Honor Stone is all alone in this world. No family, no money, no future. So when she locks eyes with Strike Madden—in the morgue of all places—she’s not in the mood to be seduced. Sure, he’s drop-dead gorgeous, and the sizzle of attraction between them is undeniable, but she’s reeling from her identical twin sister’s murder. It’s the wrong time, wrong place, wrong everything.
Still, the enigmatic billionaire hires Honor as an artist to spearhead his carefully curated erotic animation studio—a job they soon find to be a dangerous mix of business and pleasure.
But when her twin’s obsessive killer targets Honor, the painful secrets of Honor’s traumatic past will finally be exposed with devastating consequences. Strike will stop at nothing to protect her, uncovering his own bone-chilling demons—a beautifully broken, dark side that doesn’t scare Honor…
It consumes her.
Release Date: Jan 28, 2025
Heat Level: Scorching
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $12.99
When Honor and Strike meet, they never think they will be on a dark journey of mystery, lust, and intrigue. Honor just faced a devasting loss. She was left all alone in the world after her twin sister was murdered. Strike saw something in her, and he offered her a place in his world. When danger presents itself, they both cling to each other despite the past and future threatening to destroy them and their passion.
This story is not at all what I thought it would be. I thought this would have been a romantic suspense thriller. It was very heavy on the romance. A darker romance than I had anticipated. I think the characters’ emotions were all over the place. I could not get a real feel for them together. The suspense and thrill of the twin sister’s killer targeting her kind of got pushed to the side. I expected more intensity and drama. Instead, I got a lot of erotica. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mind, but I went into this with different expectations.
The characters never really grow from the time they meet in the beginning until the end. Honor is alone and dealing with a lot. The attraction to Strike is undeniable. He is rich and sexy. The spice level is off the charts. This read is for the people who love a little smut in their romance.
Strike is a character that I never felt like I really knew. As a reader, he remained a mystery outside of the surface and physical intimacy he showed. I wish the author would have delved further into his character. At least with Honor, we got past POV, which showed a bit of development and pain.
Honestly, I did not really know how to rate this story because I still do not know how to categorize it. It did not leave an impression on me despite me reading it all in one sitting. However, I would still recommend it for fans of dark romance stories.
~ Samantha
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