Blurb
Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility.
For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.
But lusty paradise is shattered.
Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror.
Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.
Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?
Review
In book 1 in the Monsters in the Dark series, I’m not sure what to say or where to begin. I’ve wanted to read this book for the longest time and was so excited once I received the ARC. I like BDSM/erotica books, and this was definitely a dark book, but I was frustrated more often than not. I understood what I was getting into by requesting an ARC. It was going to be a dark, painful read that took me on a roller-coaster of emotions. That’s what I got! I was so angry and tearful at times, and then happy or turned on at other times.
Tess is a compelling character who grows stronger as the book progresses, yet her reactions often feel inconsistent. She goes from terrified to drawn toward pain without enough clarity on why.
Q is written as a deeply damaged man who can’t decide whether he wants to protect Tess or break her. Some of his choices, especially the dinner party scene, are hard to reconcile, and the book takes a long time to explain his motivations. Once the truth finally comes out, his character becomes more understandable, and the epilogue helps redeem him, but the path there is rough.
The sex scenes are so hot! I love strong, alpha men who know their way around a woman’s body. He treats her rough but she loves it. She was consensual for most of it, reluctant on the rest even though she enjoyed it. He never raped her. He always stopped himself before crossing that line.
I liked that Tess befriended some members of the household. She needed friends and Suzette understood what she was going through because she lived through even worse. Suzette and Franco kept trying to get Tess to understand and accept Q for all his depravities and cruelness because they knew what he struggled with, and they hoped that Tess was the one to save him. Unfortunately, they didn’t explain themselves well enough until it was too late.
On a side note, there are grammar, spelling, misplaced words and syntax issues. Since this copy is an ARC, mistakes are expected. Hopefully, they’re fixed in the final copy.
This book is a great read because both Tess and Q are flawed characters—no one is perfect. He needs to inflict pain; she needs the pain to feel alive. They both experience sexual pleasure from it. He needs her to accept the darkness in him; she needs him to treat her like an object so she feels claimed because she’s felt unwanted her whole life.
Despite the frustrations, the story delivers flawed characters, intense dynamics, and a dramatic finish. I enjoyed it.
3.5 Stars
— I’d love to know what you think of the book or my review. Please comment below.