I really wanted to like this book, I love masked men, stalker, dark romances with a passion and I feel this has potential but just fell flat for me and I'm disappointed by that.

Off the bat, I just want to say I was so frustrated by how many times these characters "rolled their eyes" - it literally seemed like every few sentences or at least twice a chapter one or both were doing it and it was extremely repetitive. I'm genuinely surprised this wasn't caught before release?

Lillith wasn't really likable, she just seemed very bland. Kain mentioned a few times how even though he called her little flower he didn't see her as delicate or fragile and that he thought she was strong and while I don't really see her as delicate/fragile either, I didn't really feel she was "strong". She didn't really do much of anything. She finds out fairly quickly he's stalking her and she's just "oh this is okay, kinda hot" and goes with it and that's pretty much all her personality is. Even her "fighting" with him was weak and just what she thought she SHOULD do. She's supposed to be an ER Intern but, we really only get a few chapters of her doing that in the beginning and then she's literally just a sex toy for Kain. The most interesting thing about her was her taking "pet" wild animals (a mouse and pigeons).

Kain was definitely more interesting. He's second in command of a club, his father was a POS and abused him as a child so he's pretty unhinged, one side of his face/eye is burned, he has no problems unaliving people or beating them senseless, he becomes obsessed with Lillith and stalks then kindaps her to protect her. He has extreme trust issues and few friends but, those he does consider friend he'd do anything for. He comes across as cold, detached and unfeeling but, he's got lots under the surface. I enjoyed how he saw Lillith as this ray of light and even though he didn't think he deserved her, he wanted to. But even he fell flat because like what even was the point of the club? He didn't do anything though he was 2nd in command, we have no idea why he hates the rival club, why his father suddenly turned into a pyschopath after his wife died and decided to start abusing his kid caude even Kain tells Lillith before that he had a great childhood, we have no idea why Kain doesn't like the new leader of the club (other than he's 'weak') or how he even got into power when it should've been Kain. He stalks her, kidnaps her and has this voice in his head that gives him awful thoughts so he takes this strong drug to quiet it but, literally as soon as he has sex with Lillith all of that no longer matters. He's suddenly cured of the voice and addiction. And yes, I could get behind a whole "she helped cure him with her love" blah blah but that wasn't even mentioned. It just literally went away with no reason for why. He had this back story set up with potential and it went no where. And don't even get me started on his healing. This dude was shot..in the chest...at LEAST 4 times in his life and lived. But there's more about this in my spoiler.

Spoiler

My next biggest gripe is the fact every damn male Lillith came across somehow KNEW she was a virgin and wanted to either sell her for it or assault her for it. And I cannot for the life of me figure out how they all knew. It was ridiculous. When Lillith told Kain she was he said "I know" and she's like "wait, how?" and his reason was she LOOKED innocent and virgin like. What does that even mean? How does someone LOOK like a virgin? lmao. Are you telling me over 4 different men knew she was a virgin by looking at her? I get this is fictional but, that's so utterly ridiculous and unrealistic. She's a 24 year old woman - there's no reason to assume she's a virgin simply because she's nice and comes across as "innocent". She didn't have friends, she was friendly with two men she worked with and those were two who tried attacking her but, she never saw them outside of work, she rarely talked to them at work and she even said while they both seemed interested in her she'd always brush them off and she kept to herself so like there's no way she told any friends or these men she was a virgin and it got around.

Bear's betrayal would've been sooo much more impactful if we actually got to know him and their friendship better. We got a handful of scenes of them and then out of NO WHERE he turns on Kain and his reasoning is "I didn't want to be in your shadow" which made no sense. I believe it was hinted at he had become an addict to whatever street drug was in this Universe and it ~changed him but, the few scenes we did get of Kain and Bear he seemed normal, they did get into a fight but, it seemed like from what I could tell that wasn't unusual of them especially if they'd been drinking. Once he was meant to protect Lillith and while he did make a few sexual comments at her he did protect her and he kept calling Kain to tell him what their leader was doing behind Kain's back so it was just weird he then was like "yeah I hate you, I'm tired of being in your shadow". Like, huh?

I didn't like the use of Kain constantly calling Lillith his "toy". Sure, if it was in a sexual manner I could kinda understand and yes I get he's not normal and is a bit unhinged and doesn't think like a normal person but, it felt icky he referred to her as his toy and not a human being even though he actually DID treat her like a human and even after he fell in love he would still call her that but, then got so offended when others were call her similar. And no, it wasn't always in a sexual context he called her this cause that would make more sense. Also he kept saying he was going to "ruin" her, he collared her, had a cage under his bed and a whole sex dungeon and he didn't DO much of anything. They had some rough sex a few times but nothing pearl clutching.

A bittersweet story filled with romance in a dark world.

In this story we follow Lillith as she encounters danger as well as love when she is being stalked by her deadly ex patient while uncovering the precarious situation she is facing.
I love how this book is a light read and feels fast-paced but I don’t feel like I’m being dragged in exceed speed limit. I can connect with our main characters well, I understand their attraction, I love how they slowly realized what’s in their connection and still maintaining that dark element. Another plus is this book has spicy scenes that has a perfect combination of possessiveness, obsessiveness and romanticism in a dark-wretched way

This dark romance was HOT

This is my first Mindy Paige book and it blew my mind.

I LOVE a good Dark Romance book. Throw in some stalking and a MMC who is protective/obsessed and will do anything for her and I am there!

Before reading this book check the trigger warnings because your mental health matters.

I don't even know where to start. The moment I started this book I pulled in with the writing and the emotions. We me Lillith who is working at a hospital. We are instantly with her through the emotions she goes through of helping save someone while not being able to save another person. She doesn't know it yet but the man she is saving will be in her life wether she is ready or not.

We meet Kain next who is saved by Lillith. When Kain wakes in the hospital and comes face to face with his ER nurse he recognizes her immediately and this leads him down the path to do anything to be in her life wether Lillith is ready or not.

I loved the characters in this book. Lillith has a traumatic background and yet she is a very strong FMC and works hard. Kain also has a traumatic background and the way he is with Lillith is the protective/obsessed mmc we all have come to love in our books. This is a dark and emotional romance so you will have the tender moments with these characters but also what you would expect with a dark romance.

I really enjoyed this book and can not wait for Ghost to get his story.

Thank you to the Authors Agency for the arc of this book.
Tropes:

This book was so dark and so spicy!! The writing was done so exceptionally well that I felt as if I was a part of that world, and I was with them. There were twist and turns everywhere, not knowing which characters to trust. The spice of the book was perfect, and I’m pretty sure it unlocked kinks in me I did not know existed. Lillith was a really interesting character, and when she finally embraced her darkness, it felt like something clicked home. Though, it did feel slightly abrupt. Lillith was beauty and grace and she was so strong. I loved her character. Kain was the exact opposite of her, yet somehow they fit perfectly, and it became my favourite thing. The book was amazing, with a balance of plot and smut, yet it felt like there was a “wow” factor missing. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and I would definitely recommend it!

Okay, so first I want to thank Mindy Paige for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. I will say that if like dark romances with an mmc that will actually maim anyone he needs to for the one he desires? This hits the spot.
So, all of this begins when Lilith, our main character who is a badass emergency medicine intern, helps save a man HIGH up in a motorcycle club. He quickly becomes OBSESSED. But even with that there are such cute moments. Probably my favorite thing in the first bit of the book were his notes to her that toe the line between stalker and sweetheart. And when he realizes that she is in danger without his protection? He takes her, but it's not entirely unwanted from her!
Without giving too much away, there love story continues from there. He tells her things he's never told anyone, and forgets all logic to protect her. I will say many of the side men in this book are HORRID and deserved what was coming to them from Kain, so we stan. That third attack/second death though is NOT for the faint of heart.
Anyway, my other high point of this book was the slow reveal of what happened to her and her parents as she begins to remember. This allowed the memories to develop as her feelings did, and she didn't feel like she was too scared of him or was indebted to him or anything.

Things to love in this book…