This was my first real dip into dark romance. Like DARK dark. Not "morally grey MMC with a troubled past" dark. I mean "what did I just read and why am I still listening" DARK.
I was disturbed. I was aghast. I was appalled. And I was… slightly aroused? Which was CONFUSING. The step-sibling situation alone had me going "ew" and "…okay but" in the same breath. And then. THE SCENE. You know the one. On her father's actively dying body. I— FLABBERGASTED. My jaw was on the floor. My morals were on the floor. Everything was on the floor.
Here's the thing though: if I had just READ this with my eyes? Zero stars. Absolutely not. Close the book, throw it across the room, question my life choices. BUT. Joe Arden narrated this audiobook and that man turned what should have been a crime against literature into a genuine masterpiece. His performance was so unhinged, so committed, so terrifyingly convincing that I was genuinely SCARED of him. Like scared-attracted. Is that a thing? He made it a thing.
This book was my dark romance gateway drug and I have Joe Arden to both thank and blame for that.
🖤 4/5 stars. Disturbing, disgusting, and somehow a 10/10 audio experience. Don't judge me.