Once upon a time

by Lainey Mars

Elizabeth walked through life with all the confidence and bravado that went along with being a naive girl raised in wealth and privilege. She never could have imagined she'd end up as just another statistic of human trafficking, but after things go array during a family vacation in Italy, that's exactly what happens. The only thing that saves her from her attackers is the fact that she's a virgin and they're every bit the greedy lowlifes one would associate with such a despicable criminal enterprise.

As the leader of one of the most successful and lucrative trafficking organizations in the world, Costin has made a name for himself as a man to be both feared and respected. He specializes in providing exquisite women to rich and powerful men, ensuring each is trained - mentally and physically - to his exacting standards. When one of his suppliers offered him a beautiful, innocent American girl, he decided to throw caution to the wind. This girl would be his - body, mind, heart, and soul - and he was going to relish every scream, savor each tear, and enjoy every second of breaking her apart and consuming her.

Genres: Dark Romance

247 pages, Paperback

Published August 14, 2024

Reviews

[SAV · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this book! It was definitely different from what I was expecting and not your normal Stockholm syndrome books, I do wish that the first half of the book was a little condensed down but I still ended up enjoying the story overall and didn’t see what was coming at all

[•mikaela• :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm... I mean, he ain't as bad as others, you know. 🤷🏻‍♀️👀

[Kim Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of twists and turns!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love a dark romance but this was just dark, I just felt sorry for Elizabeth, and could not get on board to Costin train, but she swears she likes being treated like shit so who am I to kink shame?! Kinda wanted her to be with the therapist, he was hot af

[Camille Murray · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a dark Romance, its a dark tragedy.

* some spoilers* First this is not a romance. I would label it as.a dark erotic drama. I am not not a therapist but I didn't think the FMCs behavior made sense. Her behavior was all over the place. The fact that she was in therapy for a year and her therapists didn't help her at all, in fact she was able to convince her therapist the mmc 'wasn't that bad'. Then the mmc was able to fix her mental issues through sex. It just didn't make any sense. Also in order to create twists in the story, random new characters would pop up. It wasn't a cohesive story. I did feel bad for the fmc because she was completely brainwashed into thinking her life as a sex slave (who was mentally and physically abused) made her happy. I felt the writing tried to rationalize that human trafficking isn't completely bad. I read a lot of dark romance and this had absolutely no romance. Its a tragedy at best.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was labeled as dark romance, but to me, it didn’t feel much darker than others I’ve read in the genre. The tropes are definitely dark, but the overall tone felt more familiar than extreme.

That said, I still really enjoyed the story. The author’s writing style was smooth and engaging, and the pacing kept me invested throughout.

If you’re into dark romance and want something that’s a bit edgy but not overwhelmingly heavy, this one is a solid choice.

[Lisa Mullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark dark dark!

Super dark & filled with more "trigger warnings" than anything I've read in a while. Fast paced & an easy read! And super spicey!!!