Black Heart Painted Gold

The Painted Sinners #2

by Elena Lawson

Atticus is dead to me.

But walking away isn’t an option when Seven and Elijah still need my help.

For them, I’ll do anything.

I’ll put on a mask and become someone else. I’ll slip into Ambrose’s world, play the part of his lost daughter, and dig up the secrets that can finally tip the scales in our favor.

But Ambrose is more ruthless than we ever imagined. Colder. Smarter. A monster who built his empire on blood and lies. And the deeper I go, the more the lines between hunter and prey begin to blur.

Now the only way out is together—even if that means trusting the man who betrayed me.

Atticus swears he’ll burn the world down before he lets their enemy hurt me, and part of me wants to believe him. To believe he’s as sorry as he seems when he grovels.

Because if we can’t put the past behind us, we’ll lose the only thing we have left.

Each other.

Black Heart Painted Gold is a dark, high-heat revenge romance with ruthless, morally gray antiheroes, and an undercover heroine who walks right into the lion’s den.

Genres: Dark Romance, Why Choose, Romance, Dark, Contemporary, Forced Proximity, Audiobook

600 pages, Paperback

Published February 24, 2026

About the author

Elena lives in Canada with her husband, daughter, and their Siberian cat overlords. She writes dark, why-choose romances full of feisty heroines, unforgettable heroes, and their kindle-melting chemistry.

When she comes out of her writing cave, she can be found binge-watching true-crime shows, obsessively rearranging her bookshelves, or chasing the sun around the globe.

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorlealately

Reviews

[Brittany (Brit.tea.reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read… I was a little frustrated with this one and it dragged for me 😕

[tiff · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3

So I waited an entire year after that cliffhanger in book 1… only to get hit with another one?! 😭 I had finally forgiven Daddicus, and then this book goes and delivers the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers.

Thankfully book three comes out in October because I need answers immediately.

This one didn’t hit quite as hard for me as the first book, but I still really enjoyed it. I loved seeing Aurora step up and put herself on the line for her harem of men…she’s such a badass and continues to prove why I love her character.

And Sev…WOW. That man is absolutely down bad for his girl and I am here for every second of it.

Now I just need this final book to give these characters a break and let them be happy for once. Please. They’ve earned it.

[meggthereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read the first book in the series you better buckle up and make sure you have a pillow close to scream into so you don’t scare your neighbors with that ending and cliffhanger.

The second book picks up right where the first one left off which I appreciated. Only a few days had gone by and man is Daddicus in the dog house after the ending to book one. Atticus has some major groveling and apologies to make up for how he handled things with Aurora and boy oh boy does he crawl on his hands and knees to win her back.

This one was such a wild ride and honestly makes me even more feral for the next book. There were so many twists and turns that I did not see coming that the ending almost sent me over the edge. After the ending of the first book, I knew it was going to end on a huge cliffhanger, but I did not see that ending coming at all. These books are definitely not for the faint of heart but they are so worth it if you are obsessed with dark romances, fast pace plot, and masked men. The spice alone had me drooling.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

*Thank you to the author, Elena Lawson for the ARC!*

🖤 Dark why choose
🩸Found family
🖤 Only soft for her
🩸Psycho golden retriever
🖤 Revenge romance
🩸 Top tier groveling
🖤 Damaged heroes

[Anna Ha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ох, блядь.. ох, блядь.. 😭 Витріпала мені всі нерви ця книжка.. у найкращому сенсі! Фінал і кліф - просто феєричні.. 💥🔥 Ну і як тепер дочекатися заключної частини? Треба собі надиктувати, щоб не забути, що тут було 🤭
Ох, Таттікус - як же нелегко тобі жилося в цій частині.. Але я так за нього і них обох переживала) так сміялася з пісюнкового феєрверку 😁 Але ж яка пристрасть і накал, неймовірно ❤️‍🔥
Аврора реалізувала фантазію усіх букток-гьорліз щодо групового сексу з Masktok boyfriends 😎🌝Я не заздрю, я не заздрю.. краще за це було б тільки, якби вони не знімали масок 🌶️🔥
Сюжет дійсно крутий і цікавий, тримає до останньої сторінки.. Не дивилася, скільки тих сторінок було, але читалося дуже швидко, бо сюжет не стоїть на місці, весь час рухається цікаво і динамічно..
Особливо мені подобається, як герої продумують кожну свою дію і частини плану 🔥 Рідко таке зустрічаєш в книжках, бо зазвичай все так легко у всіх виходить і ніхто нікого не ловить.. а якщо і ловлять, то я кричу в книжку - "та ясна справа, бо ви дебіли" 🤣 А тут стільки планування на кожному кроці і детальний опис усіх конспіративних дій, клас 😍
Сюжетні повороти і твісти офігенні! Важко написати щось, щоб не проспойлерити 🌝
Також сподобалася спайсі-сцена, де тілами малювали картину чорно-золоту🥹😍
Елайджа - мій ніжний, зламаний пупсик 🥺
Ну а Сев - моє скажене, психопатичне кохання ❤️
Фінал з Авророю і хлопцями розбив мені серденько 💔 Але з нетерпінням чекаю заключну серію і сподіваюся, що всім ворогам буде пизда найжорстокіша, а у наших булочок все буде гаразд 🙏🏻😍

[~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 4.5 🌟

Alrighty.. Walk with me a moment..

The reason why this one didn't make the 5 star 🌟 cut, and why it was almost surfing the 3.5 🌟 wave, is because of Aurora.. Let me clarify.. Aurora, I loved in book 1.. Even though she has been through ALOT, she was still handling her set of circumstances in stellar ways, IMO.. I love a strong, well balanced-emotionally, and smart heroine.. Then we get here in book 2, and for majority of the book-(65% of it), she worked my nerves with all of her bratty antics.. I get why she was pissed at Atticus, I mean who wouldn't be? But since this book picks up 10 days after that incident, and he's been showing in action just how much he regretted what he did, on top of respecting her wishes; I felt she took her grudge too far for too long.. to the point that just for the sake of trying to hold onto her anger and piss me and him off, she was more than willing to be completely unreasonable when it came to her own safety-(cameras in her apartment) and what she decides to do about a tracker she found on her car..

THIS right here, REALLY p^ssed me off! What she pulled took the cake and was completely uncalled for! In light of what they're trying to do at this point, it also brought unneeded attention to her and possibly them.. I was like:
B^tch, do you want me to slap you? Cause I will!


I was also thinking..


I think I speak for all the well balanced sensible females, when I say: Authors, STOP writing females this way!! It does not endear them to us. It takes our enjoyment away from the story, and our empathy from the FMC when they behave this way!

Anyway.. Aurora's antics went on for way too long in this story.. I felt like things would have been better if a more poignant and less annoying route was taken where she and Atticus are concerned.. Plus, the fact that she knew WHY his response was what it was.. It's not like he did it for no true valid reason. Be mad, let him know.. But move TF on! She doesn't start to get her head out of her a&& until about the 72% mark.. Still too long for my taste, but what ultimately happens from this point on, more than made up for my agitation with her.. Plus, she was back to being the Aurora I loved, so I was beyond pleased by this..

But because it took way too long for me, this is why this one still lands on the 4.5 🌟 tip.. Also this 2nd book is not nearly as intense as book one is, when it comes to the connections between Aurora and her guys.. But what about those loop da loop twists in this plot regarding Aurora, Ambrose, and the past/present? Daaayyyuuuum!! 😱😱

I've come to realize early on in this story that my love lies heavily with Atticus and it stayed that way. I know that I am in the minority here, but Seven, though I love him, I am not gone or crazy over him. I love all these males, but for very different reasons. And this is where they rank in my heart:
1. Atticus
2.Elijah
3.Seven

Now, what occurs with this 2nd installment from 72%, on to the end has completely phucked me with a Blow Torch!! I can't believe the mess that has occurred here and the cluster that is present as of right now! 👀 👀 😱😱

And Ms. Lawson, how TF you gonna end this book the way you did?!!! I'm jumping back and forth between:


To:


Swinging by:


Finally to:


Then I remember that the 3rd and final book will not be here until late October! With that ending of book 2, October might as well be 3 years from now!


So.. I am a mess!! That cliffy!!!! Y'all, don't read this 2nd installment until book 3 is out.. Just saying.. This book takes a very dark, heartbreaking turn and then just leaves you there, saturated in your fear, anger, and p^ss drenched faith and hope..

Would I recommend this Trilogy?=Does a bear sh^t in the woods?
Spice?=The small bits that we get here=🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
MCs?=Still Yin & Yang, but a little cooler temps in Book 2
Plot/Plight?=5++++
Ending?= 5 😭😭😭😭😭

[Scarlett Reading]

Thank you for this ARC. These are my true and honest thoughts.

At this point I have no idea what I will rate this book. I read the first book on a whim after randomly seeing a post from the author one day. I loved the first book, and was so happy that I read it so close to the release of this one. But this book was a whole lot of words for a whole little of actual story.

I actually hate that I love the premise of the plot so much that I couldn’t bring myself to stop reading it. And getting to the end was the biggest letdown.

The first half of the book was utterly pointless. Not until 52% in does the story actually start. The second half of the book was completely action and I felt dizzy. I think it would’ve been better if the author had balanced it more.

The pacing was off, the dialogue was long, unnecessary and painful, and the characters had zero depth to them in this book, which is completely different from the first book.

I am not providing a star rating yet, because I think my disappointment will settle and I’ll be able to rate this book more accurately when I’ve had time to decompress.

One thing I will say, is I will absolutely read the 3rd book. The actual plot is amazing for a dark romance book. And I don’t think I could live my life not seeing how it ends. So I have already purchased the next book. Plus, I know the author can write well, since the first book was amazing, so I am hopeful book 3 will redeem itself.

Thank you, again, to the author for this ARC read.

[Tia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best why choose series I have EVER READ!!

That ending has literally thrown me through a wall 🥺

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second offering of The Painted Sinners Series gets a solid 4 1/2 stars from me....but only after pulling off such a mind-blowing, heart-wrenching, earth-shattering second half.👀🤯😩😨😭😭

TBH, the first half of this book had me feeling a bit deflated and finally just seriously annoyed at the FMC, Aurora, for her continued obstinance and failure to move on over an incident that happened toward the ending of White Rose, Painted Red (that book was AWESOME, btw-I highly recommend!).

Aurora was level-headed, compassionate and strong throughout White Rose and I really loved her for it; yet that woman was nowhere to be found in the first half of Black Heart. By the 50% mark, I was almost certain I would be rating this book 3 stars because I was so aggravated with her childish antics.🤨

Two tropes I really despise, because they ruin a story for me: (1) FMC's who are written as weak, whiney and/or unreasonable, that are so up in their "feelings", they're missing the bigger picture and are disregarding the feelings of others.
(2) Contrived angst, or when something angsty DOES happen between characters-the LACK OF COMMUNICATION between the parties where things can be resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner (as opposed to dragging on and on).

ANYWAY.......

In the last 35% of this book, this story spun into something that totally drew me in, had me holding my breath, and completely wrecked me (and earned a 4 1/2 star rating as well)!

Ms. Lawson, you've done me sooooo wrong here-because I'm holding onto the edge of my seat with a painful grip, waiting until October 22 with baited breath! PLEASE put me out of my misery ASAP!🫣🙏🙏🙏

[Cheyyleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am gonna say 2.5 and this is coming from liking the first book so much it got a 4 😭


spoilers.



I also will note that yet again I'm one of the first non arc reviews and I'm the only not 4 or 5 star I think. I yell about this I feel like all the time, but Arcs aren't truthful at this point. I get wanting hyoe surrounding the book being published but it's so dishonest if not a single person had questions? Things that didn't add up? something they didn't like? ANYWAY ENOUGH OF MY DISLIKE OF ARCS.

I am super sad here friends...The first book set up a pretty awesome plot and started to set up relationships between the four characters that were developing and had depth. I really liked it! Now I will preface what I'm about to say that the author notes the original plan was for this series of three books to be a stand alone and I believe it because this second book did not seem as flushed out or planned and it kept me from really enjoying it at the same level.

Let's start with the smut because it's pretty prevalent but it almost came off forced if that makes sense. We get the primal hunting scene, the erotic painting scene, and then the threesome. It seemed more like wanting to add attention grabbing scenes than really playing into their overall relationships and the book itself. Now you can say "Hey you read romance, smut scenes happen why are you complaining?" and I would say fair, but I liked the genuine connection from book one and when I felt it going to sensational scenes we can post about online as attention grabbers I was put off. In that same vein, the reference to being viral on tiktok made me cringe. I know that modern books will have modern things but it will forever take me out of a book when the book itself mentions TikTok.

Now onto Aurora. I liked her enough in book one. I felt like she had room for growth but was overall a pretty strong character. Imagine my surprise with this one. She is whiny and petty when it comes to Atti, makes amazingly stupid choices over and over and expects no consequences, and then no offense to this fictional character she lets her emotions cloud her judgement and directly leads to her being taken and imprisoned honestly. I just wanted some of her intelligence and cunning back. She ended up being a hot mess who likes sex, which again fair.

Now for the major reason this one ended up with a 2.5 for me. The guys are billed as way to intelligent for this book to even be possible. My very first question when they came up with the plan to send her in as the fake daughter? Well there were cameras in Paris where his guys clearly saw you....wouldn't he know she was with you? low and behold I was right just not fully because even though we hear over and over how careful and skilled they were Ambrose WAS AT THE ART GALLERY. Then every single step of the way in this book I thought to myself "Well that's incredibly stupid and you shouldn't be doing that" in the effort to save time I will do some bullet points

*If you are the only person who uses the laundry mat for laundry won't it be super obvious and weird that you just disappear into the back room?
*This man automatically trusts you and wants to meet you, then wants to automatically take you overseas and you don't think he's suspicious?
*HOW COULD YOU HAVE POSSIBLY FALLEN ASLEEP ENOUGH THEY REMOVED A TRACKING DEVICE FROM YOUR BRA
*The goons magically never came to where your super secret meet up place was? and you didnt ask why?
*in that same vein you all had two separate occasions where you went together for the weekend, and one of them came over and you slept together. Again, this is covert and secretive and you are just doing this?

I am going to stop with the bullet points there but the whole book I wanted to pull my damn hair out! The intelligence and sophistication we get in book one just clearly does not translate in book two. I feel like I'm reading two separate sets of characters and like they all aged down in book two. it's more petty, they make rookie mistakes, and not a single person questions a single thing.


I am not sure I will read the next book, I was just too excited for this one 😭

[lilly ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐

➳ started on 5/12/26
➳ finished on 5/17/26

[Josie Watson' · Rating 5 out of 5]

"𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝑹𝒐? 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉?"

"𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒔𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒔, 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅."


WHAT A CLIFF HANGER, when's the final book out then because I need to know what is going on! The last 20% had me sat on the edge of the seat with the twists and gagging to know what was going to happen next.

Everything about this series is fantastic. 3 morally gray men & 1 girl, but she's badass. She's sexy and fearless. She's a great MMC.

The spice 🌶️😛, the setting, the characters & the plot, no notes. This is a great series if you want a dark romance, masked men & fast paced plot that's super easy reading!

[Alicia | kindleandmagic · Rating 4 out of 5]

That ending was absolutely criminal…
I need book 3. 😭😭😭

[Emmareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️ 3🌶
I have very mixed feelings about this book. Overall, I ended up feeling pretty disappointed, which is especially frustrating because I absolutely loved the first book 😭.

The pacing felt really off to me. It took almost 50% of the book before anything significant actually happened, which made the first half drag quite a bit. It very much felt like a classic “middle book” in a series.. mostly setting things up for the next installment rather than delivering a strong story on its own.
The plot also felt quite predictable. I figured out fairly early on where things were heading, which unfortunately took away some of the tension and excitement.

Another thing that disappointed me was the promised top-tier groveling from Daddicus. The first book really set the stage for what could have been some incredible groveling, so my expectations were high… but it never really delivered. Such a shame, because the buildup in book one made it seem like we were about to get something really satisfying.
That said, the highlight of the book was definitely chapter 48, when we finally got some real why choose energy 🌶🔥🔥🔥. I’m also never going to complain about some primal play showing up, so that was a very welcome surprise 🥵.

All in all, the book was… fine. Not bad, but not nearly as good as I had hoped. I just expected more from it on several levels.

[Tiffany ✨️ Bergamot Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atticus is suffering the consequences of his own actions. After his massive accusations and threats to Aurora, she wants nothing to do with him. Elijah and Seven refuse to be the in-between as he sorts out how to gain her trust, while they enter a mission that is bound to set all of them at risk. With their hearts on the line, and a dangerous man bearing down on them, the scars from their past are bound to surface.

*****

OMFGGGGGGG! This was phenomenal. I was hoping for a book full of Atticus groveling and did this one ever deliver. His perspective of being haunted by his choices, his weaknesses, and his ill temper were absolutely perfect. I loved watching him suffer her closeness, while also her overall indifference to him while he tried to earn back her attention and trust.

I also felt like we got a further evolution into Atticus's personality, as well as the other men as they sorted out their feelings for Aurora while she risked her life for theirs. Their time apart and together gave insight into how the betrayal upset their dynamics, and I loved to see peeks of Aurora's temper, naivety and bravery throughout.

I'm so glad the authors decided to extend this duet into a series, as the twists, turns and absolutely devastating cliffhangers at the end have me dying for the next one!

*****

Thank you to the authors for the advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Danni Drummond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Heart Painted Gold
The Painted Sinners Series book 2
By Elena Lawson

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶

🖤 Dark romance
🥀 Why choose
🖤Found Family
🥀 Forced Proximity
🖤 M@sked Men
🥀 Anastasia Vibes
🖤 Revenge

EXCUSE ME!? but what? This second instalment of The Painted Sinners Series (that was originally supposed to be one book may I add) had me feeling all my feels from giggling, to tearing up, to downright mad both at characters and maybe Elena because WHO ENDS A BOOK LIKE THAT?!

We are back to following Aurora and her men 😍 feeling out all our feels even forgiveness in this book which is a BIG thing for Aurora IYKYK because of something that happened in book 1 (White Rose Painted Red). But we also see some truths come out about Aurora's long lost parents 😉 and of course the need for Revenge is still a hot topic in this instalment.
So will they finally see it come into fruition or will father dearest destroy more than the art?

This has to be my favourite in this series so far 😍 I mean Masked men heist? Sign me up for Menage a MaskTok anyway 😉🤤
Black Heart Painted Gold releases today! March 3rd 😘🖤


#darkromance #maskedmen #masktok #bookreview #booktokfyp

[Tori Hewitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was unfortunately not great

[Mother Of Dragons 86 · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review – Black Heart Painted Gold
by Elena Lawson
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐| 🌶️🌶️🌶️

This second installment in The Painted Sinners series pulled me right back into Aurora’s dangerous world. The tension after the betrayal in book one is still very real, and watching the fallout between Aurora and Atticus made this story incredibly intense.

Aurora continues to prove she’s an absolute force. When Seven and Elijah need her help, she doesn’t hesitate to walk straight into danger, infiltrating Ambrose De La Rosa’s world by pretending to be his missing daughter. The deeper she goes, the more dangerous the game becomes, and Ambrose proves to be a cold and ruthless enemy.

The groveling, the guilt, the longing… it all builds into a slow, emotionally charged reconciliation that makes every moment feel earned. And when the walls finally start to crack between them, the chemistry is explosive.

Secrets about Aurora’s past start to surface, the tension keeps building, and that ending left me desperate for the next book.

If you love dark romance with revenge, morally gray antiheroes, and high emotional tension, this one is definitely worth the read.

[Olivia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf at 30% I’m bored. The characters are making dumb decisions, and I just don’t feel invested at all. And at this point, I don’t even feel like continuing because it feels like a waste of time it just wasn’t working for me.

[Ashieeeboo ❤️‍🔥 · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay the romance & spice is good af. but the plot… THE PLOT IS EVEN BETTER 🔥 now I gotta wait for book three 🫣

[Ashley Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review

Ratings
Plot: 5⭐️
Spice: 3.5🌶️

The Painted Sinners series is a MFMM dark romance featuring a badass FMC that will do anything for the men she loves and 3 morally gray MMCs that will burn the world down for her.

Black Hearts Painted Gold strongly focuses on the relationship evolution of Aurora and Atticus, while navigating the group’s plan to get revenge against Ambrose De La Rosa for what he did to Elijah and the Ashford family.

This put me through it!
Picking up where we left off in book 1, Atticus does not exist to Aurora but she agrees to the plan of impersonating the missing De La Rosa daughter.

Atticus shows so much emotional growth in this book. We see him work so much on his need to control everything and take accountability for the way he treated Aurora.

The tension between Atty and Ro is intense, and when it finally snaps and she accepts him into her RH, the spicy is HOT.

The twist at the end, finding out more about Aurora’s family is, the nightmares Eli was having about what would happen to Ro and what Ambrose eventually does to her, and finally how this book ended and not knowing what happens to Atticus, all nearly broke me.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️ Didn’t love this one as much as the first, but I feel like the first one was more of a heehee haha kind of vibe, whereas this one had me screaming at the stupid chick in the horror film who is ALWAYS making the wrong move and 100% will get herself un-alived. 😂 Different vibes, but both enjoyable, and the last 10% had me in my feels!!

Also, can we have a round of applause for Atticus? Ugh, I love him. His growth in this book was 10/10!! Actually, I love all the boys. So much. Definitely going to be adding the third book to my October TBR so I can read it as soon as it comes out. 👏🏻

[Sylena Douville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!!
October?!? I have to wait until fucking OCTOBER!?
AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I’ll be honest the first half of this sequel wasn’t gripping me. I was invested in the story from the first book, but I found Aurora’s pettiness infuriating and the longer it went on the more I wanted to yeet my kindle. But man, the second half…..
Fuck. I’m crying. Angry. And stuck living with this emotional damage for two whole god damn months.

[Sina Blaiweiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasnt big on Reverse Harems until I began this series. I was super excited to receive the ARC and dive right into book 2. I love the multiple povs and that each of the MMCs have a different style and personality. I love Aurora, and everything she stands for.
I'm really looking forward to book 3 and see how this series ends. There were a few curveballs in this book I wasn't prepared for but loved. I also really love how the book doesn't drag and use a ton of fillers, instead it just gets right to the plot!

[aditi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not good but not bad.

[Kaylene Bliss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I HOPE YOU CAN HEAR MY SCREAMS FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE!! WHY DO YOU HATE ATTICUS???! He's my favorite and he deserves better 😭😭😭😭😭 I loved this book but I feel like I need to wait for the conclusion to give my unclouded review

[Püppët · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need book 3 now!

I am in tears writing this review…I have to read the third one now! This book is about redemption in the best way, if you’ve read the first one you know the boy’s story and Aurora’s. This book is about ALL THE FEELS and will come over you in waves of joy, suspense, and brutal fu**in loss. I’m devastated right now.

[Naomi Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this book took longer to get into than the first one, but can see that it was all about setting the scene for the final book.

Excited to see the chaos of the next book though🤩

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy…

✨Murder as a love language
✨Found Family
✨Soft only for her
✨Damaged MMCs
✨Long cons and Art Heists
✨Why Choose

This book is for you!

Rating: ⭐️ 4.25/5 | 🌶️4/5 | ⚠️⚠️⚠️

Spoiler Free Plot Summary:

Feeling battered and betrayed, Aurora accepts her role in the mission and dives head first into the snake pit. Taking on the guise of the lost daughter of an international art thief, Aurora is able to infiltrate his defenses. Reveling in their first victory, the boys plan their next moves. Atticus is at a crossroad. His instinct to protect his Brothers battles his need to be back in Aurora’s orbit again. Little do they know, the enemy has them in his sights and his next move depends on solely on Aurora’s.

Plot and Pacing:

The plot and pacing of this book felt like an action movie. The necessary initial set up of the con and establishing Aurora’s alternative identity felt a little like going up the first big hill on a roller coaster. However, once the big bad took the bait and accepted her as his own, we were off! The last 20 percent of the book twirls you and flips you upside down. Just when you think the ride is over, we are off again with an emotional stomach drop free fall of cliffhanger.

Character development:

Never have I been so glad for a cliffhanger ending, I am not ready to be done with this crew! As an Atticus fan, his redemption arc in this book had me hooked. His back and forth with Aurora is giving textbook enemies to lovers trope, and I gobbled it up. For those of you who enjoy a masked MMC trope, friend, this book is for you.

The *spice*:

I hate to admit it, but the first half of the book qualifies this book as a spicy book, rather than a book with spice like the first in the series. The author delves into classic why choose/ reverse harem “scenarios” as well as introduces some new tropes such as primal play and groveling. I felt like the author handles these more complex tropes with finesse and (thankful) consent is at the forefront.

Final thoughts:

Fans of Navessa Allen, Caroline Peckham and Susan Valenti, and even arguably Catherine Cowles (especially if you like the twisty bits) should absolutely give this series a shot.

If you do, let me know which of member of Menage a MaskTok is your fave 😈

A big thanks to the author Elana Lawson and the Author Agency for an ARC copy of what is quickly becoming one of my favorite series of the year.

[Olivia · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

It feels like I waited forever for this book and it was certainly worth the wait!! I was thrilled to receive an ARC and I’m already itching to read the next book.

This book is genuinely very well written. The characters suck you in to their stories so quickly and the plot is engaging. It’s dark enough for dark romance enjoyers but also funny, emotional, romantic, and sexy. The pacing and storytelling are genuinely phenomenal- I was never bored and often this can be hard to find in these types of dark romance novels. I also really really appreciate how the MMMF dynamic for these characters is written- special care and attention is paid to individual relationships (Aurora’s individual connections with Elijah, Seven, and Atticus but also the guys’ long term/found family connections with one another) as well as the overall group dynamic which I think is super important.

I said I was looking forward to Atticus groveling and this definitely did not disappoint. The way it was handled makes Aurora’s journey to trusting him again that much more gratifying. Everything the characters do and say is so well crafted, especially how they all responded to the events at the end of book 1. The suspense and cliffhangers are just enough to keep me on the edge of my seat without being too cheesy or over the top. I don’t think I looked up from my kindle for those last 100 pages.

If you are looking for a dark romance/RH with a really strong plot and good writing, pleeeeease do yourself a favor and pick this one up!!! I will be (im)patiently waiting for the third book later this year! Also, I highly recommend the audiobook for book 1 and cannot wait to listen to the audiobook for this one when it comes out!

[book lover · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should’ve DNF’d. I stopped having a good time like 50% in but I kept pushing. There’s so much wrong. Duh Ambrose was in Paris when they were. For them to be so smart they were pretty dumb. Why would his men be there and he not be??? That never made sense. The way he just allowed her into his life so easily was the biggest red flag that again I couldn’t believe they didn’t see it then.

Of course she was coincidentally his daughter (or not really but you know what I mean. She’s his wife’s daughter). She literally randomly met these men when she accidentally hit one but of course she’s the bad guys daughter.

The use of the silencer at her apartment. Why would Ambrose not question when his guy would randomly go hear any sound at all coming from her apartment. Also how would he know it was from HER apartment when she lives in a building where other people also live.

Why would you fall asleep in front of the man who you know tortured one of the guys you love? That was so dumb. And she let them dress her, where is your backbone? You think this man’s daughter would let him dress her without any say so? She wouldn’t even know him.

Then she left his office door ajar like an idiot and why would they not question why the tampons that clogged the toilet were clean?? Like girl use your brain.

How did Elijah’s ass and balls not get in the way when the 3 of them fucked together? All I could picture was Atticus having a full view of Elijah’s butt hope the whole time they were banging 😆

I will not be continuing this series. It’s honestly too long in my opinion. In both book 1 and 2 there were boring pointless parts that just weren’t necessary and made the story feel forever long. I had to force myself to finish this.