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Dark Obsession #1
Wicked Games
She’s caught in my game… she just doesn’t know it.
For weeks, I’ve been watching her. Stalking her.
Now it’s time to start playing with my beautiful little pawn.
From the moment I first saw her from afar, I knew she would become my prized possession.
I will gaslight her into thinking she is my obedient ward, trapped in the Victorian era.
She is my unwilling captive, forced to play my sadistic game for her own survival.
She will have no choice but to bow to my rules and discipline.
In time, her memories of a modern life will fade.
If not, she will pay a painful price.
Her pretty mind is so caught up in my nightmare, she will never escape me.
The most wicked deception of all?
This isn’t the first time we’re playing this game.
Previously published as Ward.
For weeks, I’ve been watching her. Stalking her.
Now it’s time to start playing with my beautiful little pawn.
From the moment I first saw her from afar, I knew she would become my prized possession.
I will gaslight her into thinking she is my obedient ward, trapped in the Victorian era.
She is my unwilling captive, forced to play my sadistic game for her own survival.
She will have no choice but to bow to my rules and discipline.
In time, her memories of a modern life will fade.
If not, she will pay a painful price.
Her pretty mind is so caught up in my nightmare, she will never escape me.
The most wicked deception of all?
This isn’t the first time we’re playing this game.
Previously published as Ward.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 30, 2020
2816 people are currently reading
6322 people want to read
About the author
Zoe Blake
87 books3,118 followersZoe Blake is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the romantic suspense saga The Cavalieri Billionaire Legacy inspired by her own heritage as well as her obsession with jewelry, travel, and the salacious gossip of history’s most infamous families.
She delights in writing Dark Romance books filled with overly possessive billionaires, taboo scenes, and unexpected twists. She usually spends her ill-gotten gains on martinis, vacations, and red lipstick.
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/zoeblakebooks/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zoeblakebooks/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zoeblakebooks
She delights in writing Dark Romance books filled with overly possessive billionaires, taboo scenes, and unexpected twists. She usually spends her ill-gotten gains on martinis, vacations, and red lipstick.
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/zoeblakebooks/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zoeblakebooks/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zoeblakebooks
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 582 reviews
January 11, 2025
Trigger Warning: the blurb, "spankings, rough sexual scenes, intense and humiliating punishments, and strong D/s themes," doesn't mention that this includes actual torture. This disclaimer really isn't strong enough for what transpires in this book. I'd also like to add that I don't see any "romance." (In fact, given the overwhelming number of harsh, non-consensual books Stormy Night Publications has published lately, I don't see why they bother putting "romance" in the titles at all; clearly, that's not what's selling here.)
Since my kinks don't include waterboarding -- you know, a torture practiced by the CIA and banned by human rights organizations -- this book wasn't for me. If you like very, very "dark" reads, it may be for you.
I will say that between this story, At His Will, and Vendetta (which Amazon no longer appears to list), Stormy Night Publications seems to be trying to outdo themselves with each new book; I suppose this makes them stand out in a crowded market? I don't know. For me, I find all this emphasis on violence, non-consent, objectification, degradation, psychological torment, and emotional abuse desensitizing rather than erotic or even compelling. It comes across as more cruelty for cruelty's sake (I know that these storylines elicit frissons from some readers) or a game of one-upmanship. It's almost as though the authors and publisher have said to themselves, "Now, how I can top what I just did? Oh, I know..." SNP has also painted themselves into a corner where the only way to top some of their most recent books is one that would really put a damper on all the sex since it was unbelievable that none of the treatment here killed Lizzie (including the H's getting her hooked on drugs). I assume, however, that since there is an audience for these books, that their publishing strategy is working.
Oh, and here's the definition of "torture porn," in case anyone doesn't know: "a genre of horror...in which sadistic violence or torture is a central aspect of the plot."
Also, this isn't D/s, a term used by the BDSM community, which prides itself on consensual activity. I realize that pointing this out is a losing battle, but please stop misrepresenting a known and codified lifestyle practice; find different terms to use that are not already clearly defined.
Finally, this book has an open ending, which may or may not be frustrating to readers. While I personally think that the ending definitively settles whether or not the events that transpire . I know, I know: this is fantasy and just like an Avengers movie or Warner Bros. cartoon, none of these women really actually suffer.
ETA: To the usual clueless reviewer who took all of us who didn't like this book to task because we didn't heed the "trigger warnings," please explain to me where, exactly, the blurb advised us that the H would use water-boarding, drugs, and gaslighting on the h? "Ward includes spankings, rough sexual scenes, intense and humiliating punishments, and strong D/s themes" DOES NOT at all prepare anyone for what happens in this book.
2nd ETA: To all the clueless reviewers taking the rest of us to task for reviewing this "incorrectly" (as "romance" instead of "erotica"), please develop your very poor reading skills: note that the subtitle on Amazon is "Dark Romance" and that it's categorized under "gothic romance." Do I think this is a romance? No, but Stormy Night Publications is selling it as such, and that, right there, is the problem.
3rd ETA: To the authorsplainer (not Zoe Blake) who has come onto a readers' site and attacked readers for not, err, reviewing the book "correctly:" we aren't the "emotionally insecure" people here.
4th ETA: To the latest reviewer taking us all to task for reviewing this poorly because we were "warned" that this was torture porn: No, in fact, we were not. As for the rest of the "history lesson:" please google "Grand Guignol," "Oscar Wilde," and "Bram Stoker;" you'll be surprised what you learn about the Victorian era. Really, can't readers just review without attacking others? Is it really so hard?
Since my kinks don't include waterboarding -- you know, a torture practiced by the CIA and banned by human rights organizations -- this book wasn't for me. If you like very, very "dark" reads, it may be for you.
I will say that between this story, At His Will, and Vendetta (which Amazon no longer appears to list), Stormy Night Publications seems to be trying to outdo themselves with each new book; I suppose this makes them stand out in a crowded market? I don't know. For me, I find all this emphasis on violence, non-consent, objectification, degradation, psychological torment, and emotional abuse desensitizing rather than erotic or even compelling. It comes across as more cruelty for cruelty's sake (I know that these storylines elicit frissons from some readers) or a game of one-upmanship. It's almost as though the authors and publisher have said to themselves, "Now, how I can top what I just did? Oh, I know..." SNP has also painted themselves into a corner where the only way to top some of their most recent books is one that would really put a damper on all the sex since it was unbelievable that none of the treatment here killed Lizzie (including the H's getting her hooked on drugs). I assume, however, that since there is an audience for these books, that their publishing strategy is working.
Oh, and here's the definition of "torture porn," in case anyone doesn't know: "a genre of horror...in which sadistic violence or torture is a central aspect of the plot."
Also, this isn't D/s, a term used by the BDSM community, which prides itself on consensual activity. I realize that pointing this out is a losing battle, but please stop misrepresenting a known and codified lifestyle practice; find different terms to use that are not already clearly defined.
Finally, this book has an open ending, which may or may not be frustrating to readers. While I personally think that the ending definitively settles whether or not the events that transpire . I know, I know: this is fantasy and just like an Avengers movie or Warner Bros. cartoon, none of these women really actually suffer.
ETA: To the usual clueless reviewer who took all of us who didn't like this book to task because we didn't heed the "trigger warnings," please explain to me where, exactly, the blurb advised us that the H would use water-boarding, drugs, and gaslighting on the h? "Ward includes spankings, rough sexual scenes, intense and humiliating punishments, and strong D/s themes" DOES NOT at all prepare anyone for what happens in this book.
2nd ETA: To all the clueless reviewers taking the rest of us to task for reviewing this "incorrectly" (as "romance" instead of "erotica"), please develop your very poor reading skills: note that the subtitle on Amazon is "Dark Romance" and that it's categorized under "gothic romance." Do I think this is a romance? No, but Stormy Night Publications is selling it as such, and that, right there, is the problem.
3rd ETA: To the authorsplainer (not Zoe Blake) who has come onto a readers' site and attacked readers for not, err, reviewing the book "correctly:" we aren't the "emotionally insecure" people here.
4th ETA: To the latest reviewer taking us all to task for reviewing this poorly because we were "warned" that this was torture porn: No, in fact, we were not. As for the rest of the "history lesson:" please google "Grand Guignol," "Oscar Wilde," and "Bram Stoker;" you'll be surprised what you learn about the Victorian era. Really, can't readers just review without attacking others? Is it really so hard?
Read
May 12, 2021Idk know what I was thinking reading this.
DNF 75%
While it was a captivity book this one did lack the girl having Stockholm syndrome. The H tried his best to shatter her mind and even while she actually deep down liked what he did to her she still didn’t like him. Probably why I made it so far.
Plus, I’m always a sucker for BDSM. I’m not usually a fan of dubcon/noncon he was just really good at not taking no for an answer. Yes, I’ll admit, it was hot.
Now really captivity wasn’t the reason I didn’t finish. It just became the same droll ride over and over again. And I didn’t really like the h.
DNF 75%
While it was a captivity book this one did lack the girl having Stockholm syndrome. The H tried his best to shatter her mind and even while she actually deep down liked what he did to her she still didn’t like him. Probably why I made it so far.
Plus, I’m always a sucker for BDSM. I’m not usually a fan of dubcon/noncon he was just really good at not taking no for an answer. Yes, I’ll admit, it was hot.
Now really captivity wasn’t the reason I didn’t finish. It just became the same droll ride over and over again. And I didn’t really like the h.
February 26, 2020
Alright, here's the deal with this one. It needs a trigger warning. What occurred between these two was not love, it was rape. On multiple occasions, Richard is abusive, rapes the heroine, gaslights her, and tortures her for his own sick fascination. Under no circumstances is this love. Basically Lizzie is just trapped in this sick fantasy with no reprieve. Some times she likes it and sometimes she doesn't, but I'm over romances that glorify this type of behavior. There needed to be something redeeming in this ridiculousness but there wasn't.
Also this was not D/s. D/s is built upon consent, none of which existed here. Please stop hiding your torture/horror erotica behind BDSM.
Also this was not D/s. D/s is built upon consent, none of which existed here. Please stop hiding your torture/horror erotica behind BDSM.
August 21, 2025
3.5 very depraved ⭐️
If you want to know what gaslighting looks like, this book is it.
I thought I downloaded a different book😂 color me surprised when Richard, a tech billionaire kidnaps and gaslights actress Elizabeth into thinking she lives in 1850’s. Anyway it’s smut with smut and brainwashing and non con and all of it. I was flabbergasted and honestly also thoroughly entertained and curious to see how far this would go.
There is also a Siege d’armour chair, you should Google that😂
The concept of gaslighting to this extent making her believe she was crazy was mindblowing and super well down.
This was depraved and dark. I don’t have anything else to say. Needless to say, this was not what I expected but I stayed 😂
Should you read it? Ohhhh yes but don’t let the kids near it 😂
Ps. I am sure there is a slew of trigger warnings connected to this book. It ends on a cliffhanger and is in dual POV. 80/20
If you want to know what gaslighting looks like, this book is it.
I thought I downloaded a different book😂 color me surprised when Richard, a tech billionaire kidnaps and gaslights actress Elizabeth into thinking she lives in 1850’s. Anyway it’s smut with smut and brainwashing and non con and all of it. I was flabbergasted and honestly also thoroughly entertained and curious to see how far this would go.
There is also a Siege d’armour chair, you should Google that😂
The concept of gaslighting to this extent making her believe she was crazy was mindblowing and super well down.
This was depraved and dark. I don’t have anything else to say. Needless to say, this was not what I expected but I stayed 😂
Should you read it? Ohhhh yes but don’t let the kids near it 😂
Ps. I am sure there is a slew of trigger warnings connected to this book. It ends on a cliffhanger and is in dual POV. 80/20
November 5, 2020
There is a line between a dark romance and torture porn, and I don't think it's all that fine. What I know for sure? This book definitely crossed it.
This is gonna be a hard one, both to write about and to rate. So... the premise. A psychopathic man decides to kidnap a woman into an elaborate Victorian era scheme (and I'm talking E-lab-o-rate with a capital E), take her as his "ward", and torture her into submitting to him and her new world. Its actually a really interesting premise, and the beginning got me all caught up in the realities vs. illusions thing. It takes a while to really figure out what is going on, and by the time you do you're kind of along for the ride.
Then... well, then it starts getting rough. There is really never a point, save for maybe the first 5% of the book, when you get the idea that this could be a dark but romantic story. That said, it takes a turn into oblivion once Duke Richard gets going on his "lessons". These are straight up torture sessions, and I'm not lying. They're really rough. REALLY. But also pretty immersive and well-written. The sadism is clear, but I like fucked up stories and violence and horror, so I can't say it wasn't an interesting read.
Lizzie, ourheroine victim, battles incredible Stockholm Syndrome throughout the book, and her boughts of clarity become thrilling as you read. I did enjoy this book, I can't lie. I feel like I should say that I didn't, but I'm about to dive into the second book without pause. There's no way I'm not seeing this through. Just know that my enjoyment comes from my love of the horror genre, not because of any sort of dark, sexy love affair.
Here's where I have to pull the record scratch. Because something is seriously bothering me. My Kindle shows the full title of this book to be "Ward: A Dark Romance". But let me make this as clear as I can.
🚨🚨 THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE 🚨🚨
This is a story of torture, both physically and mentally, at the hands of a raging psychopath. Be sure that if this series becomes a romance that it may actually make me sick to my stomach. I'm at a loss as to how this could even be considered romantic. I'd kinda want to write a scathing letter to the publisher or Amazon about it if I had any Karen in me. And I hate that these things are even intertwined.
Read the book if you're interested, it's pretty good. Just be aware of what you're getting into.
This is gonna be a hard one, both to write about and to rate. So... the premise. A psychopathic man decides to kidnap a woman into an elaborate Victorian era scheme (and I'm talking E-lab-o-rate with a capital E), take her as his "ward", and torture her into submitting to him and her new world. Its actually a really interesting premise, and the beginning got me all caught up in the realities vs. illusions thing. It takes a while to really figure out what is going on, and by the time you do you're kind of along for the ride.
Then... well, then it starts getting rough. There is really never a point, save for maybe the first 5% of the book, when you get the idea that this could be a dark but romantic story. That said, it takes a turn into oblivion once Duke Richard gets going on his "lessons". These are straight up torture sessions, and I'm not lying. They're really rough. REALLY. But also pretty immersive and well-written. The sadism is clear, but I like fucked up stories and violence and horror, so I can't say it wasn't an interesting read.
Lizzie, our
Here's where I have to pull the record scratch. Because something is seriously bothering me. My Kindle shows the full title of this book to be "Ward: A Dark Romance". But let me make this as clear as I can.
🚨🚨 THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE 🚨🚨
This is a story of torture, both physically and mentally, at the hands of a raging psychopath. Be sure that if this series becomes a romance that it may actually make me sick to my stomach. I'm at a loss as to how this could even be considered romantic. I'd kinda want to write a scathing letter to the publisher or Amazon about it if I had any Karen in me. And I hate that these things are even intertwined.
Read the book if you're interested, it's pretty good. Just be aware of what you're getting into.
June 1, 2021
I'm going to be honest here. With all the face f*cking this guy does, I can't help but be drawn to him.
In dreams we find sanctuary.
In dreams we find ourselves lost.
Like a ripple in the water, the effects of the slip become vast.
Like a hint.
The light of a screen.
It draws the curtains up.
But the show must go on, you see.
Richard, Richard, Richard. It also doesn't help that I used to have a crush on a boy named Richard. He was dark, he was brooding, he always looked like he could snap at any moment. These kinds of males are my weakness and Miss Zoe Blake has created one of my dream men via books.
*4.5/4.75 stars. I rank this book grey on my darkness scale.*
In dreams we find sanctuary.
In dreams we find ourselves lost.
Like a ripple in the water, the effects of the slip become vast.
Like a hint.
The light of a screen.
It draws the curtains up.
But the show must go on, you see.
Richard, Richard, Richard. It also doesn't help that I used to have a crush on a boy named Richard. He was dark, he was brooding, he always looked like he could snap at any moment. These kinds of males are my weakness and Miss Zoe Blake has created one of my dream men via books.
*4.5/4.75 stars. I rank this book grey on my darkness scale.*
September 29, 2022
Wicked Games tells the story of Roman's brother from Cruel Games.
It follows the same taboo trope and it's definitely not a romance.
Disturbing, twisted, outrageous and bad wrong.
A truly mindfuck read. 🤯☠️
I have noticed many readers shelved it as BDSM, but it's not.
There is non-consent and I believe the MC cannot be redeemed.
Very obscene and entertaining for the likes of me.
It follows the same taboo trope and it's definitely not a romance.
Disturbing, twisted, outrageous and bad wrong.
A truly mindfuck read. 🤯☠️
I have noticed many readers shelved it as BDSM, but it's not.
There is non-consent and I believe the MC cannot be redeemed.
Very obscene and entertaining for the likes of me.
August 20, 2025
if you like getting gaslighted, then you need to read this
What
The
FFFFFFF 🫠
I have tons of emotions, but I’m probably more irritated than angry 😅😑😐
I think 😅. Or maybe I just don’t know 🫠
Like poor Elizabeth in this book😵💫. She just doesn’t know what’s right and wrong or up and down anymore 🫠.
You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out…
Oh wait. This isn’t the Hokey Pokey 🤣. I’m losing my mind over here
Just like Elizabeth 😅
And I don’t know if I care enough to continue the series to see if she ever finds it 🤣
Lizzie/Elizabeth (22) is an actress who has left the states and is in London trying to make a better life for herself. She’s finishing up a Victorian era play, one she LOOOOVES because of the type of world we used to live in 🫶🏻 when everything was a lot more simple and less complicated. Whenever she’s around the producer, Richard (30s? 40s?), she gets nervous 😅. Makes sense, since he gave her the job that she really needs.
So when he asks to speak to her privately, she’s basically shaking in her boots 😬, and when the tension between them rises, she doesn’t know what to think 👀.
But it becomes clear early on that he wants her for more than just an actress in a play 👀.
One day, she wakes up in a different world, one set in the late 1800s, and she thinks she’s going crazy 😬.
Not to worry, because Richard is there to make sure she understands that she’s living in a world where technology And TVs (or even cell phones lol) don’t exist😅.
What. The. Fffffff. Is happening 😵💫😵💫😵💫
What I liked:
—the initial tension and 🔥 between Elizabeth and Richard 😉. Uffff. I’m a sucka for tension and non/dub con scenes that aren’t as intense. They kiss at about 14% and then we get the first (of MAAAAANY) full🔥 scenes starting at about 25% 🥵
—how OTT obsessed Richard it 😅. Well at least I won’t ever fear that he’ll ever go to another woman 🤣. Unfortunately, with the amount of cheating, I gotta give him points for that 🫣
— the psychological and mind f aspect 👀. I’m down to get mind f’ed 🤣🤣🤣. I wasn’t really QUESTIONING myself (thank god 🤣🤣🤣), but damn… these “games” has me fighting for my life 💀💀💀
— the amount of fighting Elizabeth does in the beginning 👏🏻. Girl, keep it coming. No. Really 😐. Why did you stop? 😑😑😑😑😒😒😒
— catering to her needs 🫶🏻. I mean, I wouldn’t mind just chilling at home and drawing or doing arts and crafts instead of having to go to work 🤣🤣🤣🤷🏻♀️
— he calls her love 🥹❤️
—I googled a Siège d'Amour chair 😅. I’m glad people put stick figures in some of the images I saw 🤣💀 I was able to picture things 🫣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Things I didn’t like/i HAAAAATED: SPOILERS
—ah. Where to start 😑. The GASLIGHTING!!!! Lordt. I wanted to pull my hair out. Come on Lizzie, don’t give in!!! Keep fighting
I BETTER not get any wrinkles because of this book 🤣 or lose any more hair 😑 perimenopause is a BIIIIITCH 😐
—the PAIN in all the 🔥 scenes. I wanted to clutch my pearls at all the PAAAAAAIN Lizzie experiences!!! Come on. Her nether regions can only be tortured so much! 😭. Not only did I want to go in and save her from what she experiences, but also invest in some ice for her 🤣 like. Make me a shareholder on ice
#justiceForLizzie’sVagina 💀
—Stockholm syndrome 😒. Sigh. 😑
—the scene where Mike and Richard are talking and Richard orders Elizabeth to go down on her knees… IN FRONT OF MIKE, and she basically almost loses consciousness because of how intensely he’s f’ing her face 😐. I felt DISGUSTED!!! Not only at the fact that Lizzie is pleasing him without any questions (at this point, two months of torture and “training” have passed, so Lizzie literally believes she’s living in the 1800s), but that Richard is allowing her to do it in front of another man 🥴🥴🥴
NORMALLY- I WOULDN’T feel disgusted, but under the CIRCUMSTANCES, yup. I felt 🥴
Sorry. Isn’t he ott JP? 😑😒😒😒
The scene felt gross, icky, because it was almost as a way of showing Mike how much power he has over Lizzie, and it was disgusting 😵💫🤬🤬🤬 Lizzie is doing everything submissively without any questions, and he’s taking advantage of that 🤬. The smugness in this scene was such a turn OFFFFFFFF (even more so than before). While I enjoy DC and NC, I prefer it to be done privately 😑.
This was just the opposite of hot FOR ME😵💫😵💫😵💫
—the torture scenes 😒. Gawd. Ginger should never go anywhere THERE 😭😭😭 and the handle of the crop going in made me squeeze my legs as a way of sympathizing with Lizzie 😭😭😭 at least it wasn’t a gun 🫣 or a knife 🫣
—the LACK of SHOWN reciprocal oral 😒. How is it that I get to read PAGES and PAGES of Lizzie’s mouth being used and abused but I get a few lines of Richard showing off his skills? 🤬🙄🙄🙄.
LINES… not even a damn paragraph
“Yada yada yada he made me come so hard with his tongue yada yada yada”
Next scene 😐
I HAAAATE that in books! HAAAATE it. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves 😒. Lizzie talking about how it’s the best she ever had
Ummm. What??? REALLY?!
I saw nothing 🤷🏻♀️
Prove it or it didn’t happen 🤷🏻♀️🤣🤣🤣🤣
—NO ONE HELPING LIZZIE!!! Gaahhhh. Where’s the humanity 😭
Needless to say, I don’t know if I’ll continue this series
I’m curious to see where this goes because I’ve never read a book like this…
But I NEED to know that Lizzie grows a backbone somewhere
I CAAAAANNOT keep reading about Richard continuing to gaslight her and it becomes a cycle of the same ish but a different day
And what makes it hard is that Richard is rich, like
RICH RICH 😒
So how can Lizzie get back at him 🤷🏻♀️
He has ALLLL the money and influence to continue to gaslight her
Unless she has some rich uncle somewhere who suddenly croaks and she gets an inheritance 👀 🤡🤣
I would need some TOP NOTCH revenge happening PLUS the biggest and most elaborate groveling known to mankind… but I DOUBT it’ll happen…
Sigh.
Oh well
We’ll see if I ever feel like continuing this
Maybe I’ll skip to Richard’s brother’s books. Apparently, he’s actually romantic to his heroine 🤷🏻♀️
⚠️safety squad⚠️
-GASLIGHTING AF to the MAX
-emotional/psychological abuse
-Stockholm syndrome
-no cheating/sharing/owd/omd
-torture/INTENSE humilation/degradation
-spanking/flogging/belting/the use of ginger
-unbalance of power dynamics
-BDSM ish/D-s
-noncon/dubcon
-spanking/praise kink/degradation kink/FORCED voyeurism
-no condoms/no virgins/he didn’t give off manwhore vibes/no safety talk AT ALL 😒
What
The
FFFFFFF 🫠
I have tons of emotions, but I’m probably more irritated than angry 😅😑😐
I think 😅. Or maybe I just don’t know 🫠
Like poor Elizabeth in this book😵💫. She just doesn’t know what’s right and wrong or up and down anymore 🫠.
You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out…
Oh wait. This isn’t the Hokey Pokey 🤣. I’m losing my mind over here
Just like Elizabeth 😅
And I don’t know if I care enough to continue the series to see if she ever finds it 🤣
Lizzie/Elizabeth (22) is an actress who has left the states and is in London trying to make a better life for herself. She’s finishing up a Victorian era play, one she LOOOOVES because of the type of world we used to live in 🫶🏻 when everything was a lot more simple and less complicated. Whenever she’s around the producer, Richard (30s? 40s?), she gets nervous 😅. Makes sense, since he gave her the job that she really needs.
So when he asks to speak to her privately, she’s basically shaking in her boots 😬, and when the tension between them rises, she doesn’t know what to think 👀.
But it becomes clear early on that he wants her for more than just an actress in a play 👀.
One day, she wakes up in a different world, one set in the late 1800s, and she thinks she’s going crazy 😬.
Not to worry, because Richard is there to make sure she understands that she’s living in a world where technology And TVs (or even cell phones lol) don’t exist😅.
What. The. Fffffff. Is happening 😵💫😵💫😵💫
What I liked:
—the initial tension and 🔥 between Elizabeth and Richard 😉. Uffff. I’m a sucka for tension and non/dub con scenes that aren’t as intense. They kiss at about 14% and then we get the first (of MAAAAANY) full🔥 scenes starting at about 25% 🥵
—how OTT obsessed Richard it 😅. Well at least I won’t ever fear that he’ll ever go to another woman 🤣. Unfortunately, with the amount of cheating, I gotta give him points for that 🫣
— the psychological and mind f aspect 👀. I’m down to get mind f’ed 🤣🤣🤣. I wasn’t really QUESTIONING myself (thank god 🤣🤣🤣), but damn… these “games” has me fighting for my life 💀💀💀
— the amount of fighting Elizabeth does in the beginning 👏🏻. Girl, keep it coming. No. Really 😐. Why did you stop? 😑😑😑😑😒😒😒
— catering to her needs 🫶🏻. I mean, I wouldn’t mind just chilling at home and drawing or doing arts and crafts instead of having to go to work 🤣🤣🤣🤷🏻♀️
— he calls her love 🥹❤️
—I googled a Siège d'Amour chair 😅. I’m glad people put stick figures in some of the images I saw 🤣💀 I was able to picture things 🫣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Things I didn’t like/i HAAAAATED: SPOILERS
—ah. Where to start 😑. The GASLIGHTING!!!! Lordt. I wanted to pull my hair out. Come on Lizzie, don’t give in!!! Keep fighting
I BETTER not get any wrinkles because of this book 🤣 or lose any more hair 😑 perimenopause is a BIIIIITCH 😐
—the PAIN in all the 🔥 scenes. I wanted to clutch my pearls at all the PAAAAAAIN Lizzie experiences!!! Come on. Her nether regions can only be tortured so much! 😭. Not only did I want to go in and save her from what she experiences, but also invest in some ice for her 🤣 like. Make me a shareholder on ice
#justiceForLizzie’sVagina 💀
—Stockholm syndrome 😒. Sigh. 😑
—the scene where Mike and Richard are talking and Richard orders Elizabeth to go down on her knees… IN FRONT OF MIKE, and she basically almost loses consciousness because of how intensely he’s f’ing her face 😐. I felt DISGUSTED!!! Not only at the fact that Lizzie is pleasing him without any questions (at this point, two months of torture and “training” have passed, so Lizzie literally believes she’s living in the 1800s), but that Richard is allowing her to do it in front of another man 🥴🥴🥴
NORMALLY- I WOULDN’T feel disgusted, but under the CIRCUMSTANCES, yup. I felt 🥴
Sorry. Isn’t he ott JP? 😑😒😒😒
The scene felt gross, icky, because it was almost as a way of showing Mike how much power he has over Lizzie, and it was disgusting 😵💫🤬🤬🤬 Lizzie is doing everything submissively without any questions, and he’s taking advantage of that 🤬. The smugness in this scene was such a turn OFFFFFFFF (even more so than before). While I enjoy DC and NC, I prefer it to be done privately 😑.
This was just the opposite of hot FOR ME😵💫😵💫😵💫
—the torture scenes 😒. Gawd. Ginger should never go anywhere THERE 😭😭😭 and the handle of the crop going in made me squeeze my legs as a way of sympathizing with Lizzie 😭😭😭 at least it wasn’t a gun 🫣 or a knife 🫣
—the LACK of SHOWN reciprocal oral 😒. How is it that I get to read PAGES and PAGES of Lizzie’s mouth being used and abused but I get a few lines of Richard showing off his skills? 🤬🙄🙄🙄.
LINES… not even a damn paragraph
“Yada yada yada he made me come so hard with his tongue yada yada yada”
Next scene 😐
I HAAAATE that in books! HAAAATE it. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves 😒. Lizzie talking about how it’s the best she ever had
Ummm. What??? REALLY?!
I saw nothing 🤷🏻♀️
Prove it or it didn’t happen 🤷🏻♀️🤣🤣🤣🤣
—NO ONE HELPING LIZZIE!!! Gaahhhh. Where’s the humanity 😭
Needless to say, I don’t know if I’ll continue this series
I’m curious to see where this goes because I’ve never read a book like this…
But I NEED to know that Lizzie grows a backbone somewhere
I CAAAAANNOT keep reading about Richard continuing to gaslight her and it becomes a cycle of the same ish but a different day
And what makes it hard is that Richard is rich, like
RICH RICH 😒
So how can Lizzie get back at him 🤷🏻♀️
He has ALLLL the money and influence to continue to gaslight her
Unless she has some rich uncle somewhere who suddenly croaks and she gets an inheritance 👀 🤡🤣
I would need some TOP NOTCH revenge happening PLUS the biggest and most elaborate groveling known to mankind… but I DOUBT it’ll happen…
Sigh.
Oh well
We’ll see if I ever feel like continuing this
Maybe I’ll skip to Richard’s brother’s books. Apparently, he’s actually romantic to his heroine 🤷🏻♀️
⚠️safety squad⚠️
-GASLIGHTING AF to the MAX
-emotional/psychological abuse
-Stockholm syndrome
-no cheating/sharing/owd/omd
-torture/INTENSE humilation/degradation
-spanking/flogging/belting/the use of ginger
-unbalance of power dynamics
-BDSM ish/D-s
-noncon/dubcon
-spanking/praise kink/degradation kink/FORCED voyeurism
-no condoms/no virgins/he didn’t give off manwhore vibes/no safety talk AT ALL 😒
August 15, 2025
WOW!!! This was SO freaking crazy. I can honestly say I’ve never read another book like this. The level of psycho this man is – he has me doubting myself! Like did I even read this book??? This is NOT a gruesome dark fic, it’s a delicate, subtle and total mindfuck.
Elizabeth Larkin (22, fashion student, theater actress) longs to live in the world of Pride & Prejudice and have her very own Mr. Darcy. She was thrilled to be cast as the lead actress in a Victorian era play, and as she is wrapping up her final performance, she’s summoned by the mysterious producer who financed everything. He’s powerful, gorgeous, brooding, intoxicating, and strikes absolute fear in her bones.
Duke of Winterbourne, Richard Payne (40-ish, tech multi-billionaire, psychotic as fuck) is disgusted by the modern world and all its amenities. He wants to rewind to a world where women relied solely on their lovers to provide for their every need – you know…. like back in the Victorian era. If only he could find his own Elizabeth…. One thing Richard knows is that money and power can get you anything you want – but that would be too easy. Where’s the challenge in that? Richard’s mind works in wicked, wicked ways…. let the games begin…..
Sex, asylums, “and action”, little birds, wanton harlots, riding crops, obsession, games, mindfucks, gaslighting, and a cliffy that will have you screaming, “WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING!!!”
Jesus, that was intense. This is all about control…. manipulation….. gaslighting…. and pain.
SEX: This is frustrating for me because the sex in this trilogy is all about pain and control. Their first time is at 26%, and it’s noncon-ish – it’s hard to say if it’s really noncon because these two play a lot of games. Elizabeth enjoys it, but I don’t. The sex also usually ends quickly or fades out. There was one time when it started out passionate but faded before we got to the climax. I was pissed the fuck off. Also, every time he performs oral on her, it fades out or is abbreviated. I know a lot of people are into this. I’m not one of them. That said – I love the story so much that I kept reading anyway.
GASLIGHTING: This book is the definition.
TRIGGERS: There is the aggressive sex, but everything else is a spoiler. I’ll say that most of the sex presents as noncon/dubcon, so just be prepared for that. .
AUDIO: UGHHHHHH. This is frustrating because it’s only one little thing that kept me from committing 100% to the audio. Will Thorne narrates for Richard and his voice is PERFECT for the role. He sounds exactly what you would think a controlling Duke would sound like. Plus, his female voice isn’t bad. It’s Alyssa Avery narrating Elizabeth that I have an issue with. Her tone of voice isn’t necessarily bad, I think it’s just her acting, plus her panicked voice. Elizabeth’s character cries and begs a lot when it comes to their violent sex, and Alyssa’s voice is high pitched and grates my nerves. So I guess it’s 50/50 on if you should read or listen.
I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed this. If the sex had been better, it would easily be 5 stars for me. It was just fun to read. I know a lot of you guys will find it too tame for your tastes, but it worked for me.
I gave B1 and B2 4-stars. B3 I gave 3 stars because I thought it dragged.
Imagine having the power to not only control someone’s life… but their entire world? To manipulate their reality to such a degree they no longer have any sense of time or place?
Elizabeth Larkin (22, fashion student, theater actress) longs to live in the world of Pride & Prejudice and have her very own Mr. Darcy. She was thrilled to be cast as the lead actress in a Victorian era play, and as she is wrapping up her final performance, she’s summoned by the mysterious producer who financed everything. He’s powerful, gorgeous, brooding, intoxicating, and strikes absolute fear in her bones.
There was no hiding from him that secretly I was craving this from a man. A rough touch. The confidence to just take what he wanted without asking. The primal wrongness of it all. I wanted it all. Needed it.
Duke of Winterbourne, Richard Payne (40-ish, tech multi-billionaire, psychotic as fuck) is disgusted by the modern world and all its amenities. He wants to rewind to a world where women relied solely on their lovers to provide for their every need – you know…. like back in the Victorian era. If only he could find his own Elizabeth…. One thing Richard knows is that money and power can get you anything you want – but that would be too easy. Where’s the challenge in that? Richard’s mind works in wicked, wicked ways…. let the games begin…..
Sex, asylums, “and action”, little birds, wanton harlots, riding crops, obsession, games, mindfucks, gaslighting, and a cliffy that will have you screaming, “WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING!!!”
Jesus, that was intense. This is all about control…. manipulation….. gaslighting…. and pain.
SEX: This is frustrating for me because the sex in this trilogy is all about pain and control. Their first time is at 26%, and it’s noncon-ish – it’s hard to say if it’s really noncon because these two play a lot of games. Elizabeth enjoys it, but I don’t. The sex also usually ends quickly or fades out. There was one time when it started out passionate but faded before we got to the climax. I was pissed the fuck off. Also, every time he performs oral on her, it fades out or is abbreviated. I know a lot of people are into this. I’m not one of them. That said – I love the story so much that I kept reading anyway.
In this world, there was no political correctness or feminism or girl power, or equal rights. There wasn’t even no means no. There was bend over, I’m fucking you whether you like it or not, because I want to and I’ll make you want it too. And damn him, he’s right. He does make me want it.
GASLIGHTING: This book is the definition.
TRIGGERS: There is the aggressive sex, but everything else is a spoiler. I’ll say that most of the sex presents as noncon/dubcon, so just be prepared for that. .
AUDIO: UGHHHHHH. This is frustrating because it’s only one little thing that kept me from committing 100% to the audio. Will Thorne narrates for Richard and his voice is PERFECT for the role. He sounds exactly what you would think a controlling Duke would sound like. Plus, his female voice isn’t bad. It’s Alyssa Avery narrating Elizabeth that I have an issue with. Her tone of voice isn’t necessarily bad, I think it’s just her acting, plus her panicked voice. Elizabeth’s character cries and begs a lot when it comes to their violent sex, and Alyssa’s voice is high pitched and grates my nerves. So I guess it’s 50/50 on if you should read or listen.
I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed this. If the sex had been better, it would easily be 5 stars for me. It was just fun to read. I know a lot of you guys will find it too tame for your tastes, but it worked for me.
I gave B1 and B2 4-stars. B3 I gave 3 stars because I thought it dragged.
August 31, 2020
Whew. Well, one thing I will say is that there is a whole lotta “dark” and very little “romance” in this dark romance. This was a mindfck and a half!!
Richard - damn dude, are you even capable of love, you sexy psycho?!
And Lizzie - I vacillated between “Run for your life!” and “Damn girl, just accept that you’re Lady Elizabeth and enjoy your life of leisure.”
This book will have me thinking for a long time, that’s for sure.
😳😱🤭
Richard - damn dude, are you even capable of love, you sexy psycho?!
And Lizzie - I vacillated between “Run for your life!” and “Damn girl, just accept that you’re Lady Elizabeth and enjoy your life of leisure.”
This book will have me thinking for a long time, that’s for sure.
😳😱🤭
Read
March 30, 2020DNF @ 59%
I am not going to rate this one as I do not intend to finish it.
I think this pushed the line of dark romance more than I am comfortable with.
I will say it is an interesting concept but just not for me, however, if anyone has read it and tells me that it is worth sticking with it, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on it.
I am not going to rate this one as I do not intend to finish it.
I think this pushed the line of dark romance more than I am comfortable with.
I will say it is an interesting concept but just not for me, however, if anyone has read it and tells me that it is worth sticking with it, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on it.
March 19, 2020
Disclaimer: I knowingly suck at writing reviews; but do so bc of the importance to Authors. Please seek the many phenomenal bloggers & others for real reviews. My “reviews” are simply my feelings.
Easily a 5 Star ‘One-of-a-Kind Read For Me!
I will be the first to admit that I have liked or loved everything I’ve read by this Author. Zoe Blake is able to cross Erotic sub-genres with the best of them, while always producing a quality book. Contemporary, Dark, Historical, BDSM, Horror, Sci-fi/PnR, etc... she does it all, and well!
Oh, how I loved Ward, A Dark Romance, Blake’s latest release!
As I expected, the story telling and penmanship within WARD was great. As of late, I’ve been going into most reads completely blind, and have rather enjoyed doing so. Especially with this selection.
Obviously, I am familiar with her work, and the title and cover hinted at what lied within. Even so, I wasn’t prepared for the story that unfolded as I read. Taking into account I rarely read the Historical genre, my feelings for this book shocked the hell outta me!
Quite simply, what I loved most about this particular read was the plot. The word unique, simply doesn’t adequately convey my feelings, nor does it truly highlight the creativity of the plot line. There is a “fusion” of many of the above mentioned sub-genres, all wrapped in a neat little realistic ribbon.
How can one book be both Contemporary and Historical; also Dark, but not overly so, humorous AF without being a RomCom, laced with HOT BDSM scenes & absolutely captivating??? Do yourself a favor and find out!!
Bravo Ms. Blake on a truly extraordinary book!
Easily a 5 Star ‘One-of-a-Kind Read For Me!
I will be the first to admit that I have liked or loved everything I’ve read by this Author. Zoe Blake is able to cross Erotic sub-genres with the best of them, while always producing a quality book. Contemporary, Dark, Historical, BDSM, Horror, Sci-fi/PnR, etc... she does it all, and well!
Oh, how I loved Ward, A Dark Romance, Blake’s latest release!
As I expected, the story telling and penmanship within WARD was great. As of late, I’ve been going into most reads completely blind, and have rather enjoyed doing so. Especially with this selection.
Obviously, I am familiar with her work, and the title and cover hinted at what lied within. Even so, I wasn’t prepared for the story that unfolded as I read. Taking into account I rarely read the Historical genre, my feelings for this book shocked the hell outta me!
Quite simply, what I loved most about this particular read was the plot. The word unique, simply doesn’t adequately convey my feelings, nor does it truly highlight the creativity of the plot line. There is a “fusion” of many of the above mentioned sub-genres, all wrapped in a neat little realistic ribbon.
How can one book be both Contemporary and Historical; also Dark, but not overly so, humorous AF without being a RomCom, laced with HOT BDSM scenes & absolutely captivating??? Do yourself a favor and find out!!
Bravo Ms. Blake on a truly extraordinary book!
January 27, 2020
Been awhile since I read a zoe blake book and it's a long dark-ish romance book guys!! Like really dark romance.. and it's a delicious at times. Now this is a dark romance andd I placed below the triggers.
The fantasy of living in the Victorian era with all its beautiful clothes and elegant manners. be careful what you wish for lizzy.
Lizzy is a young girl enjoying acting and school but she caught the eye of Billionaire Duke Richard who is obsessed over her. After the last casting party things go crazy.. waking up in a bed that's not hers in a world and time shes not from.. shes going alittle crazy wondering WTF happened. Learning that shes a ward of Richard and she has these fantasies of the "another world". Now Richard boy for rich guy he went above and crazy to have simple life and his girl.. he paying ppls to be in character 24/7 to make sure his Elishbeth thinks shes in this time. And boy he had some close calls.. but he always twisted the words and scenes to make her doubt herself.
Lizzie starts to doubt herself thinking everything is real until some maids crack and boy she tries many times to run.. but once she tries more punishment happen..
Only thing I'm sad about.. is kinda left it as a HFN or guesses what happens near the end.
Low angst, No ow/om drama, Drama, sexy times, no virgins
Recommend- yes if you like dark romance
Cover-⭐⭐⭐
Older/younger couple
Psychological games
22h/36H
Bdsmish
Anal play/sex
Water play torture
Therapy torture (no shocks)
Humiliation (not in front of ppls)
Punishments
Toxic relationship
No condom
Safe-ish
Dub-con
HFN
The fantasy of living in the Victorian era with all its beautiful clothes and elegant manners. be careful what you wish for lizzy.
Lizzy is a young girl enjoying acting and school but she caught the eye of Billionaire Duke Richard who is obsessed over her. After the last casting party things go crazy.. waking up in a bed that's not hers in a world and time shes not from.. shes going alittle crazy wondering WTF happened. Learning that shes a ward of Richard and she has these fantasies of the "another world". Now Richard boy for rich guy he went above and crazy to have simple life and his girl.. he paying ppls to be in character 24/7 to make sure his Elishbeth thinks shes in this time. And boy he had some close calls.. but he always twisted the words and scenes to make her doubt herself.
Lizzie starts to doubt herself thinking everything is real until some maids crack and boy she tries many times to run.. but once she tries more punishment happen..
Only thing I'm sad about.. is kinda left it as a HFN or guesses what happens near the end.
Low angst, No ow/om drama, Drama, sexy times, no virgins
Recommend- yes if you like dark romance
Cover-⭐⭐⭐
Older/younger couple
Psychological games
22h/36H
Bdsmish
Anal play/sex
Water play torture
Therapy torture (no shocks)
Humiliation (not in front of ppls)
Punishments
Toxic relationship
No condom
Safe-ish
Dub-con
HFN
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2023
“Wicked games” is the story of Elizabeth and Richard.
So the hero kidnaps, drugs, tortures, waterboards, harasses heroine physically, mentally and sexually as well as gaslights her to fulfill his twisted fantasy because he loves her? No sir, eat cyanide and perish.
Wish I could unread this.
Unsafe
1/5
So the hero kidnaps, drugs, tortures, waterboards, harasses heroine physically, mentally and sexually as well as gaslights her to fulfill his twisted fantasy because he loves her? No sir, eat cyanide and perish.
Wish I could unread this.
Unsafe
1/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
dnf-too-early-to-mark-it-read
December 18, 2025Okay, okay, this is t*rture p*rn, why complain when you're informed?
I hear you, sure, but, like, he's cosplaying the Victorian era. The most morally upright, grey, boring era of all the decadent eras!!!!!!! Go regency, go Georgian or even go early Edwardian, hell go full Tudor! You can pretend you're getting a new wife every time you waterboard her. You know... off with the head? lmao
But all that elaborate charade for the Victorian era?!?
Look, I'm an HR girlie, ask anyone, but even I think the hero's delusional role-playing is lameeee!
DNF @ 33%
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬
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I hear you, sure, but, like, he's cosplaying the Victorian era. The most morally upright, grey, boring era of all the decadent eras!!!!!!! Go regency, go Georgian or even go early Edwardian, hell go full Tudor! You can pretend you're getting a new wife every time you waterboard her. You know... off with the head? lmao
But all that elaborate charade for the Victorian era?!?
Look, I'm an HR girlie, ask anyone, but even I think the hero's delusional role-playing is lameeee!
DNF @ 33%
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬
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July 2, 2022
Sexual gaslighting goodness. Loved this! RTC.
***Full Review***
"Saying it was Stockholm syndrome was just a cop-out. I had to face the truth. I had let this happen. I never would have believed the lie if deep down I didn't want it to be true. If it weren't for the kidnapping, drugs, and rough sex, it would also be the perfect fairytale.
Rich, powerful lord sweeps a woman off her feet and spirits her away to a fantasy world where his only focus is her...All of her wants and needs are taken care of...
The only catch was she has to be okay with being facef**ked at his pleasure and taking it up the ass occasionally.
Okay, so it was an extremely dark and twisted, f**ked-up fairytale..."
Zoe Blake's Ward is dark with a twisted happy ending. Yes, there were explicit sexual scenes, and a merging of pain and pleasure, as happens with books with BDSM, but the highlight of the story was not only Lizzie fighting against being gaslit by Richard, but her own murky desires. Does she also get off being gaslit on this sick Victorian game?
Short Answer: Yes.
While the quote I chose to highlight may suggest Lizzie is victim-blaming herself, I like to interpret it as her acknowledging there is a part of her that enjoys the twisted sex game. And there is. But there is also a part of her that is not ok with being forced into this twisted sex game against her will.
Ward is about Lizzie, a young American actress working in a London play called The Lady Protests. This play is very much the plot of Gas Light, a play that was turned into a film starring Ingrid Bergman. I remember catching this movie on Turner Movie Classics, before "gaslighting" became part of the modern lexicon, and loving this movie of a woman being driven insane by her nefarious husband. I loved it because the woman triumphed in the end, of course.
Depressing stories like The Stepford Wives, The Yellow Wallpaper, and Valley of the Dolls are what scare me the most -of being a vegetable woman, and I think this is also why I love reading this type of story in romances. I want that redemption arc!
In Ward, Lizzie is kidnapped by the financier of the play, a proper English duke. She is held against her will, forced to be Lady Elizabeth, a proper Victorian woman who must submit to Duke Winterbourne's punishments daily instructions. In most stories with this plot, the heroine struggles and resists before being broken. But she always puts herself back together and wakes up. This is, more or less, what happens in Ward, but as this is a 3-part series, this ending is dark and open-ended.
And whew... Richard. 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵 Everything that he did. 🥵 I get why Lizzie loved and hated him because I did too! The scene with Lord Radfoot - whewww.
Curious to know if we find out in later books more about Richard's mysterious asides. We get some of his POV, not a lot, which is my preference, and he makes reference a few times that he may have done this before?? He refers to Lizzie as not like the others. Open-ended as this could refer to not like other women he's been with in the past or women that he's er, kidnapped and held hostage in a Victorian wormhole.
I also applaud Zoe Blake, as the Victorian era wasn't just used as decor, but she has Lizzie allude to how Richard's sex game is on the nose with being set in the Victorian era (proper during the day, but full of sin at night closed doors).
And also the meta of it all!! Having the heroine play the role on stage and then in real life, until she begins to lose her grip on reality. It's a real-life version of The Lady Protests. And outside of the reality of the book, we know that the play in the book is also an allusion to Gas Light.
This is also a book that I got last year but for some reason, never got into. I stopped in chapter two when Richard asks Lizzie to wear The Vampire Wife dress to the cast party, which is pretty early on! For some reason, I thought this wouldn't be dark, so I stopped. I was wrong!
And when I say it is dark, it's not as though there was a new sin or insult. To me, dark isn't always about who can be the vilest. Yes, there are reader expectations for social transgressions, sexual taboos, something darker, but it has to be in balance with the atmosphere. There has to be a mood. And Zoe Blake executes this wonderfully.
Thank you Zoe Blake for breaking my reading slump.
***Full Review***
"Saying it was Stockholm syndrome was just a cop-out. I had to face the truth. I had let this happen. I never would have believed the lie if deep down I didn't want it to be true. If it weren't for the kidnapping, drugs, and rough sex, it would also be the perfect fairytale.
Rich, powerful lord sweeps a woman off her feet and spirits her away to a fantasy world where his only focus is her...All of her wants and needs are taken care of...
The only catch was she has to be okay with being facef**ked at his pleasure and taking it up the ass occasionally.
Okay, so it was an extremely dark and twisted, f**ked-up fairytale..."
Zoe Blake's Ward is dark with a twisted happy ending. Yes, there were explicit sexual scenes, and a merging of pain and pleasure, as happens with books with BDSM, but the highlight of the story was not only Lizzie fighting against being gaslit by Richard, but her own murky desires. Does she also get off being gaslit on this sick Victorian game?
Short Answer: Yes.
While the quote I chose to highlight may suggest Lizzie is victim-blaming herself, I like to interpret it as her acknowledging there is a part of her that enjoys the twisted sex game. And there is. But there is also a part of her that is not ok with being forced into this twisted sex game against her will.
Ward is about Lizzie, a young American actress working in a London play called The Lady Protests. This play is very much the plot of Gas Light, a play that was turned into a film starring Ingrid Bergman. I remember catching this movie on Turner Movie Classics, before "gaslighting" became part of the modern lexicon, and loving this movie of a woman being driven insane by her nefarious husband. I loved it because the woman triumphed in the end, of course.
Depressing stories like The Stepford Wives, The Yellow Wallpaper, and Valley of the Dolls are what scare me the most -of being a vegetable woman, and I think this is also why I love reading this type of story in romances. I want that redemption arc!
In Ward, Lizzie is kidnapped by the financier of the play, a proper English duke. She is held against her will, forced to be Lady Elizabeth, a proper Victorian woman who must submit to Duke Winterbourne's
And whew... Richard. 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵 Everything that he did. 🥵 I get why Lizzie loved and hated him because I did too! The scene with Lord Radfoot - whewww.
Curious to know if we find out in later books more about Richard's mysterious asides. We get some of his POV, not a lot, which is my preference, and he makes reference a few times that he may have done this before?? He refers to Lizzie as not like the others. Open-ended as this could refer to not like other women he's been with in the past or women that he's er, kidnapped and held hostage in a Victorian wormhole.
I also applaud Zoe Blake, as the Victorian era wasn't just used as decor, but she has Lizzie allude to how Richard's sex game is on the nose with being set in the Victorian era (proper during the day, but full of sin at night closed doors).
And also the meta of it all!! Having the heroine play the role on stage and then in real life, until she begins to lose her grip on reality. It's a real-life version of The Lady Protests. And outside of the reality of the book, we know that the play in the book is also an allusion to Gas Light.
This is also a book that I got last year but for some reason, never got into. I stopped in chapter two when Richard asks Lizzie to wear The Vampire Wife dress to the cast party, which is pretty early on! For some reason, I thought this wouldn't be dark, so I stopped. I was wrong!
And when I say it is dark, it's not as though there was a new sin or insult. To me, dark isn't always about who can be the vilest. Yes, there are reader expectations for social transgressions, sexual taboos, something darker, but it has to be in balance with the atmosphere. There has to be a mood. And Zoe Blake executes this wonderfully.
Thank you Zoe Blake for breaking my reading slump.
March 31, 2023
would i recommend this to anyone to read? NO absolutely not BUT would i recommend this to a producer to make into a psychological thriller movie...yes!
The concept was actually really interesting for a psychological thriller... the only thing is this book is advertised as a dark romance...which it isn't because there's NO romance there's literally just
ABUSE! (r@pe & sexual assault) which this book had no warning for btw!
If you take away the sexual content (80% of the book) the rest of the idea is interesting and the writing wasn't too bad. It definitely also read like a movie...
anyways.. don't read this book byeee
2/5⭐️ cause i was feeling generous and really believe that with a lot of tweaks this could be a good thriller!
The concept was actually really interesting for a psychological thriller... the only thing is this book is advertised as a dark romance...which it isn't because there's NO romance there's literally just
ABUSE! (r@pe & sexual assault) which this book had no warning for btw!
If you take away the sexual content (80% of the book) the rest of the idea is interesting and the writing wasn't too bad. It definitely also read like a movie...
anyways.. don't read this book byeee
2/5⭐️ cause i was feeling generous and really believe that with a lot of tweaks this could be a good thriller!
February 12, 2020
That was horrific. I don't know why I finished it.
February 10, 2020
Once again, Zoe Blake proves that she is the queen of mind games. This story was twisted and dark. It was not what I expected and played with my head well beyond the very end.
Ward tells the story of a young actress in London, the star of a Victorian-era play who finds an admirer in theater owner, Richard Payne. Lizzie attends a cast party with Richard and awakens to find herself the star of a nightmare. The life of modern London is just a fantasy made up in her overtaxed and addled mind, as she is told that she is the ward of Richard, the powerful Victorian Duke of Winterbourne.
All around her, Lizzie sees a world with no modern conveniences. The servants all look familiar to those in her fantasies of her old life. Yet they all know her as Lady Elizabeth. Despite her protests, no one believes her and continue to act in this complicated ruse where she belongs to Richard, body and soul.
Ward was definitely brutal and dark. “Romance” is not an accurate term to describe this headgame of a story, but “obsessive” and “delusional” are. This was not an HEA, this was not consensual. It was creepy and twisted, yet utterly unique. Zoe Blake plunges us into a world of utter madness and depravity. While it was engaging and entertaining, this certainly is not for everyone.
Review copy provided for a voluntary review.
Ward tells the story of a young actress in London, the star of a Victorian-era play who finds an admirer in theater owner, Richard Payne. Lizzie attends a cast party with Richard and awakens to find herself the star of a nightmare. The life of modern London is just a fantasy made up in her overtaxed and addled mind, as she is told that she is the ward of Richard, the powerful Victorian Duke of Winterbourne.
All around her, Lizzie sees a world with no modern conveniences. The servants all look familiar to those in her fantasies of her old life. Yet they all know her as Lady Elizabeth. Despite her protests, no one believes her and continue to act in this complicated ruse where she belongs to Richard, body and soul.
Ward was definitely brutal and dark. “Romance” is not an accurate term to describe this headgame of a story, but “obsessive” and “delusional” are. This was not an HEA, this was not consensual. It was creepy and twisted, yet utterly unique. Zoe Blake plunges us into a world of utter madness and depravity. While it was engaging and entertaining, this certainly is not for everyone.
Review copy provided for a voluntary review.
May 30, 2020
This was a good crazy dark read. Elizabeth " Lizzy" is a stage actress doing a play in the Victorian era. The producer of the play Richard is a hot sexy billionaire who always gets what he wants and what he wants us Lizzy. This book play tricks on my mind when she wakes up in the asylum I thought she dreamed it. Richard created this whole Victorian era because he liked it I mean who buys a house and takes out all of the electricity. Richard was also do dangerous I mean he used arouse to get these people go along with his plans by blackmail and when they missed up he got rid of them. This book had some crazy hot dark sexy sex scenes in it the things that he did to her but she liked them he conditioned her to like pain with sex making her a masochistic to is sadist ways. I liked Lizzy because no matter what he did she kept reminding herself that it wasn't real. I also liked Richard he tried to give her everything she wanted and needed but he also liked that she was a challenge to him. I loved reading this book and although the book had a small error in it. I have read this author before and I love the way she writes. I am looking forward to reading the next book.
March 29, 2020
I prefer her real Victorian stories.
February 7, 2020
I struggled with this one. It's very well-written, viscerally so. I was right with the heroine in feeling transported back to Victorian times. Her plight at being stolen away, manipulated by a very dominant personality, gaslighted into believing she's insane, are all very sympathetic. Maybe that's why I felt betrayed by the ending. I'm not sure I would call this a dark romance. It's more a gothic horror story. If I'd gone into it knowing I was reading a gothic horror story, the ending would have bothered me less. It's a very good ending - don't get me wrong. It had the same shock value as The Pit and the Pendulum or The Woman in White. But it's not, by any means, a happily ever after, or even a happily for now, and that is what defines romance for me.
I think this is a phenomenal psychological horror story, right up there with any gothic novel I've read, but I went into it with the wrong mind-set and was blindsided by the ending. Enjoy the beautiful writing, the immersive descriptions, and the creeping horror instead of looking for a light at the end of the tunnel and you'll be a happy reader.
I think this is a phenomenal psychological horror story, right up there with any gothic novel I've read, but I went into it with the wrong mind-set and was blindsided by the ending. Enjoy the beautiful writing, the immersive descriptions, and the creeping horror instead of looking for a light at the end of the tunnel and you'll be a happy reader.
February 20, 2020
What the hell
That's it. That's how the book ends. Bull. This book is wrong. She should be able to get her life back. Not be tortured all over again. Hated it.
That's it. That's how the book ends. Bull. This book is wrong. She should be able to get her life back. Not be tortured all over again. Hated it.
March 4, 2023
what binge watching bridgerton does to a mf
August 6, 2020
Obsessive battle between desire and fear
Ward: A Dark Romance was so intelligently and imaginarily original that I lost sleep to read it, captivated by its delightful rendering and creative storyline. The plot had elements of film noir wrapped in modern dark romance, and an authenticity to the story telling that I was physically and mentally cast in the book.
A sensual, alluring love story staged by dominant, financially successful, and aristocratic, Richard, who was consumed by the Victorian age, but forced to live in modern trappings. Richard was driven with finding -- and keeping -- his Victorian flame, a lady submissive and malleable to his wishes. He was forceful and relentless in possessing a befitting match, ultimately the heroine and his ward, Elizabeth (or Lizzie, if we must break character). Lizzie was strong yet subtlety submissive, pliable to his immersion and who quietly shared his same desires, his outlook of world and in the bedroom. Both characters demonstrated quirks, some tongue-in-cheek nuggets of humor sprinkled throughout the book underneath the dark themes. The story was told from both their points of view.
The author did a wonderful job building sexual tension and chemistry packaged in this undercurrent of darkness and virtual, precarious fog you could not be, and it was not safe to be, delivered from. There was symbolism of a physical fog and mental cloudiness in the story. Some creative historical accuracy, and “easter eggs” were woven into this story, compelling me to want to re-read the book to catch all of them.
Upon finishing, I realized what a mind-twist the story really was and the talent demonstrated in writing it. I might be losing my mind. Disquieting yet satisfying. Excellent read.
Ward: A Dark Romance was so intelligently and imaginarily original that I lost sleep to read it, captivated by its delightful rendering and creative storyline. The plot had elements of film noir wrapped in modern dark romance, and an authenticity to the story telling that I was physically and mentally cast in the book.
A sensual, alluring love story staged by dominant, financially successful, and aristocratic, Richard, who was consumed by the Victorian age, but forced to live in modern trappings. Richard was driven with finding -- and keeping -- his Victorian flame, a lady submissive and malleable to his wishes. He was forceful and relentless in possessing a befitting match, ultimately the heroine and his ward, Elizabeth (or Lizzie, if we must break character). Lizzie was strong yet subtlety submissive, pliable to his immersion and who quietly shared his same desires, his outlook of world and in the bedroom. Both characters demonstrated quirks, some tongue-in-cheek nuggets of humor sprinkled throughout the book underneath the dark themes. The story was told from both their points of view.
The author did a wonderful job building sexual tension and chemistry packaged in this undercurrent of darkness and virtual, precarious fog you could not be, and it was not safe to be, delivered from. There was symbolism of a physical fog and mental cloudiness in the story. Some creative historical accuracy, and “easter eggs” were woven into this story, compelling me to want to re-read the book to catch all of them.
Upon finishing, I realized what a mind-twist the story really was and the talent demonstrated in writing it. I might be losing my mind. Disquieting yet satisfying. Excellent read.
Read
June 26, 2020TW/CW:
Unbalanced power dynamics, heavy non-consent, mental institutions, non-consensual kink, psychological and emotional abuse, sexism, casual mention of the Taliban, gaslighting.
This was pretty messed up and i'm not sure what to rate it. I'm interested to read the next book to see how it ends. TWs are very much needed!
Unbalanced power dynamics, heavy non-consent, mental institutions, non-consensual kink, psychological and emotional abuse, sexism, casual mention of the Taliban, gaslighting.
This was pretty messed up and i'm not sure what to rate it. I'm interested to read the next book to see how it ends. TWs are very much needed!
February 8, 2024
I tried 😭. I tried this twice and I dnfed it both the time. I just can’t with the body betrayal syndrome. It felt like their entire “romance” relied on it. This had everything I love but body betrayal overpowered everything and ruined this for me. Maybe I’ll come back to it again in the future but for now this is a 1 star (dnf)
February 5, 2020
4.5 stars
I don't even know what to say here as a review. This book was everything I needed it to be. A new and refreshing plot. The mystery and psychological mindf*ck were amazingly done. My missing half star is only for the ending. Don't get me wrong, it was perfect! Just pissed me off. Which is why I'm still giving it the round up. I wish there were more books like this one!
I don't even know what to say here as a review. This book was everything I needed it to be. A new and refreshing plot. The mystery and psychological mindf*ck were amazingly done. My missing half star is only for the ending. Don't get me wrong, it was perfect! Just pissed me off. Which is why I'm still giving it the round up. I wish there were more books like this one!
January 28, 2020
The mind of Zoe Blake is absolute genius!!!
A mad and twisted billionaire, Richard, basically kidnapped a young actress.
The things poor little Elizabeth endured will boggle the mind.
This is a wicked page Turner that will leave you wanting more.
A mad and twisted billionaire, Richard, basically kidnapped a young actress.
The things poor little Elizabeth endured will boggle the mind.
This is a wicked page Turner that will leave you wanting more.
February 1, 2020
*arc generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*
This is my first Zoe Blake read. It was a complete page-turner! The concept of this book was mind-blowing. Some people really have too much money. I don't recall how exactly the male protagonist earned his money (I'M SICK RN, FLU), but to be honest it seemed hypocritical of his to denounce the modern world like that, as the modern ways probably helped him earn his billions! He was a solid antagonist, challenging the female protagonist HARDCORE. She didn't sit there and take it either. As far as dark reads go, this is scorching dark. I enjoyed (wrong word choice LOL) the original ideas that were presented in the book, putting all of this effort to resemble the Victorian age and all. Additionally, although I didn't like Richard (100% on Lizzie's side), I found it funny how he explained why he did what he did and how he wasn't impressed with how other bad guys did bad stuff. If you like super dark BDSM novels with an original twist to them, THIS IS FOR YOU.
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This is my first Zoe Blake read. It was a complete page-turner! The concept of this book was mind-blowing. Some people really have too much money. I don't recall how exactly the male protagonist earned his money (I'M SICK RN, FLU), but to be honest it seemed hypocritical of his to denounce the modern world like that, as the modern ways probably helped him earn his billions! He was a solid antagonist, challenging the female protagonist HARDCORE. She didn't sit there and take it either. As far as dark reads go, this is scorching dark. I enjoyed (wrong word choice LOL) the original ideas that were presented in the book, putting all of this effort to resemble the Victorian age and all. Additionally, although I didn't like Richard (100% on Lizzie's side), I found it funny how he explained why he did what he did and how he wasn't impressed with how other bad guys did bad stuff. If you like super dark BDSM novels with an original twist to them, THIS IS FOR YOU.
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Bookbub
Amazon
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