. I loved her. She was funny without even trying.

Ares has my heart. He’s Kai’s little brother and he’s precious. I need him. Milo, flora’s best friend, is everything and I need to know more about him asap!! Sterlie, floras sister, is an angel, I love her and how she stood up for her sister. I can’t wait to read about her (well I hope it’s her story haha)

Overal, this book is a 4,5 stars read!

If you want to read a book where the enemies to lovers is actually a ENEMIES TO LOVERS, go read this!!!

[ㅤmelli ꧔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

ᨳ᭬ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑

𝖥𝗅𝗈𝗋𝖺 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗁𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗆𝖾 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍𝖾𝖽, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖽𝖺𝗒 𝖿𝗈𝗋𝗍𝗁, 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝖦𝗈𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽’𝗏𝖾 𝗍𝖺𝗄𝖾𝗇 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗆𝖾.𝖲𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗆𝗂𝗇𝖾.

the first thing i wanna say is that i do not like the fmc. the mmc was okay, not bad, but not someone that makes me say "oh my god", i'll think about him a lot. i actually found him quite boring.🫣

the daughter was sweet and 100% deserves a better “stepmother” (the FMC).

“𝖨 𝗐𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗒 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗇”—𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝖺 𝗊𝗎𝗂𝖼𝗄 𝖻𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗁—“𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗍𝗍𝗒 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅 𝖼𝖺𝗆𝖾 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗋𝗈𝗈𝗆 𝖺𝗇𝖽”—𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖺𝗀𝖺𝗂𝗇, 𝖫𝗈𝗅𝖺 𝗂𝗇𝗁𝖺𝗅𝖾𝖽 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝗌𝗈𝖻—“𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗆𝖾𝖽!“

I mean, I get it someone touched your expensive stuff, no one would like it, but she knew she'll be living with a small child. why don't you gently tell her not to touch her things instead of immediately yelling at her? she ruined the whole book for me. if it wasn't for her, i would have had so much more fun.

💌- a huge thank you to the author for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

To the person on tiktok and lied to me that this was similar to sweet temptation. May ur pillow always be warm.

This family needs help and with family I mean the 6/7 year old killer they are raising, because wtf.

Everything felt so fake and not in a good way. The beginning was good but it went downhill very fast.

[Charlotte Blickle · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 ⭐️
I really should have DNFd this book…. But alas I did not. At one point it was so bad that it was funny.
The plot made No sense!
The characters felt rushed and like unfinished..
just all in all not a good book.

[Maria Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

ENG

IT'S REALEASE DAY!

First of all, I wanted to say thank you to Joelina for the ARC of this book and for the opportunity to let me read it before its realese.

It was the second book I read by her and if the other one was good, this one was even better than I expected! I read this book so quickly that I didn't even notice the time passing. I think I can say that this book got me out of my reading slump!

If you want a true enemies to lovers, this book is perfect! They really are enemies and the arguments they have throughout the story were hilarious to me! Of course it ends in romance, even if it's not the kind of cute romance you're used to.

I have a huge list of parents I hate in stories and with this one I added a mother. I never imagined reading what I read and I was always wondering how a mother could have the cold heart to do those atrocities! Even though he had a terrible past with this mother, Kai has always protected the people he loves and his evolution and everything he has done for them is wonderful!

One of the aspects I liked most about this book were the super small chapters. So, I finished a chapter and didn't want to stop reading just to find out what was going to happen in the next chapter!

I simply loved the book, the evolution of the characters and the couple, the way the story developed, EVERYTHING! It is without a doubt a book that I recommend!

WARNING: I really liked the book but it's my taste. This book has a lot of triggers that anyone who reads it may not appreciate, so do some research first to see if you are comfortable with it or not!

PT

DIA DE LANÇAMENTO!

Primeiro que tudo, queria agradecer muito à Joelina pelo ARC deste livro e pela oportunidade de me deixares lê-lo antes do dia de hoje.

Foi o segundo livro que li dela e se o outro foi bom, este foi ainda melhor do que eu esperava! Li este livro tão rápido que nem dei pelo tempo passar. Acho que posso afirmar que este livro tirou-me da ressaca literária!

Se querem um verdadeiro enemies to lovers, este livro é perfeito! Eles são mesmo inimigos e as discussões que vão tendo ao longo da história foram hilariantes para mim! Claro que acaba em romance, mesmo que não seja aquele tipo de romances fofinhos que se está habituado.

Eu tenho uma lista enorme de pais que odeio nas histórias e com esta adicionei uma mãe. Nunca imaginei ler o que li e estive sempre a questionar-me como é que uma mãe tem um coração frio para fazer aquelas atrocidades! Mesmo ter tido um passado terrível com esta mãe, o Kai sempre protegeu as pessoas que ama e a evolução dele e tudo o que fez pelos mesmo é maravilhoso!

Um dos aspetos que mais gostei neste livro foram os capítulos super pequenos. Assim, eu terminava um capítulo e não queria parar de ler só para saber o que ia acontecer no capítulo seguinte!

Adorei simplesmente o livro, a evolução dos personagens e do casal, a maneira como a história foi desenvolvendo, TUDO! É sem dúvida um livro que eu recomendo!

ATENÇÃO: eu gostei muito do livro mas é o meu gosto. Este livro tem imensos triggers que quem for ler pode não apreciar por isso pesquisem primeiro para saber se estão confortáveis ou não!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the first book that I ever understood the whole murdering and blackmailing things 😭☝️ it’s much easier to understand, I mean much more than other book even it was completely chaos and twisted but I manage to understand it well enough. Anyways, another book that climb up to my fav read of 2024 bec I love the dynamic and the tension between FMC AND MMC sm!!! They both so hot in their own way like I need both of them to step on me respectfully. 😍 Arlo tho he’s so hot even his scene is so short 😩 I wish there’s a book about him but yk what maybe I’m asking to much but who knows 😆 so move on to the plot and the relationship in this one I absolutely adore how whipped Kai is with Flora 😩 GET A MAN WHO ABSOLUTELY WHO WOULD KILL FOR U

The way he doesn’t understand love but end up falling in love with Flora bec how fierce she is and how she’s still herself even around people she didn’t like much (ahem Kai lol) but anyways FLORA might be the best FMC have ever written that I’ve read in 2024. The first page when she’s kill Knox that was so hot of her like lord great heaven ma’am respectfully step on me 🧎🏻‍♀️ I love how strong and powerful she is. Kai and Flora is such a perfect pair like powerful couple they are. Their sx scene is something else bro like holy shit it was hot asf. Bro the way Kai dirty talk EVERYTIME they had sx is something I told u. Yeah Kai is so horny for Flora I mean can’t u blame him tho. She so hot 😍 mommy I dare to say


If we talking about plot goddamn bro it’s easier to understand but didn’t expect the plot twist at the end 🤣 def didn’t see that coming either. But what I love about murdering in this book is that they killed a freaking rapist and I LOVE IT (may sounds weird but it’s not trust me I swear 😭) and yeah I love how well this was written (AT LEAST TO ME)

[Hibaslaoui49 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soo i actually saw this book on instagram posted by the author herself and i thought it was interesting.

I'm gonna be completely honest, i loved lots of things in this book, but some things just kinda disappointed me i would say or weren't exactly what i was looking for.

I really liked the characters and tbh i LOVED how much he loves her and the way he thinks about her, it was soooo cuteeeee 😩😩😩 his love for her seemed genuine, but tbh her love for him felt a bit sped up and it felt like she only truly fell in love with him because he told her that he loved her, even the way she declared her love was bit weird, i mean he said allll those things and after a while she's like "you know ? I love you too". I also felt like she wasn't reaaally that grumpy but more like forcefully grumpy.

Another thing that kinda disappointed me was that the book was promoted as single father but we RARELY ever met lola, it's like she was only a side character and her appearance was sooo little. As well as the fact that she literally KILLED somebody at that age, like WTF ???? Why are you promoting and encouraging for kids to be comfortable with death (which leads me to the fact that the mmc did not care abt killing innocent people for money, and he even says that he does it for fun now)

I also did NOT like the plot, there was ZERO foreshadowing and it felt like it came out of nowhere and it made NO sense.
It truly felt like the author had no idea how to end the book so she just wrote a random plot. A true plot is one that builds up from the veeeery beginning and shocks you to your core because you did NOOOOT expect it !!

Anyway, i'm not gonna say that the entire book was bad because i kinda enjoyed most of it, but there are a lot of things that should be developed in it.

[Starling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: Kai & Flora's Story (The Marriage of Convenience Edition)
Tropes:
Arranged Marriage (Hiding a Crime!)
Enemies to Lovers
He Falls First and Harder
Honestly, this book is an absolute rush! Yes, the main guy Kai starts out incredibly frustrating—his arrogance and his deeply twisted moral compass are enough to make you hate him (which, let's be real, is part of the fun). His actions can’t be excused, but his obsession is addictive. But seriously he don't even know the meaning of "Love" what--.
Kai is a dangerous man: a casino owner and a savage lawyer who literally kills for profit. He is instantly and brutally possessive—if anyone so much as looks at his wife, they're probably on his kill list.
Enter Flora, the beautiful, fierce dancer who has absolutely no intention of falling in line. She hates Kai so much, she puts pink glitter in his expensive car, setting the tone for their explosive relationship. But their whole arranged marriage isn't just about a rivalry; it's a desperate move to hide a crime, as Flora is running from a murder she committed. (Don't worry, the truth behind who she killed—her ex's brother, not her ex—is a twist you have to stick around for!)
The magic of this book is watching Kai totally melt for his defiant wife. You see his obsession, adoration, and worship bloom. He doesn't fight his feelings; he embraces them, constantly trying to spoil Flora and make her smile. His possessiveness transforms into pure, protective devotion.
If you love a high-stakes story where the hero falls first for the feisty, complicated heroine who is hiding a body, this is required reading!

[Read with J · Rating 4 out of 5]

arc review a taste of light

´´ flora was my home, even if i wasn´t hers. Every inch of my body was screaming for hers, to hold her, kiss her, love her.´´

Tropes:
enemies to lovers
forced proximiry
single dad
he falls first and harderw
arranged marriage
no third-act breakup
lots of spice

I was so exited to read this book when I say the tropes and immediately signed up for a ACR. And it did not dissapoint, I read the book in one day, I just couldn´t put it down.

Kai Auclaire is a powerful and possesive man and I loved his character!. The story with him and his family was amazing to read about I loved his relationship with Lola and Aeres, He would do anything for them and he showed that. Kai is basically obsessed with Flora from the moment he first saw her, I loved that he is the one to first admit it. And also hello, he wears GLASSES!!.

Flora Adams is a Ruthless, revengeful, yet sweet woman. Seeing how she developed troughout the book so fun to read, she did not let anyone walk over her and stood her ground standing up for herself and being a super protective older sister.

Kai and Flora start of hating each other but, but there is always this tension and when that finally broke the spice was so good! I was sad that we did not get more scenes with Flora and Lola I would´ve loved to that.

This book was absolutely amazing and if you love a good enemies to lovers book than you should definitely read this book!

Thank you Joelina for this amazing ARC!

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/5⭐️

thank you so so much to joelina for choosing me to read this as a arc, im so grateful🥹 it’s fair to say that I have found a new author which is one of my favourites and I CANT wait to read more books from joelina🫶🏻

This is the first book in a new series and WOWWW I loved it! I had the best time reading it and I wish I could do it all over again for the first time. Flora and Kai mean the world to me and I will love them forever❤️

Our fmc Flora is such a strong woman, she has got through everything by herself and I admire so much about her. Kai our mmc is just true perfection of a book boyfriend. He’s such a incredible character, and he too has been through so much but always puts others first🥹 I could write all day about him, the tropes just fit them as a couple so well.

This was such a addictive story, with TRUE enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, soooo much tension and amazing characters. I don’t think I will ever forget this book🫶🏻 Finallyyyyy, we need to take a moment for the spice! OHHH MYYYY the spicy scenes were written perfectly🤌🏻

A taste of light is OUT NOW so go read about this bad-ass couple, and hopefully you will love them just as much!🖤

❤️‍🔥enemies to lovers
🖤 single dad
❤️‍🔥 arranged marriage
🖤 forced proximity
❤️‍🔥 SO much spice
🖤 praise kink
❤️‍🔥 touch her and die
🖤 no 3rd act break up
❤️‍🔥 he falls first

[Sh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,8⭐️


※ Це було точно не те, що я думала. Я очікувала дарк-роман, але по відчуттям я прочитала дуже лайтову дарк-казку, якщо так можна сказати

※ Мені сподобався Кай, такий супер багатий красивий небезпечний недоторканий холодний мільярдер😎 все як я люблю, його розписали доволі гарно, його дитинство, сім'ю, травми і розумієш, чому він став тим ким став;
його минуле💔
Тільки він має іноді шкідливу звичку вбивати людей в першому ліпшому випадку, но то вже таке

※ Потім іде головна героїня - Флора, і от вона мені не зайшла🫡🥲 не знаю, чому, вона не тиха "хороша дівчинка" і вміє за себе постояти, трохи розбещена, але іноді її дії здавалися якимись примітивними?¿ дитячими?¿ при тому, що сама дитина в ції історії старша за половину всіх дорослих

※ Сама дитина в історії - Лола, сама найнереалістична дитина з усіх, що читала пхп, вона вміє стріляти з пістолета, вбивати, шпигувати і їй 6 років👀 (Каю реально треба було прочитати хоч 1 книжку про батьківство), якби її зробили років на 10 старшою було б краще

※ Початок був інтригуючим, але під кінець все кудись поїхало, ніби авторка написала половину, потім пішла у відпустку, повернулася і зрозуміла, що треба закінчити книгу і швиденько видумала кульмінацію і кінець🫠
Загалом непогано, може це я просто мала вищі очікування🤷‍♀️

♧ Хто хоче прочитати, але не знає, чи зайде, просто прочитайте, бо смаки у всіх різні ♧

[Lui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arc review!
I wanna start this off by saying how obsessed I am with this book. Like it was just wonderful.
When I got it in my Gmail I was very very excited, I was jumping around the whole day.
Kai was just so smart and grumpy and sexy. He wears glasses!!!! That's attractive as hell. He was not only really grumpy and mad all the time but when he started being sweeter to Flore it was like damn. I need him in my life. I'm jealous of Flora, but at the same time of Kai, because Flora is just something else. Shes attractive, smart, confident. All very sexy traits for the fmc of this book. At first when she was a little bit rude to Lola I thought I might not like her but the way she warmed up to her was just everything. They're such a great couple!!!
When I first read the part about Lola not being his actual daughter I was a little worried this won't be as good as I thought but it came out even better!!
Please I tell you to read this book! It's awesome:))
Definitely 5/5 ⭐️, if I could I'd give it more ;)

[Tamara Allwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was different to Joelina’s other books I’ve read.
It’s a slow burn dark romance with all our favourite tropes: forced proximity, marriage of convenience & touch her and die vibes.
There is a good amount of spice but not so much that it takes away from the plot, and the plot is definitely the focus.
I liked that Flora stood up to Kai and didn’t let his rules control her. Also the scene with Kai’s car and a suspicious amount of glitter was possibly my favourite.
I hope we get more books for Milo & Sterlie and Ares.
The only thing I didn’t like necessarily was Lola and how inclined to violence she was/able to use a gun at 6 years old was a bit unbelievable. Apart from that she was adorable.