Even though I thought I was considering every single plot twist and predicting every way the book would have turned out, it still managed to pull the rug out from under me. I was actually surprised at how much I liked that twist and how it ended. My first Freida McFadden book and very happy with my read.

✨Includes some spoilers✨

Every woman's dream is to get a green flag man and the FMC gets three?! Alec, Miller and Silver are all very different in character but have the same morals and values regarding the treatment of women. They all take note of what the FMC likes and dislikes. They all want to protect her but respect that she has her own choices and decisions. They want to pamper and spoil her in their own ways. I'm so jealous of Cora. Definitely a book that raises the standards sky-high. Especially loved the moments each of the guys realised that Cora loved them all and asking her to choose would hurt her so they each came to the consensus on their own that they would never ask her to choose. They each accepted that if thay want her, it would be a package deal. The ending was satisfactory but I wish we learned more about Miller's past, had more scenes with Silver, and fleshed out Alec a bit more in depth (like when he spent some time away from them). It would have also been so nice to have a window in their future together. 574 pages have never felt shorter. So happy I chose to end my January with this book.

While I do like dark romance, this was too dark. Normally I don't mind dark romance being too dark, but here, there wasn't enough romance to balance it out. The way Glyndon fell in love with Killian felt very out of place. In most dark romances, there's usually a carrot-and-stick  approach in the formation of the relationship so that it doesn't feel "out of nowhere" that the characters fell in love but in this book, both Glyndon and Killian had absolutely nothing in common and they didn't share ANY chemistry. 

The "he fell first" trope also fell flat because it wasn't explained HOW Killian fell for her. It was just "ok I saw her, Imma fuck her" then BAM she ain't gonna leave me. Glyndon was also constantly teetering between terrified, defiant and horny rather than romantic attraction. 

Personally, I felt they didn't have any chemistry and the romantic relationship felt very forced by the author like she was forcing two mismatched puzzle pieces to fit. If she had spent more time fleshing out the romance aspect to balance out the dark, it would have made more sense and the story would have been more harmonious. This was my first book from Rina Kent and after it was so hyped, I feel really let down. I won't completely write her off, I'll try other books from her, maybe another one from this series or the Royal Elite series. Hope the next book I pick up from her will be better

I am an absolute sucker for the brother's best friend trope and here we got TWO. From the getgo, Brac and Nate were very sweet and kind to Audrey while her brother Tyler was a bit of an ass (but well, he IS her brother). Also, I am another sucker for the masked man trope and here we have TWO again! Once the Witch Hunt started, the story and smut picked up and it was impossible to look away. Both Brax and Nate had dark fantasies and even though there was knife play, they were still sweet and accommodating to Audrey. I forgot it was ger first time with how far they took it lol. The ending was also really sweet. I did not expect the author to give us a bit of closure on where their relationship stood. Lowkey wished there was an epilogue or side story where Tyler finds out she's with both his BFFs. That would have been great. Overall, this novella was chock full of sugar and spice! 

Very dark, please check your trigger warnings. 

The book started out pretty good, basic Stockholm Syndrome stuff. Then there was some action which was cool. And then we get into the fluff and domesticities with a side of smut. At this point, the book was like 3 stars - points docked for the MMC and FMC's character inconsistencies.

But the rating went completely down the rabbit hole at the ending because wtf was that???

It was basically a cheating trope thrown in at the end. It didn't even make sense that the MMC was turned on by this because he would kill if FMC so much as interacted with another man but this is ok??? Hypocritical much??? This is where the meme "I can excuse murder but I draw the line at cheating" VERY MUCH APPLIES. Completely ruined my mood and turned me off the whole book. Wish I didn't bother reading the sequel. Some people might say it's not cheating but it counts.

Very dark, please check your trigger warnings. I wish I did, just to prepare myself. The MMC is definitely 100% a psycho. Would have given it a higher rating if they had included the bonus chapter in the book itself. I'm not sure why it's a trend now for authors to have a "bonus chapter" that's only available at XYZ but it only turns readers off if we have to hunt for it. Also, a bit weird that both the FMC and MMC named their vehicles. I thought it would be an FMC thing but then the MMC also had a name for his. Is this a normal thing for westerns to name their vehicles because it's not normal at all in Asia. Not a bad thing, just something I found weird. 

Definitely dark, please check the trigger warnings. But it surprisingly ended pretty romantically. I did like that even though it was dark, there was still a certain line that the Jackson made sure not to cross. 

It just wasn't my cup of tea unfortunately.