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End of Days #2

Tainted Love

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Hell doesn't just follow me. It's a part of me - the most powerful one.

When I called my father evil, I had no clue how true that was. For years, he's abused me. He had his reasons, but that doesn't make it any better. In truth, it makes me terrified of what I'll become.

I'm an abomination.

That's what Deke calls it, but I hate that term. How can I be the good girl and evil at the same time? More importantly, what does this mean for the guys I'm now bound to?

The four of us have been tasked with making sure the seals that hold back Hell never break. We are the Brethren, the first line of defense against the start of the apocalypse. Just one problem: the seal in our backyard is already cracked.

It's starting.

My newfound power is the answer to all of this. If I can just learn how to master it - and keep the Order of Martyrs from finding out - then we can close the seal. If they figure out what I am, though, they will kill me.

Because all abominations must die.
Even the good ones.



Tainted Love is a complete paranormal romance novel with a slow burn romance where the heroine doesn't have to choose between her love interests.

Some aspects may be triggering for some readers. Includes stepbrother romance, an abusive parent, a parent lost to cancer, incidences of domestic violence, bullying, and plenty of general awkwardness.


This series is a joint writing project between Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox, as we've teamed up under a combined pseudonym, Cerise Cole.

443 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 2, 2021

261 people are currently reading
130 people want to read

About the author

Cerise Cole

5 books125 followers
Cerise Cole is the pseudonym for the combined efforts of Kitty Cox and Auryn Hadley. After writing the Gamer Girls series together, the pair decided to join forces on a more permanent basis.

Kitty and Auryn are best friends in both real life and the literary kind. Living in Texas, they come up with their next crazy book idea while riding horses or drinking margaritas and martinis. Together, they combined Auryn's world building with Kitty's character depth to create stories that you will not forget.

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5 stars
389 (53%)
4 stars
223 (30%)
3 stars
88 (12%)
2 stars
24 (3%)
1 star
3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
Profile Image for Alice.
1,915 reviews104 followers
May 14, 2022
DNF at 47% when the FMC Jessica/Jess was still trying to figure out how her magic worked.

The high school pettiness ramped up - Jess started getting more defensive of her boyfriends and worried about how she looked continuously. Over and over they were talking about who was Jess's official boyfriend (one or all?), rumors that her shitty ex-friend Megan was spreading in school, whether or not Jess was a slut because of her harem, jealousy when other girls dared to hang out with her new boyfriends, etc. etc. etc.

This book had the same complaints for me as the first book about having to read about teenage main characters while their intimate relationships were more mature and more of what I was expecting from Auryn Hadley. I didn't really enjoy how the magic was integrated and how Jess's lessons with Deke and the secret Martyr society were explained. The little day-to-day minutiae that was included like who went to class and who was currently training got rather boring at about 40% into the book for me, and I just wanted more action to happen, whether it be drama or smexy times or whatever. After spending another few hours on and off trying to read more, I couldn't handle it anymore.

Unfortunately, the high school setting and parenting troubles plus the incredibly slow pacing with the same arguments over and over again were just such a huge turn-off for me that I am not planning on continuing with the series. I have pretty much loved almost all of what Auryn Hadley and Kitty Cox have each written separately and together in other series, but I think my distaste for the young adult characters in a high school was my major issue.
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Ratings - abandoned series:
#1 Still of the Night: ★★★☆☆
#2 Tainted Love (this book): ★☆☆☆☆ / DNF
Profile Image for Retta.
110 reviews7 followers
October 12, 2021
I'm not sure how I feel

I just finished book 2 and I really don't know how I feel about this series. Am I only reading it because I'm between books and don't have anything else to read ? Or is that this series growing on me ?. I do find some of the chapters are dragging but at other times I enjoy the flow of the series maybe book 3 will decide it for me
Profile Image for Daisy Delfin.
1,497 reviews181 followers
January 15, 2026
This is a review about the whole series, how I felt about it. I try to spoil not to much.

It took me nine day to read through this four books series. I did a mixture of reading and listening. The narrator was Vanessa Moyen. I like her voice and how she bings the characters to live.

The name of the series is fitting: End of Days. It's about the End of the Days how the people in this UF world know their world. It's about power abuse, supernaturals who think they have to hide what they are and live hopefully undetected in their hiding place.

Until the new Breathern quad which is formed in Hellem. Four 18+ years old young adults all bearing a mark on their palm have to find each other, their Sandman and friend and alleys.

The new Brethren quad (Jess, Bax, Gavin and Lars) find each other in school and didn't expect each other. But when they realise that Jess is the missing peace they are happy.

But because Jess is a supernatural, she is hunted by the organisations who was supposed to look after the Brethren. That's when they ask more and more questions and start to change their minds about good and bad, whom to let live and whom to kill.

I liked all the books. I enjoyed the story with all its twists and turns and the characters.
Profile Image for RachelAnyFranny.
347 reviews4 followers
January 8, 2023
I was wrong, the stupid shit from the first book carried over and it having an actual plot did not help. I gave an extra star because I managed to finish it but otherwise it's terrible. 🤢

No one cares about Megan and her baby drama.
Linda is the absolute worst addition to any book.
Jess' PoV is one of the worst i've ever had to suffer through. There should not be so much dialogue in a potentially action packed book. There is no need to rehash the same conversations again and again. It was horrendously boring and I skipped over chunks at a time. Jess is a horrible character to have to read about. She alternates between overly mouthy and painfully insecure. There's no consistency and when she followed Deke into the shower I think I was pretty over it all.

The guys, like in The Bonds That Tie, have no personality and nothing to set them apart other than their interest in Jess. Which I can't understand because she's exhausting. The spicy scenes were pretty good, hence the 2nd star, but you couldn't pay me to read any more of this trash 🤦🏻‍♀️
Profile Image for TipseyBookReviews.
1,442 reviews52 followers
July 3, 2021
Jess and her guys are trying to figure out what her powers are and train to close the seal. I loved seeing the bonds growing between Jess and the guys. We’re introduced to Tash and I’m not really sure how I feel about her. The steam definitely picks up in this book and it was smoking! I’m loving his series and can’t wait to see what happens next!
Profile Image for Kayla Pipkin.
782 reviews38 followers
September 7, 2021
As soon as I finished book one, I immediately went and got book two to dive into.
Boy am I glad it was already out and ready for me to devour.
It picks up right where we left off in book one and it is only getting better.

In this book, we have learned so much.
About Jess.
About the guys.
About Sandman, aka Deke.
About the Order of Martyrs.

Not only is Jess having a lot thrown at her.
So is her stepmother.
Her stepbrother.
And everyone who is involved with their lives.
Though they wouldn't have it any other way.

One of the things I absolutely love about this series is the relationship aspect.
Not because of who the the guys are, but how they are betrayed.
They are these gorgeous guys who everyone wants a piece of yet no one actually knows anything about them.
But when they are with Jess?
They don't hesitate to open up.
The level of communication between them is phenomenal.
I love how open they are about everything with one another.
It doesn't matter if they are worried it might upset one of the others, they know they have to have open communication for this level of relationship to work.

But that also goes with Linda, Lars' mother and Jess' stepmother.
She is not like most parents you would see in stories.
She has a very open mind and is willing to talk through even the most difficult of situations.
Maybe it is because she is desperate for a family and wants to make it work no matter what.
Maybe it's just who she is and what she has experienced for herself.
Whatever the reasoning, I love that not only can Lars and Jess come to her, but so can the other boys.

Another great aspect.
Because they are high school students, these authors have made it realistic when it comes to fighting.
You always see these newbie characters coming into their powers and just seeming to own them and having epic battle fights.
However, that isn't the case here.
Yes, they are learning their powers and they are able to do far more than what anyone expects.
But when it comes to experience and entering battles, they aren't the be all to end all.
They actually lose their first major battle.
And I appreciate that so much.

The relationship aspect of the story does move much quicker in this book.
We seem more steamy scenes and them trying to understand what it is about one another that they are so drawn too.
There are flaws.
Because what relationship doesn't have them? Much less one with multiple partners.
And we even have another added into the harem.
There are now four of them.
I'm not sure if more will be added in the future.
A snippet of the prologue for the next book in the back of this one has me wondering about a few things, but I'm going to hold off my judgement until I read further.

I have so many theories and questions running through my mind that I just can't wait to dive into book three.
It is already sitting on my kindle waiting for me to jump in.
Hopefully some of my theories and questions will be answered.
Or I'll just end up with more.

So glad I'm reading this series and will definitely be recommending it to others to pick up.
Profile Image for Danielle (Danniegurl).
1,960 reviews110 followers
October 29, 2023
3.5 stars too much telling not enough showing

So I’m really enjoying the series but I’m also super frustrated with the telling and glossing over events. Why can’t we SEE them having dinner and hear their conversations? Why must we be told about it? Why when certain people go to the office do we not see those events but again are told them? It felt imbalanced because I felt like I was seeing more telling than showing the entire book. A lot of the stuff is mundane and doesn’t really move the plot forward imo.

I don’t like Tash. I think she’s annoying AF and it’s ridiculous how no one has questioned anything.

The plot is a little flimsy for me as well. It’s very vague. The fact that Jess’s dad hasn’t come after them and he lives behind them. No demons really attacked them until THEY tried to attack the demons. But no one has come to harm them. So where is all this evil that supposedly is running rampant. So what is the purpose of this seal? Is it a prison? Why must demons go there? I was suspicious of the Order from the beginning. I still don’t completely believe the purpose of the Brethren is to close the seal. I suspect there’s a lot more going on that we don’t know but bc the plot is vague it hasn’t been fleshed out. Tbh it’s mostly about Jess’s relationships with a side of plot.

It’s good, things really start happening at the end of course. But slogging through the bs that was Megan and school and such was boring. Overall I was thinking about this being the last book I read for now, but with that ending I want to see what happens however if it continues to slog through mundane life stuff I may have to stop bc imo it’s not completely important to the overall plot of the book.
Profile Image for Kasumatata.
1,140 reviews23 followers
October 16, 2021
Tainted Love

This series has me on the edge of my seat. Tainted Love picks up where the previous book left off and gives us more character growth and plot development.

I love how real and relatable these characters feel, something that I think is a huge strength of these authors. They pay attention to those details that matter in order to push the story forward and keep us all invested.

The world building here is phenomenal and I am absolutely thrilled that there will be more series coming in this universe.
Profile Image for Hannah Brooker.
769 reviews2 followers
December 25, 2021
So much love for this series!

I adore everything about this series, demons wanting to live side by side with humans in peace, good relationships with a snarky lady who objects, a parent who just wants the best for her kids and a bad Dad who is also trying to be better in a really weird way. Ultimately you know he abused her physically but then I'm this book he tried to protect her so it shouldn't work and you know in theory you should really loathe the guy buttttt this book makes it a bit harder.
Profile Image for Jane Catherine.
308 reviews35 followers
July 23, 2021
The progression of this series is amazing and makes you crave more! The plot thickened in this 2nd book and i was here for it. The formation of the harem was really well done. I think there will be one more added to this harem and it will be absolutely perfect. The connection these characters have flies off the pages and really lets the readers get to know and love the bonds between this chosen family.
Profile Image for Hayley.
49 reviews40 followers
July 31, 2021
Better and better

Book two was not a disappointment! The quad continues to grow by leaps and bounds and I loved seeing the relationships develop... with a few surprises!

I've got mixed feelings about Ted, I must say. I can't tell if I respect his logic or if I want to throttle him.

Interested to see how things go now that the rules are officially thrown out the window!
Profile Image for Sondra.
605 reviews1 follower
August 1, 2021
So much better than book 1

I'm very glad I made it through book 1 because this is a fantastic story. I'm completely hooked and couldn't put this book down. There was lots of action, magic, bonds being made and love. Can't wait until the next book. Soft cliffhanger, a good ending for this book, but definitely need to read the next book when it's released.
16 reviews
August 23, 2021
Abomination

This book was so good. I love seeing them all grow in strength and also relationship wise. The dynamic between all of them is spot on, the way they push each other to be better and look out for one another is great, not to mention the sex is sizzling. I'll be anxiously waiting for the others In this series.
1,247 reviews2 followers
December 27, 2021
Jess is the one ❤️

Another fantastic read to this incredible series!
I can’t wait to get stuck in to the next book aka Enter Sandman.
I’ve never read anything from Cerise Cole and im so happy I chose this series. It’s so frigging awesome. Unique with its own cool twists and its not shy in the RH section.
It’s another must read from me 😁
Profile Image for T..
Author 13 books573 followers
April 24, 2022
Tainted Love, the second book of the End of Days series, is an ebook I downloaded from Kindle Unlimited. Book two gifted the reader with nice relationship development on top of the action-packed story line. There is so much going on, it's amazing how the writers keep it all straight. There is some annoying repetition, but overall, I love the story line(s).
Profile Image for Crystal Gaitan.
347 reviews3 followers
July 10, 2021
Amazing!

This series is fast becoming a favorite of mine. I love how Deke is reacting to everything. I love how Jess is coming in to her own! I love the quads relationship. Very well-written and edited. 5+ stars!
Profile Image for Steph.
469 reviews79 followers
July 11, 2021
🌶️🌶️1/2 - Trigger/content warnings. I thought this book was even better than the first. There was a lot more fleshing out of the fictional world and building up of the relationship between the characters.
1,174 reviews34 followers
July 18, 2021
This is such a great series!!

I don't have the words, and don't want to spoil, so all i'll say is this: in this book we get more of everything - more demons, magic, sexy times, family time, surprises.
Definitely recommend!!
Profile Image for Jackie - Fire & Ice Book Reviews.
549 reviews151 followers
August 12, 2021
So good

I am obsessed with this story. It's entertaining and unique. Highly recommend. Trust me, this book will suck you in and have you hooked into the very last word. You won't regret picking this one up.
83 reviews4 followers
August 29, 2021
Loved this book.

Another great addition to a fantastic series. I love how perfectly imperfect the characters are. They are so human, and yet so preternatural it just works. Well done.
Profile Image for Kokom1.
894 reviews5 followers
November 30, 2021
A different type of RH. Centres around the 4 anti-villains of the four horsemen of the apocalypse with one being female. Throw in loads of demons, teenage angst, high school drama and steamy sessions and it’s a good read.
Profile Image for Lydia.
427 reviews4 followers
December 1, 2021
Still Loving It

We get some serious Jess battle action in this one! I’m really excited to learn more about the bonds between our characters and how it will affect their future. I’m hurrying along to the third.
44 reviews
February 24, 2022
Brilliant

As usual the writing duo that make up 'Cerise Cole' have done a brilliant job with this book. I had to stay up to 2am to finish it because I just couldn't put it down. I'm heading straight pointy the next book in the series, and probably staying up until 2am again!
Profile Image for Mari.
3,158 reviews2 followers
May 5, 2022
I couldn’t put this book away and after an all-nighter reading it, I feel kind of hung over a bit and today will be really slow and tired. I love the story and the characters and can’t wait to start the next one. This is right up my alley.
Profile Image for Carol-Ann.
200 reviews4 followers
June 18, 2023
OMG, I do not know how this series just keeps getting better. I quads relationship is getting stronger and stronger. I love that, Jess is refusing to be the goody two shoes anymore and is becoming the badass female main character she always said she wanted to be. I can't wait to start the next book
Profile Image for Hailey.
137 reviews13 followers
July 3, 2021
Loved

So I’m currently counting the minutes until September and the next book. Love this series so far. A refreshing take on the 4 horsemen. Can’t wait to see what’s next
Profile Image for Jess.
92 reviews
July 3, 2021
Another amazing book! I just never want to stop reading your stories! The worlds and characters you great are amazing and so wonderful to get lost in! ♥️♥️♥️
Profile Image for Jessica Williams.
214 reviews
July 5, 2021
Review

Love this series, loved the book and am greatly looking forward to reading more. I love that authors Aryn Hadley and Kitty Kox teamed up to write this amazing series.
81 reviews1 follower
July 5, 2021
Even better than Still of the Night. The character development and storyline are so strong.
Profile Image for K.R. Moir.
Author 2 books
July 6, 2021
Another Great one!

I couldn't stop once I started. Yet again this writing duo has delivered an awesome continuation, followed by an epic book hangover. Keep them coming!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews

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