Book review: THE DARK BEFORE LIGHT, by L.M. Halloran

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
And to think that I almost didn’t get the book!  The BDSM trope didn’t appeal, but the blurb of the book was so intriguing that I decided to go for it, and it turned out to be one of my 2024 favorites!

Kieran and Talia met when she was 14 and he was 18 years old.  They met in a Dublin cemetery, she was drunk, he was smoking a joint.  Talia was touring with her family, her sister took her to a pub, gave her two shots, left her, the owners threw her out and she ended up drunk in the cemetery.  Kieran found her, talked to her, and took her back to her hotel.  Not without first telling her she needed to be the queen of lions, and he would be the king. She would be ok and people would kneel at her.  She’s now 31, a psychiatrist, and an old college roommate asked her to take in a new patient.  When she finds out it’s Kieran, she makes room for him.

And this is how this fantastic story begins and took me on a journey of nanotechnology, assassination attempts, a psychiatrist who is also a sex therapist, she used to work as a dominatrix, and he used to feel guilty over losing his wife and turning into a player.  The author’s writing is sophisticated and witty, the characters are complicated and so interesting.  I loved all the psychology involved in their interactions and psyches, loved the slow burn of their attraction and the ethics involved as their attraction evolves and Talia can’t manage to separate feelings and professional actions.  

This story felt like a psychological thriller, not so much from the plot against Kieran for his nanorobotics research, but from the thrills I felt at all the psychological interactions between Kieran and Talia, and Talia’s consulting with her fellow therapist Leo Chastain.  I love anything psychological, and paired with love, sex, and the bit of BDSM involved, it felt like a dream love story. There’s also real suspense, industrial espionage, bodyguards who protect with their lives on the line, attempts at their safety, nail biting, and girl gossip.  I loved that the author inserted several humorous scenes because otherwise it would have been hugely intense, I needed the relief of some laughs!

This book needs to be enjoyed page by page, every dialogue, every interaction, all their thoughts and all their feelings.  It was an intense ride and so very enjoyable, I totally recommend it! 

Purchase links

https://a.co/d/iqBtBo7

Why you need to #ONECLICK this book…

🔥Doctor/Patient

🔥Second Chance

🔥Dislike to Obsession to Love

🔥Billionaire Romance

🔥He Falls First

🔥Suspense

🔥BDSM/kink (light)

🔥Irish Hero

🔥Spicy Contemporary Romance

🔥Characters in their 30s

🔥Female Domme

🔥Alpha Hero

🔥Possessive Hero

 

About the author

When not writing or reading, the author can be found gardening barefoot or chasing her spirited daughter. Some of her favorite things are puzzles, podcasts, and small dogs that resemble Ewoks. Home is Portland, Oregon.

Connect with L.M. Halloran:

https://www.lmhalloran.com/links/

 

OWN, by Sienna Snow

Violent Desires #3

I loved this finale!  Sophia and Damon are broken up, and yet, the love they have for each other is undeniable.  Both are suffering, Damon feels guilty and Sophia feels broken.  Incredibly, it’s Lucian who interferes after Damon’s drunken bender and convinces him to fight for Sophia.  Loved when Eva Morelli appears at Damon’s condo and has Lucian heat up her famous gnocchi for them! Lucian is a grump but there’s no denying the love he feels for his sisters.

In this last book of the trilogy, we see a Sophia who feels more evolved in spite of her heartbreak and a Damon who faced his demons and is determined to get his lady back.  I love seeing Damon loving Sophia and accepting her with all her brattiness.  There’s a wonderful scene between Sophia and her mother where both bare their hearts and achieve something that Sophia had never had, a loving mother talking to her and giving heartfelt advice.

The banter between Lucian and Damon feels like fighting but seems to be their way to be friends. They are loyal but insulting, and it seems to work for them.  All the Morelli siblings appear here, in some way, and it’s clear the link between them and how they are one against the parental units.  

We see Damon, affected by a dark childhood and learning to overcome his issues, thanks to Sophia.  Their coming together, both with kink and with hearts open is sweet and spicy.  In the first book, I saw Damon as the strong one and Sophia as the young one, learning the ropes.  In this book, they feel equal and I saw a Damon loving his bratty girl and wanting her happiness above his.  Great trilogy!

Purchase links

Amazon: https://bit.ly/41f1LgR

Apple Books: https://bit.ly/41qWjHZ

Nook: https://bit.ly/483Or12

Kobo: https://bit.ly/489M2SF

Google Play: https://bit.ly/3GLlwmN

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3uR3rBl

About the author

Inspired by her years working in corporate America, Sienna loves to serve up stories woven around confident and successful women who know what they want and how to get it, both in—and out—of the bedroom.

Her heroines are fresh, well-educated, and often find love and romance through atypical circumstances.  Sienna treats her readers to enticing slices of hot romance infused with empowerment and indulgent satisfaction.

Sienna loves the life of travel and adventure.  She plans to visit even the farthest corners of the world and delight in experiencing the variety of cultures along the way. When she isn't writing or traveling, Sienna is working on her "happily ever after" with her husband and children.

 

Connect with Sienna

Website: https://siennasnow.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15076071.Sienna_Snow

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sienna-Snow/author/B01M1DHVMD/

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorsiennasnow/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bysiennasnow/

X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/sienna_snow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authorsiennasnow

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sienna-snow

Book review: CLAIM, by Sienna Snow

Violent Delights #1

Damon & Sophia

 I was so interested in reading about Sophia, the Morelli family wild child.  She’s charming, so broken because she feels like the family outcast.  Worried about only the family’s reputation, both parents chastise her every time she hits the headlines, and never once did they ask if the gossip is true or if she needs help.  The only one who worries about her is her brother Lucian, who is the other outcast in the family.

She’s looking for something, she needs something, but doesn’t know what.  Researching her sexual desires, she hits her brother’s BDSM club, Violent Delights, and there she meets Damon Pierce.  An experienced Dom, they have a scene, and they find something they had never experienced before.  And an obsession is born!

Both Sophia and Damon have darkness and something traumatic in the past.  Most of it is revealed in this book, but it ends in a cliffhanger and the resolution is to be found in the sequel.

Interestingly, I found their kink scenes riveting.  I loved reading Damon’s care in handling Sophia during a BDSM scene, his need to protect her and giving her what she needed to achieve total freedom and satisfaction.  In spite of Damon having a sordid past, Sophia felt safe in his arms, something she’d never felt before.  I loved the development of feelings between these too, and loved Lucian’s protectiveness towards his little sister.  Sophia is defiant but craves love.  She insists on standing on her own shoes but loves having her brother and Damon on her side.  

The dynamics of the Morelli family are shown, and we get to see Eva, pregnant and in love, preparing for her wedding to Finn.  Baby sister Lizzy also appears, and we learn that all the siblings cooperate to protect her from their parents dysfunction.

My main complaint about this book it that it didn’t flow.  Usually there is a seamless change between scenes and chapters but it didn’t happen in this book.  The characters and the plot were well developed, and I felt there was too much repetition about Damon’s guilt over a past submissive who had a tragical end.  Apart from this, it was interesting and riveting, and I was glad to finally meet Sophia, up close and personal.  She’s lovely and Damon is drool-worthy.  Together they are dynamite and perfectly matched.

Purchase links

Amazon: https://bit.ly/42DmL1a

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/ClaimSS

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3JEgo4X

Nook: http://bit.ly/3nXcz3W

Kobo: https://bit.ly/43hQEEM

Google Play: https://bit.ly/3zHBOtC

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3TBeln2

About the author 

Inspired by her years working in corporate America, Sienna loves to serve up stories woven around confident and successful women who know what they want and how to get it, both in—and out—of the bedroom.

Her heroines are fresh, well-educated, and often find love and romance through atypical circumstances.  Sienna treats her readers to enticing slices of hot romance infused with empowerment and indulgent satisfaction.

Sienna loves the life of travel and adventure.  She plans to visit even the farthest corners of the world and delight in experiencing the variety of cultures along the way. When she isn't writing or traveling, Sienna is working on her "happily ever after" with her husband and children.

 

Connect with Sienna

Website: https://siennasnow.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15076071.Sienna_Snow

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sienna-Snow/author/B01M1DHVMD/

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorsiennasnow/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bysiennasnow/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sienna_snow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authorsiennasnow

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sienna-snow