Status Updates From Dark Fires (Morgan #2)

‘In how many more ways would he hurt her? She was sure of nothing any longer, except herself, & the fact that she loved a man who was both her husband & a stranger—her lover & an antagonist. “It doesn’t matter…it doesn’t matter!” her mind whispered.’

‘It was at times like this, when he smiled at her—the smile reaching his eyes instead of being just a sardonic twist of his lips—that Missie forgot everything they said about him, about his being an outlaw & a killer w/o a conscience, & even the fact that he was Toni’s lover. She knew she was falling in love w/ him, even if she didn’t know him at all; & the thought scared her.’

This section about the swaps & cattle drives is really draaaaaagging. 🥱 Aside from Toni’s hilariously OTT evilness, it’s just filler for RR to drool over Steve’s ~animal masculinity~. Oooh, what would he become without a civilizing veneer?! 😱 (Answer: No real difference from normal. He’s still got a hair-trigger temper, murders for whatever, & can’t keep his dick in his pants.) Move on, already.

Classy. 😂 Toni is one psycho whackadoodle bitch, & I hope she stomps all over Steve like dirt. He deserves it for treating every woman he sleeps with like garbage.

‘She was the applauded darling of two continents—a woman whose rages & temperamental tantrums were feared by lovers & theater managers alike. And yet, of late, she had caught herself acting almost like a lovesick girl over a man who took her just as lightly & casually as she had taken other lovers.’ ….So, another woman too good for King Douche Steve, yet inexplicably in love despite his asshole behavior.

‘She was still a beautiful woman. The buggy she drove was new & obviously expensive, the horse a thoroughbred. And in any case, it was unusual to see a woman driving herself. The men who gaped asked themselves if she was a high-class whore. Or perhaps a lady playing at being one. In San Francisco, it was difficult to tell. But all the same, she was the kind of woman men would stare at.’

Steve is one of the worst spies ever if he can’t comprehend that Ginny was tricked into marriage & is terrified of her husband, let alone how Ivan been feeding her drugs to make her compliant enough to rape himself or throw at men of his choosing. How stupid do you have to be to not put the clues together? Pretty damn stupid, apparently, since everyone BUT Steve can see the marriage is glaringly abusive. 🙄

‘Had it really been she who had pleaded so abjectly? Should she not have known, from past experience, that pleading with a man who felt himself in command of the situation & of her did no good at all?’

‘She’d turned into a rotten, promiscuous little bitch, all right, but he’d contributed to turning her into one. And with it all, she still managed to retain that rather innocent air. How did she do it?’ ….STFU, asshole. 🙄 Like all first-rate ripper douchebags who continually flaunt their power & agency, Steve is legit incapable of conceiving how it is to live as someone WITHOUT that power & agency.

‘She was a prisoner, of a sort, after all—imprisoned by the luxuries & comfort that surrounded her, & by all the kind people who said they wanted only her happiness. When she looked back at herself as she had been a year ago, or even months ago, it was like looking at a different person. A stranger so completely at variance w/ the woman she was now that it was hardly possible to recognize herself.’

“Think of your pride. Would you have them think you are eating your heart out for this man who abducted you, ravished you, & then deserted you as if you’d been no more than a common camp follower? I am no brutish, unsophisticated American, who would take you against your will. I think that in time, you will want my embraces. I think that at this moment you want me to kiss you.”

‘Somehow she managed to wriggle free of Carl’s heavy body, watching the blood that flowed from his scalp & his temple almost objectively. What a lot he had bled in such a short time! There was even blood on her, & bits of glass had cut her breasts & her fingers, but the cuts hadn’t started to hurt yet. It was strange, how little she felt. Her mind was as numb as her body.’

“It’s too bad—but then, you won’t want to be bothered by him any longer, will you? Not with a man who would believe the vile aspersions cast on a loyal & faithful woman—such as you’ve shown yourself to be.” ….Lecherous Prince Ivan is a creep, but he’s right about one thing—come what may, she’s better off without Steve. 😂

‘What had happened to her during the past two years? What kind of experiences had she undergone? And secretly, even while he stared down into her face—she looked as beautiful & as cooly composed as ever!—the thought nagged at him: How many men had she given herself to?’

“Nothing will keep us apart—nothing,” Ginny told herself suddenly. She didn’t know what made her think this, or what formless fear had crept into her mind when she had been almost on the verge of sleep. Under the blankets that covered them, Ginny moved her body closer to Steve’s & felt his arms tighten instinctively around her. They were together again at last.’ ….D’awwww. 😏😗

Ffs steve

Everytime steve fucks up (that's all the time, really), Ginny gets kidnapped and raped. The beginning of this book and their nauseating relationship has made me think I hate them both equally but hate isn't made equal. steve is a fucking nuclear catastrophe, he ruins everything he touches or doesn't touch

I hate him so much I cannot

Whadduyu mean she's the Tsar's secret bastard????

It'ds not even just that I do not buy it; (even though I don't) BUT WHY?????


We're smack in the middle of the dusty tents of the Mexican revolutionary army and now these Russian princes and counts just show up from out of nowhere, whyyyyyy

"Steve Morgan had been Ginny's first lover, taking her with a tenderness and consideration that was all the more surprising considering his usually selfish relationships with women."

God I hate these two clowns. Tenderness and consideration, my ass. Steve is a barely civilized monkey and Ginny is his little rabid cheerleader. Together, they are an unhinged toxic trashfire, and not the interesting kind