Connor's Claim

Body Count #2

by Jolie Vines

Please note this blurb contains spoilers for Arran's Obsession.

I tried everything to get his attention, but I invited in a monster.
After facing a threat to my life, I found myself kidnapped and locked away by the skeleton crew’s enforcer. Connor is feared. Respected. And obsessed with me.
He controls everything, right down to my pleasure. His rules dictate what I can and can’t touch. When I can and can’t wear clothes.
What’s strange is how happy I am.
From the outside, my old life appeared perfect, but my father’s iron grip had suffocated me. Now, in the hands of my captor, I can finally breathe.
With the body count racking up in Deadwater, I never want to leave my masked man’s protection. Even if caring for me might cause his downfall.
Without realising it, I’ve become Connor’s claim. But how long can it last when the secrets I keep threaten us both?

--

Connor’s Claim is the second book in the interconnected dark romance Body Count trilogy, featuring a murder mystery and a crew who will do anything to keep their women.

unhinged tattooed enforcer and the mayor’s daughterDangerous play (including BC tampering)SomnoForced proximityThroat tattoo, stabby implements, and something piercedAs with Arran’s book, check the TWs if you need to (the list is still just as long as … it should be, dirty girl).

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Dark, Forced Proximity, Second Chance, Audiobook, Smut

481 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 19, 2024

About the author

JOLIE VINES is a romance novelist who lives in the South West of England with her husband and young son.

From an early age, Jolie lived in a fantasy world and is never happier than when plot dreaming. Jolie loves her heroes to be one-woman guys. Whether they are a huge Highlander, a touch starved earl, or a brooding pilot, they will adore their loved one until the end of time.

Her favourite pastime is wrecking emotions then making up for it by giving her characters deep and meaningful happy ever afters.

Want to contact Jolie? Drop her a line at jolie [at] jolievines.com, or find her in her Facebook Fall Hard reader group. She loves hearing from her readers.

Sign up to her newsletter to be the first to hear about new releases, giveaways, and promotions. https://www.jolievines.com/newsletter

Reviews

[SK · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Mine. Wanted. Needed. Owned. Claimed. Free. Loved.”
“As declarations of love go, how did I do?”
“Say that word again.”
“Declaration?”
“Love. I loved ye at first sight and I never stopped. I wanted ye, needed ye, all those words were my world.”

I thought book 1 couldn't be topped, but this was even better in all aspects? It's even more darker and twisted, smuttier and yet still holds the balance of murder mystery. The pacing was fast in this one compared to book one which made it easy to devour. The right combination of action and romance, with tropes so forbidden, it is definitely not for everyone 🥵

I found Connor to be much more simplistic than I thought he would be. Like sure, there's layers and trauma lingering in the man but he knows what to do, or rather who to fight for and that makes his actions and behavior easy to grasp. He's straightforward, possessive and dominant; and he knows how to get what he wants 👀

Everly is the same in her simplistic approach. She's a bit naive but she grows soon enough and I appreciated that growth and the need to cross the threshold of trust issues and taking a leap on someone with so much belief and faith. The way the woman accepts Connor and his darkness is chef's kiss 🤌

The romance between the two is far more spicier, darker and yet there's an odd tenderness in it. The two balance each other out perfectly, with his fire and her gentleness, the chemistry is off the charts. It's the sort of romance which imo should just stay fictional given how they experimented with certain things but I suppose that's the thrill of reading about it? 👀😅

I can't wait to jump into the next book, I'm expecting lot of angst based on the ending 🤭 Do check out TW for this book/series before reading!!

~•~•~
Ngl the cover is hot. Also, been hearing that this one is even better than book 1. Diving right in 👀😌

[Fiza · ia · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ✰

Connor ye can claim me 🫦




Do i have the permission to announce my best dark romance of 2025 already? Yes, i give mahself that permission 🙂‍↕️

This shite was so dayum good, mate. I kid ye not 😝💝

Ah how i devour step-siblings trope every single time, tho it was very subtle in this one if that triggers you or smth and ofc not blood-related or anything.

Connor the man that you are ugghh my man is a serial killer, had his first kill on behalf of her, dedicated his every match to her, has his shirt (which he wore the first time he saw her) separately in his closet, likes thriller novels, takes care of her, writes instructions for her in his apartment, picks flowers for her, begs her to stay, doesn't watch other women, comes just by giving her pleasure, tattooed tally marks on his fingers whenever he had a thought abt her, helppp- smitten who?? Also, he has a piercing too (down there) 😇



I loved the fmc too #thicc.thighs.save.loife 🙂‍↕️🙌

Now coming to the spice


Trying to act okay but 🦋🦋🦋

Lawd have mercy 📿
Lawd have mercy 📿
Lawd have mercy 📿



Not the vibrator and d*ck in one h0le💀

Okay so now the problem is that you can't read this as a standalone 😔 the whole series revolves around murder(s) mystery so obv you've to start with the the first book- which was also good but this one was P.E.R.F.E.C.T. and ik third one is gonna eat too cz i already love Cassie n Riordan 😚💘

Some other favorite scenes

✓ FMC's confession
✓ Her seeing tattoos he'd given her
✓ Threatening her father scene

Quotes

〃“The world should see how beautiful ye are, Ev.”
“I love that you think so.”
“Because it’s true.”
She raised her focus to mine. “I love you so much.”
Any reply I could give would be an understatement. “My last breath will be your name.”〃

〃“As declarations of love go, how did I do?”
Her dazzled gaze held mine. “Say that word again.”
“Declaration?”
She smacked my chest.
“Love,” I countered, and my pulse raced. “I loved ye at first sight and I never stopped. I wanted ye, needed ye, all those words were my world.”〃

〃“You’d never harm me.”
“Never,” I vowed. “I’ll never let ye go either.”〃

〃I hovered the needle over his skin, suddenly scared. “I don’t want to mess this up. It’s a permanent scar.”
“Everything ye do to me fits that description.”〃

〃“So tell them what their words mean,” he ordered.
“I…don’t know.”
“Their words mean nothing.”
“Nothing,” I agreed.
“Except the guarantee of their pain at my hands.”〃

〃“Listen up,” I shouted. Then I turned us to show Everly’s face. “Mine. Do ye hear me? Fucking mine.”〃

Also Loving how the mystery surrounds the next couples at the end of both this and previous book 😋

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my, I just love when my instincts are proven right, Connor's definitely my favourite.
He can absolutely claim me, all day, every day.. He was so freaking unhinged, I was obsessed!!

This book was a lot better, freakier and so much hotter. He was a man obsessed and I devoured every scene. He freaking tattooed a line on himself every time he thought about her, I mean, come on.. He protected her, always. When he threatened her father.. He was a killer, yet his first kill was to protect her.. *swooning*
I loved Ev, I faced the same struggles, so I connected to her easily and seeing Connor worship her did something to my brain... Ahhh it was so perfect..
And him tattooing those words on her, nothing will top that, I'm afraid.. And the way she confessed to him couldn't have been more perfect..

I do need to point out that they were step-siblings at one point, in case that's not your thing. I loved it though..
Also, again, please check the trigger warnings, this absolutely isn't for everyone!!!
I, personally, have zero complaints. I ate it up, left no crumbs..

Also, the murder mystery unfolded some more and I'm a little ashamed to admit that I didn't paid close attention to it, so I have no clue who the killer might be. I'm usually great at guessing, but I'm afraid other things clouded my mind. Sorry, not sorry..
The event at the end broke my heart a little.. She deserved better..
Hell's gonna break loose and I look forward to it..

The next book is gonna be so fun!! Cassie has all my love, can't wait to see her in action, the little glimpses we got of them were so good!!

.·:*¨ ¨*:·.

I had to start this immediately!!
I'm so excited for his book, I just know it's going to be my favourite 🤭

[molly lou]

A man so down bad for his woman to the point he’d do anything for (and to) her is going to do it for me every time 💃🏻.



… still deciding on proper rating

━━━━ ⊱⋆⊰ ━━━━
𝑷𝒓𝒆-𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 ꪆৎ
I am so ready for Connor and Everly’s book 🧘🏻‍♀️

[Erika Braga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this one was even better than the first ….. I so far loved both.

When the MMC is sooooooooo in love and loved the FMC since he was 16 years old and never forgot her.
When the MMC is the enforcer for the Skeleton gang but is completely head over heels for the girl.
When the MMC tattoos words on different parts of her body so she sees how much she is loved and how beautiful she is when she struggles with the way she sees herself because she is plus size and heard insults coming from men around her including her father her whole life.
When the MMC kidnapped and drugs her to stop her muscles but keeps her conscious and makes her orgasm multiple times with such passion that makes you blush.
When the MMC has the need to claim her publicly and walks carrying her over his shoulder and shows her to every single man that works with him and say : MINE !

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

The words he tattooed on her you asked ?

CHOICE
MINE
WANTED
NEDDED
OWNED
CLAIMED
FREE
LOVED

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

[Olga 🌺 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I 🙋‍♀️ must be the unpopular opinion, because every one of my GR friends loved this one more than Book 1.

To be fair this was a good book, really good. I adore the way this author writes. She is so talented and her words just flow smoothly on the page.

But where Arran in Book 1 was obsessed, protective and painstakingly in love, Connor in Book 2 was unhinged, deranged and OTT in love.

- He paraded her naked infront of his crew to mark his claim.

- He tattooed all over her body words of affirmations and acceptance.

- As long as she is at home, when he's around, she has to have her "huge t*ts" loose.

- She is "curvy" with jiggly thighs, big belly and huge tits yet he carries her around fireman style throughout the book, and he even gets her out the balcony on the second floor of her residence while she's passed out and carries her down...

If he ain't superman resurrected I don't know what else to call him.

- I loved that Riordan and Cassie, the MCs of book 3, have a couple of POVs in this book.

- I am obsessed with Cassie already, she is absolutely hilarious and badass. Definitely morally grey heroine and I can't wait to read her in Book 3.

- I loved the suspense and the unsolved crimes of Book 1 which continue throughout the whole series.

- I am NOT a fan of the brothel they all work in, the increased mention of p*rn scenes taking place in Book 2, and the kinky kinks that made me want to skip and skip.

- There is no mention whether she has had s*x with other men after she pushed him away 10 years ago. No mention either whether he has been with other women during their separation yet the fact that he works in a brothel and that he admits he used to get turned on with the parade of naked women and public sex scenes, I'd make a safe bet that he has been with many women since her.

TW: Lots and lots of BDSM and somnophilia. Watching others have s*x. 20 men hunting and claiming 5 women (not the MCs). Violence and murder.


📝 ticking another Bingo square
(24) "Book sitting in my tbr for a long time" Almost a year to be exact
Square Count: 80

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[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. I thought I was entertained with the first book. This second took me for surprise even more than last. Just when I think the plot might get predictable or boring...NOPE. The intensity and mystery combined with the complex characters is on point! The character development is awesome. The POV from the different characters is different for each personality. Its is a great book. So far I have maybe two books I would ever read again...This is next on my list. I never reread a book.

[Izzah ꒰Hiatus ಇ Duchess of Cabria꒱ · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's you me not me you

This author is simply not for me.

↠ He loves her at first sight

↠ Breeding

↠ Bc tampering

↠ Somno

↠ Body modification (hero tattoos the heroine)

all tropes I loveeeee~~ yet... I didn't like this.


࿔*:･ What I liked

Unlike the previous book where the narrative kept me interested and I didn't like the MCs and their actions, in this one I liked the MCs while the plot bored me.

The hero, Connor, has loved the heroine since they first met and even though she broke his heart, he hasn't been able to forget her. The angry, 'I don't want to love you' sex at the begin was pretty hot.

The heroine has also loved the hero all this time. Her insecurities were relatable and not too in your face. I didn't like that she was so ready to give up when her father took her, but it was momentary.

I also didn't like the ambiguity of whether the MCs had been with other people since their separation. Neither says they have, but I feel that if they hadn't the author would've made a point to say it.

It's hard to believe the 'I have loved you for over ten years' if he's also been screwing around.

But since it wasn't stated either way, let's just leave that point there.


࿔*:･ What I didn't like

There's an multi-book overarching murder plot in the background that got old really fast. That's because the guys are investigating it on their side and the girls on their own?

Why are we losing time with none romance stuff on two different fronts? Especially since the subject is the same.

Then there's the brothel stuff. I read 50% of the previous book and it contained all the information given in this one... Once was enough. So much page time is dedicated to telling us in great detail all that's going on and it got reallyyy boring reallyyy fast.

Add a small exhibitionist scene by the MCs and I was really over the brothel stuff.

My last point is not so much something I didn't like, but I something that didn't work for me.

The story takes place in an English town bordering with Scotland called Deadwater. The way they speak about 'power', 'balance' and 'corruption' made it seem like a massive, important town. But it isn't???

The whole county of Northumberland has a total population of 320,000+ (first number on the google search). I couldn't even find the total for Deadwater (didn't try very hard, though), but I was able to find the biggest city (Blyth) has a population of 37,000+.

I felt like that lowered the stakes a bit... as well as make this quote not very believable

Tension in the city was high, and the focus on Deadwater had turned global, with four women now killed in almost identical fashions capturing attention worldwide.

Really? Not national, but global? You do realize the world is half ending every day, right? But that's 100% my subjective opinion.


࿔*:･ Final thoughts

This is a very obvious case of the author simply not being for me.

I used a credit for the audiobook but decided to return it because I can't ever see myself listening to this story again. The ambient sounds or added background noise were interesting at first but after a while they started to grate.

The narrators were pretty awesome, though. There were four of them; one for Arran (previous hero), one for the hero, one for the heroine and one for the future heroine of book 3. The distinctions made it very easy to follow the conversations. Too bad the sounds were so distracting.


╭── ⋅ ⋅ ──────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
. .┊𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆
. .┊➛ 𝑺𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒆: 75
. .┊➛ 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆: A book with a name on the title
. .┊➛ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔: 35/100
╰── ⋅ ⋅ ──────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

[Alina Kravets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Це друга частина трилогії. І вона теж мені сподобалась.❤️‍🔥

І тут є такі тропи:
🖤Вимушена близькість
🖤Другий шанс
🖤Unhinged protector
🖤Герой має тату
🖤 Таємниче вбивство (ще з попередньої книги)
🖤 героїня plus-size

Коннор він же (Тінь), небезпечний і власницький силовик в банді скелетів. Він один із тих книжкових персонажів, які в реальному житті змусили б мене втекти подалі. Але як герой книги… 🤤👌.
Ходячий червоний прапор, але це для мене не проблема, бо під час читання я стаю дальтоніком!😂

Еверлі, його колишня зведена сестра. Ми дізнаємось що у них були стосунки, але був переломний момент коли вона від нього відвернулась. І тепер Коннор "типу ненавить її", хоча це зовсім не так. Вони обоє кохають один одного до нестями.

Я взагалі не прихильник тропу другий шанс, але тут мені він сподобався.

тут було прям купа класних моментів.

Після ночі разом коли вона зізналась у почуттях, а він нічого не сказав одразу (вона подумала що він нічого не відчуває до неї), але він їй залишив записку, лише з одном словом.
ЗАЛИШСЯ.
Це розбило моє серце.💔

Бо він кожен свій поєдинок присвячував, їй і всі 10 років сподівавася, що вона прийде до нього. Він чекав.

І те як вона його накачала наркотиками, щоб нарешті він її вислухав, чому вона залишила його.

"Ти був моїм, і я заявила на тебе права своїм серцем. Я ніколи не переставала тебе кохати. Ти був бажанним, потрібним, коханим. Ми належали один одному, але я тебе покинула, і це було жахливою помилкою. Якщо ти мене пробачиш, я більше ніколи не скажу тобі - ні."

Однією з моїх улюблених частин в цій книзі є те, як дівчата зблизились. Мені дуже подобається, як героїні знаходять спільну мову й підтримують одна одну.

Але мушу сказати дружба між Арраном і Коннором у цій книзі — просто шедевр. Особливо запам’яталася сцена, де Арран ніс Коннора, коли той був голий. 🤣

Ну і звісно, пара Ріордана і Кессі.
Здається Ріордан виривається в моєму топі на перше місце.
Бо який ж він...🤤

Рекомендую!❤️‍🔥

[iremucka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claim deyince de sen be Connor!!! İlk kitap da eh ti ama bu baya güzel arkaplandaki cinayetlerle de heyecan sürüyor.

Sevmediğim bir trope olan somnofiliyi çok ince çok başarılı çok profosyonel işlemiş.

Everly ve Connor.. 15yaşında anne babaları evlenince üvey kardeş ve sonra aşık olurlar ama kötü adamlar yüzünden ayrılmak zorunda kalırlar. 10 yıl sonra Connor tekrar Everly' nin karşısına çıkar artık beklemekten sıkılmıştır...

Bu yazar bazı sahneleri abartıyor ama fena değil. 3. kitap Cassie & Riordan ' a uçuyorum çünkü pislik Cassie çok merak ettirdi. Adama takık olduğu için motorsikletine takip cihazı takmak mıııı nesin sen ben mi?

Kraliçeye gidiyorum.. Umarım büyük beklenti büyük hayalkırıklığı getirmez.

Diğer serisine de bakacağım.

[mar ۶ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Now Everly was in my posssession, I was going to bleed out from old wounds when it came time to let her go.”

ৎ⋆｡‧📖‧ 4.0★

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"(obsessive - chase atlantic)"
0:09 ━●────────── 3:54
ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤ

full playlist: everly & connorღ

WHAT THE FUCK WHAT WAS THAT ENDING

⋆˙⟡ my thoughts
I actually enjoyed this way more than I intended, I don't remember much of 'arran's obsession,' the first book, but I do know that this one was better, not a lot but better. I took me 4 days to finish but it honestly feels like I finished this in one, I could've finished it one if I didn't have exams.💔

The tension between everly and connor is really good. They were lovers in the past but everly had to let connor go because she was scared her dad was going to snitch on him, which would cause him to get into jail, what she obviously does not want. When they meet again, mostly connor realises he is not over her, he never got over her. (WE LOVE THAT TYPE OF MAN !!)

It's a dark romance mixed with murder mystery, which I don't really love because with murder mystery I don't ever know who is the murder and I want them to tell me BUT I HAVE TO FINSIH THREE BOOKS BEFORE IT IS RELEAVED. just stop and tell me.

⋆˙⟡ characters
I really love everly. When she used his technique (no spoilers) to get him to listen to her, YEEESSSS !! The thoughts for what would happen after she was done telling her story were not in this moment but that's okay because honestly same.

I don't know how I feel about connor. Yes I love an obsessive man but his personality was a lit bit to focussed on the fact that he kills people for his job, like we get it shut up. I think riordan is going to be my man so I'll feel connor for the other girlies.

⋆˙⟡ do I recommend this book?
maybe, you'll have to read the first book of this series first because the murder mystery continues in this book and I found the first book a lot less enjoyable so it is maybe for me. I read mostly for the girls because they are icons.
⤿ talking about the girls I also have a playlist for them: genevieve, everly, cassieღ

[Neapolitan670 📚🖤 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in the series and this follows on for Connor/Shade and Everly’s story.

We kind of know about what Connor does for a living and his love for Everly never died, it just stuttered. The fact he’d race to her when she’s in trouble is a testament to that. In their story there is a continuation of the m^rders, the intrigue that goes with this, the girls have set up a little detective agency in Cassie’s room their attempt to get to the bottom of it. Everly and Connor have a couple of rocky moments mainly caused by her father. There is a bombshell dropped from Riordan 😬

Onwards to the next instalment 🤣 The spice in this one is out there, especially Connor’s penchant 😉 that’s all I’m saying. It kept you stuck to the pages with all that happens.

[Minnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC review

5⭐|5🌶|20%

This book is just WOW. I don't know another word to describe it 🙈
It's not "just" a romance.
It's not "just" a spicy romance.
It's not "just" a dark spicy romance.
It's so much more. The ☠️ mystery. The close-knit friend. The newfound friends.
And all that in these circumstances.

Connor isn't like other guys. He is a lot. And that makes him so special.
He is dark. He is the enforcer of the crew. He is a k!ller. His love is intense. And he suffered a lot after what happened 10 years ago. So yes, he is also sensitive.
But his k!nk 😱 I don't think I need to make a secret about it. His favorite w€apon$ are 🔪 and 💉 There isn't real 🔪 play, but the $edativ€$ he loves to use, he loves to use them on Everly, too. And just to be clear, she knows and approves it 😎

Everly is the mayor's daughter. She lives a privilege life, right? Not completely. The mayor isn't what we would have as a mayor in our town. Honestly, I wished he would be... Wouldn't be walking around anymore 😎
I always thought "How will the mayor react?" It's for sure he won't be amused 🙈 And also, "What will he do next?"

In contrast to Arran's book, this book isn't set completely at night. Everly isn't all into the nightlife (yet), so she works and interacts with other people during the day. But still, it's a lot of nighttime 😁

This book is primarily written in Connor and Everly's POV, but it already has a few chapters in Riordan and Cassie's, too.
I was so excited to see Cassie again. It's wonderful to see what a wonderful young woman she became. But she isn't that little goody-two-shoes girly. She is tough and I can't wait to read her book soon 🤩

Because this book is part of a trilogy, it again has a huge cliffhanger 😱
Yes, there is always one couple featured in each book, but because of the ☠️ mystery, it's one whole story.
I so need to know who the k!ller is. There are so many suspects 😱


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[Rmplift, Rachel Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jolie did it again! I can't get over how good she is with this plot and storyline.

The story in this book continues by with the POV of Connor and Everly. SOME DIRTY LITTLE CONNECTIONS COME OUT IN THIS BOOK! It goes through both of their history alone and together. They finally reconnect and discover what went wrong all those years ago. Also, a great rendition of why the grass is not greener on the other side. Finally, Everly, Cassie, Riordan, and Gen all team up to figure out who is killing girls from the club then at the end it all just explodes.

I really liked this book (almost as well as the first one). I really love how Connor stands up for Everly and stands by her side while teaching her to be proud of her body. The ending escalated for them as a couple but I LOVED how they leaped at the last couple steps at the relationship. Overall, great and quick read!

Spice and Triggers 5+/5

There are so many triggers in this book. This series is not for the weak.

Tropes
Forbidden love
Second chances
bad chlidhood
touch her and die
mafia/gang

But the ending..... SHAME ON JOLIE FOR THAT BIG OF A CLIFFHANGER!

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

reread:

"My last breath will be your name."

Oh to be loved like this....

------------------------------------------
Devoured it

[Luna ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

»I own ye now. Just as ye own me. I'll defend your life with mine and give ye everything ye want. A home, my last name, the blood of anyone who hurts ye.«

★ ★ ★

❥ 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
I liked her but I think she should have stood her ground against Connor more. Most of the time she is a push over and plays by his rules.

❥ 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒓 ࣪⋆✮
Not my type. His sexual habits are way too kinky for my liking and he treats Everly like a possession and not a person.

✥ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
Meeeeh. This was just okay to be honest. I adored the first book but this one couldn’t hold up. The tropes and kinks were not my cup of tea and I skimmed a lot of chapters. This whole drugging her and fucking while she is asleep is not to my liking and Connor’s tendencies were morally black. I don‘t think all these drugs (or whatever stuff Connor gave Everly to made her asleep) are good for her health and it is not good for a body to get drugged daily. Without this stuff these two were a great couple with good tension and a interesting story line. I liked their banter but Connor was a little unfair towards Everly sometimes.
The plot again is a murder mystery (the same as in the first book) which got boring real quick. There are a lot of similar events and the author described things we already knew for pages and pages again. So not a fan of the plot.
In general this book was by far not good but not bad either. If you enjoy the kinks maybe you will like this book because the writing style of the author is descriptive and easy to read.

𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?
No.

𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟓 ׂㅤ𐙚 ࣪ ⭒
plot: 3/5
spice: 4/5
humor: 4/5
couple/tension: 3/5
world building: 5/5
happy end?: yes (for the couple) and cliff hanger (for the plot)

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 ᡣ𐭩ྀི₊ ⊹
possessive and protective hero, secrets and lies, murder mystery, forced proximity, gang, dark romance, masked men, touch her and die, from different worlds, one bed, kidnapping, mayors daughter x gang enforcer, step siblings

𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲
ages: Everly (27) and Connor (28)
cheating: no
sharing: no
kinks: free use, breeding, drugging (sex while she is unconscious)

𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
#1 Arran‘s Obsession ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#2 Connor‘s Claim ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[♡Naz♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I'll never leave you. If you forgive me, I'll spend the rest of my life making it all up to you. You were mine, and I claimed you with my whole heart."
Me 🙋‍♀️ Me 🙋‍♀️ Me 🙋‍♀️ Claim Me 🙋‍♀️ Connor.
Meeeeeee...✋️🙋‍♀️

[CB · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEW
Score: 3.5/5
POV: Dual + side characters views
Heat Level: 5+/5
Tropes: Gang; 2nd chance/ a little unrequited love; erotica
Kinks: Breeding; not sure what it’s called but where sedatives are used so you have no control

Likes:
*
Dislikes:
* the pacing was so much slower in this one. It also lacked progression regarding the murder mystery that is happening


I’m struggling to find something genuine of what I liked about this book. It honestly was just super average but with very high heat. This book has 10 scenes!
Overall the pacing of the story felt sluggish and I feel like we just get more questions instead of answers in this one. I did like that we got a bit more tidbits into Cassie as I think she’ll be my fav FMC in this series.
Connor/Shane & Everly just didn’t stand out to me.
I will read the 3rd book as I’m finishing this up for 2025 Bingo!

3.5/5

[amara_gibsie and claires wife💋✨💍 · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay, this was alot better than the first. i still dont understand the hype. SIGH😭😭😭
anywayyy ngl the spice waas okay i guess. not a fan of the sedative thing...like just no.
also how the fuck can this man tattoo while fucking her. yk what thats a talent.
anywayyy i wouldnt read this again but it was good while it lasted ig!

[Chloe Renee · Rating 1 out of 5]

do i hate myself? maybe. that would be the only feasible reason i could have to read this. jesus fucking christ…

[Cassandra 🍁☕️📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

-4.5 🌟

[Hanife · Rating 3 out of 5]

Her şey güzel ama bu kızın aygın baygın sevişme merakı beni bitirdi. Seri güzel gidiyor ama katili hala tahmin edemedim, gerçi bu işlerde iyi olduğum söylenemez 😅😂

[Christina Sturgill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4/5 🌟
Spice: 4/5 🌶️
Characters: Connor and Everly

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Body Count is polar opposite this authors Mary the Scot series!

I can hardly believe the same author wrote both Mary The Scot series and Body Count! But it just shows how brilliant and diverse her mind is! I have reservations on the sex scenes in these books and honestly they are not my idea of sexytimes. Sedation sex, double penetration vaginally ( I'm crossing my legs at the thought) household items used for penetration...no just no! But the characters crossover, Cassie and the murders definitely hold my attention and intrigue! So I can't wait for the final installment in this series! I do believe Riordan and Cassie along with the conclusion and revel of who the serial killer is will be my favorite in this series! ✌

[Aubrey Hearty · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Honestly this series lost me. I really wanted the series to be about the people participating in the game, but it’s about the people who run it and are trying to solve some murders. Just wasn’t what I expected unfortunately.

[Riah Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

honestly only 2 stars for Cassie and Riordans sprinkle of povs throughout. hated the “romance” in this between Connor and Everly :(((

[Shawna Jalbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

•Dark Romance
•Step Siblings
•Curvy FMC
•Murder Mystery
•Dub Con
•BC Tampering
•Pregnancy
•S0mnophilia
•Obsessive/Possessive/Protective
•🌶🌶🌶🌶

The second book in the body count trilogy picks right up where the first book stopped. Connor's been obsessed with Everly ever since their parent's married. He stayed obsessed even after they split. But Everly had to break Connor's heart to protect him. Unfortunately, he never knew that. He just figured she wanted to stay behind when he and his mother were leaving, and it ultimately broke him. Years passed, and he still never stopped. The best way to protect her was by kidn@pping with all the murders going on around them. He figured that if the k!ller is following him that the best place for Everly to be is beside him and under his protection even if being in her presence hurts and pisses him off.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I am enjoying this trilogy, but this one wasn't as great as the first. The couple was good, but something about their story fell flat for me. The continuous plot is entertaining, and I can't figure out the whodunit part. Loved the multicasting on the audiobook, but the random sound effects are weird. Still, can't wait to jump into the last book.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ obsessed.

[Beatriz Viana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gostei da interação do Connor nesse livro como personagem principal. Aliás, gosto mais dele do que o Arran.