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Royals of Forsyth University #5
Dukes of Madness
Two years of my life have been stolen by the Royals of Forsyth. Two years of captivity and hell. Two years at the whim of powerful men.
I spent that time seeking freedom.
Now I want nothing more than revenge.
It won’t be easy. It’ll be painful and humiliating, but in the end taking down the thugs and thieves and criminals terrorizing Forsyth will be worth it.
I just have to decide who to go after first.
I spent that time seeking freedom.
Now I want nothing more than revenge.
It won’t be easy. It’ll be painful and humiliating, but in the end taking down the thugs and thieves and criminals terrorizing Forsyth will be worth it.
I just have to decide who to go after first.
564 pages, Paperback
Published June 21, 2022
1118 people are currently reading
11051 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 652 reviews
September 13, 2022
4.5 stars
Fuck the authors for writing such a mind-boggling cliff hanger AGAIN which I'll endlessly think about for the next few months.
Fuck Sy for literally rocking my whole world and changing the basis of my DNA. I will always forgive you Sy. My repressed, sexually stunted, monster-cocked misogynist. 🥺
Fuck Remy for being the cutest unhinged druggie of west end. Y'all seriously need to get him to a psych ward tho💀
Fuck Nick because fuck Nick #boyfriendgoals #itsfinebecausehelovesher #atleasthesaidsorry #justicefornick
A hug for Lavinia. Never disrespecting my mother.
And lastly....fuck this shit for being so good.
I have so many damn thoughts except any hopes of writing a comprehensive review can be forgotten.
To put it shortly, I have no idea how I became so attached to all the characters in the Dukes trilogy. I don't know if it's the top tier writing, the surprisingly layered characters with outstanding development, or maybe the comedic interactions that make these books so hilarious. The balance works so well, I was actually giddy while reading this. Did some parts perhaps drag? Sure, whatever. It was still worth it.
Lords of Pain (1) - 2 stars
Lords of Wraths (2) - 4 stars
Lords of Mercy (3) - 3.5 stars
Dukes of Ruin (4) - 4 stars
Dukes of Madness (5) - 4.5 stars
TBR the rest when released
Fuck the authors for writing such a mind-boggling cliff hanger AGAIN which I'll endlessly think about for the next few months.
Fuck Sy for literally rocking my whole world and changing the basis of my DNA. I will always forgive you Sy. My repressed, sexually stunted, monster-cocked misogynist. 🥺
Fuck Remy for being the cutest unhinged druggie of west end. Y'all seriously need to get him to a psych ward tho💀
Fuck Nick because fuck Nick #boyfriendgoals #itsfinebecausehelovesher #atleasthesaidsorry #justicefornick
“I need to touch her. I need her to look at me. I need to taste her. I need everyone to know she’s mine. I need her to know she’s mine. I need her attention. I need—”
“What you need is massive amounts of therapy. I mean, Jesus Christ, Nicky.”
A hug for Lavinia. Never disrespecting my mother.
And lastly....fuck this shit for being so good.
I have so many damn thoughts except any hopes of writing a comprehensive review can be forgotten.
To put it shortly, I have no idea how I became so attached to all the characters in the Dukes trilogy. I don't know if it's the top tier writing, the surprisingly layered characters with outstanding development, or maybe the comedic interactions that make these books so hilarious. The balance works so well, I was actually giddy while reading this. Did some parts perhaps drag? Sure, whatever. It was still worth it.
Lords of Pain (1) - 2 stars
Lords of Wraths (2) - 4 stars
Lords of Mercy (3) - 3.5 stars
Dukes of Ruin (4) - 4 stars
Dukes of Madness (5) - 4.5 stars
TBR the rest when released
May 25, 2023
FML, this was so good!!
The complexity of the plot, with all these hidden connections between characters and how secrets kept being revealed was mind blowing. Even when this book suffered a bit from middle book syndrome, just the character development was enough to blow my mind.
I love how much Story and her Lords were involved in this story. And her friendship with Lavinia was my everything. In fact, the sorority from all women involved in this world with Lavinia was one of my favorite parts. Story saying it was about time Royal women worked together got me so excited. I need more of this in the next book.
I’m a person with a particular hard on for parallels in books. And the way this book’s character arcs paralleled the first book’s is mind blowing. The way the first book ends with Nick royally screwing things up, and Sy and Remy on the right track, and how in the second book, it’s the opposite? Pure poetry.
The three Dukes’ character development was the real reason why this book was so addictive. Take Nick, for example. I absolutely despised him by the end of the first book. But by the end of this one, he’s probably my favorite?? How insane is that? I love it when an author manages to mind fuck me like this.
The slow blossoming of a real relationship between Nick and Livvy was so well done. The pace was insane and what she did to him as revenge was chefs kiss. We need more women in fiction taking things to crazy levels to get revenge, please. Nick’s acceptance of his punishment was cathartic to say the least. And here’s the reason why I’m obsessed with these books: he realized what he was doing to Livvy was wrong, apologized and changed. He showed patience and understanding, and his willingness to protect her no matter what, was such a turn on. That scene with the pistol had my heart racing. And his awe at Livvy offering herself freely to him had me melting.
In conclusion, Nick went from thinking loving someone equaled to controlling and abusing that person, to understanding he had fucked up and giving his love without expecting anything in return. And that was my fucking everything.
Sy and his body dysmorphia with his ginormous dick was the best part of the first half of the book. The way he took care of Livvy and nursed her back to life, the intimacy that grew between them... Even his stupid relationship with the cat, ugh my heart was literally fucking swooning. The deal they made to help each other consumed me for a great part of the story. But ultimately, Sy lost a few points with me with his selfishness in bed. There’s nothing hot about a dude focusing on his own pleasure.
Admittedly, the way he “discovered” p*ssy was the greatest, and I can’t deny that there’s something stupidly sexy about a hot dude with a monster cock who has no experience and requires guidance. That scene with Remy, Sy and Livvy was the hottest in the whole book by far.
What happened at the end of the book with Sy, though. I was expecting this. And the way Lavinia stayed put and allowed him to continue was heartbreaking. She truly cared for him by then, but Sy was too blindsided by his own issues and traumas to just let it all go for her. I can’t wait to read his character development in the next book, because the glimpse at the end of this was fucking amazing. And I still have hopes for them to find a way to have satisfactory penetrative sex, pretty please.
When he asked Lavinia if she was his girlfriend… like, I want to be annoyed at how stupid Sy can be sometimes, but he’s too fucking adorable. Ugh.
On the other hand, Remy was a bit too absent in the first half of the book for me to buy his insane chemistry with Lavinia. The way she panted after him was a bit too much. I wouldn’t have minded if they had shared more scenes together. After they finally had sex, things got better tho. Until he completely lost his marvels and had another girl give him a bj. I understand he was suffering a breakdown, but he knew what he was doing and he did it on purpose to hurt her, to punish her for talking to his father (just talking!). Like, fuck you asshole :)
Something I found fascinating was how the harem aspect was explored here. Lavinia would go to one of them when another failed to satisfy her. She seemed to understand pretty early on the perks of having 3 guys at your disposal and she wasn’t shy about seeking them out, which I loved. Getting to read someone as closed off as Lavinia to slowly unravel and open up to these men was so well done, too. I loved her character growth in this book, and how genuine it felt when she had real feelings for all of them by the end of the book.
That cliffhanger was pure evil and I have no idea how I’ll cope until this fall to read the conclusion.
The complexity of the plot, with all these hidden connections between characters and how secrets kept being revealed was mind blowing. Even when this book suffered a bit from middle book syndrome, just the character development was enough to blow my mind.
I love how much Story and her Lords were involved in this story. And her friendship with Lavinia was my everything. In fact, the sorority from all women involved in this world with Lavinia was one of my favorite parts. Story saying it was about time Royal women worked together got me so excited. I need more of this in the next book.
I’m a person with a particular hard on for parallels in books. And the way this book’s character arcs paralleled the first book’s is mind blowing. The way the first book ends with Nick royally screwing things up, and Sy and Remy on the right track, and how in the second book, it’s the opposite? Pure poetry.
The three Dukes’ character development was the real reason why this book was so addictive. Take Nick, for example. I absolutely despised him by the end of the first book. But by the end of this one, he’s probably my favorite?? How insane is that? I love it when an author manages to mind fuck me like this.
The slow blossoming of a real relationship between Nick and Livvy was so well done. The pace was insane and what she did to him as revenge was chefs kiss. We need more women in fiction taking things to crazy levels to get revenge, please. Nick’s acceptance of his punishment was cathartic to say the least. And here’s the reason why I’m obsessed with these books: he realized what he was doing to Livvy was wrong, apologized and changed. He showed patience and understanding, and his willingness to protect her no matter what, was such a turn on. That scene with the pistol had my heart racing. And his awe at Livvy offering herself freely to him had me melting.
In conclusion, Nick went from thinking loving someone equaled to controlling and abusing that person, to understanding he had fucked up and giving his love without expecting anything in return. And that was my fucking everything.
Sy and his body dysmorphia with his ginormous dick was the best part of the first half of the book. The way he took care of Livvy and nursed her back to life, the intimacy that grew between them... Even his stupid relationship with the cat, ugh my heart was literally fucking swooning. The deal they made to help each other consumed me for a great part of the story. But ultimately, Sy lost a few points with me with his selfishness in bed. There’s nothing hot about a dude focusing on his own pleasure.
Admittedly, the way he “discovered” p*ssy was the greatest, and I can’t deny that there’s something stupidly sexy about a hot dude with a monster cock who has no experience and requires guidance. That scene with Remy, Sy and Livvy was the hottest in the whole book by far.
What happened at the end of the book with Sy, though. I was expecting this. And the way Lavinia stayed put and allowed him to continue was heartbreaking. She truly cared for him by then, but Sy was too blindsided by his own issues and traumas to just let it all go for her. I can’t wait to read his character development in the next book, because the glimpse at the end of this was fucking amazing. And I still have hopes for them to find a way to have satisfactory penetrative sex, pretty please.
When he asked Lavinia if she was his girlfriend… like, I want to be annoyed at how stupid Sy can be sometimes, but he’s too fucking adorable. Ugh.
On the other hand, Remy was a bit too absent in the first half of the book for me to buy his insane chemistry with Lavinia. The way she panted after him was a bit too much. I wouldn’t have minded if they had shared more scenes together. After they finally had sex, things got better tho. Until he completely lost his marvels and had another girl give him a bj. I understand he was suffering a breakdown, but he knew what he was doing and he did it on purpose to hurt her, to punish her for talking to his father (just talking!). Like, fuck you asshole :)
Something I found fascinating was how the harem aspect was explored here. Lavinia would go to one of them when another failed to satisfy her. She seemed to understand pretty early on the perks of having 3 guys at your disposal and she wasn’t shy about seeking them out, which I loved. Getting to read someone as closed off as Lavinia to slowly unravel and open up to these men was so well done, too. I loved her character growth in this book, and how genuine it felt when she had real feelings for all of them by the end of the book.
That cliffhanger was pure evil and I have no idea how I’ll cope until this fall to read the conclusion.
June 26, 2022
I liked this book so much more than I even expected to. Going into it, I was afraid it would ruin Nick. He was my favorite in Dukes of Ruin, but he did SUCH a shitty thing at the end. I was worried about how this book would follow up on that, because groveling and apologizing doesn’t really fit the tone of a series with psycho heroes.
I’m impressed at the direction this took with him.
I never expected this ridiculous, over the top, dubious consent story to have so much emotional complexity. The rift between Lavinia and Nick isn’t healed with just one conversation, or one act from him. They have several tense interactions that build into quiet emotional moments. The whole scene in the tomb with the Barons and the Russian Roulette was excellent. Especially the moment where he wanted to kiss her before he possibly died...
Wouldn’t deny a dying man a kiss, would I? I watch the impulse tighten his features, and then I watch it bleed away, something in his face collapsing in defeat. I stare at him in confusion. I would have let you take it. He stares back with a sad grin. I know.
He did a lot to atone for his betrayal, and show his care for her. But he wasn’t doing it in a way that felt implausible for his personality. It wouldn’t feel in-character if he was suddenly soft and giving her flowers (her enemy’s severed head? Yes. Flowers, no). There are so many dark RH series where the heroine is like, “Oh, you raped me and almost got me killed? My reaction is to forgive you immediately!!” It’s ironic that this OTT dub con series handles that better than more normal series.
I wouldn’t call what Nick does a grovel, but it’s better, because it fits his character. He’s redeemed without changing who he is too much, and without making Lavinia a doormat for him. There are so FEW stories where the hero treats the heroine horribly and then has a satisfying arc (including the Lords of Pain books, I was not satisfied!) but this one does. To the extent that it IS a grovel, it might be the best one I've ever seen for a dark dub con/non con story.
The Nick and Lavinia relationship arc is so good, and he’s such a fascinating and contradictory hero: devoted, obsessed, cruel, vicious, tender. (Not to mention, endearing, when he does things like admit he's read every book he brought Lavinia, including smutty ones. Or when he's in trouble for doing murder and he's given a chance to say he's innocent, he's like, "Yep, I did it, I have no regrets, it was fun!")
For me, it's all about Nick, but Remy and Sy are there too, and this book handled them in a good way, too. Remy is fine, he doesn’t do much for me as a hero, but there’s some interesting developments with him. I hated Sy in the first book. But, he did a big turnaround here, caring for Lavinia while she healed. He still often was an ass, but I liked that because it didn’t feel like he changed his entire personality too abruptly. He also HAS more of a personality in this book than he had last book. I’m still not thrilled that he’s a racist stereotype (he’s the only man of color and his main qualities are “angry” and “huge dick.” It’s not great!!) But at least in this book, he feels more fleshed out as a character beyond that. It’s hard not to warm up to a guy who’s in a battle of wills with a kitten.
Lavinia remains fantastic. I usually find belligerent heroines annoying, but she’s such a good (justifiably!) angry heroine. I also like that she loves learning. Usually, brainy heroines are meek. So, it feels rare to get a heroine who's angry AND bookish. And she really feels like an equal to the guys here, MUCH more than Story ever felt in the Lords books.
The plot is all over the place, but a lot of interesting stuff was happening, so I was never bored, even though it was long. It’s wild how much better this trilogy is than the Lords one.
I’m impressed at the direction this took with him.
I never expected this ridiculous, over the top, dubious consent story to have so much emotional complexity. The rift between Lavinia and Nick isn’t healed with just one conversation, or one act from him. They have several tense interactions that build into quiet emotional moments. The whole scene in the tomb with the Barons and the Russian Roulette was excellent. Especially the moment where he wanted to kiss her before he possibly died...
Wouldn’t deny a dying man a kiss, would I? I watch the impulse tighten his features, and then I watch it bleed away, something in his face collapsing in defeat. I stare at him in confusion. I would have let you take it. He stares back with a sad grin. I know.
He did a lot to atone for his betrayal, and show his care for her. But he wasn’t doing it in a way that felt implausible for his personality. It wouldn’t feel in-character if he was suddenly soft and giving her flowers (her enemy’s severed head? Yes. Flowers, no). There are so many dark RH series where the heroine is like, “Oh, you raped me and almost got me killed? My reaction is to forgive you immediately!!” It’s ironic that this OTT dub con series handles that better than more normal series.
I wouldn’t call what Nick does a grovel, but it’s better, because it fits his character. He’s redeemed without changing who he is too much, and without making Lavinia a doormat for him. There are so FEW stories where the hero treats the heroine horribly and then has a satisfying arc (including the Lords of Pain books, I was not satisfied!) but this one does. To the extent that it IS a grovel, it might be the best one I've ever seen for a dark dub con/non con story.
The Nick and Lavinia relationship arc is so good, and he’s such a fascinating and contradictory hero: devoted, obsessed, cruel, vicious, tender. (Not to mention, endearing, when he does things like admit he's read every book he brought Lavinia, including smutty ones. Or when he's in trouble for doing murder and he's given a chance to say he's innocent, he's like, "Yep, I did it, I have no regrets, it was fun!")
For me, it's all about Nick, but Remy and Sy are there too, and this book handled them in a good way, too. Remy is fine, he doesn’t do much for me as a hero, but there’s some interesting developments with him. I hated Sy in the first book. But, he did a big turnaround here, caring for Lavinia while she healed. He still often was an ass, but I liked that because it didn’t feel like he changed his entire personality too abruptly. He also HAS more of a personality in this book than he had last book. I’m still not thrilled that he’s a racist stereotype (he’s the only man of color and his main qualities are “angry” and “huge dick.” It’s not great!!) But at least in this book, he feels more fleshed out as a character beyond that. It’s hard not to warm up to a guy who’s in a battle of wills with a kitten.
Lavinia remains fantastic. I usually find belligerent heroines annoying, but she’s such a good (justifiably!) angry heroine. I also like that she loves learning. Usually, brainy heroines are meek. So, it feels rare to get a heroine who's angry AND bookish. And she really feels like an equal to the guys here, MUCH more than Story ever felt in the Lords books.
The plot is all over the place, but a lot of interesting stuff was happening, so I was never bored, even though it was long. It’s wild how much better this trilogy is than the Lords one.
July 2, 2022
Wow, I was worried that this second book would not be as good or entertaining as the first, but it didn't disappoint!
This book continues with Lavinia being rescued by Sy and brought back to slowly start recovering. Nick stays away during Lavinia's recovery, scared to see her rejecting him after his fuck up from the previous book. Sy, on the other hand, improves his rank in the reverse harem by being a gruff sweetheart and almost single handedly nursing Lavinia back to health (physically and mentally). I knew this boy was showing promise for being husband material at the very end of book 1 🥰.
The heroine, Lavinia:
Your girl Lavinia is still badass and awesome. She goes a bit shell-shocked in the beginning (which only works in her favor because it helps Sy realize how much he actually likes her when she's sassy). But she recovers and is back to her badass self pretty quickly. I absolutely adore that she took matters into her own hands and extracted swift revenge against Nick for what he did. I laughed when she even roped Story into being her accomplice 😂. Only thing I wasn't very fond of was near the end of this book... she seemed to lose some of her edge and was too forgiving and babying towards Remy. This relates to my biggest complaint for this book I'll talk about later.
Nick, STILL Best Husband #1:
Yes, even after Nick's massive screw-up, he's still my favorite psycho husband of the group 🥰. It wasn't looking promising at first, but he DID eventually redeem himself. I'll admit at first I was giving him the angry side eye when he kept trying to screw other women at Killian's brothel to get over Lavinia.
Could've done without that. While it was funny to see them all reject him and refuse to service him because he abused his Duchess, I would've preferred that he stayed loyal because he wanted to and not because they all refused to sleep with him 😐. I also will never understand the way these Royals do things... why would the prostitutes refuse to sleep with him while he's broken up with Lavinia, but be ok with sleeping with him as soon as they got back together? Makes no damn sense 🤡.
But anywho. Nick is still the crazed, jealous maniac that we know and love from the first book. This guy will never fail to impress me with his psychotic, stalking ways. I died when he STARTED CRAWLING THROUGH THE RAFTERS AND VENTS LIKE A HORROR MOVIE CREATURE, peering through holes in the ceiling to spy on Lavinia to make sure she's not being dicked by the other guys 😂😂💀.
Why is this guy so creepy and hilarious?! 🤣
I said it once and I'll say it again - Nick is so not the type for polyamory. He was made for monogamy, and it's sad for him but highly entertaining for us readers to watch him die inside every time he has to share Lavinia. He spent almost the entire book on edge trying to make sure the other guys didn't bone her.
It's honestly refreshing to see such a jealous man in a reverse harem 😂.
After Nick gets his head out of his ass, he finally does all the right things like murdering some rando in exchange for getting information on Lavinia's missing sister, risking his life for Lavinia to be able to get closure, and murdering Lavinia's ex-fiance and gifting her his bloody head. I was SWOONING at his gestures of love.
"It flusters me to know they’re probably getting rid of the head. Don’t they realize that I brought it here for her? It doesn’t matter, I guess. The whole meaning of it was lost the second she opened her jaw and shrieked in horror at the sight of it. But I’d spent the extra time to saw it away, and I’d been so excited to drive it over here to show her, although now that I really consider it, I don’t know why."
Nick groveled and redeemed himself, and I actually felt kind of bad for him by the end. I'm glad they finally made up. In my opinion, Nick matches Lavinia the best. They can be such psychos together, and Nick loves it even when Lavinia directs that darkness at him 😍.
Christ. My girl is a fucking sadist.
Into the suffocating darkness of my cage, I grin.
[...]I know Remy and Sy think I’m a little crazy when it comes to her, and maybe they’re right, because yeah, I’m completely fucked right now—locked up, no way out, completely at the mercy of someone who wants revenge. And it’s a physical battle to stop myself from smiling. Clearly, I fail. She freezes, lip curling. “Are you smiling?”
Also, your man literally gave up freedom and stayed in a cage until Lavinia forgave him. None of the Lords would've done that for Story. This guy is whipped for his girl. Special mention goes to how he immediately got a permanent tattoo of Lavinia's lipstick marks on his neck after she kissed it, and the fact that he unashamedly has "Lavinia Bruin" as his laptop password in anticipation of wifing her 🤣.
Sy, husband #2:
I'd have promoted Sy to best husband now, except Nick is just so psycho and amazing that it's impossible to overtake him. Sy was an adorable sweetie in this book, though. He and Lavinia have huge breakthroughs in their relationship here. Sy actually got way more development and screentime than Remy... which is weird because Remy is shown prominently on this cover and was supposed to be the focus. But I ain't gonna complain, because I do not like Remy. Sy and Lavinia now have a give-and-take relationship where he trains Lavinia in self defense and she coaches him on sex 👀. Most of the time it involves giving him handjobs in bed while Nick agonizes over it while watching in the attic ceiling like a creeper 👁👄👁. I thought it was adorable how passive aggressive Sy was about getting Lavinia to go to bed and jerk him off..
"Sy is just starting to make his neurotic ‘going to bed’ noises, and just like every night lately, that routine includes walking by Lavinia every ten minutes.
[...]I watch as Sy does another pass to the bathroom, and sometimes I wonder how we’re related. He’s annoyingly obvious, shooting her these little glances as he walks by."
Sy and Lavinia's relationship is probably the most "typical" romance out of the group. He starts out hating how attracted he is to her, then nurses her when she's hurt, they bond and teach each other things, then fall in love. He was definitely the "nicest" one throughout this entire book. He was also the only one who made no move to cheat on Lavinia and showed no sexual interest in anyone else except her. At first I was super worried based on reviews and comments about the irredeemable thing he did...
but then I reached the part about the party and was like...
...Then I remembered that I'm messed up and consume massive quantities of depraved rape and noncon romance.
I thought that party scene was hot 😶. I've always been into psycho heroes who use the "just the tip" scam on the heroines. And he felt remorse right after and even left his sex journal for Lavinia to read like it's a love letter to her 🥺. Also, the fact he innocently asked if they were boyfriend and girlfriend made my cold dead heart feel warm and fuzzy inside 🥲.
Remy, the least favorite husband:
Meanwhile, Remy... uh... gets hooked on hard drugs, accuses Lavinia of sleeping with his dad, and cheats on her.
Basically my range of emotions towards Remy:
Remy was a bust for me. Honestly, I was never very into him, but he really sunk to an all time low for me in this book. I always got the feeling he'd be the least loyal and most sleazy out of the guys, and I was right. And even before his massive fuck up, which ended up getting forgiven and handwaved by Lavinia (because he has mental issues and was on drugs), I wasn't very fond of the dynamic that was developing. Almost every scene with him involved him needing to be babysat by Sy or Lavinia. While I understand he has disabilities, I don't find it sexy or romantic that he needs to be babied and micromanaged by them. And let's face it - despite how he protests and wants to say otherwise, he does need them to. He literally started using hard drugs as soon as Sy and Lavinia took their eyes off him. I honestly can't even imagine a realistic HEA for this story where Remy stays alive and doesn't accidentally kill himself either by flinging himself off a cliff or overdosing. I've read romance stories where the hero has disabilities or mental health issues, and many of them can still feel like amazing heroes that are sexy. But with this one, Remy just felt manwhore-ish and gross. The icing on the shit cake was him not even hesitating to shame Lavinia publicly at the fighting ring and use some other woman.
All in all, I still really enjoyed reading this book. Lavinia, Nick, and Sy are great. I could really do without Remy. I'm not sure there's much the authors can do to redeem him and make him likeable in the third book. But in the end, I'll still read and most likely enjoy the next book, as long as the other three stay true to character.
Safety:
* Heroine not a virgin, lost virginity to someone else before the novels began.
* Only Sy is a virgin. Nick and Remy both were manwhores.
* Dubcon and noncon - Sy ends up raping Lavinia in public while drunk.
* Cheating! Remy chooses a different girl to be his cheerleader during his fight, and after his fight he gets her to give him a blow job. Nick also attempts to sleep with prostitutes in order to get over Lavinia, but none of them were willing to, so he doesn't actually end up cheating on her.
This book continues with Lavinia being rescued by Sy and brought back to slowly start recovering. Nick stays away during Lavinia's recovery, scared to see her rejecting him after his fuck up from the previous book. Sy, on the other hand, improves his rank in the reverse harem by being a gruff sweetheart and almost single handedly nursing Lavinia back to health (physically and mentally). I knew this boy was showing promise for being husband material at the very end of book 1 🥰.
The heroine, Lavinia:
Your girl Lavinia is still badass and awesome. She goes a bit shell-shocked in the beginning (which only works in her favor because it helps Sy realize how much he actually likes her when she's sassy). But she recovers and is back to her badass self pretty quickly. I absolutely adore that she took matters into her own hands and extracted swift revenge against Nick for what he did. I laughed when she even roped Story into being her accomplice 😂. Only thing I wasn't very fond of was near the end of this book... she seemed to lose some of her edge and was too forgiving and babying towards Remy. This relates to my biggest complaint for this book I'll talk about later.
Nick, STILL Best Husband #1:
Yes, even after Nick's massive screw-up, he's still my favorite psycho husband of the group 🥰. It wasn't looking promising at first, but he DID eventually redeem himself. I'll admit at first I was giving him the angry side eye when he kept trying to screw other women at Killian's brothel to get over Lavinia.
Could've done without that. While it was funny to see them all reject him and refuse to service him because he abused his Duchess, I would've preferred that he stayed loyal because he wanted to and not because they all refused to sleep with him 😐. I also will never understand the way these Royals do things... why would the prostitutes refuse to sleep with him while he's broken up with Lavinia, but be ok with sleeping with him as soon as they got back together? Makes no damn sense 🤡.
But anywho. Nick is still the crazed, jealous maniac that we know and love from the first book. This guy will never fail to impress me with his psychotic, stalking ways. I died when he STARTED CRAWLING THROUGH THE RAFTERS AND VENTS LIKE A HORROR MOVIE CREATURE, peering through holes in the ceiling to spy on Lavinia to make sure she's not being dicked by the other guys 😂😂💀.
Why is this guy so creepy and hilarious?! 🤣
I said it once and I'll say it again - Nick is so not the type for polyamory. He was made for monogamy, and it's sad for him but highly entertaining for us readers to watch him die inside every time he has to share Lavinia. He spent almost the entire book on edge trying to make sure the other guys didn't bone her.
It's honestly refreshing to see such a jealous man in a reverse harem 😂.
After Nick gets his head out of his ass, he finally does all the right things like murdering some rando in exchange for getting information on Lavinia's missing sister, risking his life for Lavinia to be able to get closure, and murdering Lavinia's ex-fiance and gifting her his bloody head. I was SWOONING at his gestures of love.
"It flusters me to know they’re probably getting rid of the head. Don’t they realize that I brought it here for her? It doesn’t matter, I guess. The whole meaning of it was lost the second she opened her jaw and shrieked in horror at the sight of it. But I’d spent the extra time to saw it away, and I’d been so excited to drive it over here to show her, although now that I really consider it, I don’t know why."
Nick groveled and redeemed himself, and I actually felt kind of bad for him by the end. I'm glad they finally made up. In my opinion, Nick matches Lavinia the best. They can be such psychos together, and Nick loves it even when Lavinia directs that darkness at him 😍.
Christ. My girl is a fucking sadist.
Into the suffocating darkness of my cage, I grin.
[...]I know Remy and Sy think I’m a little crazy when it comes to her, and maybe they’re right, because yeah, I’m completely fucked right now—locked up, no way out, completely at the mercy of someone who wants revenge. And it’s a physical battle to stop myself from smiling. Clearly, I fail. She freezes, lip curling. “Are you smiling?”
Also, your man literally gave up freedom and stayed in a cage until Lavinia forgave him. None of the Lords would've done that for Story. This guy is whipped for his girl. Special mention goes to how he immediately got a permanent tattoo of Lavinia's lipstick marks on his neck after she kissed it, and the fact that he unashamedly has "Lavinia Bruin" as his laptop password in anticipation of wifing her 🤣.
Sy, husband #2:
I'd have promoted Sy to best husband now, except Nick is just so psycho and amazing that it's impossible to overtake him. Sy was an adorable sweetie in this book, though. He and Lavinia have huge breakthroughs in their relationship here. Sy actually got way more development and screentime than Remy... which is weird because Remy is shown prominently on this cover and was supposed to be the focus. But I ain't gonna complain, because I do not like Remy. Sy and Lavinia now have a give-and-take relationship where he trains Lavinia in self defense and she coaches him on sex 👀. Most of the time it involves giving him handjobs in bed while Nick agonizes over it while watching in the attic ceiling like a creeper 👁👄👁. I thought it was adorable how passive aggressive Sy was about getting Lavinia to go to bed and jerk him off..
"Sy is just starting to make his neurotic ‘going to bed’ noises, and just like every night lately, that routine includes walking by Lavinia every ten minutes.
[...]I watch as Sy does another pass to the bathroom, and sometimes I wonder how we’re related. He’s annoyingly obvious, shooting her these little glances as he walks by."
Sy and Lavinia's relationship is probably the most "typical" romance out of the group. He starts out hating how attracted he is to her, then nurses her when she's hurt, they bond and teach each other things, then fall in love. He was definitely the "nicest" one throughout this entire book. He was also the only one who made no move to cheat on Lavinia and showed no sexual interest in anyone else except her. At first I was super worried based on reviews and comments about the irredeemable thing he did...
but then I reached the part about the party and was like...
...Then I remembered that I'm messed up and consume massive quantities of depraved rape and noncon romance.
I thought that party scene was hot 😶. I've always been into psycho heroes who use the "just the tip" scam on the heroines. And he felt remorse right after and even left his sex journal for Lavinia to read like it's a love letter to her 🥺. Also, the fact he innocently asked if they were boyfriend and girlfriend made my cold dead heart feel warm and fuzzy inside 🥲.
Remy, the least favorite husband:
Meanwhile, Remy... uh... gets hooked on hard drugs, accuses Lavinia of sleeping with his dad, and cheats on her.
Basically my range of emotions towards Remy:
Remy was a bust for me. Honestly, I was never very into him, but he really sunk to an all time low for me in this book. I always got the feeling he'd be the least loyal and most sleazy out of the guys, and I was right. And even before his massive fuck up, which ended up getting forgiven and handwaved by Lavinia (because he has mental issues and was on drugs), I wasn't very fond of the dynamic that was developing. Almost every scene with him involved him needing to be babysat by Sy or Lavinia. While I understand he has disabilities, I don't find it sexy or romantic that he needs to be babied and micromanaged by them. And let's face it - despite how he protests and wants to say otherwise, he does need them to. He literally started using hard drugs as soon as Sy and Lavinia took their eyes off him. I honestly can't even imagine a realistic HEA for this story where Remy stays alive and doesn't accidentally kill himself either by flinging himself off a cliff or overdosing. I've read romance stories where the hero has disabilities or mental health issues, and many of them can still feel like amazing heroes that are sexy. But with this one, Remy just felt manwhore-ish and gross. The icing on the shit cake was him not even hesitating to shame Lavinia publicly at the fighting ring and use some other woman.
All in all, I still really enjoyed reading this book. Lavinia, Nick, and Sy are great. I could really do without Remy. I'm not sure there's much the authors can do to redeem him and make him likeable in the third book. But in the end, I'll still read and most likely enjoy the next book, as long as the other three stay true to character.
Safety:
* Heroine not a virgin, lost virginity to someone else before the novels began.
* Only Sy is a virgin. Nick and Remy both were manwhores.
* Dubcon and noncon - Sy ends up raping Lavinia in public while drunk.
* Cheating! Remy chooses a different girl to be his cheerleader during his fight, and after his fight he gets her to give him a blow job. Nick also attempts to sleep with prostitutes in order to get over Lavinia, but none of them were willing to, so he doesn't actually end up cheating on her.
June 4, 2024
ETA #2 (Yes I'm back again): *clears throat* After SEVERAL re-reads and A LOT of deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that Remy always had a wandering eye. And I don't like that one bit. The moment I finally warmed up to him, he had to go and pull that shit at the end. And then he had the audacity to confess his love for Lavinia as if he didn't just cheat on her a couple hours back. It felt like a slap in the face and fucking broke me. I really wanted to see him SUFFER - I still do #justiceforlav but it is what it is. The only reason I even continued, despite cheating being a HUGE NO for me, was because of the writing and the authors (chef's kiss btw). These books have crack - no, sorry, viper scratch - which is what makes them so addictive and unputdownable. Remy and I have a very complicated love/hate (but mostly anger) relationship and he's still on my shit list but I also kinda like him ig if that makes sense? The Dukes are my least fave obv (except Sy my precious little munchkin ILYYYYY) because I feel like they traumatised Lav on a whole different level lmfao. Despite it all, I still feel a pull towards them and keep going back.
P.S. Anyone else hate when their brain just picks some random time to be annoyed by a character and then torture themselves over it? I FUCKING HATE IT😭
ETA: *takes a deep breath* I finally plucked up the courage and read chapter 31 the other day after almost two years. I was so sick before I read it - if you know me then you know that I DESPISE OW drama. But shockingly, when I read that scene again, it didn't hurt me as much as I'd expected it to. My only solace was that Remy only came when he saw and thought of Vinny. Doesn't mean that that scene doesn't hurt tho. Remy's still my least fave but I think I've kinda sorta made peace with what he did in a way ig. I've said this before and I'll say it again...I prolly wouldn't have continued this series had it been written by anyone else. But with Samgel? I'm pretty sure I'd go through anything because the redemption in the end makes it worth it for me. This series is most def not the safest read - and this is coming from a reader who only likes safe reads - but it's provided me comfort when I needed it the most so it what it is. Also just an fyi, I have a list of chapters that I avoid in this series because they end up making me feel annoyed and mad (mostly because it involves an OW and shit like that) + my list of fave men in this series is based on fidelity/the level of betrayal. My number one will ALWAYS be Sy followed by Lex, Pace, Wick (PRINCES SUPREMACY), Dimitri, Tristian, Killian (he was such a fucking idiot for more than half the trilogy istfg), Nick (his betrayal still stings but then again no one has loved/been obssessed with a woman as much as Pretty Nick was with Lav) and last Remy (because yk why😒).
Re-read 29/02/24: I hate you Remy. But I also love you. I wanna slap you Remy. But then I wanna kiss you just as hard. Urghh it's so hard being mentally unstable am I rite??? Won't lie tho...he shoulda grovelled his ass off lolz. I still haven't plucked up the courage to read chapter 31 - it's still so painful😭
Re-read 09/12/23: Sy, my squishy (well, not really) cute widdle teddy bear🥰🥰🥰 HE'S SUCH A CUTIE PATOOTIE HEHEHEHJSKSKSKKS🥺 Also, Remy you lil shit. Nasty ass fucker. The shit he pulled still makes me mad. But my heart hurts for him as well🥲
Re-read 16/11/23: I always skip chapter 31. It still hurts to read it. But I'm so here for Nick's redemption arc and Sy realising his fuck up in this one (him giving Lav his journal? SOB SOB). Remy though...it's a battle everyday between wanting to forgive him and straight up throttle him. As someone with a mental disorder as well, mental health issues can be a reason but not an excuse. I said what I said.
Re-read 11/08/23: 4⭐️
Shit. The agony. I don't think I even have it in me to be mad at Remy anymore. Just sad. And hurt. Man's gotta suffer tho - but it's clear he's already doing it to himself. I'd been so torn about the whole OW drama/cheating thing that I'd been going back and forth over it for so many months. I finally did some research today about people with bipolar disorder and how they get these delusions and how people are out to get them - it did ease my hatred towards Remy a little. Just a little. He's still my least favorite Duke though dw. And he really should have grovelled more but whatever ig. Nick's redemption arc was really good tho ngl. I've said this before and I'll say it again...Samgel are the only authors I'd go through this torture for. The writing and world building in the Dukes trilogy (as compared to the Lords) was insanely good, but because the Dukes fucked up more than the Lords, Killian, Rath and Tristian are my favorites - the Princes are a close second unless they majorly fuck up in PoA. I will never understand how and why this series altered my brain chemistry, but it has. Not to mention the fact that the fucked up shit I just read has me questioning myself and whether I really know me lmao. Wild ride, emotionally exhausting and smutty af at the same time, but I wouldn't change it for the world. That's the thing about the Forsyth men - you love to hate them and you hate to love them at the same time. It's inevitable. Anyways, I'm contemplating tattooing this shit on me because I literally know this series by heart atp lolololol😂💀
Edit (AGAIN because I forgot to include this in the original review): Massive TW for this book since the it hasn't been included in the authors' TW/CW page (yes, I checked chile)...there's ‼️CHEATING‼️. So make sure you're gonna be okay with that before you dive in. For me, I was super mad but not as triggered as I'd usually be - but it was still mad and I'd like to pretend that it didn't happen because I so badly wanted to like he-who-shall-not-be-named-from-now-on💀
Edit (after reading Dukes of Peril)‼️POTENTIAL SPOILERS‼️: Remember when I said that I could see myself forgiving Remy? Yeah. I LIED. Remy can go fuck himself to hell and back and get stuck in a bottomless pit for all I care teehehehhehe😚💅🏻 Like I woulda kicked him outta the harem if I were Vinny. I mean, isn't that the best thing about RH? If any one of your men fuck up, you've always got two or more men as backup lmfao😂 Also the Lords trilogy was much better than the Dukes trilogy imo eventhough Killian, Rath and Tristian were massive cunts for more than 2 outta three books. At least they didn't "cheat" (apart from that one lil incident with Killian. Story and Killian hadn't had sex till then and she basically hated him so ig I can ignore that) on Story. Can't say the same for Remy and Nick (cuz he almost did) SIKE💀
Remy's gotta atone for that little stunt he pulled after the fight...I'm still kinda irked about that, but I feel like I prolly could forgive him in the next book. Who knows? We'll see🥲
P.S. Anyone else hate when their brain just picks some random time to be annoyed by a character and then torture themselves over it? I FUCKING HATE IT😭
ETA: *takes a deep breath* I finally plucked up the courage and read chapter 31 the other day after almost two years. I was so sick before I read it - if you know me then you know that I DESPISE OW drama. But shockingly, when I read that scene again, it didn't hurt me as much as I'd expected it to. My only solace was that Remy only came when he saw and thought of Vinny. Doesn't mean that that scene doesn't hurt tho. Remy's still my least fave but I think I've kinda sorta made peace with what he did in a way ig. I've said this before and I'll say it again...I prolly wouldn't have continued this series had it been written by anyone else. But with Samgel? I'm pretty sure I'd go through anything because the redemption in the end makes it worth it for me. This series is most def not the safest read - and this is coming from a reader who only likes safe reads - but it's provided me comfort when I needed it the most so it what it is. Also just an fyi, I have a list of chapters that I avoid in this series because they end up making me feel annoyed and mad (mostly because it involves an OW and shit like that) + my list of fave men in this series is based on fidelity/the level of betrayal. My number one will ALWAYS be Sy followed by Lex, Pace, Wick (PRINCES SUPREMACY), Dimitri, Tristian, Killian (he was such a fucking idiot for more than half the trilogy istfg), Nick (his betrayal still stings but then again no one has loved/been obssessed with a woman as much as Pretty Nick was with Lav) and last Remy (because yk why😒).
Re-read 29/02/24: I hate you Remy. But I also love you. I wanna slap you Remy. But then I wanna kiss you just as hard. Urghh it's so hard being mentally unstable am I rite??? Won't lie tho...he shoulda grovelled his ass off lolz. I still haven't plucked up the courage to read chapter 31 - it's still so painful😭
Re-read 09/12/23: Sy, my squishy (well, not really) cute widdle teddy bear🥰🥰🥰 HE'S SUCH A CUTIE PATOOTIE HEHEHEHJSKSKSKKS🥺 Also, Remy you lil shit. Nasty ass fucker. The shit he pulled still makes me mad. But my heart hurts for him as well🥲
Re-read 16/11/23: I always skip chapter 31. It still hurts to read it. But I'm so here for Nick's redemption arc and Sy realising his fuck up in this one (him giving Lav his journal? SOB SOB). Remy though...it's a battle everyday between wanting to forgive him and straight up throttle him. As someone with a mental disorder as well, mental health issues can be a reason but not an excuse. I said what I said.
Re-read 11/08/23: 4⭐️
Shit. The agony. I don't think I even have it in me to be mad at Remy anymore. Just sad. And hurt. Man's gotta suffer tho - but it's clear he's already doing it to himself. I'd been so torn about the whole OW drama/cheating thing that I'd been going back and forth over it for so many months. I finally did some research today about people with bipolar disorder and how they get these delusions and how people are out to get them - it did ease my hatred towards Remy a little. Just a little. He's still my least favorite Duke though dw. And he really should have grovelled more but whatever ig. Nick's redemption arc was really good tho ngl. I've said this before and I'll say it again...Samgel are the only authors I'd go through this torture for. The writing and world building in the Dukes trilogy (as compared to the Lords) was insanely good, but because the Dukes fucked up more than the Lords, Killian, Rath and Tristian are my favorites - the Princes are a close second unless they majorly fuck up in PoA. I will never understand how and why this series altered my brain chemistry, but it has. Not to mention the fact that the fucked up shit I just read has me questioning myself and whether I really know me lmao. Wild ride, emotionally exhausting and smutty af at the same time, but I wouldn't change it for the world. That's the thing about the Forsyth men - you love to hate them and you hate to love them at the same time. It's inevitable. Anyways, I'm contemplating tattooing this shit on me because I literally know this series by heart atp lolololol😂💀
Edit (AGAIN because I forgot to include this in the original review): Massive TW for this book since the it hasn't been included in the authors' TW/CW page (yes, I checked chile)...there's ‼️CHEATING‼️. So make sure you're gonna be okay with that before you dive in. For me, I was super mad but not as triggered as I'd usually be - but it was still mad and I'd like to pretend that it didn't happen because I so badly wanted to like he-who-shall-not-be-named-from-now-on💀
Edit (after reading Dukes of Peril)‼️POTENTIAL SPOILERS‼️: Remember when I said that I could see myself forgiving Remy? Yeah. I LIED. Remy can go fuck himself to hell and back and get stuck in a bottomless pit for all I care teehehehhehe😚💅🏻 Like I woulda kicked him outta the harem if I were Vinny. I mean, isn't that the best thing about RH? If any one of your men fuck up, you've always got two or more men as backup lmfao😂 Also the Lords trilogy was much better than the Dukes trilogy imo eventhough Killian, Rath and Tristian were massive cunts for more than 2 outta three books. At least they didn't "cheat" (apart from that one lil incident with Killian. Story and Killian hadn't had sex till then and she basically hated him so ig I can ignore that) on Story. Can't say the same for Remy and Nick (cuz he almost did) SIKE💀
Remy's gotta atone for that little stunt he pulled after the fight...I'm still kinda irked about that, but I feel like I prolly could forgive him in the next book. Who knows? We'll see🥲
July 25, 2022
Dukes of Madness picks up immediately following the conclusion of Dukes of Ruin. Saved from the box by Sy and returned to the Bruins belfry, Lavinia Lucia appears to have been irrevocably damaged from, not only her time in the box, but the rejection and betrayal she felt from Nick.
With mounting stress from all angles, the Dukes are all on edge and making poor decisions in this installment. While we get good grovel from one of our Dukes, I’m looking forward to an epic grovel from the other two because these Dukes… I love and loathe them in equal measure.
Did I mention the WTF cliffy. Yep, look out!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥1/2
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶
Range of Emotions: 😩🤬😳😊🤯
Ending: Cliffy
POV: 👫🏻👨🏼🤝👨🏽 {Multiple}
🗂 Genre: Gothic Romance
✨ Tropes: College, Reverse Harem, Secret Society, Kidnap/Captive, Alphahole Hero(es), Grovel, Touch-Her-and-D!e
⚠️ Safety Squad: There are several triggers. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Dukes of Madness is part of the Royals of Forsyth University world and ends on a cliffhanger. This series must be read in order.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
With mounting stress from all angles, the Dukes are all on edge and making poor decisions in this installment. While we get good grovel from one of our Dukes, I’m looking forward to an epic grovel from the other two because these Dukes… I love and loathe them in equal measure.
Did I mention the WTF cliffy. Yep, look out!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥1/2
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶
Range of Emotions: 😩🤬😳😊🤯
Ending: Cliffy
POV: 👫🏻👨🏼🤝👨🏽 {Multiple}
🗂 Genre: Gothic Romance
✨ Tropes: College, Reverse Harem, Secret Society, Kidnap/Captive, Alphahole Hero(es), Grovel, Touch-Her-and-D!e
⚠️ Safety Squad: There are several triggers. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Dukes of Madness is part of the Royals of Forsyth University world and ends on a cliffhanger. This series must be read in order.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
March 21, 2023
These characters have me in chokehold. And that cliffhanger *mindblown*
On to the next book…
On to the next book…
July 6, 2022
full review to come
April 30, 2024
“So here we are again, tied up in secrets and lies. Reliant on one another.”
bury me with these books
i finished this yesterday but once again didn’t have time to update in between books bc i sprained my ankle running to read the next one immediately. the plot is so good as always and everything is happening at a really satisfying pace. i also read the cute little archduke story i’m in love with our little baby🥲
Pretty Nick Bruin i want u and i love u and ur so funny and i’m sorry no one else in the book can see that
Sy i’m so sorry (no i’m not) but i’m still not able to let go of the fact that your biggest problem is ur gigantic dick. HOW am i meant to take that seriously
Remy is in time out😕 Vinny’s hot and strong tho so yay female power ‼️ also rly feeling the cutslut and velvet hideaway sisterhood x
bury me with these books
i finished this yesterday but once again didn’t have time to update in between books bc i sprained my ankle running to read the next one immediately. the plot is so good as always and everything is happening at a really satisfying pace. i also read the cute little archduke story i’m in love with our little baby🥲
Pretty Nick Bruin i want u and i love u and ur so funny and i’m sorry no one else in the book can see that
Sy i’m so sorry (no i’m not) but i’m still not able to let go of the fact that your biggest problem is ur gigantic dick. HOW am i meant to take that seriously
Remy is in time out😕 Vinny’s hot and strong tho so yay female power ‼️ also rly feeling the cutslut and velvet hideaway sisterhood x
September 26, 2024
he cheated wtf😭😭😭😭😭
June 27, 2022
Excellent, the best of Forsyth
What can I say? I loved it. The rich plot, the interweaving sub arcs, the character development and transition were absolutely amazing. Such talented writing that I was held captive by this world of, this exposed underbelly of Forsyth, wrapped in character redemption. The relationship they forged with a bit a give on all sides but not too much that their personalities weren’t authentic to their original. Nick was still the controlled, bad boy that flaunted consequence in the face of protecting and loving his little bird. Remy was still mentally confused tethering on imbalance, still artistic. Sy, always a winner, was moving past his repression, trading skills with Lavinia. Lavinia was still her feisty, assertive person, but hedging toward amenable, their Duchess once the guys proved their worth. And let’s not forget the rambunctious, entitled Archduke. Everyone ceded love to the kitten.
Besides the rich story and complex characters, there was an abundance of humor. Like, laughing out loud! A well-planned balance of dark themes with levity and at just the right moments. And then the spice was so hot. (4/5)
I loved the side characters too: Dukes, Bear crew and Friday night fight; the familiar Lords and their Lady; the other Royals and the power plays with the university and underworld backdrop. And how cool was the unconventional Bruin-Perelini family unit: mom, dad, and pops. There was also a lot learned more of the motivations of Remy’s and Lavinia’s fathers. More about Tate and Leticia too.
An impressive, yet deliberate unfolding of multilayered plot, nothing is as it seems, and while lengthy, its complexity of story felt as if viewing a well-made, riveting film. Heck of a cliffhanger and I can’t wait for the next book.
What can I say? I loved it. The rich plot, the interweaving sub arcs, the character development and transition were absolutely amazing. Such talented writing that I was held captive by this world of, this exposed underbelly of Forsyth, wrapped in character redemption. The relationship they forged with a bit a give on all sides but not too much that their personalities weren’t authentic to their original. Nick was still the controlled, bad boy that flaunted consequence in the face of protecting and loving his little bird. Remy was still mentally confused tethering on imbalance, still artistic. Sy, always a winner, was moving past his repression, trading skills with Lavinia. Lavinia was still her feisty, assertive person, but hedging toward amenable, their Duchess once the guys proved their worth. And let’s not forget the rambunctious, entitled Archduke. Everyone ceded love to the kitten.
Besides the rich story and complex characters, there was an abundance of humor. Like, laughing out loud! A well-planned balance of dark themes with levity and at just the right moments. And then the spice was so hot. (4/5)
I loved the side characters too: Dukes, Bear crew and Friday night fight; the familiar Lords and their Lady; the other Royals and the power plays with the university and underworld backdrop. And how cool was the unconventional Bruin-Perelini family unit: mom, dad, and pops. There was also a lot learned more of the motivations of Remy’s and Lavinia’s fathers. More about Tate and Leticia too.
An impressive, yet deliberate unfolding of multilayered plot, nothing is as it seems, and while lengthy, its complexity of story felt as if viewing a well-made, riveting film. Heck of a cliffhanger and I can’t wait for the next book.
June 28, 2022
Dukes of Madness was so much better than the first book! It was Lords level quality.
Although I still made more of an attachment to the Lords characters, the Dukes are seriously growing on me, especially Remy. I still can’t exactly say that I like Lavinia, but at least this book gave us a lot of her background and an explanation of why she is as broken as she is, so I’m at least understanding her more and accepting her choices. She is however perfect for the Dukes.
The story's pace is still slow, but at least there is a lot more smut to make up for that, and there is an actual plot and a colossal cliffhanger that is yet to unravel in the third book.
Unlike after the first book, now I can’t wait for the sequel!
Although I still made more of an attachment to the Lords characters, the Dukes are seriously growing on me, especially Remy. I still can’t exactly say that I like Lavinia, but at least this book gave us a lot of her background and an explanation of why she is as broken as she is, so I’m at least understanding her more and accepting her choices. She is however perfect for the Dukes.
The story's pace is still slow, but at least there is a lot more smut to make up for that, and there is an actual plot and a colossal cliffhanger that is yet to unravel in the third book.
Unlike after the first book, now I can’t wait for the sequel!
May 26, 2023
If your love comes with. Ruinous. Mangled. Selfish. Fuck it because I want it all, Nick! 😏
June 24, 2022
I am just a girl sitting in front of her computer trying to process and unpack all that happened in this AMAZING second installment of the Duke’s story.
We basically start off right where we ended in book 1, Dukes of Ruin. If you haven’t read that book READ NO FURTHER because there will likely be spoilers for that book. I will keep it as spoiler free as possible for Dukes of Madness though.
So, we start off exactly where we ended in book 1, with Sy rescuing Lavinia from the chest and her psycho father. They get back to the tower and that is where the story kicks off.
The depth of the story is insane. The web of plot, sub plots, tangled characters, secrets, and lies is mind blowing. There were quite a few times during reading where I was literally saying “WHAT?” out loud, and slowly going back and clicking together easter eggs that were hidden throughout the previous chapters and even books.
It would be unfair not to talk about the fantastic character development and growth for our boys and Lavinia.
Nick - I will say I ended book 1 and started book 2 pretty much on the hate side of the line for “Pretty” Nick Bruin, and I fully intended on starting a riot if he didn’t do some NEXT LEVEL groveling before he even made eye contact with Vinny. I won’t spoil anything but the character growth for Nick is so good. I don’t have to riot because he has earned my forgiveness. What he does to prove his loyalty and love, even if it isn’t a pretty love but a mess tangled complicated one, speaks volumes.
Sy – At the end of book 1 I was honestly on the fence about Sy. He had such issues with Lavinia in book 1 and wasn’t ever actually nice to her BUT he did in the end realize she WAS their duchess, and he did risk himself to save her. We see his true protector side come out. We also see a much more in-depth look into his insecurities and basically body dysmorphia issues and how it rules his life. He does start to make real breakthroughs during this book. I LOVE his relationship with Archie though lol. That whole evolution of their relationship is hilarious. By the middle of this book, I LOVED Sy. By the end I felt like he needed to earn some of his love and trust back.
Remy – I have to say that Remy is one of the most tragically beautiful characters I have read about in a long time. The representation of mental illness that Angel and Sam have done here is amazing. I also want to add here that while this isn’t exactly “character growth or insight” Not only do Angel and Sam capture life with a mental illness so well, but they also capture what living with someone you love having a mental illness so well. For me personally I connected so closely with Lavinia, Sy, and Nick in regard to living with Remy. Life with Remy isn’t exactly easy and the ones that love him each have their role in helping him to know what is real.
Lavinia – It would be so incredibly easy for someone who has been dealt the hand she was in life to fold in on their selves and give up, but not Vinny. She is a total BOSS. She takes what life has given her and uses it to her advantage the best way she knows how. She is so strong and courageous. She shows those boys who really owns who.
We basically start off right where we ended in book 1, Dukes of Ruin. If you haven’t read that book READ NO FURTHER because there will likely be spoilers for that book. I will keep it as spoiler free as possible for Dukes of Madness though.
So, we start off exactly where we ended in book 1, with Sy rescuing Lavinia from the chest and her psycho father. They get back to the tower and that is where the story kicks off.
The depth of the story is insane. The web of plot, sub plots, tangled characters, secrets, and lies is mind blowing. There were quite a few times during reading where I was literally saying “WHAT?” out loud, and slowly going back and clicking together easter eggs that were hidden throughout the previous chapters and even books.
It would be unfair not to talk about the fantastic character development and growth for our boys and Lavinia.
Nick - I will say I ended book 1 and started book 2 pretty much on the hate side of the line for “Pretty” Nick Bruin, and I fully intended on starting a riot if he didn’t do some NEXT LEVEL groveling before he even made eye contact with Vinny. I won’t spoil anything but the character growth for Nick is so good. I don’t have to riot because he has earned my forgiveness. What he does to prove his loyalty and love, even if it isn’t a pretty love but a mess tangled complicated one, speaks volumes.
Sy – At the end of book 1 I was honestly on the fence about Sy. He had such issues with Lavinia in book 1 and wasn’t ever actually nice to her BUT he did in the end realize she WAS their duchess, and he did risk himself to save her. We see his true protector side come out. We also see a much more in-depth look into his insecurities and basically body dysmorphia issues and how it rules his life. He does start to make real breakthroughs during this book. I LOVE his relationship with Archie though lol. That whole evolution of their relationship is hilarious. By the middle of this book, I LOVED Sy. By the end I felt like he needed to earn some of his love and trust back.
Remy – I have to say that Remy is one of the most tragically beautiful characters I have read about in a long time. The representation of mental illness that Angel and Sam have done here is amazing. I also want to add here that while this isn’t exactly “character growth or insight” Not only do Angel and Sam capture life with a mental illness so well, but they also capture what living with someone you love having a mental illness so well. For me personally I connected so closely with Lavinia, Sy, and Nick in regard to living with Remy. Life with Remy isn’t exactly easy and the ones that love him each have their role in helping him to know what is real.
Lavinia – It would be so incredibly easy for someone who has been dealt the hand she was in life to fold in on their selves and give up, but not Vinny. She is a total BOSS. She takes what life has given her and uses it to her advantage the best way she knows how. She is so strong and courageous. She shows those boys who really owns who.
June 26, 2022
ALL MY REVIEWS CAN BE FOUND ON MY BLOG: ABSTRACT BOOKS
Star Rating : 4.5/5 Stars
POV : Dual
Cliffhanger : Yes
Hero : Nick , Remy , Sy
Heroine : Lavinia
Pace of the story : Moderate
Angst Rating : 5/10
Heat Rating : 5/10
Triggers Involved : non con , past torture , revenge and much more
Plot Summary :
Lavinia had not one but 3 monsters in her life. And the biggest one of them might be Nick. The man who claimed to lover but then hurt her, broke her and then eventually betrayed her in the worst way. His love was toxic. To be loved by him was a punishment for anyone and Lavinia was done. She might hate them all but at least Remy and Sy saved her when she did not expect anyone to come for her. When Nick betrayed her.
And now he would pay. She would make him feel all the pain and all the hate he deserves and she would get her revenge on him. Maybe then people will remember again what she is and not cross her again.
Overall Opinion :
Omg. That cliffhanger last time killed me. Like the third for revenge, the upcoming payback??!! I wanted to read the next book so freaking bad. And I hated Nick. Like I loathed him. He is the king of toxic lovers, hell he gives the term 'toxic love' a new definition. And then when Lavinia gave him a medicine of his own treatment??! Yeah that was so satisfactory 🤣🤣I was cheering her for that lol.
I am loving this series so much. These authors always have the darkest and most twisted books with heroes that you want to kill but the character growth is the best. You get to feel their growth, every way in which they start loving each other and that is the best part for me. Although yes their books have a crazy amount of triggers, especially the Forsyth series because the heroes are downright unhinged, but since I am a lover of dark romance, I never have any issues with that.
Definitely recommending this series to all the dark romance loving people! It's a bunch of twisted heroes, RH and a queen heroine is your trope? Then don't miss this one. But mind the triggers like I said above as well.
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July 1, 2022
DNF at 59% - it's just too random. Story finally labeled what happened at The Hidaway to Lavinia as rape. Sy keeps getting worse. He now is entitled to handjobs. When he doesn't get them he's verbally and emotionally abusive. Remy so far has been the best of the three but it is still a sexist asshole. How the hell is Nick getting forgiven for having raped Lavinia not once but twice. So he read all the books he knows she's read - that doesn't excuse actual facts RAPE.
The whole idea that women won't have sex or be nice to Nick because he gave Lavinia back to her father? How the hell is that a line they have? They all knew she was being raped but going back to her father was bad? None of them know what Lionel is like behind closed doors?
I loved the Lords series so much that I bought it. That series examined the line between con and non-con. This series doesn't. It's unlikely that I'll read anything more by these two authors.
The whole idea that women won't have sex or be nice to Nick because he gave Lavinia back to her father? How the hell is that a line they have? They all knew she was being raped but going back to her father was bad? None of them know what Lionel is like behind closed doors?
I loved the Lords series so much that I bought it. That series examined the line between con and non-con. This series doesn't. It's unlikely that I'll read anything more by these two authors.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2022
★彡 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 彡★
3,5🌟
This book was too much about Sy, a little about Remy and has almost nothing of Nick.
And as a Reverse Harem, it's to expect that it'll be well balanced between all the MCs involved.
Being the book that has Remy in the cover, I was hopeful that we would get more of him.
But he barely appeared and the few moment he was on the spotlight were being nursed by Vinny.
Don't know about you, but this don't get me excited to see them as a couple. 🥲
About Nick, my absolute fav 🥵🤌🏽:
Nice to see you grovel buddy! 🤗
There was times I thought it was too much?
Yeah, for sure. But he deserved it. 🤷🏼♀️
Sorry babe, still love you. Always will. 🥰
If there was a purpose that this book served, it was to establish Nick Bruin's supremacy.
Everybody on their knees for the King 🛐.
Seriously, how much of a psycho could this man be? The right answer is:
For Nick Bruin, there's no limit. 👉🏽😎
•★ Spend two years making an unhinged plann to get the girl ☑️
•★ Ask to stay caged, if that means it would make her feel better ☑️
•★ Cut the asshole's finger that dared to touch his girl ☑️
•★ K!ll the f*cker and give the head to her as a prove of his devotion ☑️
•★ Put himself at risk, switching place with her at a russian roulette "game", just to ensure that she'll get closure ☑️
•★ Do absof*ckingllutely EVERYTHING for his girl, including read all the books he gave her ☑️
Damn Nick, you're making it too difficult for the others to keep up in the game.
*just keep going 🥵🤌🏽*
I loved the end scene when Lavinia FINALLY surrendered to her feelings end gave herself to Nick. But it was just crumbs.
I'm waiting a LOT, and I mean a LOOOOOOOOT more of Nick and Lavinia in the next book.
And please gave Remy a little space in the spotlight too, he surely needs to prove and redeem himself.
P. S. I'm really worried that the issue with Sy will be left to the wind.
She was way too casual talking with him about the fact that he r@ped her in the party with a lot of people around to prove his manhood/virility.
I gave myself the excuse that it was all because of the death/life situation they were in. But I don't know...
Sy and Remy need to grovel A LOT, because this double standards Lavinia's being using don't suit well with the relationship they're building.
•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★
"It’s thrilling to be wanted so completely, but dangerous,"
“Time is just a countdown to things I don’t want to do.”
"I only let my touch linger for a second, thinking that being shot wouldn’t be so terrible if she were the one pulling the trigger. Hatred is better than nothing."
3,5🌟
This book was too much about Sy, a little about Remy and has almost nothing of Nick.
And as a Reverse Harem, it's to expect that it'll be well balanced between all the MCs involved.
Being the book that has Remy in the cover, I was hopeful that we would get more of him.
But he barely appeared and the few moment he was on the spotlight were being nursed by Vinny.
Don't know about you, but this don't get me excited to see them as a couple. 🥲
About Nick, my absolute fav 🥵🤌🏽:
Nice to see you grovel buddy! 🤗
There was times I thought it was too much?
Yeah, for sure. But he deserved it. 🤷🏼♀️
Sorry babe, still love you. Always will. 🥰
If there was a purpose that this book served, it was to establish Nick Bruin's supremacy.
Everybody on their knees for the King 🛐.
Seriously, how much of a psycho could this man be? The right answer is:
For Nick Bruin, there's no limit. 👉🏽😎
•★ Spend two years making an unhinged plann to get the girl ☑️
•★ Ask to stay caged, if that means it would make her feel better ☑️
•★ Cut the asshole's finger that dared to touch his girl ☑️
•★ K!ll the f*cker and give the head to her as a prove of his devotion ☑️
•★ Put himself at risk, switching place with her at a russian roulette "game", just to ensure that she'll get closure ☑️
•★ Do absof*ckingllutely EVERYTHING for his girl, including read all the books he gave her ☑️
Damn Nick, you're making it too difficult for the others to keep up in the game.
*just keep going 🥵🤌🏽*
I loved the end scene when Lavinia FINALLY surrendered to her feelings end gave herself to Nick. But it was just crumbs.
I'm waiting a LOT, and I mean a LOOOOOOOOT more of Nick and Lavinia in the next book.
And please gave Remy a little space in the spotlight too, he surely needs to prove and redeem himself.
P. S. I'm really worried that the issue with Sy will be left to the wind.
She was way too casual talking with him about the fact that he r@ped her in the party with a lot of people around to prove his manhood/virility.
I gave myself the excuse that it was all because of the death/life situation they were in. But I don't know...
Sy and Remy need to grovel A LOT, because this double standards Lavinia's being using don't suit well with the relationship they're building.
•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★•★
"It’s thrilling to be wanted so completely, but dangerous,"
“Time is just a countdown to things I don’t want to do.”
"I only let my touch linger for a second, thinking that being shot wouldn’t be so terrible if she were the one pulling the trigger. Hatred is better than nothing."
June 28, 2022
619 pages might seem like a lot BUT I WANT MORE! It's just....SO GOOD! There are a lot of emotions going on within these characters. Yes, it's a reverse harem. Yes, it's got a lot of sex in it. Yes, the guys are jerks a lot of the time. BUT they all have some heavy things going on outside of all that stuff. The authors have a special way of delivering all these heavy emotions. You become invested in all these characters and their lives together. It's just a great well-written series. I'm sure it will be among my top favorites of the year.
Bring on Fall! I can't wait to read what happens next with those Barons!
Bring on Fall! I can't wait to read what happens next with those Barons!
August 2, 2024
Re-read 3 or 4…
Spectacular book. I didn’t think I could be more obessed after the last part of the series but damn. These boys are something else. I LOVE SY AND REMY! Nick’s amazing too, and I’ve loved seeing his development, he’s come so far 😭 the ending killed me which is why I wait till a series is finished before I start 😂
Spectacular book. I didn’t think I could be more obessed after the last part of the series but damn. These boys are something else. I LOVE SY AND REMY! Nick’s amazing too, and I’ve loved seeing his development, he’s come so far 😭 the ending killed me which is why I wait till a series is finished before I start 😂
January 7, 2023
excellent
This is my favorite book so far. And the end is exquisite. I love how these authors mend their characters with bits of other broken things. And yes, I shed a few tears in this one.
This is my favorite book so far. And the end is exquisite. I love how these authors mend their characters with bits of other broken things. And yes, I shed a few tears in this one.
June 26, 2022
Oh god, what a book, Angel and Sam are phenomenal authors. 👏
Spoilers ahead!
This book has so much of everything and the mental health aspect was really greatly built, the storyline, Wow! It shows how much Angel and Sam got into a deep study of the symptomatology of Remy's condition.
👑 Lavinia: First of all let me give a shout-out to the Duchess, what a strong character, her selflessness when it came to helping the guys with their issues was something else, I'm glad the authors decided to show us how a person would feel getting out of captivity, the feeling of finally being able to have studies and making decisions on her own, wanting to take defense classes to be able to scape and be strong. Helping Sy with his body dysmorphia clearly shows depth in her relationship not just with him but with Remy, and her constantly pulling him out of the ledge gives us a great heroine in the making.
🎨Remy: His disorder was portrayed so realistically and tragically accurate that it gives us an understanding of the outcome on the cliff, his life has been a lie with the father he has, constantly feeding his paranoia with lies and making him insecure about everything. So the thing with Haley is understandable BUT that doesn't mean Lavinia's feelings and hurt aren't valid, and that's the thing with this book and the portrayal of loving a person with Mental Health issues and how the caregiver's pain sometimes gets put on the backseat to help the other person, I'm going to need a redemption arc on him in the next book because Lavinia is going to be her partner, not just her caregiver. But I trust Angel and Sam and how epically they get redemption right on heroes. I really want to see Lavinia's needs put first instead of their egos.
🥊Sy: Man you were doing so good 🥲 but a last his pride took the front seat on Lavinia's hero because that was how she started to see him as this big comfort place and it was such a beautiful thing to see, the building of their relationship, how she helps with his B Dysmorphia and make the others cooperate, and his relationship with Archie 🤣 was the best, in a way I love how Lavinia says something about both of them being each other medic when they needed emotional or physical stitches. Really looking forward to more character growth because he was getting there in an amazing way.
🥊Nick: I've never seen such a great grovel or character redemption like this one, Sam and Angel have a talent like no other, I loved how they showed his character after what he did to Perez, his numbness, and how Lavinia could see the depth of his love for her, the scene with the Barons has such an important part in the way she started to accept him back and how it didn't go all-in but how Lavinia took her time to be his. The different relationship she has with each guy is *chef kiss*
Really looking forward to knowing the killer, for the guys to get their shit together and think first of Lavinia, to see more Archie time 😍 love him. To seeing Maddox and Lavinia's father pay for their sins.
Things I love:
🌟 Archie and Sy's relationship 🤣
🌟 The measuring contest 🤣 that was just so realistic with guys and competitions
🌟 Sy and Remy taking care of Lavinia
🌟 The hideout girls showing Lavinia solidarity
🌟 Sy and Lavinia's bedroom lessons
🌟 Lavinia helping Remy, with his episodes
🌟 Lavinia looking for info and helping Sy with his Body Dysmorphia
🌟 Nick and Lavinia's bath scene after Perez's de@th
🌟 Verity helping Lavinia
Spoilers ahead!
This book has so much of everything and the mental health aspect was really greatly built, the storyline, Wow! It shows how much Angel and Sam got into a deep study of the symptomatology of Remy's condition.
👑 Lavinia: First of all let me give a shout-out to the Duchess, what a strong character, her selflessness when it came to helping the guys with their issues was something else, I'm glad the authors decided to show us how a person would feel getting out of captivity, the feeling of finally being able to have studies and making decisions on her own, wanting to take defense classes to be able to scape and be strong. Helping Sy with his body dysmorphia clearly shows depth in her relationship not just with him but with Remy, and her constantly pulling him out of the ledge gives us a great heroine in the making.
🎨Remy: His disorder was portrayed so realistically and tragically accurate that it gives us an understanding of the outcome on the cliff, his life has been a lie with the father he has, constantly feeding his paranoia with lies and making him insecure about everything. So the thing with Haley is understandable BUT that doesn't mean Lavinia's feelings and hurt aren't valid, and that's the thing with this book and the portrayal of loving a person with Mental Health issues and how the caregiver's pain sometimes gets put on the backseat to help the other person, I'm going to need a redemption arc on him in the next book because Lavinia is going to be her partner, not just her caregiver. But I trust Angel and Sam and how epically they get redemption right on heroes. I really want to see Lavinia's needs put first instead of their egos.
🥊Sy: Man you were doing so good 🥲 but a last his pride took the front seat on Lavinia's hero because that was how she started to see him as this big comfort place and it was such a beautiful thing to see, the building of their relationship, how she helps with his B Dysmorphia and make the others cooperate, and his relationship with Archie 🤣 was the best, in a way I love how Lavinia says something about both of them being each other medic when they needed emotional or physical stitches. Really looking forward to more character growth because he was getting there in an amazing way.
🥊Nick: I've never seen such a great grovel or character redemption like this one, Sam and Angel have a talent like no other, I loved how they showed his character after what he did to Perez, his numbness, and how Lavinia could see the depth of his love for her, the scene with the Barons has such an important part in the way she started to accept him back and how it didn't go all-in but how Lavinia took her time to be his. The different relationship she has with each guy is *chef kiss*
Really looking forward to knowing the killer, for the guys to get their shit together and think first of Lavinia, to see more Archie time 😍 love him. To seeing Maddox and Lavinia's father pay for their sins.
Things I love:
🌟 Archie and Sy's relationship 🤣
🌟 The measuring contest 🤣 that was just so realistic with guys and competitions
🌟 Sy and Remy taking care of Lavinia
🌟 The hideout girls showing Lavinia solidarity
🌟 Sy and Lavinia's bedroom lessons
🌟 Lavinia helping Remy, with his episodes
🌟 Lavinia looking for info and helping Sy with his Body Dysmorphia
🌟 Nick and Lavinia's bath scene after Perez's de@th
🌟 Verity helping Lavinia
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2022
OH. MY. GOODNESS.
Y'all this book was worth the wait. I'm OBSESSED with the world that Angel and Sam have created with the Royals of Forsyth. I'm gonna try to do this review as spoiler free as possible, so here we go!
Let's pick up where we left off with Dukes of Ruin---- NICK... I went into this book telling myself that I would straight up RIOT if Pretty Nick didn't grovel for a considerable amount of this book. Thankfully, no riot is needed. He groveled, y'all, and it was soooo entertaining (and a little bit scary- y'all know that scene I'm talking about). Reaching the end of this book, I can say it was very poetic how Nick and Lav's relationship evolved. Nick is 100% forgiven in my eyes.
SY- His BDE was in full force for the entirety of this story, though I did love how we got to see the sweet parts of the big bad Sy Perilini. I laughed so hard at the banter between him and Archie. I think Lav really helped him become more confident and accepting of himself. I didn't really realize how much of a stabilizer he is for their group.
Update: It is yet to be determined if Sy and the Archduke are friends or not. I'm leaning towards a strong maybe.
REMY- I think the representation of mental health was very well done, applause for you Angel and Sam! To others, Remy may seem straight up crazy, but those who really love him know that he is so very smart and so very in tune with literally everything. I really relate to the way he describes feelings as colors and I think it's so cool how he communicates that way. He is very philosophical in nature and it was actually refreshing because he is just so REAL.
LAV- My girl is a badass! She has been dealt the shittiest hand, but she punches back...hard! She went on a pretty crazy emotional rollercoaster through this book, but I think she came out stronger than ever. It was so nice to watch her deal with the three assholes who "own" her, but we all know who owns who. Lav just UNDERSTANDS. She just gets it. It's not pretty, it's not romantic, but it's real. Her development was awesome!
There are so many revelations and twists that I stayed on the edge of my seat basically the entire time. I found myself being unable to stop reading at some points... okay, most points, but you get the idea. My best friend and I were lucky enough to get ARC copies and we literally could not stop discussing our theories on what happens next. This book is sooooo good. I honestly can't say enough good things about it. Just read it.
Y'all this book was worth the wait. I'm OBSESSED with the world that Angel and Sam have created with the Royals of Forsyth. I'm gonna try to do this review as spoiler free as possible, so here we go!
Let's pick up where we left off with Dukes of Ruin---- NICK... I went into this book telling myself that I would straight up RIOT if Pretty Nick didn't grovel for a considerable amount of this book. Thankfully, no riot is needed. He groveled, y'all, and it was soooo entertaining (and a little bit scary- y'all know that scene I'm talking about). Reaching the end of this book, I can say it was very poetic how Nick and Lav's relationship evolved. Nick is 100% forgiven in my eyes.
SY- His BDE was in full force for the entirety of this story, though I did love how we got to see the sweet parts of the big bad Sy Perilini. I laughed so hard at the banter between him and Archie. I think Lav really helped him become more confident and accepting of himself. I didn't really realize how much of a stabilizer he is for their group.
Update: It is yet to be determined if Sy and the Archduke are friends or not. I'm leaning towards a strong maybe.
REMY- I think the representation of mental health was very well done, applause for you Angel and Sam! To others, Remy may seem straight up crazy, but those who really love him know that he is so very smart and so very in tune with literally everything. I really relate to the way he describes feelings as colors and I think it's so cool how he communicates that way. He is very philosophical in nature and it was actually refreshing because he is just so REAL.
LAV- My girl is a badass! She has been dealt the shittiest hand, but she punches back...hard! She went on a pretty crazy emotional rollercoaster through this book, but I think she came out stronger than ever. It was so nice to watch her deal with the three assholes who "own" her, but we all know who owns who. Lav just UNDERSTANDS. She just gets it. It's not pretty, it's not romantic, but it's real. Her development was awesome!
There are so many revelations and twists that I stayed on the edge of my seat basically the entire time. I found myself being unable to stop reading at some points... okay, most points, but you get the idea. My best friend and I were lucky enough to get ARC copies and we literally could not stop discussing our theories on what happens next. This book is sooooo good. I honestly can't say enough good things about it. Just read it.
November 25, 2022
I struggle to write reviews for my all time favorite books because I just can’t put my love for them into words..
Maybe minor spoilers below!
Once again, AMAZING writing. Fans were calling for Lavinia to immediately bounce back and be a Badass after the ending of book 1. NO, she needed to be broken! You can’t go through what she did and come out fine and dandy. And the authors nailed it! They also nailed Nicks grovel and redemptions. It wasn’t your typical grovel, it was SO true to Nick as a character.
There were some plot twists we didn’t see coming and they were so good! Though there were a couple hints as to who the Baron King was, and I had my suspicions but brushed them off. And sure enough I was right! Such a cool twist! Cant wait for Peril this fall!
I wish there was an option for more than 5 stars. This series more than deserves it!
Angel and Samantha’s books are the only ones that I will read without question, I trust them completely.
ALSO, IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO READ THE TW OR DO READ THEM AND THEN DECIDE TO READ THE BOOKS ANYWAYS, AND THEN REVIEW POORLY OR COMPLAIN ABOUT THE TRIGGERS OR WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SERIES, THEN YOUR OPINION IS NOT VALID. Lol. Don’t punish the book and authors by speaking poorly of the series or leaving a bad review because you suck.
ALL OF THE STARS.
Maybe minor spoilers below!
Once again, AMAZING writing. Fans were calling for Lavinia to immediately bounce back and be a Badass after the ending of book 1. NO, she needed to be broken! You can’t go through what she did and come out fine and dandy. And the authors nailed it! They also nailed Nicks grovel and redemptions. It wasn’t your typical grovel, it was SO true to Nick as a character.
There were some plot twists we didn’t see coming and they were so good! Though there were a couple hints as to who the Baron King was, and I had my suspicions but brushed them off. And sure enough I was right! Such a cool twist! Cant wait for Peril this fall!
I wish there was an option for more than 5 stars. This series more than deserves it!
Angel and Samantha’s books are the only ones that I will read without question, I trust them completely.
ALSO, IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO READ THE TW OR DO READ THEM AND THEN DECIDE TO READ THE BOOKS ANYWAYS, AND THEN REVIEW POORLY OR COMPLAIN ABOUT THE TRIGGERS OR WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SERIES, THEN YOUR OPINION IS NOT VALID. Lol. Don’t punish the book and authors by speaking poorly of the series or leaving a bad review because you suck.
ALL OF THE STARS.
June 26, 2022
I thought I loved the first Dukes book, but the sequel? It’s going to be tough to beat.
THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. That was everything, there was some much needed groveling. Still had some issues in the group and a little more groveling may be necessary but they’ve come pretty far. I am now a fan of all the man whereas after book one, Remy was the only one I was rooting for.
Lavinia is still a fave. She’s trying to find how she fits into the world that’s treated her so horribly. She’s finally given some choices and freedom and I love seeing her navigate in this book. Her men have so many issues but she has a good handle on them and I’m excited to see where it all goes in the next book.
The cliffhanger was disrespectful and nothing like I expected. Just like there were some twisty revelations that I would’ve never called. I have no clue what’s going to happen but knowing these authors well go through some pain to get the happiness.
THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. That was everything, there was some much needed groveling. Still had some issues in the group and a little more groveling may be necessary but they’ve come pretty far. I am now a fan of all the man whereas after book one, Remy was the only one I was rooting for.
Lavinia is still a fave. She’s trying to find how she fits into the world that’s treated her so horribly. She’s finally given some choices and freedom and I love seeing her navigate in this book. Her men have so many issues but she has a good handle on them and I’m excited to see where it all goes in the next book.
The cliffhanger was disrespectful and nothing like I expected. Just like there were some twisty revelations that I would’ve never called. I have no clue what’s going to happen but knowing these authors well go through some pain to get the happiness.
January 19, 2023
**SPOILERS** reactions while reading
- the cat hating sy is actually so funny
- nick is literally one of the stupidest asshats i’ve read in dark romance and I can’t wait for him to realize that he isn’t entitled to something just because he thinks he is UGH
- nick fr needs to learn basic decency wtf this is disgusting
- QUEEN put nick in a cage EXACTLY GIVE HIM WHAT HE DESERVES
- 42% in and here’s where we are with the love interests: a dude that wants nothing to do with getting the girl off, a r*pist in a cage, and remy (who may or may not prefer jumping off a cliff to fucking). anyways, there’s definitely some issues that need to be worked on 😭
- the whole dick contest/compliments scene thing was really really weird 🥴
- WTF not nick dropping perez’s severed head in front of her like that, wtf does he think this is 😭😭😭😭😭
- CHEATING TROPE REMY ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME WITH THIS SHIT 😤
- the cliffhanger of course 😭
- the cat hating sy is actually so funny
- nick is literally one of the stupidest asshats i’ve read in dark romance and I can’t wait for him to realize that he isn’t entitled to something just because he thinks he is UGH
- nick fr needs to learn basic decency wtf this is disgusting
- QUEEN put nick in a cage EXACTLY GIVE HIM WHAT HE DESERVES
- 42% in and here’s where we are with the love interests: a dude that wants nothing to do with getting the girl off, a r*pist in a cage, and remy (who may or may not prefer jumping off a cliff to fucking). anyways, there’s definitely some issues that need to be worked on 😭
- the whole dick contest/compliments scene thing was really really weird 🥴
- WTF not nick dropping perez’s severed head in front of her like that, wtf does he think this is 😭😭😭😭😭
- CHEATING TROPE REMY ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME WITH THIS SHIT 😤
- the cliffhanger of course 😭
March 21, 2023
3.5 Stars
I definitely enjoyed this more than book 1, but I still don't think the series has lived up to its predecessor both in prose and character. BUT, I'm liking these characters more, finding the chemistry more authentic and the characters more complex, and the sexiness is actually now, well, sexy. I still am addicted to this series and BLEW through this, and I have a feeling I'll love book 3- this book brought more heart and emotion, which I felt was absent from book 1 (and made it harder to swallow than the lords to me)- BUT gah, I'm addicted to this world, and still wildly entertaining.
I definitely enjoyed this more than book 1, but I still don't think the series has lived up to its predecessor both in prose and character. BUT, I'm liking these characters more, finding the chemistry more authentic and the characters more complex, and the sexiness is actually now, well, sexy. I still am addicted to this series and BLEW through this, and I have a feeling I'll love book 3- this book brought more heart and emotion, which I felt was absent from book 1 (and made it harder to swallow than the lords to me)- BUT gah, I'm addicted to this world, and still wildly entertaining.
April 23, 2024
So intense, so intricate, so angsty, so hot, so good…
I devoured all 600+ pages of this in a day and a half.
Something is obviously wrong with me because I am rooting for Lavinia and all three of the dukes to get their crap figured out so they can be together. I should hate them all?!
This plot is insane. I’m hooked.
Nick is what my red flag ignoring dreams are made of. Sure, he may be your average murdering, obsessive, delusional, prideful, narcissistic, abusive rapist, BUT…he loves her so much! Look at the lengths he will go to prove his love in his—seriously corrupt—own way! Cough, Perez.
Sy is a giant teddy bear of a degrading, hurtful, self-centered, creeper. I just want to love him and cuddle him and his giant…issues. Who doesn’t love a broken, insecure man who just wants someone to love him through it all?
Remy is an artistic, cheating, crazy, ball of sweetness that sees Vinny and gets her in a way no one can…when he’s not at a 1 and not trying to swan dive off something or drown in his endorphin-seeking risky behaviors.
Despite all of the dark, dark, DARK aspects of this book, several parts of this had me cackling. Sy’s journal entires had no business being that funny. When Nick rolled up with the head thinking it was the most romantic gesture…the boys’ competitions…Sy feeding Archie Salmon…Nick up in the rafters…
I just really liked this. Can’t wait to finish this trilogy and take a long nap. I’m certain I will need it after all this dang angst!
I devoured all 600+ pages of this in a day and a half.
Something is obviously wrong with me because I am rooting for Lavinia and all three of the dukes to get their crap figured out so they can be together. I should hate them all?!
This plot is insane. I’m hooked.
Nick is what my red flag ignoring dreams are made of. Sure, he may be your average murdering, obsessive, delusional, prideful, narcissistic, abusive rapist, BUT…he loves her so much! Look at the lengths he will go to prove his love in his—seriously corrupt—own way! Cough, Perez.
Sy is a giant teddy bear of a degrading, hurtful, self-centered, creeper. I just want to love him and cuddle him and his giant…issues. Who doesn’t love a broken, insecure man who just wants someone to love him through it all?
Remy is an artistic, cheating, crazy, ball of sweetness that sees Vinny and gets her in a way no one can…when he’s not at a 1 and not trying to swan dive off something or drown in his endorphin-seeking risky behaviors.
Despite all of the dark, dark, DARK aspects of this book, several parts of this had me cackling. Sy’s journal entires had no business being that funny. When Nick rolled up with the head thinking it was the most romantic gesture…the boys’ competitions…Sy feeding Archie Salmon…Nick up in the rafters…
I just really liked this. Can’t wait to finish this trilogy and take a long nap. I’m certain I will need it after all this dang angst!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2025
This is my review for all 3 books in this series.
I didn't have the greatest reading year in 2024. I read so many books I liked but didn't love. So this series was a great way to start 2025.
I loved these books so much. I love this world these authors have created. I'll be starting the next series immediately.
I liked this series better than the first trilogy and that's really saying something cause it was one of my favorites that year.
I really loved these characters so much. I love in whychoose when I love each of the guys as much as I loved these men. Remi will be the character to beat this year. Starting out strong.
I also really enjoyed the story, there was so many things going on, it was a wild ride. I liked that each of the guys messed up. The all had to work to earn Lavinia's trust and forgiveness and man did they grovelled.
I find that often series can start out really strong and then slowly fizz out and then if they're lucky they'll come back strong. This series was not like that, it only got better and better. At no point was I bored or thought it was going to slow.
This is such a great series. It was an easy 5 stars to all 3 books.
I didn't have the greatest reading year in 2024. I read so many books I liked but didn't love. So this series was a great way to start 2025.
I loved these books so much. I love this world these authors have created. I'll be starting the next series immediately.
I liked this series better than the first trilogy and that's really saying something cause it was one of my favorites that year.
I really loved these characters so much. I love in whychoose when I love each of the guys as much as I loved these men. Remi will be the character to beat this year. Starting out strong.
I also really enjoyed the story, there was so many things going on, it was a wild ride. I liked that each of the guys messed up. The all had to work to earn Lavinia's trust and forgiveness and man did they grovelled.
I find that often series can start out really strong and then slowly fizz out and then if they're lucky they'll come back strong. This series was not like that, it only got better and better. At no point was I bored or thought it was going to slow.
This is such a great series. It was an easy 5 stars to all 3 books.
May 26, 2023
I Give this Book a 4.5-5/5 Star Rating, Listing as 5.
*Audiobook Review at Bottom
Cliffhanger(?): I’d say that’s about right 😆
Relationship Type: RH>Reverse Harem: MFMM
Dark(?): 2-2.5/5
Heat: 4.5/5
Romance: 3.5/5
Pacing: Mid in it’s own unique way.
Drama: 4.5-5/5
Suspense: 4-4.5/5
Audiobook Review:
Overall: 5/5
Story: 4.5-5/5
Performance: 5/5
Narrators: Lula Larkin & Troy Duran
Short review sorry, I’m jumping into the next book pronto with a cliffhanger like that! And the Narration made it even BETTER! The way that you can see this book like a movie m, through the narration in you earbuds is a gift that is hard to come by, I’m eager to keep listening to them.
*Audiobook Review at Bottom
Cliffhanger(?): I’d say that’s about right 😆
Relationship Type: RH>Reverse Harem: MFMM
Dark(?): 2-2.5/5
Heat: 4.5/5
Romance: 3.5/5
Pacing: Mid in it’s own unique way.
Drama: 4.5-5/5
Suspense: 4-4.5/5
Audiobook Review:
Overall: 5/5
Story: 4.5-5/5
Performance: 5/5
Narrators: Lula Larkin & Troy Duran
Short review sorry, I’m jumping into the next book pronto with a cliffhanger like that! And the Narration made it even BETTER! The way that you can see this book like a movie m, through the narration in you earbuds is a gift that is hard to come by, I’m eager to keep listening to them.
October 9, 2022
Holy Cow!
The ending of this one has absolutely shattered me.
Remy.. sweet man.
And Nick.. oh my gosh, the brutality he shows.
But Sy.. he has so much to learn.
I definitely felt some anxiety while reading this one because of the things that went down(trying to avoid spoilers). There was heartbreak and revenge and so much growth with the characters. I hate that I have to wait until next month for the conclusion!
The ending of this one has absolutely shattered me.
Remy.. sweet man.
And Nick.. oh my gosh, the brutality he shows.
But Sy.. he has so much to learn.
I definitely felt some anxiety while reading this one because of the things that went down(trying to avoid spoilers). There was heartbreak and revenge and so much growth with the characters. I hate that I have to wait until next month for the conclusion!
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