Kadence I’m a dead girl walking. All I wanted was a new life, a fresh start in Westhaven. But I should know nothing ever works in my favor. My fate is in the hands of an angry God. I wanted a quiet life, to heal from my trauma and hide from my past. But when I met her, my world tilted off balance. Blaize is as vicious as she is hot, an all-consuming fire that will burn me in the end. After a fiery night of passion, she forgets I exist. I need to get her out of my head. I should accept it and move on, but she awakened something inside me that I missed. I never intended to fall in love with her, but the heart wants what it wants. Love broke my heart once, but this time, it will be my demise.
This is book one of a duet and it will end on a cliffhanger
I really enjoyed this. I had it recommended to me a few times. I LOVE a sapphic mafia book. Even better if it’s a dark romance. It’s a slow burn and it does end with one hell of a cliffhanger but thankfully book two is already (I ordered it when I was halfway through this one 🤣). There is also a book three ready to be released I believe 🤔
There are a few spelling errors and some parts can feel a little repetitive but it didn’t bother me to much or take me out of story.
This book is written in first person with 2x POV’s. Hot for the boss, workplace romance, healing from trauma, BDSM club, Dom/Sub Dynamics. 6x spicy scenes (1 scene runs over 3 chapters and it’s sooo good 😏)
I love, love, LOVE that a woman runs the show in this fictional town. Blaize is the leader of the MC and the person everybody fears and respects. Kadence has the misfortune of making Blaize's cold, nearly dead heart feel something, so she becomes a target and eventually, a scapegoat.
A few things that were bothersome and took away from my enjoyment. The timeline was sketchy and either fast forwarded or backtracked in its inconsistency. There was quite a bit of repetition in Blaize's inner thoughts. Past and present tense switched back and forth frequently, and words that don't make sense were sprinkled about where the editing didn't catch it.
In spite of that, I love the characters. I am thrilled that almost every side character is bisexual, and that queerness is celebrated and shown unabashedly throughout the story. I'm definitely going to read the conclusion.
I really enjoyed this. Just from the first page, I knew it was going to be intense. It's definitely different from other books I read. Raw, spicy and heart-wrenching.
Can't wait to start the second one!! I'm nervous. Nail-biting for sure. Give it a shot!
A 5🌟 for this gripping, traumatic, 🔥 intense novel. Beyond shocked at what our FMC'S went through and so nervous at what is still gonna happen. Brutality in all its forms, make you wanna set those evil doers on fire. Heart pulpetation going crazy, coz now we have to wait for book 2. Be very prepared people. Its a mindblowing novel.
This was a fun read. I'm going to give it five stars with an asterisk, which we'll get to in a second.
I thought the characters were great -- not just Kadence and Blaize but the entire surrounding cast was distinctive and fun. The setup worked -- a criminal organization but definitely on the friendlier side compared to their predecessor, despite the overall darker edge to the story. A nice will they/won't they with both Kadence and Blaize feeling the attraction but with substantial reservations. Every scene was fun to read; overall there was a lot to like.
I had two reservations, leading to the asterisk: there were a number of spelling errors and some passages where the tense was all over the place -- it was a little distracting at times. I'm willing to give that a pass since this author hasn't published much before, but to my mind future books would benefit from an additional editing pass? And the other, this really is only the first half of the story. It definitely didn't feel like some significant hurdles were overcome leading to a stopping point (even if somewhere short of a final conclusion). Anyway, I didn't take a star away for these, though I'm hoping I won't be complaining about these same things in the future?
In any case, I'm definitely going on to the next book, because I need the rest of the story :)
Fractured Hearts by CL Smoke. Genre: Dark Romance and lesbian Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ about three. There wasn't a ton of spice, but the spice that was there was 🔥😍🥵 I heard the second book was spicier and I am beyond ready! This book was amazing. I was engrossed in the first chapter. I loved the backstory for both characters. Kadence is going to be a favorite. I can't wait to see how she grows in the next book and Blaize?? Where can I find her? Where can I find this club!? Overall, the book was hot, dark and filled with temptation. And holy cliffhanger! I need the second book right now!
I gave the book 5 stars because I enjoyed the concept of this book and I’m a sucker for any wlw mafia/gang books. I liked Kadence she was a strong fmc and I felt her story. I liked Blaize as well but after awhile I got annoyed with the amount of times she just kept repeating the same thing over and over again. I get all the characters have trauma but I feel like a good chuck of the story was just them repeating stuff multiple times…. Still a good book I would recommend giving it a read.
200 pages in and we’ve seen everybody EXCEPT for the main couple fck bare minimum 3 times. The misogyny is so over the top cartoonish that it pulls you out and the whole story reads like it was written by a 16 year old with a tumblr account
Okkkkl what was this fucking amazing book,? OMG loved it,cried with a few parts and got me hot and bothered haha (currently reading book ✌🏻 and I have a feeling it's going to make me hot and bothered and wanting to kill someone)
This book completely pulled me in! The characters are raw and real, their chemistry is electric, and the emotional depth hits hard in all the right ways. I was hooked from beginning to end; that cliffhanger had me jumping straight to the next book!
I loved this book and I am looking forward to the next book in the series! If you’re looking for a club AND mc romance with a closed off masc and a hot headed femme both trying to overcomepast trauma this book is for you! 5/5 ⭐️ 3.5/5 🌶️