FIL

by H.J. Stallard

DRAVEN

Ruby Campbell is the thorn in my side. Lying and manipulating her way into my family, she becomes the only thing that keeps me alive, yet the mere thought of her makes my skin crawl. Love and hate are just too goddamn similar, and I’m getting lost.


RUBY

Desperate to be anyone other than myself, I elope with a man I just met…and it backfires…big time. Abandoned after only a week as Mrs. Baxton, I am trapped in a miniature gothic castle with a man who hates me and his beastly cat. Yet, Draven has managed to give me what no man ever has before, and I find myself obsessed with my father-in-law.

Genres: Dark, Dark Romance, Enemies To Lovers, BDSM, Erotica, Contemporary Romance, Abuse

448 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 20, 2021

Reviews

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5. Twisted… crazy… I don’t have words…
I liked… a little 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Ta || bookishbluehead · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF this book at 52 %.

What the fuck did I just read?! This book was a book club pick, that’s the only reason I sat through this for so long, I should have DNFed it way sooner.

The writing is so bad. From the first page it’s not good but somehow it gets only worse? It’s confusing and the drunken moments between the two MCs are… I don’t even have words for it, that’s how bad it was. It feels like the writing from a 14 year old horny teen.

The characters are either dumb, assholes or both. I hated them all so much. There were so many situations that baffled me throughout this whole story:
the whole marriage thing
why Ruby stayed in the house after Brandon made it look like she was responsible for Rachel’s death AND cheated on her numerous times
why Ruby stayed in a house with a guy who hates her so much, he can barely stand the thought of her in the same state
the whole thing with the cat - what was that about??
the whole hate sex thing between Ruby and Draven
how Ruby can be so unbearably stupid???

I normally try to find something positive to say about every book I read, but in this case I just can’t. There’s not one thing I feel at least neutral about. I’ll now have to reevaluate my life choices that brought me to this book.

[. · Rating 1 out of 5]

honestly have no one to blame but myself why did i looked at this cover sober and thought hmm this must be good and why did i believed fb soccer moms very quickly 🤔

[daemyra, the realm's delight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t get into this initially. Idk why but I hate reading clubbing scenes. I also am not into age-gap, but the reviews for this book made me feel like I would enjoy it.

And I did!!

I absolutely loved this zany plot. Stuff was always happening. The smut was good, but so was their dark romance.

[Valentina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. A true hate to love story. I went into this one blind, skeptical of hero was until he appeared. Draver, definitely hot, emotionally stilted and a jerk to Ruby, but he couldn’t resist her. Talk about all the hate sex and degradation. Draver displayed a level of resentment like no other, hating her and himself as he was uncontrollably drawn to Ruby. This story follows their tumultuous and spicy path from distain of misunderstood and blame to a somewhat unconventional relationship. She falls first. He refuses to falls. A little needlessly long, particularly in the middle where it lulled, but enjoyable. Spicy af
30-year age gap, DD/lg, rough sex / s&m, power exchange.

[Jess Eats Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was some pretty solid dark romance smut. It does explore S&M and a variety of triggers, so inform yourself before starting.

The story was good, the spice was there, but it was full of the plot holes mentioned by other reviewers, and grammatical errors kept punching me in the face and making me want to give it up.

As a book overall, I'd give it a 2. Measured against other self-pub KU romance, I'd give it a 4. I'll compromise and make it a 3 here.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝐇𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐝.”

FIL is a dark romance by new to me author H.J. Stallard. This book had me in a chokehold! The dynamic between Ruby and her FIL was toxic, but I couldn’t get enough of these two. This story had lots of twists and turns and dear lord the spice was insane 🥵🔥

What to Expect:
💋𝒜ℊℯ 𝒢𝒶𝓅
💋ℱ𝒶𝓉𝒽ℯ𝓇 𝒾𝓃 ℒ𝒶𝓌／𝒟𝒶𝓊ℊ𝒽𝓉ℯ𝓇 𝒾𝓃 ℒ𝒶𝓌
💋𝒟𝒶𝒹𝒹𝓎 𝒦𝒾𝓃𝓀
💋ℒℴ𝓉𝓈 ℴ𝒻 𝒹ℯℊ𝓇𝒶𝒹𝒶𝓉𝒾ℴ𝓃
💋𝒬𝓊ℯ𝓈𝓉𝒾ℴ𝓃𝒶𝒷𝓁ℯ 𝓊𝓈ℯ ℴ𝒻 ℴ𝒷𝒿ℯ𝒸𝓉𝓈
💋ℰ𝓃ℯ𝓂𝒾ℯ𝓈 𝓉ℴ ℒℴ𝓋ℯ𝓇𝓈
💋𝒩ℴ𝓃－𝒸ℴ𝓃／ 𝒟𝓊𝒷－𝒸ℴ𝓃
💋ℋℰ𝒜

⚠️Be sure to check trigger warnings for this one !!⚠️

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞? 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧. 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝, 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝.“

“𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.”

“𝐁𝐞𝐠 𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐁𝐞𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐧𝐭. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝.”

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐤? 𝐇𝐮𝐡? 𝐂𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐤, 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲. 𝐒𝐨𝐚𝐤 𝐦𝐞, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞.”

“𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐬𝐦 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝.“

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞.”

[Kim Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story line, but a little on the silly side. Entertaining!

[Butthisbook · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 50%

[Marie Meow Meow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good read for me. Ruby gets married on a whim during a trip to Ibiza. She soon finds herself stuck in a mansion with her father in law who hates her guts. There are some interesting and unique aspects to the story that I won't spoil. These two hate each other so much, and that hatred lights some fiery passion that combusts into a fricking inferno one night. But, is it just for one night? And what about all the other drama in their lives?

This was my first book from this author, but I might read another one. I have no idea if she's published more or if there is anything else like this out there. The last few chapters were maybe pushing the limits of believability but, it's fiction so that's fine with me. One thing that really bothered me was, this was a dual POV book, but she made no mention of who was narrating at what time. There were chapter breaks and new chapters, but I would have to start reading to figure out if it was her or him or maybe someone else. But on the overall bother-a-bility scale, it didn't bug me enough to DNF or anything. I actually quite liked the book. It was recommended in a dark taboo reading group I'm in. And there are triggers. So just be careful if you're sensitive.

[W · Rating 5 out of 5]

love love love this book! What starts off as hate-f-!ng after the son leaves his new wife (after love bombing her) at his dad’s house, turns into a truly wild relationship between the FIL and DIL (so YES there’s cheating, but NOT between the H and h). The spice is top tier crazy and off the charts 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶
-age-gap
-enemies-to-lovers
-cheating on husband with father-in-law
-HEA!!! But not in the “I want to have a million of your babies” kind of way

[Moana Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twisted and steamy!! 🔥🔥

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was... I literally have no words...
Did I love it? Ummm I have no idea 🤣
Could I put it down? Not even for a second!! 😳

[Kalli · Rating 1 out of 5]

absolutely not

[Ziezie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 stars

[Danyel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this because a favorite of mine on Tiktok recommend it…unfortunately it missed in almost every way.

[Dianaa Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

talk about steamy hot stuff

I went in blind and I am so glad I did, yes this book has a lot of triggers and if you are one with one you may want to rethink this book.

This book was simply amazing well written and wow was it hot!! The way Ruby and oh my so hot daddy went in with so much hate and how it ended was simply amazing! I was not expecting such dark desire in this book but wow I was not disappointed! This is a must read!!!

[Jennifer Felderman · Rating 5 out of 5]

dirty and delicious.

Sometimes the innocent wear sheep’s clothing. They say all the right things. Tell you they love you…and they’re lying.

The cruel ones are often the ones that are showing you the truth…believe them. Even when it hurts…especially then.

This book was so good, you need it !

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this,has age gap,dominant father in law vibes!

[Mia R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I like Ruby, although gotta admit sometimes she got on me nerves because I felt she had no respect for herself. I know is not gonna be everybody’s cup of tea, but I give it a 4/5 stars

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twisted and 🔥🔥

OMG Draven is so easy to relate to!! I adore how he treats Ruby (his DIL) and how she craves it. They accept they are both damaged and twisted, sadist and masochist. I'm glad they finally had a safeword, even though I doubt it's needed and I was really pleased stopping drinking didn't change anything. I like to think Ruby will have lots of fun as Draven leads her ever deeper into the joy of pain. Being 'morally grey' just makes life more interesting.
My one issue is the phrase 'lids rounded' and variations. I've never heard the term and it sounds weird imo. There's also a handful of typo's that are irritating...

[Kelli Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot!!!!

Holy Heck!! That was the hottest book ever! The story was great with some really good twists and turns! So good!!

[Lucy wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

great smut

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Father in law
Age gap
Triggers
Non con/ dub con
Daddy kink

So this surprised me not my normal go to book but the smut was 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Still reeling from it and wanted more. Loved everything about it off the charts hot 🥵
Check the triggers
First time author for me
Will defo check out more from this author

[Honest Reviewer B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put it down

Steam, sinful, trigger happy, HEA, fast paced, great plot, memorable characters, so well written. What else is there to say?

[Bibi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another hit from HJ Stallard!

-age gap❤️‍🔥
-forbidden love❤️‍🔥
-enemies to lovers❤️‍🔥
-old mansion castle🏰❤️‍🔥
-sassy, funny FMC who 💦👀❤️‍🔥
-mean as hell, gorgeous MMC❤️‍🔥
-extreme degradation❤️‍🔥
-HEA🥺❤️‍🔥

This book was a beautiful story full of twists and turns. Ruby is a quiet girl who lives a boring life in poverty. So when her and a friend take a trip to Ibiza her goal is to be anyone but herself on this trip. She plays a character and ends up catching the eye of a millionaires son, Brandon. A handsome college student who is adamant Ruby will be his wife. Never having felt so loved by anyone in her life, Ruby agrees and flys home with him to Missouri. Draven, Rubys new father in law is anything but nice. He doesn’t seem to care for his own son, so this dumb girl he’s brought home with a ring on her finger is practically trash to him. When Draven finds out Rubys real identity, tragedy strikes and he’s left with his sons useless wife. He won’t take it lying down though and he will do whatever he can to get her out of his life for good.

[Persephone · Rating 2 out of 5]

What do you get when a psychopath and a masochist are the leads in a story? Unfortunately, not a very good story.

Now, I really enjoy dark romance and anti-heroes. And I have no triggers and am not opposed to books on taboo subjects. For that reason, I thought this would be a perfect fit for me.

Nope.

Masochist translates to complete doormat in this story. I could've dealt with that through the majority of the book, but it would've been nice if she'd shown a backbone somewhere. Anywhere.

These are two very broken people (which should've been the foundation for a great plot), but it's reduced to a string of hate-filled encounters with absolutely no growth for either of the characters. In fact, they seem to regress from the unlikable characters they started as. They just layered on copious amounts of alcohol to that lack of character development. And those drunk scenes? PAINFUL to read. Seriously. The bottle, the carrot, the knife, the brutal scene near the end? All easier and more pleasant to read than these two drunks talking to each other. I felt like I was reading a phonetically transcribed SNL skit.

And the "I hate you" statements did not come off as endearing, as seemingly intended. They came off as sad that these two miserable people found each other.

The hero was unnaturally obsessed with his dead wife for the entirety of the book. From his first glimpse to the very last page, it was obvious he was settling for the B-team heroine because his wife was dead and she was a good lay.

And if I had to read the word "beloved" one more time, I was going to throw my e-reader at the wall.

We get it - the saintly first wife is the love of his life and the new girl is the whore. You told us enough. And not one thing changed from the first page to the last.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was not expecting that.....amazing!

It was recommended and so glad it was. Sexy, filthy, smutty BUT with a brilliant story. I didn't expect to read what I just have. And read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. I was wanting to read something along this genre and I know I have been spoilt straight away as I doubt I'll find another book, of this premise, that is as good as this one. Very highly recommended?

[Patti · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was awful!
- not a single likable character. Ruby was an idiot, Draven was an asshole, Brandon also an idiot.
- Ruby and Draven's drunken moments were so stupid and annoying
- too much word filler. Every miniscule detail regarding the house was not necessary.
- extremely repetitive in Ruby, Draven, and Brandon's pov

One of the dumbest lines:
- Draven: "You know of all people, know when I'm in a rage, sometimes the only thing that douses that anger is to cum."

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 ⭐️ || High 🔥 || Light/Very 💀

*warnings/tags: father-in-law (heroine did not marry for love), non-con (not by H), dub-con (by H), enemies, squirt, asphyxiation, loss of loved one, abused h (childhood), homeless h, daddy kink, anal, drugged (off-page; not by H)

[Naya · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! I didn’t want it to end.

I couldn’t put this book down! Lots of steam and triggers. Everything I want in a taboo/daddy book. Will read more from this author.