A freebie available on stuff your kindle day but will it live up to my (albeit not high) expectations?
Dates read: 24/04/24 to 25/04/24
Word to describe: Mortal
Star rating:⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Dark Romance
As always, I believe readers should take the time to consider the trigger warning associated with books prior to reading them. Please view my shorthand list of trigger warnings and come to the conclusion on whether this book is for you.
Trigger warnings: abduction, sexual assault, abusive violence, prostitution.
This book was not one that I thought I would find myself reading. The blurb was incredibly messy and embraced a toxic relationship that drips heavy with Stockholm syndrome. However, it was on the list of recommended reading for stuff your kindle day and, as someone who never truly neglects a good freebie, it was one that I had to test the waters with.
The story begins with an upper class charity do, in which our male protagonist, Angel (fitting if it weren't so ironic), meets the feisty Liberty. It is love at first sight, at least that is what the author tries to instil in her readers. It is more akin to desperate obsession and pathological stalker behaviour - at first sight. Angel's character is presented as a brooding hyper masculine and charming man, but, in reality his persona is nothing more than a beguiling smile, which hides his violent and tortured reality. Liberty, despite her innocence and lack of knowledge, at this point in the story is in great danger. Lesson learned - don't ask for a cigarette from a stranger unless you wish to be sold by to the sex trade.
Liberty's story, on the other hand, begins with her husband. A brutish man, whom, from the one chapter, appears needs a good lesson in manners and how to treat women. He, the epitome of the patriarchy, expects his young wife to bow down to his elderly man-ness. I think not. Suddenly, deciding he is bored of Liberty being the perfect wife, he has her sold, and kidnapped, to live out her days as an obedient sex slave to an island filled with men who enjoy dominating and assaulting the women in their life. How charming.
Now, this is where the fun begins. Put a passionately kick-ass women into a room of other women and tell her this is her new home. You can't leave, you can't say no, and you must be in a state of undress the entire time. Paradise, right? Yeah, I'm going to go with Liberty on this one and raise hell trying to escape. Which, also, inevitably leads to her being beaten, starved, sexually assaulted, and put on a hit list. That is a lot for just a few weeks on the island. Luckily for Liberty, she has a few friends she can deal with and, of course, Mr A (remember Angel, he's called Mr A now and he is so mysterious and dangerous swoon).
I understand where the author was going with this. If I could fight that little voice in my head that just had to know where this was going, I might have DNF'd this book. But, no. There was just something about this that made me want to read on. Maybe it was Liberty's defiance, or Mr A's good boy persona that weened it's way into my curiosity, but I had to keep reading. I know I can't believe it either. I actually enjoyed this hot mess of a story.
The complicated relationship between Liberty and Angel was well explored and, despite the circumstances, made sense. Liberty's dependence on Angel for both safety and security is well established and commented on by both characters. It is known that the island is a disgusting place and acknowledged by several characters (apart from those that have been brain-washed into thinking it is a form of sexual paradise). The story borderlines between chaotic good and chaotic evil. There is so much going on that the plot is fast paced and races readers through several plot lines that somehow come together to create a mash up that kind of works. The premise is horrifying, that's for certain, but it's good?
I don't know. This book left me baffled, somehow wanting more, and led to me buying the rest of the series. Maybe toxic smut is my new thing - either that or I have been cursed with horrific taste in storylines.
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