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Coastal Elite #1
Even If It Hurts
Originally published in the Filthy Elites anthology April 2022!
He could have been my hero.
He saved my life that night, a beautiful dark angel slicing through my fear and the water, dragging me from its deadly clutches.
He should have been my hero.
I thought maybe he was.
Villains aren’t supposed to win, and good should always conquer evil, but in the elite coastal town I live in, the only purpose a label has is letting you know what something�or someone—costs. Good, bad; it’s all relative, and it hardly matters. Baymont, California is a land of beautiful villains and happy-ever-afters that are just out of reach.
Especially for me.
Until Dare moves the world beneath my feet, and even though I’m afraid to trust it—to trust him—boy, am I tempted.
In more ways than one.
Being with Dare is scary, but being without him is impossible.
He makes it impossible.
Dare’s no hero, that much is clear, but maybe�
Maybe he’s mine.
This story contains triggers and is intended only for a mature, adult audience. See the opening author's note for more explicit triggers, but know this is a very dangerous relationship with a very dark hero.
He could have been my hero.
He saved my life that night, a beautiful dark angel slicing through my fear and the water, dragging me from its deadly clutches.
He should have been my hero.
I thought maybe he was.
Villains aren’t supposed to win, and good should always conquer evil, but in the elite coastal town I live in, the only purpose a label has is letting you know what something�or someone—costs. Good, bad; it’s all relative, and it hardly matters. Baymont, California is a land of beautiful villains and happy-ever-afters that are just out of reach.
Especially for me.
Until Dare moves the world beneath my feet, and even though I’m afraid to trust it—to trust him—boy, am I tempted.
In more ways than one.
Being with Dare is scary, but being without him is impossible.
He makes it impossible.
Dare’s no hero, that much is clear, but maybe�
Maybe he’s mine.
This story contains triggers and is intended only for a mature, adult audience. See the opening author's note for more explicit triggers, but know this is a very dangerous relationship with a very dark hero.
426 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 27, 2022
1692 people are currently reading
12443 people want to read
About the author
Sam Mariano
50books4,692followersFollow Sam Mariano on , Instagram (@sammarianobooks), or check out her If you need to email her, she can be reached at [email protected] (but she is sometimes tardy about checking email. Mateo is very demanding).
Sign up for Sam's (to stay up to date on current projects--she won't spam you! Only for notification of new releases or book sales.)
All of Sam's books are available on ! (And don't forget to follow Sam's to get notified about the newest releases.)
Sam Mariano has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She lives in Ohio and has a sweet and wonderful daughter.
Because of You was her first finished story (she started writing it when she was 18) and due to a full-time work and college schedule, it took her years to finish. She has also been telling people for years that there would never be a sequel (sorry, guys!)…which turned out to be a lie.
Sam Mariano is currently working on Dante’s book (if you’re a Morelli reader) and some other WIP.
Feel free to find her on Facebook, ŷ, or her blog—she loves hearing from readers!
Sign up for Sam's (to stay up to date on current projects--she won't spam you! Only for notification of new releases or book sales.)
All of Sam's books are available on ! (And don't forget to follow Sam's to get notified about the newest releases.)
Sam Mariano has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She lives in Ohio and has a sweet and wonderful daughter.
Because of You was her first finished story (she started writing it when she was 18) and due to a full-time work and college schedule, it took her years to finish. She has also been telling people for years that there would never be a sequel (sorry, guys!)…which turned out to be a lie.
Sam Mariano is currently working on Dante’s book (if you’re a Morelli reader) and some other WIP.
Feel free to find her on Facebook, ŷ, or her blog—she loves hearing from readers!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,489 reviews
May 4, 2022
4.99 stars.
A natural-born psychopath (entranced)
saves
a simple-minded idiot (affectionately)
from an embarrassing death in his daddy's swimming pool and gets mistaken for an angel;
the �delusion� that marks the beginning of a beautifully abusive, blackmail-induced, horror-inspired happily ever after. 😍😍😍
Should I start writing synopses, huh?
Meet Aubrey (h) and Dare (H), swept away in their whirlwind romance where the words "no" and "stop" simply do not exist. 😍😍😍
Trigger warning: Dare is His Own Warning, somnophilia, non-con drugging, rape, manhandling, rough sex
If you love a hero who doesn't ask for permission, you've come to the right place. But if you love a hero who doesn't care enough to listen to the protests... you might've stumbled upon your second home.
Before going off the deep end, I feel like it needs to be said that this book features a very weird romantic relationship dynamics. While I hate to apply abnormal � a word for anything that doesn’t fit someone's current understanding of the world � to anything book-related, somehow it feels right here.
Except, you'll never have this particular guy shouting in front of your door for you to let him in the house. As if he might need permission, what a ridiculous notion. 🤦🏼♀�
For that he already has the copy of your house key stashed away securely somewhere in his cupboard, saved for the rainy day. So thoughtful. So meticulous.So mine 😩
What's to love?
Dare was hard power and, when he needed to be, soft power incarnated.
He didn't like what the object of his obsession had to say about him shoving her aggressively into the cushions, manhandling and brutally using her body? He just put his hand on her mouth and kept the ball rolling as if the muffled sounds of his girl's protests were the best prelude he could have ever asked for. Her pained cries? The best accompaniment.
But instead of putting up a little fight or at least filing a police report for the sexual assault, this girl softly kissed the hand that was effectively muffling her pleas to stop?
Not another Match Made in Heaven created by my favorite matchmaker, Miss Mariano.
Still not convinced these two complement each other perfectly?
� Aubrey just found out that Dare had nailed some perfectly harmless girl (who wrote a nasty haiku about Aubrey's 😺slutty😺 ways ) to a park bench while contemplating the idea of shoving a stick in her vagina for good measure, and the only thing this damn girl could come up with was that??? Whoa, that's pretty impressive dedication, dude???? 🤡🤚🏻🤣🤣🤣
That haiku claiming that Aubrey is a whorebag turned out to be so unintentionally true, by the way. The troll girl should have known that Aubrey accepted $300 (and another hundred as a tip from Dare who had the audacity to finger her pus😺 while she was unconscious and then ponder on how much he should pay for it sjajajajsj) from Dare for shooting him an erotic picture of herself in lingerie.
Honestly, Aubrey should have charged more.
It's not every day that you lose your self-respect. <333333
Just kidding, this is a free-from-judgment zone.
👑Prostitute yourself all you want👑
All the better when a john turns out the love of your life and pays for your mom's treatment.
But back to the point... are you still refusing adamantly to acknowledge the truth of their perfect compatibility?? No, don't answer that. We both know that you are not.
I still can't believe how effortlessly natural and hilariously casual Dare was about his antisocial disorder. So comfortable in his own skin. This guy manipulated me ruthlessly into giggling like a freshman.
He said the most terrible, outrageous things that had me giddy with excitement, and his nonchalant delivery was so hilarious it caused butterflies to laugh quietly in my belly.😍
Have you ever come across a person who jokes and makes you laugh like a maniac, yet every time they do their face remains stoically straight, and at some point you come to realize that they're just being perfectly serious saying the funniest shit??
Well, that's Dare. He pretended like he was joking, but no one with a few brain cells to spare had been fooled by his nonchalance. He totally wasn't. 😍 I laughed anyway.😍
On top of being a very formidable, scary and effortlessly hilarious psychopath with dry humor, Dare (H) couldput on an act be oddly sweet, tender and thoughtful. That is when he didn't frame his enemies, or kidnap and gently torture the heroine. For the sake of her safety, of course. <3333
The stark contrast between Dare's occasional gentleness and selfish generosity and his underlying brutality that waited impatiently to come out and play had a very nice edge to it. 🤌🏻
I actually can't believe Sam said something like that
in her author's note.
This had me confused for a hot minute. Heartbreaking, especially when it comes from this author... where do your loyalties lie, Miss Mariano? 🤡🤡🤡
Did these cruel words need to be said just because Dare slashed Aubrey's tires with a knife and framed his future ex-girlfriend by leaving her manicured fingernail (the one he had broken so casually not a day before😍) by Aubrey's car only to barge in and save the day later??👉🏻🥺👈🏻
As if him acting like Aubrey's chauffeur for two days straight, buying her groceries and paying for the auto repair shop afterward do qualify for nothing. 🤦🏼♀� Cut the guy some slack, he merely wanted to spend some quality time alone with Aubrey is all.
Don't even start me on Dare's religious dedication to following through with his promise.
It could have anyone questioning their life choices, pondering over existential matters and reshaping, for lack of a better word, the concept of true love and loyalty.
The moment Aubrey specified that she wanted exclusivity with him (which was pretty early on), as in none of his body part was allowed to enter any hole that wasn't exclusively hers, what did my king do? He obliged religiously. 🛐
No matter the challenging circumstances and regardless of dire needs (begging to be satisfied), this guy seems to have surrendered his whole life to the cause of keeping his word.
✨The loyalty�
Just take a look at those few beautiful moments of his epic sacrifice in the name of love:
� baby boy had to make adjustments to his revenge plan. 💔
You see, there was this one girl who wrote an insulting haiku about our sweet Aubrey (notoriously famous for being a girl of iron will, her principles made of steel).
Naturally, Dare took the insult a bit personally and
nailed this girl with his daddy's nail gun to a park bench.
He wanted this online troll to be utterly humiliated when people found her so he pondered on penetrating her with a pinecone or a stick but remembered suddenly that he was not single. Aubrey wouldn't approve that kind of behavior. And the revenge king refrained, grinding teeth, squeezing knuckles and all...
But if you think his punishment wasn't creative enough, don't leap to conclusions just yet. Dare took it upon himself to write a haiku in response, when he could easily resort to the help of his large army of nerd soldiers at his beck and call. It's the effort for me.
C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E K-I-N-G IF I EVER SAW ONE. 😍
He couldn't take notes in the classroom for shit so what? Getting revenge is another kettle of fish. �
He has got class, bbe, can you hear that?? Ain't got no time to mansplain.
The guy's priorities were all in perfect order. Acting unaffected when exposed had no right to look that good on anyone. 🥵
Somewhere between ruining lives, framing people who had had the misfortune of getting in the way of his relationship with Aubrey and dishing out punishments, the guy attended his classes and examined the ranks of his nerd army like Napoleon would.
(reviewers who talk trash about Aubrey, make sure it's not a haiku... just in case)
� while delivering the rape threat (among other things) to Aubrey's friend Hannah, he gave her a nice scare by touching her shoulder, stroking her neck and pressing on her lip... just short of penetrating her mouth. Made the girl shudder in revulsion and nearly burst into tears without breaking his promise to Aubrey. No penetration, isn't that right? 🥵
The lengths he went to in his quest to keep away the person who interfered with his plans to keep Aubrey where he needed her to be � under his complete and utter control � were pretty impressive. Impressive dedication � @Aubrey about every single terrible stunt he pulled on someone.
Clueless, oblivious, controlled, manipulated. Fed with Part Trues, Half Lies. Aubrey energy. 😍
Dare putting a leash on his psychopathy to spare Aubrey's feelings and ensure she had no reason for being jealous was so chivalrous.
Anyone ever says chivalry is dead, I’m sending them straight to Dare. 😍
And all he ever asked of her in return was to never cheat on him. 😌
Just imagine being so powerful that just by not doing something
� you save some unknown guy from the fate of being brutally murdered by your complete fucking psycho of a boyfriend
� you spare your female friend from being raped by *surprise-surprise* your complete fucking psycho of a boyfriend
� and you also ensure that the said complete fucking psycho of a boyfriend doesn't turn your life into solitary hell with him as your only company: 😍
Miss Mariano knows a thing or two about female empowerment. 💅🏻
Even I felt strangely empowered the moment these words left Dare's lips. 🥵
You breathe, you eat, you have a rape kit done just in case but you don't make a report (Dare merely didn't want Aubrey to be torn apart in a court room. 🥺🥺🥺 I swear this guy always kept in mind what was in Aubrey's best interest 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻), you don't let any other man touch you, and you have a bright future laid bare ahead of you...
I think those who like paying attention to detail, piecing together what is said and done with what is implied will find this book interesting.
Rather than classifying the story as dark, I'd describe it with adjectives like disturbing, arresting, memorable, evocative.
Now once we covered all the basics, it's time to announce that
THE EMBARRASSING PART OF THIS REVIEW IS SADLY OVER. The time has come to roast this heroine, currently heating the oven to 425°F
I HAVE NO CHARACTERS LEFT
🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
BUT I ALREADY WROTE THE WHOLE ASS SEQUEL TO THIS CLOWNERY SO IMMA POST THE REST OF THE REVIEW ON THE ANTHOLOGY'S (where the story is originally published) PAGE, HUH
the link for onlyfans 😘
Someone take away my comp right now, will you <3333
A natural-born psychopath (entranced)
saves
a simple-minded idiot (affectionately)
from an embarrassing death in his daddy's swimming pool and gets mistaken for an angel;
the �delusion� that marks the beginning of a beautifully abusive, blackmail-induced, horror-inspired happily ever after. 😍😍😍
Should I start writing synopses, huh?
“Oh my god, what are you doing? People can see.�
Rather than let go, his grip on my jaw tightens. His other hand goes to my waist so he can control me better as he rumbles, “Let them see.�
I can feel a cold sweat about to break out. “Dare, let me go.�
“N.� His grip on my jaw tightens almost painfully. “I will kiss you wherever and whenever the fuck I want to,� he says carefully. “And I don’t care if Hannah or Anae or anyone else fucking likes it. You’re mine, and I will do whatever the fuck I want to do with you. Do you understand?�
I swallow, my heart pounding unsteadily in my chest.
Meet Aubrey (h) and Dare (H), swept away in their whirlwind romance where the words "no" and "stop" simply do not exist. 😍😍😍
Trigger warning: Dare is His Own Warning, somnophilia, non-con drugging, rape, manhandling, rough sex
If you love a hero who doesn't ask for permission, you've come to the right place. But if you love a hero who doesn't care enough to listen to the protests... you might've stumbled upon your second home.
“Dare, can we switch positions—�
“N.�
He pauses to reposition himself over me, then resumes pounding into me. It feels like a deliberate violation, but surely he doesn’t mean for it to.
Occasionally, a little cry slips out of me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he really likes it because rather than ease up and see if I’m okay, he shoves into me harder.
Before going off the deep end, I feel like it needs to be said that this book features a very weird romantic relationship dynamics. While I hate to apply abnormal � a word for anything that doesn’t fit someone's current understanding of the world � to anything book-related, somehow it feels right here.
He catches my tears on his fingertips, looking at them like they fascinate him.
“It must be horrible to feel so afraid,� he says calmly, rubbing his thumb over my tears until he’s rubbed them into his skin. “To feel so powerless,� he adds, taking a heavy step forward and meeting my gaze.
Except, you'll never have this particular guy shouting in front of your door for you to let him in the house. As if he might need permission, what a ridiculous notion. 🤦🏼♀�
For that he already has the copy of your house key stashed away securely somewhere in his cupboard, saved for the rainy day. So thoughtful. So meticulous.
What's to love?
Dare was hard power and, when he needed to be, soft power incarnated.
He didn't like what the object of his obsession had to say about him shoving her aggressively into the cushions, manhandling and brutally using her body? He just put his hand on her mouth and kept the ball rolling as if the muffled sounds of his girl's protests were the best prelude he could have ever asked for. Her pained cries? The best accompaniment.
He knocks me right out of my post-orgasm bubble with the violence. At first, I think maybe he dropped me, but then he parts my thighs and shoves his cock into me so aggressively, I cry out.
My heart pounds as he forces his way deeper into my body. I try to push myself up, but he places a hand on my back and shoves me face-down into the mattress.
“Oh, fuck,� he says, driving into my pussy, not letting me move.
I’m so stunned for a moment, I can’t react. I let him fuck me, but I don’t know how to feel about not participating—and I can’t the way he has me pinned here.
But instead of putting up a little fight or at least filing a police report for the sexual assault, this girl softly kissed the hand that was effectively muffling her pleas to stop?
Not another Match Made in Heaven created by my favorite matchmaker, Miss Mariano.
Still not convinced these two complement each other perfectly?
Malicious and crazy, but at the same time, that’s pretty impressive dedication.
� Aubrey just found out that Dare had nailed some perfectly harmless girl (who wrote a nasty haiku about Aubrey's 😺slutty😺 ways ) to a park bench while contemplating the idea of shoving a stick in her vagina for good measure, and the only thing this damn girl could come up with was that??? Whoa, that's pretty impressive dedication, dude???? 🤡🤚🏻🤣🤣🤣
That haiku claiming that Aubrey is a whorebag turned out to be so unintentionally true, by the way. The troll girl should have known that Aubrey accepted $300 (and another hundred as a tip from Dare who had the audacity to finger her pus😺 while she was unconscious and then ponder on how much he should pay for it sjajajajsj) from Dare for shooting him an erotic picture of herself in lingerie.
Honestly, Aubrey should have charged more.
It's not every day that you lose your self-respect. <333333
Just kidding, this is a free-from-judgment zone.
👑Prostitute yourself all you want👑
All the better when a john turns out the love of your life and pays for your mom's treatment.
But back to the point... are you still refusing adamantly to acknowledge the truth of their perfect compatibility?? No, don't answer that. We both know that you are not.
I still can't believe how effortlessly natural and hilariously casual Dare was about his antisocial disorder. So comfortable in his own skin. This guy manipulated me ruthlessly into giggling like a freshman.
He said the most terrible, outrageous things that had me giddy with excitement, and his nonchalant delivery was so hilarious it caused butterflies to laugh quietly in my belly.😍
Have you ever come across a person who jokes and makes you laugh like a maniac, yet every time they do their face remains stoically straight, and at some point you come to realize that they're just being perfectly serious saying the funniest shit??
Well, that's Dare. He pretended like he was joking, but no one with a few brain cells to spare had been fooled by his nonchalance. He totally wasn't. 😍 I laughed anyway.😍
On top of being a very formidable, scary and effortlessly hilarious psychopath with dry humor, Dare (H) could
The stark contrast between Dare's occasional gentleness and selfish generosity and his underlying brutality that waited impatiently to come out and play had a very nice edge to it. 🤌🏻
I actually can't believe Sam said something like that
if you meet a Dare in the real world, you should run like the wind.
in her author's note.
This had me confused for a hot minute. Heartbreaking, especially when it comes from this author... where do your loyalties lie, Miss Mariano? 🤡🤡🤡
The mattress sinks under his weight as he climbs on with me. “Are you afraid of me, mermaid?�
That question when he’s using that nickname makes me feel emotional all over again. “I don’t want to be,� I say, since it’s the closest thing to the truth I think won’t offend him.
“You don’t have to be,� he says, gently laying his hand over my bare tummy. “It doesn’t bode well that you are already. I don’t like to think Anae was right, but maybe I am too dark for you.� He circles my belly button with the tip of his finger. “Unfortunately, I’ve already decided you’re mine, and you being afraid of me won’t change that.�
Did these cruel words need to be said just because Dare slashed Aubrey's tires with a knife and framed his future ex-girlfriend by leaving her manicured fingernail (the one he had broken so casually not a day before😍) by Aubrey's car only to barge in and save the day later??👉🏻🥺👈🏻
As if him acting like Aubrey's chauffeur for two days straight, buying her groceries and paying for the auto repair shop afterward do qualify for nothing. 🤦🏼♀� Cut the guy some slack, he merely wanted to spend some quality time alone with Aubrey is all.
Don't even start me on Dare's religious dedication to following through with his promise.
It could have anyone questioning their life choices, pondering over existential matters and reshaping, for lack of a better word, the concept of true love and loyalty.
The moment Aubrey specified that she wanted exclusivity with him (which was pretty early on), as in none of his body part was allowed to enter any hole that wasn't exclusively hers, what did my king do? He obliged religiously. 🛐
No matter the challenging circumstances and regardless of dire needs (begging to be satisfied), this guy seems to have surrendered his whole life to the cause of keeping his word.
✨The loyalty�
Just take a look at those few beautiful moments of his epic sacrifice in the name of love:
� baby boy had to make adjustments to his revenge plan. 💔
You see, there was this one girl who wrote an insulting haiku about our sweet Aubrey (notoriously famous for being a girl of iron will, her principles made of steel).
Naturally, Dare took the insult a bit personally and
nailed this girl with his daddy's nail gun to a park bench.
He wanted this online troll to be utterly humiliated when people found her so he pondered on penetrating her with a pinecone or a stick but remembered suddenly that he was not single. Aubrey wouldn't approve that kind of behavior. And the revenge king refrained, grinding teeth, squeezing knuckles and all...
But if you think his punishment wasn't creative enough, don't leap to conclusions just yet. Dare took it upon himself to write a haiku in response, when he could easily resort to the help of his large army of nerd soldiers at his beck and call. It's the effort for me.
C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E K-I-N-G IF I EVER SAW ONE. 😍
He couldn't take notes in the classroom for shit so what? Getting revenge is another kettle of fish. �
“What? I was just supposed to let her humiliate you and get away with it?� He caresses my jaw, his gaze oddly tender for what he’s saying. “I don’t think so, mermaid. She needed to pay. So, she did.� He kisses my forehead and takes a step back without letting go of my arm. “I’ve got class, but we’ll talk more about this later, okay?�
He has got class, bbe, can you hear that?? Ain't got no time to mansplain.
The guy's priorities were all in perfect order. Acting unaffected when exposed had no right to look that good on anyone. 🥵
Somewhere between ruining lives, framing people who had had the misfortune of getting in the way of his relationship with Aubrey and dishing out punishments, the guy attended his classes and examined the ranks of his nerd army like Napoleon would.
(reviewers who talk trash about Aubrey, make sure it's not a haiku... just in case)
� while delivering the rape threat (among other things) to Aubrey's friend Hannah, he gave her a nice scare by touching her shoulder, stroking her neck and pressing on her lip... just short of penetrating her mouth. Made the girl shudder in revulsion and nearly burst into tears without breaking his promise to Aubrey. No penetration, isn't that right? 🥵
The lengths he went to in his quest to keep away the person who interfered with his plans to keep Aubrey where he needed her to be � under his complete and utter control � were pretty impressive. Impressive dedication � @Aubrey about every single terrible stunt he pulled on someone.
“I don’t like that Hannah brings out this resistant side of you. Every time she’s around, you pull away from me, and I don’t know why. I know if she were a man, I would assume she’s competition and I would treat her accordingly.� He places a gentle kiss against my cheek, at odds with his words. “Should I expand my view a bit, hm? Should I consider her my competition?�
My heart nearly drops out of my body. “No, of course not.�
“Anyone who tries to split us up will have a very bad fucking time if I find out about it,� he informs me.
Clueless, oblivious, controlled, manipulated. Fed with Part Trues, Half Lies. Aubrey energy. 😍
Dare putting a leash on his psychopathy to spare Aubrey's feelings and ensure she had no reason for being jealous was so chivalrous.
Anyone ever says chivalry is dead, I’m sending them straight to Dare. 😍
And all he ever asked of her in return was to never cheat on him. 😌
Just imagine being so powerful that just by not doing something
� you save some unknown guy from the fate of being brutally murdered by your complete fucking psycho of a boyfriend
� you spare your female friend from being raped by *surprise-surprise* your complete fucking psycho of a boyfriend
� and you also ensure that the said complete fucking psycho of a boyfriend doesn't turn your life into solitary hell with him as your only company: 😍
“I could detail what your life would look like if you ever cheated on me, how I would cut you out of the life you’re living and transform my love into the metal bars that form your new home.� He cups my breast through my shirt. “How I would strip away your will, ignore your every single boundary, and treat you like a toy, playing with you exactly how I want to without regard for whether or not you liked it.�
Miss Mariano knows a thing or two about female empowerment. 💅🏻
“But you’re not powerless, are you? I told you Hannah would only be in danger if you left me, and you weren’t thinking about doing that, were you?�
It feels like a bucket of ice has been dumped into my veins. I shake my head. “No. Of course not.�
“No,� he says, though his tone is a bit mocking like he wants me to know he knows better. “Of course you weren’t.� He stops walking and looks me over. “Take off your clothes.�
Even I felt strangely empowered the moment these words left Dare's lips. 🥵
You breathe, you eat, you have a rape kit done just in case but you don't make a report (Dare merely didn't want Aubrey to be torn apart in a court room. 🥺🥺🥺 I swear this guy always kept in mind what was in Aubrey's best interest 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻), you don't let any other man touch you, and you have a bright future laid bare ahead of you...
I think those who like paying attention to detail, piecing together what is said and done with what is implied will find this book interesting.
Rather than classifying the story as dark, I'd describe it with adjectives like disturbing, arresting, memorable, evocative.
Now once we covered all the basics, it's time to announce that
THE EMBARRASSING PART OF THIS REVIEW IS SADLY OVER. The time has come to roast this heroine, currently heating the oven to 425°F
I HAVE NO CHARACTERS LEFT
🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
BUT I ALREADY WROTE THE WHOLE ASS SEQUEL TO THIS CLOWNERY SO IMMA POST THE REST OF THE REVIEW ON THE ANTHOLOGY'S (where the story is originally published) PAGE, HUH
the link for onlyfans 😘
Someone take away my comp right now, will you <3333
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2022
Before I begin my review, I want to be clear that THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.Let's be honest, most of this author's aren't, but this one in particular goes a step further than the others she's written.
Dare is not just a bad boy with psychopathic tendencies. He's a LITERAL psychopath. There is no changing for the heroine or any of the usual bullshit you read in dark romance.
I don't even quite understand how I enjoyed the story as much as I did, because it's not something that would always appeal to me. I have come to the conclusion that I have no choice but to credit the author's talent.
If anybody wants to know why I read Sam Mariano's work, Even if it Hurts is a prime example. It's unique, well written, intriguing, perfectly paced, hot, and twisted af. In other words, it's pure perfection, and I loved every single second of it!
Dare's the same disturbed individual from the beginning of the book to the end. He's just so charming and manipulative that Aubrey has no clue until it's too late. Even the reader doesn't understand the full extent of his kaleidoscope of crazy for a large portion of the story.
Getting inside Dare's mind and seeing how it works is one of my favorite things about this book. Everything he does is purposeful, well thought out, and planned. Heisn't spontaneous, rash, or led by emotion. He's extremely methodical. Nothing happens by accident where he is concerned.
Dareunveils himself slowly, bit by bit, careful not to put Aubrey off by showing his full psycho too soon. In his ownwords, he is a predator, and Aubrey is prey. He lays a very appealing trap for her, and unfortunately, (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), she gets caught in it.
Aubrey and Dare's relationship is going tomake a lot of people uncomfortable. It is not healthy. In fact, it'stoxic as hell. There is no balance of power. Dare has it, and Aubrey does not.
Despite that, Aubrey is far from miserable. I wouldn't have had as good of a time with this story if that was the case. It was fun to explore the dynamic between a psychopath and the woman that loves him. In real life, this would be a horror story, but since it's not, we're free to enjoy the insanity!
Dare'sobsessed with Aubrey. He takes care of her, "loves" her in his own way, and doesn't ever WANT to hurt her. Dare wants Aubrey to be happy...unless that happiness is in conflict with his own of course. He wants her to be his forever. Thankfully, she loves him, because she doesn't actually get a choice in the matter. He protects her. Sure it may sometimes be in a way she finds horrific, but it's the thought that counts, right?
Several events that take place over the course of this story (often times between the "hero" and heroine themselves) are unsettling, immoral, criminal, and just all around fucked up. I'm talkingsomnophilia, violence, emotional manipulation, and more. Don't come into this book expecting anything conventional when it comes to the romance, because you will be sorely disappointed.
Just enjoy the ride for what it is, and don't place any expectations on it. Dare is such an interesting character. I couldn't get enough of him, and if nothing I've said thus far has put you off, you'll probably feel the same.
Fingers crossed we get a lot more of Dare and Aubrey in future books and possibly even another book of their own one day. It definitely feels like there is more to their story. Parker and Landon's book is coming next, and I can't tell you how fucking excited I am for it!!
If you haven't read Undertow already, DO IT. It was originally released in the Bully God anthology, but I believe it's going to be published on it's own sometime soon. Of course, after reading Even if it Hurts, I'm dying for Hannah's story now, too.
I have a feeling the Coastal Elite series is going to turn out to be as intricately woven, addictive, and captivating as Sam's Morelli Family series that had me in a chokehold back in 2018. I've never read anything like it before or since, so if I'm right, this series might just become my new favorite!
Dark romance fans, this one's for you!
September 24, 2022
Soooo� if your man doesn’t use a nail gun to crucify the person who insults your ass online is he really all that into you? 😈😈
This book was straight crazy town. I was on the edge of my seat, belly churning and clenching, until the very last sentence.
Dare was something else. I never quite got a full read on him. He was fierce protector, jealous possessive psycho, cunning manipulator, brutal avenger, relentless bulldozer�. He had no moral compass. He’s rough and claimy and not particular concerned about her consent on anything. 🙈😬
So, you know� I was writing him haikus in my head 🤷🏼♀️😈🖤�
I both loved and was terrified by him. A lot like Aubrey. 🤷🏼♀�
It was a mix of the 90s movies Fear and Cruel Intentions.
If I was just rating this on thrilling entertainment, it would be 5-star read. I was riveted.
But this is a romance, first and foremost� and I struggled a bit with that. There were times I both hated and adored Dare. And that’s not unusual for Sam’s heros. However, normally, by the end, I’m satisfied with how the MCs have negotiated their relationship. I feel good about their future. I believe in their HEA. But this time, I ended the book unsettled. I was concerned for Aubrey and her future happiness. It felt a little unfinished. I think this is due to how much of the book was spent where we weren’t totally sure what side Dare was on. And that’s fine and made the tension amazing. But we didn’t get enough time where we knew for sure that Dare really loved Aubrey, and Aubrey was with him because she loves him and not JUST because she’s terrified of him. It didn’t feel like Aubrey was getting her needs met. And normally I feel like Sam gives us that balance. Yes, the heroines are with difficult men that they have to trust and maybe they don’t get a lot choices in that, but they also get what they need from the relationship. And I think we were almost there, but not quite. It bothered me that Dare was so set on isolating Aubrey. He was a true antihero in that. I wanted to see a glimmer of softness there� I wanted to feel like he would make sure she had someone even if it wasn’t going to be Hannah (who I loved😍).
Bottom Line? I loved this book. It was quite the page turner. I was keyed up for hours after. Highly recommend. It was an amazing thriller, but at the end I wasn’t 100% sold on the romance part. So I’m going with 4-stars on this one. I hope to see more of this couple in future books.
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating between MCs - the H has a girlfriend so at first it seems like he’s cheating on her� but not really
- no sharing
- dubcon
- OW drama - the H’s girlfriend is a homicidal sociopath
- no OM drama
- h is a virgin
- H is not a virgin
- condoms used and also not used - it is not discussed, but the h is aware and concerned, but is well aware she can’t make the H do anything he doesn’t want to do
- somnophilia - he drugs her and has sex with her (after they have established a consensual relationship� but it is without her knowledge)
- H is very rough with her - lots of manhandling and marking and bruising
This book was straight crazy town. I was on the edge of my seat, belly churning and clenching, until the very last sentence.
Dare was something else. I never quite got a full read on him. He was fierce protector, jealous possessive psycho, cunning manipulator, brutal avenger, relentless bulldozer�. He had no moral compass. He’s rough and claimy and not particular concerned about her consent on anything. 🙈😬
So, you know� I was writing him haikus in my head 🤷🏼♀️😈🖤�
I both loved and was terrified by him. A lot like Aubrey. 🤷🏼♀�
It was a mix of the 90s movies Fear and Cruel Intentions.
If I was just rating this on thrilling entertainment, it would be 5-star read. I was riveted.
But this is a romance, first and foremost� and I struggled a bit with that. There were times I both hated and adored Dare. And that’s not unusual for Sam’s heros. However, normally, by the end, I’m satisfied with how the MCs have negotiated their relationship. I feel good about their future. I believe in their HEA. But this time, I ended the book unsettled. I was concerned for Aubrey and her future happiness. It felt a little unfinished. I think this is due to how much of the book was spent where we weren’t totally sure what side Dare was on. And that’s fine and made the tension amazing. But we didn’t get enough time where we knew for sure that Dare really loved Aubrey, and Aubrey was with him because she loves him and not JUST because she’s terrified of him. It didn’t feel like Aubrey was getting her needs met. And normally I feel like Sam gives us that balance. Yes, the heroines are with difficult men that they have to trust and maybe they don’t get a lot choices in that, but they also get what they need from the relationship. And I think we were almost there, but not quite. It bothered me that Dare was so set on isolating Aubrey. He was a true antihero in that. I wanted to see a glimmer of softness there� I wanted to feel like he would make sure she had someone even if it wasn’t going to be Hannah (who I loved😍).
Bottom Line? I loved this book. It was quite the page turner. I was keyed up for hours after. Highly recommend. It was an amazing thriller, but at the end I wasn’t 100% sold on the romance part. So I’m going with 4-stars on this one. I hope to see more of this couple in future books.
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating between MCs - the H has a girlfriend so at first it seems like he’s cheating on her� but not really
- no sharing
- dubcon
- OW drama - the H’s girlfriend is a homicidal sociopath
- no OM drama
- h is a virgin
- H is not a virgin
- condoms used and also not used - it is not discussed, but the h is aware and concerned, but is well aware she can’t make the H do anything he doesn’t want to do
- somnophilia - he drugs her and has sex with her (after they have established a consensual relationship� but it is without her knowledge)
- H is very rough with her - lots of manhandling and marking and bruising
August 22, 2022
Dare was a phenomenal psychopath. I loved how brutally manipulative and twisted this book was.
But I don't think I enjoyed reading it.
But I don't think I enjoyed reading it.
August 1, 2023
I don't even know how to begin this review
All I know is that I couldn't stop reading it... Sam Mariano does that to me. How does she convince me to believe in a villainous character? M.A.G.I.C lol😅 5+ stars for the addiction, 3 stars for the "romance."
Aubrey's at work when a psycho customer, AKA the OW- Anae, comes into the store and tries to exchange a shirt that DOES NOT BELONG there- as in, she got it somewhere else. But because Anae is a legit psycho, she tells Aubrey that she's gonna regret not taking back the shirt😳.
But Aubrey doesn't care. She's followed the rules and did the right thing👏🏻. At school, she's not exactly in the "in" crowd, so she doesn't care about her social status or trying to fit in. In fact, she has a lot going on at home- her mom has cancer and nothing's working. So Aubrey not only has to take care of her mom and spend as much time with her as she can, but she works and attends school full time. She has waaaaaay too much on her plate to care about a psycho girl who isn't listening to reason.
So when she's invited to a party by one of her so-called "friends," she hesitates to go, but then she ends up going. A boy offers her a drink- a boy that has a wrestler for a girlfriend, a VERY jealous girlfriend, and Aubrey gets pushed into the pool. Except, she doesn't know how to swim😬.
Enter Chase, AKA Dare. He's basically an Olympian swimmer (🤣jk) and he rescues her. Although the rest of the swim team is there as well, no one else tries to help- because Queen B Anae😒 doesn't want anyone to help her. Aubrey thinks she sees an angel, but it's really just Dare, rescuing her so she doesn’t die in his property. Once she's safe and leaves, Anae tells Dare she wants him to f*** her, ruin her, break her heart, and Dare agrees. Why?
Because Dare is ALSO a psycho😬, hence why they get along so well and why their relationship works😅 (that and Anae allows him to f other girls😑, so whatevs😒).
Now, you might be thinking "omg, this is horrible! How did you continue reading?" Yeah, I was questioning my sanity as well LOL😂. But, all of this intrigued me because, well, it's Sam Mariano; she's gonna fix this... somehow😅... right??? 😬LOL
Dare immediately starts wooing Aubrey. I'll give Aubrey points- she doesn't want him near her💁🏻♀�. She knows who he is, who his girlfriend is, and she doesn't care for the drama. All she wants to do is finish her senior year so she can move on and spend whatever time she has left with her mom. She doesn't need this added angst. But Dare can't be told no...
In fact, no doesn't exist in his vocabulary🙃, and he's going to enjoy pushing Aubrey's limits until he's satisfied😉.
What I liked/loved- POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
—Um... the fact that I wanted to quit adulting so I could read this book😬. I thought about it when I should've been concentrating on other things *cough* like my family and work *cough*. This book is unlike any of the ones I've read by Sam Mariano. I'm already addicted to her writing style, her voice, the nuances she embeds in her books, add in a legit psycho, well two, and BAM-I'm hooked💅.
—Once Dare meets Aubrey, he doesn't sleep with anyone else👏🏻. He doesn't even really touch anyone except for a few grazes here and there (innocent-ish ones). Considering he's allowed to be with other people and has been pretty active smexually, I thought he was going to continue being the hoooooar that he's been. But he only wants Aubrey... thank the Lord because I wouldn't have been able to handle this book otherwise😅. This leads me to...
—The smexy times🔥. Oh Dear LAWDDDD💦. This book's spiiiiicy🥵! Obviously, Aubrey's a virgin, so Dare needs to relieve her of that... ahem... problem😉. I wasn't too keen on the way it's finally done, but after it's done, it's👏🏻 on. I'm such a sucker for when a man is a little *forceful* when he's with the woman he wants🥵- primal play all the way (hey, that rhymes)😉
—SOMNOPHILIA😈- Sigh... yup... I love it in my books- don't judge me🫣. So what if he makes sure she stays asleep for a little while💁🏻♀�... lol... she's always so relaxed after💅. I might as well throw in the noncon/dubcon in here as well👀. I also love it in my books. No is not in Dare’s vocabulary, and I appreciated it lol
—Dare's JP'ness 💅. I love when a man claims his property, I mean... I mean� his woman😅... lol... and Dare claims her... and NO ONE ELSE CAN HAVE HER💁🏻♀️PERIODT 🔪
—HANNAH❤️!!!! I am SOOOO glad she's gonna get her own book. She makes this book so much more palatable because she's genuinely in Aubrey's corner, even though she has her own demons to deal with (considering Anae's her stepsister😒). Realistically, she's Aubrey's knight-in-shining armor🥰. She roots for her safety; she even tries to bargain with psycho Dare
—the angst and nuances fill me up with joy👀. Listen- I know many people run away from books with angst, but I'm not one of those people. I love delving into the psyche of the MCs, which includes all the emotions, usually bad ones, while reading. That's how I'm able to connect with the characters
—the random chapters in Dare's POV. Like many of SM's books, this is mostly told in the h's POV, but the few/key chapters in the H's POV make a difference. Don't get me wrong- I'm also going to add this to what I didn't like down below😑, but it was important to delve into Dare's head, especially considering he's a psycho
—Dare's softer side🥰- we see this a lot in the beginning when he's getting to know Aubrey. I love what he does for her (iykyk)
—The way Dare manipulates situations😈. Sure, it wasn't by honest means, but when he wants something to happen, he makes it happen🤷🏻♀�... slashing tires, using a nail gun on a person, breaking acrylic nails, drugging people (ahem... Aubrey lol), bribing Aubrey for a smexy picture, I mean, this guy will stop at nothing
Things I didn't like/wanted more of:
—The romance- I needed more of it 😏. I get it- he's a psycho (and I love that SM made sure to stay true to his character), but I needed more of them as an established couple. We get an epilogue that wasn't necessarily satisfying (and SM did say we'll be seeing more of Dare and Aubrey's HEA throughout the series).
—Considering Dare’s willing to concede when Aubrey pushes or is stubborn on something, I don’t know why she doesn’t do more of it 🤦🏻♀�. Girl. Stick to your guns! He wants you. Have more of a backbone please. I get it. Things are out of your control, but come on! Give me more pushback please 😒lol at least TRYYYY 🤣
—The aftermath of the picture😒. Sigh. I hate that I felt like this was resolved too quickly😑. My stomach dropped. I’m not a fan of these types of situations in my books, ESPECIALLY when it seems like there are no consequences for what happens which leads me to
—the losing of her v scene🫣. After all of that^^ I felt like Aubrey didn’t even have time to process what was happening� and then Dare bulldozes and manipulates the situation and just takes (which I can also admire since it’s true to HIS character). Aubrey needed to stay strong in her resolve, and she doesn’t. She was so against being with someone with a girlfriend, but yet she doesn’t fight much when this finally happens 😒ay Aubrey. Fight a little lol (which I crave in my books too lol 😅😬)
—Although I LOOOOVE how alpha and JP Dare is, I also felt how petrified Aubrey is of him (which he gets off on). She really has no other option when it comes to her love life. I get it- this is high school and Aubrey was a virgin, but I also wanted to know that she CHOSE to be with Dare... and, well, she really has no choice😂... lol 🤣 (I’m horrible lol)
—The random chapters in Dare's POV- these chapters show us how connected he is to Anae 😑. They think the same, work the same, act the same, yet somehow we're expected to believe he has no feelings for her😒? (I'll get to this in my next point). Yes, he does whatever he needs to in order to protect Aubrey from this psycho B, but I felt my stomach churning at how like-minded they are. I wish we would've seen more of his dilemma/turmoil when it came to Aubrey and their future
—Knowing how OTT Dare is, I was surprised he didn't do MORE to seek justice for Aubrey, like REAL justice😑... maybe we'll see more of this in the upcoming books, but if he used a nail gun on a girl that wrote a haiku against Aubrey's character, why didn't he do that and MORE for other people... lol... yeah, yeah, I'm a cold b lol
—The epilogue- Um... Dare, don't “dare� touch Hannah 😑 leave her be... poor girl just wants to look out for Aubrey😬! Yes, he's being his normal psycho-self, but give a little. I didn't like the way he acted towards her at all. I'm sure he was trying to be smexually intimating by threatening her (since he could really hurt her), but many felt like this might've been leading into something like the Morelli series (which would hurt my stomach more than you know). Luckily, SM clarified that she would NEVER do anything like that again LOL
Overall- I REALLY enjoyed this book, DARE I say, loved it? (pun intended... maybe I'm scared too lol poor Aubrey 😅). It's been weeks and I'm still thinking about this book.
⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating*/sharing/omd
-dubcon/noncon ish
-OWD- the H has a psycho gf and he’s “with� her in the book, but not sexually (before the H meets the h, yes, but not after)
-violence
-parent with cancer
-cheating*- there’s cheating on both sides (parents)
-separated/divorced parents
-praise kink/breath play/CNC ish/hand necklace
-virgin h/experienced H
-condoms
-HEA? HFN? We’ll be seeing this couple as the series progresses
-epilogue/months later
All I know is that I couldn't stop reading it... Sam Mariano does that to me. How does she convince me to believe in a villainous character? M.A.G.I.C lol😅 5+ stars for the addiction, 3 stars for the "romance."
Aubrey's at work when a psycho customer, AKA the OW- Anae, comes into the store and tries to exchange a shirt that DOES NOT BELONG there- as in, she got it somewhere else. But because Anae is a legit psycho, she tells Aubrey that she's gonna regret not taking back the shirt😳.
But Aubrey doesn't care. She's followed the rules and did the right thing👏🏻. At school, she's not exactly in the "in" crowd, so she doesn't care about her social status or trying to fit in. In fact, she has a lot going on at home- her mom has cancer and nothing's working. So Aubrey not only has to take care of her mom and spend as much time with her as she can, but she works and attends school full time. She has waaaaaay too much on her plate to care about a psycho girl who isn't listening to reason.
So when she's invited to a party by one of her so-called "friends," she hesitates to go, but then she ends up going. A boy offers her a drink- a boy that has a wrestler for a girlfriend, a VERY jealous girlfriend, and Aubrey gets pushed into the pool. Except, she doesn't know how to swim😬.
Enter Chase, AKA Dare. He's basically an Olympian swimmer (🤣jk) and he rescues her. Although the rest of the swim team is there as well, no one else tries to help- because Queen B Anae😒 doesn't want anyone to help her. Aubrey thinks she sees an angel, but it's really just Dare, rescuing her so she doesn’t die in his property. Once she's safe and leaves, Anae tells Dare she wants him to f*** her, ruin her, break her heart, and Dare agrees. Why?
Because Dare is ALSO a psycho😬, hence why they get along so well and why their relationship works😅 (that and Anae allows him to f other girls😑, so whatevs😒).
Now, you might be thinking "omg, this is horrible! How did you continue reading?" Yeah, I was questioning my sanity as well LOL😂. But, all of this intrigued me because, well, it's Sam Mariano; she's gonna fix this... somehow😅... right??? 😬LOL
Dare immediately starts wooing Aubrey. I'll give Aubrey points- she doesn't want him near her💁🏻♀�. She knows who he is, who his girlfriend is, and she doesn't care for the drama. All she wants to do is finish her senior year so she can move on and spend whatever time she has left with her mom. She doesn't need this added angst. But Dare can't be told no...
In fact, no doesn't exist in his vocabulary🙃, and he's going to enjoy pushing Aubrey's limits until he's satisfied😉.
What I liked/loved- POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
—Um... the fact that I wanted to quit adulting so I could read this book😬. I thought about it when I should've been concentrating on other things *cough* like my family and work *cough*. This book is unlike any of the ones I've read by Sam Mariano. I'm already addicted to her writing style, her voice, the nuances she embeds in her books, add in a legit psycho, well two, and BAM-I'm hooked💅.
—Once Dare meets Aubrey, he doesn't sleep with anyone else👏🏻. He doesn't even really touch anyone except for a few grazes here and there (innocent-ish ones). Considering he's allowed to be with other people and has been pretty active smexually, I thought he was going to continue being the hoooooar that he's been. But he only wants Aubrey... thank the Lord because I wouldn't have been able to handle this book otherwise😅. This leads me to...
—The smexy times🔥. Oh Dear LAWDDDD💦. This book's spiiiiicy🥵! Obviously, Aubrey's a virgin, so Dare needs to relieve her of that... ahem... problem😉. I wasn't too keen on the way it's finally done, but after it's done, it's👏🏻 on. I'm such a sucker for when a man is a little *forceful* when he's with the woman he wants🥵- primal play all the way (hey, that rhymes)😉
—SOMNOPHILIA😈- Sigh... yup... I love it in my books- don't judge me🫣. So what if he makes sure she stays asleep for a little while💁🏻♀�... lol... she's always so relaxed after💅. I might as well throw in the noncon/dubcon in here as well👀. I also love it in my books. No is not in Dare’s vocabulary, and I appreciated it lol
—Dare's JP'ness 💅. I love when a man claims his property, I mean... I mean� his woman😅... lol... and Dare claims her... and NO ONE ELSE CAN HAVE HER💁🏻♀️PERIODT 🔪
—HANNAH❤️!!!! I am SOOOO glad she's gonna get her own book. She makes this book so much more palatable because she's genuinely in Aubrey's corner, even though she has her own demons to deal with (considering Anae's her stepsister😒). Realistically, she's Aubrey's knight-in-shining armor🥰. She roots for her safety; she even tries to bargain with psycho Dare
—the angst and nuances fill me up with joy👀. Listen- I know many people run away from books with angst, but I'm not one of those people. I love delving into the psyche of the MCs, which includes all the emotions, usually bad ones, while reading. That's how I'm able to connect with the characters
—the random chapters in Dare's POV. Like many of SM's books, this is mostly told in the h's POV, but the few/key chapters in the H's POV make a difference. Don't get me wrong- I'm also going to add this to what I didn't like down below😑, but it was important to delve into Dare's head, especially considering he's a psycho
—Dare's softer side🥰- we see this a lot in the beginning when he's getting to know Aubrey. I love what he does for her (iykyk)
—The way Dare manipulates situations😈. Sure, it wasn't by honest means, but when he wants something to happen, he makes it happen🤷🏻♀�... slashing tires, using a nail gun on a person, breaking acrylic nails, drugging people (ahem... Aubrey lol), bribing Aubrey for a smexy picture, I mean, this guy will stop at nothing
Things I didn't like/wanted more of:
—The romance- I needed more of it 😏. I get it- he's a psycho (and I love that SM made sure to stay true to his character), but I needed more of them as an established couple. We get an epilogue that wasn't necessarily satisfying (and SM did say we'll be seeing more of Dare and Aubrey's HEA throughout the series).
—Considering Dare’s willing to concede when Aubrey pushes or is stubborn on something, I don’t know why she doesn’t do more of it 🤦🏻♀�. Girl. Stick to your guns! He wants you. Have more of a backbone please. I get it. Things are out of your control, but come on! Give me more pushback please 😒lol at least TRYYYY 🤣
—The aftermath of the picture😒. Sigh. I hate that I felt like this was resolved too quickly😑. My stomach dropped. I’m not a fan of these types of situations in my books, ESPECIALLY when it seems like there are no consequences for what happens which leads me to
—the losing of her v scene🫣. After all of that^^ I felt like Aubrey didn’t even have time to process what was happening� and then Dare bulldozes and manipulates the situation and just takes (which I can also admire since it’s true to HIS character). Aubrey needed to stay strong in her resolve, and she doesn’t. She was so against being with someone with a girlfriend, but yet she doesn’t fight much when this finally happens 😒ay Aubrey. Fight a little lol (which I crave in my books too lol 😅😬)
—Although I LOOOOVE how alpha and JP Dare is, I also felt how petrified Aubrey is of him (which he gets off on). She really has no other option when it comes to her love life. I get it- this is high school and Aubrey was a virgin, but I also wanted to know that she CHOSE to be with Dare... and, well, she really has no choice😂... lol 🤣 (I’m horrible lol)
—The random chapters in Dare's POV- these chapters show us how connected he is to Anae 😑. They think the same, work the same, act the same, yet somehow we're expected to believe he has no feelings for her😒? (I'll get to this in my next point). Yes, he does whatever he needs to in order to protect Aubrey from this psycho B, but I felt my stomach churning at how like-minded they are. I wish we would've seen more of his dilemma/turmoil when it came to Aubrey and their future
—Knowing how OTT Dare is, I was surprised he didn't do MORE to seek justice for Aubrey, like REAL justice😑... maybe we'll see more of this in the upcoming books, but if he used a nail gun on a girl that wrote a haiku against Aubrey's character, why didn't he do that and MORE for other people... lol... yeah, yeah, I'm a cold b lol
—The epilogue- Um... Dare, don't “dare� touch Hannah 😑 leave her be... poor girl just wants to look out for Aubrey😬! Yes, he's being his normal psycho-self, but give a little. I didn't like the way he acted towards her at all. I'm sure he was trying to be smexually intimating by threatening her (since he could really hurt her), but many felt like this might've been leading into something like the Morelli series (which would hurt my stomach more than you know). Luckily, SM clarified that she would NEVER do anything like that again LOL
Overall- I REALLY enjoyed this book, DARE I say, loved it? (pun intended... maybe I'm scared too lol poor Aubrey 😅). It's been weeks and I'm still thinking about this book.
⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating*/sharing/omd
-dubcon/noncon ish
-OWD- the H has a psycho gf and he’s “with� her in the book, but not sexually (before the H meets the h, yes, but not after)
-violence
-parent with cancer
-cheating*- there’s cheating on both sides (parents)
-separated/divorced parents
-praise kink/breath play/CNC ish/hand necklace
-virgin h/experienced H
-condoms
-HEA? HFN? We’ll be seeing this couple as the series progresses
-epilogue/months later
March 17, 2025
rant mode activated
sam marino have something against strong heroines bc the author only allows the heroes to fuck with bitches, but the heroines cant, example if aubrey was strong, she be fuckin' side dudes. i'm in my feels cleary and b/c i lost sleep over this damn book, so let me vent and my time to shine! but dont get twisted, it was entertaining and annoying (*eye rolling* for the 1,000 times) how dare is with anae (why even be with her when you dont want to be), but wont and cant break up with her b/c shes unhinged, when the author make dare out to be all this & that when he really aint shit, but dumb overall imo. i'm mad how he never got exposed for his lies, at least let her pretend to be mad at him. example: the fact he slashed her tires, but aubrey think its his main chick like cmon lol, your energy being mad at anae when it was suppose at dare. well played, sam marino!
after finishing this book, i understand why this book is called even if it hurts. “I may hurt you accidentally, but I’ll never do it on purpose.� this book really fits the title of that moment when the side bitch wants to be the main bitch imo.
i wouldn’t even consider this book cheating since it’s fucken open relationship where the hero jave a hall pass where he is allow to fuck side pieces & anae approves of it. but he was still cheating with side piece aubrey with his main chick anae yall feel me? what a hot mess express this shit was.
i feel like the two of them are a perfect match made in hell, Dare + Anae, psycho & a sociopath. i mean they get each other, they was a powerful couple. but instead the author wants a weak ass doormat heroine to be a side piece to be paired up with Dare. yall see my pov right? right, moving on.
props to Dare, keeping two bitches to entertain is a career, being one youre truthful to and one youre lying to.
hannah bishhh you better run bc i know you up nxt. sam got eyes for you to be with dare, i know it. she finna ruin you with dare with aburey.
sam marino have something against strong heroines bc the author only allows the heroes to fuck with bitches, but the heroines cant, example if aubrey was strong, she be fuckin' side dudes. i'm in my feels cleary and b/c i lost sleep over this damn book, so let me vent and my time to shine! but dont get twisted, it was entertaining and annoying (*eye rolling* for the 1,000 times) how dare is with anae (why even be with her when you dont want to be), but wont and cant break up with her b/c shes unhinged, when the author make dare out to be all this & that when he really aint shit, but dumb overall imo. i'm mad how he never got exposed for his lies, at least let her pretend to be mad at him. example: the fact he slashed her tires, but aubrey think its his main chick like cmon lol, your energy being mad at anae when it was suppose at dare. well played, sam marino!
after finishing this book, i understand why this book is called even if it hurts. “I may hurt you accidentally, but I’ll never do it on purpose.� this book really fits the title of that moment when the side bitch wants to be the main bitch imo.
i wouldn’t even consider this book cheating since it’s fucken open relationship where the hero jave a hall pass where he is allow to fuck side pieces & anae approves of it. but he was still cheating with side piece aubrey with his main chick anae yall feel me? what a hot mess express this shit was.
i feel like the two of them are a perfect match made in hell, Dare + Anae, psycho & a sociopath. i mean they get each other, they was a powerful couple. but instead the author wants a weak ass doormat heroine to be a side piece to be paired up with Dare. yall see my pov right? right, moving on.
props to Dare, keeping two bitches to entertain is a career, being one youre truthful to and one youre lying to.
hannah bishhh you better run bc i know you up nxt. sam got eyes for you to be with dare, i know it. she finna ruin you with dare with aburey.
July 27, 2022
Holy heck where to even start....Hmmmm...This guy is a possessive, manipulative asshole and he'd be the first to agree with you!!
He's no knight in shining armour that will wrap you up in the feels, he's the type of guy that your mother's warn you about.
He's possessive, demanding, toxic, he was king of the school with many minions bowing down to him and doing his work, his love making was switched to rough leaving bruises marking his territory, there was nothing gentle about this guy.
Now and then you'd see a soft side peeking through the murky clouds but then in the next breath he'd disappear, and we'd see the cold heartless guy shining through. He walks the line between predator and psychopath. This was a bumpy turbulent ride, with hate and love running side by side.
Now onto our heroine, she was the target right from the get go. A malicious dare to break her down and spit her out. Her life was far from easy, no time for friends, no time to be just a normal teenager, she was isolated by choice because her time was spread thin, with school work and a job what time she did have spare was spent with her mother.
When it came to Dare she wore rose coloured glasses, she'd heard all the rumours about him, but when he set his sights on her he made her feel special. And there were times where he was very attentive and I softened towards him but then he'd sabotage it before I could stay in that bubble he'd blindly created.
Often I'd wish she'd walk away, she had plenty opportunities and I would've loved to of seen that chase, because she was in his grip and he wasn't going to let her go easily.
Ok so all in all, I did enjoy this, some scenes were above questionable but it's not real life and I could enjoy it for what it was, fiction written by the one author who will push your boundaries like no other.
Leave your morals at the door, heed the warning at the front of the book and go in blind.
* Teaser used is off the authors facebook page *
April 28, 2022
So the only question in my mind after I finished this is, is this going to be another Mateo, Meg and Mia story? I truly hope not as I loathed that trope but after Danes’s interactions with Hanaah and that mystery with his midnight clock tattoo I’m seriously thinking it might be headed that way!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2022
Many in their reviews write that Aubrey is so weak! I can't agree with that, I would look at you at the tender age of 18, without friends and with a sick mother. How would you behave and how would you resist such a manipulative sociopath. Hanna couldn't resist either, he knew how to make her afraid of him. Everyone did what Dare wanted, he set up each person the way he needed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2023
When Aubrey stands her ground, she unwittingly paints a target on her back. Enter the bait, Chase “Dare� Darington with his obnoxious charm and panty-dropping smile.
I’m still making up my mind about Dare. Now before you assume my hesitation is because of his unrepentant behavior, it’s really not. I am all about an alphahole that sees what he wants, takes it, and makes no apologies. I really struggled with how long Aubrey was in the dark about his true intentions. Moreover, I just didn’t feel the chemistry between them. With Dare a fan favorite, there’s no doubt this a “me� issue. Let me also say that I liked the storyline and that it wasn’t just a cookie cutter bully story.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥1/2
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 🥺🤨🥵😳😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👫🏻 {Dual}
🗂 Genre: Contemporary Romance
� Tropes: Alphahole, Betrayal, Bully, Cinderella Story, High School, Manipulation, Tracking/Spying, Virgin h
💋 Kinks: Finger Licking Good, Hand Necklace, Somnophilia,
⚠️ Warning: This book may cause blushing, squirming, combusting panties, and/or self-care.
🚩 Safety Squad: Cheating (Kinda), DubCon, UnàIiving & VioIençe (Off-Page), OW Drama, and other triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Even if it Hurts is part of the Coastal Elite series, but can be read as a standalone.
🛑 Be Advised: My ŷ shelves are � explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
I’m still making up my mind about Dare. Now before you assume my hesitation is because of his unrepentant behavior, it’s really not. I am all about an alphahole that sees what he wants, takes it, and makes no apologies. I really struggled with how long Aubrey was in the dark about his true intentions. Moreover, I just didn’t feel the chemistry between them. With Dare a fan favorite, there’s no doubt this a “me� issue. Let me also say that I liked the storyline and that it wasn’t just a cookie cutter bully story.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥1/2
Darkness: 🖤
Heat: 🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 🥺🤨🥵😳😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👫🏻 {Dual}
🗂 Genre: Contemporary Romance
� Tropes: Alphahole, Betrayal, Bully, Cinderella Story, High School, Manipulation, Tracking/Spying, Virgin h
💋 Kinks: Finger Licking Good, Hand Necklace, Somnophilia,
⚠️ Warning: This book may cause blushing, squirming, combusting panties, and/or self-care.
🚩 Safety Squad: Cheating (Kinda), DubCon, UnàIiving & VioIençe (Off-Page), OW Drama, and other triggering elements. If you have any hesitation, check the warnings before diving in. Otherwise, blind is best!!
📣 Type: Even if it Hurts is part of the Coastal Elite series, but can be read as a standalone.
🛑 Be Advised: My ŷ shelves are � explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.
May 30, 2022
DNF
Trash. Seriously, I don't what it is with pushover heroines but this one is probably one of my most hated ones. I really liked her at the beginning, she seemed smart when she realized that Mallory, when she talks to her in the lunch line initially, was acting on Anae's orders inviting her to the party. However, this dumb bitch still goes to the party despite knowing that Anae probably has grand plans for her and then dies. Then Anae takes a lesson from Cruel intentions and Elites and sends off her boyfriend to fuck her enemy and ruin her, because that has never gone wrong before. Then this guy takes her up on the offer and our dear heroine is not suspicious at all on why a girl who hates her guts allows her boyfriend to be around her, no she just rolls with it. Bruh. Guy messes around with her and she, while making high claims of not fucking someone else's boyfriend, does shit like kiss him, flirt with him, having phone sex with him and send nudes to him. Which end up being spread to the whole school by the girlfriend. LOL. Said dumb bitch was very mad when it initially happened, talking about how quickly her feelings for Dare evaporated and whatever and like 2 pages later she's back to talking to him like he's her boyfriend. Like girl, even if he didn't give her that picture, she knew his damn passcode and posted it, he still has a hand in all that. And he still hadn't broken up with her. And our hero, while he likes to talk big about not letting Anae control him, he still doesn't do anything to her when she clearly steps on his head. Good you know your balls are still intact my man. Pathetic
What was good
-The first scene in her bedroom when he covers her mouth and feels her up while she's scared. I see a lot of people having problems with that scene but I actually thought it did well at establishing their dynamics.
Bad
-The hero thinks he's all that when his girlfriend literally has fucked him up several times
-Heroine is dumb as hell and likes to talk about self-respect and not wanting to be the side piece but has no problem playing along when the time comes.
-Her getting over having her spread legs available for the whole school to view and then some in the span of one night is so fucking unrealistic I can't even believe it and that is where I stopped. I've seen dumb but this is beyond even what I can take
Trash. Seriously, I don't what it is with pushover heroines but this one is probably one of my most hated ones. I really liked her at the beginning, she seemed smart when she realized that Mallory, when she talks to her in the lunch line initially, was acting on Anae's orders inviting her to the party. However, this dumb bitch still goes to the party despite knowing that Anae probably has grand plans for her and then dies. Then Anae takes a lesson from Cruel intentions and Elites and sends off her boyfriend to fuck her enemy and ruin her, because that has never gone wrong before. Then this guy takes her up on the offer and our dear heroine is not suspicious at all on why a girl who hates her guts allows her boyfriend to be around her, no she just rolls with it. Bruh. Guy messes around with her and she, while making high claims of not fucking someone else's boyfriend, does shit like kiss him, flirt with him, having phone sex with him and send nudes to him. Which end up being spread to the whole school by the girlfriend. LOL. Said dumb bitch was very mad when it initially happened, talking about how quickly her feelings for Dare evaporated and whatever and like 2 pages later she's back to talking to him like he's her boyfriend. Like girl, even if he didn't give her that picture, she knew his damn passcode and posted it, he still has a hand in all that. And he still hadn't broken up with her. And our hero, while he likes to talk big about not letting Anae control him, he still doesn't do anything to her when she clearly steps on his head. Good you know your balls are still intact my man. Pathetic
What was good
-The first scene in her bedroom when he covers her mouth and feels her up while she's scared. I see a lot of people having problems with that scene but I actually thought it did well at establishing their dynamics.
Bad
-The hero thinks he's all that when his girlfriend literally has fucked him up several times
-Heroine is dumb as hell and likes to talk about self-respect and not wanting to be the side piece but has no problem playing along when the time comes.
-Her getting over having her spread legs available for the whole school to view and then some in the span of one night is so fucking unrealistic I can't even believe it and that is where I stopped. I've seen dumb but this is beyond even what I can take
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2023
5/5 ⭐️ WOW! This was so insane but I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!! It kept me invested the whole time! I’ve been in a bit of a slump lately and this one just really had me excited to read! Aubrey and Dare were so hot! This book definitely won’t be for everyone. Dare was a literal psychopath who didn’t redeem himself at all but I still loved him 🤷🏻♀�. I love a possessive and jealous alphahole and he delivered 👏🏼.
Dare & Aubrey’s relationship was very unhealthy and toxic but they loved each other in their own way. I both feared and adored Dare. He was crazy af but so hot and I loved how he was not willing to let Aubrey go even if it was against her will. And the spice?? So hot 🥵. It had me fanning myself at times 😅.
I really liked Aubrey’s character as well. The way she took care of her mom and took on so much responsibility after her father left them is very courageous.
The ending of this book had me on the edge of my seat. So much went down towards the end and I was literally scared of Dare at that point but somehow I still ended up loving him and his twisted ways 🤷🏻♀�.
I already can’t wait to reread it!
Overall, I really loved this book so much. It was messy, toxic, crazy, and entertaining but Dare definitely wont be for everyone. These are some of the things he said to Aubrey 🥵:
“Anyone who tries to split us up will have a very bad fucking time if I find out about it�
“I will kiss you wherever and whenever the fuck I want to�
“You’re mine, and I will do whatever the fuck I want to do with you�
“Unfortunately, I’ve already decided you’re mine, and you being afraid of me won’t change that�
“I fucking love you, Aubrey. Don’t you get that by now? I would kill for you, but I would never hurt a hair on your goddam head. I have ruined fucking lives to hold on to you, and I’d ruin more. The last thing I want is to lose you� 🥹🥰
“You’re mine. You’re fucking mine. It’s forever, and I won’t let anyone get in the way of that�
Dare & Aubrey’s relationship was very unhealthy and toxic but they loved each other in their own way. I both feared and adored Dare. He was crazy af but so hot and I loved how he was not willing to let Aubrey go even if it was against her will. And the spice?? So hot 🥵. It had me fanning myself at times 😅.
I really liked Aubrey’s character as well. The way she took care of her mom and took on so much responsibility after her father left them is very courageous.
The ending of this book had me on the edge of my seat. So much went down towards the end and I was literally scared of Dare at that point but somehow I still ended up loving him and his twisted ways 🤷🏻♀�.
I already can’t wait to reread it!
Overall, I really loved this book so much. It was messy, toxic, crazy, and entertaining but Dare definitely wont be for everyone. These are some of the things he said to Aubrey 🥵:
“Anyone who tries to split us up will have a very bad fucking time if I find out about it�
“I will kiss you wherever and whenever the fuck I want to�
“You’re mine, and I will do whatever the fuck I want to do with you�
“Unfortunately, I’ve already decided you’re mine, and you being afraid of me won’t change that�
“I fucking love you, Aubrey. Don’t you get that by now? I would kill for you, but I would never hurt a hair on your goddam head. I have ruined fucking lives to hold on to you, and I’d ruin more. The last thing I want is to lose you� 🥹🥰
“You’re mine. You’re fucking mine. It’s forever, and I won’t let anyone get in the way of that�
November 13, 2022
3.5 stars
I think that Sam Mariano just ins't the author for me. I really didn't mind the dark aspect of the hero or the romance in this book, but there was no plot to the book and I was a bit bored once we got halfway through the story. Dare decides to start a relationship with Aubrey after his girlfriend wants revenge for Aubrey not accepting a return of a shirt she wanted her money back for. Dare is definitely an interesting character and definitely a psychopath, so we see him pushing Aubrey and breaking every boundary with her while also charming her so that she falls in love. But that's the plot. Nothing else really happens and I just need more of a plot to enjoy a story like this. Their relationship was definitely interesting and I enjoyed seeing how they were going to make it work out, and I actually liked how protective Dare was over Aubrey, but I wish the story had some more substance.
I think that Sam Mariano just ins't the author for me. I really didn't mind the dark aspect of the hero or the romance in this book, but there was no plot to the book and I was a bit bored once we got halfway through the story. Dare decides to start a relationship with Aubrey after his girlfriend wants revenge for Aubrey not accepting a return of a shirt she wanted her money back for. Dare is definitely an interesting character and definitely a psychopath, so we see him pushing Aubrey and breaking every boundary with her while also charming her so that she falls in love. But that's the plot. Nothing else really happens and I just need more of a plot to enjoy a story like this. Their relationship was definitely interesting and I enjoyed seeing how they were going to make it work out, and I actually liked how protective Dare was over Aubrey, but I wish the story had some more substance.
June 5, 2023
weirdly enough, the thing i disliked the most about this book was the fact that it seemed like Dare (H) was gonna cheat on Aubrey (h) with her friend Hannah.
like I'M SORRY but we have him
what I liked about Even If It Hurts is that Sam Mariano took her sweet time to develop "feelings" on both sides. my main issue with the books i read by her is that they're usually a rape fest at the 5% mark and they come with some insta-obsession from the hero's part that leaves me thinking "okay but why are you THAT into her?" (i'm especially talking about this weirdo). yes Dare was randomly curious about Aubrey here, but the fact that he pretended to be a "good guy" for so long while talking to her, hanging out, taking her to school etc, made me understand why she started liking him and why he started liking her too! it didn't feel completely out of nowhere and i loved that. yes Aubrey was kind of dumb for not suspecting his motives sooner but the way he manipulated her was pretty well executed IMO.
on the other hand.... the fact that she was sort of in love with him by the time they finally have sex made the dubcon in this book a little weird. cause it wasn't an "i want to have you and i'll take you whether you want to or not" scenario. it was more of an "i have this specific non-consent kink, but you already love me and consent, plus you don't have that kink, so ... 💀" which results in . but this just left me thinking okayyyYyy if he likes raping people so much surely he's gonna get tired of his sweet consenting girlfriend? surely he's gonna want to find a non-consenting girl at some point? so his threats to rape Hannah felt suspiciously like something he wanted to do 💀
so apparently i hate cheating more than dub/noncon 🤡
also Anae's character, please 💀💀💀 as if it wasn't enough that Dare is with this psycho for like 85% of this book, the way she's ready to destroy Aubrey's life and even kill her BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PROLOGUE, LMFAAOOOOO. if you haven't read this book i dare you to read the prologue and not die of laughter. she really antagonized Aubrey because of THAT 💀
like I'M SORRY but we have him
a) constantly remarking she's pretty (how dare he even appreciate another woman's beauty 😤)
b) referring to her as "Cinderella" and then getting a tattoo of a clock striking midnight with broken glass.. what the fuck is up with that?!
and c) threatening her to rape her more than once.. which would normally not be romantic but THAT IS DARE'S LOVE LANGUAGE so what am i supposed to think 🤡
what I liked about Even If It Hurts is that Sam Mariano took her sweet time to develop "feelings" on both sides. my main issue with the books i read by her is that they're usually a rape fest at the 5% mark and they come with some insta-obsession from the hero's part that leaves me thinking "okay but why are you THAT into her?" (i'm especially talking about this weirdo). yes Dare was randomly curious about Aubrey here, but the fact that he pretended to be a "good guy" for so long while talking to her, hanging out, taking her to school etc, made me understand why she started liking him and why he started liking her too! it didn't feel completely out of nowhere and i loved that. yes Aubrey was kind of dumb for not suspecting his motives sooner but the way he manipulated her was pretty well executed IMO.
on the other hand.... the fact that she was sort of in love with him by the time they finally have sex made the dubcon in this book a little weird. cause it wasn't an "i want to have you and i'll take you whether you want to or not" scenario. it was more of an "i have this specific non-consent kink, but you already love me and consent, plus you don't have that kink, so ... 💀" which results in . but this just left me thinking okayyyYyy if he likes raping people so much surely he's gonna get tired of his sweet consenting girlfriend? surely he's gonna want to find a non-consenting girl at some point? so his threats to rape Hannah felt suspiciously like something he wanted to do 💀
so apparently i hate cheating more than dub/noncon 🤡
also Anae's character, please 💀💀💀 as if it wasn't enough that Dare is with this psycho for like 85% of this book, the way she's ready to destroy Aubrey's life and even kill her BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PROLOGUE, LMFAAOOOOO. if you haven't read this book i dare you to read the prologue and not die of laughter. she really antagonized Aubrey because of THAT 💀
November 18, 2022
To be loved so hard, so aggressively� it’s frightening, but intoxicating, too.
Dare is� a basket full of triggers all wrapped with a bow that Aubrey just can’t resist. I enjoyed Even if it Hurts by Sam Mariano, but this story is NOT an easy one to get through. The main male character in this one is by no means a hero, he is the hero, but he is more villain than anything. Aubrey is just you’re average high school girl who has been served a crap plate for breakfast lunch and dinner the last few years. She’s getting through it and working crazy hard when she crosses the wrong sociopath. ANYWAY, that’s all I really want to say. If you’ve read Sam’s Morelli series or Untouchable, then you’re probably fine reading this one. It has some differences, but the darkness is along those same lines. Can’t wait for more of her Coastal Elite world, I have a feeling it’s going to be amazing.
TW: cheating not between main couple, dubious consent, non-consent, physical assault, abuse, cancer, drowning, bullying, general unhinged gas lighting behavior, drugging someone without their knowledge.
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Dare is� a basket full of triggers all wrapped with a bow that Aubrey just can’t resist. I enjoyed Even if it Hurts by Sam Mariano, but this story is NOT an easy one to get through. The main male character in this one is by no means a hero, he is the hero, but he is more villain than anything. Aubrey is just you’re average high school girl who has been served a crap plate for breakfast lunch and dinner the last few years. She’s getting through it and working crazy hard when she crosses the wrong sociopath. ANYWAY, that’s all I really want to say. If you’ve read Sam’s Morelli series or Untouchable, then you’re probably fine reading this one. It has some differences, but the darkness is along those same lines. Can’t wait for more of her Coastal Elite world, I have a feeling it’s going to be amazing.
TW: cheating not between main couple, dubious consent, non-consent, physical assault, abuse, cancer, drowning, bullying, general unhinged gas lighting behavior, drugging someone without their knowledge.
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Currently reading
July 31, 2022This man is a villain for days, but if you're into that...
Even if it Hurts is LIVE!!!
Amazon:
Amazon UK:
Amazon AU:
Amazon CA:
ALTERNATE COVER:
Available in KindleUnlimited!
💌 If you've already read the story and want to commiserate with other readers or get my additional insights, you're also welcome to join my Coastal Elite spoiler room! Lots of good posts with lots of good information. Just make sure to answer the entry questions so you're approved to join. 😁
Even if it Hurts is LIVE!!!
Amazon:
Amazon UK:
Amazon AU:
Amazon CA:
ALTERNATE COVER:
Available in KindleUnlimited!
💌 If you've already read the story and want to commiserate with other readers or get my additional insights, you're also welcome to join my Coastal Elite spoiler room! Lots of good posts with lots of good information. Just make sure to answer the entry questions so you're approved to join. 😁
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July 31, 2022
i can't be the only one bothered he didn't drug and rape her on page
maybe a full review at a later date. i have thoughts but i'm too lazy to write
the short version:
I felt like I was watching a trainwreck become a trainwreck but I couldn't look away.
This was perfectly & purposefully written. SM knew what she was doing, and the author's note in the beginning should clue everyone in who was complaining about Aubrey.
Did I like her? Kinda.
Was she dumb? Sometimes.
Was she someone so interesting Dare should have fallen head over heels for? No.
But that's exactly why it worked. Because anyone else (like Hannah, who was lovely) would have never become so wrapped up in his sick games, or become so manipulated by him. It was why Dare was so vehement against Hannah, because she was the tiny voice of reason left behind that could make Aubrey see the reality instead of watching it through rose colored glasses.
The only reason this isn't 5* is because as good as the book was, I didn't buy the romance.
Did he love her? Yes, the only way he could. But that wasn't enough (for me). I've read plenty of psycho books and usually the heroine is an exception. Aubrey didn't necessarily feel like one. He didn't want to harm her, but he was capable of hurting her (perfect title, but SM knew exactly what she was doing)
I do want to read Hannah's book and I hope she has one in the future. I'm willing to bet her hero will be someone Dare sends to ruin her since he really hates her guts.
maybe a full review at a later date. i have thoughts but i'm too lazy to write
the short version:
I felt like I was watching a trainwreck become a trainwreck but I couldn't look away.
This was perfectly & purposefully written. SM knew what she was doing, and the author's note in the beginning should clue everyone in who was complaining about Aubrey.
Did I like her? Kinda.
Was she dumb? Sometimes.
Was she someone so interesting Dare should have fallen head over heels for? No.
But that's exactly why it worked. Because anyone else (like Hannah, who was lovely) would have never become so wrapped up in his sick games, or become so manipulated by him. It was why Dare was so vehement against Hannah, because she was the tiny voice of reason left behind that could make Aubrey see the reality instead of watching it through rose colored glasses.
The only reason this isn't 5* is because as good as the book was, I didn't buy the romance.
Did he love her? Yes, the only way he could. But that wasn't enough (for me). I've read plenty of psycho books and usually the heroine is an exception. Aubrey didn't necessarily feel like one. He didn't want to harm her, but he was capable of hurting her (perfect title, but SM knew exactly what she was doing)
I do want to read Hannah's book and I hope she has one in the future. I'm willing to bet her hero will be someone Dare sends to ruin her since he really hates her guts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2024
2.5 ⭐️ that was certainly a book
November 20, 2022
Even if it Hurts is a bully toxic high school romance. This book is full of abusive triggers. Since this book is not for everyone I know it is for me.
'"What’s your name?�
“You don’t know my name?�
“N.�
“I know yours.�
“Of course you do. I’m somebody. You’re clearly not, so� your name?�
“Fuck you,� she says, dismissing me with her gaze...'
Aubrey's life revolved in taking care of her ill mother and paying bills. Keeping up with her grades is the last thing in her mind, she has kind of become a recluse. No matter, when a disagreement with the queen bee of her school puts her in radar, she is pushed in a pool and was embarassingly saved from drowing by her nemesis' boyfriend.
Dare is the most terrible and spoiled man. He has people at his beck and call. He is malicious with every intent to harm his prey. Saving Aubrey from getting drowned was not his intent but to save himself from pest-y spectators and he wants to play with her only because it amuses him.
"ٲ.�
“Yes, baby?�
“How do I know you won’t hurt me?�
“Well, it helps not to give me a reason to.� He takes his cock out, leaning over me and lining it up at my entrance. “But at the end of the day,� he shoves his cock into me, “you just have to trust me.�
Dare is the perfect dark anti-hero. He is crazy, manipulative and psychotic. He forces Aubrey to take interest in him by using his equally psychotic girlfriend. Both Dare and his girlfriend doesn't care Aubrey has an ill mother with financial issues when they decide to ruin her. Though Dare was a caring lover who gave Aubrey some of her best days she was terrified of him. He is a crazy territorial beast, he considers Aubrey's best girlfriend as his competition and threatens her.
My fallout is towards Aubrey, she went from 10/10 to 2/10 as the story proceeds. Aubrey is not doormat she is just dumb. She makes good mental counter-accusations against Dare but I wish she would act on it. She fuels me up making me expect she will go crazy on Dare when he admits to doing his demented ways as revenge for those who bullied Aubrey but all she does is, 'I reach up and absently slide my fingers through his hair. I have no idea how to feel about all this, but I guess I’m glad he’s talking to me about it, too.'!!!
I have no problems with heroine who accept the way the hero is but before that show some defiance or unwillingness to accept the hero's behaviour or make negotiations. The heroine here feels like no salt in my delicious looking food.
The book is still a page-turner for me. The scenes are questionable and I enjoyed how the boundaries are exceeded. Expect the worst triggers.
“It isn’t a good idea to invite temptation into our relationship. I will never do it, and I expect you not to as well. I know you were only joking about being sick of me and joking is fine, but should you ever actually get sick of me, I would advise you to reflect on what made you love me in the first place and fucking bathe in it, because I will never, ever let you go.�
'"What’s your name?�
“You don’t know my name?�
“N.�
“I know yours.�
“Of course you do. I’m somebody. You’re clearly not, so� your name?�
“Fuck you,� she says, dismissing me with her gaze...'
Aubrey's life revolved in taking care of her ill mother and paying bills. Keeping up with her grades is the last thing in her mind, she has kind of become a recluse. No matter, when a disagreement with the queen bee of her school puts her in radar, she is pushed in a pool and was embarassingly saved from drowing by her nemesis' boyfriend.
Dare is the most terrible and spoiled man. He has people at his beck and call. He is malicious with every intent to harm his prey. Saving Aubrey from getting drowned was not his intent but to save himself from pest-y spectators and he wants to play with her only because it amuses him.
"ٲ.�
“Yes, baby?�
“How do I know you won’t hurt me?�
“Well, it helps not to give me a reason to.� He takes his cock out, leaning over me and lining it up at my entrance. “But at the end of the day,� he shoves his cock into me, “you just have to trust me.�
Dare is the perfect dark anti-hero. He is crazy, manipulative and psychotic. He forces Aubrey to take interest in him by using his equally psychotic girlfriend. Both Dare and his girlfriend doesn't care Aubrey has an ill mother with financial issues when they decide to ruin her. Though Dare was a caring lover who gave Aubrey some of her best days she was terrified of him. He is a crazy territorial beast, he considers Aubrey's best girlfriend as his competition and threatens her.
My fallout is towards Aubrey, she went from 10/10 to 2/10 as the story proceeds. Aubrey is not doormat she is just dumb. She makes good mental counter-accusations against Dare but I wish she would act on it. She fuels me up making me expect she will go crazy on Dare when he admits to doing his demented ways as revenge for those who bullied Aubrey but all she does is, 'I reach up and absently slide my fingers through his hair. I have no idea how to feel about all this, but I guess I’m glad he’s talking to me about it, too.'!!!
I have no problems with heroine who accept the way the hero is but before that show some defiance or unwillingness to accept the hero's behaviour or make negotiations. The heroine here feels like no salt in my delicious looking food.
The book is still a page-turner for me. The scenes are questionable and I enjoyed how the boundaries are exceeded. Expect the worst triggers.
“It isn’t a good idea to invite temptation into our relationship. I will never do it, and I expect you not to as well. I know you were only joking about being sick of me and joking is fine, but should you ever actually get sick of me, I would advise you to reflect on what made you love me in the first place and fucking bathe in it, because I will never, ever let you go.�
October 17, 2022
So I went into this expecting DARK. Like such dark depravity that I had to read through my fingers, or read with the light on. I mean I've read books that were so cruel I actually cried.
But I feel like I got the kids version of Dark. Yes very much mind the trigger warnings because Dare is a psycho....but like a baby psycho. I actually wanted to see him lock Aubrey up on deserted island. I mean maybe I've been spoiled by Anna Zaires because in Twist Me that's exactly what happens. Also I don't normally read YA because as a mom of three teenagers, there's a little ick factor for me in reading about two teenagers doing the nasty and a real rough dominant H at that.
It was entertaining. I was engrossed in the story, but I felt Dare didn't quite measure up to as dark as I wanted. Dare just threatened to remove people from Aubrey's life if he didn't like them getting in the way. Shay from Dylan Page's Torment actually did it....and in an extremely gruesome way to boot. I guess my overall feeling is I liked it but I want to see Dare in 15 years once he's filled out and really grown into his psycho.
But I feel like I got the kids version of Dark. Yes very much mind the trigger warnings because Dare is a psycho....but like a baby psycho. I actually wanted to see him lock Aubrey up on deserted island. I mean maybe I've been spoiled by Anna Zaires because in Twist Me that's exactly what happens. Also I don't normally read YA because as a mom of three teenagers, there's a little ick factor for me in reading about two teenagers doing the nasty and a real rough dominant H at that.
It was entertaining. I was engrossed in the story, but I felt Dare didn't quite measure up to as dark as I wanted. Dare just threatened to remove people from Aubrey's life if he didn't like them getting in the way. Shay from Dylan Page's Torment actually did it....and in an extremely gruesome way to boot. I guess my overall feeling is I liked it but I want to see Dare in 15 years once he's filled out and really grown into his psycho.
August 21, 2023
Адски мрачна и откачена вариация на “Опасн� връзки� с щастлив край, който всъщност изобщо не е щастлив. По-добре да беше нещастен, тук само трагедия би оправила нещата� Яко написана, само дето след втората половина положението вече е безнадеждно, и то не метафорично, а някои от второстепенните герои ми се искаше да са по-добре разгърнати.
3,5⭐️
August 1, 2022
What a ride! This was totally mindf…k.
I loved 🤷🏻♀�.
It’s worth the reading.
I loved 🤷🏻♀�.
It’s worth the reading.
avoid
August 18, 2022Self note Avoid
This author is not safe. Will avoid all future books as well.
Read Fre06 Begum's review and comments.
If you’re not familiar with this author, she had books in the past where she switched the heroines.
The H had an entire book with the Ow, then in later books, it turned into a sister-wives situation where the h had to share the H with the Ow for 4 years and the ow had his babies.
They, Matteo, Meg, and Mia, all lived in the same house.
And commenters are speculating that this book might lead to something like it. The heroine in this book might not even be the real heroine, she might be the ow, and Hannah might be his heroine. Will the H do a heroine switch again? Or maybe it’s another sister wives book?
I seriously don’t trust this author. 🤮
/review/show...
This author is not safe. Will avoid all future books as well.
Read Fre06 Begum's review and comments.
If you’re not familiar with this author, she had books in the past where she switched the heroines.
The H had an entire book with the Ow, then in later books, it turned into a sister-wives situation where the h had to share the H with the Ow for 4 years and the ow had his babies.
They, Matteo, Meg, and Mia, all lived in the same house.
And commenters are speculating that this book might lead to something like it. The heroine in this book might not even be the real heroine, she might be the ow, and Hannah might be his heroine. Will the H do a heroine switch again? Or maybe it’s another sister wives book?
I seriously don’t trust this author. 🤮
/review/show...
May 23, 2024
This one was hard to rate. I’m settling with a solid 3.5. Dare was an interesting character to say the least. I don’t think I had read anyone like him up until his book.
I enjoyed Aubrey and Dares story. I mean, I stomached it. Kinda wanted to know what was going to happen next and where the story was going. Similar to the Morelli men, I wouldn’t consider any of them my new book boyfriends and same goes for Dare.
I love Sam’s style. Her no fucks given attitude when it comes to her stories. She’ll write whatever she wants. Fuck blurred lines, she’s disintegrating them. I’m falling in love with her madness. This is true dark romance. None of this morally grey I’m secretly a cuddly bear shit. Na, Sam makes you queasy and I fucking love that shit.
I enjoyed Aubrey and Dares story. I mean, I stomached it. Kinda wanted to know what was going to happen next and where the story was going. Similar to the Morelli men, I wouldn’t consider any of them my new book boyfriends and same goes for Dare.
I love Sam’s style. Her no fucks given attitude when it comes to her stories. She’ll write whatever she wants. Fuck blurred lines, she’s disintegrating them. I’m falling in love with her madness. This is true dark romance. None of this morally grey I’m secretly a cuddly bear shit. Na, Sam makes you queasy and I fucking love that shit.
May 7, 2022
WHAT DID I JUST READ??? I... I'm not sure how I feel at the end of this. So many conflicting emotions.
All you people recommending this book to me and acting all mysterious and saying I'll enjoy it... you're all twisted. And you know me so well 🥲. What a strange, strange story.
This is the heartwarming, romantic story of an ever persevering love between two soul mates, who despite all obstacles and horrific conditions, struggle to stay together, even sacrificing their own wellbeing for each other. This is the love story between Aubrey and Hannah.
... just kidding, because that would've made far too much sense. No, this is the story of a sick psychopath who ruins the lives of all who displease him (and sometimes just for shits and giggles), his obsession with a broken girl who is struggling with abject poverty, and her only true friend (who she just so happens to have extreme amounts of unresolved sexual tension with).
So basically, the plot starts out introducing our heroine, Aubrey, who is going to some super richy rich elite high school. She is struggling to juggle a job while going to school while taking care of her terminally ill single mom, and as a result has no social life. She ends up drawing the ire of the crazy queen bee meangirl of the school, Anae, for refusing to process her shirt return at the clothing store she works at. We'll ignore that Anae is a super rich elite that has no need to return items for money.
Anae is batshit crazy and probably has an unhealthy pseudosexual fixation with our heroine she should work out takes offense to our heroine telling her no. So naturally, she obsesses over her and begs her boyfriend Dare to seduce our heroine and take her virginity before ruthlessly dumping her. Of course, she wants Dare to keep her updated on his progress, and her twisted preoccupation with Aubrey eventually culminates in her pushing desperately to watch as Dare rapes Aubrey, both alive and as a corpse 💀. Because that's how much she hates this minimum wage worker.
Basically Anae towards Aubrey:
Dare, on the other hand, is this story's lovely prince charming hero. He is the king of this rich school, and is as much a mental case as his girlfriend Anae. He first meets the heroine when rescuing her from drowning in his pool, and is immediately turned on by her tearful struggling to get away from hishard on lap. After Anae proposes her weird revenge plot to Dare, he is ecstatic and all over it. So he sets off on his seduction plan of our poor, unknowing heroine. Along the way, Dare finds himself falling in love with Aubrey, but eventually Aubrey will realize the truth of his pursuit.
This probably all sounds relatively cliche and frequently done in these bully romances - nothing you haven't seen before like in stories such as Cruel Intentions. But that's where you'd be wrong - you see, this author takes these cliche tropes and then proceeds to crank it up to 9000, completely screwing with her reader's minds.
In the first half of the book, the romance between Dare and Aubrey seems somewhat standard - they share romantic talks and moments, they open up to each other, and they promise to be truthful to each other (although Dare pushes for allowing "lies by omission"). There are moments where we get glimpses into Dare's unhinged mind - he rips off his girlfriend's nail, slashes out Aubrey's car tires, and plants the girlfriend's nail there as "evidence" to frame her, all so Aubrey will rely on him and carpool with him. One might easily discount that as being something evil he does as part of his plan before falling for our heroine, and that he will improve. After all, the earlier chapters in his POV show some empathy, with him feeling admiration and sympathy for Aubrey's situation.
Again, we'd be wrong. It gets worse. So much worse. Dare's psychopathy becomes clearer and clearer the further the book goes. He repeatedly drugs both Aubrey and her mom so that he can rape Aubrey's unconscious body. He forces her many times to have sex and violently rapes her while ignoring her discomfort or "no"s. Aubrey is stuck between a rock and hard place, seeing that whether or not her mom lives entirely depends on Dare's whims. So she tries to convince herself this is just rough, consensual sex, and Dare isn't so bad. Now, your girl Aubrey is not completely absolved of craziness here either. She takes more offense to the idea that Dare might ever cheat on her than she does about Dare being a complete crazed psychopath that goes around committing terrible acts of violence and ruin upon the people around her. Luckily for her, Dare is faithful to her during the course of the book, which is the most important quality 😌. Dare starts developing an unhinged obsession with Aubrey where he will use any leverage to keep her with him, and will destroy any obstacle that gets in his way.
This brings us to the subject of Hannah. Hannah is the sweet stepsister of Anae. She is the only person to approach Aubrey when she was down and attempts to befriend her with home-baked muffins. Aubrey is initially suspicious of Hannah, but quickly they develop a strong bond. In another book universe, Hannah would be the real heroine of the romance novel. But alas, she is in a Sam Mariano book. All I can say is that I'm not even super into girl/girl romance novels, but Hannah and Aubrey had mad chemistry together 🔥 🔥 💋. Legitimately squealed when Hannah braided Aubrey's hair and secretly took a video of her while gushing about how pretty Aubrey is 😍. I honestly think that they would have ended up together if your boy Dare didn't put a stop to their shit with his psychotic ways.
Aubrey asks Hannah to marry her multiple times ("jokingly" 👁👄👁), Hannah cooks and cleans for Aubrey, Aubrey gifts Hannah the expensive Dior necklace that Dare bought her, and they even sleep and cuddle together in bed after Aubrey's traumatic kidnapping. This of course results in Dare hating Hannah's guts. I love how mad he gets about it - it's honestly hilarious.
Your boy literally throws a fit over Aubrey eating Hannah's muffins.
“That’s not true,� he says casually, eyeing up the muffin like it’s Inigo Montoya and he killed its dad. “Why have you brought me this?�
I glance over at him. “You said you were hungry.�
He continues to eye it distastefully. “I don’t like muffins.�
...and it's casually revealed that the whole reason he took Aubrey to get her hair cut at a salon was because Hannah braided Aubrey's hair and took a romantic video of it.
I fit my hand over her jaw, lined up right along the bruises I left that Hannah covered up for her. Then I pet her pretty hair that Hannah braided and I cut off.
I lived for Dare's pettiness and explosive jealousy 😂😂. To try to get rid of his biggest threat and love rival, Dare threatens many times to violently rape Hannah, but that honestly doesn't seem to deter Hannah or Aubrey that much. They can't seem to stay apart from each other for very long. If Hannah had been a man, Dare comes right out and says he would have "eliminated" him long ago.
By the end of the story, though, there is no wholesome romance of Aubrey and Hannah riding off into the sunset. Aubrey is so broken and done, she accepts that she will never be able to safely leave Dare. She will endanger herself and everyone around her if she does, so she gives in to him. Dare knows it, she knows it, and he warns her not to forget that if she ever tries to leave, he will tighten her prison. Aubrey accepts the fact that her boyfriend has drugged and raped her, broken into her house with his psycho ex and kidnapped her, giving her trauma and making her believe she was going to get murdered and have her corpse fucked, catfished an internet troll and stapled their hands to a park bench, threatened repeatedly to rape her best friend if she ever leaves him, and threatened that her life will be ruined if she reports that he raped her. There is no getting off of this ride for her - not until Dare says so.
I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this book's ending. Even though it's a twisted HEA, I still get a much darker and conflicted feeling from it compared to other dark romance books. I'm never sure what exactly is true or how sincere Dare is about anything, and I kept going back and forth on it throughout the entire book.
On the surface, Dare "loves" Aubrey. The further the book goes along, the less it looks like his reason for loving her is due to her hard working and resilient nature. I can't help puzzling over what his real reason for "loving" Aubrey is? He refers to her as prey - a completely different type of person from himself and Anae. Not too stubborn and willful, but not too much of a pushover. His attraction to her seems heavily based on how he gets off on her fear of him. I suppose a reasonable explanation for part of his obsession is that Aubrey is ridiculously hot. She doesn't give herself enough credit, but your girl has to be hot af if both Dare and Anae are fighting over her as their prey (with Anae desperately wanting rape and necrophilia porn of her - yikes!) and even Hannah moons over how beautiful she is and was willing to risk everything for her. Must be a real QUEEN 💅.
Dare seems to value being truthful with her and wanting her trust, and yet I can't help but believe that despite his "no cheating or penetration" pact with Aubrey, he absolutely would go behind her back and rape Hannah to punish her if he felt Hannah overstepped her bounds with Aubrey. There's a sense of foreboding, especially since the epilogue isn't too far into the future, that Dare might eventually tire of Aubrey and dispose of her. I think I would've enjoyed the ending more if Dare's "love" for Aubrey seemed more concrete. As it is, I'm not entirely sure he won't just do to her what he did to other people who outlived their use. Is this realistic? Most definitely. But I would rather have an unrealistic HEA for twisted romance.
And then there was the strange photo he took of Hannah, which is never revealed exactly what he has planned for her. It's obviously nothing good, since he was pissed to see her wearing the necklace he gave Aubrey. I swear to God if he hurts that poor cinammonroll 🥺. Plus Dare even "joked" about having a threesome together (in a sinister way - your boy was plotting something I just know it 😨). And then he got a tattoo of that broken clock stuck at midnight, which obviously signifies Hannah ("Cinderella") being broken. WHAT HE PLANNING 💀. Also, low key I have a theory that Dare lied about needing Aubrey to dismiss the kidnapping charges and release Anae in order to save him. How could he get arrested if his family is so powerful? That sunnovabitch is too smart to not realize that Anae being released means Hannah is in danger. If even Aubrey thinks of it, Dare knows it. He's trying to get Hannah killed by using his ex gf after she gets released.
Safety:
* Heroine is a virgin, never had time for relationships.
* Hero is definitely NOT a virgin. Was a playboy that even slept with other women while with his current psycho girlfriend
* No OM drama, although a TON of tension between Heroine and her best female friend. Heroine denies it to angry jealous hero, but then again... she also knows he'd kill her friend if any attraction was admitted.
* OW drama - while the hero never cheats on the heroine once they get together, he does a lot of dubious shit. But at the same time, when he does do the stuff, it's all very calculating and clinical. Hero stays with his psycho girlfriend for almost the entire book, but doesn't sleep with her after getting with heroine. He threatens to rape the heroine's best friend many times and seems to mean it, but the threat is done entirely out of anger and hatred and jealousy towards her relationship with the heroine. Hero also catfishes and sexts a woman who bullied the heroine, meeting her at a park where she was in a compromising position with no panties... but did it out of revenge to staple her hands to the park bench.
* Scenes with rape and somnophilia
* Sex with condoms and without condoms
* HEA with epilogue not far into the future
All you people recommending this book to me and acting all mysterious and saying I'll enjoy it... you're all twisted. And you know me so well 🥲. What a strange, strange story.
This is the heartwarming, romantic story of an ever persevering love between two soul mates, who despite all obstacles and horrific conditions, struggle to stay together, even sacrificing their own wellbeing for each other. This is the love story between Aubrey and Hannah.
... just kidding, because that would've made far too much sense. No, this is the story of a sick psychopath who ruins the lives of all who displease him (and sometimes just for shits and giggles), his obsession with a broken girl who is struggling with abject poverty, and her only true friend (who she just so happens to have extreme amounts of unresolved sexual tension with).
So basically, the plot starts out introducing our heroine, Aubrey, who is going to some super richy rich elite high school. She is struggling to juggle a job while going to school while taking care of her terminally ill single mom, and as a result has no social life. She ends up drawing the ire of the crazy queen bee meangirl of the school, Anae, for refusing to process her shirt return at the clothing store she works at. We'll ignore that Anae is a super rich elite that has no need to return items for money.
Anae is batshit crazy and
Basically Anae towards Aubrey:
Dare, on the other hand, is this story's lovely prince charming hero. He is the king of this rich school, and is as much a mental case as his girlfriend Anae. He first meets the heroine when rescuing her from drowning in his pool, and is immediately turned on by her tearful struggling to get away from his
This probably all sounds relatively cliche and frequently done in these bully romances - nothing you haven't seen before like in stories such as Cruel Intentions. But that's where you'd be wrong - you see, this author takes these cliche tropes and then proceeds to crank it up to 9000, completely screwing with her reader's minds.
In the first half of the book, the romance between Dare and Aubrey seems somewhat standard - they share romantic talks and moments, they open up to each other, and they promise to be truthful to each other (although Dare pushes for allowing "lies by omission"). There are moments where we get glimpses into Dare's unhinged mind - he rips off his girlfriend's nail, slashes out Aubrey's car tires, and plants the girlfriend's nail there as "evidence" to frame her, all so Aubrey will rely on him and carpool with him. One might easily discount that as being something evil he does as part of his plan before falling for our heroine, and that he will improve. After all, the earlier chapters in his POV show some empathy, with him feeling admiration and sympathy for Aubrey's situation.
Again, we'd be wrong. It gets worse. So much worse. Dare's psychopathy becomes clearer and clearer the further the book goes. He repeatedly drugs both Aubrey and her mom so that he can rape Aubrey's unconscious body. He forces her many times to have sex and violently rapes her while ignoring her discomfort or "no"s. Aubrey is stuck between a rock and hard place, seeing that whether or not her mom lives entirely depends on Dare's whims. So she tries to convince herself this is just rough, consensual sex, and Dare isn't so bad. Now, your girl Aubrey is not completely absolved of craziness here either. She takes more offense to the idea that Dare might ever cheat on her than she does about Dare being a complete crazed psychopath that goes around committing terrible acts of violence and ruin upon the people around her. Luckily for her, Dare is faithful to her during the course of the book, which is the most important quality 😌. Dare starts developing an unhinged obsession with Aubrey where he will use any leverage to keep her with him, and will destroy any obstacle that gets in his way.
This brings us to the subject of Hannah. Hannah is the sweet stepsister of Anae. She is the only person to approach Aubrey when she was down and attempts to befriend her with home-baked muffins. Aubrey is initially suspicious of Hannah, but quickly they develop a strong bond. In another book universe, Hannah would be the real heroine of the romance novel. But alas, she is in a Sam Mariano book. All I can say is that I'm not even super into girl/girl romance novels, but Hannah and Aubrey had mad chemistry together 🔥 🔥 💋. Legitimately squealed when Hannah braided Aubrey's hair and secretly took a video of her while gushing about how pretty Aubrey is 😍. I honestly think that they would have ended up together if your boy Dare didn't put a stop to their shit with his psychotic ways.
Aubrey asks Hannah to marry her multiple times ("jokingly" 👁👄👁), Hannah cooks and cleans for Aubrey, Aubrey gifts Hannah the expensive Dior necklace that Dare bought her, and they even sleep and cuddle together in bed after Aubrey's traumatic kidnapping. This of course results in Dare hating Hannah's guts. I love how mad he gets about it - it's honestly hilarious.
Your boy literally throws a fit over Aubrey eating Hannah's muffins.
“That’s not true,� he says casually, eyeing up the muffin like it’s Inigo Montoya and he killed its dad. “Why have you brought me this?�
I glance over at him. “You said you were hungry.�
He continues to eye it distastefully. “I don’t like muffins.�
...and it's casually revealed that the whole reason he took Aubrey to get her hair cut at a salon was because Hannah braided Aubrey's hair and took a romantic video of it.
I fit my hand over her jaw, lined up right along the bruises I left that Hannah covered up for her. Then I pet her pretty hair that Hannah braided and I cut off.
I lived for Dare's pettiness and explosive jealousy 😂😂. To try to get rid of his biggest threat and love rival, Dare threatens many times to violently rape Hannah, but that honestly doesn't seem to deter Hannah or Aubrey that much. They can't seem to stay apart from each other for very long. If Hannah had been a man, Dare comes right out and says he would have "eliminated" him long ago.
By the end of the story, though, there is no wholesome romance of Aubrey and Hannah riding off into the sunset. Aubrey is so broken and done, she accepts that she will never be able to safely leave Dare. She will endanger herself and everyone around her if she does, so she gives in to him. Dare knows it, she knows it, and he warns her not to forget that if she ever tries to leave, he will tighten her prison. Aubrey accepts the fact that her boyfriend has drugged and raped her, broken into her house with his psycho ex and kidnapped her, giving her trauma and making her believe she was going to get murdered and have her corpse fucked, catfished an internet troll and stapled their hands to a park bench, threatened repeatedly to rape her best friend if she ever leaves him, and threatened that her life will be ruined if she reports that he raped her. There is no getting off of this ride for her - not until Dare says so.
I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this book's ending. Even though it's a twisted HEA, I still get a much darker and conflicted feeling from it compared to other dark romance books. I'm never sure what exactly is true or how sincere Dare is about anything, and I kept going back and forth on it throughout the entire book.
On the surface, Dare "loves" Aubrey. The further the book goes along, the less it looks like his reason for loving her is due to her hard working and resilient nature. I can't help puzzling over what his real reason for "loving" Aubrey is? He refers to her as prey - a completely different type of person from himself and Anae. Not too stubborn and willful, but not too much of a pushover. His attraction to her seems heavily based on how he gets off on her fear of him. I suppose a reasonable explanation for part of his obsession is that Aubrey is ridiculously hot. She doesn't give herself enough credit, but your girl has to be hot af if both Dare and Anae are fighting over her as their prey (with Anae desperately wanting rape and necrophilia porn of her - yikes!) and even Hannah moons over how beautiful she is and was willing to risk everything for her. Must be a real QUEEN 💅.
Dare seems to value being truthful with her and wanting her trust, and yet I can't help but believe that despite his "no cheating or penetration" pact with Aubrey, he absolutely would go behind her back and rape Hannah to punish her if he felt Hannah overstepped her bounds with Aubrey. There's a sense of foreboding, especially since the epilogue isn't too far into the future, that Dare might eventually tire of Aubrey and dispose of her. I think I would've enjoyed the ending more if Dare's "love" for Aubrey seemed more concrete. As it is, I'm not entirely sure he won't just do to her what he did to other people who outlived their use. Is this realistic? Most definitely. But I would rather have an unrealistic HEA for twisted romance.
And then there was the strange photo he took of Hannah, which is never revealed exactly what he has planned for her. It's obviously nothing good, since he was pissed to see her wearing the necklace he gave Aubrey. I swear to God if he hurts that poor cinammonroll 🥺. Plus Dare even "joked" about having a threesome together (in a sinister way - your boy was plotting something I just know it 😨). And then he got a tattoo of that broken clock stuck at midnight, which obviously signifies Hannah ("Cinderella") being broken. WHAT HE PLANNING 💀. Also, low key I have a theory that Dare lied about needing Aubrey to dismiss the kidnapping charges and release Anae in order to save him. How could he get arrested if his family is so powerful? That sunnovabitch is too smart to not realize that Anae being released means Hannah is in danger. If even Aubrey thinks of it, Dare knows it. He's trying to get Hannah killed by using his ex gf after she gets released.
Safety:
* Heroine is a virgin, never had time for relationships.
* Hero is definitely NOT a virgin. Was a playboy that even slept with other women while with his current psycho girlfriend
* No OM drama, although a TON of tension between Heroine and her best female friend. Heroine denies it to angry jealous hero, but then again... she also knows he'd kill her friend if any attraction was admitted.
* OW drama - while the hero never cheats on the heroine once they get together, he does a lot of dubious shit. But at the same time, when he does do the stuff, it's all very calculating and clinical. Hero stays with his psycho girlfriend for almost the entire book, but doesn't sleep with her after getting with heroine. He threatens to rape the heroine's best friend many times and seems to mean it, but the threat is done entirely out of anger and hatred and jealousy towards her relationship with the heroine. Hero also catfishes and sexts a woman who bullied the heroine, meeting her at a park where she was in a compromising position with no panties... but did it out of revenge to staple her hands to the park bench.
* Scenes with rape and somnophilia
* Sex with condoms and without condoms
* HEA with epilogue not far into the future
November 14, 2022
Angsty, dramatic, crazy, and just toxic af.
I have a lot of thoughts about this book but lack the skill to fully articulate them in a review. Or, I’m too lazy. Or both. At any rate, I think it’s cute how Sam Mariano says in the author’s note, “…if you meet a Dare in the real world, you should run like the wind.� Then proceeds to write a character that absolutely would not let you run away from him. 😂
Moving on�
* I still believe Aubrey’s dad is one of the biggest villains in this book! What kind of fucking “dad� leaves his dying wife with no healthcare coverage and his own daughter to have to support her and pay the bills, just so he can run off with some other woman? A total piece of shit, that’s who. But there are tons of people in real life just like him so maybe that was the most realistic part of this book. He was barely a part of the story but it still pissed me off because if he hadn’t left, Aubrey wouldn’t have ended up in Anae’s crosshairs. But then if that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have been so entertained. 🤡
* Aubrey: I feel like Sam Mariano set out trying to make her extra sympathetic what with the mom and job and all the responsibilities resting on her young shoulders. I wouldn’t say she was completely naïve; much like the heroine in Untouchable, she made stupid choices knowing they might be stupid. But then doing it anyway. I’m sure some would find this extremely frustrating. I find it somewhat less frustrating than a heroine so utterly gullibly trusting that she doesn’t even think to question whether she might be putting herself in harm’s way. At any rate, whatever choices Aubrey made with regard to Dare didn’t ultimately matter much because he was going to do what he wanted regardless.
* Dare: not just an “alphahole� bully. He was a psychopath, and he owned it. He was manipulative, scheming, and vindictive. Possessive and jealous in the extreme. The literal embodiment of a red flag. But not the kind of red flag you can avoid! Dare was confidently adept at getting whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it, by whatever means necessary. He was capable of being sweet/tender yet even when he was, there was that feeling that something dark was slithering just under the surface, waiting for any reason to be unleashed.
I have to say, I like that Mariano committed to an anti-hero that doesn’t magically become a better person because he met the heroine. If anything, he probably gets worse because he finally had something he didn’t want to lose. But in true psycho fashion, instead of trying to keep Aubrey by his side by being the kind of boyfriend she would want, he did so through threats and manipulation.
* Anae: very much Dare’s psycho counterpart but extra gross. Girl had some serious, deep-seated issues and at the very minimum deserved what happened to her.
* Hannah: a sweetheart, and willing to speak up even when it put herself at risk. Probably the best person in this whole damn book.
How I feel about the characters aside, this book kept me turning the pages. The more unhinged it got, the more I was there for it, and I stayed up waaay too late trying to finish it (I lost that battle, btw). Sometimes, I just want to see some really crazy shit go down and then somehow work out in the end, because real life isn’t like that—though I guess “work out� is a relative term.
Whether you like the ending or not depends on how you feel about Aubrey and Dare as a couple. Personally, I would not exactly call ending up with Dare an HEA. The real HEA for me is . Honestly, it was more of an HFN that left off in a way that felt open to possibilities. If Sam Mariano wrote a continuation of this story, I can’t say I wouldn’t pick it up.
I have a lot of thoughts about this book but lack the skill to fully articulate them in a review. Or, I’m too lazy. Or both. At any rate, I think it’s cute how Sam Mariano says in the author’s note, “…if you meet a Dare in the real world, you should run like the wind.� Then proceeds to write a character that absolutely would not let you run away from him. 😂
Moving on�
* I still believe Aubrey’s dad is one of the biggest villains in this book! What kind of fucking “dad� leaves his dying wife with no healthcare coverage and his own daughter to have to support her and pay the bills, just so he can run off with some other woman? A total piece of shit, that’s who. But there are tons of people in real life just like him so maybe that was the most realistic part of this book. He was barely a part of the story but it still pissed me off because if he hadn’t left, Aubrey wouldn’t have ended up in Anae’s crosshairs. But then if that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have been so entertained. 🤡
* Aubrey: I feel like Sam Mariano set out trying to make her extra sympathetic what with the mom and job and all the responsibilities resting on her young shoulders. I wouldn’t say she was completely naïve; much like the heroine in Untouchable, she made stupid choices knowing they might be stupid. But then doing it anyway. I’m sure some would find this extremely frustrating. I find it somewhat less frustrating than a heroine so utterly gullibly trusting that she doesn’t even think to question whether she might be putting herself in harm’s way. At any rate, whatever choices Aubrey made with regard to Dare didn’t ultimately matter much because he was going to do what he wanted regardless.
* Dare: not just an “alphahole� bully. He was a psychopath, and he owned it. He was manipulative, scheming, and vindictive. Possessive and jealous in the extreme. The literal embodiment of a red flag. But not the kind of red flag you can avoid! Dare was confidently adept at getting whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it, by whatever means necessary. He was capable of being sweet/tender yet even when he was, there was that feeling that something dark was slithering just under the surface, waiting for any reason to be unleashed.
I have to say, I like that Mariano committed to an anti-hero that doesn’t magically become a better person because he met the heroine. If anything, he probably gets worse because he finally had something he didn’t want to lose. But in true psycho fashion, instead of trying to keep Aubrey by his side by being the kind of boyfriend she would want, he did so through threats and manipulation.
* Anae: very much Dare’s psycho counterpart but extra gross. Girl had some serious, deep-seated issues and at the very minimum deserved what happened to her.
* Hannah: a sweetheart, and willing to speak up even when it put herself at risk. Probably the best person in this whole damn book.
How I feel about the characters aside, this book kept me turning the pages. The more unhinged it got, the more I was there for it, and I stayed up waaay too late trying to finish it (I lost that battle, btw). Sometimes, I just want to see some really crazy shit go down and then somehow work out in the end, because real life isn’t like that—though I guess “work out� is a relative term.
Whether you like the ending or not depends on how you feel about Aubrey and Dare as a couple. Personally, I would not exactly call ending up with Dare an HEA. The real HEA for me is . Honestly, it was more of an HFN that left off in a way that felt open to possibilities. If Sam Mariano wrote a continuation of this story, I can’t say I wouldn’t pick it up.
April 22, 2022
*Thank you to the author for an ARC of this title.*
This book will be included in the Coastal elites bind up for now, and eventually released as a "prequel" of sorts to her upcoming Coastal Elites story.
Well.. that was the roller coaster we a knew it would be, but also.. so much more.
Sam Mariano continues to level up and stretch what is comfortable. I mean, none of it is comfortable, let's just start with that. I've tried many stories from Mariano over the last few years that I normally would not have. I find that the way she approaches her "bad boys & psychopaths" to be so unique. Every time I think I've gone as dark as I can go... I met Dare.
This romance felt like a Domestic Thriller in a lot of ways to me. Unreliable narrators, hidden motives, and a thrilling 3rd act that had me flipping pages as fast as I could. My stomach dropped so many times and then in the next scene I would need to fan myself. Because... boy brings the HEAT.
This book had me questioning what I would put up with to have a man as obsessed with me as Dare is with Aubrey. That's the fun of fiction and the aspect of diving into a book with a dangerous love interest. I can get lost in a story like this and then safely close it and go back to my uneventful life.
Aubrey is just trying to keep her head down and make her mother's last days comfortable. She is barely getting by but she will do anything to just hold on. When she pisses off the wrong girl, her life gets thrown into the orbit of Dare, the King of the school and it sets some crazy things in motion.
I was captivated for the whole story and the only real detractor for me is that I was missing some of the connection between Dare and Aubrey. I was missing that extra something that makes me a ride-or-die for the story. Dare is a special kind of crazy calculated but that isn't the only thing I want. This book absolutely has an HEA but did I believe it? I don't know.
But if you love Sam Mariano and her brand of Bad Boy, this will be a book you have to read. She has a great authors note that covers what you might be in for, but I will list TW down below as well.
4 Stars
4.5 on this spice scale.
.
.
.
.
TW: Somnophilia, DubCon, NonCon, Drugging, Parent with an Illness, Violence, Bullying, Kidnapping, and probably a few more I am missing.
This book will be included in the Coastal elites bind up for now, and eventually released as a "prequel" of sorts to her upcoming Coastal Elites story.
Well.. that was the roller coaster we a knew it would be, but also.. so much more.
Sam Mariano continues to level up and stretch what is comfortable. I mean, none of it is comfortable, let's just start with that. I've tried many stories from Mariano over the last few years that I normally would not have. I find that the way she approaches her "bad boys & psychopaths" to be so unique. Every time I think I've gone as dark as I can go... I met Dare.
This romance felt like a Domestic Thriller in a lot of ways to me. Unreliable narrators, hidden motives, and a thrilling 3rd act that had me flipping pages as fast as I could. My stomach dropped so many times and then in the next scene I would need to fan myself. Because... boy brings the HEAT.
This book had me questioning what I would put up with to have a man as obsessed with me as Dare is with Aubrey. That's the fun of fiction and the aspect of diving into a book with a dangerous love interest. I can get lost in a story like this and then safely close it and go back to my uneventful life.
Aubrey is just trying to keep her head down and make her mother's last days comfortable. She is barely getting by but she will do anything to just hold on. When she pisses off the wrong girl, her life gets thrown into the orbit of Dare, the King of the school and it sets some crazy things in motion.
I was captivated for the whole story and the only real detractor for me is that I was missing some of the connection between Dare and Aubrey. I was missing that extra something that makes me a ride-or-die for the story. Dare is a special kind of crazy calculated but that isn't the only thing I want. This book absolutely has an HEA but did I believe it? I don't know.
But if you love Sam Mariano and her brand of Bad Boy, this will be a book you have to read. She has a great authors note that covers what you might be in for, but I will list TW down below as well.
4 Stars
4.5 on this spice scale.
.
.
.
.
TW: Somnophilia, DubCon, NonCon, Drugging, Parent with an Illness, Violence, Bullying, Kidnapping, and probably a few more I am missing.
July 26, 2022
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5)
Trope: psycho hero with good girl
Angst: 😱😱😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Sometimes you just sit back and think, WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST READ?!? 😂😂😂 And Even If it Hurts is definitely one of those stories. Aubrey has had some shit luck. Her mom got cancer, her dad took off, she's trying to pay the bills on her own, and the cherry on top is that she caught the attention of Anae, some psycho chick at school, when she refused to exchange her shirt at work. This incident sets off a waterfall of more bad crap when psycho chick tries to get her drowned, she almost dies, but ultimately draws the attention of ANOTHER psycho, our "hero", Chase, aka "Dare". Anae and Dare concoct a plan for him to seduce her, ruin her, and break her heart, because... well, because they're really just psycho, lol.
This book is definitely one of the craziest things I've ever read. I mean, I love me a good, clinically psycho hero, but Dare really takes the cake. You never really know where Aubrey stands with him. He is SO super over the top. Two words: non-consensual somnophilia. Or is that three? Regardless, you get the point, lol. This man has no line he will not cross to get the girl, keep the girl, protect the girl, and to do whatever the hell he wants to do TO the girl, lol. Super manipulative. The storyline is interesting despite the fact the incident this story is predicated on is pretty ridiculous. That being said, the story more than makes up for it from then on out. This is a heart pounding, non-stop roller coaster of a ride that will leave you mentally exhausted. I never really achieved being "comfortable" with their relationship, if you're looking for any kind of redemption on his part, you'll be sadly disappointed. Dare is a true anti-hero through and through. If you're looking for a highly entertaining and super smexy read that has you on a train to crazy town, you'll enjoy this book as much as I did!
This book was originally published in the Filthy Elites series, but is now being published as a standalone and is the first book in the Coastal Elite series by Sam Mariano.
⛔️ My bookshelves can sometimes contain spoilers
Trope: psycho hero with good girl
Angst: 😱😱😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Sometimes you just sit back and think, WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST READ?!? 😂😂😂 And Even If it Hurts is definitely one of those stories. Aubrey has had some shit luck. Her mom got cancer, her dad took off, she's trying to pay the bills on her own, and the cherry on top is that she caught the attention of Anae, some psycho chick at school, when she refused to exchange her shirt at work. This incident sets off a waterfall of more bad crap when psycho chick tries to get her drowned, she almost dies, but ultimately draws the attention of ANOTHER psycho, our "hero", Chase, aka "Dare". Anae and Dare concoct a plan for him to seduce her, ruin her, and break her heart, because... well, because they're really just psycho, lol.
This book is definitely one of the craziest things I've ever read. I mean, I love me a good, clinically psycho hero, but Dare really takes the cake. You never really know where Aubrey stands with him. He is SO super over the top. Two words: non-consensual somnophilia. Or is that three? Regardless, you get the point, lol. This man has no line he will not cross to get the girl, keep the girl, protect the girl, and to do whatever the hell he wants to do TO the girl, lol. Super manipulative. The storyline is interesting despite the fact the incident this story is predicated on is pretty ridiculous. That being said, the story more than makes up for it from then on out. This is a heart pounding, non-stop roller coaster of a ride that will leave you mentally exhausted. I never really achieved being "comfortable" with their relationship, if you're looking for any kind of redemption on his part, you'll be sadly disappointed. Dare is a true anti-hero through and through. If you're looking for a highly entertaining and super smexy read that has you on a train to crazy town, you'll enjoy this book as much as I did!
This book was originally published in the Filthy Elites series, but is now being published as a standalone and is the first book in the Coastal Elite series by Sam Mariano.
⛔️ My bookshelves can sometimes contain spoilers
May 5, 2022
I read this in the anthology. I’ve read Sam Mariano books before, so I went into it expecting dubious consent, a psycho hero, a bland heroine with 2 brain cells, and a story that drags on for too long. And, yes! All of this is true. But, I was pleasantly surprised I enjoyed it more than her other stuff.
Her books are often, “no plot, just dubious consent and Vibes.� So, I’ll give this one credit: it has more plot than her books usually do, and the heroine has more of a reason for being so dense. I can't say I emotionally connected to these characters, but it held my attention. If it hadn't been slow in the middle, I'd say it's sort of an erotic thriller.
The gist is that Aubrey’s mom is dying of cancer, and their family is just the 2 of them, so Aubrey is a high school girl who’s also the breadwinner of her household. She doesn’t have time for friends, so it makes more sense why she’s so easily swept away by Dare, a popular guy with a bad reputation and an evil girlfriend. When he starts giving her attention, he’s the only good thing in her life, and she has nobody else.
I mean, she’s still very stupid for getting involved with a guy who has an evil girlfriend and just ASSUMING he’ll break up with the girl. And, she just ASSUMES that when he’s nice to her, he’s genuine � when she's heard that he's not a good guy. And, he tells her that he and his girlfriend are similar people, so it’s not hidden from Aubrey that he’s NOT a dude that she should trust! She has no reason to believe that things with him are on the up and up, but she does anyway. So, I can't say I LIKE Aubrey, but, I can cut her a bit more slack than the average TSTL Sam Mariano heroine, since she’s lonely and doesn’t have friends to tell her to look at her life choices.
Dare is a typical Sam Mariano hero, but he’s the darkest one - darker than Carter OR Calvin, since He’s rich, hot, twisted, ruthless, manipulative, and unrepentant about dubious consent. But, his motivations feel less aimless than a lot of her other heroes. Unlike how Calvin pursues the heroine for NO reason in , Dare's relationship with Aubrey starts for a concrete reason: his sociopath girlfriend TELLS him to sleep with Aubrey and break her heart. Like heroes in this author’s other books, there’s not much examination of why Dare is this way. He just IS. But it works better for me here � maybe because the plot feels like it has some direction, and Dare has actual motivations to pursue Aubrey, unlike in , which has none of those things, and unlike , which is just all over the place.
It seemed clear to me from the jump that Dare actually DID like Aubrey, despite his shadiness. So, I wasn’t guessing about that (although clearly, this book wants to keep us guessing about that). I was more just wondering what would happen when Aubrey found out how their relationship started, and why he was still with his evil girlfriend for so long. There’s a real sense of mounting dread and tension throughout this story.
And about the OW drama...
As a sidenote, just like this author’s other heroes, he’s described as “spoiled.� That makes me think of famous spoiled rich guys in real life, who are deeply unsexy! And even aside from that, “spoiled� makes me think of petulant children! So, on multiple levels, that's a VERY weird way to describe a hero who’s supposed to be appealing. And yet, she keeps doing this, for some reason!
Anyway, this loses steam and lags in the middle, just like her other books. She really needs an honest friend or a better editor to tell her to cut at least 15,000 words out of each story. But, it held my attention for most of it, and the last few chapters become a tense erotic thriller - I didn't expect that, but I was here for it. After was aggressively Meh, and bored me, I was ready to swear off Sam Mariano. But after this one...I might be willing to give her another try. At the very least, I'll try Hannah's book when it comes out.
Her books are often, “no plot, just dubious consent and Vibes.� So, I’ll give this one credit: it has more plot than her books usually do, and the heroine has more of a reason for being so dense. I can't say I emotionally connected to these characters, but it held my attention. If it hadn't been slow in the middle, I'd say it's sort of an erotic thriller.
The gist is that Aubrey’s mom is dying of cancer, and their family is just the 2 of them, so Aubrey is a high school girl who’s also the breadwinner of her household. She doesn’t have time for friends, so it makes more sense why she’s so easily swept away by Dare, a popular guy with a bad reputation and an evil girlfriend. When he starts giving her attention, he’s the only good thing in her life, and she has nobody else.
I mean, she’s still very stupid for getting involved with a guy who has an evil girlfriend and just ASSUMING he’ll break up with the girl. And, she just ASSUMES that when he’s nice to her, he’s genuine � when she's heard that he's not a good guy. And, he tells her that he and his girlfriend are similar people, so it’s not hidden from Aubrey that he’s NOT a dude that she should trust! She has no reason to believe that things with him are on the up and up, but she does anyway. So, I can't say I LIKE Aubrey, but, I can cut her a bit more slack than the average TSTL Sam Mariano heroine, since she’s lonely and doesn’t have friends to tell her to look at her life choices.
Dare is a typical Sam Mariano hero, but he’s the darkest one - darker than Carter OR Calvin, since He’s rich, hot, twisted, ruthless, manipulative, and unrepentant about dubious consent. But, his motivations feel less aimless than a lot of her other heroes. Unlike how Calvin pursues the heroine for NO reason in , Dare's relationship with Aubrey starts for a concrete reason: his sociopath girlfriend TELLS him to sleep with Aubrey and break her heart. Like heroes in this author’s other books, there’s not much examination of why Dare is this way. He just IS. But it works better for me here � maybe because the plot feels like it has some direction, and Dare has actual motivations to pursue Aubrey, unlike in , which has none of those things, and unlike , which is just all over the place.
It seemed clear to me from the jump that Dare actually DID like Aubrey, despite his shadiness. So, I wasn’t guessing about that (although clearly, this book wants to keep us guessing about that). I was more just wondering what would happen when Aubrey found out how their relationship started, and why he was still with his evil girlfriend for so long. There’s a real sense of mounting dread and tension throughout this story.
And about the OW drama...
As a sidenote, just like this author’s other heroes, he’s described as “spoiled.� That makes me think of famous spoiled rich guys in real life, who are deeply unsexy! And even aside from that, “spoiled� makes me think of petulant children! So, on multiple levels, that's a VERY weird way to describe a hero who’s supposed to be appealing. And yet, she keeps doing this, for some reason!
Anyway, this loses steam and lags in the middle, just like her other books. She really needs an honest friend or a better editor to tell her to cut at least 15,000 words out of each story. But, it held my attention for most of it, and the last few chapters become a tense erotic thriller - I didn't expect that, but I was here for it. After was aggressively Meh, and bored me, I was ready to swear off Sam Mariano. But after this one...I might be willing to give her another try. At the very least, I'll try Hannah's book when it comes out.
August 14, 2022
Bewitching mind twist
I went into this story blind, and I'm glad I did. The beauty was in the unexpected, wondering who was sincere, the dichotomy of personality, good and bad. S. Mariano creates some of the best antiheroes, which I can't help but adore: possessive, unconventional, and ruthless in their pursuit.
This all started with a disgruntled customer, Dare's girlfriend, who decides she has it in for Aubrey, and turned into a game, machinations of epic portions -- Dare, Aubrey, strategizing, other woman scheming. Every scene was a question of who to believe and oh my gosh did that really happen around an altruistic and burdened heroine, Aubrey. She was sweet with confidence, innocence with skepticism. Dare was dashing, charismatic, privileged but with a darkness under the surface, yet so alluring in his confidence, villainous smile, and endearing smirk. He could make you (or force you, if that didn't work), to believe the sky wasn't blue. Dare was � sinisterly intimidating, and Aubrey was intoxicated. He gets into you veins and poisons your blood. At first, you think you’re just a little sick, but then you realize what you’re infected with� it’s severe, and there’s no cure. Dare had it all, the irredeemable antihero. Yet I loved his character.
There was so more to this story; the events keep me entrapped with how everything unfolded. I savored the confusion of not knowing, the trepidation.
Medium burn and told from mainly Aubrey point of view (in first person), there was such a tangible attraction between the two. A fair amount of spice with some hot kinkiness (roughness, "unawares") which I loved. Some questions left unanswered, but overall, a hit for me. Romantic suspense, mystery, and obsession. I hope for more books in this world and more antiheroes.
I went into this story blind, and I'm glad I did. The beauty was in the unexpected, wondering who was sincere, the dichotomy of personality, good and bad. S. Mariano creates some of the best antiheroes, which I can't help but adore: possessive, unconventional, and ruthless in their pursuit.
This all started with a disgruntled customer, Dare's girlfriend, who decides she has it in for Aubrey, and turned into a game, machinations of epic portions -- Dare, Aubrey, strategizing, other woman scheming. Every scene was a question of who to believe and oh my gosh did that really happen around an altruistic and burdened heroine, Aubrey. She was sweet with confidence, innocence with skepticism. Dare was dashing, charismatic, privileged but with a darkness under the surface, yet so alluring in his confidence, villainous smile, and endearing smirk. He could make you (or force you, if that didn't work), to believe the sky wasn't blue. Dare was � sinisterly intimidating, and Aubrey was intoxicated. He gets into you veins and poisons your blood. At first, you think you’re just a little sick, but then you realize what you’re infected with� it’s severe, and there’s no cure. Dare had it all, the irredeemable antihero. Yet I loved his character.
There was so more to this story; the events keep me entrapped with how everything unfolded. I savored the confusion of not knowing, the trepidation.
Medium burn and told from mainly Aubrey point of view (in first person), there was such a tangible attraction between the two. A fair amount of spice with some hot kinkiness (roughness, "unawares") which I loved. Some questions left unanswered, but overall, a hit for me. Romantic suspense, mystery, and obsession. I hope for more books in this world and more antiheroes.
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