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Legacy #1
Wicked Little Darling
“I never knew love could be so destructive.”
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m overly impulsive and a bit too reckless, but it’s hard to care about consequences after I lose my whole family.
When I get transferred in my final year of college after getting into a fight, Ashbrook seems like the fresh start I desperately need—though it feels more like a dead end when I meet my new roommate, Dakota Voss.
The dean’s son and a social pariah, he’s a miserable mystery that drives me up the wall with his rude and unpredictable ways. He’s atrociously ill-mannered, annoyingly blunt—and apparently allergic to wearing shirts. Everything about him is utterly infuriating; he’s like a human tornado, and I can’t help but get swept up in his chaos.
With a face I’ve been teased about since I was young, my entire life has revolved around hiding—until Dakota starts dragging me out of the shadows into the light. When he helps me through something, I’m forced to let down my walls so he can shine that light on all my secrets—and no matter how much it hurts to give them to him, he surprisingly keeps them safe.
But the closer we get, the worse I feel. He deserves someone who won’t lie to him—because there’s one secret of mine he can never have; an awful truth that would topple these shaky foundations we’ve managed to build.
It’s a poison I’ll gladly let destroy me before it can hurt him—because if he ever finds out, I’ll lose him…
…and the only truth that matters now is that without Dakota, I’m nothing.
Wicked Little Darling is a standalone MM romance with medium angst, two lonely violinists who can’t seem to figure out what love is (but they really try their best and get there eventually), some family drama, healing from grief and trauma, an MC that gets hot and bothered when his darling gets protective of him, and a whole lot of tension. Not intended for readers under 18.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m overly impulsive and a bit too reckless, but it’s hard to care about consequences after I lose my whole family.
When I get transferred in my final year of college after getting into a fight, Ashbrook seems like the fresh start I desperately need—though it feels more like a dead end when I meet my new roommate, Dakota Voss.
The dean’s son and a social pariah, he’s a miserable mystery that drives me up the wall with his rude and unpredictable ways. He’s atrociously ill-mannered, annoyingly blunt—and apparently allergic to wearing shirts. Everything about him is utterly infuriating; he’s like a human tornado, and I can’t help but get swept up in his chaos.
With a face I’ve been teased about since I was young, my entire life has revolved around hiding—until Dakota starts dragging me out of the shadows into the light. When he helps me through something, I’m forced to let down my walls so he can shine that light on all my secrets—and no matter how much it hurts to give them to him, he surprisingly keeps them safe.
But the closer we get, the worse I feel. He deserves someone who won’t lie to him—because there’s one secret of mine he can never have; an awful truth that would topple these shaky foundations we’ve managed to build.
It’s a poison I’ll gladly let destroy me before it can hurt him—because if he ever finds out, I’ll lose him…
…and the only truth that matters now is that without Dakota, I’m nothing.
Wicked Little Darling is a standalone MM romance with medium angst, two lonely violinists who can’t seem to figure out what love is (but they really try their best and get there eventually), some family drama, healing from grief and trauma, an MC that gets hot and bothered when his darling gets protective of him, and a whole lot of tension. Not intended for readers under 18.
492 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 11, 2025
119 people are currently reading
898 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
February 3, 2026
Aaah this is such a hard one to review, because I absolutely ADORED the first half - like, full 5 stars, no doubt about it - but the second half… it lost me a bit.
First of all: Lyla Dane’s writing just gets to me. She has this way of pulling me into her characters and their stories so completely that I forget to breathe, and that was absolutely the case here too.
Second of all: The portrayal of grief. It was honestly scary in how close it hit to my own experience. Being that seen? Ouch but also thank you?
Now let’s get into it.
Both Reese and Dakota are loners. Broken by horrendous pasts, lost, guarded by walls built a mile high. And even though they’re so different - one cold, calculating, always wearing a smirk, the other a prickly, scared, feral black cat with claws - they recognise that same brokenness in each other. Not just in the scars and marks on their skin, but on a soul-deep level.
My heart broke for Reese again and again. His loneliness, his terror of his own vulnerability, the fierce need for independence he projects while all he really wants is for someone to just care 🥺
And Dakota… yeah. He owns my whole heart. His earnestness, honesty, bluntness, his eventual all-in attitude was just so intensely loveable. And his gratitude, his disbelief that someone just wants to be there for him and believes him made me tear up a time or two.
There is so much hurt here - but also so much comfort. They’re both desperately love-starved and touch-starved, yet far too prickly and terrified to allow either at first… until the walls finally start to crumble. And then they cannot stop touching. They cling to each other like they’re the only two people left in the world. Obsessive. Possessive. Jealous. Marking each other like their lives depend on it. Completely co-dependent; them against the rest of the fucking world.
Like I said, I loved the first half.
But.
The pacing is slow overall - and for the most part, I was fully on board with that. We’re really on a journey with these two, feeling every small shift in their dynamic. However… this book was simply too long. Possibly even 100 pages too long. And because of that, it dragged in the middle and end, became repetitive in both themes and imagery, and once they really got going, there was honestly too much sex for me, too (even though it was so hot at first, ngl 🫦).
I also struggled with Reese’s internal conflict toward the end. I just didn’t buy it - because he didn’t actually betray Dakota and the resulting drama couldn’t quite convince me… I just wish they would have communicated a tad (ton) more 🙈
So yeah.
5 stars for the first half, 3 stars for the second - which leaves me at a very conflicted, but still affectionate, 4 stars overall.
First of all: Lyla Dane’s writing just gets to me. She has this way of pulling me into her characters and their stories so completely that I forget to breathe, and that was absolutely the case here too.
Second of all: The portrayal of grief. It was honestly scary in how close it hit to my own experience. Being that seen? Ouch but also thank you?
Now let’s get into it.
Both Reese and Dakota are loners. Broken by horrendous pasts, lost, guarded by walls built a mile high. And even though they’re so different - one cold, calculating, always wearing a smirk, the other a prickly, scared, feral black cat with claws - they recognise that same brokenness in each other. Not just in the scars and marks on their skin, but on a soul-deep level.
My heart broke for Reese again and again. His loneliness, his terror of his own vulnerability, the fierce need for independence he projects while all he really wants is for someone to just care 🥺
And Dakota… yeah. He owns my whole heart. His earnestness, honesty, bluntness, his eventual all-in attitude was just so intensely loveable. And his gratitude, his disbelief that someone just wants to be there for him and believes him made me tear up a time or two.
There is so much hurt here - but also so much comfort. They’re both desperately love-starved and touch-starved, yet far too prickly and terrified to allow either at first… until the walls finally start to crumble. And then they cannot stop touching. They cling to each other like they’re the only two people left in the world. Obsessive. Possessive. Jealous. Marking each other like their lives depend on it. Completely co-dependent; them against the rest of the fucking world.
Like I said, I loved the first half.
But.
The pacing is slow overall - and for the most part, I was fully on board with that. We’re really on a journey with these two, feeling every small shift in their dynamic. However… this book was simply too long. Possibly even 100 pages too long. And because of that, it dragged in the middle and end, became repetitive in both themes and imagery, and once they really got going, there was honestly too much sex for me, too (even though it was so hot at first, ngl 🫦).
I also struggled with Reese’s internal conflict toward the end. I just didn’t buy it - because he didn’t actually betray Dakota and the resulting drama couldn’t quite convince me… I just wish they would have communicated a tad (ton) more 🙈
So yeah.
5 stars for the first half, 3 stars for the second - which leaves me at a very conflicted, but still affectionate, 4 stars overall.
I set my hands over his and pressed them harder into my cheeks. “Do we ever get what we deserve in life?”
His eyes were shiny and so, so green right now. “Sometimes,” he whispered, and then he leaned forward and brushed his lips against my cheek, slid his arms around my neck, and squeezed me tight. 🥹🥹
December 14, 2025
5 ⭐️
spice: 🌶️🌶️/5
format: ebook
oh god, i’ll never recover.
i adored both characters but dakota is my precious little baby and i would literally die for him. the backgrounds of both characters were so well fleshed out that i just feel like i know them on a deep, personal level.
this is very much slowburn with not a ton of spice (although what we got was amazing) but wow, was i in love with this story.
…and i would not at all be upset to get more of val…
spice: 🌶️🌶️/5
format: ebook
oh god, i’ll never recover.
i adored both characters but dakota is my precious little baby and i would literally die for him. the backgrounds of both characters were so well fleshed out that i just feel like i know them on a deep, personal level.
this is very much slowburn with not a ton of spice (although what we got was amazing) but wow, was i in love with this story.
…and i would not at all be upset to get more of val…
December 5, 2025
4.25⭐️
Emotional, angsty, yet saccharine and adoring. This book will definitely make you feel something!
Reese has recently been transferred to Ashbrook to finish off his last few semesters until graduation. His past is tragic, and he lashes out easily. Enter the wolfish and cocky Dakota, who immediately gets under Reese’s nerves. Dakota is happy to have Reese as his new roommate, but Reese doesn’t feel so lucky. As this story peels back the layers and complexities of these characters, it also builds a beautiful, heart-wrenchingly sweet relationship between Dakota and Reese.
This book has:
-college roommates
-loner x loner violin players
-size & class difference
-tragic pasts
-smaller top x bigger bottom
-Posessive MC
-hurt / comfort (including nightmare/sleepwalking, and a lot of Reese crying)
-forced proximity (one loves it, one hates it)
-no kissing (until they do 😜)
-bad communication
-angst
This book starts out SAD, and you are going to immediately be swept up by the interesting characters. Their first meeting is awesome, and really hooked me! Lyla Dane is a master at creating deep, powerful characters with stories that absolutely grip you.
This book deals with difficult subjects, but Reese and Dakota end up being such a tooth-rottingly sweet couple. They were both so lonely, it felt like fate brought them together. 🥹 They’re meant to be. They were so over the top with each other, but it made so much sense.
I loved that both characters had so many unexpected traits, too. Like you wouldn’t expecting the scarred, tall and intimidating-looking Dakota to be such a softie, but he is absolutely a cinnamon roll! I loved him for it!
Another thing I loved: Chapter names! They were so fun! I’ve found that books where the author puts in the effort to name all of their chapters tend to be books I feel have a lot of depth to them. 😍 This was no exception.
This is the perfect read if you’re looking for a book with a lot of angst and emotion, but also a couple that loves each other so much that they physically can not be separated. ❤️
Emotional, angsty, yet saccharine and adoring. This book will definitely make you feel something!
Reese has recently been transferred to Ashbrook to finish off his last few semesters until graduation. His past is tragic, and he lashes out easily. Enter the wolfish and cocky Dakota, who immediately gets under Reese’s nerves. Dakota is happy to have Reese as his new roommate, but Reese doesn’t feel so lucky. As this story peels back the layers and complexities of these characters, it also builds a beautiful, heart-wrenchingly sweet relationship between Dakota and Reese.
This book has:
-college roommates
-loner x loner violin players
-size & class difference
-tragic pasts
-smaller top x bigger bottom
-Posessive MC
-hurt / comfort (including nightmare/sleepwalking, and a lot of Reese crying)
-forced proximity (one loves it, one hates it)
-no kissing (until they do 😜)
-bad communication
-angst
This book starts out SAD, and you are going to immediately be swept up by the interesting characters. Their first meeting is awesome, and really hooked me! Lyla Dane is a master at creating deep, powerful characters with stories that absolutely grip you.
This book deals with difficult subjects, but Reese and Dakota end up being such a tooth-rottingly sweet couple. They were both so lonely, it felt like fate brought them together. 🥹 They’re meant to be. They were so over the top with each other, but it made so much sense.
I loved that both characters had so many unexpected traits, too. Like you wouldn’t expecting the scarred, tall and intimidating-looking Dakota to be such a softie, but he is absolutely a cinnamon roll! I loved him for it!
Another thing I loved: Chapter names! They were so fun! I’ve found that books where the author puts in the effort to name all of their chapters tend to be books I feel have a lot of depth to them. 😍 This was no exception.
This is the perfect read if you’re looking for a book with a lot of angst and emotion, but also a couple that loves each other so much that they physically can not be separated. ❤️
December 12, 2025
Rating: ♾️/5 🌟
Spice: 3/5 🌶️
Characters: Reese and Dakota
Beta Read on 11/17/2025
ARC Read on 12/4/2025
Top read of the year for me. I’m not even surprised because SLY and NLMG were my top reads last year.
RTC
Spice: 3/5 🌶️
Characters: Reese and Dakota
Beta Read on 11/17/2025
ARC Read on 12/4/2025
Top read of the year for me. I’m not even surprised because SLY and NLMG were my top reads last year.
RTC
December 8, 2025
Wicked Little Darling is a standalone MM romance story about Reese and Dakota.
The prologue was heartbreaking so make sure you have your tissues ready. Reese has a couple semesters left in college when he is forced to transfer into Ashbrook, a music and art school. His new roommate is Dakota, who also happens to be the dean’s son. Reese and Dakota are both violinists, and the more we learn about them, the more we see they have a lot in common. They are both loners trying to heal from past trauma. My heart hurt for them.
Reese definitely had his walls built high, and I loved how Dakota never gave up on him. Dakota was my favorite and I definitely fell for him quickly, and I was patiently waiting for Reese to admit he was falling for him too. I enjoyed seeing their feelings grow and their relationship develop. I was here for all the hurt/comfort vibes and how they were protective over each other. This was a beautiful story of two broken boys finding the love they both deserved.
I received an advanced copy of this book, and this is my honest review.
The prologue was heartbreaking so make sure you have your tissues ready. Reese has a couple semesters left in college when he is forced to transfer into Ashbrook, a music and art school. His new roommate is Dakota, who also happens to be the dean’s son. Reese and Dakota are both violinists, and the more we learn about them, the more we see they have a lot in common. They are both loners trying to heal from past trauma. My heart hurt for them.
Reese definitely had his walls built high, and I loved how Dakota never gave up on him. Dakota was my favorite and I definitely fell for him quickly, and I was patiently waiting for Reese to admit he was falling for him too. I enjoyed seeing their feelings grow and their relationship develop. I was here for all the hurt/comfort vibes and how they were protective over each other. This was a beautiful story of two broken boys finding the love they both deserved.
I received an advanced copy of this book, and this is my honest review.
December 14, 2025
Rating: 3
⭐️
To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement, but it wasn't a complete letdown either. There were good things, not so good things, but mostly questionable choices made by the characters [like Reese throwing a tantrum by cutting his hair...why not!].
Dakota was my main source of entertainment, and probably the reason I gave this story three stars. Thank you for your service!
Anyway.
My main problem was definitely Reese, the other main character. I was sympathizing with him at the beginning but then, he just got on my nerves. Dakota is quite the catch - a lovely misunderstood boy with many qualities, a sad upbringing and a toxic family. Reese not so much. His push-and-pull attitude toward Dakota, his moping thoughts and how he treated Dakota at first didn't work with me [I know the story is a slow-burn...].
Onto the good things! Lyla Dane's writing was very addictive, and once I got past the first 10%, I couldn’t stop reading.
Dakota was a such a great surprise; I liked him so much. Seriously, this boy was ridiculously extra, and I loved that about him. He loves and cares with his whole heart, with patience and comfort.
I always appreciate when authors took the time to develop platonic relationships. So, it wasn’t a surprise that Dakota's relationship with Valentine, his brother, warmed my only-child-heart. The scenes with the two of them were so sweet.
For a good portion of the book, I got the impression Dakota was way more in love with Reese than Reese was. And again, it's a slow-burn so I shouldn't complain. However, it was hard to witness Dakota giving his everything to Reese who remained guarded and scared. I did like the progress in their relationship, though, and how Reese slowly learned to trust Dakota to the point he couldn't live without him.
The ending was satisfying, but the whole conflict involving Dakota's father and Reese was too much for me. There wasn’t any conflict [it wasn’t that serious I mean] except Reese's dramatic ass who thought his lies were the end of the world. But I guess communication is still an unknown concept for boys in their twenties.
💫 Additional points to the author for writing two virgin young men, with a smaller top and a taller bottom dynamic 💫
To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement, but it wasn't a complete letdown either. There were good things, not so good things, but mostly questionable choices made by the characters [like Reese throwing a tantrum by cutting his hair...why not!].
Dakota was my main source of entertainment, and probably the reason I gave this story three stars. Thank you for your service!
Anyway.
My main problem was definitely Reese, the other main character. I was sympathizing with him at the beginning but then, he just got on my nerves. Dakota is quite the catch - a lovely misunderstood boy with many qualities, a sad upbringing and a toxic family. Reese not so much. His push-and-pull attitude toward Dakota, his moping thoughts and how he treated Dakota at first didn't work with me [I know the story is a slow-burn...].
Onto the good things! Lyla Dane's writing was very addictive, and once I got past the first 10%, I couldn’t stop reading.
Dakota was a such a great surprise; I liked him so much. Seriously, this boy was ridiculously extra, and I loved that about him. He loves and cares with his whole heart, with patience and comfort.
I always appreciate when authors took the time to develop platonic relationships. So, it wasn’t a surprise that Dakota's relationship with Valentine, his brother, warmed my only-child-heart. The scenes with the two of them were so sweet.
For a good portion of the book, I got the impression Dakota was way more in love with Reese than Reese was. And again, it's a slow-burn so I shouldn't complain. However, it was hard to witness Dakota giving his everything to Reese who remained guarded and scared. I did like the progress in their relationship, though, and how Reese slowly learned to trust Dakota to the point he couldn't live without him.
The ending was satisfying, but the whole conflict involving Dakota's father and Reese was too much for me. There wasn’t any conflict [it wasn’t that serious I mean] except Reese's dramatic ass who thought his lies were the end of the world. But I guess communication is still an unknown concept for boys in their twenties.
💫 Additional points to the author for writing two virgin young men, with a smaller top and a taller bottom dynamic 💫
December 10, 2025
Dakota, what an epic soul you have everything you went through and your heart still woke up expanded and adopted Reese never to let him go. Reese who’s been left all alone, life dealt him such a shitty hand and yet his fire can’t be extinguished, pocket demon indeed 🤣.
This book is different from what I’ve read from Lyla Dane before. I love her books, they always tug at my heartstrings (make me ache and cry) devastate me and give me characters I absolutely need to hold on to. This book was all of that and yet somehow gentler, softer, the love here is so swoony and romantic and the relationship development less painful jagged more steady epic. Connected for life no mater how much Reese can’t believe it Dakota won’t stop trying. This is a true opposites attract even though they’ve both been through immense trauma the way they react is so different and they need each other to spark to life.
I love the hope, the sweetness and the beautiful endearments of this book, I melted into a puddle everytime Dakota said darling or Reese said Baby. All the nicknames were so sweet and so funny sometimes. The humour in this book added another layer o really loved. The chemistry was white hot, the scenes are indelibly etched into my mind.
If hurt comfort is your jam this has plenty of both. I loved Val, I wonder if he gets a story.
The writing is rich, emotional, beautiful and the story is a lovely romantic swoony, some hard parts for the characters but immensely satisfying all over as it ties up I could not have asked for more.
This book is different from what I’ve read from Lyla Dane before. I love her books, they always tug at my heartstrings (make me ache and cry) devastate me and give me characters I absolutely need to hold on to. This book was all of that and yet somehow gentler, softer, the love here is so swoony and romantic and the relationship development less painful jagged more steady epic. Connected for life no mater how much Reese can’t believe it Dakota won’t stop trying. This is a true opposites attract even though they’ve both been through immense trauma the way they react is so different and they need each other to spark to life.
I love the hope, the sweetness and the beautiful endearments of this book, I melted into a puddle everytime Dakota said darling or Reese said Baby. All the nicknames were so sweet and so funny sometimes. The humour in this book added another layer o really loved. The chemistry was white hot, the scenes are indelibly etched into my mind.
If hurt comfort is your jam this has plenty of both. I loved Val, I wonder if he gets a story.
The writing is rich, emotional, beautiful and the story is a lovely romantic swoony, some hard parts for the characters but immensely satisfying all over as it ties up I could not have asked for more.
December 14, 2025
arc review:
when i say i inhaled this book and every word within it — i mean it. this was everything i needed and more and she, that she being me, wasn’t ready.
lyla did not come to play and this hit me right in the feels the way it was meant too, gahhh how dare you. the words, these damn words, your words are just everything, i felt their pain, their loss, their vulnerabilities, the desperation, the longing and yearning and that burning need for love, touch.. connection. it gave everything and i really felt it.
both main characters are deeply damaged and hurt men, both with the most emotional starts in their lives and the journey they took to get where they inevitably meet, it was real. raw. and i couldn’t stop my own need to keep reading and keep learning more about the lives they endured up to this point.
both main characters were easy to love and had that want to protect. i connected vastly more with dakota, a soul so damn pure and holds so much light for others and the ones he loves dear, being that constant beam of positivity when knowing the world has been nothing but vile to you. your honour, i loved him and i fear he’s become my new fixation. dakota voss the man you are.
and my sweet bb reese, so sad, so precious and delicate, conniving, bitchy, petty and of course, hella possessive, you landed in dakota’s lap and there wasn’t ever any hope of you leaving his sights. you deserve all that’s good and god if that ain’t dakota.
this book and it’s beautiful writing, i adored. this was exactly what i needed when i needed it, the hurt-comfort did its damn job. no notes. a top read of the year for sure.
when i say i inhaled this book and every word within it — i mean it. this was everything i needed and more and she, that she being me, wasn’t ready.
lyla did not come to play and this hit me right in the feels the way it was meant too, gahhh how dare you. the words, these damn words, your words are just everything, i felt their pain, their loss, their vulnerabilities, the desperation, the longing and yearning and that burning need for love, touch.. connection. it gave everything and i really felt it.
both main characters are deeply damaged and hurt men, both with the most emotional starts in their lives and the journey they took to get where they inevitably meet, it was real. raw. and i couldn’t stop my own need to keep reading and keep learning more about the lives they endured up to this point.
both main characters were easy to love and had that want to protect. i connected vastly more with dakota, a soul so damn pure and holds so much light for others and the ones he loves dear, being that constant beam of positivity when knowing the world has been nothing but vile to you. your honour, i loved him and i fear he’s become my new fixation. dakota voss the man you are.
and my sweet bb reese, so sad, so precious and delicate, conniving, bitchy, petty and of course, hella possessive, you landed in dakota’s lap and there wasn’t ever any hope of you leaving his sights. you deserve all that’s good and god if that ain’t dakota.
this book and it’s beautiful writing, i adored. this was exactly what i needed when i needed it, the hurt-comfort did its damn job. no notes. a top read of the year for sure.
December 11, 2025
Oh these two! Lyla Dane is quickly becoming a new favorite author. It’s the MC’s, it’s the cute thoughts they had about one another, the small ways they show they care and how much they seem to appreciate the one thing the other dislikes about themselves. They are always so adorably enamored with each other. It makes me smile.
Reece was such a grumpy spitfire and always ready to fight (which I kind of loved) and given his history the instinct to protect himself is fair and Dakota is such a teddy bear for Reece and his brother Val. Both men had gone through so much and lost so much in life but I loved how it bonded them. They finally had someone to lean on. Yes Dakota had Val but that bond was family where neither Dakota or Reece truly had someone outside of this who cared.
The caretaking moments were sweet and I really loved that they had music in common. As much as I hate that both of them had people in their lives that didn’t deserve them I do love that it made having each other (and Val) more meaningful!
💙ARC REVIEW 🤍
☑️ Trigger Warnings.
Reece was such a grumpy spitfire and always ready to fight (which I kind of loved) and given his history the instinct to protect himself is fair and Dakota is such a teddy bear for Reece and his brother Val. Both men had gone through so much and lost so much in life but I loved how it bonded them. They finally had someone to lean on. Yes Dakota had Val but that bond was family where neither Dakota or Reece truly had someone outside of this who cared.
The caretaking moments were sweet and I really loved that they had music in common. As much as I hate that both of them had people in their lives that didn’t deserve them I do love that it made having each other (and Val) more meaningful!
💙ARC REVIEW 🤍
☑️ Trigger Warnings.
January 10, 2026
★★★★★. This took me way too long to finish but reesedakota, you are apart of my family.
For my safety readers, safe. Both virgins.
For my safety readers, safe. Both virgins.
November 20, 2025
I'm starting to think that it's impossible for Lyla Dane to write a book that is anything less than 5-star perfection. Once again, she blew me away with her words. She broke my heart and put it back together in the most beautiful way. Wicked Little Darling is yet another heartachingly beautiful story that had me all in my feels the whole way through.
You know you're in for one hell of a story when it starts off with a prologue that makes you cry ugly tears. SERIOUSLY. I don't cry easily with books, but some authors are just so talented they somehow manage it right at the start of the book. I was all in right away and now I'm sad that it's over.
Reese is a wicked, feral little thing and ohh how I felt for him. He's so starved for touch and attention and love and I adored him right away. Dakota too, though. Almost immediately, he's hilariously obsessed with Reese. He's touch-starved, a little crazy, a lot chaotic and a whole lot of fun. I loved these boys a stupid amount. Their chemistry is explosive and the way their relationship develops is just beautiful. And how they communicate! It was everything, honestly.
This story is intense and all-consuming and filled with the achingly perfect hurt/comfort vibes that Lyla is so dang good at. It's broken boys falling apart and putting each other back together again and finding their person, finding love, long after they'd given up on ever finding it at all. Lyla's writing is, as usual, stunning. While the book may be long, it never felt like it and I'd gladly have hundreds more pages with these two beautiful boys.
Highly recommend this one, obviously.
I got an early copy to beta read & review from the author. My opinions are my own.
You know you're in for one hell of a story when it starts off with a prologue that makes you cry ugly tears. SERIOUSLY. I don't cry easily with books, but some authors are just so talented they somehow manage it right at the start of the book. I was all in right away and now I'm sad that it's over.
Reese is a wicked, feral little thing and ohh how I felt for him. He's so starved for touch and attention and love and I adored him right away. Dakota too, though. Almost immediately, he's hilariously obsessed with Reese. He's touch-starved, a little crazy, a lot chaotic and a whole lot of fun. I loved these boys a stupid amount. Their chemistry is explosive and the way their relationship develops is just beautiful. And how they communicate! It was everything, honestly.
This story is intense and all-consuming and filled with the achingly perfect hurt/comfort vibes that Lyla is so dang good at. It's broken boys falling apart and putting each other back together again and finding their person, finding love, long after they'd given up on ever finding it at all. Lyla's writing is, as usual, stunning. While the book may be long, it never felt like it and I'd gladly have hundreds more pages with these two beautiful boys.
Highly recommend this one, obviously.
I got an early copy to beta read & review from the author. My opinions are my own.
December 11, 2025
I was fine with being his mistake if it meant some part of me was his, no matter how wrong.
how can a book be so angsty and so adorably sweet at the same time? dakota and his feral little kitten reese captured my heart, had me sobbing, laughing, and hot under the collar. Lyla Dane has clearly gotten a hold of my DNA and concocted personally-tailored addictive drugs in her secret lab that she injects into these books, making me CRAVE them and then literally go into withdrawals when they're over... and i'm not mad about it...
this story starts off INTENSE— one of the most gut-wrenching prologues i’ve read. what these boys have been through is absolutely devastating, and they need to be protected AT ALL COSTS.
i was like, excuse me, how can you hurt me like this?! but, if you’ve read Lyla’s work before, you know she is the queen of hurt/comfort, and trust me, these sweet boys find a way to take care of each other. the hurt is just… yeah, it HURTS mate. have the tissues and some electrolytes on hand.
this is true broken boy x broken boy. there’s no knight in shining armor here, just two people who’ve been nothing but battered by life, finally finding refuge in each other.
i love how perfectly they balanced each other out. dakota does not give up on his wicked little tiger baby, no matter how much reese tries to fight his feelings, and oh how he fights them.
at times i found myself almost frustrated by reese’s stubborn denial of his emotions, but given what he’s been through, i also cannot imagine him handling this any other way. of course he’s the most avoidant person on the planet, and thank god dakota will do anything to get what he wants. watching reese battle with himself... reckoning his past trauma with what he's afraid to want... broke me. i saw parts of myself reflected in him, and his strength was really inspiring.
the push/pull, the tension, the interrupted almost-kisses… i was EDGED, but it’s all worth it in the end. what blossoms between them is something so sweet and delicate, something so uniquely them, like the red string of fate brought them together.
tags for my pea brain: angst, forced proximity, college setting, marking/biting, hurt/comfort, mutual first times, protective MC, violinists
how can a book be so angsty and so adorably sweet at the same time? dakota and his feral little kitten reese captured my heart, had me sobbing, laughing, and hot under the collar. Lyla Dane has clearly gotten a hold of my DNA and concocted personally-tailored addictive drugs in her secret lab that she injects into these books, making me CRAVE them and then literally go into withdrawals when they're over... and i'm not mad about it...
this story starts off INTENSE— one of the most gut-wrenching prologues i’ve read. what these boys have been through is absolutely devastating, and they need to be protected AT ALL COSTS.
i was like, excuse me, how can you hurt me like this?! but, if you’ve read Lyla’s work before, you know she is the queen of hurt/comfort, and trust me, these sweet boys find a way to take care of each other. the hurt is just… yeah, it HURTS mate. have the tissues and some electrolytes on hand.
True pain was love. Because once the person you loved was gone, you were stuck with all those feelings. There was no one to give them to anymore. They sat there inside of you, a bitter, corrosive amalgam of past that could never be undone. A constant reminder of everything you didn't have anymore.
this is true broken boy x broken boy. there’s no knight in shining armor here, just two people who’ve been nothing but battered by life, finally finding refuge in each other.
i love how perfectly they balanced each other out. dakota does not give up on his wicked little tiger baby, no matter how much reese tries to fight his feelings, and oh how he fights them.
at times i found myself almost frustrated by reese’s stubborn denial of his emotions, but given what he’s been through, i also cannot imagine him handling this any other way. of course he’s the most avoidant person on the planet, and thank god dakota will do anything to get what he wants. watching reese battle with himself... reckoning his past trauma with what he's afraid to want... broke me. i saw parts of myself reflected in him, and his strength was really inspiring.
He had a bleeding heart safely tucked behind a crumbling wall crawling with a thousand thorny vines- I just needed time, determination, and a sharpened blade to get through the thicket. Or maybe some hedge trimmers. Actually, a well-placed stick of dynamite would probably do the trick.
the push/pull, the tension, the interrupted almost-kisses… i was EDGED, but it’s all worth it in the end. what blossoms between them is something so sweet and delicate, something so uniquely them, like the red string of fate brought them together.
Tell me it's okay to let myself have this. Tell me not to be afraid. Tell me that no matter what happens, I'll be okay.
tags for my pea brain: angst, forced proximity, college setting, marking/biting, hurt/comfort, mutual first times, protective MC, violinists
December 16, 2025
Wicked Little Darling
Lyla Dane
Dakota & Reese
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶
First times for both
One-sided Animosity to Lovers
Sl@tty jock straps
Hurt/Comfort
Class difference
Music academy
“Please touch me”
Marking & Biting
Protective/Possessive/Obsessive
Yeah, so, I’m in love with this.
This was incredible. Lyla Dane takes us on such a beautiful journey. We get to see these incredible, beautiful, hurt, touch starved sad lonely boys slowly fall in love.
We get to go along for the ride while these men, who have been so hurt, and so wronged by the people who were supposed to love them, learn to slowly trust one another and lower their shields.
Ugh this was a stunning book. I loved everything about it. I highlighted so much of this book.
The writing is incredible, the pace and connection they build is incredible. The Black cat/ Golden retriever vibe is everything.
The neediness, the protectiveness, the dependency upon one another. Just stunning.
I loved Dakota, he was so sweet and sensitive. I loved how Reese would literally light the world on fire for him.
Not only that, but I loved how Dakota slowly broke down Reese’s walls. How Reese eventually trusted and gave himself over to Dakota in such an emotional way.
The sl@tty jockstraps Reese just couldn’t get away from lol
Ugh the desperate needy “please just tough me” vibes.
This was truly so beautiful. They are seriously perfect for each other. They way Reese stood up and protected Dakota, ugh my heart. They are everything.
Such an incredible written book. 500 pages felt like nothing. I could have read another 500 of these two.
Stunning, beautiful, emotional, needy, healing, raw and perfect book.
they were also so spicy. Reese could not take it any more lol the jockstrpas, shirt off, desperation. They were so hot. Also so sweet and tender.
They healed each other
please protect both of these men at all costs 🥰❤️
Please read this.
Lyla Dane
Dakota & Reese
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶
First times for both
One-sided Animosity to Lovers
Sl@tty jock straps
Hurt/Comfort
Class difference
Music academy
“Please touch me”
Marking & Biting
Protective/Possessive/Obsessive
Yeah, so, I’m in love with this.
This was incredible. Lyla Dane takes us on such a beautiful journey. We get to see these incredible, beautiful, hurt, touch starved sad lonely boys slowly fall in love.
We get to go along for the ride while these men, who have been so hurt, and so wronged by the people who were supposed to love them, learn to slowly trust one another and lower their shields.
Ugh this was a stunning book. I loved everything about it. I highlighted so much of this book.
The writing is incredible, the pace and connection they build is incredible. The Black cat/ Golden retriever vibe is everything.
The neediness, the protectiveness, the dependency upon one another. Just stunning.
I loved Dakota, he was so sweet and sensitive. I loved how Reese would literally light the world on fire for him.
Not only that, but I loved how Dakota slowly broke down Reese’s walls. How Reese eventually trusted and gave himself over to Dakota in such an emotional way.
The sl@tty jockstraps Reese just couldn’t get away from lol
Ugh the desperate needy “please just tough me” vibes.
This was truly so beautiful. They are seriously perfect for each other. They way Reese stood up and protected Dakota, ugh my heart. They are everything.
Such an incredible written book. 500 pages felt like nothing. I could have read another 500 of these two.
Stunning, beautiful, emotional, needy, healing, raw and perfect book.
they were also so spicy. Reese could not take it any more lol the jockstrpas, shirt off, desperation. They were so hot. Also so sweet and tender.
They healed each other
please protect both of these men at all costs 🥰❤️
Please read this.
December 6, 2025
arc review
This book hit me right in the core. Honestly, the real question is: where am I supposed to find my own Dakota Voss? That man is unconditional love personified. He loves so deeply, so completely, and I resonated with his character on every level. Lyla, what have you done? How do you create such wonderful characters like this? I swear I’ve been searching for my own Dakota my whole life 😭
Dakota was the brightest, greenest flag anyone could hope for, and Reese absolutely deserved to be loved by him. Even though he wasn’t ready for it, Dakota never once gave up on him—showing every single day that, despite all his flaws, someone was always there for him.
Everything Lyla Dane writes is beautiful, and Wicked Little Darling is the perfect book to end the year with *insert screaming monkey gif*.
This book hit me right in the core. Honestly, the real question is: where am I supposed to find my own Dakota Voss? That man is unconditional love personified. He loves so deeply, so completely, and I resonated with his character on every level. Lyla, what have you done? How do you create such wonderful characters like this? I swear I’ve been searching for my own Dakota my whole life 😭
Dakota was the brightest, greenest flag anyone could hope for, and Reese absolutely deserved to be loved by him. Even though he wasn’t ready for it, Dakota never once gave up on him—showing every single day that, despite all his flaws, someone was always there for him.
Everything Lyla Dane writes is beautiful, and Wicked Little Darling is the perfect book to end the year with *insert screaming monkey gif*.
December 14, 2025
A great story, Intense with a touch of mystery, a lot of prickly moments (Reese needed his time to grow)
Dakota was the gentlest giant who inevitably really did need a fierce guard dog like Reece and had bushels of love in his huge heart. There were also many funny moments.
Size difference, extra grumpy/sunshine. These two are such a mixed bag of opposite.
But I hav to admit, the drama and mystery are so appealing, so is the gothic setting.
*There were two very p.o.s. fathers in this book. May you avoid people like these in your life and may you always confront them and take no b.s.
Oh, and always communicate your worries and mistakes, it's always better to be honest. (Moral of the book)😉
*Listening to the o.s.t. of Cruella whilst reading was so on point for this book🤗 (just me☺️).
Dakota was the gentlest giant who inevitably really did need a fierce guard dog like Reece and had bushels of love in his huge heart. There were also many funny moments.
Size difference, extra grumpy/sunshine. These two are such a mixed bag of opposite.
But I hav to admit, the drama and mystery are so appealing, so is the gothic setting.
*There were two very p.o.s. fathers in this book. May you avoid people like these in your life and may you always confront them and take no b.s.
Oh, and always communicate your worries and mistakes, it's always better to be honest. (Moral of the book)😉
*Listening to the o.s.t. of Cruella whilst reading was so on point for this book🤗 (just me☺️).
December 19, 2025
The prologue of this book had my eyes damp after reading. I was not prepared for all those emotions right off the bat.
This book was chalked full of angst & tension.
He falls first and the other falls harder,
A short king that tops, banter, they’re both violin players and it’s set college.
After being transferred to a new college, Reese is assigned to be roommates with Dakota. This is the perfect forced proximity situation. Reese is full of all this anger for good reason but because of this he has his walls up high, but Dakota is determined to break them down and is relentless getting Reese‘s attention and once he finally gives in It hits so good. This book was everything and more. I absolutely loved it.
This book was chalked full of angst & tension.
He falls first and the other falls harder,
A short king that tops, banter, they’re both violin players and it’s set college.
After being transferred to a new college, Reese is assigned to be roommates with Dakota. This is the perfect forced proximity situation. Reese is full of all this anger for good reason but because of this he has his walls up high, but Dakota is determined to break them down and is relentless getting Reese‘s attention and once he finally gives in It hits so good. This book was everything and more. I absolutely loved it.
January 2, 2026
they healed and i healed ❤️🩹
December 15, 2025
4.5/5 ⭐️
Oh my god that ending 😭🥺 I literally couldn’t have asked for a more perfect HEA. This book was a little slow in the beginning but the last half was so good. I of course cried like a baby at times but those tears were definitely worth it. These two were definitely something special. The way they met and how their relationship progressed was equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming. I love how it was basically love at first sight for Dakota while it took Reese some time to catch up. It was so beautiful seeing how much Dakota loved every single part of Reese. How much Reese made him feel needed after growing up in a family who was nothing but hateful. How beautiful he thought his beautiful butterfly birth mark was, and how he made sure he always knew. Made sure that the marks he left on him would never fade away because he liked knowing he was his. Reese’s past was nothing short of painful but finding a love like Dakota’s made almost all of the pain he endured worth it. He missed his mom and sister more than words could ever explain, but he knew that he had someone by his side to hold him forever. While he may be Dakota’s most fierce and loyal protector, Dakota was the same for him. The ending of Dakota playing a song he wrote for Reese at Carnegie Hall was just everything because he knew Reese’s mom always wanted him to make it there. 🥹 And of course a major round of applause for no 3rd act breakup!!
— a LOT of quotes bc i’m a freak
“Looks like he caught himself a tiger. Or maybe I did.” — “Is finders keepers still a thing? ’Cause I found you first.”
“Two larger, darker freckles sat underneath his left eye. Even with the scar, he was pretty. Pretty and unpredictable and aggravating.”
“But Reese was pretty and vicious and… well, I’d never thought of another guy as pretty before, but that didn’t really matter, did it?”
“A boy with a butterfly on his cheek and a blistering fire in his eyes had completely disoriented me in the best kind of way.”
“It’s called a port-wine stain. It’s a type of birthmark caused by a gene mutation. That’s it.” — “Hm. I really like it. Looks kinda like a butterfly. Very cute.”
“He sounded so lost and broken, so desperate and devastated, and the urge to just take him into my arms and tell him everything would be okay was sudden and staggering. To give him what no one had ever given me.”
“I knew that face. I’d known that face since I was nine. That was the face that had made me want to play violin. That was the face I used to watch when I was a sad, angry fourth-grader. I’d known that face for an eternity, it felt like. I’d loved that face once. And then I’d forgotten it.”
“As shocking as this revelation was—that Dakota was that boy—it honestly felt like I already knew. I’d known, somewhere in my bones. I’d recognized him on a soul-deep level, and maybe it wasn’t his personality that grated on me so much as his entire existence because it was a reminder of everything I’d lost and why I’d lost it.”
“For once in my life, someone was helping me when I’d done something wrong. Instead of yelling at me, dismissing me, or ignoring me, Reese was helping me. And god it felt good.”
“Why did you give me a flower?” — “Because it reminded me of you. It’s a tiger lily. Smells like you, too.”
“Reese had left an imprint of himself on my skin, and I… Oh, fuck, I wanted more. I wanted him to leave traces of himself all over my body. I wanted to be reminded of him—of how he’d given me all his attention—every time I looked at myself.”
“I don’t know how long you’ve been doing this, or why, but you don’t have to carry this alone anymore. I can help you, Reese. I can be there for you. Let me help you.”
“I had no idea how to describe the feelings that kept multiplying whenever I was with him. How happy I was just to be near him.”
“There was only one comforting thing in my life right now, and that was Dakota. He made me want to laugh. To smile. I’d thought any and all good feelings I’d once had were completely dead.”
“I’m so sorry you lost them, but I’m glad you’re still here. Really, really, glad, Reese.” (Stop🥺)
“I like the night so much because it gives me the version of yourself that you’ve been fighting so hard to hide. It gives me you.”
“I don’t think you understand what you’ve done. You’ve created a monster, darling.”
“This was the boy that made me fall in love with music, the boy who’d captured all my attention when I was a lost, angry kid, the boy I’d admired and idolized. This was the boy that haunted my dreams and tormented my reality.”
“No one had ever gotten me a flower before. No one had ever paid as much attention to me as Dakota did.”
“I stared at his lips and thought those are mine. They were always meant for me. Weren’t they?”
“Now I knew he was the kind of person that I hadn’t known in a long time. Someone genuine and honest, someone dependable and kind. Playful and irreverent, yet never in a cruel way. Someone who wanted my attention and would do anything to get it. Someone I’d been looking for without even knowing it, who’d found me when I needed him most.” (Reese 😭😭)
“He’d snuck so quickly past every line of defense I’d put in place, and the way he seemed to know exactly what to say to get a specific reaction from me was unsettling in the most thrilling way—because that meant he was watching me closely from the very beginning, that his attention was on me long enough to have learned things most people never bothered or cared to learn.”
“It made me feel like I wasn’t alone. When I was with him, that empty ache, that gaping hole in my chest seemed to disappear, and in its place was a lightness I hadn’t felt in a long, long time. I’d forgotten how it felt to mean something to someone, and I wondered how I’d ever let myself forget that.”
“He was so fucking amazing. Beautiful and playful and sexy and sweet and cranky and hot and I wanted to have him forever. Him and all these things he made me feel. It was everything. He was everything.”
“I really was lucky. I’d been given something I didn’t even know to dream of, and now that I had him… I wanted to do everything I could to keep him. I’d do anything for him, do anything to keep him safe and make him happy. Fucking anything.”
“If this was what happiness felt like, I was glad for all the time I’d spent waiting for it. It made everything I’d experienced worth it. All those mediocre moments only made this one all the sweeter.”
“I didn’t think he had any idea how beautiful he truly was. That when he let himself be fully in the present, there was a vibrant happiness that lit his eyes. Gold and green, my favorite colors now.”
“Mine looked like a dark-haired, dark-eyed boy. Mine was more beautiful than any angel, more devious than any devil. Mine was equal parts predictable and confusing. Irrational and overwhelming. My demon was Dakota Voss, and he frightened me more than death itself.”
“That vicious little tiger had imprinted himself on my heart, dug his claws into my soul, and I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt him. Not my family, not me, not himself. I’d protect him at any cost.”
“I don’t even know… I don’t even… I don’t know how I survived without you all this time. But god I hate you. I hate that I need you like this, but I can’t lose you. If I lose someone else, I’ll die. I know I will. I feel like I’d do anything to keep you, and that…”
“When I was nine. Saw you in a video and fell madly in love with you. I think I’ve loved you forever.” — “You’re the reason I’m here,” he said, staring into my eyes. “The reason I started playing. It was all because of you.”
“I didn’t know what love looked like, or felt like… but if I had to imagine, I thought it would be something like this. I knew what being lonely felt like—and it was the opposite of this. And just like he wanted to keep me, I wanted to keep him right back. Keep him safe, keep him happy, keep him smiling, keep him grounded. I wanted to give him everything he needed, everything that had been missing in his life. I’d give him anything he asked for. Do anything he asked of me. I just hoped he never asked me to leave.”
“Go on, darling. Lie to me. Tell me you didn’t miss me.” — “I had missed him so much it hurt. The kind of pain I hated, that riotous, uncertain ache that only knew how to grow, how to multiply, until it had spread through every inch of me. So destructive and volatile that once it started moving, there was no stopping it. The kind of pain that meant he’d carved himself a place in my soul, and no matter how I tried to cut him out, it was impossible. He’d spread his roots, was fully embedded in my psyche, and that meant… It meant I was doomed.”
“I feel like pouncing on you every time I see you. I feel like you could touch me for days and it still wouldn’t be enough. I feel like you hide all your hurt because you’re afraid of someone adding to it, but you don’t have to hide with me.”
“I never knew I could feel this way about another person. Never really imagined myself ever feeling like this, but now that I do… I don’t ever want this feeling to go away. It’s… honestly, it’s the best fucking thing I’ve ever felt. When I’m with you, I feel like… like I could do anything. Like I could be anything.”
“Dakota…” — “And I really like it when you say my name like that.” — “Like I’m the only one who can give you the answers you’re looking for.”
“He made me laugh, even as it felt like I was being smothered by this horrible sadness. He made me laugh, and that… that was the most beautiful thing. He took my pain and turned it into something beautiful.”
“It was awful and all-consuming, and I never wanted to be desperate for anything in my life. Ever. But I was desperate for him, desperate for his nearness, his touches, his smiles and the sadness he hid deep inside and pretended wasn’t there. His love and his laughter. I was desperate to have all his attention, just like he wanted from me, and that… terrified me. Truly terrified me, right down to my brittle bones. But the fear wasn’t enough to make me stop. Nothing short of death would kill this desperation, I was pretty sure.”
“He said that I was the most precious thing in the world, but it was only because he thought I was precious that made it true.“
“I’d already been living in that for so long, and to finally have this—to have him... It was liberating and uplifting in a way nothing ever had been in my life. It was special and beautiful and precious, and I never, ever, wanted to forget it or lose it.”
“I love your eyes on me. When you look at me. It’s my favorite thing in the whole world, Reese.”
“Fuck, I loved it when he called me baby. Or darling. Or tiger. Even piranha. I loved any and all of the pet names that popped into his weird mind and out of that sexy mouth. They were something precious he’d given only to me.”
“I love you, Reese. I love you so damn much and I can’t keep it in anymore. I tried, I really tried.”
“It had been ten years since I’d heard those words. Ten years of thinking I’d go my entire life without ever hearing them again.” — “I choked on a laugh and cried even harder because god-fucking-dammit if I didn’t love him too. He was it for me. He was everything. He was my entire world—and the moon and the sun and the stars in the sky.” (Stop😭😭)
“You have made everything I’ve been through bearable, somehow. I’ve spent every moment of the past ten years feeling like I was being punished for something, but now it feels like I’ve been rewarded. Hell of a reward, too.”
“These marks on my body were words, everything he wanted to say but wouldn’t. Couldn’t. They were a declaration, a vow, a promise. They were him, pledging himself to me. Giving me the deepest parts of himself. Every part of himself. They were his love. I’d bet my life on that truth.”
“I’m really proud of you, you know that? In spite of everything you’ve gone through, you turned out like this. You’re amazing, Dakota. And you should be proud of yourself, too.”
“He was everything, my entire world, the final missing piece of my soul.”
“True pain was regret and being powerless to change anything. True pain was love. Being stuck with that love and having nowhere to put it, until it ate you up from the inside out.”
“I knew I’d never regret loving Dakota. All the pain that brought me to him was worth it, in the end.”
“Falling in love was like going mad. It was like being dropped into a fiery pit of overwhelming emotions that burned through your deepest parts, transforming them into something unrecognizable. Melting them down into their purest forms, molding them into a perfect vessel for all that love. And with it came the strongest yearning to do whatever it took to make your love happy. To make Dakota happy.”
“You still have me,” I said hoarsely. “You still have me and you can have me forever, okay? I want you to have me forever.”
“I don’t think there’s anything in the world that could kill this love I have for you. I love you now, and I’ll love you forever.”
“I love you. And darling, you could lie to me all day long and I’d still know the truth.”
“You’re not going anywhere, okay? Who would I wear this slutty pink jockstrap for?”
“I need you to know that I would fight the fucking world for you. I would destroy every last person who ever hurt you, if I could. I’d do that and I wouldn’t blink a fucking eye. Because you are worth everything to me. I would do anything for you. I fucking love you, Dakota. You are my darling. You are my entire universe.” (NO STOP)
“I love you,” I whispered, squeezing his waist. “I think since the moment you told me that your birthmark was a contagious disease back at the cemetery, I’ve loved you. You are so fucking strong.”
“I love every part of you, even if you can’t. They’re all beautiful to me.”
“My protector. My scrappy fighter. My vicious tiger. My beautiful darling. He was everything. And to know that I was everything to him, too, was all I needed.”
“To know that I would have this forever—have him forever—was the most exhilarating thought. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to live without him. There was no undoing all the beautiful damage he’d done to my soul.”
“There was so much beauty in his bones, and he was sharing it all with me. The world around us dimmed. There was no stage. There was no room full of people. There were no eyes but his, no one but him.” — “Nothing bad could happen to him as long as I kept my eyes on him. He was right here, right beside me, and he would always be right beside me. I smiled back at him. This honest, brave bastard was mine, and I was his.”
“We belonged to each other now, and nothing short of death would tear us apart. But I had a feeling that even in death, we’d find each other again. Our souls were made of the same stuff, anyway.”
“You once told me you promised your mom you’d make it to Carnegie someday,” he said softly. He held a finger up. “But there was no specification for performing at Carnegie. So.” He bent down and snapped open the case of his violin. “I wanted to perform for you.” (Seriously I can’t)
“I stared up at this beautiful, breathtaking, bighearted man and was so, so thankful that I’d found him. That he’d found me. There was no body big enough to contain the love I had for him; I didn’t think there ever would be. But my soul would carry it forever.”
“Dakota knew how to love. Dakota was love. He was everything good in my life. Every moment of joy I experienced was because of him.”
“Funny how one moment can change your life for the better. All it takes is a single second for things to go right. For everything to slip into place. And he was no longer Dakota Voss. No, now he was Dakota Walker. He’d taken my name, and so had Val. I had a family again. I had love. I had happiness. I had a million little moments, memories that I could hold firmly in the palm of my hand, memories that wouldn’t fade.”
“There were some moments I knew would stay with me forever: the day I first met Dakota… and every second of the rest of my life with him.”
Oh my god that ending 😭🥺 I literally couldn’t have asked for a more perfect HEA. This book was a little slow in the beginning but the last half was so good. I of course cried like a baby at times but those tears were definitely worth it. These two were definitely something special. The way they met and how their relationship progressed was equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming. I love how it was basically love at first sight for Dakota while it took Reese some time to catch up. It was so beautiful seeing how much Dakota loved every single part of Reese. How much Reese made him feel needed after growing up in a family who was nothing but hateful. How beautiful he thought his beautiful butterfly birth mark was, and how he made sure he always knew. Made sure that the marks he left on him would never fade away because he liked knowing he was his. Reese’s past was nothing short of painful but finding a love like Dakota’s made almost all of the pain he endured worth it. He missed his mom and sister more than words could ever explain, but he knew that he had someone by his side to hold him forever. While he may be Dakota’s most fierce and loyal protector, Dakota was the same for him. The ending of Dakota playing a song he wrote for Reese at Carnegie Hall was just everything because he knew Reese’s mom always wanted him to make it there. 🥹 And of course a major round of applause for no 3rd act breakup!!
— a LOT of quotes bc i’m a freak
“Looks like he caught himself a tiger. Or maybe I did.” — “Is finders keepers still a thing? ’Cause I found you first.”
“Two larger, darker freckles sat underneath his left eye. Even with the scar, he was pretty. Pretty and unpredictable and aggravating.”
“But Reese was pretty and vicious and… well, I’d never thought of another guy as pretty before, but that didn’t really matter, did it?”
“A boy with a butterfly on his cheek and a blistering fire in his eyes had completely disoriented me in the best kind of way.”
“It’s called a port-wine stain. It’s a type of birthmark caused by a gene mutation. That’s it.” — “Hm. I really like it. Looks kinda like a butterfly. Very cute.”
“He sounded so lost and broken, so desperate and devastated, and the urge to just take him into my arms and tell him everything would be okay was sudden and staggering. To give him what no one had ever given me.”
“I knew that face. I’d known that face since I was nine. That was the face that had made me want to play violin. That was the face I used to watch when I was a sad, angry fourth-grader. I’d known that face for an eternity, it felt like. I’d loved that face once. And then I’d forgotten it.”
“As shocking as this revelation was—that Dakota was that boy—it honestly felt like I already knew. I’d known, somewhere in my bones. I’d recognized him on a soul-deep level, and maybe it wasn’t his personality that grated on me so much as his entire existence because it was a reminder of everything I’d lost and why I’d lost it.”
“For once in my life, someone was helping me when I’d done something wrong. Instead of yelling at me, dismissing me, or ignoring me, Reese was helping me. And god it felt good.”
“Why did you give me a flower?” — “Because it reminded me of you. It’s a tiger lily. Smells like you, too.”
“Reese had left an imprint of himself on my skin, and I… Oh, fuck, I wanted more. I wanted him to leave traces of himself all over my body. I wanted to be reminded of him—of how he’d given me all his attention—every time I looked at myself.”
“I don’t know how long you’ve been doing this, or why, but you don’t have to carry this alone anymore. I can help you, Reese. I can be there for you. Let me help you.”
“I had no idea how to describe the feelings that kept multiplying whenever I was with him. How happy I was just to be near him.”
“There was only one comforting thing in my life right now, and that was Dakota. He made me want to laugh. To smile. I’d thought any and all good feelings I’d once had were completely dead.”
“I’m so sorry you lost them, but I’m glad you’re still here. Really, really, glad, Reese.” (Stop🥺)
“I like the night so much because it gives me the version of yourself that you’ve been fighting so hard to hide. It gives me you.”
“I don’t think you understand what you’ve done. You’ve created a monster, darling.”
“This was the boy that made me fall in love with music, the boy who’d captured all my attention when I was a lost, angry kid, the boy I’d admired and idolized. This was the boy that haunted my dreams and tormented my reality.”
“No one had ever gotten me a flower before. No one had ever paid as much attention to me as Dakota did.”
“I stared at his lips and thought those are mine. They were always meant for me. Weren’t they?”
“Now I knew he was the kind of person that I hadn’t known in a long time. Someone genuine and honest, someone dependable and kind. Playful and irreverent, yet never in a cruel way. Someone who wanted my attention and would do anything to get it. Someone I’d been looking for without even knowing it, who’d found me when I needed him most.” (Reese 😭😭)
“He’d snuck so quickly past every line of defense I’d put in place, and the way he seemed to know exactly what to say to get a specific reaction from me was unsettling in the most thrilling way—because that meant he was watching me closely from the very beginning, that his attention was on me long enough to have learned things most people never bothered or cared to learn.”
“It made me feel like I wasn’t alone. When I was with him, that empty ache, that gaping hole in my chest seemed to disappear, and in its place was a lightness I hadn’t felt in a long, long time. I’d forgotten how it felt to mean something to someone, and I wondered how I’d ever let myself forget that.”
“He was so fucking amazing. Beautiful and playful and sexy and sweet and cranky and hot and I wanted to have him forever. Him and all these things he made me feel. It was everything. He was everything.”
“I really was lucky. I’d been given something I didn’t even know to dream of, and now that I had him… I wanted to do everything I could to keep him. I’d do anything for him, do anything to keep him safe and make him happy. Fucking anything.”
“If this was what happiness felt like, I was glad for all the time I’d spent waiting for it. It made everything I’d experienced worth it. All those mediocre moments only made this one all the sweeter.”
“I didn’t think he had any idea how beautiful he truly was. That when he let himself be fully in the present, there was a vibrant happiness that lit his eyes. Gold and green, my favorite colors now.”
“Mine looked like a dark-haired, dark-eyed boy. Mine was more beautiful than any angel, more devious than any devil. Mine was equal parts predictable and confusing. Irrational and overwhelming. My demon was Dakota Voss, and he frightened me more than death itself.”
“That vicious little tiger had imprinted himself on my heart, dug his claws into my soul, and I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt him. Not my family, not me, not himself. I’d protect him at any cost.”
“I don’t even know… I don’t even… I don’t know how I survived without you all this time. But god I hate you. I hate that I need you like this, but I can’t lose you. If I lose someone else, I’ll die. I know I will. I feel like I’d do anything to keep you, and that…”
“When I was nine. Saw you in a video and fell madly in love with you. I think I’ve loved you forever.” — “You’re the reason I’m here,” he said, staring into my eyes. “The reason I started playing. It was all because of you.”
“I didn’t know what love looked like, or felt like… but if I had to imagine, I thought it would be something like this. I knew what being lonely felt like—and it was the opposite of this. And just like he wanted to keep me, I wanted to keep him right back. Keep him safe, keep him happy, keep him smiling, keep him grounded. I wanted to give him everything he needed, everything that had been missing in his life. I’d give him anything he asked for. Do anything he asked of me. I just hoped he never asked me to leave.”
“Go on, darling. Lie to me. Tell me you didn’t miss me.” — “I had missed him so much it hurt. The kind of pain I hated, that riotous, uncertain ache that only knew how to grow, how to multiply, until it had spread through every inch of me. So destructive and volatile that once it started moving, there was no stopping it. The kind of pain that meant he’d carved himself a place in my soul, and no matter how I tried to cut him out, it was impossible. He’d spread his roots, was fully embedded in my psyche, and that meant… It meant I was doomed.”
“I feel like pouncing on you every time I see you. I feel like you could touch me for days and it still wouldn’t be enough. I feel like you hide all your hurt because you’re afraid of someone adding to it, but you don’t have to hide with me.”
“I never knew I could feel this way about another person. Never really imagined myself ever feeling like this, but now that I do… I don’t ever want this feeling to go away. It’s… honestly, it’s the best fucking thing I’ve ever felt. When I’m with you, I feel like… like I could do anything. Like I could be anything.”
“Dakota…” — “And I really like it when you say my name like that.” — “Like I’m the only one who can give you the answers you’re looking for.”
“He made me laugh, even as it felt like I was being smothered by this horrible sadness. He made me laugh, and that… that was the most beautiful thing. He took my pain and turned it into something beautiful.”
“It was awful and all-consuming, and I never wanted to be desperate for anything in my life. Ever. But I was desperate for him, desperate for his nearness, his touches, his smiles and the sadness he hid deep inside and pretended wasn’t there. His love and his laughter. I was desperate to have all his attention, just like he wanted from me, and that… terrified me. Truly terrified me, right down to my brittle bones. But the fear wasn’t enough to make me stop. Nothing short of death would kill this desperation, I was pretty sure.”
“He said that I was the most precious thing in the world, but it was only because he thought I was precious that made it true.“
“I’d already been living in that for so long, and to finally have this—to have him... It was liberating and uplifting in a way nothing ever had been in my life. It was special and beautiful and precious, and I never, ever, wanted to forget it or lose it.”
“I love your eyes on me. When you look at me. It’s my favorite thing in the whole world, Reese.”
“Fuck, I loved it when he called me baby. Or darling. Or tiger. Even piranha. I loved any and all of the pet names that popped into his weird mind and out of that sexy mouth. They were something precious he’d given only to me.”
“I love you, Reese. I love you so damn much and I can’t keep it in anymore. I tried, I really tried.”
“It had been ten years since I’d heard those words. Ten years of thinking I’d go my entire life without ever hearing them again.” — “I choked on a laugh and cried even harder because god-fucking-dammit if I didn’t love him too. He was it for me. He was everything. He was my entire world—and the moon and the sun and the stars in the sky.” (Stop😭😭)
“You have made everything I’ve been through bearable, somehow. I’ve spent every moment of the past ten years feeling like I was being punished for something, but now it feels like I’ve been rewarded. Hell of a reward, too.”
“These marks on my body were words, everything he wanted to say but wouldn’t. Couldn’t. They were a declaration, a vow, a promise. They were him, pledging himself to me. Giving me the deepest parts of himself. Every part of himself. They were his love. I’d bet my life on that truth.”
“I’m really proud of you, you know that? In spite of everything you’ve gone through, you turned out like this. You’re amazing, Dakota. And you should be proud of yourself, too.”
“He was everything, my entire world, the final missing piece of my soul.”
“True pain was regret and being powerless to change anything. True pain was love. Being stuck with that love and having nowhere to put it, until it ate you up from the inside out.”
“I knew I’d never regret loving Dakota. All the pain that brought me to him was worth it, in the end.”
“Falling in love was like going mad. It was like being dropped into a fiery pit of overwhelming emotions that burned through your deepest parts, transforming them into something unrecognizable. Melting them down into their purest forms, molding them into a perfect vessel for all that love. And with it came the strongest yearning to do whatever it took to make your love happy. To make Dakota happy.”
“You still have me,” I said hoarsely. “You still have me and you can have me forever, okay? I want you to have me forever.”
“I don’t think there’s anything in the world that could kill this love I have for you. I love you now, and I’ll love you forever.”
“I love you. And darling, you could lie to me all day long and I’d still know the truth.”
“You’re not going anywhere, okay? Who would I wear this slutty pink jockstrap for?”
“I need you to know that I would fight the fucking world for you. I would destroy every last person who ever hurt you, if I could. I’d do that and I wouldn’t blink a fucking eye. Because you are worth everything to me. I would do anything for you. I fucking love you, Dakota. You are my darling. You are my entire universe.” (NO STOP)
“I love you,” I whispered, squeezing his waist. “I think since the moment you told me that your birthmark was a contagious disease back at the cemetery, I’ve loved you. You are so fucking strong.”
“I love every part of you, even if you can’t. They’re all beautiful to me.”
“My protector. My scrappy fighter. My vicious tiger. My beautiful darling. He was everything. And to know that I was everything to him, too, was all I needed.”
“To know that I would have this forever—have him forever—was the most exhilarating thought. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to live without him. There was no undoing all the beautiful damage he’d done to my soul.”
“There was so much beauty in his bones, and he was sharing it all with me. The world around us dimmed. There was no stage. There was no room full of people. There were no eyes but his, no one but him.” — “Nothing bad could happen to him as long as I kept my eyes on him. He was right here, right beside me, and he would always be right beside me. I smiled back at him. This honest, brave bastard was mine, and I was his.”
“We belonged to each other now, and nothing short of death would tear us apart. But I had a feeling that even in death, we’d find each other again. Our souls were made of the same stuff, anyway.”
“You once told me you promised your mom you’d make it to Carnegie someday,” he said softly. He held a finger up. “But there was no specification for performing at Carnegie. So.” He bent down and snapped open the case of his violin. “I wanted to perform for you.” (Seriously I can’t)
“I stared up at this beautiful, breathtaking, bighearted man and was so, so thankful that I’d found him. That he’d found me. There was no body big enough to contain the love I had for him; I didn’t think there ever would be. But my soul would carry it forever.”
“Dakota knew how to love. Dakota was love. He was everything good in my life. Every moment of joy I experienced was because of him.”
“Funny how one moment can change your life for the better. All it takes is a single second for things to go right. For everything to slip into place. And he was no longer Dakota Voss. No, now he was Dakota Walker. He’d taken my name, and so had Val. I had a family again. I had love. I had happiness. I had a million little moments, memories that I could hold firmly in the palm of my hand, memories that wouldn’t fade.”
“There were some moments I knew would stay with me forever: the day I first met Dakota… and every second of the rest of my life with him.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2025
dakota my sweet angel baby 😭
January 15, 2026
“There were some moments I knew would stay with me forever: the day I first met Dakota… and every second of the rest of my life with him.”
This is one of those books where I’m torn between emotions and trying to be objective.
and, well.. emotions win 🤷🏻♀️ They always do.
It's a kind of story where the prologue already breaks your heart, and you know you’re in it 100%. For some reason, these broken, damaged boys always manage to reach into your chest and grab onto something deep 💔
“He was like a little pocket demon I wanted to carry around with me everywhere.”
Lyla Dane writes characters in a way that makes you feel for them, even when you don’t fully understand or agree with their actions 🤍 They’re raw, intense, sometimes over the top, yes, but the tension is delicious, so you let it slide.
The big secret didn’t feel that serious tbh, but the dramatic turn somewhere in the middle hit really hard 💔 By that point, I was already so emotionally invested in these boys that it genuinely hurt 🥺
That said, trying (briefly) to be objective:
Reese’s behavior often didn’t make much sense to me (and this is not me diminishing his trauma).
Some interactions felt overly dramatic or out of place, like, they’re 22–23, not 18 anymore, people 🤷🏻♀️
The setting felt somehow.. limited? Mostly their room/dorm, with very few side characters. The story is almost entirely about their relationship.
“This was the boy that made me fall in love with music.”
Considering they’re both violinists, I expected more music. The moments we did get were beautiful, and I really wished there were more of them.
“Then don’t stare at me like that.”
“Like what? Like you’re incredible?”
I doubted between 4 and 5 🌟, but in the end, emotions completely won this battle. I loved Dakota and Reese so much that I honestly don’t care if they were logical or realistic enough. When a book makes me connect this deeply with its characters, all my logical remarks can fly straight out the window 😇
This is one of those books where I’m torn between emotions and trying to be objective.
and, well.. emotions win 🤷🏻♀️ They always do.
It's a kind of story where the prologue already breaks your heart, and you know you’re in it 100%. For some reason, these broken, damaged boys always manage to reach into your chest and grab onto something deep 💔
“He was like a little pocket demon I wanted to carry around with me everywhere.”
Lyla Dane writes characters in a way that makes you feel for them, even when you don’t fully understand or agree with their actions 🤍 They’re raw, intense, sometimes over the top, yes, but the tension is delicious, so you let it slide.
The big secret didn’t feel that serious tbh, but the dramatic turn somewhere in the middle hit really hard 💔 By that point, I was already so emotionally invested in these boys that it genuinely hurt 🥺
That said, trying (briefly) to be objective:
Reese’s behavior often didn’t make much sense to me (and this is not me diminishing his trauma).
Some interactions felt overly dramatic or out of place, like, they’re 22–23, not 18 anymore, people 🤷🏻♀️
The setting felt somehow.. limited? Mostly their room/dorm, with very few side characters. The story is almost entirely about their relationship.
“This was the boy that made me fall in love with music.”
Considering they’re both violinists, I expected more music. The moments we did get were beautiful, and I really wished there were more of them.
“Then don’t stare at me like that.”
“Like what? Like you’re incredible?”
I doubted between 4 and 5 🌟, but in the end, emotions completely won this battle. I loved Dakota and Reese so much that I honestly don’t care if they were logical or realistic enough. When a book makes me connect this deeply with its characters, all my logical remarks can fly straight out the window 😇
December 22, 2025
OMG this book hit me with ALL the feels. That prologue? A straight-up sucker punch to the heart 💥 Immediate devastation. Immediate protect Reese at all costs energy 🥺💔 What he went through at such a young age absolutely wrecked me—and honestly, don’t even get me started on Dakota because that man has suffered ENOUGH. The trauma these two carry had me clutching my chest because neither of them deserved ANY of it. Two broken boys, dealt the cruelest hands, somehow—against all odds—finding each other and accidentally stumbling into the best thing that’s ever happened to them… even if it took them a hot minute to realise it 🥺✨
Dakota is soft, warm, obsessive, loyal, and still holding onto light even when the world has been nothing but cruel to him 🫶 He sees Reese—really sees him—and refuses to look away. Reese is sharp, guarded, hurting, a little bitchy (affectionate), and so damn precious. Together? Their broken edges fit perfectly. Peak hurt/comfort. No notes.
Reese really got to me. While I haven’t lived what he’s lived, I deeply related to how he handles his trauma—closing himself off, guarding his heart, convincing himself that needing people only leads to pain… until Dakota shows up and completely ruins that plan 😮💨🖤
Lyla Dane is truly a master at writing emotional depth. The way she creates layered characters who each carry and cope with their trauma differently is unreal. She pulls you in, makes you ache for them, makes you want to shield them from any more pain while also desperately wanting to help them heal 💞 The emotions in this book were intense, overwhelming, and I was there for every single second of it.
I laughed, I cried, I clutched my chest, and I closed this book feeling completely undone—in the best way. If you love emotionally devastating stories that stitch you back together with care, longing, and deep connection… this one is an absolute must 🖤✨
*I received a complimentary copy of this book but this is my honest and voluntary review!*
Dakota is soft, warm, obsessive, loyal, and still holding onto light even when the world has been nothing but cruel to him 🫶 He sees Reese—really sees him—and refuses to look away. Reese is sharp, guarded, hurting, a little bitchy (affectionate), and so damn precious. Together? Their broken edges fit perfectly. Peak hurt/comfort. No notes.
Reese really got to me. While I haven’t lived what he’s lived, I deeply related to how he handles his trauma—closing himself off, guarding his heart, convincing himself that needing people only leads to pain… until Dakota shows up and completely ruins that plan 😮💨🖤
Lyla Dane is truly a master at writing emotional depth. The way she creates layered characters who each carry and cope with their trauma differently is unreal. She pulls you in, makes you ache for them, makes you want to shield them from any more pain while also desperately wanting to help them heal 💞 The emotions in this book were intense, overwhelming, and I was there for every single second of it.
I laughed, I cried, I clutched my chest, and I closed this book feeling completely undone—in the best way. If you love emotionally devastating stories that stitch you back together with care, longing, and deep connection… this one is an absolute must 🖤✨
*I received a complimentary copy of this book but this is my honest and voluntary review!*
Read
January 3, 2026Shelving this as read instead of rating because I'm sure how I feel. I think it’s more of a me problem than the book itself.
I absolutely loved Dakota. I found his character to be well developed and such a freaking sweetie. His talent at creating music and playing from memory was truly amazing. A misunderstood man who just deserves all the love.
Reese however lost it for me. The prologue and first few chapters had me. I felt for Reese, could feel his pain. As the story progressed he just became more unlikeable. More frustrating. His POVs left me wanting more. His indecisiveness left me feeling confused.
Lyla writes hurt/comfort and grief like no other. There were moments my chest ached and my heart hurt from it.
I’ve loved every single one of Lyla’s books and am sad I didn’t love this as much as I wanted.
Hurt/Comfort
Forced Proximity
Size Difference
First Times
Possessive/Obsessive MC
Marking & Biting
Roommates
College Romance
POV: Dual POV (First Person POV)
I absolutely loved Dakota. I found his character to be well developed and such a freaking sweetie. His talent at creating music and playing from memory was truly amazing. A misunderstood man who just deserves all the love.
Reese however lost it for me. The prologue and first few chapters had me. I felt for Reese, could feel his pain. As the story progressed he just became more unlikeable. More frustrating. His POVs left me wanting more. His indecisiveness left me feeling confused.
Lyla writes hurt/comfort and grief like no other. There were moments my chest ached and my heart hurt from it.
I’ve loved every single one of Lyla’s books and am sad I didn’t love this as much as I wanted.
Hurt/Comfort
Forced Proximity
Size Difference
First Times
Possessive/Obsessive MC
Marking & Biting
Roommates
College Romance
POV: Dual POV (First Person POV)
December 11, 2025
This is just an incredibly beautiful and touching story! Reese and Dakota are two lost souls who have experienced very little affection in their lives. Yet there is so much love inside them. And when they meet, we witness this love bursting forth from both of them—it's very moving. While reading, I fell quite in love with Dakota: the words "unconditional love" take on a new meaning; it's incredible how he accepts Reese just as he is, with all his flaws, which he not only tolerates but truly accepts. How he can show his vulnerable side and openly express his needs. But Reese, who would burn the world down for Dakota, is also just so adorable!
The steamy scenes are so well written and really got under my skin ❤️🔥!
Well, I find it hard to let go of them. And I'm sure I'll be thinking about them for a while. I can really only recommend this book with all my heart.
The steamy scenes are so well written and really got under my skin ❤️🔥!
Well, I find it hard to let go of them. And I'm sure I'll be thinking about them for a while. I can really only recommend this book with all my heart.
January 21, 2026
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (5 stars)
*𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔*
☆ Wicked Little Darling by #lyladane is another favorite read of 2026. ☆
my mother fucking HEART. it was ripped to shreds over and over. good LORD, lyla, you BRILLIANT woman.
this is a heavy as FUCK book. two deeply troubled boys, one who shines so bright and one deep in the dark. shitty families galore and a sweet side character that needs his own book.
slowest of burns. but it BURNED so well. the PASSION.
how in the FUCK did people say this wasn't spicy??? so heavy in spice. biting, marking, touch starved, grinding. they could literally orgasm by TOUCH alone...they were that gone for each other. seriously amazing.
i am never let down by this author. she destroys me over and over again and i come back like an addict because i KNOW she'll heal me.
fuck me, this book. Reese and Dakota -- unforgettable.
𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖
𝒑𝒐𝒗: 1st, dual
𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒔: strict top/bottom
𝒐𝒎/𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂: 🚫
3𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒑: 🚫
💧 hurt/comfort
💧 two traumatized boys
💧 first times for both MCs
💧 touch starved
💧 biting/marking
💧 trigger warnings
💧 heavy but so rewarding
*𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔*
☆ Wicked Little Darling by #lyladane is another favorite read of 2026. ☆
my mother fucking HEART. it was ripped to shreds over and over. good LORD, lyla, you BRILLIANT woman.
this is a heavy as FUCK book. two deeply troubled boys, one who shines so bright and one deep in the dark. shitty families galore and a sweet side character that needs his own book.
slowest of burns. but it BURNED so well. the PASSION.
how in the FUCK did people say this wasn't spicy??? so heavy in spice. biting, marking, touch starved, grinding. they could literally orgasm by TOUCH alone...they were that gone for each other. seriously amazing.
i am never let down by this author. she destroys me over and over again and i come back like an addict because i KNOW she'll heal me.
fuck me, this book. Reese and Dakota -- unforgettable.
𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖
𝒑𝒐𝒗: 1st, dual
𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒔: strict top/bottom
𝒐𝒎/𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂: 🚫
3𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒑: 🚫
💧 hurt/comfort
💧 two traumatized boys
💧 first times for both MCs
💧 touch starved
💧 biting/marking
💧 trigger warnings
💧 heavy but so rewarding
December 14, 2025
4.5 stars ☆⋆˙
Review:
Wicked Little Darling by Lyla Dane had me completely captive from the prologue. From the very first pages, I knew this story was going to hurt in the best way. If you’re looking for opposites attract, hurt/comfort, trauma, deep emotional wounds, and fierce protectiveness, this book delivers all of it.
Reese is a character shaped by loss. Left without a family at a young age, he learned early on that loving people only leads to losing them, and he refuses to take that risk again. His emotional walls aren’t cold—they’re built from grief and fear, and that makes his journey even more heartbreaking.
Dakota, on the other hand, comes from a wealthy family that looks perfect from the outside but is deeply toxic within—except for his little brother, the one person he truly protects. Burdened by a bad reputation, Dakota is constantly misunderstood, when in reality he’s sweet, obsessive, loyal, and desperate to be seen for who he really is.
I loved the push-and-pull dynamic between him and Reese, but what touched me the most was how they gave each other something the other had never known: Reese became fiercely protective of Dakota, seeing past the rumors and recognizing him as this lonely, soft, beautiful boy who just wanted to be seen.
In return, Dakota gave Reese a safe place—one without judgment, expectations, or fear of abandonment. He loved Reese despite his rough edges and emotional distance, teaching him that they could be alone, but alone together. Thank you, Lyla, for giving us this wonderful book and amazing characters.
Review:
Wicked Little Darling by Lyla Dane had me completely captive from the prologue. From the very first pages, I knew this story was going to hurt in the best way. If you’re looking for opposites attract, hurt/comfort, trauma, deep emotional wounds, and fierce protectiveness, this book delivers all of it.
Reese is a character shaped by loss. Left without a family at a young age, he learned early on that loving people only leads to losing them, and he refuses to take that risk again. His emotional walls aren’t cold—they’re built from grief and fear, and that makes his journey even more heartbreaking.
Dakota, on the other hand, comes from a wealthy family that looks perfect from the outside but is deeply toxic within—except for his little brother, the one person he truly protects. Burdened by a bad reputation, Dakota is constantly misunderstood, when in reality he’s sweet, obsessive, loyal, and desperate to be seen for who he really is.
I loved the push-and-pull dynamic between him and Reese, but what touched me the most was how they gave each other something the other had never known: Reese became fiercely protective of Dakota, seeing past the rumors and recognizing him as this lonely, soft, beautiful boy who just wanted to be seen.
In return, Dakota gave Reese a safe place—one without judgment, expectations, or fear of abandonment. He loved Reese despite his rough edges and emotional distance, teaching him that they could be alone, but alone together. Thank you, Lyla, for giving us this wonderful book and amazing characters.
December 17, 2025
Wicked Little Darling - Lyla Dane
5♾️/5✨🌟
* SPOILERS *
What can I say about this book except that it was so worth the wait! I never know what Lyla is going to come up with and every single one of her books have been amazing. I just loved how the first page sucked me into this amazing world. Every single one of her books hav been 5 stars. Lyla deserves nothing less than that because she knows exactly what she is doing to us.
Dakota Voss is my new favorite book boyfriend because that man is everything that Reese didn’t know he needed. All the cute nicknames he comes up for Reese were just over the top and just so adorable. Every one of them fit and he even found himself liking the names.
I just love how Dakota made Reese want to be better to himself as a person and to Dakota. I really loved how the beginning of them was perfect from how Dakota helped Reese when he was sleepwalking.
I really love the mystery vibes we get in this book because it kept you on your toes in what was going to happen. I also love the hurt/comfort that we get with these two. Every part of this book is set in motion to make us anticipate what’s going to happen.
The love that Dakota makes you feel is what every person should feel when they’re with that special someone in their life. And when Reese gives in, he gives in so hard that you can’t help but to smile at how much love and effort these two MC’s give.
When I was on the last page, I was sad it was over because this book was so worth every emotion I felt.
“𝐼 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒻𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝓊𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓎 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝓁𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝓊𝓇𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝒾𝒻 𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹. 𝐼’𝒹 𝒹𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝒶 𝒻𝓊𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑒𝓎𝑒. 𝐵𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒. 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒹𝑜 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝐼 𝒻𝓊𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝒟𝒶𝓀𝑜𝓉𝒶. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝓊𝓃𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑒.”
I received a copy of this book and this is my honest review.
5♾️/5✨🌟
* SPOILERS *
What can I say about this book except that it was so worth the wait! I never know what Lyla is going to come up with and every single one of her books have been amazing. I just loved how the first page sucked me into this amazing world. Every single one of her books hav been 5 stars. Lyla deserves nothing less than that because she knows exactly what she is doing to us.
Dakota Voss is my new favorite book boyfriend because that man is everything that Reese didn’t know he needed. All the cute nicknames he comes up for Reese were just over the top and just so adorable. Every one of them fit and he even found himself liking the names.
I just love how Dakota made Reese want to be better to himself as a person and to Dakota. I really loved how the beginning of them was perfect from how Dakota helped Reese when he was sleepwalking.
I really love the mystery vibes we get in this book because it kept you on your toes in what was going to happen. I also love the hurt/comfort that we get with these two. Every part of this book is set in motion to make us anticipate what’s going to happen.
The love that Dakota makes you feel is what every person should feel when they’re with that special someone in their life. And when Reese gives in, he gives in so hard that you can’t help but to smile at how much love and effort these two MC’s give.
When I was on the last page, I was sad it was over because this book was so worth every emotion I felt.
“𝐼 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒻𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝓊𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓎 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝓁𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝓊𝓇𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝒾𝒻 𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹. 𝐼’𝒹 𝒹𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝒶 𝒻𝓊𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑒𝓎𝑒. 𝐵𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒. 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒹𝑜 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝐼 𝒻𝓊𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝒟𝒶𝓀𝑜𝓉𝒶. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝓊𝓃𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑒.”
I received a copy of this book and this is my honest review.
December 13, 2025
I don't even know if it's me or the books at the moment, because the books just aren't hitting me the same way right now. I liked this one, but it wasn't as good as I expected.
I absolutely loved Dakota and Reese too, but Dakota was perfect. Together, they were so delicious. Dakota is 22 and Reese is 23, and their young age shows in the book; they are a little immature in a way. However, this didn't bother me, and I was in for the ride. But there were some things in the book that were a little OTP and too dramatic for my taste. Reese's reaction to what he had discussed with Albert was a bit exaggerated; he was initially going to leave Dakota because of this..?! overkill. And he didn't even tell the dean anything out of the ordinary. And then there was all the drama at the end related to that. Imo, the drama could have been limited to Everett.
The book was also long—not that there's anything wrong with a long book, but there were a few unnecessarily long internal monologues, for example. At some points, I wanted to skim some parts. And sometimes the chapters, where they started and continued, jumped around or changed a little oddly.
In any case, I enjoyed reading about Dakota and Reese. They had a different dynamic than other MM books of this type, and I liked the unique touch the author created. I loved how strongly Dakota felt about Reese; his devotion, openness, honesty, and how he was obsessed with Reese—not to mention the constant horniness hah. The scenes between them were so lovely, and I wouldn't have skipped a single one. I also appreciated that this wasn't insta love, but rather yearning and slow burn.
_______
”Because once the person you loved was gone, you were stuck with all those feelings. There was no one to give them to anymore. They sat there inside of you, a bitter, corrosive amalgam of a past that could never be undone. A constant reminder of everything you didn’t have anymore. Death created a distance both insurmountable and infinitesimal; it broke things apart and pulled them together. It was a touch that could shatter or bond—it just depended on the strength of who it touched. I wasn’t strong. Not at all. I just refused to break completely.”
_______
”I had missed him so much it hurt. The kind of pain I hated, that riotous, uncertain ache that only knew how to grow, how to multiply, until it had spread through every inch of me. So destructive and volatile that once it started moving, there was no stopping it. The kind of pain that meant he’d carved himself a place in my soul, and no matter how I tried to cut him out, it was impossible. He’d spread his roots, was fully embedded in my psyche, and that meant… It meant I was doomed.”
I absolutely loved Dakota and Reese too, but Dakota was perfect. Together, they were so delicious. Dakota is 22 and Reese is 23, and their young age shows in the book; they are a little immature in a way. However, this didn't bother me, and I was in for the ride. But there were some things in the book that were a little OTP and too dramatic for my taste. Reese's reaction to what he had discussed with Albert was a bit exaggerated; he was initially going to leave Dakota because of this..?! overkill. And he didn't even tell the dean anything out of the ordinary. And then there was all the drama at the end related to that. Imo, the drama could have been limited to Everett.
The book was also long—not that there's anything wrong with a long book, but there were a few unnecessarily long internal monologues, for example. At some points, I wanted to skim some parts. And sometimes the chapters, where they started and continued, jumped around or changed a little oddly.
In any case, I enjoyed reading about Dakota and Reese. They had a different dynamic than other MM books of this type, and I liked the unique touch the author created. I loved how strongly Dakota felt about Reese; his devotion, openness, honesty, and how he was obsessed with Reese—not to mention the constant horniness hah. The scenes between them were so lovely, and I wouldn't have skipped a single one. I also appreciated that this wasn't insta love, but rather yearning and slow burn.
_______
”Because once the person you loved was gone, you were stuck with all those feelings. There was no one to give them to anymore. They sat there inside of you, a bitter, corrosive amalgam of a past that could never be undone. A constant reminder of everything you didn’t have anymore. Death created a distance both insurmountable and infinitesimal; it broke things apart and pulled them together. It was a touch that could shatter or bond—it just depended on the strength of who it touched. I wasn’t strong. Not at all. I just refused to break completely.”
_______
”I had missed him so much it hurt. The kind of pain I hated, that riotous, uncertain ache that only knew how to grow, how to multiply, until it had spread through every inch of me. So destructive and volatile that once it started moving, there was no stopping it. The kind of pain that meant he’d carved himself a place in my soul, and no matter how I tried to cut him out, it was impossible. He’d spread his roots, was fully embedded in my psyche, and that meant… It meant I was doomed.”
January 16, 2026
5 ⭐️
3 🌶️
Tropes and Tags:
- 1st Person, Dual POV
- Angsty
- Roommates
- Hurt/Comfort
- First Times
- Possessive and Obsessed with each other
- Size Difference
- One sided animosity to lovers
This one's for the folks who adore when one MC is absolutely and undeniably ✨obsessed✨ with the other MC!
From their very first meet-cute/rescue/argument in the rain at an abandoned cemetery - Reese and Dakota had some truly palpable chemistry.
Dakota gives scary on the outside but sweet and gooey on the inside, and Reese has the vibes of a feral kitten that you just gave a bath - is grumpy, will hiss at you, but is maybe grateful deep-down that he's now clean.
These two have both had very rough lives, riddled with tragedy that have made them both quite lonely and closed off from the world. Dakota immediately decides that Reese is simply his now, and tenaciously tries to convince Reese of this. When he finally gives in to Dakota it's just the most precious thing. Seeing two characters who don't know how to receive love, experience it together was heartbreakingly beautiful🥹
This one is kind of an angsty one? There's definitely relationship and external drama that they face, but the tender moments really soften it.
Lyla hasn't steered me wrong, and I know with every new book I'm in for some gorgeous writing, a couple tears and a lovely HEA!🩵🫶🏼
3 🌶️
Tropes and Tags:
- 1st Person, Dual POV
- Angsty
- Roommates
- Hurt/Comfort
- First Times
- Possessive and Obsessed with each other
- Size Difference
- One sided animosity to lovers
This one's for the folks who adore when one MC is absolutely and undeniably ✨obsessed✨ with the other MC!
From their very first meet-cute/rescue/argument in the rain at an abandoned cemetery - Reese and Dakota had some truly palpable chemistry.
Dakota gives scary on the outside but sweet and gooey on the inside, and Reese has the vibes of a feral kitten that you just gave a bath - is grumpy, will hiss at you, but is maybe grateful deep-down that he's now clean.
These two have both had very rough lives, riddled with tragedy that have made them both quite lonely and closed off from the world. Dakota immediately decides that Reese is simply his now, and tenaciously tries to convince Reese of this. When he finally gives in to Dakota it's just the most precious thing. Seeing two characters who don't know how to receive love, experience it together was heartbreakingly beautiful🥹
This one is kind of an angsty one? There's definitely relationship and external drama that they face, but the tender moments really soften it.
Lyla hasn't steered me wrong, and I know with every new book I'm in for some gorgeous writing, a couple tears and a lovely HEA!🩵🫶🏼
December 12, 2025
OMG. What kind of sorcery is this? I swear I’m still trying to process everything because this book wrecked me in the best way. Lyla Dane really woke up and chose violence again because this one? Another absolute banger.
I’m very new to these tropes, and honestly I didn’t expect to love them this much. Joke’s on me, because now I’m obsessed.
Reese gets transferred to Ashbrook to finish his last few semesters, and this boy is carrying enough emotional baggage to fill an entire airport carousel. He lashes out, keeps people at arm’s length, and basically survives on pure stubbornness. Then comes Dakota, who is equal parts wolfish, cocky, and annoyingly charming. From the moment they meet, Dakota gets under Reese’s skin like it’s his full-time job.
Reese is very much not excited to share a room with Mr. Walking Distraction, but Dakota? He’s thrilled. And as the story slowly digs into their trauma, fears, and little cracks, it builds this soft, aching, ridiculously sweet bond between them. It’s the kind of relationship that sneaks up on you and suddenly you’re kicking your feet over two fictional men.
I’m in shambles. Actually I’m fine. Actually I’m lying. I’ll be talking about this book nonstop starting now
I’m very new to these tropes, and honestly I didn’t expect to love them this much. Joke’s on me, because now I’m obsessed.
Reese gets transferred to Ashbrook to finish his last few semesters, and this boy is carrying enough emotional baggage to fill an entire airport carousel. He lashes out, keeps people at arm’s length, and basically survives on pure stubbornness. Then comes Dakota, who is equal parts wolfish, cocky, and annoyingly charming. From the moment they meet, Dakota gets under Reese’s skin like it’s his full-time job.
Reese is very much not excited to share a room with Mr. Walking Distraction, but Dakota? He’s thrilled. And as the story slowly digs into their trauma, fears, and little cracks, it builds this soft, aching, ridiculously sweet bond between them. It’s the kind of relationship that sneaks up on you and suddenly you’re kicking your feet over two fictional men.
I’m in shambles. Actually I’m fine. Actually I’m lying. I’ll be talking about this book nonstop starting now
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