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Call It What You Want: A past they can’t escape. A love they shouldn’t want. A second chance that could destroy them both.
I thought I'd escaped him.Three years ago, Jackson McKnight painted my world in blood—and I swore I’d never look back. But monsters don’t stay buried forever…
When the black SUV skids to a stop outside the restaurant where I work, I already know it’s him.
My captor.
My first love.
My worst sin.
Jackson isn’t the reckless boy I remember. He’s colder now—beautiful, brutal, untouchable—the heir to the Burning Crown, a secret society built on power and violence.
And he says he’s taken me for my own good.
He locks me inside Rush House, the mansion where all his demons live, and tells me I’m safe here. But the way he looks at me feels nothing like safety.
Every word is a threat.
Every touch, a promise.
He wants to own me again—to twist the girl who left him into the woman who can’t leave at all.
I should hate him.
And I do.
But when the past comes clawing back, I start to wonder—Is Jackson my nightmare…or is he the only one who can save me?
🖤 Dark College Romance
✨ Second Chance Romance
🔥 Forbidden Love
⚡ Morally Gray Hero
💔 Enemies to Lovers
When the black SUV skids to a stop outside the restaurant where I work, I already know it’s him.
My captor.
My first love.
My worst sin.
Jackson isn’t the reckless boy I remember. He’s colder now—beautiful, brutal, untouchable—the heir to the Burning Crown, a secret society built on power and violence.
And he says he’s taken me for my own good.
He locks me inside Rush House, the mansion where all his demons live, and tells me I’m safe here. But the way he looks at me feels nothing like safety.
Every word is a threat.
Every touch, a promise.
He wants to own me again—to twist the girl who left him into the woman who can’t leave at all.
I should hate him.
And I do.
But when the past comes clawing back, I start to wonder—Is Jackson my nightmare…or is he the only one who can save me?
🖤 Dark College Romance
✨ Second Chance Romance
🔥 Forbidden Love
⚡ Morally Gray Hero
💔 Enemies to Lovers
298 pages, Paperback
Published November 10, 2025
31 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 12, 2025
This series has me in a chokehold, and I’m not even mad about it. I’m picky when it comes to heroines. Too sweet and I’m bored, too tough and I’m rolling my eyes, but this author gets it right. The women are soft when they choose to be, fierce when they need to be, and never doormat material.
This is an interconnected series, so don’t even think about skipping around. The best part of this series is how the characters overlap, collide, and crash into each other’s chaos. Every flaw, every secret, and every tangled relationship hits harder when you read them in order.
Now about that story. Three years after running from Jackson McKnight, the man who redefined dangerous, our heroine finds herself pulled right back into his world. He isn’t the wild boy she remembers. He’s darker, colder, and now the heir to a secret society built on power and control. When he takes her back, claiming it’s for her own good, you already know it’s about to get messy.
Jackson locks her away in Rush House, a mansion full of ghosts and demons, and says she’s safe. But nothing about this feels safe. Every word is a threat. Every touch is a temptation. She should hate him. She does. Mostly. But when the past comes clawing back, the line between love and destruction starts to blur, and it’s addictive.
If you like romance with claws, heroes who live in the gray, and stories that mess with your sanity in the best way, this series will own you, just like the Sacred Sons own me. The ending seemingly sets up a new series? A continuation? I'll take whatever I can get. I refuse to leave this world.
Please review trigger warnings, as these are my opinions only.
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice 🌶️🌶️.5
Darkness 🖤🖤.5
This is an interconnected series, so don’t even think about skipping around. The best part of this series is how the characters overlap, collide, and crash into each other’s chaos. Every flaw, every secret, and every tangled relationship hits harder when you read them in order.
Now about that story. Three years after running from Jackson McKnight, the man who redefined dangerous, our heroine finds herself pulled right back into his world. He isn’t the wild boy she remembers. He’s darker, colder, and now the heir to a secret society built on power and control. When he takes her back, claiming it’s for her own good, you already know it’s about to get messy.
Jackson locks her away in Rush House, a mansion full of ghosts and demons, and says she’s safe. But nothing about this feels safe. Every word is a threat. Every touch is a temptation. She should hate him. She does. Mostly. But when the past comes clawing back, the line between love and destruction starts to blur, and it’s addictive.
If you like romance with claws, heroes who live in the gray, and stories that mess with your sanity in the best way, this series will own you, just like the Sacred Sons own me. The ending seemingly sets up a new series? A continuation? I'll take whatever I can get. I refuse to leave this world.
Please review trigger warnings, as these are my opinions only.
Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice 🌶️🌶️.5
Darkness 🖤🖤.5
November 14, 2025
Wow!!! Jackson and Ava's journey had so many unexpected twists and turns I couldn't stop reading. Jackson stalked Ava, unbeknownst to her, after she broke up with him to the point that she became his obssession. All the secrets they both have was going to be the only thing that would shatter or save them. Although I am sad that this is the last of the legacy series, the author did right by each character and gave every detail event if it was dark, which explained so much about the character. Looking forward to reading her next series!
November 17, 2025
ooofff the ending !
I’ve loved this series since I started it! And the little surprise at the end
Just when you think it’s over, something happens to keep the story flowing !!
I’ve loved this series since I started it! And the little surprise at the end
Just when you think it’s over, something happens to keep the story flowing !!
November 24, 2025
🐝💙 Book Review💙🐝
📖 Call It What You Want by Evelyn Austin
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5
💙 Legacy of Lies: Book Eight
🐝 Dark College Romance
💙 Second Chance
🐝 Stalker
💙 Obsessed, Morally Gray MMC
🐝 “My Wife”
💙 Forced Marriage
🐝 Secrets and Lies
💙 Kindle Unlimited
I loved Lux and Roman’s story, but all of the others in this series felt different. This one gave me the “uncanny valley” feeling in multiple scenes where the continuity didn’t make sense.
Examples:
Right before the fight scene in the bedroom Ava is undresssed (she and Jackson were in bed together). She gets up to take a shower (I assumed still undressed) and gets attacked. But now apparently she’s clothed? Later in that scene she takes her clothes off in front of Jackson when she goes to take a bath.
Also, Jackson literally beats a man to death in the bedroom. Dude is laying dead in the room when they go in the bathroom to give Ava a bath. They come back out and don’t mention the body, any blood in the room, nothing. There was a brief mention of “it’ll be taken care of” (or something) but like… the blood had to be everywhere. The entire thing is just forgotten to move the story along?
Later on in the story, Ava is being hypnotized and Jackson leaves to do a whole bunch of stuff (spoilers deleted). But he’s back in time for Ava to confront him with the truth she found out from being hypnotized? Are we to understand that the hypnosis took HOURS? Because that’s the only time frame that makes sense for all the stuff Jackson was doing.
Those were the three big things that I remembered. I don’t know if it was just an issue with editing or what, but this book wasn’t my jam.
I enjoyed Jackson’s “my wife” moments but otherwise this book was a letdown for a series that I had really high hopes for.
Honestly, I was looking forward to Sin possibly having his own book, (especially since it may have been teased to be why-choose) but I don’t think I’ll be reading more after this.
📖 Call It What You Want by Evelyn Austin
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5
💙 Legacy of Lies: Book Eight
🐝 Dark College Romance
💙 Second Chance
🐝 Stalker
💙 Obsessed, Morally Gray MMC
🐝 “My Wife”
💙 Forced Marriage
🐝 Secrets and Lies
💙 Kindle Unlimited
I loved Lux and Roman’s story, but all of the others in this series felt different. This one gave me the “uncanny valley” feeling in multiple scenes where the continuity didn’t make sense.
Examples:
Right before the fight scene in the bedroom Ava is undresssed (she and Jackson were in bed together). She gets up to take a shower (I assumed still undressed) and gets attacked. But now apparently she’s clothed? Later in that scene she takes her clothes off in front of Jackson when she goes to take a bath.
Also, Jackson literally beats a man to death in the bedroom. Dude is laying dead in the room when they go in the bathroom to give Ava a bath. They come back out and don’t mention the body, any blood in the room, nothing. There was a brief mention of “it’ll be taken care of” (or something) but like… the blood had to be everywhere. The entire thing is just forgotten to move the story along?
Later on in the story, Ava is being hypnotized and Jackson leaves to do a whole bunch of stuff (spoilers deleted). But he’s back in time for Ava to confront him with the truth she found out from being hypnotized? Are we to understand that the hypnosis took HOURS? Because that’s the only time frame that makes sense for all the stuff Jackson was doing.
Those were the three big things that I remembered. I don’t know if it was just an issue with editing or what, but this book wasn’t my jam.
I enjoyed Jackson’s “my wife” moments but otherwise this book was a letdown for a series that I had really high hopes for.
Honestly, I was looking forward to Sin possibly having his own book, (especially since it may have been teased to be why-choose) but I don’t think I’ll be reading more after this.
December 14, 2025
“Call it What You Want” is the eighth and final installment in the “Legacy of Lies Series.” This is a dark academia college romance and is a standalone in the series. Jackson McKnight has more money and resources than God himself. Ava is his ex girlfriend from three years ago and is obsession. “For so long, she was this ethereal figure in my head, just a fleeting memory of the one time in my life when I was actually happy. Until the fates intervened and my entire world went to shit…” Jackson was my captor. My first love. My worst sin.
“….all led me here, to her. She sees me in a way no one else ever has, not the broken pieces I’ve tried to hide, not the man I pretend to be, but me. The real me, stripped bare of all the armor I’ve spent years building.”
🖤 Dark College Romance
✨ Second Chance Romance
🔥 Forbidden Love
⚡ Morally Gray Hero
💔 Enemies to Lovers
This whole series has been exhilarating from the first book until the last! Evelyn holds you in the palm of her hand - expecting the worst but hoping for the best! The story will captivate you - it is full of drama, sexual tension, passion, danger and a few other twist and turns that you do not expect …. I will not ruin the story for you except to say, it will keep you totally engrossed and not able to put the book down!
There is never a dull moment - you will be hooked! I know I was - just love Jackson and Ava! A thoroughly enjoyable read from page to page, one chapter to the next - at times you are metaphorical “on the edge of your chair” wondering what will happen next. Overall, I would highly recommend this book and you will not be disappointed 😊
“….all led me here, to her. She sees me in a way no one else ever has, not the broken pieces I’ve tried to hide, not the man I pretend to be, but me. The real me, stripped bare of all the armor I’ve spent years building.”
🖤 Dark College Romance
✨ Second Chance Romance
🔥 Forbidden Love
⚡ Morally Gray Hero
💔 Enemies to Lovers
This whole series has been exhilarating from the first book until the last! Evelyn holds you in the palm of her hand - expecting the worst but hoping for the best! The story will captivate you - it is full of drama, sexual tension, passion, danger and a few other twist and turns that you do not expect …. I will not ruin the story for you except to say, it will keep you totally engrossed and not able to put the book down!
There is never a dull moment - you will be hooked! I know I was - just love Jackson and Ava! A thoroughly enjoyable read from page to page, one chapter to the next - at times you are metaphorical “on the edge of your chair” wondering what will happen next. Overall, I would highly recommend this book and you will not be disappointed 😊
November 8, 2025
If I could I would give this book a 6 out of 5. I absolutely loved this final segment to this series. I am super excited to find out what is coming in the Dark Hearts Series.
Now onto my review of the book. This book took off from the very first chapter. Opening line and Bam she gets kidnapped, I was like wow we are getting right into it. We met Jameson in like chapter 2 and he was just the cute nephew, mentioned twice and then done. Just for the TWIST to come in the last 10%. I was not expecting that twist, you had me, and my shock scared my poor husband who was not expecting my shout of excitement. And then when you kept going with that twist with her Dad, like are you serious. I was blown away. I was not expecting her dad to have been in on it, but for little Jameson I am so happy he already had that relationship with his dad. I did think with it being book 8 and stated several times it was the final book in this particular series, that the series would wrap up with a nice big bow, and all the answers would be given, cliff hangers be done but NOOOO! You left this series with a cliff, a steep cliff. How am I supposed to go about my day to day life while Ember is with Sin. That was a devious thing to do to us. I do look forward to the Dark Hearts Series and I hope it comes very quickly. I will miss these characters and this world for the time being.
If you havent checked out this series, I highly encourage you to give it a shot. I have loved this entire series.
Now onto my review of the book. This book took off from the very first chapter. Opening line and Bam she gets kidnapped, I was like wow we are getting right into it. We met Jameson in like chapter 2 and he was just the cute nephew, mentioned twice and then done. Just for the TWIST to come in the last 10%. I was not expecting that twist, you had me, and my shock scared my poor husband who was not expecting my shout of excitement. And then when you kept going with that twist with her Dad, like are you serious. I was blown away. I was not expecting her dad to have been in on it, but for little Jameson I am so happy he already had that relationship with his dad. I did think with it being book 8 and stated several times it was the final book in this particular series, that the series would wrap up with a nice big bow, and all the answers would be given, cliff hangers be done but NOOOO! You left this series with a cliff, a steep cliff. How am I supposed to go about my day to day life while Ember is with Sin. That was a devious thing to do to us. I do look forward to the Dark Hearts Series and I hope it comes very quickly. I will miss these characters and this world for the time being.
If you havent checked out this series, I highly encourage you to give it a shot. I have loved this entire series.
November 14, 2025
Call It What You Want ( Legacy of Lies Book 8) by Evelyn Austin
4⭐️
2🌶️
I’ve arc read every book in the “Legacy of Lies” series and I’m sad it’s coming to an end.
This book like the others is filled with drama, secrets , lies and always a bunch of chaos brought on by the “Sacred Sons”
This is Jackson & Ava’s story
And Jackson might be the most unhinged one of the bunch! He holds Ava captive because of his obsession with her!
But Ava puts up a darn good fight trying to hide past secrets and not fall back into Jackson’s dark past.
She does give in to his magnetic personality and realizes Jackson took the blame for a tragedy that happened in their past.
And it does end happily for these two +one 😏
I really didn’t feel a connection with these two Characters, like I did with the previous books but I still enjoyed reading this one!
Evelyn really has a way of capturing your attention with these unhinged characters. And I’m glad I had the opportunity to read this series!
And I’m definitely curious to see what the spinoff to this series has to bring!
Thank you Author Evelyn Austin for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. 💙
4⭐️
2🌶️
I’ve arc read every book in the “Legacy of Lies” series and I’m sad it’s coming to an end.
This book like the others is filled with drama, secrets , lies and always a bunch of chaos brought on by the “Sacred Sons”
This is Jackson & Ava’s story
And Jackson might be the most unhinged one of the bunch! He holds Ava captive because of his obsession with her!
But Ava puts up a darn good fight trying to hide past secrets and not fall back into Jackson’s dark past.
She does give in to his magnetic personality and realizes Jackson took the blame for a tragedy that happened in their past.
And it does end happily for these two +one 😏
I really didn’t feel a connection with these two Characters, like I did with the previous books but I still enjoyed reading this one!
Evelyn really has a way of capturing your attention with these unhinged characters. And I’m glad I had the opportunity to read this series!
And I’m definitely curious to see what the spinoff to this series has to bring!
Thank you Author Evelyn Austin for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. 💙
December 17, 2025
Call It What You Want is the 8th book in the Legacy of Lies series. Three years ago, Ava saw something that drastically changed her life and took away the love of her life. Jackson has been watching and protecting Ava since the fateful day that tore them apart however parts of the past are resurfacing. He will do whatever it takes to keep Ava safe, even it that means tricking her and forcing her to do things she normally wouldn’t, even if it makes her hate him more than she already does. When threats and danger arrive on their doorstep, Jackson realizes the enemy is closer than he thinks and Ava discovers that what she believes happened three years ago is a lie. This book is an emotional rollercoaster full of angst, desire, heartache, secrets, truths, betrayal, and lots of spice!!! Fantastic addition to the series and I can’t wait to see what comes next!!!
November 15, 2025
Is it really the end….
As always, Evelyn Austin delivers. This series has had me hooked from the very start, and now that it’s over, I’m equal parts heartbroken and hopeful—because if this finale is any indication, the next journey will be just as unforgettable.
I’ve been waiting for Jackson’s story for what feels like forever, and let me tell you—it was worth the wait. Jackson’s character arc is everything I hoped for and more. The emotional depth, the chemistry, the growth—it all came together beautifully.
And that reveal at the end? The perfect cherry on top. I literally had to stop and catch my breath. Evelyn knows how to keep you guessing and feeling all the feels.
As always, Evelyn Austin delivers. This series has had me hooked from the very start, and now that it’s over, I’m equal parts heartbroken and hopeful—because if this finale is any indication, the next journey will be just as unforgettable.
I’ve been waiting for Jackson’s story for what feels like forever, and let me tell you—it was worth the wait. Jackson’s character arc is everything I hoped for and more. The emotional depth, the chemistry, the growth—it all came together beautifully.
And that reveal at the end? The perfect cherry on top. I literally had to stop and catch my breath. Evelyn knows how to keep you guessing and feeling all the feels.
November 13, 2025
I was captivated from the prologue! This book had me on the edge of my seat!
It was filled with secrets, some betrayal, drama, and a little suspense.
I must say, I did have a few suspicions. However, the twists and revelations at the end... I didn't expect at all!!
I loved Ava and Jackson. Jackson has my heart though. I wont ruin things, but the things he sacrificed. Swoon
The banter, spice, and overall chemistry was perfect. Despite everything, they never stopped loving each other.
The ending was perfect!
It was filled with secrets, some betrayal, drama, and a little suspense.
I must say, I did have a few suspicions. However, the twists and revelations at the end... I didn't expect at all!!
I loved Ava and Jackson. Jackson has my heart though. I wont ruin things, but the things he sacrificed. Swoon
The banter, spice, and overall chemistry was perfect. Despite everything, they never stopped loving each other.
The ending was perfect!
November 12, 2025
Evelyn is absolutely incredible. Every. Single. Book!
Always leaves you wanting more, cliffhanger after cliffhanger. The incredible writing style, literally everything is so amazing
When I first started this series I had gotten a free copy during a “SYK” event and since then I have not been able to put it down. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors.
Can not wait for more.
Always leaves you wanting more, cliffhanger after cliffhanger. The incredible writing style, literally everything is so amazing
When I first started this series I had gotten a free copy during a “SYK” event and since then I have not been able to put it down. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors.
Can not wait for more.
November 9, 2025
"I love you," he breathes, like it's the first truth he's ever trusted himself to say.
Ava and Jackson's story was a story to end the series!
It was dark and delicious and full of drama! I loved learning and exploring Jackson and his life.
Can't wait to read more by this author.
Ava and Jackson's story was a story to end the series!
It was dark and delicious and full of drama! I loved learning and exploring Jackson and his life.
Can't wait to read more by this author.
November 15, 2025
Speechless!!!
I loved loved this story the twist I did not expect and the ending!!! I need it to continue! 10/10
I loved loved this story the twist I did not expect and the ending!!! I need it to continue! 10/10
November 15, 2025
This series have been a rollercoaster and this is no exception. A lot of untold things that unravel through the story, making it engaging and wanting all. I cant wait to read more from the author!
November 20, 2025
Enjoyed Jackson and Ava’s story. Looking forward to the new series launch and hopefully revisiting some of these characters!
November 24, 2025
This was sooooooo good that ending blew my mind.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews