Midnight Message

by Avina St. Graves

Mina knows three things to be true.

1. She hates sports.

2. She’s obsessed with an ice hockey player anyway.

3. Sliding into his DM’s is the best and worst thing she’s ever done.

Dark Romance author Mina Mendoza has an obsession, and his name is Leo Duval. She knows everything about the star hockey player… like how many tattoos he has, where his aunt likes to holiday, the layout of his house and the date he bought it. But he doesn’t know she exists. Or at least he didn’t.

When Mina messages Leo in the middle of the night to say that he’s exactly how she imagines the hero in her latest novel, she forgets that men can be cruel. One message turns into twenty screenshots, and a drunken group chat that alters the course of both their lives.

As it turns out, Leo knows some things about Mina too. Like the password to her phone, that her roommate sometimes forgets to lock their door at night, and that she sleeps like the dead.

Mina might have been stalking him first, but he can do it better.

Genres: Dark Romance, Sports Romance, Romance, Sports, Dark, Hockey, Hockey Romance

412 pages, Paperback

Published April 25, 2026

About the author

From an early age, romance author Avina St. Graves spent her days imagining fantasy worlds and dreamy fictional men, which spurred on her introverted tendencies. In all her day dreaming, there seemed to be a reoccurring theme of morally grey female characters, love interests who belonged in prison, and unnecessary trauma and bloodshed.

When she isn't reading, writing, doom scrolling, or figuring out how to make red flags look green, you can find her holed up in bed, combating the three Ps: back pain, neck pain, and knee pain.

Reviews

[Avina Graves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I’m the author, this ✨definitely✨ isn’t a biased review. Wow. Five stars.

[Grace Btrs (semi ia - mostly overwhelmed) · Rating 4 out of 5]

🍒 First Bite, Almost Perfect Dessert
So this is my first Avina book, and I was hooked from the premise.
The book did not fail me. It kept feeding me and gorging me… until it didn’t serve me my dessert with the cherry on top.
And damn it, I wanted that cherry so badly, with the chocolate drizzle too. Because this particular dessert isn’t complete without that cherry. 🍫🍒

Now listen, this was absolutely a 5-star read the entire time. But the resolution of the two main antagonistic arcs left me wanting.
The rating is technically 4.5 stars but here’s why I rounded it down to just 4:
I don’t think you’ve ever heard me say I am triggered by a book, but this one had two content warnings that triggered me at several instances, and their resolution was not to my own satisfaction.
Avina wrote these plot points so, so, so well. It is impressive how Filipino culture is similar to Lebanese culture. Avina really showed how culture can be weaponised to serve a toxic person.

We come to fiction to get the resolutions we might not get in real life.
Believe it or not, I needed that resolution the way I wanted it.
That is not to say that the resolution wasn’t satisfying. It just wasn’t satisfying in the way I personally needed it to be. So I do believe someone else might actually be very, very happy with it and take it as the 5-star read it is.

🔥 My New #1 Book Stalker
Leo officially dethroned Josh.
The mouth on this man.
The mind on this man.
The things he did, does, and would do for Mina.
He is perfection personified… with a lot of delusions and a fully unhinged brain.
And actions.
Please, his actions. 🫠
I am not going to delude you and say he’s a good person. But he is also not a bad person. He is just a selective person, and for his own good reasons.

🖤 Mina: Living in the Grey
Mina is not only a morally grey person, she lives in the grey area full-time… except when she is hiding under Leo’s bed.
She is a complex character with complex, layered trauma from years of systematic abuse. She shows real struggles of women: what we are taught about our bodies, our sexualities, and what we should give to others, even at the expense of ourselves.
I love that she gets to a point where she makes her own choices. And I love that Leo is there to encourage, support, and drive her in those choices.

🤡 The Delulu That Became Reality
They’re obsessed with each other. Need I say more?
Stalker x Stalker is not a trope I thought I needed—but now I desperately want it.
There is no world where these two don’t find each other and get together. And yes, their obsession with each other is an OBSESSION, and this is the foundation of their romance, but I swear, they ingrained themselves so deeply into each other’s lives that they became an inevitability. 💫

This book was so much fun.
I probably have a million more things to say.
But go in light-hearted and light-headed, and I hope you enjoy these two. 💜

--
Pre-read:
I apologise for the person I will become on your feed (I really don't)


--
📖I saw:
"She's crashing out bcz the guy she's stalking posted a picture holding hands with someone.
He broke into her house while stalking HER and took a pic of them holding hands."

And that was it. I was sold.
Mutual OTT obsession and stalking? Say less.

[⋆.˚࿔ Mackayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is me yapping about the book, so listen carefully ahhhhh I’m dead..(spoilers-free(mostly))
HEY CUTIESSSS, PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS READ MY REVIEWWWW~~~🥺(I'm js messing don't mind me)
This is me silently screaming on my bed 2 in the morning, I'm so fawked....and I might be one of the first group of ppl that has already finished the book the day it came out.
Pls check the TW before reading guys!!!

💜stalker x stalker
💚hockey player x dark romance author
💜inappropriate use of sth...🏒 (OMG THIS ONE IS SO HOT)
💚and more.....GO FIND OUT YOURSELF GUYSSS

₊˚★━━━{💜🏒💚}━━━★₊˚(spoilers-free part)

The spciy parts❤️‍🔥:
AVINA, how could you kept SO MUCH hot spice scene to yourself??!!! THIS IS SO HOT IM SCREAMING IN MY BED HOLY SHYT

About Leo and Mina💞:
Ik this is unhinged but they're so cute at the same time!!! I love when there are humors in the book I enjoy. Leo cares about Mina a lot and I js love it, he's willing to do anything for Mina, I MEAN EVERYTHING. And Leo alway call Mina "My future wife", HELLO?? I'M DEAD AF😭💗.
Here's a line I like a lot in the book from Leo to Mina:✅

If anyone tries to make you feel less than, you cut them off and tell them to get f*cked.

₊˚★━━━{💜🥅💚}━━━★₊˚(spoilers part but blurred)

About Thomas🙀:
About Thomas, I can’t believe he's dead after all OMG even tho that scene with Leo and Mina is so hot at that part.

About Jack🙄:
I'm 100% so pissed by him throughout the whole book at some part I js want to climb INTO the book and finish him myself. At first I thought he want to replace Leo, but at the end I realised...HE'S OBSESSED WITH LEO, LIKE, OBSESSED-OBSESSED. I hate him so much in the book and I'm glad Mina finished him at the end. LEZ GO GIRLS POWERRR

About plot twists🤯:
-I thought Leo was the one who let his teammates send Mina harassing message (cyberbully), but turns out it was Jack doing it, he look through Leo's phone and FAWKKKKK I wanna kill Jack so bad😭
-The part where Mina finished Jack is so hot, lezzzz goooo Mina I've been wanting to do that all the way through the book ty.
-I thought the person who blackmailed Mina was Jack for the whole time? Turns out HE'S NOT, it's some guy name's Jeremy, okay....lmaoo....

I LOVE ITTTT!!! 4.5 FAWKING STARSSSSS~!!🌟🌟🌟🌟

(Js in case if u want the pre-read⬇️)
Pre-read
Came here from IG. EXCUSE ME???!!! BOTH OF THEM ARE EACH OTHER'S STALKER??! YES, SIGN ME UP FOR THIS I'M IN!!!
Avina you rlly need to stop teasing us with the blurb on ig.😭😭

[Eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was all over the place... Like, I get the mutual obsession and stalking thing, but I swear neither Leo nor Mina were that into each other. I feel like they liked the idea of each other more than the actual person. Mina quite literally says she loves this man, but when he finally starts showing up in her life, she couldn't be more indifferent. Consider me confused. Other than that, I think this dark romance was just a little uninspired and bland. The tropes were fun, but I feel like the ending was super rushed and obvious while also barely making any sense. There was just so much more potential for the plot and to get into the nitty gritty.

[veerali · Rating 3 out of 5]

girl stalks boy
boy stalks back
what the fuck did i just read?
my skull is about to crack.

[Paige]

DNF 56%

Definitely in the minority but I just couldn’t go on with this shit. This book was BEYOND frustrating. I’m surprised no one else is annoyed at the things happening in this book. It’s like everyone in this book is so oblivious!!

First can we start with the fact that these two don’t even officially really meet until FIFTY TWO FUCKING PERCENT!!!! Sure they stalk each other, text all the time and sneak into each others houses. Leo has sex with her while she’s asleep. But she doesn’t know that he knows she lied about who she is. So when they finally come face to face as each other it’s 50% into the book!! Do you know how frustrating that is to wait that long for the characters to come together?!!

Let’s not forget about how Leo is apparently this unhinged stalker but he constantly lets his hockey teammates walk all over him and call the shots. One of them, Jack, is actively bullying Mina and Leo does fuckall about it. He’s so worried about being isolated from his team and getting in trouble so he does nothing. Well then buddy you aren’t as obsessed as you claim to be if you’re letting that shit slide.

The obliviousness of the two MCs was unbearable. There’s so much more that I wanted to say on this review but I’ve wasted enough time staying up til late hours reading this book only to stop once they actually meet.

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

excuse me for being a hater but wtf did i just read. these 5 star reviews have to be paid right? right?

half the things in this book made no sense. it was just a bunch of ideas stitched together without coherence. and this seriously needs to be heavily edited cause that was just not it.

i don't even know where to start. a HOCKEY PLAYER killing an innocent man because he's "jealous". this isn't even a mafia book. can we please stop killing people in dark romance books for the fun of it?

lets not get me started on him literally fu**ing her whilst she's asleep and her not even waking up??? how does that make sense? how do you literally sleep through it without drugs, without realising it and waking up???

oh oh also he literally tattoos her and she doesn't even realise it? "i sleep through tattoo appointments" - bro what. he picked a spot and tattooed you without knowing, im pretty sure the pain would wake you up or even a pressure on a spot you weren't getting a tattoo originally in. AND TO NOT EVEN NOTICE IT? like do you not look in the mirror?

the guy who was blackmailing her, again? what was the connection? who was he? that plot was so unnecessary?

sorry for the long rant, but this book made me so mad and for it to be rated this high actually kills me when so many deserving books get low ratings.

[Hera · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Stop killing yourself for other people.”

First of all, thank you to Avina for sending me an ARC of Midnight Message because there is absolutely no way I would have survived waiting until release day to read this book. I would have lost my mind. Actually, scratch that. I did lose my mind. This book drove me into insanity, made me question every decision I’ve ever made, and forced me to confront the fact that I am simply not petty enough, not unhinged enough, and definitely not obsessed enough to operate on Mina’s level.
Because let me tell you something, this book is the definition of “where there is a will, there is a way.” Mina did not just believe in something. She willed it into existence. She manifested chaos, destruction, obsession, and somehow walked out of it like a queen who planned it all along.

And that? Terrifying.

This book is scary because of how real it feels. The line between fiction and reality blurred so much that I had to pause not because I was confused, but because I was too aware. The struggles, the emotions, the cultural pressures—it didn’t feel like I was reading fiction. It felt like I was looking into a mirror I didn’t ask for.

Was that a good thing?

…I don’t know. You decide.

Read on.

4.25 stars

Mina: Delusion, Devotion, and Decisions That Need Legal Supervision

“I am already going to hell. I might as well have a good time before then.”

This woman.

This absolutely unhinged, delusional, obsessive, iconic woman.
Mina made the worst decisions of her life and not only did she justify them, she made me justify them too!! And I hate how easily I folded!!
She is obsessed. Not a little crush, not a passing interest—obsessed. The kind of obsessed that makes you pause and go, “this is not okay”… and then immediately follow it up with, “but I support her.”

She gets humiliated by the man she’s in love with (or so she believes 👀). Bullied. Torn down by his friends. Made to feel like she’s nothing.
And what does she do?
She decides to stalk him and make him fall in love with her.
I’m sorry??? Who thinks like that???

And yet. She does it.

That is not rational behavior. That is not healthy behavior. That is not behavior I would ever recommend.
But is it queen behavior?
Unfortunately… yes.

What makes Mina so compelling is that she never hesitates. She doesn’t sit there trembling at the consequences. She doesn’t moralize her actions. She just… acts. And there is something so disturbingly refreshing about an FMC who does something completely unhinged and doesn’t spend five chapters apologizing for it.
And the delusion? Oh, it’s strong.
This girl genuinely believed she was getting away with everything. That he had no idea. That she was ten steps ahead.
And I sat there like, baby… you are not just delusional, you are thriving in it.
But here’s where it gets personal.
Mina isn’t just unhinged for the plot. She is real. Painfully real.
Her upbringing. The neglect. The bullying. The way she’s been overlooked, dismissed, and emotionally worn down her entire life—it all builds into who she becomes.

And then there’s the cultural pressure.
Even though Mina is Filipino, the expectations, the suffocation, the constant feeling of not being allowed to choose yourself. I felt that in my bones. The things she thought? I’ve said them. The things she struggled with? I’ve lived them.
I didn’t just understand her.
I was her.

I just… haven’t reached her level of chaos yet.

Did I feel sorry for her? Yes.
Did I feel proud of her? Also yes.
Do I aspire to be her in some ways while also being deeply concerned about that fact? …yes.

She is easily one of my top FMCs.

However, and this is important, around the 60% mark, I needed her to get it together. The denial? The hypocrisy? It frustrated me. She was doing the exact same things and still reacting the way she did. I understood the emotional overwhelm, but it did pull me out for a bit. It whelmed me.

Still… Mina? Iconic. Unhinged. Mine.

Leo Duval: I Support Women’s Rights and His Wrongs

“How much of your life are you willing to play with until you decide debt is cleared? How many times will you let her set you on fire to keep you warm before there is no more light for you to give? She treats you like you are hers to manipulate. You are her collateral damage. You do not owe loyalty to people who make you feel like you’re never enough because that’s not loyalty. That’s conditioning. Guilt is a weapon.”

This man.

This man!!!!!

I need to be studied for how much I love him.
Leo could ruin my life, drag me through the mud, and I would thank him for the character development. That is how bad it is.
The mouth on this man? Insane. Dangerous. Life-altering.
He says things that don’t just hit Mina, they hit you. He calls things out in a way that feels intrusive, like he’s reading thoughts you didn’t even want to admit you had.

And somehow… it heals you.

Was he unhinged? Yes.
Was he morally questionable? Absolutely
Was he stalking her back while fully aware of what she was doing? Yes.
Did he still fall in love with her while simultaneously making her fall in love with him?
Also yes!!!!

This is not a healthy dynamic. Let’s be clear. If anyone else behaved like this, I would be at the nearest police station filing reports.

But because it’s him?

I folded.

Every. Single. Time.

There were moments where he made decisions that should have turned me off completely. And instead, I sat there like… “oh.”

Oh.
So we’re just going to like this now?
That is concerning.
Because I look for flaws in men. Especially fictional ones. I want reasons to dislike them.
Leo gave me every reason.
And I ignored all of them. And I can’t seem to regret it.

He healed parts of me I didn’t know needed healing. He said things I needed to hear, even if they came from a fictional man, they still landed.
And I think that’s what makes him so dangerous.
He doesn’t just exist in the story.
He stays with you after.

Side Characters: I Have Beef and I Will Not Be Silenced

Some of these characters?
Actual scum of the earth.
Her?
Him?
The other Him?!?
I will never forgive you. Not in this life. Not in the next.
I don’t care about your reasoning. I don’t care about your upbringing. I don’t care about your intentions. There is no justification strong enough to make me empathize with you.

Some characters deserve nuance.
You deserved consequences.
And I’m not satisfied with what you got.
That’s all I’m going to say.

Plot, Chaos, and Me Questioning My Sanity

“Therapy isn’t enough to fix whatever’s wrong in my brain for loving it this much.”
This may be a quote from the book, but I feel it FOR the book.

I ate this book up.
Devoured it. Obsessed over it. Talked about it non-stop.
This was a six-star read for me at multiple points. It was immersive, addictive, funny, emotional, it made me feel everything. It was a “turn your brain off but also question your entire existence” kind of read, and I loved that.

But.

There were things missing.
I needed more why.
Why did the antagonist do what they did?
What was their motivation?
Who was the other antagonist and what was their actual role beyond creating chaos?
I needed answers, and I didn’t get enough of them.
There were also moments of redundancy where I wish we had traded repetition for depth.
And while I understood Mina’s emotional spiral during the denial phase, it did take me out briefly. I had to pause, recalibrate, and convince myself to move forward.

And then there’s the biggest reason for my rating:
This book felt too real.
It hit too close. It blurred lines I wasn’t expecting it to blur. And while that made it powerful, it also made it… uncomfortable in a way I couldn’t fully ignore.

That’s why it’s a 4.25 instead of a 5.

Final Thoughts: Read This or Regret It

Take everything I’ve said, every complaint, every moment of frustration, and understand this:

You need to read this book

This was everything I wanted.
Stalker x stalker? ✔
Unhinged characters making questionable decisions? ✔
An obsessed MMC who will burn the world for her? ✔
An FMC with a spine who does not care about consequences? ✔

This book pulled me out of a reading slump I didn’t even realize I was in. It reminded me why I love stories like this. And even if you don’t connect with it as personally as I did, even if it doesn’t hit you as deeply—

You’re still going to eat this up.
I’m so glad I got to read this early.
And I would do it all over again.
Unhinged thoughts and all.

[purlpur · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
два одержимих сталкера роблять свої сталкерські речі 😈 вони хоч і нездорово одержимі, але в більшості випадків це якесь миле взаємне сталкерство в соцмережах і регулярні візити без запрошення один до одного додому. або це я вже такі речі в дарках милими називаю 😆

загалом приємне читання. за репрезентацію захворювання матки в героїні теж плюсик, це додало окремої цікавості.
моментами ловила крінжик. щоб без спойлерів, але бляха як же міна міцно спить.. там і поїзд по ній може проїхатися, а вона не помітить 🌚

тільки ближче до кінця книги я згадала, що це дарк. трішки вбивств таки завезли. але він тут лайтовий.

ооу і що за хорошик лео. чоловік повністю облаштував кімнати в будинку, передивившись її пінтерест, ще й бібліотеку з її улюбленими книжками організував. плюс її смаколики, ліки та обезболюючі завжди вдома тримав. і це все ще до того, як вони познайомилися вживу ☺️😁
а як він вправно своєю ключкою🏒 не тільки на льоду користується 😏🤭

[lola · Rating 2 out of 5]

the idea was there, the execution wasn’t

having seen all of the teasers about a stalker x stalker romance on social media, I had high hopes for this story but it did fall flat.

first of all, the writing style is quite chaotic? in some scenes (particularly closer to the end) there’s probably 4-5 different sub plots and twists happening all at once and I did spot several inconsistencies throughout the story which did frustrate me a bit

that being said, the first 5-6 chapters were actually pretty fun and despite this story not being for me, it did make for a very entertaining buddy read with a friend

(justice for Thomas though because that man did not deserve what happened to him)

[Darlene I read WAY to many books · Rating 5 out of 5]

LEOOOOOO!!! Okay I ate this book up in 4 hours!! I couldn't put it down. Mina baby Mina she finds her inspo for her book in hockey player Leo. She does what any person has done before she dms him. Nothing bad really. But someone that wasn't his true friend shared that dm in a group chat with the hockey team. Tearing poor Mina and her career apart. Calling her names, making fun of her the whole 9 yards and one im sorry from Leo. Now my girl is getting even because she's mad at Leo but she also still hung up on that man. So what does she do. Stalk hahah. And I gotta hand it to her she got away with some things because Leo became obsessed back and stalked her back. So we get back and forth of them texting, sneaking into eachother houses and being to freaking obsessed with eachother.

Now I gotta say when the big reveal happens I wanted to shake Mina because she kinda backtrack and thought him stalking her was crazy?! Like MINA GIRL JUST ACCEPT THE CRAZY!! Dont back down. Own up to it. So I was alittle annoyed she took a step back. When that man was ALLLL IN!! my other problem which I get is Mina letting her mother mentally abuse her we know why she let it happen. I just hated it.
Leo...idk if Leo could do anything wrong haha. But anywho I want everyone to read this book.

Saftey-she goes on like a date (family friend) and he gets jealous, and she sees a picture awhile ago of him with someone but Leo said she was no one just some random who was pushing up on him. She was also jelouse of herself. When he posted a picture of there hands together lol.

Low angst, tiny op drama, no cheating, drama, sexy times, no virgins

Recommend-yes
Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat level-🌶🌶🌶


Prologue
endometriosis—chronic disease
Incorrect and unadvised use of an object as a sex toy
somnophilia
Breeding (no pregnancy)
nonconsent
Praise kink
Masturbation
Voyeurism
dubious consent
poor tattoo practice
mutual stalking
toxic parasocial relationships
unhealthy relationships
unconsented filming
branding
murder
gore
breaking and entering
Slut-shaming
appearance shaming
cyberstalking
religious parents
Hea
Epilogue

[Rochelle ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

we aren’t strangers. we’ve already lived through a hundred lifetimes together. he just… he doesn’t know it. yet. i need him to know i exist.

one evening, a random text message changes everything for mina mendoza when leo duval, her current obsession, finally notices her existence with a simple “i’m sorry” but not without its downsides. midnight message is my introduction to avina st. graves’ writing and while this book isn’t something extraordinary amongst thousands of dark romances, it did something right. after all, i devoured this mess within two days, a mess book that really celebrated ‘red flags are actually green’. i’m kind of here for it, to be honest, especially after reading a lot of romantasy with morally grey characters over the last twelve months. i needed dark and delusional and midnight message delivered that.

midnight message isn’t without its drawbacks however, most of them are the fault of the characters and the writing somewhat. i do believe there’s mutual attraction shared between mina and leo, but the obsession is surface-level—i feel they like the idea of each other, rather than the actual person they’re obsessing over and that comes down to the writing. we never have an opportunity to delve into either character's thoughts to understand what it is about the other that attracts them. the narrative itself was also a little chaotic, with avina st. graves introducing a number of smaller plotlines that either: didn’t add a lot to the overarching storyline; concluded far too quickly and conveniently for them to ultimately feel relevant; or simply made no sense in the grand scheme. i’m a firm believer in quality over quantity and authors need to stop throwing in as many tropes and plotlines they can muster.

mina. my gorgeous disaster.
my stalker.

♡ jasmina santos mendoza
jasmina ‘mina’ mendoza is one determined albeit insane woman—an obsessive stalker who’s enamoured with nhl hockey player, leo duval, who she used as inspiration for her most recent novel’s main male character. i didn’t mind mina initially, but as the story progressed she started to become unbearable with all of her inconsistent traits. despite being obsessed with leo—who she could list down random facts about, i’m sure of it—she’s really oblivious to everything around her. you can’t convince me that her obsession is genuine when she’s unable to connect the cinnamon scent in her own house with his; or that she’s such a heavy sleeper she doesn’t wake up to leo fucking her (don’t even start me on her not feeling sore the next morning); and as soon as it’s revealed leo returns her obsession, she has the audacity to be mad and distant towards him. this is following all of her breakdowns over his lack of attention and the fantasies she conjures up about their relationship. hypocrite, much? inconsistent, no?!

there’s an air around him that i’ve never been able to properly see until now. it holds a volatile edge, an all-consuming magnetism that has every one of my instincts on alert to either move closer or run away.

♡ leo duval
leo duval is cold and aloof to everyone he interacts with, but for mina and his sister, sabrina, he’s willing to be soft and warm towards. much like mina, i didn’t mind leo in the beginning but as the narrative started changing and unfolding he ceased being appealing. for someone who almost comes across as dangerous, a little disturbed and equally obsessive, he was oddly unwilling but also willing, to allow someone else to dictate his life choices. the entire jack situation felt convoluted and unrealistic, and his obsession with leo made no sense—we were not told, let alone shown jack’s reasons for his behaviour and nothing grates on my nerves more than a ‘tell, not show’ scenario. i appreciated leo’s mutual obsession with mina, especially as midnight message is described as stalker x stalker, but the sudden thomas situation… i couldn’t understand and thought it was kind of foul. leo could’ve settled for threats rather than result to murder. i’m always willing to suspend a moment of disbelief when reading dark romance, but even this leaves me mildly gobsmacked.

midnight message contained far too many tropes and plotlines to create a cohesive narrative. it was a mess with no real flow to allow a seamless reading experience and featured surface-level characters who caused me nothing but unbearable secondhand embarrassment. despite the barrage of insults, constant harassment and cold treatment, mina continued to follow after leo in some of the most nauseating and pathetic ways, going so far as to create multiple fake accounts and establish aliases to insert herself into his life. is it so hard to have a modicum of decorum? the writing was chaotic; the number of plotlines was ridiculous and there were far too many inconsistencies with characters making questionable decisions and involved in scenes that were inserted for shock value. despite this, i’m very much looking forward to avina st. graves’ next release, pink ink, which features a film student and the serial killer she’s following, who happens to be her brooding professor.

────────────────────

˖⁺‧₊♡ pre-read review ⋙
i haven’t read a dark romance from avina st. graves, so here’s to my first book from this author! wishing me and my soul all the best with this one (the ratings are somewhat terrifying).

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[yuvi · Rating 3 out of 5]

lmaoo i knew what to expect and avina didnt disappoint.
no review + take my rating with a grain of salt lmfao.

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❀reading progress-
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---"we aren’t strangers. We’ve already lived through a hundred lifetimes together. He just . . . he doesn’t know it. Yet. I need him to know I exist."
lmfao😭😭😭😭

---okay i'm getting second hand embarrassment. like, girl. bffr

---"Maybe if she showed even an ounce of pride over anything I’ve ever done for myself, it wouldn’t feel like every person in the world would prefer if I didn’t exist right now."
naurrr i didnot expect that

---"How unfortunate that I didn’t pass away in my sleep"

---"For the past month and a half, it’s been on my to-do list to buy a pair of binoculars.
They are necessary for any stalker’s starter kit."

---girl is so obsessed. idk if i should laugh or cry. or maybe die from the second hand embarrassment😭

---he did not just call her baby girl. eughhh


--- "Promise me something." "What?" "If anyone tries to make you feel less than, you cut them off and tell them to get fucked."

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❀preread-
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it's hereee
avina's books are always so unintentionally funny😭😭😭😭
stalker × stalker. say less.

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❀side note-
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started- may 01
finished-may 01

[Aaliyah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is fucked up. Like seriously she pissed me the fuck off. Like you stalk the man you were the one who DM him. Then where he told you that he knew all alone you’re getting angry for what?. Also the way you’re saying I’m obsessed with him. I’m in love with him, then her action says otherwise. And please let’s not even talk about jack, like seriously something is wrong with him. And I don’t even know how Leo didn’t realize that Jack is in love with him or obsessed with him. Like you can see the from the beginner. Otherwise I really did like the book.

[Kaley · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

i genuinely think that these reviews are payola because there’s just no way 😭😭😭😭 they’re both psycho with a capital P but that’s not really my problem because i knew that going in. my problem is that he literally k!lls an innocent man for really no reason. and like this isn’t a mafia book he’s a HOCKEY PLAYER who just decided to cosplay a serial killer for the night idk it’s weird as hell

[Nour Hane · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was genuinely excited for this book because of all the hype and high ratings, but by the time I barely reached the halfway point, I kept asking myself: did people actually read the same book? Because what I read felt like a chaotic mess with no logic, coherence, or proper structure.

Mina was the most irritating and pathetic character in the entire book. She stalked Leo everywhere, built ridiculous fantasies about their relationship inside her head, and acted as if every tiny bit of attention from him was some grand achievement. She practically worshipped him like a god. The amount of secondhand embarrassment she caused me while reading was unbearable.

Despite the constant insults, cold treatment, and obvious rejection, she kept running after him in the most humiliating way possible, even creating fake accounts just to talk to him… my God, how pathetic can someone be? And to make it worse, she kept having dramatic breakdowns and crying fits every time she didn’t get what she wanted.(Girl, go throw yourself off a bridge) An entirely empty character with no dignity, no maturity, and not a single ounce of self-respect.
Their relationship had zero chemistry to me, it just felt like unhealthy obsession mixed with endless cringe.

And Leo… He comes off as weak, stupid, and completely incapable of handling anything around him. The attempt to paint him as mysterious and dark completely fails—there’s no depth, no presence, just emptiness dressed up as complexity. Instead of intensity, he reads as dull and passive, a character who drifts through the story with no real substance or impact.

Then there’s Jack. His presence in the story was completely unnecessary and irritating. His obsession with Leo was disgusting to the extreme, just like his character. Honestly, every scene he appeared in felt uncomfortable and unsettling, and he kept ruining Leo’s life and the lives of everyone around him... And Leo had no personality or will to stop him. Watching him just stand there doing nothing while Jack repeatedly crossed every possible boundary was exhausting and infuriating.

The writing itself was a disaster. Random plotlines thrown together with no purpose, inconsistencies everywhere, ridiculous character decisions, and scenes that felt like they were written purely for shock value. It genuinely read like something a teenager wrote without any proper editing or revision.


I liked Avina St. Graves’s older books, but her recent releases have completely lost their charm for me, and this one was honestly one of the most frustrating and disappointing reads.

[Kenia Coronado · Rating 5 out of 5]

During the start of this book i kept thinking the fmc is literally the author lol avina is so funny and creative and this book really shows it! The plot felt very unique! Leo was my kind of crazy and they matched so perfectly! Another awesome read!

[jada · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry but I can’t take dark romances seriously when the main characters have such normal jobs idk. Like a murderous NHL player is sending meeee

[Han · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I loved them. Equally as unhinged as each other and it was great 😌

He got his 🐓 pierced bc in the book she wrote the MMC had one 🤭
Also her initials tattooed before “officially”meeting

Safety
His teammates find her and harass her with messages one being a picture of a girl groping him (later finds out that that picture was taken seconds before he threw her off) this was about 6% in
Misunderstanding about a girlfriend … she was the gf she just didn’t know it yet 😭
h’s mom sets her up on dates (family dinners) she’s not interested it happened twice
She is hiding in his room while he’s getting himself off to a video of her but she doesn’t know it’s her until later

He didn’t seem like a manwhore either and she seemed experienced as well, no v’s

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

Mina and Leo are two unhinged peas in a fucked up pod, and I love them so much. Their mutual obsession is absolutely everything—I get it Mina because Leo is 🥵

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧:
- hockey player + dark romance author
- mutual stalking
- endometriosis rep
- somnophilia

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kept hoping right up until the end that this damn hockey stick would end up shoved up the MMC’s ass…

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really exited to read this book because I absolutely love the female stalker trope. And it really lived up to my expectations


Safety:

OW1: There was a suggestive photo send to the h by the H’s teammates where he was at a party with OW, but it gets explained later on that the photo was taken without his knowledge and that it was a misunderstanding. It personally didn’t bother me much.

OW2: There’s a bit of OW at a other party but he quickly takes care of it

OM: The h gets coupled up with a man by her mother, but she doesn’t really have any interest in him.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

Omfg this book was SO SO FUN and ADDICTIVE. The mutual stalking trope was so entertaining, and i loved how the FMC was an author who felt like she had found one of her book characters in real life. This smut was actually on another level, i’m racing to read more of this authors books.

The only reason I couldn’t give this book 5 stars was because it was a bit slow for the first 25% for me until they started interacting in person, but after that first spicy scene i was LOCKED IN.

[elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

probably would’ve rated this higher if the FMC hadn’t been borderline unbearable. how tf did she spend months stalking someone, letting herself into his home, eating his food, sleeping in his bed, etc. & then PUSH HIM AWAY when she discovered he had been stalking her back? the MMC had more patience than me, i’ll tell ya that much 🙃

[lex (samkiel’s version ⚡︎) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be new favorite Avina St. Graves book yet (I say that every time because I am such a Stan lmao). Stalker x stalker, obsessed hero, surveillance cameras, somno. I was literally squealing over these two. The endo rep & parental trauma packed such a punch that I wasn’t expecting to feel so deeply. This is peek dark romance.

I fear I now identify as a Leo Duval sun, Maddox Shaw moon, and Roman Riviera rising.

I received an ARC from Avina St. Graves & her team.

[Caitlyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

wtf did i just read

[Bri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Get it here:
Amazon US * Amazon UK

This got bumped up to a 3 Star for the idea but mostly it was 2 Stars at best. I think the story was there, but it really needed to be edited down to not have SO many plot points make an appearance without truly going together. It was still a pretty fun read but sometimes it was hard to ignore just how ridiculous some of the scenes were. Mina herself being a tad too crazy over a guy she didn't know was also a little cringey.

[Kendra Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

"𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕚𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕦𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕖, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕀 𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝕙𝕚𝕞 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤."

𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘:
Did I finish this book in one sitting and at 4:30am? Yes. Did I also have to work at 6:30am that same morning? Also yes.

When I tell you this is hands down my favourite Avina St Graves book, I mean it. Which is a lot considering I love all of her books.

Leo Duval is that man and will forever BE that man. He is the blueprint of obsessive MMC, you telling me he's been obsessed with her from ONE MESSAGE?? ONE?? UNO?? Yep, thats how you do it. 🙂‍↕️ His reveal to Mina that he was stalking her was absolute perfection and had me GIGGLING. The banter between the two of them was electric and I genuinely could've read a whole book of just their texts.

Then our bad b*tch Mina. She really said "I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.". She was doing everything to get her man one way or another, I have to give her props because she put in the work. I also felt so bad for her because of her family situation, and I personally don't understand that but I know a lot of people who have gone through that toxic cycle with family and my heart broke for her. I also loved the endometriosis rep in this book. 💜 You never see that in books and it was refreshing to see it brought to light!

I want to thank Avina for the opportunity to read this early, you killed it as always girl!!

[sambavi (semi-ia) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I deserve to have my Romeo after dedicating years of my life to writing about Prince Charmings."

I saw stalker x stalker and that alone was reason to read this (and it definitely didn't disappoint omfg I'm feral for Leo)

Tropes and themes you can expect:
- stalker x stalker
- professional hockey player MMC x author FMC
- endometriosis representation
- somnophilia
- parasocial relationships
- a very wild smut scene with a hockey stick

From the bat we follow Mina (our FMC) who's obsessed with Leo (our MMC) as soon as she sees a resemblance between him and a character she wrote in one of her books. This obsession leads her to embarking on some... less than legal things to get to know him (but the fun part is that he's doing the exact same thing with her??)

"I'm making love to her. It's the only way to describe it. A worshipper doesn't make sacrifices for their god and call it a crime. This is devotion. Complete adoration and undying loyalty. A painter and his muse."

This was a really fun read. I loved the depth with Mina's character as there was a lot of character development geared towards her self-discovering and identity development both with her career and the impact of her family and cultural norms. The same applies with Leo's character when he's trapped under the control of a major character in the story and comes to break free of it. The interactions between both characters were also super fun, I loved the banter and interactions! Leo was both the biggest red flag and perfect man for Mina (which I know is super unhinged but this man literally builds her dream house based off her pinterest boards??). Underlying the events of the stalking interactions there is a plotline following some suspenseful and mystery aspects that I won't delve too much into to avoid spoilers (but the stalking goes far beyond the relationship between the two of them).

I'd highly recommend this for anyone looking for a dark romance that's entertaining, thoughtful, and relatively quick to read through. I was able to finish it in a sitting and I found it easy to follow. I think my only gripe was a bit with the pacing when it came to Leo revealing to Mina that he was also following her, the pacing became super fast after that section of the story. It was still enjoyable nonetheless! I did enjoy reading about the side characters, Sabrina and Mitchell were important characters to the development of both main characters and it was just as interesting seeing their dynamic (Joyce has my whole heart)

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly I have no idea how to feel about this one.

The characters felt off for some reason. Like they didn’t mesh? And maybe that was the point but it didn’t land for me. The FMC and her relationship with her mom felt so normal for a book labeled as dark romance. And maybe it’s because i read so much of this genre that i also expect more trauma from my characters. But i guess to be fair the author warned me this book wouldn’t be that.
The MMC felt like he did a 180 around 50-60% of the way in. He just out of nowhere became extremely unhinged. Like yes he was doing some messed up things but the situation with thomas was like whoa oh ummm? And not because that’s not a normal occurrence in dark romance. It just felt so like oh okay we are doing this 😅

And the conflict with Jack like bruh…I was expecting DRAMA. The reasoning fell flat. And the other mystery character…like what? Just a random occurrence? Oh okay.

And the last 10% where the MMC is helping the FMC confront her problems and set boundaries like what? That just felt so random…


Basically to sum this book up it was about an author who wrote a book found a guy online who looked like her male MMC and she’s obsessed. And the guy becomes obsessed with her and he becomes the MMC in her books…and when he does she doesn’t know if she wants it. 🤦🏻‍♀️


Now with all that I will say I did have a good time. I did enjoy some of the unhinged moments.

Overall
3-3.5 stars. This fell sort of in the middle for me. I’d recommend it if you are newer to dark romance. And you enjoy romcom dark vibes.