Be sure you like/love DARK Romance if you plunge into this one. And well, I happen to LOVE DARK Romance. This is the 3rd book of the author's I've read & I very much love her writing style, character build ups: both main & secondary, background detail (always just enough & never too much) & resolutions.
I figure if an author presents an anti-Hero who the reader at first dislikes or even loathes, is a frightening & violent person & yet is able with only one or two sentences or comments causes the reader to adjust their frame of mind: what he did was still WRONG but there's a slight crack in the presented persona that allows the reader to hope this person does have something redeemable about them; that's a pretty good writer.
And that was Ronan (anti-H) in this book for me. A star Ice Hockey enforcer who plays on a non-US team so he is able to be almost as violent during the games as he wants & NEEDS to be. And Ronan's violent nature (only just contained) & need for control & obedience is carried over to the bedroom. But he's never been interested in any 'Puck Bunny' or woman for more than a one time encounter until the huge (over 6'5") muscled gorgeous Ronan spies Alana in the seats.
And when he decides to 'grace' her with himself & she says, 'No thanks' & walks away; well, THAT will NOT fly. No one EVER says 'No' to Ronan.
And in order to teach Alana a lesson & ensure her obedience, Ronan will need to be in control of her . . . .
I will admit the first part of this book with Ronan & Alana was among the more dark romances I've read, but like I mentioned above, there seemed to be the potential for things to possibly become, if not light, a tad less dark. I did enjoy this book very, very much. The interactions between Ronan & Alana were scary & sexy & illuminating as Alana sought to find a way to deal with Ronan's temper & need for control/obedience & then his gentle caring handling & attention. Alana was also very conflicted about her feelings for him. And Ronan had his own internal battles & conflicts, ones he had never experienced in his life & therefore didn't even recognize what they meant.
And Ronan's friend Bassam was, if possible, even more depraved & evil than Ronan.
The author put me through the emotional wringer with this one, I felt I was almost sure how this would play out but I was wrong. I went from one emotional extreme to to other for our two main characters. The writing (IMO) had a swift but smooth flow, I never felt jerked from one scene to the next, I never felt that something important was glossed over or skipped yet there wasn't any 'padding or fluff' added to drag things down.
So, if you aren't afraid of the very rough, over the top possessive Alpha male, very dark romance, I highly recommend this one.
PLEASE NOTE: The author is VERY CLEAR & UPFRONT at the beginning of this book about the difference between BDSM & DARK & that this book is DARK.