Falling in love with her was wrong. But that’s nothing compared to what I’m about to do…
I’m a walking contradiction. Renowned psychiatrist. Devoted single father. A seemingly good man. But underneath it all? I’m a monster. I’ve always kept my inner darkness in check. Until now.
Until her.
Leighton is my daughter’s best friend. She’s young. Innocent. But I can’t stay away. Neither can she. The real problem, though? I’m not the only monster in my family. And to save Leighton from my daughter’s deadly wrath, I did something drastic.
I kidnapped her.
Now, Leighton’s my captive. She resents me for stealing her freedom. But I can fix that. See, I’m going to hypnotize her. Force her to accept that she’s loved me all along. I’ll break her so I can put her back together again. And when all is said and done, she’ll be mine. No matter how hard she fights it.
Or how hard she fights me…
Breaking the Girl is a best friend’s dad dark romance. Please check for full content disclaimer at the beginning of the book or on my website.
TROPES: ~dark best friends dad ~age gap ~Hypno kink because why not? ~J/P Hero to the extreme!
EVA MARKS DID IT AGAIN! Her book are unhinged but man oh man, they're SO worth reading! This may be my favorite book by her so far. I hate picking favorites but this book was absolutely insane and SO hot!! This is a twist on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I. ate. it. up!
The hero, Marcus, is a a psychiatrist and falls for the heroine, his daughter's best friend. This is a twisted book of course but the romance was sweet. He does crazy things for her - birth control tampering, throwing her in the pool when she can't swim, and has sex with her while hypnotized. Like I said, it's UNHINGED but you literally can't stop reading a book like this because it's so good. I felt hypnotized by the hero the whole time I read it, lmao.
If you're wanting to read this, know that it's crazy. But it's an Eva Marks novel so expect the craziness!! It's dark, depraved, HOT, and oh so good. I would recommend this to anyone who likes dark books. I looooved Marcus in this one. Something HAS to be in the book for me to eat it up like this. Eva's books are like crack, lmao. I can't stop reading her books!!
SAFETY: Ages: 22h, 41H Virgin/celibate: virgin heroine OM/OW drama: no Cheating/sharing: no Triggers: drowning, birth control tampering, kidnapping, guns & violence, mentions of murder, drugging, dub/noncon Kinks: dub/noncon (he has sex with her while she's hypnotized), sex toys, voyeurism, somnophilia, hypno and doll kink, breeding, branding, drowning (yeah.. he tosses her into the pool when she can't swim, praise and degradation, bondage, forced and denied orgasms, anal play, humiliation, cockwarming HEA?: yes :)
You know what I love? »-♡→ An OTT obsessed hero You know what I love? »-♡→ A heroine that fights instead of being a doormat . . . You know what I don't love? ・ ・ ・ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Eva makes me question myself whenever I read her books. I kid you not I was like?! Is this a new kink??? Now, hands down, she surprised me with this one. She wrote a red flags OTT alphahole that had me question myself. Like, really question myself, lol. Please don't take it seriously.
Marcus has been obessed with his daughters best friend for ages, but he knows it can never happen because one she's younger than him, and it's his daughters bestie. It's complicated, like really complicated. But that doesn't stop them both from watching each other from afar. But things take a turn when Rylan, the daughter, finally catches on the little hints between the two, which has Marcus kidnapping and Drugging Leighton to protect her.
Yup, you read that right. Taking her away and keeping her is what he does he uses his hypothesis therapy and other delicious and dirty ways to break and put back together his little doll. And I swear some scenes made me squirm in my seat when I read. And GASP!! YES GASP!! We see the ups and downs the way Marcus flips from good to dark grey.. he'll have you wanting to strangle him and toss your panties at him. Let's not forget Leighton she was in a sticky situation with all this and her emotions on what to do and what to feel. I loved it for her, plus she taught and challenged him to.
The ending was great. We have everything wrapped in a black bow!
No ow/om drama (unless you count the daughter), no cheating, drama, Sexy times, virgin gal and no manwhore (he talks about his past but that's it)
Recommend-yes Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Heat level-🌶🌶🌶🌶
Prologue Age gap 37H/18h (Prologue) nothing sexual happens Time jump 22h/41H Voyeurism somno Hypno kink (he loves making her helpless), dr jekyll/mr hyde trope Branding Messing with birthcontrol Drugging Mentions of murder Tiny drowing Praise kink Masturbation Light bondage Sex toys Fear play Force orgasms Tiny humiliation Degradation cockwarming Dubcon Non-con No condom Mentions of SA Hea Epilogue
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I finished this book in a day and loved every second of it. Eva creates the most intense and possessive men, and Marcus is the most unhinged of them all. His obsession with Leighton, especially when she's in danger, is next-level.🤭
I must admit, I never thought hypnosis would be my kink, but here I am, all into it now.🤣 Marcus could say “moon” and “cloud” to me, and I would instantly drop to my knees without any hesitation.🤷🏽♀️🙂↕️
Safety info:
OWD: There's no OWD, however, we get information about his past and he's not a manwhore. He's been celibate for 8 years after his last 2 relationships with OW were murdered by his daughter and he never entertained the thought of OW when he became obsessed with the h.
OMD: Nothing major, but there's an OM who’s in love and pining after the h, however, she rejects him many times. There's also another incident where the h almost got assaulted but she was saved by Rylan, the H’s daughter.
There's no cheating and it ends with a HEA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This one started off well but went downhill for me.
My main issue with this was the execution- This story had a great premise and plot, but the fact that the MCs already had such established feelings for each other at the very beginning, made it feel like we were starting the story from halfway through the book.
It also felt like they made absolutely no progress in their relationship because they were already in love with each other 😭 Reading this actually made me feel nothing. The more that I read the lower I wanted to rate it because it just became so unserious to me 💀.
From the confrontations to the dialogue- it was so unbelievably hard to take anything seriously and it just didn't hit its mark🤷♀️.
This book was long and drawn out. Also repetitive and redundant…redundant and repetitive… repetitive and redundant…. It reminds me of an old cheer back when I was a cheerleader… Leighton looked in Marcus eyes… She thought she was hypnotized…. Hypnotized..hypnotized…hypnotized….that’s repetitive and redundant.
Excuse the short review… but this book has left me in a daze 🤤 my brain is not at full capacity since half of it seems to still be hypnotised by Dr. Marcus Kingston and all I can think of is going back in for a second round of this book
So let’s try this. How do I feel about this book… let’s see… this ——> 🥵😍🤤🥹😏🤯😱🫠 …just about scratches the surface but I’d need the XXX rated emoji keyboard for the levels this Doctor reaches
The spiciest, most taboo, but most delicious book I've ever sank my teeth into. It had a hold on me from beginning to end, while making me feel things I should probably see a therapist about.
This book had all the elements to be amazing: forbidden best friend’s dad, perceived other man drama and jealousy, stalking, obsession, pining love, voyeurism, a hint of somnophilia, BC tampering, breeding kink, and the most innovative element I’ve come across, hypnotism. The hero is a practicing psychiatrist. Yet the execution could have been better.
The beginning was so good — the furtive, heated looks and sexual tension, and spying each other — but as I reached one of the climatic events of Marcus and his little doll, Leighton’s, romance, the storyline and writing became cumbersome and repetitive; the pace, slow. The story sort of stalled, added to the deranged daughter subplot. Unfortunate because the original premise was so creative. Marcus was unhinged in his love for Leighton, a dominant when he chose, manipulative in his quest to win over Leighton who was already in love with him, just unfamiliar with this version of him.
While the attraction was electric, the spicy scenes felt glossed over sometimes, the positioning of their bodies relative to the space. How did he get to that part? Still when they were good, they were hot: edging, praise, denial, pacifying, and good girl talk.
Some missed opportunities? “I won’t take advantage of you when you’re under a trance.” For a dark romance, I would have expected a heavy dose of that, with somnophilia. There is a fair amount of trance-induced response though and persuasion. The guy is obsessed with her acknowledging loving him in every way.
I paused this book and picked it back up because I was interested in how their story would play out, and despite the intriguing plot, the pace at times took away from it as well as the daughter's outcome. The denouement was an expected conclusion. 3.5 stars.
You might wonder how I have the audacity to give this twisted dark romance 4.5 stars, when I've ranted about comparatively milder sins from characters in other books?
Well... the thing you gotta remember is, my moral compass is a roulette wheel. 🤷♀️ 🚩🚩🚩
➞ MMC is inspired by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. ➞ I've never seen dollification or hypnosis kink in a romance before, so big points for originality! ➞ It sometimes felt like a psychological thriller with a dash of horror. Actually, maybe psychosexual is a better term, because after Marcus kidnaps Leighton, not much happens besides sex. And yet it still had me in a chokehold.
Marcus lost points with me towards the end when it became clear he was
This felt medium-dark to me, but that's subjective so check CWs. Other reviewers have already tackled the lists of tropes/kinks/CWs, so I'll just link to Darlene's review and Kailynn’s review.
MCs: Marcus ~ psychiatrist (41) Leighton ~ fresh out of college (22)
Tropes: Age gap (19 years) Best friends dad DARK romance (I mean dark) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde MMC
Info: Prologue Dual POV No ow drama Slight om drama (see note) No cheating Virgin h (H celibate 8 years) Violence Mentions of murder Mentions of SA Dub-con Non-con Drowning (tiny bit) BC tampering Kidnapping Drugging Somnophilia Hypo kink (sex w/ h while she’s hypnotized) Doll kink Sex toys Voyeurism Bondage Forced & denied orgasms Humiliation Praise & Degradation Branding Breeding No third-act breakup Epilogue HEA
I read 55% of this book on the verge of passing out for the night, so the first half was a little confusing for me. That’s probably just my fault though.
In the end, it just didn’t keep my attention as much as I wished. It may also be because one of the recent books I read was SO good, and I was comparing the two (not on purpose). The funny thing is that book was also about a psychiatrist.
I do recommend it. This was just a me thing.
Safety
OMD: There is a guy “friend” who is in love with h. She rejected him every time. H even witnessed it a few times.
**note** H has been into h for 5 years meaning he was into her when she was 17, but nothing happened.
**note** H’s baby mama was an on-again-off-again girlfriend who he never loved, and died in childbirth. He had only two short-lived relationships before his celibacy started. He said he hadn’t entertained the thought of other women for 5 years.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
2.5✨ ~ This gets the “It exists” rating because, as long and painfully drawn out as it felt, I would have liked to see more from it. It never reached what I thought it promised, and I just had no real care other than I took it from KU and I try to read what I borrow. As far as the morally grayness, I have exactly 0 legs to stand on when it comes to what is and isn’t acceptable to read, BUT if you’re going to tell me about a deep soulful loving connection, PLEASE do me the courtesy of having them do literally anything besides the deed EVERY freaking chapter! I forgot to add - there was a ton of grammar mistakes and spelling errors at least in the version I received from KU so that was a bit annoying. The ending felt like it was only set up to sort of set off a sequel for the daughter and I don’t understand why every romance novel is becoming a series. Like let’s focus on THESE characters first!
Definitely dark please check the TWs!! What a great book and oh my gosh the spice…. This isn’t for the faint of heart. If you aren’t a “go in blind” girly do not test the waters with this one
Leighton has always had a crush on her best friend's dad Marcus. She's been trying to hide it from her best friend though. Leighton goes out into the garage with Marcus to grab groceries but that never happens... What happens next is much worse. What do you do when you're taken by the one man you loved?
I love every single nickname Marcus calls Leighton. Anything that comes out of his mouth is heaven. I can't believe he would wait for Leighton to stand outside his room and do that! When Marcus knew they messed up it was too late so he had to save Leighton. I wasn't expecting how he ladynapped her. Honestly Marcus gave me whiplash but I loved every minute. I wanted to help Leighton figure out her real emotions so badly. That ending was NOT what I expected at all.
Eva wrote another masterpiece. This brilliant woman knows how to write a story. I couldn't get enough. She writes hard topics so tastefully. It was up and down but came together perfectly. I'm so excited to see what she has coming next.
Despite the age gap, the story was enjoyable until it wasn’t anymore. The H kidnaps the h and kinda forces her to have sex with him. Plus, the h and her body betraying syndrome was sorta overdone.
I knew what I was getting into (kinda 🤷🏻♀️)so it was a 50/50 whether I was going to enjoy it. Sadly, this wasn’t for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This story features a dark and unsettling relationship dynamic that evokes strong emotions. The male main character (MMC) embodies the dual nature reminiscent of the tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, shifting dramatically between charm and obsession. This creates a blend of fascination and discomfort. His intense pursuit and fixation on the female main character (FMC) generate tension that keeps readers engaged.
The FMC grapples with the challenge of developing feelings for her best friend's father, a situation for which she is unprepared, especially given the chaos and danger brought on by her friend, who is decidedly not happy about sharing her father.
Adding complexity to her interactions with the MMC is the FMC’s internal conflict. Despite their intense connection, I was captivated by the intimate scenes, which exceeded my expectations; each moment felt raw and honest. I read quickly, drawn in by the themes of passion, danger, and emotional struggle.
The FMC wrestles with accepting the MMC for who he is, including his dark and obsessive tendencies. You can feel her inner turmoil as she navigates her attraction to him, along with her aversion. There’s a powerful draw to his darker side, which she craves despite the inherent risks. Her journey toward acceptance adds depth to the story, highlighting the complexities of love intertwined with darkness. This narrative made me reflect on the characters, the nature of obsession, and the fine line between passion and danger.
As this is a darker tale, I recommend checking the trigger warnings before reading. However, I found it highly enjoyable and perfectly aligned with my tastes.
This books is FULL with TW⚠️ as always check them begore you read this book!
“You’ve been the only one for me, Leighton. There’s been no one else simply because you exist.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
This books is everything I didn’t know I need it. This is the most deprive book i have read in my entire life and believe me i have read some crazy a$$ sh1it 🤣. HOLLY SH1TBALLS 😳🤯 this is my second book I read by Eva and man this lady does NOT disappoint me in the less. This book is DARK, unhinged, derange, out of the rocket crazy but so freaking good and deep down is also beautiful!
The entire book is based in Marcus & Leighton, he is completely and oddly obsessed with her to the point where he kidnapped her “take her” and make her see they are perfect for each other but there is a 110% reason why he did this and the twist your gonna be WTF 😳🤯. Keep in mind this is a “retelling” of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or a trope in Eva’s world! Dr. Kingston is a delicious, filthy, sexy, unhinged man and Ms. Leighton is just a sweet girl with a crush.
As soon as i saw all the tropes on this book I knew it was going to be amazing and I was RIGHT all alone. This was an amazing read and everyone with an OPEN mind should read it!
Tropes: •Age Gap •Best Friends Father •Forces Proximity •Touch Her and ☠️ •Obsessed Toxic Love •Breeding Kink •BC Manipulation •S3xual Mind Manipulation / Gr00ming
I was lucky enough to read this as an ARC. And let me just say, this was a deliciously, dark book! I was surprised by how much I was drawn into the story line and where the author was going with it. I love a good psycho MC and when he’s your best friend’s hot father… yes, please. The only reason why I didn’t give this a 5-star rating was because of Ry… I just felt her character was unrealistic. I won’t go into details because I can’t give anything away, (that would ruin the plot twist) but I didn’t like her from the start. There were also a few things unexplained regarding her as well. BUT the storyline was original and so damn good!
🖤 Dark Romance 🖤 Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde inspired MMC 🖤 Age Gap 🖤 Best Friends Dad 🖤 Kidnapping 🖤 Somnophilia Kink 🖤 Hypno Kink 🖤 Noncon 🖤 Praise and Degradation & SO MUCH MORE
✨My Thoughts✨
Wow...that is my honest reaction to the whole book...just WOW!😱💕
I loved it so much💖 Right when I finished, i literally thought “this book got me fucked up”🤭
Marcus (MMC) is such a psycho and I absolutely love it. He is so obsessed with Leighton (FMC), like girl had no chance of ever escaping this mans clutches (and I mean why would you when a man is that OBSESSED with you😏) But surprise surprise... girl was just as obsessed✨
There were parts throughout this book where I was like “woah ok that got dark” understandable, its a dark romance, but sometimes you have to think like damn that is dark! Like the fucking flower garden!!! IYKYK, that got me fucked up!🤯🫣
I will never look at the words “moon” and “cloud” the same ever again...like dayum 🌙☁️😏🥵 but like you know…Marcus could say “☁️” to me ALL DAMN DAY (not even sorry🤭)
I love how Leighton developed to fully and completely trust Marcus towards the end, like she knew that man would do ANYTHING for her🖤 With everything they went through throughout this book, they were made for each other!
Eva...you did it again girl! I am 100% obsessed with your books! You officially became an auto buy author for me and I am so grateful you sent me this ARC. It was such a dream come true honestly! Can’t wait to see what you have coming next!💕🥰✨🖤
EVAAAAAAA. Seriously we slammed this book down. You never disappoint me with the unhinged men in your stories. Marcus, can I just say, the perfect modern day Dr.Jekyll & Mr.Hyde. He played his part so well. He is just so obsessed with our girl and nothing will stop her from being Hɪs. My girl Leigh, LOVE her. Totally all about her best friend’s dad from a young age, but she would never ruin her friendship with Rylan. Little does she know her best friend is a bit cray cray. There wasn’t a second I was bored. Heck I was even shocked through some of it haha but I would expect nothing less. The whole ride was a wild one and I was here for it. Just 🤌🏻
When I say that I want dark romance, THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! - Taboo relationship (bff's dad, age gap) - Taking of a woman: don't call it k!dnapp!ng - Breeding k!nk - Angst - Suspense - Questionable/lack of morals - Equally possessive/obsessive lovers - And so. Much. More.
The plot of the story is SO GOOD & had me on the edge of my seat while I was still able to indulge in the spicy, forbidden smut. The writing was just exceptional and you can tell that the author put in a lot of passion & effort into this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves this genre and wants to kick things up a notch.
Overall Rating: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Spice: 5/5 Fave Quotes: "And I love his brand of unhinged. What does that say about me? A psycho. I’m a psycho." “'I’ll show you how good it feels to be mine.'” "Truth is, when the right person comes along, all of these so-called wrongs are the exact things that make him so, so, so right."
10 out of 10 would definitely recommend. Deliciously dark and depraved. Marcus is the best Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He is seriously unhinged and deranged and I am obsessed with him. This book is just wow. I’m at a loss for words. It’s so good and I honestly can’t wait to dive into the rest of Eva’s books.
This book is VERY dark so please check triggers warnings and take them seriously. If you don’t love your men morally grey unhinged and deprived this book is probably not for you. If you don’t love non-con, dub-con and somno kink this book is definitely not your cup of tea. If you read all of those and thought HELL YEAH..welcome to the dark side my friend😈😈
“I’m a greedy man, Leighton. A possessive one. I want all of you. Your laughter, your tears. The words coming out of your mouth. Every single thought that runs through your head.”
𝔹𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕚𝕣𝕝 by @evamarkswrites ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌶️🌶️🌶️
God this was HOT! Eva sure knows how to get your heart racing and feeling all tingly with her books! I couldn't put this down!
Marcus & Leighton are perfect for eachother but they have a few obstacles to overcome before they get their ending 😏
Leighton wasn't supposed to fall for Marcus her best friend's dad but she couldn't help herself, the magnetic pull towards him kept her sneaking back for more. Creeping around in the night to fulfil her desires she though she was alone in her fantasys but Marcus was right there with her, fulling the fire that burned brighter the longer Leighton kept her feeling in the dark.. or so she thought.
Marcus is an expert in his field and he uses his hypnosis to his advantage, he knows he shouldn't crave sweet little Leighton but he can't stop the deprived thoughts that run through his mind whenever he is near her. He can't stop the darkness within him screaming to be let out to claim her the way she's claimed him, his methods might not be for everyone but he will use everything in his disposal to his advantage to claim Leighton for himself.
This book has a few twists that will have you rushing to find out more 😏 it will keep you on your toes and will have you questioning if Marcus and Leighton will make it out the other side 👀
I enjoyed this story!! It did get a little repetitive after a while but it was entertaining nonetheless. Check trigger warnings if you have any but this is a fun quick read!! Marcus is 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵