Choke: This isn't love. It's a chokehold.

by Meg LaForge

Adrian Liberty has lived a turbulent life.
He's left speechless when he meets Lex Donnelly in a grungy bar in a small town. She's not his type, but he can't deny the attraction. When she blows him off, she becomes an obsession. Five years later, thousands of miles away, he runs into her again. This time, he won't let her walk away so easily.
Lex has spent her adult life running away from her traumatic past. She thought she had left it and Adrian Liberty behind when she moved across the country to the major metropolitan city of Torhaven. She has big goals that don't involve a man's distraction.
She just needs someone to tell Adrian that.
Choke is the debut novel from Meg LaForge. It is 82,000 words and the first in a series. This book includes a list of trigger warnings that include, but are not limited to, child abuse, dubious consent, obsession, stalking, non-consensual drugging, , physical violence, and toxic relationships. It is intended for adult readers.

Genres: Dark

366 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2025

Reviews

[Meg LaForge]

I wrote it, and read it at least 9230923701 times so I wanted it on my Read list for my 2025 reading challenge. Also, me thinking it’s great is pretty biased, so I am giving it 3 stars as not to totally skew the GoodReads rating. I am proud of it and really love the story. Can’t wait to see where it goes. Lmfao

[Leanne S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok i loved every second of this however what i did hate was that Meg you left us hanging so damn bad by a thread of thong floss that I am in need of the second book right now!
What a great first book!

[Katie Riel · Rating 5 out of 5]

OBSESSED!

For a first time author, you absolutely killed it!!! This was such a fun read. Can’t wait for #2 ◡̈

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me in a legit chokehold (ha get it) the chemistry between the characters had me hooked! Meg describes everything to a tea so you feel like you are right there with the characters. The spice was perfect and tension had me in the edge of my seat! I cannot wait for see what she does with book 2!

[Kasey Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not for the faint of heart, or the under-caffeinated, this is pure indulgent sweet sexy and toxic. Gimme more.

[Janelle Jesson · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is WOW! I’ve followed Meg for a while now on IG and when she posted that she was writing a book I knew that I just had to read it. She has been a fun and wild woman to follow and I am so happy that I stumbled across her IG when I first did as she is the most down to earth woman with little filters 🤣

This book has been my favourite read of 2025 and I can’t wait to read the next one once it’s out! I love this dirty love story of her and her husband and true to the title this book had me in a chokehold because I couldn’t get enough of it, I took my time reading this book because I wanted to feel every emotion and feeling that she put into it. All I can say is thank you Meg for this wild ride that is your book also the party chapter 🔥🔥🔥🔥 like holy shitballs is all I can really say. And even though this first book ends on such a cliffhanger I can’t hate you for it because I just know the next book is going to be a banger as well!

Meg I applaud you for going out of your comfort zone and writing such a beautiful dirty story that just left me wanting more. You have such amazing talent and I am so proud of you for doing what you love. Keep being that amazing woman who inspires others to jump out of their comfort zones to try something new that they have always wanted to try but just needed that push to do it because I know that’s what this book and you have done for me.

Lots of love
Janelle

[Melissa Hollinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deliciously deranged. Can’t wait for the next one.

[Kait McCullough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its definitely packing the heat, and not just cause it includes fires...

The ending will have you wanting to throw it at a wall.

[Amanda Hymers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book by a Canadian author! Loved the smut and dual POV. Highly recommend.

[Lynnette Fritshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a first novel Meg absolutely killed it! It sucked me right in and is a page turner! Many time I would catch myself saying ‘are you fucking kidding me!?’ out loud! Especially the ending .. can’t wait to read book 2!

You were made to write Meg!! Keep up the amazing work!

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

My flabbers are gasted that this is her DEBUT novel, I’ve been in a reading slump and this just yanked me right out that. So good, all around just *chefs kiss* EXCEPT that ending, so rude 🤣 can’t wait for the next one.

[Ayanna Cane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was unsure if it was a 3.5 or 4 through out but a book that’s easy to read and keeps me engaged with my raging adhd is an automatic 4! I read this book in 3 sittings, I was hooked very quickly and eager to follow along, even though Adrian is toxic as hellll. I wouldn’t believe you if you told me this was her first book, 4 stars for a debut. I loved the realness of the characters with the swearing and showcasing anxiety. The dual POV was nice to see how they both feeling but not being able to showcase!

My only complaint is that I wanted mor dept with the characters but I still felt like I good feeling of them by the end of the book! This was my first dark romance read and I didn’t think I’d be a dark romance girl but ….. some of these scenes were hot as f 🥵

Anyways, I’m desperate for me although I would never approve of this relationship in real life. The romance book girly in me is hyped to see these two evolve but I’m keen for more darkness 😼🔥

[Sarah Wassink · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, I will say off the bat I’m not huge into the dark romances. I would go running from Adrian and get a restraining order STAT. Very vanilla over here LOL. However, I can appreciate a well written story, and because GR sucks and doesn’t do half star ratings, I had to give it a 3. This is sitting at a solid 3.5 though for me. The story was easy to follow and I enjoyed the writing style as well. Lex’s inner monologue had me giggling.

I love time jumping in books as well, this wasn’t confusing at all, and the ending is captivating with the introduction of a new character and a cliff hanger that will definitely have me picking up the second book!

[Emily Salls · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m sorry ma’am you’re just gonna leave me hanging like THAT! I’m the only reason it took me so long to read this book was my own problem bc I was in like 5 books at once and now I’m kicking myself for not finishing it sooner. The party scene is ICONIC but I think we need to give more love to the scene where he makes her go into the hallway in the beginning bc that had me 🥵.

I do always thinking to myself if in real life this happened to me what would my reactions be. Honestly hard to know bc some of the things this man says.

Chomping at the bits for the next book and to see where the story goes.

Also giving all my love to Mildred hoping she makes it out 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 will absolutely have a meltdown if she does not

[Monica Morningstar · Rating 5 out of 5]

My book club’s “founder” wrote a dark romance. So obviously I had to read it.

The writing is out of this world for a first time author. Meg nailed it!

Lex and Adrian are so messy and toxic, you can’t stop reading - you’re just sucked in (soul sucker 3000) to their drama. I need to know what happens next.

It is a very adult 18+ dark book, so be conscious of the trigger warnings. It does end on a VERY big cliffhanger.

[Savannah Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off - this is my formal apology to Meg for taking so long to read the book, as a kobo reader physical copies are challenging to pick up and stick with 😅

Second - for a debut?! This was so fun. Unhinged. Characters were interesting and well developed, the storyline was insane in a good way, and the writing was good. I’m so excited to keep following along and watch Meg grow as an author. Would love more stories about Rosie 👀

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unhinged. Unsettling. UNPUTDOWNABLE!
(Yes, that is a word... I looked it up!)

This book does not read like the author's first novel, the story is captivating from the start.
Lex and Adrian have an unhealthy obsession for each other that makes you want to keep reading.

I typically automatically remove 1 star from my rating when a book mentions the pandemic, but since this was only one sentence and mentions Florida (my happiest of happy places), I'm letting that rule slide.

This story was a wild ride and the cliffhanger will leave me thinking about this one for a while.

[Kyla Koehler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wholly cliffhanger

[Natasha Belej · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars, would sell my dignity to read it again for the first time.

[Kaitlin Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I love a dark romance….this in my opinion wasn’t that…it felt too real. Like with a dark romance it’s always something kind of unbelievable but we still enjoy the toxic stalker MMC.

But this was not something I have ever personally experience, but it felt like this whole story could have been about my best friend! This was a great debut and I look forward to the next one.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do I like dark romance? Absolutely not.

Do I go out of my way to read dark romance? Only if I'm being held hostage (ironically, like Lex in this book).

Did I enjoy this book? Against all odds, yes.

Am I going to read the next one? Look... I already added it to my TBR.

Don’t judge me.

[Shawna Deason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Great book, but I feel like their story is just beginning and I need more. You should definitely continue this story!

[Tracy Opperman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book I couldn’t put it down !!

[Sarah Zimmerling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only giving this a 3.5 stars (Goodreads needs a .5 option!!!) for my personal trope preferences. I’m really not into the toxic obsession/stalking so it made it hard for me to like Adrian and root for him and Lex. But overall I enjoyed it and I’m excited for book 2!

[Nikki (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bullshit with trigger warnings, I was expecting different but still I liked the book

🏒🏒🏒.7
🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Sam Palmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit it was not my type of book. I should have read the triggers. much more carefully but it was written well. just not my type of love story

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve followed Meg for a while on Instagram and was so excited to read this!! I’m not a huge fan of the obsessive/controlling trope it felt too real haha but the storyline was great, the spice was SPICY and I will definitely be reading more of her books. Cannot believe this is her first novel because she can WRITE. wish I could give it a .5 fr !!!! Great work mcleansy

[Lacey Dwyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am completely blown away that this is the author’s first book. I was completely hooked from the first chapter. Keep writing lady- you have an amazing talent!

[Chelsey Reinink · Rating 3 out of 5]

i loved that there was nothing flashy or fake about it. well there is clear works of fiction it is also hard to decipher between that and the truth and thats kinda the point of a great novel isnt it? cant wait for book 2! fantastic debut and so brave to write about your own love story!

[Ashley adlaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy the story of this book and the spice was so perfect