“Little Lamb, I will enjoy every second of breaking you to pieces. You are just the challenge I was looking for.”
Vanessa: Breathe in. Hold it. Count to five. Breath out. Repeat. Just take the blade, end it all. I’ll be okay. No one will even know. No one will even think about me. I’m just so tired. This is the only way to be myself, the only way to free myself. Breathe in. Cut. Count to five. Breathe out. Relax.
Asher: I will find you. I will go to the darkest place that I can imagine just to be with you, just to save you from yourself. I will lock myself away just to catch a glimpse of you. No matter what happens in here, we will get free. We will escape this horror and get away from this place. You will save me while I save you.
Loralai Blake lives in a small town in the midwest. She spends her free time reading dark romances, but her favorite genre is horror eroitca. Loralai has been an avid reader since she was little and a writer since she was in high school. Loralai started out writing poetry to cope with her depression and it slowly turned into something so much more. She has many more dark and depraved works coming that will make you question your own sanity and morals while reading them.
I’m so confused. You can’t say the villain has stinky breath in the beginning of the book and expect me to forget it and view him as a hot villain later in the book. If I’m supposed to fall for the villain, he can’t have stinky breath. Those are essentially my thoughts for this weird ass pitch black horror erotica novella. Thank you and have a good day.
Okay so I’m border-lining this book as 2.5 stars to 3 stars - purely because it is fuckedddd But did I enjoy it YES🤣👏🏻
Now I’ve read a lot of dark DARK romance & taboo books but mate what the hell was chapter 7. I actually gagged when I read a certain bit 🤢 I have never read anything like that before. I defo questioned whether I was going to continue or DNF a few times 🤣
Dr Logan was messed tf up and we didn’t even have a backstory on him. Just oneeeee tiny snippet. Like why is he the way he is?? AND TO KEEP HIM ALIVE!? Girl. No thanks 🤣
Ash & Vanessa? Chefs kiss. I need more of them. Their stories, their story together & their life after. GIVE IT TO MEEEE. Excited to read the next one. I just hope it’s longer
I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this! This was a fun, fucked up little novella. Emphasis on the fucked up. Vanessa goes through it. So much so that she tries to end it all, but instead wakes up in hell, well kind of..she’s with Dr. Logan, so it’s kind of the same thing. I loathe him.
So interested to see what’s going to happen in book 2 👀
Before I get into the review, I want to heavily state first and foremost to check your TW before reading this book. It isn't for the faint of heart. And you'll never look at 🫚 the same way again. You've been warned.
With that being said, I am a member of the street and ARC team, so I saw the tropes before diving in..but my god the way this book INSTANTLY GRIPPED ME IN A CHOKEHOLD I couldn't put it down. The way it's a pitch black romance, not Morally Grey in the slightest, absolute pitch black abyss darkness. But also a horror and a Thriller rolled into one. It delves into mental health, romance, gore, tôrture. But it is an absolute masterpiece in it's own right. You somehow fall for the bad guy Dr.Logan AND the good guy, Asher, but is he good? He does questionable things for the greater good, so in my book that makes him good in my opinion.
It leaves you piecing together the story in your mind but also giving flashbacks to some of the things you wander AND wanting to know more all in one. How? You might be wondering. Read and find out and it'll make sense.
Loralai absolutely smashed this book out of the park, even taking out of consideration I'm a member of her little lambs, I'd still highly reccomend this book to anyone who loves shopping lists of TWs 🫦 here is a few.
🔪Asylüm 🔪️Depression representation 🔪Creepy doctor 🔪Second Chance 🔪F0rced pr0xim!ty 🔪Man!pulat!on 🔪T0rtüre 🔪Touch her & 💀
The spice is SPICY, my god one scene I've never read anything similar and it is 🥵🔥 had me moister than an oyster MY GOD. This is spoiler free, but I'll just say "two cells" and when you get there, thank me later 😉
I'm struggling to give this book anything but all the stars, it's not a mega long but it hits all the check boxes. It's just incredible. Masterpiece. Chefs kiss. Standing ovation.
“Breathe in. Count to five. Breathe out. Repeat.” “Ready or not, Nessa, I’m coming for you.”
This book is dark and twisted; please check the trigger warnings before reading!
I liked the idea of the book, and I think that asylum romance is a really interesting concept.
Nessa seemed like an intriguing character, and I would have loved to learn more about her. There were some things and situations revealed about her past, and I think these helped with her character development and showed the reader who she was as a character and why she made the decisions she did.
I personally wasn’t a huge fan of Asher. There wasn’t anything wrong with him, but for some reason I didn’t like the decisions he ended up making, especially what he decided to do to himself just to see Nessa. I actually ended up liking “the creepy doctor” more than Asher.
There were some things revealed about the shared history between Nessa and Asher. I would have liked to learn more about their history together. Maybe those would have helped me to understand and like Asher more.
The pacing was fast, and there weren’t any dull moments. Personally, I feel like the ending was a bit too fast-paced and felt rushed. Also, the main characters escape the situation a bit too easily for my liking. Yes, they both (especially Nessa) went through hard times, but I personally would have preferred them to “struggle” a bit more towards the end.
Overall, a fast and interesting read with lots of triggers. I’m interested to see where the story goes next.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
4.25🌟 Debut Author, Loralai Blake delivers a stand out novella to wet our appetite. Fast paced, Finding Vanessa explores asylum kink to its limits.
After a triggering incident, Vanessa finds herself locked away inside the highly unconventional passages of White Valley Sanatorium. What evolves is ten shades beyond morally grey-town, turn left and pass pitch-black-ville ‘til you get to what-the-actual-up-ton.
The character development and backstory teasers left me eager to know more and I found myself really feeling for FMC Nessa… the poor girl could not get a break! The MMC Asher is fiercely committed… the things he’ll do for Nessa! Our resident Dr - the supreme villain - meets both Jekyll and Hyde, then ups the anti and left me in two minds.
There’s definitely a lot more plot and character development that can occur going forward in potential future instalments and hopefully some questions get answered. Make sure to read the TW’s‼️
Okay this book was EVERYTHING. I received an ARC copy of this novel but I am not being paid for this review. This whole story line had me all the way fucked up. Vanessa was definitely not what I expected toward the end. She had a fight in her she kept hidden till the end, and I loved every moment of it. Asher is honestly my favorite MMC I’ve read in awhile. The touch her and die energy he exudes without doing a damn thing is amazing. And can we talk about Dr Logan? He’s so messed up that I’m obsessed with him! The spice was definitely spicing! My god!🥵
My only complaint is I needed more. This books was about 126 pages and I just needed more. The plot was good, but I felt like it wasn’t able to really develop how I like my plots to develop in such a short read. I need more potatoes with my meat. The ending left me needing more. I need to know more about Ash and Nessa. I need more about Dr. Logan. I would’ve loved to have dived farther into Logan’s past with Shannon. Overall this novel left me wanting more. Still, it was an amazing smutty read and I’d highly recommend checking it out! Watch your trigger warnings though, because this definitely is a pitch black romance!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Before I get into the review, I want to heavily state first and foremost to check your TW before reading this book. It isn't for the faint of heart.
With that being said, I am a member of the street and ARC team, so I saw the tropes before diving in. This book had me hooked and on the edge of my seat from the beginning!! This not a lighthearted book by any means it’s absolutely PITCH BLACK! and i ate it up!! You somehow fall for the “bad guy” Dr.Logan AND the “good guy” Asher. He does questionable things for the greater good, so in my book that makes him good in my opinion. I really felt for Nessa in this book and i absolutely can’t wait for what Loralai brings for books 2
This book was jammed packed with darkness… not sure what that says about me that I loved every bit of it and craved more 🖤 But it was a great fast paced read with twist and turns throughout. I was easily captivated and able to finish in one day. I truly enjoyed this ARC read. I’m excited to see what other stories Loralai Blake has in store for this doctor. As his character was definitely the one I was drawn to most 🤦🏻♀️
ARC review Vanessa and Asher are two broken souls that complement each other, this is a quick story.I would have liked to go into more depth about the characters, they only gave us small pieces of each character the plot twist wtf I won't see ginger the same way lol
I wish this story was longer so that there was more character backgrounds given. Also, it would have then given the characters time to grow more and build more of a connection to the reader. I did enjoy the main characters but I wish I was able to learn more about them and their pasts. Things moved quickly in my opinion but if you like a quick moving story this is definitely for you. I did enjoy some of the spicy scenes and the way that those men spoke did things to me lol.
Please check the trigger/content warnings before you read.
Sometimes I really enjoy combining my love of smut and horror together. Sometimes you get little gems like Finding Vanessa.
Vanessa has been through it, to the point where she sees no other option but to attempt to take her own life. I did like seeing bits of Vanessa’s past, things she’s gone through, which helped to explain why she felt she had no other choice but to attempt to take her own life. I would have enjoyed to have gotten deeper into her past and who she is but I still enjoyed what I did find out.
Fortunately she is found before her attempt could be successful but unfortunately she goes to a f*cked up institution where she goes through even more horrors at the hands of Dr Logan.
Asher is… Asher. I don’t know. I didn’t really like him for some reason. He took a pretty big risk to get into the institution and yeah I guess he does help, but I still didn’t like him. Vanessa is going through hell and he decides to have a good ol’ wankaroo.
Dr Logan is cooked. But explain to me why I LIKED him. I’m a sucker for a f*cked up human in the books I read. I’d love a book just for Dr Logan, please and thank you.
Overall, enjoyed the book!
FAVE QUOTES
“But don’t worry, little lamb. I’ll fix you, and you’ll be good as new again.”
“Ready or not, Nessa, I’m coming for you.”
“Wouldn’t want the ‘crazies’ to be too friendly together, now would we?”
“Little lamb, I’ll enjoy every second of breaking you to pieces. You’re just the challenge I was looking for.”
“Nurse Brandy walks in twice a day with her books pushed up towards the ceiling like some rooster” (honestly my favourite)
“Listening to him flirt with her is like listening to squeaking styrofoam.”
OMFG! What a total mind fuck this was! I was not expecting it to blow my mind as much as it did, but Damn WTF did I just read!!
I was instantly thrown down a rabbit hole of bloody depravity, brutal violence, mind blowing torture, and unending pain. And I was so enthralled and captivated by the darkness of it all that I couldn’t look away!
My heart was in a chokehold, adrenaline was pumping crazily throughout my body and my jaw was constantly dropping over every single thing poor Vanessa was put through by the devious and diabolical Dr. Logan. He was so fucked up and wicked that he had me gasping and shaking over the questionable things he comes up with as punishment. He was diabolically evil in every way.
This story was filled with layer of upon layer of twists and turns that kept me on my toes not knowing what the hell was going to happen next and who the hell was the bad guy!
And the spice contained within the pages was extremely titillating and insanely kinky. I was so intrigued and into it that I needed to stop and take a bean break!!!
Definitely a fantastic and twisted story that I absolutely loved. It was a sinfully delicious morsel of pitch-black darkness that left me salivating and craving more!!!
Plot - I took .5 off as I would have liked just MORE depth to the plot but it wasn't shallow by any means. Smut execution - didn't feel awkward, it felt well rounded and not entirely misplaced like some erotica tends to be. Repetitiveness - there was a point where "his release/my release/out release" was used a bit much but I understand that there isn't many words interchangeable with come/cum. Characters - did not disappoint. They weren't flat they had been built up well over the entire book and didn't feel like it was all shovelled in at once either. Ending - felt a bit rushed like more could have been done but realistically the whole story plot was finished and it needed a wrap up. Backstory - I felt a little gutted that I didn't get more of the "why are they like this" BUT we did get enough to understand the premise which I do like.
Overall I found this a great short read and I am 10000000% going to be begging to read book #2 because it can only get better from here
I honestly don’t know what to say about this book. It was dark and twisted and at times confusing. This book made me angry for the sole reading of dr Logan aka dr 🤢 That man is sick and demented. He’s an evil vile man and I hope he gets bit by a bus. I was suspicious of Asher at first but he grew on me and poor Vanessa did not deserve the things that happened to her AT ALL. Just when you think she’s going to break she pulls through stronger than ever. She’s an amazing character with a lot of depth. Personally I feel there should’ve been more backstory for the other characters because they play important roles to the story. So I’m hoping we get more of the backstories in book 2 and that the author just didn’t want to give up too much at once. I will say this will be a book I read again and I definitely recommend if you like asylum romance. Also if you don’t know what figging is before reading this book, be sure to look that up because it can be a major trigger for some people. Especially the way the scene for that plays out. Overall I enjoyed the story. 5/5 ⭐️ and 3/5 🌶️
Be sure to grab your copy and DONT SKIP THE TRIGGER WARNING PAGE!
Lorelai Blake came up with quite a debut novella! Wow! This book is a very fast-paced, wild ride that is very twisted. Seriously, check the trigger warnings before you read this book, but if you're anything like me, you will enjoy this one.
Vanessa is put through the wringer, to the point where she is nearly completely broken and Asher is a stubborn MMC with great determination.
I really liked the whole premise of this book and I appreciated that Lorelai made flashbacks in an italic font which made it so much easier to follow. The only thing that brought this down for me was how rushed the ending felt, and I wish there had been more content before the ending or made the reader go through a little more before the ending.
Overall, great novella read! If you like pitch-black reads, then give this one a whirl!
This is a very dark read so be sure to check the TW/CW as some scenes and topics aren’t for everyone, but if you’re like me and love book that make you question your sanity dive right on in.
I know everyone has their anticipated releases, I have quite a few and this book right here is one of them. I love dark and twisted reads and Finding Vanessa definitely did not disappoint. This is Loralai’s debut and she has honestly done a fantastic job with the story and characters, it was dark and twisted and left me begging for more. Being a novella it was fast paced, I would have love to read more backstory on the characters because I was intrigued by them, but in saying that it didn’t take away from the story itself.
Definitely recommend this to all those dark and twisted individuals who enjoy reads that have you thinking what did I just read!
I've never actually known a novella to flow through a detailed story the way this one did! Lorali has a new fan in me.
Nessa hasn't had it easy in her life and has deserved more. It would have been amazing to find out about her mother more but I'm not going to down-star it for that. Lorali has left it to our interpretation and that's fine with me.
It's setting is that of a mental institution, but not all is what it seems.
We have the POV of Asher and what he's willing to go through to save our FMC. We also have the POV of Dr. Logan. But he's a bit like Bruno, we don't talk about him.
I can't wait to experience the journey of this series! Well done!!
When this was described as pitch black, they were not messing around. So listen to me when I say check the triggers. It’s dark and twisted and gives everything it promised.
I loved ALL the main characters (including the one you’re not meant to like). Disliked certain others.
Out of the 63 books I’ve read so far this year this is up there in my favourites. Honestly my only criticism is the fact it had to end.
If you love; ✨Shopping list of triggers ✨Dark Romance ✨Books that make you question your sanity ✨Dark and Twisty ✨Mental health representation
Genre; Dark Romance
Pages; 133 Rating; 5⭐️ 4🌶️ 5❤️🔥 5⚠️
Themes/Tropes; Second Chance, Asylüm, F0rced Prox1mity, Depressïon Representation, Creepy Doctor, M@nipulatïon, Touch her and 💀
Vanessa is in a very dark place. Her mother is a drug addict, she feels invisible, and the love of her life up and left her 5 years ago. What is the point of anything anymore? In the heart of her despair, she does the only thing left and tries to take her own life. When she wakes up in a mental institution, she finds she is now the target of Dr. Logan, the psychopathic head of the facility who is now obsessed with her. He will do whatever it takes to make her submit and be his little lamb but he is not the only one who wants Vanessa. Asher may have left her 5 years ago but he’s come back to her. When he finds her in her bathroom bleeding out, he calls an ambulance but he never expected for her to be sent to the asylum and he will do anything to get her out, including sending himself in to rescue her.
I absolutely loved it! It was dark, depraved, spicy, and had horrors I couldn’t have ever come up with! I will never look at ginger the same! Absolute must read!
This was a dark horror second chance romance. I really liked this book, it was fast paced but with plenty of plot so you had a chance to really love the characters. Can you imagine waking up tied to a hospital bed not knowing how you got there? Vanessa did and this was not a fun place to be her doctor is a creepy weird pervert who wants to break her and calls her “little lamb.” Her high school friend who vanished on her 5 years ago is back and he shows up to claim her. For a first book and a novella this was a fantastic book! Oh and the spicy was great. Check your triggers before going into this, it is a spicy horror book.
This ones very dark! Mental health matters READ THE TRIGGERS PEOPLE!! 3🌶️ but alot of captivity style breaking occurs!
A very dark fantastically written quick read that sucks you in from the start and makes you feel everything for the FMC and her history and present circumstances.
MMC Hero Asher is her childhood love who always seems to save her until he needs to save them both.
Told in multiple pov's. I don't want to give to much away but Dr. Logan is the red flag of all red flags but i need the second book so bad because apart from the fact the mans seriously derranged i need to know if the next little lamb escapes...
Thoroughly enjoy this twisted tale. A young girl born into a life that is very unkind to her and when faced with these challenges she turns to self inflicted pain to cope with suffering of her environment.
Vanessa bad decisions lands her in the hands of torturous sexually depraved lunatic.
The episodes in the story are heinous cringy and deliciously bad!! Kudos to the author for not doing what most people would have wanted to see at the end of this grisly fantastic story
Short and sweet black romance. This book gets right down to it and takes you on a journey that is go, go, go until the end.
You really have no idea how this story is going to end being a black romance and I don’t want to give anything away, but you’ll experience love, devotion, perseverance, and cleverness along with the darker themes of mental and physical @bvuse and t0rtur3.
I will never look at ginger root the same again, ☠️. And the ending? 👀 You may think it’s over, but is it?? 😈
If you enjoy black romances and are in the mood for a quick wild ride, Finding Vanessa is a good pick.
Please check trigger warnings!
☠️Tropes☠️
🔪Asylüm 🔪️Depression representation 🔪Creepy doctor 🔪Second Chance 🔪F0rced pr0xim!ty 🔪Man!pulat!on 🔪T0rtüre 🔪Touch her & 💀
This is a pitch black romance please check the trigger warnings. Your mental health matters. I love a good asylum romance, and finding Vanessa did not disappoint. It had me asking why am i reading this alot of the times. The smut was spicy. I feel like there was some holes to the plot, and that i wanted to know more about the characters. But overall it wasnt a bad read! It was a fast paced read. I loved every moment of it. Just wished I knew more of Vanessa back story. The smut scences were amazing tho