It was a random encounter that I should’ve walked away from. I should’ve spared him. I should’ve let him go. But I couldn’t. I don’t know how to explain it. Daniel just sucked me in, made me forget the obsession that holds me captive. If he only knew my secrets, he would run, he would leave me behind. But he doesn’t. He won’t. Instead, he inches closer, until I’m laid out bare, revealing everything. Because that’s what he does to me. That’s his power, his pull, and he does it so effortlessly. Merely a glance, or a graze of his touch and I’m weak all over. In many ways, he reminds of him…the man I love, the man I’ve been saving myself for. But Daniel has secrets too…secrets that change everything.
(This is a novelette of roughly 16,700 words. It is a dark, tender, twisted read with BDSM elements. Intended for mature readers.)
*****
EXCERPT...
“Daniel,” I whimper.
He tilts his head, then leans in, his lips brushing against mine. So soft. So intimate. My eyes hood, watching his face, watching the light and dark merge into something almost peaceful, but at the same time pained.
A dark lock of hair falls across his forehead as he slants his mouth against mine and slips his tongue inside me. It’s gentle, tender, swirling along mine before he groans, then retreats, his eyes drifting down from my mouth to my breasts.
He stares at them, then lifts his hand and begins tracing the outline of my right nipple with his fingertip. I gasp, watching my flesh pebble beneath his touch, beneath the fabric, feeling utterly helpless on his lap. Then he pinches my flesh, hard, and I gasp. When his eyes shift back to mine, they’re dilated, almost black now.
A low throaty grumble oozes out of his throat and he shifts in the chair, pressing his hips upward. I moan when I feel the hardness beneath me.
“Please,” I whimper, the need so acute it hurts.
“I know, baby,” he soothes, brushing his lips against my temple. “I know.”
I feel a rush of heat and adrenaline fill my body and flood my heart. A moment later he stands, places me gently on my feet, then leads me to the other side of the desk. He turns me around and begins undoing my wrists from behind my back. It’s only then that I notice what’s attached to each of the two pillars.
“What are the chains for?” I ask, a little breathless.
I feel his lips press against the back of my head. “They’re for you. But then…you knew that already.”
Iris Ann Hunter is a bestselling author of a darker kind of romance. A tortured romantic at heart, she writes a twisted, psychological blend of dark romance, erotica, and suspense. Her books have been called beautiful and depraved, and range from tender to pitch black. Dominance and submission is a common theme and taboo is always fair game.
Before chasing a dream to be a writer, Iris worked with horses, then as a graphic designer. After testing the waters with a few erotic short stories, she fell deeper in love with dark romance and wrote her first novel, Tragic Beauty, which became an Amazon bestseller. When she’s not reading or writing, or wandering the dark recesses of her mind while questioning her sanity, you’ll likely find her riding her horse, playing with her dog, or sipping a glass of red wine. Iris lives with her longtime lover in a seaside town along the Southern California coast.
She is currently at work on her next novel, Hunted Beauty, the second book in the Beauty & The Darkness Trilogy...release date to be announced.
This book may be short and a little predictable but it's powerful and seems so much more than it's 57 pages. I generally find such short books a whole load of something and nothing but that's not the case here, it's tight with no wasted words or paragraphs to skim over, what's here is good, really good. Amelia is a twenty-six year old virgin who's obsessed with the author Thomas Holden. She was in a very dark place and his book saved her "The things he wrote, the darkness he revealed; it was all so familiar, as though every word he put on those pages was for me. I just felt like he knew me. Understood me. At a time in my life when no one else did....." She's saved herself for him even though she knows it futile. "But it’s a fantasy.........That’s all it is. That’s all it can be. I don’t know anything about him, other than what he writes, and what I write to him.” But a chance meeting with the intriguing Daniel has her agreeing to dinner and now she has a chance at real life but can she let her obsession go, after all it's all she's lived for these past eight years. I absolutely loved this book it's a fabulous read and it's not often I'd give such a short read more than 3* but this came very close to the elusive 5* which I don't give often or easily.
Oh my God, this story! Most probably aren’t going to enjoy this because there is a huge level of deceit going on by the two main characters, but that’s truly what makes up the twisted part of this story.
The h has been struggling with a full on obsessions for a very long time. Completely consumed by an author that she feels like reads her mind and knows her in a way no one else ever will. In fact, she’s been writing him constantly for years, with no word back. Pouring out her heart, soul, and deepest darkest desires to a person that she believes she is meant to be with, but knows how irrational and unrealistic that is.
Enter Daniel. Our h just happens to run into him one day, and on a spur of the moment decision, decides to go out with him. She hopes finally moving on will help her let go of her crazy obsession with the unknown author. The only thing is, she’s been saving herself for this author. Irrationally hoping that one day he will be the one to take it from her.
Daniel and the h embark on a shaky relationship as the h tries to explain to Daniel her feelings for the author, and he tries to help her move on so that they can have a real shot at being together.
I won’t say anything else because it would be serious spoilers. Just know that up to this point it’s a pretty straight forward story. What happens in the end is the true “twist”. I’m pretty sure I had come up with the ending before it happened (I wasn’t far off), but the emotional impact of the scene was no less and I loved how seriously messed up these people turned out to be. I’ll definitely be seeking out more work by this author.
Would recommend to those that do not require a standard love story, and enjoy the sweet dark depths that we all have as humans, because this really is messed up in such a wonderfully crazy way
Thank you so much to the author for providing a copy of this story to me in exchange for an honest review.
I LOVED it! A fast and "fun" read. It was predictable, sure. It has more than a few missing words, sure. I was expecting the ending to be a bit more of a "huh" moment than it was -- okay, I wanted something a tad more nefarious and chilling to happen there to be honest. BUT - I'm fairly certain that I stand in a minority for my desires with this, so a job well done on this tantalizingly delicious shortie! I am now obsessed with this author!
...the only thing niggling at my brain: the backstory to the MMC...it's strikingly similar to another book I read. Granted, that book was awful and I can't even remember the name of it right now, but it's in my brain, worming around...
"I tell you I like your fear. You tell me being afraid excites you. Where do you think that will lead us, hmm?" "Someplace dark, I hope."
Ooh, me too!
For such a short story, Ms. Hunter manages to fit in quite a few details, including enough backstory to help us understand the inner workings of our two characters' minds. I found this impressive.
Amelia is obsessed, in love with a fantasy, saving herself for a man she's never met--until Daniel. A chance encounter with a stranger changes everything and gives her new hope that she can be cured of her fixation, perhaps finally lead a normal life. But Daniel has secrets of his own.
The sadist finds his masochist; the obsessed becomes the obsessor.
I enjoyed it, though I'll admit I found it a bit predictable. There was one tiny part where he binds her hands behind her back but then reaches out to take her hand in his that aggravated me, but other than that, it's well written. For a novelette, it packs a punch.
**update** You can read in the comments that Ms. Hunter has fixed the problem with the hands. Yay for authors who listen to their readers. Mad respect!
“Mercy,” he says simply. “If it gets to be too much, say mercy. Please.”
I really enjoyed this short novella, usually with short stories the plot feels to me too rushed but this wasn’t the case here.
Amelia was an interesting character, i like the fact that she was aware of her flaws (especially her problem with her secret obsession) and even though she had a hard past she stayed strong and was trying to improve herself.
“Don’t treat me like I’m weak.” “Treat me like I’m strong. Treat me like I’m brave.”
Now with Daniel in the beginning of the story I felt that I didn’t know much about him and couldn’t connect with him and that’s probably due to the fact that the story begins with Amelia and Daniel already knowing each other and dating for a month so we don’t see their introduction.
Of course as the story progresses we do learn more about him and he too had quite a story to tell, plus further along the book we do have the chance to see how they met.
Usually dark stories are about unconventional relationships between people so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw how honest Amelia and Daniel were and how good their communication was, communication which many couples in romantic stories are definitely lacking.
In fact I thought at first that “Twisted Obsession” seemed a lot like a simple romance story but it did get a lit bit twisted towards the end. For those wondering if the story is too harsh for them I would say not it’s not, to me it seemed liked a tender story with just a pinch of darkness.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
I loved this short story. The name of the book is on point. The MC are beautifully twisted. You could feel the love and devotion thru the pages. The complement one and other so perfectly. I hope to read more storys of Iris soon.
After reading this authors novel I squealed with excitement when I saw she had a short novelette sitting on amazon for me to dive into.
Amelia is obsessed with author Thomas Holden. We read how her obsession has taken over her life. Fate intervenes and she meets Daniel. Can she let go of her fantasy and be with Daniel?
“Crazy means a detour from what’s considered normal. And there’s nothing wrong with not being normal.”
I absolutely loved this story. It’s really well written and a great storyline. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.
This book DEFINITELY needs more hype! Amelia is a 26 year old Virgin who reads a book by an author, Thomas Holden, and becomes obsessed with him. He saves her from herself. She’s been writing to him for years. One day, she bumps into this guy, Daniel. And decides to take a chance and go to dinner with him.
Amelia hopes that with Daniel, she can finally let go of her obsession over Thomas Holden and confess her secrets to Daniel but there’s a twist on this short story that will leave you SHOCKED and you’ll find out Daniel has some twisted secrets of his own!!
This book is sexy and steamy and takes *obsession* to a whole new level!! The only downside to this story is that it wasn’t longer!! 5 twisted stars for this short story!’ Amazing!!
This story started out with Amelia madly in love with a man in secret for the past 8 years. Then on a chance encounter, she meets Daniel. Amelia believes she can have feelings for Daniel possibly the same way she has for her secret love. There are dark notes, tender moments and lots of secrets to be shared. Although this was a novella, there is a good story line and packed with twists and secrets, which I love. Overall I loved this novella and the stories that Iris tells.
I’ve never been so impressed by such a short book! Usually books this short are lacking something but TWISTED OBSESSION is a full, complete, extremely well told story!
Amelia is a shy, 26-year-old virgin who became infatuated with an Author after reading his book, a book that spoke of her secret inner desires. For 8 years, she has been writing him and saving herself for him even though the author never replies to her. When Amelia meets Daniel she is drawn to him, hopeful that he might be the one to help her overcome her obsession with the author....
Although I quickly figured out what was happening, the story was extremely well told, believable, full of emotion and insanely sexy! This was my first book by Iris Hunter and definitely is not going to be the last!
This story has it all deceit, mystery ,anticipation and wow the chemistry is off the charts ! Daniel and Amelia were so hot to read about ! His character was so intriguing and I love how it all came together. The ending when it shows how they met was the sweet bonus , what an awesome short story I loved it !
This book was like a nice little snack--surprisingly satisfying for such a short read.
I liked the characters and the chemistry between them, and the storyline was good enough that I definitely could have gone for a longer version, but there is something to be said for short and sweet, with just the right amount of dark mixed in.
I need more from this author! This short story sucked me in from the first page and I couldn’t stop reading. But I wanted more, so much more. Well worth a read! 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
So much power in only four chapters! Excellently written! My favorite was the last chapter about how they met,🥰! So sweet yet still creepy once you know all of the details. This was a very interesting read.
Amelia has been obsessed with a man for eight years and he's all she can think about. Then she quite literally runs into Daniel by accident on the way to an interview. She's quite taken by Daniel and wonders if he might be the man to get her over her obsession. This is a dark tale with a twist ending and I loved it.
This novella. I'm so beyond in love with Iris Ann Hunters writing. She does an incredible job of pulling readers in instantly!
Amelia is utterly obsessed with author Thomas Holden and his many publications. She's in love with a man that she knows nothing about, including his real name. She wriyes him almost daily, obsession taking over every part of her life. She is, however, quite jealous of "Her," who Thomas dedicates all of his books to.
Daniel, a man that Amelia accidently bumped into on the street one day and was immediately drawn to. After a month of talking pretty much daily and slowly getting to know each other on a few dates, it's time for Amelia to decide if she could give up her love for Thomas as she falls for this new man.
It's a dark read but man oh man is it GOOD!! I couldn't put it down! Iris, we need more books :)
Words! Iris Ann Hunter drew me into this novella with her caressingly seductive words. Like an artist, she paints a picture that conveys depth, and intensity, and an enticing sensuality. I perceived both of her characters as gentle and sensitive and caring. They both had needs and desires that were way too long hidden and denied. I never saw them as two broken people, but as two parts of a whole, who have unconventionally (thus, twisted) managed to form a connection that nourishes them both.
The Hero describes the heroine as “beautiful, and innocent, and sensitive…and so damn devastating.” Well, for me, that describes this entire tale. Ms. Hunter’s words touched my soul with their heart-wrenching beauty.
It truly is hard to believe that a short novella could reduce me to tears but this book did. I opened this book thinking "oh cute only 4 chapters. I will breeze through this!" I should have known any works by this author would gut me and gutted I sit.
"You’re a gift, Amelia. You’re a gift to this world, and you’re a gift to me. A gift that a man like me doesn’t deserve . But I’m going to keep you anyway.”
I don't usually give 5 stars to novella but this book was the exception to the rule. I recommend this quick read to everyone. Be prepared to keep the tissues handy. Well done Iris Ann Hunter!!
Obsessed!!! I have completely become obsessed with Iris’s work!!!! This story is very short! It’s only four chapters. I was a bit skeptical when I read some of reviews.... I mean Four chapters?!?!? Boy was I wrong!!!! Twisted Obsession sucks you in right of the bat and hold you so tight, stringing your emotions-so high the world disappears and when you re- enter, it feels as if it was you in the book. You have tasted the Obsession Amelia have for Thomas....... the twisted obsession Amelia became of someone else.....if you are in for a mind blowing experience, then you are in the right place!!!!
This is the first book I've read by Iris Ann Hunter but it definitely won't be my last. I don't want to say too much about the story because I don't want to give anything away. Amelia and Daniel both know what it's like to be completely and totally obsessed with someone. Sometimes you find what you were looking for was right there the whole time. If you love OTT obsessive males then you will love this book.
Holy smokes! I spent the entire book fanning myself because of Daniel. Amelia confused me at first because I thought she was in love with another man and started dating Daniel to get over him. Things are not always as they seem. The twist in this book was not predictable at all. I am yet again awed by Iris. She is amazing and has quickly become a one click author for me. Read this if you want a quick read with a happy ending and tons of steam in the pages.
I love dark reads and this short story didn't disappoint. Ameila has been obsessed with Thomas for 8 years after going through a bad time in her life. She writes to him almost daily with her dark desires and soul purging love for him although never knowing who he really was. When meeting daniel by chance she's torn with letting go and finding a love that's real or signing her life to the darkness Thomas gives her. A beautiful twisted tale which could easily be a full length book.
I am obsessed by the creative writing Ms. Hunter delivers with this short story. She captures the readers attention from page one and thoroughly keeps it throughout. Her characters are well developed and will make you cry. Amelia and Daniel's story is heartbreakingly beautiful, dark, and twisted. I am completely in AWE of this writer and the way her creative juices flow.
It is a sign of being a talented writer when you can make a short story feel like a full length novel. To create well developed, layered characters and a very intense, detailed story of two lost souls finding each other.
While reading I got this eerie feeling of a hunter and it’s prey and the scene in his house was just explosive and full of emotions.
What an incredible book Iris. Fast and hard to read in a good way.
Amelia is so into Thomas Holden an author of famous "dark" books that she can't even live her own life. Daniel is so mysterious that she is afraid of feeling something more and let go of "Thomas" and live her fantasy.