Resentment

by Aria Devon

Moving to Oak Brook was supposed to be a fresh start for Connie Quinn. A new home away from the prying eyes of her murderous family. And it was, for a time. Until she unknowingly became a pawn in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Matteo Romano is the mastermind behind a twisted website of carnal desires, where Connie's unwitting entrance into a world of dark fantasies begins. Drawn by desire, he follows the sinister request to kidnap her, only to discover a captivating woman that ignites a new level of obsession within him. But even when the truth unravels, and Connie's innocence becomes apparent, Matteo struggles to let her go. His obsession for Connie only grows deeper. There's a darkness within her that matches his own. But if love blossoms, their fates will be intertwined in a deadly web of passion and resentment that neither could have foreseen, and their lives will be changed forever.

Resentment is book one of the twisted Oak Brook dark romance series, featuring the Romano siblings and others. Each book focuses on a different couple and can be read as a standalone, with an overarching family story across the series. This is a spicy dark, enemies to lovers, mafia romance series with older FMC's who give their guys a run for their money!

Genres: Dark, Dark Romance, Enemies To Lovers

246 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2023

Reviews

[daemyra, the realm's delight · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half was intriguing because the heroine was kidnapped to be 🍇. The hero runs a service for women who have CNC fantasies. However, someone else enrolled the heroine in to the service. Ngl it was a very intriguing premise.

There is no story tho and the mystery to solve was not well done. Insta-love between the leads. Heroine was also acting irrationally, which doesn’t annoy me as much as it is boring (running away from hero, getting drunk when she knows someone is after them).

ALSO the thing that shocked me the most wasn’t that but the ending, and how the heroine/hero treat the villain. Not to quote Lauren Biel again but sort of going for that shock value, explicit/gross violence, not erotic although it does involve sexual activities.

Do not recommend unless you’re curious 🤷🏻‍♀️. I really need a dark romance but the heroine and hero actually like each other, have some sort of individual growth as they deepen their relationship with each other… that kind of yearning, you know.

[EPendleton · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this was my first foray into the true dark romance world. Either this book isn’t a really good one, or this genre isn’t for me. I’ll be honest, I’m a romantasy kind of girl.

The plot of this story is weak, at best. Girl seeking her own independence from her overbearing and, in this case, homicidal family. There’s some plot holes for me, why Johnny would have set her up on this roleplaying site, and why Rocci decided to partake in the roleplaying? I feel like those two needed to be answered for me, but maybe I missed the answer? The book really doesn’t have what I need to be invested. It’s just not immersive enough. It’s a pretty shallow book.

I’m not sure how I feel about Matteo. I want to like him. He’s got a moral compass, in some cases, and not in others. He’s obviously a morally gray guy. But his obsession with Connie, and his subjugation to her, is a bit of a put off. Sure, I like that he’s all about her, but the protective puppy dog ploy is unattractive.

🤷🏻‍♀️it’s hard for me to tell if this is a dark romance book that’s worthy of me judging the genre in totality. Some parts of this had me questioning if I’m unhinged (which I likely am). Other parts had me questioning why I was reading it.

[Vchilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t understand how this doesn’t have more reads. This is so freaking good

[Darkreads]

DNF at 30%. I should've known better when there was a detailed smex scene of MMC and some random woman a few pages into the book. It did not get better.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting plot, not like anything I've ever read before, at least the first half of the book. It's intense, dark, dual POV's, great pacing and enjoyable chemistry between the MC's. The second half of the book falls a bit more flat, tho still a good read. Like the style of writing. I had some issues with the revenge plot and what actually happens, it was icky. But the again so was other parts of the book as well, I guess I feel like there was just no point to some of what happened? Anywho.. great book overall, enjoy!

[Tajia Maniscalco]

first, I wont rate low based on a trigger that might not be for me, that being said neither should you, so READ YOUR TRIGGERS!
secondly, this story was.... original, and DARK. though I feel the 'after care' and the revenge I feel made up for what happened in the book.
third, I the spice was evenly matched with plot, so you'll get the best of both worlds.


can't wait to read the other storylines!

[Chloe Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brillint

What a rollercoaster!! Couldn't out it down. Connie is a secret badass!! And i love her! Matteo is a wonderful creep 🤣! Dark scenes are dark to say the least but they give so much depth the the book it's unbelievable!! Can not wait for the next book!!

[BabyGurl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I smiled, I cried and I laughed. 😭💀
I also at one point hid behind my hand 🙈 honestly, i did. It was….. terrifying!

Do read the trigger warnings, i went im blind with this one 😂 what a stupid idea. I don’t have any triggers but, still.

[samantha Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark

I found this book to be quite dark, it had some themes that could be quite triggering. It's written in 3rd person, which I tend to avoid normally but I enjoyed reading. Would recommend reading.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it

I didn’t want to put it down was definitely an interesting read. I looking forward to the rest of the series