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What Happens In The Dark

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“Matt Star had money, power, and influence, the triple threat combination that would make anyone a formidable threat...”


Lizzie Winter is just 3 short months away from graduation when the unthinkable happens. A prank gone wrong by the football team takes a devastating turn and changes her life forever. Just when things can't get any worse, Matt Star decides to up the anti and throw blackmail and manipulation into the mix. To complicate matters, Lizzie starts developing feelings for Matt's best friend, Brandon Rivers. Brandon suspects something's off with Lizzie and Matt's relationship, but Lizzie is sworn to secrecy. The only way she can protect Brandon, and everyone else she cares about is to continue lying. Will Brandon be able to figure out what Matt is doing to Lizzie, and save her before its too late? Or will Lizzie be forced to do everything she can in order to save Brandon from Matt's sick, psychopathic ways?


"It was then that I realized there really was no point in trying to fight him anymore, because just like on the football field, he would always win. I would never beat him, the only thing I could do was try to give him what he wanted; and just hope that it was enough to keep everyone I cared about safe. I promised myself that night, that I would do everything I could, to protect the people I love the most..."


**Trigger Warning** This book is not suitable for readers under 18. This book contains elements of emotional, sexual, and physical cruelty. Any readers with sensitivity to the above topics should proceed with caution, and at their own risk.

*This is book 1 of a 3 book series. This series will make you cry, it will make you laugh, it will make you feel things that you don't want to feel. It will make you question yourself, non-stop. It is a long way to happy for the main character. The things that the main character (Lizzie) will go through/be subjected to during the entire series will break your heart,right along with hers. However, it will show you that you can put those broken pieces back together, and come out stronger then you could ever thought possible.

141 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2015

31 people are currently reading
848 people want to read

About the author

Ashley Jade

49 books9,724 followers

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5 stars
128 (38%)
4 stars
88 (26%)
3 stars
77 (23%)
2 stars
22 (6%)
1 star
19 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
Profile Image for Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️.
2,939 reviews2,673 followers
November 26, 2020
Dark and disturbing!



Social outcast Lizzie is a senior in high school and has had a crush on Football player Brandon for years. Though Brandon’s Friends, especially his best friend, quarterback Matt and the popular crowd look down on Lizzie. One day things get out of hand between Matt and Lizzie, after which he becomes obsessed with her.

Lizzie’s crush Brandon sees that something is wrong and tries to get involved but things get complicated by other issues and Lizzie’s life spirals out of control. The book is very interesting and angsty and keeps you guessing how she will get herself out of the situation she finds herself in.

This book was written in 2015, long before the current “bully romance” phenomenon blew up. So it was really dark when it came out. Also this is just the beginning there are two more books to go!

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Profile Image for Carla .
1,657 reviews532 followers
February 28, 2021
I have a conflict in my mind now!
I didn’t like this first book!
Unfortunately.
Profile Image for Jan.
1,251 reviews988 followers
January 1, 2017
This was a bit too much.
I've tried to get in the h shoes, curious about my attitude under the same blackmailed
circumstances. Could that really happen? I ended up with nothing.
It's too serious and fucked up.
It's not the kind of situation one could go bragging on about unless you are living it.
One thing for sure: I wouldn't tutor that SOB! Oh hell NO!

Available on KU
Profile Image for Vee the Bookworm .
113 reviews3 followers
January 10, 2016
My overall review of the entire series (book 1 "What happens in the dark" book 2: "Always comes to light" and book 3: "Against the darkest shadow") is as follows:

Book one is okay, all it really does is set the foundation...which is necessary. It was still engaging enough that I was interested and wanted to find out more. I reallyyyy liked the end of book one. It's such a mind fu*k. You can tell some sh*t is about to go down during the rest of the series.

Book two: However, by book 2 I was HOOKED! Especially after the truth finally comes out. SOOO much more twisted than what I was thinking.

SPOILER ALERT (scroll):

Spoiler OVER continue reading:
Book 3: "Against the darkest shadow" is really the diamond in the ruff, though. I literally could NOT put it down!! Talk about DARK and Suspenseful (with some erotica and romance thrown in.) The character growth since the first book is amazing as well (even, after all, the crazy stuff happens.) Book 3 gave me such a book hangover (in a good way.) I won't ruin it but...wow.
Profile Image for Trudy.
123 reviews1 follower
October 16, 2015
Fantastic read, some real gritty, dark subjects covered in this book.
Really well written, and ending like it did OMG!
Profile Image for Christine.
537 reviews37 followers
December 24, 2016

Matt the asshole master manipulator and physco not forgetting rapist.
Major problems with him but hope to get more from him in the next two books.
Lizzie you poor young woman getting manipulated and blackmailed by Matt and having that hanging over your head I felt for you.
Brandon again I hope we get more from you too.
A great start to this series.
Profile Image for Tanaka K.
898 reviews7 followers
May 9, 2017
Okay so deep breath, deep breath, what the heck did I just read. This is the most fucked up book I have ever read and I have read some pretty fucked up things in my life. To think this was Ashley Jade's debut book. Wow, I am in awe. As always I bow down to Ashley Jade's talent. What Happens in the Dark totally got me hooked.

What Happens in the Dark was a roller coaster of dark, mayhem and destruction. It was dark, gritty and freaking explosive that I could feel the hair of my neck standing. It was a bag full of suspense that went on and on . I was addicted to it. I tell you this book will suck you in and the story will haunt you in the best way. What happens in the Dark was more like the foundation and I liked that it held back. It was an appetizer of total dark madness and I wanted more of it.

The characters were so explosive. Omg, all the characters just held more secrets and they were like puzzle pieces I had to fit in to figure it out. Lizzie was this young innocent in all the madness. I wanted her to wake up a bit but also felt sorry for her. Matt was a douche that I wanted to smack the living daylights off. Evil psycho with a side of lunacy I tell you. Brandon was a nice guy but too weak. He needed to sort out his life first in my eyes. These characters brought the characters to life. I was just amazed.

You have to read this book. If you love dark and gritty then this is the book for you.

ARC provided author by Ashley Jade in exchange for an honest review.
2 reviews
November 11, 2015
Loved the series! I can't believe it was the authors debut novel(s). It's very dark, but it sucks you in because there are also some "light parts" that I couldn't help but laugh at as well(weird I know).
I felt connected to all the Heroine (Lizzie) and all three books kept me on the edge of my seat.

I don't want to give anything away, but Book 2 blew my mind and Book 3 is Crazy! Just go into it with an open mind, and if you can't handle dark subject matter then this really isn't the book for you.




Profile Image for JESSICA .
441 reviews
September 28, 2016
This Story Has It All: Blackmail, Manipulation, Obsession, Sadistic Bastard, Rape, And Suspense. And Very Brutal, Dark, Intense. And Twisted. That's All I Will Say, Because If I Say Anymore, I Will Give Story Away. But That Ending, Damn! On To Book #2.
Profile Image for AJ's Book ReMarks.
1,577 reviews41 followers
May 16, 2017
Not sure who recommended this author, thank you so much can't wait to finish the series
Profile Image for Ally Vance.
Author 71 books534 followers
April 25, 2017
Scary but sooooo good, I couldn't put it down.

Scary but sooooo good, I couldn't put it down. Finished this at about 4am and got about 3 1/2 hours sleep. I have no regrets :) . Lizzie seems very brave. She's a well rounded and wonderfully written character, not too perfect so all the more realistic. Matt is one of the scarier antagonists I have read and I love an antihero. He's dark and hot but its what you don't know is gonna happen next with him that frightens me the most. And you know what? I love that! Brandon such a sweetie but hard too figure out at times, can't wait to read more. I'm hooked! 5*
Profile Image for Anna.
1,566 reviews19 followers
August 24, 2019
When an author says this earlier work is not indicative of her current writing, heed that as the warning it truly is...

This is plain awful. I’ve called books, characters and plots ridiculous before, but I apparently did not know the meaning of the word ridiculous until I encountered this book. Let me give ya a for instance...

Brandon and Matt are from wealthy families, high school senior BFFs and football stars in their small town. Elizabeth is the weird unpopular girl who works in her families diner. Matt is constantly rude to her until one day at school when a prank goes too far and he rapes Elizabeth. He threatens her into not just remaining silent but becoming his personal sex toy by telling her he will kill her family and friends. Brandon is kind of sweet on her and can’t believe how she lets Matt treat her, but goes along with their seemingly consensual if not odd relationship. Would you agree to tutor the guy who raped you in a bathroom stall, threatened your family, and then continued to use and degrade you in sexual ways? Yeah, well she does.

Anyway, the series is on KU as a complete set, I made it through book one and continued with book two because I thought I saw some foreshadow of a possibly decent twist. I was wrong. There’s a twist, but it’s ludicrous, silly, just plain “gimme a break already” stuff. How anyone could review this book with anything above a 2 is completely baffling and just plain wrong.
Profile Image for AMC.
400 reviews14 followers
May 19, 2017
Mixed feelings

One of those books that leave you with mixed feelings. Lizzie comes across as clever, smart girl who turns into unrecognizable person under the influence of Matt a manipulative, mean human being. It's frustrating how Lizzie so easily goes down the hills and believes all the crap Matt tells her, she as well as Matt and Brandon unfortunately are not particularly likeable characters, the relationship between them all very wrong. The book finishes without cliffhanger and might as well finished as it is and the reader would not have any unanswered questions, after witnessing emotional and physical Lizzie's downgrade. There is nothing to the story to continue. As such the plot is not strong and barely convinces the reader to keep reading. I truly hope the rest of the series is not a waste of time and gets better with stronger more convincing heroes. At this stage quite generous 3 stars from me.
279 reviews
November 16, 2020
Uhm. No. This was not my jam. All those freaking italics pissed me off no end. Also, the book deals with some incredible rough subject matter (rape, blackmail), but doesn’t actually properly look at what is happening to Lizzie, and how she’s feeling about the situation or dealing with it. More like it just throws a random line in here and there.

The book feels super rushed, too. There’s no finesse to it and absolute zero connection to the characters. I feel the writing is also piss poor, especially after reading the RHA series, which is fantastic in so many way. I felt the book dealt with serious subject matter but just glossed over it all, focusing in a lot of detail on the sexual acts Lizzie was forced into.

I don’t think I’ll be continuing with this series. I am all for dark and demented, but this was not for me. I was in turn frustrated and disgusted. Can’t really recommend this.
Profile Image for Karen - Kazza's Books Blog .
647 reviews39 followers
May 4, 2017
While I enjoyed reading this book I found it to be lacking in a few areas. Just when then storyline was getting to the nitty gritty the scene falls away and leaves it up to the reader to fill in the blanks. While there is nothing wrong with that I just prefer for the author to give us the good, the bad and the ugly.

I personally didn't like Matt, he was so self righteous and very contradicting. Brandon on the other was a bit weak. He knew exactly how his best friend operates and still surrendered Lizzy right to him.
Lizzy was just young,naive girl who got caught up in a bad situation. I felt sorry for her and at times I just wanted her to put Matt in his place.

For a first time novel well done Ms Jade, I'm certainly going to continue on with the rest of the series.
94 reviews20 followers
April 18, 2018
I am kinda kickin myself in the behind right now for not reading this series sooner! (but for me...i think the timing was best)

This book had me belly aching laughin in the beginning during a particular scene. and when i was all comfy and snug and happy as a bug in a rug reading this book, Ashley rips the rug out from under me and sends my heart rolling across the floor!

"Things were so much easier in the dark"

While that may be true sometimes...i hope you find the light

This is a gutwrenching read, trigger laden, darkie dark dark....and i would highly suggest taking the warning seriously. HOWEVER...if you decide to read this book...and i HOPE HOPE you do!!!! May you find the light and keep on reading...cuz this series is absolutely amazing!
2,692 reviews25 followers
June 8, 2017
4*
Lizzie has a crush on Brandon but he's a ball player his best friend is Matt.
Matt is the classic rich boy thinks he's the bees knees! He's mean to Lizzie & traps her one day thus causing his obsession!
This is a brilliant start to the story showing the insight into Lizzie Brandon & Matts senior years.
The story does have trigger warnings which I like & respect you are also warned there are more parts to the story so please do not expect the full ending.
I've already one clicked the rest of the books!
Ps be prepared I read this within 3 hrs it draws you in as Ashley jade is good at doing.
Dark story
Profile Image for Rhiannon Hall.
256 reviews4 followers
March 22, 2017
Absolutely loved this book it gripped me from the start and I new it would be an amazing series and boy was I right.
I waited until I finished the series to write my reviews as I couldn't put them down long enough the first instalment sets the foundation for an amazing series you won't want to put it down it makes you open your eyes and pay extreme attention you will hate what Lizzy has to go through but you will love her fighting spirit and urge her to keep fighting all through the series as you can't help but feel everything she has to go through and feel the upmost empathy for her
( that's Ashley Jade's writing skills for you) she certainly has talent to say the least❣
Profile Image for Kim BookJunkie ~ Editor & Proofreader.
2,134 reviews55 followers
January 24, 2023
This must’ve been Ashley Jade’s first or one of her first books because it’s nothing like her current books. Although Her more recent books don’t follow all of the grammatical/punctuation rules or Chicago Manual of Style guidelines, this book is a million times worse, literally reading like a first draft! It is a DISASTER! However, if you manage to sift through all of the editing and proofreading issues, it’s a phenomenal story!!! In typical Ashley Jade style, this dark story was filled with twists, turns and heat that had me on the edge of my seat, wanting to read late into the night!!!
Profile Image for Antoinette.
358 reviews
May 8, 2017
What a start to this series.

I was not sure if I would like this when I started, but it has me hooked. I am so glad I waited till all three books were out before starting.
We meet Lizzie, so happy to be graduation HS and heading to college. Unfortunately for her the biggest asshole in town has set his sights on her and its not good. Matt is just as nasty as they come, with no fear of consequence. And then there is Brandon, and I am not sure how i feel about him just yet.

On to book 2!
Profile Image for Niki Roge.
216 reviews5 followers
May 17, 2017
First, I really enjoyed this book. Enough that I purchased book two and ultimately three. That said, I really dislike with the "Only I can deal with this issue that I will tell no one about" mentality that characters tend to have. A very dark and engaging read, this is an emotional roller coaster that really has you wondering what is going to happen next. This is a great start to this trilogy and would recommend it for darker readers!
Profile Image for Brigid Brown.
953 reviews24 followers
August 17, 2018
5 stars!!!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book but as usual Ashley Jade has blown me away. She has an amazing way with words. She's created this dark, scary world for poor high school senior. Lizzie is is the object of a horrible "prank" instigated by football quarterback Matt. I do recommend this book but do caution that the warning be heeded, this book isn't for everyone.
Profile Image for Kate Bailey.
Author 14 books281 followers
September 20, 2019
I loved this series from Ashley Jade. It was dark and hard to read sometimes. Then it was sprinkled with just enough light to give me hope that the characters would make it through.  It definitely has Ashley Jades' signature style and I am so glad I finally read it. There were twists and turns I never saw coming. There were secrets that blew my mind. There was enough heat to melt my Kindle screen. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone!
Profile Image for doreen.
1,031 reviews3 followers
November 11, 2019
I've read this author before and liked her books. This series was bad. I give myself 5 stars for actually reading all the books to the end. The plot is bad, the characters are bad. The story like is just to far fetched for me. Girl gets rapped and then likes the rapist to only keep falling for his craziness. Its to much. I would not recommend reading this series there are MUCH better series out there to read. At least I read this on Kindle Unlimited and didn't spend money on this.
Profile Image for Karla.
120 reviews4 followers
September 7, 2017
Breathless

This series is Ashley Jade's early work. I must say this woman is one talented biatch. The emotional impact of her words is, i cant even explain it. She's a phenomenal writer. If you're new to her work and dont like dark romancws heed her warning and move, if you gave an open mind then read on, you wont regret it. Absolutely wonderful
Profile Image for Katie Kearney .
1,121 reviews6 followers
October 14, 2017
This book gutted me! Ashley Jade seriously doesn't know how to write a bad book. She's absolutely amazing! I was hooked from word one!i really just don't have much to say beyond the fact that this book is beyond absolutely amazing. So twisted and heartbreaking but oh the feels. Great job Ashley Jade!
Profile Image for Clare.
1,740 reviews4 followers
January 8, 2018
After reading the reviews on this I thought the book was gonna be really really bad and cruel. I don’t actually think it was that dark. It was a typical blackmail situation with a fucked up psycho. I’m gonna read the next one and see how the story develops but I know for sure that the main character Lizzie is truly gonna be damaged until she can deal with what’s happened
Profile Image for Janice.
87 reviews
May 31, 2017
Great story so far. I'm hooked. I know going in that this is a trilogy, so I know there is more to this story. Can't wait to read read book 2 and 3. Really love Ashley Jade's books. Have all of her books.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
10 reviews
June 17, 2019
I initially thought oh I don’t want to read some dumb high school drama. Omg I couldn’t put the book down after a few chapters. Ashley’s writing draws such a thorough picture I literally felt anxious. It’s dark, but it’s fantastic! I highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews

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