MCs:
- Hayden
- Calista/Callie
Book info:
- Violence
- Kidnapping
- Stalking
- Death of a loved one
- Addiction
- Breeding kink
- Non-virgin MCs
- Morally gray MMC
- No cheating
- OMD (mild)
- Age gap (almost a decade older than h)
- Third act breakup
- HEA
This will be the review for the duet.
"𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆."
Overview:
Hayden is a full-time lawyer and part-time criminal. When he can't put people behind bars using the legal system, he takes it upon himself to kill them. You see, they met in her dad's trial, and since then Hayden has been interested in Callie. She didn't pay him any attention because he's on the opposing side.
Her father is a senator; and was accused of killing his pregnant secretary, but he was found not guilty. Hayden can't believe that justice failed him again, so he killed Callie's dad. The interest he had in her never waned; instead, it only got worse as time passed. Up to the point where he started stalking her and invading her privacy.
I honestly enjoyed the first book, and I almost gave it a 5 ⭐. In the first book, Callie had a backbone and always stood her ground around Hayden. She never let him bulldoze his way into her life. I really expected her to remain like this all throughout this duet, but disappointingly, she didn't. In the second book, she became this weak heroine who let Hayden control and dictate her life. The 180 of her character gave me a whiplash. I mean, where was the strong girl from book 1? The one who didn't take shit from anyone? The body-betraying crap prevails, and she completely loses her common sense. Like her best friend said, “You’re going to take one look at his baby blues, or his dick, and become a puddle on the ground.”. I was so frustrated that she became a different person in the second book, because her strong personality is one of the things I truly loved about her.
As for Hayden, I liked his OTT obsessive and possessive nature when it comes to Callie. Like he's all "mine, mine, mine" all the time, and he's 100% certifiable for her. His behavior was still likeable to me in the first book. I enjoyed him getting territorial over her and being unhinged when any man tries to flirt with Callie. He literally embodies the "touch her and you die" vibe, he has no qualms killing these guys. But in the second book, he became so maddening. He took away her freedom and choices; it has become all about what he wants, and Callie has to follow everything he says. He never gave a crap about her feelings; it's his way or the highway, and he always gets what he wants. He went from likeable to detestable in a flash, at least to me.
Things he did that didn't fly with me:
— He killed Callie's father, and the man was innocent.
— He stalked her.
— He breaks into her apartment every night, giving her anxiety and removing her sense of security.
— He manipulated everything so that she'd move in with him.
— He instructed the OBGYN not to give Callie a depo shot, even though she was adamant about being in birth control. He purposely impregnates her to tie her to him.
— He tattooed his surname on her hip when she was unconscious.
— He became a dictator in the second book, and I'm not having any of it.
Lying is one of the things I hate in romance fiction, and Hayden did this for the majority of the story. He knew Callie would be hurt if he told her the truth, so he decided not to tell her anything. But secrets won't stay buried forever, and when he was forced to tell her all the things he did, he was not even sorry or remorseful about them. Maybe if he did show some guilt, I could let it pass, but he didn't, and that annoyed me more than ever.
There's a two-month breakup in book 2, when Callie runs away after finding out that Hayden is her dad's killer. But she loves him and is willing to get over that fact. She eventually talked to him, and they got back together. The ending is HFN (engaged and pregnant), and there's an extended epilogue two years later.
Overall, I didn't know how to feel about the story. I liked the first part of this duet, but the second was a letdown. But if readers want an unhinged, obsessed, and possessive MMC they should go read this. Hayden's craziness knows no bounds, and I'm sure some will love and swoon over him and the things he did for Callie.
PS. Harper's the one bright side in this story. She's the best friend worth having. I love her character more than the MCs. 😂