Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Sweet Taste of Betrayal

Rate this book
An Erotic Horror Novella

It's my eighteenth birthday, and my mom let me invite my closest friends to stay in a rented log cabin.
One night, no parents.
It's said three masked men step out from the trees once every year to claim the blood of young souls.
It's just a myth.
Or is it?

99 pages, ebook

Published May 8, 2022

134 people are currently reading
3264 people want to read

About the author

Harleigh Beck

26 books2,077 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
585 (24%)
4 stars
710 (30%)
3 stars
663 (28%)
2 stars
279 (11%)
1 star
109 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 553 reviews
Profile Image for Celia {Hiatus until August}.
750 reviews141 followers
May 8, 2023
description

•| ⊱✿⊰ |• 4,9 Stars •| ⊱✿⊰ |•

I'll start to say, this short story has a lot of triggers.
This isn't for all.
Sex, gore, death, dub-con, you name it…
I loved it, though 😈
This one will blow your mind 🤯

description

Layla, on her 18th birthday, goes to a cabin in the woods, alone, with her five friends.
Two are a couple, Layla's ex is going too.
Jess has a thing for Zack, but Zack wants Layla.
After, they were all there, they decide to tell the legend of the cabin.

description

And, of course, the night was that night.
A lot of twist and turns, this is mind fuckin*.
I love all the craziness of this story.

descriptiondescription

I don't really know what's real, if Layla is insane, if that happened.
And I don't care!
This one was amazing.

description
Profile Image for Peter Topside.
Author 6 books1,466 followers
August 18, 2025
This had a really fun twist towards the latter portion of the story. However, the first chunk of the book was your bare bones tie up, torture, rape, kill sort of situation. A bunch of young adults at a cabin in the woods having nonstop sex, exploring the various, immature relationship dynamics with one another, facing mysterious killers right out of local lore. Again, very basic stuff. But that twist was interesting and managed to elevate the story, however it was all too quickly paced and abbreviated to really have a significant impact. I wish the author slowed things down, reduced some of the sexual content, which was very overdone, expanded the story a bit more, and focused more on the lore of our lead, Layla. That would have really made this a much more unique and satisfying concept.
Profile Image for Helen Power.
Author 11 books632 followers
September 9, 2022
This was messed up and perfect for spooky season! The twists were totally out there, and I was kind of freaking out the entire time. It's a short and bloody thrill ride!

HEA?
Content warnings: There are a lot of them, and if you need content warnings, you should probably skip this book
Profile Image for Pau Lethani.
428 reviews24 followers
May 8, 2022
WTF have I just read!!???

So let me write here my reading experience. I picked it up knowing it was an erotic horror and by reading the blurb I was like....ok, I know what is going to happen more or less. And then the author said: NO YOU DON'T. And no I didn't.

So I was like....ok then, but now the story is going to go this way. And the author said: NO IT IS NOT. And no it was not.

Obviously this has 99 pages so I thought.....right, now I definitely have everything figured out. And the author laughed at my face.

Now repeat that process a couple of times and you have my full reading experience 🤯

99 pages of twist after twist and after an even crazier twist. I couldn't even breathe. I am still trying to figure out what happened to be honest. Send help.
Profile Image for Darlene I read WAY to many books.
3,684 reviews2,449 followers
May 26, 2022
Talk about mind fuck…. Because I guessed it before it happened the thing I didn’t guess was the ending.. this isn’t a romance guys sooo don’t go into it thinking it..

Layla is happy to spend her 18th bday in a cabin in the woods with her friends and ex bf, the night was suppose to be fun and drinking turns into blood and mayhem, when 3 mask enter and assault Layla and her friends.. secrets come out and betrayal after betrayal.. then tossed in some supernatural stuff?? That may or may not be real….

It’s a twisted mind fuck,. With some force sex… and the ending is I’m say ending cuz idk what I read. Or how to say the ending

Op drama, drama, sexy times, no virgins


Recommend-maybe
Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat level-🌶🌶🌶

Murder
FF FM MFMM
Non-con
Anal play
Dub-con
Sexual assault
Violence
Sharing
Profile Image for Ash.
418 reviews127 followers
July 14, 2024
HARLEIGH YOU AND THESE DAMN TWISTS ARE DRIVING ME INSANE LIKE THIS WAS A FUCKING MIND FUCK BUT I WAS ENTERTAINED🌚
Profile Image for Ivana.
89 reviews19 followers
September 21, 2022
All the plot twists in such a short book got me so confused 😂 I liked the idea of it though. The spice was pretty decent but PLEASE check warnings. And idc what anyone says, I like Zack🚩
Profile Image for Tia Toro.
268 reviews36 followers
September 9, 2025
I agree with the general consensus of wtf did I just read, because wtf did I just read? Although, that tends to be my normal thoughts after finishing a Harleigh book because she gets me every time.

I absolutely did not see the twists coming, with that being said, I have no idea what’s real and what’s not 😂 I did eat this story up though.

I was lowkey rooting for Zach the whole time. I ship Zach & Layla 💁‍♀️
Profile Image for Kamila.
219 reviews95 followers
Read
January 2, 2025
What the fuck did I just read😂😂

This book gave me severe whiplash, it’s the biggest head fuck ever.
What crack was this author smoking when they wrote this?
Unsure how to rate this because the whole book was fucking ridiculous tbh.
Profile Image for Michael Hicks.
Author 38 books509 followers
May 12, 2022
As the title might indicate, Harleigh Beck's Sweet Taste of Betrayal is all about conflict - not only between the characters on the printed page, but within this novella's readers, too. I certainly came away conflicted, and in the hours since finishing this slim story I'm still not entirely sure how to process everything.

Beck's latest starts off simply enough, and with a tried-and-true horror premise that you know damn well isn't going to end nicely for anybody involved. Eighteen-year-old Layla has rented a rundown cabin in the woods to celebrate her birthday with a group of friends. It's not long before they've broken out the suitcase of liquor and best-friend Maddy tells them about the cabin's supposed legend that she read online - every year, three masked men come to cabin to kill the teenagers visiting there! The friends laugh and rag on all the holes in this legend - like, do the killer's check the reservations to make sure horny teens are staying there on the anniversary - and Beck lets us in on the joke early on. Yes, it's a flimsy swiss-cheese-like premise, chockful of loose ends never to be resolved, just like the best urban legends. And, just like those terrific urban legends, it's all fluff right up until three masked men appear on the porch bearing knives.

After that, Beck leans hard into the erotic elements of Sweet Taste of Betrayal, presenting a horror novella that reads a bit like the lovechild of The Strangers and The Devil in Miss Jones. Fair warning, though, to heed the novella's content warnings, as Beck does not shy away from gang rape and some very highly dubious consent as many sexual acts are performed under the threat of death and/or at knife point. And that's about where my initial moments of internal conflict began sounding the alarm (even over my confusion as to why in the hell Layla invited her cheating ex-boyfriend along for the vacay).

Layla is subjected to a night of sexual assault, but it's not long before she begins to twist the acts into moments of sexual liberation and empowerment. Beck's scenarios play out as an extended rape fantasy, but as the story progresses you begin to understand her logic, as well as what Layla's about-face means for the plot, and the how's and why's behind the home invasion that's been orchestrated. It all adds up to some very dark, albeit very titillating, erotic horror, and Beck deftly balances the scales as Sweet Taste lies somewhere between being something to enjoy versus something to endure.

My sole complaint is that Beck relies a little too heavily on delivering one too many twists, and the book's big last-minute reveal relies one of my most passionately hated tropes. I won't spoil it here, but I do wish Beck had committed to the bit all the way through to the end, as I found myself a bit ticked off in the book's final moments.

Sweet Taste of Betrayal is a twisted, uncomfortable, thorny read, and one hell of a page turner for it. Beck delivers one shock after another, confronting readers with surprising revelations and mounting betrayals one chapter after another, and it kept me glued to my Kindle for a solid hour. This thing's a page-turner, and I refused to set it aside until I was finished! Although the ending didn't work for me and was, in fact, a betrayal in its own right (ha!), Beck certainly knows how to intrigue and confidently develop her ideas in challenging and complicated ways, cutting away at readers mores as keenly as her characters knife to death one another. This one's a dark, duplicitous read, and I'm eager to see what Beck comes up with next.
Profile Image for The Book Villain.
119 reviews113 followers
March 16, 2024
“It’s said that three masked men appear once every year to claim the blood of young souls. The people who’ve stayed here on the anniversary have never been seen again.”


Another amazing erotic horror from Harleigh Beck!
This story will pull you in from the very beginning. With a combination of plot twists, gnarly gore and spice that will make your toes curl, this book has it all!

✨ Overall Rating: 5/5
🔥 Spice Rating: 5/5
📈 Plot: 5/5
🖋️ Writing: 5/5
🗺️ World Building: 4/5
👤 Characters: 5/5
⚖️ Interpersonal Relationships: 5/5

Themes:
🖤 Erotic Horror
🖤 Multiple Sexual Partners(orgy-ish)
🖤 Paranormal
🖤 Demons and Fae
🖤 Reality Check
🖤 Gore Galore
🖤 New Adult
🖤 Isolated Cabin
“There you are, my little monster. I knew you would come out to play.”


Please read TW’s before starting this book. Your mental health matters.
Profile Image for bookdiaryofyana.
439 reviews
June 15, 2024
This one was crazy!! All of her books leave me speechless!!
I sat with my mouth open during the whole book!
I'm obsessed!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Read your TW!!!
Profile Image for Justine.
313 reviews127 followers
March 15, 2023
"I see the devil in your eyes. Let her out to play."

I feel like every time I finish a book by Harleigh Beck, I’m left sitting there in complete silence mumbling ‘what the fu*k did I just read’ to myself at least three or four times. Sweet Taste of Betrayal did not let me down...my exact thought process was “whoa” followed by “what” followed by “whoa” and man, was my brain left aching (in the best way possible).

Let me stress that this is NOT a romance novel. It’s horror through and through, with a healthy dose of excessive filthiness to sweeten the pot. It’s an extremely fast-paced novella (punch after punch with no relief in sight) and I honestly can’t even discuss much of the plot for fear of spoiling. Teens rent a remote cabin for the weekend. Said teens try to spook each other with a local urban legend. Said urban legend comes a’knocking at their door, and the blood bath begins. So. Much. Blood. And other bodily fluids. Lots.

Want to know more? You’re going to have to read it.

This story concludes, but I feel Beck has plenty of room to return if she pleases, and I wouldn’t mind revisiting in the future. If you’re looking for a single-sitting read filled with horrific ongoings any deranged serial killer would be proud of, along with twists and turns to disorient you into oblivion, then Sweet Taste of Betrayal may be exactly what you need. This is the second story I’ve read and loved from this author, and I absolutely need more.
Profile Image for Bea.
99 reviews4 followers
May 8, 2022
I loved everything about this.it was sick and twisted from start to finish with this lingering weight of never knowing what was going to happen next,speaking of never knowing what’s going to happen next WTF happened like I was so sure I knew what was happening but harleigh literally said lemme show you something so in short I still don’t know..

But overall I loved this book so much and I’m daydreaming about the possibility of having more from this world potentially…
Profile Image for Myrth :).
48 reviews
July 19, 2025
DNF ik heb nog nooit zoiets cursed gelezen en ik weiger mijn ogen te beschadigen met de laatste 30 pagina’s
Profile Image for VelvetNocturne_.
312 reviews8 followers
June 1, 2024
This short 90 page read is packed in with trigger warnings that may not be suitable for everyone and should be taken into consideration before reading.

18th Birthday weekend spent in a cabin in the woods with friends, takes a sinister turn that all starts when a legend is told and that’s when truths start to unravel and discoveries are made amidst pools of blood.

Really enjoyed the quick pace and all the twists in this one. I love the ending and how it’s leaves you questioning everything.
Profile Image for shyra ☾.
181 reviews6 followers
May 16, 2025
harleigh beck [mother of erøtic horror] slayyyy !!

🩸 𝖘𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖙 𝖙𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝖇𝖊𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖞𝖆𝖑. 🩸

🔪 erøtic horror
🖤 graphic murder
🔪 r@pe
🖤 torture
🔪 non con
🖤 demons & fae
🔪 secluded cabin

betrayal is the sweetest taste of all.

layla & her friends stay in a secluded cabin for her birthday.
a legend says 3 masked men claim the lives of the people who’ve stayed here on an anniversary and were never seen again.
if you know me you know anytime there’s multiple masked men, i’m instantly in a vice grip !!

anyways, i viciously devoured this legend turning into a demonic blood fest in one sitting @ 2am.

harleigh can never do no wrong as being one of my go to authors when it comes to horror erotica.
you’ll always be left mindfucked and she delivers inhumane bloody, sexy & gore filled fun with twist after twist mashed into a novella or full length novel.

💋🔪 “𝖜𝖊’𝖗𝖊 𝖌𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖔 𝖐𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖞𝖔𝖚, 𝖇𝖊𝖆𝖚𝖙𝖎𝖋𝖚𝖑. 𝖈𝖚𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖎𝖉𝖊 𝖔𝖕𝖊𝖓.”

💋🔪 “𝖆𝖘 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖈𝖆𝖒𝖊, 𝖎 𝖋𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖆𝖘𝖎𝖟𝖊𝖉 𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖘𝖑𝖎𝖈𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖔𝖆𝖙 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖋𝖚𝖈𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖎𝖓 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖕𝖔𝖔𝖑 𝖔𝖋 𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉.”
Profile Image for Nessa’s Book Reviews.
1,427 reviews67 followers
June 1, 2024
Sweet Taste of Betrayal by Harleigh Beck blew my mind! From the very first page, this dark psychological horror had me hooked.
What I Enjoyed:

Edge-of-Your-Seat Twists: The plot is filled with unexpected turns that keep you guessing. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, Beck throws in another twist that leaves you reeling.

Suspenseful Atmosphere: The creepy log cabin setting and the myth of the masked men create a chilling and suspenseful environment that adds to the tension.

Mind-Blowing Ending: I did manage to guess one of the twists, but the second one left me absolutely shocked. Beck knows how to play with your mind and keep you guessing until the very end.

Compelling Writing: Beck’s writing style is engaging and vivid, pulling you into the story and making it impossible to put down.

Dark Psychology Horror: If you’re a fan of dark psychological horror, this book is a must-read. The themes are intense and thrilling, perfect for anyone who loves a good scare.

Sweet Taste of Betrayal is an amazing read that I highly recommend for fans of dark psychological horror. Harleigh Beck’s storytelling is top-notch, and the twists and turns will keep you hooked from start to finish. Get ready for a wild ride that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew.
Profile Image for SG Reads .
125 reviews26 followers
May 9, 2024
5⭐

Hahahaha I do not know what I read but just know it was fucking insane. In the words of a friend 'SEVERE WHIPLASH'.

For a 90 page book, this was excellent!! So much detail, so much plot. I mean I fell head over heels for the morally grey character instantly! Then BOOM it blew the fuck up.

There's so MANY twists, after the first one, you think oh shit - that's fucked up. Then it twists AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN!!!

Imaginative. Fucked the fuck up. Fucking deadly dark and delicious 🔥🔥🔥
Profile Image for Darkromancerobyn.
78 reviews6 followers
August 28, 2025
Harleigh Beck always knows how to pack a punch with her novellas. This was a perfect palette cleanser and just what I needed.

Harleigh writes some of the BEST spicy scenes 🔥🥵 She had me fanning myself a little 😮‍💨 The plot twists just keep coming. And the ending?!? fantastic.

Loved this one! 🖤
Profile Image for One chapter more.
788 reviews152 followers
January 24, 2023
I gave this read a three but once again I’m questioning myself and the books I have started my year with. It was horrible but oh so different and interesting. I should be disgusted and afraid for myself (which I am) but I also have to admit I was intrigued by these horrific events. Not enough to turn my face away from everything I stand for but let’s just say it strengthened me more. Sometimes you need to be horrified to be reminded of all the good up there.
Profile Image for Shannon Pace.
79 reviews119 followers
July 15, 2024
No because what was this that I read?????

Idk if I enjoyed it or not lol
Profile Image for ⋆˙sanyae˙⋆.
474 reviews74 followers
May 8, 2022
it’s layla’s 18th birthday so she invites a group of friends [with no parents] for a weekend away in the woods. once there, they find out about a spooky story of 3 masked men who claim the blood of teenagers on the same day every year… and you guessed it, they are staying at the cabin on the night the myth supposedly takes place.
____________

ummmm holy shit. wtf did i just read. i felt like i was watching a scary movie. i was scared and slightly turned on lol. i could not stop reading. and the plot twists!?! i guessed one but the rest… THE REST! wow 🫣

btw. not a romance, don’t go in hoping for an hea because you’ll be sad like me :)

[triggers: lots of sex, degradation, graphic murder// torture, sexual violence, non/dub con ]
Profile Image for savvvyreads.
203 reviews54 followers
January 26, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What I’m the fuckity fuck?!

Look, the first twist in this, I was like oh hell yeah that’s fucking cool! And then the second twist came and I was like WHAT OMG and then the last page came and I was like WHAT IS GOING ON

Anyways, if you horror erotica, lots of blood and gore, and a few twists that make you go WHAT then read the is little novella 😁

Definitely check the trigger warnings!
Profile Image for Amber.
84 reviews1 follower
January 6, 2025
This is your standard home invasion turned scary sex games

But WAIT she’s actually a DEMON!
And A FAIRY?! And Satan’s daughter because why not

BUT JK NO SHE’S NOT
She’s just crazy and has killed all her friends because she’s delusional

PLOT TWIST again she maybe is actually a demon because this dude actually has wings.

This was a fever dream. It gets an extra star because I was confused enough to keep reading when I wanted to stop.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Taylor.
389 reviews125 followers
March 25, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Don’t go into this with any form of thinking it’s a romance, because it’s not.

This was 77 pages of BAT SHIT CRAZY.

I don’t think I’ve ever read any book with this big of a mind fuck literally ever 😂

If you have any type of trigger or content warnings, then make sure you’re reading them before diving in, because this book is fucking WILD.
Profile Image for Cynthia Cooper.
53 reviews3 followers
September 22, 2022
My defense for reading this extremely violent but somehow still 🥵 novella in one sitting - it is spooky season.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 553 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.