This was the most Unhinged 30 mins I've had in a while 🤣 But hey, it was certainly entertaining. If you're looking for plot, this is not for you. But surprisingly, there was a small bit of lore as to how the door becomes human which I actually appreciated. It wasn't just a random "love brought me to life" cliche that I was expecting. 

If you want an unhinged short fun time, give this a shot! 😉

I absolutely loved this! I picked this up for a light MLM read but it went deeper than I expected but in a sweet and genuine way. 

I really liked how well Milo's character was written as a neurodivergent person and it was never the focus of anything. It was just him being true to himself and he was unapologetic about it while reminding everyone including the reader that while he has his issues, he can work through it. 

Gideon is a sweetheart and was honestly just the perfect person for Milo. His whole family was great too. I'm so sad that Milo didn't have any real friends before Gideon and Rachel but so happy he has them now. 

The third act conflict was very necessary imo as this often happens to people on the spectrum where their loved ones try to protect them but it just ends up hurting them. It was something they needed to go through and I'm glad it unfolded so well and Beverly was won over by this point. 

Something else I adored about Milo and Gideon's relationship was their honesty and open communication with each other. Even during s*x, they're talking it all out and making sure they're both comfortable every step of the way. It's so refreshing and sweet. 

I probably have cavities from how sweet this whole book was ❤️ A perfect cosy read to fill my evening.

Can I just say that this was incredibly disappointing? The writing felt more like a book report with the descriptions and even the spicy scenes didn't feel spicy. It was just words on a page. It was also pretty obvious from the very beginning the true identity of Mask, I think we all saw it coming. Unfortunately, I just didn't vibe with the plot, characters or the writing - it was too verbose and flat.

Just like the first book, if you're looking for plot, this isn't for you. If you want delicious smut, this is 100% your book. Pick this up if these are your fav spicy kinks:
🌶️ Stalker 
🌶️ Being chased
🌶️ Exhibitionism
🌶️ Motorcycle acts
🌶️ Pierced (down below)

There was a scene where the carnival guys were talking about how unhinged Cade is but tbh I find Lars way more unhinged? Like Cade is a psychopath, don't get me wrong but Lars feels more unhinged because it seems like his head is screwed on right but he CHOOSES to be a psychopath in comparison to Cade who's just a psychopath by nature. I feel like that choice alone makes him more terrifying. 

And while Cade was batshit nuts, the smut with his girl was almost 100% consensual. Whereas Lars' smut with Alice was only about maybe 60% consensual. So please check your trigger warnings. 

That aside, this one actually has a bit more plot than the first book. Just a bit. Tbh I wasn't really interested in the plot because it was pretty obvious the carnival owners/workers were operating shady shit in the background. And the conflict was settled in a very anticlimactic manner. So yea, still bare bones plot but we're here for the smut and Ms Winters delivered! 

I rated this lower than the first book because I found the speed at which Lars and Alice went from unhinged toxic relationship to "mushy lovey dovey together forever"  comically contrived.

Otherwise, still a fun fast spicy read.

I don't know if this book had an editor or a beta reader but 30 pages in and I've already noticed a handful of errors like typos, forgetting to use capital letters at the start of a new sentence and other grammatical mistakes. Usually I can overlook them but these are pretty in-your-face and disrupts the story. This really reads like a Wattpad story and honestly, I've seen better written works on Wattpad.

The author tries to make the MMC "grumpy" but he comes across as a rude asshole. Literally no loving dad in the world would be angry at the person who has helped your daughter out of pretty big trouble a few times. Like heck the FMC brought his kid to the hospital when she fell from a tree and drove her home when she was stranded but the MMC is still "hmph she's young and doesn't have kids of her own so wtf is she doing around my kid". Excuse me, what???

Probably trying to push the grumpyxsunshine narrative, the author tries to write the FMC as this really cheerful woman but honestly, it feels disingenuous. The FMC keeps "bursting into a massive grin/smile" over the smallest things and laughing nonstop at absolutely nothing. 

The characters are also not behaving consistently with their ages, especially the MMC. As a 40 year old man, why are you thinking and acting like a high school boy? The way he argues with the FMC is reminiscent of a teenager in his first relationship. The FMC also retaliates in a very immature manner, mind you, she's 24 not 19. Even after her house burnt down and she's having a mental breakdown, she's somehow still getting into a petty argument with MMC about who doesn't want who. 

I tried to stick this through til the end but unfortunately, it just got too childish and silly.

If you're looking for plot, this isn't for you. If you want delicious smut, this is 100% your book. Pick this up if these are your fav spicy kinks:
🌶️ Stalker 
🌶️ Tools
🌶️ Exhibitionism
🌶️ R*pe fantasy
🌶️ Role-play

Was this full of red flags? Yes. Was the MMC unreasonable, obsessive and a complete psychopath? Yes. But was the spice absolutely delectable? YES. 

Cade is an irl worst nightmare for any woman out there. But because this is literary fiction, we're good. We're more than good 🔥 I liked that Lily didn't immediately fall into compliance and tried to fight him and hold out for quite a while. I was actually impressed she called the cops because most of the time with the stalker trope dark romance books, the cops are NEVER called. So she has my respect for that. Can't wait to check out Alice's book!

Out of the 5 Riley Sager books I've read, this one was probably the most well-written in terms of the plot. The dark and eerie atmosphere, the twists and turns, and the reveals of it all were effectively structured. 

But I think this may be the last Riley Sager book I pick up. While the plots of his books are great, something that constantly takes away from the story is his female main characters. You can just tell they were written by a man, if you get what I mean. I'm not sure how to explain it but it really feels that way.

The FMC's train of thought is often insufferable or frustrating to read. I'm noticing a pattern where they're always in an unfortunate situation but somehow still stuck-up. They just don't think/act like real women? Or rather, they think/act like the mean girls in high school despite being fully grown women. It makes it very hard for me to sympathize with the tragedies/terrible conflicts they encounter in the course of the books. 

I think the only book where both the plot was good and the FMC wasn't annoying was Lock Every Door. The other 4 books had me gritting my teeth at the way their brains worked. 

While I thoroughly enjoyed the setting and plot twists in this book, again, Kit's thoughts and behavior just had me flabbergasted and that sadly really took away from my enjoying the story. 

Cheers, Mr Sager but alas, I shall wish you all the best for your future books as I bid you adieu. 

I must say, this was a very pleasant surprise! I honestly picked this up on a whim based on the title and cover alone because I wanted to see how it would be executed but it was done very well!

The pacing in this was great. It didn't feel rushed at all and the relationship between the two main characters developed very naturally. 

This was such a cosy and heart-warming read and the ending had me smiling from ear-to-ear. 

Pick this up if you like:
❤️ Isekai
❤️ Soulmates
❤️ Found family
❤️ Cosy foresty vibes
❤️ Creatures - elves, witches, gargoyles, etc.