Shadows of Desire: A Dark Romance

by E.B. Fox

I had no idea what I was walking into that night. A friend’s birthday. A high-end club. Strobe lights and bass so deep it rattled my ribs. And then—him.

Marcus.

A shadow in the corner, all coiled muscle and predatory stillness, his eyes like twin hooks that sank into my skin and refused to let go. One look, and I knew—he was danger wrapped in a three-piece suit, sin laced with something worse.

He warned me off. Said I was too good, too soft, too untouched by the kind of darkness that ruled his world.

But I wasn’t.

Because the second his gaze locked on me, I was his. Helpless against the gravity of him, the inevitability of what was coming.

He told me to run.

But I was already lost.

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark, Romance, Novella

62 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2024

Reviews

[karla · Rating 1 out of 5]

No storyline at all

[Curvy Girl Book Nerd (Jen S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadows of Desire is a short and super steamy, opposites-attract, dark romance. This was a dark one, so be sure to read those trigger warnings. Alana is somewhat young and innocent but also has her own dark desires. Marcus is our hunky, morally gray antihero. They meet at a high-end club, and it gets hot and steamy fast. This was a super short read, so there's not a lot of plot. The steam factor was insane. I would have liked a bit more but overall enjoyed it. I loved that these two somewhat damaged souls could help each other.

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

[Xandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The spice is there. It did leave me hanging with unanswered questions. I feel like the book was rushed and could have been a little longer to fill in some of the things that happened in the book. I did enjoy it though Marcus has secrets that I wish I knew more about and Alana I wish I knew more about her as well. Very short read!

[destiny · Rating 1 out of 5]

this star is solely for the smut

[Fae]

0 Stars, impossible to follow. even the smut is boring

[Sammie Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story was short, but not sweet if you catch my drift. I absolutely loved it. A quick read while doing laundry & cleaning around the house. Thank you for letting me read it. I’m always looking for new authors to me and this book didn’t disappoint! I can’t wait to read more!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t know what I was walking into that night. A friend’s birthday, a high-end club, and there he was—a shadow in the corner, all piercing eyes and lethal charisma. I knew Marcus was trouble the moment he looked my way, but something in his gaze was calling me to him, despite the warning etched into every line of his face.

This contemporary dark mafia romance is page-turning with exceptional world-building that is engulfed by darkness, danger, violence, and grit, and characters that are anti-hero, villain, exuding power, violent, dangerous, possessive, obsessive, captivating, and realistic. Their journey is enthralling with shadows of desire, explicit romance that is consumed by steamy, sizzling passion, lust, desire, and spice with all the feelings to leave readers breathless and in need of a fire extinguisher, a bad boy romance, romantic suspense that will leave readers on the edge of their seats, heartfelt emotions, drama, action, adventure, and more. I recommend reading this book by an extraordinary author who knows how to captivate her readers' hearts and attention with shadows of desire in this dark mafia romance that is sure to transport readers into a world that is wildly dangerous and unforgettable.

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

[Malini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attached to you by MeemsAngel82

She wasn't kidding when she said she was going dark! This was an intense read with two people that are very attracted to one another. They are so drawn to each other and will also be very dependent on one another. With their kind of love, it works!

She didn't know what she was getting into with him. Well, he didn't know either.

She turned out to be someone just as like minded as him in certain ways. She could see the real him and appreciate the way he made her feel. He could feel her goodness but she understood him and she actually agreed with some of his feelings and thoughts. This was quick and I do wish it was drawn out more at the beginning but how well suited they are was wonderful. A real love match! And a steamy one.

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

[Katie Drew · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s was really rushed and at points the flow of the book was nonexistent and it was quite hard to keep up with the changing of scenes or lack of description. I feel like every trope that’s popular in other books that the book girlies / boys love was just thrown at this book but it wasn’t executed properly, I could see what the author was trying to do but for me it didn’t quite get there. It was very repetitive, even the descriptive words were repetitive and some parts didn’t make sense, like one second Marcus took a gun out of his holster and the next he was fighting with a knife 🙈 it was a bit all over the place for me hence the 2 stars!

[Cheyenne (BookishByCheyenne) · Rating 1 out of 5]

0/5 ⭐️ -1/5🌶

What in the wattpad did I just read?

No plot, no character development, no description of either character, literally nothing because the smut was not good either. It was around 50 pages of nothing.

Alana is a red flag that you can see from outer space, but Marcus, yeah, his red flag is so big you can see it from Pluto.

The smut was horrible just banging on desks like every single one possible then at the end she is kidnapped and he recused her and killed the man who took her and they did it in the room with the bodies and she was like yeah it was slippery like duh.

Not good do not recommend.

[J.p · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two damaged souls that are drawn to each other but are so different, Alana is quite innocent whereas Marcus knows nothing but darkness and revenge but he sees Alana and wants to be better for her. Their relationship moves pretty fast and it’s quite steamy. He’s possessive and would burn for the world for her, when his enemy comes for her he proves it by destroying them in order to save her. One little qualm for me is I feel the story moves pretty quickly that I feel pages are missing- one chapter they were together then the next she’s been captured. Pretty steamy though.

[Caitlin Ruggiero · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book is an instalove dark romance for sure, I'm not sure I would qualify it as a mafia romance. There isn't enough background or detail to really make that call. Marcus is definitely villain material. I would say this book is light on the storyline and heavy on the spice with just enough storyline to get from one spicy scene to the next.

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

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Listen, there are certain tropes with dark romance that just come with the territory. The problem is that when everything is condensed to like 50 pages there is no way to escape the cringe. As a fleshed out story this could have maybe been interesting, but as it is it was just two people travelling from place to place to bone intermingled with cheesy over the top dialogue and occasional violence. Would have DNF if it wasn't so short

[Déborah Secat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy the story as it was poorly developped and the plot didn't make a lot of sense.

Also, I understand it is a dark romance but maybe it would have been better if the vocabulary was more diversified. I counted 47 times the word dark (and words that are constructed on it like darkness, darken, darker). It is a lot considering the book is 50-ish pages long.
The words shadows and ghost were also used more than 12 times each and it was not necessary every time.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love or hate this book. The reason I gave it 3 stars is because it is very short and things move so quickly. I would have liked more of a build up of the characters and more of a backstory. It is a VERY dark romance. A little too dark for me.

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

[Thea Kubicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marcus and Alana

More, please

A dark and sinister short novella about two people drawn to the darkness in each other. Marcus will do anything and everything for Alana to keep her safe and with him. Alana supports his darkness and loves him unconditionally. Together they will rule.

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

[Genoveva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please check all CW and TW before starting this wild ride. This is a quick read that will have you on the edge of your seat as things move. Alana is just looking to enjoy her night and Marcus is determined to make is a night she won't forget.

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

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcus & Alana: Dark Mafia Romance: Spicy hot quick read. I could not get enough of Marcus and Alana. Hopefully E. B. Fox will give us more in the future. Fast paced, action, and spicy darkness. I was hooked right away and loved every minute of it.

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

[Vicki Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shadows of Desire is a dark Mafia romance between Alana who meets Marcus at a club and is immediately attracted to his darkness despite his warning. This quick read novella has danger, lots of sizzling passion, Mafia action, and an unconditional love.

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

[NRuss88 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book goes from 0 to 100 in the first 2 pages. It’s so fast paced and I have no idea if the time period between the start of the book and the end is 3 days or 3 weeks.
You find out absolutely nothing about the characters apart from they are attracted to each other and the MMC is dangerous and has a violet past.

Not for me.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alana didn't know that entering the club, would change her lofe when she catches the eye of Marcus, he tells her he's no good butbshe craves him as much any way. Well written steamy fast paced quick read.

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

[Earth Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark and Dangerous. Alana wants what she wants and she sure gets it with Marcus. This is a quick read. If you like Dark and Dangerous E.B. delivers it. And its not one sided it's a double edged sword with this couple.

[Booklvr89 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one interesting mafia story! When the MC is the villain and we love to hate him. What an exciting read!.

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

[Kimberly Kogut · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but I believe it was rushed and if rewritten and took the time to dive into the story and make it more with more details and stretch it out a bit more. So much could have been done with this story. I liked it but it could have been so much better.

[Nicolle Cherry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needed more

There was a lot that happened in this short story, so very little detail or description. This could've been much longer to be able to add details that were left out and kind of made the book confusing.

[Maddie Montas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the writing style. I just wish we would get a little bit more insight and more plot to the story. Overall, the story has great potential and I wish it was a little bit longer. I understand that it’s a short story.

[Elise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was able to finish the book but only because it was a short more a short story.
It’s full of cringy lines such as “I don’t even know who you are anymore” “I understand if you can’t accept me”
Would have given it zero stars if it was possible

[Winnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing read well written

This is a new genre for me and this one had me hooked from page one. Well written , steamy indeed. Intriguing short read, filled with a great plot and details.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting novella. Extremely heavy on the spice and violent content that it made up most of the reading. The theme was a great premise and if it had been less spicy, less violent with more banter and heat, it would have been a great read. Writing was good.

[shelbielxx · Rating 2 out of 5]

babygirl

This was definitely written in the style of George Gergenblatt. Iykyk
It was very fast. I mean, I know it’s 62 pages. But it felt like this whole story took place over the course of 48 hours.