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Dark Luxuries #2

Twisted Redemption

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Brooke
Memories are an odd thing.
Even the good ones can become tainted, and when they do, they haunt you forever.
And that's where I find myself—haunted.
By my late father's lectures.
By my ex-fiancé's taunts and past actions.
And now, by my childhood best friend's glares.

All I wanted was my own happily ever after. Instead, I got a broken heart, a best friend who hates me, and an ex who seems determined to wreak even more havoc in my life.

Blaze
I've stayed on the sidelines for long enough, pining for a woman I wanted but couldn't have.
And now, when the chance to have her finally comes along, life has gotten in the way again.
But for some reason, that's not enough to stop me.
I used to tell myself that being in Brooke's life was enough. But after one touch—one taste—I know that's not true.
I may have hurt her, but that won't stop me.
Nothing can stop me.
Brooke belongs with me, and I'll do anything to make her see it.

Twisted Redemption is a dark, steamy, suspenseful romance with friends to enemies to lovers themes. The couple has its own HEA at the end of the book, although the storyline of the Dark Luxuries Trilogy continues in book three. This book can be read as a standalone. It is NOT a cheating romance.

Warning:
This book includes death, manipulation, harsh language, steam, violence, suicidal thoughts, and morally grey characters. If you’re not sure those things are for you, I’d recommend steering clear of this book (and my other books as well).

332 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 10, 2022

113 people are currently reading
2597 people want to read

About the author

Elira Firethorn

16 books915 followers
Elira Firethorn is an author of dark, steamy, suspenseful romance. Writing has been her passion since she was fourteen years old, and it continues to be her favorite pastime—aside from reading.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
Profile Image for Jess | The HEA Bookworm.
359 reviews41 followers
April 19, 2022
so much no.

*spoilers* So I am not usually someone who deeply examines the characters and gets annoyed at them. But damn Brooke annoyed me enough to write this review. Let me also say I love a good dark romance, I’ve read a lot of questionable stuff that raises my eyebrows (but not my offenses) and my issue is here is how these two “heroes” were written. It just wasn’t done well.

Brooke is the dumbest person I’ve met. I’m familiar with victims of abuse, the damage you have from the verbal assaults and maybe that personal history is coloring my perception here. But after recognizing that’s how he treated her, she continues to answer his texts. Not even bc she feels some sort of broken down need to respond to him but mostly it seemed like just for fun? The man broke into her home and assaulted her, threatened her, and she’s just “hey stop texting me” vs blocking his number, changing hers, or any other, IDK, 48382 options. He literally says in the middle of assaulting her that he cheated on her with multiple people and then later she decides she can’t be with Blaze bc he knew that Alex lied about David cheating *that one time*. Instead of talking to her best friends and family she decides HER ABUSER is gonna tell her the truth and makes the 388393th idiotic decision of this book and goes to meet him. Privately. Telling no one. My child has better judgment calls than this girl.

Blaze was meant to be a protective alpha who was hurt but read more like a pouty whiny 6 year old who didn’t get his toy. His bff dumped him in the midst of an abusive relationship, apologized, then came back. The bff who he’s in love with but wants to hurt and actively makes choices which hurt her emotionally but he loves her. David physically and verbally abused her, Blaze emotionally gaslights her. Yayyy.

It was just not well executed. The first book in the series was a quick, easy, mindless read. Enough that I looked forward to this. But the author did a real disservice to abuse survivors with Brooke. I wanted her to become strong, show some inner strength and intelligence and save herself. Nope. I wanted Blaze to stop being an ahole (not even a good ahole that’s broody and rude and possessive alpha, but the kind that in another book would be the ex the H is trying to protect her from) and make up his damn mind if he wanted to love her or punish her. I started skipping after about 70%.

Just…a solid disappointment. I hateee leaving bad reviews. But this one just hit a nerve. I hope others find enjoyment from it but this was a no for me, unfortunately. I wanted to like it.
Profile Image for •Alexandria•.
63 reviews7 followers
April 4, 2022
As I say each time, we all have different opinions so my review may or may not be the same as yours and that's completely okay.

⚠️Trigger Warning:⚠️
This book contains content that may be triggering to you, including misogyny, verbal abuse and manipulation, anorexia sex-shaming, fear of sexual assault, domestic violence, murder and alcoholism. There are also explicit sex scenes and swearing. Please read at your own discretion. There's no shame in putting this book down and pricing up another one for the sake of your mental health. Please put your well-being first!

When a toxic relationship forces you to chase away someone who means the world to you for so long, a year. A year of no happiness, no laughter, no love, no memories your best friend? gone. And when you finally come back? You think everything's going to be okay right? all cupcakes and rainbows? just for them to basically slam the door in your face because they want nothing to do with you. How do you fix that? How do you fix the one good relationship you had in life?

I went into this blind. Read nothing except the title because I wanted the full experience and I was not disappointed. I absolutely enjoyed the entire book and dang I'd take book 2 right now if I could have it because I have a feeling I'm going to really like this series. Elira's book takes you along the journey of love, lust, hate, care, and everything else in a perfectly made rollercoaster that is Brooke and Blaze. I couldn't make up my mind at times to decide if I wanted to hold Blaze close to my heart or set the man on fire. But I can now confirm that this entire book, is really genuine. We make stupid decisions, we love, we hurt, we care, we say things we probably don't mean and that's just how it is sometimes.
It really is a Friends to Enemies to Lovers and I really really liked it. Yes, before you ask, it is spicy, you can now save it to your tbr list once it's released. I followed them along for every aspect of their relationship. The character development for both, the love they shared as well as the love between the family members and friends? I really can't tell you how much I liked this book with the drama, the twist and turns, the anxiety that riddled me at certain points, and the sweetness that made me wanna gag with happiness in my heart. Brooke and Blaze>>>
If I tell you how much I like this book, in detail, I might just spoil it for you and I would never wanna do that soooo with the premise of
1. FRIENDS TO ENEMIES TO LOVERS
2. SPICE
3. DRAMA
4. EX's that make me want to feed them cereal with bleach..(hate him so much)

Go read this book once it's released on APRIL 10th !!!!!!! (literally just shy of a week) and enjoy the hell out of it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 | 🌶🌶.5/5

Please remember to read the triggers and while you're at it, read another book by Elira that;s already released!!
Blissful Masquerade: A Reverse Harem Erotic Romance
Profile Image for Helia.
51 reviews
July 23, 2022
I just, I dunno. I liked it, but it didn’t satisfy that need I had for this genre. I stumbled upon quotes on booksta several times so I started read it, the whole book was meh.
Blaze’s overprotectiveness was what I had anticipated and frankly, really enjoyed. And the chemistry was great. Brooke was a badass (but I’m sorry to say, even thou she insisted she wasn’t, she was in fact stupid. Sorry girl. It’s true.) and her brother and his gang were people I would like to know more about😁. Even though some of the shit they did annoyed me. Ngl. But still it wasn’t the best-friends to enemies to lovers that Satisfied me. But it was a quick ans easy read, with really nice smut scenes.
Profile Image for niah.
37 reviews
September 29, 2022
DNF main female character was fucking annoying.
1 review1 follower
October 29, 2022
two thumbs down

So incredibly stupid, don’t waste your time. The characters are unlikeable and annoying.
I love a good dark suspense but this is not it.
Profile Image for Yolanda | yolandaannmarie.reads.
1,256 reviews46 followers
June 29, 2022
Book 2 in the Dark Luxuries series
Available on Kindle Unlimited
[Brooke + Blaze]

- dual pov
- brothers best friend
- childhood friends to enemies to lovers
- marriage of convenience
- “daisy”
- dark + steamy
- character with insomnia
- hints at past eating disorder
- verbal abuse + manipulation

Twisted Redemption starts off in Brooke’s pov from an event that previously happens in Deepest Obsession (book 1). I actually really liked this approach, because sometimes I find it quite difficult to dive into a new book. However, if you’re not so much a fan of essentially rereading from the same timeline, I would keep that in mind.

I really enjoyed getting to read Brooke and Blaze’s dynamic. There was lots of tension, hot and cold, hate and love - you could clearly tell that they deeply cared about each other despite all the hurt that they put each other through. Their growth and healing throughout this book was admirable. I loved how the characters were able to bond and work through their similar trauma (parental loss) together, and they didn’t shy away from therapy which was nice to see.
Brooke, while her actions were questionable at some points, I could see her strength. At every stage of her life there was someone who had manipulated her, verbally abused her, and ultimately caused her to retreat into a shell of herself. The depictions of verbal abuse hit hard for me, and I was able to understand the viewpoint of not being able to justify your own abuse because it is not physical or visible.
Definitely more of a slow burn, but I loved how they applied the necessary boundaries for each other, and most importantly communicated.

A+ side characters in this book! Ryan, Liling, Felix, Willow, Imani.
I loved that Brooke had female friendships and that all of her college friends brought in diversity/rep to the story.

The suspense in the latter part of the book had me on the edge of my seat, and ultimately wrapped up so well.


QUOTES:

“He’s looking at me like I’m his lifeline. His will to live. Like he can’t stand the thought of losing me.”

“You’ve engraved yourself so deeply into my heart that I can’t figure out where I end and you begin.”

“You were verbally abused your whole childhood, Brooke. You were taught that you had to earn your father’s love. It’s all that’s familiar to you, the chaos. And sometimes when that happens, it feels… safe, in a way. Like home.”

“I don’t want to be at home in the chaos. I want you to be my peace.”

“Chasing after love that’s not freely given to me was all I knew.”

“Kissing Blaze is like reading in the middle of a field of flowers on a summer day. It’s sweet, filling me with warmth and happiness. It’s the type of bliss you never want to let go.”

“I just want to break the pattern.”

“The pattern is broken, Brooke, because I’m going to be your peace, not your chaos. I’ll fight to be that everyday.”
“Thinking things through is its own kind of fighting. And based on the fact that you’re here, I’d say you won against your fears.”
Profile Image for dd_wonderland_of_books.
113 reviews1 follower
August 5, 2022
I didn’t like this one, not even a bit.
The characters were nice in book 1 but now when they became the main focus I just hated them. Brooke is just the most annoying character I have ever met and just keeps putting herself in harm for Blaze to notice? Like girl you got away from David like leave it at that, move on instead of going back to him? Just be to beaten and hurt again?
And Blaze finds it amazing to see Brooke break?

Overall I get they want to make things good again but no, she only really “loved” him in the end when he took a bullet?

Also this is just the same story as book 1 but in Brooks and Blaze pov + in the end some extra chapters.

I am really disappointed in this series. Blissful masquerade is one of my favorite series this year so when I noticed that the author has written more books I got excited, just to be disappointed in the end.
1 review
January 15, 2023
This book has an different story line than any book I've read thus far. I really enjoyed the change of pace, the imagination of this author is limitless! I can not wait to read the second book in this series and to see what else this author has in store for us!
Twisted Redemption is captivating, intriguing, twisted and utterly out of the box. I instantly fell in love with the fire and stubborn streak of the FMC and how hard she fought for herself.

The only thing I believe this book would benefit from it a Trigger Warning at the beginning as this does contain *degradation*
Profile Image for nat.
293 reviews
June 23, 2023
3.5 😭
i liked this book and seeing the characters relationship develop as they’ve both been through so much. i believed that they love each other, but were both just going through so much and i’m happy when they got their hea. the book felt kinda repetitive especially in the beginning as it’s the same sort of timeline as the first book. also some of the decisions brooke made irked me. i liked blaze a lot and am looking forward to doms book, east ben though i wish felix and willow got their own book
Profile Image for Vivien R..
17 reviews
August 9, 2022
The book is exciting but in all seriousness, the characters are so unbelievably annoying that I had to put the book down multiple times. Brooke is actually really stupid even though she tries to claim otherwise. Sometimes I just wanted to slap some sense in her. Blaze isn’t better either. He’s an idiot exactly like Alex. At this point, i just wanted to see what will happen and that’s the only thing I kept reading for, the romance aspect was disappointing and weak. It isn’t worth your time
Profile Image for Vale (Olympic_help).
111 reviews
December 1, 2022
After something happened to me earlier this year I stopped believing in the friends to lovers trope. But this book made me believe on it again. It was such a good book and ngl now I want to do a whole map with all the characters to see in which books we get to see them because you get to see some cuties from Moonflower!!! That's something that I really loved!!!! Anyways I highly recommend giving this series a go!!! But as always remember to check the TW first!!!!
Happy reading loves!!! 💗💗💗💗
Profile Image for Sara.
571 reviews2 followers
May 20, 2022
The second book, back story is interwoven with details from the first book. With the intent to create backstory of these two new main characters. Which in turn made the book feel extremely long, until the story became just their story.

Through all of the crazy trust, trauma on both main characters, the end result is a happy ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Brooke.
126 reviews3 followers
August 9, 2022
So I found this book on tiktok and the main reason I picked it up was because I share a name with the main character and that like never happens. Overall, it wasn’t too bad and I definitely found myself not wanting to put it down. I flew through it in a day or two and while I enjoyed it, I see how some people might not have enjoyed the story. It’s an acquired taste haha
Profile Image for Eloise Oakes.
12 reviews
March 17, 2024
Umm…I don’t know about this one. Brooke needs to find her brain. She is so stupid. I’ve never read a book with someone this dumb in it. While I read it, I physically had to walk away from this book so I wouldn’t punch my phone. She honestly got dumber as the book went on. Sorry for those who love her 🫶
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
1 review
April 18, 2022
This chick is a man.

All of the sex things are the same. Only a man would think you can give an orgasm on que. I've read 3 of his ooks and the sex is the same in the reverse harem. Even free.......not worth the effort.
15 reviews
August 5, 2022
The ending came very quickly, but I’m glad it wasn’t dragged out. The small details are really cute but some of the developments didn’t make sense and information was sprung on the reader throughout.
Profile Image for Trinity.
714 reviews253 followers
November 23, 2022
DNF @ 65%
I don't usually rate books I've DNF'ed but fucking hell.

Brooke is insecure about her intelligence and there is not ONE point where she proves that she doesn't need to be. It genuinely must be painful to be so stupid.
Profile Image for SlashReads.
563 reviews2 followers
February 4, 2024
Beautiful story. Blaze is a wonderfully flawed character and he deserves the world. The ending of this story had tears in my eyes. Poor Brooke, you never know what you'll do in some deep shit situations until you're living it, no matter if you may think otherwise. There is no one way to heal, you do whatever you need to do.
34 reviews
April 14, 2022
I really liked this book. It deals with quite a few adult topics, but I enjoyed the plot and the romance was super cute.
Profile Image for C.L. .
198 reviews18 followers
May 21, 2022
This was so not a standalone. "can be read as a standalone" my ass, and it's not interesting or good enough to prompt me suffering through two more books.
46 reviews
July 10, 2022
This book wasn't my favorite in the series,mostly because it was sortof friends to lovers which I don't like but the story was very good.
12 reviews
August 17, 2022
Should’ve been a DNF. Plot was lackluster and characters were unrealistic. Not good at all.
Profile Image for avasbooks.
40 reviews4 followers
Read
October 29, 2022
dnf @pg228

The heroine was annoying ash. And Blaze was just another abuser lmfao. Not what i had in mind for a dark romance.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews

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