What a way to start the new year!
If you are looking for a suspenseful, paranormal, psychological, dark, and masked-man MMC, this book is for you.
Alice, the FMC, claims to hear noises, including a man's voice, in the home she, her mother, and stepfather move into not long after Alice's father's death. The reader is quickly introduced to Alice's reality as she is jumpy and anxious, which you can feel while reading. Who wouldn't be freaked out if you heard thumping coming from your bedroom wall and then a man's voice whispered to you from behind it? Unfortunately, Alice's mother dismisses Alice's claims and even sends her to therapy, where she is diagnosed and prescribed medicine. However, this does not stop the haunting chattering and noises in the house. Alice, who is trying to make it to her high school graduation in one piece, struggles to cope with her home tormenting her… or is it really the home itself or someone that resides in it?
I like Alice a lot. She reminded me of myself in high school (sheltered, misunderstood, needing to explore and come into adulthood). The MMC, the masked man whose name I will not reveal because that's a spoiler, is overwhelmingly creepy but alluring (dark romance readers will understand). He has studied the chapter titled "touch her and die" in the How to be a Dark Romance MMC book. RIP to most of the men in this book. The relationship between him and Alice is ripe with fear, lust, and control. I appreciate the author writing out Alice's inner ramblings as she attempts to justify her attraction to the masked man. It's nice to see a FMC in a dark romance ask themselves how they can love someone who murdered another right in front of their eyes.
The book needs a lot of editing to help with spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, and some flow. There are little to no breaks in the story that would help the reader identify if the events on the page take place on different dates or at the same time. The ending was a little jarring, but after sitting and thinking about it, it made sense. There's a second book and I think it will add further depth to the story.
4/5 stars; 4/5 spice because there's some dubcon, murder, bullying, attempted grooming of a minor, profanity, attempted rape, and k!nks.
I received a copy of this book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.