#darkromanticsuspense

A few months ago, I signed up for the ARC of “The Tutor” which was my first K. Larsen book and I absolutely loved it, so when this came about, I knew I had to read it. If you have not read it, be advised, this review may contain some spoilers from Nora and Holden’s story. I suggest reading The Tutor first because you will be a little lost otherwise. While I did like this book, I was on the fence between a 3.5 and 4 star rating for a few reasons. Ultimately though, I had a great time reading it.

We meet Liam as he is checking out at a grocery store, and he sees a magazine article covering the story with Nora and his brother, Holden. We’ve learned about his past in The Tutor, through memories, but we never met him. I thought this concept was fabulous and was pulled in right from the get go. At first, he’s curious about Nora, the girl who knew his brother so well, but it doesn’t take long before it turns into obsession and stalking.

I wonder about this sustained, distorting, euphoria I get from my time with Nora. It’s thrilling knowing she doesn’t realize we’re spending time together. The anticipation of what it will be like when we finally meet, makes me buzz with energy.

I simply watch her.

For now.

Since everything happened with Holden, Nora hasn’t been doing too hot. Her anxiety is through the roof and she’s not really seeing much of a point of it all. Of course she loves Eve, Lotte, and Aubrey, and everything is going really well with the charity organization they started, she’s just not dealing well with her feelings that she still has for Holden. She is unaware of Liam’s watching her and so when he introduces himself at an event for her charity, she has no idea it isn’t the first time he’s seen her.

I exit the stage without breaking eye contact with those jade eyes. I am lost in my mind. Lost in Holden. It is as if he is here. Watching me. Waiting for me. One heel slips on the second step. Gasps sound around me as I tilt sideways as flail in the air. Time decelerates. I can see the shocked faces of those I pass as I tumble toward the ground.

Strong arms catch me.

I shriek, suspended in air.

“You’re okay. I caught you.”

She’s instantly intrigued by the way he reminds her of Holden. The more time they spend together, the more she thinks she may able to actually have a real relationship with someone. She even tells her therapist about him. He plays a really great part at sweeping her off her feet and she is falling hard. She introduces him to Lotte and Eve and while they’re freaked out about how much his eyes are like Holden’s, he eventually wins them over too. He continues to watch her and stalk her. That was one thing I didn’t particularly like, was how long the stalking lasted into their relationship.

All this was as a way to get back at his brother, but he can’t deny he’s attracted to her and the more he gets to know her, the more they realize how compatible they actually are. In some ways, their unconventional needs compliment each other. He finds himself getting anxious and excited about seeing her every time she leaves. He tells her things he’s never told anyone. As hard as he fights it, he does start to realize how much he really cares for her and doesn’t want her to ever know who he is. That he’s her ex-lover and ex-captor’s brother.

I think back, try to pinpoint when things changed for me but I can’t. It was a slow build, a plodding journey. My hate for Holden led to my salvation. Nora has given me nothing but acceptance and trust and somewhere along the way, I decided I wanted to give her the same. Somewhere in my manipulation, I was manipulated into wanting her.

This book was a pretty quick read, and was a fun story. There were a few really cute scenes and concepts that I enjoyed so much. For me personally, I just felt Liam came off as creepy and not in the same hot-creepy as Holden. I think it had a lot to do with the watching her in her house when they were so far into their relationship that just made me feel that way. I felt that while he did get some retribution, he got off easy. I would have liked to see him had to pay for his actions a little more. I think that’s the main reason for the three and half stars. I guess I’m team Holden.

Cherry Garcia Ice Cream. Perfect.

Genre: Dark Romantic Suspense

Stars: 3.5

Heat Detail: 3-Explicit

Available October 2, 2017

Book Link: The Brother on Amazon

The Photograph That Wasn't Hers

This story begins with a mysterious photograph that should not have existed.

Claire discovered it late on a quiet Tuesday evening.

She had just returned home after work when she noticed the envelope resting against her apartment door. At first she assumed it belonged to one of the neighbors. The hallway lights flickered softly, and the envelope looked ordinary enough.

No stamp.

No address.

Just her name written carefully in black ink.

Claire hesitated before picking it up.

Moments like this often mark the beginning of unexpected emotional stories, much like the complicated relationships explored in dark romance stories where secrets rarely stay hidden.

The Photograph Inside

Inside the envelope was a single photograph.

Claire stared at it for several seconds before her mind fully processed what she was seeing.

The image showed a quiet café terrace.

A small round table.

Two chairs.

And sitting in one of them was a woman who looked exactly like her.

The resemblance was unmistakable.

Same dark hair.

Same posture.

Even the same grey coat Claire had worn earlier that week.

Yet she had never been to that café.

Not in her life.

The feeling that followed was not immediate fear.

Instead, it was curiosity.

Stories about emotional mysteries and complicated attraction often begin with quiet discoveries like this, similar to the layered relationships found in forbidden love stories.

The Man in the Background

After studying the photograph more carefully, Claire noticed something else.

Behind her image—just slightly out of focus—stood a man.

He was watching her.

His expression was difficult to read, but there was something unmistakable in the way he looked at the woman in the photograph.

Recognition.

Claire turned the picture over.

On the back were three words.

“You remember soon.”

The Café on Mercer Street

The next afternoon Claire found the café.

Mercer Street was only a few blocks from her office, yet she had somehow never noticed the small corner terrace before.

Everything looked exactly like the photograph.

The same iron chairs.

The same striped awning.

Even the same table.

Claire felt a strange tension forming in her chest as she stepped closer.

It felt like walking into a memory she did not possess.

Moments like this blur the line between curiosity and emotional intrigue, themes often explored in romance stories where unexpected connections appear without warning.

The Stranger Who Knew Her

“I wondered when you would come back.”

The voice behind her was calm.

Claire turned quickly.

The man standing there was the same one from the photograph.

There was no doubt about it.

He looked slightly older than she expected, perhaps mid-thirties, with quiet confidence in his posture.

Yet what unsettled Claire most was the familiarity in his eyes.

As if he had been expecting this moment for a long time.

“Do I know you?” she asked.

The man smiled faintly.

“Not anymore.”

The Memory She Lost

They sat at the same table from the photograph.

The same position.

The same afternoon sunlight.

Claire could not shake the strange feeling that she had lived this moment before.

“Your name is Adrian,” she said suddenly.

The man looked surprised.

“You remember?”

Claire frowned.

“No… I just guessed.”

However, the name had not been a guess.

It had simply appeared in her mind.

Stories about memory and emotional tension often unfold through quiet revelations like this, much like the psychological depth found in psychological stories.

The Truth Between Them

Adrian studied her carefully.

“Three months ago,” he said slowly, “we met in this exact place.”

Claire listened in silence.

“We spent hours talking. You told me things you said you had never shared with anyone before.”

“Then why don't I remember?”

Adrian leaned back slightly.

“Because someone made sure you forgot.”

The words settled into the quiet space between them.

Claire felt the strange pull of forbidden attraction building beneath the confusion.

Somewhere deep inside, part of her already trusted him.

The Photograph That Started It All

Adrian placed something on the table.

Another photograph.

This one showed them both.

Sitting together.

Laughing.

The image captured a moment of unmistakable intimacy.

Claire stared at it.

The mysterious photograph in her apartment had only been the beginning.

Now the truth felt much more complicated.

She did not remember Adrian.

Yet the connection between them felt impossible to deny.

The Choice She Didn't Expect

“Why send me the photograph?” Claire asked.

Adrian hesitated before answering.

“Because you asked me to.”

“I did?”

He nodded.

“You said if you ever forgot me… I should find a way to remind you.”

Claire looked down at the photograph again.

The moment captured there looked real.

More real than anything she could currently remember.

Some stories about love and secrecy unfold slowly through forgotten memories, similar to the emotional revelations explored in stories on HollowVelvet.

The Memory Returning

For several seconds Claire simply watched Adrian.

Then something unexpected happened.

A faint memory surfaced.

The sound of laughter.

The warmth of sunlight on the café table.

The moment she had first realized their connection was dangerous.

Yet also impossible to resist.

Claire looked up slowly.

“Adrian…”

The name no longer felt unfamiliar.

And suddenly she understood something even more unsettling.

The photograph had not been a warning.

It had been a promise.

No matter how many times she forgot him…

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