Such A Good Guy

by Kate Raven

THIS IS A VILLAIN GETS THE GIRL ROMANCE

Every Jane Austen loving psychopath needs a fixation, and she's his. . .

Introverted crystal shop owner Luna Gallagher's troubled older brother Adrian is finally getting his life back together when he dies unexpectedly touring Canada with his best friend, TikTok pop star sensation Luke O'Neill. Luna heads over to help plan the funeral, but Luke's sweet golden retriever personality grates on her. When Luke tells the uninterested Luna that he always had a crush on her, she rejects him firmly.

But when Luna starts uncovering some of Luke's secrets, she finds out he'll do anything she says . . .

Except stop

Author's Book is dark, bad, toxic

Genres: Dark Romance, Dark, Friends To Lovers, Novella, Romance, Contemporary, Smut

139 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 16, 2024

Reviews

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

now THIS is the type of OTT I’m talking about

Is it unhinged?

Yuuuuuuppp 🫣

Is it triggery?

Of course 🤷‍♀️

Did I devour it while smiling, covering my face, cringing, and swooning at different times?

Oh yeah 🫣😈😅👀

Don’t let the title fool you though… cause Luke is NOT such a good guy like he makes the world believe 🤣

But that’s alright with me 🫣 cause he’s ALLLL about his Luna 🥹❤️

Luke (31) has been O B S E S S E D (i wish I could capitalize this more) with Luna (27) for 9 years, ever since he saw her when she was a freshman in college.

Like. Look up the word crazily obsessed and you’ll get his “good guy” as the definition 🤣🤣🤣.

Luke’s no ordinary guy. He’s certifiable. A psychopath. Legit crazy. But when he sees Luna, it all changes for him. She makes the crazy stay away 😅. But she becomes his sole purpose in life 😬. He eats, sleeps, breathes Luna 😅. He’ll do anything to make her happy 🫶 even if it means committing crimes 🫣.

He just hopes she’s ready for him 😅🫣🫣🫣

What I liked: SPOILERS
—How OBSESSED Luke is 😅. Yes. It’s bad. Like red flags, all the warning, caution ⚠️ DO NOT PROCEED, get out while you can bad 🫣 but I liked it 🫣🫣🫣 I don’t know what’s wrong with me 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Maybe it’s because Luke is HOT AF, a superstar, fit, and he’s ONLY ever about Luna, which we RARELY get in books🤷‍♀️ (and even RL 😑). He sacrifices anything in order to make her happy ❤️

—he makes charms out of her 🥹. Yes. I know it’s crazy. But it’s also kind of sweet 🫶. He has to sniff her hair or else he becomes even MORE unhinged, and that’s so sweet 🥹 (I definitely cackled about the wisdom teeth 🤣)

—SOMNOPHILIA GAAAAALORE 😅. Meh. Who needs Luna awake anyway? Not Luke 🫣😅🤣🤣🤣

—the non con/dub con 😅. Well. If she’s asleep… 😬 but even when she’s awake… 😅 doesn’t really matter 🫣🫣🫣

—getting her pregnant 🫶. Look. I know it’s wrong, but all he wants to do is give her the family she’s been craving and wanting 🥹❤️ isn’t he sweet? 🥹

—if Luna says jump, not only does Luke ask how high but he’ll also ask what else she wants 😅🤣. DEVOTION 👏

—oh yeah. The 🔥. So… he’s never 💦 before he met Luna (so he’s definitely a virgin) and we start to see 🔥 around 40% 😅. The first time she’s awake though is after 70% (good thing this book is short). He has no qualms about any of this either 😅🫣

—he only has ever gotten hard for Luna 👏👀

—PREGNANCY FOR HELPFUL DADDIES Book 🤣

—the times I giggled 🤣🤣🤣

What I didn’t like/wanted more of: SPOILERS
—the stupid OW scenes 🙄. Like these flight attendants propositioning him on the plane while he’s “silently” pleasuring Luna was so stooooopid 🙄. It doesn’t cause “drama” but it was just so annoying. Other women want him as well

—Luna trying to get women for Luke 🙄. Good thing those women are basically like gnats to Luke 🤣👏👏

—why didn’t Luke do something sooner 🤦‍♀️ why wait so long to act 🤦‍♀️. Maybe she wouldn’t have been talking to other guys 🤷‍♀️

—questionable things 🤔 like… how TF did Luna really sleep though him removing her IUD? Or funneling his 💦 in her? Or using his fingers on the plane? Or other 🔥 scenes? 🤣🤣🤣 come on🤣 unless she was drunk or drugged, I just don’t believe it 🤣🤣🤣

—Luke being taken advantage of 😬. Come on Luke 😅🫣 be smarter 😅

Overall, I enjoyed this ❤️

⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/true owd *
-violence/murder
-OMD- the kills a man that was dancing with the h 😅 he’s also killed others because of her 🫣
-Owd- although there isn’t really drama because of other women, there’s a scene where two women proposition the H while he’s on a plane fingering the h 🙄. The h is asleep though, so she doesn’t know what’s happening. Earlier in the book, the h tries to organize a bunch of women to entice the H, but he never has eyes for anyone else but her so it doesn’t work 😅🤷‍♀️
-noncon/dubcon
-somnophilia/breeding/bc tampering
-virgin H/experienced h
-no condoms
-HEA/epilogue ish (18 months later)

[Izzah ꒰Duchess of Cabria ಇ ⭑✧ ᴏɴ ᴘᴀᴛʀᴇᴏɴ ✧ ⋆꒱ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The original combo was too enticing to pass up

A golden retriever black-hearted psychopath? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes!

To be honest, all three stars are just for him. Not that I hated the heroine, but the author didn't do a good job giving us a good reason, or even a believable explanation why she never thought of him as anything other than a friend.
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this for review from booksirens.

This was definitely an in uniqe and intense reading experience. The mmc is very unhinged and I loved how the author still made me very intruiged in him and the relationship and by the end being very happy at the HEA. At times it went bit far but still the author made it a good story. I've read from this author before and would definitely read more

[Jen ♥]

Well, this is something.

Idk how to feel about this in all honesty. Luke (31) is a psychopath who has been obsessed with Luna (27) for the last nine years. But smart, he was not.

His sole focus is on his girl, and over time, people have taken advantage of his cluelessness about things that don't involve Luna. But he didn't care about how others used him, as his sole purpose in life was to keep Luna safe and happy.
 
An OTT-obsessed, possessive H would normally make me swoon, but Luke just didn’t do it for me. Honestly, he kind of freaked me out, and I felt pretty uneasy throughout this novella. 

Luna wasn't into him, like, at all! He got her pregnant while she was asleep, and a lot of what went down happened when she was in that state. Then out of nowhere, after pushing him away and claiming she never saw him in a romantic way, Luna did a complete turnaround at the end of the book and realized she actually loved him. How did that happen? I have no clue. 
 
This novella involves a significant amount of somnophilia and non-consensual behavior. Make sure to look out for those trigger warnings. It's definitely a dark romance, but somehow, it didn't work for me. I want both MCs to be in sync, and Luna pretty much just tagged along for the ride.


Book info:
- Novella
- Psychopath H
- Brother's best friend
- Obsessed H
- No cheating, OM/OW, separation
- V MMC (??? Not sure, but I think he is)
- HEA (18 mos later, married with twins)


PS. I guess my only problem is that for someone who's super obsessed, he seems lenient about her sleeping with OM. It’s pretty clear that she had some experiences before, and the guys only ghosted her when Luke caught wind of it. In some books with a psychopathic H, the guys will go to great lengths to c*ckblock the FMC. But here, Luke wasn't proactive about that, and Luna talking about having a ONS and not getting any action for quite some time only proves that.

[Jessie ツ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️5 (purely for vibes)
🌶️3.5

✓ psychopath H w himbo/golden retriever energy towards h (it was a fun combo)😩

I loved this so much, wish it were longer. The vibes were vibing & I honestly found this pretty funny, it had me cracking up at H’s monologue.

The story’s structure & pacing however…could use work (esp nearing the end!)

**⚠️ NOTE: Safety ↓ contains some spoilers

——ˋˏBLURBˎˊ——
👀🖤🫵💦🤰
H trying to figure out how to make h love him. He tries to emulate things she likes/said but due to his being a fucking psycho he takes some of her words a bit too literally…

When she doesn’t fall in love w him from that … he decides to let his inner feral beast out 🖤

———MY THOUGHTS———
It was a ‘light-dark’ story imo. There was a humorous undertone to everything. I was into this for the character interactions, monologues, & vibes.

⤷ LIKES
-psycho obsessed H
-it was kinda so cute how H is clueless & misunderstands stuff when trying to get h attention
-funny inner monologues
-H never felt desire, lust, emotion until h
-smthn ab the vibes in this HAD ME HOOKED💦

⤷ DISLIKES
-shortcuts in dialogue/scene setting
-plot & minor time jumps
-rushed ending!

— MCs —
H - [31] musician, insane, funny but insane
h - [27] accountant, owns crystal shop, sassy

~met when h was freshman in college, H senior~

——•TROPES & SUCH•——
🖤
-brothers friend
-psycho H
-himbo energy
-breeding kink
-forced pregnancy
-stalker tendencies
-humorous undertone
-virgin H
-non virgin h
-HEA

———•SAFETY•———
No OWD
╰─➤H, never once looked @ anyone else😈; absolutely no OW hx

No real OMD
╰─➤few times of H jealous OM (nothing serious)

CW/TW
╰─➤dubcon, forced pregnancy (h unaware), somno (not penetrative), bc tampering

———NOTES———
⚠️SPOILERS BELOW!!!
•
•
•
•
•
⚠️
-were we not gonna talk ab her brother dying ??? like they casually mentioned it but not one actual sentence including feelings ab it. it was just said almost factually that brother died…that’s it. (esp in those scenes when we first heard ab it ??)

-Full length would’ve been better. Those scenes w the nurse, h coming to terms w feeling ab H, ending in general etc weee rushed and missing necessary dialogue to make the natural progression feel realistic & give us full details!

-Luna deciding she acc loves Luke & accepts him.. totally lacking on inner monologue there. Needed more explanation of her thoughts.

[Kate V · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luke has forever engraved himself in my top sociopath MMCs list. This guy was legit crazy and I loved every second of his crazy. EVERY SECOND.

The heroine? Didn't like her. One bit. Sue me.

The stars for this read is for Luke. Don't ever stop writing these MMCs Kate! I mean Jake still lives rent free in my head.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a Kate Raven fan, you already know that her MMCs are generally psycho, unhinged, and unapologetically obsessed with their respective FMCs. But Luke O’Neill might just take the cake with how infatuated he is with Luna Gallagher.

Luke first met Luna when he befriended her brother Adrian in college. Ever since their initial encounter, he’s been secretly in love with and completely obsessed with her — to the point where he (tiny spoiler alert) collects locks of her hair. Yeah, that level of crazy. And this is far from the only strange thing he does, but I don’t want to spoil all the juicy bits for you. (Wait until you get to the part about Luke’s bracelet. 😳)

Luke reminded me a bit of the MMC in “5,000 Nights of Obsession” by Drethi Anis in that he’s a famous musician, and partially seemed to pursue that path because he thought it was what Luna wanted. He also tries to be a perfect, polite, and respectable gentleman to Luna and everyone he meets, all because of Luna’s past assertions that she wanted a man who was gentlemanly. Whatever Luna wants, Luke wants to give her. And when Luna makes an offhand remark about wanting a family, well, Luke sees an opportunity to make Luna his once and for all.

But will the fiercely independent and feisty Luna finally accept her true feelings for Luke — especially once she realizes that his golden retriever demeanor is all an act?

Even though Luna is very resistant to Luke’s advances at first, I absolutely loved how protective she is of him throughout their friendship — and beyond. I very much enjoyed the dynamic between the two, even though their relationship is the kind that you can only approve of in fiction. There are definitely toxic elements that wouldn’t translate well in real life.

That said, there are some lighter moments sprinkled throughout the story. Kate Raven absolutely excels at dry humor, and some parts had me rolling (like Luke’s repeated references to a book called “Pregnancy for Helpful Daddies,” and Luna’s frequent characterization of Luke as a “himbo”).

One last thought: Calling this a “brother’s best friend” romance is a bit of a misnomer, as in my view, Luke and Adrian are hardly even portrayed as friends in the story, let alone best friends. There’s also a big reveal late in the book that casts further doubt on them ever having been BFFs. This didn’t bother me, though. I was more interested in reading a romance with a psycho MMC than a brother’s-best-friend romance, anyway. ☺️

In closing, if you’re in the mood for a wild, sexy, unhinged, and downright nuts love story, look no further than “Such a Good Guy.” You won’t be disappointed!

One of Luna’s best quotes: “No, what was inside Luke was a bunch of feral amoral darkness that had somehow reoriented every godd*mn psychotic cell toward one single thing. Me.”

One of Luke’s best quotes: “My brain was often like a spiderweb, long periods of an almost fugue sleepwalking state, then unknowable bright strands connecting shards of glass and sudden violence.”

[Spender of Money · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good lord, I seriously love this authors writing. (Both known-to-me pen names.)

She writes with no shame, leans into the clearly defined lines and creates FICTIONAL stories -I just can’t get enough. Im okay with that. I shimmied and giggled after reading the authors note, and spent a good minute setting up my reading space, making sure I had anything and everything I would need, within arms reach.

Okay, with that being said, Luke was a horrific, hot mess and pretty much stole the show. I don’t think I’d like to meet him in real life (I hope), but I’d be aaalllll over a sequel, and have already re-read my top Luke scenes.

Luna was a delightful mix of introvert around unfamiliar people, but snarky and witty when she’s comfortable.

Their dynamic was entertaining, hot and so very illegal. I cannot wait for more from this one-click (to me) author.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guys always just want casual shit
No one wants a family anymore.
Guys just want booty calls or situationships. I’m sick of it.
Not me. There’s nothing casual about what I feel for her. I want Luna to be mine, forever.
And if she wants a family, I am happy to give it to her.

SUMMARY

Such a Good Guy is a psychopath stalker brother's-best-friend simp celeb pop-star nonconsensual breeding romance. Yes.

Luke is not like the other guys. In a sea of fuckboys and casual relationships, Luke is a gentleman. He’s only ever had eyes for Luna, his best friend’s younger sister. Luke knows everything about Luna—her favorite books, her dreams—and is willing to lay the world at her feet! What will it take to make Luna see they belong together?

Wait, sorry, no, Luke is a literal psychopath who wears a necklace made from stolen locks of Luna’s hair, sneaks into her room to watch her sleep, and kills men for perceived wrongs against her. He acts the perfect gentleman, because that’s the kind of man Luna wants, but Luke couldn’t be farther from a “good guy.”

When Luna laments that she can’t find a guy who wants to settle down and have a family, Luke, as a gentleman, knows he must oblige. So, naturally, he breaks into Luna’s bedroom and uses a turkey baster to impregnate her while she sleeps. Now Luna will get the baby she’s always wanted and be forever Luke’s.


REVIEW/NOTES
I really want to write a long, in-depth review of this book—it deserves it—but I am trying not to take review writing so intensely in the new year. Instead, here is a loose review based on my reading notes:


“Nice Guy”

I loved the way this book twisted the “nice guy” trope where a guy feels he has been “friendzoned” by a girl for treating her “like a gentleman,” the rrhetoric that girls always go for assholes and “nice guys finish last,” etc., when we know that these “nice guys” are not acting nice because they are nice but because they want to get rewarded for their good behavior.

Luke is a certified psychopath, dangerous, unhinged. He is very much not a “good guy.” He acts “like a gentleman,” against his nature, because he knows that it pleases Luna. He chooses to wear this mask not to get in her pants but to make her happy.


Himbo Psychopath

“I may not be one of the genius type of killers, but at least I know you’re not supposed to leave fingerprints."

It’s not every day you come across a himbo psychopath! Luke is so deranged but also sooo simple. People take advantage of him constantly because he is rich and bad with money and he needs Luna to save him. It was funny and unusual to have a psychopath who just acts, doesn't think things through. Very original!

Humor

I wonder how I should kill him. Maybe I should throw him overboard.
But my life is ruled by one fucking simple rule.
How would this affect Luna
If I throw him overboard, they might stop or delay our cruise ship route, and I know Luna has been looking forward to reading her book on a sunny beach with white sand tomorrow.

I was entertained by Luke always took Luna’ feelings and wellbeing into consideration even while doing the most unhinged things.

”Who the fuck are you, man?” he rasps.
“I’m the guy who takes anything said about Luna very personally,” I say.
Then I take my knife and cut into his eye sockets, popping both eyeballs out.

Simpy MMC

Luke is the simpiest simp to ever simp. He caters to Luna’s every desire even at his own expense. He physically hurts himself to control his boner and let her have a good, carefree, creep-free evening. He gently removes her iud because she wants a family and he knows that gentlemanliness is very important to Luna.


“Niceness”

“I don’t have to keep them if it bothers you,” I said.
“It doesn’t make a difference,” she snapped. “Because you are the kind of guy who picks up wisdom teeth, whether or not you give them up when you get caught.

I realized something about myself because of this book. One of my friends, (hi, Nenia) gave me a compliment and my response was, “You are so sweet, but I will never believe any compliment anyone gives me.”

And I realized that the reason I have that reaction (which has nothing to do with the compliment giver) is that in the U.S.—or at least in the Midwest—(disingenuous) “niceness” is the standard. It’s easier to “be nice” and “not rock the boat” than it is to assert boundaries or confront someone. Kind words are commonplace, but often hollow.

So, if you have the same kind of trust issues I do, you don’t want a romantic hero (or any person) to do something to try to make you feel a particular way. Even if beneath that manipulation the intention is to make you feel good, you want someone to do something because they want to do it, otherwise they might secretly resent you.

Knowing what you want and openly, unashamedly proclaiming that even if it displeases other people is far rarer than acquiescent niceness. As as someone who is constantly anxious about being pleasing to other people, I absolutely melt for a character who wants you and does and takes what they want and dgaf. Yes, please tell me you have a preference where we go for dinner!

Broken people will love this book!


Other

The best friend noncon captures the hot horror of taboo without blood relations.


CONCLUSION

Funny, unhinged, subversive, feeds your fantasy.
This book had a fun premise, and I enjoyed reading Kate Raven’s psychopath interpretation.

[TheReaderVert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please Kate, may I have some more

"But my fingers are deep in my pregnant future wife’s sleeping 😺 and I do not and will never give a single sh!t about anyone else."

The MMC is unhinged in all the best ways! I loved it! Even though I hate Black Cat FMCs, I really enjoyed her here because she just didn't realize her feelings. Not that it matters because the MMC is a sociopath and his focus fell hard for her. Now, whether she knows it or not, this is her future baby daddy & husband.

This is hands down a wholesome, dark romance. It's borderline a Hallmark movie love story:

Things that make you go ahhh....

🫶🏾characters older than 25.
🫶🏾IUD removal & c♡m stuffing during sleep is true love!
🫶🏾somno orgasams, somno 69, somno fingering
🫶🏾whew being secretly pregger and you have no idea makes a girl tired ...amirite
🫶🏾forced dingaling time by your pyscho admirer bc it helps with pregnancy!
🫶🏾we can't forget feeding her dick is prenatal care!
🫶🏾murking ppl who disrespect her is just standard operating procedure for dark romance MMCs

So what I enjoyed is that we did get some good character moments here. I truly felt for Luke. There were dark moments when his mask slipped and you see a hint of his past like abuse in group home, "I not very smart" rhetoric, and use of dumb himbo persona to survive. For her part Luna isn't an annoying twat. She's quiet and introverted, but she's always protected Luke even from himself. The romance is filled with Kate Raven humor and the humor feeds into the dark themes a little bit. The outlandish actions from Luke just had me chuckling along but still happily gobbling up the words on page

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

WTF was this? The FMC must sleep like the dead.

[*CJ* · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Such a Good Guy” is the story of Luna and Luke.

You will NOT expect the story to go where ti did haha. The hero is a “good guy”, except he is totally unhinged, obsessed and a psychopath. The heroine becomes the epicenter of his universe.

There is murder, cnc, somnophila, breeding and hea.

Unsafe by definition
3.5/5

[MLC · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was this really written by a girl?!

Was this really written by a girl?! I wanted to love it. It was teased as interesting, but then the MMC says things like I can smell her ovulation and her breast start leaking milk at 13/14 weeks. Either this was written with a POOR knowledge of the human anatomy or by a man

[Rachael*Caribbean*girl*bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoilers ahead..... without the fmc and that one scene this would've been 5 stars just for Luke's level of obsession




A little rant before the review......
It's so unfair that in most of my recent reads the h was the one chasing and desperate for the H. How come the manwhores and assholes get the devoted h's and my man Like gets a fucking Luna??? That's wrong on so many levels.


Now onwards

Unbeknownst to Luna, her brother's best friend has been obsessed with her for years. An offhand comment during a cruise where Luna wished to eventually have a family served to heighten Luke's attempts to win his girl. Whatever Luna wants she gets......even when she had no idea.



********
I've read some unhinged MMC's in my time but I think Luke may be the most obsessed j/p H I've ever met!!! I mean red flags were flying almost from page one. He met Luna at a college party and he's been obsessed with her since. He's done a lot of immoral and illegal things (I mean killing someone because they were rude to the woman you love may be just a tad bit too much) to keep Luna safe and happy but I loved his crazy ass. I had one problem with Luke and that was when they had sex for the first time, she clearly said no.....it doesn't matter that her body wanted it no means no, so that definitely lowered my rating.

Even with Luke's actions however my biggest problem was Luna. I did not like her and she didn't deserve him. Calling him a himbo also pissed me off.

There was no relationship development, Luke was obsessed with Luna but Luna didn't like Luke in that way. To her he was a friend and almost a family member for his long he'd been around. She contemplated hooking up with 2 other guys too. But when things are revealed she suddenly realises she loves him?! How, when or why I have no clue since she was adamant that he wasn't her type 🤷🏾‍♀️. Of course this isn't a literary masterpiece so you have to suspend disbelief a LOT to enjoy this for what it is.

With a different FMC I definitely would've enjoyed this more.

****
No cheating
Luke only wanted Luna so I'm assuming she was his first
Psychopathic mmc
FMC had had sex before, her last ONS was just before they went on the cruise(pmo so bad)
Lots of non con, I mean he took out her iud and impregnated her without her knowledge or consent 🤷🏾‍♀️







Thoughts while reading
........and my eyes gobble up her dark big eyes, those lashes sweeping across her cheeks.
I want to take those lashes in my mouth and suck on them, lick them so devotedly that one comes off in my mouth and I swallow it down reverently.


Ummmm sir????????

[Lolina ⋆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

How did this girl sleep through all of that 😭?! Also the cover helppppp.

Anyways-

I'll never not read a book with a character who's completely unhinged because their POV/ narrative can be so interesting and weird—and I definitely feel like that's the case with Luke.

However, I didn't really feel like Luke and Luna fit each other that well? I liked their individual characters but them being together didn't really make much sense to me. Maybe it was a length thing, where the book was just too short to really get into the characters and their dynamic 🤷‍♀️.

Overall this was an interesting book, but for me was just too short to deliver in the way that I needed it to.

[↬ Ⓛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was geeky cute with a little bit of darkness. I feel like it was too soft for my taste, but I still enjoy this! I freaking love Luke & gentlemanly r@pist at its finest. The sushi scene I literally died, that cracked me up.

“These are a record of you, angel. Everything about you. The books you read. Your shoe size. Your sales, your favorite crystals. In all languages. My body is a record of you, Luna. I love you so much.” 🥺🖤

*BookSirens ARC*

[Mandy (Bestie Book Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this dark stalker romance. The cover perfectly captures the persona of Luke. Who would have thought I would be all for the golden retriever psychopath. Five stars!!!

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the subject of why we enjoy the proverbial bad boy in fiction (and perhaps in life), I have often said: We assume there's darkness in every man; when they seem like good guys, we're on edge watching for signs we're really dealing with yet another Nice Guy TM. The antihero or outright villain is relaxing, because you've dispensed with the mystery: What you see is what you get.

In Such a Good Guy, Kate Raven again does a spectacular thing so effortlessly that it seems almost unwitting. Luke is decidedly not a good guy, but he's put considerable effort into appearing as if he's the best of guys. Not, as many stories about psychopaths present, for the purpose of getting away with being evil, but in the hope of convincing the only woman he's ever wanted that he's the man of her dreams. The first thing he knew about her was that she claimed to want a man like Mr. Darcy or Mr. Bingley, and he has since dedicated himself to living up to that on the surface with the sole purpose of winning her. He's good at it, too! He's put himself on a leash, and the frequent mental reminders of the kind of behavior Luna would and would not approve of are profoundly endearing.

This is, first of all, an absolute dream as tropes go. The man who is single-mindedly obsessed with you and expresses it in ways that genuinely serve your interests, not merely his own? Bravo! He's so dreamy it makes his creepy actions bizarrely endearing. Okay, yes, he secretly inseminates her--but he plays cribbage with her and cares for her houseplants with more attention than most real-life boyfriends would give a pet!

But the quietly subversive beauty of this piece, the secret Kate Raven ingredient, is the way Luna rejects him for so long. On the surface, I suspect some will read it as "he's too nice and women don't really want a nice guy, even if they say they do," but Kate's work always rewards a deeper look.

Luna rejects Luke without a hint of uncertainty until she starts to see the real him peeking out. He's always been an incredibly handsome and successful man, and she has seen him as a good guy but had no interest. In several places throughout the story, she notes that he is behaving in ways she's never seen, and even the way he looks at her is so different from any expression she's seen on his face over the years. He's been masking for so long, and once the mask slips, her resistance does as well. He's never been a good guy, and on some level, she's been waiting to see the real him underneath.

But wait, there's more! The clarity with which we eventually see her rapidly decreasing resistance to him is initially due to not feeling she has seen the real him and next a matter of doubting that his interest in her could be as strong as he says.

She has to test his commitment against her fears of what he could choose instead. It is thus also a story of the love we wish for yet know we would question, doubt we deserve or could ever feel worthy of.

It’s about what we would run from because we’re broken enough to half-joke about the club that would have us as members.

The evidence that would be a big reveal in a romcom omg he saves every message from her! has her calling him a psychopath, and textually, yes, but isn't the subtext that only a crazy person could love me?

It's practically a universal experience, sad to say, being love bombed with short term intensity, tricked into believing in love that will be yanked away like a cruel joke (Taylor Swift’s Down Bad is a masterpiece on this subject). Many dark/stalker romance stories capture the immediacy and intensity of obsession, but this book delivers the longevity factor. Luke has wanted her this long without having her, and his interest has never faltered. This book HEAs hard, and I love it.

[• Lindsey Dahling • · Rating 2 out of 5]

I literally can’t put into words why I’m not giving this 1 star because even I don’t know.

[LaBlue]

This is a short book and it is very well written in the sense of following its plot and no errors that can throw you out of the story. But it was a terrible story. While this book was very focused on the main couple it unfortunately wasn’t with them together or falling in love with each other. It was 70% worth of somnophilia and then the FMC just accepted the MMC who she spent the entire book NOT even liking because he was “Too nice” for her. Smh. Not to mention the FMC having a blip of a response after finding out that she was impregnated without her knowledge, consent or having actual sex to do it.

So this book was all about edging the reader for a more intense relationship that we only get at the 80% mark and then the book is rushed to the HEA. It’s just too simplified to be enjoyed.

Good luck.

[girlwithhearteyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

LOL this was truly unhinged (he’s a psycho golden retriever type who is obsessed with her + breeding/somno kink), and yet… it needed more smut. 🤪

[InkOnMySoul · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book felt like someone took the last 30% of a badly written obsessive romance novel, chopped off everything else, sprinkled in some “what the actual hell,” and said, “Yep. That’s good enough.”

From the first freaking page, it felt like we were already knee-deep into a story that forgot to include a beginning, a middle, or even a proper plot. Just vibes. Bad ones.

Let’s talk about the fmc — sis didn’t even like the man. Not one spark of attraction. Not a glimmer. She was just like:

> “You’re sweet, but you’re not for me 🙂”



Girl was literally living her life while this man was full-on spiraling, drawing her name in blood or something, and she was giving him friendzoned co-worker energy at best. I mean, I’m all here for obsessive MMCs, I love when the man is down horrendously bad, but when the woman has zero chemistry or emotional interest? Not even a pity flutter? It just makes the whole thing feel weird af.

[Carmen Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really struggling with how to rate this. I came across this on a Facebook page and the teaser I read sounded hot and I was intrigued.

There's a lot of somno. It's completely dub con and non con. But it's also kind of hot and a little bit sweet while being kind of chilling that there are genuinely people like Luke wandering around.

So some of the content had me a little uncomfortable but I couldn't wait to turn the pages to see how things would play out and what Luna was going to do as she put the pieces together.

Honestly I'm wavering between 3 and 4 stars so for uniqueness I'll round up.

[Nicole Allbee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t bother. I thought this was going to be a golden retriever dark romance.” It wasn’t. It was “how many red flag tropes can we stick in one book and get away with?” It was cringey and gross, and bordered on a how-to manual for creeps.

[Misha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Typical Kate Raven. He was completely unhinged but gotta say, I really liked it.

[Jetscarbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! This book was Whoa! I loved just about every single thing about it except for h. She was a tad annoying being so mean to H. 😂 (spoilers ahead) Do not let the book cover fool you.

H is fing UNHINGED and I loved every single thing about him. (I may need therapy 🤪) There is absolutely nothing that man won’t do for h. Nothing
He is not morally grey. He’s beyond black, but there is no doubt he loves h.

There’s no OW drama with this one. Nope. He’s never even been with another person until h. He’s never even thought about smex until her. He just wasn’t wired to *feel* those things. Every.Single.Thing he learned about how to please h, he learned by experimenting with her over the years- while she was asleep. He was sooooooo dedicated he took pieces of her hair and kept her wisdom teeth. *true dedication* 🙃

He’s a true sociopath. He has no feelings for anybody until he meets h, and over 9 years, he has obsessed over her. He’s the type of guy who takes things people say literally. For example, h says she wants a family and baby one day. So he sets out to make that happen by inserting his stuff in her while she’s asleep. 😱😱😱 Or one time she said she’d kill her brother if he ever sold drugs again. Well, H took care of that problem for her because he didn’t want her to get her hands dirty

Let me tell ya, I was laughing so hard at some parts of this book. The absolutely insane things he would do just had me stupefied.

Sometimes he acted dense, and h called him a HIMBO (I had to look that one up) and frankly, that’s why I didn’t like her. HOW DARE SHE TALK ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT? 😂🤬

I’ve read a ton of dark romances with OTT, obsessed guys, but H definitely takes the #1 spot. Something about the way the author wrote him made him likable even though he’s totally insane.

This was one of my top most enjoyable reads so far this year! I can’t say it was all believable, but it was definitely a wild and worthwhile ride

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 the h was extremely obnoxious and irritating. This type of plot only works if the h finds the man attractive. She really spoilt the fun

[spicy_book_nook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like that Luna kept bad mouthing Luke… she kept calling him a “himbo”, basically stupid and Luke just looked at her like the love of his life…
Otherwise, this book was hottt. Luke was obsessive and patient. Molding himself to fit her needs and being unashamedly proud.
Luna was realistic in her reactions to him which I appreciated.

[thebeespot72 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luke appears to be the perfect guy but does some wacky and creepy stuff—all for his love for Luna. Luke is a unique character with some interesting quirks. Author Kate Raven does describe “Sucha A Good Guy” as a dark romance. For experienced dark romance readers, this story is more along the lines of containing themes that some may consider dark, or we can say Luke is a quirky guy who likes to go all in with his love for Luna, no matter what it takes. And I was okay with that. It was a good read.