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Virtual Vice #2
ENTANGLED: A Twisted Survival Horror MM Romance
Not yet published
Expected 30 May 26Love is his cage. Obsession swallowed the key.
Levi Mercer escaped one nightmare only to wake up in another. The sanitarium was supposed to be the end—freedom from Virtual Vice's twisted game, but dying over and over again is no longer the worst part of being trapped in a digital hellscape. The worst part is watching his former killer pretend they're not trapped at all.
To Asher, every nightmare scenario is home as long as they're together. Every death is just another day in paradise. The outside world? A fever dream. Freedom? A myth. Reality? Whatever keeps Levi by his side.
But paradise has rules, and Asher enforces them with increasing brutality. No escape attempts. No talk of the "real world." No questioning their perfect digital love story. Break the rules, and Asher will hurt anyone—including Levi—as a reminder that some cages are built to protect what's inside from what's outside.
Each scenario brings new horrors, but the real monster isn't the alien creature hunting them on a spaceship or the shadows in the fog of a mountain retreat. It's the man who loves Levi so much he'd rather break him than lose him.
The games are getting harder. The stakes are getting higher. And Levi needs to convince the man who learned to love him in hell that paradise isn't worth staying damned.
Levi Mercer escaped one nightmare only to wake up in another. The sanitarium was supposed to be the end—freedom from Virtual Vice's twisted game, but dying over and over again is no longer the worst part of being trapped in a digital hellscape. The worst part is watching his former killer pretend they're not trapped at all.
To Asher, every nightmare scenario is home as long as they're together. Every death is just another day in paradise. The outside world? A fever dream. Freedom? A myth. Reality? Whatever keeps Levi by his side.
But paradise has rules, and Asher enforces them with increasing brutality. No escape attempts. No talk of the "real world." No questioning their perfect digital love story. Break the rules, and Asher will hurt anyone—including Levi—as a reminder that some cages are built to protect what's inside from what's outside.
Each scenario brings new horrors, but the real monster isn't the alien creature hunting them on a spaceship or the shadows in the fog of a mountain retreat. It's the man who loves Levi so much he'd rather break him than lose him.
The games are getting harder. The stakes are getting higher. And Levi needs to convince the man who learned to love him in hell that paradise isn't worth staying damned.
457 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication May 30, 2026
About the author
Gale Ian Tate
8 books192 followersGale writes the kind of mm dark/gray romance that makes you question your life choices in the best possible way. When not crafting morally questionable characters doing questionable things, she can be found buried in a book, rolling dice in yet another D&D campaign, or frantically crocheting while binge-watching whatever series has stolen her soul.
She is a gaming enthusiast, horror movie aficionado, and BL manhwa collector who believes the best stories live in those deliciously gray areas. Between wrangling her four kids and making elaborate to-do lists (that will definitely be ignored), she is always down to geek out over a good book rec or debate which problematic character deserves more love.
She is a gaming enthusiast, horror movie aficionado, and BL manhwa collector who believes the best stories live in those deliciously gray areas. Between wrangling her four kids and making elaborate to-do lists (that will definitely be ignored), she is always down to geek out over a good book rec or debate which problematic character deserves more love.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Review of advance copy
I genuinely don’t know how I’m supposed to write a coherent review for ENTANGLED because I finished this book and immediately felt like I needed to stare at a wall for several business days, while also somehow sobbing at the same time.
IMMERSED, Book 1 in Gale Ian Tate’s Virtual Vice series, came out of nowhere for me last year. Gale Ian Tate was a new author to me, but the second I read the blurb for Immersed, I knew that book was written for me. It ended up becoming my book of the year in 2025 for both its creativity and its complete lack of holding back on the darker, more fucked up parts of the story. I am a massive horror nerd, as well as an environment artist. So when I saw those two things being combined with MM romance? I simply had to read it.
So, I’ll freely admit that going into ENTANGLED, I was anxious. How do you follow up a powerhouse of a book like IMMERSED? How do you continue after something that unique, that intense, and that emotionally consuming?
And then I started reading, and all of that worry disappeared almost immediately.
Not only is ENTANGLED my favourite of the two, it is easily in my top five books of all time and may very well be my new favourite book. Which feels insane to say, but honestly? I’m not even going to pretend to be normal about this.
This book takes everything I loved about IMMERSED and expands on it in a way that feels completely fresh. It gives us familiar characters, familiar horror, and that same horrifyingly immersive feeling, but it never feels like the same book again. Where Immersed leaned more into slasher horror and survival, Entangled shifts into something far more psychological, emotional, and devastating. It’s darker in a different way, and somehow even more painful because of it.
And then something happens around the halfway point that I did not see coming. At all. It completely threw me, and for a while I genuinely had no idea where the book was taking me next. I was scared, excited, stressed, and fully along for the ride, because the story suddenly felt like it had opened up into something much different and more emotionally complicated than I expected.
Which brings me to Levi and Asher.
I avoided talking too much about Asher in my review for Immersed because I wanted people to experience him for themselves, but if you’re reading a review for Entangled, I’m going to assume you’ve either read the first book or know enough to understand what you’re walking into.
Asher Kane is easily one of the most interesting, messed up, heartbreaking dark romance characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I absolutely love this man and absolutely hate him at the same time, but I will also defend him within an inch of my life if I need to. Not because I necessarily think he’s a good person, but because he is such an incredibly rich and complex character.
If you thought his behaviour in IMMERSED was unhinged, just wait.
He is cruel, possessive, conniving, and methodical, while also being romantic, deeply caring (in his own way), vulnerable, and at times so achingly desperate that I didn’t know what to do with myself. That combination makes him such a fascinating character to read because you never really get to settle into one feeling with him. You love him, then you hate him, then your heart breaks for him, then he does something awful and you’re back to wanting to shake him. It’s exhausting in the best possible way.
But Levi is the star of this book for me.
I loved him in IMMERSED. I loved watching him survive, adapt, and slowly realise the strength he had in him. But the way Levi comes into his own in ENTANGLED had me in absolute bits. He goes through so much hurt, grief, confusion, and loneliness, but he never once truly gives up. Watching him begin to understand who he is, what he wants, and what he is willing to fight for was genuinely incredible.
There is so much fight in Levi in this book. So much will. So much stubborn, aching humanity. He stands up for himself, for & against Asher, and for the life he wants, even when that life is messy and complicated and not something anyone else would understand. He knows things are fucked up. He knows their relationship is not healthy in any sense. But he also isn’t passive in it. He has boundaries. He has wants. He has agency. And even when those boundaries are challenged, the fact that Levi keeps reaching for himself and refusing to disappear inside Asher completely made me love him even more.
Their relationship is absolutely not going to be for everyone, and I really do mean that. If you need healthy dynamics, this is not the series for you. But if you’re comfortable with dark romance that leans fully into obsession, trauma, violence, co-dependency, and the ugliest, messiest parts of love, then Levi and Asher are something unforgettable.
Also, I need to talk about the ending without actually talking about the ending.
This book contains what might be the most romantic gesture I have ever read in an MM romance. I literally sat there staring at my Kobo with my jaw on the floor, sobbing, because of how unbelievably beautiful it was. I’m not going to call it goals because, again, this relationship is toxic as hell, but holy shit. It was romantic. It was devastating. It was perfect for them.
The overarching story is hard to talk about without spoiling anything, but I absolutely loved the direction this sequel took. The horror feels different from Immersed, but just as effective. You can feel the influence of games like Alien: Isolation, SOMA, Silent Hill 2, and so many other psychological horror experiences woven through the atmosphere of this book. It is so clear how much Gale Ian Tate loves this genre, and how much fun she must be having writing these stories, because that love is everywhere.
But make no mistake, this is not just IMMERSED all over again. It’s familiar in the ways it needs to be, but structurally and emotionally, it becomes something entirely its own. It’s darker, more painful, more intimate, and it does not shy away from any of it. Definitely check the content warnings, because this book goes to some incredibly heavy places.
I also have to mention the environments, because once again, they feel like characters in their own right. One of my favourite things about this series is how every setting feels alive and hostile and purposeful. These aren’t just backdrops for horror sequences. They have personality, rules, atmosphere, and emotional weight. Every new scenario feels like it was designed to dig into the characters in a different way, and I loved how the immediate cast shifted and twisted depending on what the simulation threw at them.
The side characters are also excellent. I don’t want to say too much, because part of the experience is watching how everything unfolds, but the cast outside of Levi and Asher has so much personality and presence. The way these characters change depending on the situation, how the horror reveals different sides of them, and how the story plays with your expectations of who they are and what they mean to Levi and Asher was so well done. Anyone waiting to hear more about these characters after Immersed, I hope you're ready, because I certainly wasn't.
And the twists. My god, the twists.
This book had me feeling like I was getting winded every few chapters. Secrets, reveals, rug pulls, all of it. The tension is there from beginning to end, and even when the story slows down, it never actually lets you feel safe. There’s always something lingering underneath. Something waiting. Something that makes you scared to turn the page but unable to stop.
I truly could sit here and talk about this book forever. I didn’t want it to end, and when it did, I felt completely hollowed out in the best and worst way.
ENTANGLED is brutal, devastating, romantic(?), horrifying, intimate, and somehow deeply beautiful. It took everything I loved about Immersed and pushed it into something even more emotionally affecting. Gale Ian Tate has created one of the most unique, disturbing, and unforgettable dark romance series I have ever read.
I don’t know if this is the last we’ll see of Levi and Asher, but I get the sneaking suspicion it won’t be, and honestly? I am ready to follow whatever beautifully twisted, emotionally devastating ride Gale Ian Tate takes these characters on next.
I don’t know when I’ll recover from this book.
Honestly, I’m not sure I want to.
Thank you so much to the author for this ARC!
IMMERSED, Book 1 in Gale Ian Tate’s Virtual Vice series, came out of nowhere for me last year. Gale Ian Tate was a new author to me, but the second I read the blurb for Immersed, I knew that book was written for me. It ended up becoming my book of the year in 2025 for both its creativity and its complete lack of holding back on the darker, more fucked up parts of the story. I am a massive horror nerd, as well as an environment artist. So when I saw those two things being combined with MM romance? I simply had to read it.
So, I’ll freely admit that going into ENTANGLED, I was anxious. How do you follow up a powerhouse of a book like IMMERSED? How do you continue after something that unique, that intense, and that emotionally consuming?
And then I started reading, and all of that worry disappeared almost immediately.
Not only is ENTANGLED my favourite of the two, it is easily in my top five books of all time and may very well be my new favourite book. Which feels insane to say, but honestly? I’m not even going to pretend to be normal about this.
This book takes everything I loved about IMMERSED and expands on it in a way that feels completely fresh. It gives us familiar characters, familiar horror, and that same horrifyingly immersive feeling, but it never feels like the same book again. Where Immersed leaned more into slasher horror and survival, Entangled shifts into something far more psychological, emotional, and devastating. It’s darker in a different way, and somehow even more painful because of it.
And then something happens around the halfway point that I did not see coming. At all. It completely threw me, and for a while I genuinely had no idea where the book was taking me next. I was scared, excited, stressed, and fully along for the ride, because the story suddenly felt like it had opened up into something much different and more emotionally complicated than I expected.
Which brings me to Levi and Asher.
I avoided talking too much about Asher in my review for Immersed because I wanted people to experience him for themselves, but if you’re reading a review for Entangled, I’m going to assume you’ve either read the first book or know enough to understand what you’re walking into.
Asher Kane is easily one of the most interesting, messed up, heartbreaking dark romance characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I absolutely love this man and absolutely hate him at the same time, but I will also defend him within an inch of my life if I need to. Not because I necessarily think he’s a good person, but because he is such an incredibly rich and complex character.
If you thought his behaviour in IMMERSED was unhinged, just wait.
He is cruel, possessive, conniving, and methodical, while also being romantic, deeply caring (in his own way), vulnerable, and at times so achingly desperate that I didn’t know what to do with myself. That combination makes him such a fascinating character to read because you never really get to settle into one feeling with him. You love him, then you hate him, then your heart breaks for him, then he does something awful and you’re back to wanting to shake him. It’s exhausting in the best possible way.
But Levi is the star of this book for me.
I loved him in IMMERSED. I loved watching him survive, adapt, and slowly realise the strength he had in him. But the way Levi comes into his own in ENTANGLED had me in absolute bits. He goes through so much hurt, grief, confusion, and loneliness, but he never once truly gives up. Watching him begin to understand who he is, what he wants, and what he is willing to fight for was genuinely incredible.
There is so much fight in Levi in this book. So much will. So much stubborn, aching humanity. He stands up for himself, for & against Asher, and for the life he wants, even when that life is messy and complicated and not something anyone else would understand. He knows things are fucked up. He knows their relationship is not healthy in any sense. But he also isn’t passive in it. He has boundaries. He has wants. He has agency. And even when those boundaries are challenged, the fact that Levi keeps reaching for himself and refusing to disappear inside Asher completely made me love him even more.
Their relationship is absolutely not going to be for everyone, and I really do mean that. If you need healthy dynamics, this is not the series for you. But if you’re comfortable with dark romance that leans fully into obsession, trauma, violence, co-dependency, and the ugliest, messiest parts of love, then Levi and Asher are something unforgettable.
Also, I need to talk about the ending without actually talking about the ending.
This book contains what might be the most romantic gesture I have ever read in an MM romance. I literally sat there staring at my Kobo with my jaw on the floor, sobbing, because of how unbelievably beautiful it was. I’m not going to call it goals because, again, this relationship is toxic as hell, but holy shit. It was romantic. It was devastating. It was perfect for them.
The overarching story is hard to talk about without spoiling anything, but I absolutely loved the direction this sequel took. The horror feels different from Immersed, but just as effective. You can feel the influence of games like Alien: Isolation, SOMA, Silent Hill 2, and so many other psychological horror experiences woven through the atmosphere of this book. It is so clear how much Gale Ian Tate loves this genre, and how much fun she must be having writing these stories, because that love is everywhere.
But make no mistake, this is not just IMMERSED all over again. It’s familiar in the ways it needs to be, but structurally and emotionally, it becomes something entirely its own. It’s darker, more painful, more intimate, and it does not shy away from any of it. Definitely check the content warnings, because this book goes to some incredibly heavy places.
I also have to mention the environments, because once again, they feel like characters in their own right. One of my favourite things about this series is how every setting feels alive and hostile and purposeful. These aren’t just backdrops for horror sequences. They have personality, rules, atmosphere, and emotional weight. Every new scenario feels like it was designed to dig into the characters in a different way, and I loved how the immediate cast shifted and twisted depending on what the simulation threw at them.
The side characters are also excellent. I don’t want to say too much, because part of the experience is watching how everything unfolds, but the cast outside of Levi and Asher has so much personality and presence. The way these characters change depending on the situation, how the horror reveals different sides of them, and how the story plays with your expectations of who they are and what they mean to Levi and Asher was so well done. Anyone waiting to hear more about these characters after Immersed, I hope you're ready, because I certainly wasn't.
And the twists. My god, the twists.
This book had me feeling like I was getting winded every few chapters. Secrets, reveals, rug pulls, all of it. The tension is there from beginning to end, and even when the story slows down, it never actually lets you feel safe. There’s always something lingering underneath. Something waiting. Something that makes you scared to turn the page but unable to stop.
I truly could sit here and talk about this book forever. I didn’t want it to end, and when it did, I felt completely hollowed out in the best and worst way.
ENTANGLED is brutal, devastating, romantic(?), horrifying, intimate, and somehow deeply beautiful. It took everything I loved about Immersed and pushed it into something even more emotionally affecting. Gale Ian Tate has created one of the most unique, disturbing, and unforgettable dark romance series I have ever read.
I don’t know if this is the last we’ll see of Levi and Asher, but I get the sneaking suspicion it won’t be, and honestly? I am ready to follow whatever beautifully twisted, emotionally devastating ride Gale Ian Tate takes these characters on next.
I don’t know when I’ll recover from this book.
Honestly, I’m not sure I want to.
Thank you so much to the author for this ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Author
“𝕀 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥. 𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪. 𝕊𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕝𝕖. 𝕋𝕚𝕞𝕖. 𝔻𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕒 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕞𝕖?”
I said it after reading Immersed and I’ll say it again after reading Entangled. The idea of this book is literally so insane a virtual horror reality game that becomes an endless nightmare? For those of us who crave unhinged romance with a twist of horror this book is a must read.
Entangled starts off with our boys Asher and Levi being hunted on a spaceship. And everytime Levi tries to bring up leaving the game Asher doesn’t want to hear it…. Because why would Levi want to leave if they were together ?
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it was a literal masterpiece. Asher’s whole personality in this book is so unhinged and I absolutely loved it.
My favorite part about Entangled is the evolution of Levi and Asher’s relationship. And the progression of Levi’s character. Asher’s unhinged attempts at romance are literally what I now live for. He is so toxic, raw, and unapologetically himself. The humor, horror, trauma, and steam in this book will leave you a different person than going into it. Entangled went beyond my expectations and left me staring at a wall for an hour after finishing this book. I will say I absolutely loved the ending it was beautiful and haunting in a way I did not expect.
Asher is literally my favorite psychopath I have ever read. The chapter titles in this book are also incredibly witty. The world building in this book is absolutely perfect, the way the monsters are described and the steamy scenes left me with such vivid images.
Both entangled and immersed are in the top 5 books I’ve ever read because they are just that good.
I said it after reading Immersed and I’ll say it again after reading Entangled. The idea of this book is literally so insane a virtual horror reality game that becomes an endless nightmare? For those of us who crave unhinged romance with a twist of horror this book is a must read.
Entangled starts off with our boys Asher and Levi being hunted on a spaceship. And everytime Levi tries to bring up leaving the game Asher doesn’t want to hear it…. Because why would Levi want to leave if they were together ?
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it was a literal masterpiece. Asher’s whole personality in this book is so unhinged and I absolutely loved it.
My favorite part about Entangled is the evolution of Levi and Asher’s relationship. And the progression of Levi’s character. Asher’s unhinged attempts at romance are literally what I now live for. He is so toxic, raw, and unapologetically himself. The humor, horror, trauma, and steam in this book will leave you a different person than going into it. Entangled went beyond my expectations and left me staring at a wall for an hour after finishing this book. I will say I absolutely loved the ending it was beautiful and haunting in a way I did not expect.
Asher is literally my favorite psychopath I have ever read. The chapter titles in this book are also incredibly witty. The world building in this book is absolutely perfect, the way the monsters are described and the steamy scenes left me with such vivid images.
Both entangled and immersed are in the top 5 books I’ve ever read because they are just that good.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I’m trying to formulate words to encompass this book!
This is the second book in this world (won’t say duet because Gale won’t confirm this is the last book) and it basically picks up where we left off at the end of Immersed. Asher and Levi are in a spaceship and aliens have been set loose and they have to figure out the game so they can “hopefully” leave. Well, Levi wants to figure it out- Asher is content to be there with Levi and has no desire to leave. Every time Levi tries to get a head of the game, Asher basically thwarts him, until Levi realizes he has to manipulate Asher to get him to help.
Now that Levi knows the rules he is even more determined to get out of there. And while he knows Asher is toxic and a psychopath, he can’t help but cling to him in this nightmare.
I won’t say more than that, I don’t want to spoil the book but it was amazing! I can’t love it anymore. I felt all of the emotions! I cried, I freaked out at the horror points and I laughed out loud several times! Asher is even more unhinged and I loved it! My baby Levi was an adorable ball of mental health issues and I wanted to hug him!!
The spice is 🥵🔥🫠 and def read the trigger warnings becaue the noncon/dubcon is all over this book. There is 💯 abuse-physical, emotional, and sexual, so please think of your mental health going in.
Thank you Gale for the opportunity to read this and review! It was so good, hooked me from page one! While this could be a perfect ending, I won’t say no to more content in the future! 🙌
This is the second book in this world (won’t say duet because Gale won’t confirm this is the last book) and it basically picks up where we left off at the end of Immersed. Asher and Levi are in a spaceship and aliens have been set loose and they have to figure out the game so they can “hopefully” leave. Well, Levi wants to figure it out- Asher is content to be there with Levi and has no desire to leave. Every time Levi tries to get a head of the game, Asher basically thwarts him, until Levi realizes he has to manipulate Asher to get him to help.
Now that Levi knows the rules he is even more determined to get out of there. And while he knows Asher is toxic and a psychopath, he can’t help but cling to him in this nightmare.
I won’t say more than that, I don’t want to spoil the book but it was amazing! I can’t love it anymore. I felt all of the emotions! I cried, I freaked out at the horror points and I laughed out loud several times! Asher is even more unhinged and I loved it! My baby Levi was an adorable ball of mental health issues and I wanted to hug him!!
The spice is 🥵🔥🫠 and def read the trigger warnings becaue the noncon/dubcon is all over this book. There is 💯 abuse-physical, emotional, and sexual, so please think of your mental health going in.
Thank you Gale for the opportunity to read this and review! It was so good, hooked me from page one! While this could be a perfect ending, I won’t say no to more content in the future! 🙌
Review of advance copy received from Author
This was everything.
Snippets of book 1 were still there but this was so much more.
RAGE QUIT - phenomenal
The final few chapters made me cry, but the good kind that heals something I didn't know needed healing.
Go read this. You'll love it.
I received an ARC for my honest review.
Snippets of book 1 were still there but this was so much more.
RAGE QUIT - phenomenal
The final few chapters made me cry, but the good kind that heals something I didn't know needed healing.
Go read this. You'll love it.
I received an ARC for my honest review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews