Come Out, Come Out

Haunted Hearts #1

by Alexia Onyx

She's creeping slowly toward death. He's determined to keep her alive.

Aiden
My little wraith torments herself in a desperate attempt to escape from the pain that runs deep in her veins. I could be that escape if she'd only let me. I will own her pain, her suffering, and her pleasure. I just need her to see me.

Skye
Every day is a burden that pushes me closer and closer to my end. I always found the notion of death romantic; I never could have predicted how right I would be.

Come Out, Come Out is a spicy paranormal dark romance. Please note that this book contains heavy themes, including depression, suicidal ideation, grief, and loss. A complete list of trigger warnings will be provided by the author before release.

Genres: Dark Romance, Paranormal, Dark, Romance, Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal Romance

414 pages, Paperback

First published November 13, 2023

About the author

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 🪦🥀🕯️

characters that haunt you, romance to die for

Alexia Onyx is a dark romance and horror author who loves exploring the dark side of humanity. In her books, you can expect to find plus-size/fat representation, queer relationships, and mental health themes. Alexia lives in sunny San Diego but mentally, she’s somewhere cold and rainy. She’s a little obsessed with Halloween, her adorably plump cat, and bubbly water, which she truly does need to survive. When she’s not writing, you can find Alexia surrounded by her fall-scented candles while hiding from the world with her latest read, scream-singing along to her favorite songs, or gleefully curating playlists and mood boards for her next book.

Reviews

[YarnWyvern · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know if I will ever stop thinking about this book.

It’s dark. It’s got sad boys and sad girls and a lot of disaster bisexual energy.

Check those content and trigger warnings because this one is HEAVY.

But darker books like these do help my mental health, and this one kicked my ass out of a depression spiral.

I wish I had more eloquent words to say but I’m just. Still flailing and reeling over this one.

I love it

[Savannah Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay so I have a lot of feelings about this book. It was quite possibly the weirdest thing I've ever read.... But I also got invested in the story. I feel like this was an interesting concept for a story but the execution of the story was lacking a bit for me. I felt like parts of it were very drawn out and other parts of it were so rushed. Like I feel like there was not a whole lot of character development or plot before the spice. = I do feel like this author has really good potential and even with the flaws that I recognized throughout the book, I still found it interesting and really wanted to finish it. The ending was Shit... I didn't love this book but I also didn't hate it either.
SPOILER ALERT.
Back to edit this because I FORGOT ABOUT THE EPILOGUE...
wtf. After all that fuss Aiden made with Skye wanting to get down and dirty with someone else, now they on the prowl together? Whaaat???

[Anja · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fun and games until the ending. (Spoiler ahead) I HATED the execution so, so much. Our FMC wants to be with our ghost MMC and is already depressed. So her solution is to kill herself to be with him.
Just let that sentence sink in please. The love interest, bless him, does not want her to do that - obviously - and while he tries to stop her from her stabbing herself to death (like.. wth did she think she is doing???) she crashes through a window or something and dies. How fucking convenient. This is ridiculous. I mean yes, you have the problem of a ghost love interest, but for them to be together you could have definitely found a better solution. (She could have just died of an accident, that would have been super convenient too, but without the disrespect to suicidal/depressed people).

[Sarah]

DNF @ 52%

"Whoever implied that death was peaceful clearly hadn’t fucking experienced it. In reality, it was absolutely maddening. It’s Hell."

Summary:
When Aiden learns his sister ended her life after being the target of cyberbullying, Aiden goes on a revenge rampage against the people who tormented her but dies in the ensuing fight. Now he's cursed to haunt the house where he died.

Aiden becomes transfixed by the house's new resident, Skye. Forced to watch the object of his affection suffer depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation, Aiden basically decides to "scare her to life"--give her just enough fear of death to make her realize she wants to live.

Also, every Friday the 13th, Aiden becomes corporeal and they fuck.

Review:
First of all, this book deals with serious themes of mental illness, bullying, self-harm, and suicide. I definitely do not mean to make light of any of these things in my review; I think the book handles these topics well. In terms of representation, both MMC and FMC are queer.

Idk, just not for me. Had a lot of promise. I wanted to read it because the saw scene sounded hot--and it was...ish. The dusty house was a real ick for me and after they started having sex on the "dusty, grimy" basement floor, I couldn't take the book seriously any more. The smut wasn't smutting, the plot wasn't plotting. When I found myself skipping over an entire scene, I knew it was time to put the book down.

I would definitely read other books by this author! Come Out, Come Out just was not my thing.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got the audiobook arc.

I'm so in love with the book, it's dark, messy and tragic. Heavy on addiction, self harm and wishes of dying. I connected so deeply with the fmc and even the romance eith the mmc. It was emotional and tragic yet spicy and had some sweet moments like them finding ways to talk to each other. Dark romance with a paranormal twist.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

So basically this is just a book with ghost dick, no plot, and a whack ending. Got it! That epilogue might just haunt me forever like a haemorrhoid.

[Mon Amour · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wished i never bought this book. Two emos falling in „love“ Aiden got plenty of time for falling love with sky but sky is just a horny woman who f….. strangers and pretend it’s love. Even this epilogue killed everything. Aiden playing the jealous one but looking for f…. Buddy’s? Wtf? They killed every romanticized ghost fantasy’s you can have. I’m so angry about this book

[Lanae (findmeonsmutlane) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was EVERYTHING. Omg. I went in fairly blind. Knew it was a ghost romance but honestly nothing else. I glanced at the trigger page just to check for anything but didn't see any of mine so I dove right in. And wow.

It had me hooked from the start. I was immediately sucked in and gone for. Aiden was everything. He was broken, and beautiful, and obsessive, and demanding, and ugh. Skye was hauntingly beautiful and broken as well. Them coming together was so good. Watching their broken pieces come together, I loved it. Was it healthy? Probably not. But is that what we want in books? Or something we expect in a dark ghost romance? Absolutely.

The spice was top tier. This to me was a good example of good plot with a good hefty amount of spice as well. I was salivating.

The book does glamorize some darker and trigger warning topics, but it's warned in the beginning, and it's a common theme in dark romances. But it's something to think about before reading.

All in all, amazing read. I loved it and I cannot wait for the authors next book.

[erin | sinfulshelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

a masterpiece of dark romance & horror combined with spice and emotion 🖤👻 5/5 stars - review below 👇

“ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔬𝔲𝔱, 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔯𝔢,” 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔰.

👻🖤 || 𝙱𝙾𝙾𝙺 𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙴𝚆
⚠︎ check TWs | 18+ content ⚠︎

📖 Come Out, Come Out by Alexia Onyx
Star Rating: 5/5 ★★★★★
Spice Rating: 4.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Spice Frequency: 3/5 🔥🔥🔥
POV: Dual/1st
Available on KU ✅

• MF relationship
• hide & seek vibes (prim@l play)
• mental health rep
• possessive & obsessive MMC
• plus size FMC
• spooky & dark
• hand necklaces + he likes to eat 😻

When I tell you I think this book just altered my brain chemistry, it is so unbelievably true. Alexia Onyx’s writing style is addictive and powerful, filled with some of most beautifully written depictions of depression and BPD that I have ever come across. This book made me feel seen. This book made me feel a lot of emotions. I am simply in AWE.

I truly don’t want to spoil this book by even giving you a small summary. All I can say is please read it. PLEASE. If you’re a fan of dark romance / horror vibes with spice and good representation on all fronts, you will freaking love this. I genuinely think this book deserved an award for how good it is. 20/10. Will reread. Added to my all time favorites list.

[Felicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

amazing concept, story execution not so much. there was so little character development that the romance felt flat.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

after MMC dies, he doesn’t even really get into the fact that he’s now living in the afterlife, he just jumps into finding his dream girl moving in/fantasizing about her and wanting to actually be with her as if he wasn’t freaking DEAD lol. it felt like he was still alive but invisible/not able to leave the house and that took away from the paranormal aspect for me. the only character development for the FMC was that she dresses goth, suffers from depression, watches horror & listens to alt music..

also wtf about Binx? the people that come to move/clean up at the end literally just leave the cat to live in this house alone? lol what? the pizza girl obviously wasn’t coming to check on the cat anymore after hearing what happened soooooooo… 😂

[Kate]

This is NOT a romance for anyone wondering—I would not classify whatever the hell this ending was as a “happily ever after”—I feel misled☹️

[ritika · Rating 2 out of 5]

1,5 stars

it was ok until it wasnt (pls do not fuck people when they’re dying, get help :))

[hope · Rating 1 out of 5]

Girl… What the fuck? 😀

[⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚Tiara (Alec’s ver.) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5⭐️ Omg 😭I didn’t think I would love this so so much I stayed up until 2 am to finish this book
I’ve never read something like this before
It was so amazing, it made me feel something I’ve never felt ❤️

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked from the start of this one.
was it because he was a ghost?👀
was it because she was a plus sized hottie?
was it because of binx?

yes yes and yes.

this was brilliant, some moments had me saying ‘wtf’ out loud but i couldnt put it down.

[Liyah's · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have absolutely nothing to say


Okay, i lied. i always have something to say. i dont know WHY I keep reading dark romances when I know they just aren't for me.. So many parts of this made me feel sick, like, what do you MEAN? you know she self harms, and you cut her and what do you MEAN you tried to drown her?? These bitches were crazy no thanks 😭

[KT · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot about this book that I loved and lot that I absolutely hated. I didn't have any real in-between feelings.

The Good:
• The MMC. Everything about him.
• The general plot.
• THE ENDING.

The Bad:
• Feels like Trope Hell through the middle.
• The FMC made no sense - the trust needed for some of the interactions wasn't there, so her reactions were bonkers.

To sum it up, I love the outline of the story, but I don't love how it was put together.

Additionally, I could not STAND the female narrator. She sounded robotic and made it very hard for me to enjoy the chapters from Skye's POV.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Media for providing me with this ALC.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

⚠️Check TWs BEFORE reading! There are a lot!⚠️


I have been trying to gather coherent thoughts on this book, but so far I feel as though everything I write is a bit jumbled up and all over the place. Buckle up and try to enjoy the ride.

Alexia Onyx's writing is unique, beautiful, and haunting. This book goes through raw, dark, sad, and very real situations. I was left with some questions, because there are some things that didn't quite add up to me, but that's just me babe. Come Out, Come Out is a lot to process, but I enjoyed it for the most part and look forward to reading Alexia's writing past this and seeing their growth.

Skye is a very relatable character in so many ways. I felt kind of seen in how her mental state was throughout the book and how her coping mechanisms, minus the bumps she was taking to feel numb. It was great that she found her person, I was just a smidge sad that the only way she could be with him was her immediate life exit.

Aiden was a bit different. I understood his pain in certain aspects, but I can't say the same for how it feels to lose a sibling or a twin. I did feel for him for a little, but he did upset me because how do you not realize your own twin is going through pain, yet recognize the pain someone completely unrelated to you is going through and want to help them? I once again, reiterate that I am happy the other half was found, but I hated that they ended up together in the way that they did.

Thank you to the author, Alexia Onyx, for the ARC. I am leaving this review of my own will. All opinions are my own.

[Margherita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish they had more actual interactions in the first half of the book. Also, the ending surprised me... I wasn't expecting it to end like that.

Take the content warnings seriously. They're not there for decoration. (Take care of yourself while reading.)

Content warnings: grief, suicide (related to both a side character and the mc), death, dead family member, murder by stabbing (described in detail), gore, blood, violence, cops, self-harm, negative self talk, mutilation, sexual content, unprotected sex, sex in a dangerous place with risk of serious bodily injury, CNC/role play, alcohol and drugs abuse as self medication, anxiety, depression, attempted drowning, suicidal ideation, vomit, head injury, sex with an injured person, mention of past homophobia, predatory landlord, feelings of abandonment.

[⋆˖⁺‧₊𓆩𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖆𝖍𓆪₊‧⁺˖⋆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been in a slump and it’s been hard to find books to really hold my attention but I was definitely hooked from the 1st chapter. Aiden is everything and he must be protected at all costs. He’s such a beautiful, broken and sad boy and I love him. I also really loved Skye. As someone who is also plus size, has struggled with depression practically her whole life, and also self harmed (in the past) .. i was able to relate to Skye so so much. Both MC’s were so broken, relatable, and beautiful. I loved the way their relationship developed and seeing them figure out how to be there for each other. Not only was the mental health representation good but the spice was too.. and I just loved the whole vibes of this book! I originally added it to my TBR because I saw a TikTok say it gave AHS: murder house vibes and it does 100%. It’s the perfect book for spooky season but it does touch on some real heavy and sensitive topics so definitely check trigger warnings!

👻 mental health rep
🐈‍⬛ plus size fmc
👻 possessive/obsessive mmc
🐈‍⬛ hide and seek vibes
👻 hand necklaces
🐈‍⬛ dual POV
👻 he falls first and hard
🐈‍⬛ kn!fe play
👻 paranormal romance
🐈‍⬛ touch her and I’ll haunt you
👻 bi- representation
🐈‍⬛ unconventional HEA

[Ashley Hana · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I should've prepared better for this outcome." Thatttt about sums up how I feel about this ending, too.

I, too, want a ghost to fuck me with a knife.

The audiobook was such a great listen! The actor voicing Aiden has a deliciously deep voice, really making this THAT much better. The only thing that confused me a little was the narration choice: in Skye’s chapters, Skye’s narrator also voices Aiden, rather than letting Aiden’s narrator step in, and the other way around. I would’ve preferred if each character’s voice had stayed consistent across chapters. But both actors still managed to pull it off!

[Kenia Coronado · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected this to be bloody and dark but i found myself feeling bad for the main characters lol they went through so much and i guess it was a happy ending? In a dark way?

[Nyx Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔒𝔲𝔱, ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔒𝔲𝔱 𝔟𝔶 𝔄𝔩𝔢𝔵𝔦𝔞 𝔒𝔫𝔶𝔵
-
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
-
Fav Quotes:
“ᴍʏ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴀ ʟɪᴠɪɴɢ ɢʜᴏꜱᴛ ᴡʜᴏ ʜᴀꜱ ᴏɴᴇ ꜰᴏᴏᴛ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ꜱɪᴅᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴇɪʟ ᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ɪꜱ ꜱʟᴏᴡʟʏ ᴄʀᴇᴇᴘɪɴɢ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇʀ. ᴍʏ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴡʀᴀɪᴛʜ.“

“ɪ ꜱᴇᴇ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇ. ɪ’ᴍ ᴇᴀɢᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴇꜱᴛʀᴏʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀꜱᴋ, ɢᴇᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ʜᴇʀ ꜱᴋɪɴ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴀꜱᴛᴇ ʜᴇʀ ʙʀᴀɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ɪɴᴛᴏxɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ. ɪ’ʟʟ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴍʏꜱᴇʟꜰ ꜱɪᴄᴋ ᴡɪᴛʜ ɪᴛ, ɪ ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ ᴄᴀʀᴇ. ɪ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇʀ, ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ꜱᴇᴇɴ ʙʏ ʜᴇʀ.“

“ᴍʏ ɢɪʀʟ ᴄʀᴀᴠᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀʟʟ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ. ᴍʏ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴡʀᴀɪᴛʜ. ꜱʜᴇ ᴡᴀɴᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ʀɪꜱᴋ ʜᴇʀ ʟɪꜰᴇ. ᴡᴀɴᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴛᴀᴜɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴅɢᴇ.“

“ᴅᴇᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ ɪꜱ ɢʀᴇᴇᴅʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀʀᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴇꜱᴄᴀᴘᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ Qᴜɪᴄᴋꜱᴀɴᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ɢᴀᴠᴇ ᴜᴘ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ᴀ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴀɢᴏ. ɪ’ᴍ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ꜱɪɴᴋɪɴɢ ꜱʟᴏᴡʟʏ, ᴇɴᴊᴏʏɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠɪᴇᴡ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍʏ ʜᴇᴀᴅ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴀ ꜰᴇᴡ ɪɴᴄʜᴇꜱ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ.“

“ɪ’ᴍ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ᴡᴏᴍᴀɴ ᴡʜᴏ ᴡᴀɴᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ’ᴍ ᴅᴇꜱᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴇʟʏ ᴛʀʏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ʜᴇʀ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ.”
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Review:
This is going to be a little long so I apologize in advance. Alexia me and you are going to be besties ok? This book was so heartbreakingly beautiful, I was having moments where I was going to cry not gonna lie. I grew attached to these characters and the way they are so beautifully broken but fit together like a puzzle piece. Aiden baby you have my heart- never did I think I could fall for a ghost but here we are. Skye.. oh my darling skye the way I love you and your beautiful curves. The representation on a plus-size FMC was beautiful even though I’m not plus-sized I am curvy so I definitely felt seen in a way to the point where it made me love my body more because of how Skye is soo confident and doesn’t give a f*ck what anyone thinks. Alexia I’m so glad you wrote this and I can’t wait for Warmer, Colder since my gay heart wants it soo bad. Now please take this into consideration and know that this book is dark- I’m not gonna sit here and sugar coat it so please read trigger warnings before reading this, your mental health matters most 🫶🏼

[Tia Toro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t expect this one to be as sweet as it was.

Come Out, Come Out is a dark paranormal romance. Suicide. self harm and grief are prominent topics in this book, so please check your trigger warnings before picking this up.

Ok, Aiden. I just wanted to give him a hug. He is harboring so much guilt and resentment for himself and it breaks my heart. The moments when he would genuinely smile were so wholesome because he spent so long as a shell of himself.

The same thing goes for Skye. The mental health rep in this book & shown in Skye is extremely relatable. Constantly feeling lonely, unloved & a burden to those around her. The care, understanding and support Aiden showed her was beautiful. I just loved them so much.

[Vero Exposito · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.50 Stars

What the fuck? I’m so confusion. Like what. "I stare in disbelief as I try to wrap my mind around her request. Is it worse to deny her dying wish or to fuck the woman I love while she dies?" What the fuck was this too? Also, at the end they were poly?? WHAT THE HELL. My brain entered complete confusion and wtf. This was not it for me. Toodles!

[☠Kayla☠ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok, not the best I've read, but certainly not the worst. I'm not totally certain I would consider this a dark romance, more of an emo/gothic. Either way, it was enjoyable.

[shyra ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

aiden is so ghost daddyyyy !!!!
no because imagine playing hide & seek with this murderous man in that haunted house ahh !! <3

skye is my favv emo/sad girl ugh i fucking loveee her !!
a relatable character she is !!
they gave tate & violet from american horror story murder house fr !!
this is my sign to re watch it and y’all should too !!!!
(tate langdon is my #1 murderous ghost daddy)

i atee every part of this book bitchh !! 🫦🖤

[Annalise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay🤷‍♀️ At times, it felt like a whole lot of nothing was going on and that’s when I got bored, but I did like the characters! Also, I think I might have beef with ghost romances?😭 I blame that other book for that sentiment, but hey🫠It’s definitely a good segue into spooky season though so that’s a win for me😂

[Sophie Bojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

didn’t think this was for me but wanted to try it anyway and i’m so glad i did. i loved this but highly recommend checking the trigger warnings first

[Steph's_Creepy _Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't need anymore weird kinks so thanks for that! Heavy spice. Pretty good premise. I'll be off to hunt ghosts now.