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The Silent Hollow #1
The Mercenary and the Mortician
What do a mercenary and a mortician have in common?
Dead. Freaking. Bodies.
___
Callum Walker kills people for a living. Although he doesn’t get a say in who his boss puts on his list, he likes to hunt people who hurt children in his spare time. After a misunderstanding that leads Callum to believe Ryan Fairview - a local funeral director - is responsible for hurting one of the neighbourhood children, he finds his next target.
However, Ryan isn’t like other morticians. He can see dead people. So, when Callum breaks into Fairview Funerals ready to kill him, Ryan is shocked to find that his would-be murderer is haunted by all the people he’s killed.
Ryan might be just the man to help Cal get rid of his little ghost problem. The only problem is, these two are polar opposites and Ryan can’t seem to get over the small issue of home invasion and attempted homicide.
Will Cal win over the stubborn and neurotic mortician? Or will Ryan refuse to be swayed by the impulsive yet charming mercenary?
Read and find out!
__
The Mercenary and the Mortician is a dark paranormal MM romance. It is an interconnected standalone in the Silent Hollow Series. This is a dark romance and contains heavy and disturbing content. Please check content warnings. This book is not suitable for readers under 18.
Dead. Freaking. Bodies.
___
Callum Walker kills people for a living. Although he doesn’t get a say in who his boss puts on his list, he likes to hunt people who hurt children in his spare time. After a misunderstanding that leads Callum to believe Ryan Fairview - a local funeral director - is responsible for hurting one of the neighbourhood children, he finds his next target.
However, Ryan isn’t like other morticians. He can see dead people. So, when Callum breaks into Fairview Funerals ready to kill him, Ryan is shocked to find that his would-be murderer is haunted by all the people he’s killed.
Ryan might be just the man to help Cal get rid of his little ghost problem. The only problem is, these two are polar opposites and Ryan can’t seem to get over the small issue of home invasion and attempted homicide.
Will Cal win over the stubborn and neurotic mortician? Or will Ryan refuse to be swayed by the impulsive yet charming mercenary?
Read and find out!
__
The Mercenary and the Mortician is a dark paranormal MM romance. It is an interconnected standalone in the Silent Hollow Series. This is a dark romance and contains heavy and disturbing content. Please check content warnings. This book is not suitable for readers under 18.
532 pages, Paperback
Published February 4, 2025
1303 people are currently reading
8831 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra St. Pierre
9 books1,418 followersLover of all things dark and twisted.
Obsessed with themes of death.
Harbinger of characters with ‘black cat energy.’
Love is love.
🌈
Obsessed with themes of death.
Harbinger of characters with ‘black cat energy.’
Love is love.
🌈
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,468 reviews
April 6, 2025
♾️⭐️
Ryan + Callum 🖤🖤
Ginger snap and his angel
Dark | Paranormal | Gay awakening | Good boy
This book was long but damn it was good.
The last chapter in the epilogue 🥺🥺 just so sweet.
They were so so good for each other and the way they each helped each other overcome their demons and literally fought for each other was beautiful.
Also the side characters I fell in love with. I need Vox and Naomi's book right now.
....
"If you ever get lost in the dark, I'll make sure you find your way back, angel."
"Baby, until you believe those words, I'm going to make you tell me you're beautiful every day. The world is shit enough without you thinking you're anything less than perfect, just the way you are."
"Tell me you're beautiful."
"I'm beautiful."
"Yes, you are, gorgeous boy. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. You have no idea."
"Look how hard your cock is for me. Does my baby boy want to get fucked?"
"Good boy. You're coming so fucking good for me. Look at you. You love my cock in your ass so much you couldn't even wait one more second, could you, sweet boy?"
"You taught me that even the devil is just an angel that fell to the ground. You picked me back up and reminded me how to fly, baby."
"And that was how, in the middle of a sea of lillies, I promised myself to the man who'd taught me that I was enough."
....
⚠️potential spoilers below in detailed tropes and trigger warnings
Tropes:
Mercenary + Mortician (duh)
Opposites attract
Paranormal aspects (seeing dead people, spirits, demons)
Blood play
Pain play
Bareback
Strict roles
Loads of pet names throughout (sweet boy, baby, baby boy)
Good boy
Fear kink
Gay awakening
Sex in front of mirror
Sex in IKEA
Cal makes Ryan say good things about himself during sex
Hurt/comfort
Cal gets Ryan flowers a lot
I'll annoy you into loving me
Touch starved
Emotional love making, brought to tears during sex
TWs:
Child abuse
Trauma, trauma, trauma
Sex trafficking
On page sexual assault (of a side character)
Non-con/dub-con between MCs during one scene (through forced hand job, not penetration)
Graphic torture of an MC (not by other MC)
Branding of MC (done by side character)
Mentions of dead parent
Torture
Murder
Stabbing
Drugging
Gun shot wounds
Bullying as a child (recounted on page as a flashback)
Ryan + Callum 🖤🖤
Ginger snap and his angel
Dark | Paranormal | Gay awakening | Good boy
This book was long but damn it was good.
The last chapter in the epilogue 🥺🥺 just so sweet.
They were so so good for each other and the way they each helped each other overcome their demons and literally fought for each other was beautiful.
Also the side characters I fell in love with. I need Vox and Naomi's book right now.
....
"If you ever get lost in the dark, I'll make sure you find your way back, angel."
"Baby, until you believe those words, I'm going to make you tell me you're beautiful every day. The world is shit enough without you thinking you're anything less than perfect, just the way you are."
"Tell me you're beautiful."
"I'm beautiful."
"Yes, you are, gorgeous boy. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. You have no idea."
"Look how hard your cock is for me. Does my baby boy want to get fucked?"
"Good boy. You're coming so fucking good for me. Look at you. You love my cock in your ass so much you couldn't even wait one more second, could you, sweet boy?"
"You taught me that even the devil is just an angel that fell to the ground. You picked me back up and reminded me how to fly, baby."
"And that was how, in the middle of a sea of lillies, I promised myself to the man who'd taught me that I was enough."
....
⚠️potential spoilers below in detailed tropes and trigger warnings
Tropes:
Mercenary + Mortician (duh)
Opposites attract
Paranormal aspects (seeing dead people, spirits, demons)
Blood play
Pain play
Bareback
Strict roles
Loads of pet names throughout (sweet boy, baby, baby boy)
Good boy
Fear kink
Gay awakening
Sex in front of mirror
Sex in IKEA
Cal makes Ryan say good things about himself during sex
Hurt/comfort
Cal gets Ryan flowers a lot
I'll annoy you into loving me
Touch starved
Emotional love making, brought to tears during sex
TWs:
Child abuse
Trauma, trauma, trauma
Sex trafficking
On page sexual assault (of a side character)
Non-con/dub-con between MCs during one scene (through forced hand job, not penetration)
Graphic torture of an MC (not by other MC)
Branding of MC (done by side character)
Mentions of dead parent
Torture
Murder
Stabbing
Drugging
Gun shot wounds
Bullying as a child (recounted on page as a flashback)
April 17, 2025
“If psycho why so baby girl?”
Cal is a mercenary, not by choice. He was made into one, he was groomed into one. He had a very traumatic childhood growing in a dog cage with his older sister Cassandra and his younger sister Naomi. They scape but had to kill their mother to do it, and in that situation Damian Ryker took the opportunity to “recruit” Cal and he was only 10 years old.
Now Cal at 28 years he is very protective of his 2 sisters, specially Naomi the younger. He made both of their lives very easy and comfortable by supporting them in everything, specially financially. He has a best friend, Vox and he is my FAVORITE character in this book. Idk why I love him soooooooooooooo much, he brought Malachi Vise to my mind and I latch on to him😂, is there a rule that you can’t like the almost invisible side character more than one of the main characters? I don’t think so, so in this case I like Vox more than I like Ryan and that’s not saying I dislike Ryan, I love the little control freak mortician 😂. Well back to Cal (my favorite), he is a goofy guy, he is so funny, sweet and lovable, all as also being a psycho mercenary, he is pushy and a sexual sadist. Despite all this, I don’t think this book was very dark (light gray In my opinion), neither it was spicy. It had some spice in it but not a lot. Also is kind of a slow burn (believe it or not) they ONLY have sex after page 500.
Ryan takes a while to accept Cal understandably so, due to how he came on to him. Ryan is a A type and a very anxious guy who manages all alone. Cal crushed into his life without any warning destroying his bubble of perfection. Their story is cute and Ryan LITERALLY saved Cal, he saved him from this mercenary life, from Damian Ryker and from himself. He saved him from his traumas and fears and from his violent side, believe or not Cal is not the cruel monster he think he is. Now let’s talk about the side characters, why do I love ALL OF THEM? I CANNOT WAIT FOR VOX AND NAOMI’S BOOK and also Cass and Theo! But Vox and Naomi I’ll be closely looking for.
On the other side this book didn’t need to be over 700 pages in my opinion. Also for a long book I felt like there were many occasions where I needed some context and explanation because the characters would mention something that we did not see happen and it pissed me off because it would be ok in a 300 pages book to glance over some things, but if the book is over 700 pages you better give me every single little detail of their relationship, I want to be part of every conversation and family moments or else what is the point? Regardless I loved. I will be reading Make Me so I can see the story of Logan, Ronan and Dakota which is a MMM book 😱 that’s a new one for me !
Just in case you guys didn’t get , this is a MM romance !
Cal is a mercenary, not by choice. He was made into one, he was groomed into one. He had a very traumatic childhood growing in a dog cage with his older sister Cassandra and his younger sister Naomi. They scape but had to kill their mother to do it, and in that situation Damian Ryker took the opportunity to “recruit” Cal and he was only 10 years old.
Now Cal at 28 years he is very protective of his 2 sisters, specially Naomi the younger. He made both of their lives very easy and comfortable by supporting them in everything, specially financially. He has a best friend, Vox and he is my FAVORITE character in this book. Idk why I love him soooooooooooooo much, he brought Malachi Vise to my mind and I latch on to him😂, is there a rule that you can’t like the almost invisible side character more than one of the main characters? I don’t think so, so in this case I like Vox more than I like Ryan and that’s not saying I dislike Ryan, I love the little control freak mortician 😂. Well back to Cal (my favorite), he is a goofy guy, he is so funny, sweet and lovable, all as also being a psycho mercenary, he is pushy and a sexual sadist. Despite all this, I don’t think this book was very dark (light gray In my opinion), neither it was spicy. It had some spice in it but not a lot. Also is kind of a slow burn (believe it or not) they ONLY have sex after page 500.
Ryan takes a while to accept Cal understandably so, due to how he came on to him. Ryan is a A type and a very anxious guy who manages all alone. Cal crushed into his life without any warning destroying his bubble of perfection. Their story is cute and Ryan LITERALLY saved Cal, he saved him from this mercenary life, from Damian Ryker and from himself. He saved him from his traumas and fears and from his violent side, believe or not Cal is not the cruel monster he think he is. Now let’s talk about the side characters, why do I love ALL OF THEM? I CANNOT WAIT FOR VOX AND NAOMI’S BOOK and also Cass and Theo! But Vox and Naomi I’ll be closely looking for.
On the other side this book didn’t need to be over 700 pages in my opinion. Also for a long book I felt like there were many occasions where I needed some context and explanation because the characters would mention something that we did not see happen and it pissed me off because it would be ok in a 300 pages book to glance over some things, but if the book is over 700 pages you better give me every single little detail of their relationship, I want to be part of every conversation and family moments or else what is the point? Regardless I loved. I will be reading Make Me so I can see the story of Logan, Ronan and Dakota which is a MMM book 😱 that’s a new one for me !
Just in case you guys didn’t get , this is a MM romance !
February 8, 2025
DNF@30%
Assault and rape by the main character on the love interest because he has mom abuse issues and was triggered by a simple word is just not my cup of tea or the beginning of any love story of any kind. Both MC’s were dumb as hell.
Assault and rape by the main character on the love interest because he has mom abuse issues and was triggered by a simple word is just not my cup of tea or the beginning of any love story of any kind. Both MC’s were dumb as hell.
October 19, 2025
2 ⭐️
spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
format: ebook
quite possibly one of the worst books i’ve ever read. only time will tell if i think about it for the rest of my life or forget it completely within a week (guessing the latter).
spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
format: ebook
quite possibly one of the worst books i’ve ever read. only time will tell if i think about it for the rest of my life or forget it completely within a week (guessing the latter).
February 15, 2025
The never ending story
So, it started out real strong. I was super excited to read it. It was funny but by 40% I was starting to wane a little and wondered if anything was gonna happen. By 70% I was ready to get off this freaking ride. By 80% I was literally words away from DNFing. The only thing that kept me from it was my ‘tism; it’s literally almost impossible for me to DNF.🤣😐🙄🤦🏼♀️
I like the characters. The premise of the story was good. Definitely appreciated the dark & macabre humor. Although, I’m more drawn to the side characters than the actual MCs. The execution just wasn’t there for me.
There was SO MUCH unnecessary repetitious calling on backstory. I would have preferred to have seen that energy used to moving the story along by putting it into building their relationship as we’ve met them NOW. Instead of telling me for the umpteenth millionth time about how Cal had it bad but not too bad & Ryan wasn’t confrontational but Theo insisted he learned how to box. I don’t understand why there was three chapters of a flashback that only needed to be one chapter or why, even though I like Vox, we got his POV on things. None of it really helped move the CURRENT story along.
And “Paranormal” feels like such an afterthought. Ryan only seemed to ever “see” ghost when he’s working. Not like a true medium or “sensitive” that has this ability all day, every day. I get that the “talisman” Iris (which where TF did she go? She just gets forgotten after playing such a constant role?!) gave Callum played into this but Ryan literally isn’t approached by ANYONE for the rest of the story; until of course after what was the 20th plot climax, he •finally• sees a ghost who can help them. 🙄
In summary, the book is drawn out & longer than needed. It feels very stagnant in places. Most of it could have been cut out. I felt like this book ended atleast 3 times before it actually did. She could have just made it into a duet or a trilogy. But these are MY feelings. I get some people will love it. And that’s great, love that journey for them. The 2nd epilogue was my favorite because we got the final conclusion & it ended. 🙌🏻
⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️.5
So, it started out real strong. I was super excited to read it. It was funny but by 40% I was starting to wane a little and wondered if anything was gonna happen. By 70% I was ready to get off this freaking ride. By 80% I was literally words away from DNFing. The only thing that kept me from it was my ‘tism; it’s literally almost impossible for me to DNF.🤣😐🙄🤦🏼♀️
I like the characters. The premise of the story was good. Definitely appreciated the dark & macabre humor. Although, I’m more drawn to the side characters than the actual MCs. The execution just wasn’t there for me.
There was SO MUCH unnecessary repetitious calling on backstory. I would have preferred to have seen that energy used to moving the story along by putting it into building their relationship as we’ve met them NOW. Instead of telling me for the umpteenth millionth time about how Cal had it bad but not too bad & Ryan wasn’t confrontational but Theo insisted he learned how to box. I don’t understand why there was three chapters of a flashback that only needed to be one chapter or why, even though I like Vox, we got his POV on things. None of it really helped move the CURRENT story along.
And “Paranormal” feels like such an afterthought. Ryan only seemed to ever “see” ghost when he’s working. Not like a true medium or “sensitive” that has this ability all day, every day. I get that the “talisman” Iris (which where TF did she go? She just gets forgotten after playing such a constant role?!) gave Callum played into this but Ryan literally isn’t approached by ANYONE for the rest of the story; until of course after what was the 20th plot climax, he •finally• sees a ghost who can help them. 🙄
In summary, the book is drawn out & longer than needed. It feels very stagnant in places. Most of it could have been cut out. I felt like this book ended atleast 3 times before it actually did. She could have just made it into a duet or a trilogy. But these are MY feelings. I get some people will love it. And that’s great, love that journey for them. The 2nd epilogue was my favorite because we got the final conclusion & it ended. 🙌🏻
⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️.5
January 21, 2025
RTC but I just read this thick arse PHYSICAL BOOK (yes this needed to be caps’d for true emphasis that I read a physical book) in 2 days and y’all better be as obsessed with these two as I am 🫠🥵
February 26, 2025
3.5
I did enjoy this but the book was like 300 pages too long and had way too much waffling on and repetition.
The paranormal element of seeing ghosts was interesting but also super jarring when there was no other confirmed paranormal content! Ryan's mum was possibly psychic and a witch, but it wasn't clear if this was fact or opinion... It just seemed that Ryan's ability was a convenient way to help them in their final showdown and was pretty redundant otherwise.
I did really like the characters of Cal and Ryan, and their relationship was definitely entertaining but I did get bored with the sex scenes, especially because a lot of them just felt like they were contributing to the slow pace and bloated page count.
The side characters were also interesting, and I liked how we got a few chapters from Vox's POV, but it kinda felt like they couldn't just be a side character, they all had back stories and mini plots. Again, a lot of it just felt like it was part of the overly long book issue.
The whole thing with Damian was super obvious too. The initial showdown was just too easy, and because of that I was just waiting for him to pop up again which removed any possible tension or surprise!
I did enjoy this but the book was like 300 pages too long and had way too much waffling on and repetition.
The paranormal element of seeing ghosts was interesting but also super jarring when there was no other confirmed paranormal content! Ryan's mum was possibly psychic and a witch, but it wasn't clear if this was fact or opinion... It just seemed that Ryan's ability was a convenient way to help them in their final showdown and was pretty redundant otherwise.
I did really like the characters of Cal and Ryan, and their relationship was definitely entertaining but I did get bored with the sex scenes, especially because a lot of them just felt like they were contributing to the slow pace and bloated page count.
The side characters were also interesting, and I liked how we got a few chapters from Vox's POV, but it kinda felt like they couldn't just be a side character, they all had back stories and mini plots. Again, a lot of it just felt like it was part of the overly long book issue.
The whole thing with Damian was super obvious too. The initial showdown was just too easy, and because of that I was just waiting for him to pop up again which removed any possible tension or surprise!
dnf-2025
February 20, 2025DNF @ 10%
I'm not a fan of this kind of writing style - or characters breaking the 4th wall.
Next.
I'm not a fan of this kind of writing style - or characters breaking the 4th wall.
Next.
April 30, 2025
I LOVED THIS!
Ryan and his dark angel Callum.
I started this book so long ago.
I got half way through, but for personal reasons, I put it aside to read only fluff for a while.
When I picked it up again last week, I decided to restart from the beginning.
Oh, I loved it. I loved all of the characters and plots.
I do wish there were a bit more ghosts bit though.
Ryan and his dark angel Callum.
I started this book so long ago.
I got half way through, but for personal reasons, I put it aside to read only fluff for a while.
When I picked it up again last week, I decided to restart from the beginning.
Oh, I loved it. I loved all of the characters and plots.
I do wish there were a bit more ghosts bit though.
August 23, 2025
dark romance ❤️🔥 • m/m • gay awakening • I see dead people 👻
A dark romance with loveable characters. Some heavy themes so I’d suggest checking triggers. But overall I wouldn’t say this is a heavy book, the characters are great. This is long but it was a pretty easy, entertaining read!
Ryan is a mortician - who happens to be able to see ghosts (convenient in his line of work). He has a soft heart and provides a safe space for Caleb, a neighbours child he suspects is being mistreated at home.
Cal is a hardened mercenary groomed from the time he was a child, he kills child abusers and other undesirables in his spare time.
Cal mistakenly thinks Ryan is Caleb’s dad and plans to kill him - the misunderstanding gets sorted out but Cal becomes obsessed with Ryan much to Ryan’s displeasure.
Personally I don’t mind some dubcon or consensual noncon in my romances - but fair warning there is an actual noncon scene in this book that may not be suitable for all lovers of dark romance. I think it was done in a careful way and was addressed appropriately… just putting it out there 😬😅
“Cal, that’s… super fucked up. Non-con is not cute in real life.”
Things I LOVED -
⁀➴ The jealous touch him and die vibes
“I don’t fucking share”
“No one touches you but me”
⁀➴ Cal’s tough exterior and the absolute attentive gentleness he is capable of … and craves 🫠 also … the kisses 🫠🫠
When it happened, I wanted to take my time with him. Make it special. 🥹🫠
⁀➴ The way our MMCs and their families have each other’s backs. Solid. 💪🥹
⁀➴ The normal, everyday concerns of regular people in relationships
I’d asked him what was wrong, and he said nothing… but clearly something was wrong… Did I ask again? Or give him space? Fuck. This relationship thing was hard.
Things I didn’t love so much -
⁀➴ The big revenge felt rushed…
⁀➴ Overuse of the word HOWEVER - this is a personal thing I ALWAYS notice in books. An irk that stems from that time I thought I was brilliant in my former life as a 10yo aspiring writer using fancy conjunction words… and HOWEVER was top of my list 🤣 Just consider starting a new sentence sans the however, PLEEEEEASE 🙏
⁀➴ Incorrect use of the word prone. Seriously it fucks me right off when people use this to describe a supine position. PRONE IS FACE DOWN PEOPLE!! *shakes fist*
All in all I actually really enjoyed this book!
4 ⭐️
3 🌶️
**HOWEVER, my inner 10yo aspiring writer peaked early. I am 100% no writer 🤣
A dark romance with loveable characters. Some heavy themes so I’d suggest checking triggers. But overall I wouldn’t say this is a heavy book, the characters are great. This is long but it was a pretty easy, entertaining read!
Ryan is a mortician - who happens to be able to see ghosts (convenient in his line of work). He has a soft heart and provides a safe space for Caleb, a neighbours child he suspects is being mistreated at home.
Cal is a hardened mercenary groomed from the time he was a child, he kills child abusers and other undesirables in his spare time.
Cal mistakenly thinks Ryan is Caleb’s dad and plans to kill him - the misunderstanding gets sorted out but Cal becomes obsessed with Ryan much to Ryan’s displeasure.
Personally I don’t mind some dubcon or consensual noncon in my romances - but fair warning there is an actual noncon scene in this book that may not be suitable for all lovers of dark romance. I think it was done in a careful way and was addressed appropriately… just putting it out there 😬😅
“Cal, that’s… super fucked up. Non-con is not cute in real life.”
Things I LOVED -
⁀➴ The jealous touch him and die vibes
“I don’t fucking share”
“No one touches you but me”
⁀➴ Cal’s tough exterior and the absolute attentive gentleness he is capable of … and craves 🫠 also … the kisses 🫠🫠
When it happened, I wanted to take my time with him. Make it special. 🥹🫠
⁀➴ The way our MMCs and their families have each other’s backs. Solid. 💪🥹
⁀➴ The normal, everyday concerns of regular people in relationships
I’d asked him what was wrong, and he said nothing… but clearly something was wrong… Did I ask again? Or give him space? Fuck. This relationship thing was hard.
Things I didn’t love so much -
⁀➴ The big revenge felt rushed…
⁀➴ Overuse of the word HOWEVER - this is a personal thing I ALWAYS notice in books. An irk that stems from that time I thought I was brilliant in my former life as a 10yo aspiring writer using fancy conjunction words… and HOWEVER was top of my list 🤣 Just consider starting a new sentence sans the however, PLEEEEEASE 🙏
⁀➴ Incorrect use of the word prone. Seriously it fucks me right off when people use this to describe a supine position. PRONE IS FACE DOWN PEOPLE!! *shakes fist*
All in all I actually really enjoyed this book!
4 ⭐️
3 🌶️
**HOWEVER, my inner 10yo aspiring writer peaked early. I am 100% no writer 🤣
July 4, 2025
Rating: 4 ⭐️
“You saved me, baby. In every possible sense, you saved me.”
“I regret a lot of things, Ryan, but the thing I regret the most is how long it took me to get to you.”
First of all, let me say that I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I thought. To be completely honest, it was a three stars read for a good portion of this book, but then, past the 40-50% mark, it changed immediately.
So, I picked this one thanks to some fabulous quotes I saw on IG, and for the plot which seems absolutely dope! I loved the fact that one of the main characters, Ryan, could see ghosts/dead people, and that his love interest is a mercenary trying, at first, to kill him. It was too juicy to not fall into temptation, and I don't regret this. Callum and Ryan's story was intense!
Alexandra St. Pierre's characters were interesting from the start. I immediately had a soft spot for Callum, and his unhinged and crazy thoughts! It was a lot to process at first, though. While, I couldn't deny that his point of view was very entertaining, I wished some things weren't added. So for context, Callum is a bit of a...manwhore. For him, it's either murder or sex (his words, not mine!). What I didn't like was how he was very interested in Ryan's sister, Theo, at first. Yes, he thought she was a man, but I didn't like some of his comments about her. Even though, he hasn't met Ryan yet, I was kinda disappointed (it's mainly the reason why I couldn't rate this book five stars; don't mind me, I'm picky as hell).
Great start for them, right? Anyway, after meeting Ryan, I really appreciated that all Callum could see was Ryan (thanks God!). Per his words: "no more butt whores!"
Right after their meeting, and every new chapters, it was a rollercoster of emotions for me -- one chapter, i was enjoying the hell out of this book; the next, I wanted to struggle both main characters (especially, Callum). The reason? The dub-con scene. I know it was put in the trigger warnings, I was warned but Callum's behavior was not okay. And the author aknowledged it: in the next chapter, he immediately regretted it, and apologized to Ryan. It was nice seeing a morally grey character aware of his wrong-doings, and do something about it.
I loved Callum, don't get me wrong. It was extremely satisfying and touching to see him grow and finally receive the love he deserved and wanted. And when you finished the book, and know all the context, you understand better some of his actions.
Callum and Ryan are exactly what the other needed; I truly think they're soulmates. The fact that Ryan's mother predicted the coming of his dark angel right from the start was so cute. They're each other's salvation, I can't explain it in better words. They healed each other, they helped each other in self-esteem (the mirror scene iykyk), they loved each other fiercely (Ryan taking care of Callum during some of his most vulnerable moments).
My heart was content when I finished the book.
Alexandra St. Pierre wrote amazing characters, by the way. My favorites are certainly Vox and Theo. Vox is the friend everyone wished to have, and Theo is so yummy. Picture Vi from Arcane (minus the pink hair, of course), because she gave me exactly these vibes. The author said she'll write a book about her, and I can't wait because her love interest is Cassandra, Callum's older sister! And Vox will get a story, if I'm not wrong. I'm excited to read the next books in The Silent Hollow series.
“You saved me, baby. In every possible sense, you saved me.”
“I regret a lot of things, Ryan, but the thing I regret the most is how long it took me to get to you.”
First of all, let me say that I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I thought. To be completely honest, it was a three stars read for a good portion of this book, but then, past the 40-50% mark, it changed immediately.
So, I picked this one thanks to some fabulous quotes I saw on IG, and for the plot which seems absolutely dope! I loved the fact that one of the main characters, Ryan, could see ghosts/dead people, and that his love interest is a mercenary trying, at first, to kill him. It was too juicy to not fall into temptation, and I don't regret this. Callum and Ryan's story was intense!
Alexandra St. Pierre's characters were interesting from the start. I immediately had a soft spot for Callum, and his unhinged and crazy thoughts! It was a lot to process at first, though. While, I couldn't deny that his point of view was very entertaining, I wished some things weren't added. So for context, Callum is a bit of a...manwhore. For him, it's either murder or sex (his words, not mine!). What I didn't like was how he was very interested in Ryan's sister, Theo, at first. Yes, he thought she was a man, but I didn't like some of his comments about her. Even though, he hasn't met Ryan yet, I was kinda disappointed (it's mainly the reason why I couldn't rate this book five stars; don't mind me, I'm picky as hell).
Great start for them, right? Anyway, after meeting Ryan, I really appreciated that all Callum could see was Ryan (thanks God!). Per his words: "no more butt whores!"
Right after their meeting, and every new chapters, it was a rollercoster of emotions for me -- one chapter, i was enjoying the hell out of this book; the next, I wanted to struggle both main characters (especially, Callum). The reason? The dub-con scene. I know it was put in the trigger warnings, I was warned but Callum's behavior was not okay. And the author aknowledged it: in the next chapter, he immediately regretted it, and apologized to Ryan. It was nice seeing a morally grey character aware of his wrong-doings, and do something about it.
I loved Callum, don't get me wrong. It was extremely satisfying and touching to see him grow and finally receive the love he deserved and wanted. And when you finished the book, and know all the context, you understand better some of his actions.
Callum and Ryan are exactly what the other needed; I truly think they're soulmates. The fact that Ryan's mother predicted the coming of his dark angel right from the start was so cute. They're each other's salvation, I can't explain it in better words. They healed each other, they helped each other in self-esteem (the mirror scene iykyk), they loved each other fiercely (Ryan taking care of Callum during some of his most vulnerable moments).
My heart was content when I finished the book.
Alexandra St. Pierre wrote amazing characters, by the way. My favorites are certainly Vox and Theo. Vox is the friend everyone wished to have, and Theo is so yummy. Picture Vi from Arcane (minus the pink hair, of course), because she gave me exactly these vibes. The author said she'll write a book about her, and I can't wait because her love interest is Cassandra, Callum's older sister! And Vox will get a story, if I'm not wrong. I'm excited to read the next books in The Silent Hollow series.
February 4, 2025
"If you ever get lost in the dark, I'll make sure you find your way back, angel. I'll always bring you back."
- Dark MM Romance
-Stalking
-Doberman puppy/black cat
-Gay awakening
-Hurt/comfort
-Healing Arc
This book will stick with me for years to come. It truly was everything I look for and love in a book, and so much more. It's dark, it's traumatic, it's spicy, it's hilarious, you absolutely fall in love with the characters and grow so attached to their journey together and separately. The happily ever after is very hard earned.
Cal is a mercenary who has been gr00med and trained from a young age after escaping an extremely traumatic childhood with his sisters. He now works for an organization as a mercenary and 'takes care' of anyone his boss marks. Due to his past, in his spare time he ‘takes care’ of people who abuse children.
Ryan, our other MMC is a mortician who owns a funeral home, passed down from his father. Ryan has a spooky secret, he can see ghosts. So when he meets Callum, he sees that he's being haunted by his past kills.
Cal very quickly becomes obsessed with Ryan, and forces his way into his life. Little does Ryan know, Cals crazy self is exactly what he needed. Ryan has so much trauma from his childhood, much different from Cals, but very prevalent nonetheless, which has held him back in so many aspects of his life. His self esteem has suffered greatly, and Cal reminds him how loveable and beautiful and worthy he is. It truly is the most emotional union I've ever read about.
While Cal helps heal Ryan, Ryan returns the favour tenfold and makes Cal realize he’s so much more than his dark past and life as an errand boy killer.
This book takes a pretty dark turn, so please be sure to check your trigger warnings.
The healing that goes on throughout the entire book is so beautiful and emotional, I truly will never forget it. These characters have touched me in so many ways.
Speaking of touching, the spice is OFF THE CHARTS. Hot, Hot, Hotttttttt.
The side characters are just as loveable as the main characters, I truly fell for every single one of them, and cannot wait for their books!
I cannot recommend this book enough. It will be a favourite for years to come. 10/10
- Dark MM Romance
-Stalking
-Doberman puppy/black cat
-Gay awakening
-Hurt/comfort
-Healing Arc
This book will stick with me for years to come. It truly was everything I look for and love in a book, and so much more. It's dark, it's traumatic, it's spicy, it's hilarious, you absolutely fall in love with the characters and grow so attached to their journey together and separately. The happily ever after is very hard earned.
Cal is a mercenary who has been gr00med and trained from a young age after escaping an extremely traumatic childhood with his sisters. He now works for an organization as a mercenary and 'takes care' of anyone his boss marks. Due to his past, in his spare time he ‘takes care’ of people who abuse children.
Ryan, our other MMC is a mortician who owns a funeral home, passed down from his father. Ryan has a spooky secret, he can see ghosts. So when he meets Callum, he sees that he's being haunted by his past kills.
Cal very quickly becomes obsessed with Ryan, and forces his way into his life. Little does Ryan know, Cals crazy self is exactly what he needed. Ryan has so much trauma from his childhood, much different from Cals, but very prevalent nonetheless, which has held him back in so many aspects of his life. His self esteem has suffered greatly, and Cal reminds him how loveable and beautiful and worthy he is. It truly is the most emotional union I've ever read about.
While Cal helps heal Ryan, Ryan returns the favour tenfold and makes Cal realize he’s so much more than his dark past and life as an errand boy killer.
This book takes a pretty dark turn, so please be sure to check your trigger warnings.
The healing that goes on throughout the entire book is so beautiful and emotional, I truly will never forget it. These characters have touched me in so many ways.
Speaking of touching, the spice is OFF THE CHARTS. Hot, Hot, Hotttttttt.
The side characters are just as loveable as the main characters, I truly fell for every single one of them, and cannot wait for their books!
I cannot recommend this book enough. It will be a favourite for years to come. 10/10
August 28, 2025
4.5⭐️
I wanted to literally crawl inside him and set up camp or let him crawl inside of me. I wasn’t picky. As long as we were together, I didn’t fucking care who was inside of who. I just needed him. And I knew he needed me, too.
I remembered the saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ when i started this one lol, don't like the cover, but I do like what's inside. I found the other cover so forget I said this lol.
“Is that a challenge?”
“You bet your ass it is.”
“It’s not my ass that’s on the line, baby.”
It had no business being that long, there were scenes and even whole chapters that could’ve been cut without changing a single thing, but I did loved it, I adored the couple and the way they cared and loved each other. I liked them as a couple and individually.
“Say red.”
He shook his head.
“Say red!”
“I love you, angel.”
╰•★★ Callum James Walker ★★•╯
“Love you!” I chirped, but I was already speaking to a dead line. She had hung up on me, which was typical. No one ever said it back.
How hard is it to tell your brother “I love you too”?! Especially when this is a brother who risks his life for you on the daily basis and does everything to give you a decent life. Cassandra and Naomi (Cal’s older and little sister) lived like queens thanks to him. He didn’t go to school but made sure his sisters did. He stayed in Apex for them because they threatened to kill them, that’s why he kept going on all those missions and neither of them could be bothered to send him a message during a mission to make sure he was okay? I’m not saying they were mean to him, but they were definitely negligent.
Maybe I really was the devil, and that was why no one ever said they loved me back.
Cal’s been missing for four days? Oh, no big deal, totally normal. Girl… You know what your brother is doing, so I expect a little more care and worry for him. I thought that with their past and everything they went through, they’d be like mother hens with him, but nope. The only one who really cared, looked after, and protected Cal before Ryan came in the picture was Vox. I'm sorry, but they failed to show their love for him.
He didn’t love me. He just knew how desperately I needed to hear it.
No fr I was ready to throw hands at Cassandra. She saw the message in the group chat saying that Theo (Ryan’s older sister and her love interest) wasn’t doing well and in no time she was by her side in the hospital, but she didn't saw the one Naomi sent saying she and Cal were in danger?! Either this was an author slip-up, or my beef with her is about to get personal.
“It’s fucked up that this Damian guy took such a kind, gentle soul and turned him into a fucking killing machine. You were made to help people, Cal. Not hurt them. And I will never forgive the man who fucking took that away from you.”
Cal never had the chance to be a child. After suffering at the hands of an abusive mother, by the age of 10 Damien’s bastard ass took him and started turning him into a killing machine. For him, his own well-being was never a priority, all he cared about was protecting hisungrateful sisters and making sure they had the life they wanted. I’m glad he found a partner like Ryan, because that’s exactly what he needed: someone who would love him and care for him just as intensely as he does for the people he loves.
“Loving you isn’t hard, Callum. Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
╰•★★ Ryan Fairview ★★•╯
“Not to be a needy girl about it, but can you try to text me so I know for sure you’re not hurt?”
“I like you needy, baby. And yes. Of course, I can text you.”
Yeah, Cassandra and Naomi could never. I also loved this man, and I liked that he could see dead people, it gave the book a paranormal touch. The moment when he really made a good use of his power was when he served as a messenger between Gavin (Cal and Vox’s bf who was killed by Damien), Vox, and Cal.
‘Can you tell him I love him? And what happened to me isn’t his fault. And can you tell Vox I miss him every day, but he needs to move on and let himself be happy now?”
My heart... He deserved so much better. I still hoping he was alive, but no, he was truly dead. Going back to Ryan, he was a mortician who could see and communicate with the dead. He, too, had dedicated his entire life to something, in his case, his father’s funeral home.
“Theo got me drunk and told me I have the hots for you,”
“Is that so?”
“Mhmm.”
“Do you?”
“What?”
“Have the hots for me?”
I liked his relationship with Theo and his mother (who gave Cal a talisman, told Ryan to save Cal and then disappeared for the rest of the book). I liked seeing his journey from the beginning, how he slowly accepted himself, his sexuality, who he was and how he opened up to Carl and cared for him.
╰•★★ Cal and Ryan ★★•╯
How could he think I wouldn’t love him back? Cal was everything to me.
I enjoyed seeing how they grew together. They had an amazing chemistry. Even if it was insta lust and obsession for Cal, sex wasn’t the focus here, it was more about their relationship and the precious bond they were forming.
he pulled me into him, burying his face into the crook of my neck while he held me, whispering words of praise.
You’re beautiful.
You’re amazing.
You’re so strong and passionate.
You’re everything I strive to be.
I didn’t understand why there was still 20% of the book left, because everything seemed fine. Then I realized it was necessary, because that’s where we saw the character development for each of them, how they were as a couple, how Callum realized he didn’t want to keep living that life (a life he never wanted in the first place), and how the two of them were healing.
“You made me swear that I would be yours, remember? You literally held me down in that field and made me fucking promise. Well, that goes both ways. You’re mine too, and it’s too late for you to run away now.”
I was surprised there weren’t more repercussions after Damien’s death. Cal kept saying Apex was huge, so it shocked me that after killing one of the leaders of the organization, nothing else really happened. Anyway, great book, perfect couple, made for each other, amazing chemistry, likable side characters, laughs, tears, jealousy… overall a really good read.
“I love you, Ryan Fairview.”
“I love you too, Callum Walker.”
I wanted to literally crawl inside him and set up camp or let him crawl inside of me. I wasn’t picky. As long as we were together, I didn’t fucking care who was inside of who. I just needed him. And I knew he needed me, too.
“Is that a challenge?”
“You bet your ass it is.”
“It’s not my ass that’s on the line, baby.”
It had no business being that long, there were scenes and even whole chapters that could’ve been cut without changing a single thing, but I did loved it, I adored the couple and the way they cared and loved each other. I liked them as a couple and individually.
“Say red.”
He shook his head.
“Say red!”
“I love you, angel.”
╰•★★ Callum James Walker ★★•╯
“Love you!” I chirped, but I was already speaking to a dead line. She had hung up on me, which was typical. No one ever said it back.
How hard is it to tell your brother “I love you too”?! Especially when this is a brother who risks his life for you on the daily basis and does everything to give you a decent life. Cassandra and Naomi (Cal’s older and little sister) lived like queens thanks to him. He didn’t go to school but made sure his sisters did. He stayed in Apex for them because they threatened to kill them, that’s why he kept going on all those missions and neither of them could be bothered to send him a message during a mission to make sure he was okay? I’m not saying they were mean to him, but they were definitely negligent.
Maybe I really was the devil, and that was why no one ever said they loved me back.
Cal’s been missing for four days? Oh, no big deal, totally normal. Girl… You know what your brother is doing, so I expect a little more care and worry for him. I thought that with their past and everything they went through, they’d be like mother hens with him, but nope. The only one who really cared, looked after, and protected Cal before Ryan came in the picture was Vox. I'm sorry, but they failed to show their love for him.
He didn’t love me. He just knew how desperately I needed to hear it.
No fr I was ready to throw hands at Cassandra. She saw the message in the group chat saying that Theo (Ryan’s older sister and her love interest) wasn’t doing well and in no time she was by her side in the hospital, but she didn't saw the one Naomi sent saying she and Cal were in danger?! Either this was an author slip-up, or my beef with her is about to get personal.
“It’s fucked up that this Damian guy took such a kind, gentle soul and turned him into a fucking killing machine. You were made to help people, Cal. Not hurt them. And I will never forgive the man who fucking took that away from you.”
Cal never had the chance to be a child. After suffering at the hands of an abusive mother, by the age of 10 Damien’s bastard ass took him and started turning him into a killing machine. For him, his own well-being was never a priority, all he cared about was protecting his
“Loving you isn’t hard, Callum. Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
╰•★★ Ryan Fairview ★★•╯
“Not to be a needy girl about it, but can you try to text me so I know for sure you’re not hurt?”
“I like you needy, baby. And yes. Of course, I can text you.”
Yeah, Cassandra and Naomi could never. I also loved this man, and I liked that he could see dead people, it gave the book a paranormal touch. The moment when he really made a good use of his power was when he served as a messenger between Gavin (Cal and Vox’s bf who was killed by Damien), Vox, and Cal.
‘Can you tell him I love him? And what happened to me isn’t his fault. And can you tell Vox I miss him every day, but he needs to move on and let himself be happy now?”
My heart... He deserved so much better. I still hoping he was alive, but no, he was truly dead. Going back to Ryan, he was a mortician who could see and communicate with the dead. He, too, had dedicated his entire life to something, in his case, his father’s funeral home.
“Theo got me drunk and told me I have the hots for you,”
“Is that so?”
“Mhmm.”
“Do you?”
“What?”
“Have the hots for me?”
I liked his relationship with Theo and his mother (who gave Cal a talisman, told Ryan to save Cal and then disappeared for the rest of the book). I liked seeing his journey from the beginning, how he slowly accepted himself, his sexuality, who he was and how he opened up to Carl and cared for him.
╰•★★ Cal and Ryan ★★•╯
How could he think I wouldn’t love him back? Cal was everything to me.
I enjoyed seeing how they grew together. They had an amazing chemistry. Even if it was insta lust and obsession for Cal, sex wasn’t the focus here, it was more about their relationship and the precious bond they were forming.
he pulled me into him, burying his face into the crook of my neck while he held me, whispering words of praise.
You’re beautiful.
You’re amazing.
You’re so strong and passionate.
You’re everything I strive to be.
I didn’t understand why there was still 20% of the book left, because everything seemed fine. Then I realized it was necessary, because that’s where we saw the character development for each of them, how they were as a couple, how Callum realized he didn’t want to keep living that life (a life he never wanted in the first place), and how the two of them were healing.
“You made me swear that I would be yours, remember? You literally held me down in that field and made me fucking promise. Well, that goes both ways. You’re mine too, and it’s too late for you to run away now.”
I was surprised there weren’t more repercussions after Damien’s death. Cal kept saying Apex was huge, so it shocked me that after killing one of the leaders of the organization, nothing else really happened. Anyway, great book, perfect couple, made for each other, amazing chemistry, likable side characters, laughs, tears, jealousy… overall a really good read.
“I love you, Ryan Fairview.”
“I love you too, Callum Walker.”
November 2, 2025
⚠️𝟭𝟴+ 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀.
3.75 rating 🌟
my biggest book pet peeve is obsessing over a story, savoring every part of it, and then getting disappointed later. it happened with this book.
the first 60% was unputdownable-super hot, sexy, and sweet, the chemistry had me swooooooooning. the secondary characters and the found family dynamic was done well, it was heart-warming. and the plot felt exciting and unique to me. it was flawless. but eveeeeeeeeerything after the 60% mark fell apart; the story became scattered, hallmarky, and the plot got so weak I couldn’t take it seriously anymore.
oh, and why did they take forever to fuck? all that horniness, all that lust, hormones raging, and they only finally did it so late into the story?
also, I don’t want to read about a lover who cuts his partner and then calls them his angel and ginger snap. you have a past, you suffer from ptsd, fine. but you don’t get to experiment your demons on your partner. that tub scene vexed me; it genuinely made me resent cal. I don’t call this fuckery love, i’m sorry! and our innocent mc? ryan?- accepting such abhorrent behavior from his lover like where is your self-respect, baby?!
“𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮; 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪,” 𝙄 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚. “𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮. 𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚.” -see? this was grotesque, deeply unsettling and cruel.
another thing that completely irked me was ryan’s sister and cal’s sister dating. it’s such a turn-off for me when books do that whole sibling-swab thing, I don't even know what you call this trope exactly, but I dislike it very much.
the last thing you’ll ever see me reading is a paranormal romance, but i gave this book a chance and I didn’t even mind the paranormal element at first. it was actually fascinating. however, in the later chapters, it became ridiculous, I was literally making faces and mocking it. it was atrocious and horribly done, almost comical. like i said-I couldn’t take it seriously anymore.
I kept reading with that deadpan, unamused expression muttering-ok. mehhh. okay. mehhh. hmm.., while reading.
𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆, 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺. there were parts of the book that were commendable and worth praising, so let's get to that:
the spice in this book was deliciooooooooooooous- DISGUSTING. PURE FILTH. SINFUL. UNHOLY. ILLEGAL.🔥 💧 🚰 🚿 💦 🥵 🥞 😋 🧁🍦
"𝙈𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙍𝙮𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙙’𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙧.
𝙁𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚!"- he was desperate to eat him 🤣
“𝙈𝙢𝙢𝙝𝙢𝙢. 𝙎𝙤𝙤𝙊𝙊𝙤𝙊𝙤𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙮. 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧. 𝙄𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤.”
“𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩? 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤? 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚? 𝙐𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨, 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮. 𝙏𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩.”
“𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙍𝙮𝙖𝙣. 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙮.” -DEAD 🤣🙏
“𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙. 𝙄 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙙. “𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙍𝙮𝙖𝙣. 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝙤𝙧 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝.” -🔥 🥵
“𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢. “𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣, 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚."- this was honestly so sweet. 😊❤
"𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙄 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙮." -🤣🤣🤣🤣
i'm all in, you make love in ikea, you make love in a tree top, you make love in space. I don't mind as long as it's done well and is erotic to the point it's like worship, like a religion, art. and this was that, the author did it exceedingly well.
this book also made me laugh hysterically. the humor was delightful, effortless and sharp. 🤌
𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜, 𝐢’𝐦 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🙏🤭.
the way I laughed and blushed, I turned tomato red... nooooo, beet red actually 🤣🤭☺😏.
one thing that was genuinely adorable was the inclusion of pictures in the book, it was so sweet and beautiful. ❤
overall, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯 had me in a chokehold at first, but lost its spark halfway through, it ended in confusion. still, the chemistry, the humor, and the spice? unforgettable. I just wish the story had kept the same pulse it started with.
𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪:
child abuse
sexual assault
human trafficking
torture
non-con
violence
ptsd/trauma
homophobic slurs
psychological abuse
parental abuse.
-----‐--‐-------
they had seggs in IKEA. mhm!
after 60%, the book completely lost me, it wasn’t the same anymore, it became unbearable.
I have so much to say.
rtc 😡😤😒
-----------------
bloody hell! it's not available on kindle in India, and the physical copy is 7,500 🤑🤣🙏.
3.75 rating 🌟
my biggest book pet peeve is obsessing over a story, savoring every part of it, and then getting disappointed later. it happened with this book.
the first 60% was unputdownable-super hot, sexy, and sweet, the chemistry had me swooooooooning. the secondary characters and the found family dynamic was done well, it was heart-warming. and the plot felt exciting and unique to me. it was flawless. but eveeeeeeeeerything after the 60% mark fell apart; the story became scattered, hallmarky, and the plot got so weak I couldn’t take it seriously anymore.
oh, and why did they take forever to fuck? all that horniness, all that lust, hormones raging, and they only finally did it so late into the story?
also, I don’t want to read about a lover who cuts his partner and then calls them his angel and ginger snap. you have a past, you suffer from ptsd, fine. but you don’t get to experiment your demons on your partner. that tub scene vexed me; it genuinely made me resent cal. I don’t call this fuckery love, i’m sorry! and our innocent mc? ryan?- accepting such abhorrent behavior from his lover like where is your self-respect, baby?!
“𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮; 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙄 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪,” 𝙄 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚. “𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮. 𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚.” -see? this was grotesque, deeply unsettling and cruel.
another thing that completely irked me was ryan’s sister and cal’s sister dating. it’s such a turn-off for me when books do that whole sibling-swab thing, I don't even know what you call this trope exactly, but I dislike it very much.
the last thing you’ll ever see me reading is a paranormal romance, but i gave this book a chance and I didn’t even mind the paranormal element at first. it was actually fascinating. however, in the later chapters, it became ridiculous, I was literally making faces and mocking it. it was atrocious and horribly done, almost comical. like i said-I couldn’t take it seriously anymore.
I kept reading with that deadpan, unamused expression muttering-ok. mehhh. okay. mehhh. hmm.., while reading.
𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆, 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺. there were parts of the book that were commendable and worth praising, so let's get to that:
the spice in this book was deliciooooooooooooous- DISGUSTING. PURE FILTH. SINFUL. UNHOLY. ILLEGAL.🔥 💧 🚰 🚿 💦 🥵 🥞 😋 🧁🍦
"𝙈𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙍𝙮𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙙’𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙧.
𝙁𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚!"- he was desperate to eat him 🤣
“𝙈𝙢𝙢𝙝𝙢𝙢. 𝙎𝙤𝙤𝙊𝙊𝙤𝙊𝙤𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙮. 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧. 𝙄𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤.”
“𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩? 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤? 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚? 𝙐𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨, 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮. 𝙏𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩.”
“𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙍𝙮𝙖𝙣. 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙮.” -DEAD 🤣🙏
“𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙. 𝙄 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙙. “𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙍𝙮𝙖𝙣. 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝙤𝙧 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝.” -🔥 🥵
“𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢. “𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣, 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚."- this was honestly so sweet. 😊❤
"𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙄 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙮." -🤣🤣🤣🤣
i'm all in, you make love in ikea, you make love in a tree top, you make love in space. I don't mind as long as it's done well and is erotic to the point it's like worship, like a religion, art. and this was that, the author did it exceedingly well.
this book also made me laugh hysterically. the humor was delightful, effortless and sharp. 🤌
𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜, 𝐢’𝐦 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🙏🤭.
the way I laughed and blushed, I turned tomato red... nooooo, beet red actually 🤣🤭☺😏.
one thing that was genuinely adorable was the inclusion of pictures in the book, it was so sweet and beautiful. ❤
overall, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯 had me in a chokehold at first, but lost its spark halfway through, it ended in confusion. still, the chemistry, the humor, and the spice? unforgettable. I just wish the story had kept the same pulse it started with.
𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪:
child abuse
sexual assault
human trafficking
torture
non-con
violence
ptsd/trauma
homophobic slurs
psychological abuse
parental abuse.
-----‐--‐-------
they had seggs in IKEA. mhm!
after 60%, the book completely lost me, it wasn’t the same anymore, it became unbearable.
I have so much to say.
rtc 😡😤😒
-----------------
bloody hell! it's not available on kindle in India, and the physical copy is 7,500 🤑🤣🙏.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2025
5⭐
“I escaped that basement when I was ten years old, but I never knew the sun could shine so bright until I met you,” he whispered.
This what a collaboration between God of Fury and The edge of darkness trilogy, could be. And both are my favorite dark romances of all time, so it is not a surprise that this book is joining the golden books spot.
In my almost two years journey with MM romances, I never rated a MM book 5 stars except for God of Fury. This had to change now.
I thought I lost my interest in thick books, but it turned out I was just needing an emotional funny read with 100+ chapters.
This book kept me hooked from the first chapter, then I read the blurb and I couldn't be more excited. I thought the seeing dead people thing would be more participated in the plot than that though, but it was very sup after all.
The plot line was so good, or more like the way it was done. Because the story itself wasn't very creative or something never written before. But the author did so well to represent her ideas in a beautiful way. She also discussed the psychological side with very realistic reference, and you could see that in Callum's character. His toxic attachment to Damian and the trauma denial at the beginning. Everything he did and all his Actions were making sense. I loved how Ryan was a part of his healing journey, how he was always there even from the early beginning. And how both of them weren't toxic to each other.
When Cal thought he sexually assaulted Ryan, he was freaking out.. directly apologizing and feeling ashamed of himself even when he wasn't in a good state of mind back then.
The same with Ryan when he snapped at Cal because he triggered something in him, and he was feeling guilty until he apologized.
That's what I classify as a healthy relationship. The book despite being dark was very humanitarian, Filled with sympathy and morals. So you understand me when I say the author did such a great job by writing this well written book. With realistic, deep characters and interesting plot line. Including dark themes and kinks. Without being toxic or leaking emotions. And this is perfect for me, my absolute cup of tea. I wanted this book to last longer.. like a lifetime. I loved all of them, the finding family, the deep friendships and the banter between them. I'm so excited for the other books.
I'm glad I picked this book up.
It was everything I needed and more.
***
I have a feeling that this will ruin me in every way possible
“I escaped that basement when I was ten years old, but I never knew the sun could shine so bright until I met you,” he whispered.
This what a collaboration between God of Fury and The edge of darkness trilogy, could be. And both are my favorite dark romances of all time, so it is not a surprise that this book is joining the golden books spot.
In my almost two years journey with MM romances, I never rated a MM book 5 stars except for God of Fury. This had to change now.
I thought I lost my interest in thick books, but it turned out I was just needing an emotional funny read with 100+ chapters.
This book kept me hooked from the first chapter, then I read the blurb and I couldn't be more excited. I thought the seeing dead people thing would be more participated in the plot than that though, but it was very sup after all.
The plot line was so good, or more like the way it was done. Because the story itself wasn't very creative or something never written before. But the author did so well to represent her ideas in a beautiful way. She also discussed the psychological side with very realistic reference, and you could see that in Callum's character. His toxic attachment to Damian and the trauma denial at the beginning. Everything he did and all his Actions were making sense. I loved how Ryan was a part of his healing journey, how he was always there even from the early beginning. And how both of them weren't toxic to each other.
When Cal thought he sexually assaulted Ryan, he was freaking out.. directly apologizing and feeling ashamed of himself even when he wasn't in a good state of mind back then.
The same with Ryan when he snapped at Cal because he triggered something in him, and he was feeling guilty until he apologized.
That's what I classify as a healthy relationship. The book despite being dark was very humanitarian, Filled with sympathy and morals. So you understand me when I say the author did such a great job by writing this well written book. With realistic, deep characters and interesting plot line. Including dark themes and kinks. Without being toxic or leaking emotions. And this is perfect for me, my absolute cup of tea. I wanted this book to last longer.. like a lifetime. I loved all of them, the finding family, the deep friendships and the banter between them. I'm so excited for the other books.
I'm glad I picked this book up.
It was everything I needed and more.
***
I have a feeling that this will ruin me in every way possible
March 10, 2025
You know when you feel like a book was written... Just for you? Yeah, that's this book for me. It checks SO many of my boxes for what I'm looking for in a book.
I had the pleasure of beta reading this and when I tell you HOLY MACARONI you are not ready. I read this on a red-eye flight and completely fucked my sleep schedule up to get through it in one go. #worthit
Cal and Ryan have been imprinted on my soul and I will be thinking about this book for a very, VERY long time. Like, we're talking "as soon as physical copies of this book exist I will be annotating it to high heaven so I can revisit these characters over and over" level obsession.
💀🖤🔪 THE MERCENARY & THE MORTICIAN by ALEXANDRA ST PIERRE 🔪🖤💀
This is part 1 of the interconnected Silent Hollow Series - a shared world by Alina May and Alex St Pierre!
For fans of:
💀 Dual POV
🖤 Dark MM Romance
🔪Hurt/Comfort
💀 Opposites Attract
🖤 Gay Awakening
🔪 Non/Dub
💀 A Trip to Ikea
Read this if you loved:
💀 The Tragedy of Felix and Jake by J. Daniels
🖤 God of Fury by Rina Kent
🔪 Wrath by Ella James
💀 For the Fans by Nyla K.
As always check your TWs and respect your mental health - this book deals with some dark and heavy subject matter, but I promise it spits you back out whole on the other side!
I had the pleasure of beta reading this and when I tell you HOLY MACARONI you are not ready. I read this on a red-eye flight and completely fucked my sleep schedule up to get through it in one go. #worthit
Cal and Ryan have been imprinted on my soul and I will be thinking about this book for a very, VERY long time. Like, we're talking "as soon as physical copies of this book exist I will be annotating it to high heaven so I can revisit these characters over and over" level obsession.
💀🖤🔪 THE MERCENARY & THE MORTICIAN by ALEXANDRA ST PIERRE 🔪🖤💀
This is part 1 of the interconnected Silent Hollow Series - a shared world by Alina May and Alex St Pierre!
For fans of:
💀 Dual POV
🖤 Dark MM Romance
🔪Hurt/Comfort
💀 Opposites Attract
🖤 Gay Awakening
🔪 Non/Dub
💀 A Trip to Ikea
Read this if you loved:
💀 The Tragedy of Felix and Jake by J. Daniels
🖤 God of Fury by Rina Kent
🔪 Wrath by Ella James
💀 For the Fans by Nyla K.
As always check your TWs and respect your mental health - this book deals with some dark and heavy subject matter, but I promise it spits you back out whole on the other side!
May 3, 2025
Yooo this was so damn good!! ❤️🔥💯
March 12, 2025
M/M dark romance. I kept seeing people rave about this on Tiktok so I was excited to read it and… just no. I did NOT have a good time. The writing was so juvenile (OH EM GEE!! Swoon!! Bwahaha! He’s a sad boi) There was also Instalove, like the MMC saw the other MMC literally once and decided he wanted him forever. That shit is my biggest ick. And these fucking nicknames drive me insane I swear to God. One MMC calls the other Ginger Snap and Baby every. other. sentence. I’m not joking. I actually did a search on my ebook and Ginger Snap was said 122 times (!) and baby was 187 times (!!). This book was way too long, way too predictable and tried way too hard to be something it just wasn’t.
February 12, 2025
♾️ stars.
there are just no words for how perfect this book was. ginger snap & his angel will have my heart forever. 🖤
there are just no words for how perfect this book was. ginger snap & his angel will have my heart forever. 🖤
February 22, 2025
Light spoilers on the consent violations in this story ahead:
Cal, a serial rapist (who loves it if they fight back), who is also a murderer (but actually very bad at his job), sexually assaultes the other main character, Ryan, with the explicit blessing of the victims mum -
and this is told as the absolute dream guy super competent killer finding it funny that his victims are angry about consent violations while the witchy mom that magically forsees everything makes breakfast and calls the killer "dark angel" while he assaults her son in the next room.
Later, after he violates Ryans consent again, he feels sorry for that one time, but never mentiones that first time. Ryan texts him he never wants to see him again and this boundary is immediately stomped over again. Cal plays on his sad backstory and Ryan instantly forgives him everything, even the first consent violation that Cal did not even mention because he doesn't feel sorry for it. Yikes.
If an author shows that they know how fucked up their story is (the characters can be blissfully ignorant, no problem), I'll follow this story to the deepest depths of hell. But if an author tries to sell me the same journey as paradise without ever addressing the discrepancy, this author is not a trustworthy guide for the story's journey. Who knows what they will spring on me while gaslighting me that everything is just fine. Since most reviews go absolutely crazy about how great this love story is, I would even say that this is the kind of dark romance that normalizes abusive behavior in relationships.
I mean, why paint Cal as a saint with a sad backstory despite him sexually assaulting people when that does not fit his actions and his objective to kill abusers. Is this dark romance or about the knight in shining armor - the story wants both at the same time and the result is wild.
It's a huge pet peeve of mine if the author doesn't show that they understand how fucked up their story is. The trigger warnings on the author's webpage include "Explicit non-consensual scenes", but the text does not show that the author knows which scenes are non-consensual.
DNF at 28%, by now I would have hoped that the discrepancy between Cal being a dark angel and his actual behavior would have been addressed, but instead it got worse.
Cal, a serial rapist (who loves it if they fight back), who is also a murderer (but actually very bad at his job), sexually assaultes the other main character, Ryan, with the explicit blessing of the victims mum -
and this is told as the absolute dream guy super competent killer finding it funny that his victims are angry about consent violations while the witchy mom that magically forsees everything makes breakfast and calls the killer "dark angel" while he assaults her son in the next room.
Later, after he violates Ryans consent again, he feels sorry for that one time, but never mentiones that first time. Ryan texts him he never wants to see him again and this boundary is immediately stomped over again. Cal plays on his sad backstory and Ryan instantly forgives him everything, even the first consent violation that Cal did not even mention because he doesn't feel sorry for it. Yikes.
If an author shows that they know how fucked up their story is (the characters can be blissfully ignorant, no problem), I'll follow this story to the deepest depths of hell. But if an author tries to sell me the same journey as paradise without ever addressing the discrepancy, this author is not a trustworthy guide for the story's journey. Who knows what they will spring on me while gaslighting me that everything is just fine. Since most reviews go absolutely crazy about how great this love story is, I would even say that this is the kind of dark romance that normalizes abusive behavior in relationships.
I mean, why paint Cal as a saint with a sad backstory despite him sexually assaulting people when that does not fit his actions and his objective to kill abusers. Is this dark romance or about the knight in shining armor - the story wants both at the same time and the result is wild.
It's a huge pet peeve of mine if the author doesn't show that they understand how fucked up their story is. The trigger warnings on the author's webpage include "Explicit non-consensual scenes", but the text does not show that the author knows which scenes are non-consensual.
DNF at 28%, by now I would have hoped that the discrepancy between Cal being a dark angel and his actual behavior would have been addressed, but instead it got worse.
April 4, 2025
2⭐️….
It’s my personal opinion!
The character dynamic between Callum and Ryan was cute but I felt the BDMS and violence part was quite unnecessary 😒even if it was not overbearing ( can we please stop normalising BDMS in dark romance)
I loved how paranormal was introduced in the plot in subtle way but somehow the execution was lost cause. it lost its charm when the plot got heavily bend over towards the mafia parts.
Lately am getting a lot of PTSD plots in dark romance which is pretty obvious 🙄 but sometimes the character doesn’t blend well with it.
I had high expectations 🥲
It’s my personal opinion!
The character dynamic between Callum and Ryan was cute but I felt the BDMS and violence part was quite unnecessary 😒even if it was not overbearing ( can we please stop normalising BDMS in dark romance)
I loved how paranormal was introduced in the plot in subtle way but somehow the execution was lost cause. it lost its charm when the plot got heavily bend over towards the mafia parts.
Lately am getting a lot of PTSD plots in dark romance which is pretty obvious 🙄 but sometimes the character doesn’t blend well with it.
I had high expectations 🥲
December 14, 2025
Character- 5/5
Plot- 4.75/5
Pacing- 4.5/5
Entertainment- 5/5
Rating- 4.75/5
I was honestly blown away by this book, from the depth of the characters to the creativity of the story, its truly an enjoyable bit of reading throughout. I will let readers know though before starting this, that its intense, dark and something people could find triggering, so proceed with caution.
That being said, I am fascinated by these characters, Callum in particular. His back story is riddled with tragedy, and he struggles so greatly with keeping everyone safe. He has that hero complex that forces him to constantly put the needs of others before himself, and its incredibly unhealthy. He's unfortunately been hammered into this version of himself that goes against his nature, and Ryan being able to see through it and help him process what's happened to him is beautiful and tragic.
Ryan also has his own demons to deal with, sometimes literally. He can see ghosts, which gives him a unique role and power in the book, but also opens things up to fun and creative plot moments that add layers to the story. But beyond his utility as a character, we have a man who is struggling under the weight of expectation, and is desperately trying to keep his life in perfect order. The idea of OCD definitely plays out through him, and considering the difficulty he has with his sexuality, it all builds up to create this high strung neurotic character.
Their romance works in this book because each of their faults are things that the other person sorely needs. Callum needs Ryan's order and stability, not to mention empathy. On the other hand, Ryan needs Callum's unpredictability and wildness for life. As you watch the two slowly begin to get together in a meaningful way, you can really see how they compliment each other, having you rooting for them throughout the book.
The plot is also a highlight, with Callum's boss in particular being a despicable excuse for a man. He brings needed urgency to the story, and adds an element of tension which successfully inspires the story forward, and stops things from stagnating. I will say that some of the supernatural element within the book are abandoned in the middle portion, and its pretty noticeable, making their return towards the end a little jarring. Its a minor thing but still worth noting.
In conclusion, this book is an absolute banger, and thoroughly enjoyable to read. Its pretty long for an MM romance, but you'll barely even notice. Nothing is wasted and every moment spent with these characters is equal parts tragic as it is immensely entertaining. I loved this, and it will definitely be making its way into my top 10 reads of this year.
Plot- 4.75/5
Pacing- 4.5/5
Entertainment- 5/5
Rating- 4.75/5
I was honestly blown away by this book, from the depth of the characters to the creativity of the story, its truly an enjoyable bit of reading throughout. I will let readers know though before starting this, that its intense, dark and something people could find triggering, so proceed with caution.
That being said, I am fascinated by these characters, Callum in particular. His back story is riddled with tragedy, and he struggles so greatly with keeping everyone safe. He has that hero complex that forces him to constantly put the needs of others before himself, and its incredibly unhealthy. He's unfortunately been hammered into this version of himself that goes against his nature, and Ryan being able to see through it and help him process what's happened to him is beautiful and tragic.
Ryan also has his own demons to deal with, sometimes literally. He can see ghosts, which gives him a unique role and power in the book, but also opens things up to fun and creative plot moments that add layers to the story. But beyond his utility as a character, we have a man who is struggling under the weight of expectation, and is desperately trying to keep his life in perfect order. The idea of OCD definitely plays out through him, and considering the difficulty he has with his sexuality, it all builds up to create this high strung neurotic character.
Their romance works in this book because each of their faults are things that the other person sorely needs. Callum needs Ryan's order and stability, not to mention empathy. On the other hand, Ryan needs Callum's unpredictability and wildness for life. As you watch the two slowly begin to get together in a meaningful way, you can really see how they compliment each other, having you rooting for them throughout the book.
The plot is also a highlight, with Callum's boss in particular being a despicable excuse for a man. He brings needed urgency to the story, and adds an element of tension which successfully inspires the story forward, and stops things from stagnating. I will say that some of the supernatural element within the book are abandoned in the middle portion, and its pretty noticeable, making their return towards the end a little jarring. Its a minor thing but still worth noting.
In conclusion, this book is an absolute banger, and thoroughly enjoyable to read. Its pretty long for an MM romance, but you'll barely even notice. Nothing is wasted and every moment spent with these characters is equal parts tragic as it is immensely entertaining. I loved this, and it will definitely be making its way into my top 10 reads of this year.
July 4, 2025
What a crazy ride!
This was everything I wanted and even more. There were times I was holding my breath, scared and nervous from what was happening. Had me on the edge of my seat.
Cal and Ryan were absolutely perfect for each other in every way. I mean, a mercenary and a mortician, how much more perfect could you get. They matched each other in the best ways. Cal brought out the real Ryan and refused to let him hide. He gave him exactly what he needed, and not just in the bedroom. And I love how he calls him ginger snap. Ryan was Cal’s salvation. He healed him, and showed him that he wasn’t broken, just damaged. While it took a little for Ryan to accept, I loved that Cal knew from first sight that they were meant to be and wasn’t afraid to shaw that. These two could light the world on fire.
I adored Iris and Naomi so much. They brought this beautiful warm energy needed to break through all the heaviness. The banter between Theo and Cass had me rolling. And Vox has me in a chokehold completely. He stole the show every scene he was in.
We dove deep into trauma, so be sure to mind your triggers. While there’s a lot of funny moments, there are also a lot of heavy and emotional ones as well.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and I need more from this world!
This was everything I wanted and even more. There were times I was holding my breath, scared and nervous from what was happening. Had me on the edge of my seat.
Cal and Ryan were absolutely perfect for each other in every way. I mean, a mercenary and a mortician, how much more perfect could you get. They matched each other in the best ways. Cal brought out the real Ryan and refused to let him hide. He gave him exactly what he needed, and not just in the bedroom. And I love how he calls him ginger snap. Ryan was Cal’s salvation. He healed him, and showed him that he wasn’t broken, just damaged. While it took a little for Ryan to accept, I loved that Cal knew from first sight that they were meant to be and wasn’t afraid to shaw that. These two could light the world on fire.
I adored Iris and Naomi so much. They brought this beautiful warm energy needed to break through all the heaviness. The banter between Theo and Cass had me rolling. And Vox has me in a chokehold completely. He stole the show every scene he was in.
We dove deep into trauma, so be sure to mind your triggers. While there’s a lot of funny moments, there are also a lot of heavy and emotional ones as well.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and I need more from this world!
March 14, 2025
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!
This book was so freaking good oh my god I think it just took my favorite MM romance spot. I was dying laughing the whole time crying in some parts and just had an overall amazing time reading this one. Cal and his Ginger snap are literal goals 5⭐️👏👏👏
This book was so freaking good oh my god I think it just took my favorite MM romance spot. I was dying laughing the whole time crying in some parts and just had an overall amazing time reading this one. Cal and his Ginger snap are literal goals 5⭐️👏👏👏
January 1, 2025
Merc & Mort is a must read for any MM enthusiast! (And well frankly, just anyone in general). If the cover isn't enough to sway you (if I had just walked by this in the book store I would have snatched it up like a thief in the night and rocket launched my debit card at the staff, consequences be damned, on that basis alone), then you need to know that Cal and Ryan are treasured characters that have lived rent free in my mind since I finished my beta read. I will forever compare other books in the genre to them.
They are traumatized, sweet, at times hilariously inappropriate, loyal probably to a fault, and deep as fuck. This book has the perfect amount of paranormal and reality, and the side characters are just mmmm **perfection**.
Alexandra's strength has always been how much love she pours into her characters, but also that she's not afraid to be a dork and have fun with it, and she's delivered once again! I can't wait for you all to meet her boys! 💗
💀🖤🔪 THE MERCENARY & THE MORTICIAN by ALEXANDRA ST PIERRE 🔪🖤💀
This is part 1 of the interconnected Silent Hollow Series - a shared world by Alina May and Alex St Pierre!
For fans of:
💀 Dual POV
🖤 Dark MM Romance
🔪Hurt/Comfort
💀 Opposites Attract
🖤 Gay Awakening
🔪 Non/Dub
💀 A Trip to Ikea
Read this if you loved:
💀 The Tragedy of Felix and Jake by J. Daniels
🖤 God of Fury by Rina Kent
🔪 Wrath by Ella James
💀 For the Fans by Nyla K.
As always check your TWs and respect your mental health - this book deals with some dark and heavy subject matter, but I promise it spits you back out whole on the other side!
They are traumatized, sweet, at times hilariously inappropriate, loyal probably to a fault, and deep as fuck. This book has the perfect amount of paranormal and reality, and the side characters are just mmmm **perfection**.
Alexandra's strength has always been how much love she pours into her characters, but also that she's not afraid to be a dork and have fun with it, and she's delivered once again! I can't wait for you all to meet her boys! 💗
💀🖤🔪 THE MERCENARY & THE MORTICIAN by ALEXANDRA ST PIERRE 🔪🖤💀
This is part 1 of the interconnected Silent Hollow Series - a shared world by Alina May and Alex St Pierre!
For fans of:
💀 Dual POV
🖤 Dark MM Romance
🔪Hurt/Comfort
💀 Opposites Attract
🖤 Gay Awakening
🔪 Non/Dub
💀 A Trip to Ikea
Read this if you loved:
💀 The Tragedy of Felix and Jake by J. Daniels
🖤 God of Fury by Rina Kent
🔪 Wrath by Ella James
💀 For the Fans by Nyla K.
As always check your TWs and respect your mental health - this book deals with some dark and heavy subject matter, but I promise it spits you back out whole on the other side!
August 20, 2025
Who knew I was going to fall in love with a Mercenary and a Mortician…but OMG Cal and Ryan are literally a match made in heaven!!
The banter was AMAZING, the storyline was gripping from the VERY beginning, and the spice…WAS SPICING!!
If you love dark romance, witty banter, and a storyline that’s going to keep you guessing…then READ THIS BOOK!
The banter was AMAZING, the storyline was gripping from the VERY beginning, and the spice…WAS SPICING!!
If you love dark romance, witty banter, and a storyline that’s going to keep you guessing…then READ THIS BOOK!
February 15, 2025
3⭐️
Unhinged mercenary x reserved mortician who sees dead people.
I’ll start off with what I liked about this book! The premise is really cool, obviously. Opposites attract, completely batshit MC, and paranormal elements!
Cal is absolutely wild. Dubstep-listening, pierced and tattooed, pedo-killing mercenary with dark hair? And a tragic back story??? The dark romance girlies eat this archetype UP! Ryan is our loner mortician who doesn’t have any friends. His personality isn’t really established much outside the context of his relationship with Cal, but he has a past full of loss, bullies, and the complications of seeing spirits.
One thing I really liked about this book was the side characters. Both MCs have families that have great personalities. Cal’s sisters are great, especially Naomi. Ryan’s family is even better, with his witchy mom and badass lesbian sister. Cal’s friend Vox was also cool. Not sure how I felt about him randomly having chapters from his POV, but I did enjoy his character. The author does a great job making an interesting cast of protagonists and their squads.
I feel conflicted about this book, because in the beginning, maybe first 400 pages, I was really liking it. I was thinking, wow this might be almost 5⭐️! As I kept reading, and more happened, events and things the characters said just started to rub me the wrong way. They added up more and more until the end of the book. I think these things are mostly personal preference, so I can totally understand why some people love this book. That’s why it’s still a 3 star read for me, even though some of my final thoughts after finishing this story are a little negative.
This book is LONG. Like, I’m fine with an almost 800 page book, but this book could have been 400 pages and I think it likely would have been better that way. There was so much unnecessary fat that should have just been cut out or streamlined. After about 3/4 of the way in, I was just waiting for the story to end.
It also has incredibly short chapters. Like even if there’s no pov switch and it’s the middle of a scene, there is a new chapter. And the chapters take like 1-4 minutes to read most times. I know some people love short chapters, and some hate them. Just an observation.
(Spoilers and TW for SA)
My main issue with this book was with how they handled the subject matter. A main theme in this book is that Cal is trying to escape and kill his abuser, Damian. Damian groomed Cal, while sexually and physically abusing him for his entire life. At the same time, Cal hates sexual abusers and kills them for fun. Then tell me WHY the first “intimate” scene in this book is LITErALLy Cal raping Ryan??? And it’s just brushed off like “haha yes I guess I shouldn’t have non-conned him! Better make it up to him!” WHAT?! Like, I get non-con in books and dark romance is something people enjoy. I’m not against it! But the fact that Cal does the one thing that he hates Damian for the most to his love interest??? I don’t get it??? I know he’s fucked up, but it really doesn’t add up to me. Especially when the same thing happens to Naomi at the end of the book, and of course, we’re meant to feel for her.
There’s also how this book dealt with Cal’s PTSD… this is fucking awful in my opinion. After being tortured in a bathtub while listening to dubstep, Cal is traumatized. Obviously. Ryan’s genius idea to solve this? Without talking about it first, setting up a scene in their bathtub complete with dubstep music, scalpels, and no research! This supposedly “replaces the bad memories with ones of Ryan”. From my perspective, that’s horrible. If my partner tried to intentionally trigger me with something like this without even asking about it first?? I’d break up with them!! I know this is fantasy (especially since Ryan’s idea actually worked lol), but this whole scene was just insane to me.
There are also occurrences of sexism in this book that totally annoyed me. Like one of the MCs says he’s acting like “a needy girl” while trying to insult himself. But the characters both have badass sisters? Why the sexist language?
Add on top of that random little scenes that just seemed like annoying filler, and I was getting impatient with the book. I think it annoyed me more than usual because I did genuinely like so much about this book! There were some scenes that really rocked! Some of the early banter between Ryan and Cal was AMAZING! And the first time Ryan calls Cal ‘angel’??? That was so great!!! But it was just too all over the place.
Something I really thought was cool was Ryan’s ability to see ghosts. However, for the first part of the book it felt like his ability only appeared when it was convenient. then just wasn’t part of the plot again until the end, when it was convenient again. And at the end it evolves into convenient demon summoning?? I loved this cool power Ryan had, and I wish it was incorporated in the main story more.
Overall, I get the hype, and the book had great characters! However, the pacing and some of the way the subject matter was handled in the story made this book just okay for me.
Unhinged mercenary x reserved mortician who sees dead people.
I’ll start off with what I liked about this book! The premise is really cool, obviously. Opposites attract, completely batshit MC, and paranormal elements!
Cal is absolutely wild. Dubstep-listening, pierced and tattooed, pedo-killing mercenary with dark hair? And a tragic back story??? The dark romance girlies eat this archetype UP! Ryan is our loner mortician who doesn’t have any friends. His personality isn’t really established much outside the context of his relationship with Cal, but he has a past full of loss, bullies, and the complications of seeing spirits.
One thing I really liked about this book was the side characters. Both MCs have families that have great personalities. Cal’s sisters are great, especially Naomi. Ryan’s family is even better, with his witchy mom and badass lesbian sister. Cal’s friend Vox was also cool. Not sure how I felt about him randomly having chapters from his POV, but I did enjoy his character. The author does a great job making an interesting cast of protagonists and their squads.
I feel conflicted about this book, because in the beginning, maybe first 400 pages, I was really liking it. I was thinking, wow this might be almost 5⭐️! As I kept reading, and more happened, events and things the characters said just started to rub me the wrong way. They added up more and more until the end of the book. I think these things are mostly personal preference, so I can totally understand why some people love this book. That’s why it’s still a 3 star read for me, even though some of my final thoughts after finishing this story are a little negative.
This book is LONG. Like, I’m fine with an almost 800 page book, but this book could have been 400 pages and I think it likely would have been better that way. There was so much unnecessary fat that should have just been cut out or streamlined. After about 3/4 of the way in, I was just waiting for the story to end.
It also has incredibly short chapters. Like even if there’s no pov switch and it’s the middle of a scene, there is a new chapter. And the chapters take like 1-4 minutes to read most times. I know some people love short chapters, and some hate them. Just an observation.
(Spoilers and TW for SA)
My main issue with this book was with how they handled the subject matter. A main theme in this book is that Cal is trying to escape and kill his abuser, Damian. Damian groomed Cal, while sexually and physically abusing him for his entire life. At the same time, Cal hates sexual abusers and kills them for fun. Then tell me WHY the first “intimate” scene in this book is LITErALLy Cal raping Ryan??? And it’s just brushed off like “haha yes I guess I shouldn’t have non-conned him! Better make it up to him!” WHAT?! Like, I get non-con in books and dark romance is something people enjoy. I’m not against it! But the fact that Cal does the one thing that he hates Damian for the most to his love interest??? I don’t get it??? I know he’s fucked up, but it really doesn’t add up to me. Especially when the same thing happens to Naomi at the end of the book, and of course, we’re meant to feel for her.
There’s also how this book dealt with Cal’s PTSD… this is fucking awful in my opinion. After being tortured in a bathtub while listening to dubstep, Cal is traumatized. Obviously. Ryan’s genius idea to solve this? Without talking about it first, setting up a scene in their bathtub complete with dubstep music, scalpels, and no research! This supposedly “replaces the bad memories with ones of Ryan”. From my perspective, that’s horrible. If my partner tried to intentionally trigger me with something like this without even asking about it first?? I’d break up with them!! I know this is fantasy (especially since Ryan’s idea actually worked lol), but this whole scene was just insane to me.
There are also occurrences of sexism in this book that totally annoyed me. Like one of the MCs says he’s acting like “a needy girl” while trying to insult himself. But the characters both have badass sisters? Why the sexist language?
Add on top of that random little scenes that just seemed like annoying filler, and I was getting impatient with the book. I think it annoyed me more than usual because I did genuinely like so much about this book! There were some scenes that really rocked! Some of the early banter between Ryan and Cal was AMAZING! And the first time Ryan calls Cal ‘angel’??? That was so great!!! But it was just too all over the place.
Something I really thought was cool was Ryan’s ability to see ghosts. However, for the first part of the book it felt like his ability only appeared when it was convenient. then just wasn’t part of the plot again until the end, when it was convenient again. And at the end it evolves into convenient demon summoning?? I loved this cool power Ryan had, and I wish it was incorporated in the main story more.
Overall, I get the hype, and the book had great characters! However, the pacing and some of the way the subject matter was handled in the story made this book just okay for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
dnf
March 1, 2025DNF @ 20%
I’m not enjoying this author’s writing style. This is part of why I’m so apprehensive about trying new-to-me authors. The storyline was definitely interesting, but there were too many errors and I’m not a fan of characters acknowledging and talking to the reader. I think Deadpool is the only character who can get away with breaking the fourth wall.
I’d really like to see a truly dark mm romance where the author doesn’t use BDSM (and the word pussy in place of asshole 🙄). Cal could’ve been that character, but there were too many other things that weren’t working for me. I don’t think I’ll try any of this author’s other books.
I’m not enjoying this author’s writing style. This is part of why I’m so apprehensive about trying new-to-me authors. The storyline was definitely interesting, but there were too many errors and I’m not a fan of characters acknowledging and talking to the reader. I think Deadpool is the only character who can get away with breaking the fourth wall.
I’d really like to see a truly dark mm romance where the author doesn’t use BDSM (and the word pussy in place of asshole 🙄). Cal could’ve been that character, but there were too many other things that weren’t working for me. I don’t think I’ll try any of this author’s other books.
August 8, 2025
Currently rereading 8/2025 (will come back to)
This book was ABSOLUTELY PERFECTION 👌🏾
Literally from start to finish I couldn't put this book down even if I wanted too. I love how it felt as if a movie was playing while reading literally the whole time.
When I say I've never read a book when I just didn't love the MMCs, yeah no this book you will absolutely love them and the side characters.
I mean Theo, Cas, Naomi, Vox. I love how each side character played a part so well in the book. The sense of found family definitely was one of my favorite things about this book. (I didn't expect this book to also make me emotional but it did and that says alot for me)
The plot was written so GOOD. We get the dark romance aspects along with the paranormal and action too. And although it's more plot driven then most books I've read, it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time cause when the spice hit, it didn't miss.
Literally top read for 2025 hands down. I need everyone to read this book. And I can't wait to read more of this series and of this author!!!
This book was ABSOLUTELY PERFECTION 👌🏾
Literally from start to finish I couldn't put this book down even if I wanted too. I love how it felt as if a movie was playing while reading literally the whole time.
When I say I've never read a book when I just didn't love the MMCs, yeah no this book you will absolutely love them and the side characters.
I mean Theo, Cas, Naomi, Vox. I love how each side character played a part so well in the book. The sense of found family definitely was one of my favorite things about this book. (I didn't expect this book to also make me emotional but it did and that says alot for me)
The plot was written so GOOD. We get the dark romance aspects along with the paranormal and action too. And although it's more plot driven then most books I've read, it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time cause when the spice hit, it didn't miss.
Literally top read for 2025 hands down. I need everyone to read this book. And I can't wait to read more of this series and of this author!!!
February 22, 2025
I would’ve like to said that I finished this book, but I couldn’t. And I swear I tried. This is the typical book where the ML gets to do whatever he wants because of ✨trauma✨and the stupid MC forgives him because of loveeeee…
The premise sounded soooo goood. And is a shame how this turned out.
Everything felt so surreal, the interaction between the main characters, and even with the side characters, for example, Ryan’s mom (really what the hell lady, your son’s dark angel, is a killer, run!)
I want to mention that I love dark romance, when is done well, that is. Love suspense, murder and graphic scenes. I can handle some roughness between the main characters, but what I don’t tolerate is abuse, threatening and rape between the, supposedly, love interests.
When he put cameras in the house I was SHOOK, I couldn’t believe what was reading.
I want to clarify that I just read 36% of the book, and I wish to have MIB’s pen to erase my own memories. 🤣
The premise sounded soooo goood. And is a shame how this turned out.
Everything felt so surreal, the interaction between the main characters, and even with the side characters, for example, Ryan’s mom (really what the hell lady, your son’s dark angel, is a killer, run!)
I want to mention that I love dark romance, when is done well, that is. Love suspense, murder and graphic scenes. I can handle some roughness between the main characters, but what I don’t tolerate is abuse, threatening and rape between the, supposedly, love interests.
When he put cameras in the house I was SHOOK, I couldn’t believe what was reading.
I want to clarify that I just read 36% of the book, and I wish to have MIB’s pen to erase my own memories. 🤣
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