He’s the reckless trainwreck who feels too much and breaks even more. She’s the one whose past stole her voice and taught her that trust is a trap. One glance, and they’re tangled in secrets, jealousy, and a desire sharp enough to ruin them both.
I. A. Dice writes emotionally intense romance—both dark and light—but always equally spicy. When she’s not dreaming up love stories, she’s probably drinking too much coffee and swooning over fictional men.
Guysss I LOVED this!!! I didn’t know how much I needed a dark college romance but it definitely scratched that itch.
You’re following a good girl x bad boy, both with trauma who find peace in each other. Their attraction is forbidden (brother’s bestfriend) and the angst and tension almost had me combusting, it was SO juicy omg. You’ve also got a second love interest, I say that slightly because it’s more of a curiosity, I wouldn’t define it as a love triangle BUT it definitely keeps you hooked. I think the way it was done is realistic given what the FMC went through and that one particular scene (iykyk) was everything!!!
The found family in this was TOP TIER, that entire friendship group…I need all their books PLEASE and thank you.
I most DEFINITELY recommend this. This was such a page turner, I was hooked from the very beginning until the end, not a single boring moment. I was laughing, sweating, giggling and crying throughout the book…I absolutely love when a book can make you feel every emotion under the sun and this book did just THAT.
Thank you so much to I.A. Dice and the team for sending me this book in the most stunning PR box. Thank you for allowing me to meet Creed and Millie early, their story truly touched me. I can’t wait to read more in this series!
Good girl and bad boy college romance! I really liked the dynamic between noah and millie but creed had my heart! After being humiliated and almost taking her life, millie goes mute around those she doesn’t trust because if you dont speak they can’t use your words against you. Creed who was abused by his dad throughout his childhood felt guilty for what happened to millie because he took away millie’s brother when she needed him the most. Creed is triggered by her silence because of his dad’s treatment but that didn’t stop him from bringing down her walls and gaining her heart. Very wholesome story between the two and i liked seeing millie blossom.
Thank you so much I.A. Dice and FGS Publishing for the ARC and the opportunity to read this early!
I need everyone to understand that I was not simply reading Quiet Obsession…I was living inside it. Breathing it. Thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it. And then I finished it and just sat there like??? That’s it??? Because I need MORE.
This book consumed me in a way that felt borderline unhealthy.
I also have to say this because it genuinely added something extra to the whole experience for me. This being my first time reading a book by a Polish author made it feel even more special as a fellow Polish girl!🤍❤️
Millie is the kind of character who’s difficult to capture in words because there’s so much depth to her it almost aches to unpack. She’s a girl who learned how to fight for her life far too young, surviving cancer as a child, only to be met later with a level of betrayal and public humiliation that would break most people. The exposure, the cruelty, the way everything she thought she knew about her world shifted overnight. Her silence isn’t a weakness, it’s a form of control. It’s a shield she’s built around herself as it’s the one thing that is undeniably hers.
What I loved is that her silence doesn’t make her feel absent in the story. In fact, it does the opposite. You feel her more. Every look, every reaction, every internal thought is louder because she isn’t speaking. You’re forced to sit with her emotions instead of just hearing them and it makes everything hit so much harder.
You can feel how hyper aware she is of herself. Millie is constantly questioning if she’s “too much” because she was made to believe she was. And yet underneath all of that there’s anger. So much anger. And watching that slowly surface, watching her start to want more from life instead of just surviving it…I was obsessed.
The found family in this book was so wholesome. I loved them so much. It wasn’t perfect or soft in an obvious way. It was messy, loud and built on shared damage but they chose each other and you could feel that in every interaction. They show up even when they don’t have the words or the right way to do it and that kind of loyalty hits deep.
Dash is chaos, but in a way that almost convinces you it’s harmless. He’s funny, reckless and charming. He’s the kind of person who fills a room without even trying. But the longer you pay attention to him, the more obvious it becomes that it’s all a distraction. He’s constantly running from something. Everything about him feels like avoidance whether it’s people, emotions or even silence. He turns everything into a joke so he never has to sit with anything real. That only made it harder to look away.
Noah is the complete opposite yet just as intense. He’s control personified. Routine, logic, precision, he doesn’t simply exist in his environment, he shapes it. There’s something almost cold about him but not in a negative way, it feels more like he’s carefully constructed a world where nothing can reach him. The way Noah treats Millie??? He offers her safety. It isn’t loud or overwhelming, it’s just…there. Steady. Reliable. The kind of care that lets her fall apart without fear.
“With Noah, I’m breathing.”
And then there’s Creed. I actually don’t have the emotional capacity to deal with this man properly because what the hell.
Creed is rage and pain and survival all wrapped into one person. The things he went through?? You feel that in everything he does. He’s not soft, he’s not gentle and he doesn’t pretend to be. Violence is his language. It’s how he learned to cope, to protect himself, to exist. And when he loses control it’s not pretty, it’s explosive and destructive.
He doesn’t see Millie as something fragile. He sees her. And that changes everything.
“With Creed, I’m alive.” That line??? It sums them up perfectly.
He doesn’t handle her carefully, doesn’t treat her like she’s going to break and that’s exactly why she’s drawn to him. He gives her something no one else does. He gives her intensity without pity. He pulls something out of her that she’s been burying for years. Her anger, her strength, her voice (even without words). The way he teaches her to fight??? FOLDED
But he’s also self destructive in the worst ways. The jealousy, the pushing away, the need to hurt before he gets hurt… it’s frustrating and painful but it makes complete sense for who he is. He doesn’t know how to love without turning it into something messy.
"I'm not good for you, but you're the one thing I can't seem to quit." ⋆。‧₊°♱༺𓆩❦︎𓆪༻♱༉‧₊˚.
"Eyes on me. I'll take care of you." ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི₊ ⊹ ֶָ֢..𖥔 ݁ ˖໒꒱
“I'll follow this girl everywhere.” ⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹
This man noticed everything about Millie. I’m talking the quiet, easily missed details no one else ever pays attention to. He can tell the difference between her real smiles and the ones she forces. He knows she won’t touch processed fruit. He knows she likes her coffee strong and he knows her favourite colour is dusty pink. He knows her tells too like how she behaves when she’s nervous. Creed could ruin my life and I’d apologise for being in the way.
And the dynamic between all of them?? INSANE.
This isn’t just a romance. It’s a constant push and pull between safety and chaos, control and freedom, healing and destruction. Noah gives her space to fall apart. Creed makes her feel like she can rebuild into something stronger.
I had so much respect for Noah when he decided that while he may have loved the idea of Millie, Creed is the one who is actually compatible with her future. Stepping aside wasn’t an act of defeat, it was an act of maturity. Noah loved the version of Millie who stayed small and predictable. He realised Creed is the one meant for the healing woman she is actually becoming.
Hyde is a character defined by the profound psychological scars of being the spare in a family consumed by crisis. At times I found myself annoyed by his actions but it’s just not that easy to pin him down because he is such a layered character. His parents’ hyper focus on his sister’s survival effectively rendered him invisible, fostering a deep seated resentment that he eventually weaponised through drugs and rebellion just to be seen. However, the true tragedy of Hyde lies in his crushing guilt. He admits to being happy about Millie’s remission not out of brotherly love but out of a desperate and selfish hope that his parents would finally notice him again. This shame, stemming from the quiet obsession of hating the sister he was supposed to protect, is what ultimately drives him to go to Gravemont. His fierce, almost desperate loyalty to Creed is a direct reaction to this history of emotional abandonment. Having been cast aside by his own blood, Hyde is pathologically devoted to the one person who actually chose him, proving that every one of his actions is an attempt to outrun the ghost of the unwanted boy he used to be. That kind of loyalty, that history, that quiet understanding between them…it added so much depth to everything.
Chapter 47 should officially come with a fire extinguisher and a public safety warning!!! I finished that scene and headed straight for a cold shower because the heat coming off those pages was enough to trigger a localised climate crisis. My brain is officially fried🫠🫠 (I loved every second).
EOHWYCFM👀👀👀 iykyk
This book is intense in every possible. It’s heavy, it’s addictive, it’s character driven and I would genuinely read 500 more pages of these characters just existing.
Millie is selectively mute thanks to something that happened in her past, and it was an interesting journey finding out what happened and seeing how it affected her behavior in the present. Creed has his own tragic backstory and though I do not necessarily agree with his actions, I get it.
Though I did really enjoy the story, Millie started to really annoy me for a while around halfway through. I do understand where her way of thinking comes from, I really wanted to slap her at a certain point 😅 Also, the whole ‘love triangle’-ish situation didn’t really work for me. It was obvious who Millie was supposed to end up with since half of the story is Creed’s POV. I get Millie’s confusion in the beginning, but it just felt dragged out.
Despite that, I did enjoy seeing Millie and Creed’s character growth throughout the story. The other characters - Dash, Noah and Hyde - were all lovable as well.
(I received this book as an ARC and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)
5 ⭐ - Words cannot describe how much I ate this book up
I don’t know what I.A. puts in all her books, but I just cannot let go of them!!! I started this one on a Saturday morning, continued reading it in bed from 10 pm-2 am, forced myself to go to sleep, woke up around 10am, and read it until 1pm without getting up once until I finished it. I was like in a trance, I had to know what happened next!! First 30% of the book I was like what is going on?? Are we getting why choose?? ( very much up for it if it had happened ) What a rollercoaster of emotions. Just shows how good the book was because I had very strong feelings about it throughout. I absolutely loved our FMC Millie. She went through a very traumatic experience that made her go mute by choice, to be more selective with who feels “safe” enough to give her words to. She is forced by her older brother, Hyde to enrol at the same college he is at to keep an eye on her. She soon faces his 3 best friends, Dash, Noah and Creed. Our Millie is going through a love triangle with Noah and Creed for I’d say 30-40% of the book, until Noah is a true gentleman and steps away when he realises the undeniable connection that Creed and Millie have. Creed is the embodiment of rage. I love it. Our angry and grumpy 24/7 MMC, who you wouldn’t tell that’s the most caring person in the world, from the stuff he went through. He notices everything about Millie. And when I say everything, I mean every single tiny detail, up to even what type of food she is not a fan of or how she takes her coffee. Millie falls for him because he’s the only one treating her like a proper human being, like something that’s not broken or fragile. There’s so much more I could say about Millie and Creed, but I don’t want to spoil it away. Besides the romance aspect, the book also delves into the relationship between the 2 siblings, in a very messy way. The relationship between Hyde and Millie is so complicated due to their past. I’m so happy with how the author presented us the ups and downs of their situation. It was raw, real and didn’t steal from the romance spotlight either. This book had side stories from different pairs ( Millie x Hyde, Creed x Hyde ) that came together within the main story so well that I cannot praise this book enough. This book is a lot, so intense, addictive, heavy. I cannot recommend it enough. Thank you, I.A. Dice, for the ARC! I’m currently feral for the next one.
3.5 🌶
Tropes Selective mute FMC College setting Found family Brother’s best friend Traumatic past
I had the pleasure of ARC reading this book… and I just want to give my review without spoilers. Because reading this was soo amazing and I’m so happy I realistically knew nothing but the summary and tropes. It made the ride so much more exciting like I was anxiously flipping through the pages to get to the next chapter.
This has genuinely been my favorite read of 2026 so far… if I could identify every trope I love to read and put them into one book, it would be this one. There was trauma, love, spice, emotion. So much, and my favorite part was the way that I.A. made sure the characters identified and worked through their issues. We actually got to read the situation, and understand why they were the way they were. Then we got to read in real time how they were fixed. I don’t want to spoil the book because it was just that amazing. Don’t get me wrong I wanted to choke the characters.. soo many times. But not in the way of I hated this book. But in the way that it showed what an amazing job I.A did in creating this universe, and writing this story.. Everything felt soo realistic. There’s not enough words I could say to describe how much I enjoyed this read. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this universe.
- Brothers best friend - Good girl x bad boy -Virgin FMC -Traumatic past (hero and heroine) -MFM scene -Jealous MMC -College setting -Selective mute FMC
What a pairing. He hates silence and she doesn’t trust him with her words. He can’t wait to hear her voice and when she finally speaks… “I hate you”.
Creed’s chapters portrayed his vulnerability and guilt well. His inner monologue helps the reader understand why he reacted that way toward Millie after a key event, as he felt betrayed and used due to the shame of his own actions and the mask he hides behind. Creed constantly hovering on the self-destruct button made his later decision inevitable but still had impact.
I loved seeing the guys’ friendship and how protective they are of one another. Dash’s comedic relief was welcomed, what a sweetheart. Hyde overcompensating for the years he wasn’t around Millie, which ultimately led to their boiling point, was written well.
Can we talk about “Millie Baby”… I was giggling and kicking my feet!
The tension and dynamics in the friendship group made this a great read.
This book was something else, I couldn’t stop reading it was so addictive. The trauma pieces, the friendship bonding and the growing relationship between Millie and Creed were perfectly written. Besides that, it was also hooooot! It made me blush and kicking my feet while reading 🙂↕️
Disclaimer: While I am entirely thankful to I. A Dice for trusting me with her book and including me on her ARC team, all words and opinions expressed are entirely my own.
I genuinely don’t think I was prepared for how deeply Quiet Obsession was going to get under my skin. This was not just a read for me, it was an experience. I lived inside this story, carried it around with me and when it ended I felt like, I am so not done with these characters. At its core, yes, this is a dark college romance with that good girl and bad boy pull but it is so much more layered, so much more emotional than you expect going in.
Our FMC, Millie completely owns this story in my opinion. She is a selective mute, a cancer survivor, and a girl who has already endured so much pain at such a young age. After the trauma with her ex, her silence becomes her control. It is her safety, her shield, the one thing no one else can take from her. And the way that is written? You feel it.
What really stood out to me is how she uses her voice. She only truly speaks to Hyde, her brother, her safe place. With Noah and Dash she gives small pieces of herself, whispers, quiet words, testing trust in the most fragile way. Those moments felt so intimate because you know how much they cost her.
And then there is Creed.
Our MMC, Elias Creed is chaos, rage, pain and survival all wrapped into one person. A boy who grew up in violence, who learned early that silence was punishment. So Millie not speaking to him? It absolutely wrecks him. You can feel the torment in every interaction, the way he craves something as simple as her voice and is denied it.
But the reason she cannot give it to him makes everything even more intense. She sees him too clearly. She knows what he is capable of, that terrifies her…not just because he could hurt her, it’s because of how deeply she feels drawn to him. She wants to give him that piece of herself but fear keeps her locked in silence. And for Creed, it feels like torture.
And then there is that moment between them…one that completely shifts everything.
In a moment where Millie chooses for herself, she gives something she has never given to anyone else. It is her decision, her control, her need. She wants him, trusts him in that space, even if she cannot fully voice it. The way she softly calls him Eli, a name tied to the only love he ever truly knew, adds another layer of vulnerability that hit so hard.
But what should have been something grounding turns into chaos.
Creed does not know. And when he realizes the weight of what happened, the intensity of it, the way he lost himself in that moment, it destroys him. There is anger, guilt, confusion, along with a deep sense of self loathing that he does not know how to handle. And some of that anger turns toward Millie, not out of cruelty but out of being completely unmoored by what it means.
That fallout? Painful. Messy. Emotional in the way that makes your chest ache.
I also have to talk about Hyde and Millie because their relationship is the backbone of this entire story. That big brother and baby sister dynamic is everything. Hyde sees Millie as his safe place, the one person he can go to and just be himself after spending so much of his life in the shadow of her illness. While she was fighting for her life, he was learning how to exist around that fear, that helplessness, that constant pressure. Gravemont is where he built a new life for himself with Creed, Noah and Dash, a life where he could breathe a little…a life where Millie did not exist to anyone else. Until everything falls apart. The guilt he carries pushes him to bring her into that world, to enroll her so he can protect her, even if it means colliding two parts of his life that were never meant to meet. The way he loves her is fierce, overwhelming, sometimes suffocating, but always rooted in wanting her safe.
Noah brings this calm, steady presence that I really appreciated. He sees Millie, respects her space, never pushes her beyond what she is ready for. There is something soft there, something safe. He’s her safe place to allow herself to fall apart and never makes her feel like she has to hide it. But as Millie starts to change, as she grows beyond that quiet version of herself, it becomes clear that safe is not what she needs to become who she is meant to be.
Dash on the other hand is chaotic chaos in a completely different way. Charming, reckless, clearly running from something, but still gentle with Millie when it matters. There is so much more to him beneath the surface and I already know his story is going to hurt.
My View: I loved every word in this book, I felt every part of it especially the found family element. Absolutely top tier. These boys did not even know Millie existed and yet they show up for her, protect her, care for her in ways that feel real and earned. It never felt forced, just instinctive. Millie’s own journey is not easy. It is raw and heavy and there were moments that were genuinely hard to read. But seeing her slowly reclaim herself, choose when to speak, who to trust, how to feel…that was powerful.
This book made me feel everything. Tension, heartbreak, longing, frustration, hope. It pulled me in completely and refused to let go. I am obsessed with this world, these characters, the emotional chaos of it all. And I already know I am not ready for what comes next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I don’t even know where to start because Quiet Obsession by La Dice didn’t just pull me in… it dragged me under, held me there, and made me feel everything in the most intense, uncomfortable, addictive way possible.
This book is not soft. It’s not gentle. It’s sharp edges, bruised hearts, and emotions that feel like they’re clawing their way out of your chest.
Millie Ward??? I’m actually in awe of her. She is quiet but never weak, and that distinction is EVERYTHING. The way her silence is written… it’s deafening. You don’t miss her voice, you feel it in every glance, every reaction, every internal thought. It’s like the story forces you to sit beside her instead of just listening from a distance, and that makes every single moment hit ten times harder.
Her past?? Brutal. The kind of betrayal and pain that reshapes a person. And the way she carries it, the way she questions herself, holds herself back, tries to make herself smaller… it hurts to read because it feels so real. But underneath all of that? There’s anger. Strength. A spark that refuses to die. Watching that slowly come back to life had me completely hooked.
And the BOYS. I am unwell.
Dash is chaos wrapped in charm. He feels like sunlight at first, all jokes and easy smiles, but the more you look at him, the more you realise it’s all a mask. He’s running. Constantly. From everything real. And that made him so much more than just comic relief.
Noah though?? Noah is quiet safety. He’s control, structure, steadiness. The kind of presence that doesn’t demand anything but gives everything. The way he treats Millie… it’s gentle without pity, protective without suffocating. You understand exactly why she can breathe around him.
“With Noah, I’m breathing.” Yeah. That line lives rent-free in my soul.
But Creed???
Creed is a storm that never learned how to pass.
He is rage, trauma, instinct, survival. Nothing about him is easy or clean. He doesn’t love gently, he doesn’t handle things carefully, and he definitely doesn’t pretend to be something he’s not. And somehow… that’s exactly why Millie is drawn to him.
Because he sees her. Not the fragile version everyone else tiptoes around. Not the broken girl. He sees all of her… the anger, the fight, the parts she’s been forced to bury.
“With Creed, I’m alive.”
That right there? That’s the whole book.
Their dynamic is messy, explosive, sometimes frustrating as hell… but it makes sense. Creed doesn’t give her safety the way Noah does. He gives her permission. Permission to feel, to fight, to be more than what happened to her. And watching that unfold?? I was completely consumed.
And let’s not pretend Creed didn’t have me in a chokehold with the way he noticed everything. The small things, the quiet things, the things no one else bothered to see. It’s intense, borderline overwhelming, but it fits who he is. He loves like someone who doesn’t know how to do it halfway.
The found family?? Messy, chaotic, imperfect… but so real. They don’t always get it right, but they show up. And that kind of loyalty, especially in a story this heavy, hits deep.
Hyde absolutely broke my heart in a completely different way. That whole “spare child” dynamic, the resentment, the guilt… it adds this whole extra layer of pain and complexity to everything. No one in this book is simple. Everyone is carrying something.
And the tension throughout the entire story?? INSANE. It’s this constant push and pull between comfort and chaos, healing and destruction, love and something that almost feels like addiction.
Also… chapter 47??? I’m not saying anything except: be prepared. Hydrate. Maybe sit near a window because WOW.
This book is dark, emotional, complicated, and completely addictive. It doesn’t try to make things pretty, and that’s exactly why it works so well. It’s about broken people trying to figure out how to exist, how to heal, and what love looks like when it’s not easy.
Five stars. I’m emotionally compromised. I need silence and possibly therapy.
good girl x bad boy that is a dark college romance with such a tight knit found family of friends, what more could I ask for?!
this was such a rollercoaster of emotional backgrounds, push and pull between dynamics and toeing the line of what you want vs what you need.
millie baby, mini ward, millie ward!!! I wish I could wrap her in the biggest hug, her back story broke my heart. from her childhood all the way up to what happened to her and how it altered who she was and how she lived life. it made me so sad to read how alone she felt with no one in her corner, especially how fragile her relationship with hyde was. even with how sensitive and shy she was, her trying to fight to come out of her shell while living with her past was so gut wrenching. at times, it seemed like she would take a step forward and ten steps back. thank goodness for this found family that came into her life with full force.
creed? tortured soul who thinks he deserves nothing great in his and has such a sad history and also shaped him to be who he. creed is such a complex character with such rawness to his emotional state and actions. he's chaos, he's a whirlwind of whiplash and just overall so intense. the way he feels so deeply about everything around him definitely shows in his actions. he gave me whiplash but kept drawing me back in, because as intensely as he fought, he loved. I loved his dynamic with hyde and how they created a bond more than friends, they became brothers. I loved how he had this support system, but I loved even more when he finally let millie in.
their dynamic was absolutely explosive in the best way possible. the constant push and pull suited them perfectly. both constantly fighting with who they were, who they are and who they are trying to be. not only for themselves, but for each other. the constant battle of thinking the other person deserves better made me sad. the emotions he had for millie were so strong and his one desire was to hear her voice, only reserved for him and the moment she gave in, I knew it was endgame for them.
I loved all the side characters and can't wait to read their stories one day!! dash is so hilarious and I just know his story will be one of my favorites- he lightens the mood, normal playboy attitude and is always there to uplift his best friends.
hyde, I hate to love and love to hate him. his relationship with millie? I need it to get better because everything he said to her hurt my heart emotionally and physically!!!! I get it though, being in that position and feeling like nothing truly belongs to you is discouraging but I definitely need him to say sorry a couple more times to millie.
NOAH!!!!! this man!!! I cannot wait to get to his book (if he gets one) the quiet broody golden retriver vibes I get from him is everything!! he's so caring, even quiet and reserved- he takes care of his friends and is so sweet. do not get me started on how I know he is 100% a giver and acts of service KING.
their scene between creed, noah and millie... that's it. hands down a good time!
overall, I enjoyed this book not knowing much other than that it is a dark college romance. I definitely enjoyed all the feelings this book made me feel and I hope this series continues as I need more of these characters!!
thank you to I.A. Dice and her team and publisher for sending me a physical ARC PR package and eARC for my honest review on quiet obsession, so thankful and hope to read more of this series in the future!
Quiet Obsession by I. A. Dice Release Date April 21st. Book One Gravemont College Elite Series.
I had the honour of being chosen to be an ARC of this book and I can’t tell you how happy I am that I got the opportunity. This is my honest review.
If you don’t speak, they can’t use your words against you. Everyone thinks that Millie Ward is fragile. After being humiliated by her entire school, all Millie wanted was for the world to stop, but just for a little while. She didn’t mean for it to stop for good but it almost did.
Now, she has an over the top protective brother who thinks she is so fragile, he needs to pull strings to get her into his college so he and his three best friends can keep the world away from Millie and protect her like she is the most precious thing in the universe. Sounds nice… On paper. What it actually is, is suffocating.
With Dash, she gets the comedy relief. With Noah, she gets the steady presence of a chess opponent. But with Creed, she gets the one thing she really needed and that’s to feel a little scared and more alive than she has felt since she tried to turn everything off. And with Hyde, your typical big brother, his best friends all get a warning that Millie is off limits. Too bad two of the men don’t like taking orders.
Millie does come out of her shell a little and gives one word answers and short sentences to a few of the people around her but with Creed, she remains silent and that drives him out of his mind. Creed is your typical bad boy with the kind of past no child should have and now that he’s a grown man, he lets his fists solve his problems for him and the people he loves. He’s the undefeated cage fighting champion of an underground fight club and the one man that Millie won’t give her words to. All he wants is to hear her voice. After time, he begins to read her body language and subtle nuances and even though he hates that she won’t speak, he is falling for his best friend’s little sister.
Will Creed and Millie work things out? Or will she end up with Noah? Or will she end up with both? Find out in this Dark College Romance with plenty of spicy scenes and one in particular that has been living rent free in my smutty little mind since I closed the book. Oh and how will Hyde react? Well… 😬
I absolutely loved the characters in Quiet Obsession. In other books, the quiet, shy and damaged FMC’s have been nauseating but Millie Ward struck a cord with me. I have found it necessary to remain silent in many situations in my life and I can definitely relate to Millie’s pain. Even though she went through something heartbreaking, she is still a complex character that blossomed right in front of my eyes and I just love that for her.
Creed broke my heart. I mean, don’t all broken bad boys break our hearts? Yeah, they do, but with Creed I felt in on a whole other level. Does he stumble a time or two? He sure does! But when he comes back, he comes back stronger and grows into the man he never thought he could be.
I know we all love to make our next favourite MMC’s our newest book boyfriends and usually, I’d fight y’all for them but this time, y’all can have Creed. I loved him, don’t get me wrong but if there’s going to be any bloody knuckles over anyone from Book One of the Gravemont College Elite series, I’ll be taping my hands up for Noah.
3,75 ⭐️ I want to start with a thank you to the author and publisher for sending me an physical copy of this book.
When I tell you that I have been in a reading slump I really mean it. I struggled to read 30 pages a day and this book helped me so much despite the effect that there was almost 500 pages long. I finish the book in about 3 to 4 days.
It’s a typical bad boy good girl romance it was had to be a darker romance and however diverse darker things added to the story such as child abuse and a young age the Romans itself wasn’t that dark in my opinion. Sure you are a typical possessive male main character, but it’s not like his POV was purely last he really cared about her. You were able to see the true lines.
“Whose am I?” “Mine.” I hate it when this happens in books however I loved it at this time why? Because the rules were reversed. And there was way more to this sentence than just this iykyk.
It was very easily. It was romance so there wasn’t a lot of the school aspects despite like the cafeteria and some trans classes but there was it and because of that it was easier to read but sometimes I would’ve loved to have more of the school experience.
‘I forgot that while I’m hers, she’s not mine’ To be honest there sometimes the FMC irritated me because I feel like she was too stubborn and couldn’t see things always as clearly because my man Creed deserves way more. And the way he notices everything. EVERYTHING. And he knows the meaning behind it all too.
And if I’m being honest, I think they market the book worse than it is. As example when I read the back it didn’t seem appealing to me however their story really is amazing.
The spice was not that bad like I said his POV was not just lust. However, when they did get together ever more of these spicy thoughts. But still the spice wasn’t that bad they did it and moved on. And a part of me also gets the last spicy scene(again iykyk) but I was the big of a fan of that it’s certainly wasn’t nothing for me.
I think, if this book had more of a college settings for actually more classes or a more realistic student life, I would’ve liked this book way better. But despite that the book was still truly amazing.
If I could, I would definitely read the books in this series despite facts they are not out yet because I’m very curious who the next book will be about and I actually hope that it will be their friend group. That’s we’ll get their own book each time.
There were small mistakes in this book like: It does everyday ending in y. What is the y? yoursel = yourself? Pats = pants?
Millie Ward joins the same universit, Gravemont College, as her older brother, Hyde, who is already a senior there alongside his best friends—Creed, Noah, and Dash.
Millie carries deep scars from a traumatic incident in high school that left her humiliated, broken, and isolated. The aftermath nearly cost her life, leaving her in a coma for days. Since then, she has chosen silence, speaking only to the few people she truly trusts. For Millie, silence feels like safety. Hyde, burdened by guilt for not being there when his little sister needed him most, makes it his mission to protect her at all costs. Bringing her into his world at university is his way of making sure she’s never alone again.
Creed (Elias Creed) is just as damaged in his own way. Raised by an abusive father, he grew up surrounded by violence and silence—punished with both fists and neglect. That past has shaped him into someone unstable, reckless, and often self-destructive. Alcohol and bar fights are his escape, while Hyde remains the only constant keeping him grounded. But Creed carries more than trauma—he carries guilt. Guilt for his role in the incident that nearly took Millie’s life. And then there’s the obsession. A quiet, consuming obsession.
He saw her a year ago, lying fragile and motionless in that hospital bed. Since then, he’s been waiting—desperate to see her eyes open, to hear her voice. He gets the first when her hazel-blue eyes finally meet his, stealing the breath from his lungs. But her voice? That’s something she refuses to give him. Millie speaks to the others—Noah, the gentle and brooding protector, and Dash, the charming, easygoing party animal—but never to Creed.
Until one day, she whispers a single word: “Eli”—a name only his mother ever used. From that moment, he’s lost. Obsessed with hearing her speak more….. But when she finally does… it’s not what he hoped for: “I hate you, Creed.”
This book had me hooked from the very first page to the last. It’s a story of love, obsession, doubt, guilt, and healing—layered with secrets and emotional depth. The dynamic feels like a game of chess, where the king believes himself to be a pawn, unable to see his own worth. Raw vulnerability, tension, the right amount of spice and curiocity…. “You are mine, Millie, baby. I don’t share… but if you want to, you can beg me, and I will allow it. Just this once….” 🔥 🔥 🔥
Very pleased with their HEA. I loved the epilogue and can’t wait to find out which of the friends will be next! Well done, I.A. Dice—you never disappoint!
We love a good girl, bad boy, forbidden dynamic and this college based romance with its dark themes, absolutely SLAPPED! This was the kind of juicy and toxic relationship that I had the time of my life diving into in the safety of IA Dice’s fictional world, but would run a mile from in real life. The red flags were flashing wildly, but like is human nature to be unable to look away from an impending car crash, I couldn’t put it down! Both the main characters had their own trauma and back stories that were explored and unpacked in a way that made me adore them both individually and together. Millie is selectively mute, permanently living her life in fight mode, surviving the best way she knows how. Her mental health journey made my heart ache and I loved how Eli was able make her feel safe and empowered in their own, deeply complex way. Watching Millie go from fearing this to accepting and welcoming it was really beautiful. She’s spent so long feeling like she needs to make herself smaller and fit into a box so that she isn’t ’too much’ that she initially lashes out at Creed as a way of ensuring he can take the bigger version of her. The way he falls for every part of her, the fractured pieces, the soft edges and the ragged ones too, had me yearning for their happy ending. Creed (Eli) is deep down inside, still the boy exposed to years of abuse at the hand of his father. He has a heart that has weathered so much pain and he too has developed his own, often toxic and unhealthy, mechanisms to cope with this. The way that they understand each other on this level makes for a passionate, heady, emotional and messy love story and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I swooned hard for the ‘Millie Baby’ moments and blushed even harder at IA Dice’s ability to write spice that both satiates the appetite and leaves you craving more. We also got an MMF love triangle that had me giddy squealing at the book as I waited for it to explode. And that it definitely did!😏😏 If you’ve read a series by IA Dice before, it won’t come as a surprise that the side characters were at the forefront of what made this such an enjoyable read. She always writes main characters that are more like main characters, each with their own complexities and depth. Millie needed all the boys in their own way, whether it be Noah’s soft, unquestioning emotional support, Dash’s comic relief or her brothers love. The book wouldn’t have been the same without each of them and I’m left itching for books that centre each of them in their own right! I hope this book gets all the love it deserves when it is released and can’t wait for you all to fall in love with these characters too! 🥰💖
This book follows Millie and Creed. Millie is a “broken” girl who had something tragic happen and decided to best protect herself by losing the power of her voice. She doesn’t have full sentences to anyone she doesn’t trust. Who at the start is only her brother, Hyde. Millie is going to be starting college at her brother’s school, cause he’s guilty. He’s guilty that he wasn’t ever a brother growing up and partly blames himself for what happened to her. He introduces her to his friends: Noah, Dash, and Creed. Creed is Hyde’s best friend. They consider themselves brothers. Creed is battling his own demons that were put there by his father. But he’s also battling a bit of guilt. We keep getting the message that he believes he’s at fault. That he was to blame. But we spend alot of time not knowing why. What we do know however, is that Creed has had this “Quiet Obsession” (see what I did there) where Millie is concerned. He was always in the background when Hyde called her. In shadows when she started school. He knows her favorite color - Dusty Pink - and as much as he should the wants her. Through the story Millie is battling her insecurities and Creed his. Until they finally hook up. Where we think that this would solve the problem it actually brought in even more insecurities. Which ultimately blew up in their faces a bit. But they were able to figure it out and learn that they are enough for eachother.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. Their dynamic was really good. This book gave me a lot of emotions through the experience. At times I was just happy but at one point I started tearing up. I.A Dice did a really good job of putting me into the story and keeping me in the mindset of Millie and Creed.
🚨Spoiler Alert🚨
I will say that Hyde needed to take his head out of his ass and grow up. This bitch pissed me off so bad I was routing for him to get hit by a car. Like how the fuck is it your sisters fault that your parents didn’t pay attention to you cause she had CANCER. Then when she beat it she was trying to be there for you cause she wanted a brother and you IGNORED her. Then had the audacity to play the “CrEEd ChoSSe mE. HE iS ThE OnlY One TO EveR ChoSse Me” *insert SpongeBob Meme*. Fuck you Hyde.
Also thank you so much for giving me the threesome. With all of Creeds possessiveness (yum) and insecurities I was for sure expecting it to stay in the dream realm. But no. We got it! We got it! God damn I’m so excited for Noah’s book. Noah was just so quiet and dominating and sexy. Creed was definitely sexy and violent and scrumptious. But I’m so excited to see the rest of the boys (except Hyde, fuck him) books cause I know they are gonna be soo good!
Overall: MMC: 5⭐️ FMC: 5 Spice: 4🌶️ Plot: 5⭐️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I absolutely love I.A. Dice and everything she writes so when I saw this for her next book I couldn't wait to read it.
It's a nice easy dark romance read and a different more soft sort of dark romance to that of her other books.
The writing and story are really good, and the characters were all loveable and had you wanting to read more of each of their stories.
The FMC and MMC were brilliant. He definitely falls first and HARD, I found throughout the book I was feeling very protective over Eli and occasionally wanted to shout at Millie to tell her to see how he really felt about her. The way he was so attuned to her and her needs was honestly swoon worthy, he knew what she needed before she did.
I loved seeing the character development for Eli and how he wanted to prove to everyone his worth. I felt kind of sorry for him that his best friend who knew him better than anyone else treated him as though he shouldn't be trusted. Eli deserves soo much happiness after everything he's been through. It was actually nice to see how Eli's past affected him and how he overcame it and how it shaped him into the man he was. It helps you realise that you can overcome a bad past and that you should fight for the positive future.
The FMC Millie I really liked her character too. I like how her past much like Eli's is not what anyone should have to endure but that throughout she is able to work to help herself. I like how I.A. Dice showed how it is ok to ask for help when you need it and that with that help things can get better. It will help others realise that you are not alone so I love it when authors do this.
Dash may be my favourite side character and I feel like his back story is going to be epic because you just know behind that bubbly personality there is going to be some DARK history that he is trying to hide and cover for.
All in all a really good softer version of a dark romance. If your new to dark romance this would probably be a really good starting point for you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Quiet Obsession is a dark romance that follows Millie—a girl who has already been through more than most—now dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic bullying situation at the end of high school. In a desperate attempt to find some peace through sleep, she accidentally overdoses on sleeping pills. That moment becomes a wake-up call for her older brother, who shifts from being distant to intensely overprotective, pulling his three best friends right along with him.
Millie ends up at Gravestone University, the same school her brother and his friends attend. The dynamic between the group is interesting right away—Dash brings the comic relief, Noah is more quiet and introspective, and then there’s Creed… her brother’s best friend. He’s tall, dark, volatile, and a little unhinged, carrying his own heavy past—and an intense obsession with Millie.
What stood out to me most is that Creed is the only one who really sees Millie. He doesn’t treat her like she’s fragile or broken—he makes her feel alive again. But at the same time, he’s battling his own demons, convinced he’s not good enough for her and doesn’t deserve anything good.
Their relationship is full of tension and push-and-pull, especially with her brother constantly hovering and trying to control the situation—often more focused on Creed than Millie herself. There’s also an added layer with Noah, who has feelings for Millie too, creating this complicated dynamic that Millie herself is curious about exploring.
I.A. Dice did a really great job writing these beautifully broken characters. Their backstories add so much depth and help explain their reactions, struggles, and the way they interact with each other. It’s not just about Millie and Creed—you really see how each character is carrying their own weight and how it impacts the group as a whole.
Sometimes I just love a good college romance with a sweet innocent girl and a bad boy who will protect her.
Millie has been through a lot in her life, cancer as a child, her brother ignoring her as they got older because she got all the attention even after she beat cancer. She was bubbly and outgoing, but after being humiliated in high school by a guy she had a crush on, she crashed and burned and almost ended it.
Hyde her brother feels guilty and now he wants to be the best big brother he can be. He's a senior in college and has her enroll in the same college so he can keep an eye on her. He has built his family at school with his 3 best friends, Creed (Eli), Noah, and Dash. Creed is the bad boy, the fighter, the one who grew up in an abusive home, Noah is quiet and brooding in his own way. Dash grew up in foster care so he's the life of the party, always smiling and having a good time. Hyde is the control freak, he makes sure his friends have what they need, eat enough food, drink enough water, and now he's doing the same with this little sister.
She stopped speaking because according to her high school bullies she was too much, too loud, too happy. She speaks to her brother but keeps her voice and thoughts mainly to herself. Slowly she starts speaking to Noah and Dash, but Creed she hides her voice from him and it drives him crazy.
Creed doesn't think he's worthy of love, and Millie is scared that she'd be too much for Creed. But Creed doesn't see Millie as too much, he doesn't think she's broken or fragile. But he also doesn't think he's good enough for her. When she starts to open up to him he falls in love with her. They have ups and downs and they have to face the wrath of Hyde he warned his friends to stay away from his sister.
Once Creed and Millie both stop self destructing they finally get their HEA.
Don’t be like me: don’t go blind into every book, don’t judge a book by its cover, and don’t read them just for the cover! 😂
At first, we have the big brother, the little sister, and the brother’s best friends. You think you know where this is going? No, you don't, because I didn't know either.
The big brother is so jealous because he spent his whole life with all the attention on her while she was sick. His best friends were the only ones who looked at him "normally" without pity—and now, he is terrified that she is going to "take" his friends away from him. That’s why he doesn't want her anywhere near them.
But here is the big BUT: she goes and fucks the other friend who is bad for her. Of course. And when she sees her roommate having sex with two other guys, she will literally be DYING to have that for herself. She becomes even more eager to have sex with both of the brother's best friends.
It is amazing, it is great, and it is stunning to read about the three of them. They make a sandwich, by the way (you know what kind of sandwich, right? 😉). I’m not sorry for writing this because this book was so good. You will never find another one like it. And please, don’t act innocent, because you are not; you all want to read dirty books!
What we have here:
Protective brother
Good girl
Sister who begs to be fucked
Best throat fuck scene
2 brother’s best friends and a virgin sister
And for the end: MINE girl. (You will need a spoiler for this "MINE", but when you read it, you’re going to find out what this is!)
Enjoy the read when you have the courage to go out of your comfort zone, because you are going to need it. I’m not going to share my favorite parts here, because I would need to paste the entire book.
Ugh the roughness and the chaos, the sweet and soft moments, the hot and spicy ones..
Loved Hyde’s overprotectiveness. I felt for him and his fear of losing Creed: “I won’t stand here and watch my one thing become yours too” like OUCH, poor babyy ❤️🩹 I adored Noah for being so warm and kind and respectful (+ helpful😉) and Dash for being so supportive and funny.
Above all, I loved “Eli” 🥺 There was some miscommunication all around between Creed and Hyde / Hyde and Millie / Millie and Eli (yes I’m referring to him as if both names differentiate who he is, I’m delusional that way). It was slightly tedious Millie choosing to keep her voice from Eli and that causing some psychological damage, if you will, to Eli, but also, he was your stereotypical “I’ll hurt her before I’m the one left with a broken heart” idiotic simp.
Tropes: 🍺brother’s best friend 🥊selectively mute fmc 🍺virgin fmc 🥊boxing sessions that turn steamy in the gym 🍺mutual pining {and she slaps him!} 🥊he’s always leaving hickeys and bruises on her (she loves it) 🍺he braids her hair 🥊sharing scene between best friends and fmc 🍺”good girl” + “eyes on me”
Some of my favorite lines: 💜“And the sick, humiliating truth is that being called messed up by Elias Creed felt better than being called perfect by anyone else. At least when he said it, he was looking at me. The real me. Not the fragile, broken thing everyone else sees.”
💜“The irony isn’t lost on me. When I’m trying to be good, fucking decent, I’m Creed. The guy everyone else associates with violence, blood, and the cage I fight in. The guy who loses control faster than he blinks… But when I’m rough with her, I’m Eli.”
💜”He just... he made me feel whole for a little while.”
Millie has been through something and we don’t know what it is but I can’t wait to find out what it is. Creed is a young man who has been through something as well. I think he’s already slightly obsessed with Millie already. They have a weird and strong connection and she never says a word to him. But that connection he said eat and she ate. Millie will not talk to Creed and he can’t stand it. Creed is destruction walking in human form. Millie is starting to frustrate me, like I get it Creed is unstable, toxic and bit off in the head ( and she likes it) but he lowkey tries. I feel like his reactions and toxicity are just to get a reaction out of her. I understand Millie has been through some tough stuff( so has Creed) and doesn’t trust easily but girl come on. They are doing the same stuff to each other, where hers is are unintentional and his are intentional it’s still the same. The toxicity is amazing to read but I still want to shake both of them. Hyde, Millie’s brother and Creed’s best friend is getting on my nerves acting like he’s Millie’s dad and what not. She has a daddy and his name is Creed. These two be getting it in, Millie is a little freak. Their relationship was something, it made me sad, happy then irritated and then happy again. They had me on an emotional roller coaster. By the end of the book they both grew as people and made what they were building better. I love Creed emotional, complicated and toxic self. This was a good book. This was my first by the author and I will definitely be reading another.
This story and world is nothing like I. A. Dice has written before and to no surprise she has me in a chokehold for yet another series!
This story grabbed my attention right away and triggered an immediate - dare I say - “obsession” with these characters🤭 I found myself not wanting to go to bed, constantly thinking about these characters, and reading this book every spare second I had!
Millie and Creed’s love story is passionate, messy, and a little toxic in a way that keeps you hooked. I loved seeing Millie grow into herself and embrace who she is and what she truly wants, while Creed works through his own demons and intense emotions realizing that he is worthy of support and love.
It’s definitely an emotional ride, but at its core, these two face their past traumas and find themselves through the support of one-another. Their connection is addicting, spicyyyy and so unique!! I couldn’t help but swoon every time Creed says MILLIE BABY 🤭😮💨🔥
Aaaaand I absolutely love that Noah provides the ultimate emotional support—always ready with a hug or snuggles when it counts. Dash brings the perfect comic relief and had me laughing at the most random moments. Hyde though… I have very mixed feelings. He really caught me off guard about halfway through and I’m not sure how I feel about him yet🤨
Needless to say I’m so ready for book 2 of this series - I can only imagine what we are in for 🎢😈
I'll be honest, going in I had no idea what to expect from a selectively mute FMC. Not because I doubted it, I just couldn't picture how it would work in a romance. I.A. Dice figured it out, and then some.
Millie and Creed's story is really special. He never once treated her like she was fragile. He pushed her to find herself again and let her do it on her own terms, which honestly made me fall for him right along with her. But this book doesn't make it easy on you. Hyde's three best friends, Creed, Noah, and Dash, are all woven into Millie's life, and the tension between Creed and Noah had me genuinely torn for a good chunk of this book. There are some scenes with Noah that I am still thinking about, and I will absolutely be reading his book. But Creed earns it. It was always going to be Creed.
What really impressed me was the twist on the miscommunication trope. It doesn't live between the MMC and FMC like it usually does. Hyde is the one who misunderstands everything, both with Millie and with his own best friends, and that reframe made the whole dynamic feel fresh in a way I appreciated.
This isn't an extremely dark read, but it's a step above your average college romance in intensity. If you loved The Deal by Elle Kennedy, Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, or Damian's story in Devil's Night by Penelope Douglas, this will feel like home. Pick it up. Book two cannot come fast enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want a great book to read through in one sitting? Then this is definitely the book for you! I got the honour of ARC reading this book and as someone who loves about anything IA Dice writes this new book in this new series did not dissapoint. The spice 🌶️ is there for all to enjoy and you can swoon over not just one or two characters in this book.
In this book you will want to keep reading to find out why someone does something and why someone else does the other. Also really gives you that intrique in the other characters that may come back in future books.
Millie is a character that you want to figure out and see what she will do with her choices and interests. Creed is someone that’s a lot more layered then you might think at first which makes this book extra good. Both characters build and unravel bit by bit in this book but also makes you very very very curious about others. The book is not dark in the same ways as the previous series but still contains important themes. Even though it is set on a (college) campus it’s not too much zoned in on the school setting which was alright with me. Although sometimes I questioned if these guys ever went to class to actually end up graduating. Some questions haven’t been answered but I really hope these get answered in future books.
Honestly can’t wait to see what else and who else is in store for this series!
"You like torturing me, baby?... because you're doing a wonderful job of it. Every minute with you feels like penance."
4.25 ⭐ 3.5🌶️
this straight up felt like a therapy session for me... I related to Millie SO MUCH and her conversation with her psychiatrist had me tearing up.... that was so so so beautiful I.A. Dice. it left me speechless and I felt so connected to Millie in that moment of not hiding behind our silences anymore to keep us safe
I am just so in love with all of these characters there's so much deep emotion embedded into these words.... like yes, it is QUITE SPICY (which I loved those connections they had too) but man, inner dialogue is such a huge strength for this author. I am so blown away by it being in these character's heads!!
like I could distinctly feel like I was experiencing a different point of view I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! also the sharing scene?? omfg 🥵
an author who can equally write some smoldering spice scenes while deeply divulging in the most vulnerable of feelings... yeah I'm hooked. This was my first book by I.A. Dice and I am already anticipating my next read by her! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this early I will be shouting this book from the rooftops! Everyone needs to experience this one for themselves!
also I LOVVEEEEEE that he calls her Millie baby!!!! *swoon swoon swoon* 💕
Oh Millie and Creed have my heart for sure. I stayed up all night reading this because I couldn't put it down. Their love story was toxic, not cute and lots of angst but oh how I love it so so much. Is it possible for me to live in this book? Cause I think I did last night and I am so sad that I finished this book. I want more of Millie and Creed please! I love how Millie is afraid to talk to only Creed and not his friends. Creed was furious cause a apparantly he was obsessed with Millie. Millie is such a strong girl. She faced a lot of hardship and bullying during her past years. There's a reason why Millie was selective mute and you need to read it to find out. I really really adore this book and will be thinking about this forever! Don't get me started on Noah. He's this bad boy that also likes Millie but he is such a good guy that he helped Creed to clean up for Millie. Urgh I think I will never stop talking about this book. So toxic yet I love every second of this. Please let there be another book about Noah, Dash or Hyde! I will guarantee you that I will devoured it like how I devoured this one! I.A. Dice, you are such an amazing writer and thank you for sharing your magic with us.
Quiet Obsession is book 1 in the new series, Gravemont Elite and follows Creed & Millie's story.
"Unhealthy doesn't scratch the surface of this quiet obsession. I'm always on the lookout for her, always waiting for a glimpse like a junkie waiting for another hit."
This one isn't just dark, it's all consuming and slightly unhinged! It explores trauma, control and it blurs the line between love and obsession.
On the surface Millie is quiet, withdrawn and treated as someone who is fragile. She only talks to a select few. Her strength is hidden underneath and slowly unravels throughout the story. There's a quiet resilience to her that I love.
And Creed, he knows he should stay away but his obsession with his best friend's little sister doesn't listen to reason. He has to have her! Their relationship is toxic and highly volatile but to be expected with their past traumas.
The push and pull between these two is TOXIC to the MAX but so dang good!
If you like your stories a little twisted and a little dangerous, then you should definitely add Quiet Obsession to your list!
Tropes: Selective Mute FMC Forbidden Attraction Brothers Best Friend Dark College Romance Mutual Pining Morally Gray MMC
*Thank you I.A. Dice for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC*
ARC Review I ate this book up! It had all the broody angst that I craved and more that kept me absolutely glued to every messy, chaotic second of it This is not your soft, fluffy romance, this is intense at times , toxicity, and tension dialled all the way up. It’s uncomfortable at times, intense pretty much always, and completely addictive. Millie is our FMC who Everyone underestimates. She’s experienced trauma and pain, and finds her self at Gravemont college where her big brother Hyde, makes it his mission to protect her and enlists his best friends to help too. She’s quiet (mute at times) and comes across as fragile, but there’s something deeper going on beneath the surface, and slowly uncovering that felt so satisfying. She’s not just a victim of her past, she’s shaped by it in ways that make her way more complex than people give her credit for. And then there’s Elias Creed: the man that you are! he is her brothers best friend, MMA fighter and a walking red flag with trauma and bad decisions—and yet somehow… you can’t look away. He’s possessive, obsessive, and fully aware he’s making terrible choices, which honestly makes it worse (and better??). Their dynamic is just magnetic and fuelled with push-and-pull chaos, spicy tension and secret rendezvous’ that had me on edge. I was hooting and hollering every time they both snapped and gave in! This one had me sobbing, swooning and swearing - sometimes all at the same time! I can’t wait to see where the rest of this series goes
Do you ever just have a feeling that a book is going to resonate into your soul, before you even read it? Between the graphics, the characters, and the playlist I’m absolutely obsessed. Millie was a sweet heart and I loved watching her growth, not only within herself but with Creed and her found family too. I loved that creed never viewed her as fragile and she found her strength with him being his brusque self. He would second guess himself but he was exactly what she needed. Honestly both of their jagged edges fit perfectly together. The tension between them with the fact she used silence as armor and he viewed silence as punishment was the perfect angst. He would always be so frustrated she wouldn’t talk to him but talk to everyone else, but without being able to see inside her internal battles she was having BECAUSE of what a huge impact he had on her. He would always push and pull, she couldn’t always tell him what she needed, so he would self sabotage thinking the worst….and they were just so perfectly toxic. Honestly, I really really loved this book. I knew going into it, it was going to be 5🌟 from me. Available on KU April 21st, 2026. #selectivelymutefmc #OTTAlphahero #bully #sharingonlyonce #milliebaby #damagedhero #foundfamily #undergroundfighting #collegeromance