Lay It Bare: A Dark MXM Second Chance Romance

by Ciara Darren

Sanctum Book 2 • MXM • Romantic Suspense • Second Chance Romance • International Crime • Found Family • Interracial Romance • Trauma • Hurt/Comfort

Ellisandre speared another quarter of peach with their knife and held it up, meeting Sevastyan’s eyes. “Myths—the old ones—endure not because of their brightness. It’s their darkness. The stories might be of gods and heroes, but gods and heroes are gloriously terrible.

“They consume their children, slay their lovers, abandon friends, commit patricide, drink rivers of wine, grieve to the point the earth itself ceases to grow food, and through it all, they are us—writ large. Their crimes are larger, their loves are deeper, all the better for us to see ourselves inside of them. And yet, there is one crucial difference between the mundane man and a god or hero—the gods and the heroes, they dare.”

Sevastyan’s training is now a hinderance. In the wake of his failure, he must find new methods to break the lock on his voice. If he cannot, he will have failed to protect Rei. Time is running out. A power struggle within the criminal organization is going down, and Sevastyan is unwillingly at the center.

Rei grapples with not knowing why new marks have appeared on Sevastyan’s body. It is not his place to ask, and Sevastyan is offering no explanation. Before Rei can make peace with this mystery, they have a visitor, one neither of them knows if they can trust. Rei must make choices between obedience and taking a risk to preserve a life.

Ellisandre’s hands are full with their chosen family and knowing that Sevastyan has a secret he is trying to divulge. In preparation for the war that is coming, they train their protégée, guard their chosen family, and rebuild what was lost while they and Sevastyan were kept apart. And yet it may not be enough. While some Merchari agents are following the direction of the Yadro to watch and wait, others are not. And Ellisandre’s family has already been in their cross-hairs.

If Sevastyan cannot speak, if Rei cannot pierce the shadows of what has gone unsaid, Ellisandre may never arrive in time. Can they untangle truth andtrust from betrayal and lies before they become three more sacrifices to the Merchari’s greed?

This serial is a dark, contemporary MXM+ romance with chosen family themes intended for mature audiences only. While Ellisandre, Sevastyan, and Rei are the central triad, this is a firmly polyamorous romance.

This is a stand alone serial. The plot contains spoilers for Collin and Damian & Jun in The Residency Boys Universe. Read those first if you want to avoid finding out some things early. Sanctum Episode 1 starts roughly a week after Damian & Jun Episode 1. The two serials run parallel, but neither has to be read to understand the other. Episodes 1-3 is the very first book if you wish to read the entire universe chronologically.

254 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 15, 2026

About the author

Ciara Darren is a contemporary romance author writing primarily MM+, but also MX, MF, and FF. Her stories are intense, slow burn serials with chosen family, high heat, power exchange, kink, and diverse representation.

The best place to start in her contemporary romances is Collin: Episodes 1-3, for a gentler introduction to polyamory and kink. Damian & Jun is a sequel serial that can be read on its own but is best after Collin: Episodes 13-15.

For darker work in the same line, look for Sanctum: Prior Claim, coming out Spring 2026, a second-chance romance about escaping the criminal underworld and surviving to thrive. This is a stand alone tie-in serial to The Residency Boys universe and contains spoilers for both the Collin and Damian & Jun serials.

To read along on Ciara’s next book as she writes it, join her Ream subscription, a social reading experience that allows readers to interact with the author. And to never miss a new release, join her mailing list via her website.

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for (Sanctum-2) Lay it Bare by Ciara Darren

This book has quite a few tigers; here are some-

Dark
Mafia
Romantic suspense
Kink
BDSM
Master/Slave (Non-con)
Parents that never should have had children
Violence and murder
NonCon/DubCon
Blood Play
Power exchange
Bondage
Blood play
Knife
Hurt/comfort
Human trafficking
Non-monogamy/polyamory consensual
Suicidal considerations
PTSD
Disassociation
light mentions of incest/pedophilia crime


Let's start off: I am not a big reader of non-monogamy. I have found a few authors that can pull it off to where I can read it and like it. Ciara Darren seems to be one. This story has some dark moments where it can pull you out of the story and make you stop and think about it. To me, one of the signs an author is a good author is that they can make me stop to think about things I am reading and think, Wow, to put myself into the character that is going through these things. The main men in this story and the main men of the central triad are Ellisandre & Sevastyan & Rei. The things these two men go through are sad to read at times, along with being sad to think things like this can happen. One of the triggers is human trafficking. Who can't think about that and feel deep hard feelings and just want to help and hug the person/persons going through it. I had a good upbringing with wonderful parents, and I think I was a pretty good parent, so to read about these parents just made me so mad and conflicted. I don't believe in people feeling pain, but those parents would have deserved what they put them through to happen to them to feel what they put them through. This story was a hard one, but it also made me think about a lot of things. I personally find that to be a good story to make you think about the story after reading it for days. I would love to read more by this author.

Nicole Harvey

[Suzanne Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellisandre, Sevastyan and Rei continue to be the main focus in this second book of three. There are characters and intersections with the other books that show up in this hard to describe book. Ciara Darren is marvelous at telling longer stories that extend through numerous books and this one continues her overall story through this unique world of hers. Again I will say that you will understand a lot more if you follow her reading list because everything here intersects with everything else.
I struggle to find the words to describe the story because it’s just so big, but I must say that I have no trouble keeping things straight and I have memory problems so don’t let that intimidate you. I love love love this whole world and I’m fascinated with wondering how things will turn out. All of these books have gone on my reread list because I have enjoyed them all so much. I understand that so many books might be intimidating, but these are really great and I recommend them highly.

I got a copy of this book from GRR and this is my honest opinion

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great addition to the “Sanctum” story. We continue to learn more about Sevastyan, a man that was forced from a young age to be part of the dark side of humans but very much is fighting to bring it down and Rei our so strong hero that has fought for years to survive the unimaginable so others don’t have to and Lisa who joins our group when he feels all is lost and that he will never feel joy again in his life. On the outside of our group is Ellisandre. They have deep feelings for Sevastyan from years ago and is waiting “impatiently” for him to share what his life has become and how they can help. What a ride it has been so far. This book ends on a pivotal point and I can’t wait to read the next episodes. This group is about to do some major damage to some very bad people while I also hope bring joy to their lives and the lives of the others they have been protecting for so long. I highly recommend this series. Enjoy!

[Dee Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lay it there was a beautiful book. I'm a huge second chance romance fan and especially when the MM romances are involved and it did not disappoint. This is book two in the sanctum series and the first one was phenomenal This one is just as good.
I really love this book the characters were amazing as well as the world and everything else built up in this book. I really enjoyed the way everything flowed and it was so easy to read. I read the first one and then quickly started the second one just to see how things went together and how everything was. I was not disappointed these two this whole series is the first time I've ever read anything by this author and I was very much amazed.

[Deb Kel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second book dives even deeper into Sevastyan, Rei, and Ellisandre, revealing more of their pasts while raising the stakes for the future. I love how the relationships continue to develop alongside the suspense, and the found family aspect remains one of my favorite parts of the series.

The emotional depth, danger, and slow unraveling of secrets kept me completely invested, and the ending leaves everything poised for an explosive next instalment. If you enjoy dark romantic suspense with complex characters, polyamorous romance, and an intricate plot, this series is absolutely worth picking up.

[Jvles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm enjoying these books so much. The story is fast, exciting, emotional and utterly painful at times. My heart is completely invested in these complex and wonderfully layered characters and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.
I can't always follow the conversations completely and I'm not sure if that's just me or if that's by design because the reader's not supposed to understand everything yet. That's sometimes left me feeling a little weird but could not diminish my enjoyment.

[Ida Umphers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing world building. I can only imagine what this author's notebooks look like in order to keep all the characters and events from all the books neatly aligned as they are but things are clear and consistent. Our characters are still being tested in so many ways here and I'm right there pulling for them to be able to eventually reveal all the secrets and overcome their challenges. A great exploration of how damaging it is when people are denied their voice.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author has used strong characters in this book as well.

It is a book that requires your full concentration; you cannot just pick it up and read it in between other things.

💞Thank you to the Author and GRR for the opportunity to read and review this ARC💖

[Adoraboy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an emotional read but very good!!!

[Samantha Cato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loving this series from Ciara Darren! It's so well written and unique, not like anything I've read a lot of before. I can't wait to delve into more from this author.