Sinners Duet
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Release Date: October 20, 2021
Genre: Dark Romance
Blurb:
I loathe Alastar Shaw.
The City of San Francisco thinks we're rival artists.
In truth, we're predators battling for hunting ground.
We never chased the same prey. Until the night we both laid eyes on Mara Eldritch.
Shaw wants to use her as a pawn in his twisted game.
I'm fixated on her for a different reason...
She makes me feel things I never thought I could feel. Want things I never wanted.
Only she can make me lose control.
I don't know if I should protect her at all costs... or destroy her before she ruins me.
Mara knows I'm not a saint. But she has no idea she's dancing with the devil...
Review:
Read the trigger warnings for this mindfuck! Oh and this review will contain profanity and possible spoilers...you've been warned.
What the fuck did I just read? Honest answer, I have no idea but I loved every second of it! I devoured this book like it was a bag of Reese's Pieces, probably bad for me, but so damn good I couldn't resist. 5 twisted stars for Sophie Lark and this book!
I'm not sure exactly how to put my thoughts into a cohesive review so I take a deep breath with me and let's dive in...
Shaw and Cole are flat out terrifying. They're serial killers while also being very high profile artists. Shaw is the predator that women hear about on crime podcasts, he stalks his prey, tortures them, brutally mutilates them and leaves them to be discovered. He loves the notoriety of being the Beast of the Bay. Cole is a more refined serial killer. He's methodical, acts only with a plan and follows through with precision. What these two both have are egos with no comparison.
"I do what I want. I get what I want. Always. Every time."
Mara is a badass heroine, but also I find myself wondering "what the hell is going on in your head?" She has to be somewhat psychotic herself to be drawn to a man like Cole. He's manipulative, calculated and eerily focused... until Mara. Her ability to challenge him and hold her own was amazing. She's humiliated by Cole when their relationship first starts to progress and instead of wilting and running away, she gets back at Cole by screwing another man in her studio for him to see. That entire scene I read slack jawed and thinking "oh my shit" up until she hangs the evidence as a "fuck you" to Cole in his office. The interesting thing about this relationship is that Mara knows just how dangerous he is and he never acts as if he's anything but a predator.
"He frightens me. And yet, it's the terror that heightens every moment in his presence. I can smell his scent, hot and exhilarating. I can see the veins running up his forearms, and even perceive the pulse of pumping blood. I want to kiss him again."
As with any good romance, there has to be a level of spice and sex scenes. I'm all for sex scenes, but interestingly enough, there is only one sex scene between Mara and Cole. It's intense and like the rest of the book it was totally hot, way beyond fucked up and had me questioning EVERYTHING!
"Cole growls in my ear, 'Here's what you need to understand Mara: it's okay for bad things to feel good. You can take pleasure from whatever you want."
This book is part of a duet, with the second book coming out in December (I'll link it below) and my mind is in a frenzy about which way the second book will go. Will Mara travel down the path that Cole is on? How will Shaw up his game? What other perverse things will happen? I'm here for it all.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐+
Release Date: December 1, 2021
Genre: Dark Romance
Blurb:
I Couldn't Kill Mara....
But that doesn't mean Shaw won't.
She's living in my house, always with me, always under my control.
The more I push her, the more she pushes back.
She's peeling away my secrets, one by one. And I'm tempting her to do things she never thought she'd do...
Shaw won't stop hunting her.
When the time comes to act, will Mara be ready?
Review:
Thank you to Sophie Lark and Social Butterfly PR for the ARC.
Please read trigger warnings prior to reading, this book has very dark themes.
All the stars and more! WOW, just WOW. I had to take some time to think about what I was going to put in this review. It's been a while since a book or duet in this case has left me utterly speechless. The brilliance, depth of story and character development, dialogue and writing in general was astounding. I sat full of anxiety throughout the pinnacle of this story and then was brought back from the brink of a breakdown to get our HEA.
The connection between Cole and Mara was intense although in this book we get to see the lighter side of their relationship. Cole is beginning to understand that his obsession with Mara could possibly be something more, maybe even love. He wants to own Mara and control every aspect of her life and while that seems abusive in normal situations, for these two it just works. He pushes and she pushes back until they're locked in a hot, sweaty and somewhat deranged sexual experience.
"She's out of her fucking mind, and so am I. Our madness aligns in all the right ways."
After finishing this book, I had to reach out to Sophie Lark and let her know that she had created an amazing book. Mara really came alive with this book and grew into something fierce and confident. Yes, this is a story about serial killers, their rivalry and the girl caught in the middle, but it's so much more also. It's a story of a girl overcoming her painful, abusive past to become strength personified.
"In fact, as I rise from the bed, I feel clean and whole. A bit lighter, as if I shed off a weight I didn't even know I was carrying."
Sophie Lark opens herself up and shares her struggles with her readers in the dedication of this book and in so many ways I could feel her strength bleed through the pages as we watch Mara grow. This is officially the first series where I actively cheered for the serial killer to get his happily ever after and for the heroine to embrace her dark side. I cheered for the closure Mara finds and sat on pins and needles as the story resolved itself.
"...I think to myself that humans don't learn things all on their own. Someone has to teach us. It might be necessary for someone to believe in us before we can believe in ourselves.
I CANNOT give this book enough praise and I will recommend it to anyone who will listen. Read it and get lost in this dark, mad world. You'll question yourself on so many levels, but ultimately you'll be glad you read it. The playlists are a must and are now on a continuous loop for me throughout the day.
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