Only the dust and darkness remained, swirling and settling like milk drifting through coffee.

Full review to come. But this, this is how you end a series. Harley brought the horror, the gore, the smut and the passion. And absolutely smashed it, in the best possible way.

“I could not own you any more than one can own the ocean, or a storm, or a forest fire. Those are not things one owns; their beauty and power cannot be claimed in such a way. But they can be chased. And they can be worshiped.”

You haven’t converted my favourite kinks but dam you did make these one’s awfully enjoyable to read.

“Or our new terror.”

This 'positive' article says it all. Where is the red flag emoji?

Meet the author: The Darlings Of The Asylum writer, Noel O’Reilly
By Sally McDonald, The Sunday Times
November 25, 2022, 12:31 am
- The challenge faced by a modern, mature, male author writing a young Victorian woman, was easily met. He says: “You can do anything you want in fiction but it has to be convincing, so I did have some input from the women in my family and women on the publishing team. They suggested things that I possibly wouldn’t have thought of as a man.”
It works. “No one has accused me of appropriation so far and I have not had anybody say they were not convinced by it,” he smiles.”

…
I’m afraid I am completely and utterly unconvinced. 


After originally receiving this book in a book box some time ago, I finally started it via audio. You can instantly tell that this is not written by a woman and it most certainly isn't written by a man that has any ability to write from the perspective of one. 

The vast majority of the 2.0-star reviews on GR summarize everything that needs to be said about this book and author perfectly and need no further explanation from me.

Note: An entire book from Lúc’s POV is all I need… and moreover desire.

•

Thoughts: Lúc was on the same page, and Aheia was in the wrong book.  An oddly relatable thought. Considering yet again I had to reread pages to make sure I was in the right book.

•

This moment: ”You have a fucking nerve thinking you get to analyze me when you won’t look at your own shit. When everything you do has a double meaning, or serves as some kind of Gods damned test. You want me to be who you think I am?” Her hold became tighter. “You don’t get to try to build me into what you want now that I’m here and I’m not what you thought I’d be. I am not battling my demons only to be killed by yours in the process.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

•

Overall: Nothing. Happens. 

It's astonishing that a completely unrelatable book could be so concerningly relatable.

Tears, triumphs, anger, and joy. 

I’m as sad as you are about this. 

The themes of these books have me in an utter chokehold. If I was to give stars purely based on the aesthetics of characters and kinks in the book, mmmhm five out of five for sure.

Irrelevant Side Note: I don't know if it was a nod to Sophie Lark's The Bully (as i know Madison is quite the fan) but the Neon Tiger in the club made me so happy, even if the connection is only in my own mind.

Part of me wants to take into consideration that this is a debut novel, so Four Stars might be more warranted. That said, however, aspects of the writing did lose my captivation ever so often throughout. It also felt (at least the first 50%) very much like the pace and structure of a novella. Luckily the storyline was strong enough to keep one interested, and the dynamics of the characters were really enjoyable to read. I often found myself grinning, always a positive takeaway. Some of the more spicy scenes further into Good Game didn't overly flow, they almost felt disconnected from the novel itself, perhaps I was expecting something different even more intense maybe. But they almost seemed to have been written separately and then slotted in rather than flowing with the storyline and characters.

In summary and to be completely honest, even if Aleksander Knight holds the candle for aesthetics if EnglishCoffees scenes make me laugh as much in his book as he did in Good Game there's every chance Forbidden Game is going to be five stars. I have a sneaking suspicion that as this series continues each book is going to outshine the next, and personally, I can not wait.