Review: Captured by My Stepbrothers by A.K. Rose & Angel Lawson

Captured by My Stepbrothers by A.K. Rose & Angel Lawson

Series: Family Confessions #2

Publication date: September 12th, 2022

Pages: 221

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

Kate may have escaped from the dangers of Wilmington, from both the Binder and her family, but is she really free?

Not if the Davenport brothers have anything to do about it.

Not if Detective Higgins can find her.

Not if Paul Sanders is able to get into her mind.

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Review:

Kate is back at it again being unable to escape her stepbrothers or their friends once more. It seemed like it would be a cake walk once she was placed in witness protection to avoid them for the rest of her life even if it was destroying her family back home to see Jack in jail for a crime he didn't commit. Kate was content to let him rot until the Binder came back and threatened her. All of a sudden she is calling up Oliver and begging for their protection. Why in the world would they ever even consider protecting her with the way she betrayed them? Also, why would she choose to go to them instead of going to the FBI and tell them she is receiving death threats? That part of the book was a head scratcher when it first happened but throughout the story we start to get a little more insight into Kate than what she presented at first. She secretly loves the abuse she is subjected to, which is not surprising since that was really her first sexual experience. She is afraid to want what they provide and in doing so rages against it to the extent of stabbing them in the back to get away from them. Kate is frustrating. Girl, either you love the way they treat you or you don't. You can't have it both ways. 

I did like seeing a lot of them start to soften a little with her and it becomes more apparent why they treated her the way they did (or even still do). Paul is a mental man. He wants to creep into her head and make her realize who she is even though she wants to deny it. He forces her to think about how she is treated and why she should accept it instead of raging against it. Jack sees her as an innocent doll that needs to be hardened. She needs to be stronger and he pushes her and pushes her until she had no choice but to strike back. He turns her from a meek mouse into someone to be reckoned with. Oliver has always been the softer of the two brothers but he knows that Kate does not seek out comfort from anyone and it has eaten away at her. He forces her to confront this and to learn to come to him when she needs to be calmed down instead of internalizing it and being destructive. And Davis... I don't know about him. I think he's still teetering on the edge of things but I think he wants her to be a vital part of a team and not just a liability so he tears her down so she will feel she needs to prove him wrong. I don't like Davis.

I may have been critical of the first book in this series and was glad to see a little more growth in the second. Like with my realizations about the men and what they were really after, I realized that the authors were trying to hold a few things close to pull their readers along a rollercoaster ride. You are meant to hate all the men in the first book and then in the second realize what they were truly doing. You were meant to see Kate as a sad victim before watching her build herself up into a strong woman. I am curious what the next book will hold. 

Review: Hunted by my Stepbrothers by A.K. Rose & Angel Lawson

Hunted by my Stepbrothers by A.K. Rose & Angel Lawson

Series: Family Confessions #1

Publication date: July 12th, 2022

Pages: 187

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

I'm not afraid of evil in the world. I'm afraid of them.

Creaking floorboards. Muffled screams. Once night falls I can't remember why I came back to Davenport manor.

What I do remember is why I wanted out of here so badly in the first place.

They aren't men. They're predators.

They don't love. They hunt.

Now that I'm back I'm no longer family. I'm their prey.

Hunted is Kindle Vella serial by best selling authors Angel Lawson and A.K. Rose. This is a collection of episodes 1-20 and is considered on-going. This book is a DARK/BULLY romance. It contains graphic content that some readers may be particularly sensitive to. Readers can expect high heat, lots of twists, and dark gothic family drama.

Please check the author note inside for TWs.

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Review:

I will be honest. I have no idea what Kindle Vella is but the word 'episodes' gives me a clue. That would explain a bit about how two thoroughly esteemed authors wrote something that was very choppy. It felt like there was a 'dun dun dunnn' moment after every chapter and I think that was likely due to trying to keep people engaged in the overall story so they keep tuning in for more episodes of the story. With that in mind I will adjust my viewpoint on the book a bit.

First thing I noticed about this book is that you have no earthly clue how genuine anyone is. The men seem downright cruel to a girl who doesn't seem to really have done anything to them other than exist. She caught them doing something when she was told to stay out of the business and they punished her. The punishment was alluded to quite a few times but it was obvious it was something sexual. Kate is thoroughly and completely abused through every page of this book. I don't care if it was attempted to be prettied up by her getting turned on. That is like rapists who try to excuse their actions because their victim may have had a biological reaction to stimuli so that meant they were thoroughly on board. That doesn't really fly in court and it doesn't really get a pass for me either. I will say, at least the authors didn't try to add flowery situations where Kate would wax on and on about how much she cares for each of them. No, in this book, it is very clear that while Kate's body reacts, her mind thoroughly despises all of them. At least that was the impression I got.

I have read dark romances that start out this hardcore and then suddenly turn soft when the man or men start to see their female counterpart as more than just a means to get off and start appreciating her as a person. I think I kept reading hoping that would happen eventually. Like it would excuse the abuse they heaped on her, but still. Kate was all over the place and I thoroughly understood her mental war. One minute she hated them with every fiber of her being and the next she saw a glimpse of something redeemable in them. She was torn between her body's reactions and cravings and her logic that told her all she could ever expect from them is pain. She had that "I can fix them" feel to her and that felt very real. She also made some incredibly reckless and dangerous decisions to try to get away from them and I felt for her. 

I think that the authors set a foundation that could improve the story and the characters overall if they chose to go that route. Because while I know all the men are horrible and psychotic, I still don't know if I should completely hate them. Davis, I do. But the others... I am not sure. I will have to keep reading. 

I want to believe this series will shift a little and incorporate some affection between the men and Kate which is why I will keep reading. 

Review: Deathtrap by Alexandra St. Pierre

Deathtrap by Alexandra St. Pierre

Publication date: October 1st, 2024

Pages: 534

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

Everyone Lilith touches dies. She has lived her entire life running from the grim reaper, who has followed her relentlessly since birth. He watches her from the shadows, and though he seems set on stealing everyone from her life, he refuses to allow her to take her own.

When Lilith gets a job as a bartender at a Voodoo Steakhouse, her shadowy demon companion leaves her in peace for four blissful years. It isn't until one of her colleagues passes away in a horrible accident, that she begins to fear he has returned, and this time, she may not be able to escape him.

*Deathtrap is the first book in a dark romance interconnecting series. This book explores very dark themes and has an extensive list of trigger warnings. If you are not familiar with the dark romance genre, it is recommended that you proceed with caution. This book is not suitable for everyone. 18+*

Available at:

Review:

The depths to which I had hoped to enjoy this book were profound. I started the book at the tail end of 2024 and was hoping I was going to hit it out of the park and start 2025 off with a 5-star read. Unfortunately, this book did not meet my expectations. The premise is good, girl dodging a clingy grim reaper but finds out that she is more than just the play thing for the reaper. However, the execution was not so great. First off, I read a partial review before starting the book that said "over half the book was non-con with heavy degradation and humiliation". I am not one to really shy away from trigger warnings so I didn't really put too much stock into the warning. I kind of wish I had. There is a line between what is dark romance and what is simply abuse. This one, I didn't get the hopeful warm fuzzies thinking that, 'oh well, he did really terrible things to her but throughout it she was just afraid to admit she wanted it!' But there were a lot of scenes where it was obvious that she really didn't want anything with Ramel. She even turned away from him in disgust a few times and yet he still forced her into situations she didn't wish for.

Throughout the book, the abuse became more and more hard to stomach. Especially when they would set her up in an impossible situation just so they could have the privilege of punishing her for it later. I get that eventually she started to enjoy the pain and the punishment but even I was like, "oh baby, that's Stockholm syndrome." Ramel only did most of the things he did because he had no memory of Lilith and was trusting God when he told him that she was coming for his job in Hell. But even when he recovered his memories he did some awful things. I did not like Ramel AT ALL. I would wrinkle my nose anytime he was in a scene which was pretty much the entire book.

The book absolutely dragged on and on and on for pages and pages until I was ready to DNF at 76%. My completionist personality trait was the only reason I decided to finish it and it just got progressively more confusing and as if the author just threw everything but the kitchen sink into the plotline. Making God the enemy was an interesting choice but one that aligned pretty well with dark romance. I have to say though, hinting at God's sexual preference by commenting on how all angels were made male until Lilith gave them a choice when they chose to follow her... that was wild. My innocent thought process: "oh, they have to open their mouths and take God's holy sacrament. Is that like a cracker or...?" NO IT'S NOT A CRACKER! 

Summarizing my chaotic thoughts, I did not enjoy this book. I did not like the fact it dragged on, I didn't like that the non-con scenes were literal rape scenes disguised as romance, I didn't like the polyamory angle (personal preference. I am a reverse harem girlie not a why choose.), and I felt there was so much information in one book that could have been cut back extensively. I did not find any of the characters to be likeable and I have no desire to delve into the next book when it is released. Maybe some of what I said intrigues you and that is perfectly fine. We all have our own preferences and if you do read this book, be prepared to skim over some of the same arguments that are touched on over a dozen times.