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Filip: Dark MM Romance
A dark MM historical romance about a mute prodigy, the aristocrat who studies his wounds, and the pact that will ruin them both.
Paris, 1831. The uprising has failed, Warsaw is lost, and Filip arrives in France with his parents and a piano's worth of hope. Within a season, cholera takes his father. His mother's new husband takes everything his language, his belongings, his name. Filip stops speaking. What he cannot say, he plays.
At the Conservatoire he meets Jérôme de rich, immaculate, hollow. Jérôme plays with a perfection drilled into him since birth and despises the Polish boy who plays like an open wound.
Their war for the Premier Prix becomes the only thing either of them can feel.
Filip survives on protectors, the men Jérôme mockingly calls his guard dogs. The older student who shields him, then sells himself into marriage. The exile who turns Poland into a leash. The gentle giant whose warmth hides a name. Each one offers safety. Safety kills the music.
Then Jérôme does the unforgivable. He studies Filip's grief, the cholera, the silence, the abandonment, and writes it into a composition of his own. Paris weeps for a heart he doesn't have.
Filip's answer is a bargain made in the We'll destroy each other. That's the deal.
Rivals to lovers, then to something worseMute hero, piano prodigy, dark academia in 1830s ParisToxic protectors, and the one enemy who actually sees himExile, a stolen name, and the boy who takes it backObsession as art, cruelty as devotion
explicit, sparing. The obsession is on every page; the smut is on one.
Endin together, on their own terms. A dark happy-for-now.
Content dubious consent in a relationship the book does not romanticize, parental death, grief, period illness, selective mutism.
Paris, 1831. The uprising has failed, Warsaw is lost, and Filip arrives in France with his parents and a piano's worth of hope. Within a season, cholera takes his father. His mother's new husband takes everything his language, his belongings, his name. Filip stops speaking. What he cannot say, he plays.
At the Conservatoire he meets Jérôme de rich, immaculate, hollow. Jérôme plays with a perfection drilled into him since birth and despises the Polish boy who plays like an open wound.
Their war for the Premier Prix becomes the only thing either of them can feel.
Filip survives on protectors, the men Jérôme mockingly calls his guard dogs. The older student who shields him, then sells himself into marriage. The exile who turns Poland into a leash. The gentle giant whose warmth hides a name. Each one offers safety. Safety kills the music.
Then Jérôme does the unforgivable. He studies Filip's grief, the cholera, the silence, the abandonment, and writes it into a composition of his own. Paris weeps for a heart he doesn't have.
Filip's answer is a bargain made in the We'll destroy each other. That's the deal.
Rivals to lovers, then to something worseMute hero, piano prodigy, dark academia in 1830s ParisToxic protectors, and the one enemy who actually sees himExile, a stolen name, and the boy who takes it backObsession as art, cruelty as devotion
explicit, sparing. The obsession is on every page; the smut is on one.
Endin together, on their own terms. A dark happy-for-now.
Content dubious consent in a relationship the book does not romanticize, parental death, grief, period illness, selective mutism.
158 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 26, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 10, 2026
I'm haven't read many novellas, so I didn't quite know what to expect going into this one. I was completely blown away by how much depth, emotion, and complexity T.R. Oriel packed into 150 pages. Filip is such a gripping read!
Spanning from 1831 to 1845, the story follows Filip and Jérôme through a thirteen year rivalry that turns into an all-consuming obsession. Filip is only seven years old when he enters Jérôme's orbit at the Paris music conservatoire. After escaping the November Uprising that forced his family to flee Warsaw, Filip is now a refugee having to not only contend with the loss of his homeland, Polish identity and language, but also with Jérôme's relentless bullying. As the years pass, their intense rivalry becomes the sole driving force behind both of their careers as pianists, and pushes them toward an inevitable breaking point.
This story is incredibly rich, weaving together music, violence, grief, and a love that felt so very hard-earned. I loved watching Filip and Jérôme's growth, as they slowly realized they were stronger together than as enemies. Filip is available on KU right now, I highly recommend checking it out!
Spanning from 1831 to 1845, the story follows Filip and Jérôme through a thirteen year rivalry that turns into an all-consuming obsession. Filip is only seven years old when he enters Jérôme's orbit at the Paris music conservatoire. After escaping the November Uprising that forced his family to flee Warsaw, Filip is now a refugee having to not only contend with the loss of his homeland, Polish identity and language, but also with Jérôme's relentless bullying. As the years pass, their intense rivalry becomes the sole driving force behind both of their careers as pianists, and pushes them toward an inevitable breaking point.
This story is incredibly rich, weaving together music, violence, grief, and a love that felt so very hard-earned. I loved watching Filip and Jérôme's growth, as they slowly realized they were stronger together than as enemies. Filip is available on KU right now, I highly recommend checking it out!
September 27, 2026
Oh my, I had such a good time with this one! I'm so lucky toc read mv friend's books!! ( We start with Filip and his family as they are fleeing Poland in 1831 and we follow Filip's journey as he nurtures his piana skills at a prestigious French music school. His mother remarries a Frenchman after Filip's father dies so that they car stay in their home but it causes Filip to be selectively mute. He is also trying to navigate what love means for him and how to speak through his music and it's absolutely breathtaking to
read.
The rivalry between Filip and Jerome is absolutely brilliant, it set a great tense atmosphere right in the heart of the story while Filip's world is already quite dark. The emotion that comes across is so raw and real, each page is thick with passion, vulnerability and heart. The strength of Filip is astounding, he is pure and brave and that is iust the surface of
what the readers see The history is also rich and well researched by T R Oriel - every moment has a clear motive and link to real life even if the main characters are fictional. This kind of story is so important for gay people and those of us who feel alone and afraid - I am in awe of what T R can do in 150 pages, bravo!!
read.
The rivalry between Filip and Jerome is absolutely brilliant, it set a great tense atmosphere right in the heart of the story while Filip's world is already quite dark. The emotion that comes across is so raw and real, each page is thick with passion, vulnerability and heart. The strength of Filip is astounding, he is pure and brave and that is iust the surface of
what the readers see The history is also rich and well researched by T R Oriel - every moment has a clear motive and link to real life even if the main characters are fictional. This kind of story is so important for gay people and those of us who feel alone and afraid - I am in awe of what T R can do in 150 pages, bravo!!
August 23, 2026
As a pianist myself, I loved the intense relationship between the two rival pianists. Filip captured beautifully how someone can become your muse even when you want to rip their head off. It was beautifully played out, really enjoyed this one.
June 29, 2026
Well, when you're crying by page 34, you know it's gonna be a good book. This has to be one of the most intense and heartbreakingly beautiful books I have ever read.
EVERY 👏🏼SINGLE 👏🏼PAGE 👏🏼 is written so beautifully.
The way the author describes the music being played is breathtaking. You can feel the chaos and emotion of the music through the pages. You can feel the pain and heartbreak pouring into your fucking soul. I am just completely blown away. I was not expecting such an intense read when I started Filip. I didn't want it to end.
Filip is such an insanely complex character. And we get SO MUCH from him in such a short time (150 pages!) He's a child piano prodigy with a deeply traumatic past that begins with him and his family being forced to flee Poland for France. From there, his story gets even more complicated. Jérôme is a tortured and broken boy who is fighting a battle within himself over Filip and his own insecurities that manifests onto the page so beautifully.
This book is TRUE Rivals-to-Lovers. They are waging a war between each other that keeps going beyond the last page. They challenge eachother in ways that are beyond comprehension... it forces this bond between them that (for the reader) is psychologically draining. Their relationship is toxic af. But SO freaking captivating.
The side characters play such a huge roll in Filip's journey. I fell in love with each of them in different ways and for very different reasons. Starting with Filips parents, to Laurent, Seweryn and Mikhail. Filip has multiple partners throughout his story (which I usually don't like), but without them, the build up to his ending would have fallen short. The vulnerability and relationship dynamic between each character with Filip was written with so much passion and emotion that you kind of cling to each of them in different ways.
I've played, written and studied music for many many years and it's very obvious that a ton of research went into the musical aspect of Filip. I am wondering if the author plays piano? Or if the significance behind the music has some deeper meaning for them?
Slowest Burn of all Slow Burns
Rivals to Lovers
Enemies to Lovers Real Hate to Love
Trauma
Grief
Historical Romance
Obsessive
Possessive
Angst
Longing
Mute MC
Toxic Relationships
Multiple Partners with endgame HEA couple
EVERY 👏🏼SINGLE 👏🏼PAGE 👏🏼 is written so beautifully.
The way the author describes the music being played is breathtaking. You can feel the chaos and emotion of the music through the pages. You can feel the pain and heartbreak pouring into your fucking soul. I am just completely blown away. I was not expecting such an intense read when I started Filip. I didn't want it to end.
Filip is such an insanely complex character. And we get SO MUCH from him in such a short time (150 pages!) He's a child piano prodigy with a deeply traumatic past that begins with him and his family being forced to flee Poland for France. From there, his story gets even more complicated. Jérôme is a tortured and broken boy who is fighting a battle within himself over Filip and his own insecurities that manifests onto the page so beautifully.
This book is TRUE Rivals-to-Lovers. They are waging a war between each other that keeps going beyond the last page. They challenge eachother in ways that are beyond comprehension... it forces this bond between them that (for the reader) is psychologically draining. Their relationship is toxic af. But SO freaking captivating.
The side characters play such a huge roll in Filip's journey. I fell in love with each of them in different ways and for very different reasons. Starting with Filips parents, to Laurent, Seweryn and Mikhail. Filip has multiple partners throughout his story (which I usually don't like), but without them, the build up to his ending would have fallen short. The vulnerability and relationship dynamic between each character with Filip was written with so much passion and emotion that you kind of cling to each of them in different ways.
I've played, written and studied music for many many years and it's very obvious that a ton of research went into the musical aspect of Filip. I am wondering if the author plays piano? Or if the significance behind the music has some deeper meaning for them?
Slowest Burn of all Slow Burns
Rivals to Lovers
Enemies to Lovers Real Hate to Love
Trauma
Grief
Historical Romance
Obsessive
Possessive
Angst
Longing
Mute MC
Toxic Relationships
Multiple Partners with endgame HEA couple
June 27, 2026
Oriel is truly a gifted writer. Not only is his prose so beautiful (and as I’m reading his other book right now, I love that I’ll only be getting more of it) but his characters are so complex. You don’t know whether to love or hate them, but you somehow can’t help but root for them and their happy ending.
October 18, 2026
I just finished Filip and cheers everybody because I needed a glass of wine afterward.
If I could, I would give this book 10 stars 🌟 !!!
I fell for Filip! I love him so much.
He is a person who went through the worst!
His piano is the only thing left from his father, his only place of refuge...
He has selective mutism, but he realizes later on that he can speak throughout his music.
As a former musician, I can relate to his passion for music and the urge to create something new and meaningful, to express yourself, and to let the audience feel what you feel because it helps you to cope with bad feelings!
I cried, I suffered, I laughed, and I felt a wide range of things during reading!
✨️It was a top-tier read for me!✨️
The book is kind of short, but it's packed with a lot!!!
I highly recommend this book!!!
But check your TWs beforehand!
Happy reading, everyone! 🫶
If I could, I would give this book 10 stars 🌟 !!!
I fell for Filip! I love him so much.
He is a person who went through the worst!
His piano is the only thing left from his father, his only place of refuge...
He has selective mutism, but he realizes later on that he can speak throughout his music.
As a former musician, I can relate to his passion for music and the urge to create something new and meaningful, to express yourself, and to let the audience feel what you feel because it helps you to cope with bad feelings!
I cried, I suffered, I laughed, and I felt a wide range of things during reading!
✨️It was a top-tier read for me!✨️
The book is kind of short, but it's packed with a lot!!!
I highly recommend this book!!!
But check your TWs beforehand!
Happy reading, everyone! 🫶
June 28, 2026
literally a 5-star masterpiece of toxic gay angst, historical trauma, and intense piano battles
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews