[ 454 ]

[katara]

Twisted Devotion: A Dark Obsession Romance by Poppy St. John

Genre:
Dark, Romance, Stalking, Kidnapping, Smut, Erotica, Contemporary

Triggers:

Publication Date:
March 15, 2023

Rating:
3.8 out of 5

Blurb:

Emily

Never enter the mortuary after midnight.
I thought it was superstition.
How could I have known Dad was cremating corpses for a crime lord?
I should’ve listened. Now, it’s too late.
A cold-blooded monster has me in his sights.
My stalker. My captor. My ruin.
I should hate Ruarc for using me to blackmail my father.
But with every rough touch and wicked promise, I lose myself to his dark seduction.
Soon, there won’t be any of me left.

Ruarc

Don’t get involved.
Good advice, especially for someone dealing in secrets and sins.
I lived by that rule since I took the throne.
Until her.
The undertaker never told me he had a daughter.
One with emerald fire in her eyes and enough soul to share.
I decided Emily was mine from that first moment.
Mine to touch. Mine to mold. Mine to break.
And I plan on keeping her. Twisted Devotion is a dark obsession romance and has content that may be triggering to some readers. For a full list of TWs please check the author’s website.

Review:

I had seen this story pop up once at the beginning of the year and thought, "Add this to my TBR list!" and was even happier when the book had been released. I had a dark romance I had been waiting for and now that I had it, I had to read it. Right then and now. But as I managed to get into the book fully my expectations and happiness took a turn downward.

On one end, we have the beginning of our ML seeing our FL and deciding that stalking and kidnapping would be the best route for this romance. I mean, if a handsome guy who has questionable morals and is not entirely morally grey decided to stalk and kidnap me, you would not hear me complaining here whatsoever. I might even take this as flattery and enjoy the whole game. Hell, I will help him tie me up and carry me away all the while pretending that I did not want this.



Yes, yes, I know. RED FLAGS everywhere with this guy. Any guy with a red flag should be avoided at all costs. You can avoid the red flags and I will gladly embrace his red flags.

I loved the build-up...the edge-of-your-seat feel as we waited until the very moment he takes her. It was everything I had hoped it would be. Every second of it. Even the sex was amazing and well worth the wait.

Then, we get into the second half of the book and the plot seemed to be rushed. Like the author had gotten the build-up she wanted and now wanted to rush through the rest of the book. This made the ending predictable and the ending anticlimactic. All the build-up seemingly for nothing. So disappointing.

I have been sitting on this book for about two hours now trying to find the best way to do this and I cannot decide whether or not where I will be comfortable with my rating. I have been weighing all of the options - every pros and cons of this book. I will admit the pros are outweighing the cons because I did enjoy this book. I loved this book. It did not matter that the second half of the book disappointed me.

[ 455 ]

[katara]

Pestilence (The Four Horsemen #1) by Laura Thalassa

Genre:
Romance, Fantasy, Dystopia, New Adult, Post Apocalyptic, Urban Fantasy, Enemies to Lovers, Spicy Romance, Angst, Forced Proximity, Slow Burn

Publication Date:
March 20, 2018

Rating:
4.8 out of 5

Blurb:

They came to earth—Pestilence, War, Famine, Death—four horsemen riding their screaming steeds, racing to the corners of the world. Four horsemen with the power to destroy all of humanity. They came to earth, and they came to end us all.

When Pestilence comes for Sara Burn’s town, one thing is certain: everyone she knows and loves is marked for death. Unless, of course, the angelic-looking horseman is stopped, which is exactly what Sara has in mind when she shoots the unholy beast off his steed.

Too bad no one told her Pestilence can’t be killed.

Now the horseman, very much alive and very pissed off, has taken her prisoner, and he’s eager to make her suffer. Only, the longer she’s with him, the more uncertain she is about his true feelings towards her … and hers towards him.

And now, well, Sara might still be able to save the world, but in order to do so, she'll have to sacrifice her heart in the process.

Review:

Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come." I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

— Revelation 6:1–2 New American Standard Bible


The arrival of the four horsemen came out of nowhere. No one knew why they had appeared, only as they rode through cities, countries, and across continents causing all of the world's technology began to fall, plunging the world into darkness. It has been five years since their arrival and most of the world has been trying to find a reason why this has happened, but Pestilence has awakened once more from his slumber and descended upon the world bringing with him a plague that kills a person from the inside.

As Pestilence spreads his plague across the continent, Sara Burns has drawn the black lot and knows that her fate has been sealed. It had been decided from the beginning - whoever pulled the black lot had to remain behind and face Pestilence. This falls to Sara who says her goodbyes to her friends and waits for the arrival of the horseman.

His arrival is seen as a chance. A chance to stop the plague from spreading across the planet and killing people. Sara knows that this means her death but it is a chance she is willing to take and when he arrives, she takes it - shooting the horseman.

Sara believes she has killed the horseman, only to find him furious at her attempts and he drags her across the country as his prisoner.

I loved this book when I first read it. I enjoyed the characters, the apocalyptic nightmare the world has become, and the fact we have the four horsemen as our morally grey men. Characters that see humanity as having done nothing to change their fate and thus needing to be eradicated. Pestilence has no love for humanity and he says this a few times in the dialogue he has with Sara. Even when they stop at a home, he kills them pretty much off without a thought of remorse. He holds contempt for humanity - they have tried to kill him off on numerous occasions to stop his plague.

But something slightly changes in Pestilence. His feelings change for Sara but he does not understand them. He does not know why he is drawn to her and this forced proximity begins to change everything for them.

This is one of my favorite books in the series. I have not read the other three just yet, but this one - I don't know why but I loved it from the first time I read it. I am sorry that the first cover was pulled (I loved that cover! I had to stop Nook from changing it!), but I am glad to see that the newer cover is a lot nicer than the ones in the past (although that French version is beautiful!). I loved how the author used biblical mythology for this book. I had never seen the four horsemen ever used in paranormal romances. This was different. This was a change from the same cliche storylines I kept seeing in paranormal romances.

I just have a few things: I just wish the chapters were a bit longer, there was more of a backstory about the horsemen arriving. We know that the world's technology fails and never recovers, but what about all of humanity? The story opens up in year five but from what Pestilence says he and his brothers were asleep. So, what happened prior to then? How did society change? I know we see some people still living in homes, but with the world in chaos, how do people eat, keep their homes safe, and what about money? Just a little curious about this world, that's all. I am pretty sure some of these may be answered in the next three books, so I am definitely adding them to my 2023 TBR.

*Disclaimer: Thank you to the author, Ms. Laura Thalassa, Bloom Books, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.