Barons of Decay

Royals of Forsyth University #10

by Angel Lawson

Memento Remember you must die.


The Baron King must forge ahead as the last original leader of Forsyth's hierarchy.


But even The House of Night can't avoid the changing tides. 


New Barons


A new Baroness.


A new wife.


A killer that must be stopped.

Barons of Decay, book 10 in the Royals of Forsyth U series will release in 2025.

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark, Why Choose, Romance, College, Contemporary, Forced Proximity

402 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 27, 2025

Reviews

[Vix · Rating 1 out of 5]

this will be a LONG review mainly bc it was one of the books i was excited to get my hands on back when it was announced…so if you’d like to know why this got a low rating then bear with me.


first of all the author (which is now solo writing this icymi) starts by saying that whatever was written in the bonus books may not align with the main books from now on because apparently “timeline math is hard, yo” (her actual words) — which to that i’d like to say: isn’t this your job? or your PA or editor’s job to help you with a spreadsheet, word document, whatever you need to organize yourself? you and your co-author created this whole world, with such intricate and loved characters, with incredible little details and now you just decided to say f__k it bc you can’t track it all? wtaf 🧍🏼‍♀️ like i’m truly flabbergasted


so bc of said “math problem, yo” we get timeline inconsistencies and story/characters inconsistencies and since i dont want this to become too long, i’m pointing out two that were really GLARING to me:

> dk apparently didn’t know sy and nick before — and the guy was a pledge at DKS but have never seen them before 🤨 uh……. sure…okay

> remy invites dk to work together on his new tattoo shop in duchess of forsyth and dk says no but now in decay he says yes and that he’d love that (???) and then remy proceeds to offer a winner tattoo, giving a man that bailed DKS and is now from ANOTHER FRAT a tattoo 🤡 uh…. sure….. remy would do that….


now, since baroness of dusk was released (a bonus book that apparently has no value 😃), i was pretty excited for a black fmc, and how she’d be portrayed in decay… and in my opinion, portrayed she was not — her features are not depicted enough: we don’t know the color, shape, size of her lips, which hairstyle is she wearing, what color is the hair, how her face is shaped…. also there is no scene in which she washes and cares for her own hair - everything is done by someone else. i feel like there is no sense of blackness in this book. at all. even as a thought or reflection/inner mumbling from the fmc, how she grew up, differences now that she lives in a frat. nothing. she could pass by a white girl.


u know what we do get more depicted than the fmc though? her g0dd4mn pubic hairs and i’m not even joking; “dark lush hair”? are you well?


still regarding arianette, we were promised a goth inspired like fmc, with a macabre vibe, full of riddles and in her own world and yet… the girl in this book is a doormat that wears school girl clothes (so no goth), behaves like a child most of the time but all of a sudden have flashes of defiance and out of the blue says the most ridiculous things — i get wanting to make a fmc mentally troubled, but this was not it; remy was done beautifully and this was a slap in the face. another thing that also bothered me is that apparently after 5 minutes of giving a blowjob she becomes the expert on sex and a nimphomaniac lol like what??????


now, the men… sigh. what’s going on, guys?

i was promised a piercer with a f—k1ng scary backstory for his scar, a nonchalant attitude and at least a very detailed description of every piercing he has… what do i get? a guy that is a g0dd@mn idiot, got a scar from a teenager, more scared of a fight with nick than prison brawls, treats hunter like a bro on day one and kinda has the hots for him for the way he describes him, slaps the fmc in one chapter but then in the next treats her like she’s a delicate princess and the love of his life and DOESNT MENTION HIS D1CK PIERCINGS — needless to say that this was NOT my dk, nor the dk that was promised in duchess of forsyth and to say that i was disappointed is… the least i could say.

hunter is a radio host and throughout the whole book there’s only two scenes where he’s in the studio, talking in riddles and questioning the status quo if we can even call it that; he is also a voyeur but not for the harem with the fmc, for the whole frat apparently 😃🤡 and likes to watch someone fuck other women that is not his baroness; he is soft as hell, calls dk a “cool guy” (😵‍💫) and is drooling over arianette at like 30% in the book already…

i’m not even gonna comment much on timothy maddox so i don’t die from the cringeness of it — the daddy kink was introduced out of nowhere and omfg just NO thank you. he sounds like he’s a superhero trying to contain the darkness bc he wants the world to be beautiful and free. like what the h3ll? are u even king of the darkest frat? dk says that timothy is worse than a psychopath in duchess of forsyth — but we sure get the opposite of “worse than psychopath” in this book.


WHERE IS THE ANGST BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS? THE HURT? THE PUSH AND PULL???

now… book pace? sprinting. EVERYTHING is rushed: 442 pages happen in… less than a month 😃
such as arianette’s introduction to forsyth (which we barely get) and to us bc who tf is she and where has she been before getting to the barons, the hunt which ends in two chapters and has barely ANY details besides armand getting killed like it’s barely anything of importance and the “claiming” — ALL of this happens at like 15% of the book; from 20% to the 80% mark of the book we get about the two weeks before the black wedding so you want to die of BOREDOM until we get there. i never had such difficulty to finish a book in my life.


and now for my last point (even tho i feel like i could go on): barons were NOT being barons

> isnt this supposed to be a dark romance? i felt like i was in a romcom — this was supposed to be the darkest house of forsyth?????

> dont they do their jobs? where is the cleaning service? why have we not seen what they do when they have to deal with bodies? do they just gossip and treat arianette like a doll?

> we get a story with weird similarities to princes: a throne, a fmc that loses her virginity to an object instead of maddox, a butler that is the nicest man on earth towards the fmc like danner and bestie with his king (like what the actual f**k) and cockwarming — why arent we getting something different, new and DARK?


anyway...

we were promised the darkest frat house, the occult, the cleaners, the nonchalant men and everything in between but, in the end, got nothing of that instead.

needless to say i will not continue this series after this slap on the face.

[Latoya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Updated to Include My Review:

Y’all…I have thoughts, and none of them are good. It would appear that I was unfortunately very correct in being concerned over Angel writing Forsyth’s first black FMC (you can read my initial concerns and why below this review).

First I want to start off by saying Arianette may as well have been white for all that we were given about her character. To add to that, all of a sudden Regina was black??? When Arianette was first revealed to the readers, it was a big deal because she was to be the first black female in a royal role, but now Regina also being black completely takes away from that. Not ONLY that, but having Regina be black as well comes off as if the Baron “Daddy” has a “breaking the innocent black girl” fetish, and gurl, this ain’t it sis!

On top of that, I’m almost 95% certain the majority of this book was written by AI. Besides the fact that Angel somehow managed to draft and write the whole 450+ page book within 6 weeks; of which her husband was in and out of the hospital and she was also constantly on the road going to book con signings, the whole book was basically recycled scenes and themes from the previous ones (which was incredibly obvious if you had just completed a full re-read before picking up this one). Some lines were verbatim said by past characters, and Ari had physical features that were used to describe Verity (large areolas, lush curly pubes, curvy figure) while she was pregnant, mind you Ari is supposed to be a ballet dancer, they have no figure so what is going on? Then Ari would randomly say something that seemed to be trying to mimic Remington’s ramblings, but severely missed the mark. And the way she talked to her barons vs her inner monologue read like they were two completely different characters.

Don’t even get me started on the sentence structure, it was incredibly fractured, hard to read and so many things didn't make sense or connect. There were so many inconsistencies in this story and we were basically told to ignore it because “timeline math is hard, yo!” what even is that?!?! That’s straight up lazy and disrespectful to the legacy of all the past Royals books. The Barons that we met in legacy and queenmaker? Forget about them, they no longer exist and their personalities have been replaced with whatever this new version of them is. This whole book was a mess and I struggled to finish it. I could go on and on pointing out everything that was wrong with it, but then this review would probably be as long as the book at this point.

My main thing is, I’m extremely disappointed and frustrated, these were NOT the barons and baroness we were promised. Honestly it feels like Arianette was Sam’s creation and when she left the series Angel had no idea what to do with her (not surprising🙄😒). It’s also EXTREMELY obvious that Sam was no longer a part of this series, those saying otherwise are straight up lying. The characters all lacked depth and deep emotional backgrounds, everything just felt super surface level; there was no substance to them nor the plot. I found my mind drifting often while reading and checking my progress bar to see how much torture I had left to endure.

I feel like we were robbed, and I’m angry we will never get Samantha’s version of the Barons because this was clearly her book and Angel was incapable of filling her shoes. This book was not a true FU book and it's fitting that the covers don't match the others because neither does the book. Needless to say I will NOT be carrying on with this series going forward; it ends with Princes for me. However I CANNOT wait to read Samantha’s future works, the few teasers she gave us in her group (Rue’s Rogues) definitely sound more like the FU we all know and love over whatever this book was supposed to be. So I’ll see you around Rogues! Godspeed to everyone else who decides to stick around for the rest of this series!

* * *

I have been sitting on my thoughts for a few days and on whether not to make them public, but have decided that as a black woman I have to admit I have some concerns over this book coming out, especially after hearing and seeing some problematic occurrences other black women have had with this particular author.

It started with how Angel replied to any black woman who voiced their disappointment/concerns over the representation of Arianette, Forsyth’s first black female main character, when her book cover was revealed. She was extremely dismissive and micro aggressive towards their comments, even turning it around on them as if she was the victim, instead of listening to the concerns of the women she’s actually supposed to be representing in this book; other comments she outright deleted. She tried to say that it was impossible to get an accurate book cover representation of a black woman without the use of AI, but would seem she forgot that her ex-writing partner Samantha posted a timelapsed video on her socials back when she was still a part of this series, in which she shows exactly how she created her version of Arianette without the use of AI.

And it turns out this ISN’T the first time she’s been dismissive of a black woman’s experience either. I was made aware of this series of threads she had responded to about a year ago in which she attempted to invalidate this woman’s feelings with her own “well this happened to me, so therefore your experience isn’t worth noting,” type of response. I will post the screenshots of this particular interaction below for your own judgement.












Another concern is all the controversy that has recently come out about the “Booked In Chaos” bookcon; with many authors and event organizers pulling out of it due to it not being a safe space for minority groups. Angel Lawson is still listed as an attending author, and hasn’t made any type of statement towards what’s going on or her thoughts on the matter. Considering she’s a white woman writing about a black character’s experience in a genre in which we have so little accurate representation, having her be so dismissive towards our voices is not only especially concerning, but also extremely upsetting. Updating to mention that since posting this, Angel has since announced that she will not be attending Booked in Chaos, for which I'm happy to hear. I won't remove what I had written originally for transparency to those who read my post after the fact so they will know what those comments were addressing. That said, my other concerns that I mentioned above are very much still there and will remain so until I am able to read the book and judge for myself.

I will attempt to read this book once it comes out because I loved the other ones, but I will be looking especially closely at what has been written to see if my concerns that I’ve mentioned above are valid.

[JustaGirlWhoLovesToRead · Rating 1 out of 5]

sigh so I fear my worries about the future of this series were warranted. I'll give a more in-depth review when I have collected all my thoughts and can verbalize all that I am feeling. I've had a few people message me about Samantha's FB group because they didn't catch it in the comments below, so I'll post it up here for you: You can find it by searching Rue's Rogues


I don't often leave book reviews, but I have to say that after hearing about Samantha Rue's departure from the Forsyth Universe going forward, I'm a bit concerned over the future of this series 😔 I've read a few of Angel's solo works and there's always been a definitive difference in writing style, plot development, emotional depth to the characters and continuity issues. The books aren't bad, just different when compared to the quality of writing of the FU series.

I really wish that whatever went down between them had happened AFTER they completed this series (though I do sympathize, it sounds pretty rough from the few things I've seen), because I've so been looking forward to the Barons story since the Lords came out and now fear that it will not hold up to the high standards of the previous books. That said, I AM still planning on reading Barons of Decay and will tentatively hold onto a little hope that maybe Angel will be able to deliver us the Barons that we deserve and have all been looking forward to. I'll update my review when that time comes.

On another note, I did see that Samantha Rue announced on her socials and solo author fb group that she's currently working on her own series. It will be very interesting to compare her individual style of writing to that of the FU series once one of her books comes out, and see just how much of her influence really was a part of the FU. What she's teased in her group so far has been extremely promising...

[Jacki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I want to start out by saying I have been a huge fan of this series (it’s my all-time favorite) since right after Lords of Mercy was released. The laundry room scene in Lords of Pain started my deep dive into the Dark Romance genre, and I haven’t looked back.
I think it is devastating that Sam is no longer a part of the Forsyth world, and despite what some of the arc readers and reviewers have so callously said, it is absolutely to the detriment of the series and the entire fandom that she is no longer a part of it.

Now, to my thoughts on Decay…

Probably the biggest “difference” in this book compared to the others (and now that I’ve seen from others who were able to post their reviews before me, I know I’m absolutely not alone in knowing that something is very off) is the difference in the overall storytelling and writing quality. I can tell the difference between Angel and Sam’s writing. I have read 11 of Angel’s solo books and 13 of their coauthored books (and all of the extras), and I can tell the difference between their voices when they write. Clearly, Sam was nowhere to be found in this book, but it interestingly didn’t sound like Angel’s writing either. I truly believe this book was written with AI. I think it was used as an attempt to emulate Sam’s prose and those one-liners that she writes that hit you right in the feels. Due to the odd prose and the choppy structure, this book reads like poorly written fanfiction by someone who doesn’t get the characters or the plot. I had predicted that this book would be less than amazing without Sam at the helm, but I didn’t expect THIS. If this truly is Angel’s writing and not AI, then she should go back to writing how she normally does and not try to copy Sam's style.

After 13 books, I understand that you’re liable to reuse certain scenes and kinks, especially ones loved by the readers—though so far everything in the series has followed a formula but been different enough to keep things interesting and fresh, so I don't know why one would suddenly need to rely so heavily now. That said, the regurgitation of kinks, scenes, and even some quotes from previous books can only be attributed to AI or maybe just using your own previous work (which reads as incredibly lazy). I don’t understand how the author didn’t think readers would care or mind this book outright copying SO MUCH from the previous books. Hype and anticipation can only get you so far.

These are some of the similarities that I had highlighted when I read this book, though unfortunately I missed some but considering it took me 15 days to read this book (when it takes me 2 to read the entire Lords trilogy), I will not go back through and read again to look for the others. Beware of spoilers to follow!

-“I look up at him and add, ‘Fuck, she’s doing it.’ ‘Yeah, she is.’” Hunter and DK. -(“F#ck. Tristian breathes, feet shifting. “Yeah, that’s it. Sh!t, she’s really doing it.” Tristian - Lords)

-DK spits in Arianette’s mouth. -(Pace - Princes)

-After Arianette swallows DK’s cum and it sits heavy in her belly (I don’t have the exact line in the book, but it was very similar to a line in Princes). - (Verity - Princes)

-The guys talking about the size of Arianette’s areolas. - Verity - Princes.

-Carving into Arianette’s chest. - Lords

-The Baron King being a health freak. - Tristian - Lords

-Hunter using Arianette’s used panties to jerk off. - Dimitri - Lords

-Making Arianette drink alcohol from their mouths. - Princes

-“Cryptchasers” talking about how the guys in the frat think better after having an orgasm. - Cutsluts - Dukes

-The Baron King monitoring what Arianette eats. - Ashby - Princes

-Ice cream and a joyride while “giving head” (really it was cockwarming). - Story and Tristian - Lords

-Cockwarming. - Princes

-Hunter watching/voyeurism. - Tristian - Lords

-Arianette wearing a collar. - Sutton the Countess - Lords

-Graves, the right hand of the Baron King. - Danner - Princes

-Arianette kept in a cage as punishment. - Nick - Dukes, Lavinia - Dukes

-Arianette losing her virginity to a cold, hard object in front of a large group of people. - Verity - Princes

And these are just the similarities that I highlighted or can remember off the top of my head. These aren’t even all of them..

My next issue with the book was the characters, or really the lack of them. All of the main characters have the same voice. No joke. The inner monologues are plentiful and snooze-inducing. This book is the how-to manual of telling and not showing, and the lack of chemistry between the characters ruined any possibility for emotional impact.

When we previously met DK in the other books, he had swag and oozed charisma. I was stoked to get more of him and to get to know him as a character. Well, apparently he had a lobotomy…

Hunter, I was really excited for as we knew nothing about him. He has a dog (this is Hunter's whole personality and while I adore Archie and Effie, they're their own characters; the dog was shoehorned in, and it was a fail). He is also a voyeur (sexy for sure, but not in this book) and he has intrusive thoughts or fantasies (who knows which it is) of pressing a lit cigarette into Arianette’s clit…

The Baron King reads as a twenty-something frat boy who throws temper tantrums. In previous books, he was incredibly controlled, calculated, and dauntingly mysterious. He had my mind so twisted up when he was on page that I desperately wanted to know more, yet I was terrified of him at the same time. (Nick and Lavinia in the crypt in Madness, anyone?) He gave the vibes that he was playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers. He is nothing like he was in the previous book, and that is so disappointing.

Arianette was going to be our first POC FMC of the series, and she was fumbled atrociously. She is described as “not like other girls” (literally no joke), a stone-cold killer, “spirited,” and a few other things that we never get to see from her. We are just told. Other than her skin looking bronze in a certain light, multiple descriptions of her pubic hair, her large areolas, and Regina oiling her hair once, we know nothing about her. She is literally written as the generic version of Remy. Heck, the Baron King describes her more times as a “girl” more than any other descriptions of her combined. Which brings me to my next gripe.

I love daddy kink, but it has to be done right, or it can go south really quick. Here are some quotes…

“I stared down at her on her hands and knees, at the soft flesh of her cheeks. I call her a girl, she acts like it, but there’s no doubt that she has a woman’s body.”

“Show me your tits,” I say, and she obeys like a child, pulling her dress up over her head.”

“A daughter of darkness,” I whisper, leaning down so my lips just barely brush his ear. “Daddy.” He growls-a low, warning sound but his hand stay fisted at his sides, liking the heat of my pussy against him. “You shouldn’t call me that…Because I’m not a good father,” he says, reaching out to flick one of the bars.” (The nipple piercing. Which I was so hopeful and vocal that that would be in the Baron’s and the piercing scene was depressing).

“…dragging my tongue along the length of him, slow and cruel, savoring the salty taste of his skin. I wrap my hand around the base…”I can be both, a wife, a daughter, anything, whatever you want.”

Just….no, thank you.

As for my issues with the plot, tone, inconsistencies, and general gripes about the book, well, there were a few. From all the books leading up to this trilogy, we knew the Barons were going to be dark and mysterious. People were desperate for them before Dukes of Ruin even came out. The Barons have been this ominous and sinister presence, and we had no idea when they would melt from the shadows. That was the Barons that were sold to us by “Samgel” for 9 books. However, there is no darkness or any mystery to be found. Anywhere. Truly, nothing sets this frat apart from the rest except that it gives off juvenile, try-hard, wanna be frat boy vibes.

The Hunt was absolutely nothing. Literally blink and it’s over. I love a hunt or chase in Dark Romance, and this one had no substance to it. Same with the initiation. In the previous books, I remember the way I felt when reading the basement scene in Lords, Nick giving Lav back to her dad in Dukes, as well as the throne room scene and the cleansing in Princes. I could feel the sinking in the pit of my stomach at what these women were going through. In Decay, the Initiation should have felt dark and foreboding, sinister and perhaps a bit demented. However, I felt absolutely nothing. The Friday Night Fury scene had more detail than the Hunt and the Initiation. This is the Barons, we’re not reading Dukes anymore. So why does FNF feel more fleshed out and detailed?! Also, um... Where was the Equinox?! And the Black Wedding. THAT is what we get?! Seriously?!

A big plot point that could have been an epic twist that failed miserably was the reveal of Daddy Maddox being the “third” Baron. When we left off in Baroness of Dusk, we had our three Barons, DK, Hunter, and Armand. So Arianette killing Armand could have been such an epically big twist, but instead it was revealed to us in the blurb of the book. I understand that there are a fair amount of readers who are not excited about the Baron King being Baron #3, but stick to the epic plot twist and own it. Don’t trickle it out in the blurb to try and appease those who are against it.

Second is the reveal of Hunter being the DJ. It was revealed in such a brief way in the middle of a huge info dump/inner monologue, and could have been handled so much better. We’ve been waiting to find out who the DJ is. (Friends literally had bets going on who it was), and it was revealed in such a blasé way.

ALSO, Nick refers to Lavinia as “crusty”. A bit later in the book, we then get to hear about Arianette's crusty cum-dried panties. ON WHAT PLANET would Nicky Babyyy refer to Lavinia as CRUSTY?!?! I’m not even touching on how our previous adored and beloved MCs were truly not themselves in this book. At all.

There is no heart or soul in this book. There’s no emotion in these pages, and because we are told everything, there’s no impact. This book is empty. There’s no life in it. The magic of the Royals is gone.
This will sound a bit dramatic and silly, but I was emotional when I finished this book and shed a few tears over it. I am so disappointed at the wasted potential of what the Barons, arguably the most anticipated house since Lords, could have been. I know I and many others feel cheated. I can’t help but wish that Sam would have been able to pour her heart and soul into this book, just like she did with the previous books in the series.





***
RTC - if the rating isn’t 4 or 5 stars, arc readers have to wait 2 weeks to rate and review. I’ll be back in a couple weeks.


***
OH THE THEORIES I HAVE. After the little breadcrumb trails and things we found out in Legacy, I can NOT WAIT for this book! 😍 so intrigued by the Barons and their sexy spookiness. 😈

[Tayloura · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can clearly tell this was written by one author. I don’t know how there are reviews claiming that you can’t tell but you can. Immediately reading it, it reads like a newspaper and previous books felt like you were *in* the story. Honestly for most of this book I felt like I had no idea what was going on. Things were just happening then we immediately moved to the next scene. I couldn’t tell the significance of anything.

There are also a lot of inconsistencies not only within just this book but with the book being connected to the series as whole. Just from the beginning we have this terrified traumatized girl who is avoiding sleep because of her trauma but then suddenly she can run through a hunt and kill someone? The same woman who was too scared to open the door to her room in the catacombs? This isn’t even a chunk into the book and I’m already confused.

The personalities of these men have no depth. It felt like you reached in a pot and just picked some “dark” traits and said here damn.

The hunt was like half a chapter of that…one of the main moments of the barons and it ends faster than you can blink.

This book was also full of adjectives, to the point where I’m questioning if there was AI used to help write it. It was attempting to describe things but it couldn’t actually connect them. I kid you not it was very excessive to where you start to question why we have more adjectives than plot. It was trying way too hard.

And tell me you didn’t write any of the books with out telling me? “Timeline math is hard, yo” you should know your books and characters that you been writing for like 3 years. Readers aren’t stupid and don’t act like we are.

Lastly, the fmc could’ve been a white woman. I felt like her blackness didn’t add anything to the story at all. And that’s really disappointing. I read this book not just because I liked the series but because the fmc was black. But it felt like it really didn’t matter at all.

And to the final note:

Yes, I am the (one of) reader that Angel was micro aggressive and dismissive towards when I brought up concerns as a black woman during the cover reveal. I did not attack her or her character, but I did simply state as a black woman this particular cover did not have the same details and effort as the previous trilogies. She mentioned she couldn’t do it that way because of “it’s nearly impossible to do without using AI” but I was later shown a timelapse of Ari being created with ZERO AI usage. Between that and reading the book, it’s clear being black was merely just a tag on the fmc but not something integral to the characters or their stories.

Regardless of this experience I did say I would read it and form my own opinion and I have. This split between authors has clearly harmed the rest of the series and Sam had her hand in it more than we are being led to believe. I wish we could’ve seen the original vision come to life because just from reading this, I know we are missing out greatly which fuckin blows

EDIT 07/04: I never go back and change my ratings but this book has been bothering me for days. More specifically Regina suddenly being black and it feels like some black girl fetish or adding in black characters to be like “see I like black people”. I just can’t get it out my head. So yeah, a 2 to a 1.

[WHERETHESMUTTYBOOKSARE · Rating 1 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW : Dry is the first word that comes to mind when I think of this book. The Barons have been the most anticipated house to drop. They are the sinister shadows who clean house in Forsyth. Or at least they were supposed to be. We were expecting dark and depraved and we got something i would hardly consider a dark romance. To put “timeline math is hard yo” is insulting to us as readers. I very quickly realized WHY the statement was put at the beginning of the book. The reason why I loved this series so much was because we could count on these books for the details and level of quality we came to know and expect.

The timeline and pacing of the book was off from the start. We’ve never formally known the inner workings of the Barons, but we have come to know some of their traditions from previous books. What happened to the Equinox? Was this overshadowed by the Black Wedding? I don’t recall it even being brought up at all. Cue the “timeline math is hard yo” reference. To see The Hunt, killing off a Baron, and The Claiming all happening in the blink of an eye, I was left underwhelmed and full of questions. The scenes were over before they even began. These were built up events that I had been looking forward to. Where was the primal? The chase? Showing us the ability of the shadows to be everywhere and nowhere? Aris inner monologue where we’re playing hide and seek with the shadows? It was all very anticlimactic and was entirely left to the readers imagination. The Black Wedding was built up to be this huge event at the end of Princes where we were left wondering, what the heck happened?! Nothing. Nothing happened is the answer. A wedding was had and that was about it. Maybe the Princes saw something we never did cause I was left wondering what they referred to.

DK was introduced to us previously so we knew his vibe and style to be expected. And that is not what we met. I was beyond excited to get a piercing trope in this book. Now first things first, when you tell me an mmc is pierced you better tell me all about it. How he’s pierced, what it looks and feels like, how many, gimme all the dirty deets from all pov. And we got one bland sentence hardly referring to his pierced 🍆 and it was never mentioned again. WHAT?! Why even mention it in the first place. Then when he eventually pierced Arianette I was left disappointed in the lack of tension and chemistry build up we saw between the two of them. This particular trope had such potential but was a miss.

“That's enough to set me loose, my orgasm exploding in a long stream. I grip the base, spilling out on the forest floor. She watches me-sees me-and fuck if that doesn't make it even better. Damon pulls out while keeping her jaw open with his strong fingers. "Last squirt," he tells her, leaving a pool of cum on her tongue.”

This DK quote will live rent free in my brain the rest of the days and not in a good way. LAST SQUIRT?! Please no.

I could not get behind the nickname doll baby. Was this a typo? Babydoll? I was confused.

Hunter we unknowingly met as the mysterious raspy DJ who spits poetic messages all over the radio in Princes. Instead we got a an awkward brainiac engineer who went from lyrical and artsy to a guy who most definitely lived up to his major. Weird, socially awkward and no connection or layers whatsoever. Hunter is supposed to be a voyeur, but I thought this was a huge lack of development as a trope. When the baroness is offered to him on a platter he just throws out a “nah I’m good.” He’d rather 💦 all over the forest floor or in a bathroom sink. Ummm sir🤔

Armie is the Baron we barely got to know. We know he’s Trudies spawn, so I can’t say I’m extremely upset over losing him. What I am disappointed in is how this plot point was ruined for me before I even opened the book. Immediately upon reading the blurb I realized he wasn’t going to be apart of the trio. Why ruin that huge plot point in the blurb? I started the book expecting this to happen and it was said and done in the matter of a few pages. Lack of buildup and detail to this scene/situation all the way through.

I had a really difficult time and was left at the end of the book still with no connection to Ari. Granted the girl clearly has trauma, but she read very bland and immature. She would act normal then all of a sudden have a wild unexplained moment. Her crazy didn’t come across like we’ve previously met in Remy. Remys was down to his bones, heart and soul, where Aris is very fleeting and surface level. Being our first Black FMC, i know a ton of our readers were so stoked for it. I felt she was so underdeveloped as a character. We were given unimaginative if not borderline stereotypical bodily descriptions. Referring to her silk bonnet and jojoba oil doesn’t make a character Black. If you’re going to attempt to write a Black character, do her justice. She deserves it. I was left missing the character depth I’m used to with our Monarchs.

I was personally most excited for Daddy Maddy. We’ve met him previously so we know the potentials to how dark and depraved he can be. Age gap is a trope that I personally love, especially in an RH. And once again this trope was lackluster. He kept referring to Ari about how young or childlike she looked or acted. The daddy/ daughter/ brother/ sister thing, that’s a no for me. Another key point that really had me questioning was the fact that he is so obsessed with being all natural and not ingesting pharmaceuticals, yet doesn’t mind making his own son and wife choke down lab made chemicals to contain their “crazy.” Make it make sense. And having Sy performing hypnosis on the baroness? Sy is studying to be a doctor—a scientist to his core. I can’t see him being behind something as wishy washy as hypnosis, and even more so willingly helping the Barons out with it so easily. If the cure to crazy was easy as that why doesn’t he have him perform it on Remy or Amber? His role as BK and also in the harem leaves much to be desired.

I was so hopeful to get more insight into meeting Amber and her situation. We first are introduced to her as being out of it and medicated af and next thing we know she’s blowing up at Timothy about the Black Wedding and how he’s destroyed the Barons and Remy. Wasn’t she just whacked out of her mind a page ago? These sort of inconsistencies with characters was flawed throughout the book.

What happened to learning the inner workings of the Barons, the cleaners of Forsyth. More than anything we found out these boys are the frattiest frat rats around. Never really pictured the Barons to be the house to throw ragers. Also why is the crypt covered in wisteria like the Purple Palace? Does it turn into the purple crypt?

Through reading some other reviews I’ve noticed I wasn’t the only one who felt there were some repeated tropes that have been recycled through barons. The spitting, 🐓warming, “look at me” to name a few. I was really looking forward to the new tropes and when those ones fell flat, i was disappointed to see so did these.

Upon meeting our previous characters, mainly the Dukes, I felt like I hardly recognized them. Sy, Nick, Lavania, and especially Remy all read so differently than the Dukes we know. Remy is particular to a fault when it comes to his tattooing. It’s ritualistic and special to him in the biggest way. And when I see him throw an offer for a tattoo to an opposing frat member who just won Friday Night Fury against the Dukes? This isn’t the Remy I know and love.

Overall Decay and the Barons lacks the depth, passion, emotion and darkness we’ve all come to know and love. I would have a hard time classifying this as a bully romance as it seemed everybody was more or less buddy buddy throughout the book up until the end. It was failing to portray the angst I’m used to in this series. Lords was the first RH series that I ever read and I have to say the bar was set very high from that point on. IMHO the bar didn’t reach that with Barons. Personally for myself I saw a huge difference in the loss of Sam. I will always continue to love my Lords, Dukes and Princes all the same but for me unfortunately the Barons just didn’t hit in the same way.

RTC

[Anne-Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a disappointing addition to a great series. It feels written with AI. All characters have the same tone, and there’s so many inconsistencies with the previous books it’s not even funny. The Royals from the previous books don’t even feel like themselves. Truly terrible.

It really feels like we got the short end of the stick by Samantha Rue leaving the duo and Angel Lawson continuing on alone. That's so, so sad. I was looking forward to the Barons for all the creepy, effed up things I thought would happen.

Instead, we got nothing. Just nothing.

[The Book and Beauty Blog · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so glad that I was turned down for an ARC because I don't have to wait a ridiculous amount of time to share my thoughts.

With all due respect, wtf was this? Because it absolutely was NOT my beloved Forsyth. I'm not even sure where to start so I guess I'll share my feelings on the characters and then everything else.

Arianette- Ari, my girl, you are a victim. This character is written in such a childish way that it genuinely gave me the ick to read about her having sex with the Baron King. I'm not in to age gap relationships anyways, but I can get down with them if the chemistry is there. Not only was there no chemistry, it felt gross and wrong. It also disgusted me to read about her having sex with DK because that wasn't sex, it was rape. This girl is victimized throughout the whole book and just takes it. She's the weakest female main character in this series and that's saying something because I thought Verity was pretty pathetic. It's also extremely clear that she's supposed to be a female Remy. However, just because she mumbles "periwinkle" and randomly says weird things DOES NOT make her a complex character like the one and only Remington Maddox.

It's also a shame that she's supposed to be the first black Baroness but Angel decided to retcon the story and make Regina black, as well. There is a picture of Regina from the Duke's kickstarter and she was white. Instead of it being special that Arianette is the first black Baroness, it now looks like the Baron King has a fetish for hurting black young women. Of course, though, we can't expect Angel to keep details such as skin color straight because as she said at the beginning of the book, “timeline math is hard, yo!” What a joke🙄

Baron King/Timothy Maddox- I understand why your son hates you because I do too. This guy is a creep but somehow he's still unbelievably boring. It's not possible for him to have less chemistry with Ari. Their scenes together are painfully awkward. I just hated every minute of it and everything about him.

Damon/DK- I am very much into piercings and tattoos. I actually thought DK would be my favorite and he was fine, not great, until the end of the book. The end of this book made me hate him. He walked into the cabin after Ari's wedding night, sees her clearly having a mental breakdown with welts all over her body and decides that's the best time to stick his 🍆 in her. The guys from the previous books would NEVER. It's clear that he doesn't care about her at all and there's no chemistry between them.

Hunter- The most exciting thing about Hunter is his dog. He's sooooo boring. I was beyond excited to read about the dark and mysterious Barons but instead all I got was generic, misunderstood boys 1 and 2.

Everything Else- I am a primal play girly and expected this book to have that... it does not. The Hunt is over with almost immediately and the claiming was a pale shadow of what I expected it to be. There is really nothing dark or edgy about this book, which is wild since the Barons have been built up over nine books. I think most of us know, though, why these Barons aren't what they should've been🙂 Also, for a book about college kids in a frat, this one barely shows them on campus. I think maybe once or twice?

I am devastated to say goodbye to Forsyth. Lords of Pain was the first dark romance book I ever read and I fell in love. These books were something special and apparently Samantha Rue is the one who made them so amazing.

[Kasey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was pretty bummed when I heard that Sam wouldn’t be continuing on with this series. I’ve read every book they released together and not given less than a 4, however, I’ve never been able to finish Angels books that she released by herself. (The only exception to this is the last Prince book, that one didn’t feel like a 3rd Forsyth book to me, it was all kinds of wrong and now I’m wondering when Sam actually stepped back)

The writing definitely feels different. Full of short choppy sentences that don’t make it flow as well as the previous books. The conversations don’t feel as natural.

The Lords and the Dukes set the standard for sex scenes for me. But there’s just not enough attention to detail in this book. One second he���s getting changed, puts a hoodie on, then he’s with the Baroness & she staring at his naked chest? So is it a hoodie that’s unzipped, or is he naked and you forgot he just put a hoodie on? What about when she’s sitting across his lap, oh but now he’s thrusting against her pussy and shes riding him.. with no position change? He’s crouched low in front of her, the next second he’s biting her shoulder..

But then on the other end of the scale, some scenes have too much detail. There was literally a 4 line paragraph about ice being put into a cup. It read as ‘I need to write a certain about of words today’. Same with information being repeated. Before the 60% mark we’d been told exactly how Hunter had gotten his dog 3 freaking times.

A problem I’ve always had with the sex scenes in Angels solo books, other than the above, is that they always feel rushed. It doesn’t seem like Angel is as comfortable writing them. The Lords and Dukes, some scenes would go on for an entire chapter, sometimes they’d extend to multiple chapters and you’d be in each characters head throughout the scene, you’d really get into it, be able to visualise exactly what was happening. But these ones are over within a couple pages, and they’re full of metaphors about how they’re feeling or whatever instead of staying in the moment.

Some things I noted while reading -

-There’s such little chemistry between these characters, it was painful to read.
-I’m SO over the girls going missing storyline. This is book 10, why is this crappy storyline still going? Why is it taking up the majority of the book? Look back at the Lords and Dukes and you can see most of the book was focused on the relationship, which allowed us to connect to the characters so much more and reallly believe the relationship. There’s too much outside crap taking away from the relationship.
-why was Sofia introduced so early? She’s obviously going to be the next countess but so? Why is she getting any page time in book 1 of the Barons? Just another way to focus on something other than the relationship we’re meant to be exploring.
-why did her uncle care so much that she be a virgin when she marries the king? She was marrying him the very next day but her uncle wanted proof that she was still a virgin? Why? Shouldn’t the only one that care about that be the person she’s marrying? It just didn’t make sense and was fucking stupid
-doll baby is such a cringe nickname. Babydoll I can handle but for some reason, doll baby just got to me. Ew.
-for the first 90%, neither guy is giving ‘Forsyth royal’. They’ve been neutered. There isn’t a bad or morally gray bone in either of their bodies. They’re both just so perfect and understanding and caring. Which in any other series would be expected. But not this series. It’s so weak.
-soooo many pages dedicated to the wedding. The lead up. The preparation. The guests. The ceremony. It’s all so fucking boring.

I’ve always wondered if the Forsyth series was my favourite because of whatever Sam was bringing to the table and unfortunately this book seems to prove that.

God this book was boring. I found myself skimming entire pages of useless crap. If I’m reading book 10, it’s pretty safe to say I’ve read the previous ones and don’t need to be reminded of everything or relationships each character has with each other. It again felt like trying to reach a minimum word count.

Seeing ARC readers confirm they’re not allowed to leave a review if it’s less than 4 or 5 stars for the first 2 weeks tells me Angel knows she wrote a subpar book compared to what she produced with Sam. Incredibly sad that my favourite series has come to such a gruesome end, but I’ll just reread the first 6 books when I miss these characters.

Highly doubt I will continue reading the series after this. Devastated.

[Clarice]

Dnf 25%

I’m just not vibing with Arianette or the guys. I feel like the author didn’t do any research on mental illness or the black community when writing this. The guys were very one note and weren’t distinct from one another (besides Timothy and he was just giving old man on a grapefruit cleanse vibes).

I think it really bothered me too how Timothy sees himself as a “good” guy compared to the other old kings. Just bc you don’t unalive the house girls or turn them into prostitutes, doesn’t make you a good guy. At least not when you make them call you “daddy” 🤢. I think the worse thing about him was that he was a hypocrite. He was giving “other people cause all my problems, not me”, he seemed really immature for a 40+ year old man. I’m usually into age gaps, but only if the MMC is nuanced and mature.

I’ve heard a lot of unsettling things about the author recently and how she treats reviewers who don’t give her books good reviews. I’m usually the type of person who attempts to separate the art from the artist, but when I hear that someone close to her threatened to harm a negative reviewer and basically cyber bullied them, I can’t ignore that.

[Allie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 🌶️
2 🌶️

Prior to release day, I was nervous. What would losing Samantha as a co-author mean? Would the rest of the series still feel the same? Would I be able to tell she’s no longer involved?

Unfortunately, I could tell a difference in the writing. I really wish Samantha could have finished this series out because it’s not the same. I am not shocked to see that the people saying they can’t tell a difference at all are on the ARC team. They probably don’t want to lose their spot (as other reviewers have also pointed out).

There are also quite a few plot holes, as others have discussed both in reviews and the FB spoiler group. The author’s responses have been a bit frustrating saying that “math is hard” and she didn’t have access to their original alpha readers.

The Baron’s characters didn’t seem very fleshed out, and I kept mixing up who was who until about 80% because they didn’t seem to have distinct personalities. They were also so kind to her most of the book, and this felt very different from the other houses where we could tell this was a bully romance. This wasn’t. I needed some sort of emotion from SOMEONE.

The book also wasn’t as dark or as spicy as prior books in the series, which was a major disappointment as the Barons has been teased all along as the darkest house and the most effed up.

While awkward and a little weird, I liked our Baroness for most of the book. However, her complete and childlike meltdown after the wedding night was like whiplash for her character. It was a tantrum and completely different from how she was during the book. I was so excited to finally have a royal woman who wasn’t having tantrums and pushing her royal men away most of the book, so that scene of hers completely killed my hope for her.

The Black Wedding. What was that? In princes, they all discuss how they want to forget it ever happened and it was so wild. But it was…lackluster and anticlimactic. There was barely anything. Same with the hunt and claiming. It was all built up in previous books to be this intense and crazy moment, but when it happened, it wasn’t.

I’m hoping books 2 and 3 in the Baron’s trilogy brings back so many elements that made people fall in love with this series.

[JustALittleBookishh · Rating 1 out of 5]

WTF did I just read... I mean the writing and the plot had me questioning MY sanity. this book proves how badly Angel needs Samantha.

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m giving it a one star because zero is not an option. I just read that co author Samantha Rue was not part of this book and I got to page 63 and could blatantly tell something was off. The whole tone of this book does not feel the same. There is no character depth or showing why the barons are barons and how the baroness came about. It was just plop here we go let’s start a hunt and give tiny details about who they are. That is not how Forsythe world operates and to be just thrown these characters with no lead up and how they are described they just seem crazy. I will not be continuing these books. Too bad Samantha Rue can’t finish this series.

[Alice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Imagine viewing a masterpiece of art unfold only for the next act to smear itself in shit and proudly declare, “Art!” That’s what just happened.  This was a suicide. And I don’t know what’s more offensive: the writing, the laughable plot holes, or the fact that the author clearly thought they could get away with this level of mediocrity. Scratch that — not mediocrity. This was embarrassing.
The timeline was a train wreck. Other than fixing it, the author smugly shrugs and says, “Timeline math is hard, yo.”  That’s pure laziness. Don’t pretend it’s charming it’s insulting.
And that female lead? Calling her goth-inspired is an insult to actual goths. Hell, it’s an insult to eyeliner. She had all the depth of a cardboard cutout soaked in vanilla extract. No angst, no darkness, no tension, just a bland, soulless husk plopped into a plot that reads like someone googled “how to ruin everything."
This wasn’t just a letdown. It was a betrayal. If the author’s goal was to torch their legacy, congratulations, mission accomplished.

[Amber Hetchler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely crushed. Last Forsyth book I ever read. And honestly, probably the last Angel Lawson book I ever read. Having read her solo work, I had been starting to wonder if maybe it was Sam bringing most of the magic and now there's no doubt in my mind. Angel is ok but there's something about her writing that just feels so flat. Every character feels the same. Not a single emotionally charged scene. Not one she was successful in executing that is. There were a few attempts but I felt absolutely nothing for any of these cardboard cutout characters. And honestly that was what made Forsyth so special. That grit and raw feeling of pain and desire and betrayal.

This was nothing but a confusing, inconsistent mess.

The guys had no personality. Nothing that set them apart from each other as you were reading through their povs. And they didn't make sense at all. One minute they're being kind and understanding to her and the next they're taking advantage of her while she's at her lowest.

And why is no one talking about how she was using DK as a fucking pacifier??? I wanted to barf man I skipped both those scenes. I really feel like Angel was purposely trying to make her seem more like a child. I'm honestly convinced that's why she made her mentally ill and 'crazy'. It makes her seem more childish when she's spouting off random shit like 'Periwinkle' and 'We got ice cream.' And if that wasn't enough, we got many descriptions of her little hands and little body and little skirt because of course she dressed like a schoolgirl at her grown college going age because she was just too innocent to know any better. And Timothy's inner dialogue during and after the wedding just drove it home. He made sure to point out that she's still a kid and that she looks like one in her gown and veil. Then ravaged her innocent, virginal body. Gag. I had to skip that as well. Timothy is NOT a daddy, he's an actual fucking creep.
And her being a child, she had to throw a tantrum at one point of course. And the constant over use of good girl. And the weird doll baby nickname. Yeah, not babydoll. Doll baby. Wtf is doll baby.

It recycled many plot points from previous books like an object taking her virginity in a ritual rather than one of the men. Almost like she couldn't come up with anything else shocking or original. After hyping up the Barons so much it was totally unfair to deliver something so...unimpressive. This goes for the wedding AND the hunt which was over before it even started.

I'm not one to quit a book no matter how awful it is but I gotta tell you I got so close so many times. This was an insult to the entire Forsyth universe which just made it that much harder to get through. To be quite honest I had to skim a lot because when it wasn't pissing me off or making me cringe it was boring me to tears.

I really wish we could've seen what Sam would've done with this. I have a feeling it would've been the best one yet but now we'll never know.

Goodbye Forsyth. Memento Mori

[gaby ✧ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure what I thought I was reading, but it definitely didn’t feel like a Royals of Forsyth University book, maybe it was the fact that Sam’s absence was so noticeable (and that’s saying something, considering I don’t even know what her writing is like since all her books are co-written with Angel).

Something that had never happened to me with this series before was that I constantly had to go back and check which Baron was narrating, because they felt EXACTLY the same, no distinct personality (or maybe the same one).

Positive points: Lavinia showed up (the love of my life, I love you queen).

[Damsel · Rating 1 out of 5]

SOMETHING DOESN'T ADD UP !!!


After being soooo excited for the barons now I'm incredibly disappointed.
This book lacks depth, chemistry, and meaningful character development.

What happened to the King? Did he undergo a personality transplant? This is not the ruthless villain we encountered in The Dukes,nor the enigmatic, masked King who once played Russian Roulette with death itself. That intense edge, that psychological complexity? Gone.

As for DK and Hunter, their relationship feels shallow and completely unrelatable. There’s no emotional foundation, no past interactions that justify their connection. Instead, they come across as juvenile and directionless,just a couple of lust-driven cowards wandering around Arianette. There’s zero depth between them and the King. They don’t feel like powerful, dangerous Barons. they feel like background characters. This was supposed to be the most feared, most twisted house in Forsyth, and it reads like the dullest.

And maybe that’s the problem. This book feels empty,like it was written without the emotional backbone we've come to expect. Without Samantha Rue co-authoring, the emotional intensity, the tension, and the layered relationships that defined earlier installments are sorely missing. Her absence is felt on every page.

I also couldn't get a handle on Arianette's character. Is she supposed to be fierce or submissive? Her voice is immature, almost childlike, yet she’s out here slicing throats like a trained assassin. The inconsistency is jarring. That opening scene, in particular, was absurd. She kills Armand, and within minutes, she’s performing sexual acts on DK? It wasn’t dark,it was just cringeworthy. Poorly paced, emotionally flat, and utterly implausible. And I say this as someone who loves dark fiction. NON CON pitch black avid reader 🙃🤦

I’m genuinely angry this series has taken such a nosedive. Still, I’ll continue reading if only to catch glimpses of the Lords, Dukes, and Princes who actually made Forsyth worth investing in. And I sincerely hope Samantha Rue returns for the next installment, because without her, the soul of this story is missing.

[Christina]

I know I won't rate this because some will view it through the lens of my inability to be unbiased, even though I've read/rated Angel's solo works prior to working with her and Sam, during our work together on FU, and may do so in the future, and may even accuse me of "skewing the ratings". However, it's never in my character not to rate something fairly/honestly. I have more integrity and professionalism than that. Even these months after having read it, I'm still not sure if I want to say anything or how I want to say it, but I do know that I couldn't let my excitement for this novel prior to its release and the possibility of what it could-have-been sit here as a placeholder when that's not how I feel after having read it. For now, I will briefly say that it was very typical of what I found of Lawson's solo projects and not close to the depth I've learned to love and come to expect from the co-authored works which is such a damn shame.

Below was a placeholder for my feelings after having read PoL and well before Decay released, as well as ahead of the eventual announcement of the dissolution of the partnership known as "Samgel."

Princes of Legacy set us up with so very many juicy morsels to sink our teeth into when it comes to what might be ahead for us in this next trilogy of the Royals of the Forysth world.

With this duo of authors leading the helm and a new Baroness, a wicked Daddy that might not be so much evil as he is just pure fucking malevolent enigmatic dark energy and charisma personified, along with his hand-picked Barons, my body has never been more ready. I think Samgel is going to deliver on every single darkly depraved dreamscape we readers have been begging for from this frat since they were first introduced in the Lords trilogy with a plethora of kinks at the ready, and it all begins with Decay. And, isn't that just beautiful?

Shadow daddies, holler at this sinister queen. I'm so fucking ready to walk the wicked path with you!

* BIG ASS ETA As most of the RoFU world now knows, Samgel is no longer heading the Forsyth world as a joint venture any longer. As it stands, only Angel Lawson is continuing on with it, starting with Barons of Decay. I still plan to check out the progression of the work, but one does have to wonder how the loss of a writing partner will affect the overall writing tone and depth of a world you built with someone else? Here’s hoping for the best! 🤞🏼

[Mel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok wow what even was this? This was my most anticipated read for 2025 and a year of waiting. I feel like I’m grieving what should have been another masterpiece in the FU universe. However, instead this whole book fell flat and was underwhelming. The usual vibes, darkness, intrigue and mystery are totally missing and I suspect left with the other half of the author duo.

Where was the angst, bullying and tension between the main characters? I really didn’t connect with any of the guys or the fmc. There was none of the usual depth with these characters. A lot of traits and kinks were copy paste from previous books. But in this case they didn’t work and fell flat. I was bored during this book. This was not the barons or baroness we were promised or anticipating. I really can’t help but think about what it could have been.

I’m hoping Angel can give us more in the next book and go over the fine details from previous books because “timelines are hard yo” is an insult to the readers. Looking forward to reading what Sam puts out for her solo works.

Updated to add:
What happened to the other royals?! Did they all get personality transplants? Why were they all friendly to the new barons? This is not the way. They aren’t all friends and never have been (minus the monarchs) but this was behind their men’s backs. I’m just totally lost with all of that. They are supposed to be suspicious of each other. But DK and Hunter are big fan boys and they are all acting like bros with the other frats. Like I’m just flabbergasted. I want to re read the first 3 FU frats again because our characters have been ruined 😭.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was terrible and so disappointing. I didn’t think it would be for me as I wasn’t too interested in the Barons anyway, but once I knew Sam was no longer involved I was even more wary. In reality this should have been a dnf, but I needed to see if any redemption could happen and it only got worse at the end.

The first clue was the intro where the author admitted that timelines and some plot details may not match up because “it’s hard”. That is your job. Like why would I read a 10+ book series with a fully formed world if the author can’t be bothered to put in the effort to know her own work? Alas, I am already invested 🤦🏼‍♀️

This book itself glossed over what should have been some of the biggest pieces of the part one of the Barons story: The Hunt. And then second half on the Black Wedding.

The Barons didn’t even know each other before joining the frat and then the third in the “harem” is the King? What works is that the guys are tight knit, loyal to each other over everything else, balance each other out. This is just three men using an abused young woman. In the end they don’t even come together for her, just all about owning her and taking what is theirs. Plus both of them just seem to be extra violent and want to take it out on her. Gaslighting her into believing she likes pain with her pleasure when she has been literally abused her whole life. No redeeming qualities about either of them by the end.

The King and the age gap wouldn’t have been so bad if he had any good qualities about him and caring about her, but she was just and means to an end. But still took from her and abused her and broke her even more because he could. She literally acts like a child and is younger than his own kid.

Arianette could have been SO good. What a missed opportunity to create a strong take no prisoners queen of the night type of Royal Baroness. I know the trigger said dub con but I don’t believe any part of her story was anything but non consent and I’m not here for that. She was trafficked from her uncle to the king, that is not consent. she did not willingly sign up for the situation she was in. She explicitly said no and the Barons still made excuses that “she really wanted it but wouldn’t admit it”.

I will still read the next two because I want to know then end of the story and hope Arianette truly is saved by the end.

Longest review I have ever written here but really wanted to get my thoughts out.

[staci minshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited to be back in Forsyth because this is my favorite series. The princes left off with such a hunger for the Barons I couldn’t wait. I was expecting this to be the darkest book in the series with how much they built up the Barons. Unfortunately it was not.

I feel like the characters fell short. These boys are not nearly as brutal as all the other boys in the series. I especially thought in the beginning that DK was going to be the worst. I expected to hate him most of this book and fall in love with him in the next, given that’s how it seems to go in this series. Also Timothy’s character does not give me daddy vibes like everyone else. He should be hated!

Ari so far is not the badass FMC we are used to seeing in this series. She has the defiant nature in her as we have seen from a couple parts in this book but for the most part she was very submissive. I feel like we needed more of her back story to understand why that is.

I also wonder why we didn’t get more of the missing girls in this book. I figured half of it would be about them as Ari was one of the missing. I feel like the hypnosis should have been done in this book to give us something about what happened to Ari and the girls.

Maybe Angel meant this book to be different from the rest. I just wish it was more of the dark twisted stories we are used to. Give me the whiplash I’m used to! I am interested to see how the next book is going to go. Maybe this was just a taste and things and it will get more intense in the next. Fingers crossed!

[aja · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to say, I was really looking forward to this book and was really disappointed.

The tone of the book is nothing like the others. It felt like cruelty for cruelty’s sake. There is no connection or back story between these characters. And what is with the daddy/brother/sister thing?

I finished the book, but I don’t think I will finish the series.

Very sad after how good the ending was in Princes!

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

If this was supposed to be the peak of twisted romance, it barely made it off the ground.

I feel no real connection to any of the characters. There was no angst, no tension, nothing that made the previous books so captivating. The Barons were NOT dark in the slightest. They weren’t even remotely intimidating. Half the time they seemed utterly clueless, waiting for the King to tell them what to do. I went into this expecting something genuinely dark, and I trusted the author to deliver, especially after how well she handled it in the past. But it’s become painfully clear that Sam was the backbone to this whole series. Without her, the writing has lost its edge.
Hunter, in particular, has been very underused. He feels more like a background character we occasionally see rather than a main character. When he does appear, he is oddly detached from the rest of the cast, which makes it difficult to invest in him emotionally. Although, it’s difficult to invest in any of these characters emotionally. The characterisation across the board feels flat. Personalities are dry, and the dialogue often reads as boring. I’m really struggling to feel depth here. It’s all very surface level, very copy and paste, nothing we haven’t seen before. The Barons in previous books were set up so well, and the author has completely missed the mark.
Ari seems to spend more time with DK, while Hunter so far has spent barely any meaningful scenes with her. And as for Hunter and DK constantly referring to each other as ‘brothers’, we’ve been given no real insight into the depth of their relationship. Their dynamic lacks warmth or tension that once made the bonds between men in the series so gripping. That emotional bond that used to be in these stories is evidently missing.
Timothy’s chapters are another low point. The first half of his POV’s always seem to spiral into long-winded tangents about gothic architecture, his family history, or pointless conversations with Graves. It’s repetitive and unnecessary and I can’t quite figure out his personality.
To be blunt, most of this book feels like it was written by AI. It’s over explained and a lot of the time it’s cringey. Entire sections could’ve been cut without losing anything of substance. The writing keeps circling the same ideas or going over previous events, as if it doesn’t trust the reader to remember basic plot events.
I keep turning the page hoping for the spark, the depth, the emotion, or the same feeling I got when reading the Lords or the Dukes. But so far, this books is falling short. And it pains me to admit that, because I love this series deeply and I have re-read previous books countless times. I don’t feel as though I’ll be coming back to re-read this one any time soon.

UPDATE:
I just finished reading the Black Wedding chapters. What an absolute let down. I’m so bored of this book. After all the build up, the event we were promised turned out to be painfully underwhelming. It wasn’t a sinister ceremony; it was just… a wedding. A plain, gothic themed wedding with the usual overdone references to blood ties and death that felt more cringey than chilling or shocking. Then her cherry was popped with some vague object, and it had zero spice. It felt like a much worse written version of Verity sitting on the throne.
In previous books, the Barons were hyped up to be the darkest, most depraved house in FU, but in this book they resemble a Halloween Pinterest board. Just because you throw in some black roses, skulls, and mentions of rituals, doesn’t make it a dark romance. It doesn’t even compare to the rest of the series. So much wasted potential.

[Nadia]

SOOOOOO many delicious breadcrumbs dropped in the Legacy book for this series and the Counts that i'm so incredibly psyched to get into this world. I already created a massive pinterest board for it and have it posted in the fb spoiler group. The barons are 100% my aesthetic and i just KNOWWWWWW they're gonna be my favorite house of all time!

[Madison · Rating 1 out of 5]

This has been my absolute favourite dark romance series. I have always loved the depth to the characters and how far we come from the first book with the group to the last. This however was so far off the mark from the books before it and I’m actually really sad to see what has happened to this series.

The characters were completely empty. Any of the previous books I could open the book randomly, read a few lines and know whose POV it was. This however was not the case for this book. They all had the same lifeless personality. The king went from being a ruthless man like all the other kings, to this washed out creep. A rock has more personality than Damon and Hunter combined. Also don’t get me started on the submissive, doormat, with the mentality of a 10-12 year old, that was the FMC.

Barons are suppose to be the darkest of the houses with lots of secrets and traditions. This book was suppose to be a gothic gem. I thought Arianette was suppose to have the style of Morticia Adam’s, or Elvira. Mixed with the black swan vibe of her being a ballerina and I thought she was going to be my favourite creepy royal. No…we got a confused empty shell that liked to wear school girl skirts and bows in her hair…same goes for the men that could have been any random Chads off the street instead of the actual Barons.

Not to mention we are brought into the book with “Timeline math is hard, Yo”…are you kidding me? A lot of the stuff that changed makes absolutely no sense to change. Like originally in Duchess Remy tells Damon he wants to open a Tattoo shop and asks Damon to join because he is a piercer. We’ll ignore that because instead of Remy, who actually knows Damon because they were room mates and Remy is the one actually opening the shop, we will get Nick who doesn’t know Damon to ask him on Remy’s behalf…how does that make sense to change?

The hunt was extremely quick and absurdly underwhelming even though we have heard about this tradition since at least Dukes if not earlier. The black wedding was a repeat of the Prince’s initiation ceremony of the Princess….

I know the authors split up but I had no horse in this race. I’ve only read there combined work and since I knew Angel was a seasoned author where Sam was new I figured it was a good decision that Angel finish it. Haha omg was I wrong! The heart and soul of this series packed its bags and left with Sam…. Yo.

[Alex]

I’m sorry you’re telling me I get a Black Royal woman AND a plot twist?

Gimme the spooky vibes and Daddy kink. Praying for blood play, too.

Update 11 June: Just received ARC. I’m so sad to be continuing this journey without one of the beloved authors who have captured my heart, but I suppose now I must love these authors separately instead of together. Soon I’ll be reviewing ARCs of solo Sam and wow, that anticipation is as good as how I felt waiting for my lovely Barons. Review of Decay to follow soon!

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Womp. Guess the series ended at the previous book?

[Letty S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book needs to be renamed Barons of Disappointment.
Who blew smoke up Angel Lawsons "you know what" and told her this book was good and then let it pass even its first draft?? They need to be fired pronto.

I was expecting black, soul-scarring trauma from a book that would make me question my own sanity. The only dark thing about Barons of Decay was how quickly it sent me into an endless pit of boredom. There are Wattpad rejects that are better than this heap of garbage. I wanted blood. I wanted obsession. I wanted to feel like I needed to take a shower afterward. Instead, I got angst-lite™ with a side of cringe.
The characters are all one-dimensional and have the emotional depth of a puddle. I kept waiting for them to become interesting, but they never did. Nothing but flat personalities, juvenile dialogue, and chemistry that was about as sizzling as a wet sponge. Where was the spark between the Barons and Arianette?? I’ve had more intense emotional connections with my eyeliner. And what happened to the Baron King??!! Who neutered him??!!

Barons of Decay is the literary equivalent of ordering a shot of top-shelf whiskey and getting served lukewarm tap water in a dirty glass. Angel Lawson didn’t just miss the mark, she burned down the entire target.

Do yourself a favor. Save your time, your money, and your sanity. And Samantha Rue, if you’re reading this. Please. Save us.

#NotMyBarons #BringOnTheDecayBecauseThisWasTooFresh

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fuuuuuck I have been excited about the Barons since book 1 and maybe I overhyped it but...this was a disappointment. I still enjoyed it, but oh man there were a few things that could have made this infinitely better. I have a lot of Feelings™ about this book.

First, I expected more from The Hunt, especially considering that's like the Barons' "thing", I expected there to be some actual primal play but the timeline of it was super weird. She starts running in the forest, Armand catches her after like half an hour or something, tries to rape her (because vaginal penetration and kissing are a no go), she kills him. Damon and Hunter find her, Damon makes her suck his dick (which I got the feeling they all considered it a scandalous act somehow?) and then they bring her back, there's a ceremony/discussion about Armand, Hunter carves her up, and apparently when he's carving her up, it's almost sunrise. How long did all of this take?? Because I'm thinking three hours and that's generous. Does the Hunt not start at sunset? Midnight? If it starts at midnight they have six hours...was she hiding for longer? Because it didn't seem like that and no one says exactly, she starts to have leg cramps from her hiding spot and other characters say she lasted a long time so unless I missed something...wtf. I really expected more details from this, I was disappointed it wasn't a bigger deal. I feel like they made more of a deal of the Black Wedding than the Hunt, which seems disproportionate in terms of importance. Final thought about this...in all the other books, when any character is talking about the hunt, they say something like "the longer you hide, the less time your Barons have to claim you"...so if a Baroness is caught like 10 minutes into the hunt...wtf do they do for the next 6+ hours if they can't fuck her? Also when Arianette is eating dinner and looking at the creepy murals, the one that depicted the Claiming shows three Barons boning her in her mouth, vagina, and ass. But apparently they can't take her virginity at the Claiming?? Idk I guess I was expecting a gangbang after some primal play so I'm mad about it.

Secondly, Damon's character was all over the place. I liked Hunter, no notes, I'm excited about his backstory and the reason he likes to watch but not participate (pls don't let me down). I really couldn't get a handle on if Damon wanted to be there at all, if he wanted to control Arianette or be her BFF and go feed some kittens. I feel like all the other men of Forsyth are clearly stunted emotionally and most of them take this out on women violently/abusively, but Damon was really hot and cold about it. I just thought he was so so boring and his character/personality depended on what happened in a scene - not because he was a clever and manipulative social chameleon, but because he didn't have a personality anyway.

Thirdly, I was also kind of disappointed the Baron King was the third dude, I was hoping because Will kept being mentioned in Princes (I think? Or Dukes or both??) that there was another one but I guess it's something different so we'll see how it goes. I did find it very interesting to have a current King's perspective on events happening, and I like him...even though it was a little weird he kept saying "Omg Arianette is a child, I miss my wife, it's so weird I'm doing this guys" yet he was super into banging her in the cabin.

Lastly, I really love Arianette as a character, or what she could be (she could be my favourite character if this series wises up), but I feel there was not enough from her POV. In the previous books the girl has always been the central/most important POV. She also has random bursts of crazy, and she reminds me of Remy the way she speaks sometimes (I love love Remy), but I felt that those were a little out of character with what her POV was. Not that they're the same just because they're both a lil cuckoo, but if you compare Remy's POV to how he is described by other characters, it lines up. With Arianette it really doesn't seem to (again, not in a mysterious way, in an inconsistent way). Her setting the mansion on fire? Very her. Her writing shit on the wall of the cabin and running away and then getting in a car with someone? I don't know her. I also think her upbringing with her uncle was not talked about enough - she has a LOT of trauma from being essentially groomed for this position she was described, and then the position really turned out to be nothing like she thought, and I feel like the discrepancy between expectation and reality wasn't really explored. It maybe started when her uncle came for dinner, but we should have seen at least some glimpses before then, and more discussion about how her true unhinged personality was at war with the proper and obedient Baroness she was raised to be.

I feel like we really were missing Samantha on this one, Samgel had said in an interview that Angel is the one that comes up with general stuff, and Samantha is the one that picks the fine details to hone in on (which is why they worked so well together), and oh man I really saw that loss here. I'm so so so bummed that this happened when the Barons were written.

There's a few more little things (if there's no actual Daddy kink or something resembling it, why does the Baroness call the Baron King daddy but not father, and why do the Barons not call him Daddy?) but those four are the biggest and I always have little gripes with each book that really don't matter in the grand scheme of things especially if I enjoyed reading it.

Having said all that, I can't bring myself to rate this two stars because it doesn't belong with other two star ratings I've given. I acknowledge the first book of each trilogy is always sort of a buildup and then in the second book it starts getting a whole lot more intense. I just hope the second book isn't a letdown too. I literally went into a reading slump in the last month because I was anticipating this book so much and it let me down so I'm bummed.

[Britt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I seriously mean no disrespect to Angel Lawson, but girl, this book ain’t it.

Lords had some rough shit in it that made you question your own moral compass. The Dukes even more so, but I LOVED both of those books. Wanted more and more of their storylines.

What the fuck happened here? I know you lost Samantha as your writing partner, but this book was an utter failure.

Character Development - 0
Emotional Development - 0
Angst and Tension Buildup - 0

This book was so boring. I kept getting distracted, because I just didn’t care about what was happening on the page. I love this universe, and this book just ruined it for me.