Beautiful Obsession

by Vee Eddy

The first time I saw Alexander Petrov, I knew my life would never be the same. He’s rich, dangerous, and cold, filled with quiet power and wrapped in silent rage. The difference between our worlds is something extraordinary. But no matter how hard I try to build walls between us, I keep getting pulled back into his orbit like a moth to a flame I shouldn’t touch. I’m scared to fall for him, but I can’t help it.

My past still claws at me every scar, every silence, every night that reminds me of what was taken. I’ve spent years trying to feel whole again, terrified that if I let him in, he’ll either shatter what’s left of me… or somehow piece me back together.

And even if he doesn’t break me, will the shadows of my past still come back to destroy everything?

Beautiful Obsession is a steamy, emotional, hurt/comfort M/M dark romance with an eight-year age gap, told in alternating first person. It follows a Deaf main character with trauma-induced mutism and the ruthless, fiercely protective man who learns what it truly means to love him.

Contains mature themes and triggers-see content warnings at the beginning of the book.

Genres: M M Romance, Dark, Disability, Found Family, Dark Romance, Romance, Mafia Romance

743 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 15, 2026

About the author

Vee Eddy writes dark, emotional M/M romance with obsessed men, soft broken boys, and a lot of yearning. Follow me on IG: author.vee.eddy

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

**** 4 Solid stars!! ****

This story is absolutely gorgeous!

A word of caution, though: the darkness is very graphic and heavy. And that’s coming from a reader with no hard limits.☠️👹

That said, I loved the tender moments, especially the portrayal of an obsessed Hero.
My guys: 🥰👇



Super hot, with fantastic chemistry, great tension and the cherry on top of the cupcake: age-gap.
My only negative point is the length; I wish it were tighter toward the end.

[oshiiy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars ⭐️

This book really had no business being this long. The author could’ve easily cut 400+ pages and it wouldn’t have changed much, because nothing particularly interesting was happening in those parts.

What really kept me going was the writing style. It’s poetic, and sometimes hits close to the heart. That was definitely the strongest part of the book for me. I also ended up loving a lot of the side characters, Maksim, Davika, Tyler, Viktor, and Anton were way more interesting than I expected.

My main issue is Lucas. I wanted him to stand on his own feet so badly, but he just…doesn’t. He relies on Alex for pretty much everything, and I really didn’t like how Alex keeps spending money on him unnecessarily. It made Lucas feel less like a partner and more like a charity case, which didn’t sit right with me at all.

The relationship itself is fine, and the dynamic works, but at times it felt very cliché and a little corny. I know I’m probably in the minority with this opinion, but yeah it didn’t fully click for me.

I’m hoping the next books in the series explore different dynamics between the couples.

[matryoshkat.ᐟ · Rating 2 out of 5]

₊˚⊹ | 2 ★ read .ᐟ

Finished it painfully slow and it was too long for my taste. I liked the idea of one of the characters being mute, but that could have been explored way more and in depth. In reality, Lucas opened up to him rather quickly and unnaturally. One moment he was scared of Alex and the next he was blushing and talking to him with actual words? It lost me there, but I tried my hardest to finish it. Wasn't for me.

[readingwithmiaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
3.25 🌶️



YALL!!!!! After MONTHS Of Me Being In A Book Slump, I Can Say I’m Definitely Getting Out Of It With This PHENOMENAL BOOK!!! My Bestie Vee Wrote This Book And It’s Her First Book Ever, And I’m Telling Y’all It Is Absolutely Everything I Wanted It To Be And More It Was SO Good I Was Hooked!!! Lucas And Alex Were Just EVERYTHING To Me. Lucas Was Such A Broken Boy But My Heart Is With Him All The Way, I Absolutely Lived Him So Much My Broken Baby. Alex, Oh Lord He Is A Man Everyone Needs In Life. He’s Handsome His Protective And When He Finds His Person He Makes Them Theirs No Matter What. The Romance, Oh It Was So So Good Like It Was So Special And Raw And Just Beautiful To See And If I Can Have A Romance Like Them I 100% Would, Give Me And Alex ASAP!!! Also The CHARACTERS!!!! Holy Fuck Y’all I Need More Of Them. Maksim, Tristian, Alton, Viktor And Especially Tyler, My Baby Forever I Need His Book ASAP!!!! I Need All Their Books IMMEDIATELY Y’all I’m So Invested Into All Of Them I Just Need More. But Y’all This Book Was So Phenomenal And For A DEBUT BOOK?! This Story And Characters And Writing And Plot And Romance And Spice Were All So Perfect. I Highly Highly HIGLY Recommend This Book To Everyone Because It’s So Worth It And It’s The Perfect Book Go Get You Out Of A Slump Also. But Vee My Love, I Absolutely Love You So So Much With My Whole Whole Whole Heart. I’m So Grateful That I Have Met You And That We Are In Such Others Life’s Because I Don’t Know Where I Would Be Without You. I Hope We Stay Friends Forever Because We Are 100% Friends For Life. And Ps, Give Me The Next Books IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!! But Y’all Go Read It Y’all You Will Not Regret And You’ll ObsessOver It Like Me 💕🫶

[Jane aka Coughy019 (Safety info included) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tropes: hurt/comfort, age gap, rich/poor
Feels: 2/5
Steam*: 1.5/5
Kinks: n/a
Angst: medium
HEA: HEA
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content warnings/representation: Violence, physical assault, past sexual assaults (pretty detailed), drugs, minor character addict, past child neglect /abuse, torture, murder, deaf and mute MC
Cheating between MCs: No
Any cheating: No
Other person drama: Alexander's recently ex fuck buddy appears a couple times and tries to come between them. Nothing's happened between them though since Alexander met Lucas.


3 stars

Lucas is 20. He is deaf and mute because of a traumatic attack he went through 5 years ago. He has always been poor, but his mother has a debt with a loan shark that he is helping to pay off, and he's making a lot of sacrifices to be able to do that. He's working full time, all the hours he can, and he's going to school as well. He's never been with anyone because of the sexual assault he went through, he's got a lot of trauma. One night on his way home from work, he comes across Alexander, 29, beating a man to death in an alley. Alexander is instantly fascinated and feels things for Lucas. He pursues him and entices him to come and work for him, teaching him ASL. He wants Lucas to be his, and he spoils him rotten. Lucas is into Alexander too, but he's got a lot of trauma to deal with.

This book was okay. I liked how obsessed Alexander was with Lucas, how committed he was from the very beginning. And Lucas was a vulnerable guy that you can empathize with. I'm intrigued about Tyler and Viktor's relationship that was set up at the end of the book.

My complaints about this book are:
- The billions of typos. This author seems to deliberately f*** around with capitalizing words, they randomly capitalize things they shouldn't and fail to capitalize things they should. The use of quotation marks, commas, and periods is willy nilly - they are frequently missing or placed in the wrong spots. And then there are just the random typos. I am neurospicy and I wanted to throw the book with how frustrating I found it. Typos are like nails on a chalkboard to my brain.

- I don't mind long books, I actually quite enjoy a long book, I like a story that I can dig into. But this book was unnecessarily and excessively long. And it was long because the author didn't reel themselves in. They didn't say things in concise ways, there was excessive use of adjectives and overly (and awkwardly) descriptive passages. This book really needed editing.

- It was a bit over dramatic, a bit superficial/instalove. Money made things too easy at times. Alexander skated away too easily from any consequences to his murdery actions.


Some notable moments:

"“This is the last time I’ll tell you to quit that job, Lucas.” My stomach twists. Alex’s voice is cold. Not necessarily angry, just absolute. “You work there again,” he continues, “and I swear I’ll burn the place down.”"

"I can’t even admire something when we’re out without him sensing it and buying it for me. I swear, one day he’s going to buy me a baby just because I smiled at one."



*FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink.

**Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers.

[Sona · Rating 4 out of 5]

So the book opens with Alex , 29, mafia, morally unhinged and emotionally intense beating a man to death in an alley. And he has a witness.

Lucas.

Lucas is 20, selectively mute, and communicates mostly through sign language. He doesn’t talk. Not to even to his best friend. Not to anyone. But from the very beginning… he talks to Alex. The fact that Alex is the only one he’s comfortable speaking to says everything about the connection.

And Lucas… my poor, broken, beautiful boy.

Trailer park background. Addicted mother. Bullied. Brutally assaulted at 15 by monsters including his mother’s boyfriend’s son an attack so violent he loses his hearing and stops speaking. The trauma runs deep. Five years later, he’s surviving. Working. Trying. Healing in small ways.

Then enters Alex rich, powerful, mafia prince turned white-collar empire heir. And I loved that his family wasn’t cartoon villains. They’re rough, yes, but supportive. His mother? Warm. His father? Gruff but fair. Brothers, cousins all layered. You can feel the foundation for future stories.

And Alex falls first. Falls hard. Full obsession mode.

But what makes it work is his patience. He doesn’t bulldoze Lucas. He doesn’t rush him. He calls him princess. Beautiful. Baby. Soft in contrast to the brutality he’s capable of.

The hurt/comfort in this book? Perfection

Lucas learning to trust.
Lucas choosing to speak.
Lucas being cherished after being destroyed.

And yes I was absolutely satisfied when Alex hunted down and tortured every single man who hurt Lucas. Five years late? Sure. But still deeply satisfying. Were they tortured enough? Debatable. But I’ll take it.

Why not five stars?

Because the author over-explains EVERYTHING .

I don’t mind long books. I love long books. But don’t pad it for the sake of padding. Some scenes dragged because every emotion, every movement, every thought was spelled out twice. It dulled moments that should’ve hit harder.

Now let’s talk about the rich–poor dynamic.

Because yes, we have Alex disgustingly wealthy, generational money, properties, investments, trust funds ready to bloom at a moment’s notice. And then we have Lucas trailer park baby, working-class survivor, scraping his way into stability.

So naturally what does Alex do?

He goes, “Quit your job. I’ll pay you to teach me ASL.”

Reasonable. Romantic. Cute.

And then this man proceeds to absolutely launch money at Lucas like it’s confetti.

Weekly payments for ASL equal to what Lucas was making monthly.
Credit card.
Bank account.
Trust fund.
House.
Car.
Probably the moon if Lucas had pointed at it.

And here’s where I started laughing.

Lucas does this half-hearted little “No… I shouldn’t… you don’t have to…” maybe twice. A soft protest. A polite resistance. And then?

He accepts the funds very comfortably.

In most rich/poor romances, the poorer MC is fighting tooth and nail to not take the money. Pride. Independence. Drama. Emotional tension.

Lucas?

He was like… okay.

And I don’t even blame him. My boy has suffered enough. Take the credit card. Heal in luxury. Live your soft life.

But it was funny because the resistance was barely there. The internal conflict lasted about five minutes before he was enjoying financial security. And honestly?

It just amused me how early in the relationship this man was basically setting Lucas up for generational wealth.
And Lucas generously allowing that .

And let me again rant about The length.

My God. My God. My God.

This book is LONG.
At some point I started skipping paragraphs. Not because I wasn’t invested but because I didn’t need three pages explaining a feeling that was already perfectly clear in one.

Tighten it? Remove the repetition? This would have easily been a five-star read.
But even with the pacing issue, it worked.

The obsession worked.
The age gap worked.
The hurt/comfort worked.
The revenge worked.
The rich mafia prince falling first and falling hardest? Delicious.

Lucas was adorable, soft, and heartbreakingly strong. Alex was brutal but patient and surprisingly gentle with the one person who mattered.

So yes four stars.

Messy with money.
Overwritten at times.
But emotionally satisfying, dark in the right ways, and beautifully obsessive.

And for a debut author? That’s impressive. I’ll absolutely be reading whatever she writes next.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

It REALLY didn’t need to be over 700 pgs. I skimmed a lot and didn’t feel like I missed anything. Also (and I say this not being HOH, deaf, or non verbal so take my opinion with a grain of salt) but the disability rep seemed inauthentic. In particular, Lucas almost immediately speaking to Alex. I don’t think that’s how that works. The prose was good if repetitive so 3 stars.

[AnnaKitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m very conflicted with this one, like I’m annoyed, impressed, and somehow tired.


First of all: the russian mafia romanticisation is an immediate struggle for me. I hate it, deeply and passionately. I pray for the day authors stop romanticising anything russian, especially mafia culture, it’s ridiculous and repulsive. And as someone who unfortunately knows the language - authors have to stop with the transliteration. People do not talk like that. Languages are not interchangeable.


“Does that feel good, krasivy?”
no. Just no, please, it is bad.



Thankfully, it wasn’t heavily leaned into, because otherwise I would’ve DNFed without hesitation.


THAT SAID
The writing is genuinely beautiful. The prologue hooked me instantly, not because the idea was new, but because the language was good and it felt good to read.


“The boy with hair like sunlight tangled into curls, and a face sharp yet delicate, marred with freckles like someone painted him in constellations.”

That’s a very good example, writing is soft, poetic, and emotionally inviting. And the broken boys trope gets me every time 💔
I genuinely loved the side characters, the green flag convention, honestly 💛 Warm, wholesome, healing energy, one of the best parts of the book.

But the main problem is that this book did not need to be this long. Like, at all.
It could have easily been 300–400 pages shorter and been a much stronger story. The plot simply does not justify the length. Somewhere in the second half, almost nothing new is happening, at some point it just seemed like an endless inner monologues, repeated emotions, recycled doubts, and internal processing that doesn’t do anything for the plot.

Also, whoever compared this to Oleander, absolutely not. Different wavelength, depth, emotional register. Not even close.

So I’m landing at 3 stars.
Not because it’s bad, it’s not, the writing is beautiful and the love is magical 🤍
(even if it makes zero sense IRL, like, “he saw me from across the alley in the dark” - what exactly can you see in such setting?).

But the structure, length, pacing, and repetitiveness killed the impact for me. Not enough drama, not enough evolution, not enough plot for such a massive book.
But I am still interested in other characters’ stories - Maksim, Tyler - so clearly the author did something right.

This book didn’t wreck or change me, but parts of it were beautiful.

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh woww, this story got me invested from the first page! I was floored by the whole story!

It’s an over 750 pages long book, and not one page was dull, it was intriguing AF!!

First an introduction:
We got Lucas, he is twenty years old, he’s traumatized, something awful happened to him years ago, he’s now hard of hearing, (most people use the word deaf) he uses hearing devices, and he has trauma-induced mutism.
He’s stunning, delicate, with beautiful androgynous features. Not that he’s aware of it.
He made himself invisible, when he’s not visible he won’t get hurt.
He lives in a small apartment with his precious best friend Tyler, who is the absolute best of the best!!

We also got Alexander Petrov, who’s twenty-nine, and the CFO of the family company, raised by the Russian Bratva. He has a tight family. So great to get to know them!!
He’s dangerous, ruthless, and a killer. He doesn’t do relationships.

They met at night in a dark alley where Alex was doing his business, and Lucas was bicycling.
Lucas couldn’t get his eyes off Alex, his eyes, his posture, he was beautiful but dangerous.
Alex couldn’t get his eyes off the beautiful blond guy on his bicycle. He’s immediately obsessed!

Did I mention Alexander is obsessed with Lucas? Oh boy! He’s as protective as obsessed!

There are thousands of little, and longer scenes to find, and those were incredible. I was floored.
I couldn’t put this read down, I was as obsessed as Alex and Lucas were.
Throughout this beautifully written, and largely detailed, journey, we get to know these men, their circumstances, their lives, their friends and family, and, last but not least, the traumatic event.

Alex worships Lucas, if only Lucas would let him in, and tell him what happened. Alex would destroy the world to make Lucas happy. But… It’s not that simple, and that’s their story.

It was a sizzling, steamy, oppressive story, tender, and highly emotional.
Alex and Lucas were breathtaking together, the whole story was!
There are some violent scenes, because it is still a dark story!

A winner. Highly recommended! On my 5+++ shelf

[Alisia alis_reads_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
selective mute ASL MMC
Mafia (kind-of) MMC
This man is obsessed!!!
Who did this to you
MMC learns asl for him
MMC is his asl teacher
Riiiiiiich man
Tensiiooonnnn
Fem MMC
Bi MMC

[Readbookswithcats · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful Obsession is a dark, MM, billionaire romance. Lucas is on his way home from work when he sees a man beating up someone. He feels he should be scared but is weirdly calm. Their eyes meet and then he rides away, not realizing he caught the gaze of a killer.
Alex is filthy rich, shares in both his parent’s businesses and the grandson to a Russian mafia boss. While he is not fully in the mafia world, he was trained at a young age to take care of things. The moment his eyes locked with Lucas, an obsession is born.
He finds where Lucas works, finding out Lucas is deaf and non-verbal. He makes an offer, Lucas quits his current jobs and work for him, teaching him sign language. Lucas, while fascinated by Alex is reluctant to trust him and can’t afford to lose a steady income. It wasn’t until Alex threatens to burn the building down, that he quits.
Alex slowly, or not so slowly, inserts himself in Lucas’s life and has already all but claimed him. He introduces him to his family, he buys him pretty to things and kills people who hurt his feelings.

I really loved this book! I devoured it! I loved sweet Lucas with a traumatic past and cold, stoic, Alex, who will do anything for him. This does get very emotional, be warned! ♥️♥️♥️

[Han. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book just wasn't for me. I believe if it were a little shorter, I would've enjoyed it more but 700+ was too long for me.
However, I do appreciate that the characters were beautifully written, I loved side characters such as Maksim and Alex's grandfather (I would've liked to see more of him, honestly), Davika, and Tyler was an angel. I wasn't too happy about the hint of a love triangle...
There were also a lot of stunning quotes, a lot of imagery was amazing and super detailed and who doesn't love a broody, morally grey, billionaire?😉
The last 30% of the book was great, I really liked the ending and the epilogues.
But thank you for trusting me to read your book early! Although this book wasn't for me, I am interested in whether you will do any interconnected books with Maksim and Anton and Viktor in the future!


Favourite quote.
Except him. The boy with hair like sunlight tangled into curls, and a face sharp yet delicate, marred with freckles like someone painted him in constellations. He unsettles me.

🤍

Thank you again for allowing me to read your book early!

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read this entire 700 page book within one day. No pauses. No skips. No skimming. All in one go. And lemme just say, bitch (me) has combo ADHD, and a situation like this is an extremely rare phenomenon, IYKYK. I can only think of like 3 other books that captivated my attention like this one did. High high high high praise. Excellent read. This is gonna send me into a massive slump. Nothing is going to compare.

[peoniesandmm · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was 700+ pages and I could have done with 200 more, this was so freaking good. 😭

talk about possessive? THAT WAS EVERYTHING. the whole story and the love between these two, ugh, I need more right now. I can’t wait for more books by this author.

[369Pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️
This story follows Lucas, a down-on-his-luck college kid with debts to pay and a past that haunts him. One day, he sees a dangerous looking man in an alley, and the eye contact is sizzling. From that moment on, the dangerous Alexander is obsessed with Lucas, and does everything in his power to make his life better.

This book has a bunch of of cliché content like:
-obsession at first sight
-dangerous mafia man / innocent MC
-mafia man that spoils his partner
-touch him and die

We also have:
-a Deaf / HoH MC
-age gap (20/29)


I want to be gentle when I say this, as I know this is a debut novel. But I can absolutely tell that this is a debut novel..
I know some people really enjoyed this book. I think the people who enjoyed it are going to be people who loved poorly written wattpad fanfiction, because that is exactly what this book was giving. Hey, this is some people’s cup of tea, so I was generous with my rating.

To be completely honest, FOR ME, I did have some issues with the book. The characters were shallow with little to no development from cover to cover, which is surprising considering it’s almost 800 pages. Though events happened in the story, there wasn’t really anything to drive a plot, making the story difficult to get through. In general, the writing was repetitive and amateurish, and the characters were one-note. For example, Alex just continuously bought things and solved problems with his wealth, without even talking to Lucas about it. This repeated through the story, and didn’t deepen their relationship at all. I was hoping for something that brought them close as people, but never got that.

I was happy to see that we had a HoH main character, but unfortunately the execution of this left me feeling a little disappointed. It seemed that his disability was a barrier when it was convenient for the story, but then miraculously not in other parts. I was really hoping to see more positive representation here. I do want to give kudos to the author for trying, though. It’s always good to have differently abled characters in stories, as a reader.

Overall, the style and unedited fanfiction formatting of this story didn’t click with me, but I feel that some people will eat this up. If this book was like, half the size, I’d probably think it was fun despite the writing quality, however, the length made it tedious.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful Obsession by Vee Eddy

💛 Morally Grey MC
💛 Insta-Obsession
💛 Deaf & Non-Verbal Rep
💛 Age Gap (9 years)
💛 Touch Him & Die
💛 Hurt/Comfort
💛 Virgin MC
💛 Class Difference
💛 Dark Romance
🔥 Biting/Marking, Hands Free 💦, Light Praise Kink, "Princess", Car S*x, Frotting, Rimming

Review:
This was a really lovely debut. The author's writing is really beautiful and I highlighted so many wonderful quotes.

I loved the push and pull between the characters at the beginning and how they couldn't deny the instant connection between them. Alex's insta-obsession was everything I love about morally grey characters and his protectiveness over Lucas was swoon worthy.

There were so many really sweet moments between the MCs, even during some of the spicy moments which really added to the intimacy of those scenes. The chemistry built between the MCs was really well written and you could really feel through the pages how much the main characters adored eachother.

I really loved Alex's mother, her acceptance straight away of Lucas and the softness she had towards him was so loving. I'm very intrigued by some of the other side characters and the hinted romance there and will definitely read their stories if the books are a little shorter.

Overall I really enjoyed the story but felt like the author tried to fit in too much which made it much longer than it needed to be, if it was shorter I definitely would have rated it higher 😊

Thank you to the author for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Humour: 🤭.5
Intimacy: 🫂🫂🫂🫂
Angst: 🥺🥺🥺

First person dual pov 👀

On page: blood & gore, threat, violence, injury, torture, suicidal thoughts, self-hatred, emotional distress, PTSD, depression, nightmares, flashbacks, trauma, toxic relationships, homophobic slurs, sexual assault of a teenager (past, on page), child abuse, bullying, maiming, murder, death.
Mentioned: blackmail, gambling, alcoholism, addiction, drug use, sex work (past), physical and emotional abuse, ableism, sexual assault & sexual violence (past), attempted abortion (past), postpartum depression (past), medical content.

[el :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

rtc! 🤭🌟

[Showarst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I may be obsessed with this one. Everything I love in a book. Cannot wait to see what else this author writes!

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. The couple was adorable, the story line and the emotions were perfect. I am so excited to read more books by this author. I need Tyler’s book so bad.

[Daje1968 · Rating 4 out of 5]

First things first: I want to call out that there are quite a few editing issues, mostly typos, misspellings, missing quotation marks, and some odd capitalization. Definitely a proofreading problem rather than a writing problem. HOWEVER, and this is important, the author has been very transparent about this. They shared on Instagram that they submitted the final manuscript to Amazon on the deadline, but the file locked and an earlier draft was mistakenly published. This is being fixed, and if you’re reading the version with the cartoon couple on the cover, you have the corrected edition. (I actually prefer the original cover, but I’m not much of a cartoon-cover person in general.) So bottom line, ignore the typos, they are essentially an administrative error.

I’m landing at 4 stars for a few reasons. This is a long book, and I don’t usually love long romances. I was also coming out of a serious reading slump—I’d DNF’d three or four books in a row—so the fact that this one genuinely pulled me in says a lot. For most of the book, the pacing was excellent. I’ll be honest and say it faltered a bit in the final third, but overall I stayed engaged, which is no small feat at 700+ pages.

I liked the couple overall. I’m a sucker for a possessive/obsessive MC, and I clearly have a soft spot for submissive characters named Lucas; those things immediately reminded me of one of my favorite MM romances, Possession by Rina Saint. This is very much a fast burn, and it made me realize I have a personal hierarchy when it comes to fast-burn tropes:
1. Magical connection
2. Instalust
3. Insta-love (a very distant last place)

This book falls into the “magical connection” category; essentially fated mates without the omegaverse. When it’s written well, I’m on board, and it worked for me here. That said, I did occasionally wish Lucas had been given something more—a standout talent, a sharper edge, a defining skill—because he’s primarily portrayed as a beautiful, sweet, broken boy. I felt a bit of a relationship imbalance as a result. When Lucas wondered “why me?”, I found myself wondering too. Not because he wasn’t lovely, but because when a gorgeous, generous billionaire falls that hard, it invites scrutiny.

And speaking of billionaire…let’s be real, this man is basically an oligarch. Anyone who’s read my other reviews knows I struggle with extreme wealth imbalance in romance. Lavishing one person with expensive things can feel less romantic and more uncomfortable, especially in the current world we live in. Early on, I hoped we would avoid the inevitable Pretty Woman luxury-shopping fantasy, but alas, we did not. Personal shopper, high-end designer stores, the whole thing. That trope just doesn’t do much for me except stretch whatever muscle I use to roll my eyes.

The steam level was solid, but by the end the sex scenes started to feel a bit repetitive. I enjoy explicit romance, but variety matters, and these scenes began to blur together.

One random note that I thought was kind of funny: by the end, I was half-convinced Lucas might have narcolepsy. That boy sleeps a lot. It made sense earlier on when he was juggling school and a full-time job, but later…less so.

Finally—and I say this with respect because I clearly did stick with it—the book is too long. The story and characters are strong, but the repetition toward the end dulled the impact. Some scenes felt unnecessary (Lucas’s conversation with his classmate late in the book comes to mind). I truly believe that trimming 150–200 pages would have made this a five-star read for me.

All that said: this is an excellent debut. The author knows how to tell a story and create compelling MCs, and I’m absolutely planning to read the next installment. I’m just hoping for a tighter edit next time.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh, this was long -for a book like this. There's a lot of (mostly) good here, but also some things that could have been better.

➕I liked both MMCs.
Lucas was so adorable but his back-and-forth could be frustrating at times and I think I would have wanted a little more spark from him. Alex was perfect, but maybe even a bit too perfect? I loved how they were with each other and Lucas deserved everything he got with Alex after what he'd been through.

“I’m the karma he sent.”
Alex, the man that you are 😮‍💨👏🏼

➕I liked the hurt & comfort aspect, and Lucas's past and trauma and overall plot were well written in the book.

➕The Petrov family and brothers were an interesting addition—I'll definitely read the upcoming books. I also really liked Tyler. Vee writes great characters.

➖The internal monologue (the constant outpouring of feelings) was excessive; imo it should have been shortened by half. We still wouldn't have lost anything essential and reader’s interest would not have wandered as much as it did for me. Well, at least it was clear how they felt about each other at all times🤷🏼‍♀️

➖When I read that this was about selective mutism, I was sold immediately. However, I was a bit disappointed with that part of the book. Without spoiling anything, this part lacked a bit of logic and felt a little incomplete in a way.

➖If you don't count what Lucas went through, everything else was somehow too perfect, too romantic, too rich. Maybe my middle-class ass just can't relate to extreme wealth and that's why I am not interested in reading books where the wealth of the characters is so prominently displayed😂
But of course, these things are just my personal preferences.

➖The plot with Oliver and the debt was kind of unnecessary.

The spice was nicely written, but it was quite sweet 😇 (I maybe expected them to have more of a dom/sub thing going on.) But we do get “That’s my good boy”, so there’s that😏

But yeah, overall, even though the book was really long, it stayed interesting for the most part, and the plot and characters were good.


______________

“You’re not too much. You’ve never been too much for me. If anything… I want everything you keep buried inside you, every fractured thought, every scar, every part of you you’re afraid to give.”


“Then fall apart, baby. Let me be the place where you fall. Let me be the one who catches every broken piece, the one who carries the weight with you until you can breathe again. You don’t have to hold it in anymore.”

[Dayana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️My emotions and enthusiasm for this book kept rising and falling. Overall, I liked it, but it lacked that spark, both between the characters and in Lucas's personality. Even so, I'm eager to read the next books 💕

[Ade · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book… is been a while since a book kept me awake until 3am, i could not put it down, amazinggggg. I cannot describe how much I loved this book, please do yourself a favor and read it, is so beautiful written, i wanna give Lucas the biggest hug, I am do happy that Alex loved him like he deserved.

[Thay · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️

Truly an obsession

[The MM Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the beginning, I wasn't really digging it. The reason is that I need a very charismatic bottom, and Lucas wasn't doing it for me. Nothing personal, it's just that I thought he was too blasé. I wish he'd be... I don't know, more? He felt bland. I know he's traumatized, but he could be at least more *angry* about it. Really, a personal opinion.

Another thing that I absolutely don't understand in books like this: the insta-love. Alex sees Lucas ONCE and becomes obsessed with him. I don't understand why? Really, I even tried to re-read it to see if it was the looks, or what. It just...? Happened? Maybe it's me that don't understand this trope. Could 100% be the case. Lucas kept asking throughout the book "why me? why are you doing this?" and I AGREED with him. Like, why him?? I didn't think he was particularly charismatic, and he's not described as being strikingly pretty, at least not in the beginning.

At some points, I started wondering why the author didn't write a MF romance instead of MM. We had so many MF tropes:

* An average MMC (Lucas) that the powerful, handsome, hot billionaire falls heads over heels without a clear explanation why. It's giving 50 Shades of Grey or Twilight.

* Lucas "doesn't want to be helped". Oh, no, I don't want your money, I don't deserve it. This is so MF coded.

Having said that, I found the story enjoyable at first, and then I couldn't stop reading after the 70% mark. I devoured it to know what happens. I don't agree with other reviews. I think it should be the exact length it is. I don't see what could have been cut. Also, Lucas grew so much throughout the book, and this is very interesting, as many times, the characters in these books are the same all around. Alex also grew in the sense that he opened up his heart.

I loved the other characters! Especially Alex's little brother. I hope there are books coming with them as the main characters. I loved Alex's mom as well! His whole family, actually. And Tyler!

I like the tropes as well: Lucas is a babygirl, Alex is "touch him you die" but extremely soft with Lucas. Cool disability representation as well.

There's just one thing I'll say: it is *extremely* dark. There's clearly described SA. I read the trigger warning in the beginning of the book and after I finished, I was so shocked I read it again to see if I missed something. It says it's not graphic in the trigger warning explanation, but it IS GRAPHIC. It is HORRIBLE. Extremely shocking.

SPOILER!!!!

It's a gangbang sexual assault scene. Honestly, I'm still sickened, and I don't have triggers. I can't imagine someone that has reading this. And it happens right by the end of it, so you're completely invested and then BOOM!

I think the book got more interesting because of that, but, honestly, so, so awful. I'm STILL thinking about it.

Also, Alex tortures people, and it's pretty graphic as well.

If I knew about how dark it would get, I'd probably not have read it, tbh.

I'm glad I did, though. All in all, a good read!

[Zoë · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, WOW! This book is something else and I won’t be moving past this easily.

6 stars ⭐️ honestly give it all my stars!!

I love Alex and would like to submit my formal application for one Alex to-go please and thank you. He is the PERFECT morally gray character and I could gush about it forever. He is the perfect mix of “touch him and die” and “I ordered the whole sushi menu because I don’t no what you liked best”. A little of “you have no idea how much power you have over me” mixed with “you’ll take every inch I give you and like it”. 🥵 🥰

Even though this book was about 740 pages, it didn’t feel like it in the best of ways. I could have continued to read about Alex and Lucas for days. The writing style of this book is perfect and the amount of detail and care that went into connecting thoughts and actions to laying out secrets and developing small and major plot points was perfect. I’m genuinely shocked this is a debut. I think this will already be easily a top 10 or even 5 book of the year. It will be a book I compare others to moving forward. I know it sounds cliche but I’m sad I can’t read this for the first time again but I’m eager to read whatever comes next!

The spice was delicious and emotional. It was a medium burn with angst and yearning and emotions and tension wrapped in one. Alex is oh so patient and such a pleasure top with a sprinkle of pleasure Dom thrown in there. He knows Lucas has hesitations and limits and boundaries and is careful with all of them. He moves with passion but also the upmost respect for Lucas and what he’s gone through. 3.5/5 🌶️

I love a book with great side characters and this one had the perfect amount and set up the potential for several books in this world.

I love me some sweet revenge and man does Alex serve it on a silver platter. *chefs fucking kiss* right there. I love it and I’m here for it because we need more Dexter killers in this world. Clean up the trash if you know what I mean.

Do yourself a favor and pick this book up. I can’t wait to own it in print form one day. 10/10 recommend 🖤👨🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏽🖤

[Seraphina Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful Obsession
House of Obsession Series Book 1
Vee Eddy

Alex and Lucas
💫💫💫💫💫
🌶🌶🌶

Age gap (20/29)
Trauma induced deaf & mutism
Touch starved V1rgin
Touch him and D!e
Morally Grey
Soft broken boy
He falls first and harder

This was incredible. Stunningly written. Beautifully paced. Phenomenal story between two men who put each other back together.

I loved this. This is a chunky book. Every word was needed. It felt natural, the progression of their relationship and events in the book was perfect. I absolutely could have kept reading, give me all the pages! This flowed so easily, I COULD NOT put it down.

I adored how ruthless Alex was but how soft he was for Lucas, only for Lucas… swoon. How patient and gentle he was, how kind, even though it goes against his nature, Lucas brought the best out in him.

The way Alex ran to learn ASL for him. Ugh my heart.

My heart ached for Lucas and the pain and trauma he carried. Lucas was so strong, he endured so much, most of it alone, aside from his best friend Tyler.

I don’t want to give away the plot, I think you should go in blind and trust the author, you will not be disappointed. The story and ending felt so full circle in so many ways. I felt complete and stunned how good this book really was.

I appreciate so much that Alex was not toxic, that no part of this book was toxic even with darkish vibes. There were times I expected “drama” because I think I'm used to that with darkish vibed books, but this had me swooning, tearing up and cheering for these two.

Alex, being Bratva and all, lives a dangerous life, but he was so mindful to not allow that to touch Lucas in any negative way. He just wanted Lucas, his sweet Pillow Princess to thrive. Ugh my heart. Phenomenal

The intimacy between these two was incredible. Alex let Lucas set the pace, it was so emotional, so vulnerable. Just their first kissing scene felt like electricity flying off the page. You felt how intense their chemistry and attraction was for each other. How safe Lucas felt with Alex. Their “first time”, sheesh, so hot and so emotional and intense.

Again, I need to mention how this could have played toxic, but it was so not, ugh Vee Eddy stunned me with how this book played out. At the edge of my seat at certain moments, swooning at others, crying for these boys as well.

Honorable mention to Davika, Alex’s mom. Honorable mention to Maksim, Alex’s younger brother too.

I feel like I could keep gushing about this book. There are so many things I loved about it. Just so so good. So different than I expected, absolutely not your typical Hurt/Comfort dark hero romance.

This is absolutely going onto my top 10 books.

I truly cannot wait to read the other books to come.

So thankful for this arc

[D.Talks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was provided with an ARC by the authors in exchange for an honest review. These are my real sentiments about the story and everything written here is respectful, without meaning to harm anyone, but to offer my opinion as constructive criticism/compliments. Thank you, my dear Vee, for the opportunity! I'm truly honored!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥/5

Couple: Lucas and Alex.
Structure: Dual POV, first person, present tense. First book of a series.

Wow. Okay. This book was a JOURNEY. I don't even know where to start, but let's go. i apologize in advance if this is not a well-written review, I just find it really hard to properly write about something that moved me in a way I just did not expect, especially with English not being my first language. Words go missing at times like this 😅

Alright, I know the amount of pages may scared some people. Usually, when a story is that long, I feel like some things were unecessary. It was not the case with Beautiful Obsession. I'm actually in awe about how much the pacing made sense. While there were a few thoughts/feelings that were repeated over the chapters, I'm so glad Lucas' and Alex's relationship was built as it was. It was absolutely attraction-at-first-sight. And WHAT an attraction! Those two burned a whole room just by how they looked at each other! It was almost palpable.

Vee is a master of writing intensity. Seriously. I literally was breathless in almost every chapter. I could feel every emotion so raw and deep in my bones. I believed every single thing they felt, either about themselves or others. And even with all their intense attraction, it wouldn't have made sense for Lucas to give himself completely to Alex so easily after everything he'd been through. His constant back and forth, pushing and pulling when it came to his deep want to be with Alex, but thinking he was not enough, was beautifully done.

Honestly, Lucas whole traumatic experience, the way he responded to all that, the symptoms that followed, all his responses to everything, just made sense. I'm truly, extremely impressed. I'm a mental health professional and man, it's rare for me to feel this satisfied with how mental health issues are dealt with in romances. I love that Alex became Lucas' safe place, but he wasn't the only one. Tyler's relationship with Lucas was SO special. The scene where Lucas has a nightmare and goes to Tyler instead of Alex had me gobsmacked. This is not an easy choice to make as a romance author, knowing your audience wants the romantic pair to trust each other unconditionally, and usually don't have the patience to see that relationship properly develop. So I respect and appreciate the hell out of Vee for going through that path, which was, imho, the right one.

The complexity of every single character just drew me in. They're never dual, we can see the multitude that makes them all purely human. We get mad at them, we wanna protect them, we understand their choices even if we don't agree with them ourselves. I don't know, I'm just really impressed at the depth of absolutely everything in this story.

Even writing this, remembering all the feelings Vee has put me through with her words, I feel my heart beating faster LOL I did expect to enjoy this story, as it has a lot of tropes I usually like. But I didn't expect just how much impact it would have over me. Alex and Lucas and most secondary characters felt like real people to me, you know. I feel connected to them now. It's a crazy sensation.

I gotta give a shoutout to Davika. She deserves her very special spotlight. What an INCREDIBLE human being! I also appreciated that even though we did have an unlikable female secondary character, she wasn't depicted as evil nor were we supposed to simply hate her. She was unpleasant, but then we move on from her.

All the scenes were intense, for real. But the sex scenes? OH MY GOD! Oh my fucking holy god!!! I don't know. It's like how can someone write such beautiful, hot, sweet, dirty action all at once? How can we feel their connection on a body, mind, emotional and soul level at the same time? That is SO hard to do! I just felt entranced while reading any scenes that depicted any kind of intimacy between Alex and Lucas, really (which were basically all the scenes with them together lol).

Now I'm dying for Maksim's and Tristan's story, as well as Tyler's and Viktor's (WHAT AN AMAZING PAIRING, BTW!!! I have a feeling they're gonna be my favorite ones lol)

I don't even know. This review is all over the place. Seriously, I just have too many emotions simmering through me about this story. Just do yourself a favor and go read it.

Vee, forever grateful you decided to go through with publishing this masterpiece 💚

[ashlee ❤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucas + Alexander

-mm dark romance
-mafia/billionaire
-deaf/selective mutism
-mutual obsession
-hurt/comfort
-age gap

these two were SOOO cute for each other & i loved the story so much!! it was a tad bit long but i still enjoyed it!

[Jessica Swan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so grateful to live in a world where this book exists. Perfection in every way.

TWs: sexual assault (not between main characters), emotional distress, violence, detailed torture, drug use, alcoholism, physical and emotional abuse, flashbacks, homophobic slurs, self-hatred, intense trauma.