I honestly don’t know what to do with the feelings this book left me with.
Before anything else, please look at the trigger warnings because 912321 goes into some incredibly dark places. Parental abuse, sexual assault, addiction, self-harm, suicide, and other painful subjects are woven throughout the story.
Mireya Vitelli completely broke my heart.
She has been carrying far more than anyone her age ever should have had to carry. After losing her mother and living through years of abuse from her father, she turns to drugs and alcohol just to make it through the days. Yet somehow, even with everything falling apart around her, she keeps putting Milo first. Her little brother is her reason to keep moving, and the lengths she goes to protect him made me love her even more.
When Mireya gets the chance to attend St. Ellesta Academy and hopefully create a different future for herself and Milo, she takes it. That is where Damien Caldwell enters her life.
Damien is a professor at St. Ellesta Academy, but there is much more to him than meets the eye. He is also an FBI special agent investigating the return of the serial murderer known as the Chain Poet, a killer connected to a case from fifteen years earlier. An overlooked piece of evidence sends him toward the academy, and eventually toward Mireya.
I went into this expecting a dark romance with a psychological thriller running alongside it. What I didn't expect was to become this emotionally invested in these characters.
Mireya isn't an easy character to watch because her suffering feels so deeply personal. She is angry, damaged, struggling with addiction, terrified, loving, stubborn, and still somehow manages to keep fighting. There were so many moments where I just wanted to reach into the story and give her a safe place to breathe. She has spent so much of her life being made to feel worthless that watching her slowly begin to understand that she deserves tenderness absolutely destroyed me.
And then there is Damien.
I loved the way his feelings for Mireya developed. He didn't look at her and see someone who needed to be fixed. He saw someone who had been hurt beyond words and deserved the chance to decide what her life could become. His devotion to her was intense, protective, and sometimes downright overwhelming. Watching him stand beside her while she confronted everything she'd been running from had me staring at my Kindle like I could somehow help.
Their relationship wasn't simply about falling in love. It was about trust, healing, fear, vulnerability, and learning how to accept something good when your entire life has taught you to expect pain.
The psychological mystery added another layer that kept me turning pages. I thought I had figured out where things were going several times, only to realise I was nowhere close. The identity of the Chain Poet wasn't the only thing that caught me off guard, and there were moments when I genuinely had to stop reading for a minute and process what had just happened.
Also, Milo. 😭
The bond between him and Mireya was one of the most important parts of the entire story for me. She isn't simply trying to escape her past for herself. So much of her motivation comes from wanting Milo to have the childhood she never got. That made every decision she made hit even harder.
912321 is bleak, emotional, disturbing, romantic, and incredibly difficult in places. It isn't a book I'd recommend going into blindly, but if you're prepared for the subject matter, there is something incredibly powerful about Mireya's journey.
I cried. I got angry. I wanted to protect fictional people with my whole life. I suspected everyone. I trusted absolutely nobody. And by the time I reached the end, I was sitting there wondering why I had voluntarily allowed a book to emotionally destroy me like this.
That ending especially? Yeah. I'm still thinking about it.
Mireya Vitelli and Damien Caldwell are going to stay with me for a long time. There is something about the way their story handles pain and love that feels almost cruel because it makes you feel everything alongside them.
Amethyst and Scar, thank you for letting me experience 912321 as an ARC. You poured so much emotion into this story, and it shows. Mireya's pain, Damien's devotion, Milo's importance, and the mystery surrounding the Chain Poet all came together in a way that completely consumed me.
I finished this book with my heart in pieces, and apparently I enjoyed every second of the suffering.
All the freaking stars.
And yes, there is absolutely a 912321-sized void where my heart used to be.
Alot of difficult topics are discussed throughout this book: Parental abuse, sexual assault, addiction and self harm so please check your trigger warnings.
Mireya Vitelli is lost and broken. Having lost her mother and suffering years of abuse at the hands of her father, she numbs the pain with drugs and alcohol. Her younger brother is the only thing keeping her going. The one small light she has left in the darkness, her firefly.
To make a better life for herself and her brother, she decides to attend St. Ellesta Academy in their advanced behavioral analysis program where she meets professor Damien Caldwell.
Damien, a special agent for the FBI, is on the hunt for a serial killer dubbed ‘The Chain Poet’ that has re-appeared after 15 years. While going through old evidence, he finds a clue that was overlooked which leads him to St. Ellesta Academy…and to Mireya.
Apparently I love reading books that cause me pain because this one HURT. I wanted to reach through my kindle and hug Mireya so many times.
I was not at all prepared for the emotional turmoil this book would put me through and I can’t even begin to describe the ache in my chest when I think about Mireya and what she endured. She loved so deeply, gave so much of herself, and suffered more than anyone should ever have to.
Damien. The way he loved her was all consuming, he picked up the pieces that hurt her and made that pain his own.
This book was so tragic and heavy. It beautifully captures the strength of a woman fighting to survive, to keep going, and to overcome the cruelty life has handed her. What broke me the most is the way it portrays the difficulty of trying to love someone else when you’ve spent your entire life believing you aren’t worthy of love yourself. It was heartbreaking and painfully human.
I wasn’t expecting the killer to be who he was but that’s not what shocked me the most.
How do I move on? There is a 912321 sized hole in my chest and I will never be okay again😭
Amethyst and Scar, thank you for allowing me to arc read this book. Every ounce of your soul that was pured into these characters and this story does not go unnoticed. It was palpable and real, I could feel it with every word.
Just…thank you for sharing this with me.
All the stars.
“Don’t look at me like that…” His brows furrow as he replies, “Like what, Mireya?” “Like I'm someone you can save,” I breathe. “Because I’m not.”
When I first started reading dark romance, it felt like we were all trying to find the next smuttiest daddy book we could get our hands on. If that’s what you’re looking for, stop reading this review.
Because now? These authors are taking turns shredding you apart, piecing you back together, and leaving an imprint on you in the process. And make no mistake—this one doesn’t just leave an imprint. It burns itself into your soul.
From the very beginning, this book immediately pulls you in. Mireya, the FMC, is an absolute force to behold. The pain and suffering she endures is something you can feel. It breaks your heart because you don’t just watch her go through it—you cry with her, you fight with her, and you find yourself standing there hoping, praying, and wishing for something better for her.
Mireya is a big sister who has been forced into a motherly role, fighting like hell to take care of her sweet little brother while doing everything she can to hide the hurt, darkness, and ugliness inside their home. She’s determined to build a better life for him, even when she’s barely holding herself together.
Then she meets Damien.
Damien, the MMC, is an FBI agent who goes undercover on the small island to track down a serial killer. But when he sees Mireya—and those sad eyes—he can’t help but see the potential beneath all the pain. What starts as wanting to help her becomes something much deeper as he finds himself wanting to help her face her monsters, slay her demons, and fight for the life she deserves.
Together, wishes continue to be made…
And some wishes come with a price.
This book hurt. It broke me. It made me hope. And somehow, it still managed to leave me wanting more.
Mireya & Damien, I love you both with all my heart😭
Ame & Scar, you both did the fucking thing with this book and I feel so honoured to have received an ARC because I LOVED IT.
Thank you for allowing me a part of Little Blues, seeing my name in the acknowledgements had me crying me eyes out🥹
912321 is tragic & one thing about me, I love tragic books. Mireya & Damien were absolutely everything. Mireya had what I can only describe as a horrendous childhood which follows into her teens & adult years and she has the most amazing little brother, Milo. To hopefully build a better life for herself & Milo, she attends St Ellestas Academy in Seraphin Bay where she meets her professor Damien Caldwell.
I won’t say much more regarding the plot as I don’t want to ruin it but definitely check the trigger warnings.
912321 brings light to a lot of difficult topics including abuse by a parent, addiction & suicide and I just knew from reading Eternal at the beginning of the year that these topics were going to be handled so so well🥺 the amount of rage I felt on Mireyas behalf was unbelievable, she is the ultimate big sister, putting everyone before herself including baby Blue 🐈⬛
💙 Age Gap 🩵 Professor x Student 💙 Found Family 🩵 Heavy Trauma Bonding 💙 Trust Issues/Daddy Issues 🩵 Stalker/Serial Killer 💙 Remote island 🩵 Psychological Elements 💙 University setting 🩵 Slow burn 💙 Mental Health Rep 🩵 Right Person, Wrong Time
I genuinely don’t know how to review 912321 because how am I supposed to put this kind of pain into words?!
Mireya’s story absolutely shattered me. She has spent her entire life surviving things no one should ever have to endure, while still doing everything she can to protect her little brother, Milo. The love she had for him was everything. She was broken, messy, and hurtingbut she never stopped fighting for the people she loved.
And Damien…😭 The way he saw past every wall she built and loved the parts of her she believed were impossible to love completely wrecked me. He didn’t just want to save herhe wanted her to finally see herself the way he saw her.
The romance was beautiful, but this story was so much more than that. It was heavy, raw, tragic, and painfully human. Then add in the psychological thriller aspect and the twists I absolutely did NOT see coming?! I couldn’t put it down.
I cried more times than I could count, and by the end, there was a 912321 sized hole in my chest. This book didn’t just break my heart it made sure I would never forget it.
Please check the trigger warnings before reading. This story deals with extremely heavy topics.
♾️⭐ All the stars 🌶️🌶️🌶️
💙 Age gap 🩵 Professor/student 💙 Psychological romantic thriller 🩵 Found family 💙 Slow burn 🩵 Morally gray MMC 💙 Serial-killer mystery 🩵 Heavy trauma and mental-health representation
Thank you, Amethyst and Scarlett, for allowing me to ARC read this unforgettable story. 💙
“Seven minutes, and then, then we take another seven.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
- [ ] Betrayal - [ ] Age gap - [ ] Forbidden - [ ] Addiction - [ ] Childhood trauma - [ ] Plot twist - [ ] No way you are guessing who the bad guy is
ARC review.
Beautiful writing. The story was engaging. The character development was fantastic. The ending was expecting. I was shocked who the bad guy was. I would have NEVER guessed!
I love the follow through on what life looks like after the quote on quote “book ends”.
Highly recommend reading this. The only reason it wasn’t a 5 stars is because the second of half of the book I felt it dragged out. But if you fall in love with the main characters, you will not mind what I call “extra” or “fillers”.
I’ve read 2/3 books from this author. They have a way to writing a story like no other. Thank you for blessing me to read this ARC 🩵
I could not put this book down! 🫶💔🖤♾️ Mireya was dealt a tremendously hard life and was doing the best she could to survive, all while protecting and caring for her little brother. Along the way she finds solace in the only man she can never truly have, but he sees her in a way she's never been seen before.
✨️In the end all that matters is your soul is never forgotten by those who see it first 💙
💔 Seven minutes, and then, then we take another seven.
Coming soon October 14, 2026
* Check your triggers *
Thank you Amethyst & Scar for the opportunity to ARC read this book, it touched my heart and I'll never forget it.
This book was painful to read. The topics were incredibly heavy, heartbreaking, and difficult to process, but somehow I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the pages.
I felt so incredibly bad for Mireya. My heart broke for her over and over again, and there were moments where I just wanted to reach through the pages and protect her. 💔
This is not an easy read, and it definitely isn’t for everyone, but there was something about this story that completely consumed me. It was disturbing, emotional, heartbreaking, and impossible to look away from.
Heavy. Painful. Unforgettable. 🖤
Definitely check the trigger warnings before picking this one up.
Thank you to the authors Amethyst and Scar for allowing me the chance to read this as an ARC. This one will stay with me for a while.
ARC REVIEW . 4✨ / 1🌶️ . oh boy.. i don’t know how ill write this but ill try. it was hard to read because it was heavy on the mental health topic, and i knew from the beginning the only possible solution. Mireya is one of the strongest people, she’s a survivor in every sense. she’s being accepted in a academy for future agents and wants to leave her city. - it’s really hard to write this review without spoilers - ; Damien investigating on a serial killer on the campus, and cross Mireya way, little miss sad eyes, one night on a cliff. each other they will try to catch the killer before it’s too late. oh and damien is a teacher undercover.
Wow…. I don’t even know where to begin. This story was so incredibly beautiful and gut wrenching at the same time. Mireya and Damien have a special place in my heart, and I will always think about their story. I wish I could hug Mireya and tell her everything is going to be okay. The love that these two characters had for each other was so beautiful and breathtaking. Milo was such a cute character, I loved Mireya’s little firefly🥹.
💙slow burn 💙professor x student 💙mental health & trama 💙romantic thriller
ARC Review: This literally made me feel everything and then some. This was a painfully tragic story but somehow was woven so beautifully at the same time. I’m not normally a book crier but the last 10% had me borderline sobbing. Sometimes you need go be wrecked by a book and this definitely fills that void. This is an extremely heavy book so keep in mind while reading but I’m so glad I went through with it.
Thank you to both the authors for allowing me to be apart of the ARC team!!
This book was such a good read but also so emotional🥲
It didn’t give me 5 star feels as I feel something was missing.. I’m not sure what it was? I feel like I wanted more from the thriller/crime solving part of it maybe??? I loved the connection the FMC had with her brother & her bestie 💖 that added such a found family element to the story.
The ending absolutely gave me whip lash. I cried & I cried🥲
4.5 ⭐ This was heart wrenchingly amazing! Mireya has been failed badly by those who are supposed to raise, love and protect her. This trauma carries her into her adult life & manifests in different ways. When she meets Damien, he sees past the wounds and into her beautiful soul and she sees the parts of him he has never allowed anybody to see before. But some trauma is so great, that it can't be overwritten. Such a beautiful but heart achingly sad story. I loved Mireya & Damien so much & how he just wanted to give her happy memories 💔❤️.
What can I say besides Ame has done it again this time with a beautiful friend Scar. 🫶🏽 This story is so fkn beautiful in its tragedy. The music truly adds to the depth of the scenes and I will forever remember 912321. 💙 ⏳ SEVEN MINUTES⏳🫂