A review by ravensandlace
Family Ties by J.L. Quick

3.0

Title: Family Ties
Author: J.L Quick
Genre: Dark Romance
Format: ebook from Happily Booked PR
Series: Savagely Depraved (#2)
Star Rating: 3 stars

tw: graphic sex scenes, voyeurism, forced exhibitionism, non/dub consent, captivity/Stockholm syndrome, scratching, rimming, edging, blackmail, slapping/hitting, anal sex, bondage, branding, drowning, somnophilia, bondage, homelessness, murder

A special thank you goes to Happily Booked PR  for providing me with an early copy of this book. Please know that this does not influence my rating or thoughts on the book itself.

This arc was a little two-in-one special. There was a prologue called Dark Duels. We are introduced to some of the characters that we would meet in the main novel, Family Ties. I enjoyed the novella a lot. It was just a bunch of spicy scenes, which I didn’t mind at all. Plus we got a little taste of just how depraved this little group is. I wanted more of them to be honest. But that’s just me being greedy. I’m always greedy when it comes to dark romance.   

Family Ties itself was a good book. I’ve never read a book with pet play before. I found that I enjoyed reading it. I can't say that I’m an expert with the particular kink (and let’s be real, my family reads my reviews so I’d never say that out loud anyway) so I can’t tell you if it was done in a healthy way or not.  

While I truly enjoyed the book as a whole, my one complaint was how compliant Abigail became. This might just be a me thing, however. I’m used to female MCs fighting for their lives and making things difficult. Abigal fought for a minute and then just settled into her life within a couple of days. I just wanted a bit more fight. But honestly, that’s just me being picky. I imagine that deep down inside, she truly enjoyed this lifestyle but didn’t quite know how to express that. 

Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and the novella that came with it. I’m ready to continue the series and see just how far things will go since it ended on a nice little cliffhanger. I hope we get more of the group that Grant, the male MC, is involved in. They seem like a wild bunch and I’d love to get to know them more.