cy ₊˚ෆ

First off, for those who love this series - Zade specifically, are you okay?

It starts off a little boring, like ooo a stalker. But then it lost me completely - sort of. I was completely turned off of Zade and the book as a whole when he literally rapes her with a GUN. Legit sexual assault.

I honestly didn't even want to continue after that. Because I am sitting here wondering why people are in love with a rapist and why this is considered "dark romance". But I persisted. I wanted to actually complete this book. The main thing keeping me going was the murder of poor Gigi. I wanted to know who the fuck did it. It was a lovely little murder mystery and I was hooked.

I speed read through Zade's POV mostly. Yes he hunting really bad guys but he himself is a bad guys and no matter how HD Carlton tries to paint him, he will always be a rapist. Now the part that saddens me the most. This COULD have been GREAT!! I am a literal whore for cnc, bdsm, dom/sub, and just rough sexual scenes. Their dynamic was so fucking delicious - SA aside. This could have easily been my favorite duet if it hadn't been for the fact that Zade is a literal predator and romanticized for it.

The ending threw me. It was such a huge cliffhanger that would have had me IMMEDIATELY picking up the second book... if I hadn't already decided it wouldn't get my time of day. 40% of the way through is when the gun scene happens, and I was immediately turned off after that point. I refuse to read the second book and have the author try to make me fall in love with a rapist and to watch this "relationship" between them blossom. And it's quite concerning the love Zade receives from readers because he literally admits in his POV that he sexually assaulted Adeline. Literally admits it. S

So instead of reading the second book, I immediately looked up spoilers because I wanted to know who the hell the person is that set Zade up - and who kidnapped Adeline. Like I stated, this could have been great. The plot was amazing, the smut absolutely incredible. A smut book heavy with mystery that almost read as a psychological thriller. HD Carlton, you could have had something amazing here. But you ruined it by romanticizing a rapist and trying to pass it off as dark romance.