Vile Pucker: A Dark Gothic Hockey Romance

by Kate Raven

"Darling, I need my brilliant psychologist girlfriend to come down to Ashgrove Manor and verify that my son is not a psychopath. . ."

When renowned abnormal psychology specialist Dr. Lark Lindeth reluctantly agrees to do her boyfriend a favor by interviewing his superstar hockey player son Gabriel and reassuring his team that he is sane enough to play, she has no idea what darkness and depravity waits for her behind the dripping stone walls of Ashgrove Manor. . .

Author's this is a DARK Halloween horror romance and recommended for readers who love a fast pace, high spice, and unredeemable cruel villains who get a HEA. THE MMC IS NOT REDEEMED IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM AND REMAINS A PSYCHOPATH.

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark, Novella, Romance, Forced Proximity, Hockey, Sports

127 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2025

Reviews

[Kursed Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Lark Lindeth’s boyfriend begs her to come with him to Ashgrove Manor where his son, Gabriel Descoteaux lives so that she might assess his mental health. Before the Steelblades, a pro hockey team, will sign him, they require him to be cleared by a psychiatrist. Despite her misgivings, she relents when Lucian all but begs.

One look at Lark and she becomes Gabriel’s totem.

Y’all, I don’t even know how to describe my feelings about this one. Gabriel is a textbook psychopath and I ain’t completely mad at it. If you can go into this one suspending reality, it will provide an endless supply of spank bank material. However, there are a myriad plot holes in a far-fetched storyline.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🖤🖤
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😳🥵😳🥵😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}

POV: 👫🏻 {Single | Present}

🗄️ Genre: Contemporary Romance
🗂️ Subgenre(s): Dark, Erotic, Gothic, New Adult, Suspense

✨ Tropes: Billionaire, Forbidden, Forced Marriage, Forced Proximity, Insta-Obsession, Kidnapped/Captive, Reverse Age Gap (16), Stolen from OM
 
💫 Microtropes: Athlete, “We’ll Make It Fit”

💋 Kinks: 🍑, Biting/Marking, Body Betrayal, Breeding, Cum Jammer, Discipline/Punishment, Domination, Gagged, Impact Play (Belt), Spitting

🚩 Red Flags: Antihero, DubCon (by MMC), Forced Pregnancy, Jealous/Possessive/Obsessive, Manipulation, MINE!, NonCon (by MMC), Touch-Her-and-💀, Tracking/Spying, Unhinged MMC

🤰🏻 Pregnancy: Minor Storyline

📍 Setting: Remote Manor

⚠️ Warning: This book is definitely NSFW or with a kiddo by your side. In fact, I would highly recommend you read this one after dark to avoid side eye or awkward conversations.

⛔️ Safety Squad: Cheating (Kinda), Serial Unaliver (Not MMC), violence, unaliving, and other potentially triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!

📣 Type: Vile Pucker is a standalone.

🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars as I scratch my head 💀

I’m just surprised 🤡. There were some cringy moments and I didn’t think it could improve as I kept reading, but it did 😅… somehow it did 🤣.

This is my second favorite read by Kate Raven 😅🤣.

Dr. Lark Lindeth (38) is a doctor who specializes in psychopaths. Her boyfriend, Lucian Devereaux, asks her to analyze his son, Gabriel (22) in order to clear him to play on a hockey team 😅. You see, he has done some violent, unexplainable things😬, and no one wants to sign him up 🤷🏻‍♀️. But if a doctor clears him, he can get on a team and continue his hockey career 😅.

Of course, Lark is willing to help her boyfriend’s son, but she didn’t count on the fact that his son would become obsessed and unhinged for her 😬.

Gabriel’s a psychopath, and all he wants is Lark 😅. He doesn’t care what he has to do or he who has to get rid of, but she’s gonna be his and only his. In fact, she’s his obsession, his token, and he’s gonna do whatever he can to tie her down 😅

Literally and figuratively 💀, which includes Babies 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Lark has no idea what she signed up for 🤣.

What I liked/loved: SPOILERS
—how unhinged Gabriel is for Lark 😅. Umm… so this man is crazy, certifiable, but it’s only because he wants his woman 🤷🏻‍♀️. Yes, it’s concerning, but also kind of sweet 🤣. Burning houses? Check. Buying a crib? Check. Putting a tracker in? Check. Doing anything to get Lark to love him? Check check check 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

—the 🔥 (but not all of it 😅). Forced b. J. Happens at about 19% and then some other forced 🔥 at about 26%. Full 🔥 happens about a third of the way in, and it continues until the end 😅. This is definitely for adults only lol

—how protective Gabriel is 🫶. Look, I can’t explain it either, but some of the things that Gabriel does helps Lark, and one specific thing he does literally saves her life ❤️. Yes, it’s unhinged, but it’s offer her protection and her benefit 🥹❤️. He just wants to make sure that she’s safe 😭 even if what he’s doing his unethical 🤣

—forced pregnancy 🫠. I love Babies ❤️🥹, even if they’re unplanned by one of the characters 🤣 (the heroine in this case 🤣), and Gabriel just wants to be a family man 😭🥹❤️. So sweet 🫶

—the solving of the murders 😅. We get a twofer in this one 🤣. Sure, I had to suspend my belief, but hey, the job got done 🤡

—no owd* 👏🏻. Yes, Gabriel had a reputation, but when he sets his eyes on Lark, no one can change his trajectory 👏🏻 and he’s a faithful man that’s all about her ❤️

—he falls first 😮‍💨, and he’s willing to do anything to get her to love him 😈

—OTT JPPPP 😅 and mild OMD 😈. I mean. Gabriel DID steal Lark from his dad 🤣

—reverse age gap 😉

—dubcon/noncon 😅 (with an asterisk for this one)

—the epilogue ❤️. Loved it!! 👏🏻

What I didn’t like/wanted more of:
—for the 🔥 not to be so painful 😭. The amount of times I cringed… 😵‍💫. OUUUUUCH 🥴😅

—the belt scene 😐. I’m just not into scenes with punishment 😬

—more of Gabriel and Lark in their roles, as in, her as a doctor and he is an athlete 😅.

—more about the outcome of the deaths. Lark makes it a point to emphasize that the women being killed matter, but then we don’t get a lot of resolution with what happened to all the women that were killed 😐. I wish we had more here so that it doesn’t seem like they’re just unsolved murders 🤷🏻‍♀️

Overall, I enjoyed it 🤣

⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/owd
-murders/bloodshed
-not really owd but the H walks in with a bunch of girls (it’s implied he’s been a big manwhore 😒)
-OMD- the h has been dating the H’s father 😬 (and sleeping with him)
-noncon/dubcon
-forced breeding/biting/marking/anal/anal play/belt punishment/
-no virgins/the H has been a manwhore
-no condoms/breeding
-HEA/epilogue/18 months

[Nenia Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed out loud multiple times while reading this. I think this might be my new favorite Kate Raven title. Don't get me wrong-- this is NOT a cute little comedy; it's a very dark romance that is intentionally over the top bonkers, where the hero tells the heroine she looks pretty while she's pissing on her pregnancy test, and that they can pick out her choice of crib after he burns down a house. When you pick up a KR book, you're signing up for a tongue-in-cheek psychotic romp.

VILE PUCKER is a reverse age-gap hockey romance. The hero is a 22-year-old hockey player and the heroine is his father's girlfriend. When Lark comes to Ashgrove, she thinks she's signing on to be a stepmother and wife; then her boyfriend announces that he wants her to analyze his son and make sure he's not a psychopath so he can get traded to a better team. She figures that, statistically, it's highly unlikely that Gabriel is a psychopath, and that everything will smooth out once she gets married. She's only right about one of those things.

I read this in one day and kept messaging Kate my favorite lines. I seriously can't wait for whatever crazy shit she writes next, I know it will be great.

4 stars

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

mmc literally is a walking red flag with no redeemable traits but I ate it up

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got the arc for review.

4 stars. Vile pucker is a horror romance and the mmc does not change his way. Dark and scary story, can't say shipping the couple in anyway as its very toxic and bad in every way but as a horror romance it was a really intense read and perfect for spooky season. One part of my wants to dislike it but the other liked it for the horror.

[daemyra, the realm's delight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oct. 28, 2025 Review:

May as well go back to read The Catcher. I had some high hopes as there was pacing, set-up but after the first explosive moment hero sees heroine, it is absolute lunacy. Now did I like how insane he went? Yes, it was so reminiscent of The Catcher when he breaks the light with his bat.

But it was over-the-top while removing stakes. Everyone deferred to the son, so it made all the promising kinks boring. She doesn’t do anything as his therapist! All she wants to do is run away! And he is a hockey player but there’s also nothing happening except for a perfunctory meeting with the team he is signing to, and some training sessions.

With The Catcher, there were specific moments that made the story outside of the smut real and that it mattered. When she did a presentation on social media listening, that was hilarious. I was really hoping to see some of that with the heroine as the therapist.

It’s really just gothic vibes and a very weak murder mystery. The serial killer is obviously not the hero.

I’ve read nearly all of the author’s releases since The Catcher and I’ve only loved one of them since then.

Oct. 1, 2025: why did I get a notification that this book will now be published Oct. 27? 😭😭😭


Pre-ordered. I live for a therapist and troubled client. It's my new fav trope pairing! And seems very taboo... really hoping for something on par with The Catcher and Brutal Serpent, so far my fav reads by this author!

[klinta · Rating 3 out of 5]

hadn’t read crack plot like this since my beloved her drag barbarian only to realize after finishing it’s the same author LOL that checks out.

this was corny af but i fear it got me. the plot? nonexistent. the fmc (38) goes on a little weekend getaway to her boyfriend’s gothic manor. oh and she also has to clear his creepy ass son (22) of psychopathy allegations. as one does. psycho son looks at her once and orders his dad to “put her in my room”. after that it’s straight up lunacy 🤠

“I know you want to study psychopaths. You can study my cock on the back of your throat.”

“That’s it, doctor. Right there. That’s some fucking therapy right there.”

“Thank you, Dr. Lindeth. I feel like under your care I am developing a healthy, non-toxic masculinity.”

😭😭


anyway read her drag barbarian for some REAL plot!!!

[Deiondre Van Der Merwe · Rating 1 out of 5]

No one goes into a book with a cover like this and expects literary greatness. I definitely didn’t. And still, it was the worst book I’ve ever read. I feel like a horny teenage girl wrote this with ChatGPT.

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC

[Mysti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is written without the assistance of AI.

Kate Raven definitely knows how to write an unhinged psychopath. This book is NOT safe in any form or fashion, and it’s most definitely not a romance (unless you’re a psychopath). One thing’s for sure… I enjoyed every second of it. PS. I really wish KR would republish this with a new book cover… and fix the mistakes. I think it’d be a hit amongst us unbalanced people.

“You and the baby are my family. I don’t give a fuck. Let’s get the gasoline, baby girl. Then we’ll pick out the crib.”

Dr. Lark Lindeth (38, psychiatrist) reluctantly agrees to accompany her boyfriend to his family manor and conduct an assessment on his son. Due to some troubling behavior, the NHL is requesting confirmation that he’s not a psychopath before they sign him. It only takes a few hours inside the haunted mansion to know this girl should get a refund on her medical license!

“The boy needs a stepmother....Someone to gentle him. If you don’t feel comfortable working with him as a professional, think of him as a stepson.”

But that look in his eyes hadn’t been I need a stepmother. I didn’t know what it was, but it was something disgusting, depraved, desperately unsettling.

Gabriel Devereaux or Descoteaux (22, hockey psycho) doesn’t care who Lark arrived at the house with, she’s his now… whether she wants to be or not.

“She’s mine….Not yours. She never was yours. All you did was deliver her to me.”

His only plan is to knock her up and keep her….. again…. consent isn’t a necessity….

“Get back here, Lark. You think I’m letting you leave this room without filling your cunt with cum and your little belly with my babies?”

But the psychopath who wants to get her pregnant isn’t the only thing Lark needs to worry about. There’s also a serial killer on the loose, and nobody is safe.

“But my wife will give me something I want if I stop the Ashgrove Village serial killer. …..”

“The—fuck? What’s she going to give you?”

“She’s going to love me.”

SEX: There’s a lot of it and it’s dubcon, at best. Since he wants to knock her up, there are no condoms. Lark does reach climax, but her pleasure is never his priority. He takes every hole she has, whether she’s awake or not, and there’s never any prep. He spits, which seems popular amongst psychos. Personally, I hate it, but others seem to enjoy this kink.

CHEATING: None. When Gabriel arrives, he brings an entire gang of his “friends” with him, which include several girls. He doesn’t touch any of them and sends them away.

PSYCHO: I loved it. There’s one part involving another man and it was so freaking funny. I’m still laughing about it. Gabriel is absolutely insane. I love the methods he takes to secure Lark stays. I love the crazy ones!

QUESTIONS: These things probably don’t bother other people, but they do me. First thing is we can’t get the names right. He’s Mr. Devereaux 5 times and Mr. Descoteaux 7 times. I have no idea what his actual last name is supposed to be. Then, there’s this time Gabriel is outside the window that he supposedly can’t get in, yet he somehow manages to yank her laptop and phone out of it and spit on her. If he can do all of that, then what’s keeping him from climbing through the window?? In that same scene, she says she wishes she was wearing panties, and then says she’s yanking her panties down her legs. Those things bother me.

I definitely loved this and don't know why my friends didn't recommend it sooner. I'm disappointed!!

[↬ Ⓛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I can’t study you,” I said indignantly. “You won’t even tell me anything about the inner workings of your brain.”
“I’ll tell you about my brain. It has your pussy in the center and my need to fucking wreck it.”

I fucking love him, so fucking vile and unhinged. It’s very insta, fast pace, noncon, forced pregnancy, hockey, and fit Halloween vibes. He didn’t take the heroine, more like the dad just handed her to him on a sliver plate. I was here for it!

*ARC*

[Kate V · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 WHAT DID I JUST READ stars!

This was vile😂😂. If you like completely problematic dark and steamy horror romance…this is your bread and butter. I can always count on Kate giving me crazy and then some.

The heroine has ZERO control and the hero is crude, possessive and gives no f*cks that he just steam rolled a woman’s life. He’s not sweet and not redeemable. This isn’t romantic or swoon worthy.

BUT I couldn’t look away from this toxic and seriously screwed up quick and filthy read.




ARC provided for an honest review.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not disappoint! Very befitting of the Kate Raven canon. I also liked that there was a murder mystery subplot.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶🌶🌶
HEA: 🌟🌟.5/3
❗️Safety and Small Spoilers Below❗️



📌 Triggers: Violence and Gore (on-page) Non-Consent (on-page; MCs)

📌 MMC is a psychopath with no redeeming qualities besides his obsession for the FMC. This book contains a lot of non-con as the FMC tries to fight him off every step of the way. However, throughout this the MMC, in a unique way, shows his love for the FMC. And the FMC does learn to love the MMC.

📌 No Cheating/Sharing

📌 No OWD: MMCs past isn't explicitly mentioned but it's implied he's a manwhore.

📌 OMD: FMC is dating MMCs father and it's implied that they're have been dating for awhile. However, there's no on-page details regarding their relationship. And by chapter 4 their relationship was basically over.

📌 MMC forces FMC to be with him. FMC pushes away from him for practically the entire book.

📌 No Separation/Third-act Breakup

[Izzah ꒰Duchess of Cabria ಇ ⭑✧ ᴏɴ ᴘᴀᴛʀᴇᴏɴ ✧ ⋆꒱ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mini break in between more 'serious' reads

After reading her bi awakening book, I know this author's unhinged can sometimes overlap with my own.

Sadly,
・
・
・
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Lolina ⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a legitimate horror story 😭

[Vishous · Rating 1 out of 5]

is this how lobotomy actually feels like?

[Intel Chicky Reads Romance (Kara Merideth) · Rating 4 out of 5]

He's definitely a vile pucker, lol

Story: ⭐⭐⭐1\2
Trope: reverse age gap
Angst: 😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

This book had all the tropes I enjoy, irredeemable hero, reverse age gap, noncon, obsessed psych0 hero, but the execution just wasn't there for me. It was difficult to connect with the heroine, who came off as a bit self absorbed and never really felt her pull for the hero, even at the end. And the hero never really seemed like he had a reason for anything, to include his attraction for the heroine. That being said, I would definitely try a book by this author again. Everything was going in the right direction, it just didn't quite make it this time.

[Aurora Rosette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wtf did I just read 🤣🤣🤣
The amount of ridiculousness I've had to endure through out the whole read is Unmatched!!
The guy is exactly what the title said...

Vile, Disgusting, Rude as fuck, Unhinged, Certifiably Crazy, absolutely Violent who almost drove me nuts !!

But nonetheless A Hot One!
So I might've just overlooked all his red flags just like Our Fmc did!

🧚 Happy Read Besties 🧚

[hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

this took unhinged obsession to a whole new level 😂😂

my jaw literally dropped at the ridiculousness of gabriel but it was so entertaining!! 😂 as soon as he saw lark he said "put her in my room" 💀 the literal second he laid eyes on her!! SIR EXCUSE ME??? 😂

the way lark was dating gabriel's dad and this man wasted no time in taking her right from him. and his dad literally could not do anything about it. he made his dad look so pathetic i was crying 🤣🤣🤣 i completely lost it when lark was following the murderer and gabriel got jealous because she was near a man 😭

byeeee what even was this and why did i have so much fun 😭

[Jetscarbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️ for pure entertainment value. NONE of this would ever happen in real life, but it was an experience to read. Some of the quotes that took me out 😂😂🙃

———————-
“Turn around,” he said. “Put a finger in your ass,

“I was nice to your ass this time. I won’t be next time. That cunt is for me only. You’re not my father’s anymore.”


“Ouch, Gabriel!” “Squeal if you want, but my dick is going in your ass when I want it. And I want it now”
———————-

Sometimes I wonder about my mental state when I’m laughing like a fool at 6am reading this OTT stuff.

[scarr · Rating 1 out of 5]

dialogue so terrible it's actually impressive.
someone I follow gave this three stars and I thought to myself, "hey, maybe I do want to read a gothic hockey romance (lol?)" this didn't work out for me, sadly.

[Anna Nenna]

No notes here… this was … 👀😳👀😜😵‍💫🥴🤫 weird? Dark, gory, suspend your beliefs, smutty insanity… you don’t read this as a form of enlightenment but rather for the vibes… you know, just hang on to your seat and hope for the best!?
Spice 4/5🌶️

[TheReaderVert · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing Kate Raven will do is create the most absurdly perfect breeding story jam packed with OTT unhinged madness. She perfects these realities that if divorced from her written words would seem so ludicrous but on page shine vibrantly. It's a diamond with flawless clarity. The FMC is always a little strong a smidgen weak but always his weakness and that is no different here.

Tropes:
Reverse Age Gap (OW/YM)
Therapist/Patient
Aggressive Hockey player
possessive/obsessive MMC

🌶🌶🌶smex:
NonCon
Forced breeding
Birth Control manipulation
Body Betrayal
DubCon
Primal
Slapped dick against jaws
Balls slapping against skin

[Ashley - The Tattered Page]

HOOK: "MY PREGNANCY WON'T LAST FOREVER. ONLY 9 MONTHS. THEN I'LL BE ABLE TO ESCAPE YOU."
"BABY GIRL, WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT ONE PREGNANCY?"

A spooky gothic forc3d br33ding romance. . . 🎃

When renowned abnormal psychology specialist Dr. Lark Lindeth reluctantly agrees to do her boyfriend a favor by interviewing his superstar hockey player son Gabriel and reassuring the NHL that he is safe to draft, she has no idea what darkness and depravity waits for her behind the dripping stone walls of Mossgrove Manor. . .

Author's note: this is a DARK Halloween romance and recommended for readers who love a fast pace, high spice, and unredeemable cruel villains.

🔪 OTT J/P
🖤 Forc/d bre/ding
🔪NO C/NSENT
🖤Reverse age gap (22/38)
🔪 Hallowe/n & haunted
🖤 MEAN BUL/Y
🔪 serial k/ller roams the halls
🎃 Spooky Halloween novella
🎃 Dark Romance
🎃 Therapist & patient
🎃 Serial k!ll@r mystery
🎃 Spicy! 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Loco Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, I hate to give it a 3 because I freaking love Kate Raven, but this isn't really what I was hoping for. At first, I thought the reverse age gap would be the thing keeping from loving it, but in reality, I don't think I would have cared as much if the heroine was like Emrys from "The Catcher". Unfortunately, this heroine was bratty and bitchy and I think anyone who reads my reviews knows how I feel about bratty/bitchy heroines. 😂 I was also disappointed that this was basically a gothic Halloween Serial-killer-on-the-loose book instead of a dark sports or hockey romance. Though it really should have been more obvious to me this would have a spooky vibe since it came out a few days before Halloween, so that's on me! If you're looking for a quick, tongue and cheek Halloween read, this wouldn't be a bad choice, but I'm still holding out hope for another actual jock bully.

[*CJ* · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Vile Pucker” is the story of Lark and Gabriel.

This is a reverse age gap, gothic romance with a psychopath hero and a psychiatrist heroine.

Our heroine is 38 dating an older man, until she is invited to his remote mansion to meet his peculiar son. One look at the heroine, and the 22 year old hero is obsessed. He wants to have sex and breed her, she wants to run away. But he gets what he wants..

Thus begins a dubcon romance with insane amount of sex and smut, loads of baby making, stalking, bloodshed at the background of murders and mayhem. I love twisted tales and man this was one heck of a read!

Really enjoyed it

Safe
4/5

[Six · Rating 1 out of 5]

If this is not the worst thing I've ever had the displeasure of reading, I'll lobotomize myself.

In what world do you write this and not see any issue with your prose, grammar, WHITE ROOM SYNDROME, and overall cohesiveness, but just decide to publish it as is?
I just. My flabbers have gasted themselves.

Here are my annotations throughout and these are direct quotes, btw:

Unnecessary, I thought irritably. As if I’m some delicate woman who can’t handle it. I almost jumped as I caught a reflection of myself in one of the mirrors.
THE IRONY. (she proceeds to go on about her appearance)

What if I woke Lucian up and had sex with him? Maybe that would erase the feeling of Gabriel’s dick in my mouth, the sting of his size on my lips.
"I've just been sexually assaulted, let me have sex" (she doesn't actually have sex with anyone, mind you, but her train of thought...)

“There’s no need to harass me when there are women willing to engage in carnal relations with you.”
Omfg what is this fucking writing??????

I didn’t even want to look down and see what he was trying to press into me, but there were going to be bruises on my thighs from how heavy and swollen his balls were.
Girl, it's his dick and you know it's his dick he's trying to shove into you. And in what world would BALLS ever manage to create a fucking bruise on anyone? Good lord.

I screamed in a long, silent gargle[...]
Are you silent or are you screaming? (There was more to the sentence, but not needed for further context.)

his hands trapping both my hips and forcing them to go as wide as possible[...]
I hope that the author meant her THIGHS. This entire thing reads like a shitty, word-vomit-y first draft and if it had been, I would have accepted it as such. But it's not. Or maybe it is and the author thought that yeah, this is good enough.

"I don’t want that. I want you. I wonder if I got you pregnant already.” “Hell no,” I bluffed, but I remembered I was about halfway in the middle of my cycle. Maybe he had.
No, you fucking dumbass, it's been.. two days since he threw away your birth control. It doesn't go that fast. I refuse to believe that this author knows anything about the female body, the female reproductive system or sex in general.

If Mr. Descoteaux[...]
I thought the family name was Devereaux 🤪 Oh look, a continuity error. From this point onwards in the book, the author has decided on the name Descoteaux instead of Deveraux.

One of the new trainers did have a promising bulge in his pockets. Not like, the kind of package Gabriel wielded like a goddamn weapon in my face, but one that looked like a cellphone.
YES WE FUCKING UNDERSTOOD WHAT YOU MEANT

[...]pulling up my skirt with the other hand, his fingers ripping impatiently at my belt buckle.
A skirt... A belt buckle. Who the fuck wrote this??? What is going on?

And he shoved me against a tree and pulled up my skirt. When I looked down in horror, he was ripping my belt from its loops.
What is with this SKIRT AND BELT? Just what are you wearing?

“Gabriel, it hurts!” I complained, but I felt slick heat wet on my thighs, embarrassing proof of what he could do to my body,[...]
I truly got nothing. This has to have been written by a 14-year old whose only sexual knowledge is from shit like this, written by other 14-year olds.

There were gasps all around the auditorium as the psychiatry scholars clutched their notebooks. This would upend decades of research, but I had to be true to what I knew.
Ah yes, the experience of singular woman, based on her one singular experience with one singular person. Good basis for scientific research. Look, I know the author did fuck all (she mentions this herself) when she wrote this book, but good lord, woman, could you at least just.... try to put some effort into what you're writing about? You clearly have access to the internet, maybe try utilizing it.

If I can warn someone away from wasting their time with this, let this be that warning.

[Engrossed Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was crazy in all the wrong, yet right ways. I am genuinely shocked after reading it.

But to get to the plot, renowned psychiatrist (Lark) is offered the opportunity to help her boyfriend's son out with a diagnosis. All very sus but she does it because she wants the relationship to go further and is looking forward to finally visiting the stately manor. She wants to be married to a Dean and being a stepmother is no hardship, or so she assumes.

From the moment the reader is informed along with Lark that there's no cell service you know it's going to kick off. Then you meet the butler who is Lurch-esq but with none of the charm.

Enter stage, Lucien, hockey star and psychopath. Unhinged is an understatement. The obsession with Lark is real. I laughed, I winced but I was totally engaged with this level of madness.

Caveat, outside of book life, this guy would need to be killed. There's no going to prison as punishment for his abuse. Because he would escape and be back to stalking Lark.
This level of crazy needs to be contained in an urn.

[Maddie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a story… that was written.