התשוקה האפלה שלי

Dark Prince Road #2

by L.J. Shen, Parker S. Huntington, ל׳. ג׳יי. שן (Author's Hebrew name)

היא התשוקה המתוקה ביותר שלו... והסוד האפל ביותר שלו.

המשימה הייתה פשוטה. להתגנב לתוך האחוזה המאובטחת ביותר בפוטומק, לגנוב בחזרה את התליון שלי ולחמוק החוצה.

בעיה מספר אחת?
הרווק הכי בלתי מושג באמריקה תפס אותי.

בעיה מספר שתיים?
הוא החליט להחזיק בי. בתור מנקה.

החורף עם זאק סאן הוא כנראה הקר ביותר שהרגשתי מימיי,
אבל הגבר מלהיט את עורי.
הוא מאופק, מחושב, אכזרי וניזון מחולשות של אחרים.
הוא לא יודע שפגש יריבה שקולה.
הוא אולי בן אצולה אמריקאי, אבל האיכרה הזאת תעלה לגדולה ותהפוך למלכה.

Genres: Romance, Dark Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Dark, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Forced Proximity

564 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2024

About the author

L.J. Shen is a New York Times, USA Today, WSJ, Washington Post and #1 Amazon Kindle Store bestselling author of contemporary romance books.

She writes angsty books, unredeemable anti-heroes who are in Bill Gates's tax bracket, and sassy heroines who bring them to their knees (for more reasons than one).


Keep up with L.J. on all platforms:
Newsletter Sign up ➜ https://bit.ly/3LhsIrb
Instagram➜ shorturl.at/cDJRZ
TikTok ➜ shorturl.at/frw59
Facebook➜ https://goo.gl/fKCSo4
Website ➜ www.authorljshen.com

Reviews

[brooke (hiatus) · Rating 1 out of 5]

➸ 1 star

the mmcs pet name for the fmc is “little octopus.” need i say more?? 😭

i literally wanted to walk into traffic every time farrow asked zach to tell her random facts about fkn octopuses. PLEASE STFU, I AM NOT HERE TO LEARN FACTS!! if i wanted to read national geographic’s 100 fun facts about octopuses, i would’ve ffs. i probably would’ve enjoyed reading that so much more tho tbh bc this book was a complete shitshow lmaoo.

zach was the biggest emo boi in this book. we got it the first 50 times you aren’t human 🥺💔🥀⛓️ he reminds me of those people who post those deep inspirational quotes on their ig stories like: “nothing hurts more than being disappointed by the person you thought would never hurt you.” I WAS GETTING THOSE VIBES THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BOOK LMAOO.
- “he doesn’t let anyone get too close, so they don’t bleed out.” wow, so poetic, shakespeare is rolling in his grave rn.

more reasons why i hated this book:

1) OLIVER!! (he needs to die btw, i'm not even joking) why is this man getting his own fkn book. THE SAME MAN WHO WAS LUSTING OVER A MINOR?? absolutely not, burn it.

2) the mmc manipulates the fmc to have unprotected sex even tho she doesn’t want to but then gives in so quickly once he says: please, farrow. i’ll give you anything and everything in this world to let me fuck you bare. i need to feel you. i beg you. GIRL STAND TF UP THIS ISNT YOU.
— she also lets him fuck her while she was on her period.
my discarded tampon, drenched from my juices and coated pink with diluted blood. proof i would always and forever be his little slut. that had me closing my kindle and made me want to never pick a book up ever again.

3) during their 30 day break he is so sex craved and horny that he literally resorts to using a mango to relive himself. he literally imagines it as her 🐱
a growl ripped from my throat as i feasted on the mango, faster and harder now, envisioning myself eating her out. brother ew, what’s that. what’s that brother.

4) i’m sorry but everyone says she’s a strong fmc but i don’t see it?? she’s literally so spineless and has no ounce of self respect for herself. she was taking orders from that man like a DOG. the second hand embarrassment i got was so real. she is literally fucking a guy who is engaged and won’t fully commit himself to her?? and she had the audacity to be mad at eileen for WANTING to marry zach, a man she has loved her entire life even if it would’ve meant a loveless and fake marriage. i actually lost it when she said: “that’s not how to love, i wanted to scream.” GIRL YOU ARE LITERALLY FUCKING A MAN WHO IS ENGAGED, PIPE DOWN HOME-WRECKER.

5) zach throws a party and announces his engagement to another woman on HER birthday. instead of wishing her a happy birthday he tells her to go clean the windows in his mansion before the party (farrow is the help btw) it’s the way he says it in a condescending way that is like: you’re merely the help and you must do what i say 🙄 but then he surprises her with all these designer gifts for her birthday and then gets pissy when she doesn’t accept his gifts. what did you expect asshole!!

6) zach literally hates any form of human contact, yet his first sexual encounter is in front of another man (they are in a sauna) BUT WHAT MAKES IT EVEN MORE FUNNIER HE THREATENS THE GUY FOR LOOKING AT HER WHILE SHE IS NAKED?? SIR?? YOU ARE PRACTICALLY FUCKING HER IN A PUBLIC PLACE.. and why was the other guy watching them and masturbating to it. absolutely not, i’m out of here 🏃🏻‍♀️
- "this is my cum on her. she's mine, understood?"


7) 93 CHAPTERS + THE EPILOGUE IS CRIMINALLY INSANE. NO BOOK NEEDS TO BE THAT LONG!! i wanted to cry when i saw i still had 100 pages left when it should’ve been over.

the mmc was a virgin so 1 star for that only.

br with rowan 💘 thank god we suffered through another trashy book together. our buddy reads always turn out to be the main highlight lmaoo

「 dark prince road series 」
#1 My Dark Romeo — 1 star
#2 My Dark Desire — 1 star

[annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

this whole book is ridiculously hilarious, and it did have its cringe moments like Book 1, but it's way better! I think I expected A LOT from Zach because he was badly outshined by Farrow.

❝I like your sense of humor. If I ever develop one, it would look something like yours.❞ — before starting, literally this is the best thing someone could say to you, in my opinion! 😭💗

⋆·˚ ༘ * Farrow Ballantine — she is literally the coolest girl I've read. She's so freaking relatable and the way she handled everything and didn't even give a fuck if anyone is confessing something 😂 The whole book, she called Zach and literally HIS MOTHER out on their bullshit because she's that feisty! When he confessed how he wanted her, she cringed and laughed! 🤦🏻‍♀️ I just know she's a badass, and her comebacks are damn good. Her character is really strong, and she actually had a personality that Dallas never had. Aaagghh I love her!!! I love her! 🥺

⋆·˚ ༘ * Zachary Sun — I seriously love your 'I-hate-everyone-but-Farrow' attitude, but ngl you were outshined 😭 AHHH I loved how attentive he was and how HORNY he became for Farrow. I already suspected this in Book 1, but AHHH HE WAS A VIRGIN!!!! certainly didn't move like one but he still was. He was pussy-whipped, and I seriously like his grumpy attitude and how he literally roasted each and everyone but didn't have the balls to say anything to Farrow! 🥺

– This whole book is pretty long, which it shouldn't be, and I was seriously at the point where I needed it to end. The story could've been finished in fewer pages, but it had a lot of extra scenes (which were funny tho). The smut is not great though 😭 I actually laughed a lot because this book is hilarious, and I enjoyed reading it.

Zach's whole trauma of NOT touching anyone because of his accident is seriously so cruel for him. I felt extremely sad for him while reading that scene. Ngl, the whole scene was cliche when he realized he can touch Farrow because MIRACLE 🤨 duh. They constantly went back and forth from enemies to lovers to enemies, and their banter is top-tier. It's funny TRUST ME 😭

❝I’m positive my mind did not conjure a con woman who knows how to play Go and walks around in see-through lingerie.❞

❝You missed a spot.❞
❝Sorry, Boss, but you’re a permanent feature.❞

Farrow is seriously so nonchalant, didn't give a fuck about her dressing style and all. Also she's his maid, and it made the whole 'YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME – I LITERALLY AM' scenes really funny! 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 This whole Cinderella retelling is actually one I enjoyed because her sisters were so dumb, and Zach roasted them well!! 😭

❝Remember when you told me about the Lobster Telephone? You were right. Everyone has a favorite work of art. You’re mine.❞

Aside from the whole wedding dramas, Zach is literally obsessed with her, and I was dancing while reading each scene! His friends were so real for saying 'who's gonna tell him'.

🤺 He literally ran out in the rain for her even though he hadn't been out in the rain in 21 years because of the accident! 🥺
🤺 Went on a normal car with Farrow even though he uses military vehicles for safety.
🤺 Gifted her 23 pairs of shoes on her birthday for each of her birthday!
🤺 Realized he kinda ruined her birthday so he arranged a dinner with candles and her favorite dishes.
🤺 Watched romance movies just to get ideas to please her 😭
🤺 Followed her around the whole house just to make her have lunch with him.
🤺 Told her his embarrassing moments just to hear her laugh.
🤺 Traveled in an economy class 😂 because his mom took his PRIVATE JET, and he had to cancel his engagement just to be with Farrow!!!

❝You can pretend to enjoy another man’s company, but we both know that no one will ever come close to me.❞

And yes, the jealousy and possessiveness 🧎‍♀️

Now, lastly Oliver is left, and he's definitely with Frankie, but seriously he's wayyyyy too gross! A good friend but gross! I'm scared for his book 😭

• My Dark Romeo – 3 stars
• My Dark Prince – tbr

[Jen ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐ (ARC Review)

This was really good, and I enjoyed it so much more than I had hoped.

============================

MCs:
- Zach (33)
- Farrow/Fae/Little Octopus/Octi (22/23)


Background:

This is a modern-day Cinderella retelling, and the MCs initially met at a party.

Zach's mom hosted a soiree so that he might meet possible brides. She's been hounding him to get married and lead a life beyond his businesses. However, Zach's not interested in doing so but is willing to put up with it. At this event, Farrow's stepfamily (mom and sisters) were invited too. She hid in the trunk to enter the venue because she had a plan that had nothing to do with the party.

When her father died, her witch stepmother sold some of his personal belongings, one of which was a pendant purchased by Zach's family. So her brilliant plan was to get inside the house and steal it. Unfortunately for her, she got caught snooping and was interrogated by the man of the hour for a few minutes before he invited her to play Go (a strategy board game) with him. They reached a stalemate, and for some reason, Farrow (or rather her "functioning brain", his words) piqued Zach's interest. He wanted to continue their game because, for the first time, another human made him excited. But she's not interested, and she ran away, successfully escaping him.

After Zach figured out Farrow's real reason why she was there uninvited, he looked for her and later found her. Since he's still fascinated, he kind of blackmailed her into being his hired help. There was initial resistance from Farrow, but Zach made his point, and she negotiated her terms, and they eventually came to an agreement.

============================


Farrow. This girl had me cracking up so much with her sass and sarcasm. 😂 I really enjoyed reading about how her mind works and the thoughts running through her head. She was so independent, strong-willed, and had a warm personality. Despite all she went through, this woman didn't lose her spark or fight. The confidence and resiliency she showed in this story honestly amazed me. I don't know how she was able to survive everything that happened to her and her stepfamily. Most of all, I do love that she's not spineless and isn't afraid to hold her ground.

Zach. I feel bad for the reason why he stopped feeling things and got averse to human touch. It was traumatic, especially for a kid. It also didn't help that after that incident, his mom sort of became a shell of the person that she used to be. And this "brokenness" carried on until the present time in the book. But when Farrow came into his life, everything seemed to suddenly seem less dull, and for the first time, he felt alive. So in his own way (sometimes unhinged but mostly swoony), he made every effort to keep that kind of warmth and light in his life.

Since this is the first time for him to feel these emotions, he's at a loss for how to navigate them. He did some push-and-pull stunts that I somehow understood but still bothered me. He can't fully grasp the obsession he's developing for her, so there are times he'd act like an OTT caveman but then avoid her for days only to come back begging for her attention. To be fair, he's not a jerk, but he needs time to process these things, hence the silent retreat for a few days.

Have I mentioned he likes to beg? Because he did it multiple times in this story. 😂 Farrow definitely knows how to stand her ground and wouldn't let Zack walk all over her, and he's a simp (p*ssy-whipped, his words) for her. So when he tells or asks her things in a not-so-nice way, she won't cave in unless he does it with manners. And man, does he do it shamelessly. 🤭

While these two seem so perfect together, Farrow's class is something that makes it impossible for them to be together. Classism is included in the trigger warning, so I kind of expected this. Zach's mom doesn't want Farrow for him. If we were talking about social status, she's at the bottom of the list, and Zach's mom won't have any of that.

She arranged for Zach to meet Eileen—a woman who belongs in their circle. They ended up getting engaged in 52%–90% (???) of the story. He has his own reasons why he agreed to it, but on Zach's side, this was on paper only. Remember, he's not keen on physical touch, so this arrangement wouldn't even go far in that aspect. The only touch and woman he so badly wanted was Farrow. And the OW turned out to be a liar and manipulator. This engagement dragged out but was eventually resolved in the story.

Anyhoo, they ultimately work things out. I got secondhand embarrassment from how it was done, but other readers might find that swoony. 😅 But overall, I had fun reading it, and it was truly heartwarming how they have supported and improved one another to be the best versions of themselves. When all was said and done, what they had was a truly well-deserved HEA. 💖


Some quotes from the book:

“I’m not yours.”
“You will be.”
“I won’t.”
“You will.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“I always get what I want...And I want you like I’ve never wanted anything in my life.”

****************************

“What do you want in return?”
Everything, I thought. I want everything you have to give and beyond. Every inch of you. Every smile. Every laugh. Every breath. Every touch.

****************************

“You don’t actually like her, do you?”
No, I don’t like her. I more than like her. I’m tragically obsessed with her.

****************************

“You’re always beautiful, Farrow Ballantine, but you are especially beautiful when you’re at my mercy.”

****************************

“Remember, Octi. You can date whomever you want and sell yourself stories about moving on from me, but I will always be the one to f*ck you. The one to make you c*m. The one to own every inch of you.”

****************************

“You’re my good luck charm, Farrow Ballantine. Even the universe knows I need you.”

****************************

“It made me thrilled. Before Farrow, I’d forgotten how to be happy. I would give anything to bring her back.”

****************************

"You slipped into my life pretending to be a problem and turned out to be my solution. My salvation.”

****************************

“Are we endgame now?”
“Baby, we’re not only endgame. We’re in our own goddamn league."

****************************

“I figured out why I love you.”
“And why is that?"
“You’re my home.”
“I figured out why I love you,” I countered.
“And why is that?”
“You make my soul breathe fire, my beautiful dark desire.”

Book info:
- Age gap
- Abuse (domestic)
- Death of a loved one
- PTSD
- Classism
- Racism (brief)
- Car accident
- Murder
- No cheating
- Virgin MMC, experienced FMC
- OPD (H got engaged in the second half, h went on one date)
- 3rd act breakup (1 month)
- HEA (married)


PS. I really liked the male cover. I mean, if that was Zach, well, Farrow got one fine man. 🤭


I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Yana · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know when you eat your food and it’s just bland…. That’s kindna how this book was. Also, will never look at a mango the same way iykyk

[Phuong ✯ · Rating 4 out of 5]

– 3.5 stars

i only read this because 1. i'm lowkey obsessed with the cover and 2. i heard the 33 year old hero is a virgin and he is in fact a virgin and hates touch. zacharyfarrow were giving walmart christiangianna, but i take it cuz the obsessed boy vibes were immaculate 🤣

“Laugh again,” I ordered.
Her delicate brows crashed together. “Make me, then.”
“Impossible. I have no sense of humor.”
“Develop one.”

[sasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

he calls her little octopus.

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY REVIEW AND OTHERS can also be found on my blog:
╰┈➤KITTY KATS CRAZY ABOUT BOOKS

❀ 𝐌𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄 ❀ Is the second full length (Cinderella fairy tale retelling) romance book within the (Dark Prince Road) series co written by L.J. Shen & Parker S. Huntington. Spoken in 'dual perspectives' ❥ Zachary Sun & Farrow (Octopus aka Octi) ❥

Hey my names Kat and I’m addicted to reading 👋 As soon as this hit my kindle, game over, life on hold, do not disturb and this was inhaled faster than a racehorse, I barely came up for air!

So as the story goes, like a thief in the night she went on a suicide mission to retrieve something that belonged to her deceased father which by rights then belonged to her, only for it to be in the hands of Zac. The plan seemed simple enough...Until she got caught in the act that is. running away like a ship in the night she loses converse shoe which is the only thing he has to track her down, which he easily does. So then to get her out from under the wicked stepmother and her daughters he devises a plan with a few stipulations making her his housekeeper.

I have never giggled so much, know so much about octopuses, swooned so much and fell so fast for both our characters.

'𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒘 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒐. 𝑺𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆, 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒕, 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝑮𝒐 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆, 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒅. 𝑾𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒙 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏.'

The banter between these two was chefs kiss, I couldn't get enough. He was like the 'Tin Man' learning at a young age that to touch, to feel hurt, he became the 'Ice Man' untouchable, and in some ways unloveable. Human connections were beyond him, human touch was unbearable, but with her he slowly started to thaw which wrung all those mushy feels out of me.

'𝒁𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑺𝒖𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒅.'

These two were perfectly imperfect but perfect for each other!

The storyline was so unique, all the feels, the swoons, these two authors mesh so well together and I hope we see them co-writing again in the future.

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[EmBibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

“You were right. Everyone has a favorite work of art. You’re mine.”

This is my most surprising book of the year. It was just pure entertainment and was so hilarious. I had so very low expectations for this, because a) I didn’t enjoy the first book, it gave me a headache. b) I didn’t like any of the books I read by the author. However I was interested in this mainly because of the virgin hero who couldn’t tolerate human’s touch. Also, that cover is gorgeous.

To be honest, the book had its cringe moments, was so unhinged, so unserious, and didn’t need to be that long. However, there’s also the fact that he was such a boy obsessed and I couldn’t resist his persistence. Him following her around and chasing her was a delight. Farrow was just so cool! She’s a cool chick. I just loved her attitude and sass. How she helped him and made him suffer both at the same time was so enjoyable to read about. I had such a fun time with this.

[Poppy Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was PHENOMENAL!

I was completely blown away by this book from the start! This is a Cinderella retelling, but make the mmc a billionaire, intimidating, morally grey with allllll the touch her & die vibes. Zachary Sun has catapulted his way into my favourite book boyfriends!

I cannot put into words the utter perfection in every part of this book
- the character depth was incredible
- character development (Zachs character arc?!?! Incredible)
- the writing was sharp, snappy and fast paced
- it was absolutely hilarious
- the character work was amazing, how fitting the dialogue was for the characters, their personalities were fleshed out and well written
- I love how much depth there was to the characters this wasn’t just a love story, it was also about redemption, healing, revenge, mental heath etc

I could go on and on and on

I love the cameos from Romeo & Dallas from my dark Romeo, I love the fmcs in this series they’re so relatable and funny

This was perfection 💕✨

[Jolie McAdoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I genuinely thought I was gonna hate Zachary because of the first 10% or so of the book… he flipped the script so quick he’s so baby 😭❤️❤️

[Noa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I may be Cinderella, but Zachary Sun is not my Prince Charming."

Zachary Sun is American Royalty.
He is a collector.
Of all things exquisite and hard to get.
Has always been able to figure things out. Especially people.
Until her.
Until Farrow Ballentine.

"The deal isn't an offer. It's your only choice to survive."

Farrow Ballentine had a simple task.
Sneak in. Steal the pendant. Sneak out.
At least she thought it would be simple.
Until Zachary Sun caught her.
And until he decided to keep her.

"If Zachary Sun wanted my complete submission, he's have to rip it from my bloody hands."

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

"I collect beautiful things, and she's my latest addition."

Zachary Sun made a deal with Farrow Ballentine. He helps her escape her family and she comes to work for him. Simple right? But with Zachary Sun - anything he wants, he gets. No exceptions. But will that be true for Farrow as well?

"I did not like to be outsmarted. No, let me rephrase - I was not used to being outsmarted."

OK to put it simply - I LOVED THIS BOOK.
Omg this book had no right to be as hilarious as it way because I was motherfucking cackling thank you very much and also the romance!!! AND THE SPICE!!!
This is an amazing dark retelling of Cinderella with all the right elements!!

"Even if Zach Sun were the devil, I'd willingly let him drag me into darkness. I was Persephone, eagerly following him into the underworld."

First, we have Farrow Ballentine. Your "Cinderella". You know that meme "I'm not your average Cinderella, I'm your Bad Cinderella" and we all cringed as a collective? (niche reference I know but bear with me). If Farrow Ballentine made that exact same speech I would be lining up to have her use me as a foot stool I swear to you right here right now. She is that bitch and I love her. I want to be her. She is my spirit animal. First off, not taking shit from anyone, we love to see. Putting Zach in his place, we love it. And THE COMEBACKS!!! OMG Farrow quickly became one of my favorite FMCs because she can banter with the best of them. And she also fences!?!?!?! And has a backbone!!
As you can see I'm obsessed and so is Zach thank you very much.

"'Hope not.' Farrow picked up her rag and resumed scrubbing. 'My wet dream is to have him fire me.'" - ICONIC

"If you can't handle me at my worst, then I've got news for you. My personality will only deteriorate from here on out." - ME!!!

Now. Zachary Sun. Something about the "I get everything and anything I want and I want you" just works so fucking well. I mean I will fold so quickly it's not even funny. Farrow is a stronger woman than me because I would have been a fold up chair at a birthday party people I swear. The ice is melting realness right here. And the National Geographic Octopus facts!!!! I loved Zach's character. The family obligations he felt and the whole storyline with his parents I legit wanted to hug the dude but I totally know it would go like this:

"I want to hug you so bad."
"Get out."

And I am ok with that because it is iconic and it is the moment and luckily we have Farrow to put him in his place and as I always like to quote: "WALK HIM LIKE A DOG SIS WALK HIM LIKE A DOG" especially after Oliver's thing with dog leashes but that's a different book 😏😏

"I always get what I want. And I want you like I've never wanted anything in my life."

"Fuck, it was addictive. She was addictive."

The authors made an AMAZING PLAYLIST!!! But because I'm me these are the songs that I added also 😘😘

(Link - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4oD... )

🎶 "Killing Butterflies" - Lewis Blissett
🎶 "American Money" - BORNS
🎶 "Bookends Theme" - Simon & Garfunkel
🎶 "King For A Day - Acoustic" - Matthew Grant
🎶 "Numb" - Linkin Park
🎶 "Big Bad Wolf" - Roses & Revolutions
🎶 "Fighter" - Christian Reindl, Power-Haus, Dream Harlowe
🎶 "Masquerade" - Lindsey Stirling
🎶 "Money (That's What I Want)" - Cheryl K
🎶 "Vigilante Shit" - Taylor Swift
🎶 "Rich Kids" - Bea Miller
🎶 "Mind Games" - Sickick
🎶 "Sit Still, Look Pretty" - Daya
🎶 "RUNRUNRUN - Sped Up Version" - Dutch Melrose
🎶 "Anarchy" - Lilith Czar
🎶 "You Don't Know Me" - Elizabeth Gillies
🎶 "Playground" - Bea Miller
🎶 "Pardon My French" - Gabi Sklar
🎶 "Chandelier" - Sia
🎶 "Knife Under My Pillow" - Maggie Lindemann
🎶 "Monster" - Lady Gaga
🎶 "Way Down We Go" - KALEO
🎶 "Devil Doesn't Bargain" - Alec Benjamin
🎶 "I'm Her" - Natalie Jane
🎶 "Never Say Die" - Neoni
🎶 "Everybody Wants to Rule The World" - Lorde
🎶 "PLEASE" - Omido, Ex Habit
🎶 "No Mercy" - Austin Giorgio
🎶 "Morally Grey" - April Jai
🎶 "Love The Way You Hate Me" - Like A Storm
🎶 "Devil Saint" - Luma, Yuppycult
🎶 "Beauty" - Layto
🎶 "Killer" - Valerie Broussard
🎶 "PIECES" - Elley Duhe
🎶 "pSyChOsIs" - Mitchel Dae
🎶 "Don't Make Me" - MALINDA
🎶 "Money, Money, Money" - ABBA
🎶 "Maneater (Live)" - Andrew Barth Feldman
🎶 "That's My Girl" - Fifth Harmony
🎶 "Arabella" - Arctic Monkeys
🎶 "Cinderella" - The Cheetah Girls
🎶 "Harder To Breathe" - Letdown.
🎶 "Cross My Heart I Hope U Die" - Meg Smith
🎶 "vicious" - Tate McRae
🎶 "Bury Me Face Down" - grandson
🎶 "Blood // Water" - grandson
🎶 "Desire" - MEG MYERS
🎶 "Candy" - Doja Cat
🎶 "Antidote" - Braeker
🎶 "Lose Control" - Teddy Swims
🎶 "I Want It All" - Cameron Grey
🎶 "Addicted" - Saving Abel
🎶 "Cravin'" - Stileto, Kendyle Paige
🎶 "Taste" - Ari Abdul
🎶 "Human" - Rag'n'Bone Man
🎶 "obsessed" - zandros, Limi
🎶 "In The Shadows" - The Rasmus
🎶 "older sped up" - Isabel LaRosa
🎶 "Hot N Cold - Acoustic" - The Baseballs
🎶 "Water" - Tyla
🎶 "Fairytale (Violin)" - Joel Sunny
🎶 "WOW" - Zara Larsson, Sabrina Carpenter
🎶 "Falling" - Chase Atlantic
🎶 "traitor" - Olivia Rodrigo
🎶 "do you really want to hurt me?" - Nessa Barrett
🎶 "Young And Beautiful - DH Orchestral Version" - Lana Del Rey
🎶 "Rain" - Sleep Token
🎶 "Drive You Insane" - Daniel Di Angelo
🎶 "Do It For Me" - Rosenfeld
🎶 "You Put A Spell On Me" - Austin Giorgio
🎶 "Fire On Fire" - Sam Smith
🎶 "Tell Me You Love Me - Rock Version" - Demi Lovato
🎶 "Make Me Feel" - Elvis Drew
🎶 "I'm Dangerous" - The EverLove
🎶 "NFWMB" - Hozier
🎶 "STUPID IN LOVE" - MAX, HUH YUNJIN
🎶 "Lover - First Dance Remix" - Taylor Swift
🎶 "Beautiful Things" - Benson Boone

And OMG dirty talk central that's all I'll say and show of course (I brought proof your honor!!!!):

"Kindly shove your fingers into your mouth and taste what my mere existence does to you."

"I want to nail you through the wood until you become a permanent fixture in it."

"The fucking world coming to an end couldn't stop me from making you come."

And for the cherry:

"You will. You'll take every inch like a good girl."

🥿 Tropes 🥿

🧹 Dark Fairytale Retelling (Cinderella)
🧹 Forced Proximity
🧹 Tragedy
🧹 Revenge
🧹 Deal
🧹 Maid
🧹 Possessive and very protective


Book Edit - https://www.instagram.com/p/C4LgE2qot...

[Medollga · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book had no business being THAT long! 93 chapters + epilogue is OVERKILL 💀🤡

Also, the first chapter made me really dislike the heroine as she was behaving as an infuriating stupid girlie and even after she became better, I didn't sympathize with her at all 🤷🏼‍♀️

The hero was the only character having potential, but it was quickly killed for the smut...which wasn't that great to begin with? 👉👈

In all honesty, I wanted to dnf this book SO. MANY. TIMES! 😭😭😭 Probably should've done it, and yet I suffered through all this nonsense for a predictable finally. So what does it really say about me? 🙈😅

[Lorena ♡ (semi-ia)]

dnf @17%

LMAOO can we ignore me saying i needed something silly and over-the-top? because this was a bit (a lot, actually) too much. i know the books in this series aren't meant to be taken seriously, but man, this 17% was rough 😭 i might've outgrown this type of ridiculousness because it was giving very very bad wattpad.

i was thinking about pausing it and continue it later but then i read its top review and it had me not only cringing but pretty much disgusted with what goes on later in this book. i honestly can't remember if the first book was as insufferable as this one because if it was, then i could handle it at that time (which was 2023) but not anymore. let me go back to my sweet and occasionally angsty romances 🏃‍♀️

series ratings:

1. My Dark Romeo → 3 stars
2. My Dark Desire → dnf

---
pre-read thoughts:

IT'S ZACH'S BOOK!!! he's such an asshole and this book will be so ridiculous... I NEED IT NOW

[Koisty · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Tell me something about Octopuses Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️.5/5

I AM CONFLICTED...

Like I couldn't put it down but like SHE IS FULL OF PLOTHOLES AND PROBLEMS...

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
So we have Farrow, but her name might as well be Ella because she's basically a modern-day Cinderella. BUT not like the Disney version where she has supremely intelligent rodents who help her, but more in the version of Hilary Duff's "A Cinderella Story". She lives with her stepmom and her two stepsisters, who treat her completely and utterly vile, (and act almost exactly the same as Duff's stepmom and sisters treated her). Farrow is in a 4-way partnership with her stepfamily, running her late father's cleaning business - but she's the only one doing any work, while her stepmom and siblings take all the profits. The book opens with Farrow trying to steal back one of her father's prized possessions that her stepmom sold without her permission, something that holds a lot of sentimental value to Farrow. However, that item also has a lot of sentimental value to Zachso when he catches her in the act, and the two flirt over a game of Go. Intrigued by who she is and insulted she tried to steal from him - he tracks her down and blackmails her into working for him as a maid, so he can "own her".

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
So I TOTALLY judged the book by the name and thought I would be getting a "DARK" romance. The blurb read like a dark romance- the chapter he blackmails her has all the right language of a dark romance... but like WHERE THE FUCK WAS THE DARK ROMANCE? This is a cocky arrogant alphahole who has too much money to throw around and while he does have a little repressed childhood trauma - it's just a straightforward story of him falling in love with the help. This is a contemporary romance!!!!

Let me elaborate... I expected this to go another level and I feel a little lied to - HE USED QUOTES LIKE...
- “Not only can I outsmart you, I can also out-kill you. And I am currently very tempted to do so, little thief.”
- “You’ll be working for me—under me—at my whim, you’ll serve, obey, and cater to me. Paying off your debt for trying and utterly failing to steal from me⁠—”
- “In this world, there are masters, and there are servants. I’m a master. You’re a servant. Act accordingly, and I will let you go.”

BUT LIKE NONE of this ever really came to fruition. BUT Zach also doesn't get all dominant on her or make her the " slave" he threatens to make her... he just kinda ignores her so she can do her own thing in the house...Farrow agrees to be his maid - alone as no other maids or cleaning staff are ever mentioned or seen in the book and her job is to CLEAN HIS GINORMOUS MANSION... but then she still has time to take afternoon naps and watch movies in his house? I know you don't always have to clean everything every day but if you have like 20 bedrooms and only one person to keep it clean and free of dust - there is no time for them to be sitting around eating popcorn almost daily.

For most of the book I didn't like the relationship between her and Zach - he treats her awfully, I mean the man announced his engagement on her bday and then told her to go wash the windows. He thinks that the best way to win her affection is to buy her a crap tonne of stupid expensive shoes and then is upset when she is upset about the events of the day and never really stands up for her. BUT the man pulled out some super sweet stops for her and was cute and adorable and exactly what you would see done in a romcom....so I can't make up my mind...

Farrow never really stands up for herself. She is so afraid to stand up to Zach and her stepsisters and her stepmom - as everyone walks all over her... but she does have a little spunk and bite and it almost feels like the type of aggression a homeless dog will have because it's been neglected its whole life and it doesn't know how to act when someone is nice to them...

I found the fencing plot and conspiracy a little crazy and ridiculous and I hated that the one person she had who was close to her outside of her fucked up life was using her like that...

The thing is, as much as there was a lot I hated - the book had this quality that kept me reading in the same way I want to watch a car crash... I couldn't put it down - even though it wasn't deep - it was still super addicting...

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Dual POV
▶ Who Did This To You?
▶ Strangers to Lovers
▶ Forbidden Romance
▶ Morally Grey MMC
▶ Interracial/Multicultural Romance
▶ Cinderella Retelling (Billionaire Romance/Rich GuyXPoor Girl)
▶ BossXEmployee

𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Hold on to the...
▷ Spicy/Steamy Water Scene
▷ Mine
▷ Good Girl
▷ Cages her with his arms

So really I dunno how to feel - I am going to read book 1 cause the characters of Dallas and Romeo intrigued me and too see how obsessed Romeo is towards Dallas and hearing the snippets of their story... I WANNA KNOW.... I also wanna know what happens in Oliver's book. So while this wasn't perfect it was filled with drama that will make any soap opera-loving girl happy while also having swoony moments and moments of stupidity... It kinda balanced itself out with the fact that the writing is addictive... and fast and quick to digest. So EVEN if the book kinda lies about what type it is - it's still readable...

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

♾️⭐️

“𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮,” 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝.
“𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?”
“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞.”

Incredible. Fucking incredible. 😭😭 easily one of my new favourite books of all time, already know I’m going to be rereading this until I die (not to be dramatic but also to be dramatic).

This book is a punch in the face MASTERPIECE. Every single page, up to the last 500th is iiiiiiinsaaaaane. And I’m not just talking about the plot, the spice, the tropes but for a nerd who studies writing craft, story structure, and character depth it’s a mighty wet dream.

Parker S Huntington and L.J Shen made it look like light werk but the godamn blood sweat and tears that must have gone into writing this book is easy to see, and I’d be so fucking proud if it was mine 🥹 the authors note states ‘niether of us has written a book like this’ and I get it!!!

It’s a billionaire Cinderella retelling romance that these two women WIPED THE FLOOR WITH.

Everything made sense, the story moved as a result of what the characters wanted, their deepest desires, their greatest flaws and tragic backstory’s. Each chapter Zach and Farrow pulled back another layer, exposing vulnerabilities that made them so relatable 😭 doesn’t matter where you come from, what path you’ve walked in life, how much money you have, pain is the one emotion we can all identify with!!! They were interesting, FUNNY and so so likeable despite being the complete opposite, they WORKED and brought out the best in each other. They healed each other. And THAT is what elevates a romance imo 😭 characters who change and evolve each other, who find themselves as a result. UGH CHEF KISS MATE.

Farrow - Feisty, driven, dedicated, I WISH every FMC was like her 😭 she took zero crap from anyone, had a backbone made of steel, but equally vulnerable shouldering so much pain 😞 I will bawl my eyes out for any character who feels lost and lonely in this world, unwanted and so I rooted for her happy ending right from the start. THE FOUND FAMILY for her 😩😭 her friendship with Dallas, too good!

Zac - where do I even begin with this man 😩😩😩 the things he said. The things he did. All for Farrow. His fuck around and find out attitude, his dedication, love, POSSESSIVENESS wrote me off. Just when I didn’t think he couldn’t get any deeper he did.

And his trauma was the star of the show for me👏🏻. The uniqueness of it 🫠 usually it’s the FMC harbouring pain triggered by something in her past and the MMC swoops in to save her, when this time it was both characters. Not only that but his suffering, his inability to touch people was so different, it shaped his ENTIRE personality, it influenced every decision that he made which then progressed the plot and I stg that is everything I bang on about in my reviews 😭😭😭 if the characters aren’t moving the plot forward then wtf is the point.

There was so much internal and external conflict keeping Farrow and Zach apart, the stakes were staking, like I’m not being funny but this book is basically a crash course in character development and growth 😭 this is how it’s done and it just kept hitting and hitting!!!!!

Few last things:

1. The men’s group chat = SENT ME
2. OLIVER is hilarious and the way I feel about a funny man has me all kinds of excited for his book
3. It’s a billionaire romance Cinderella retelling, can be read as a standalone altho I do recommend reading My Dark Romeo first
4. My only critique was one spicey scene made me feel sick LOL in the woods (if ykyk) I didn’t find that sexy at all but am I fuck knocking stars off for that, spice is entirely subjective 🤣🤣🤣 the quality of this book overall though? Not up for debate.

Safe to say I LOVED IT a fierce amount, this will SO SO hard to beat for me and a top read of 2024 🥹

[Юля Проліт · Rating 3 out of 5]

Мені подобається, як до простині у нас повільно, але впевнено приєдналось манго.

[Marilla ☘︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Dark Desire melted my brain.


I may be Cinderella, but Zachary Sun is not my Prince Charming.

I devoured this!! I feel like I've just binge-watched 8 seasons of a 90s soap-opera. The same amount of clichés and CRAZYYYYY. Only with better technology.


⚔Melodramatic: 4000/100%
⚔Unhinged characters: 540/100%
⚔Cheese-factor: 40/100%
⚔Octopus facts:🐙🐙🐙/🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙
⚔Entertaining: ABSOLUTELY
⚔Trashy: Fuck yeah!!
​
I loved it!!
4.75/5✨

I liked this even more than the first one. It was hilarious, emotional and heart-warming.
And I adored Zach and Farrow's romance. The chemistry and banter between them was🤌😘

I have to say tho, there were moments throughout this story that had me rolling my eyes so hard, I worried I'd pull a muscle. Some of these side characters were so ott, and I honestly think a couple of them should come with warning labels.⚠️🚨 That being said, I still loved them! (well actually, the jury's still out on Oliver...)😂♥︎

Constance, however? Not so much. We have other more obvious villains in this book, like the step-monsters. But Constance is the one that I have the most beef with. I get that she was still grieving for her husband, and struggling with anxiety after what happened, but she was so selfish and unlikable!! And I hope she steps on Lego's every morning for the foreseeable future. Sorry, not sorry. I really couldn't stand her.😡


❝You missed a spot.❞
❝Sorry, Boss, but you’re a permanent feature.❞


But overall, I really enjoyed this chaos.🤪

[CriSsStina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Considering that I ended up DNF-ing the first book, it was a pleasant surprise that this one was sooooo much better. I don't know. It's like it was written by other authors compared with the first one 😂.

Anyways, it wasn't perfect. There were still some awkward things here and there, but more tame, logical, and realistical, compared with the first book. I cringed at their reconnection scene. It wasn't quite as cute as it should have been 😅. Plus, the book was a tad too long. The pace was too slow sometimes, especially the last 20-30%. 🫣

I liked both the main characters and how their relationship developed. There was drama, mainly because of both their families. This being a Cinderella retelling, everyone can imagine what kind of drama was implied.

The plotline with his mother and the arranged wedding was quite annoying. I'm not happy how that part ended. I really wanted that "fiancée" to receive more of what she deserved. She was absolutely blant and annoying. 🙄🤯

His mother annoyed the crap out of me, but from the little I know of their culture, it's understandable. That's why I chose to ignore her by the time they reached their final confrontation. As he should have done!!

I liked their HEA. It's exactly what I imagined for them. No fuss with the wedding. It suited them both. They healed each other 🥹🥰.

🚩 Now, I don't think I'll continue with the next book. It will probably be Oliver's book, and I really hope that the exaggerated manhohoho profile that was made for him in these first two books is fake. Because he was quite REPULSIVE with some of the things he mentioned🤪🫣🤨!! It was not funny, not quirky, definitely NOT HOT. 🤪


⚫️ contemporary Cinderella retelling / billionaire MMC / poor and neglected FMC
⚫️ V MMC: He couldn't touch anyone, and he didn't want to actually; of course, until he met the heroine 🥹🥰🥰
⚫️ traumatic/tragic past for both of them
⚫️ possessive, very jealous, and protective MMC
⚫️ drama, drama, drama, and betrayals everywhere
⚫️ the couple from the first book appears here, and they are actually adorable and supportive, especially with the FMC
⚫️ no cheating, HEA, epilogue


.
.
.
.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[winotka.books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Moja relacja z L.J. Shen to typowe hate-love. Dosłownie kocham to jako pierwszy tom był absurdalnie odklejony i bawiłam się świetnie.
Ale tu już nie aż tak. Miało to swoje momenty, postać Zacha jest w ogóle świetna.
ALE…
No właśnie tu mam dużo ale, bo był za dużo i za bardzo. Na siłę wręcz dośmieszniane, każde najkrótsze nawet zdanie miało być hihi haha. Wychodziło aż karykaturalnie i do tego mam problem. Bo tu próbowały wejść już jakieś niby poważniejsze tematy, mamy konfrontacje rodzinną, a tu nagle wjeżdżają teksty jej przybranych sióstr i no po prostu za bardzo.
To ma być odmóżdżacz, ma być absurdalne, dziwne, czasami obleśne, żarty są bardzo nie na miejscu (szczególnie na czacie chłopaków, to moje ulubione fragmenty z tych książek), ale akurat w tej historii to dla mnie nie zadziałało tak jak w tej pierwszej. Zabrakło jej ✨tego czegoś✨, czyżby po sukcesie pierwszego tomu, autorki chciały aż za bardzo?
Takie odnoszę wrażenie.

A co do polskiego tłumaczenia jeszcze!! BŁĘDY BŁĘDY BŁĘDYYYYY. Wyłapałam je, nie skupiając się wcale na szukaniu bo czytałam to bardzo for fun. Jezu co się dzieje ostatnio z wydawnictwami, że tyle tego jest…

[Soft Nectarine ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cinderella retelling but he’s a virgin who can’t stand being touched 💖 he’s convinced her pussy is his cure!

“You are mine now, Farrow. To protect, to corrupt, to ruin.”

Zach is a trauma-marked billionaire with an aversion to physical touch. That is until a mysterious thief in lingerie tries to steal from his office. BAM he is hooked! He hires Farrow as a housemaid with benefits to overcome his phobias.

I truly enjoyed the flipped dynamic with an older virgin mmc!! Slow building relationship as Zach couldn’t resist Farrow’s touch ✨

💖 she uses his cigar holder in filthy endevours

💖 sauna exhibitionism

💖 she teaches him how to feel!

💖 protective & possessive mmc

I did really dislike the other woman drama! Zach’s mom is obsessed with finding him a perfect bride to deal with her own anxiety and he ends up being engaged for a large portion of the book. He technically doesn’t ever touch his fiance but the emotional damage was hard to handle.

The book was super well written so it was an easy read despite the OW drama.

billionaire romance
age gap
mmc virgin
exhibitionism
dirty talk
OW drama
HEA

[marioncoin | coin.reads]

[dnf 33%]
j’abandonne, c’est rare je sais, mais la vie est trop courte pour se forcer ptdr c’est si long et je suis pas à fond dedans donc next

[ChasxSabri💗🫧 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This man is so sassy😭he clocks everyone in this story at one point, no one was safe

Some of his ✨reads✨:

“I’d done some online research and narrowed it to either Vans or Converse. By the power of deduction—and fucking logic—I guessed it was the cheapest out of the two. The girl looked too poor to afford air.”

“She did not have a 22-year-old’s skin. In fact, she barely had skin anymore. She was 99% fillers.”

“Trust me, she is⁠—”
“I don’t.”
“W-what?”
“I don’t trust you. Keep looking.”

“I tapped my lips. “Know what I think?”
“No. You can keep your two cents. You look broke.” “

“No offense, Miss Ballantine, but I would sooner marry a wild coyote than you. At least the coyote would be exceptionally more pleasant to spend time with. Plus, if I feed it, I might have a chance at domesticating it.”

“You’re not as tough as you think you are, you know.” She followed me to the gaping front door. “You’re an open book.”
“And you’re illiterate.” I strode right past her, inviting myself in.”

And that’s not even all of it😭
Good romance, 3-4 🌶️

[aleerless · Rating 5 out of 5]

no, i don't think you understand... I'M OBSESSED

[hazirah ୨ৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is CINDERELLA retelling!! and if you want to learn about octopus, you should read this 😶😶

[Canan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kesinlikle ilk kitaptan kat kat iyiydi. Özellikle ilk yarı daha eğlenceli, merak uyandırıcı ve akıcıydı benim için. İkinci yarı şu nişan olayı biraz can sıktı.Biraz uzadı sanki.

Farrow ve Zach'in ilk karşılaşma sahneleri eğlenceliydi. Ninja gibi kızdı mübarek diye düşündüm😁
Zach'in karakteri iyiydi. Çok gözüme batan bir tarafı olmadı. Çift olarak okumaktan keyif aldım.
Farrow'a seni koruyacak kişi benim, sırtını bana yaslayabilirsin desteği güzeldi. Bir gün yüzü görmemiş yavrum. Ki orda yaşanan olayları da az çok tahmin etmiştim.

İlk kitapta hayal kırıklığına uğrayanlar bunu bir tık daha çok sevebilir. Ben de tereddütte kalarak başladım ama sevdim.

Son kitap için aşırı tereddütteyim. Ollie ve Frankie çok benzer mizaçlara sahip duruyor. Okumadan bilemem ama bir tarafın aklı başında olmasını tercih ederim.İki çılgın nasıl bir kombo olur bilemedim.

[I Hate Romance Authors Who Hate Women]

DNF @ 40%….

I actually liked the H & h, storyline and writing so far, unfortunately one of the side characters is so hard to stomach.

Ollie/Oliver - every single chapter so far has multiple references to his EXTREMELY active sex life. And I’m assuming he’s the hero for the next book so I have no clue why they would write him in such a disgusting way. I get that it’s passed off as comedy but my word…. Absolutely no one in the world deserves to end up with someone like him.

40% in and these are some of the references made with regards to him that I can remember:

Actively hosts and participates in orgies at his house.
Has made multiple sex tapes.
Had a dickpic used as a piece of evidence in a court.
Spent the night taking the virginities of multiple women at a party the H hosted.
There’s a scene where he bumps into a man he participated in a “5some” with.
References made to him populating the earth.
Actively sleeps with married women.
And I stopped reading when he said he’s planning on “working his way through a 20 women tennis team”….

There’s so much more references and it’s clearly written in a ‘comical’ way but I’m not being dramatic when I tell you that it’s eluded to so much in this book. This book is almost 800 pages on my kindle and I’m sure a good reason for the length of this book is the accommodations made to showcase the absolute depravity of Ollie. I’m shocked at the choice they made especially since this H is a virgin and the previous was celibate… like, why??? What in the cuckquean were they thinking???

[SHOMPA · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t even know where to start. I went in expecting dark, passionate, intense goodness, but all I got was secondhand embarrassment and a whole lot of cringe characters. By the time I made it through their over-the-top melodrama, I wasn’t just disappointed, I was drained from this mess.

And the mama's boy things? I absolutely hated that. Such a turnoff!

So why the 2 stars? There were a few lovely quotes that straight-up punched me in the brain. Like, I couldn't stop thinking about them.

[jenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

If they mention an octopus ONE MORE TIME👹

[Jane aka Coughy019 (Safety info included) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tropes: age gap, enemies to lovers, boss/employee, Cinderella story
Feels: 1/5
Steam*: 2.5/5
Kinks: n/a
Angst: medium
HEA: yes
Pairing: MF
Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: violent death of parent witnessed by child, survivors guilt, grief, virgin MMC, unsafe sex, ptsd, morning after pill

Zach is 33 and a billionaire. His father died saving his life in a car crash and it traumatized Zach very deeply. He spent hours with his father's corpse trapped in the car pressing against him and bleeding on him. He can't stand to touch another human's flesh ever since then, he's never had sex or been in a relationship. Zack is also a really intellectual and cold character. He feels a lot of obligation towards his mother so he agrees to let her find him a wife, but he does not intend it to be a real marriage.

Meanwhile, Farrow is 23. She is literally a Cinderella retelling. Her father died 2 years ago and she lives with her stepmother and two evil stepsisters and slaves away as their maid. The family is struggling for money because they live luxuriously, so prized family possessions of her father's get sold behind her back. Farrow is particularly upset about a pendant that was sold. She figures out it was sold to Zach and she sneaks into a party of his. She's caught sneaking around by Zach and they end up bantering and playing a very competitive board game (Go). Zach is impressed by her skill and intelligence. She runs away and he chases after her. She escapes. He only realizes the next day after looking at security footage that she was trying to steal from him. He hunts her down and he hires her to be his maid for 6 months. He has two motives, one he wants to make her pay and be under his control and two he is actually attracted to her which hasn't happened before and he thinks that he might be able to get over his phobia about touch if it's with her.

They interact and they push past Zach's boundaries. Soon they are having sex, but it has a time limit and it's mutually agreed that she's helping him get over his phobia and he's helping her with legal expenses as she tries to get out from under her stepmother's thumb. Zach proceeds to getting engaged to the woman his mother wants him to marry. Farrow knows about it, and knows he has no physical feelings for her and that it's a business arrangement, but it still hurts her.

There were a few things that were enjoyable about this book but overall I did not like it. I enjoyed the character of Farrow for the most part. She was a refreshing strong female who owned her sexuality. I loved when she took Zach down a peg or two. It was a little coincidental that she had expertise in so many areas in common with Zach, but it was nice that she did have strengths. I loved how she stood up for herself to a whole bunch of different characters and especially Zach. The side characters particularly Dallas and the men's group chat added some nice comic relief. There was a period of time from like the 65% until the 80% mark where I felt like the relationship was in a positive space for the most part and there were feelings on both of their sides that were developing.

But for most of the book characters and the direction of the plot / relationship we're extremely aggravating. My biggest concerns were the million little moments where Zach was an ass to her, and how at the end of the book there's this 30-day cool down. Where they don't see each other and everything that happens then is so artificially timed to create tension about whether he'll be able to get back to her in time to meet up when the 30 days are over. It was just so cheesy. Here's some things I didn't like:
- At 47% mark - it was her birthday and Zach threw a party that she wasn't invited to, and announced his engagement to another woman on her birthday. And everyone else ignored her birthday. She was asked to do unnecessary repetitive cleaning and treated in a condescending you are the help way. But at the end of the night even after treating her like such s***, he did know that it was her birthday all along and he had left presents in her bedroom. Presents don't make s***** behavior magically better! And really I hate it when people are deliberately cruel to the birthday girl on her birthday and she wallows in misery. It's overused, it's trite, it's annoying.
- At 51% mark - Zach doesn't understand why she was not one over by the birthday presents he gave her. He internally monologues over how he expected her to be grateful, so grateful that she would come to his room at night and have sex with him. And he gets lost in his sexual fantasy for a moment. He's such a f****** creeper. And he can't be kind for the sake of being kind?! He wants sex out of it as a reward. By this point in the book, he should do better!
- After her ignoring him for a while because he's in the doghouse with her, he manipulates her to force her to see him. Telling her he has an important update about her legal situation. This fuckery is so manipulative. He's tracking her down because he's selfish and he wants his toy back.
- While Zach respects her intelligence and skills, he systematically and consistently disregards her feelings and thinks he's bought the right to use her as an experiment. Yeah she's had sexual relationships before and avoided a deep relationship because she doesn't trust relationships after witnessing her father and stepmother. But he just puts her in this box of loose woman and tramples on her feelings and treats her as temporary and disposable, and talks to others about how disposable she is and how she means nothing to him. Yeah later on he gets possessive of her and has feelings for her. But he still spent 70% of the book using her and being really insensitive to her feelings and humanity.
- All these little moments where Zach was such an unfeeling dick, engaged to another woman and just using Farrow... I honestly wanted Farrow to just go out to a club or have a date and just have sex with somebody else. She deserved to let loose, have something fun for herself and feel good. And I'm the type of reader that really likes monogamy and it for me possessiveness, so it says something that I thought Zach didn't deserve her exclusivity.
- I don't like when authors throw in the phrase "who did this to you?" Just because they want to make the readers swoon. I don't like being manipulated as a reader. The authors had the FMC and the MMC both say this to each other a few pages apart. Don't overuse this phrase!
- Why do people keep in their employ/lives, people that betray them and aren't loyal, aren't looking out for the best interests? And why is it always women who are these people that betray them? It's insulting, it's not a very feminist portrayal of women.
- All this travel and time sensitivity so that he can meet their deadline of meeting up after 30 days is absolutely ridiculous. This is artificial drama. Billionaires could have made things happen in 5 minutes and there wouldn't have been all this drama and tightness of the timeline. The amount of effort and nonsense that Zach had to go through to end his engagement was ridiculous and made me lose respect for him as an alpha character.

Some notable moments:

"“If it makes you feel any better, I participated in some Go competitions when I was there.” His lip curved up in a snarl. “Why would it make me feel better?” “When I annihilate you.” “Now who’s being cocksure?” “Please, Zach. There’s only one dick in this room, and I think we both know that it’s you.”"

"“What was she thinking?” “She was thinking that you’re engaged-to-be-married to someone else, and she doesn’t want your fucking pity presents.” Oliver sprawled over a massage table in the middle of my office, unfamiliar with the concept of boundaries. “It’s called a spine, Zach. Some people have it.”"

"Zach: You’re letting him TOUCH you? Zach: Are you fucking kidding me? Zach: Meet you out front in two minutes. We’re leaving. Farrow: You are not the boss of me. Zach: FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME, I LITERALLY FUCKING AM."


*FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink.

**Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers.

[✨️ Jessica's Bookshelf ✨️]

As much as I love both of these authors, I just can't do this one. I get it; Zach isn't human and I'm tired of reading, "my little octi" and Random octopus facts.

Pre- read: I hear the second is better than the first. 😬 Let's hope so. 🤞