Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖 (This one was shorter, which helped it!)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥+
Humor: A touch
Perspective: first person from the heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to fast
When mains are first on page together: took a little bit, about 18% (though it’s a short novel)
Cliffhanger: This ends with a happily ever after (though there is a sequel)
Epilogue: Yes (not too far in the future)
Format: bought e-book
Why I chose this book: I was searching for some Halloween/spooky themed reads for October – not sure how I came across this one specifically but maybe a ‘similar to’ list from Amazon or Goodreads?

Should I read in order?
This is the first in Smith’s Her Stalker series.

Basic plot:
Against her better judgment, Blaire attends a Halloween party and comes face to face with her stalker.

Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance – Texas setting (college?)
- dark romance elements – you should be okay with dubious consent and non consensual acts
- stalker hero
- shorter novel
- ravishment fantasy
- higher steam – 6ish scenes that include primal play, knife play, praise, degradation (with some caretaking), and exhibitionism

Ages:
- I don’t think they’re mentioned

First line:
Melanie was looking at me with pleading eyes, her blue-gray eyes almost enough to make me cave.

My thoughts:

“Not so fast, doll.”
I didn’t have time to scream.
A hand clamped over my mouth, and the man’s arm snagged around my waist, yanking my body back against his.


I wasn’t expecting too much from this novel – I just wanted some nice stalker ravishment fantasy 😆 . But I was a bit disappointed here. Something that can bother me is the overuse of italics. And once I saw it here I couldn’t unsee it. I also wasn’t a big fan of the random exhibitionism scenes. I’ll admit that is one of my least favorite kinks, but sometimes I can like it.

I dunno, it was okay. Like it was a smutty 79 pages that basically delivered what it said it would, so if you’re looking for a naughty, high steam Halloween read, this might fit the bill!

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This is my first by this author
Average rating: 3 stars
Favorite book: I guess this one

Endearments

The hero calls the heroine ‘doll’ 

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- the hero stalks the heroine, then kidnaps her and forces her in to sex, threatening her with a knife

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

Safe sex: 

  No 

Hows the consent? 

  If you want consent in your novels, I’d bypass this one 

Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!) 

  No children, but some talk about getting pregnant and trying to get pregnant and there is pregnancy in the epilogue 

32% - 🔥 primal play leading to fingering for her, missionary, followed soon after by her on top
“Blaire,” he whispered in a warning.
“Please,” I blurted. I was aching for him. I didn’t know how it was possible. I was putting it down to me being as crazy as the rest of my unstable family. “Please touch me,” I begged him.
“Just touch you?” he asked, a teasing note in his voice. “I’m already touching you, doll.”

42% - 🔥 primal play, doggy

I was a dirty, nasty mess, but I didn’t care. I was a mess because of him.
“Fight me, doll,” he rasped.

55% - 🔥 blow job, him behind her sex

He kept stroking, his eyes locked on me.
“On your knees,” he finally commanded.

74% - 🔥 group sex – they walk in on the heroine’s roomates having sex and start having sex too
82% - 🔥 her on top while driving
95% - 🔥 sex in front of hero’s friends