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The Dark Life of Silas #1

A Wife for Silas: A Dark Thriller

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You have six months to should I prepare to have you walk down the aisle to me as my bride? Or shall I arrange for pall bearers to escort you down the aisle in a casket?



As a billionaire, finding willing women to be in a relationship with me has never been a challenge.

But being a psychopath billionaire…well, that’s another story.

After years of failed relationships, NDAs, and payoff, I’m ready to settle down and find a wife. Not to love her, of course; it’s only because I need an heir to inherit my billion-dollar criminal empire.

I can’t just have any woman on my arm, but finding the perfect woman I can control without too many questions being raised has become a new challenge.

Until the solution falls right into my lap.

Once I catch wind that Lia, my company’s executive assistant, is on her way to prison for embezzling half a million dollars from my company, I realize she’s the perfect solution to my end goal.

There won’t be anywhere for her to run.

There won’t be anyone to ask questions.

And she’ll be all mine for her nine-year sentence with or without her consent.

She has six months to become the perfect wife.

It’ll be up to her if she’ll survive long enough to make it down the aisle.

426 pages, Paperback

Published October 18, 2022

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Tori Sullivan

10 books102 followers

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5 stars
918 (21%)
4 stars
1,186 (27%)
3 stars
1,129 (26%)
2 stars
542 (12%)
1 star
562 (12%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 708 reviews
Profile Image for nadine.
310 reviews182 followers
November 14, 2025
If I got a euro for every time I said “what the fuck,” while reading this book I’d be rich rich because honestly, what the actual fuck?! I knew this book didn’t have a happily ever after, but not in that way!!

And why is there a 5 star rating? There was no plot. And don’t even start with the “based on enjoyment,” excuse because there’s no way you seriously enjoyed what happened in that book.

Silas is a true sociopath. After reading the prologue, I wondered how he could possibly ever redeem himself, but by the end of chapter 3? Yeah there’s no redemption for him.

Lia is forced into a marriage with Silas after he discovers she stole money from him. Instead of dealing with it legally, he decides to punish her himself. He essentially imprisons her in his home and treats her as nothing more than a wife in name and a means to produce heir specifically only male heir.

He strips her of her name, her identity, and even her face, forcing her to undergo surgery that makes her unrecognizable and reshapes her into the kind of woman he prefers.

And he did not stop at that, he start abusing her, rapping her repeatedly and beating her until she passes out and he mentally, physically and psychologically destroyed her, and if that was not enough he locked her in a room with her foster father who had already raped her when she was a little. After each act of cruelty, he simply goes to sleep and wakes up ready to invent new ways to torment her.

By the end of the book, he kills her and then what does he do? He just moves on and starts looking for another woman to use for an heir, as if nothing he did was wrong.

"I'd admit that I missed her, but not in the way people missed those they'd lost. I missed the pleasure I got from hurting her, the way her body reacted to my brutality."

I don’t plan on reading the second book, so I looked up reviews, and apparently Lia actually didn’t die but she never comes back, never gets justice, and never takes revenge. And to my shock, Silas gets a happy ending. How does someone this monstrous get to walk away with everything?

I recommend the author and anyone who enjoyed this book seek professional help.
Profile Image for chanelmindedx.
216 reviews77 followers
June 4, 2023
1.5 ⭐️

what the actual FUCK was this? i thought there was supposed to be no hea for silas, not lia. but instead, this dumbass just moves on to another woman in the next book.

if you’re expecting some twisted, obsessive antihero driven by brutality and buried feelings, forget it. silas hated lia for the entire book. he literally forced her to get plastic surgery just so he’d find her more interesting to look at.

silas is the worst male lead i’ve ever read. i usually find something redeeming in a villain. take darren’s jealous and possessive streak in the stronger series by jay marie or shayne’s obsessive love for ava in the beauty & the darkness trilogy by iris ann hunter. both five-star reads for me, and just as dark. but silas? he’s awful in every possible way. his chapters were infuriating, and i couldn’t stand him.

what i love about dark erotic thrillers is the moral dilemma, wondering whether i should sympathize with the villain or not. this book gave me none of that. there was absolutely nothing to look forward to with silas. no intrigue, no depth, no internal conflict. just a flat-out asshole from start to finish.

i liked lia. she deserved better, but she wasn’t given the space to truly shine.

this book wasn’t a thriller. a thriller needs an exciting plot, and this didn’t have one. the story was completely stagnant. silas had zero character development. just abuse, abuse, and more abuse. it was repetitive and empty.

and before anyone says, “you should’ve checked your triggers,” i did. the content wasn’t the problem. this book just had no purpose. the only reason i’m not giving it one star is because of lia. all the stars go to her. she was done dirty.
Profile Image for ↬ Ⓛ.
377 reviews763 followers
November 22, 2022
The author wasn’t kidding when she said HEA comes to die. This is more of a dark thriller than a dark romance, and honestly? I see you, Tori.

But for real... CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT UNFORGETTABLE, unforgivable, and killer scene?!

When Silas surprised Lila with... you know WHO?!
Profile Image for ForeverreadinG.
280 reviews
February 3, 2023

The part where the h brings her molester and locks her in with him so he can rape her because she was being disobedient while he recorded the video and got off on it was something out of a nightmare.


I wish I can go back in time and not read it
Profile Image for Alisonbookreviewer.
917 reviews74 followers
June 19, 2023
This was more a horror romance. Not what I expected. I read there was no HEA and triggers which is exactly what this book is.
Basically it’s about a billionaire psychopath who wants an heir and traps a woman who he’ll eventually marry. She, of course has no choice and he is not the nicest guy.
Lots of warnings in this disturbing story.
Profile Image for Kayla_Wilson.
673 reviews40 followers
June 25, 2025
This was a deliciously dark erotic thriller. The MMC has no redeeming qualities and I absolutely hated him but could not put this book down.
Profile Image for RAVEN.
118 reviews2 followers
May 3, 2026
▪️Dark and disturbing with no HEA. Not a romance novel.

▪️The MMC is a clinically diagnosed sociopath.

▪️Well written story with no fillers.

I was getting a sinking feeling towards the end, like my heart was getting twisted 💔

⚠️ I don't usually read TWs, but if you have triggers PLEASE read the trigger warnings before reading.

"I thought about about everything that happened in my life, always wondering what I'd done to deserve such a painful existence. I survived through so much and fought so hard to make it through my past circumstances, determined to become someone someday. I wanted to look at my success one day and be proud of everything I overcame, wanting to make little Lia proud.
I never thought i went through all of that to end like this"
💔💔💔💔💔

I have to read book 2. Someone give me strength please. Feels like my heart is hanging from a thread from the ceiling 😭
Profile Image for Sheila.
16 reviews2 followers
June 23, 2023
stupid!!! believe it when she says there's no hea, terrible MMC and poor editing on top of that!
I would say skip it!
Profile Image for kat.
92 reviews18 followers
May 1, 2025
I can fix him i promise 😭😭🫶🏻
Profile Image for Katie.
715 reviews19 followers
Read
October 22, 2022
Ok-the writing (syntax etc) is fine but what redeeming quality does the H have??? It’s very dark content but there is nothing to grasp onto for the reader. It’s dark with zero slivers of light. And that ending?

There are too many triggers that take this beyond dark. The children. The ex foster father. The ending.

Do not recommend!
Profile Image for Tia.
328 reviews843 followers
June 10, 2025
Jesus fucking Christ what the fuck have I just been through. I may as well have just ran at a wall covered in spikes it would of been easier 🙃🙃

Couldn’t get enough of it though 🤣 I physically couldn’t put it down! I fell in love with him as well for a decent amount until it went off in the last 100 pages.

Now I need a bottle of vodka and a straw and a packet of fags to level myself out whilst laying horizontal with my eyes closed! Cheers!!
3 reviews
June 18, 2023
This book is just a black hole with no light.

It is not the kind book that delves into the taboo or darkness to titilate or intrigue. This is just darkness. To warn you, the disclaimer is correct - there is no redemption or any kind of feeling from the main character at any stage. I feel as though this book goes above that disclaimer because this is so dark it almost becomes tedious. There are no redeeming qualities, and there is nothing that would make a reader want to invest in and care about the characters or the storyline.

I am no newbie to dark themed books, but the core tenet of dark novels is the intrigue. There is no intrigue with this book because Silas, an apparently "clinically diagnosed sociopath," doesn't give a shit about anyone or anything and makes stupid decisions despite his alleged lack of emotions.

*Story building*

'A Wife for Silas' follows the same, 'abuse, day to recover, abuse, recover, abuse, no recovery, abuse' pattern from start to finish, and the end results in a piece of work that instilled a 'why did I bother reading this' feeling from me. There is no character or story development. This is dark for the sake of being dark.

Silas's parents are two dimensional and unnecessary, despite being portrayed as being significant to his character. Other minor characters, likewise, are not fleshed out enough to be introduced by name to the reader. It is a sea of names and no benefit to reading them, e.g., staff in the house, his business partners, the yoga teacher, his business partner's wife, his business partner's wife's father.... all introduced by name, but what for? It does not propell the story forward at all because these are all one line characters who rarely (bar the few repeats) serve any purpose for being there.

*Corrections needed*

From an editorial/proofreading perspective, this needs work. There are frequent mistakes, and a majority of them are minor but common enough that it can take some rereading and using the powers of deduction to figure out what was originally meant in the sentence.

Secondly, the use of addicting throughout the book is incorrect. Addicting is a present participle of the verb addict. It is the equivalent of saying "he was so predicting," instead of "he was so predictable,". Addictive is the adjective derived from a noun and would be more appropriate for within the scenarios in the book.

*Overall*

My very lengthy (sorry) and overly detailed review is due to two things.

1. Warning other readers of what is ahead if they read 'A Wife for Silas' before they invest time, and in some cases money to do so.

2. The author has skill. She writes many parts of the book well, but in my humble opinion, this was published prematurely. It needs story and character development and proofreading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
3 reviews1 follower
June 30, 2023
Not worth the effort it takes to read it

This book was terrible! Honestly please don't waste your time reading it. The author must be seriously disturbed to write something like this.
Profile Image for devangi.
331 reviews83 followers
February 16, 2024
i wouldn't go anywhere near silas 🙏🏻
Profile Image for rvkives.
57 reviews
Read
December 24, 2024
I HATE SILAS WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING.
Profile Image for Valentina.
1,196 reviews437 followers
June 4, 2023
2.5 stars

Silas is a true villain, non-redeemable, unhinged to the point of caricature. He gives Darren from the Stronger series a run for his money, and I think, supersedes him in a very linear way. Darkest fiction I've read in a while. Romantic horror. But the dark humor, the engaging plot, the "I can't believe he did that!", and the fact that Lia was strong make the book readable. Lia isn't innocent, and I felt sorry for her, but ..well... Silas is absolutely, terrifyingly brutal. He is a sociopath, psychopath.

It wasn’t love that made me feel alive; it was her misery and tormented spirit.
“You made me realize that it’s not the act of sex I actually enjoy, but the pain I cause during it.”
- Silas


“But I’ve realized that Silas doesn’t care about anyone. Everyone is disposable to him.”
- Maryse


Biggest issue I had with this story was the lack of balance. The only levity was the dark humor from the unbelievable stuff Silas conjures. Lia never wins, not even small wins.


Basically, I liked but didn’t like the story. I hated Silas.

Also, the grammatical errors in this book were heinous!
Profile Image for r0mAiSs4.
228 reviews2 followers
January 15, 2026
I learned my fucking lesson.

I'm never touching shit I see online as bad and want to read it

This book make me note to wipe all books I know will be bad but were on my TBR anyway.

Because wtf is wrong with this author what the fuck is wrong with you

This types of books should never be a FUCKING ROMANCE, I'd get it if it was another genre, build up and character and shit okay but giving that bastard a happy mother fucking ending is just I'M GOING TO BURST

And the audacity to call this a DARK ROMANCE?????????????

I'm usually the one defending books and authors in the genre but WTF YOU MEAN HEAVY DARK ROMANCE TONES???????????????????????

And what fuckass thriller was there anyway? In the way he fucking graped her? Or when he tortured her? Huh? Thriller??

I need a bleach in my eyes and a fucking paper shredder to shred EVERY FUCKING MEMORY OF A WORD I READ OF THIS BOOK

i watched madea omg😭
I was so so so in a happy and good mood, now I'm ruined for a month

I'm actually cleaning all my hate list just for this man
Profile Image for Ashley  ADirtyRead.
309 reviews24 followers
September 22, 2023
I thought that I could love Silas, I really did. Some authors say their villains aren't lovable, that it's toxic, but I was like "bet" THIS MAN woke up every day and chose violence - and I loved it. This is not a romance - I literally can not express this enough. It was recommended to me as such and it was not. Silas is a vicious, brutal, vengeful psychopath who does not change AT ALL and it's beautiful. I hope the 2nd book he softens up a bit because I would love to see that for him since he is trying for an heir to his dynasty, but I have small hopes, very small. I would love to get closure for his fiance in the second book so I hope to see that, but again - hope is small.

If you want to pick your jaw off the ground each chapter with Silas because you feel like there is no way he can become more vicious, carry on.
Profile Image for Kelly_Reads_Books.
2,165 reviews201 followers
January 16, 2024
This book is DARK...Heed those warnings! It is not romance, it is a twisted, messed up story full of unimaginable actions and unbelievable punishment's for Lia/Alyssa. Silas is a dark depraved man, a sociopath or psychopath or both, but he is definitely diabolical and unable to feel emotion. He inflicts pain for his pleasure and that's all that matters. 🖤🖤🖤
This is the first book I have read by Tori Sullivan and it won't be the last. Silas stayed true to his character throughout this book, he did not deviate. And poor Lia, my heart broke for her and her search for why she is not loveable or wanted. It was gut wrenching to listen to her pleas and wishes.
I really, REALLY wanted to give this book 5 stars but it needs a good editor to correct some of the errors and mistakes.
Profile Image for ThatBookish_deviant.
2,487 reviews15 followers
May 11, 2024
5⭐️4🌶️

A Wife for Silas is the first book in The Dark Life of Silas duology by author Tori Sullivan. The second book is entitled An Heir for Silas. Unfortunately Sullivan decided to unpublish and halt sales of all their writing and has rather successfully scrubbed much of their content from the internet.

A Wife for Silas is an erotic horror story. The MMC is Silas, a billionaire businessman seeking revenge against the FMC, Lia. Silas caught Lia embezzling his money. To avoid a lengthy prison sentence Lia agrees to a contract which, at the end of a trial period, she’ll marry him.

Silas doesn’t care about anyone but himself because he’s the definition of a remorseless psychopath. However he wants an heir to his name and fortune and thus a wife to help procure his father’s approval.

The abuse Silas inflicts upon Lia is horrific. It’s non-con and includes both physical and psychological torture. Silas has to be the most abhorrent and reprehensible character I’ve read. There’s one scene in particular that I still can’t wrap my brain around, how an author even comes up with these ideas is beyond me.

All of that said, I actually really liked this book. What the actual fuck that says about me is a question for my psychiatrist to answer. Many of us who read horror do so because it’s all the worst, scariest stuff we can imagine happening put on paper before us. Well, A Wife for Silas certainly qualifies for that. I’ve read splatterpunk and this is not that. To me, it’s even worse because Silas is cunningly evil and goes out of his way to plan the awful shit he does to Lia.

I’d like to know why the author decided to pull all her work. Maybe it’s because too many people were traumatized by the depravity of her imagination. I know it haunts me. It took over six months to write this review because I didn’t want to think about it!
Profile Image for Caroline.
141 reviews
November 16, 2023
I’m here from book two I highly don’t recommend. She had facial reconstruction surgery for nothing, he utterly ruins her and everything she’s ever known. In the end he thinks he kills her and dumps her body, he then ditches her body somewhere and she’s found by two hitchhickers. In book two he finds a new girl, Lea is alive and he constantly talks about her but we never hear from Lea again. The worst part, is how he showed Nova the kindness that he’d never shown Lea. He was capable of even pretending and he never did for Lea, he gets a happy ending and it’s just like fuck whatever happened to Lea. It’s so sad to me, I wanted Lea to have a happy ending. Lea, not some other random girl. And he was horrible, I mean HORRIBLE and we just never know what happened to her. It felt unrealistic that Lea would survive all of this and just let him get away with it. Her entire life is ruined, it’s not like she could go back to what she had. She doesn’t even look the same.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for nighttime reader.
654 reviews
Read
May 18, 2025
I forgot to update this. I had to stop. This man really said, i know I’m a nepo baby but I’m gonna get my uni friends and start a new business and that business is gonna be sex trafficking and I’m gonna take a woman and use and abuse her so she can give me a heir for my sex traffic business and I’m gonna constantly sa her and force her to use another name and get plastic surgery. 😒😒😒

0⭐️
Profile Image for My Dark Romance.
533 reviews99 followers
April 11, 2026
This is book one in a dark thriller duet with no HEA 🚫

Lea is a foster kid who’s been through some shit and when she lads a job with a billion dollar company, she makes a bad decision to embezzle money from her employer. But little does she know that her boss Silas Arnett, the most eligible bachelor in town, is a cruel psychopath and when he finds out that she stole from him, instead of sending her to jail, he comes up with an evil plan for her to live as a prisoner in his house, marry him and give him an heir.

But this is not your forced marriage he falls first kinda story… quite the opposite! Because in this first book, they don’t get to the altar… in this book he trains her, uses and abuses her as part of her punishment. Silas is not a kind man. He has a cold stone heart, has zero emotions and absolutely no mercy! His own mother knows he is a dangerous man and has a limited relationship with him, she even warns Lea about him.

Side note: To all the people giving this book a one star review because they hate Silas and/or the ending. That’s the point. Why do people who want a HEA read a NON-ROMANCE? Can we normalize staying in your lane?!

Yes, Shilas is a psychopath. And psychopaths tend to do horrendous things. Tori was not fucking around about the things she promised in this story. She delivered 👏🏼
I could mention several scenes that were absolutely diabolical. I see you Tori 👀

I loved it. Surprise surprise. I do not need a HEA. And the story isn’t even over yet… jumping straight into book two 😉
692 reviews138 followers
Read
November 28, 2022
Dnf. I have no issue with reading a dark thriller but I need to be intrigued by at least one of the MCs. To me, this was dark for its own sake and the characters were more of a caricature of what one might expect. I need more complexity and purpose behind the darkness. The author also needs to do more research. Overall, this had potential but, sadly, didn't deliver.
Profile Image for silvereyedmoon.
19 reviews9 followers
April 17, 2023
Well that was something. I think this is the darkest book I’ve ever read.

Definitely not a romance but a thriller clearly stated by the author. Check your trigger warnings.

Good read for something different but now I’m staring at the wall wondering what I just read. So, read at your own discretion 🖤

Profile Image for Nikita.
172 reviews883 followers
June 2, 2025
Edit:

Taking this down to a 4 ⭐️ to match book 2. Both were on par for me


Original:

4.5 ⭐️

I mean seriously what the f**k.

It wasn’t fun but I loved it and couldn’t stop reading.

I duno, I guess I need therapy 🤷🏼‍♀️
Profile Image for kie.
310 reviews2 followers
August 1, 2025
get the fuck out of my face. stupid tiktok and their fake advertising. this was supposed to be a mystery thriller not straight up depression
Profile Image for Nancy Weiler.
195 reviews10 followers
August 24, 2026
4.5⭐️

WHAT DO YOU MEAN I READ THIS IN ONE SITTING.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN I THOUGHT SHE COULD CHANGE HIM 😭 and boy was I manipulated as well.

This is NOT a romance or a tragic love story. This is a horror and diving deep into the mind of a Psychopath.

To be honest, this healed me in a way I cannot explain, themes of what Silas did happened to me and reading this and experiencing the emotions from an outsider was indescribable. He won’t change.

Even though as a reader you KNEW this wasn’t a happy ending, you kept wishing with hope throughout and making excuses FOR HIM? Like what? If you’ve been through DV you’ll understand the trauma bond.

I think the author was very clever in her writing in the way she made me feel the same emotions as Lia, although grammatical errors were there.

Tread carefully if you want to read this. This is dark and I don’t think the word dark even covers it.



Displaying 1 - 30 of 708 reviews