Pink Ink

by Avina St. Graves

Gothikana meets Dexter in this sinfully delicious dark romance about a horror-obsessed film student who's secretly tracking the murders of a serial killer--unaware he's also her brooding professor.

There's a serial killer prowling the city, and no one has noticed...
Except for me.
I see the connections between his kills--
The artistic references,
The careful curation of the scene,
The macabre motifs that turn violence into vivid works of art.
When I recreate one of his murders for my film project at Cresswell University,
I unknowingly present it to the very man who committed the crime.
Professor Maddox Shaw.
A world-renowned artist struggling to recapture his muse.
A serial killer caught deep in the web of a dangerous secret society.
A man who makes me come alive.
Sleeping with your professor is bad enough.
Sleeping with a serial killer is just asking for trouble.
When trouble finds me, it's not Maddox, but the powerful people pulling his strings.
There's no line they won't cross to keep their secrets safe.
And there's no line Maddox won't cross to keep me.
After all, he's good at killing people.

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Dark, Dark Academia, Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary

400 pages, Paperback

Expected publication August 4, 2026

About the author

From an early age, romance author Avina St. Graves spent her days imagining fantasy worlds and dreamy fictional men, which spurred on her introverted tendencies. In all her day dreaming, there seemed to be a reoccurring theme of morally grey female characters, love interests who belonged in prison, and unnecessary trauma and bloodshed.

When she isn't reading, writing, doom scrolling, or figuring out how to make red flags look green, you can find her holed up in bed, combating the three Ps: back pain, neck pain, and knee pain.

Reviews

[Saranya [catching up] · Rating 3 out of 5]

She is obsessed with recreating the city’s most gruesome unsolved murders for her senior project. He is the professor grading her work and the hidden hand behind the crimes she’s bringing to life.

ᰔᩚ professor x student
ᰔᩚ age gap
ᰔᩚ secret society
ᰔᩚ found family
ᰔᩚ murder
ᰔᩚ dark academia vibes

This was exactly what I needed for my current mood. Having previously read Skin of a Sinner, I couldn't wait to dive into another one of this author's worlds. I really, really loved Reyna, the fmc of this book. Her character was much interesting and stronger than that of Belle. While Maddox, who is the mmc of this book, was compelling, Roman still is unbeatable.

But here's a thing- I don't really want to read any book in a male's pov. Most of his pov's were filled with lust!

Regardless of that, this was unputdownable. I absolutely devoured it. And oh my, what a spectacle of the plot twist that was!
────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────
commentary:

~ He aCtUaLLy committed a murder with a bReAd kNiFe?!!?!!
~ Uhh, there's a mistake in their age gap here. It was mentioned 7 years gap and now it's saying 11 years age gap.
~ Bahaha, the fmc just called him "the human embodiment of viral infection." Love you, girlie<3
~ My head is absolutely steaming right now. The mmc made a horrible first impression, and people with that disposition always irritate me.
────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: 4 August 2026

[levi (pretty sad for a boy so in love)]

Professor x student trope
Serial killer x detective trope

Yes sign me up thank you

[DianaRose]

the dark romance girlies will love maddox shaw🙂‍↕️

full rtc closer to pub day

[Dahlia]

Saw this on ig and added it to my tbr just to find out it wasnt released yet 💔
But good side ? Professor x student romance where she is obsessed with crimes but her professor ends being the criminal she searching for. Yep am in

[Youssra (semi ia- shelving books don't mind me)]

Only adding this because it's prof x student... praying this fmc isn't as insufferable as Bella🤢

[⊹ ࣪ ˖ ꒰ঌ mimi ໒꒱ ⊹ ࣪ ˖]

im not a big dark romance reader BUT once i saw this was professor x student where he’s a serial killer and she’s recreating his murders for a film project for his class you know i had to request an arc right away 🤭


and yes i got the arc ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gallery Books and Netgalley out here making my day with this arc approval 🫶🏻

“𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆.”

There’s just something about a serial killer romance that hits every time, and I loved Pink Ink so much!

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧:
- professor x student
- age gap
- dark academia
- secret society
- serial unaliver

[Kenia Coronado · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ate this up!! Loved the structure of the story, the pace was perfect, the slow burn was perfect, the characters and everything! The plot and twist i did not see coming at all!! I was getting worried towards the end because things were not anywhere near being resolved but the twist made sense!

[lex (samkiel’s version ⚡︎) · Rating 5 out of 5]

avina bestie drinks on me next time because holy frick this is my new favorite book of yours!!!!! Shaw is everything to meeee. I ate up the forbidden Professor x student tension between these two. the way they egg each other on, intentionally and unintentionally was honestly so hot. this wasn’t just lusting for another person, this was a look into unfettered obsession.

And the overlapping of the macabre crime scenes and classical art forms was masterful, watching unexplained violence be molded into an elegant and secret conversation between a serial killer and the person hunting them.

Thanks to Gallery Books for the eARC!

[Sam B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me just say I devoured this in record time! I’m such a sucker for a good Student x Teacher romance. The angst, challenge and bickering between Reyna and Maddox in the beginning had my brain on a swivel. I never knew what was going to come out of their mouths next.

Reyna moves to New York to attend Cresswell University to learn more about her father’s death after her mother passes away.
Upon attending an art gallery, Reyna begins examining an art piece from none other than Maddox Shaw. When a striking man walks up next to her and asks her opinion on the piece, she gives him her critique. Little does she know, this man will become her teacher and is Shaw himself.

Reyna. Stalks. A. Serial. Killer.
And makes movies for her class using pink blood and recreating the murder scenes because they are set up to represent famous paintings. Avina I absolutely adore your mind.

I can’t even begin to describe how delicious this buildup was between these two. But once that buildup exploded, they were f@$kin on the desk. So I got my happy ending 🤣

Oh and did I mention there is a secret society? Buckle up because the twist and turns will keep you guessing.

[Pearl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thankyou to Avina, Gallery Books and NetGalley for this e-ARC. 🩷

Tropes:
📷 Stalker x Stalker
🔪Dark Academia
🩷Professor x Student
📷 Age Gap [11 years]
🔪Serial K*ller
🩷Third Act Breakup
📷Indonesian FMC x British MMC
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Oh Lord. I dont know how Avina does this. This book was so good from start to finish, I was in a flow state. This is a cinematic masterpiece. I had high expectations, and she topped them all.

Both the characters are very different, they're written splendidly. You can almost hear their accents and wear their shoes in their respective POV. They're such intense people. The prose of the story GRABS you and pulls you in.

The story is magnificent.
I did not expect their love story to hook me the way it did, the tension between the two is suffocating. Maddox's madness blends beautifully with Reyna's darkness.
I love Maddox's personality, he's not your average crazy guy, he has depth, humor, and knows how to YEARN.
Reyna's mental state, her grief and curiosity for the abnormal, is explored wonderfully. Her character is so strong without the need to aggressively display it, which again, I appreciate so much.

Every time Avina writes a book, you can SEE that she has done her due research about what ever topic she wishes to write on.
The ending was so beautiful, while he painted flowers, I could see that he himself blooms throughout the book.
I wish this book went on for ever and ever.

[Renita]

“To my muse,
To be loved by an artist is to become immortal. This is for you.”

IM SORRY. I don’t understand how Avina continues to write the most amazing stories with the most amazing men and the BEST FMCs. I had high expectations for this book and my expectations were exceeded.

Reyna moves to New York to attend Cresswell University to get her degree, of course, but to also learn more about her dad who passed away shortly before her mom. She only saw her dad a couple days out of the year, but she knew he attended the same university. She goes to an art gallery and ends up offending one of the painters with her critiques on their painting. Turns out the same artist she offended, is her new professor, Professor Shaw.

One thing I’ve always LOVED about Avina’s writing, is the banter, and this book is no exception. The banter in this book is hilarious. And can we talk about that tension???

I love Maddox and Reyna with my entire being. The way this man talks to her is unmatched. 😭 And I’m sorry but Reyna is my spirit animal. She throat punched him and immediately became my favorite FMC of all time. I love that girl.

So many of my favorite tropes are in this book. We’ve got:
🖤 Professor x student
🩷 Secret society
🖤 Touch her and 💀
🩷 Dark academia
🖤 Age gap
And more.

I love love love this book so much. How am I supposed to wait so long for release day until my physical copy comes??? 😭

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

PRE-ORDER
Amazon US * Amazon UK

I've taken some steps back from reviewing over the recent years but one thing to know about me if you haven't seen my reviews before - I'm not going to blow smoke up your ass. ARC or not, if a book is a 1 Star read for me, I'm going to say it and I'm going to say why. And on the flip side, if a book is rated 5 Stars for me, just know it blew me out of the water. And this one was luckily the latter.

To be perfectly honest, I have only read one book by Avina St. Graves before and it was a rough read for me that ended as a 2 Star. So I was a little nervous to jump into this one but I mean, Professor/Student, Serial Killer/Crime Junkie? How could I not give that a try?!? And I'm really glad I did because I devoured this story. Let me tell you why...

"To be loved by an artist is to become immortal."

The slow burn style of the first half of this story was *Chef's Kiss* and that comes from a reader that doesn't usually love too slow of a burn. But here's the thing. It was done beautifully. Full of tension and intrigue and holy hell that yearning between Reyna and Maddox where you could feel how they wanted each other with the looks and the banter was amazing. My god, the banter! I loved it. I was obsessed with it. I was obsessed with the characters and even now I want to go back and re-read it all over again. Especially for the spice that was done so well and had me clutching those invisible pearls.

Now I do have to say that the twist wasn't very twisty for me. I guessed it very early on in the story. But at the same time it still left me guessing with the secret society storyline and I didn't know how that would end for Maddox and Reyna. It did come to an end pretty quickly near the end to kind of wrap things up in a nice neat bow, but for me that didn't lessen my enjoyment of the story at all.

Overall, I highly highly recommend this book and I can already tell that I will be doing a re-read sometime in the near future. Was it absolutely perfect, no and again I won't blow smoke up anyone's ass and say that it was. But the story as an entirety was brilliantly done and I really liked the mix of intrigue and romance and spice. I think this actually might be my first 5 Star read of the year and it truly deserves it in my book.

ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Hailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m sorry but this book was just not for me, it was so slow it really didn’t pick up till the last 20% and even that bored me. The main character Reyna was literally the only character I liked in this book, it felt like everyone else was just written as an afterthought, Maddox was very unlikable, I predicted most of the ending, and there was parts of the story that didn’t get closure. It’s not the worst book I’ve ever read but it’s definitely not the best. It felt like a lot of the boring parts were dragged out and it made it hard to focus or read more than a couple chapters in one sitting.

Thank you NetGalley, Gallery Books, and Avina St. Graves for the eARC.

[Tyler | bookishwithty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pink Ink by Avina St. Graves completely blew me away. One thing I love about Avina is that she always brings something fresh and unexpected to her stories. As always, I went into this release excited and curious about what she would deliver, and this might honestly be some of her strongest work yet (and I’ve been here since her indie debut!) The creativity in this story is on another level. It’s layered, sharp, and intentional in a way that makes you stop and appreciate the craftsmanship behind it.

The plot is plotting. The spice is absolutely spicing. But beyond that, Avina turns this story into art while writing about art, and somehow makes you fall in love with the beauty and darkness of creative obsession all at once. The tension, the dynamic, the twist… everything kept me completely enraptured from start to finish.

Pink Ink is a seductive descent into artistic obsession, where forbidden desire stalks as closely as death, and deadly curiosity blurs the line between muse and monster. 5 stars!

[Persephone · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Read!

I absolutely loved everything about this book. I have not read many dark academia books, but they are in my top 5 favorite. I love Avina’s books, and I honestly think that this one is her best (that I have read from her so far). The way she sets the tone and the mood, how she described everything in such detail was incredible. The writing was beautiful and the scenes were poetic, honestly, standing ovation.

Maddox Shaw- THIS MAN. The way he had me giddy and absolutely drooling. I could hear his accent and the things that come out of his mouth would make me shiver with excitement. Broody professor, serial killer and artist, he’s a trifecta 😂 I LOVE THIS MAN.

Reyna Sinaga- she’s a baddie. She was a good and strong fmc who would stand her ground, she’s tough little cookie. Shes definitely a relatable character and I love that. There were many times where I wanted to hug her and say “me too girl, me too.” 🥹

Reyna and Maddox made a perfect match. I LOVED their banter. Their connection and chemistry was explosive and the TENSION was everything that I crave. What I really loved was that the book wasn’t overpowered with spice. It was a delicious slow burn and when the spice hit, the scenes were *CHEFS KISS*! If you’re a lover of dark academia and serial killers then add this to your list!

I have ONE question… what ever happened to Lawrence? Or did I miss something? Lol

[IsItSmut · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been trying to find the right words to convey how much I loved this book. Every descriptive detail that Avina put into this book painted the picture so perfectly. I loved the power dynamic between Maddox and Reyna, and loved how it shifted throughout the story line. There were plot twists I didn’t see coming, and the spice was top tier. This is definitely going to be one of my top reads of 2026.

[Beth Throlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is just something about the characters and writing that Avina St. Graves does that gets me absolutely obsessed with her books. Okay Pink Ink did not disappoint! The pacing, slow burn, and dark romance elements were perfect. I loved the plot and the smut was *chefs kiss* I was on the edge of my seat at the end and did not see that twist coming! If you are a fan of dark romance I definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing this ARC.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books twists & turns will have you on your toes. The plot twist was everything. Totally did not see that coming.

Maddox Shaw is the professor we all want. This story was utterly delicious.

[Becca :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah this is one of the best books I’ve ever read and I’m obsessed.

Serial killer professor in a secret society meets a lost film student obsessed with a serial killer she doesn’t know is him that’s looking for her father’s connection to said secret society. Need I say more????

Avina you never disappoint.

[Meagan Acquisto · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way I will mourn finishing this book… There are no words for how amazing, yearning, and astonishing this book is.

Dark romance lovers. Maddox. Maddox is our man.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pink Ink was a standout read for me. The humor and snarkiness hit immediately, but what really kept me locked in was the intellectual back-and-forth between the two main characters—especially their conversations around art. I’m not usually an academia fan, but this felt perfectly balanced and engaging, adding a layer that was sharp and intentional rather than heavy-handed.

There’s a lot going on in this story, and I mean that in a good way. You’ve got multiple plot lines weaving together: her fascination with horror and using crime scenes as artistic inspiration, and him—her professor—living a double life as a serial killer, possibly tied to something larger and more secretive. It sounds chaotic on paper, but it works.

That said, sometimes the pacing had me backtracking. The inner monologue between their verbal exchanges can run a bit long, and there were moments where I had to go back to remember what was actually said in conversation. It didn’t ruin the experience, but it did pull me out here and there.

Still, the banter? Easily one of the strongest parts of the book. It’s quick, layered, and genuinely engaging—which is exactly why I’m so excited for the audiobook. If the narration lands, it’s going to elevate those moments even more.

The spice was exactly right. It added just enough edge to match the tone of the story without overpowering everything else, and it felt intentional rather than excessive.

And that twist—I didn’t see it coming. The groundwork was there, but I was so absorbed in everything else unfolding that I missed it.

But what really stayed with me was the ending. The final chapter was beautiful, and paired with the epilogue, it’s one of the most satisfying conclusions I’ve read in a long time. It felt complete without losing that edge the story carried throughout.

I’d genuinely love to see visual interpretations of this world—both the main characters and the artwork from the exhibit, especially ‘The Little Dragon’. There’s something vivid about the way it’s all described that feels like it deserves to exist beyond the page.

Overall, this was clever, dark, and unexpectedly thoughtful and definitely one I see myself rereading.

[Starling · Rating 5 out of 5]

​I LOVE THIS BOOOK SO FUCKING MUCH. Honestly, I’m still vibrating from the intensity of it. I had high expectations because it’s Avina, but she didn’t just meet them—she absolutely nuked them. This book is majestic, period.
​That Man... I’m Not Okay
​Can we talk about Maddox Shaw for a second? Everything that comes out of this man’s mouth is just... unmatched. 😭 I don’t understand how Avina continues to write these men who just completely ruin your life. The character depth? Insane. The way he talks to Reyna? I’m literally sat. I would let this man critique my entire existence and I’d thank him for it.
​Reyna is My Soul Sister
​And Reyna? My actual spirit animal. The moment she throat-punched him, she became my favorite FMC of all time. I love a girl who doesn't take shit, especially when the banter is this hilarious and the tension is thick enough to choke on. Seeing her navigate Cresswell University while dealing with the mystery of her dad and then ending up with Professor Shaw as her new teacher? The drama was chef’s kiss.

​Tropes That Own Me
​This book hit every single one of my buttons:
🖤 Professor x Student (the forbidden energy was LOUD)
💗 Secret Society vibes 🤎
🖤 Touch her and 💀
💗 Absolute top-tier banter 🛐
🖤 Dark Academia 🕯

​The Verdict
​This is easily one of my favorite reads of the year. It’s raw, it’s funny, and the sexual tension is tangible. If you haven’t met Maddox Shaw yet, what are you even doing with your life? I devoured this and I’m ready to do it all over again.
​Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️+ (No thoughts, just Maddox Shaw and his majestic self.)
​

[mysoulricochet · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈𝐧𝐤
.
“𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆.”
.
when i saw this little jewel dropped into my kindle i was literally screaming because if you know me, you know i love a dark romance student x teacher. i didn’t expect to fall in love with Maddox - Daddy - Shaw ( he wears glasses, he’s british, call her LOVE, and he’s so obsessed - I REALLY ACCENTUATE THE WORD OBSESSED - with her, and he’s a misunderstood artist ) ; so when Reyna Sinaga, for her studies obviously recreates true scenes crimes from a serial killer ( did i mentioned Maddox is THE serial killer ? ) and found in these crimes, some artistics vibes, Maddox enter in the game.
.
“𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐. 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔. 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕.”
.
I LOVE their banter, the game between them, the chemistry and the smut is ABSOLUTE CINEMA ! when i tell you this book it’s one of my favorite from Avina im not lying. Maddox Shaw became one of my book husband forever, this man know what’s he’s doing with this finger ( purely artistic ) and his tongue ( purely speaking ) I MEAN SHE PASSED OUT OKAY ? trust me you need to read this book when he’s out in AUGUST.
.
thank you @avina.stgraves for the ARC and for sharing daddy shaw with me 🩷🔪
.
“𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆. 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑹𝒆𝒚𝒏𝒂. 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒐 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒐. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆.”

[Annie Simmonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Gallery Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

AVINAAA YOU GENIUUUS. I had no idea that I needed a book where a girl is high-key obsessed with a serial killer who ends up being the professor grading her films inspired by said serial killer!

First we have Reyna. An intelligent, passionate film-maker (student) with an incredible eye for art. Accidentally insults an artist to his face (see aforementioned professor) and then fully doubles down on it when she finds out he’s both her professor AND the artist? Perfection. Reyna has a spine of steel. I loved seeing his crime scenes through her POV as she takes note of every single artist element. Avina, every scene was art.

And we have Maddox Shaw. Artist, Professor, serial killer. The very definition of “if he wanted to, he would.” The contrast of Lawrence regularly forgetting that Reyna is allergic to tree nuts and therefore giving her almonds regularly to Maddox- “I’m willing to admit my shortcomings. Not knowing the classes of nuts is one of them. A fact that will change before the day ends.”- Shaw throwing a guy out of class for eating cashews and carrying an EpiPen is EVERYTHING.

I love a soulmates trope and if these two dark souls aren’t soulmates then nobody is. And the spice is SPICY.

[Yazmin Stone &#x1f90d; · Rating 5 out of 5]

6⭐️ ARC REVIEW: Render me freaking speechless!!! This way by far the most well written book i have EVER read. The writing was so poetic and so pin point perfect that it felt like i was reading a classic it was gorgeous. The storyline of this was so incredibly unique and worked so well with the characters. I absolutely adore Reyna, she is such a badass FMC and i only wish that i could be like her and Maddox well who doesn’t love mysterious, Hot professor? I know i do he is HOT and nobody will tell me otherwise. This was such a good read i was sucked in instantly and the story kept moving on and twisting so much that i just wanted to keep reading but at the same time i wanted to savour it so it never ended. The plot twists in this were incredible i didn’t see it coming at all. Can we talk about the Yearning in this because OH. MY. GOD. Yes it was spectacular that man was so down bad for Reyna it was beautifully done. Mi cannot wait for everyone to get their hands on this beautiful story because it generally is the most magnificent and heart wrenching story i have ever read in my entire life. Avina feel proud because this is like no other!!

[Moonlit.RomanceReads ✨️ Talia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The MMC, Mr Maddox Shaw, was the epitome of obsessed and I can’t get you out of my mind with Miss Sinaga. The way his obsession and need for Reyna is writing is stunning. This is a book I was truly waiting for the MMC POV just to see his yearning.

Our tough FMC Reyna Sinaga has truly survived a lot of unhappiness in her life, but seeing her passionate and stand toe to toe while arguing and irking each other was amazing. (Maddox certainly did not disagree..) Seeing the support and protectiveness between them two was adorable.

Also Abi - a girls girl. Thanks girly.

This book and it's plot sucked me in and wouldn't let go until I finished it, had to remind myself to occasionally move 😅 I have been reading Avina's books for a long while now and it's amazing to see the growth and evolution of her writing whole still being recognisably hers.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

THANK YOU Goodreads for this physical ARC!

When I say I DEVOURED this book, that's an understatement. I could have easily read this book in one sitting if my kids didn't feel the need to eat and such.

It has all my favorite tropes
The Smut
Age Gap
Professor x Student Relationship
Gothic
Dark Romance
Murder

A couple of my favorite quotes:
"If I haven't made myself clear enough to you, the only person who isn't good enough is me. I'm unworthy of every crumb you have to offer, but I'm a selfish man who's unwilling to share you with anyone else. Because I'm me, and you're you, and I'll never be worthy. I never knew it would be possible for someone to see the real me, and still want me."

"Let me be your monster, love. It's always been dark around my soul, and you've made me hungry for more."

Easily one of my favorite books I've read in a while. It kept me captivated the entire time and would 100% recommend this to my dark romance girlies.

[Jay Izabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Wow. Wow.

Avina, you’ve out done yourself!!

This book was absolutely incredible. The concept and the execution are flawless. Like who wouldn’t want a sexy, homicidal professor obsessing over them?!

I absolutely loved the characters in this book and the plot was everything a dark romance should be! The plot twists in this book had me sitting up so fast and screaming at my kindle.

Everything Avina writes is beyond amazing, but if you love dark romance, sexy British professors and murder… this one’s for you!

[Allurah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite by Avina St. Graves so far! This one will definitely appeal to those who might feel more nerdy or academic, or people who appreciate art and film theory since there is a lot of intellectual debate between the two main characters. And the sarcasm and banter between the two is OFF THE CHARTS! One of the few books I've read where you can almost taste the tension building.

I'm usually a fast reader but I dragged my heels just because I didn't want it to end. There is a twist at the end that the reader guesses pretty early but I think that's by design because the added tension is in waiting for when it finally gets revealed. It's like walking through a haunted house waiting for the jump scare you know is coming but you don't know when. It's predictable, but still manages to be so satisfying when it finally happens.