What do you think?
Rate this book
Sweet Atonement #1
Dark Love
He killed to protect me before learning my name.
Everyone keeps telling me that Vex is a scary man. A man that I should stay from.
But when I’m with him all my fears disappear… and I have a lot of fears that have built up inside of me over the years.
Never in my life have I felt safer than when I’m in his arms.
Dahlia lives in a different world from me. One with white picket fences and children playing in the yard.
Mine is filled with death and destruction. And I’m a master of both.
With a single look, wise people run from me, but not her.
Trouble follows her every step when she enters my world, and I know should push her way for her own good. But I can’t.
Dahlia needs to say no… she needs to run the other way, because that’s the only way I’ll ever let her go.
Dark Love is a no spice dark suspenseful romance, featuring steamy kisses with a decided lack of cursing and violence.
Everyone keeps telling me that Vex is a scary man. A man that I should stay from.
But when I’m with him all my fears disappear… and I have a lot of fears that have built up inside of me over the years.
Never in my life have I felt safer than when I’m in his arms.
Dahlia lives in a different world from me. One with white picket fences and children playing in the yard.
Mine is filled with death and destruction. And I’m a master of both.
With a single look, wise people run from me, but not her.
Trouble follows her every step when she enters my world, and I know should push her way for her own good. But I can’t.
Dahlia needs to say no… she needs to run the other way, because that’s the only way I’ll ever let her go.
Dark Love is a no spice dark suspenseful romance, featuring steamy kisses with a decided lack of cursing and violence.
602 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2024
302 people are currently reading
1501 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
November 1, 2024
Aurora Darklight is definitely one of my favorite closed door romance authors and I was so excited when I heard she was doing a spin off series with a new pen name of Rora Noir!
She did not disappoint. I finished this ~600 page book in under a day and could not put it down!
She writes wonderful slow burn romances with depth, character growth, mystery, suspense…and the best. And I mean best! Protective MMCs.
Vex is like the perfect morally gray MMC. He is danger, ruthlessness and scares almost anyone. And yet he eats his veggies, is totally bookish, and has the sweetest soft spot for Dahlia. I don’t think I have ever highlighted as many quotes as I did in this book. He just had the perfect one liners to make you snort, the swooniest lines to Dahlia, and then those moments that remind you how deadly he can be.
Dahlia was his perfect opposite. Where Vex loved veggies she wants all the sweets. Where Vex wants to protect the world from evil and go after the darkness, Dahlia would rather hide. I absolutely adored how Dahlia always felt safe with Vex and that he would do anything to protect her.
This book definitely will keep you turning page after page as you discover what has happened to both Dahlia and Vex to make them who they are and why they belong together. Plus there are always mysteries to solve, bad guys to go after, and more love to be found.
If you want a “Dark” romance where it does show that there are bad guys and things in this world such as: human trafficking, rape, drugging woman, kidnapping, stalking, blackmail etc, but at the same time know that there are people that keep you safe and want to make our world a better place…this may be the book for it.
Just picture this book like Batman… but make him even better….like sooo much better. Ahhh Vex…you’re just the best!!
I cannot wait for this series to continue. And I hope everyone gives this book a chance. Because even though it can be intimidating to read a “dark” romance this one has zero swearing, non descriptive kisses, and definitely doesn’t glorify the darkness in life.
Loved. Every. Page.
She did not disappoint. I finished this ~600 page book in under a day and could not put it down!
She writes wonderful slow burn romances with depth, character growth, mystery, suspense…and the best. And I mean best! Protective MMCs.
Vex is like the perfect morally gray MMC. He is danger, ruthlessness and scares almost anyone. And yet he eats his veggies, is totally bookish, and has the sweetest soft spot for Dahlia. I don’t think I have ever highlighted as many quotes as I did in this book. He just had the perfect one liners to make you snort, the swooniest lines to Dahlia, and then those moments that remind you how deadly he can be.
Dahlia was his perfect opposite. Where Vex loved veggies she wants all the sweets. Where Vex wants to protect the world from evil and go after the darkness, Dahlia would rather hide. I absolutely adored how Dahlia always felt safe with Vex and that he would do anything to protect her.
This book definitely will keep you turning page after page as you discover what has happened to both Dahlia and Vex to make them who they are and why they belong together. Plus there are always mysteries to solve, bad guys to go after, and more love to be found.
If you want a “Dark” romance where it does show that there are bad guys and things in this world such as: human trafficking, rape, drugging woman, kidnapping, stalking, blackmail etc, but at the same time know that there are people that keep you safe and want to make our world a better place…this may be the book for it.
Just picture this book like Batman… but make him even better….like sooo much better. Ahhh Vex…you’re just the best!!
I cannot wait for this series to continue. And I hope everyone gives this book a chance. Because even though it can be intimidating to read a “dark” romance this one has zero swearing, non descriptive kisses, and definitely doesn’t glorify the darkness in life.
Loved. Every. Page.
November 7, 2025
⭐️⭐️
GENRE
-dark romance
CONTENT
-🤬: none
-❤️: kisses
-⚠️: mentions of sex, sleeping around, date rape drug, torturing, human trafficking, murder
First off, let me say that I think the concept of this book was good, but it was poorly executed.
Here are some thoughts:
-This book needed every type of editing offered— developmental, line, copy, and proofreading. There was no reason for this to be 600 pages long. The sentence structure and word choice needed improvement. I’m currently taking a proofreading course so my brain is extra attuned to mistakes of that nature and, oh my goodness, the sheer amount of errors! There were sentences with no punctuation, missing quotation marks, typos, etc.
-The book began in the FMC's POV, detailing an event that happened at a night club. Then, in chapter two, we get the exact same event—as in, the entire conversation, word for word—from the MMC's POV. That was so unnecessary! If the authors wanted us to know what was happening in the MMC's head, they should've ended the chapter and switched to his POV in the middle of the event. As it was written, it felt like that chapter should've been included at the end as bonus material.
-The narration was in first person POV so naturally, we are inside the character's head; however, sometimes the character would think something to themselves and there was no distinction in the way that was formatted. Here's an example:
"This weekend was one long bad and sort of good dream combined.
You're fine. Ignoring the tremble in my hands, I do what needs to be done."
If "you're fine." would've been italicized, it would've set that apart as a thought to herself, which would've made it easier to read. This happened repeatedly throughout the entire book.
-The FMC's name was Dahlia Prudence Fleur. People called her: Dahlia, Prue, Prudence, Dahl. That's an excessive amount of names for one character. If she was going to be called Prue, name her Prudence and be done.
-The text messages in the story had no formatting whatsoever. They weren't in text bubbles, they weren't bolded, they weren't even spaced apart from the narration! It was not easy to immediately discern that you were reading a text exchange.
-Another issue was the timeline. I brought this up a bit with the first two chapters but a similar thing also happened in the last 50 pages of the book. A housewarming party, thrown by her parents, occurs at Dahlia's house. We see the entire party event from Dahlia's POV—she talks to Hope, then she talks to Payne and Imogene (Dahlia's boyfriend's right-hand man and his girl), then she talks to the famous baseball player, and following that, she and her parents go to bed. In the next chapter, you're in Vex's POV. You think that time has moved forward because, unless there is an intentional flashback, that is what time does in a storyline. WRONG. As Vex starts talking to Payne and Imogene, you realize that they haven't gone to the housewarming party yet...even though the entire housewarming party just took place in the previous chapter! It was so jarring to be thrust back in time with no warning, no intentional flashback. I did NOT like this.
-I also did not love the romance. Vex was supposedly in love with Dahlia, and he didn't even know where she worked. His character didn't read as "protective" to me so much as it did "controlling" and "WALKING RED FLAG."
So, there you have it. I would not recommend this book, and after combing through some reviews of their other books, I would not read anything else by this author team unless they were paying me to proofread and/or edit it.
GENRE
-dark romance
CONTENT
-🤬: none
-❤️: kisses
-⚠️: mentions of sex, sleeping around, date rape drug, torturing, human trafficking, murder
First off, let me say that I think the concept of this book was good, but it was poorly executed.
Here are some thoughts:
-This book needed every type of editing offered— developmental, line, copy, and proofreading. There was no reason for this to be 600 pages long. The sentence structure and word choice needed improvement. I’m currently taking a proofreading course so my brain is extra attuned to mistakes of that nature and, oh my goodness, the sheer amount of errors! There were sentences with no punctuation, missing quotation marks, typos, etc.
-The book began in the FMC's POV, detailing an event that happened at a night club. Then, in chapter two, we get the exact same event—as in, the entire conversation, word for word—from the MMC's POV. That was so unnecessary! If the authors wanted us to know what was happening in the MMC's head, they should've ended the chapter and switched to his POV in the middle of the event. As it was written, it felt like that chapter should've been included at the end as bonus material.
-The narration was in first person POV so naturally, we are inside the character's head; however, sometimes the character would think something to themselves and there was no distinction in the way that was formatted. Here's an example:
"This weekend was one long bad and sort of good dream combined.
You're fine. Ignoring the tremble in my hands, I do what needs to be done."
If "you're fine." would've been italicized, it would've set that apart as a thought to herself, which would've made it easier to read. This happened repeatedly throughout the entire book.
-The FMC's name was Dahlia Prudence Fleur. People called her: Dahlia, Prue, Prudence, Dahl. That's an excessive amount of names for one character. If she was going to be called Prue, name her Prudence and be done.
-The text messages in the story had no formatting whatsoever. They weren't in text bubbles, they weren't bolded, they weren't even spaced apart from the narration! It was not easy to immediately discern that you were reading a text exchange.
-Another issue was the timeline. I brought this up a bit with the first two chapters but a similar thing also happened in the last 50 pages of the book. A housewarming party, thrown by her parents, occurs at Dahlia's house. We see the entire party event from Dahlia's POV—she talks to Hope, then she talks to Payne and Imogene (Dahlia's boyfriend's right-hand man and his girl), then she talks to the famous baseball player, and following that, she and her parents go to bed. In the next chapter, you're in Vex's POV. You think that time has moved forward because, unless there is an intentional flashback, that is what time does in a storyline. WRONG. As Vex starts talking to Payne and Imogene, you realize that they haven't gone to the housewarming party yet...even though the entire housewarming party just took place in the previous chapter! It was so jarring to be thrust back in time with no warning, no intentional flashback. I did NOT like this.
-I also did not love the romance. Vex was supposedly in love with Dahlia, and he didn't even know where she worked. His character didn't read as "protective" to me so much as it did "controlling" and "WALKING RED FLAG."
So, there you have it. I would not recommend this book, and after combing through some reviews of their other books, I would not read anything else by this author team unless they were paying me to proofread and/or edit it.
March 29, 2025
Dnf at 55%.
I have read 70 some books this year, and this one is the worst by far. This is my second time attempting to read it, I only made it this far because I kept waiting for it to get better.
The formatting is weird - there is no distinction between thoughts, texts, etc. There are numerous typos. The characters are childish (especially Hope, who, I think? is supposed to be in her late teens; she acts like a 5 year old most of the time). Several chapters are also repeated in order to see them from Vex's POV.
Admittedly, this is my first time reading anything in the mafia trope, but the love interest sends up all kinds of red flags. After meeting the fmc a few times he determines she's "his" (fine, whatever). But then he starts dictating what she can wear, where she can shop, what she can eat, whether or not she can work. He also can't get through a conversation with another human without telling himself not to beat them up or kill them? Like...what?
And halfway through the book, there's very little, if any, overarching plot. Aside from fluffy chapters of the two MCs laying in bed together (but not kissing, because he thinks "she's not ready for that"), eating an insane amount, and rearranging her library.
But hey. If you're looking for a clean read with mafia vibes, look no further!
I have read 70 some books this year, and this one is the worst by far. This is my second time attempting to read it, I only made it this far because I kept waiting for it to get better.
The formatting is weird - there is no distinction between thoughts, texts, etc. There are numerous typos. The characters are childish (especially Hope, who, I think? is supposed to be in her late teens; she acts like a 5 year old most of the time). Several chapters are also repeated in order to see them from Vex's POV.
Admittedly, this is my first time reading anything in the mafia trope, but the love interest sends up all kinds of red flags. After meeting the fmc a few times he determines she's "his" (fine, whatever). But then he starts dictating what she can wear, where she can shop, what she can eat, whether or not she can work. He also can't get through a conversation with another human without telling himself not to beat them up or kill them? Like...what?
And halfway through the book, there's very little, if any, overarching plot. Aside from fluffy chapters of the two MCs laying in bed together (but not kissing, because he thinks "she's not ready for that"), eating an insane amount, and rearranging her library.
But hey. If you're looking for a clean read with mafia vibes, look no further!
April 22, 2025
DNF at 60%
Quit telling me this guy is a crime lord. Where are the crimes? He just wants to punch everyone he talks to.
Quit telling me this guy is a crime lord. Where are the crimes? He just wants to punch everyone he talks to.
January 13, 2025
I really liked it. Very interesting read. I honestly think this would make a really good movie.
I really connected with the main character Dahlia. I connected with her choice not to drink alcohol and coffee and to drink modestly (sexy librarian lol 😂), she also had amazing thoughts that she shared during the book on hard topics that I don't think we talk enough of.
I also LOVED the idea of celebration treats (thank you cookies, engagement brownie cheesecake, etc...) I think it's such a good idea!
I'm not sure if I like Vex or not. My feelings for him went up and down during the book. I don't know if I like how possessive and violent he is. I think one thing that does comfort me is that Dahlia has a strong character and is able to say no when he insists on something.
I also wasn't sure how to feel about Dahlia's mom. She kind of gets on my nerves. The way she keeps pushing and prodding Dahlia about different things is annoying.
After reading it, I think I loved the fact that the characters...while it may seem kind of stupid...are actually human. They have actual flaws. Vex is violent, possessive, and controlling; but he is also heartbreakingly kind, protective, caring, and honestly loves Dahlia. We can also see his growth through the book, helped by Dahlia of course, which is honestly inspiring. Also seeing these characters from Dahlia's perspective helped soften their personalities and put them in a better light. Near the end of the book we also see a different side of Dahlia's mom and Vex, separate from Dahlia's perspective which is makes them more likeable in my opinion.
Note: what's up with the names in this book though?? There's a Hope and Fire and Dahlia Fleurs? The other names are normal I guess, but I thought it was kind of funny 😂.
While it is a clean book, I wouldn't give this to anyone. I would say as an 18-year-old, I was completely fine with it (though the innuendos kind of bothered me).
The author told me, "They would all be safe for older teenagers even if parents check the topics first and we deal with hard topics that might be too sensitive for some teenagers and fine for others" which after I have read it, I completely agree with. I don't think I could give this to my younger siblings but would probably recommend it to adults.
I was given this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review! This book will be released on Nov 30th so make sure to check it out! Thank you so much Rora Noir.
I really connected with the main character Dahlia. I connected with her choice not to drink alcohol and coffee and to drink modestly (sexy librarian lol 😂), she also had amazing thoughts that she shared during the book on hard topics that I don't think we talk enough of.
I also LOVED the idea of celebration treats (thank you cookies, engagement brownie cheesecake, etc...) I think it's such a good idea!
I'm not sure if I like Vex or not. My feelings for him went up and down during the book. I don't know if I like how possessive and violent he is. I think one thing that does comfort me is that Dahlia has a strong character and is able to say no when he insists on something.
I also wasn't sure how to feel about Dahlia's mom. She kind of gets on my nerves. The way she keeps pushing and prodding Dahlia about different things is annoying.
After reading it, I think I loved the fact that the characters...while it may seem kind of stupid...are actually human. They have actual flaws. Vex is violent, possessive, and controlling; but he is also heartbreakingly kind, protective, caring, and honestly loves Dahlia. We can also see his growth through the book, helped by Dahlia of course, which is honestly inspiring. Also seeing these characters from Dahlia's perspective helped soften their personalities and put them in a better light. Near the end of the book we also see a different side of Dahlia's mom and Vex, separate from Dahlia's perspective which is makes them more likeable in my opinion.
Note: what's up with the names in this book though?? There's a Hope and Fire and Dahlia Fleurs? The other names are normal I guess, but I thought it was kind of funny 😂.
While it is a clean book, I wouldn't give this to anyone. I would say as an 18-year-old, I was completely fine with it (though the innuendos kind of bothered me).
The author told me, "They would all be safe for older teenagers even if parents check the topics first and we deal with hard topics that might be too sensitive for some teenagers and fine for others" which after I have read it, I completely agree with. I don't think I could give this to my younger siblings but would probably recommend it to adults.
I was given this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review! This book will be released on Nov 30th so make sure to check it out! Thank you so much Rora Noir.
May 8, 2025
I just finished this 600+ page contemporary romance book. I still have no idea what went on in my brain while reading it, but I enjoyed it and was highly entertained. I will say, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for that first kiss. I did not think I could ever enjoy a romance book that was this long, but I did. I didn't realize that some of these characters show up in a spinoff series, so down I go into the rabbit hole.
February 13, 2025
I really don’t like this book the writing is very juvenile and just very like a 9 year old trying to write a romance I got 60 percent before I dnf it
January 19, 2025
I hate giving 2s but after 60% I just kept skimming.
Way too many plot holes and lack of detail for a book this long. It definitely drags on.
Multiple storylines…is he the love interest?
Who is the neighbor?
What about the boss?
Not a lot of detail for why Dahlia likes Vex or Vex likes Dahlia even 50-60% into the book. There should be some kind of bread crumb for the reader to see why they should be together.
There’s more reasons and foundation for the neighbor but even that relationship is odd.
She just met them and they’re “family”?
It’s also very odd to read a chapter and then you read it again from a different character’s perspective but it’s not consistent. It comes out of nowhere so you think the story is progressing nope just doing the scene over.
Also any guy that wants you to quit your job upon just meeting you or jeopardizes your job by mistreating your boss is a BIG RED FLAG.
Not hot or sweet…controlling, manipulative and the start of abuse.
It’s very immature…“My woman doesn’t need to work”.
He loves her because he’s jealous?
Jealousy is emotional immaturity and rooted in fear and pride it has nothing to do with love.
All of this before they’ve even gone on a date or kissed.
Trauma bonding but no actual substance.
This book has so many good reviews but really needs a really good edit.
Way too many plot holes and lack of detail for a book this long. It definitely drags on.
Multiple storylines…is he the love interest?
Who is the neighbor?
What about the boss?
Not a lot of detail for why Dahlia likes Vex or Vex likes Dahlia even 50-60% into the book. There should be some kind of bread crumb for the reader to see why they should be together.
There’s more reasons and foundation for the neighbor but even that relationship is odd.
She just met them and they’re “family”?
It’s also very odd to read a chapter and then you read it again from a different character’s perspective but it’s not consistent. It comes out of nowhere so you think the story is progressing nope just doing the scene over.
Also any guy that wants you to quit your job upon just meeting you or jeopardizes your job by mistreating your boss is a BIG RED FLAG.
Not hot or sweet…controlling, manipulative and the start of abuse.
It’s very immature…“My woman doesn’t need to work”.
He loves her because he’s jealous?
Jealousy is emotional immaturity and rooted in fear and pride it has nothing to do with love.
All of this before they’ve even gone on a date or kissed.
Trauma bonding but no actual substance.
This book has so many good reviews but really needs a really good edit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2025
PHEW that was something😮💨
You know those random, cringy videos you see on Facebook with terrible acting and predictable plot? You see they are 12 minutes long and you say out loud, “this is so bad” but continue to watch it and see how it ends? That’s how this book felt🙃 like I don’t think it was good, but also not bad enough that I had to dnf it, and I weirdly was ok finishing it to see how it ended😅
I’m sorry, but I had such a hard time with this book😭 I wanted to like it, but I could not get behind it. The writing felt very “wattpad” to me, and the plot was kinda all over the place. I figured I tolerated it enough to stick it out, and then realized halfway through the book it was 600 PAGES; but ya girl persevered!!🫡
(I will award some bonus points to the cover though because WOW that design is beautiful 💜🩵🖤)
You know those random, cringy videos you see on Facebook with terrible acting and predictable plot? You see they are 12 minutes long and you say out loud, “this is so bad” but continue to watch it and see how it ends? That’s how this book felt🙃 like I don’t think it was good, but also not bad enough that I had to dnf it, and I weirdly was ok finishing it to see how it ended😅
I’m sorry, but I had such a hard time with this book😭 I wanted to like it, but I could not get behind it. The writing felt very “wattpad” to me, and the plot was kinda all over the place. I figured I tolerated it enough to stick it out, and then realized halfway through the book it was 600 PAGES; but ya girl persevered!!🫡
(I will award some bonus points to the cover though because WOW that design is beautiful 💜🩵🖤)
October 17, 2025
DNF- people Love or hate this. No in the middle.
I hated this. I’ve read over 60 books in the first three months of 2025 alone. This is one of my most hated.
I’m starting to think people on IG who “love” this book get a commission. This book went viral and IDK why. Maybe for personal clout? This is why I could not finish.
1. Oh My gosh the characters are so boring.
FMC and MMC meet at the club, she bakes him cookies the next night. She gets roofied the same night she gives him the cookies at the same club and they go shopping the next day. Oh look I said all that in three sentences when it took the author over 120 pages.
2. This book drags on provably because a whole lot of words are used but nothing important is written. It’s the example of what word salad is.
Example.
At first they don’t really describe the FMC, so I think she is this frumpy mousy little tiny meek librarian looking adult child.
But then they go shopping and I found out she is a size 10pant and size 14shirt. It states her bra size. But umm her Height? Skin color? Eye color? Have no idea. It just said “these pair of pants would go great with her hair color.” Doesn’t say the color of the pants either.
But see what I mean when I say there’s a lot of writing and nothing of useful information really is written?
What’s even more irritating, is the FMC has like 8 nicknames that people call her. And she lists them in her inner monologue. Like why?
Same goes for him.
MMC he has dark eyes. And a great build. Ok… and?
Black hair? Long hair or crew cut? Tall? Strong jaw? Stubble beard? No idea.
3. I’m back to criticizing the character. their character traits are horrible. She’s annoyingly naive and coddled by her parents.
Like not just annoyingly naive but stupidly naive. She sounds like an 8 year old. She Baked cookies for a dangerous crime lord… who is a complete stranger. what grown woman does that?
I felt like her inner monologue was that of a preteen or younger and oh. My. Gosh. It was exhausting.
MMC had no personality. He was a walking red flag. He was either “broody” and “wanted to punch someone” (he thought that phrase annoyingly often) or trying to take care of the FMC in a very controlling aspect.
Example he tells her “you can’t shop here” but doesn’t really give her room to explain why she likes this shop nor explains why he doesn’t want her there. (He didn’t want her there because it was cheap retail, she liked it because of her unusual bra size) he just shoots her down and takes her where he wants her to shop.
4. 40% in and absolutely nothing interesting in the storyline.
She goes to a club. Goes back to a club bakes cookies for the crime lord gets drugged. He takes her to his house. They go shopping. She wants to go to this “adult lingerie” store kinda of place (maybe) because of her G cup size only place that has her size of bra. But he doesn’t want her to stop because it’s cheap. This is all that happens in 40% of the book.
Also, The dual POV is redundant also. You see it from FMC pov and then the next chapter is the same scenario with the same convos from MMC POV. And I can see maybe if something significant happened in these scenes that the two POV would be important. They’re not. No need for the redundancy.
5. The reading is kind of hard to follow. It’s chaotic and just wordy (like I said, word salad or word diarrhea ) and long winded. The inner thoughts were not written any different, like it should’ve been italicized.
Same with text message conversation.
Others have said it had typos and grammatical errors.
I was constantly asking my self “ok hurry up and get to something significant”
I hated this. I’ve read over 60 books in the first three months of 2025 alone. This is one of my most hated.
I’m starting to think people on IG who “love” this book get a commission. This book went viral and IDK why. Maybe for personal clout? This is why I could not finish.
1. Oh My gosh the characters are so boring.
FMC and MMC meet at the club, she bakes him cookies the next night. She gets roofied the same night she gives him the cookies at the same club and they go shopping the next day. Oh look I said all that in three sentences when it took the author over 120 pages.
2. This book drags on provably because a whole lot of words are used but nothing important is written. It’s the example of what word salad is.
Example.
At first they don’t really describe the FMC, so I think she is this frumpy mousy little tiny meek librarian looking adult child.
But then they go shopping and I found out she is a size 10pant and size 14shirt. It states her bra size. But umm her Height? Skin color? Eye color? Have no idea. It just said “these pair of pants would go great with her hair color.” Doesn’t say the color of the pants either.
But see what I mean when I say there’s a lot of writing and nothing of useful information really is written?
What’s even more irritating, is the FMC has like 8 nicknames that people call her. And she lists them in her inner monologue. Like why?
Same goes for him.
MMC he has dark eyes. And a great build. Ok… and?
Black hair? Long hair or crew cut? Tall? Strong jaw? Stubble beard? No idea.
3. I’m back to criticizing the character. their character traits are horrible. She’s annoyingly naive and coddled by her parents.
Like not just annoyingly naive but stupidly naive. She sounds like an 8 year old. She Baked cookies for a dangerous crime lord… who is a complete stranger. what grown woman does that?
I felt like her inner monologue was that of a preteen or younger and oh. My. Gosh. It was exhausting.
MMC had no personality. He was a walking red flag. He was either “broody” and “wanted to punch someone” (he thought that phrase annoyingly often) or trying to take care of the FMC in a very controlling aspect.
Example he tells her “you can’t shop here” but doesn’t really give her room to explain why she likes this shop nor explains why he doesn’t want her there. (He didn’t want her there because it was cheap retail, she liked it because of her unusual bra size) he just shoots her down and takes her where he wants her to shop.
4. 40% in and absolutely nothing interesting in the storyline.
She goes to a club. Goes back to a club bakes cookies for the crime lord gets drugged. He takes her to his house. They go shopping. She wants to go to this “adult lingerie” store kinda of place (maybe) because of her G cup size only place that has her size of bra. But he doesn’t want her to stop because it’s cheap. This is all that happens in 40% of the book.
Also, The dual POV is redundant also. You see it from FMC pov and then the next chapter is the same scenario with the same convos from MMC POV. And I can see maybe if something significant happened in these scenes that the two POV would be important. They’re not. No need for the redundancy.
5. The reading is kind of hard to follow. It’s chaotic and just wordy (like I said, word salad or word diarrhea ) and long winded. The inner thoughts were not written any different, like it should’ve been italicized.
Same with text message conversation.
Others have said it had typos and grammatical errors.
I was constantly asking my self “ok hurry up and get to something significant”
November 27, 2024
Dark Love is a super engaging, suspense-filled romance with just the right mix of mystery, tension, and sweet moments. Dahlia is a woman with a lot of fear and a secret she’s hiding. But when she finds herself the victim of a crime, Vex, steps in to be her protector. Vex may be a dangerous man, that everyone is afraid of. But she is quite the opposite. She sees past his exterior and his job, and finds she has never felt safer than when she is in his arms. Everyone warns her that he’s a man to stay away from, but when she's with him, all her fears just melt away. Vex, with his tough exterior and past full of destruction (he was raised in it), knows he should push Dahlia away, but he can’t help the protective instincts that kick in when he is around her. He is drawn to her, as her protector, but also because no matter how hard he denies his feelings... he is falling for her. But can they have a future?! He lives in a world of crime, death and destruction, and he would be anything to keep her away from all of it!
This story checks off some great romance tropes: protective MMC, forced proximity, one bed (just cuddles), a forbidden romance, and secrets that keep you guessing. There’s a lot of suspense, but also some super sweet kisses to keep things balanced. While some major plot points aren’t fully solved by the end, there’s no cliffhanger, so you're left with that perfect mix of satisfaction and curiosity for what's to come in the next book. There are some heavier topics in this book (crimes against woman) that for some may make them uneasy. But that is also what Vex (and his team) are fighting against. If you love dark romance with mystery and a slow burn, this one’s definitely for you! And I love that you now have a dark romance, that is also a closed-door read -> just sweet kisses and cuddles!
I agree with the other reviewers... this book needs to come with some of Dahlia's recipes!
Thank you to Rora Noir for the complimentary copy of this book. I truly enjoyed it, and this review reflects my honest opinion of it. I look forward to seeing what is next for this series, and too see what suspenseful journey they will take me on next!
This story checks off some great romance tropes: protective MMC, forced proximity, one bed (just cuddles), a forbidden romance, and secrets that keep you guessing. There’s a lot of suspense, but also some super sweet kisses to keep things balanced. While some major plot points aren’t fully solved by the end, there’s no cliffhanger, so you're left with that perfect mix of satisfaction and curiosity for what's to come in the next book. There are some heavier topics in this book (crimes against woman) that for some may make them uneasy. But that is also what Vex (and his team) are fighting against. If you love dark romance with mystery and a slow burn, this one’s definitely for you! And I love that you now have a dark romance, that is also a closed-door read -> just sweet kisses and cuddles!
I agree with the other reviewers... this book needs to come with some of Dahlia's recipes!
Thank you to Rora Noir for the complimentary copy of this book. I truly enjoyed it, and this review reflects my honest opinion of it. I look forward to seeing what is next for this series, and too see what suspenseful journey they will take me on next!
February 4, 2025
Oof! I have thoughts!
It first started out and I had to get used to the storytelling style, but then I was hooked. I missed the part of the summary that said it was suspense so that was a fun realization/plot twist.
I was sooo into Vex/Dahlia's story. The tension was top tier, until it was like "okay just kiss already, please. For the love." Like tooooo slow burn.
Then the kiss wasn't as detailed as I wished for. It was underwhelming. And I'm a closed door girly, but making us wrestle with that much tension for a meh kiss. I was a little bummed.
By page 400 I was ready for the story to wrap up. I was tempted like four times to DNF because I was losing interest. It felt like I was binging a season of a show vs watching a movie with a direct plan and purpose. Some story lines were just straight up fillers and I just wanted them to solve the main mysteries so it could end. But alas, there was still about 200 pages left.
One of the mysteries wasn't solved yet, which was a bummer. And one of them ended up being lackluster, I was hoping for something more sinister.
But, nonetheless, I loved Vex and the mafia morally gray vibe. Payne was fun. Immie was intense. All his guys on his payroll were fun. The criminals were spooky. The names were wonky. Max and Hope were kinda annoying, I pictured the Vincettis like the Adam's Family 🤣
Overall, they did a great job at coming full circle with *most* the plots. Some plots I hope to read more about; Payne and Immie's future.... what comes of Marlie, Vex as a dad.... and maybe a little more detailed of a kiss.
I think that's it. Well done. To the author and to me, because I've never read a book this long, only that 600k word Star Wars fanfic.
It first started out and I had to get used to the storytelling style, but then I was hooked. I missed the part of the summary that said it was suspense so that was a fun realization/plot twist.
I was sooo into Vex/Dahlia's story. The tension was top tier, until it was like "okay just kiss already, please. For the love." Like tooooo slow burn.
Then the kiss wasn't as detailed as I wished for. It was underwhelming. And I'm a closed door girly, but making us wrestle with that much tension for a meh kiss. I was a little bummed.
By page 400 I was ready for the story to wrap up. I was tempted like four times to DNF because I was losing interest. It felt like I was binging a season of a show vs watching a movie with a direct plan and purpose. Some story lines were just straight up fillers and I just wanted them to solve the main mysteries so it could end. But alas, there was still about 200 pages left.
One of the mysteries wasn't solved yet, which was a bummer. And one of them ended up being lackluster, I was hoping for something more sinister.
But, nonetheless, I loved Vex and the mafia morally gray vibe. Payne was fun. Immie was intense. All his guys on his payroll were fun. The criminals were spooky. The names were wonky. Max and Hope were kinda annoying, I pictured the Vincettis like the Adam's Family 🤣
Overall, they did a great job at coming full circle with *most* the plots. Some plots I hope to read more about; Payne and Immie's future.... what comes of Marlie, Vex as a dad.... and maybe a little more detailed of a kiss.
I think that's it. Well done. To the author and to me, because I've never read a book this long, only that 600k word Star Wars fanfic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2025
As someone coming from dark open-door, to closed-door, this is exactly what I needed. It has everything!
Love at first sight (him)
Morally gray MMC
Sunshine but strong FMC
Mafia themes
Love triangle
Especially touch her and d** <3
I enjoyed this book from start to finish. I laughed, I cried, and then laughed again! Rora does a great job of portraying a man who never planned on being loved, and doesn't know how to accept it once it happens. She also does great with the female character, helping her learn to let someone in, and share those demons she keeps hidden within. The only thing I didn't like about the book, is that the situation with Barb starts randomly and disappears randomly, and what you think is the main storyline about the trafficking gets left behind about 2/3 into the book. Then it randomly makes small appearances, because an entire new storyline starts. The new storyline gets finished by the end of the book, but it kind of just drops you off. I understand that she is just setting up for next books, but they are so abrupt. They both have very good potential to cause emotional pain. Yes, it is an HEA ending, but it just seemed kind of abrupt to me. Will I read it again? Absolutely! Will I be buying a book trophy? Absolutely! Do I recommend it to everyone and anyone? ABSOLUTELY!
Love at first sight (him)
Morally gray MMC
Sunshine but strong FMC
Mafia themes
Love triangle
Especially touch her and d** <3
I enjoyed this book from start to finish. I laughed, I cried, and then laughed again! Rora does a great job of portraying a man who never planned on being loved, and doesn't know how to accept it once it happens. She also does great with the female character, helping her learn to let someone in, and share those demons she keeps hidden within. The only thing I didn't like about the book, is that the situation with Barb starts randomly and disappears randomly, and what you think is the main storyline about the trafficking gets left behind about 2/3 into the book. Then it randomly makes small appearances, because an entire new storyline starts. The new storyline gets finished by the end of the book, but it kind of just drops you off. I understand that she is just setting up for next books, but they are so abrupt. They both have very good potential to cause emotional pain. Yes, it is an HEA ending, but it just seemed kind of abrupt to me. Will I read it again? Absolutely! Will I be buying a book trophy? Absolutely! Do I recommend it to everyone and anyone? ABSOLUTELY!
August 11, 2025
okay...so, I've got a lot to write down about this one.
Firstly I love small indie authors, and have nothing against them, and I do hope that as Rora grows in her writing that things will improve.
This book had potential...
Unfortunately there was a LOT of things not working for it.
Firstly the lack of editing, I dont know if the author had it edited at all? or if she just slapped it onto Amazon and called it a day (as that's honestly what it feels like).
The price of the book for something unedited and not polished is abysmal...
Thankfully I got it through kindle unlimited (read with my book-club), but the price of the physical book in Australia is about $35! and that's only paperback...
Secondly - the pacing of this book is off, we have both Vex's and Dahlias POVs, and most of the time they are both the exact same chapter but in a different perspective (I dont need to re-read what I just read in Vex's pov, please add this as bonus content IF people want to read it).
For a good chunk of the book, nothing really happened, it was a lot of snuggling in bed, rearranging book-shelves and baking...
Which cool, that can be a chapter or two? but for most of the book? not necessary, the book could have been cut down by half the amount if most of the filler was out.
Things picked up for 2 chapters near the middle and then went back to feeling repetitive, then picked back up for a bit longer, before again just...nothing.
Then right near the end and I mean 90% of the way through it started picking up again when we found out about Dahlias traumatising experience.
I would have loved a lot more focus on the guys sorting out stuff with the whole trafficking side of things and more of a deep dive into both Vex's and Dahlia's past. Unfortunately, everything was skipped over very quickly, each "major" event in the book was very brief.
Thirdly - It felt like this book was just about written for home-schooled super conservative people... (I'm a Christian who reads closed door books, but this felt on the brink of "should be fine for a 12 year old to read but also I'd never have a 12 year old read about these topics or about super toxic men). The reason it felt that way though was because Rora pulled a "closed door" on the kissing scenes?
It's classed as "closed door, dark romance with steamy kisses" these kisses were nothing? which honestly fine! I don't mind, but don't advertise as steamy kisses and then basically have a "he touched his lips to mine" ***** pulled away breathless and panting. Kinda scenario.
Lastly (maybe) - The men in this book are so toxic!
I can't even stress enough about how toxic these men are! they want to be morally grey, but they aren't, they're just.... toxic.
Cool, they help women who are trafficked, BUT they go on all the time about how much they want to (literally) kill other men for looking at the woman they may or may not like - seriously, within the 2nd meeting of Dahlia and Vex he was already going on about how badly he wanted to kill other men for looking at Dahlia...
Vex was far too possessive from the get go, controlling, manipulative, and just... gross.
Both he and Dahlia needed therapy, not to be in a relationship.
Final word - Stop using the word Sexy for EVERYTHING. The amount of times I wanted to gouge my eyes out or throw my kindle is insane.
There are plenty of descriptive words, Sexy doesn't need to be used over 50 times in a book...
Quick add in -
Sometimes I can't tell who is speaking, theres no way to differentiate between the various characters and I've kinda gotta play detective.
Also adding italics to inner dialogue helps a ton! Again, its hard to tell if someone is thinking something or what.
Another thing is texting, when the characters are texting each other, maybe make it bold, use a different font or add some "text speech bubbles" to show they are in fact texting.
Again, it had so much potential, culling a lot of the filler, removing the repeated chapters in various POVs, adding more detail and plot to the conflict of the books (the human trafficking, the stalker dude and the brothers friend) these all needed more time and needed to be expanded on.
Also editing, and maybe make the guys less toxic... honestly just red flags.
All the best for future books Rora, and hopefully we see some things taken into consideration ~
Firstly I love small indie authors, and have nothing against them, and I do hope that as Rora grows in her writing that things will improve.
This book had potential...
Unfortunately there was a LOT of things not working for it.
Firstly the lack of editing, I dont know if the author had it edited at all? or if she just slapped it onto Amazon and called it a day (as that's honestly what it feels like).
The price of the book for something unedited and not polished is abysmal...
Thankfully I got it through kindle unlimited (read with my book-club), but the price of the physical book in Australia is about $35! and that's only paperback...
Secondly - the pacing of this book is off, we have both Vex's and Dahlias POVs, and most of the time they are both the exact same chapter but in a different perspective (I dont need to re-read what I just read in Vex's pov, please add this as bonus content IF people want to read it).
For a good chunk of the book, nothing really happened, it was a lot of snuggling in bed, rearranging book-shelves and baking...
Which cool, that can be a chapter or two? but for most of the book? not necessary, the book could have been cut down by half the amount if most of the filler was out.
Things picked up for 2 chapters near the middle and then went back to feeling repetitive, then picked back up for a bit longer, before again just...nothing.
Then right near the end and I mean 90% of the way through it started picking up again when we found out about Dahlias traumatising experience.
I would have loved a lot more focus on the guys sorting out stuff with the whole trafficking side of things and more of a deep dive into both Vex's and Dahlia's past. Unfortunately, everything was skipped over very quickly, each "major" event in the book was very brief.
Thirdly - It felt like this book was just about written for home-schooled super conservative people... (I'm a Christian who reads closed door books, but this felt on the brink of "should be fine for a 12 year old to read but also I'd never have a 12 year old read about these topics or about super toxic men). The reason it felt that way though was because Rora pulled a "closed door" on the kissing scenes?
It's classed as "closed door, dark romance with steamy kisses" these kisses were nothing? which honestly fine! I don't mind, but don't advertise as steamy kisses and then basically have a "he touched his lips to mine" ***** pulled away breathless and panting. Kinda scenario.
Lastly (maybe) - The men in this book are so toxic!
I can't even stress enough about how toxic these men are! they want to be morally grey, but they aren't, they're just.... toxic.
Cool, they help women who are trafficked, BUT they go on all the time about how much they want to (literally) kill other men for looking at the woman they may or may not like - seriously, within the 2nd meeting of Dahlia and Vex he was already going on about how badly he wanted to kill other men for looking at Dahlia...
Vex was far too possessive from the get go, controlling, manipulative, and just... gross.
Both he and Dahlia needed therapy, not to be in a relationship.
Final word - Stop using the word Sexy for EVERYTHING. The amount of times I wanted to gouge my eyes out or throw my kindle is insane.
There are plenty of descriptive words, Sexy doesn't need to be used over 50 times in a book...
Quick add in -
Sometimes I can't tell who is speaking, theres no way to differentiate between the various characters and I've kinda gotta play detective.
Also adding italics to inner dialogue helps a ton! Again, its hard to tell if someone is thinking something or what.
Another thing is texting, when the characters are texting each other, maybe make it bold, use a different font or add some "text speech bubbles" to show they are in fact texting.
Again, it had so much potential, culling a lot of the filler, removing the repeated chapters in various POVs, adding more detail and plot to the conflict of the books (the human trafficking, the stalker dude and the brothers friend) these all needed more time and needed to be expanded on.
Also editing, and maybe make the guys less toxic... honestly just red flags.
All the best for future books Rora, and hopefully we see some things taken into consideration ~
November 29, 2024
What to say about a nearly 600 page book that I did not want to end...
Ok, I'll start with this: this book will not be for everyone. It's raw and gritty and, well, dark.
Now that THAT'S out of the way, I'll say that I loved it. Again, I was not ready for it to end.
This book has a unique voice. The style isn't something I've read often, and while it took me a chapter or two to get used to it, I very much enjoyed it. I've been trying to think of what book/style/author it reminded me of, and the only thing I can think of is a movie that I watched long ago; one that is NOT clean in any way, so I won't be naming it here. But the book IS clean, so it's safe to read. There's no sex, no cussing, but a lot of tension because of the...nature...of his business. There's a lot of talk about death and killing, but no on-page violence.
Again, this book won't be for everyone, but I absolutely loved it, and in fact, ordered a paperback copy of it. I also plan on reading their backlist (the author is a duo of sisters).
I'm really at a loss here. I just want to keep reading their stories. And if that isn't a resounding recommendation, I'm not sure what is.
~I received a complimentary copy of the ebook. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.~
Ok, I'll start with this: this book will not be for everyone. It's raw and gritty and, well, dark.
Now that THAT'S out of the way, I'll say that I loved it. Again, I was not ready for it to end.
This book has a unique voice. The style isn't something I've read often, and while it took me a chapter or two to get used to it, I very much enjoyed it. I've been trying to think of what book/style/author it reminded me of, and the only thing I can think of is a movie that I watched long ago; one that is NOT clean in any way, so I won't be naming it here. But the book IS clean, so it's safe to read. There's no sex, no cussing, but a lot of tension because of the...nature...of his business. There's a lot of talk about death and killing, but no on-page violence.
Again, this book won't be for everyone, but I absolutely loved it, and in fact, ordered a paperback copy of it. I also plan on reading their backlist (the author is a duo of sisters).
I'm really at a loss here. I just want to keep reading their stories. And if that isn't a resounding recommendation, I'm not sure what is.
~I received a complimentary copy of the ebook. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.~
November 25, 2024
I loved every minute of this book! It was full of suspense, morally grey men, and sweet romance.
Dahlia has just moved to a new city and in an effort to make friends she ends up at a night club where she meets Vex. The world sees him as a monster, but Dahlia is drawn to the man beneath the disguise.
This book was full of ups and downs and twists and turns! I loved the duo viewpoint. It added depth to the story! I enjoyed how the relationship progress slowly over time. I love how although Vex may do some illegal things, he is a big softie and very protective of women. He reminds me of Bateman or the Arrow. He is so protective of Dahlia which I love.
There was a lot of suspense in this book and it took a lot of effort to prioritize my sleep over reading it! With that came sad moments and happy moments which I loved because it brought the story to life.
I loved how the story portray the importance of family and I loved how sweet the romance was. This was such a great story and I would definitely read it again!
Dahlia has just moved to a new city and in an effort to make friends she ends up at a night club where she meets Vex. The world sees him as a monster, but Dahlia is drawn to the man beneath the disguise.
This book was full of ups and downs and twists and turns! I loved the duo viewpoint. It added depth to the story! I enjoyed how the relationship progress slowly over time. I love how although Vex may do some illegal things, he is a big softie and very protective of women. He reminds me of Bateman or the Arrow. He is so protective of Dahlia which I love.
There was a lot of suspense in this book and it took a lot of effort to prioritize my sleep over reading it! With that came sad moments and happy moments which I loved because it brought the story to life.
I loved how the story portray the importance of family and I loved how sweet the romance was. This was such a great story and I would definitely read it again!
December 10, 2024
Favorite Quote:
“Is Vex really my first crush? That’s got to be a new one. Skip the quarterback or all the pop stars, my first crush is a crime lord who crushes bones for fun.”
I never knew I need a clean mafia book until now!! Because holy moly this book has become my newest obsession!
Nothing could have prepared me for the journey I went on with Vex and Dahlia.
All of the almost kisses!!! 😆🫠
I loved this book! The banter and tension were beautiful. While I enjoyed this book, I do recommend checking the trigger warning as this book does deal with some heavy topics with little description.
Thank you to the author for the gifted copy, all thoughts are my own.
“Is Vex really my first crush? That’s got to be a new one. Skip the quarterback or all the pop stars, my first crush is a crime lord who crushes bones for fun.”
I never knew I need a clean mafia book until now!! Because holy moly this book has become my newest obsession!
Nothing could have prepared me for the journey I went on with Vex and Dahlia.
All of the almost kisses!!! 😆🫠
I loved this book! The banter and tension were beautiful. While I enjoyed this book, I do recommend checking the trigger warning as this book does deal with some heavy topics with little description.
Thank you to the author for the gifted copy, all thoughts are my own.
February 17, 2025
I DNF this book at 75%. Honestly, it takes a lot for me to do that, but it was very drawn out for no reason. This should have been a 300-400 page book, max. There was really good potential for the main plot line, but too many things and people were introduced at weird spots in the book. Also, neither Vex or Dahlia had much character development to me. Honestly, it seemed like one of those gross couples you see in the line for a roller coaster where the guy calls the girlfriend kitten and she acts infantile. Just not for me, at least not for this long of a book commitment and not a fun, quick read.
September 3, 2025
OVERALL STAR RATING: 4/5
CLEAN RATING: 5/5
Look at me reading my very first dark mafia romance! LOL I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into with this one, but I knew it was closed door and came highly recommended by a very trusted friend. I’m still not 100% sure what I got myself into, but I had such a fun time with this story! The plot was wild and the characters were endearing even though our MMC was a little morally grey. He was both overly possessive (not abusive) and sweet at the same time. Although our FMC could totally hold her own and spoke her mind, which I loved. These two characters were complete opposites attract and it worked so perfectly. This book is also FUNNY! That I was not expecting. The number of times the banter and inner dialogue of these two had me giggling was countless.
Vex – dark, mysterious and a dangerous man to some, but to Dahlia, he’s her knight in shining armor when he comes to her rescue after being drugged at his night club. Their connection is confusing, yet undeniable. Both hold secrets regarding their “careers”. Saying much more than that would give far too much away. Best to just let you read and discover details on your own. Remember what I said earlier though, MAFIA romance. I should note however that there isn’t any on-page violence or murder.
Unexpected twists throughout this story will keep you 100% invested. I think this is the first time I’ve read through a book thinking to myself “WHAT and WHY am I reading this?” while simultaneously loving EVERY minute of it and being incredibly entertained. You must experience it yourself to fully understand that statement. Get it on your TBR and let me know what you think once you’ve read it. Surprisingly light and inspiring for being marketed as a dark romance.
Trigger Warnings: Mentions of drugs, murder, and human trafficking.
*For more reviews and bookish content, be sure to follow me on Instagram @aliciasbooksanctuary
CLEAN RATING: 5/5
Look at me reading my very first dark mafia romance! LOL I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into with this one, but I knew it was closed door and came highly recommended by a very trusted friend. I’m still not 100% sure what I got myself into, but I had such a fun time with this story! The plot was wild and the characters were endearing even though our MMC was a little morally grey. He was both overly possessive (not abusive) and sweet at the same time. Although our FMC could totally hold her own and spoke her mind, which I loved. These two characters were complete opposites attract and it worked so perfectly. This book is also FUNNY! That I was not expecting. The number of times the banter and inner dialogue of these two had me giggling was countless.
Vex – dark, mysterious and a dangerous man to some, but to Dahlia, he’s her knight in shining armor when he comes to her rescue after being drugged at his night club. Their connection is confusing, yet undeniable. Both hold secrets regarding their “careers”. Saying much more than that would give far too much away. Best to just let you read and discover details on your own. Remember what I said earlier though, MAFIA romance. I should note however that there isn’t any on-page violence or murder.
Unexpected twists throughout this story will keep you 100% invested. I think this is the first time I’ve read through a book thinking to myself “WHAT and WHY am I reading this?” while simultaneously loving EVERY minute of it and being incredibly entertained. You must experience it yourself to fully understand that statement. Get it on your TBR and let me know what you think once you’ve read it. Surprisingly light and inspiring for being marketed as a dark romance.
Trigger Warnings: Mentions of drugs, murder, and human trafficking.
*For more reviews and bookish content, be sure to follow me on Instagram @aliciasbooksanctuary
July 7, 2025
2.5 ⭐️⭐️💫
Urhh. I was just so bored. This is supposed to be a clean dark romance and I never read dark romance so there’s that. Also I don’t think actual dark romance lovers would even enjoy this because I’ve read YA books heavier than this. There were so many plot lines and every single one of them was boring and I didn’t care. As for the romance… they kiss like way into the book but don’t be fooled it’s no slow burn. Everything between them happened fast. With that said some parts were definitely cute hence the 2.5 star. I didn’t connect to the characters much and I’m sorry but Vex sounds like the name of a Disney villain or something. Also the whole thing was just way too long and there were definitely grammatical errors. It needed a lot of more editing. You can probably skip out on this one.
Urhh. I was just so bored. This is supposed to be a clean dark romance and I never read dark romance so there’s that. Also I don’t think actual dark romance lovers would even enjoy this because I’ve read YA books heavier than this. There were so many plot lines and every single one of them was boring and I didn’t care. As for the romance… they kiss like way into the book but don’t be fooled it’s no slow burn. Everything between them happened fast. With that said some parts were definitely cute hence the 2.5 star. I didn’t connect to the characters much and I’m sorry but Vex sounds like the name of a Disney villain or something. Also the whole thing was just way too long and there were definitely grammatical errors. It needed a lot of more editing. You can probably skip out on this one.
August 29, 2025
Okay this is the dark romance for the girlies who love a golden retriever… like golden retriever puppy that might k!ll people for a living 😁 Instalovey feels with a slowburn romance. This is a fun read with some silly moments that made me laugh.
🖤 Touch her and ☠️
🖤 Mine
🖤 He falls first and harder
🖤 Cutesy FMC
🖤 Golden Retriever for her MMC
🖤 Light in darkness theme
🖤 Found Family
🖤 Vigilante mafia man
🖤 Billionaire boyfriend feels
🫑🫑 swoony no spice with some steamy feels
The feel of the book is light, but there are some dark topics in the world, so check triggers if needed.
🖤 Touch her and ☠️
🖤 Mine
🖤 He falls first and harder
🖤 Cutesy FMC
🖤 Golden Retriever for her MMC
🖤 Light in darkness theme
🖤 Found Family
🖤 Vigilante mafia man
🖤 Billionaire boyfriend feels
🫑🫑 swoony no spice with some steamy feels
The feel of the book is light, but there are some dark topics in the world, so check triggers if needed.
June 5, 2025
Hard to put down!
🌷This is such a fast-paced book and so much is going on between characters, a few mysteries, hard topics etc that once you sit down to read you kinda just keep going.
🌷The dialogue is cute and yes a lil cheesy at times but so good to balance the dark aspects.
🌷Vex and Dahl are so gooey in love and so different that it is amazing, also her family...just trust me they are nutty!!!
🌷Fair warning though this is book 1 of 3...so if you get hooked, it's a long ride.🤭
🌷Spice:0
🌷Language:0
🌷Warnings: dark topics (death, drugging, kidnappings, m*rd*r, p*d* etc. All topics are briefly discussed but not explicitly shown on page.
🌷This is such a fast-paced book and so much is going on between characters, a few mysteries, hard topics etc that once you sit down to read you kinda just keep going.
🌷The dialogue is cute and yes a lil cheesy at times but so good to balance the dark aspects.
🌷Vex and Dahl are so gooey in love and so different that it is amazing, also her family...just trust me they are nutty!!!
🌷Fair warning though this is book 1 of 3...so if you get hooked, it's a long ride.🤭
🌷Spice:0
🌷Language:0
🌷Warnings: dark topics (death, drugging, kidnappings, m*rd*r, p*d* etc. All topics are briefly discussed but not explicitly shown on page.
May 21, 2025
I'm not usually a fan of dark romances because they can be a little too edgy and questionable for my taste. That being said, I truly did love reading this book. I felt like all the dark romance vibes were there without it being icky. The characters are all really enjoyable and fun to read and the plot was really engaging throughout. I also loved that it was closed door and gave space for a romance to blossom without jumping off the deep end right away. I also loved the messages of overcoming negative self image and allowing other people to help us heal.
March 9, 2025
Just great! Filled with mystery, family-ties, libraries, romance, and discussed a dark topic in a respectful way. I laughed out loud so many times and had to share the more hilarious moments with my family along the way.
I enjoyed the pure, clean love story and will definitely be looking for more by this author.
I enjoyed the pure, clean love story and will definitely be looking for more by this author.
August 3, 2025
I felt like I was back on wattpad in 2015. Im not fully sure the plot line of what I just read, but it felt like twilight’s unhealthy relationships on steroids without the vampires.
August 24, 2025
Enjoyable read
I mistakenly read book 2 first and did not enjoy it nearly as much as this. I don’t feel that the order mixup really impacted my enjoyment. I just enjoyed the premise of this story and the characters much more than book 2. I found this an enjoyable read and frequently found myself giggling.
I mistakenly read book 2 first and did not enjoy it nearly as much as this. I don’t feel that the order mixup really impacted my enjoyment. I just enjoyed the premise of this story and the characters much more than book 2. I found this an enjoyable read and frequently found myself giggling.
October 25, 2025
I enjoyed the story overall. Some aspects of the plot and characterization were a little too goofy or over-the-top for me. As an English teacher, I found myself correcting word usage errors, subject-verb agreement issues, and punctuation mistakes. My red pen got some exercise! My apologies to the author if those "mistakes" were somehow intentional.
December 21, 2025
Funky romance
I enjoyed the characters and the romance at first. But toward the end of the book, the male love interest's expression of love turned really weird and toxic to me. The end also felt really cheap, like the author was rushing to finish. Not the worst book, not the best book.
I enjoyed the characters and the romance at first. But toward the end of the book, the male love interest's expression of love turned really weird and toxic to me. The end also felt really cheap, like the author was rushing to finish. Not the worst book, not the best book.
Read
October 2, 2025Paused 74%
June 20, 2025
Well, I chose to read this and I knew what I was getting myself into lol
Surprisingly, the reviews here are divided between "this is super amazing" and "this was terribly bad"
What do I have to say for myself? both of those reviews are correct. Why? Let me tell you.
The possibilities of this story are endless. I've read so many, and I mean SO MANY romances books where you have a different friend or family member in each book and the family and close friends here exist to have live 20 books, I'm not kidding, and the potential of the story, man I was day dreaming about the possible stories of every single character here and I honestly want to know about them. We have 3 mafia families (the MMC and two big families), we have a group of female writer friends for the FMC and two interesting stories within that group (one with another big bad guy and the other with a fellow mysterious writer), we have a lost sister (that I'm pretty sure who it is) and of course the hacker with the doctor and the best friend of the MMC with his girl. So, what we have here is POTENTIAL. And what little we have of their stories here makes my mind go crazy with ideas and I love that.
The bad thing is how the story is delivered. The writing style here is terrible, the thoughts are not delivered as thoughs but more like sentences, like the characters are speaking directly to the other person int their mind. We have little details with what happens in many scenes, like, I respect and LOVE you have a healthy story here but don't leave in the air the descriptions we need to understand what is happening. And of course, we need mature characters, everyone in this book was very mature except for the FMC and that was a bit sad for me.
So, amazing potential but badly delivered. I do want Max's story so I'll have my eye on that.
Surprisingly, the reviews here are divided between "this is super amazing" and "this was terribly bad"
What do I have to say for myself? both of those reviews are correct. Why? Let me tell you.
The possibilities of this story are endless. I've read so many, and I mean SO MANY romances books where you have a different friend or family member in each book and the family and close friends here exist to have live 20 books, I'm not kidding, and the potential of the story, man I was day dreaming about the possible stories of every single character here and I honestly want to know about them. We have 3 mafia families (the MMC and two big families), we have a group of female writer friends for the FMC and two interesting stories within that group (one with another big bad guy and the other with a fellow mysterious writer), we have a lost sister (that I'm pretty sure who it is) and of course the hacker with the doctor and the best friend of the MMC with his girl. So, what we have here is POTENTIAL. And what little we have of their stories here makes my mind go crazy with ideas and I love that.
The bad thing is how the story is delivered. The writing style here is terrible, the thoughts are not delivered as thoughs but more like sentences, like the characters are speaking directly to the other person int their mind. We have little details with what happens in many scenes, like, I respect and LOVE you have a healthy story here but don't leave in the air the descriptions we need to understand what is happening. And of course, we need mature characters, everyone in this book was very mature except for the FMC and that was a bit sad for me.
So, amazing potential but badly delivered. I do want Max's story so I'll have my eye on that.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews