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Darkness #2
Lady of Darkness
They are my saviors… and my downfall.
I tried to ruin the Lords before they could drag me into the depths of hell with them–and failed. Now, I’m reaping the consequences–vengeance by those same four, ruthless men who would like nothing more than to rid me from their order. Betrayal is funny that way–one proverbial knife in the back turns their cold, dead hearts even colder.
Until I’m taken by one of our rivals.
My rescue and the subsequent massacre that follows proves that those cold, dead hearts still beat for me–their Lady of Darkness.
I can’t resist the way their bloodied hands rip me open, barging through every defense I’d ever put up over the years. They’ve awoken a monster in me. I have no choice but to step fully into my new role.
And as time goes on, I have no idea if I’ve fallen for the honorable aristocrats everyone looks up to–or the vicious Lords of Darkness.
Heroes may get the glory, but villains get the girl.
Lady of Darkness is book two in a dark why choose romance duet. It is advised to read the books in order. Lady of Darkness does not end on a cliffhanger, and there is a HEA. Please note: this book is dark. You will love the heroes, and then you will hate them before you love them again. If you’re looking for villains who eventually turn good, that doesn’t happen in this book. They are the antithesis to a romantic hero in every way. Please proceed with caution. A list of triggers can be found in the author's note at the front of the book. You've been warned...
I tried to ruin the Lords before they could drag me into the depths of hell with them–and failed. Now, I’m reaping the consequences–vengeance by those same four, ruthless men who would like nothing more than to rid me from their order. Betrayal is funny that way–one proverbial knife in the back turns their cold, dead hearts even colder.
Until I’m taken by one of our rivals.
My rescue and the subsequent massacre that follows proves that those cold, dead hearts still beat for me–their Lady of Darkness.
I can’t resist the way their bloodied hands rip me open, barging through every defense I’d ever put up over the years. They’ve awoken a monster in me. I have no choice but to step fully into my new role.
And as time goes on, I have no idea if I’ve fallen for the honorable aristocrats everyone looks up to–or the vicious Lords of Darkness.
Heroes may get the glory, but villains get the girl.
Lady of Darkness is book two in a dark why choose romance duet. It is advised to read the books in order. Lady of Darkness does not end on a cliffhanger, and there is a HEA. Please note: this book is dark. You will love the heroes, and then you will hate them before you love them again. If you’re looking for villains who eventually turn good, that doesn’t happen in this book. They are the antithesis to a romantic hero in every way. Please proceed with caution. A list of triggers can be found in the author's note at the front of the book. You've been warned...
Unknown Binding
First published December 16, 2022
864 people are currently reading
2574 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Richardson
59 books2,680 followersI write love stories with badass heroines and mysterious, brooding heroes. I survive on coffee and live in Yorkshire, England with my family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 359 reviews
December 22, 2022
Picking up following Harlow’s (failed) attempt at extricating herself from the Lords of Darkness, she is vacillating between relief and incredulity.
When she becomes the target of a rival organization’s attempt to overthrow the Lords, her redemption is forged in blood.
From there, we see the evolution of Harlow’s relationship with Alaric, Gideon, Sterling, and Theo and their connection with one another, as well as her role within the Lords, and the organization itself.
This duet was, simply put, excellent! I really hope we see another epilogue (LOL) with them. Or, better yet, cameos from them in a new series about the next generation. 😁
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😩🤯🥺🥵😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👨🏼🤝👨🏻🧍🏼♂️👫🏻 {Multiple}
🗂 Genre: Dark Romance
✨ Tropes: Age Gap, Alphahole, Enemies-to-Lovers, Secret Society, Forced Proximity, Touch-Her-and-💀, Why Choose
💋 Kinks: 🏳️🌈, ⚔️, Blood Play, Cum Jammer, Dirty Talk, DP, DVP, Inanimate Objects, Orgäsm Denial, Somnophilia, Spit
⚠️ Warning: This book may cause blushing, squirming, combusting panties, and/or self-care.
🚩 Safety Squad: Attempted AssäuIt (Not By H), Dub-Con, Kîdnáppïng (Not By H), UnaIîvïng, VïoIencė, and other triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Lady of Darkness is the conclusion to the Darkness Duet. This series must be read in order.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
When she becomes the target of a rival organization’s attempt to overthrow the Lords, her redemption is forged in blood.
From there, we see the evolution of Harlow’s relationship with Alaric, Gideon, Sterling, and Theo and their connection with one another, as well as her role within the Lords, and the organization itself.
This duet was, simply put, excellent! I really hope we see another epilogue (LOL) with them. Or, better yet, cameos from them in a new series about the next generation. 😁
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😩🤯🥺🥵😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👨🏼🤝👨🏻🧍🏼♂️👫🏻 {Multiple}
🗂 Genre: Dark Romance
✨ Tropes: Age Gap, Alphahole, Enemies-to-Lovers, Secret Society, Forced Proximity, Touch-Her-and-💀, Why Choose
💋 Kinks: 🏳️🌈, ⚔️, Blood Play, Cum Jammer, Dirty Talk, DP, DVP, Inanimate Objects, Orgäsm Denial, Somnophilia, Spit
⚠️ Warning: This book may cause blushing, squirming, combusting panties, and/or self-care.
🚩 Safety Squad: Attempted AssäuIt (Not By H), Dub-Con, Kîdnáppïng (Not By H), UnaIîvïng, VïoIencė, and other triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Lady of Darkness is the conclusion to the Darkness Duet. This series must be read in order.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
December 23, 2022
This was nice - a bit of an abrupt and rushed plot and ending honestly - but the first book was better imo🤷🏻♀️
Safety Squad:
- RH (with MM scenes)
- OTT/Protective Hs
- Breeding kink
- Dark romance
‼️Has 6 epilogues‼️
Safety Squad:
- RH (with MM scenes)
- OTT/Protective Hs
- Breeding kink
- Dark romance
‼️Has 6 epilogues‼️
April 15, 2023
if i hear someone say she is ours and rolled their bottom lip between their teeth again, i might kms or someone else
December 20, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
This duet is definitely one of the best I’ve read this year. The undying loyalty, protectiveness, and honor this group of individuals has was incredible. While they were dark, their work was important and necessary.
Even after Harlow failed at her secret little mission, they never once thought about leaving her unprotected. Did they make her pay? Yup and not even in the way you would think. After years of being comfortable in the silence Harlow surrounded herself in, she wasn’t prepared for THEIR silence. It was genius on their part.
Harlow surprised the shit out of me when she finally accepted her title as Lady of Darkness, and she fucking thriiiiived. Her men were there every step of the way, helping her when she needed it and when she was convinced she didn’t. Like I said, the goddamn loyalty was real.
Uh, chapter 34 and 35??? Hell👏🏻fucking👏🏻yes. 😮💨 I was NOT prepared for that much steam and I’m not ashamed to admit I read both chapters multiple times. It was that good. 🤤
Six epilogues? Yes pleaseeee. I’m a whore for epilogues and these were perfect. My only greedy complaint is I wanted more moments with the children they’d be having! Other than that, everything was literal perfection. This duet will definitely be hitting my bookshelves. 🫶🏻
*ARC reader.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
This duet is definitely one of the best I’ve read this year. The undying loyalty, protectiveness, and honor this group of individuals has was incredible. While they were dark, their work was important and necessary.
Even after Harlow failed at her secret little mission, they never once thought about leaving her unprotected. Did they make her pay? Yup and not even in the way you would think. After years of being comfortable in the silence Harlow surrounded herself in, she wasn’t prepared for THEIR silence. It was genius on their part.
Harlow surprised the shit out of me when she finally accepted her title as Lady of Darkness, and she fucking thriiiiived. Her men were there every step of the way, helping her when she needed it and when she was convinced she didn’t. Like I said, the goddamn loyalty was real.
Uh, chapter 34 and 35??? Hell👏🏻fucking👏🏻yes. 😮💨 I was NOT prepared for that much steam and I’m not ashamed to admit I read both chapters multiple times. It was that good. 🤤
Six epilogues? Yes pleaseeee. I’m a whore for epilogues and these were perfect. My only greedy complaint is I wanted more moments with the children they’d be having! Other than that, everything was literal perfection. This duet will definitely be hitting my bookshelves. 🫶🏻
*ARC reader.
January 31, 2023
This is going to be a review for both books of the series actually, so brace yourselves, it's gonna be long.
Summary: An overly ambitious concept that was not adequately executed.
Oh gosh. Where do I even start?
The sex of course, that's always the safest point to start for smut. Okay. Let's see. In the first book the sex was so little that I felt cheated and there was no scene with a massive orgy as one would expect from a book with 1 (one) woman and 4 (four) romantic interests. In book two, this is being corrected both in the number and quality of sex scenes.
Creampie and breeding fetish is all over the books (mainly the 2nd), not complaining but I think it severely overshadowed other things. Like, there was more focus on semen being too much or staying inside than the sensation of DP or having four d1kcs in the female MC simultaneously. Call me crazy but in a smut book I care more about the description of sensations, idk I may be weird, share your opinions in the comments!
Some parts of the book and some dialogue sequences are extremely cheesy and wholesome, which really annoys me in supposed dark novels. Criminals and serial killers are not affectionate lovers and partners. It's as simple as that. FFS, how hard of a concept is it?
There are multiple scenes with at least two men simultaneously but also there are 2-3 scenes with man on man sex which may not be your thing. I liked those but what I have a problem with is that suddenly all four men in the story "became" bisexual despite only one of them declaring that he was that far in the characters' lives. And not only these three men "discover" that they were bisexual but they do it on command from the female MC. Like, uhm, ok, let's say this happens because it hadn't crossed the mind of someone but in THREE men simultaneously, it is highly unlikely. At the same time, our female MC remains very straight. Hm...
On the same subject, the word impaled is used 0 times in the first book and 5 times in the second book, by at least two different characters' POVs which kinda took me out of the moment. Don't get me wrong, it's a good word but it's also a rare word to use (outside the smut world lol) so it sticks out. Once or twice, it's more than fine but five times from two different people's thoughts, it's like breaking the fourth wall, sorta. Also this phenomenon made me feel like the author wrote this book in a matter of a couple of days because several details in the sex scenes, including 'impaling' looked a bit too similar.
Language
Considering I started talking about the word repeats, I 'll move on to commenting on the language use. I can't get over the fact that these books, from an author advertised as "New York Times best-selling" had grammar mistakes and repeats. The word 'flutter' appears 8 times in the first book and 17 times in the second book, with up to three times in a single chapter/scene. This tells me one thing. The second book was not re-read before being published. There is no way it was. It was written and click, off it went.
Plot
No. Just no. To all of it. I actually liked the idea of the secret order thing very very much but this was clearly written without a plan, without research... and without logic?!
Examples:
There are more examples, these ones for me were kinda of the worst plot holes though. Oh, also, no man in this book (the four MCs and a rapist from Montenegro) don't have an issue at all with period sex. If nothing else was unrealistic, this takes the cake.
Lore and characters
The Lords of Darkness as a name for a vigilante Illuminati-Superpowerless-Avengers sorta organization is so cheesy it instantly reminds you you 're in a fake world and I personally like my books more immersive. I get that the author wanted the book to be called that because it's marketable AF but it didn't work for me at all. A fake corporate company with a somewhat less epic name would have been much better in my opinion.
The problems with the English setting
The story takes place in England, where I am unfortunate enough to reside currently. I dare assume the author has never been to England outside of a 5-day trip. I am going to completely overlook the very American and not at all funny jokes about tea and cookies vs. biscuits which I'm sick of as an American-English speaker in the UK being made fun of consistently for 5 years now. I guess to those who don't have my experience it's still funny?
My real issue with the author writing what she doesn't know is that it shows so much in the characters. The four men in this book are supposed to be British (in my understanding, three of them entirely English and one of them half English-half Scottish). And they 're not just any English men, they are Lords (which in multiple points in the books is described as having royal blood although that is not exactly true, long discussion, the history of Britain is another matter). The characters are nothing like they would be in reality. For starters they don't drink alcohol nearly as much as they should. The British consider alcohol their culture. It's so deeply rooted in said culture that even Easter Europeans and Russians who grow up with a baby bottle of vodka and rakia (tuica, tsipouro, raki, rakija, etc.) are surprised when they come to live in England. But no, these men do not appear to drink almost at all.
Despite being both English and Lords, their dialogue seems hardly British-English (the word lad was thrown in there once, just for the sake of trying I guess) and they sounded hardly upper class, let alone aristocrats. Generally they reminded me more of your average American thug to be honest. Again, this took away from any possibility of these books being immersive. Just have them call each other mate and you 'd already have done half the job. Had the author inserted words that the British upper class uses or talked about pronunciations and accents (which for the rich and aristocrats is usually quite distinct compared to lower classes), there would also have been some evidence of trying. But no. There was zero effort there. No research... again.
Somehow driving in England is dangerous because of the narrow roads??? Dude, what? Where? I guess only if you 're in a medieval town but don't generalize that as the whole Britain. This country may be in shambles but the roads are still being kept to perfection. Had the author written driving in England is confusing because everything is on the wrong side, he11, I'm with you all the way.
The problems in character creation
First of all, the above issues about the English setting and the female MC as listed in the plot wholes also leak into the quality of the characters. None of the four characters is believable as a real person. Their identity as serial killers/vigilante-spies is not even what makes them seem surreal. It's just the fact that they hardly differ from each other in the end. All the men have the same age, the same cultural background, the same education level, the same money, the same job, the same lifestyle. What differs is basically their personal interests, their hair and one of them (of course the damaged one who didn't have a mommy growing up) is a sadist in bed (Big FU for that dear author! This trope is non only kink-shaming but widely disproven by science!). Basically, the men are thinking and speaking so similarly that it was hard to track who was who, especially because they were four.
Moreover, the men once again are ruthless killers, criminals and vigilantes or whatever, which seeps into the way they treat the female MC, but not nearly enough. In most parts it's not justified why they are being so nice to her. But I don't want to be only the problem person, I like to be the solution person. The book, especially with this lore should have much more torture, orgasm deprivation, interrogation(s), assault and/or rape. You can't have a dark romance with a female MC that likes everything. That lightens it immediately.
For five people altogether in two books with POVs for all of them, you can tell from the number of pages that the characters are not going to be explored in depth. In my opinion, each book should have been double in size, so that there would be an adequate content for the reader to start caring about them. I just hate it when the female MC in a book starts changing her mind and liking the male character(s) who was/were initially her enemies, persecutors, abductors, whatever but I want to see why. Her waking up one day, being like ^_^ omg, I am so in love with these men, is soooooo not working for me.
Summary: An overly ambitious concept that was not adequately executed.
Oh gosh. Where do I even start?
The sex of course, that's always the safest point to start for smut. Okay. Let's see. In the first book the sex was so little that I felt cheated and there was no scene with a massive orgy as one would expect from a book with 1 (one) woman and 4 (four) romantic interests. In book two, this is being corrected both in the number and quality of sex scenes.
Creampie and breeding fetish is all over the books (mainly the 2nd), not complaining but I think it severely overshadowed other things. Like, there was more focus on semen being too much or staying inside than the sensation of DP or having four d1kcs in the female MC simultaneously. Call me crazy but in a smut book I care more about the description of sensations, idk I may be weird, share your opinions in the comments!
Some parts of the book and some dialogue sequences are extremely cheesy and wholesome, which really annoys me in supposed dark novels. Criminals and serial killers are not affectionate lovers and partners. It's as simple as that. FFS, how hard of a concept is it?
There are multiple scenes with at least two men simultaneously but also there are 2-3 scenes with man on man sex which may not be your thing. I liked those but what I have a problem with is that suddenly all four men in the story "became" bisexual despite only one of them declaring that he was that far in the characters' lives. And not only these three men "discover" that they were bisexual but they do it on command from the female MC. Like, uhm, ok, let's say this happens because it hadn't crossed the mind of someone but in THREE men simultaneously, it is highly unlikely. At the same time, our female MC remains very straight. Hm...
On the same subject, the word impaled is used 0 times in the first book and 5 times in the second book, by at least two different characters' POVs which kinda took me out of the moment. Don't get me wrong, it's a good word but it's also a rare word to use (outside the smut world lol) so it sticks out. Once or twice, it's more than fine but five times from two different people's thoughts, it's like breaking the fourth wall, sorta. Also this phenomenon made me feel like the author wrote this book in a matter of a couple of days because several details in the sex scenes, including 'impaling' looked a bit too similar.
Language
Considering I started talking about the word repeats, I 'll move on to commenting on the language use. I can't get over the fact that these books, from an author advertised as "New York Times best-selling" had grammar mistakes and repeats. The word 'flutter' appears 8 times in the first book and 17 times in the second book, with up to three times in a single chapter/scene. This tells me one thing. The second book was not re-read before being published. There is no way it was. It was written and click, off it went.
Plot
No. Just no. To all of it. I actually liked the idea of the secret order thing very very much but this was clearly written without a plan, without research... and without logic?!
Examples:
There are more examples, these ones for me were kinda of the worst plot holes though. Oh, also, no man in this book (the four MCs and a rapist from Montenegro) don't have an issue at all with period sex. If nothing else was unrealistic, this takes the cake.
Lore and characters
The Lords of Darkness as a name for a vigilante Illuminati-Superpowerless-Avengers sorta organization is so cheesy it instantly reminds you you 're in a fake world and I personally like my books more immersive. I get that the author wanted the book to be called that because it's marketable AF but it didn't work for me at all. A fake corporate company with a somewhat less epic name would have been much better in my opinion.
The problems with the English setting
The story takes place in England, where I am unfortunate enough to reside currently. I dare assume the author has never been to England outside of a 5-day trip. I am going to completely overlook the very American and not at all funny jokes about tea and cookies vs. biscuits which I'm sick of as an American-English speaker in the UK being made fun of consistently for 5 years now. I guess to those who don't have my experience it's still funny?
My real issue with the author writing what she doesn't know is that it shows so much in the characters. The four men in this book are supposed to be British (in my understanding, three of them entirely English and one of them half English-half Scottish). And they 're not just any English men, they are Lords (which in multiple points in the books is described as having royal blood although that is not exactly true, long discussion, the history of Britain is another matter). The characters are nothing like they would be in reality. For starters they don't drink alcohol nearly as much as they should. The British consider alcohol their culture. It's so deeply rooted in said culture that even Easter Europeans and Russians who grow up with a baby bottle of vodka and rakia (tuica, tsipouro, raki, rakija, etc.) are surprised when they come to live in England. But no, these men do not appear to drink almost at all.
Despite being both English and Lords, their dialogue seems hardly British-English (the word lad was thrown in there once, just for the sake of trying I guess) and they sounded hardly upper class, let alone aristocrats. Generally they reminded me more of your average American thug to be honest. Again, this took away from any possibility of these books being immersive. Just have them call each other mate and you 'd already have done half the job. Had the author inserted words that the British upper class uses or talked about pronunciations and accents (which for the rich and aristocrats is usually quite distinct compared to lower classes), there would also have been some evidence of trying. But no. There was zero effort there. No research... again.
Somehow driving in England is dangerous because of the narrow roads??? Dude, what? Where? I guess only if you 're in a medieval town but don't generalize that as the whole Britain. This country may be in shambles but the roads are still being kept to perfection. Had the author written driving in England is confusing because everything is on the wrong side, he11, I'm with you all the way.
The problems in character creation
First of all, the above issues about the English setting and the female MC as listed in the plot wholes also leak into the quality of the characters. None of the four characters is believable as a real person. Their identity as serial killers/vigilante-spies is not even what makes them seem surreal. It's just the fact that they hardly differ from each other in the end. All the men have the same age, the same cultural background, the same education level, the same money, the same job, the same lifestyle. What differs is basically their personal interests, their hair and one of them (of course the damaged one who didn't have a mommy growing up) is a sadist in bed (Big FU for that dear author! This trope is non only kink-shaming but widely disproven by science!). Basically, the men are thinking and speaking so similarly that it was hard to track who was who, especially because they were four.
Moreover, the men once again are ruthless killers, criminals and vigilantes or whatever, which seeps into the way they treat the female MC, but not nearly enough. In most parts it's not justified why they are being so nice to her. But I don't want to be only the problem person, I like to be the solution person. The book, especially with this lore should have much more torture, orgasm deprivation, interrogation(s), assault and/or rape. You can't have a dark romance with a female MC that likes everything. That lightens it immediately.
For five people altogether in two books with POVs for all of them, you can tell from the number of pages that the characters are not going to be explored in depth. In my opinion, each book should have been double in size, so that there would be an adequate content for the reader to start caring about them. I just hate it when the female MC in a book starts changing her mind and liking the male character(s) who was/were initially her enemies, persecutors, abductors, whatever but I want to see why. Her waking up one day, being like ^_^ omg, I am so in love with these men, is soooooo not working for me.
March 23, 2023
Solid end. I appreciate how despite it being a duet, it felt like things wrapped up really nicely. Very fast paced story and enjoyable.
Age gap, RH, praise... Filthy 🔥 times 🫢.
Age gap, RH, praise... Filthy 🔥 times 🫢.
March 17, 2024
Overall Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️½
“Scream loud, little monster. I want the entire city to know we’d kill them all to get you back.”
📚 Book Review 📚
I thought Lords of Darkness was hot… Holy hell, did this book ramp up the spicy to magma levels. A great ending to such an exciting duet, it’s filled with danger, growly and possessive anti-heroes, and a FMC who becomes their queen.
The relationships transition from the MFMMM of book one to MMMMF (including MM bi-awakening). It may seem a sudden transition, but when your lives are so intermeshed, when you are forced together by a secret society’s familial requirements, trusting only one another, giving into attraction (especially when Harlow loves to watch) doesn’t feel far-fetched.
Lady of Darkness has a very high smut-to-plot ratio, with explosive group scenes that include explicit MM.
I loved this duet and cannot wait to read more of Amanda’s works.
🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧
This book has given me a huge audiobook hangover. I don’t know how another book can top the way Michael Gallager gives me full-body shivers when he says, “Good girl.”
Both narrators rocked their performances. It's an excellent duet narration.
⚠️ Dark Elements/Themes Warning – check TWs ⚠️
Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
Tropes/Features: Secret society, age gap, enemies to lovers, chosen family, anti-hero MMCs, 18 yo FMC, kidnapping, touch her and die, OTT J/P, kidnapping, MM, bi-awakening MM, group scenes
Narrator: Multiple 1st Person POV
Audiobook Narration Type: Duet Narration
Voice Actor (s): Brooke Daniels and Michael Gallagher
Relationship Type: Why Choose – MMMMF, fast burn, ultra spicy
Book Type/Ending: Book Two Darkness Duet, HEA
TW/CW: Available in book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️½
“Scream loud, little monster. I want the entire city to know we’d kill them all to get you back.”
📚 Book Review 📚
I thought Lords of Darkness was hot… Holy hell, did this book ramp up the spicy to magma levels. A great ending to such an exciting duet, it’s filled with danger, growly and possessive anti-heroes, and a FMC who becomes their queen.
The relationships transition from the MFMMM of book one to MMMMF (including MM bi-awakening). It may seem a sudden transition, but when your lives are so intermeshed, when you are forced together by a secret society’s familial requirements, trusting only one another, giving into attraction (especially when Harlow loves to watch) doesn’t feel far-fetched.
Lady of Darkness has a very high smut-to-plot ratio, with explosive group scenes that include explicit MM.
I loved this duet and cannot wait to read more of Amanda’s works.
🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧
This book has given me a huge audiobook hangover. I don’t know how another book can top the way Michael Gallager gives me full-body shivers when he says, “Good girl.”
Both narrators rocked their performances. It's an excellent duet narration.
⚠️ Dark Elements/Themes Warning – check TWs ⚠️
Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
Tropes/Features: Secret society, age gap, enemies to lovers, chosen family, anti-hero MMCs, 18 yo FMC, kidnapping, touch her and die, OTT J/P, kidnapping, MM, bi-awakening MM, group scenes
Narrator: Multiple 1st Person POV
Audiobook Narration Type: Duet Narration
Voice Actor (s): Brooke Daniels and Michael Gallagher
Relationship Type: Why Choose – MMMMF, fast burn, ultra spicy
Book Type/Ending: Book Two Darkness Duet, HEA
TW/CW: Available in book
December 20, 2022
LADY OF DARKNESS: AMANDA RICHARDSON
So freaking blessed to get an ARC and be a part of her street team!
What in the bloody (literally… ) hell just happened. I didn’t think Amanda could possibly top the first book but SHE DID THAT SH!T. There are so many things I could say about how amazing this duet is…
Harlow is adjusting to her new life as the Lady, with her four Lord’s teaching her the ins and outs of their job and the legacy they lead. She is so engrossed in the danger, but also even more so into these four men who completely consume her.
Listen. There is MM, MMMMF, ménage, why choose, reverse harem, weapon play, blood play, suspense, romance, someone takes her tampon out… 🫠 LOTS OF SPICE… just stop reading this and READ THE BOOKS.
LORDS OF DARKNESS OUT NOW
LADY OF DARKNESS RELEASES DECEMBER 20!
Amanda you are the QUEEN of reverse harem’s. I am bowing to you. 🥵🥵🥵
So freaking blessed to get an ARC and be a part of her street team!
What in the bloody (literally… ) hell just happened. I didn’t think Amanda could possibly top the first book but SHE DID THAT SH!T. There are so many things I could say about how amazing this duet is…
Harlow is adjusting to her new life as the Lady, with her four Lord’s teaching her the ins and outs of their job and the legacy they lead. She is so engrossed in the danger, but also even more so into these four men who completely consume her.
Listen. There is MM, MMMMF, ménage, why choose, reverse harem, weapon play, blood play, suspense, romance, someone takes her tampon out… 🫠 LOTS OF SPICE… just stop reading this and READ THE BOOKS.
LORDS OF DARKNESS OUT NOW
LADY OF DARKNESS RELEASES DECEMBER 20!
Amanda you are the QUEEN of reverse harem’s. I am bowing to you. 🥵🥵🥵
January 17, 2024
I... Hated the ending sadly...
Through both books Harlow never sat well with me. She was young ofc and I absolutely hate 'brats' so that didn't help. I loved the guys and I felt like the Lords of Darkness was a great idea, but it just fell short for me.
This felt more like a smutty holiday. Don't get me wrong the MM and 'why choose' is something I loved and love in a RH setting, but it didn't quite save it.
And the ending? Extremely disappointing, because when we were introduced to the Lords this was extremely important, an honour, etc etc and I felt like they would never have made the choices that were made in the end.
I'm trying not to spoil here, so bear with me...
So I guess I loved the idea of Lords of Darkness, but I felt the execution just didn't quite get there. There was minimal plot, and what was there was just not good enough and too easy to predict. There was so much TALK of their duties, but there was just not much content that actually took you through a journey and made you a part of it. It became very superficial, I needed it to go deeper, really get in the ugly and dark so to speak, not just hear about it. :)
So yes, the smut was great, loved the 'why choose', the MM, the sword crossing etc, very spicey. But I just didn't click with the rest and as I said, Harlow was just not likable for me.
I also felt like the guys were aged very poorly in terms of changes. 41 is not 61, and 27 is not 47. Harlow is not even 30 but reads as if she's nearly middle-aged in the end, and the guys have just passed 40, but reading the end I felt like they were made out to be 20 years older. That was a bit meh.
All in all the writing is not bad, I finished the book and it wasn't a hardship to get through it. There weren't any obvious errors that I could make out and there were good parts.
It's just that there were too many things that bothered me to make it higher on my list in the end.
Through both books Harlow never sat well with me. She was young ofc and I absolutely hate 'brats' so that didn't help. I loved the guys and I felt like the Lords of Darkness was a great idea, but it just fell short for me.
This felt more like a smutty holiday. Don't get me wrong the MM and 'why choose' is something I loved and love in a RH setting, but it didn't quite save it.
And the ending? Extremely disappointing, because when we were introduced to the Lords this was extremely important, an honour, etc etc and I felt like they would never have made the choices that were made in the end.
I'm trying not to spoil here, so bear with me...
So I guess I loved the idea of Lords of Darkness, but I felt the execution just didn't quite get there. There was minimal plot, and what was there was just not good enough and too easy to predict. There was so much TALK of their duties, but there was just not much content that actually took you through a journey and made you a part of it. It became very superficial, I needed it to go deeper, really get in the ugly and dark so to speak, not just hear about it. :)
So yes, the smut was great, loved the 'why choose', the MM, the sword crossing etc, very spicey. But I just didn't click with the rest and as I said, Harlow was just not likable for me.
I also felt like the guys were aged very poorly in terms of changes. 41 is not 61, and 27 is not 47. Harlow is not even 30 but reads as if she's nearly middle-aged in the end, and the guys have just passed 40, but reading the end I felt like they were made out to be 20 years older. That was a bit meh.
All in all the writing is not bad, I finished the book and it wasn't a hardship to get through it. There weren't any obvious errors that I could make out and there were good parts.
It's just that there were too many things that bothered me to make it higher on my list in the end.
May 9, 2023
this book was okay. the smut was my favorite part of it. it’s sad that not many authors include mm relationships into rh books. what i didn’t like - in both of their “missions” fmc was made into a helpless princess in distress waiting for guys to help her. at the end of the book it said that she became this badass lady who terrified everyone but we didn’t see it in the book.
guys’ povs 14 years ago confused me. how old were they in the present? 32? i thought the guys were younger like in their mid-twenties.
if the lords were so powerful, how come their security was so shitty? it was like Hunting Adeline all over again.
i couldn’t stop thinking about all the infections.
when they don’t use any lube during anal. poor fmc’s asshole.
good for her but hardly believable.
i liked the clause in their final agreement that “the lords” die with them. it was a nice conclusion to the story and legacy of the lords.
guys’ povs 14 years ago confused me. how old were they in the present? 32? i thought the guys were younger like in their mid-twenties.
if the lords were so powerful, how come their security was so shitty? it was like Hunting Adeline all over again.
i couldn’t stop thinking about all the infections.
“I groan as Theo inserts one thick finger inside of me. They’re both covered in blood, but I don’t fucking care.”
when they don’t use any lube during anal. poor fmc’s asshole.
good for her but hardly believable.
“There’s a reason every single crime syndicate out there fears the Lady. She’s ruthless, and she’s carved herself quite the reputation in our world.
We trained her to be as good as us.
But she ended up being better at everything.
Even Theo’s computer skills, which disturbs him to no end.”
i liked the clause in their final agreement that “the lords” die with them. it was a nice conclusion to the story and legacy of the lords.
February 24, 2023
PHENOMENAL.
Omfg I ADORED this duet… I got to like 80% through and I slowed down reading it as I wasn’t ready to leave their world 🥺 The Lords and Lady of Darkness dug their claws into me and I didn’t ever want to leave.
I honestly can’t find the words to say how much I loved this story.
If you love pitch black romance, why choose, MMFMM, gore, mind blowing plot twists and all sorts of kinky fuckery then read this!!! 🖤
Omfg I ADORED this duet… I got to like 80% through and I slowed down reading it as I wasn’t ready to leave their world 🥺 The Lords and Lady of Darkness dug their claws into me and I didn’t ever want to leave.
I honestly can’t find the words to say how much I loved this story.
If you love pitch black romance, why choose, MMFMM, gore, mind blowing plot twists and all sorts of kinky fuckery then read this!!! 🖤
December 19, 2022
I liked this second book in the series more so than the first. This book is a lot darker, sexier and hotter and oof 🔥🔥 definitely a lot more spice in this one for sure!!!!
So we are back with Harlow and her plan to end the Lords of Darkness as we know didn't go according to plan lol, but now there is hell to pay and they are making Harlow pay for it and boy are they making it very very hard for her 🔥🔥
Love/Hate plays a big part in this one a lot of I'm gonna f*** you into tomorrow with no happy ending for Harlow as in no big O lol. This book did not disappoint at all and I can tell you I had to step away from my kindle a fair few times and hose myself down 😂🔥 Amanda Richardson has definitely not let us down with this. I can't wait to read more from this author.
So we are back with Harlow and her plan to end the Lords of Darkness as we know didn't go according to plan lol, but now there is hell to pay and they are making Harlow pay for it and boy are they making it very very hard for her 🔥🔥
Love/Hate plays a big part in this one a lot of I'm gonna f*** you into tomorrow with no happy ending for Harlow as in no big O lol. This book did not disappoint at all and I can tell you I had to step away from my kindle a fair few times and hose myself down 😂🔥 Amanda Richardson has definitely not let us down with this. I can't wait to read more from this author.
December 20, 2022
4 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I received an ARC for this book! The guys were rightfully upset and disappointed with Harlow in the beginning but proved to her through actions that what they had said to her was true! The spice was 🔥🔥🔥 and I loved that Harlow changed the dynamic of their group! Very hot scenes near the end of the book 🥵🥵
January 27, 2023
Wow, I thought I loved the Lords in book one ... they have NOTHING of the Lords of book two!
That beginning went about as well as we could have expected given the ending of book one. The guys were back to being jerks but I didn't really blame them considering how betrayed they all felt. Plus it was obvious to me that even while the guys were still mad, they continued to protect and be there for Harlow even when they acted like they weren't. In regards to the storyline, I actually loved this book a lot more than the first one, but I'm also a sucker for a good kidnapping trope so I might be a little biased. It's just that watching the guys go absolutely feral to get her back was by far my favorite part of the entire duet!
Once that was all addressed the action slowed down a bit and was replaced with the long awaited spice I was craving back in book one. Holy moly these men in the bedroom, I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite! Each guy was so freaking hot it didn't matter if it was a one on one or group scene, I was here for ALL. OF. IT. Even the breeding kink, which I'm not usually a huge fan of was made so dang hot, these men can do no wrong in my eyes. Like, I knew from the banter we had gotten since the beginning that the guys all had great chemistry together but wow, every single one of them had me close to self combusting! 🔥👏🏻
That being said, I do think that the plot to spice ratio could have been a little better because after the bad guys were gone it felt like we had multiple chapters focused around addressing where the best friend and widow stood after everything despite them both remaining in the dark. I just got a bit bored in the second half because it seemed like I was just reading some unnecessary filler until I made it to the epilogues. Speaking of epilogues, I loved seeing that the guys' over the top possessive, I mean, protective instincts were still at the forefront of their relationship dynamic with Harlow even though she had grown to be arguably scarier than the Lords themselves. I would be very interested to see what this group would be like even later down the road as parents! I can already picture a pretty entertaining story about their child(ren) and all of the chaos they would cause! 🤭
That beginning went about as well as we could have expected given the ending of book one. The guys were back to being jerks but I didn't really blame them considering how betrayed they all felt. Plus it was obvious to me that even while the guys were still mad, they continued to protect and be there for Harlow even when they acted like they weren't. In regards to the storyline, I actually loved this book a lot more than the first one, but I'm also a sucker for a good kidnapping trope so I might be a little biased. It's just that watching the guys go absolutely feral to get her back was by far my favorite part of the entire duet!
Once that was all addressed the action slowed down a bit and was replaced with the long awaited spice I was craving back in book one. Holy moly these men in the bedroom, I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite! Each guy was so freaking hot it didn't matter if it was a one on one or group scene, I was here for ALL. OF. IT. Even the breeding kink, which I'm not usually a huge fan of was made so dang hot, these men can do no wrong in my eyes. Like, I knew from the banter we had gotten since the beginning that the guys all had great chemistry together but wow, every single one of them had me close to self combusting! 🔥👏🏻
That being said, I do think that the plot to spice ratio could have been a little better because after the bad guys were gone it felt like we had multiple chapters focused around addressing where the best friend and widow stood after everything despite them both remaining in the dark. I just got a bit bored in the second half because it seemed like I was just reading some unnecessary filler until I made it to the epilogues. Speaking of epilogues, I loved seeing that the guys' over the top possessive, I mean, protective instincts were still at the forefront of their relationship dynamic with Harlow even though she had grown to be arguably scarier than the Lords themselves. I would be very interested to see what this group would be like even later down the road as parents! I can already picture a pretty entertaining story about their child(ren) and all of the chaos they would cause! 🤭
September 25, 2024
Book 2 picked right up from where book 1 left off. Everything was good until about 50%, but then no more action and suspense, and the ending really left me disappointed. The guys being hurt and feeling betrayed over what Harlow did, the suspense of Harlow’s kidnapping, it was all solved and over with by around halfway. The rest of the book was a lot of sex- which was hot, especially the mm scenes, but I kept expecting something else to happen to throw things off course for them. Unfortunately it never happened. And I’m still unsure what exactly Charles did and why he did it. It just seemed like with how important the Lords were, the book would’ve been more action packed.
All in all it was ok, the characters were great and easy to love, but the plot just fell flat after the halfway point.
All in all it was ok, the characters were great and easy to love, but the plot just fell flat after the halfway point.
October 7, 2025
4/5 ⭐ 4/5 🌶️
Welcome to fuckfest, AKA Harlow's orgasm festival (lucky girl)! 🤩
It was a wild ride, not as interesting as the first book. Still, it was a good and fairly exhaustive smutty book.
All the action took place almost entirely in the first part of the book. The second part felt like a huge epilogue.
The way MM relationships were approached was amateurish. It was as if the author had wanted to tick a box and be done with it. Apart from repeating several times that they felt very close, more than brothers, there was no great chemistry between them. When they started touching each other, it felt a bit random and forced, not something their characters would have done on their own.
She did better in Holy Hearts, the last book in the Ravaged Castle series.
Nevertheless, Amanda remains in my Top 10 favourite authors.
Welcome to fuckfest, AKA Harlow's orgasm festival (lucky girl)! 🤩
It was a wild ride, not as interesting as the first book. Still, it was a good and fairly exhaustive smutty book.
All the action took place almost entirely in the first part of the book. The second part felt like a huge epilogue.
The way MM relationships were approached was amateurish. It was as if the author had wanted to tick a box and be done with it. Apart from repeating several times that they felt very close, more than brothers, there was no great chemistry between them. When they started touching each other, it felt a bit random and forced, not something their characters would have done on their own.
She did better in Holy Hearts, the last book in the Ravaged Castle series.
Nevertheless, Amanda remains in my Top 10 favourite authors.
March 29, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
It took me so much time trying to figure out if this was three or four stars. I decided to round down because it wasn’t as good as I was expecting.
This book was… fine. All of the action happened in the first half, and all of the loose ends were tied up shortly after. From there it was just filth and FIVE epilogues. I think it would have been fine with one or two; not every character needed one. 🙄
Literally 2 of the stars are just for the smut, ngl. 💅🏻 This was a nice reminder that I prefer MMMMF. 🥵🤣
Overall this duet was good, not great. It sucked me in and kept me interested and distracted me from real life, which is why I read. If you like dark romance and RH, it’s worth checking out.
It took me so much time trying to figure out if this was three or four stars. I decided to round down because it wasn’t as good as I was expecting.
This book was… fine. All of the action happened in the first half, and all of the loose ends were tied up shortly after. From there it was just filth and FIVE epilogues. I think it would have been fine with one or two; not every character needed one. 🙄
Literally 2 of the stars are just for the smut, ngl. 💅🏻 This was a nice reminder that I prefer MMMMF. 🥵🤣
Overall this duet was good, not great. It sucked me in and kept me interested and distracted me from real life, which is why I read. If you like dark romance and RH, it’s worth checking out.
July 28, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 🌶🌶🌶🌶/5
TW - NonCon, graphic violence, kidnapping / abduction, captivity, graphic crime scene descriptions, drugs, parental death (incl suicide mentioned, gas leak mentioned x4, birth complications mentioned), needles, murder, attempted SA / rape (not by the MCs), poisoning, drugging of the FMC (by a sc, chloroform), human trafficking (mentioned, scs), panic attack (on page), explosion (on page), emetophobia (sc)
CW - DubCon, light somnophilia, breeding, degradation, choking / breath play, spitting, DP, DVP, knife play, period play, gun play
Tropes - secret society, crime, age gap (18F, 32Ms), dark
Representation - mental health, polyam - MMMMF, pansexual rep, bisexual rep
So book 1 didn't end on the best of terms (putting it mildly) and the MCs have to work through their shit to come back stronger but external forces push this timeline and the characters have to act quickly
Seeing these guys come together as a unit was so nice to read, especially when you reflect on the fact that they've all had to sacrifice things for this birthright. Like the prev book, they're all hot together and seeing more intimacy between them when they're were all on the same page was 👅👅👅
I'm glad I picked up this duet
Scale:
⭐️ - would've DNF'ed / continued out of spite
⭐️⭐️ - shit, but whatever
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - meh, could've been better
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - lit 👅
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - loved it, inject this shit into my veins 🤪
🫑 - no smut
🌶 - no point
🌶🌶 - mediocre at best
🌶🌶🌶 - standard smut, hot
🌶🌶🌶🌶 - 🥵 okay, some CW
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 - fuck me 🥵🥵 CWs / filthy with a side of filth - see Poison / Room Twenty-Two: Hide and Seek/ The Naughty List
TW - NonCon, graphic violence, kidnapping / abduction, captivity, graphic crime scene descriptions, drugs, parental death (incl suicide mentioned, gas leak mentioned x4, birth complications mentioned), needles, murder, attempted SA / rape (not by the MCs), poisoning, drugging of the FMC (by a sc, chloroform), human trafficking (mentioned, scs), panic attack (on page), explosion (on page), emetophobia (sc)
CW - DubCon, light somnophilia, breeding, degradation, choking / breath play, spitting, DP, DVP, knife play, period play, gun play
Tropes - secret society, crime, age gap (18F, 32Ms), dark
Representation - mental health, polyam - MMMMF, pansexual rep, bisexual rep
So book 1 didn't end on the best of terms (putting it mildly) and the MCs have to work through their shit to come back stronger but external forces push this timeline and the characters have to act quickly
Seeing these guys come together as a unit was so nice to read, especially when you reflect on the fact that they've all had to sacrifice things for this birthright. Like the prev book, they're all hot together and seeing more intimacy between them when they're were all on the same page was 👅👅👅
I'm glad I picked up this duet
Scale:
⭐️ - would've DNF'ed / continued out of spite
⭐️⭐️ - shit, but whatever
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - meh, could've been better
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - lit 👅
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - loved it, inject this shit into my veins 🤪
🫑 - no smut
🌶 - no point
🌶🌶 - mediocre at best
🌶🌶🌶 - standard smut, hot
🌶🌶🌶🌶 - 🥵 okay, some CW
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 - fuck me 🥵🥵 CWs / filthy with a side of filth - see Poison / Room Twenty-Two: Hide and Seek/ The Naughty List
September 16, 2025
I liked this book but the first 1st was better. In this one we could see the relationship and feelings between Harlow and the guys developing and it was great but overall something was missing in the story. The plot was good but it ended very early so half the book didn’t had much action.
Later, Harlow is described to be a badass who everyone fears but I wanted to see that happen not just being mentioned but some points aside I liked how the story ended, it’s good she got what she wanted in the end and it was also a good way to finish the tradition of the Lords of Darkness.
Later, Harlow is described to be a badass who everyone fears but I wanted to see that happen not just being mentioned but some points aside I liked how the story ended, it’s good she got what she wanted in the end and it was also a good way to finish the tradition of the Lords of Darkness.
March 19, 2024
First book was good, def had potential. Grabbed me immediately: secret society element was interesting. I felt there was a cliffhanger even though it was said there wasn’t. Second book had really good (MFMM/MM) spice. But plot was dumb af and had concluded so quickly. I DESPISED the ending/epilogue. Disappointing
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2024
It seemed like they forgot to add anything about Harlow’s mental health into the second book. I was king of hoping to see a psychotic episode or some break from reality but alas this book seemed pretty normal EH mafia.
December 18, 2024
literally overflowing!
Absolutely loves this book and the HEA! Harlow and the boys changed each other in so many ways. I am glad they were able to find their HEA and walk away from the life that made them for a better one.
Absolutely loves this book and the HEA! Harlow and the boys changed each other in so many ways. I am glad they were able to find their HEA and walk away from the life that made them for a better one.
March 15, 2024
pretty good read
The read was ok. I’m not going to lie the ending kinda annoyed me tbh. But overall it was a good book
The read was ok. I’m not going to lie the ending kinda annoyed me tbh. But overall it was a good book
October 14, 2024
Review coming soon!
July 4, 2025
2/5
double wtf
double wtf
February 10, 2024
2.5 Stars
April 25, 2024
3,5 ⭐ just vibes more spicy scenes this was nice
January 31, 2023
Could have done better with the plot...but the 1st book was good
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