Strangers of the Town

Strangers of Eastwood #2

by C.L. Easton

Cole Valentine, Nyx Thornton and Dorian Prescott.
Enforcers of the Soul Stealers. Trying to keep the town of Eastwood from falling apart. Only for their entire world to fall apart when Catalina is kidnapped.
She kept them all sane, giving them the passion they’ve been missing. Now they will do anything they can to keep her safe. Finding her kidnapper is their only goal. They seek revenge, crave it.
Little do they know she seeks her own revenge as well. Only to end up falling in love in the process.
Now they have her forever.


Genres: Dark Romance, Halloween, Why Choose, Dark, College, Romance, Enemies To Lovers

130 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2022

Reviews

[Darlene I read WAY to many books · Rating 3 out of 5]

We pick up right where book 1 ends. Catalina is kidnapped, and the guys are worried now, and Cole blames himself more since he was the one who pushed her away. Now they are on a mission to find their girl, as for Catalina she's taken by her stalker who has some plans and she fights to escape. I'm surprised she went to the guys first. But she trusted them and still angry with Cole. So now they have a new mission.

Mix the drama and spicy moments you get a good book. The ending wasn't as great, and I'll be honest. I was disappointed who the stalker was and how easy he was let go.


No ow/om drama, no cheating, drama, sexy times, no virgins

Recommend-yes
Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat level-🌶🌶🌶

Slowinsta
Violence/torture
Grave robber
MF MFMM
No condom
Impact play
Bondage
Temperature play/ice play
Public sex
Blood/gore
Primal play
Sharing
Handling of feces
Degradation
Anal play
Double Penetration
Praise kink
Hea
Epilogue

[Chelsie Lucas · Rating 1 out of 5]

no.


1⭐️
4🌶️

Picking up where book 1 left off ::
Aka
They DIG UP BODIES and talk about how they want her back
😂🤣 ok. Cool. Why tho? You all treat her like shit and she lets you.
I wish I CARED about the FMC. Alas.
I don’t.
Her escape is super uneventful.
The kidnapper what ?
Talks mean then LEAVES 😂🤣 ok.
DOES SHE GO TO THEM ??

What. Is. Wrong. With. This. Girl ?!

She’s mentally abused for months by that I don’t mean a little bit I mean months by them. And then they have sex with her wearing masks and then laugh at her when she finds out that it is them straight up - a form of SA.
She forgives them based off of nothing after they ghost her for a week. She continues to be OK with them even talking to her. Then someone comes after her and she calls the guys. They then treat her like she’s a precious jewel for I’m not kidding 24 hours. Then they kick her out. She is kidnapped. She escapes on her own and then she goes back to them. Why?
WHY????
It’s not like we got a bunch of information in between or even a point of view from the guys that explained why they did what they did, and so as a reader, you can at least understand motive we get none of that we just have to be cool with prolonged abuse and immediate acceptance
🙄
Ugghh. No. Backbone.
She’s a horrible FMC

I don’t want any of you to get hurt………
listen to me right now you’re the most important person to us ……
😂🤣 OOKKAAAYYYYYY.
It’s totally believable because none of you have done anything at all in these entire two bucks to prove that, so sure let’s believe it as a reader 100% sure

She has one redeeming moment where she’s like I’m not gonna trust you guys I did it once and I can’t do it again and then promptly asks LIKE A BABY and has them make her a bath and a dresser and sleep with her. It is so annoying how we get one small moment where she stands up for herself and then it is immediately swamped by her acting like a child. It is never backed up and it’s so frustrating and it makes me genuinely on the side of the kidnapper.

😂🤣
They did NOTHING to find her.
Like.
This author needs to read a good kidnapped book. Where the RH goes FERAL to find their girl.
These BOYS. Just talked. AND MADE DINNER.

🙄 “he better not blow his third chance”
Why did he get a first one.

Ok. I’m done. This book is making me too mad.
Life is too short for something this bad

[Melina.Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was suppose to get better.
2 stars for adding another LED purge mask stranger.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Halloween Wrap Up

College Bully/ Enemies to Lovers/ Why Choose
Part 2 You need to read Book 1 Strangers of the Night first.

Check your trigger warnings ⚠️

"They treated us like strangers of the town, so we became them."

This book starts where the last one ends with Cat being kidnapped. The guys, Cole, Nyx, and Dorian work hard to bring Cat back and find out who's stalking her. Along with trying to fix the damage that Cole has done to their relationship. There is plenty of spice in this book too. This book wraps everything up and ends in a HEA.

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay - I am a little aggravated with how this duet finished.

This book started out great, had the same fast pace as the first, the spice is insane and I still adore Catalina and her men. BUT the way this author went from going 100 mph to a screeching halt with the ending is what killed me.

The ending is just a little too sloppy and rushed. I expected more and got so much less. There are so many possibilities that could’ve been explored and I think it kills me more because of how much I enjoyed the first book…this one just didn’t live up to it.

[Sabelle C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little better than the 1st.
I enjoyed the storyline and the mystery
I enjoyed the characters who seemed to have been better developed.
The 4 MC’s are more emotionally stable and working better as a unit

The mystery stalker in this novel turns out to be who I thought it could be, but the reason for the stalking is just sad
Finished in one day

[Erica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boy, was this terrible. And the spice wasn’t even good.

Smh.

[Jessica Swan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pointless

[Lori Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an Epic conclusion to this duet! I absolutely loved the guys in book 1… but Nyx, Dorian and Cole really captured me in this book. Each one showing more of themselves to Catalina. Nyx being the protective yet strong one, Dorian being the mother hen of the group, always warm and k owing exactly what she’s needs when she needs it and then there’s Cole… his domineering and broody self. When he finally comes to his senses he is magnificent!

I loved this book so much. And the spice… holy h3ll the spice! I loved the way it was written with all three guys as the same time. Easy to read and so vivid to imagine!!!

I can’t wait to read more by her!

[Plus Size Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Eastwood series. It's a dark spicy why choose with a goth girl who digs graves. If I was rating this book only on the relationship between our girl and her men this would be easily a 4.5 book.

The spice was inferno level hotness. Everyone catching feelings, the touch her and die vibes, and the HEA was satisfying. If those aspects are the main ones that matter to yourself as a reader then this duet is highly recommended.

However,... and this is where I'm struggling and hate myself for being an Analytical Annie and ruining things BUT.. I feel like this storyline and the characters had a lot of potential for growth that just didn't happen. Instead of a duet, the author gave us enough carrots that could have stretched this out into 3-5 books. There are soo many unknowns that were not addressed before the epilogue and it was frustrating.

Also, there were many times in the first book where our men showed how ruthless they could be when it came to eliminating threats, yet more than once in this book they were caught with their pants down, no weapons, struggling, and letting threats go unchecked.

The epilogue attempted to explain away all the loose ends and left me feeling let down. I say this as a reader who looks at the big picture ESPECIALLY in mafia or gang related stories.

[Kelsey Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Listen to me right now, darling. You are the most important person to me—us. We’ve met no one as unique as you. That’s what I love about you, if we wanted someone like everyone else trust me we would’ve picked a normal girl. But we want you because you are worth it, you are worth it because you never fake it with us. You show us your true self and are never afraid of who you are. So don’t you dare say you are not worth it.” Dorian crawls up my body and drops a kiss on the tip of my nose. “Do you understand me?”

It is full of:
⭐️ Why choose?!
⭐️ Enemies to lovers. 🤤❤️
⭐️ Bullies!
⭐️ RH with 3 amazing men!

Catalina — kidnapped by some stranger in a mask, the one who has harassed her in the first novel and continues on into this one.

The boys? Trying to find their woman no matter the cost. However, they need not worry. She got out and ran all on her own. You get to see the boys and Catalina really fall into place and see their softer sides. They become the protective trio, following and keeping an eye on her while in class or out and about.

The ending and who it ends up being and how it unfolds was not what I expected at all. It was in all a very good twist and it just… flowed even with the big woah when lose ends start being tied up… 👀

We really see Catalina, Nyx, Cole and Dorian grow and start to complement each other. Each person available to cater to one’s needs when needed. I do feel like the trio of men were talked up as these big ruthless softies, but we’re caught off guard a handful of times in this book alone. Understandably, they’re trying to keep Catalina safe, but i feel like there could have been more ruthlessness to the men here in this book like the first.

I will say this book was absolutely packed with information and sometimes hard to follow with how fast things move. I did have to go back a few times and reread, hell it couldn’t have been a me problem, but I did have to do the same here and there in the first installation too.

CL Easton did not disappoint when it came to the spice. There was way more of it this time around and it was top notch with every single spicy scene.

[Kelsey Yongue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining Plot, But Too Many Errors: Why I Won't Be Continuing This Series

I read book 1 and 2 in this series. The plotline itself is interesting and I like the characters, but the grammer and spelling mistakes were so heavy it distracted me from enjoying it. I honestly expect—and don’t mind—a few mistakes in a smutty book (we all know what we're here for, lol), but a simple, slow reread by the author or a friend probably would have caught the errors. It's hard to stay focused on a scene when the line says "I screamed until I was HORSE" instead of "hoarse" 😂.

There were also contradictions in the characters. When the males are first introduced it says that the guy in the red mask was the tallest and strongest, but later the blue masked character is described as the tallest. It makes it hard to keep up with who is who, especially since it's a why choose book. There are also position changes in the spicy scenes that don't make sense, or even 1st person and 3rd person narration changes mid scene.

A small amount of more effort would have afforded this more stars. I liked the story, but I won't be reading book 3.

[DarkRapture · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** 3.5 Stars ***

This book picks up where the first book left off, with Catalina’s abduction. I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t a fan of the kidnapping plot. I thought this scene was going to be the one where the author really went all the way to the dark side, instead, it’s a scene that was not at all suspenseful as it had the potential to be and it was definitely not as dramatic as I would have liked it to be. What a waste of a great opportunity! I was also disappointed later in the book to find out who Catalina's kidnapper was and I thought their motivation for doing it was kind of lame.

Like the first book, this story was still on my "light grey" scale. I'm used to reading much darker books, so, what's "light grey" on my scale might be "dark" on yours. Read the CW/TW just to make sure. There were still some editing issues, though not as many as the first book. I liked this one a bit better than the first. I'm going to go ahead and read the final book in the series since I'm already two books in.

[A. Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 2nd book in the series. This is a series that needs to be read in order. I really like this series. You have mystery, intrigue, and the harem aspect and those parts are very hot. The last book left off with Catalina or Cat being kidnapped. Cat was a grave robber who looks like Wednesday Addams. Her harem of men include Dorian, Nyx, and Cole for the most part acts as the leader. The guys started out as Cat's bullies then became her lovers. In this book Cat needs to be rescued from being kidnapped. Once that happens the kidnapper isn't done with them yet. The identity of the kidnapper needs to be figured out. The guys also keep working for the Soul Stealer's Gang which is changing as well. Once the identity of the kidnapper is figured out they all want revenge. I think they all just don't want revenge on the kidnapper either. It is a good book especially right before Halloween but I would read it anytime.

[Jeanette Durant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strangers of the town is the second book in the series and the action starts off as book 1 ended.
There is an interesting plot and Catalina, the main female lead, is quite unique compared to a lot of reverse harem lead characters. The relationship between her and her three men really ramps up with the spice and kinks in this book. Cole has to work a bit to get back into her favour, but once he does the group scenes are smoking hot!
We finally find out the identity of the masked man who kidnapped Catalina at the end of book 1 and there are developments with the Soul Stealers gang.
For a short novella series it is worth a read, especially if you enjoy why choose romances with a big slice of spice and kinks.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sue Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strangers of the town byC L Easton.
Book 2 of Strangers of Eastwood.
Cole Valentine, Nyx Thornton and Dorian Prescott.
Enforcers of the Soul Stealers. Trying to keep the town of Eastwood from falling apart. Only for their entire world to fall apart when Catalina is kidnapped. She kept them all sane, giving them the passion they’ve been missing. Now they will do anything they can to keep her safe. Finding her kidnapper is their only goal. They seek revenge, crave it. Little do they know she seeks her own revenge as well. Only to end up falling in love in the process. Now they have her forever.
Very good read. I like this series. Hope there is more to come. 5*.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Strangers of the Town' is the final book in the Strangers of Eastwood duopoly. It's a spicy read as Cat and her guys fall into their poly relationship. They come together after Cat escapes her kidnapper and put away their differences. They attempt to outsmart her kidnapper to their dismay. The face-off was lackluster and went out with a whimper. The series could have easily been a trilogy and felt rushed in this book. While I did enjoy the story I would have liked the author to have a bigger lead up to the face-off with more mystery, intrigue, and explored more of the relationships between the four in this book. With any luck the author will revise the series and turn it into a trilogy in the future.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Brittany Bridges · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. It had more plot than the last one, Stranger of the Night, but still had a ton of spice. You got to actually know the characters in this one and the character development was awesome. Spice was a definite 5/5🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ and plot was a 4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Tropes include: RH/Why choose, MFMM, novella, dark, masked men, bully romance, and college romance. As it is a dark romance please be sure to check out TW’s before reading. TW’s include: b0ndage, g@ng vi0lence (t0rture and mürder), st@lking, mention of abüse, k!dnapping, handling of fëces, bl00d, g0re. If you want a spicy dark Halloween short story then I’m sure you’ll love this one. If you do plan on reading please be sure to check out book 1, Strangers of the Night.

[Kandace_Bookaholic_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

So grateful to have gotten this book as an ARC. Did i stay up all night reading this because i couldn’t put it down? Why yes i did and i do NOT regret it at all! This book is a why choose dark romance 3 guys 1 girl (Catalina you lucky bitch). This book is definitely 18+ due to the content of sexual scenes. Catalina is a student by day and a girl digging up dead bodies in the cemetery during the night, a side job she calls it for the professor. Along the way the guys who always bullied her become her everything and will do anything to protect her! This is a must read!!!!

[Karlea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not drooling. You're drooling!

Dang, I immediately jumped into this after Strangers of the Night, and now I have questions that I need answered. Who is this new guy their boss is adding into the gang? Is this somehow tied into Cats' family? The issues with her family can't be over just like that, and everything is all honky-dorie. I need answers lol and my goodness, I do love the dynamic between the 4. The chemistry and spice is amazing, and the mask play at the end.... im not drooling. you're drooling 🤤Can't wait for the next!

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is this book perfect? No, but is this book fun? Yeah

While there are a lot of aspects of this story I liked, there’s a lot I didn’t. All three books are very prepetitive, I felt like book 2 and 3 is just the same plot as book 1 in different fonts. The fact there’s still a back and forth when it comes to her relationships with the guys in book 3 was slightly annoying. Cole was very annoying and his bulldozer personality was not my fave.

This was fine overall? I was entertained enough to read all three books just to see where the plot went, so take that how you want.

[Di · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strangers of the Town needs to be read carefully to fully grasp what was going on at times. At times I was confused but pushed through and it all came full circle at the end! It was a sweet yet dark HEA and was so rewarding to see them get there! It had angst and passion and the perfect amount of alpha male possessiveness.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[J. Ockenhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cole Valentine, Nyx Thornton and Dorian Prescott are back and this time on a mission to not only find out who kidnapped Cat but to make every woman worship their brand of se*y.

This conclusion doesn't disappoint. It's a scorcher inside....I mean this will make your neighbors smoke detector go off. Mystery added just made it a great dark read. I received an ARC for an honest and voluntarily review.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dawn B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This duet has to be one of my favourites I've read in a long time. I loved how they came together in the first book - it was so hot. This book continues on from the first and I just loved to see their relationship evolve. Also, there was some good grovelling in this and the fact she didn't easily cave in? LOVED that.
Read this duet, you won't regret it.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Brandi Exline · Rating 5 out of 5]

C.L. Easton has done it again. I love this duet. This is in my top favorites for this year. This book starts up with the cliffhanger from the first book. Catalina is a favorite FMC for me. She is so different from all the other girls and doesn't care what others think of her. Cole, Dorian, and Nyx are three men you won't forget anytime soon. C.L. Easton's writing is incredible. I can't wait to read more from her.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts right where the last book left off. I love that there was a suspense aspect to the book, Cat has a stalker and there are no clues as to who it is. I love that it keeps you guessing. Her guys are so sweet and protective. I was trying to choose a favorite, but I honestly have no idea. I like them all for different reasons. There is a lot of spice in this one, and it is HOT! If you haven’t read book one go pick it up and read it! You will not be disappointed!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

me likey

I liked this one. Storyline was pretty good, there were a few confusing things here and there, mainly incorrect word usage, but it was easy enough to figure out what it was meant to say. This definitely could’ve had an additional book added on, IF the story had gone in a different direction and if she would’ve reacted differently to the villain. I feel like she could’ve been a BAMF in that storyline, but this one was still good, and had a HEA, so no complaints.

[Reading4_Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved book 1 and now book 2 once again was great! I couldn’t put it down. I devoured it within a few hrs. I loved the spice & the connection they each had with her. Overall this duet was just what I needed especially during spooky season. I definitely recommend reading it but always check triggers.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, to say this book was fantastic would be an understatement. I very much enjoyed the first book in this series. This one was even better.

I loved the POV of each of the main characters. The storyline was crazy but great.

I read it in one sitting too, which just shows how good it was.

Contains a lot of TW, please take care with them. 18+ due to adult scenes.

[Lizette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series however I do wish her family got their dues and we found out what happened to her dad and why he stayed. I also always love an extended epilogue but the characters are great and once Cole figured himself out he was great!.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.