Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Taboo Unchained

Rate this book
TABOO UNCHAINED - a 100,000 word stand-alone dark romance erotica - by International Bestselling Author C.M. Stunich - Recommended for Ages 18+
The taboo turns me on.

The dirty. The filthy. The nasty.

The man your mother f***ing warned you about – is me.

Hold onto your panties, ladies.

Lucas Carter is here to show you the dark side of the sheets.

*** This is a dark romance erotica – meaning lots of violence, sex, and emotionally disturbing inner dialogue. The main character does not, however, kidnap or force himself on women. The entire book is told in his point of view. This story does contain murder, tough choices, and strange sex.

***This book is entirely fictional, and the sexual techniques described within can be extremely dangerous. Read Lucas' story to spice up your sex life, have a little fun, and watch a man consumed by darkness grow into a different person. Please don't take any of the acts described within as instructional and always remember, safety first.

ALSO AVAILABLE FROM C.M. STUNICH

-Tasting Never (New Adult Romance)

-Real Ugly (Dirty Rockstar Romantic Thriller)

-Losing Me, Finding You (Motorcycle Club Romance)

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

153 people are currently reading
2238 people want to read

About the author

C.M. Stunich

160 books14.3k followers
C.M. Stunich is a self-admitted bibliophile with a love for exotic teas and a whole host of characters who live full time inside the strange, swirling vortex of her thoughts. Some folks might call this crazy, but Caitlin Morgan doesn't mind - especially considering she has to write biographies in the third person. Oh, and half the host of characters in her head are searing hot bad boys with dirty mouths and skillful hands (among other things). If being crazy means hanging out with them everyday, C.M. has decided to have herself committed.

She hates tapioca pudding, loves to binge on cheesy horror movies, and is a slave to many cats. When she's not vacuuming fur off of her couch, C.M. can be found with her nose buried in a book or her eyes glued to a computer screen. She's the author of over thirty novels - romance, new adult, fantasy, and young adult included. Please, come and join her inside her crazy. There's a heck of a lot to do there.

Oh, and Caitlin loves to chat (incessantly), so feel free to e-mail her, send her a Facebook message, or put up smoke signals. She's already looking forward to it.

Stalk me, please!
www.cmstunich.com
www.facebook.com/cmstunichauthor
www.twitter.com/CMStunich

I'm also on Goodreads, Spotify, Google +, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
220 (27%)
4 stars
258 (32%)
3 stars
201 (25%)
2 stars
62 (7%)
1 star
55 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah.
555 reviews335 followers
June 10, 2025
My heart is BROKEN! SHATTERED!

Why, you asked?

Because I so WANTED to love this book!

I was so excited to start listening/reading it when I saw the synopsis.

And starting it, I was intrigued, interested and liked Lucas, and I absolutely loved Audra!

What was the problem?

I HATED!
I mean...HATED! Absolutely DESPISED Robby!!!!!!!

Me, as a teen myself, and Robby is 18 years old in the book, so she was a character that naturally, I was supposed to like, but God, that girl was such a fucking nuisance! I didn't relate to her at all, even though she's closer to my age!

Why!? Why!? Why did the author even put her in this book!?

To be honest, I would have been satisfied with just Audra and Lucas! It would have been a twisted love story. Much deeper. Much more interesting! Hotter in every way!

And I would have even liked a romance JUST between Robby and Lucas.

Because what I'm trying to say, is that, there was no fucking point of putting TWO women in this book!

It's like the author was just asking the readers to hate one of them!

And I HATED Robby!

And the further I got into the book, the more I wanted to barf with the dread that Lucas was NOT gonna end up with Audra!

If only it was just Audra and Lucas!

I mean, I reckon I would have liked Robby, if she were the only woman in the book and Audra wasn't there at all.

But the author broke my fucking heart by letting Lucas meet Audra, and then letting them have that perfect chemistry, but to completely disregarded that chemistry in the end, as if it NEVER FUCKING EXISTED!!!!

I almost fucking cried when I was reading the scene when Lucas was coming back from prison to find Robby in the front steps!

I mean, I barfed, knowing that he was going to choose fucking Robby, no matter how much I wish that he and Audra could have driven off into the fucking sunset and be badasses together!

I HATED ROBBY! And that's why I gave this book a ZERO fucking star!

The author should have just put one of the women instead of two of them.

You broke my heart, author and I will never forgive you.

(Unless you release a sequel that features Lucas breaking up with boring, naive, annoying Robby and getting with Audra.)

But I have a feeling that won't happen.

So, FUCK this book for getting me invested and then breaking me into tiny, little Lucas and Audra pieces.
Profile Image for Lady Vigilante (Feifei).
632 reviews2,976 followers
November 5, 2014
4.5 stars!!

description

Before I start my review I just want to double emphasize the warning in the synopsis – this book is all kinds of dark and not for anyone sensitive to topics such as violence, kinky sex, profanity, and disturbing dialogue. Now with that being said, this book was a HUGE winner for me (gosh, what does that say about my book tastes hehe)! There is nothing more alluring to me than a dark read with an anti-hero I’d hate to love and love to hate, wonderfully kickass side characters, and a plot so convoluted everything and nothing makes sense. Though it was a rough start at the beginning, the story soon took off and went into a direction I never anticipated…loved that!

description

Meet Lucas Carter, the narrator of the story and your seemingly average gigolo next door. Not. What makes him different is that he only has clients with specific tastes: women that have their own sexual fetishes that aren’t considered normal. For a good part of the book I didn’t know how I felt about Lucas. He was this cocky, arrogant, and perverted bastard who I didn’t know why he was the way he was or why he got started in this business to begin with until later in the book. His attitude towards everything – especially women – both intrigued me and infuriated me. On one hand, I felt terrible that he lost so much faith in humanity that he became cynical and deals with everything in a harsh manner. On the flip side it was degrading to see his sexual methods on his clients. For a time it seemed like nobody could penetrate his walls. At least not until two vastly different women are introduced into his life and completely shake up his world.

description

I know what you’re thinking…love triangle?! No, it’s not, and I honestly have no idea how to explain his connection to both Audra, the fiery redhead who matches him move for move, and Robbie, his sweet-tempered and innocent neighbor next door. He’s involved with both women at the same time, but in this three-way, there is no actual ‘love’ reciprocated until the very end. It’s a really unique situation that can’t quite be explained unless you’ve read it yourself. I personally loved only one of these two female characters but I think what mattered most is that both were good for Lucas – one of whom is the woman of his nightmares and the other of his dreams. Both made him feel.

description

I think the message this book tries to send out is unclear until you’ve read it in its entirety. Most books I’ve read all try to focus on the bright side, the positive, the normal, and spin an inspirational tale from that, even though there may be tiny spots of darkness within. This book? It takes those tiny dark spots and magnifies them and spins an equally inspirational tale from that. Subjects that most people aren’t comfortable with and shy away from – the ‘taboo’ – become the topic of the hour and makes up the plot. People with unusual sexual fetishes and habits who may be ostracized from what society considers normal are the main characters. And an atypical, twisted love that sprouts from all this becomes the romance. This is still indeed a love story, but it is one that you have to be willing to shed away ‘vanilla’ boundaries in order to read. My only complaint is that I wanted an epilogue for these characters but aside from that, if this book sounds like something you can handle, then come take a walk on the dark side and read a story where the taboo becomes unchained.

description

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Eda**.
721 reviews435 followers
October 14, 2014

** 5++ "I'm a f*cking God" STARS **

"I taste the blackness and I f*ck out the light. I will teach you to turn the filthy, the nasty, the most putrid parts of your soul into sheer bliss, into an addiction you can't shake instead of a miserable, stilted, blighted existence."




Obviously, as the dark-erotica and anti-hero wh*re that I am, I loved and devoured this book!

Though I may have to remind you guys that this book is certainly not for the faint-hearted, no, the warning in the blurb should really be kept under consideration. If you're okay with the may-be-disturbing list of things there, you're good to go.

I believe Stephen King has summarized what this book is trying to say perfectly:



Lucas Carter has a dark heart and a darker soul. He is a frighteningly calm and collected young man, with twisted and disgusting thoughts swirling inside his perverted head. He is a real monster and he revels in the feeling of his demons set free to roam inside him.

"The man your mother f*cking warned you about," I whisper, my voice descending dangerously close to a growl, "is me."


Lucas has a very unique job: He takes up women with very special fetishes, very taboo fantasies and shows them his demons off-the-leash, using violent sex. But only women with the same darkness he has inside them. Ones that won't cower away from his demons.

I am not a f*cking whore. People don't pay me for sex. They pay me for a chance to visit with the demon, to find themselves in the arms of a dark God. It's not about carnal connection of flesh, the rapid bump and grind of a hard c*ck inside a wet p*ssy.


All of Lucas' clients are as f*cked-up as Lucas is, let me tell you:
Clarice Braxton, the trophy wife of an overweight filthy-rich man with weird sexual tendencies; Pamela Tribbard, a woman who is into insults and degradation; Leslie Catsitch, who likes rape role-play; Lauren Houssard, a true masochist who is into all kinds of blood-play and Margarite Simmons, a born monster who likes to play with needles and toys.

Lucas sees himself in all these women, it's like looking through a mirror for him. They all have secrets and ghosts from their pasts, compelling the darkness inside of them. Lucas is somewhat helping these women, by absorbing some of their darkness.

This is about the TABOO, about rescuing the filthy side of the human soul, letting it come UNCHAINED for just a brief moment. If you can exercise the darkness, you can put it to rest, you can pretend you understand what it's like to walk in the light.




Audra Holiday enters Lucas' life like a hurricane and quickly turns from potential client to an accomplice after dropping the corpse of the man she has killed in his living-room and leaves. Lucas is the kind of man that would be more concerned about the blood stains on his Italian silk couch than anything else, so he calmly calls her to help him get rid of the disgusting thing that stirs up all kinds of worries in him because of his OCD with cleanliness.

Audra is as dark as Lucas is inside and something about her attracts him, kick-starting a sort of relationship consisting of lots and lots of sex, all the while dealing with the corpse problem.

She's begging me to own her, chain her demon down and put it on a leash. That's my specialty, locking the beast away, so it can't hurt anyone or anything without permission. Based on her behavior today, Audra Holiday desperately needs this.


Then there's Roberta "Robbie" Carrell, the innocent next-door-neighbor that has just turned eighteen, who is the only person allowed to call Lucas, "Luke" . With just one kiss, she pulls Lucas right back to the white bliss of his own 18-year-old self, when he was madly in love with another young woman, Aliyah Owens, planning about a bright future that can never happen... Robbie silences the demons inside him. He is not Lucas Carter when she is with him, he is simply Luke.

"Luke, I like you. I've always liked you."


Lucas knows Robbie deserves better though, even though she is the reason that for the first time after long years, he has started to feel again...

I find myself shaking, confused, and for the briefest of seconds, almost afraid. Not for myself, but for Robbie. I help monsters control their darkness, I don't turn doves into ravens.


So he pushes Robbie away by hurtful words and actions, all the while battling with all the strange feelings that bloom inside him, for her.

Robbie can't be my surrogate sweetheart. I'm an adult, a corrupt, broken, bloodstained creature with blackness in his chest, taking up that space where his heart should be. Robbie is a child. Isn't she?


The more he keeps Robbie away from himself, the nearer Audra gets to him and his dark desires.

She isn't a delicate flower, not like Robbie Carrell. I don't have to be careful around her, don't have to worry if she'll break. Audra can match me, dark for dark, pain for pain.


Thus Lucas is stuck between two very different women, that garner the same reactions from him. Between the woman of his nightmares and the woman of his dreams, as Lucas puts it into words...

Don't worry, it's not exactly a love triangle, because even though Lucas is involved with both these women, there is no love to talk about for a long time through the book. Because Lucas Carter loves no one. Like fear, it's an emotion he's no longer even capable of.



Can I have all your attention please and take a moment of silence for HOW FREAKIN' WELL-WRITTEN THIS BOOK IS ? Seriously, the way we learned a bit more about the characters and their pasts, little by little with every new chapter, was incredible! It kept me on edge the whole time. Plus, I would have NEVER guessed that twist at the end, totally didn't see that one coming!

I don't think I will be able to get over this book for a while.

I think I may have accidentally absorbed some of the darkness inside Luke.

I might be a dark man, maybe even a sadist, but I don't particularly like plucking the wings off butterflies. There are plenty of wasps who deserve a flightless fall from glory.



Profile Image for Jasmine.
269 reviews689 followers
October 18, 2014
5 ‘NOT A WHORE’ STARS! ★★★★★



"This is about the taboo, about rescuing the filthy side of the human soul, letting it come unchained for just a brief moment."

♥ Buddy Read with the fantabulous Kat Stark! <- Click to read her review! ♥

After mulling over this read for an entire day, I am still picking up the remnants of my feels that this book blew into pieces. Even during the last 10% of the book, I don’t understand the confliction of my emotions with all 3 characters! Do I love Audra more? Or do I love Robbie more? Or maybe I love Lucas the most? IDK REALLY. I just can’t pick one!! It’s possible I love them all equally and maybe that makes me a crazy person.

Can I just stress how much I LOVE the dynamic of this amazeballs trio? WELL I FREAKIN LOVE IT AND I’D LIKE TO REVEL IN IT ALL DAY LONG. Seriously tho, that’s usually such a rare feat to achieve in most reads which made this one even more awesome than it already is.

*******

Taboo Unchained starts off with a man named Lucas Carter who repeatedly claims that he is not a whore despite being paid to have sex with his "clients" who require him to fulfil their darkest, or shall we say, taboo fantasies (think knives for starters). For a moment, I felt like this was an exorcism of demons...well except in a more sexual manner.

“I taste the blackness and I fuck out the light. I will teach you to turn the filthy, the nasty, the most putrid parts of your soul into sheer bliss, into an addiction you can't shake instead of a miserable, stilted, blighted existence.”



Having the story told from his POV entirely really brought out some of the best moments in the book. I can only say that I was VERY perplexed by his persona for a good majority of the book because I couldn't understand this man at all eventhough I was practically living inside his head!



It's like there were two sides of him:

- One which I found to be highly entertaining as he was being such a cocky, arrogant gigolo guy who seems to be rather anal about well...almost everything. Not to mentioned, he's quite the OCD type (hey, I felt sorry for his Italian couch too if someone did that to mine!).



- Another one which then left me feeling sympathetic towards him as he struggled with this "beast of darkness" inside of him.



To spice things up, bring in two ladies into his life, one each at the total opposite sides of the spectrum. Audra, the redhead bombshell who could match Lucas's insanity and Robbie, the sweet literal girl-next-door who has a crush on him. I admit at first, my heart was already set on one woman but slowly another one crept its way into it too. I started questioning my feelings and yelling at Kat in caps lock on who I was rooting for.

Up till now and even with that ending, I honestly cannot give a definite answer on who I’d preferred Lucas to be with. There is just no right or wrong choice which just makes up another damn reason this book is absolutely fantastic. The fact that it leaves me in this state of confliction.



I was left very intrigued with even all of the side characters; some more whacked up than the others (I have a love/hate rship with Clarice LMFAO). And with the dark humor that the author brings out in her writing, she managed to turn a seemingly dark, gritty read with tons of kink into a rather entertaining one, which I felt brought a great balance of light and dark in this book.

Plot-wise, I really enjoyed the unpredictability of it although it was a little hard to get into at first with Lucas constantly referring himself in 3rd person. And as far as the love triangle goes, this book definitely brought a whole new meaning to it. I can’t really explain it because you’ll need to read this one to understand how this flippin amazing dynamic works.

But put it this way:

If you’re fan of ‘em, you should definitely read this.
If you’re not a fan of ‘em, you should most definitely read this.

*******

Overall, I found this to be a very refreshing read for a dark lover like myself. The exceptional writing, the sheer craziness of it all and leaving me in puddle of messed-up emotions; this was one of those reads that sticks with me for a good long while ;)

I rarely give a dark read 5 stars unless it involves some major mindfuckery but this was a complete exception because it brought out something else much more than that. It proves that a dark read can still be so alluring even without that shock factor.

Dark lover or not, I would highly recommend this read for everyone :) I wouldn't consider it to be a dark romance because the romance itself was a rather unconventional one but the overall theme of the book is indeed dark with the kinks, some violence involved and mostly disturbing dialogues. So proceed with caution!

Profile Image for aksana .
308 reviews132 followers
dnf
January 21, 2015

DNF at 21%

First of all:
next time I read a warning like that in the blurb, I will take it more seriously
- Violence, sex, and emotionally disturbing inner dialogue.
- This story does contain murder, tough choices, and strange sex.


Still wondering why I thought I would enjoy this.





Lucas, the hero, he has a beast/demon inside him. And this best needs to be fed. Preferably with sex, violence or violent sex.

I am not a fucking whore. People don't pay me for sex.
They pay me for a chance to visit with the demon, to find themselves in the arms of a dark God.


His clients are solely women with the same darkness inside them and who can handle his demon.

Before going in, I skipped to the end to see if there is a HEA and also to find who his love interest will be.



He ends up with his shy and innocent neighbor Robbie. Since the result was satisfying I went in.


The first 20% consist of Lucas satiating his demon thus visiting clients. He doesn't pay much attention to Robbie (who I know will be his love interest) instead he is obsessing with a woman named Audra, up until one night when Robbie arrives at his doorstep and tells him that she is finally 18 and that she likes him. Thats when he suddenly cant stop thinking about her. Thats also the part where I officially stopped reading.


Lets get to the part where I knew I wouldn't enjoy this story.
Call me prude or nit-picky , I don't care, but I was disturbed and confused after reading that part.



It happened at about 14%

I extract a condom – something I rarely use considering I've had a vasectomy – and a silicone cock.




What happened to his real cock? Is it still somewhere there?

Reading on to solve the cock mystery



I spin the blade around in my fingers, drawing my silicone cock up to my mouth.
I don't make a habit of sucking on dick, but sometimes it's necessary.






He can take it off?? Is his real one underneath the silicon one?



Cock mystery gets solved in the next lines. He has still a real cock and the silicon one was just a toy.



I know, I know, in the end it wasn't that disturbing :D
But it took me a while to figure out that he is talking about a toy and not his real cock.




Silicon cock or not, I can say that the first 21% were already too kinky for me and made me too uncomfortable to keep reading.
It's sad because I would like to know how his and Robbies relationship will develop. And how things with this Audra woman play out.. But obviously I'm a big baby who cant handle a little taboo :D

Profile Image for ✦❋Arianna✦❋.
790 reviews2,552 followers
February 8, 2017
4.5 STARS

“I wanna hide the truth
I wanna shelter you
But with the beast inside
There’s nowhere we can hide”

(Imagine Dragons - Demons )


description

“If you exercise the darkness, you can put it to rest, you can pretend you understand what it's like to walk in the light.”


WOW! This book blew my mind! This for sure was dark! It was gritty, it was disturbing, unique and like nothing I’ve read so far! This author was new to me, so I didn't know what to expect. From the plot to the writing I was amazed!It was that good!

description

Lucas Carter has one of the strangest, unusual and taboo job ever. He satisfy women who have darker desires, who crave more than simple, vanilla sex, who have fetishes, who want and need what’s called taboo. Lucas is a damaged men, he has a dark soul, he has demons who must be seated, who must be fed. He helps these women, but they help him too; they help control these demons and also control the pain inside him.

description

Lucas is an arrogant bastard, he doesn’t care about his clients, he doesn’t care about anybody or anything. He wants for someone like him, for someone who suffers as much as he does.

“I taste the blackness and I fuck out the light. I will teach you to turn the filthy, the nasty, the most putrid parts of your soul into sheer bliss, into an addiction you can't shake instead of a miserable, stilted, blighted existence.”


Lucas meets two women who will change him, who will make him feel and who will make him choose a new path.

description

When he meets Audra, a beautiful redhead he’s intrigued. She’s an enigma and she’s like no other woman he met before. From the beginning their relationship is strong and intense. The other woman, Robbie, is his neighbor and like Audra, she’s different. One represents his nightmares and one can represents his dreams.

“I'm not a damaged man who needs to be fixed; I'm a monster that can't be changed.”


This story is definitely not for the faint of heart. The premise of this book was really unique, different for any dark story I’ve read so far. With every chapter, like me, you will be intrigued and you will want to know what’s going on, what happened with Lucas, why he is like this.

The story has some interesting turns and it's not predictable at all!

description

The two main characters, Lucas and Audra are fascinating and well developed, but Robbie’s character is not developed enough for me. Robbie is just a nice character, a little dull for my liking.

Lucas's character is great. He's a man who lost himself in the world, who became practically a psychopath, but a man who in the end will find the light again. I loved Audra, even more than Lucas I think she’s the most captivating and well developed character in this story.

In the end, Lucas will end up with one woman. At some point it was obvious to me which woman, so I wasn’t surprised. I understood why the author chose this woman and I also understood the whole message, even if I don’t agree entirely with it.

All in all, “Taboo Unchained” is a fantastic read, who maybe will leave you wanting more and who will certainly satisfy your need for something dark.

“We all have pasts that slither around in our nightmares, desperate to haunt us.”



Profile Image for Sandy ღCoffee Addict Booksღ.
229 reviews257 followers
May 17, 2015
dnf @53%
description

I tried, I really did but right from the beginning my head was screaming "ABANDON SHIP!!" *contains spoilers*

The reason it didn't work out for me:

#1 Lucas and his inner monologues were driving me nuts! he constantly talks about his inner demon/beast/darkness *rolls eyes* all the time (Oh! at one point the author used the word blackness) I got that first time dude, why bring it up in every page like literally! This was the first time any male POV has annoyed me so much!
description

#2 He talks about his clients with same darkness and they need his help to succumb it or drive it away but all I got was kinky sloppy sex, Is there any kind of sex therapy which I’m not aware of???!!
description
(Sorry my knowledge is limited to Dexter Morgan and his dark passenger!)

#3 Before Robbie dropping the 'L-bomb' she was just a flirty sixteen something neighbor; the minute she confesses her feeling to Lucas, he is suddenly obsessed with her and can't seem to stop thinking about her.
description

#4 Robbie confronts Lucas about seeing him move the dead body from his house, instead of freaking out she says

“…….those cameras capture your entire front yard and the space between our houses. Be careful, okay?”

description

Like getting rid of the dead body is so fucking normal. No matter how many times he pushed her away or hurt her feelings she goes running back to him!! Robbie is the definition of DOORMAT!

#5 and then there is Audra, she pops out from nowhere, follows Lucas everywhere and can’t stop touching him just after knowing him for a day!
description

You know you can’t continue reading when
-there’s a sex scene going on and you are like
description

I was unable to connect with neither the story nor the characters, the minute the insta-love/lust hit the plot I knew this story isn't for me. Maybe if I had read this book a month ago I would’ve even liked it but after reading mind boggling dark books from C.J Roberts, Tiffany Reisz and Tillie Cole in a row, I can’t even tolerate bullshit now!

Buddy read with my book twin Kirsten.
I’m so glad you didn’t like it either *evils grins*

P.S: I never RATE abandoned book if I've not reached 50% mark (Ok! I made this up just now)

P.P.S: Yes, I deliberately pushed myself through halfway with mighty intention of rating it one star because no book in the history of books has put me to sleep right from the first chapter!!
Profile Image for Allison ❤️Will Never Conquer Her TBR❤️.
1,045 reviews1,535 followers
Read
March 27, 2015
DNF at 16%

I just couldn't get into this one. Lucas is a strange bird to say the least. And his constant talk of his inner beast as if it was a living breathing entity within him was distracting. He's seriously messed up (in a not so hot way).


 photo 63E5D37F-BE16-4F8B-B399-A9D33A3527A7_zpsvu9sh5ae.gif


Coming off a really angsty emotional read, maybe it was just a timing thing here. Not sure. It didn't feel that dark. Just pathologically fucked up- but I know I gave up uber early. Book ADD obviously set in . Just call me a quitter...


 photo 12B948DD-9832-4B3C-B723-A725BA1FB24B_zpsunqdzm3c.gif
Profile Image for ~♡AB♡~.
986 reviews682 followers
October 10, 2014
Gah I still don't know what to make of this story, even after having slept on it! I have decided to rate it a 4 even though I am undecided as to whether I actually enjoyed it or not. It was very well written and I'm still thinking about it hours later so for that I applaud the author for doing a great job.



Lucas is a dark soul, full of disturbing thoughts and addicted to violent sex.

I take money in exchange for services rendered. I revel in the taboo and I indulge the darkness.


He is extremely arrogant and appears to care for nothing. His job consists of allowing women to play out their darkest taboo fantasies which include knives, blood, violence and all manner of strange sex toys.

He becomes embroiled in a relationship of sorts with a woman named Audra when she kills a man and dumps him in his living room. She is a potential client but something about her stops Lucas from taking her on as one. She is almost as dark as he is, she has her demons and they seem not to be able to resist. For the first time in 6 years, Lucas is having sex for himself and not for his job.

Then we have Robbie, the girl next door. She is the one who is able to make Lucas feel like there is more to him than the 'beast' that lives inside of him. She sees him, the bad and the good.

I would consider this a triangle, even though the 3 main characters are not technically together at any time in the book, but Lucas does have sex with both women and there are no secrets, both women is aware of the other.

I enjoyed seeing how Lucas unchained his 'taboo' by becoming vulnerable in Robbie's presence and I was kind of happy with the end result - who he decides to be with and who he remains just friends with.

It's not for the faint hearted though, I didn't find it particularly erotic and I am a big fan of dark romances, it just didn't feel very romancy to me but that's just my opinion.

Read at your peril - It's pretty disturbing what goes on in some peoples bedrooms.



Profile Image for Kelli C .
1,053 reviews362 followers
November 26, 2014
***WARNING: This is a dark romance erotica – meaning lots of violence, sex, and emotionally disturbing inner dialogue. The main character does not, however, kidnap or force himself on women. The entire book is told in his point of view. This story does contain murder, tough choices, and strange sex.

You see when I read that little blurb, I was not in the least bit afraid. I like a good dark read. I like messed up characters. I like it crazy. BUT HOLY HELL...LUCAS CARTER...YOU CONFOUND ME!

I freely admit that I was lost often in this book. Perhaps it was the craziness of the tale itself or it was that I was really trying to hard to "get it." Lucas Carter is not your typical bad boy...he is a GOD, well that is at least what he says. He deals in the dark and the taboo. He has clients that pay him for the dirty...but hey he is not a whore!

well, then there is Audra Holliday...a potential client? OR maybe an equally dark and crazy God. What was supposed to be "meeting" turns into a crazy adventure of death, torture, and somewhat of a "relationship." She is the "woman of his nightmares."

But hey that isn't all the cray-cray! You see then there is the 18 yr old neighbor, Sweet Robbie Carrell...and see she "likes Luke." Plain and simple, she likes him and sees something in him...other than the possible dead body, the sexy redhead and her comings and goings. Yep, Robbie "likes Luke." She is the "girl of his dreams."

This doozie of a story is a triangle that is NOT a triangle. It is more of mindfuck of a tale between light and dark. A path of crazy that leads to possible redemption. I cannot say I liked the story, hell, I know I did not like Lucas at all. I know he was a mess...but deal lord man your BEAST is in your pants, contain it!

Would I recommend it...probably! The lovers of the dark and dirty will really enjoy. I know I fell in hard like the last 10% of the book.
Profile Image for ❃**✿【Yasmine】✿**❃.
810 reviews652 followers
January 16, 2016
4.5 STARS
Lucas 'I am not a whore' Carter, gives a whole new meaning to the term 'raging hard-on'.

description
'People don't pay me for sex. They pay me for the chance to visit with the demon, to find themselves in the arms of a dark God...
I take money in exchange for services rendered. I revel in the taboo and I indulge in the darkness...
I've found a way to enjoy what I am. Sex. Violence. Both. I like it, and I've learned how to live with it. It's easier than learning to live without her.'

I really like Lucas, he is incredibly anal about the little things, then blaise about the major. He's a total Psychopath but incredibly entertaining. I loved the writing, the wit and the sheer craziness of it all.

'Taboo Unchained' revolves around the depth of Lucas' personality, his evolution and the clusterfuck situation he finds himself with his Harem.
'I taste the blackness and i fuck out the light. I will teach you to turn the filthy, the nasty, the most putrid parts of your soul into sheer bliss, into an addiction you can't shake instead of a miserable, stilted, blighted existence.'

'Taboo Unchained' contains:
Sexual violence.
Extremely depraved sexual acts.
Blood letting/play.
Full-on FMF love-triangle.
Violence.
Death/murder/grief.
Knife play.
Abused characters.
A Psychopath in a suit.
A Machete.
And more...
Profile Image for Kirsten.
382 reviews173 followers
January 13, 2015
3 Violet Wands!

 photo imagejpg1_zps07a09759.jpg

If there are demons you need to let go of, and get off simultaneously, you need to give Lucas Carter a call. He specializes in the taboo, not the kink. He has a range of clients that only he can satisfy. He's been doing this for some time now, and does it well. Not only is he helping out the women who need his skills, but he too has his own darknesses. His clients help him let out his inner beast and help regulate him.

 photo imagejpg4_zpsb1f1f497.jpg

I help monsters control their darkness; I don't turn doves into ravens.



His finely tuned lifestyle along with his meticulous habits are about to be thrown for a loop when one of his clients refers Audra Holiday to him. While doing some recon on the woman, he is enamored with her looks and similarities that he sees in himself. He is thrust into her life when something occurs during his mission.

He is also noticing more of his next door neighbor, Roberta "Robbie" Carrell. Her young and sweet innocence captivates Lucas's dark soul. She reminds him of his previous life, before a tragedy occurred that turned him into the deviant and blood thirsty man he is today.

 photo imagejpg2_zps190b76d4.jpg

Circumstances with the two women (plus a client), are taking Lucas out of his element. He will feel fear, an emotion that has lay dormant for a long time. What will happen to these three when lust, revenge, and darkness start to take over?

 photo imagejpg3_zps605c2bca.jpg

 photo imagejpg3_zpsdfa8f0b7.jpg


This book totally surprised me. And not in a good way. I think my expectations for this were too high. It literally had every element that I love in a book. It was told all from male POV, is about someone who gets paid for sex, had taboo and dark elements, and even a bit of a love triangle. Hello?!?!? My perfect recipe! So what did and didn't work out?

Let's start with the good.
Besides the reasons listed above, I really loved the plot. I thought the story was pretty original. Right around the 16% mark, is when something unexpected happens that really gets the story going. I couldn't wait to see how everything would play out.

I also enjoyed the dark elements and most of Lucas's personality. Because let's face it, I'm a fan of the asshole hero.

I primarily struggled with character development. Maybe because this was solely written from Lucas's POV, is to why I couldn't get a good read on both female roles. Was it his extreme narcissism that left me with no connection to them? I wanted to love Audra, and I did like her, but the lack of connection and her aloof personality did nothing for me. Of course, this was just me, but whenever Lucas would talk about Audra, I kept picturing Marla Singer from the movie Fight Club. Just her mannerisms and the way she dressed...that's all I could see.



I also think that it was reiterated too much about "the beast", "the darkness", and "his demons". I wish it delved more into the why and the the how, he is the way he is. I get how his past made him feel darkness, but it never explained the things I really wanted to know. For example, how he got started in the business. I just wish more important things were covered other than his black soul.



Unfortunately I was not a fan of the ending either. I'll just leave it at that.

A lot of things just didn't sit well with me, personally. It's kind of a gut feeling I had.

It all could have been an "It's not you, it's me" type of book. Some of my GR friends, who have impeccable taste, gave wonderful ratings, so don't let my thoughts deter you if this looks like your type of book. But I will also say that the two people I read this with DNF. Very mixed thoughts.

I'm really not sure if I would recommend or not. I'm still pretty conflicted.

BR with my book twin, Sandy. So sorry this wasn't working for you doll! I think we will have to have one of our GR friends' pick out our next read, because so far, they are failing. :( We'll get 'em next time sugar cube! xo
Profile Image for Jacqueline's Reads.
3,100 reviews1,527 followers
October 15, 2014
2.5 – 3 WHY? STARS

Let me say this I LOVE DARK reads. The gritty, the nasty, the disturbed kind. I also like messed up heroes. Heroes you want to hate but love, heroes that have no morals and treat heroines like utter crap. So of course I was interested in Taboo Unchained.

Why the low rating? Well continue on reading because it must be explained.

Summary

Lucas gets paid to full fill rich women’s sick fantasies. He does the dirty, nasty kind of sex and he loves it. He’s always in charge and he doesn’t give a crap about anyone else, but himself. He has demons too and only his job keeps them at bay.

The beginning

I loved the beginning. I was really interested in Lucas and I was curious to why he is the way he is. You find out fairly quickly he has had two loves in his life. Both left on bad terms and he hasn’t fully recovered from it. You also know he isn’t a good person, but he’s really good at giving sex.

I found this bit really fascinating and I also liked reading his interactions with his clients. This really helped me build up his character

The middle

A lot goes on. Lucas has sex with a lot of people and I’m trying to figure out who the Heroine is. There’s Audra, she’s a vixen and doesn’t shy away from Lucas’ dark exterior. I found Audra kind of interesting because she’s so strong and she doesn’t cringe on half the things Lucas does. However, there really isn’t any romantic attachments, it’s all lust.

At the back of Lucas mind, he thinks about the girl who lives next door. A high school girl named Robbie. He finds her annoying and Robbie obviously has a crush on Lucas and no matter what Lucas does or says Robbie still shows up at his house.

I didn’t know this story would be a kind of love triangle. It’s kind of in the sense, Lucas doesn’t really have interest in anyone in general. Sure he has sex with a lot of people and you can kind of read his inner struggles, but I didn’t find any romantic connections with anyone, even though I was suppose to.

The ending

A lot more stuff happens and there’s this crazy storyline between Audra and Robbie and Lucas. I didn’t get it or understand it. I liked all the dark stuff, but the story line in general baffled me. I never fully connected with any of the characters and I couldn’t form any attachments to them.

Overall

I thought I would be reading about a Hero with really dark seeded issues and finding a girl that helps heal him. I guess it kind of goes into that direction, but I just didn’t see that. I think Lucas’s bad boy personality was so strong, I couldn’t see his inner side, the side that shows me he cares for anyone else, but himself.

In the end I kind of wanted him to die, like a tragic death, I probably would have liked it more.
Profile Image for Lucy.
308 reviews54 followers
October 9, 2014
4*all for Audra* stars

I don't know how most readers will feel about Audra but I honestly loved her. For me she was the star of this book, Lucas was a great character also. This book was so entertaining...it was sexy at times, it was disturbing a lot of the time, it was violent, with a delicious dark humor.

It is a very dark book although I don't think the actual romance is dark.

In this book we have.....

Lucas who has violent sex with women for money. Lucas is a bit of a psychopath.

Audra who is just as messed up as Lucas. She's basically Lucas in female form. I love her relationship with Lucas, two peas in a pod those two are.

Lastly we have Robbie. Robbie is young, innocent, sweet, and virginal. Robbie is......boring IMO. I found Lucas and Audra so dynamic and entertaining while Robbie was just there to provide Lucas with his "light".

Regarding the outcome of the triangle

Overall just a very fun and twisted ride!
Profile Image for Andrea.
211 reviews43 followers
October 17, 2014
I have never been so intrigued, disgusted or amazed in my whole entire reading life. Let alone all three at the same time. This book is so totally wrong that it's right.
Profile Image for Angela.
968 reviews1,578 followers
November 22, 2023
This story is a lovely coming of age tale where two young teens fall in love and try to save the world from the evil government... JUST KIDDING!

This book is a dirrrrty dirty version of Dexter... and the disclaimer that came at the beginning of it was spot on. This book was and wasn't what I expected it to be. I mean come on we all knew this book was going to be steamy, what I didn't know was that it would be was funny, page turning, and kind of romantic. This story even has a love triangle (NO IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD). Overall this is the best and most F-d up love story ever!!!!!




Profile Image for R-Cee*Jay.
182 reviews
October 8, 2014
Dammit! Another one abandoned! What can I say? It just fell flat for me. This guy overspeaks (fuck if I know if that is an actual word or not, but is, non-the-less, applicable) his demon/beast/darkness (blah blah blah)to such an extent that it bores me. Yawn. And fails to impress or satisfy my dark craving. One and a half stars because I didn't "not like it",but didn't "like it" either.
Profile Image for Donna.
92 reviews
October 20, 2014
I found the "disturbing" scenes in this rather ridiculous. The MC was constantly fondling himself like some horny teenager, which irritated my freaking nerves. He was a grown ass man for crying out loud.
The first half was meh. Didn't pick up till the second and even then I wasn't amused, for that I gave it 3 stars.
Profile Image for Farah.
370 reviews494 followers
October 17, 2014
A whole lot of fucked up-ness!

I don't even know what I've read!
Nor can I believe I've made it to the end!
Profile Image for Louise.
285 reviews142 followers
January 3, 2015
DNF at 11%

I don't like the writing style and Lucas' inner monologues are giving me headaches. I'm not even arouse by his taboo undoings sheesh. -_-
Profile Image for Mojo_Mama.
1,586 reviews829 followers
November 28, 2015
If Dexter had become a fetish escort instead...

This is not your typical escort/porn male Hero. Do not let the description deter you.

I don't know what to say here. I loved the story line so much, I forgave its varied flaws. This was a great concept (I say this RARELY)...but...the execution was not A game, though it was really well done/written.

This is dark in a way others I've read haven't been. The BDSM that goes hand in hand with this genre isn't the same here. I won't call this unique because I haven't read enough in this genre to decide. But the plot lines here were very different from many I've read.

This story revolves around a bizarre f/m/f triangle that isn't. NO ONE gets hurt. I can't explain it, but it might bother some. I hate OW as a rule, but here...I think it was central to the plot, it just needed better execution. More finesse in general and this would have been a 25k rated book. It's that good.

Robbie needed to be drawn better for us and so did Audra (who I had a better concept of). The entire novel is from the H's POV and it was done so well, I realized he could have given us the images we needed of these women. The bones of it were there, often fleshed out, just a little bare in spots. Not enough to slow me down, but enough to make me take note.

I loved this. It was dark enough for me that I enjoyed it thoroughly. The H POV was excellent. I liked being in his head. I understood his motivations through his thoughts, words, deeds. I found him a psychopath wanting (and capable) of change. It's because of that, the triangle occurs. I only wish we had more time to see how his choice in heroines panned out.

I'm 4 starring this because it's the first book in a long time I want to read again.


Profile Image for Darcy.
14.4k reviews543 followers
March 5, 2017
From page 1 I couldn't stand Lucas, he was too cocky (no pun intended) by far. I thought it funny how he claimed he wasn't a whore, yet he has sex with people and they pay him. He claims they are paying for the dark experience, but that's just splitting hairs. After 50 pages I'm giving up. I don't care if Lucas actually finds a relationship with Audra, don't care what her game is, this one just isn't for me.
Profile Image for Big Joe  Rossi.
1,776 reviews49 followers
October 10, 2014
This was a 2.5 rating. Lil better than OK.
liked the plot, but didn't love the execution and I HATE how much Lucas talks about his darkness, his demons. I almost DNF'ed because of that alone.
I would of liked more build up to the characters outside of Lucas and Audra.
Profile Image for Polly.
686 reviews244 followers
October 17, 2014
Well that was something!!

Liked the ending but the rest was very far fetched and uncomfortable.
Profile Image for Michelle.
2,082 reviews895 followers
March 1, 2015
Lucas Carter. He is the man that deals in the Taboo. The man that sates his demons by taking in the demons of others. Pushing them to the darkness and allowing them to come out and play. But Lucas is finding it much harder to control his demons when conflicting emotions from two very different women enter his world. One if the form of lightness, the girl that reminds him of the man he was before the darkness took over and the other that rivals his own version of evil. But Lucas is slowly losing the grip on the control he needs. The influence of these two women, the inability of a client to let him go and a past that hasn’t let go of him yet... well it’s all coming to a head and Lucas is going to have to face it all.

I was looking forward to this book. I saw the blurb and within seconds this baby landed on my Kindle. My excitement waned as I started the story though. I found myself struggling to finish this story and by the end, I was feeling a little mislead. Without giving anything away, I just felt like the story got a little to flowery in the end. I found it hard to connect with Lucas’s character and how he felt towards both Robbie and Audra. There was no doubt that this man did things that were wrong, but the way this story played out, it just felt like he had worn this mask the entire time. That he was just playing in the world of evil and not truly belonging there.

I pushed myself to finish this book. I was ready to stop reading it before hitting the halfway mark in the hopes that something could shift and I’d enjoy it more. But that just never happened. The relationships with these two women seemed out of place. I sort of get how this wasn’t really their story, but his story – and that these women were there to push him to his own ending... but I needed to feel some sort of connection to them as part of this story, especially since I didn’t feel that connection to Lucas.

I wanted a dark story. A dark romance that made me reason with my own sanity. I wanted to love Lucas in spite of the evil that lurked within him.... In the end I didn’t. This just wasn’t my story.
Profile Image for 1-Click Addict Support Group.
3,749 reviews490 followers
October 16, 2014
As soon as C.M. Stunich posted the synopsis for Taboo Unchained, I knew I wanted to read it. It looked hot, dark, and forbidden. I thought it was going to be the quintessential manwhore-meets-his-match story and boy, was I ever wrong!! It's very different from anything that I've read before. That was both good and not so good.

Lucas Carter is a man with demons. He accepts it and embraces them and the darkness they bring. It's his job; he looks for the same darkness in his female clients that resides in him, and he allows them to unleash their demons by giving what their beasts crave. He calls himself a sex God because he knows exactly what gets people like him off. If I had to compare him to someone it would be Dexter, from the show Dexter – only Lucas is more about sex than killing. He is also very much about keeping himself in check, maintaining control, and keeping up the normalcy front. It all changes when he sees Audra Holiday.

In the beginning, I really don't know how I felt about the book. I didn't hate it, but I didn’t really love it either. It's not really written so you can love it, though. It wasn't until what was looking like a love triangle came in that I started to know my feelings. I had no idea how this was going to end; I knew how I wanted it to end, but that didn't give me any clarity.

I have to say that the whole love triangle really made me dislike a good portion of Taboo Unchained. I was frustrated, angry, and there were several times where I just wanted to just stop reading, but thought, d*mn it, I’ve read this far, and I need to know who the jerk ends up with! Lucas received a nice amount of my hate and frustration, although I was frustrated with them all at one point or the other.

It was really hard to enjoy Taboo Unchained, even during the sweet moments, but it was all worth it in the end. I loved the end of this book. It ended the way I wanted it to, and the way it should have. And even though the love triangle made this a hard book for me to read, I understand why the author put one in.

Taboo Unchained is about making choices, and Luke has to choose whether he will follow the light or follow the darkness. It's annoying, but it's beautiful too. I had a huge smile on my face at the end and it made me feel good and happy. It was truly worth all the heartache, frustration, and tears.

Taboo Unchained is a standalone book. It is dark, but it's definitely not the darkest book I've read, and there is a HEA. ~ Paige, 4 stars
Profile Image for Simply Love Book Reviews.
7,046 reviews870 followers
December 6, 2014
Leigh‘s review posted on Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

3.75

I really do not have the words to fully describe this book. Not because I am speechless, but because it did not fall within an easily defined genre. It was dark, that’s for sure, but it was not erotica, it was not suspense. It was certainly not romance, but it was something that fell somewhere in between them all in a category alone, in all of its disturbed glory.
Lucas Carter is the god of the taboo. He provides his clients with an outlet for their darkness, taking it all on to himself to feed the monster that lives within. Whether it is sex, violence, domination, or murder, he provides the services that they need. Services that he needs to sustain himself. But when he encounters a woman as disturbed and twisted as he is, in addition to a woman who represents all that is light, he finds his dark and well-ordered life falling into chaos and the light beginning to work its way into the cracks that are made.
Lucas is dark and twisted, and at times, almost comical in his dysfunction. He delivers sex but refuses to see himself as a whore. He is an OCD killer who lives by a code of ethics. Audra, as the dark female version of Lucas is the perfect compliment to him. She is twisted and strong and the two of them together take a co-dependent relationship to a new level. Robbie, however, is the antithesis of Luke. She is the light and good to his monstrous nature, and the unwavering support that he needs in his life. Watching this odd love triangle was alternately funny, endearing and horrifying at the same time.
Taboo Unchained was an enigma to me because it was not what I thought it would be. I settled in for a dark and erotic journey and I got something that fell into a gray area I did not see coming. I didn’t particularly like Lucas, but there was something sympathetic about him that surprised me and made me question why I would actually root for a character that was as twisted and disturbed as he was.
This was truly a disturbed love story wrapped in hope, dysfunction, and a dose of light to drive away the shadows.
Profile Image for Texas.
524 reviews4 followers
February 9, 2015
Luke/Lucas, Audra, Robbie, Mrs. Braxton
4.5 stars..WOW what a ride..um Rollercoaster Ride!!!


What starts out to be a smooth interesting book turns into a cluster fuk..AND I loved it all the craziness and scheming!!!
I had no idea who was doing what or where..but in the end this book makes my life look good!!!
Taboo Unchained..needs to be Taboo Unchecked and Unhinged!!
Lucas Carter ..would certainly hire him..bring him to me STAT!!
How does he get away with everything??
Robbie,they have a lil romance
If you want a lovely, fun, hair pulling, kinky read..run now to add this to your ereader!!!
Lucas is very good at pleasing his ladies
[I have removed the gif part of this pic, trying to keep it PG rated vs R..she is clothed]

He seems to have a boner ALOT!!

Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.