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Love You To Pieces
They saved my life the same way a butcher saves meat—by deciding it’s theirs.
It was just supposed to be a road trip with new friends, heading to Dallas to see a concert for a band I barely listen to. But one night on a rural road somewhere in rural Texas, my reality crashes down and becomes about one thing only.
Survival.
Waking up on a meat hook with my friends screaming as they’re cut to pieces nearly breaks me, but when I find a weapon of my own, all I can think of is that I only have one choice.
Fight back.
But even when I’ve escaped the monsters who sought to sell parts of me to the highest bidder, I’m not free. With a chainsaw in my hands and blood staining my skin, the two men who find me aren’t afraid of me.
I thought I escaped the monsters.
I was wrong.
I’ve just traded one kind for another.
And if I’m not careful, I won’t just die in this place—
I’ll become part of it.
Love You To Pieces is a dark, MMF romance standalone. It is extremely dark, with horror elements such as gore, cannibalism, graphic, detailed violence, and no cliff hanger. For a full list of triggers, please look inside the book
It was just supposed to be a road trip with new friends, heading to Dallas to see a concert for a band I barely listen to. But one night on a rural road somewhere in rural Texas, my reality crashes down and becomes about one thing only.
Survival.
Waking up on a meat hook with my friends screaming as they’re cut to pieces nearly breaks me, but when I find a weapon of my own, all I can think of is that I only have one choice.
Fight back.
But even when I’ve escaped the monsters who sought to sell parts of me to the highest bidder, I’m not free. With a chainsaw in my hands and blood staining my skin, the two men who find me aren’t afraid of me.
I thought I escaped the monsters.
I was wrong.
I’ve just traded one kind for another.
And if I’m not careful, I won’t just die in this place—
I’ll become part of it.
Love You To Pieces is a dark, MMF romance standalone. It is extremely dark, with horror elements such as gore, cannibalism, graphic, detailed violence, and no cliff hanger. For a full list of triggers, please look inside the book
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 28, 2026
About the author
A.J. Merlin
40 books2,446 followersAJ Merlin would rather write epic love stories than live them. I mean, who wants to limit themselves to only falling in love once? She is obsessed with dark fantasy, true crime, and also dogs. From serial killers to voyeurs all the way down to the devil himself, AJ's specialty is in writing irredeemable heroes who somehow still manage to captivate their heroines (and her readers).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 194 reviews
June 25, 2026
I'm no stranger to AJ's books so I expected gore, blood, quick relationships/couplings and lots of internal dialogue. However, I was actually very disappointed in this book. I think the first sign that I was in store for a disappointing read was when the MC, Sadie-Rae, kept going on and on in her head about how she misses her old friend group and then telling herself to not think about them, but then going right back to thinking about them. With the way she talked about them in her head and her mention of therapy you would think they had passed, but they were actually alive and well, living their best lives without her. I didn't quite get the reason for repeatedly comparing her friend groups when her old friend group served zero purpose in this story.
Then she and her (current) friend group got kidnapped and I thought the book was slowly getting better because Sadie was actually making some smart decisions. When she sees her chance to escape the room she's tied up in, she made me a proud reader when her first thought after getting untied was to grab a weapon. And then when she didn't go out the OBVIOUS exit, which for sure would've had the kidnapper behind it, I was even more proud. She was almost completely free, when she encountered the MLs, Fox and Deacon (they are not part of the initial group of kidnappers).
For some unknown reason, they take her home with them. This is where my feelings for this book started to get confusing. On one hand, I applauded Sadie's relentlessness because even when they threatened her or treated her kindly, she continued to try to escape them. On the other hand, sometimes she was like a child who you tell not to touch a hot stove and they touch it anyway, just because. For example, Fox told her NOT to go in their SLAUGHTERHOUSE, so what does she do? For no reason at all, she goes in there and surprise surprise, there are a dead bodies, and she comes to the realization that her captors are cannibals. Though it was hinted at wayyy before then. Also, her obsession with a stray dog was...for lack of a better word...ridiculous. Every time she would go looking for the dog or wait for the dog to follow her, because "she didn't want to be alone", her circumstances would worsen. I like dogs but if I have to choose between a dog and escaping cannibals, I'm leaving the dog.
Then there Sadie's reluctant attraction to her captors which I fully expected because it's an AJ book, but I couldn't quite jump on the bandwagon due to the whole cannibalism thing. They had this saying of "waste not, want not" but it didn't make sense because they didn't NEED to be cannibals. They had chickens. They had hogs. They weren't poor or starving. There was no logical reason for them to be cannibals and the MLs trying to convince Sadie it was a natural way of life, and that she needed to jump on the bandwagon didn't quite compute in my head. Sadie eventually buying into the belief that they were somehow different from her initial captors didn't work for me either because again, the MLs don't NEED to be cannibals. It was both nonsensical and hypocritical for her to hate her initial kidnappers and somehow excuse the MLs because they're attractive. How she fell for them and committed to a life with them after they practically forced their eating habits on her is something I'll never understand, especially when this book took place over approximately a week's time.
Then she and her (current) friend group got kidnapped and I thought the book was slowly getting better because Sadie was actually making some smart decisions. When she sees her chance to escape the room she's tied up in, she made me a proud reader when her first thought after getting untied was to grab a weapon. And then when she didn't go out the OBVIOUS exit, which for sure would've had the kidnapper behind it, I was even more proud. She was almost completely free, when she encountered the MLs, Fox and Deacon (they are not part of the initial group of kidnappers).
For some unknown reason, they take her home with them. This is where my feelings for this book started to get confusing. On one hand, I applauded Sadie's relentlessness because even when they threatened her or treated her kindly, she continued to try to escape them. On the other hand, sometimes she was like a child who you tell not to touch a hot stove and they touch it anyway, just because. For example, Fox told her NOT to go in their SLAUGHTERHOUSE, so what does she do? For no reason at all, she goes in there and surprise surprise, there are a dead bodies, and she comes to the realization that her captors are cannibals. Though it was hinted at wayyy before then. Also, her obsession with a stray dog was...for lack of a better word...ridiculous. Every time she would go looking for the dog or wait for the dog to follow her, because "she didn't want to be alone", her circumstances would worsen. I like dogs but if I have to choose between a dog and escaping cannibals, I'm leaving the dog.
Then there Sadie's reluctant attraction to her captors which I fully expected because it's an AJ book, but I couldn't quite jump on the bandwagon due to the whole cannibalism thing. They had this saying of "waste not, want not" but it didn't make sense because they didn't NEED to be cannibals. They had chickens. They had hogs. They weren't poor or starving. There was no logical reason for them to be cannibals and the MLs trying to convince Sadie it was a natural way of life, and that she needed to jump on the bandwagon didn't quite compute in my head. Sadie eventually buying into the belief that they were somehow different from her initial captors didn't work for me either because again, the MLs don't NEED to be cannibals. It was both nonsensical and hypocritical for her to hate her initial kidnappers and somehow excuse the MLs because they're attractive. How she fell for them and committed to a life with them after they practically forced their eating habits on her is something I'll never understand, especially when this book took place over approximately a week's time.
October 17, 2026
“Dejaremos que tomes tu venganza. Te lo mereces. Pero después de esto, no vas a salir de este lugar en mucho, mucho tiempo. No hasta que estemos seguros de que no hay nada por ahí por lo que podamos perderte.”
June 15, 2026
Be prepared for a horror/slasher, polyamory, cannibalistic love story. And that's just the beginning, so if this is your thing then you'll likely enjoy this read. Now cannibalism isn't for everyone, and even for me it's a tiny hard to get through but at the same time amazes me and makes me want to get all up in their brain.... anyways back to the book, the chemistry between all three characters was intense, chaotic, and dark. This one definitely won't be for everyone, so please check TWs! For those of us who have very limited TWs...enjoy!
June 21, 2026
Wanted to love this, I’ve been a big fan of AJ’s for a long time. But this one just felt incomplete. Possibly she was so focused on the brutal ‘slasher movie’ elements (and that *was* done pretty darn good) that the romance element got left by the wayside. There’s suspension of disbelief and then there’s this book.
Here there be spoilers:
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
First of all, there’s honestly no good reason for Sadie-Rae to like or trust Fox and Deacon aside from the fact that they don’t straight up murder her. Her attraction to them doesn’t build in any believable way. She notices that they’re hot. They’re mean and manipulative AF, constantly withholding information and going so far as to lock her in a dog kennel, in the dark, overnight.
These guys are supposed to be Jed’s brothers? He’d round up the gang and beat their asses for how they treat Sadie.
Then all of sudden:
“I need you to decide right now what you want,” he continues finally, with a steely sort of flatness in his voice. “You want to be here with us, or you don’t.”
Like she was being unreasonable by constantly trying to escape her cannibalistic kidnappers (she wasn’t), like they’d bared their hearts and souls to her (they didn’t)
The justification for the cannibalism is contradictory at best. On the one hand: waste not, want not—implications that they took to eating people out of extreme hunger/necessity—they kill quickly, never torturing their prey. On the other hand: the brothers have a nice place, are both gainfully employed and apparently have enough money to place cameras all over their property—they trick Sadie into eating vegetables cooked in human fat—and violence gives them raging boners.
From then on they suddenly cared at least a little about whether she was traumatized beyond repair by everything that had went down. Stuff happens and logic is never really considered.
Really disappointed. I hope this is not indicative of where AJ Merlin’s writing is headed.
Here there be spoilers:
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
First of all, there’s honestly no good reason for Sadie-Rae to like or trust Fox and Deacon aside from the fact that they don’t straight up murder her. Her attraction to them doesn’t build in any believable way. She notices that they’re hot. They’re mean and manipulative AF, constantly withholding information and going so far as to lock her in a dog kennel, in the dark, overnight.
These guys are supposed to be Jed’s brothers? He’d round up the gang and beat their asses for how they treat Sadie.
Then all of sudden:
“I need you to decide right now what you want,” he continues finally, with a steely sort of flatness in his voice. “You want to be here with us, or you don’t.”
Like she was being unreasonable by constantly trying to escape her cannibalistic kidnappers (she wasn’t), like they’d bared their hearts and souls to her (they didn’t)
The justification for the cannibalism is contradictory at best. On the one hand: waste not, want not—implications that they took to eating people out of extreme hunger/necessity—they kill quickly, never torturing their prey. On the other hand: the brothers have a nice place, are both gainfully employed and apparently have enough money to place cameras all over their property—they trick Sadie into eating vegetables cooked in human fat—and violence gives them raging boners.
From then on they suddenly cared at least a little about whether she was traumatized beyond repair by everything that had went down. Stuff happens and logic is never really considered.
Really disappointed. I hope this is not indicative of where AJ Merlin’s writing is headed.
July 23, 2026
Love You To Pieces by AJ Merlin
Make sure you check your trigger and content warnings before reading this
This book definitely gave me major Texas Chainsaw massacre vibes. With the whole friends going on a road trip to see a band play then things just go downhill from their.
Sadie-Rae and her friends, Tyler Scotty and Ariana end up having to stop for gas in a small town in Texas and she ends up bumping into Fox. Well things only go downhill from there.... Getting gas ends up having them end up back in the same small town they just came from...
I mean who doesn't want to end up waking up hanging on a meat hook!?
What she doesn't expect is to end up meeting Deacon plus coming across Fox again. When she finds herself waking up in a strange place she doesn't think she is going to make it out of Texas alive.
I mean you start on a road trip only to end up basically being kidnapped by two people who chop up b0dy parts. Plus her dog claimed Pearl. I loved her because who isn't an animal lover. The whole part about Sadie and her emotional support chainsaw had me cracking up and laughing out loud.
Make sure you check your trigger and content warnings before reading this
This book definitely gave me major Texas Chainsaw massacre vibes. With the whole friends going on a road trip to see a band play then things just go downhill from their.
Sadie-Rae and her friends, Tyler Scotty and Ariana end up having to stop for gas in a small town in Texas and she ends up bumping into Fox. Well things only go downhill from there.... Getting gas ends up having them end up back in the same small town they just came from...
I mean who doesn't want to end up waking up hanging on a meat hook!?
What she doesn't expect is to end up meeting Deacon plus coming across Fox again. When she finds herself waking up in a strange place she doesn't think she is going to make it out of Texas alive.
I mean you start on a road trip only to end up basically being kidnapped by two people who chop up b0dy parts. Plus her dog claimed Pearl. I loved her because who isn't an animal lover. The whole part about Sadie and her emotional support chainsaw had me cracking up and laughing out loud.
Did Not Finish
July 1, 2026June 2026
Kindle edition
DNF @ 50%.
I might go back to this one. I liked the initial escape and the bonding with the doggo. The whole old friend thing made me curious. The escape attempts got a bit repetitive and there was the awkward cringe feel with the guys. Leaving this one for now.
Kindle edition
DNF @ 50%.
I might go back to this one. I liked the initial escape and the bonding with the doggo. The whole old friend thing made me curious. The escape attempts got a bit repetitive and there was the awkward cringe feel with the guys. Leaving this one for now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2026
09/27/2026 - 09/29/2026
3.5
very texas chainsaw massacre, but with cannibals and a threesome. i really liked it despite it being an mmf, i could’ve gone without the f if i’m being honest. all her feeble attempts at running away, while being what a normal kidnap victim would do, did nothing but make her realize how lonely she actually is. when the guys said that no one has called or texted her, let some even noticed she went missing was her realization that no one cares for her at all and won’t miss her. i do wish she ended up getting pregnant. that’s a trope i actually enjoy, especially in mmf relationships bc the fathers never know who the “true” father is. they just love the baby and the life they’ve created together. like even pearl got pregnant at the end of it. i wish we got more backstory on the boys and how they got into the life they live. or at least a story on how they’re adopted. when sadie kept calling her chainsaw “sally”, it reminded me of that sydney sweeney interview where she kept calling that iridescent toy “bob” and that actually cringed me out. i do not like sydney, so imagining her as sadie ruined the vibe. i liked the book enough i guess. good and gory, and i always love a cannibal story. i also wish we would’ve got more scenes with the brothers being intimate. how can they have a clearly established relationship and not get one clear explicit scene happening between them without sadie. the scenes we do get are very sparse and tame. a kiss here and there, them calling the other “lover” (that is my favorite pet name though so i’ll give them credit for that), and them being domestic with each other. i don’t even think we heard any characters say they love the other characters either. while i did like this book, for the most part, some things just felt off in a way i can’t explain.
3.5
very texas chainsaw massacre, but with cannibals and a threesome. i really liked it despite it being an mmf, i could’ve gone without the f if i’m being honest. all her feeble attempts at running away, while being what a normal kidnap victim would do, did nothing but make her realize how lonely she actually is. when the guys said that no one has called or texted her, let some even noticed she went missing was her realization that no one cares for her at all and won’t miss her. i do wish she ended up getting pregnant. that’s a trope i actually enjoy, especially in mmf relationships bc the fathers never know who the “true” father is. they just love the baby and the life they’ve created together. like even pearl got pregnant at the end of it. i wish we got more backstory on the boys and how they got into the life they live. or at least a story on how they’re adopted. when sadie kept calling her chainsaw “sally”, it reminded me of that sydney sweeney interview where she kept calling that iridescent toy “bob” and that actually cringed me out. i do not like sydney, so imagining her as sadie ruined the vibe. i liked the book enough i guess. good and gory, and i always love a cannibal story. i also wish we would’ve got more scenes with the brothers being intimate. how can they have a clearly established relationship and not get one clear explicit scene happening between them without sadie. the scenes we do get are very sparse and tame. a kiss here and there, them calling the other “lover” (that is my favorite pet name though so i’ll give them credit for that), and them being domestic with each other. i don’t even think we heard any characters say they love the other characters either. while i did like this book, for the most part, some things just felt off in a way i can’t explain.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2026
Ok I had to DNF because of how unrealistic it was. Yeah I know it’s supposed to be a horror book aka unrealistic but I would have loved it a lot more if it didn’t have any plot holes. First of all organ trafficking doesn’t work like that. Second of all PEOPLE don’t work like that. Mf had limbs missing and was still alive and talking? He would be DEAD in a few minutes and definitely unconscious. Idk maybe if I were ignorant I would have appreciated this book a lot more. I might try to finish it one day. Call me a bitch because I probably am
The idea was way too good but the execution was bad
I’m disappointed because the cover was amazing. I wanted it on my bookshelf 💀
The idea was way too good but the execution was bad
I’m disappointed because the cover was amazing. I wanted it on my bookshelf 💀
July 22, 2026
1.5/5⭐️
so they eat people...check tw's pls.
also, that ending just left me with nothing but questions.
so they eat people...check tw's pls.
also, that ending just left me with nothing but questions.
June 21, 2026
ngl this was pretty fucked also the main character was soooo hypocritical at least she acknowledged it though.
August 6, 2026
2 stars ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ Love You To Pieces☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
🔪₊˚ෆ❤️ෆ˚₊✨ ♡ THOUGHTS ♡ ✨₊˚ෆ❤️ෆ˚₊🔪
I've read some crazy shit, but cannibalism is just on the list of things I can't get behind… not even for dark romance. Fox and Deacon looking at her like she's the weird one for feeling sick to her stomach 😟. She was right, they did need therapy!!! She did too. The fact that she ate the meat at the end of the book and decided she could live a happy life with them… sure, why not! Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike Fox or Deacon. I was on board until the realization that these men were eating people. I just couldn't fathom it. All I could think about whenever they were together was that. It was unavoidable, I fear. It was interesting to read, don't get me wrong. Am I feeling disturbed? Absolutely 😣. But at least they protected her at all costs and vowed she wouldn't end up back at the slaughterhouse. A win is a win!
I don't know why Sadie-Rae wanted to avenge her friends. She never even liked them in the first place. Barely even knew them. The entire time they were in the car, she was thinking about her old friends and couldn't wait to get away from them. She was rethinking her life choices up until that moment. Did she feel bad for them? Anyone would. However, she dragged it out until the end, insisting that she needed to get vengeance for them… did she? I swear she didn't care that much at the start. Also, I'm confused by the lack of closure and context surrounding what really happened with her other friends, Emma and Sasha. It's clearly alluded to that Sadie-Rae was a victim of SA and Emma didn't believe her, but she still missed her friends, made comparisons to them twice, and then they were never mentioned again. I'm confused about the purpose of introducing this plot only to follow it up by saying that no one cared for her. She had absolutely no one in her life who was worried about her or cared for her… why? To the point where her only option was to stay with these two cannibals who happened to show her some affection.
🔪₊˚ෆ❤️ෆ˚₊✨ ♡ OVERALL ♡ ✨₊˚ෆ❤️ෆ˚₊🔪
Sadie-Rae was still debating leaving and the life she could have had up until the very last page. She was just lonely, and she ended up with these guys because it was better than going home to absolutely no one. At least she was getting worshipped by two men and was a dog mom. You do you, girl 🙂↕️👏. But it was definitely a red flag that they were gaslighting her into thinking cannibalism is normal and that she was the hypocrite.
☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ Love You To Pieces☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
🔪₊˚ෆ❤️ෆ˚₊✨ ♡ THOUGHTS ♡ ✨₊˚ෆ❤️ෆ˚₊🔪
“If you guys head on your way without making any more stops in my little town. Who knows?”
“The excitement might kill someone.”
I've read some crazy shit, but cannibalism is just on the list of things I can't get behind… not even for dark romance. Fox and Deacon looking at her like she's the weird one for feeling sick to her stomach 😟. She was right, they did need therapy!!! She did too. The fact that she ate the meat at the end of the book and decided she could live a happy life with them… sure, why not! Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike Fox or Deacon. I was on board until the realization that these men were eating people. I just couldn't fathom it. All I could think about whenever they were together was that. It was unavoidable, I fear. It was interesting to read, don't get me wrong. Am I feeling disturbed? Absolutely 😣. But at least they protected her at all costs and vowed she wouldn't end up back at the slaughterhouse. A win is a win!
“No, no.” He tsks, shaking his head. “She did. She begged you, didn’t she? Somehow she worked through the pain of having her tongue cut out just to form those words, hoping you’d end it—”
“Stop it!” I hiss again, cutting him off. “Stop…stop talking about her!” I brandish the knife between us, the shaking so obvious it’s embarrassing. “You didn’t know her!”
I don't know why Sadie-Rae wanted to avenge her friends. She never even liked them in the first place. Barely even knew them. The entire time they were in the car, she was thinking about her old friends and couldn't wait to get away from them. She was rethinking her life choices up until that moment. Did she feel bad for them? Anyone would. However, she dragged it out until the end, insisting that she needed to get vengeance for them… did she? I swear she didn't care that much at the start. Also, I'm confused by the lack of closure and context surrounding what really happened with her other friends, Emma and Sasha. It's clearly alluded to that Sadie-Rae was a victim of SA and Emma didn't believe her, but she still missed her friends, made comparisons to them twice, and then they were never mentioned again. I'm confused about the purpose of introducing this plot only to follow it up by saying that no one cared for her. She had absolutely no one in her life who was worried about her or cared for her… why? To the point where her only option was to stay with these two cannibals who happened to show her some affection.
🔪₊˚ෆ❤️ෆ˚₊✨ ♡ OVERALL ♡ ✨₊˚ෆ❤️ෆ˚₊🔪
Sadie-Rae was still debating leaving and the life she could have had up until the very last page. She was just lonely, and she ended up with these guys because it was better than going home to absolutely no one. At least she was getting worshipped by two men and was a dog mom. You do you, girl 🙂↕️👏. But it was definitely a red flag that they were gaslighting her into thinking cannibalism is normal and that she was the hypocrite.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2026
4.5 stars
Love You To Pieces is a little bit dark romance and a little bit slasher/horror. I love AJ Merlin's writing, but I'm not much of a horror fan, so this book had me squirming uncomfortably several times. Especially at the beginning. The characters had me attached to this book no matter how uncomfortable the gore made me.
Sadie-Rae is sarcastic and funny. Even in dangerous and terrifying situations, she relies on dark humor. She has abandonment issues and talks to herself during escape attempts. Sadie even becomes attached to the chainsaw that saved her from the same fate as her friends, calling it her "emotional support chainsaw" named Sally.
The MMCs Fox and Deacon are the best parts of this book. The way they talk to Sadie and care for her, the nicknames, made me melt. Even though I do not agree with their lifestyle. I always say AJ Merlin's writing can make me fall in love with any man no matter how morally grey they are, and she has done it again with these two. I also loved learning that they are related to Jed from the Pleasure and Prey series.
Love You To Pieces is a little bit dark romance and a little bit slasher/horror. I love AJ Merlin's writing, but I'm not much of a horror fan, so this book had me squirming uncomfortably several times. Especially at the beginning. The characters had me attached to this book no matter how uncomfortable the gore made me.
Sadie-Rae is sarcastic and funny. Even in dangerous and terrifying situations, she relies on dark humor. She has abandonment issues and talks to herself during escape attempts. Sadie even becomes attached to the chainsaw that saved her from the same fate as her friends, calling it her "emotional support chainsaw" named Sally.
The MMCs Fox and Deacon are the best parts of this book. The way they talk to Sadie and care for her, the nicknames, made me melt. Even though I do not agree with their lifestyle. I always say AJ Merlin's writing can make me fall in love with any man no matter how morally grey they are, and she has done it again with these two. I also loved learning that they are related to Jed from the Pleasure and Prey series.
July 25, 2026
There may or may not be a little bit of gore…if you didn’t get that from the title 😈
Sadie-Rae has new friends and they’re all on a road trip except they don’t reach their destination. An unfortunate encounter with the Hills means Sadie-Rae is the only one of her friend group to make it out alive but into what/where and who???
“𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕩𝕔𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕜!𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕖.”
I quite enjoyed this foray into Wolf Lake, the inner voice of Sadie-Rae, her whispering to herself (cos who doesn’t do that?), her ability to name a chainsaw like some support pet to get her through her ordeal was a classic. The MMCs Deacon and Fox were quite delicious as much as they had the ability to be chalk and cheese, with a splattering of ‘monster’ at times, their love for one another never faulted. I did think the Hills storyline could have been stretched out a little more though there were still a lot of gory scenes, spicy times MM, FM and MMF, and who doesn’t love the inclusion of a doggo, even if her name of Pearl didn’t do her justice 🤣🤣
Sadie-Rae has new friends and they’re all on a road trip except they don’t reach their destination. An unfortunate encounter with the Hills means Sadie-Rae is the only one of her friend group to make it out alive but into what/where and who???
“𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕩𝕔𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕞𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕜!𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕖.”
I quite enjoyed this foray into Wolf Lake, the inner voice of Sadie-Rae, her whispering to herself (cos who doesn’t do that?), her ability to name a chainsaw like some support pet to get her through her ordeal was a classic. The MMCs Deacon and Fox were quite delicious as much as they had the ability to be chalk and cheese, with a splattering of ‘monster’ at times, their love for one another never faulted. I did think the Hills storyline could have been stretched out a little more though there were still a lot of gory scenes, spicy times MM, FM and MMF, and who doesn’t love the inclusion of a doggo, even if her name of Pearl didn’t do her justice 🤣🤣
October 29, 2026
When a road trip with some new friends turns into a Texas Chainsaw Massacre kind of night Sadie-Rae finds herself fighting for her life. She manages to free herself and the town stray, but it was already too late for her friends. She immediately finds herself captured and held by the town sheriff and his adopted brother. Fox and Deacon aren't trying to harm her, they plan on keeping her and after plenty of failed escapes Sadie-Rae starts to wonder why she's trying to escape, she's comfortable there and the brothers love each other and want her to stay and she has gone missing and not one person has called to check on her. Her old friends abandoned her after betraying her, and her new friends have been murdered. She doesn't want to be alone and here she has Pearl, her new dog, and Fox and Deacon, who despite their rather highly controversial diet, make her feel wanted.
I may not agree with Fox and Deacon's cannibalistic lifestyle, but like Sadie-Rae I found myself falling for the brothers. Yet another fun, unique read from this author.
I may not agree with Fox and Deacon's cannibalistic lifestyle, but like Sadie-Rae I found myself falling for the brothers. Yet another fun, unique read from this author.
September 9, 2026
10 ⭐️
This is THE book to start the 'Ber months.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre & Hills Have Eyes but throw in kidnapping/stockholm syndrome & 2 cannibalistic, adoptive brothers in a why choose.
I'm sat — I fear this will be living rent free in my head for the next 6 months, definitely made my top books of 2026.
quotes
—Waste not, want not.
— Always is always, forever.
As long as one is one.
Inside yourself for your father.
All is none,
all is none,
all is one.
📸📖 review link — https://www.instagram.com/p/DdC5mGemV...
🎵📖 review link — https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSqB1neLN/
📸/🎵lilgingyreviews
Forbidden Chapters Review Team
📸 https://www.instagram.com/lilgingyrev...
🎵 https://www.tiktok.com/@lilgingyrevie...
📚 https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...
This is THE book to start the 'Ber months.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre & Hills Have Eyes but throw in kidnapping/stockholm syndrome & 2 cannibalistic, adoptive brothers in a why choose.
I'm sat — I fear this will be living rent free in my head for the next 6 months, definitely made my top books of 2026.
quotes
—Waste not, want not.
— Always is always, forever.
As long as one is one.
Inside yourself for your father.
All is none,
all is none,
all is one.
📸📖 review link — https://www.instagram.com/p/DdC5mGemV...
🎵📖 review link — https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSqB1neLN/
📸/🎵lilgingyreviews
Forbidden Chapters Review Team
📸 https://www.instagram.com/lilgingyrev...
🎵 https://www.tiktok.com/@lilgingyrevie...
📚 https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...
August 20, 2026
I'm going to say 4.5 stars rounded up
Texas chainsaw massacre / Hannibal but double it and give it to the next person? Either way, I loved it. Main character female wasn't annoying and she violently killed like 3 guys to save her own life.
Took off half a star because Jed's brothers were actually nice and not the monsters he made them out to be, so why did he leave? Maybe it was mostly his mom he was trying to escape. Also like, if they are cannibals but "good ones" how the hell do they get their "food"? Other than that, good enjoyable gory book.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Texas chainsaw massacre / Hannibal but double it and give it to the next person? Either way, I loved it. Main character female wasn't annoying and she violently killed like 3 guys to save her own life.
Took off half a star because Jed's brothers were actually nice and not the monsters he made them out to be, so why did he leave? Maybe it was mostly his mom he was trying to escape. Also like, if they are cannibals but "good ones" how the hell do they get their "food"? Other than that, good enjoyable gory book.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
July 29, 2026
I really enjoyed this- I love a good horror story, especially when it crosses over into other genres.
******potential spoilers below ********
I did find it surprising that although her past trauma was heavily featured in her inner monologue, it was not addressed to any other characters. They also didn’t discuss details into selection of prey- which was very important to the likability of the MMCs- it reminded me of the twilight zone where there’s a HEA that maybe shouldn’t be okay.
******potential spoilers below ********
I did find it surprising that although her past trauma was heavily featured in her inner monologue, it was not addressed to any other characters. They also didn’t discuss details into selection of prey- which was very important to the likability of the MMCs- it reminded me of the twilight zone where there’s a HEA that maybe shouldn’t be okay.
October 5, 2026
3 ou 3.25 je sais pas elle était trop conne elle m’a gonflé et puis j’ai tjs pas compris pourquoi ils bouffaient des gens genre c’est moins cher de tuer un humain qu’une vache right whatever !
October 12, 2026
Love a good dark horror romance, but not even like dark horror was like straight apart, but like I kind of fucked with it
July 16, 2026
This felt like a story that still needed to cook a little? Maybe?
The whole Texas Chainsaw Massacre/Hills Have Eyes vibes or maybe Wrong Turn? It just felt off the entire time?
I thought the FMC may end up being relation especially with a name like she had. Idk it felt like it could have been fitting.
The beginning and the middle/ending felt so disconnected. I think this would read better as an audio or a movie even. But it just felt all over the place for me. Like the reasons were not there. Idk it just kept me confused.
I did enjoy the two MMCs tho and Sally deserved better 😂😂
The whole Texas Chainsaw Massacre/Hills Have Eyes vibes or maybe Wrong Turn? It just felt off the entire time?
I thought the FMC may end up being relation especially with a name like she had. Idk it felt like it could have been fitting.
The beginning and the middle/ending felt so disconnected. I think this would read better as an audio or a movie even. But it just felt all over the place for me. Like the reasons were not there. Idk it just kept me confused.
I did enjoy the two MMCs tho and Sally deserved better 😂😂
July 21, 2026
A+ performance by my girl, Sadie-Rae! Omg, what a queen, literally she carried her own till the end, of course with her little companion Pearl. Am I crazy to say I need more of this? My mm heart literally begs for Fox and Deacon more, basically outdone all mm romance I read these past few days istg. But Three of them together are so hot.
June 27, 2026
Honestly, this whole book just made me extremely sad for the FMC.
June 16, 2026
Ok, wow, what a Wiiiiild ride for me! Starve was the first book of AJ Merlin that I read, and I looooved it. I saw afterwards that she mentioned it wasn't as *dark* as some of her other books. After having read LYTP, I can agree lol. While they both include dark topics, LYTP Dove straight over that line for me, but I'm OK with that.
Ok, so first of all, the vibes were a total homage to the movies like The Hills Have Eyes, Wolf Creek, Martyrs, and The Chainsaw Massacre. Sadie-Rae gets caught up in an ill-fated road trip with douchebags Tyler and Scotty, along with her new friend Ariana. The mood is immediately oppressive, almost like you can feel that dry heat and dust from old Texas back roads wafting off the pages. Then of course their vehicle breaks down in the middle of the night on one of those dark, dusty, creepy roads in the middle of nowhere, and OF COURSE you get the creepy men in an old truck who stop to 'help' them on the side of the road.
Yeah... you saw this movie, too? It never ends well. But at least in Love You To Pieces the good doggie lives. AJ infuses the heroine with gritty, (at times, fatalistic) humor that serves her well and keeps the story from feeling overly claustrophobic due to the heavy topics involved. The internal one-liners reminded me of Ash in the Evil Dead series, even. Fox and Deacon had that insta-lust with Sadie, and sometimes you just accept it and don't push the realistic aspect because you just need to vibe with it.
Please, please, if you're like me and haven't read other AJ Merlin books, read the TW first. I'll list them down below in case you just want to go in blind. This is the end of the spoiler-free part of my review, so only proceed if you read or don't care.
I am so grateful to AJ Merlin and her team for the eARC opportunity, and these are 100% my own opinions.
"I thought I escaped the monsters.
I was wrong.
I’ve just traded one kind for another.
And if I’m not careful, I won’t just die in this place—
I’ll become part of it."
🖤🖤⛓️🖤🖤🩸🩸🖤🖤⛓️⛓️🖤🖤🩸🩸🖤🖤
⛓️⛓️🖤🩸🩸🖤⛓️⛓️🖤🩸🩸🖤⛓️⛓️🖤🩸🩸
🩸🩸🖤⛓️⛓️🖤🩸🩸🖤⛓️⛓️🩸🩸🖤⛓️⛓️🖤
After seeing Sadie fight her way out tooth and nail, the only survivor of the four unfortunate souls, I just knew she would do anything to survive, even if she didn't truly understand that yet. And no, Ariana was already dead in that closet, we knew she wouldn't survive and I'm glad Deacon put her out of her misery. Green flag.
This was the first dark romance/erotic horror book I've read, so the cannibalistic subject was unique *for me* If this genre is an old show for you, then you'll be right at home. I thought the way AJ differentiated the 'good' vs 'bad' guys was done well. Because let's be honest, Fox and Deacon are still bad guys. They kill. They eat who they kill. They have zero remorse. But they also call out the bullshit double standard of why certain meat/prey is ok, while humanity decides their version isn't. Waste not, want not. People will do what they need to in order to survive. And unlike the Hills, they don't go out and kidnap innocent people to torture and video for profit. Unless you piss them off and touch what's theirs. Then be prepared to get tortured. But really, that's all our red-flag MC's.
I also love that the opposing family name was Hills, bc it again reminds me of The Hills Have Eyes, as they were the Hills Family. Sheriff Fox Shaw also reminded me of the unassuming male hero in a horror movie, but this time he is the one the bad guys should be afraid of. And Deacon is like a psychotic black cat- I can't explain it further. It just is in my brain. The fact that he's a Paramedic for his public persona? Chef's kiss.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book by AJ. It had the perfect combination of an eerie, claustrophobic, and hopeless situation coupled with dry humor, tongue-in-cheek commentary, and kinky, erotic sexual encounters. Oh, and also...DVP...
4 🌟
4 🌶
"Love You To Pieces is a dark, MMF romance standalone. It is extremely dark, with horror elements such as gore, cannibalism, graphic, detailed violence, and no cliff hanger."
TW:
Adopted brothers in a relationship
Gore
Murder
Torture
Dubious consent
On page cannibalism
Amputation
Graphic, on page death
Animal violence (she doesn’t die!)
Ok, so first of all, the vibes were a total homage to the movies like The Hills Have Eyes, Wolf Creek, Martyrs, and The Chainsaw Massacre. Sadie-Rae gets caught up in an ill-fated road trip with douchebags Tyler and Scotty, along with her new friend Ariana. The mood is immediately oppressive, almost like you can feel that dry heat and dust from old Texas back roads wafting off the pages. Then of course their vehicle breaks down in the middle of the night on one of those dark, dusty, creepy roads in the middle of nowhere, and OF COURSE you get the creepy men in an old truck who stop to 'help' them on the side of the road.
Yeah... you saw this movie, too? It never ends well. But at least in Love You To Pieces the good doggie lives. AJ infuses the heroine with gritty, (at times, fatalistic) humor that serves her well and keeps the story from feeling overly claustrophobic due to the heavy topics involved. The internal one-liners reminded me of Ash in the Evil Dead series, even. Fox and Deacon had that insta-lust with Sadie, and sometimes you just accept it and don't push the realistic aspect because you just need to vibe with it.
Please, please, if you're like me and haven't read other AJ Merlin books, read the TW first. I'll list them down below in case you just want to go in blind. This is the end of the spoiler-free part of my review, so only proceed if you read or don't care.
I am so grateful to AJ Merlin and her team for the eARC opportunity, and these are 100% my own opinions.
"I thought I escaped the monsters.
I was wrong.
I’ve just traded one kind for another.
And if I’m not careful, I won’t just die in this place—
I’ll become part of it."
🖤🖤⛓️🖤🖤🩸🩸🖤🖤⛓️⛓️🖤🖤🩸🩸🖤🖤
⛓️⛓️🖤🩸🩸🖤⛓️⛓️🖤🩸🩸🖤⛓️⛓️🖤🩸🩸
🩸🩸🖤⛓️⛓️🖤🩸🩸🖤⛓️⛓️🩸🩸🖤⛓️⛓️🖤
After seeing Sadie fight her way out tooth and nail, the only survivor of the four unfortunate souls, I just knew she would do anything to survive, even if she didn't truly understand that yet. And no, Ariana was already dead in that closet, we knew she wouldn't survive and I'm glad Deacon put her out of her misery. Green flag.
This was the first dark romance/erotic horror book I've read, so the cannibalistic subject was unique *for me* If this genre is an old show for you, then you'll be right at home. I thought the way AJ differentiated the 'good' vs 'bad' guys was done well. Because let's be honest, Fox and Deacon are still bad guys. They kill. They eat who they kill. They have zero remorse. But they also call out the bullshit double standard of why certain meat/prey is ok, while humanity decides their version isn't. Waste not, want not. People will do what they need to in order to survive. And unlike the Hills, they don't go out and kidnap innocent people to torture and video for profit. Unless you piss them off and touch what's theirs. Then be prepared to get tortured. But really, that's all our red-flag MC's.
I also love that the opposing family name was Hills, bc it again reminds me of The Hills Have Eyes, as they were the Hills Family. Sheriff Fox Shaw also reminded me of the unassuming male hero in a horror movie, but this time he is the one the bad guys should be afraid of. And Deacon is like a psychotic black cat- I can't explain it further. It just is in my brain. The fact that he's a Paramedic for his public persona? Chef's kiss.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book by AJ. It had the perfect combination of an eerie, claustrophobic, and hopeless situation coupled with dry humor, tongue-in-cheek commentary, and kinky, erotic sexual encounters. Oh, and also...DVP...
4 🌟
4 🌶
"Love You To Pieces is a dark, MMF romance standalone. It is extremely dark, with horror elements such as gore, cannibalism, graphic, detailed violence, and no cliff hanger."
TW:
Adopted brothers in a relationship
Gore
Murder
Torture
Dubious consent
On page cannibalism
Amputation
Graphic, on page death
Animal violence (she doesn’t die!)
July 30, 2026
Not my favorite. Again.
I have been a fan of AJ’s for a while now and her writing has gone down hill.
Here is my slightly modified review of another of AJ’s recent books that I feel encompasses my thoughts of this book too:
“I really enjoy the way AJ writes. It’s easy to imagine her stories as if they’re real. I have read just about everything she’s written. This is not her best work. AJ used to be a drop everything and read their latest book author for me but I haven’t been feeling the latest released books.
This story feels unfinished. Nothing really happened. There was no real relationship building happening during the story and when it was almost starting the book was over. So many unanswered questions from this book.”
While more happened in this book the story itself was still lacking.
The forced cannibalism was weird and the two adoptive brothers didn’t really have a reason to be doing that anymore anyway not when there’s a store, a restaurant, they both have jobs, and chickens on the property!
We never found out what happened with the FMC’s friends or family besides really vague comments in passing. Why do her friends hate her?
Pearl was kicked a hell of a lot to still be having puppies…
The FMC wanted to run away and escape most of the book and then one of her captors gets hurt because of her and she’s forced to decide whether she wants to still leave or not and she decides to stay? Why? To sleep with two men with a sibling fetish who eat people and lie to you constantly? Who forced you to eat people without your consent? Who vaguely like you maybe depending on their mood? Who you also only kinda seem to like but mostly you’re just being held hostage or you feel responsible for one getting hurt so you stay to make sure they’re okay. There was no romance. Again.
When I realized this book was connected to Jed’s book I quickly read it again to be able to compare them. (The second time reading it I was less enthused with it but still a better love story than whatever this was) Jed’s girlfriend clearly had Stockholm syndrome but we’re okay with it because Jed is the sweetest man and he very clearly loves his girlfriend. The FMC of this one did not seem to have Stockholm syndrome and I have no idea what she has but it’s definitely a screw loose. The MMCs in this book were just mean. One was definitely meaner at every opportunity until the couch incident and the other one would go back and forth. They were clearly not taught how to treat someone you supposedly like, like Jed was.
One of the MMCs said their mother would never have let them just kill people unless they were going to eat them and then Jed is just out there living his best homicidal life. Happy for him. At least Jed only kills bad guys. Who are these other people being murdered in Texas? Are they just people passing through that they murder for food? Why didn’t we learn more about the family and why they eat people? Jed’s book barely talked about his family and this one just vaguely mentioned things. Is the youngest brother going to get a book? Will his have answers? I wouldn’t count on it.
I have been a fan of AJ’s for a while now and her writing has gone down hill.
Here is my slightly modified review of another of AJ’s recent books that I feel encompasses my thoughts of this book too:
“I really enjoy the way AJ writes. It’s easy to imagine her stories as if they’re real. I have read just about everything she’s written. This is not her best work. AJ used to be a drop everything and read their latest book author for me but I haven’t been feeling the latest released books.
This story feels unfinished. Nothing really happened. There was no real relationship building happening during the story and when it was almost starting the book was over. So many unanswered questions from this book.”
While more happened in this book the story itself was still lacking.
The forced cannibalism was weird and the two adoptive brothers didn’t really have a reason to be doing that anymore anyway not when there’s a store, a restaurant, they both have jobs, and chickens on the property!
We never found out what happened with the FMC’s friends or family besides really vague comments in passing. Why do her friends hate her?
Pearl was kicked a hell of a lot to still be having puppies…
The FMC wanted to run away and escape most of the book and then one of her captors gets hurt because of her and she’s forced to decide whether she wants to still leave or not and she decides to stay? Why? To sleep with two men with a sibling fetish who eat people and lie to you constantly? Who forced you to eat people without your consent? Who vaguely like you maybe depending on their mood? Who you also only kinda seem to like but mostly you’re just being held hostage or you feel responsible for one getting hurt so you stay to make sure they’re okay. There was no romance. Again.
When I realized this book was connected to Jed’s book I quickly read it again to be able to compare them. (The second time reading it I was less enthused with it but still a better love story than whatever this was) Jed’s girlfriend clearly had Stockholm syndrome but we’re okay with it because Jed is the sweetest man and he very clearly loves his girlfriend. The FMC of this one did not seem to have Stockholm syndrome and I have no idea what she has but it’s definitely a screw loose. The MMCs in this book were just mean. One was definitely meaner at every opportunity until the couch incident and the other one would go back and forth. They were clearly not taught how to treat someone you supposedly like, like Jed was.
One of the MMCs said their mother would never have let them just kill people unless they were going to eat them and then Jed is just out there living his best homicidal life. Happy for him. At least Jed only kills bad guys. Who are these other people being murdered in Texas? Are they just people passing through that they murder for food? Why didn’t we learn more about the family and why they eat people? Jed’s book barely talked about his family and this one just vaguely mentioned things. Is the youngest brother going to get a book? Will his have answers? I wouldn’t count on it.
September 21, 2026
Apparently cannibalistic serial killers are my love language 🩸🔪🤠
Okay, so we had Friday the 13th but make it spicy with Dead of Summer…
And now we’ve got The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but make it MMF romance.
AJ Merlin, I see what you’re doing. 👀
And unfortunately for my moral compass…
I fucking loved it. 😂🩸
The 2005 Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake is one of my favourite horror films, so when I realised what sort of nightmare I was getting myself into here, I was basically the exact target audience. 🔪🤠🏚️
And this book is FUCKED.
Like… genuinely fucked. 💀
We’ve got kidnapping, murder, gore, cannibalism, people being chopped up, people being eaten, and enough questionable behaviour to make you wonder if you should perhaps hand your Kindle over to the authorities. 🚨😂
Our FMC starts off being kidnapped by one group of absolute lunatics, manages to fight her way out, and then gets picked up by two other men who are also very much not normal.
Because apparently escaping one set of monsters wasn’t enough.
She simply upgraded her monsters. 💀
And here’s the really unhinged part…
YOU ROOT FOR THEM.
These men are literally eating people. 🫠
And somehow I’m sitting there like:
“Okay, but they seem nice to her.” 🤨
NICE?!
THEY ARE CANNIBALS, NAE. 😂😂
But that’s what I enjoyed about this so much. The book doesn’t try to convince me these people are secretly wholesome cinnamon rolls who just happen to occasionally dismember someone.
Nope.
They’re fucked up. She’s fucked up. The entire situation is fucked up.
And I’m just sitting here eating it up with a snack. 🍿🩸
The horror actually works really well alongside the romance too. There’s something about the sheer brutality of it that makes the relationship dynamic feel completely unhinged in exactly the way I want from a pitch-black romance.
Is it disturbing?
Yes.
Is it romantic?
In the most deeply questionable way imaginable… also yes. 😂
And honestly, if you’re going to give me a dark romance involving cannibalistic murderers, I appreciate that the book commits to the bit. 🔪🩸
There isn’t some point where everyone suddenly develops common sense and decides to go to therapy.
They’re all just out here making increasingly horrifying decisions and I’m turning the pages like:
“Well… this escalated.” 👀
I don’t think this is going to be everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, if graphic gore, cannibalism and extreme violence aren’t your thing, RUN. 🏃♀️💨
But if you enjoy horror and pitch-black romance?
Come sit down. We’ve got snacks. 😂🖤
The 2005 Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake? One of my favourites. 🔪
Cannibalistic MMCs? Apparently I’m into it. 🫠
Morally acceptable romance? Absolutely fucking not.
Did I root for them anyway? Unfortunately, yes. 😂
Would I recommend this to everyone? Absolutely not.
Did I love it? Yeah. I fucking did. 🩸🖤
4 stars because apparently my standards for romance have now reached “would you like to be murdered or eaten first?” 💀🔪
Okay, so we had Friday the 13th but make it spicy with Dead of Summer…
And now we’ve got The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but make it MMF romance.
AJ Merlin, I see what you’re doing. 👀
And unfortunately for my moral compass…
I fucking loved it. 😂🩸
The 2005 Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake is one of my favourite horror films, so when I realised what sort of nightmare I was getting myself into here, I was basically the exact target audience. 🔪🤠🏚️
And this book is FUCKED.
Like… genuinely fucked. 💀
We’ve got kidnapping, murder, gore, cannibalism, people being chopped up, people being eaten, and enough questionable behaviour to make you wonder if you should perhaps hand your Kindle over to the authorities. 🚨😂
Our FMC starts off being kidnapped by one group of absolute lunatics, manages to fight her way out, and then gets picked up by two other men who are also very much not normal.
Because apparently escaping one set of monsters wasn’t enough.
She simply upgraded her monsters. 💀
And here’s the really unhinged part…
YOU ROOT FOR THEM.
These men are literally eating people. 🫠
And somehow I’m sitting there like:
“Okay, but they seem nice to her.” 🤨
NICE?!
THEY ARE CANNIBALS, NAE. 😂😂
But that’s what I enjoyed about this so much. The book doesn’t try to convince me these people are secretly wholesome cinnamon rolls who just happen to occasionally dismember someone.
Nope.
They’re fucked up. She’s fucked up. The entire situation is fucked up.
And I’m just sitting here eating it up with a snack. 🍿🩸
The horror actually works really well alongside the romance too. There’s something about the sheer brutality of it that makes the relationship dynamic feel completely unhinged in exactly the way I want from a pitch-black romance.
Is it disturbing?
Yes.
Is it romantic?
In the most deeply questionable way imaginable… also yes. 😂
And honestly, if you’re going to give me a dark romance involving cannibalistic murderers, I appreciate that the book commits to the bit. 🔪🩸
There isn’t some point where everyone suddenly develops common sense and decides to go to therapy.
They’re all just out here making increasingly horrifying decisions and I’m turning the pages like:
“Well… this escalated.” 👀
I don’t think this is going to be everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, if graphic gore, cannibalism and extreme violence aren’t your thing, RUN. 🏃♀️💨
But if you enjoy horror and pitch-black romance?
Come sit down. We’ve got snacks. 😂🖤
The 2005 Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake? One of my favourites. 🔪
Cannibalistic MMCs? Apparently I’m into it. 🫠
Morally acceptable romance? Absolutely fucking not.
Did I root for them anyway? Unfortunately, yes. 😂
Would I recommend this to everyone? Absolutely not.
Did I love it? Yeah. I fucking did. 🩸🖤
4 stars because apparently my standards for romance have now reached “would you like to be murdered or eaten first?” 💀🔪
July 2, 2026
Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. 🙄
I actually enjoyed parts of the books, but the slow pace of Sadie's decisions when it came to escaping made me so impatient and frustrated. Ughhhh, like girl, hurry up!!!. The things that were repeated throughout the book were so unbearable. I felt the mentioning part of her old friends group was just unnecessary, and it just came out of nowhere. I never really understood the comparison even though she didn’t know most of them well except that girl Tyler likes or lusts over. idk. Like we get it, you miss your old group. Like we also get it, you can't find a weapon in the house. Though i still don't understand how she could dismiss a fork being a use as a weapon 😃???. I mean, Sadie could've easily sneak a attack and stab one of them in the eye or something idk😭. We get it. You're dirty and in need of a shower. We get it that you have back and forth of wanting to live or die.We get it that the place is locked up. We get it that you want and to find Pearl. We get you miss your Sally (her chainsaw she named). Lord, tell us something we don't know, blondie 😒. This book interest level was like up and down for me, but I did not hate it. I liked the idea of the book and storyline that was going for. It was interesting that I wanted to keep reading it.
I feel like Sadie is the type of character who does a lot of talking and less of taking action like sometimes, in the book. At least she didn’t really give in and fights bc a lot against the brothers, while she was held captive in their home. i preferred the version of her at the beginning of the book. She literally made an escape attempt while she was in that butcher house. I mean, i needed more of that baddie chainsaw girl we read. I do believe this should've had more time to be worked on. This could easily be a better read if it wasn't for the ongoing loop of dialogs and thoughts of the character.
Another issue is that this is labeled as gore or contains graphic violence, but that was only in the beginning of the book. I wanted more. I love gore violence in books. I expected more of it but it's alr. The writing of the detailed gore was still good, even if it was short and left out.
The adoptive brothers' relationship was actually jaw-dropping. I did not expect that at all 😱.
I actually enjoyed parts of the books, but the slow pace of Sadie's decisions when it came to escaping made me so impatient and frustrated. Ughhhh, like girl, hurry up!!!. The things that were repeated throughout the book were so unbearable. I felt the mentioning part of her old friends group was just unnecessary, and it just came out of nowhere. I never really understood the comparison even though she didn’t know most of them well except that girl Tyler likes or lusts over. idk. Like we get it, you miss your old group. Like we also get it, you can't find a weapon in the house. Though i still don't understand how she could dismiss a fork being a use as a weapon 😃???. I mean, Sadie could've easily sneak a attack and stab one of them in the eye or something idk😭. We get it. You're dirty and in need of a shower. We get it that you have back and forth of wanting to live or die.We get it that the place is locked up. We get it that you want and to find Pearl. We get you miss your Sally (her chainsaw she named). Lord, tell us something we don't know, blondie 😒. This book interest level was like up and down for me, but I did not hate it. I liked the idea of the book and storyline that was going for. It was interesting that I wanted to keep reading it.
I feel like Sadie is the type of character who does a lot of talking and less of taking action like sometimes, in the book. At least she didn’t really give in and fights bc a lot against the brothers, while she was held captive in their home. i preferred the version of her at the beginning of the book. She literally made an escape attempt while she was in that butcher house. I mean, i needed more of that baddie chainsaw girl we read. I do believe this should've had more time to be worked on. This could easily be a better read if it wasn't for the ongoing loop of dialogs and thoughts of the character.
Another issue is that this is labeled as gore or contains graphic violence, but that was only in the beginning of the book. I wanted more. I love gore violence in books. I expected more of it but it's alr. The writing of the detailed gore was still good, even if it was short and left out.
The adoptive brothers' relationship was actually jaw-dropping. I did not expect that at all 😱.
October 28, 2026
I can’t decide if I’m more insulted by how bad this was, or how good it could have been.
The FMC is a clueless, braindead idiot, the MMCs have no redeeming qualities besides basic humanity (debatable, but they eventually feed her I guess??), there is no chemistry or romance whatsoever, and there is no reason for her to stay with them except, EXPLICITLY, she has no one to return to, no one misses her, and she doesn’t want to be alone. Wow, what a charming love story! 🙄
Also, as proud enjoyer of CNC smut, this was so NOT IT. Mafia books did not walk so this could ooze in its attempt to run.
I have read much MUCH worse books, but not ones that could have SO OBVIOUSLY been improved. Omfg here:
1. She escapes the warehouse in the beginning, everything up to that point was great
2. Fox and Deacon find her, patch her up, take her to to shitty rundown hospital where They All Know just like the gas station lady
3. She wants to leave town, but Fox won’t let her because active investigation
4. She can stay with them, they are actually decent people (with obvious secrets) instead of disgusting little creeps
5. As investigation continues, she becomes more and more suspicious about lack of progress, their strange activity, repeatedly warning her away from eating certain things etc, and she feels conflicted due to the budding romance between the three of them
6. She’s so traumatized by both her past and the warehouse that she can’t just trust them, so she snoops around and finds the workshop, they drug and imprison her to keep the secret, “that’s why they didn’t want me eating that”
7. Fox feels bad, Deacon doesn’t, NOW have a CNC scene where she can be like “you lied and I’m so angry and scared but I still want you deep down”, she is super conflicted because she likes the food and them even though “they’re monsters”
8. They prove to her they’re not monsters like the Hills, investigation stalled because they like her so much and want to take care of things off the books
9. They all profess mutual like and do the off the books things together
10. Epilogue of them hunting down and dealing with her past trauma
Congrats, you have now read a much MUCH better version of this book, and you don’t have to slog through 320 infuriating pages!
The FMC is a clueless, braindead idiot, the MMCs have no redeeming qualities besides basic humanity (debatable, but they eventually feed her I guess??), there is no chemistry or romance whatsoever, and there is no reason for her to stay with them except, EXPLICITLY, she has no one to return to, no one misses her, and she doesn’t want to be alone. Wow, what a charming love story! 🙄
Also, as proud enjoyer of CNC smut, this was so NOT IT. Mafia books did not walk so this could ooze in its attempt to run.
I have read much MUCH worse books, but not ones that could have SO OBVIOUSLY been improved. Omfg here:
1. She escapes the warehouse in the beginning, everything up to that point was great
2. Fox and Deacon find her, patch her up, take her to to shitty rundown hospital where They All Know just like the gas station lady
3. She wants to leave town, but Fox won’t let her because active investigation
4. She can stay with them, they are actually decent people (with obvious secrets) instead of disgusting little creeps
5. As investigation continues, she becomes more and more suspicious about lack of progress, their strange activity, repeatedly warning her away from eating certain things etc, and she feels conflicted due to the budding romance between the three of them
6. She’s so traumatized by both her past and the warehouse that she can’t just trust them, so she snoops around and finds the workshop, they drug and imprison her to keep the secret, “that’s why they didn’t want me eating that”
7. Fox feels bad, Deacon doesn’t, NOW have a CNC scene where she can be like “you lied and I’m so angry and scared but I still want you deep down”, she is super conflicted because she likes the food and them even though “they’re monsters”
8. They prove to her they’re not monsters like the Hills, investigation stalled because they like her so much and want to take care of things off the books
9. They all profess mutual like and do the off the books things together
10. Epilogue of them hunting down and dealing with her past trauma
Congrats, you have now read a much MUCH better version of this book, and you don’t have to slog through 320 infuriating pages!
August 6, 2026
Love You to Pieces by A.J. Merlin
💀 Brain Chemistry Altered – This book will live rent-free in your head for months.
I searched Kindle Unlimited for MMF dark romance, and Kindle basically looked me dead in the eyes and said, "Bet."
When I tell you this book is going to live rent-free in my head for MONTHS... I mean MONTHS.
I've been talking about this book to literally everyone. Friends. Random people. Probably my mail carrier if given the chance. I even told my mother about it, which should tell you just how deeply this thing messed with my brain.
For context, I read my first Stephen King when I was eight. I graduated to V.C. Andrews not long after. I genuinely thought I'd seen horror, dark, twisted, taboo... all of it.
Reader...
I was not prepared.
It starts with the FMC on a road trip with friends she doesn't even seem to like that much (honestly... relatable), and somehow they end up kidnapped by what I can only describe as completely unethical monsters.
She's eventually rescued by what she thinks are the good guys.
Spoiler: they are not the good guys.
They're just... ethical monsters.
The first taboo you hit? The MMCs are brothers.
Before you clutch your pearls—they're adopted, not biologically related, which did help preserve what little sanity I had left.
But the thing that absolutely took me out?
The cannibalism.
Congratulations to A.J. Merlin for helping me discover my hard limit.
Apparently it's not murder.
It's not kidnapping.
It's not morally gray men.
It's not sharing.
It's people... eating people.
Who knew?
And yes, before anyone asks, I've watched Fried Green Tomatoes. Different vibe entirely.
So if you're looking for an absolutely unhinged, dark, taboo MMF romance and you don't flinch at cannibalism... add this to your TBR.
As for me?
I'll be over here questioning every recommendation Kindle Unlimited has ever made me.
💀 Brain Chemistry Altered – This book will live rent-free in your head for months.
I searched Kindle Unlimited for MMF dark romance, and Kindle basically looked me dead in the eyes and said, "Bet."
When I tell you this book is going to live rent-free in my head for MONTHS... I mean MONTHS.
I've been talking about this book to literally everyone. Friends. Random people. Probably my mail carrier if given the chance. I even told my mother about it, which should tell you just how deeply this thing messed with my brain.
For context, I read my first Stephen King when I was eight. I graduated to V.C. Andrews not long after. I genuinely thought I'd seen horror, dark, twisted, taboo... all of it.
Reader...
I was not prepared.
It starts with the FMC on a road trip with friends she doesn't even seem to like that much (honestly... relatable), and somehow they end up kidnapped by what I can only describe as completely unethical monsters.
She's eventually rescued by what she thinks are the good guys.
Spoiler: they are not the good guys.
They're just... ethical monsters.
The first taboo you hit? The MMCs are brothers.
Before you clutch your pearls—they're adopted, not biologically related, which did help preserve what little sanity I had left.
But the thing that absolutely took me out?
The cannibalism.
Congratulations to A.J. Merlin for helping me discover my hard limit.
Apparently it's not murder.
It's not kidnapping.
It's not morally gray men.
It's not sharing.
It's people... eating people.
Who knew?
And yes, before anyone asks, I've watched Fried Green Tomatoes. Different vibe entirely.
So if you're looking for an absolutely unhinged, dark, taboo MMF romance and you don't flinch at cannibalism... add this to your TBR.
As for me?
I'll be over here questioning every recommendation Kindle Unlimited has ever made me.
June 14, 2026
I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.
One of the reasons I love AJ Merlin’s romance novels so much is that she doesn’t shy away from the dark stuff. In this very particular case, I would say that the book was too gory for my personal tastes. For that reason, I’m rating at 4.5 (rounded up to 5 because that's what I think is fair). 9/10 would read again while probably skipping some scenes.
I was also super excited to get another MMF novel from Merlin. I love throuple romances, especially with two men who are just as in love with each other as they are with the FMC. Fox and Deacon have a few scenes that REALLY got me kicking my feet in excitement, and the way they are with Sadie-Rae was just icing on the cake. Fox and Deacon didn’t quite steal the show, but they were super strong contenders.
Sadie-Rae is a brilliant FMC. We start the book strong with some of her past leaking in, and then watch her be an absolute badass fighting for her life. SPOILER: Sadie-Rae has an amazing sense of humor, a complete lack of common sense at times, and really pulled through in the moments you want her too.
There’s an aspect of small town-ness to this one that I also really enjoyed, AND a cameo to one of my all time favorite Merlin characters. I’m sure it won’t take you long to figure out who! I will say a favorite aspect to this is a certain level of jealousy that very obviously exists in the narrative, just don’t tell the MCs I noticed… After reading Love You to Pieces, I want to binge read the Merlin catalogue again, so I’d definitely say this is worth picking up – just make sure you head those trigger warnings!
One of the reasons I love AJ Merlin’s romance novels so much is that she doesn’t shy away from the dark stuff. In this very particular case, I would say that the book was too gory for my personal tastes. For that reason, I’m rating at 4.5 (rounded up to 5 because that's what I think is fair). 9/10 would read again while probably skipping some scenes.
I was also super excited to get another MMF novel from Merlin. I love throuple romances, especially with two men who are just as in love with each other as they are with the FMC. Fox and Deacon have a few scenes that REALLY got me kicking my feet in excitement, and the way they are with Sadie-Rae was just icing on the cake. Fox and Deacon didn’t quite steal the show, but they were super strong contenders.
Sadie-Rae is a brilliant FMC. We start the book strong with some of her past leaking in, and then watch her be an absolute badass fighting for her life. SPOILER: Sadie-Rae has an amazing sense of humor, a complete lack of common sense at times, and really pulled through in the moments you want her too.
There’s an aspect of small town-ness to this one that I also really enjoyed, AND a cameo to one of my all time favorite Merlin characters. I’m sure it won’t take you long to figure out who! I will say a favorite aspect to this is a certain level of jealousy that very obviously exists in the narrative, just don’t tell the MCs I noticed… After reading Love You to Pieces, I want to binge read the Merlin catalogue again, so I’d definitely say this is worth picking up – just make sure you head those trigger warnings!
June 11, 2026
i feel the same way that i usually do when i read something by aj merlin. the vibes? incredible, delightful, immaculate? the fmc's character construction? frustrating.
sadie-rae is generally a fun character, except for the parts where she's dumb as a box of rocks and also incredibly selfish. she does that thing that a lot of aj merlin's fmcs do, which is decide that they "want to help" in a situation that they're not ready for and end up being a hindrance rather than a help. it also infuriates me that she does it more than once. she goes with them the first time and nearly passes out and has to be carried out. then less than 24 hours later, she's like "yeah, actually you should use me as bait, i want to help, wah wah wah" and sure, this time she does actually succeed in killing one of the guys that they're after, but not before getting her dog kicked and injured AGAIN. like...you couldn't wait until she healed from the last time you did something stupid? you had to do something else stupid right now? "proving yourself" as a killer is not as important as keeping your dog safe, and if you weren't so selfishly concerned about it, it would be better for everyone.
and it's not even that i don't want her to be a killer with them. i do! i just think that doing so without any time to process and learn and start to get over the trauma, there's no guarantee that she won't have the same reaction she did before. and it would be infinitely more dangerous and more of a liability if she has a shock-induced panic attack and gets deacon and fox killed because she demanded to come along and do something she's not ready for.
sadie-rae is generally a fun character, except for the parts where she's dumb as a box of rocks and also incredibly selfish. she does that thing that a lot of aj merlin's fmcs do, which is decide that they "want to help" in a situation that they're not ready for and end up being a hindrance rather than a help. it also infuriates me that she does it more than once. she goes with them the first time and nearly passes out and has to be carried out. then less than 24 hours later, she's like "yeah, actually you should use me as bait, i want to help, wah wah wah" and sure, this time she does actually succeed in killing one of the guys that they're after, but not before getting her dog kicked and injured AGAIN. like...you couldn't wait until she healed from the last time you did something stupid? you had to do something else stupid right now? "proving yourself" as a killer is not as important as keeping your dog safe, and if you weren't so selfishly concerned about it, it would be better for everyone.
and it's not even that i don't want her to be a killer with them. i do! i just think that doing so without any time to process and learn and start to get over the trauma, there's no guarantee that she won't have the same reaction she did before. and it would be infinitely more dangerous and more of a liability if she has a shock-induced panic attack and gets deacon and fox killed because she demanded to come along and do something she's not ready for.
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