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Brutal Ambition
Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
I used to fantasize about meeting a masked madman who would love me endlessly and obsessively. He would look after me in a world where no one else did. He would manipulate all the strings that held up my life until I had exactly the one I wanted.
And then one night I met him.
Only he wasn’t the hero I always imagined he would be.
When we left the forest together that night, I thought I’d escaped the villains relatively unscathed, but my true villain was the man whose arms I felt safest in.
He was the one who would tear me apart.
Now I know the only way to save myself is to stay far away from Killian Walsh.
But no matter how fast I run, he won’t stop chasing me.
He knows the best thing he could do for me is set me free.
But he’s too selfish to do it.
He calls me reckless, but I think he’s crazy.
Because Killian Walsh will let the flames consume us both before he will ever let me go.
Brutal Ambition is a full-length secret society romance that contains dark subject matter some may find triggering. Please read the author's note if you need one.
This story is a spinoff of the Coastal Elite series, but can be read as a standalone. The timeline of this book is the same timeline as the fourth Coastal Elite book, Surrender.
I used to fantasize about meeting a masked madman who would love me endlessly and obsessively. He would look after me in a world where no one else did. He would manipulate all the strings that held up my life until I had exactly the one I wanted.
And then one night I met him.
Only he wasn’t the hero I always imagined he would be.
When we left the forest together that night, I thought I’d escaped the villains relatively unscathed, but my true villain was the man whose arms I felt safest in.
He was the one who would tear me apart.
Now I know the only way to save myself is to stay far away from Killian Walsh.
But no matter how fast I run, he won’t stop chasing me.
He knows the best thing he could do for me is set me free.
But he’s too selfish to do it.
He calls me reckless, but I think he’s crazy.
Because Killian Walsh will let the flames consume us both before he will ever let me go.
Brutal Ambition is a full-length secret society romance that contains dark subject matter some may find triggering. Please read the author's note if you need one.
This story is a spinoff of the Coastal Elite series, but can be read as a standalone. The timeline of this book is the same timeline as the fourth Coastal Elite book, Surrender.
546 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 29, 2024
996 people are currently reading
4170 people want to read
About the author
Sam Mariano
49 books4,843 followersFollow Sam Mariano on Facebook, Instagram (@sammarianobooks), or check out her Blog! If you need to email her, she can be reached at sammarianoauthor@gmail.com (but she is sometimes tardy about checking email. Mateo is very demanding).
Sign up for Sam's mailing list (to stay up to date on current projects--she won't spam you! Only for notification of new releases or book sales.)
All of Sam's books are available on Amazon! (And don't forget to follow Sam's Amazon Author page to get notified about the newest releases.)
Sam Mariano has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She lives in Ohio and has a sweet and wonderful daughter.
Because of You was her first finished story (she started writing it when she was 18) and due to a full-time work and college schedule, it took her years to finish. She has also been telling people for years that there would never be a sequel (sorry, guys!)…which turned out to be a lie.
Sam Mariano is currently working on Dante’s book (if you’re a Morelli reader) and some other WIP.
Feel free to find her on Facebook, Goodreads, or her blog—she loves hearing from readers!
Sign up for Sam's mailing list (to stay up to date on current projects--she won't spam you! Only for notification of new releases or book sales.)
All of Sam's books are available on Amazon! (And don't forget to follow Sam's Amazon Author page to get notified about the newest releases.)
Sam Mariano has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She lives in Ohio and has a sweet and wonderful daughter.
Because of You was her first finished story (she started writing it when she was 18) and due to a full-time work and college schedule, it took her years to finish. She has also been telling people for years that there would never be a sequel (sorry, guys!)…which turned out to be a lie.
Sam Mariano is currently working on Dante’s book (if you’re a Morelli reader) and some other WIP.
Feel free to find her on Facebook, Goodreads, or her blog—she loves hearing from readers!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 471 reviews
May 2, 2024
4/5 ⭐️ The last few releases by SM have been very disappointing for me, but this one?!? It was sooo good! I wasn’t expecting to love it because I’m not a fan of reading about secret societies but this one was just really entertaining and I had such a great time!
I really loved Brynn and Killian! I loved how obsessed and possessive/protective he became of her 🤭. And SM sure knows how to write some damn good spicy scenes 😮💨.
Killian wasn’t as unhinged or psychotic as Dare or Carter (my two favorite SM heroes) but I still loved him and how much he cared about Brynn from the beginning 🥹💖.
”I’ve never found someone’s voice attractive before, but it feels like I could listen to her speak all night long and still crave more.”
I still didn’t care about the secret society stuff but I loved the romance! And Toast?!? He was the cutest! I love adorable pets in books 🥹. It was too funny how Killian “catnapped” him so that Brynn wouldn’t leave his apartment ☺️😭💖.
”Because I can’t be without you, Brynn. Life doesn’t make sense without you.”
⚠️Check trigger warnings!
I really loved Brynn and Killian! I loved how obsessed and possessive/protective he became of her 🤭. And SM sure knows how to write some damn good spicy scenes 😮💨.
Killian wasn’t as unhinged or psychotic as Dare or Carter (my two favorite SM heroes) but I still loved him and how much he cared about Brynn from the beginning 🥹💖.
”I’ve never found someone’s voice attractive before, but it feels like I could listen to her speak all night long and still crave more.”
I still didn’t care about the secret society stuff but I loved the romance! And Toast?!? He was the cutest! I love adorable pets in books 🥹. It was too funny how Killian “catnapped” him so that Brynn wouldn’t leave his apartment ☺️😭💖.
”Because I can’t be without you, Brynn. Life doesn’t make sense without you.”
⚠️Check trigger warnings!
May 11, 2024
MY REVIEW AND OTHERS can also be found on my blog: ╰┈➤KITTY KATS CRAZY ABOUT BOOKS
'B𝐑U𝐓A𝐋 𝐀M𝐁I𝐓I𝐎N' Is a full length contemporary romance book by author Sam Mariano. Spoken in dual perspectives.'
Hello freaky cover, runs off to purchase book. Some I've loved by this author, others not so much, but throw a cover like that in front of me of course I'm going to read it..
So on campus there's two significant societies, they aren't so secret because most seem to know they exist. One is a wannabe tryhard the other is more complex but is underhanded in its dealings to get the best out of life, to open doors where others could only dream about.
So it's the other society which has Brynn in their grips, she's unwittingly stepped into the lions den and could very well of lost her life that night if it wasn't for a masked man coming to her rescue, which so happens to be Killian, who whisked her away and took her home with him knowing that she wasn't out of danger.
He quickly became obsessed, and when I say quickly I mean it, for me he had one speed and that was fast. I wanted more of a chase to occur when it came to him, but he seemed so enthralled and whipped by her, being that he was a bad boy through and through I was hoping that would've popped its ugly head up more than it did.
Our hero is the type of guy who in life would come with a big red flag warning us girls to stay away, but in books I seem to gravitate to the morally grey bad boys, the ones that overstep boundaries and this guy here took it to a whole new level.
He walked his own path in life and it wasn't the straight and narrow
To say he carried this book is an understatement, I fell for him that very first chapter, our heroine kind of grated on my nerves a bit, she was the kind that continually needed looking after, if only to keep her out of the trouble that seemed to always find her.
She was soft to his hard.
January 21, 2025
I missed this
You know the feeling when you’re reading a book, and you have adulting to do, and all keep thinking about ways to maybe quit everything so that you can immerse yourself completely? Yeah. That’s how I felt 🥹.
Sam, where have you been? 😭 this had the classic Sam traits in books I’ve come to love… angst, ruthlessness, IDG any Fs, dedication, intelligence, cunningness 👀 and, of course, all the 🔥 necessary to wrap this up with a pretty bow 😍 to make my wittle heart happy 🫶.
I missed this 😭.
Brynn’s (19/20 ish) going out to a Halloween party with a guy she just met, Kyle. She’s in college and admits she needs to go have fun; her roommate doesn’t trust this guy and warns her NOT to be so naive 😅. Welp, she should’ve listened 😬. Because Kyle and his friends need a real life V sacrifice in order to create their own secret society 🙄 and Brynn’s the perfect candidate 🫣. Luckily, there’s a scarier guy than Kyle coming and he IS part of a REAL secret society…
Killian’s (21/22) over these copycat guys that try to mimic the Blue Bloods, the secret society he’s been a part of, so when he gets wind of the v sacrifice they’re planning to do, he watches them and acts before any real damage happens. Plus. He gets to kick some a$$ while doing this 💅.
He saves Brynn; as they’re running from the scene, Brynn decides she doesn’t trust Killian (finally she wakes up 😅) and needs to get away from him as well.
What she doesn’t realize is that Killian loves a good chase 👀 and he’s not gonna stop until he gets her 😅
What I liked/loved: POSSIBLE SPOILERS
—the 🔥. Uffffff. Yesssss 👏🏻 it all starts at about 16/17% and continues with full 🔥 by the mid 30%s. We even get some in the epilogue 👀. If these two were animals, they’d be rabbits 🤣. I love that Killian has never felt this powerful with anyone else 🥹. Even if it’s related to 🔥, I’ll take it 😉
—how much Killian loves eating cereal 🥵. This man is obsessed with this 👏🏻
—the OMD 😈. Killian marks his territory better than any dog I know 🤣
—how OTT jp he is 😅. He cracked me up a few times, especially because he himself didn’t understand WHY he was reacting this way 🤷🏻♀️. This guy not only takes care of any problems that becomes obstacles, but he doesn’t mind resorting to…
—cat napping blackmail 💅🤷🏻♀️🤣. I love Toast ❤️
—how protective he is 🫶. He wants to make sure Brynn is taken care of ❤️, including…
—retroactive protection 🥹. Love me Man that takes care of any past problems 👏🏻
—no? Hmmm.. what’s that? It’s not a word Killian knows 😅💅😉. Killian looks up the word “no” and sees “go ahead, proceed” as the definition 🤡
—the box of condoms he bought when Brynn’s classmate is in front of them 🤣. No one’s gonna take his girl 💅
—the angst and twist 🫣. While I didn’t love it, I liked that we don’t suffer too long. It gets revealed around 70% and resolved by like mid 80% ish 😅
—Dare and Aubrey 👀. Well, they’re not as unhappy as I thought 😅. Maybe things won’t be as bad as Sleeping Beauty made me feel 😬
—Silvan and Sophie 👀. I loooved seeing them living their HEA…
—not wrapping it up 🫣. Man, Killian always gets his way 🤣
—the sweet stuff ❤️
—Brynn’s childhood and Killian embracing what it means ❤️. Uffff 🥹🫶
—Ryan Gosling and movies 👀. Yup. I felt like I could take a seat and watch movies with them 😅
—Aiden 👀 ummm… you manipulative ass you 😈🤡
What I didn’t like/wanted more of: SPOILERS
—for if not to end 😭
—the BB Syndrome🙄. Now. Sometimes, I don’t mind this, but there’s a scene after the twist that had me rolling my eyes and 😑 Brynn. As far as she knew, he’s not hers anymore, yet she 💦 when he makes her do stuff 🙄. It REALLY irritated me 😑😒😒. Even though there’s nothing she could’ve done to stop him, she suffered from BBS 🤦🏻♀️. Sigh 😐
—I wouldn’t mind seen Aiden get a book 👀, but if Hex gets one, I’m gonna be wary 😐. He’s such a hoooooar😑. I do like his alphaness, but still 😑
Overall, I LUUUUURVED THIS 😍
⚠️safety squad⚠️ SPOILERS SPOILERS
-no cheating/sharing
-child abuse is recounted
-sexual child abuse is recounted
-SA: the h gets taken by OM. They’re gonna use her as a virginal sacrifice but the H comes and saves her before they do anything big to her
-OMD: besides the SA part, an OM that’s one of the h’s classmates flirts with her. The H makes it obvious he’s with the h. There are other men the H gets jealous about
-OWD: the H is secretly in a contract to be engaged with OW. They’ve never been intimate but they did kiss for show before. Neither wants to marry the other. In fact, the ow is secretly involved with OM and ends up getting engaged to him instead of the H
-dubcon (some might say noncon)
-hand necklace/breath play/somnophilia/praise kink/breeding kink/marking
-HEA/HFN/epilogue/weeks to months later
You know the feeling when you’re reading a book, and you have adulting to do, and all keep thinking about ways to maybe quit everything so that you can immerse yourself completely? Yeah. That’s how I felt 🥹.
Sam, where have you been? 😭 this had the classic Sam traits in books I’ve come to love… angst, ruthlessness, IDG any Fs, dedication, intelligence, cunningness 👀 and, of course, all the 🔥 necessary to wrap this up with a pretty bow 😍 to make my wittle heart happy 🫶.
I missed this 😭.
Brynn’s (19/20 ish) going out to a Halloween party with a guy she just met, Kyle. She’s in college and admits she needs to go have fun; her roommate doesn’t trust this guy and warns her NOT to be so naive 😅. Welp, she should’ve listened 😬. Because Kyle and his friends need a real life V sacrifice in order to create their own secret society 🙄 and Brynn’s the perfect candidate 🫣. Luckily, there’s a scarier guy than Kyle coming and he IS part of a REAL secret society…
Killian’s (21/22) over these copycat guys that try to mimic the Blue Bloods, the secret society he’s been a part of, so when he gets wind of the v sacrifice they’re planning to do, he watches them and acts before any real damage happens. Plus. He gets to kick some a$$ while doing this 💅.
He saves Brynn; as they’re running from the scene, Brynn decides she doesn’t trust Killian (finally she wakes up 😅) and needs to get away from him as well.
What she doesn’t realize is that Killian loves a good chase 👀 and he’s not gonna stop until he gets her 😅
What I liked/loved: POSSIBLE SPOILERS
—the 🔥. Uffffff. Yesssss 👏🏻 it all starts at about 16/17% and continues with full 🔥 by the mid 30%s. We even get some in the epilogue 👀. If these two were animals, they’d be rabbits 🤣. I love that Killian has never felt this powerful with anyone else 🥹. Even if it’s related to 🔥, I’ll take it 😉
—how much Killian loves eating cereal 🥵. This man is obsessed with this 👏🏻
—the OMD 😈. Killian marks his territory better than any dog I know 🤣
—how OTT jp he is 😅. He cracked me up a few times, especially because he himself didn’t understand WHY he was reacting this way 🤷🏻♀️. This guy not only takes care of any problems that becomes obstacles, but he doesn’t mind resorting to…
—cat napping blackmail 💅🤷🏻♀️🤣. I love Toast ❤️
—how protective he is 🫶. He wants to make sure Brynn is taken care of ❤️, including…
—retroactive protection 🥹. Love me Man that takes care of any past problems 👏🏻
—no? Hmmm.. what’s that? It’s not a word Killian knows 😅💅😉. Killian looks up the word “no” and sees “go ahead, proceed” as the definition 🤡
—the box of condoms he bought when Brynn’s classmate is in front of them 🤣. No one’s gonna take his girl 💅
—the angst and twist 🫣. While I didn’t love it, I liked that we don’t suffer too long. It gets revealed around 70% and resolved by like mid 80% ish 😅
—Dare and Aubrey 👀. Well, they’re not as unhappy as I thought 😅. Maybe things won’t be as bad as Sleeping Beauty made me feel 😬
—Silvan and Sophie 👀. I loooved seeing them living their HEA…
—not wrapping it up 🫣. Man, Killian always gets his way 🤣
—the sweet stuff ❤️
—Brynn’s childhood and Killian embracing what it means ❤️. Uffff 🥹🫶
—Ryan Gosling and movies 👀. Yup. I felt like I could take a seat and watch movies with them 😅
—Aiden 👀 ummm… you manipulative ass you 😈🤡
What I didn’t like/wanted more of: SPOILERS
—for if not to end 😭
—the BB Syndrome🙄. Now. Sometimes, I don’t mind this, but there’s a scene after the twist that had me rolling my eyes and 😑 Brynn. As far as she knew, he’s not hers anymore, yet she 💦 when he makes her do stuff 🙄. It REALLY irritated me 😑😒😒. Even though there’s nothing she could’ve done to stop him, she suffered from BBS 🤦🏻♀️. Sigh 😐
—I wouldn’t mind seen Aiden get a book 👀, but if Hex gets one, I’m gonna be wary 😐. He’s such a hoooooar😑. I do like his alphaness, but still 😑
Overall, I LUUUUURVED THIS 😍
⚠️safety squad⚠️ SPOILERS SPOILERS
-no cheating/sharing
-child abuse is recounted
-sexual child abuse is recounted
-SA: the h gets taken by OM. They’re gonna use her as a virginal sacrifice but the H comes and saves her before they do anything big to her
-OMD: besides the SA part, an OM that’s one of the h’s classmates flirts with her. The H makes it obvious he’s with the h. There are other men the H gets jealous about
-OWD: the H is secretly in a contract to be engaged with OW. They’ve never been intimate but they did kiss for show before. Neither wants to marry the other. In fact, the ow is secretly involved with OM and ends up getting engaged to him instead of the H
-dubcon (some might say noncon)
-hand necklace/breath play/somnophilia/praise kink/breeding kink/marking
-HEA/HFN/epilogue/weeks to months later
May 1, 2024
Sam. Bestie. I’ve missed the hell out of you. 🥹
I think I could cry I’m so happy.
It’s been a rough couple of years, Queen.
I don’t know how you did it. Because I was skeptical as hell when I opened this book yesterday afternoon. Which is frankly bizarre since it wasn’t long ago when I’d tell anyone who would listen (and many who probably wished they couldn’t 💀😅) about my deep abiding love for all things Sam Mariano. But girlfriend, this book was fantastic. It’s all the things I’ve been missing since EIIH (the last time I loved a SM release). I was up til 3 am finishing - in the dark, under the covers- something I haven’t done in a very very long time. 🫶🏻🥹💕
This had characters I loved. The hero was in control, charming. manipulative, jealous, possessive, and ruthless. The heroine infinitely likable and relatable. The kinks felt uniquely organic to this particular couple in this particular situation, (and not just some heavy-handed antic-y shock-value scenes written for Booktok). We got the suspenseful, emotional, angsty writing I adore. Perfect timing, characterization, and relationship development. Great rollout of intriguing side characters. 👀 We got the dark humor and the unique Sam Mariano subtlety and tone that made me a SUPA-FAN.
This felt like coming home, frankly. 🥹😍🥰
I loved it so much I’m planning to reread today.
💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
Because Sam found her mojo, the below safety info list actually includes major spoilers that will definitely affect your reading experience (and IMO, your enjoyment of this book). Unless you have legit major triggers or are a rabid safety reader, I’d advise you to skip these and just read the book. Seriously. If it’s just idle curiosity or mild pet peeves, just go in blind. Don’t scroll down. 🫶🏻
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I’m not joking around here, Fam.
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😩😩😩
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⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing - the main characters do not cheat on each other
- OW drama - the hero is promised to someone else - the heroine does not know this for the first 70% of the book. - that girl causes major drama
- OM drama - several men show interest in the heroine and the hero IS NOT happy about it
- heroine is a 19 yr old v / hero (20) is experienced - it’s implied that he’s very experienced but there’s nothing spelled out explicitly calling him a manwhore
- no on or off-page relations with OP
- dubcon/noncon - attempts by OM and also several instances by the hero
- sexual abuse retold - not overly descriptive
- condoms then no condoms - the hero straight up refuses - but does say he’s never gone without before - he also blocks attempts by the heroine to obtain birth control
I think I could cry I’m so happy.
It’s been a rough couple of years, Queen.
I don’t know how you did it. Because I was skeptical as hell when I opened this book yesterday afternoon. Which is frankly bizarre since it wasn’t long ago when I’d tell anyone who would listen (and many who probably wished they couldn’t 💀😅) about my deep abiding love for all things Sam Mariano. But girlfriend, this book was fantastic. It’s all the things I’ve been missing since EIIH (the last time I loved a SM release). I was up til 3 am finishing - in the dark, under the covers- something I haven’t done in a very very long time. 🫶🏻🥹💕
This had characters I loved. The hero was in control, charming. manipulative, jealous, possessive, and ruthless. The heroine infinitely likable and relatable. The kinks felt uniquely organic to this particular couple in this particular situation, (and not just some heavy-handed antic-y shock-value scenes written for Booktok). We got the suspenseful, emotional, angsty writing I adore. Perfect timing, characterization, and relationship development. Great rollout of intriguing side characters. 👀 We got the dark humor and the unique Sam Mariano subtlety and tone that made me a SUPA-FAN.
This felt like coming home, frankly. 🥹😍🥰
I loved it so much I’m planning to reread today.
💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
Because Sam found her mojo, the below safety info list actually includes major spoilers that will definitely affect your reading experience (and IMO, your enjoyment of this book). Unless you have legit major triggers or are a rabid safety reader, I’d advise you to skip these and just read the book. Seriously. If it’s just idle curiosity or mild pet peeves, just go in blind. Don’t scroll down. 🫶🏻
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I’m not joking around here, Fam.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
😩😩😩
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing - the main characters do not cheat on each other
- OW drama - the hero is promised to someone else - the heroine does not know this for the first 70% of the book. - that girl causes major drama
- OM drama - several men show interest in the heroine and the hero IS NOT happy about it
- heroine is a 19 yr old v / hero (20) is experienced - it’s implied that he’s very experienced but there’s nothing spelled out explicitly calling him a manwhore
- no on or off-page relations with OP
- dubcon/noncon - attempts by OM and also several instances by the hero
- sexual abuse retold - not overly descriptive
- condoms then no condoms - the hero straight up refuses - but does say he’s never gone without before - he also blocks attempts by the heroine to obtain birth control
November 22, 2025
Reread in 2025
My rating still holds.
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Well, this was wild! A very twisty tale but also *sweeter* than others... strange to say, I know.
4.5 stars
4.5 on the spice scale
My rating still holds.
.
.
.
Well, this was wild! A very twisty tale but also *sweeter* than others... strange to say, I know.
4.5 stars
4.5 on the spice scale
May 6, 2024
THIS is the kind of Sam Mariano writing that originally captivated me and I came to love so much! Anyone else that's also been a fan of Mariano's for a while now can tell you that her last couple of releases have NOT been reminiscent of this style one bit. I was fearful that she had run her course and I'd just have to be grateful for what I got in her past works. But then here she comes with this like,
and all my hope is renewed!
I LOVED Brutal Ambition. It contained everything that gets my heart all fluttery and pumping. A sweet, virginal heroine (Brynn, sophomore in college) and a jealous, protective, and so utterly unapologetic masculine hero (Killian, senior in college)! So our hero meets our heroine when he rescues her from being raped and murdered by a group of guys that were so salty about not getting into the secret society, the Blue Bloods (a group Killian DOES actually belong to), that they decided to make their own. The Blue Bloods had been created in a similar fashion
so these other dipshits figured that's all they'd need to do to form their own secret society. With the method hitting so close to home, the Blue Bloods didn't want to risk being blamed for something that was obviously going to be poorly done (these were the REJECTS that hadn't been recruited to join them), so they conspired to intercept and stop them from completing their evil plan. Only once Killian meets Brynn, he's inexplicably drawn to her sweet, innocent, and often too trusting demeanor and is reluctant to let her out of his sight. It isn't long before he is completely entranced and ready to risk everything he's worked so hard to achieve in order to make Brynn a permanent fixture in his life. And he is NOT afraid to do so by force or extreme, unconventional methods.
Though a bit long, I loved everything about this book. It was incredibly exciting and grabbed my interest from the very get go and would not let go. Secret societies, off-the-rails antics, the seemingly sweet sorority girls that were really vipers waiting to strike... I mean,
I particularly like how Mariano isn't afraid to show how flawed her characters are. It makes them so much more relatable.
And even though Mariano can go to the extremes with both her characters and storylines, she fleshes out the emotional and mental thought processes behind the motivations of her characters so well, that you can wholeheartedly believe it to be possible. You are so deeply in those characters' heads, that you find yourself understanding and even applying logistics to some of the most insane behaviors.
Anyway, for those of you wondering:
~ NO cheating
~ NO sharing
~ YES OW drama
~ YES minimal OM drama
~ Mention of childhood sexual abuse off-page
~ YES does contain dub/non-con
~ YES condoms are used with 1st sexual encounter but NOT subsequently
~ YES a bit of a breeding kink
~ YES does reference murder and other violent crimes
~ DOES have epilogue
Not Mariano's darkest tale, by far, but oh so utterly satisfying! Truly hope there are more to come like this one and I highly recommend!!!
and all my hope is renewed!
I LOVED Brutal Ambition. It contained everything that gets my heart all fluttery and pumping. A sweet, virginal heroine (Brynn, sophomore in college) and a jealous, protective, and so utterly unapologetic masculine hero (Killian, senior in college)! So our hero meets our heroine when he rescues her from being raped and murdered by a group of guys that were so salty about not getting into the secret society, the Blue Bloods (a group Killian DOES actually belong to), that they decided to make their own. The Blue Bloods had been created in a similar fashion
"It was on this night 173 years ago that the founders kidnapped the girl two of them were interested in, dragged her into the woods behind the school, and took turns defiling the pretty little virgin."
so these other dipshits figured that's all they'd need to do to form their own secret society. With the method hitting so close to home, the Blue Bloods didn't want to risk being blamed for something that was obviously going to be poorly done (these were the REJECTS that hadn't been recruited to join them), so they conspired to intercept and stop them from completing their evil plan. Only once Killian meets Brynn, he's inexplicably drawn to her sweet, innocent, and often too trusting demeanor and is reluctant to let her out of his sight. It isn't long before he is completely entranced and ready to risk everything he's worked so hard to achieve in order to make Brynn a permanent fixture in his life. And he is NOT afraid to do so by force or extreme, unconventional methods.
"I also fucking want it in a way I can’t explain. It’s not rational. It’s primal. Selfish. I want to force my way into more than her pussy. I want to make her keep me forever, even when the day comes that she won’t want to anymore."
Though a bit long, I loved everything about this book. It was incredibly exciting and grabbed my interest from the very get go and would not let go. Secret societies, off-the-rails antics, the seemingly sweet sorority girls that were really vipers waiting to strike... I mean,
I particularly like how Mariano isn't afraid to show how flawed her characters are. It makes them so much more relatable.
"See, with a girl like Brynn, you fuck her once, and you have lifetime access no matter how much you hurt her. A girl like that will suffer for you. You can put her through hell, and she’ll still love you if you pluck at her heartstrings just right and tell her pretty enough lies. Yet somehow, despite her deeply rooted issues compelling her to be a fucking fool for you, she’s not an idiot. She has a brain, she just doesn’t use it to make romantic decisions." -- Hex, Blue Blood Society Member
And even though Mariano can go to the extremes with both her characters and storylines, she fleshes out the emotional and mental thought processes behind the motivations of her characters so well, that you can wholeheartedly believe it to be possible. You are so deeply in those characters' heads, that you find yourself understanding and even applying logistics to some of the most insane behaviors.
Anyway, for those of you wondering:
~ NO cheating
~ NO sharing
~ YES OW drama
~ YES minimal OM drama
~ Mention of childhood sexual abuse off-page
~ YES does contain dub/non-con
~ YES condoms are used with 1st sexual encounter but NOT subsequently
~ YES a bit of a breeding kink
~ YES does reference murder and other violent crimes
~ DOES have epilogue
Not Mariano's darkest tale, by far, but oh so utterly satisfying! Truly hope there are more to come like this one and I highly recommend!!!
August 6, 2024
we trust authors with our hearts and we make emotional investments in their characters but when the book you had high expectations from disappoints you it tends to leave you with a bad feeling in your chest …. I really recommend giving this book a try before reading my review because I somehow seem to be the only one who found this book a disappointment.
It’s the same old narrative with the coastal elite series. Nothing new at all. SM did to Brynn and Killian the same thing that she did to Parker and Landon in the Contempt. It was almost like the book didn’t feel like Brynn and Killian’s story at all but rather just an elaborate world building where she’s setting up the pace for Aiden’s or Hex’s book. Brynn (FL)and Killian (ML) get their happily ever after but honestly they lacked any chemistry which SM couldn’t even execute properly. Brynn was nice. I liked her. I like women who don’t let their past experiences dampen their ability to accept new things in life. She has that kind of inner strength most don’t but her problem is that she’s a fool in love. She would give people more than just a second chance before removing herself from the situation, and is what others might call a “door mat” if they didn’t like her (Different perceptions….). I think Brynn had a lot of potential but it was all wasted due to a lack of chemistry which I felt that she honestly had more with Hex or Aiden or even with Shane. Later in the book we get to know that the ML was engaged with some other girl when he pursued the FL. The engagement had been a business transaction mostly but I personally do not like that. To me that’s cheating (although in this scenario the FL is the other woman unintentionally) and was the point i stopped reading seriously and started just skimming the book to see how the ML would handle it. Let me tell you he didn’t handle it properly for a long time. He didn’t break it off with the other girl at once. He kept on being engaged with the other girl while chasing around Brynn. I honestly think he was pretty immature about his feelings. Brynn and Killian eventually get their happily ever after when he gets his head out of his ass.
I fell in love with Sam mariano’s writing when i read Untouchable but I’m thinking that that was a one time fluke. I’ll probably never read her books again
It’s the same old narrative with the coastal elite series. Nothing new at all. SM did to Brynn and Killian the same thing that she did to Parker and Landon in the Contempt. It was almost like the book didn’t feel like Brynn and Killian’s story at all but rather just an elaborate world building where she’s setting up the pace for Aiden’s or Hex’s book. Brynn (FL)and Killian (ML) get their happily ever after but honestly they lacked any chemistry which SM couldn’t even execute properly. Brynn was nice. I liked her. I like women who don’t let their past experiences dampen their ability to accept new things in life. She has that kind of inner strength most don’t but her problem is that she’s a fool in love. She would give people more than just a second chance before removing herself from the situation, and is what others might call a “door mat” if they didn’t like her (Different perceptions….). I think Brynn had a lot of potential but it was all wasted due to a lack of chemistry which I felt that she honestly had more with Hex or Aiden or even with Shane. Later in the book we get to know that the ML was engaged with some other girl when he pursued the FL. The engagement had been a business transaction mostly but I personally do not like that. To me that’s cheating (although in this scenario the FL is the other woman unintentionally) and was the point i stopped reading seriously and started just skimming the book to see how the ML would handle it. Let me tell you he didn’t handle it properly for a long time. He didn’t break it off with the other girl at once. He kept on being engaged with the other girl while chasing around Brynn. I honestly think he was pretty immature about his feelings. Brynn and Killian eventually get their happily ever after when he gets his head out of his ass.
I fell in love with Sam mariano’s writing when i read Untouchable but I’m thinking that that was a one time fluke. I’ll probably never read her books again
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2024
Did she just…..yeah she just agreed to go on a date with a guy that was part of a plan to gang rape and then kill her. And no it’s not the H. Who is engaged to some other chick and goes to a wedding cake tasting thing with her then comes back to fuck the h. Romance is getting wild these days guys! How did this author manage to write a secret society book and make it so fucking boring? h was a bio major but the girl should have considered chemistry because her and H certainly didn’t have any!!!
Welp, goodbye Sam Mariano, your reviews have fooled me for the last time. I bid your dumbass heroines a fond farewell. Never again.
Welp, goodbye Sam Mariano, your reviews have fooled me for the last time. I bid your dumbass heroines a fond farewell. Never again.
May 1, 2024
Objective rating: 3,75. Subjective rating BECAUSE OF THE CAT and all the stupid fun I've had: 4,75💕😂👉👈
This is not the most OTT SM hero, so if you expected the second coming of Dare, Carter, or Mateo, you'll find them here in the side characters. Hex and Aiden, I'm looking at you 👀🆘🔥🥰🥵🥵🥵
I swooned at times, had fun at times, and if you can overlook the fact that the rich of THE rich organized a dating fundraiser, in which they "sold" the dates with rich sorority girls to rich college boys and the prices were around $65🤡🤣👌 and the sum of $500 was crazy high for some reason...Yeah, you'll have fun except at that point 🤷🏼♀️
This is not the most OTT SM hero, so if you expected the second coming of Dare, Carter, or Mateo, you'll find them here in the side characters. Hex and Aiden, I'm looking at you 👀🆘🔥🥰🥵🥵🥵
I swooned at times, had fun at times, and if you can overlook the fact that the rich of THE rich organized a dating fundraiser, in which they "sold" the dates with rich sorority girls to rich college boys and the prices were around $65🤡🤣👌 and the sum of $500 was crazy high for some reason...Yeah, you'll have fun except at that point 🤷🏼♀️
May 5, 2024
3.5 stars rounded down
Mostly because the pacing in the first 50% was really, really slow. The second half was really well done and mostly the reason why this book isn’t getting a 2.5 star rating.
This book is objectively better than what Sam has been putting out over the last year, and probably the best book since she released Even if it hurts back in 2022. I have to agree with others that the H of this story isn’t on the same level as Sam’s super crazy manipulative H’s like Dare, Mateo, and Calvin. He’s still good and got better and more obsessive and manipulative around 70% in, but I still feel like he was outclassed in that department by other characters in this book mainly Aiden and Hex. Which I now need a book about them. One other thing I didn’t like as much either was that the h, Brynn, was majorly dumb, like Sam’s had some pretty naive h’s before, but Brynn takes the cake.
I liked the Phantom of the Opera vibes that this book was giving off. Brynn with her dresses/costumes and her and Killian going to the opera house in Paris. However, I would have appreciated if Killian would have been more like Erik, but I guess he does murder people so they do have that in common lololol.
I’ll be interested to see where Sam takes this plot line with the Blue Bloods (the secret society Killian and Dare and Silvan belong to). I think Hannah is going to get involved with Hex and Addison since they both mentioned they like blonde haired blue eyed girls and Addison also mentioned she was interested in Hex too. I feel like Hex is the only person who could protect Hannah against Dare since he is the society’s current president. Also I feel like this is the only way Aubrey could be friends with Hannah since the other BB society WAGs are all friends too. Either way I would really like to see more books from this part of the Costal Elite universe.
Mostly because the pacing in the first 50% was really, really slow. The second half was really well done and mostly the reason why this book isn’t getting a 2.5 star rating.
This book is objectively better than what Sam has been putting out over the last year, and probably the best book since she released Even if it hurts back in 2022. I have to agree with others that the H of this story isn’t on the same level as Sam’s super crazy manipulative H’s like Dare, Mateo, and Calvin. He’s still good and got better and more obsessive and manipulative around 70% in, but I still feel like he was outclassed in that department by other characters in this book mainly Aiden and Hex. Which I now need a book about them. One other thing I didn’t like as much either was that the h, Brynn, was majorly dumb, like Sam’s had some pretty naive h’s before, but Brynn takes the cake.
I liked the Phantom of the Opera vibes that this book was giving off. Brynn with her dresses/costumes and her and Killian going to the opera house in Paris. However, I would have appreciated if Killian would have been more like Erik, but I guess he does murder people so they do have that in common lololol.
I’ll be interested to see where Sam takes this plot line with the Blue Bloods (the secret society Killian and Dare and Silvan belong to). I think Hannah is going to get involved with Hex and Addison since they both mentioned they like blonde haired blue eyed girls and Addison also mentioned she was interested in Hex too. I feel like Hex is the only person who could protect Hannah against Dare since he is the society’s current president. Also I feel like this is the only way Aubrey could be friends with Hannah since the other BB society WAGs are all friends too. Either way I would really like to see more books from this part of the Costal Elite universe.
May 6, 2024
Sam is slowly but surely getting a mojo back.
It was a little tame for my tastes but it was solid and the almost perfect dark romance.
When the darkness is just between the two main characters it become the center stage for all of the morally grey goodness that can be achieved with the MMCs.
Trigger aside there was no extreme third party sexual assault against the FMC. Which is a win in my book.
Now Aiden and Hex there were a different story!
They have main character every all over them.
If they don’t get there own book I’m going to be p*ssed
Hex you were good, I’m waiting for you to be great.
Is potential for his story is going to be 🤩
It was a little tame for my tastes but it was solid and the almost perfect dark romance.
When the darkness is just between the two main characters it become the center stage for all of the morally grey goodness that can be achieved with the MMCs.
Trigger aside there was no extreme third party sexual assault against the FMC. Which is a win in my book.
Now Aiden and Hex there were a different story!
They have main character every all over them.
If they don’t get there own book I’m going to be p*ssed
Hex you were good, I’m waiting for you to be great.
Is potential for his story is going to be 🤩
June 18, 2024
I did enjoy this and I’m going to pretend the last 20% don’t exist because it doesn’t make sense. I did like the MMC although I think he’s tame compared to all the Sam Mariano anti-heroes I’ve read about. The FMC was operating like a bot without a brain.
I think I loved the side characters(Hex, Aiden, Sloane and Addison) more the the main characters.
Fingers crossed on getting their stories
I think I loved the side characters(Hex, Aiden, Sloane and Addison) more the the main characters.
Fingers crossed on getting their stories
May 1, 2024
This book is a wiiiiild ride. I don’t know how Sam Mariano works her magic but I’m thankful she does. I couldn’t put this down once I started. Killian is a dream of a hero.
His obsession was everything. This man gave up everything for her. Everything. He put her through the wringer to get there but it was WORTH IT for the end result. Brynn was so deserving of everything Killian to ensure they ended up together.
I do think this is best read blind. I’m an anxious reader and I don’t make that claim lightly. I live for spoilers and often can’t read without them. I’m sure this review will contain spoilers so proceed at your own risk.
Killian’s obsession and need for Brynn comes like a slow boil. She doesn’t realize at first how crazy he is for her. He’s really not good at hearing the word “no” from her. He’s totally gone for her. You could feel how desperate he was at times.
Then around 70% you learn that Killian is in an arrangement where he’s supposed to marry someone in an arranged marriage. It seems hopeless for Killian and Brynn. It appears that there isn’t a way out. She’s heartbroken and angry and feeling betrayed by him. He’s increasingly desperate to bind her to him by any means necessary. While it was extremely shitty of him not to tell Brynn about his upcoming arranged marriage both he and OW had an understanding that they would both do as they pleased until the engagement was official so, not cheating.
The OW he’s supposed to marry had previously tried to sabotage Brynn earlier and isn’t amused by any of this. She’s a real gem, that one. Killian swoops in to save the day.
I don’t want to spoil the whole thing but logically you know you are reading a romance here. Killian and Brynn do work out in the end, of course. The OW former fiancée finds herself in her own predicament but you can hardly feel sorry for her.
The men Sam Mariano dreams up are delectable and kind of scary. I wouldn’t mind reading more about Hex or maybe even Aiden. Trust me, if you are a fan of this author you will probably be interested too.
You get to see snippets of Dare, Aubrey and Silvan here too. It’s clear Dare is up to things but you only get a few breadcrumbs. The scenes with Aubrey and Dare are so good though. “Beware of bi girls who bring your girlfriend baked goods” made me squeal with delight. It was good to see Dare trying to make things up to Aubrey after his shenanigans in the Sleeping Beauty short story.
Reading this made me want to reread all the Coastal Elite books again. I’m probably going to read them over and over until Hannah’s book releases.
I loved this story so much. I loved how obsessed and desperate Killian was for Brynn. I loved that he sacrificed his ambition to keep her. I loved how completely ruthless he was overall. This was just amazing all around.
Fastish-Medium burn, h loses her vcard at 35%. There’s some oral earlier on around 16%. Lots of dubcon here.
Virgin h
H definitely not a virgin but didn’t seem like a complete manwhore either
OW/OM drama
No cheating
No sex scenes with others
No sharing
HEA
Epilogue
Safety - technically H was to be engaged to OW but they agreed it was ok to be with others until the engagement was official. So again, not cheating. Both H and OW were with other people. The OW fiancée lets on to h that more is happening with them than it is to hurt her and rub salt in the wound. H doesn’t have sex with the OW fiancée despite proceeding with the engagement until he can figure a way out. He remains faithful to Brynn. Killian continues to pursue Brynn even after the engagement is out of the bag and she *tries* to resist. Killian is not a fan of “no” from Brynn though and this is a Sam Mariano book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2024
I see the 4 and 5 stars reviews and I wonder if I read the same book as everyone else. There were SO many things I didn’t like about this book:
1. The h almost gets raped but goes on a date with said guy after the incident. She even admits that perhaps she may be interested in him. This is not the H, by the way.
2. Oh, the Hero? The lying, manipulative character he is. He knew he was going to marry someone else but doesn’t say anything. He kisses, sleeps and basically lives with h while knowing this.
3. The betraying body syndrome. It’s so overdone. Let’s try a different tactic for once and give the h some backbone?
4. So she is 20 and he is 22? But after a week together, he decides he wants to impregnate her. Does he ask her? Nope, but he’s happy when she is pregnant. So weird.
5. Whatever happened to Hex? No clue, the ending was rushed. I guess it wrapped rather nicely for the MCs. I skipped by the last paragraph lol
Safety details:
H is experienced, h is a virgin.
The h almost gets gang raped but gets stopped by the H.
There is a scene where the h says no and the H just forces himself.
1. The h almost gets raped but goes on a date with said guy after the incident. She even admits that perhaps she may be interested in him. This is not the H, by the way.
2. Oh, the Hero? The lying, manipulative character he is. He knew he was going to marry someone else but doesn’t say anything. He kisses, sleeps and basically lives with h while knowing this.
3. The betraying body syndrome. It’s so overdone. Let’s try a different tactic for once and give the h some backbone?
4. So she is 20 and he is 22? But after a week together, he decides he wants to impregnate her. Does he ask her? Nope, but he’s happy when she is pregnant. So weird.
5. Whatever happened to Hex? No clue, the ending was rushed. I guess it wrapped rather nicely for the MCs. I skipped by the last paragraph lol
Safety details:
H is experienced, h is a virgin.
The h almost gets gang raped but gets stopped by the H.
There is a scene where the h says no and the H just forces himself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2024
This book and these characters were fantastic!! I especially loved the way she wrote Killian. There was just no letting go of Brynn for him.
I had some trepidation going into this, but because it was a coastal elite spinoff and not the main series I decided to give it a shot. I really liked book 1 in that series and one of the others not at all. Reviews of one of the other books which I haven’t read leads me to believe that series might be going in a direction I have no interest in so I’m putting that series on hold until it’s done.
I would love to read Aiden and Hex’s book (maybe this might be the same book 😉).
I had some trepidation going into this, but because it was a coastal elite spinoff and not the main series I decided to give it a shot. I really liked book 1 in that series and one of the others not at all. Reviews of one of the other books which I haven’t read leads me to believe that series might be going in a direction I have no interest in so I’m putting that series on hold until it’s done.
I would love to read Aiden and Hex’s book (maybe this might be the same book 😉).
May 3, 2024
One of my favorite authors but her recent books just keep getting more repetitive one after the other. Brutal Ambition was very bland and it lacked the originality and spark of her famous works. The hero in the book was just a collection of Sam Mariano’s most boring heroes and the same goes for the FMC. All the events that happen in this book have already happened in her previous books, she’s taking inspiration from her own work.
What we liked about untouchable, Descent and her other original books were that they were risky, intriguing and original. I personally think that Sam Mariano is scared to go back to her original roots and write her risky stories because now that she has a name she might piss off an audience and get in trouble. So we writes about environment, refillable water bottles (it was mentioned many times), vegetarianism and FMCs who have nothing interesting to offer but going on about molecular biology or was it cosmetology for pages just to make up for the flaws some see in her famous characters.
Sam Mariano if you are reading this, no one liked untouchable because it was politically correct we loved it because it was unhinged.
What we liked about untouchable, Descent and her other original books were that they were risky, intriguing and original. I personally think that Sam Mariano is scared to go back to her original roots and write her risky stories because now that she has a name she might piss off an audience and get in trouble. So we writes about environment, refillable water bottles (it was mentioned many times), vegetarianism and FMCs who have nothing interesting to offer but going on about molecular biology or was it cosmetology for pages just to make up for the flaws some see in her famous characters.
Sam Mariano if you are reading this, no one liked untouchable because it was politically correct we loved it because it was unhinged.
May 1, 2024
4,25 ? ⭐
Nobody is more surprised than I am.
I hesitated between 4 and 5 stars, but in the end I have to admit that I really liked it.
Disclaimer, I'm a clown.
I had sworn off reading any more books by this author since the debacle with her other series and the potential Dare/Aubrey/Hannah troupe ...
I don't know what it is, but there's something about this author that I just can't resist.
I think I'm in a toxic relationship with this author that is completely one-sided 🤡.
It starts ok, but nothing special, and it gets better and better as the pages go by, I found myself invested in this relationship where I didn't feel the connection at first.
The hero has certain traits that are "sweeter" than some of this author's usual heroes, but don't worry Killian clearly bears the Sam Mariano stamp: controlling, morally grey, ambitious, extremely forceful in terms of consent and very jealous/possessive.
So many scenes of jealousy, it gave me life :')
(I also find it quite funny that we're on the second hero who decides to capture the heroine's cat to blackmail her).
I also liked the heroine, even if she has some TSTL moments.
It is always interesting to see how Sam Mariano's heroines try to rationalise their heroes' total disregard for consent.
There are also a number of very interesting characters introduced, I can only hope a book will be dedicated to them, notably two male characters who seem just as manipulative/calculating as Dare, if not more so.
Spoilers
- No cheating or sharing
(Hero is supposed to be engaged to another woman, but there is no real relationship between them/it's a business deal)
- Virgin heroine. Experienced hero.
- OW drama: OW who is supposed to be engaged to the hero causes problems for the couple.
- OM drama : Many OM interested in the heroine and the hero is not happy about it.
- TW
Dubcon
Birthcontrol tampering
Attempted SA by OM on the heroine
Murder
Nobody is more surprised than I am.
I hesitated between 4 and 5 stars, but in the end I have to admit that I really liked it.
Disclaimer, I'm a clown.
I had sworn off reading any more books by this author since the debacle with her other series and the potential Dare/Aubrey/Hannah troupe ...
I don't know what it is, but there's something about this author that I just can't resist.
I think I'm in a toxic relationship with this author that is completely one-sided 🤡.
It starts ok, but nothing special, and it gets better and better as the pages go by, I found myself invested in this relationship where I didn't feel the connection at first.
The hero has certain traits that are "sweeter" than some of this author's usual heroes, but don't worry Killian clearly bears the Sam Mariano stamp: controlling, morally grey, ambitious, extremely forceful in terms of consent and very jealous/possessive.
So many scenes of jealousy, it gave me life :')
(I also find it quite funny that we're on the second hero who decides to capture the heroine's cat to blackmail her).
I also liked the heroine, even if she has some TSTL moments.
It is always interesting to see how Sam Mariano's heroines try to rationalise their heroes' total disregard for consent.
There are also a number of very interesting characters introduced, I can only hope a book will be dedicated to them, notably two male characters who seem just as manipulative/calculating as Dare, if not more so.
Spoilers
- No cheating or sharing
(Hero is supposed to be engaged to another woman, but there is no real relationship between them/it's a business deal)
- Virgin heroine. Experienced hero.
- OW drama: OW who is supposed to be engaged to the hero causes problems for the couple.
- OM drama : Many OM interested in the heroine and the hero is not happy about it.
- TW
Dubcon
Birthcontrol tampering
Attempted SA by OM on the heroine
Murder
May 5, 2024
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Wow, Sam Mariano has done it again. She took me another wild ride, that took me to unexpected places. The most shocking of all, was Killian.
Killian may be the sweetest Sam Mariano hero. I was honestly shocked she wrote such a cinnamon roll hero, but still with the alpha and morally grey behaviors. He is a new favorite for me! Especially when we see Dare again in this, who always gives me the creeps. He is the worst.
This is a spinoff of the Coastal Elite series, featuring Dare, Silvan, and now Killian. It is about a secret society at their college called the Blue Bloods.
Killian rescues Brynn from a virgin sacrifice / SA from multiple wanna be frat boys who want to create another secret society. He basically takes her home with him for her safety, but he quickly becomes obsessed and decides to keep her.
I loved how upfront Killian was about who he was and the secret society he belonged to. He was so alpha and sexy. He gave her a lot of oral and attention before finally deciding his wait was over and taking her virginity. Trust me though, Brynn wanted it.
This had a twist near the 70% mark I saw coming, but I still found it enjoyable. I loved how devoted Killian was to Brynn and how hard he worked to get her back after the conflict. I also loved that Brynn made him work for it and didn't immediately cave.
I am also super intrigued by Hex and Aiden. They seem more psychotic and like Sam's usual heroes. I hope we get their romances soon.
TW: dubcon, breeding, murder, attempted SA by other characters
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Wow, Sam Mariano has done it again. She took me another wild ride, that took me to unexpected places. The most shocking of all, was Killian.
Killian may be the sweetest Sam Mariano hero. I was honestly shocked she wrote such a cinnamon roll hero, but still with the alpha and morally grey behaviors. He is a new favorite for me! Especially when we see Dare again in this, who always gives me the creeps. He is the worst.
This is a spinoff of the Coastal Elite series, featuring Dare, Silvan, and now Killian. It is about a secret society at their college called the Blue Bloods.
Killian rescues Brynn from a virgin sacrifice / SA from multiple wanna be frat boys who want to create another secret society. He basically takes her home with him for her safety, but he quickly becomes obsessed and decides to keep her.
I loved how upfront Killian was about who he was and the secret society he belonged to. He was so alpha and sexy. He gave her a lot of oral and attention before finally deciding his wait was over and taking her virginity. Trust me though, Brynn wanted it.
This had a twist near the 70% mark I saw coming, but I still found it enjoyable. I loved how devoted Killian was to Brynn and how hard he worked to get her back after the conflict. I also loved that Brynn made him work for it and didn't immediately cave.
I am also super intrigued by Hex and Aiden. They seem more psychotic and like Sam's usual heroes. I hope we get their romances soon.
TW: dubcon, breeding, murder, attempted SA by other characters
May 8, 2024
god, i'm disappointed. my grasp on english is kinda fucked today so this is gonna be a rough overview and one that is very much off the dome, admittedly.
this just did not tap into why sam's prev. works like eiih and untouchable worked as well as they did. kill technically does follow the mariano anti-hero love interest formula but his characterization is probably the worst take on it yet from sam. he's bland and reads as pathetic more often than not (and surprisingly more pathetic than i had thought even descent's calvin to be - in fact, i'm going to adjust my rating/review for that book to something much higher as i feel that brutal ambition instead now goes into what i deem to be the "worst" full-length novel from her). he draws from all the weakest parts of the formula and none of what made carter and dare so compelling as anti-heroes and thus ultimately falls flat on his face as a character. dont care much for brynn but that's neither here or there as i've only ever really loved zoey when it comes to sam's female leads. i also fear that this book may get dated quickly with its insistence on pop culture references of the time (this was also a problem i had with the boy on the bridge actually).
brutal ambition made me scoff a lot because i just could not buy into the narrative whatsoever. we'd have these pages of huge chunks of exposé building up on the secret society world and truthfully it all read as ostentatious and nonsensical. it read as an exaggerated caricature of the lifestyle rather; becoming a kind of garish thing.
another thing i just could not buy into was the actual couple this book was centred around and their romance. how kill's insta love manifests is presented to us in a way that frankly felt insulting to my intelligence as a reader. i'm not fond of insta love in my books, sure, but there is a way to write it in which it can feel organic for the character and that just wasn't the case here. the main couple concerned me throughout with their lack of true chemistry and sensuality. most if not all their convos were difficult to follow because of this sort of poorly executed surrealism clouding the dialogue. no one talked like a real person in this.
and in fact, i'd argue side characters like hex and aiden were leaps and bounds more compelling than anyone else in this book. which gives me room to get into the little that i did like about this book now:
hex and aiden despite being side characters were utterly compelling and dare i say more effective and faithful to what i deem the sam mariano anti-hero love interest formula. in what is a book supposed to be abt brynn and kill i found my mind often wandering; wondering abt what characters like aiden and hex were up to and when they'd pop back in for another scene.
in fact, the sensuality and chemistry that i felt were absent in the relationship between kill and brynn were most definitely present for brynn with characters like aiden and hex. especially so with aiden - to be honest, the scene that thrilled me the most in this book was the intro scene between these two. so much so i was convinced he was the LI initially because it had flowed so well and felt reminiscent of the carter-zoey dynamic. so imagine my disappointment when i found that scene ultimately lead nowhere. idk why sam does this nowadays. she'll write a book abt a couple but shine the light instead on characters far removed from the circumstances of the main characters at hand.
all in all, brutal ambition just felt like a failed attempt at all the things i usually love from this author and that is saddening. i had a lot of hope for this spin-off series. what i can thank this book for, however, is that i'm definitely going to revisit descent soon as this book in its failure has given me a newfound appreciation for what we did receive in descent. i'm seeing it in an entirely new light now.
this just did not tap into why sam's prev. works like eiih and untouchable worked as well as they did. kill technically does follow the mariano anti-hero love interest formula but his characterization is probably the worst take on it yet from sam. he's bland and reads as pathetic more often than not (and surprisingly more pathetic than i had thought even descent's calvin to be - in fact, i'm going to adjust my rating/review for that book to something much higher as i feel that brutal ambition instead now goes into what i deem to be the "worst" full-length novel from her). he draws from all the weakest parts of the formula and none of what made carter and dare so compelling as anti-heroes and thus ultimately falls flat on his face as a character. dont care much for brynn but that's neither here or there as i've only ever really loved zoey when it comes to sam's female leads. i also fear that this book may get dated quickly with its insistence on pop culture references of the time (this was also a problem i had with the boy on the bridge actually).
brutal ambition made me scoff a lot because i just could not buy into the narrative whatsoever. we'd have these pages of huge chunks of exposé building up on the secret society world and truthfully it all read as ostentatious and nonsensical. it read as an exaggerated caricature of the lifestyle rather; becoming a kind of garish thing.
another thing i just could not buy into was the actual couple this book was centred around and their romance. how kill's insta love manifests is presented to us in a way that frankly felt insulting to my intelligence as a reader. i'm not fond of insta love in my books, sure, but there is a way to write it in which it can feel organic for the character and that just wasn't the case here. the main couple concerned me throughout with their lack of true chemistry and sensuality. most if not all their convos were difficult to follow because of this sort of poorly executed surrealism clouding the dialogue. no one talked like a real person in this.
and in fact, i'd argue side characters like hex and aiden were leaps and bounds more compelling than anyone else in this book. which gives me room to get into the little that i did like about this book now:
hex and aiden despite being side characters were utterly compelling and dare i say more effective and faithful to what i deem the sam mariano anti-hero love interest formula. in what is a book supposed to be abt brynn and kill i found my mind often wandering; wondering abt what characters like aiden and hex were up to and when they'd pop back in for another scene.
in fact, the sensuality and chemistry that i felt were absent in the relationship between kill and brynn were most definitely present for brynn with characters like aiden and hex. especially so with aiden - to be honest, the scene that thrilled me the most in this book was the intro scene between these two. so much so i was convinced he was the LI initially because it had flowed so well and felt reminiscent of the carter-zoey dynamic. so imagine my disappointment when i found that scene ultimately lead nowhere. idk why sam does this nowadays. she'll write a book abt a couple but shine the light instead on characters far removed from the circumstances of the main characters at hand.
all in all, brutal ambition just felt like a failed attempt at all the things i usually love from this author and that is saddening. i had a lot of hope for this spin-off series. what i can thank this book for, however, is that i'm definitely going to revisit descent soon as this book in its failure has given me a newfound appreciation for what we did receive in descent. i'm seeing it in an entirely new light now.
May 4, 2024
3.4 stars
I mostly liked this but some parts annoyed me
I mostly liked this but some parts annoyed me
May 8, 2024
3 stars for the cat, hero and plot.
May 4, 2024
2.4 Stars
I cannot be the only one who found that single assault scene between Aiden and Brynn wayyy more Hot&Sexy as compared to the WHOLE book. 🫣
“I love Calhoun’s biology program. It’s hard, but it’s worth it. They offer a broad range of study with opportunities to overlap wherever it makes sense—and even if they don’t already think it makes sense, if you can convince your advisor it makes sense, you can do it, which gives you a lot more freedom to pick your own path. The advisors work with you to make sure you’re getting a well-rounded education, which was really important to me since I have a “wide range of interests and I believe a wide range of education is what helps you think outside the box. The school’s obviously really well-funded, so you can get invited on research trips and get to travel and study somewhere you’d never get to otherwise—and it’s free. It’s built into the price of admission, which, for those of us who can only be here because of scholarships, is really awesome. They have free seminars every week from visiting speakers, and they’re all brilliant. It just makes my brain happy to go here.”
A long lame-ass description.
Sam, I hope this school paid you well for this advertisement! 🤣
This book is just so weird. One of the dumbest things I have read in a longggg time. I know Sam's heroines are supposed to be the Olympic winners of Dumbness but this one hits the fan.
“Singing.
Brynn is singing in the shower.
And she has a great voice. Even through the filter of the wall, I can tell.”
Singing!!! I mean seriously! Brynn, you okay? After being assaulted by 5 men, running in dark forests and being forced to live in a stranger's house, don't you think you should call POLICE!? rather than SINGING in a shower? 😵💫
“Maybe it won’t be as big a deal as I think. Maybe it will just feel good, and it will unlock a whole new world of possibilities for me this year.
This is college. It’s the time to explore, isn’t it?”
This girl needs next-level help. After getting brutally harassed and kidnapped within the same night, she comes up with this logic to sleep with the hero. I mean, what more EXPLORATION is left for a day? 🫠
Now, talking about our hero!
To be honest, I never cared about Sam's heroines. They are as dumb as they come. But, I love, crave, die for the heroes. But, not this time. Killian is very bland. It feels like he is a caricature of all the heroes Sam has ever written and in a very worst way. He is bad, but not too bad kind of guy.🥱
Overall the book is boring as fuck and is a waste of time. Long long paragraphs describing a school or what a good marriage should be, like bitch please as if I came here for this? The sex is as boring as you can think of it to be.
I cannot be the only one who found that single assault scene between Aiden and Brynn wayyy more Hot&Sexy as compared to the WHOLE book. 🫣
“I love Calhoun’s biology program. It’s hard, but it’s worth it. They offer a broad range of study with opportunities to overlap wherever it makes sense—and even if they don’t already think it makes sense, if you can convince your advisor it makes sense, you can do it, which gives you a lot more freedom to pick your own path. The advisors work with you to make sure you’re getting a well-rounded education, which was really important to me since I have a “wide range of interests and I believe a wide range of education is what helps you think outside the box. The school’s obviously really well-funded, so you can get invited on research trips and get to travel and study somewhere you’d never get to otherwise—and it’s free. It’s built into the price of admission, which, for those of us who can only be here because of scholarships, is really awesome. They have free seminars every week from visiting speakers, and they’re all brilliant. It just makes my brain happy to go here.”
A long lame-ass description.
Sam, I hope this school paid you well for this advertisement! 🤣
This book is just so weird. One of the dumbest things I have read in a longggg time. I know Sam's heroines are supposed to be the Olympic winners of Dumbness but this one hits the fan.
“Singing.
Brynn is singing in the shower.
And she has a great voice. Even through the filter of the wall, I can tell.”
Singing!!! I mean seriously! Brynn, you okay? After being assaulted by 5 men, running in dark forests and being forced to live in a stranger's house, don't you think you should call POLICE!? rather than SINGING in a shower? 😵💫
“Maybe it won’t be as big a deal as I think. Maybe it will just feel good, and it will unlock a whole new world of possibilities for me this year.
This is college. It’s the time to explore, isn’t it?”
This girl needs next-level help. After getting brutally harassed and kidnapped within the same night, she comes up with this logic to sleep with the hero. I mean, what more EXPLORATION is left for a day? 🫠
Now, talking about our hero!
To be honest, I never cared about Sam's heroines. They are as dumb as they come. But, I love, crave, die for the heroes. But, not this time. Killian is very bland. It feels like he is a caricature of all the heroes Sam has ever written and in a very worst way. He is bad, but not too bad kind of guy.🥱
Overall the book is boring as fuck and is a waste of time. Long long paragraphs describing a school or what a good marriage should be, like bitch please as if I came here for this? The sex is as boring as you can think of it to be.
May 22, 2024
DNF @ 80%. Complete waste of time and brain cells. Nobody forced me to read this and I know I could've stopped at any time, but the sad thing is that I kept waiting for it to get better until this specific point where I lost the last shred of my already thin patience. This book is absolute shit and the heroine is the stupidest fucking character I have EVER come across. I'll make my case with one very important question:
Why THE FUCK would you accept an invitation to a party with one of the guys who almost sexually assaulted you?! And this is the one that was the most aggressive with her and started hurting and threatening her before the Hero stopped the attack.
The whole book I struggled to tolerate the heroine. She was already TSTL in the very beginning and the rest I kept wondering what the Hero saw in her, but this action sealed the deal for Stupidest Heroine.
Absolutely DO NOT recommend to anyone.
Why THE FUCK would you accept an invitation to a party with one of the guys who almost sexually assaulted you?! And this is the one that was the most aggressive with her and started hurting and threatening her before the Hero stopped the attack.
The whole book I struggled to tolerate the heroine. She was already TSTL in the very beginning and the rest I kept wondering what the Hero saw in her, but this action sealed the deal for Stupidest Heroine.
Absolutely DO NOT recommend to anyone.
May 3, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
“Killian Walsh only looks like a dream come true. In reality, he’s a beautiful nightmare, and I don’t want to get pulled so far under that I can’t wake back up.”
May 9, 2024
yeah nah i don't accept engaged guys in my bed, idk how is she okay with that too
May 11, 2024
Felt way too cheesy and the FMC was a moron.
December 7, 2024
You have to give it to Sam Mariano..she can write some mean antiheroes! Killian is no way her darkest hero but he is still so edgy and dark and twisted! Brynn got caught in middle of the mess of secret society, chasing, kidnapping, danger and so many things. Many times, you wouldn't know if Killian is the savior or the hunter. Brynn is innocent and sweet but she has this depraved side that is brought to life by our antihero. Sexy. Thrilling. Dirty. Action packed. Brutal Ambition has it all.
- College romance
- dark romance
- read the triggers ( SA/ stalker/ kidnapping)
- Phantom of the Opera as a theme because Brynn is obsessed with it
- good girl/ bad boy
- romantic suspense
- secret society
- College romance
- dark romance
- read the triggers ( SA/ stalker/ kidnapping)
- Phantom of the Opera as a theme because Brynn is obsessed with it
- good girl/ bad boy
- romantic suspense
- secret society
May 5, 2024
Brutal Ambition is a spin off of the Coastal Elite series taking place at Calhoun University where both Silvan and Dare happen to go to college. It's a secret society romance featuring Brynn, a typical Sam Mariano heroine with a soft heart but just enough spunk and a great sense of humor to forgive her lapses of judgement, and Killian, an ambitious member of the Blue Bloods who doesn't believe in love. Overall, I enjoyed this story. It kept me turning the pages and was definitely an improvement after Contempt. I liked both main characters and was intrigued by some of the supporting characters. Maybe too intrigued. And this is where the book lost a star for me. This isn't the first time that one of Sam's books gets stolen by a supporting character. I don't think Ms. Mariano does this intentionally. I think she starts writing and these characters take on a life of their own. But there's a fine line between being intrigued by a character and them pulling focus from the MCs. Brutal Ambition is, in many ways, a softer romance as far as Sam Mariano's stories are concerned. Killian isn't as unhinged as her other heroes and that's fine and even makes sense considering his circumstances. However, we're forced to compare him to Hex and Aidan, both of whom not only have great chemistry with Brynn, but also have major main character vibes. They're the kind of manipulative, slightly psychopathic and scary yet charming heroes that I really love seeing from Sam. Having said all that, this one was still a winner for me and a great addition to the series! I won't go into the triggers since they're spoilery and many reviews went into that. If you are a fan of Sam's work, this one is definitely worth reading!
May 21, 2024
“Forget a brief relationship. In one night, I could decimate this pretty kitty and leave her with issues she would carry into her next few relationships.”
Greatly appreciate Sam taking the time to explore the lore of secret societies. She always has such a creative approach to her writing and really allows herself to fully commit to the world building.
Killian is definitely a Sam character lol! Love all of her “heroes” and their lack of not understanding the word ‘no’. IYKYK.
While Killian does have a bit of a softer side, he definitely has secrets. Brynn is one of her stronger heroines, and while she falls for Killian, she doesn’t lose complete sense of herself. It’s nice to see some familiar faces pop up along the way. Also some new characters that have piqued my curiosity. Hex, I’m looking at you, doll.
Definitely a great spin off addition to the Coastal Elite series. You can read as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading the books in order for this series.
Greatly appreciate Sam taking the time to explore the lore of secret societies. She always has such a creative approach to her writing and really allows herself to fully commit to the world building.
Killian is definitely a Sam character lol! Love all of her “heroes” and their lack of not understanding the word ‘no’. IYKYK.
While Killian does have a bit of a softer side, he definitely has secrets. Brynn is one of her stronger heroines, and while she falls for Killian, she doesn’t lose complete sense of herself. It’s nice to see some familiar faces pop up along the way. Also some new characters that have piqued my curiosity. Hex, I’m looking at you, doll.
Definitely a great spin off addition to the Coastal Elite series. You can read as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading the books in order for this series.
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