The Library: A Dark Romance

by Alex Martin

The A Dark Romance

Lilith doesn’t belong in Sebastian Ashford’s world of power and control, but that’s exactly where she finds herself—helplessly drawn to the man who promises both pleasure and pain in equal measure. The innocent girl she once was is dead, replaced by someone darker, someone hungry for the danger Sebastian offers.

Sebastian didn’t expect to crave her, but Lilith’s defiance has sparked an obsession he can’t shake. He wants to break her, bend her, make her beg for him. But the more she fights back, the deeper she drags him into a dark, twisted game of desire.

In The Library—her sanctuary, her favorite bookstore—their passions ignite. Bound by secrets and seduction, Lilith surrenders to Sebastian’s ruthless control, even as her mind screams for her to run. Each touch, each command, pushes her closer to the edge, and she can’t stop wanting more.

But in this dangerous game of lust, the line between love and destruction blurs. And when the truth of their twisted connection is revealed, only one thing is neither of them will emerge unscathed.

Genres: Dark Romance

490 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 16, 2024

Reviews

[Jamie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark romance is my favorite genre, so I was excited to read this one…and it definitely DID NOT disappoint! You had stalker, secret society, obsessive MMC, cat and mouse, and a host of other tropes wrapped up into this one book, and it made for a really great story. I loved that it was told in dual POV…you got to see how all the events were affecting each of them. The characters really evolved and grew throughout the book also; Lilith finding her inner strength and holding her own with Sebastian. And Sebastian becoming a little vulnerable with Lilith. If you enjoy dark romance like I do, then this is definitely one to add to your reading list!

[Ady · Rating 2 out of 5]

1 star for the effort 1 star for the smut
Why was this so long... it should've been 200 pages at most. Repetitive dialogs and narration and just a bunch of NOTHING. I see the vision but the execution was extremely poor.

[Page_2_Pen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ Whew! So many trigger warnings in this one, so beware! Lillith’s entire world is flipped and turned to an exhilarating madness when she crosses paths with the dark and dangerous Sebastian at her favorite spot, The Library. Everything about these two escalates quickly and Lillith is plunged into a world of darkness. Sebastian is not your typical stalker. He goes ALL out, and yet Lillith finds herself intrigued and drawn to his world. Sebastian is always in charge, and she will learn that quickly and harshly. This story delves deeper and deeper into something Lillith may never come back from, and yet she cannot bring herself to run away. Will Sebastian keep his control? Or will his own games turn the tables? This is an extremely spicy book, filled with triggers and I’m not gonna lie- I struggled with some of it bad. I would’ve given it 4⭐️, had it not been so repetitive. It is told from dual perspectives, which would be fine if they didn’t repeat the other’s recap of events so much. For that reason, it gets 3.5⭐️ from me. I felt the transition could’ve been better between perspectives and at least 150 pages eliminated alone by removing too much repetition. That being said, it was an engrossing read and I definitely need a palette cleanser now!

[Mindy Menotti bookishly_mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lilith & Sebastian have such a crazy emotional and flawed relationship, but it totally works for them. The way they come together and dive into the darkness together was both riveting & captivating from page one.

[Bethany Latronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Library - Alex Martin This is a DARK and depraved romance that had me completely captivated and intrigued. You get all the wonderful aspects of a dark romance - the cat & mouse and secret high society tropes were extra fun. The story keeps you guessing and you never know what's coming next - I enjoyed the all the surprises. The farther I got into the story, the more surprised I was. Some scenes had my heart beating wildly. The dual POV was awesome because you got to see how each MC felt and experienced throughout the story. I loved that Sebastian was able to vulnerable with Lilith, despite how rock hard he is - it really showcased his character development. Alex gives you soo much in these pages, such a thorough story, it was absolutely wonderful!

⭐5/5
🌶️5/5

🖤"This isn’t a love story.
This is a warning."🖤

[Brittany Mooneyham · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like dark romance then this book is for you my friend. Think of all of your FAVORITE dark romance scenes and I almost can guarantee they are in this book! Not to mention you get it in a dual POV so you know exactly what Lilith & Sebastian are thinking. Plus she gives you not only a 3 year look into their future but a 15 year look as well. Let’s also mention the little roller coaster we go on there at the end. Such a good read, I wasn’t ready for it to end. I cannot wait to see what Alex Martin writes next!

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy trigger warnings! Phew! I love it! 😈

Stalker ✅
Dark romance ✅
Obsessed MMC ✅

What else can you ask for? This was everything and more! This is a dual POV story and a very slow burn. If that's your thing! To see both characters evolve and become who they're meant to be was amazing! Perfectly written!

Thank you for the opportunity to ARC read! 🖤

[Paige Dunblazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good dark romance read and boy did Alex deliver!! I could not put this book down! Watching Lily evolve into what she truly is and loved was absolutely amazing! The way Sebastian loves her… perfect! There was never a moment when I wasn’t wondering what happened next especially when Lily gets taken it is hinted at several times that something big was going to happen and I was always on edge waiting for the shoe to drop! The way they create their family and take over The Society… LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! Give me freaking MORE!!!

[T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

I really tried to like this book, but the repetitive words and phrases made me crazy. The dual pov was like reading the same chapter twice. Too predictable.

[Brooke T. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, I did. One of my fav content creators raved about it on booktok and I waited weeks for the drop but honestly, it's just not good. It made me question my booktok girly, like was this a paid partnership? 😖 There was so much filler verbiage and the rhythm was bogged down by repetition. There were no twists to the plot, beyond easy to guess how each chapter would read and how the characters would evolve. Typically, I crave a dual perspective, especially in smut, but this author doesn't have a handle on how to execute that pov. He just repeated FULL sections, I had to check to see if the same chapter was accidentally printed twice bc it was that bad. It read as amateur and very PR. As if the author had to use every trope and kink for the MC rather than settle on one or two, to make sure the book would land as trendy. I felt like this author is just piggybacking off of a few of H. D. Carlton's "Haunting Adeline's" scenes. I'm seriously not sure how people are giving this 5 ⭐️s

[Aussie · Rating 5 out of 5]

- I love the blurb when I open the book up " For the girls who pray they’ll find a man like their book boyfriends—one who’s more than willing to bring all those dark fantasies to life. Just remember, when Sebastian answers those prayers, he’s the only god you’ll ever meet… and you’ll quickly realize, you’re not in Heaven."
- another quote I absolutely  love "“In the shadows, where love twists into obsession, and desire tastes like sin, you’ll find that darkness doesn’t just seduce you—it consumes you.” - Unknown"
- first book that have 2 pages of trigger warnings . Please check for trigger and content warnings
-  this book didn't disappointment  me as I was hooked from the beginning and love it
- you get stalker , secret society,  obsessive MMC, cat and mouse aswell as a host of other  tropes that just wrapped up into this book
-I love how you get to see all the events that were affecting each characters
- I love how Lilith finds her inner strength and holding her with Sebastian
- Sebastian became vulnerable to Lilith

[Penny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Every chapter is a reworded repeat of the previous one of the same name.
Then the pov name changes and it's the same chapter but from her side.
I gave up after too many times of reading the same thing.
You only have to write the sentence once. Then I've read it and don't need to be reminded in every chapter, sometimes within the chapter.

[Galia Vasileva · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the stupidest book in the genre i have read. Predictable in every way poor characters, poor dialog and so many repetitions of the same and same.

[Spooky Bookish Bit*h · Rating 3 out of 5]

I REALLY wanted to love this book. It has so much potential. It is VERY spicy and that's great but it's also super repetitive and after a while it gets irritating.

[Hayley Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

The library

Absolutely amazing from start to finish

Had me hooked from the first page
Loved the mmc
Thankyou can't wait to read more from you