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Necromancy #1
What Should Have Been Love
A masked magician, a former lady of the evening, and the wedge in their marriage.
Don’t meet your heroes. Definitely don’t marry them.
Vivian
The world is a series of red tinted lights and painful bliss. An Underground Favorite, they used to call me. I wear the bruises they leave like jewelry. I never asked to be saved, but when that masked gothic heartthrob came in asking for me, I couldn’t very well say no—not that I had much of a choice in the matter. What started as a reluctant dream come true has dulled after three sexless years together in this sham of a marriage that continues to go nowhere. A girl has needs. So, what I’m doing isn’t so much cheating as it is problem solving.
Vincent
The world is but a stage, and I am nothing if not a performer. The Illusionist from Hell, they call me. Sex, violence, and sleight of hand are mine to command at will. I am a master of giving crowds of thousands all they seek—an escape from their mundane reality, a ninety-minute reprieve where their darkest fantasies come to life. All but her, my love, my moon in the night sky. She’s all I long for, but all magick comes at a price, and the fates have always strived for irony.
The forbidden love of Phantom of the Opera meets the dark temptation of Dracula with the first installment in a series of obsession and redemption.
Author note: What Should Have Been Love is a slow burn dark fantasy romance and ends on a cliffhanger. A complete list of TW can be found at mandakaywrites dot com.
Don’t meet your heroes. Definitely don’t marry them.
Vivian
The world is a series of red tinted lights and painful bliss. An Underground Favorite, they used to call me. I wear the bruises they leave like jewelry. I never asked to be saved, but when that masked gothic heartthrob came in asking for me, I couldn’t very well say no—not that I had much of a choice in the matter. What started as a reluctant dream come true has dulled after three sexless years together in this sham of a marriage that continues to go nowhere. A girl has needs. So, what I’m doing isn’t so much cheating as it is problem solving.
Vincent
The world is but a stage, and I am nothing if not a performer. The Illusionist from Hell, they call me. Sex, violence, and sleight of hand are mine to command at will. I am a master of giving crowds of thousands all they seek—an escape from their mundane reality, a ninety-minute reprieve where their darkest fantasies come to life. All but her, my love, my moon in the night sky. She’s all I long for, but all magick comes at a price, and the fates have always strived for irony.
The forbidden love of Phantom of the Opera meets the dark temptation of Dracula with the first installment in a series of obsession and redemption.
Author note: What Should Have Been Love is a slow burn dark fantasy romance and ends on a cliffhanger. A complete list of TW can be found at mandakaywrites dot com.
308 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 11, 2024
11 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 16, 2024
I was crying by chapter 2.
These characters pulled me in. I felt every bit of their emotions as they came to life on the pages, and I absolutely adored the Gothic vibes.
Vincent?
He’s just so beautifully brooding it breaks my heart. I’m a sucker for internal monologues. His chapters were exquisitely written and reminded me of poetry, an ode to his wife, his love, his Vivian.
Our leading Lady:
Her story is so sad. A young, impressionable girl, making all the wrong choice, and when she finally meets the man she’s been obsessed with for years, it’s not the great love story she had imagined.
The counter play of Vivian’s fire and Vincent’s icy exterior is superb and everything I wanted from this story. The longing, the tension, the frustration… it is all there and will leave you wanting more.
Don’t miss the trigger warning as this contains very dark themes.
These characters pulled me in. I felt every bit of their emotions as they came to life on the pages, and I absolutely adored the Gothic vibes.
Vincent?
He’s just so beautifully brooding it breaks my heart. I’m a sucker for internal monologues. His chapters were exquisitely written and reminded me of poetry, an ode to his wife, his love, his Vivian.
Our leading Lady:
Her story is so sad. A young, impressionable girl, making all the wrong choice, and when she finally meets the man she’s been obsessed with for years, it’s not the great love story she had imagined.
The counter play of Vivian’s fire and Vincent’s icy exterior is superb and everything I wanted from this story. The longing, the tension, the frustration… it is all there and will leave you wanting more.
Don’t miss the trigger warning as this contains very dark themes.
July 20, 2024
WHAT A WAY TO END A BOOK!! I need the next book TODAY. My photo gallery is FULL of highlighted sections from Vincent’s point of view because the writing reads like poetry and it is BEAUTIFUL! Vivian’s point of view actually had me laughing out loud several times and her internal monologue is wildly relatable, with how she speaks to herself and processes interactions with other people. (Focus, Vivian, you whore and a half.) I cannot WAIT for the second book!! Mandas ability to change her writing style between different POV for different characters is UNMATCHED!!
“I wanted to show you how gentle a beast can be when graced with such delicate beauty.” 🖤🖤🖤
“I wanted to show you how gentle a beast can be when graced with such delicate beauty.” 🖤🖤🖤
July 18, 2024
When I first met these characters I wasn’t sure about Vivian - but she really grew on me. I loved Vincent and how fancy he is from the first page in his POV. The subtle hints about what the background of Vincent was throughout the book were while being so straight forward about Vivian was such whiplash - in the literal best way
The ending thooooo. I cannot wait to see what happens next!
The ending thooooo. I cannot wait to see what happens next!
May 30, 2024
Characters that break your heart and make you want to chuck your Kindle across the room for being stupid. A brooding Hero I'd like to get to know better and something dark and mysterious that I can't wait to devour more of.
July 31, 2024
Such a good book! I NEED more backstory on Vincent to know how he got to where he is..and how did Alexandria come into the picture in the first place/what happened?
Also, the ending was so good! Can’t wait for the next book!!
Also, the ending was so good! Can’t wait for the next book!!
August 22, 2024
First, HOLY CRAP THAT ENDING!!! I need book 2 ASAP!!!
Second, Manda's writing style is phenomenal; especially from Vincent's POV. That man speaks literal poetry and had me crying from how beautiful his words were. The way Vivian is written, I was able to so easily see inside her head and understand why she acts and thinks the way she does.
And finally, I can't wait for the two of them to realize just how wrong they've been about the others' feelings. So so excited for the next installment! 🖤
Second, Manda's writing style is phenomenal; especially from Vincent's POV. That man speaks literal poetry and had me crying from how beautiful his words were. The way Vivian is written, I was able to so easily see inside her head and understand why she acts and thinks the way she does.
And finally, I can't wait for the two of them to realize just how wrong they've been about the others' feelings. So so excited for the next installment! 🖤
May 25, 2025
I was OBSESSED with this book from the start.
Vincent Blair - a man who YEARNS. The way he talks about Vivian is straight POETRY.
I think this is going to be one of my new favorite books - cannot wait to start book two!
Vincent Blair - a man who YEARNS. The way he talks about Vivian is straight POETRY.
I think this is going to be one of my new favorite books - cannot wait to start book two!
June 2, 2024
Holy $h!t that was so good!! So dark and emotional, I could barely put it down! This is exactly the type of gothic romance I love!!
August 23, 2025
DNF - 47%
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews