Jordan Chian (Author)

Rating I gave: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Time it took to read: 3 hours and 30 minutes

So, this was a really good read. At first, the pacing was what threw me off, because it felt like it would drag on. Chapter 6 lasted from page 29 to 46. That's 18 pages. I was dreading the rest of the book, but maybe it was because I was super tired and felt like all the chapters were dragging.

So, this book is about this couple, Jamie and Victoria, and Victoria is about to pop. She is about to give birth, but they decide to go on one last small vacation before the baby comes. So, they find this isolated house that they're able to rent for a couple of days.

The couple, Barry and Fiona, are renting out their guest house, and they're an older couple. So, the first night is fine, but when Jamie and Victoria wake up, something is seriously wrong. Fiona and Barry are gone. All the doors and windows are locked. Jamie and Victoria's phones and car keys are missing.

Then Victoria starts having contractions.

The story is broken into two parts: the past and the present. The past is what happened that night, and the present is their life and how they deal with what happened that night.

So, after they figure out that the house is on lockdown, Jamie manages to break a window and tries to go for help (I'm gonna note that he has Cerebral Palsy, so he can't run very fast, and he walks with a limp, but the illness doesn't play a huge part in the story).

As Jamie is out and about, he finds Barry inside his truck, driving past him. Now Jamie is confused. He races back to the house and finds out that Victoria is about to have this baby, and Fiona is also there, trying to help her.

Jamie is obviously trying to get them to call the ambulance or to drive them to the hospital, but it's too late. This baby is coming, so Fiona set up a makeshift delivery room upstairs. She used to be a midwife, so this is nothing new to her. I'm also gonna note that Barry used to be the town's police chief and is now retired.

After a detailed birth scene (gag me now), the baby is here. Baby Danny. He is perfect. From the beginning, Barry and Fiona are super creepy. My chest started hurting, and my heart was racing because I knew something was wrong.

So, after a tense day, and after Victoria is trying to heal, she is trying to breastfeed Danny. Fiona is trying to force her to feed Danny since it's important he gets his nutrients from his mom.

This is where Fiona and Barry's real intentions come to light. Fiona tells Jamie and Victoria that when they leave, they're gonna leave their son with them.

YES. They're stealing their son. What the fuck? Fiona tells the couple the story of how, 20 years ago, she had a baby at around 40 years old. His name was Harrison, and they were super happy with each other. Then Harrison died at 11 months, and their world was turned upside down.

So, Fiona and Barry keep calling Danny Harrison, and they tell Jamie and Victoria that they can leave, but Danny isn't going with them. This is their gift to Barry and Fiona. And if Jamie or Victoria goes to the police, then they'll kill the child. And Barry used to be the police chief, so the public and officers won't even believe them.

At this point, I'm freaking the fuck out because what do you mean?? They're psychos!

So, of course, Victoria and Jamie aren't leaving without their baby, so they try to come up with a plan to escape with their son. Victoria is still trying to heal, but she will do whatever she can to keep her baby safe.

Fiona has the keys to the entire place in her pocket, and she and Victoria had been in the kitchen in the middle of the night so Victoria could breastfeed Danny.

Her plan is to subdue Fiona and escape with the keys. So, when Fiona goes upstairs to grab a blanket for Victoria, Jamie comes out, grabs the keys, and tries to unlock the front door. When he does, he runs to the van with Victoria and Danny behind him.

They never make it.

Barry and Fiona stopped them and found out.

Now they're pissed, and Barry starts shaking Danny in an attempt to get them to come back. Fiona takes the baby and brings him to the kitchen, forcing Jamie and Victoria back into the house.

Well, Victoria had a knife for protection or a weapon, and she accidentally killed Barry by stabbing him in the back.

Barry is dead. Fiona is pissed, but she isn't giving this baby up. She threatens to kill Danny if Victoria and Jamie don't leave. Fiona makes them get rid of Barry's body by putting him in a suitcase and dropping him in the lake near the property. When they return, their bags are packed and Fiona is like "get the fuck out".

Since she is serious about killing Danny, Victoria and Jamie have no choice but to leave their son with her. They have to do what is best to save his life, and that's to leave...

So, they did.

NOW, before I get to the "present" side of the story, let me tell you a few theories I developed very, very early on.

Theory #1

So, because each chapter went past, present, past, present, etc... We knew early on that in the present, Danny wasn't with Victoria and Jamie, but we didn't know why.

So, my theory was that Danny somehow died during the birth, and Jamie and Victoria were covering it up.

Thankfully, the theory was debunked. Danny is very much alive.

Theory #2

I had a crazy thought: What if Danny didn't look like Jamie, and Victoria had cheated on him?

Theory is still pending (I'll get more into it later)

Theory #3

I also wondered early on if Fiona and Barry had kidnapped Danny (again, at this point, we didn't know the full story. All we knew was that Victoria was trying to breastfeed, so Barry hadn't even died yet).

The theory was confirmed later on, once we knew exactly what happened that night.

NOW, let me get into what happened after Victoria and Jamie left that guest house.

They get back home, and of course, they had to create a story of why they don't have Danny. Everyone knew Victoria was pregnant, so they're gonna wonder why she's home and not Danny. So, they tell people that Danny died during the birth, and they just want space to deal with it.

The problem is that they're not dealing with it. Their marriage is fracturing, and it's clear to me that they've given up (at least Victoria has). Andy and Lauren keep asking them to come over so that they can be there for Jamie and Victoria. They go, but it's tense and it's not a good time at all.

So, as the days and weeks go by, they can't go to the police because Fiona keeps sending them mail and emails reminding them of what will happen if they do. She sends them threats and whatever else to keep them compliant.

They are also fearful that if they do go to the cops, Victoria will get arrested for Barry's death, so there is a lot riding on this.

So, someone starts getting suspicious. It's the midwife that Victoria was dealing with before ever going to that guest house. She wants to examine the baby and Victoria, but then Victoria says he died. Now the midwife wants to examine Victoria to make sure she's okay, and to also get a copy of the death certificate.

Now, she is panicking and honestly, so am I. This book gave me so much anxiety.

Victoria panics and tells her the place she stayed at, and that she stayed in a hospital. That's not good because now there is a non-existent paper trail that the midwife can follow.

Jamie finds out, and he is pissed because now Fiona knows about it. The midwife called Fiona about Victoria, and now Fiona sent them an email with a picture of a knife to Danny's throat, reminding them of what's at stake here.

This is what kicks Jamie into high gear. He wants his baby back! As he should, right? So, he manages to get into Fiona's accounts, and he figures out that she plans on getting on a ferry and escaping with Danny. If she does that, then Jamie will never see him again.

So, Jamie decides to go back to the guest house to get his baby back. Victoria finds out, and she panics, saying not to do this without her, so she meets up with Jamie and finds out where he's at.

They have lunch together, and Victoria is panicking about Jamie's plan because she doesn't want her son to die, but Jamie is adamant. Victoria goes to the bathroom, and this is when Jamie gets an email notification from Victoria. He has it set up so he can see the emails she sends out (I forget why he has this).

Guess who Victoria emails? FIONA! The message? Victoria tells Fiona not to go to the ferry because Jamie has a plan.

WHAT? EXCUSE ME? IS VICTORIA WORKING WITH FIONA?!?

Now Jamie is pissed, but he doesn't confront Victoria just yet. The next day, they park near the checkpoint that everyone has to go through before driving onto the ferry. They're both nervous but for different reasons.

Then Fiona comes, and both of them spring into action. Jamie wants to call the police (because Fiona wouldn't do anything to harm Danny in public), but Victoria won't let him. She knows Jamie can't run after her because of his CP, so she books it to Fiona's truck.

Jamie gets out and shouts at people to call the police and that Fiona stole his baby. He gets to the car and sees that his son is healthy and unharmed, but Fiona starts yelling at Jamie to get away from her baby

Of course, the police are called, and Victoria, Jamie, and Fiona are all arrested. CPS is called for Danny, and they're all taken away.

NOW, this is where it gets interesting. The last piece of the puzzle is here.

Jamie tells the police EVERYTHING that happened since arriving at that guest house. About Fiona's plan to kidnap his son, about Barry's death, hiding his body, and even their threats. All of it.

As he sits there, thinking about all of this, he realizes something heartbreaking. Victoria and Jamie have struggled to get pregnant naturally, and even IVF failed three times. However, after the last time, it failed, but then she got pregnant.

Yay! Right? WRONG.

Jamie realizes with horror that Danny isn't his. It's Andy's.

Cut to Victoria. She has a lawyer who advises her not to comment on anything or answer any questions. This is where we learn her side of the story.

Before she and Jamie got together, she used to have a thing with Andy (he's Jamie's best friend, and we knew this before this point). HOWEVER, I guess Jamie and Victoria took a break (cue Ross and Rachel debate), and in that break, Victoria and Andy hooked up. When Jamie and Victoria got back together, she and Andy kept hooking up. That's how she was able to get pregnant.

Cut to Fiona's POV. So, it turns out that Fiona is Victoria's AUNT. WHAT THE FUCK. Fiona and Victoria's mom were never close siblings, and they always butt heads. Fiona struggled to get pregnant, and Victoria's mom got it easily the first time.

Until Fiona got pregnant with Harrison. Now, her and her sister's relationship was a lot better since they had something in common. They hung out all the time. Victoria loved playing with Harrison.

Until Harrison died. Apparently, Victoria was watching Harrison upstairs and didn't realize the baby gate was open. Harrison fell down the stairs and died.

Fiona's relationship with her sister was never repaired after that day.

Cut 20 years later, and Victoria gets pregnant. She doesn't want this kid because it's Andy's, so she reaches out to her aunt and tells her that she can give this baby to her because she thinks she's responsible for killing Harrison.

Thus, the start of this whole thing.

Jamie ends up not getting charged because Victoria took a deal where she'll take the blame for everything if Jamie walks free. They agree. So, he is free to go, and he ends up getting sole custody of his son.

Victoria ends up getting eight years for Barry's death, but can get paroled after 4 years. Now, as for the kidnapping, it's unsure what her sentence for that will be (the book never told us).

Andy and Lauren divorced as did Victoria and Jamie. However, Jamie doesn't want his son growing up not knowing his mom, and he feels like Victoria should know who her son is. So, the last scene of the book is Jamie going to prison as a visitor and telling his son that he's here to meet Mommy.

The epilogue? It's a letter from mother to son, explaining that she's not a bad person and that she'll get out and be with him and love him and how this changes nothing.

Wholesome, right?

WRONG.

Fiona wrote that note because she's fucking delusional.

So, that's the whole book. I loved every second of it. I just had to get past chapter 6, and the rest flew by so quickly because it was tense with the way the author jumps from past to present each chapter. It really kept me engaged!

Seriously, what the fuck. I finished it yesterday, and now I'm just remembering why I'm fucking pissed.

Let me share with you what happened, shall I?

So, this book follows the events of the last book immediately afterward, even though the epilogue is set a year later. The first handful of chapters are Leo getting used to being in prison and stewing in his feelings about how Veronica fucked him over. He wakes up in the hospital, realizes he's been fired, and is arrested for his involvement in helping Veronica escape.

Honestly? He doesn't fully blame her because he knew what he was doing, and honestly, gotta respect that.

He is set to go to prison for 5 years, but only serves 3 for good behavior. Now that he's out, he tries to get used to his old life again with his family. He realizes a few things: his mom is dead, and he has to confront those feelings he tried to run from; his best friend and his sister are getting married; his nephew is now 9 instead of 6 (when he last saw Carter); and his sister is pregnant with her second child.

On top of all that, Veronica is back (with a different disguise) and tries to get the Leo that fell in love with her, all the while he is pissed at what she did.

OKAY, now that you know the basis of the story, let's start with the things I loved about the book:

I absolutely loved how Leo and Veronica kind of switched places, meaning he was manipulating her instead of her manipulating him. It was very interesting to see Veronica experience what Leo was experiencing in the first book. The author did that mirror comparison very well.

I also loved that Veronica was starting to show real emotion. All Leo ever wanted in life was to help people get better and feel better about themselves. That's why he became a doctor. Since Veronica is a diagnosed sociopath, it was nice to see her experience guilt for what she did to Leo, love for Leo himself, and hold his family in a special place in her heart,

At some point in the book, they even went on a date, and it was kind of sweet to read about how she was worrying about things she normally wouldn't have cared about.

There wasn't really anything I didn't like about the book, so let's get into some theories of mine I had while reading.

Theory #1

This is from the first book about Ruby playing a significant role in the second book, and how I thought she wanted her own revenge against Veronica in some way.

Yeah, that theory is completely busted. Besides Veronica and Leo, not many characters from the asylum made an appearance. There were a few, but none of them were Ruby.

Theory #2

I thought Veronica was going to get caught and sent back to the asylum or even to prison. In some way, her past was gonna catch up to her, and she would be punished.

Her past caught up to her, but not in the way you think. I'll explain more later.

Theory #3

Throughout the book, I saw Leo go through an array of emotions because of Veronica. At first, he was pissed and was mean to her and punished her. Then she apologized to him genuinely, and I could see he started to forgive her.

So, because of that, my theory was that Leo was manipulating Veronica like how she did.

Let me tell you, this theory was true.

Theory #4

Towards the end of the book, Chloe (Leo's sister) had gotten close to Veronica (whom she only knew as Camille Sanders since Veronica had to change her name), and in being that, Chloe made Veronica her Maid of Honor at her wedding since she was the only real friend Chloe had.

(By the way, yes, Chloe figured out that Camille, her wonderful friend, turned out to be the psycho that put her brother in prison, so that was fun to read about)

Guess who shows up at her wedding? Stephanie, Veronica's sister. Stephanie knows Camille is Veronica.

Also, one of the asylum nurses made a brief appearance in the book, and it was implied that Edith (the nurse) also knew Camille was Veronica.

So, I thought that either Edith or Stephanie was going to be responsible for turning Veronica in to the authorities.

Theory was busted.

So, now that we've got that out of the way, let me tell you about the ending and what fucking pissed me off (in the best of ways).

So, the book started off with Leo hating Veronica because of what she did to him, but the second she apologized, he could see how genuine she was. He still had trouble trusting her because, after all, words are just words. He needed to see action, and he had seen it.

She was starting to see Chloe as a real friend; she had her freedom, and she thought that she and Leo would get to have what she promised him in the first book. She was changing because he was changing her for the better.

EVERYTHING WAS GOING FINE UNTIL HE SAW IT.

It being the journal that she was writing in throughout the first book. Leo was the one who told her to start writing things down as a way to help her, and she did, knowing that no one would ever see it.

But he did. He found it, and he read it. Inside were detailed entries about how she was going to manipulate Leo into making him fall in love with her just so she could escape. It reminded him that all Veronica does is lie, and a sociopath isn't capable of feeling emotions.

He got fucking pissed, and he knew exactly how to enact his revenge. One call to his friends in prison put everything in motion.

I hope you know where I'm fucking going with this.

Leo just couldn't flip a switch by being mean to her again because then she'd most likely run, and he didn't want to call the police and turn her in because then she'd be locked up again in a comfy asylum.

He had to take matters into his own hands.

At this point, I had maybe a few chapters left, so I KNEW something bad was gonna happen.

Leo asked Veronica on a date to go stargazing on this cliff (I see you eyeing that word, let me finish), and she was so excited because she loves Leo. She got ready in something comfy, and he took her to this romantic little spot in the woods overlooking the city below.

At this point? 2 chapters left. I am SWEATING.

He fed her, said some nice words, and even slow danced with her.

Then he took out a knife and told her to run. So, thinking this might be a game and a punishment for her, she took off running into the woods. She ended up hurting her ankle and couldn't run anymore, so he found her.

This is when she realized that this isn't a game and that he isn't punishing her.

He grabs her by the hair and drags her back to the cliff (okay, now you can panic). She is confused about what is happening, and Leo is ready to do what he should have done the moment she stepped back into his life. There are voices in his head telling him to do it.

So, he does.

HE STABS HER IN THE FUCKING GUT MULTIPLE TIMES. The life is draining from her eyes. She is hurt, scared, and confused. She stumbles back and falls off the cliff to the rocks below.

She is dead.

What.

The.

Fuck.

The epilogue is the next chapter, and it's two years later. Chloe and Leo's best friend, Myles, already had their baby girl (she is two), and Chloe is pregnant with a third child. The whole family is together and happy.

Leo stopped working for his dad (since that was the only job he could get with his record and after he lost his doctor's license), and he got a job with the company he worked for before being sent to the asylum.

That's right, Leo is now a doctor again and is helping patients like he's always wanted to.

What the actual fuck. The author had this to say on the content warning page at the beginning of the book.

"This story does have a happy ending... depending on who you're rooting for."

I get wanting to give Leo his chance at revenge and successfully complete it, but it broke my fucking heart when I realized what Veronica's end was gonna be. I get it. I GET IT. Veronica was a sociopath who had killed people and hurt a lot of others. To some, she isn't a good person and got what she deserved.

But what hurt me the most was seeing that change in her and having it all mean nothing. She was finally turning her life around for the man she didn't know she could love, and he killed her.

I was fucking wrecked.

That is why this series has now landed inside my 6 Star Hall of Fame.

And that is why you should read it. Even if you know what happens, I think it'll make the story more bittersweet.

I'm fucking exhausted.

Rating I gave: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Time it took to read: 6 hours and 31 minutes

Okay, welcome to the madness.

So, this book had me SAT. I went through the five fucking stages of grief as I was reading this book.

This book is about a girl, Veronica, who killed her sister's abusive boyfriend, and she is sent to an insane asylum instead of prison because she is psychotic or sociopathic, one of the two or maybe both. I don't know. She goes through doctor after doctor until Leo, her newest doctor.

She wants to escape, and she figures she can use Leo to do so. So, she hatches a plan to make him fall in love with her because she's getting out one way or the other.

So, just a few things I loved about the book. First, I loved that Veronica was the one who was psycho, not Leo. So many books have the MMC be the psycho, so it was refreshing to see it reversed and done well. Another thing I loved is how well this book sucked me in from the very beginning. I got lost in it for hoursssss; it was that engaging and good.

I thought that this book was going to go down to four stars because when Veronica and Leo finally fucked, they didn't use a condom, and it's not like she has access to birth control, and I was PANICKING. I hate the pregnancy trope and will definitely DNF a book or lower my star rating if it's not crucial to the plot.

So, when Veronica told Leo that she couldn't get pregnant, I was so relieved 😂 You have no idea.

Another thing I loved was Leo's dual personality. He wasn't crazy, but I loved how sweet and kind he was as Doctor Leo, and how he could turn that around and become completely dominant behind closed doors. It was like, "Okay, which Leo are we getting today?"

Another thing this book made me do was nearly cry. A side plot of Leo's was that his mom got cancer. Unfortunately, she died, and I was trying really hard not to cry. The speech that Leo's dad gave at her funeral had me thinking of the speech I gave when my dad died, so that hit a little bit harder than I expected.

So, let's talk about the two theories I formed while reading this.

Theory #1

So, toward the end of the book, Leo set up a meeting with Veronica and her sister, Stephanie, to maybe hash things out.

I thought Veronica and Stephanie were twins, and that Veronica was going to do something to her sister and switch places with her so she could escape this way.

Sadly, this didn't happen. Imagine if it did; that would have been cool to read.

Theory #2

So, about halfway through the book, Leo got a new patient, Ruby. Veronica does not like Ruby and actually tries to kill her. She doesn't, but it got me thinking: what if Ruby intentionally put herself in that asylum so she could get closer to Veronica? I thought maybe one of the men Veronica has killed (yes, there were more than one) was tied to Ruby in some way, and she wanted revenge.

I also think Ruby will play a big part in the second book.

So far, this theory is unlikely, but still possible. So, the jury is still out on this one.

The Ending

That ending though 😭

I always knew Veronica was going to manipulate Leo into helping her escape. It literally says so on the back of the book. However, I wasn't prepared for it.

Leo did help her escape because he was so lost in his grief about his mom and wasn't thinking straight.

HOWEVER

I wasn't prepared for her to completely betray him like that. As soon as they left, the alarms started blaring. So, what does she do? She fucking stabs him and leaves him there to take the fall for her escape!

WHAT.

The ending is literally him passing out from his injuries.

Cut to the epilogue, and it's a year later, and Veronica has changed the way she looks (because, obvi), and she visits Leo in prison since he was sent to prison for helping her escape. He promises that when he gets out, he will get his revenge.

CUE THE DRAMATIC MUSIC. I immediately had to start the second book. I will review that one as well.

If the second book does just as well as the first, this duet might be going into the 6 Star Hall of Fame.

Okay, what the fuck was that book? It made me question literally everything I thought I knew.

First, can we appreciate Shea and Michael's relationship? Because of Shea's trauma from her near rape and murder, she is terrified of men and cars. Then she meets Michael and can't meet him in person because she's scared, and then she does, and I was rooting for them. When she kissed him for the first time, I was giggling and kicking my feet. I read that passage twice.

I love that she found love despite her trauma.

So, as I was reading, I honestly thought that Beth and Lily were the same person. At some points, I was looking for the hints that they were, but they weren't. They are two completely different characters.

Lily though? I had no idea there would be another character until Simone wanted us to know about Lily. She is a real fucking psycho, and I kind of like that she doesn't have a reason to be psycho. Sometimes they just are, and they don't give a reason why they're like this.

That ending? The way that Beth and Lily are trapped inside that house, even though a new family has moved into the house? Chills because the story isn't over. It'll never be over.

The one thing I wished we got more of was Beth's aneurysm condition. I think it could have added more tension for why Beth wanted to tell her story after so long, but that's my only complaint, really.

I did wish that Shea had died at the end. When Lily pushed her off the cliff, I thought she was dead. When Shea was wandering the town in search of help and that little boy found her, I wished she were a ghost that was now trapped with Lily. Imagine that ending!

Anyway, let me know what you thought about this book! Did you like it? Did you hate it? Do you share the same thoughts and feelings I have?