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Stolen Obsessions #1
Mind to Bend
The last thing I expected when I married at twenty-two was to remain a virgin at twenty-four.
My husband didn’t want me, he had married me out of obligation rather than love, and I thought nothing could hurt worse than that.
But my solution, marriage counseling, was only the beginning.
The first time I saw Shane, I knew I was boarding an express bus to hell because my husband never made me feel a flicker of that spark, and that was before we shook hands.
He doesn’t just want me; he wants all my firsts, my very soul, and damn it. I think he’s going to get them all.
***Mind to Bend is a standalone dark romance and book 1 in a series of interconnected standalone. There is graphic adult content that may be disturbing to some readers. Please check content warnings.
My husband didn’t want me, he had married me out of obligation rather than love, and I thought nothing could hurt worse than that.
But my solution, marriage counseling, was only the beginning.
The first time I saw Shane, I knew I was boarding an express bus to hell because my husband never made me feel a flicker of that spark, and that was before we shook hands.
He doesn’t just want me; he wants all my firsts, my very soul, and damn it. I think he’s going to get them all.
***Mind to Bend is a standalone dark romance and book 1 in a series of interconnected standalone. There is graphic adult content that may be disturbing to some readers. Please check content warnings.
278 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2023
1608 people are currently reading
11579 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 825 reviews
September 28, 2023
Married 18 months earlier, at age 22, Tim and Seraphina Baker have yet to consummate their marriage. Reluctantly, Tim agrees to marriage counseling with psychiatrist, Shane Nelson.
In an act of the ultimate manipulation, Shane ensures Sera will bend to his will and enjoy it, even beg for more.
This was an incredibly interesting read with so many unique elements. I really enjoyed it, my first read by the author, and definitely not the last!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😩
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👫🏻 {Dual}
🗂 Genre: Dark Romantic Suspense
✨ Tropes: Alphahole/Antihero, Forbidden, Instalove, Jealous/Possessive, Kidnap/Captive, Manipulation, MINE!, Stalker, Touch-Her-and-💀, Virgin h
💋 Kinks: 🍑, Biting/Marking, Bondage/Restraints, Brėėding (Mild), Degradation, Discipline/Punishment, Domination, Forced Os, Hand Necklace, Praise, Spanking
⚠️ Warning: This steamy read will leave your panties wet and reaching for BOB.
🚩 Safety Squad: Cheating, DubCon, Recreational Drüg Use, and other potentially triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Mind to Bend is part of the Stolen Obsessions series, but can be read as a standalone.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
In an act of the ultimate manipulation, Shane ensures Sera will bend to his will and enjoy it, even beg for more.
This was an incredibly interesting read with so many unique elements. I really enjoyed it, my first read by the author, and definitely not the last!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😩
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👫🏻 {Dual}
🗂 Genre: Dark Romantic Suspense
✨ Tropes: Alphahole/Antihero, Forbidden, Instalove, Jealous/Possessive, Kidnap/Captive, Manipulation, MINE!, Stalker, Touch-Her-and-💀, Virgin h
💋 Kinks: 🍑, Biting/Marking, Bondage/Restraints, Brėėding (Mild), Degradation, Discipline/Punishment, Domination, Forced Os, Hand Necklace, Praise, Spanking
⚠️ Warning: This steamy read will leave your panties wet and reaching for BOB.
🚩 Safety Squad: Cheating, DubCon, Recreational Drüg Use, and other potentially triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Mind to Bend is part of the Stolen Obsessions series, but can be read as a standalone.
🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
dnf
April 4, 2023DNF @ 22% but that was just me being optimistic and desperate. 😅 I knew I’d bail at 9% - the hero knows the h is his *forever* after a 5 minute conversation AS HIS PATIENT…. WHO IS SITTING NEXT TO HER HUSBAND AT COUPLES COUNSELING. I was thinking maybe we’d get a hero with just a tiny glimmer of concern or hesitation for the inappropriateness of this *attraction*… but naw. What we get is a hero who whips out his dong one second after the h leaves his office and starts jerking off… doesn’t even break rhythm when someone knocks on his unlocked OFFICE door. And OF COURSE, it’s the h, and she just be-bops in and watches him jerk off and climax with a plethora of jizz going every which way. In his professional office. In CHAPTER TWO. 💀😂 (I checked to see if this was Jessa Kane, but, alas, no.)
And they say romance is dead. 🥰
This was like a poor gal’s knock-off porn hub version of Medicine Man. 🫠
I’m good. ✌🏻
And they say romance is dead. 🥰
This was like a poor gal’s knock-off porn hub version of Medicine Man. 🫠
I’m good. ✌🏻
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2023
I don't know what kind of things I just read.
Hey! DM me if you sell:
Brainwasher or eyewasher.
Because I want to forget this whole fucked-up story.
FYI:
I don't even know how old MMC is, even till the end of the book. Bwhahaha, and you can guess from here that there are a lot of unanswered questions. Like the MMC background and the whole messed-up past of the FMC.
🐥
Hey! DM me if you sell:
Brainwasher or eyewasher.
Because I want to forget this whole fucked-up story.
FYI:
I don't even know how old MMC is, even till the end of the book. Bwhahaha, and you can guess from here that there are a lot of unanswered questions. Like the MMC background and the whole messed-up past of the FMC.
🐥
April 17, 2023
Strong start, weird ending
Not sure how I feel about this one…
The story is about Serephina (aka Sera) and Shane. Sera is married to Tim, but they have a loveless marriage. She wants to fix things so she decides to enrol them in couple’s counselling. Shane is their psychiatrist. Immediately upon seeing Sera, Shane knows that she belongs to him and he will literally do ANYTHING to make her his.
I loved Shane. He was legit a psycho. He stalked, he killed, he manipulated, he r@p€d (TW: there’s non-con in this one), and he was an OTT j/p a-hole. But… I kinda loved that about him! I also really loved the smexy scenes between Shane and Sera. They were hot AF 🥵.
What I didn’t like was Serephina. Up until like 90% into the book, she hated Shane and pushed back against their relationship. She kept thinking about Tim and the portions of the book that were in her POV (which was most of the book) were just exhausting and repetitive. Then between 90-93%, she does some mental gymnastics in her head and decides she loves Shane. It just seemed so unrealistic and disingenuous. I’ve read a lot of stalker books and usually the Stockholm syndrome kicks in at around the 50-60% mark and the h starts to fall in love with her stalker.
The ending of the book was just bizarre! Overall the ending felt rushed. This book is supposed to be a duet, with the next book focusing on Shane’s cousin, Pax, who is also a psycho. I don’t think I liked this enough to read Pax’s book, but who knows! Maybe I’ll change my mind once I see the reviews for the next book.
Not sure how I feel about this one…
The story is about Serephina (aka Sera) and Shane. Sera is married to Tim, but they have a loveless marriage. She wants to fix things so she decides to enrol them in couple’s counselling. Shane is their psychiatrist. Immediately upon seeing Sera, Shane knows that she belongs to him and he will literally do ANYTHING to make her his.
I loved Shane. He was legit a psycho. He stalked, he killed, he manipulated, he r@p€d (TW: there’s non-con in this one), and he was an OTT j/p a-hole. But… I kinda loved that about him! I also really loved the smexy scenes between Shane and Sera. They were hot AF 🥵.
What I didn’t like was Serephina. Up until like 90% into the book, she hated Shane and pushed back against their relationship. She kept thinking about Tim and the portions of the book that were in her POV (which was most of the book) were just exhausting and repetitive. Then between 90-93%, she does some mental gymnastics in her head and decides she loves Shane. It just seemed so unrealistic and disingenuous. I’ve read a lot of stalker books and usually the Stockholm syndrome kicks in at around the 50-60% mark and the h starts to fall in love with her stalker.
The ending of the book was just bizarre! Overall the ending felt rushed. This book is supposed to be a duet, with the next book focusing on Shane’s cousin, Pax, who is also a psycho. I don’t think I liked this enough to read Pax’s book, but who knows! Maybe I’ll change my mind once I see the reviews for the next book.
May 21, 2023
Genre: Dark Romance
Type: Standalone Book 1 from Stolen Obsessions series
POV: First Person - Dual
Rating:
Sera Baker had not found happiness since the day she got married. To salvage her relationship, she decided to try couples therapy. Unbeknownst to her, the therapist, Shane Nelson, could be her savior or demise.
I loved the cover and hoped this book would be a thrilling dark ride. Unfortunately, it was quite a mess. Yes, it has a psychotic hero, non-con, and other dark elements that should appeal to me, but the execution left it flat.
My biggest problem is the hero, Shane. There was practically zero background info on who he was and why/how/when he was that way. I couldn’t connect with him to rationalize his motivations. Sera irritates me, but at least her behavior is anchored by her situations. The epilogue came out of nowhere and didn’t match the vibe of what happened before.
Mind to Bend is a story of obsession and breaking free, with dark and forbidden elements.
🔹️🧠🔹️. . . (F)BR with Twinsie CC . . . 🔹️🧠🔹️
For more reviews/interviews/book talk/promo visit:
For graphics, trailers & author services visit Warhawke Design Studio.
Type: Standalone Book 1 from Stolen Obsessions series
POV: First Person - Dual
Rating:
Sera Baker had not found happiness since the day she got married. To salvage her relationship, she decided to try couples therapy. Unbeknownst to her, the therapist, Shane Nelson, could be her savior or demise.
I loved the cover and hoped this book would be a thrilling dark ride. Unfortunately, it was quite a mess. Yes, it has a psychotic hero, non-con, and other dark elements that should appeal to me, but the execution left it flat.
"You’re going to come so hard , you’ll see God right before I rip my cock out of your ass and remind you that I’m the Devil and you’re in hell.”
My biggest problem is the hero, Shane. There was practically zero background info on who he was and why/how/when he was that way. I couldn’t connect with him to rationalize his motivations. Sera irritates me, but at least her behavior is anchored by her situations. The epilogue came out of nowhere and didn’t match the vibe of what happened before.
Mind to Bend is a story of obsession and breaking free, with dark and forbidden elements.
🔹️🧠🔹️. . . (F)BR with Twinsie CC . . . 🔹️🧠🔹️
For more reviews/interviews/book talk/promo visit:
For graphics, trailers & author services visit Warhawke Design Studio.
May 16, 2023
If I could bleach my eyes and delete parts of my memory to forget about a book, this would be it.
Read
April 4, 2023DNF. Everyone seems to love this book, so this must be a me issue. However, I just can't read another book where we're given no reason for the hero's sudden and all encompassing obsession with the heroine. The hero, I might add, who is a shrink and, as such, would have a lot more depth to him. Also, the stalker trope is hard to do in such a way that the hero doesn't just come across as kind of sad, sniffing her underwear and rubbing himself on her wet towel. Then, there's the heroine, who just came across so desperate for some shred of affection, doesn't matter who it's coming from, that she immediately lusts for her hot therapist and doesn't bat an eye at catching him wanking off not an hour after meeting him. This is the same heroine who supposedly loves her husband and is desperate to fix their marriage. This all could have worked had we been given a slower build and more character and relationship development. But as is, I'm out. Which is a shame since this sounded really good. I will say that the writing and editing is solid and I might give this author another shot in the future.
April 28, 2023
Broo!!! This was disappointing AF.
I was soooo excited for the taboo and forbidden.
But it was soo badly written I cringed at every turn.
What a waste of time. I honestly feel 1 ⭐ is too much.🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️
I was soooo excited for the taboo and forbidden.
But it was soo badly written I cringed at every turn.
What a waste of time. I honestly feel 1 ⭐ is too much.🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️
September 1, 2023
Was going to give this 5 stars but I wanted more oomph to the climax of the story (heroine is shocked by hero’s actions, so hero leaves heroine without food for 3 days, and heroine is over it).
Still a lot of fun! I couldn’t stop reading this and bought the chemistry between the psycho hero and religious trauma heroine.
Shane’s cousin, Pax, is going to have his book in November. Is suggested he is kidnapping a nun but unclear if literal or a nickname.
Still a lot of fun! I couldn’t stop reading this and bought the chemistry between the psycho hero and religious trauma heroine.
Shane’s cousin, Pax, is going to have his book in November. Is suggested he is kidnapping a nun but unclear if literal or a nickname.
December 13, 2025
I wanted it to work, but the heroine's mind was tedious
I specifically came for the patient heroine/therapist hero forbidden dark romance with a side of heroine's abusive husband getting his just desserts.
But that's not really what I got.
The heroine and her husband were too messed up. They out-crazed the crazy hero...
I should feel the escapist vindication of an emotionally (and towards the end physically) abusive partner getting written off while at the same time having a new partner so obsessed with the heroine he can't breath without her.
But, honestly, I felt bad for both the heroine and her husband. The physical abuse from their childhood combined with the taint from their religious trauma made it so neither of them would ever have a chance. With or without being together.
The book is pretty vague about whether he actually physically cheats. We know he emotionally cheats on her, there's no doubt about that, but we don't know if he ever sleeps with someone. He says he does once, but he's drunk and so angry at the heroine he wants to hurt her as much as possible. When he's confronted by the hero before he's killed, he vehemently denies having cheated. There's a possibility he died a virgin (he was never able to get hard for the heroine until he hurts her).
The husband stayed in the picture for too long and even then, we spend most of the time inside the heroine's head, not with the romantic progress between MCs. When it's finally only the MCs, the book gets weird. The kinks are all over the place.
The books starts with the hero getting off with being able to manipulate people into doing whatever he wants. He helps his patients, but toys with them along the way. He falls into instant obsession with the heroine and he fantasies about having her at his mercy. It was all about mental control and I thought it was interesting. But then it switches into regular ol' dom/sub, with the hero restraining her, breath play, non-con, pain, etc. Common and unoriginal.
I don't know why I finished it, except the writing was pretty good and it wasn't that long.
2.5 ★ rounded down because the book made me feel sorry for the abusive husband
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I specifically came for the patient heroine/therapist hero forbidden dark romance with a side of heroine's abusive husband getting his just desserts.
But that's not really what I got.
The heroine and her husband were too messed up. They out-crazed the crazy hero...
I should feel the escapist vindication of an emotionally (and towards the end physically) abusive partner getting written off while at the same time having a new partner so obsessed with the heroine he can't breath without her.
But, honestly, I felt bad for both the heroine and her husband. The physical abuse from their childhood combined with the taint from their religious trauma made it so neither of them would ever have a chance. With or without being together.
The book is pretty vague about whether he actually physically cheats. We know he emotionally cheats on her, there's no doubt about that, but we don't know if he ever sleeps with someone. He says he does once, but he's drunk and so angry at the heroine he wants to hurt her as much as possible. When he's confronted by the hero before he's killed, he vehemently denies having cheated. There's a possibility he died a virgin (he was never able to get hard for the heroine until he hurts her).
The husband stayed in the picture for too long and even then, we spend most of the time inside the heroine's head, not with the romantic progress between MCs. When it's finally only the MCs, the book gets weird. The kinks are all over the place.
The books starts with the hero getting off with being able to manipulate people into doing whatever he wants. He helps his patients, but toys with them along the way. He falls into instant obsession with the heroine and he fantasies about having her at his mercy. It was all about mental control and I thought it was interesting. But then it switches into regular ol' dom/sub, with the hero restraining her, breath play, non-con, pain, etc. Common and unoriginal.
I don't know why I finished it, except the writing was pretty good and it wasn't that long.
2.5 ★ rounded down because the book made me feel sorry for the abusive husband
・
・
・
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2023
This book satisfies my dark soul! 😌
Definitely check the warnings, very dark and twisted. 😍
🖤 Stalking
🖤 Insta-obsession
🖤 Unaliver
🖤 Patient/psychiatrist
🖤 Touch her & d!e
🖤 Virgin heroine
🖤 Love triangle
🖤 Hypnosis
Sera and Tim have been together since teenagers and even married for 2 years, with no sexual relationship. Together they go to see a psychiatrist who Sera has an instant connection to. So does the psychiatrist Shane.
Shane is crazy obsessed with Sera, willing to do ANYTHING to make her happy.
I loveeee how brilliant Shane is to put together a plan to get with Sera and how it all plans out.
Tim is a real 🍆 and I love how Shane shows Sera that she’s worth everything, which is something she never had the chance to experience before.
The spice is a little on the slow side, but once it starts. Omggggg. Sera doesn’t want a safe word and the things that’s man does 🤤
Definitely check the warnings, very dark and twisted. 😍
🖤 Stalking
🖤 Insta-obsession
🖤 Unaliver
🖤 Patient/psychiatrist
🖤 Touch her & d!e
🖤 Virgin heroine
🖤 Love triangle
🖤 Hypnosis
Sera and Tim have been together since teenagers and even married for 2 years, with no sexual relationship. Together they go to see a psychiatrist who Sera has an instant connection to. So does the psychiatrist Shane.
Shane is crazy obsessed with Sera, willing to do ANYTHING to make her happy.
I loveeee how brilliant Shane is to put together a plan to get with Sera and how it all plans out.
Tim is a real 🍆 and I love how Shane shows Sera that she’s worth everything, which is something she never had the chance to experience before.
The spice is a little on the slow side, but once it starts. Omggggg. Sera doesn’t want a safe word and the things that’s man does 🤤
August 1, 2023
This one star is for me for completing this book!
This book is written horribly and is quite possibly the worst thing I’ve ever read. The heroine was dumb, idiot and pathetic. The hero was tolerable. If only I could bleach my eyes and delete the memory regarding this book from my brain.
This book is written horribly and is quite possibly the worst thing I’ve ever read. The heroine was dumb, idiot and pathetic. The hero was tolerable. If only I could bleach my eyes and delete the memory regarding this book from my brain.
November 16, 2023
Not really love triangle. It’s almost love triangle that untangle. 😉
January 2, 2024
Mind To Bend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.78
I absolutely loved this book. LOVED IT. I was giggling and kicking my feet like a little girl HAHAHA. It was so hot and good and intense. SHANE IS HOT. I love Seraphina too. Honestly ima make her one of my wives. Ima put Shane on my book boys list too. Mans was obsessed. I love an obsessed man. Live breathe love it. The reason it isn’t a 5 is due to wanting more descriptive smut. Some was great and I need more with others. I wish this was longer. I also feel like the end was rushed with her dad. I love Shane but I don’t forgive him for imprisoning her and her state regardless of his intentions. But I loved this book. God it was good. I loved it so much. Literally it was written for me! Deranged obsessed not man, psychology, religious trauma, hot smut, dual pov, etc. I loved it!!! I JUST WISH IT WAS LONGER. I also am very confused by the books rating cause I loved this. Also I’m putting this is my best smut section for the her first orgasm scene cause that scene altered my brain chemistry hehe. The rest of the smut I wish was better and longer but that scene alone makes me have to include this on the list obviously
I absolutely loved this book. LOVED IT. I was giggling and kicking my feet like a little girl HAHAHA. It was so hot and good and intense. SHANE IS HOT. I love Seraphina too. Honestly ima make her one of my wives. Ima put Shane on my book boys list too. Mans was obsessed. I love an obsessed man. Live breathe love it. The reason it isn’t a 5 is due to wanting more descriptive smut. Some was great and I need more with others. I wish this was longer. I also feel like the end was rushed with her dad. I love Shane but I don’t forgive him for imprisoning her and her state regardless of his intentions. But I loved this book. God it was good. I loved it so much. Literally it was written for me! Deranged obsessed not man, psychology, religious trauma, hot smut, dual pov, etc. I loved it!!! I JUST WISH IT WAS LONGER. I also am very confused by the books rating cause I loved this. Also I’m putting this is my best smut section for the her first orgasm scene cause that scene altered my brain chemistry hehe. The rest of the smut I wish was better and longer but that scene alone makes me have to include this on the list obviously
maybe
April 16, 2023Love triangle
September 2, 2025
absolute worst way to start the month. horrible book, awful writing, annoying mmc and fmc. should have dnf it.
March 29, 2023
‟𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎. 𝑁𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡.”
Mind to Bend was a great dark contemporary romance read. This book is a page-turner that will keep you up way past your bedtime; it certainly did with me. It is filled with some crazy twists, intense steam, and some obsessive and controlling characters. As painful as their journey was to read at times, I devoured the pages to see how they ultimately reached their HEA.
The MMC trends closer to the black side of morally grey, claiming the FMC as his own, though she belongs to another. But he justifies his behavior with her continued status as a virgin despite 18 months of marriage to her husband and that same husband’s appalling treatment of her. He is an easy character to love to hate and hate to love.
The FMC is beyond innocent, coming from a strict Christian upbringing under the highhanded methods of her pastor father, and the idea that everything she wants from life is a sin. She finds herself torn between the boy she has loved since childhood, who refuses to touch her, and the older man who promises so much pleasure, who insists she belongs to him alone. My only critique is that I wish she were more assertive and less forgiving.
Mind to Bend is an instant obsession, medium-burn romance. Once the spice starts, it does not end. It is far from vanilla sex, with the exploration of several kinks and some sexual interactions that might be triggering to sensitive readers (including NC, CNC, and sex while under hypnosis).
A standalone, the couple gets their HEA at the end. There will be future books in the series; I look forward to seeing what else comes from the mind of Aurelia Knight.
Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
Tropes/Features: Age Gap, Stalking, Insta-obsession, Unaliver, Patient/Psychologist, Touch Her and Die, Virgin Heroine, Morally Black Hero, Hypnosis
Narrator: Dual 1st Person POV
Relationship Type: Medium burn, MF (with the dissolution of prior marriage of FMC)
Book Type/Ending: Standalone with HEA
TW/CW: Multiple dark themes that may be sensitive to some readers, listed in author’s note or viewable on the author’s website.
Mind to Bend was a great dark contemporary romance read. This book is a page-turner that will keep you up way past your bedtime; it certainly did with me. It is filled with some crazy twists, intense steam, and some obsessive and controlling characters. As painful as their journey was to read at times, I devoured the pages to see how they ultimately reached their HEA.
The MMC trends closer to the black side of morally grey, claiming the FMC as his own, though she belongs to another. But he justifies his behavior with her continued status as a virgin despite 18 months of marriage to her husband and that same husband’s appalling treatment of her. He is an easy character to love to hate and hate to love.
The FMC is beyond innocent, coming from a strict Christian upbringing under the highhanded methods of her pastor father, and the idea that everything she wants from life is a sin. She finds herself torn between the boy she has loved since childhood, who refuses to touch her, and the older man who promises so much pleasure, who insists she belongs to him alone. My only critique is that I wish she were more assertive and less forgiving.
Mind to Bend is an instant obsession, medium-burn romance. Once the spice starts, it does not end. It is far from vanilla sex, with the exploration of several kinks and some sexual interactions that might be triggering to sensitive readers (including NC, CNC, and sex while under hypnosis).
A standalone, the couple gets their HEA at the end. There will be future books in the series; I look forward to seeing what else comes from the mind of Aurelia Knight.
Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
Tropes/Features: Age Gap, Stalking, Insta-obsession, Unaliver, Patient/Psychologist, Touch Her and Die, Virgin Heroine, Morally Black Hero, Hypnosis
Narrator: Dual 1st Person POV
Relationship Type: Medium burn, MF (with the dissolution of prior marriage of FMC)
Book Type/Ending: Standalone with HEA
TW/CW: Multiple dark themes that may be sensitive to some readers, listed in author’s note or viewable on the author’s website.
February 5, 2024
I've been in such a bad book slump lately so this completely made my day/week.
The Hero was my favorite thing above all, I LOVED how obsessed and hyper-focused he was on the heroine from the very first time he met her. The heroine was a little meek because she was traumatized by her past and was constantly mistreated by her shitty husband (which is NOT the MC), but I have a personal preference about sweet, submissive heroines who learn their value with the help of the hero.
I personally don't consider this a love triangle since the heroine never really loved her husband but simply depended on him due to life circumstances. You can really tell the difference between how she feels for the abusive husband and how she's completely in love with the Hero, Shane.
Also LOOVED the smut: you know me, you know I'm one happy gal when there's dub/non con, a little force and rough seggs 😳👀💥
The Hero was my favorite thing above all, I LOVED how obsessed and hyper-focused he was on the heroine from the very first time he met her. The heroine was a little meek because she was traumatized by her past and was constantly mistreated by her shitty husband (which is NOT the MC), but I have a personal preference about sweet, submissive heroines who learn their value with the help of the hero.
I personally don't consider this a love triangle since the heroine never really loved her husband but simply depended on him due to life circumstances. You can really tell the difference between how she feels for the abusive husband and how she's completely in love with the Hero, Shane.
Also LOOVED the smut: you know me, you know I'm one happy gal when there's dub/non con, a little force and rough seggs 😳👀💥
March 31, 2023
I was incredibly lucky to receive an ARC version of this book and have to share some thoughts with you.
Wow, I have read some morally grey stories but whew this one was dark and oh so delicious.
Married for 2 years and still virgins, Seraphina and Tim go to a psychologist for couples counselling to work through why they haven’t had sex. Their doctor Shane, becomes invested and obsessive over Seraphina, but has to do something about Tim.
I wish I had a Shane in my life! Seriously this book is twisty and angsty please check triggers but if this kind of thing works for you, you won’t be disappointed.
5/5 stars for the story
3/5 chilli peppers, bit of a slow burn, you’ll understand when you read it but oh so worth the wait.
Wow, I have read some morally grey stories but whew this one was dark and oh so delicious.
Married for 2 years and still virgins, Seraphina and Tim go to a psychologist for couples counselling to work through why they haven’t had sex. Their doctor Shane, becomes invested and obsessive over Seraphina, but has to do something about Tim.
I wish I had a Shane in my life! Seriously this book is twisty and angsty please check triggers but if this kind of thing works for you, you won’t be disappointed.
5/5 stars for the story
3/5 chilli peppers, bit of a slow burn, you’ll understand when you read it but oh so worth the wait.
April 5, 2023
Dude literally killed a guy for putting hands on his girl, yet MMC still thinks it's right to do something similar at the 85% mark to the FMC?!? Get the fuck outta here with that BS. Book was going fine for me, until this point. It then went from this scene to the FMC essentially saying "I'm terrified of him, but I guess this is my life", to a 20-year later epilogue where she's still thinking about her ex-husband.... whiplash much? Idk man. This book was cuckoo's nest crazy, didn't really feel the HEA.
Definitely heed the trigger warnings on this one, folks.
Definitely heed the trigger warnings on this one, folks.
September 26, 2024
I have conflicting emotions about this. I acknowledge that it's a work of fiction, and I respect that everyone has their own perspective. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the initial 80% of the book, I felt disappointed by the turn of events towards the end, especially concerning the male main character (MMC). Despite feeling let down, I pushed myself to finish it and found some appreciation in the happy ending. Nevertheless, I'm still deeply affected by it. I would recommend this to readers who are experienced with dark romance, and I strongly advise that you carefully read through the trigger warnings beforehand.
November 5, 2025
This book was kinda fucked and I cannot in good conscience recommend it.
March 26, 2023
ARC Review
Mind To Bend by Aurelia Knight
“I don’t believe in soulmates or magic, but I know damn well what belongs to me, and that woman is mine.”
Holy smokes…okay let me just say that I read this book in a day and could not put it down!! I almost thought about going to the library to not be interrupted but I’m glad I decided against it cause there was no way I was going to be able to hide my face expressions. This is also the first book I’ve read by Aurelia Knight and will definitely read anything she writes from now on!
This book was amazing from start to finish. Characters and plot were well written and I had no issues creating my own movie in my head. And once you get to the spice…dear lord, hold on tight because it is HOT and so well written it makes up for the wait.
Let me start by saying that I really dislike Tim. I get there was trauma that tainted his and Sera’s relationship but he was just a complete a$$. 18 months of being married to Sera and couldn’t even consummate the marriage with her, and it’s not because she didn’t want to. She really tried putting the effort to save their marriage, not that Tim deserved it because he was such a hypocrite. All the talk about being faithful was total BS on his part. Sera was always trying her best to please him and suffered because of it.
“She is mine so innately that the man who married her has never claimed her.”
Then we meet the hot stalking psychologist, Shane. Dear lord, that man had me blushing and swooning from all the possessive things he said and did. (I may have highlighted the crap out of the book with all the possessive thing Shane said…oops). I really enjoyed reading his POV. He was what Sera needed to finally come out of her shell and get the love she deserved all along. And Tim was not going to get in the way of Shane claiming her as his! Shane truly knew how to bend the mind but did it in a way so Sera could figure out what she truly wanted and who she really was.
“It’s going to be me claiming what’s mine. And Seraphina, I will never let you go once I claim you.”
Mind to Bend is a standalone dark romance. There is graphic adult content that may be disturbing to some readers. Please check TW!
List of tropes:
•Stalking
•Insta-obsession
•Unaliver
•Patient/psychiatrist
•Touch her & d!e
•Virgin heroine
•Love triangle
•Hypnosis
Mind To Bend by Aurelia Knight
“I don’t believe in soulmates or magic, but I know damn well what belongs to me, and that woman is mine.”
Holy smokes…okay let me just say that I read this book in a day and could not put it down!! I almost thought about going to the library to not be interrupted but I’m glad I decided against it cause there was no way I was going to be able to hide my face expressions. This is also the first book I’ve read by Aurelia Knight and will definitely read anything she writes from now on!
This book was amazing from start to finish. Characters and plot were well written and I had no issues creating my own movie in my head. And once you get to the spice…dear lord, hold on tight because it is HOT and so well written it makes up for the wait.
Let me start by saying that I really dislike Tim. I get there was trauma that tainted his and Sera’s relationship but he was just a complete a$$. 18 months of being married to Sera and couldn’t even consummate the marriage with her, and it’s not because she didn’t want to. She really tried putting the effort to save their marriage, not that Tim deserved it because he was such a hypocrite. All the talk about being faithful was total BS on his part. Sera was always trying her best to please him and suffered because of it.
“She is mine so innately that the man who married her has never claimed her.”
Then we meet the hot stalking psychologist, Shane. Dear lord, that man had me blushing and swooning from all the possessive things he said and did. (I may have highlighted the crap out of the book with all the possessive thing Shane said…oops). I really enjoyed reading his POV. He was what Sera needed to finally come out of her shell and get the love she deserved all along. And Tim was not going to get in the way of Shane claiming her as his! Shane truly knew how to bend the mind but did it in a way so Sera could figure out what she truly wanted and who she really was.
“It’s going to be me claiming what’s mine. And Seraphina, I will never let you go once I claim you.”
Mind to Bend is a standalone dark romance. There is graphic adult content that may be disturbing to some readers. Please check TW!
List of tropes:
•Stalking
•Insta-obsession
•Unaliver
•Patient/psychiatrist
•Touch her & d!e
•Virgin heroine
•Love triangle
•Hypnosis
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2023
I feel like this is the year for a lot of authors turning out some amazing books and Aurelia Knight is no different bringing us a new series starting with Mind To Bend.
First things first? Tim? Yeah he’s a d*ck. We don’t like Tim. Sera and Tim were married young, childhood sweethearts, they threw themselves into the real world trying to escape the realities they lived. Having suffered at the hands of their fathers and they’re devout beliefs, Sera and Tim have their issues. Especially in their marriage and the big blaring one with neon flashing lights is the only thing they do in bed is sleep.
When Sera turns to Dr.Shane Nelson for help to save her marriage, she got more than she bargained for. A friend, a therapist, a teacher and a stalker.
Don’t get me started on Shane, he’s everything you don’t need and everything you want if you’re a little messed up and like your morally grey men, pitch black. He’s unapologetic, forceful and damn right filthy with a hint of unhinged.
This is definitely going to be a series you don’t want to miss out on!
First things first? Tim? Yeah he’s a d*ck. We don’t like Tim. Sera and Tim were married young, childhood sweethearts, they threw themselves into the real world trying to escape the realities they lived. Having suffered at the hands of their fathers and they’re devout beliefs, Sera and Tim have their issues. Especially in their marriage and the big blaring one with neon flashing lights is the only thing they do in bed is sleep.
When Sera turns to Dr.Shane Nelson for help to save her marriage, she got more than she bargained for. A friend, a therapist, a teacher and a stalker.
Don’t get me started on Shane, he’s everything you don’t need and everything you want if you’re a little messed up and like your morally grey men, pitch black. He’s unapologetic, forceful and damn right filthy with a hint of unhinged.
This is definitely going to be a series you don’t want to miss out on!
March 26, 2023
I was lucky to receive a ARC copy of this book
This book was amazing I was hooked from the first chapter I honestly couldn’t put it down
This book is dark and delicious the spice in this was soo good
Definitely check the trigger warnings before you read
Seraphina I really felt for her character she is absolutely broken and very unhappily married but despite all this she wants to work on her marriage and is very constricted by her feelings for her psychologist
Tim ughhh I hated him and the way he treats his wife
Shane soon as seraphina walks through his door he’s in love with her he would do anything to make her his he’s possessive jealous and will do anything to have her and does 😉 he is by no means a good guy he’s bad very bad but ughhh he’s hot especially if you like morally grey characters
There is a HEA in this and I’m very intrigued by Shane’s cousin pax hes an interesting side character
I 100% recommend reading this book
This book was amazing I was hooked from the first chapter I honestly couldn’t put it down
This book is dark and delicious the spice in this was soo good
Definitely check the trigger warnings before you read
Seraphina I really felt for her character she is absolutely broken and very unhappily married but despite all this she wants to work on her marriage and is very constricted by her feelings for her psychologist
Tim ughhh I hated him and the way he treats his wife
Shane soon as seraphina walks through his door he’s in love with her he would do anything to make her his he’s possessive jealous and will do anything to have her and does 😉 he is by no means a good guy he’s bad very bad but ughhh he’s hot especially if you like morally grey characters
There is a HEA in this and I’m very intrigued by Shane’s cousin pax hes an interesting side character
I 100% recommend reading this book
April 5, 2023
5/5⭐️
I absolutely devoured this book! I couldn’t put it down, I was gripped from the first page and I loved everything about it. It also helped me get out of a reading slump too so it was perfect timing.
Shane was utterly obsessed with Sera from the second they met and he didn’t stop until she was his. I loved them together! They had so much chemistry and the spice was amazing, it had me sweating.
My heart ached for Sera’s situation at times, she had gone through emotional & physical abuse with her husband, always second guessing herself and being treated less than him. Through Shane she learnt to love things for herself and was no longer living in the shadow of her husband.
I’m so excited for the next book!
I absolutely devoured this book! I couldn’t put it down, I was gripped from the first page and I loved everything about it. It also helped me get out of a reading slump too so it was perfect timing.
Shane was utterly obsessed with Sera from the second they met and he didn’t stop until she was his. I loved them together! They had so much chemistry and the spice was amazing, it had me sweating.
My heart ached for Sera’s situation at times, she had gone through emotional & physical abuse with her husband, always second guessing herself and being treated less than him. Through Shane she learnt to love things for herself and was no longer living in the shadow of her husband.
I’m so excited for the next book!
September 8, 2024
DNF
I might have liked this story if not for all the inner thinking. Paragraph upon paragraph of thoughts. Even the formatting was heavy with chunky paragraphs. All the telling was so heavy. And upon skimming one has to really suspend disbelief with the actions of a crazed Shane. The character and story development aren’t there; neither is making Tim, the husband, a villain and Sera totally innocent.
I might have liked this story if not for all the inner thinking. Paragraph upon paragraph of thoughts. Even the formatting was heavy with chunky paragraphs. All the telling was so heavy. And upon skimming one has to really suspend disbelief with the actions of a crazed Shane. The character and story development aren’t there; neither is making Tim, the husband, a villain and Sera totally innocent.
March 23, 2023
What did I just read!? Shane and Sera....instant connection. but shes married...and he's her psychiatrist. Sera and her husband go to see him about their marriage and Sera and Shane lock eyes and that's it. It was dark...stalkerish...smutty...perfect combo! Will definitely read this author again.
August 26, 2023
vibe totalny jak z haunting adeline
shane jest taki jak zade tylko ma mniej psychopatycznych skłonności
shane jest taki jak zade tylko ma mniej psychopatycznych skłonności
September 30, 2023
Oddly weird slow burn, stalker. Maybe a little Stockholm syndrome. WTF did I just read???? 😂😂😂
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