Who let me sleep on this book?! Are. You. Kidding. Me?!? 💥 💥 💥 After starting and stopping a few other books recently, this story brought me out of a terrible book slump. I’m not sure why I didn’t read this one sooner. I had seen some mentions in various book groups but was worried it wouldn’t be for me because I personally have come to find out that I have a terrible relationship with MC romance. 😆 I don’t know why but every time I open an mc book, the story is so cliche or it’s repetitive and I just get bored easily with the dynamics of everything. I can’t explain it. But this story….wow, it blew me away!!! For once, I started and actually finished an mc book that held my attention and was unputdownable! Yay for me! 🖤
I was shocked to discover that this is the author’s first book. It is written so incredibly well with care to its characters and the backstory is so vivid. I felt like this was a real story. Nothing felt silly, forced for shock value or cliche. It was such a subtle yet poignant emotional story, with a dark lining around it due to its subject matter and themes….and it’s only Part 1 of 2!!! I’m scared lol 😂 I’m about to dive into book 2 now and all I can say is I’m pleasantly surprised by this debut book! It had so much to say and the way it was written, it’s one of those stories where you feel a lot as you’re reading it! I don’t come across many of those that make me feel everything all at once, but those usually end up being my favorites! 🥰
I’m not sure how to explain this book. I think it’s best to just dive in blind but without giving much away, this story is about a young girl Mina (the heroine), who is taken into an MC family because one of the club members, James, falls in love with her mom. Mina’s real dad isn’t in the picture anymore so she clings to this new family as she finally has a new father figure to look up to who loves and supports her and in this new family, she also gains a new stepbrother, Shay. Shay is a troubled kid, he’s also around 6 years older and he’s got a darkness to him that only she can tame. From a young age, he becomes her protector and he looks out for her as she grows up. There are some bordering on taboo topics to the story that may not be for everyone especially given the h’s age difference in the beginning but I thought the author handled it well especially the way it was written.
At around the same time, another male character from a rival MC (Keenan) who her stepbrother has warned her to stay away from, he hates him, for unknown reasons at this point…takes interest in Mina and they develop a sort of penpal relationship, Keenan also helps encourage the h’s love of ballet 🩰 and even meets her at practices to act as her personal coach and motivator. The h falls hard for him…all the while hiding all of this from her stepbrother, because he will not allow her to date or go out with anyone due to his fierce protectiveness over her. Not to mention it’s his enemy, although she isn’t sure why they are enemies, because Keenan has only been caring, selfless and supportive of her.
There’s so much more to the story though and the heroine, although a good girl who is always there for everyone and never does anything wrong, is always caught in the middle of a conflict, which she sometimes feels is her own fault or responsibility, when it’s actually not. But she can’t help but feel that way when it’s her being the topic of discussion…she’s constantly trying to make everyone happy but sometimes she is hurt in the process and must shoulder the weight of everything. I really connected well with her as well as the other characters in the book. These characters felt vivid and real and not made up for romance fantasy, if that makes sense. There are no various POV chapters. It’s all told in heroine’s perspective and told in Past/present back to back chapters, which I didn’t find jarring or annoying.
This is a book that I would classify as the beginning of a love triangle/slight age gap story, with a taboo edge and MC backdrop. I cried at the end of this book as it has an emotional cliffhanger that is an integral part of the story and we are literally left hanging bad! 💥 . There’s so much that just hasn’t been told yet because I’m not seeing the whole picture, so I can’t wait to read the next one! I applaud this author for her dynamic way of creating such a flawlessly, emotional experience in this story. I’m not sure who to root for! Shay? Keenan? Someone else??? I dunno!!! 😬💥😂 I’m scared, elated, inspired, nervous and not sure where this story will go, but those are my favorite types of stories and I’m definitely looking forward to Part 2 and future releases from this new-to-me author! Bravo! 🥂🖤
5 daisies!!! 5/5*****
Breakdown:
•Stepbrother romance
•Forbidden romance
•Slight age gap
•Past/Present chapters told back to back
•heroine’s POV
•Angsty
•Love triangle
•Emotional storytelling
•Triggers
•Loving someone from childhood/holding out for someone/waiting out your soulmate
•MC/gang romance
•h is a ballerina/enjoys cooking for the club but has serious qualms about the MC lifestyle
•Stepbrother is MC enforcer
•2nd possible Hero-Keenan- in rival/opposing MC gang, he’s totally opposite of stepbrother. He loves the heroine too. He’s the most selfless of the two heroes.
•Stepbrother Shay characteristics- pierced lip, tattoos, enforcer, long dark shaggy hair, silver/gray eyes. Wears a cut. Has a talent with knifes, trouble sleeping/insomnia/fights daily battles with his own demons due to his daily mc duties which haunt him from a younger age. h is his bright part of his day. h is the only one who can calm him down when he’s enraged or having a downward spiral. He calls her Sweetness. He’s loved the h since a young age. He’s extremely overprotective, possessive to the point of being unable to breathe lol 😆 and will kill anyone who even looks at h. He doesn’t allow h to date or go out much unless he’s with her.
•Keenan characteristics-from another gang, Shay hates him, Keenan is more light, positive, funny, inspiring, selfless, encouraging, he has tattoos, blonde hair, blue eyes. He works at his MC club’s garage fixing cars/bikes. He’s loved the h since a young age. He calls h Sunshine. He likes teasing her & seeing her tease him back. He seems more laid back and not as demanding and scary moody as Shay. He wants what is best for h, including wanting her to get out of this lifestyle. He also wears a cut but doesn’t worship it like h has seen her stepbrother and stepdad do with theirs. He’s also had to work hard for the things he has so he appreciates them.
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Popular Highlights in this book
“I love you, Mina. You know that, right? I’m here for you. I’ll always be here. I won’t abandon you. I won’t leave. I’ll take care of you. I promise.”Highlighted by 447 Kindle readers- “I’m sick of waiting. I want you to be officially mine. I love you more than anything, Mina.”Highlighted by 338 Kindle readers
- “You love me, I know you do! You belong to me, Mina! You always have.”Highlighted by 256 Kindle readers
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Reviews with images
Devoured this with a shovel
📖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 📖⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Did I devour this in one day? Yes. Yes I did. Did I stay up until 1am like I didn’t have to wake up for my job? Yes. Yes I did.Current thoughts. This is a double whammy taboo. There’s an age gap 16/22yr olds. And step siblings.𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗬: is such a lost soul. My heart does ache for him in the sense that he latches on to Mina for comfort ever drive they were kids. Definitely not in a healthy manner. He has such inner demons, a lot in part due to the club and his role. And he searches for his solace in Mina.𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔: I love how we got from past to present with Mina. Seeing her grow and develop into the young woman she’s becoming. She’s such a strong character, and was brought into this world that she really didn’t think too much into. Until she’s gotten older and has walked in on situations that open her eyes to the life her step father and step brother are part of.𝗞𝗘𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗡: He’s really pulling at my heart strings. Now don’t get me wrong. Their relationship is also taboo. As he’s also in his early 20’s. But he seems to always put Mina’s needs before his own. He wants her to flourish, and not be trapped— no matter how much he wants to keep her to himself.𝙄’𝙢 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙏𝙬𝙤. 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙.
Top reviews from other countries
Birgit (runbibirun)
Dark and Forbidden Romance
Reviewed in Germany on October 1, 2023
