Gedwongen nabijheid

Tarnished Empire

by Shain Rose

Dante Reid was de eerste jongen op wie ik verliefd was, de jongen die ik al die tijd heb weggeduwd. Onze wegen scheidden zich en gingen in tegenovergestelde richting verder. Ik ging studeren en hij ging het leger in en belandde aan de andere kant van het land.

Dat zou ons einde moeten zijn, of dat dacht ik toch.

Nadat ik afstudeerde, wilde ik mijn bucket list afwerken en raad eens wie er plots kwam opdagen om me uit een benarde situatie te redden?

Dante Reid.

De jaren hadden hem goed gedaan, want hij was nog gespierder, had nog meer tatoeages en was nog veeleisender. Hij wilde dat ik tegenover hem kwam wonen, zodat hij me zogezegd beter kon beschermen.

Ik moest hem steeds vertellen waar ik uithing.

En ik moest oppassen met wat ik van mijn bucket list wilde afstrepen.

Ik heb geen bescherming nodig, of misschien wel, maar dan moet ik juist beschermd worden tegen Dante zelf. Hij zal onherroepelijk mijn einde betekenen. Want zo dicht bij de man zijn aan wie ik me al die jaren geleden zo gewillig overgaf, kan slechts één ding betekenen. Een gebroken hart.

Genres: Romance, Dark Romance, Second Chance, Spicy, Dark, Mafia Romance, Smut

Paperback

First published July 21, 2022

About the author

Stay connected with Shain and check out her:
Facebook Page: https://facebook.com/author.shainrose/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author.shai...
Website: https://www.shainrose.com

Shain Rose is an author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She fights for love one word a time. Those happily ever afters can be difficult to get to sometimes!

When she isn't writing, she's spending the days with Doc G, Liv and Gray Gray, and their wild golden retriever. She and Doc G drink way too much coffee, eat way too much candy, and fight like they've been married for hmm how long has it been now?

Life is good when the kids are behaving.

On the off chance she's not writing or spending time with family and friends, she's calling them to talk. And if no one answers.... then she's reading and watching trashy TV.

Reviews

[Soph]

Dammmmnnnnn BookTok really got me on this one. It was so bad. I mean literally awful. The writing. The story. The plot holes. The pet names. All bad. I was cringing the entire time but I hate not finishing a book so here I am! Do not recommend lmaooo

[Alina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb lamb.

[Selena Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

Saw this book on TikTok. The girl made it seem interesting. She lied.

[bella reads fantasy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf 74%

I hope I wake up with amnesia and don’t remember this dumpster fire.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The level of heat in this book will not leave you wanting! I can tell you in true Shain style your going to get a strong alpha who knows he wants the lady. We get a lady who is broken and does her best to hide it from everyone. Bring in an airport, twin sister and an old boyfriend and this story is set for being a best seller.

Please please pay attention to the trigger warnings in this one. I don’t want to give it away as this is a big part of the book. That being said to see that the h was able to find a way through it and the H was able to help makes my heart ache for all those who still deal with this everyday.

I did receive this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Olivia · Rating 1 out of 5]

To give you an understanding on my opinion of this book, I was hoping the main characters were gonna somehow break up during the epilogue. This was awful on so many levels. First of all the dude was just weird. I found him to be so pushy and like I was rooting for her to just stick to her guns and get him to leave her tf alone like dude is a creep. Now, I maybe could’ve gotten over that if I had either a good plot or good writing. Surprise, I had neither. For example, here’s some writing,

“The wolf in me let loose and snatched the clothing from her hands and body viciously. Then my grasp was back around her neck, shoving her hard into the door even as she tried to open it.”

What…so this was like a kinda cnc scene which was fine ig, but the wolf in me?? Like the amount of times he referenced himself as a wolf and then he called her lamb or little lamb I was so done. Like we had pages about how he’s the predator and she’s the prey and blah blah. Like shit was so corny. And even more corny when you find out this, ig minor spoilers ahead

“Fair enough. None of us wanted blood on our hands anymore. Bastian had started a new reign. We were done with the bullshit our fathers had done before. We wanted a clean family, legal business, and a government we worked with, not against.”

We were supposed to be terrified of this man like he’s “in the mob” was in the military and like he’s killing a torturing people. Bruh he’s a glorified federal employee like should I be scared of my mailman. Like it just was so stupid it felt like the author wanted the guy to be “good” and scary which it didn’t work. Also the fmc sister was involved as well and that shit was so dumb. Laslty here are all the weird comment and things I just felt could’ve been cut from the story.

“Dante couldn’t afford to alienate others by beating up a guy for telling my brothers our family should go back to Greece. He did, though. Dante always stuck up for what was right, and he charmed the town into believing him too.”

Istg, this might just be completely off base but who tf has been told to go back to Greece living in America. Like it was so random and completely through me off. Next,

“him. “Don’t you ever say that being in the military is killing. That’s being a patriot. A war hero.”

I have an opinion on this, I guess I’ll keep it to myself. Next,

“Never did I give up when it came to any subject. I aced AP Trigonometry”

This is just not a real class and yes it’s a small nit picky thing but it’s something that I would research like why make up an AP when they’re real ones like. Lastly, this whole ending scene

“I’m only going to say this once because it’s not in my nature to repeat myself. I’m an Armanelli. I’ve named your daughter my Untouchable. What that means is no one will harm her or disrespect her unless they want to deal with the wrath of my whole family. It means I take care of her now. It means you all respect our wishes. Respectfully, Mrs. Hardy, she’s not going back to school unless she decides that’s what she wants.”

At this point I was so done like. Personally I found this book to be stupid and poorly written.

[Mirabel · Rating 1 out of 5]

if a man calls me "lamb" im not walking, im sprinting in the other direction

[Ruby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tiktok fooled me again. The cover should’ve been foreshadowing.

[Mariella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this ARC yesterday or the day before and I'm already done with the book. That says a lot :-)

I loved Dante and Delilah. They were just the right amount of push and pull for me. They had chemistry, a history, angst. And Shain delivered the STEAM! I was obsessed with some of Dante's moves ;-)

Delilah and Dante were childhood friends but he was more her brother's best friend. She hooks up with him once and then sort of ghosts him. You find out why later. He comes to save the day when she gets thrown in jail for some undercover work that her twin sister is doing with Dante. The plot thickens right?!

I loved that Shain included steam, an engaging plot, hardship that the characters overcame, and a light mafia read that kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved this brother's best friend second chance romance with all my heart. FIVE FANTASTIC STARS!

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF’d at 56%

Here’s the thing: I hate books with twins. I didn’t know that there would be twins when I started reading this so I tried to push past it (I promise I really did). Like usual with twins in books, there’s secrets, competitive (ish) attitudes, good-twin/bad-twin complexes, and all around a lot of hurt on both sides. I could have moved on past all of this. What I couldn’t move past was the MMC’s relationship with the twin.

The FMC and MMC get together then find themselves in a “right person, wrong time” situation that ends with them drifting apart. Fast forward to current day and the MMC and the twin have something now? First it’s that they are seeing each other, then the MMC is saying while he thought about it he never would have, then it’s that he did go out with the twin, then he’s saying that the twin tried to kiss him but he rejected her, then he’s saying that they hooked up??? Then it’s all summed up to him and the twin (who is described as being the “prettier” twin) are just working together and that’s it? The book then moves on completely like that’s not something that needs to be unpacked. You’re telling me that he’s not even slightly interested in the girl he works with who looks exactly like the girl he can’t stop thinking about? Yeah… sure…

Not to mention the fact that he was apparently in the military but is now working in a private contract with the government but is also the son of a major mob boss who no one knows he’s related to? Again… sure…

What really sealed the deal for me was that he lied to the FMC about various things but when she finally admits to the pregnancy and loss of the baby that she has basically told no one about he gets pissy with her? And she’s sitting there sobbing about this super emotional thing that she’s kept bottled up and has been dealing with all by herself and he starts talking about how he’s “always thinking about how to get people to submit” to him? Yeah… that’s totally the correct way to handle a situation like that…

Also, I did not find the spice in this book appealing at all. He literally puts a rock up her lady bits and I’m supposed to think that’s hot? No thanks.

[Keeana Estrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Intense, intoxicating, all-consuming, Fractured freedom will consume your soul and keeps you entranced with every turn of the page. Shain Rose has completely captured both my heart and my mind with her words I was so immersed with this story line.


This book will have you hurtling through the pages and craving more to the very end.I devoured this book!  It absolutely consumed me..

Just wow I’m in a major book hangover..

“5 consuming stars!”

[Melluvsbooks]

The author needs to pick a lane. Just the first scene is enough to know this is gonna be a hot mess. He can’t be possessive and also tell her he’s training her for other men. 🙄

[Danielle (The Blonde Likes Books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review will be full of spoilers for the entire book, so if you don't want to know anything about the story, turn back now!

TW: miscarriage, depression

When I first read the description of Fractured Freedom, I didn't plan on reading it, as I am generally not a fan of second chance romances. After its release and my initial plan to skip it, I feel like I saw it recommended everywhere, so I decided to give it a try...I should have stuck to my guns, and this ended up not working well for me.

The book opens with Lilah having her brother's best friend Dante take her virginity before she went off to college and he went back to deployment in the military. Shortly after this it's revealed that she ended up pregnant, but miscarried at 2 months, which sent her into a depression because her family always expected perfection from her, so she felt like her body failed at making a baby and then failed again when she miscarried and she needed a D&C instead of miscarrying “naturally”. She didn't tell Dante any of this, and instead ghosts him and stops responding to his emails/calls, and then tells him to move on and avoids him entirely when she seems him in person after that.

In the present day, a lot of the first 35% or so of the book was really sad because we get both POVs and can see that they are both clearly still in love with the other but not wanting to admit it since they are both hurt over the past. Instead of being honest with each other, they choose to try and prove how much they are over the other person by talking about the other people they’ve slept with, and in Lilah's case, the dates she was planning to go on. There was a lot of internal dialogue in Lilah's chapters about her miscarriage and subsequent depression, and about how she felt like she wasn't good enough for Dante, and about how her they couldn't make a baby together (essentially assuming that one miscarriage meant she'd never be able to have a healthy pregnancy with him), and honestly it all felt very over the top to me. I don't want to downplay the impact that a miscarriage can have on someone, but to be 18 years old and miscarry an unplanned pregnancy and then let it be still impacting your relationships with everyone around you more than 5 years later even though she's been in therapy all that time seemed unrealistic to me.

Later in the book they finally sleep together again, but AGAIN instead of communicating their feelings, they both assumed that the other just wanted to be friends and that the sex meant nothing, even though that wasn't true for either of them, so that was also super frustrating. On top of all of this, there were so many random plot wrenches thrown in...Dante was former military, but is also a member of the mob, but also is being contracted by the government who is working in conjunction with the mob on an undercover operation that Lilah's twin sister Izzy, a former drug addict, is also a part of? Dante also went on a date with Izzy after they broke up, but says she kissed him and he wasn't into it. It was so random, and just sort of served as a way to provide more drama. We find out way later in the book that Izzy is ALSO in love with Dante, which makes Lilah want to pursue a relationship with him even less, not wanting to break her sister's heart.

To add more drama, Lilah is mistaken for Izzy by the bad guys and is "kidnapped" (she didn't correct them and went with them willingly to "save" her sister), and naturally Dante had to come rescue her. She was hurt during all of this, and ended up in a hospital back in the US where she was in and out of a coma. Upon briefly waking up from her coma, she hears Dante and her sister talking in her hospital room, opens her eyes, and sees them kissing, comments on it, and falls back into her coma. This is all happening around 90% of the way through the book, so almost at the end and our couple STILL isn't together. She eventually wakes up and refuses to see Dante. In Dante's POV we learn that she kissed him and he wasn't prepared for it, so before he could push her away, Lilah happened to wake up and see it (which is later confirmed by Izzy). ANYWAY, so now we are 95% into the story and Dante takes Lilah out of the hospital and back to his mother's farm that he bought for the two of them to live in together. She's still telling him that she can't be with him, that the fear of losing him is too much for her, and during this he proposes and she caves and says yes. So around...I don't know, 97-98%, they FINALLY get together?? Then we get one epilogue chapter where she has another miscarriage and falls back into a depression before giving birth to a healthy baby 10 months later. We also got a brief set up of what will clearly be Izzy and Cade (Dante's cousin, who was a minor side character in the book).

I feel like we got a LOT of angst and not a lot of them finally being happy together, which I was not a fan of. If you are someone who enjoys second chance romances with high angst, AND doesn't mind hearing about both leads sleeping with other people, you may enjoy this book. I know it has some high reviews, so I think this may be a case of "right book, wrong reader", but I'll leave that for you to decide.

I'm rating this one two stars, because while I didn't love the story or the characters (especially Lilah), the writing did have me invested - I read the book in two sittings and from the beginning of the book until around 35%, I probably cried for 20-25% of it, so it clearly did a good job of pulling on my emotional heartstrings! All of this to say, I would definitely read other books by this writer, so long as they weren't second chance romances!

[Reya Reychelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel bad about being the first person to give this less then four stars, but there was clearly more than one instance in the book where the author went back & forth on what she said. The one that I specifically remember is where he originally says he contemplated dating the twin sister, then later it was I would never do that it was always you, then he did admit to asking her out on a date, but pushed her away when she tried to kiss him, then later he changes his tune again. I wasn’t a fan of the back & forth, honestly. Which probably explains why I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. It was nothing but back & forth! Enough to give someone whiplash! Maybe those kind of rollercoaster romances are your jam, & that’s fine- no sub-genre or kink shaming here, but they are not mine. In fact, the big misunderstanding plot device or honestly just an overall lack of communication in general is one of my biggest no goes! I hate them with a passion of a thousand suns. I’m also not a very big fan of real angsty reads lol. Don’t judge me me, the smut sold me on Tiktok & I like to go into books unbiased! So, other people more inclined to these themes & this book more than I. Personally, I hated the heroine the majority of the book, & that’s really saying something for having a mc who admits to asking the heroine’s twin sister out on a date after their initial interaction!!

[Nerlie౨ৎ🎧📚 · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5⭐️
He calls her “lamb,” and himself “wolf” absolutely cringe (barf).

[Missi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am literally angry that I read this whole book. This book would have been maybe 5-10 chapters if the main character weren't so OBTUSE it hurt. The only tension from this book stems from the fact that even though the man in literally telling her to her face she is his and it's forever but she can't comprehend what is in front of her. It's lazy and dumb.

Throw in a twist where he's not just Army, he's a mobster too and her twin sister is working undercover with him. Cause that's what mobsters do. They work undercover stings to bring down drug operations. This book is a MESS.

Good spice.

[Kelsey Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dante, Dante, Dante.... How can a fictional man BE SO HOT. The spice in this book was SPICY. And it immediately starts out with a spicy scene. This is a brother's best friend second chance romance. I loved the tension, the secrecy, and the angst.

[zahraa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5*

Thank you Shain for the ARC!
+ release date: july 21st
+ check tw’s

After her first love/brother’s bsf gets deployed, delilah must go through the unimaginable, alone. But years later, he’s back, they’re pushed together, and forced to confront what went on years ago.

I really enjoyed the overall plot of this book. I’m a sucker for anything second chance. Both characters undergo their own hardships and issues, and must overcome them separately before healing together.

While I really liked the entertaining and fast paced writing style, I couldn’t help but think like the characters were walking around in circles and pushing and pulling against the same problems for too long.

overall, i really enjoyed the banter, the tension and the romance between these characters. despite their up & downs, these two always found their way back to each other.

[Paige IRB · Rating 5 out of 5]

another amazing addition

Sooo I’ve been obsessed with knowing Dante’s story since the beginning. And he did not disappoint. He is possessive. Amazing. Loving. Caring. And the best alpha. This book is a top read for me. I loved the plot the dynamic and the angst. It was a perfect trifecta. Spice+plot+my favorite man.

[*CJ*]

"Fractured Freedom" is the story of Delilah and Dante.

Ok this is my fault. I saw a snippet posted in one of my smut groups and got this book without reading the blurb. Boy did this not work for me.
I didnt connect to or like the characters and struggled to read it, eventually abandoning it at around 40%. I feel so bad because I rarely DNF, but this was hurting my brain and Im too tired to torture myself like this.

Unrated.

[Crystal (Crystalreads2) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from this book. To say I’m pleasantly surprised is an understatement. In the end, I can say I’m obsessed with Dante.

The book starts when Delilah, at eighteen, is in love with her brother's best friend, Dante. We read how they end up together and the family dynamics. Fast forward a few years later, part and barely seen each other are now thrown together in a unique situation.

Delilah is a sassy, smart, and smart woman. On the next journey of her life. But at the same time, struggling with past demons. Dirty, Delicious Dante is possessive, protective, and swoon-worthy.

Fractured Freedom has everything, best friend's sister, military, mob, drug trafficking, and so much more. Let's not forget the spice. There is one scene I was waiting to be a little spicier, given the chapter’s title. But I wasn't disappointed.

Fractured Freedom is my first and certainly not my last book from this author.

[Bobbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The right mix of passion and climatic energy to keep you turning page after page.
This one you won't want to miss.

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this as an ARC and just wanted to say thank you to the author!!!

I came across this author on BookTok and so thankful I did because Shain sent me the ARC of this book (as well as Shattered Vows!) As much as I enjoyed Shattered Vows, this book was my favorite of the two! It was steamy and hot, while also giving you the super sweet moments of the brother's best friend/childhood crush tropes. Dante was a DREAM. I very much am manifesting him as my future husband because he was hot and somewhat morally-gray, while being the literally cutest human on the planet. Very big fan.

This book covers some heavy subjects that I feel are super relatable to a lot of people, especially women (i.e. miscarriages) as well as things like heartbreak, anxiety, and depression. But it overall helped the characters become more relatable and I loved how their broken pieces just fit each other so well. Their romance had all the tension and heat, while giving you some tiny swoonworthy moments between the couple.

This book has spice, angst, and lots of heated moments. Big fan of this book and so glad the author gave me the opportunity to read it before the release. Loved the spice, the mafia romance, and the second chance heartache of this book! Very much worth the read!

[Neermboop]

DNF 35%

After MULTIPLE times talking about how he took her twin sister on a date/kissed her.... I'm done.
He takes her V-card and then when she stops talking to him, he goes on a date with her sister? 🙄

PASS.

Example:

“Lilah, your sister and I went on one date. She tried to kiss me, and that was the end of it. I didn’t fuck her because she wasn’t you."

You said you didn’t want me, even while the taste of your pussy was in both our mouths. So if I fucked half the country—including your sister—since then, you definitely shouldn’t care.”
*He didn't actually sleep with her, but still....

Dom was way too protective of both his sisters, and I’d already gotten one fist to the face after taking Izzy on a date.
(*Izzy: The twin sister)

⚠️TW: Miscarriage

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ARC REVIEW✨
Shain, again, I’m just going to need you to take my money now. I loved Bastian and Mo, but I absolutely ADORE Lilah and Dante! I am a million precent positive that Dante unseated a couple of my book boyfriends with the dirty talk. The words the fell from his lips 🥵🫠! The road that these two took was rocky but the tension was absolute perfection!! My heart broke for Dante and Lilah, I wanted to just wrap them in my arms and hug them both. They were strong apart but the are even stronger together and I love how you captured that!

[Lorana T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m always nervous about starting a second chance romance.. will the hero be able to redeem himself? Is he worthy?

Dante was always going to be redeemable. He was the best of the best brother’s best friend. I’m obsessed with him and he’s book boyfriend of the year, hands down.

Don’t miss this epic second chance romance!

[Jill Haworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Delilah was in her final year of high school, she made the decision to let Dante be her first, a decision she never regretted. Afterwards she began emailing Dante, who was in the army, keeping in touch with him. She’d always had a huge crush on her older brothers best friend, but they also had a genuine friendship. She’d made the decision to go to UCLA which was far from home but she had a bucket list and things that she wanted to accomplish.
Her twin sister was hooked on drugs and was currently in juvie at the time she left, leaving behind a much calmer atmosphere.
Delilah had eventually ghosted Dante much to his disappointment. She’d finished her degree and was currently nursing in Puerto Rico.
Dante was using his not so legal links to bring down drug dealers, but the ‘whales’ not just the ‘big fish’.
Izzy had gotten herself straight and out of juvie and Dante had approached her to earn her degree while she worked for his company, going undercover. She was good at what she did until she got Delilah involved and they both goth caught. So it looked like Dante was going to Puerto Rico to save the woman he loved and find out why she had ghosted him all those years ago….
This story is so, so good especially as a follow up. The characters and their chemistry is realistic, passionate and heartbreaking, with lots of tissues needed, and the stable scene is heartbreaking but hilarious. Superb!

[inanaaaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

my first ARC ever so this book is kind of a big deal for me

⭐second chance romance
"touch her and i'll kill u"
brother's best friend romance
⭐i enjoyed the touch of darkness in dante's personality as much as the golden retriever in him...he is the perfect combination of good and bad
delilah was such a good soul, with a good heart that went through too much..i related to her character, the way she always tried to fit in and be as perfect as she could
very good story and plot, though i wanted izzy to grovel more than she did :))

[Sammie Bow · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐️

I’m in the minority with this one. The cover and the reviews drew me in but I didn’t like the story at all. It had potential but it lacked in every way for me. It was so immature and just went round in circles. Dante and Lilah just didn’t fit together. The whole twin sister loving the same guy and Lilah’s immaturity dealing with everything was so annoying. This was light on the mafia stuff but it was weird, Dante was in the military, worked for the government again after he served but was also in the mafia….but kind of a good guy. Strange. I don’t think the author executed this well, things dragged and felt incomplete.

POV: Dual, 1st person.
SERIES or STANDALONE: Standalone.
TROPES: M/F adult, brothers best friend, mafia (light on the mafia trope), second chance romance.
SIZE: 360 (last page) Kindle pages.

PLOT: 📚📚📚/5
ROMANCE: ❤️❤️❤️/5
SPICE/STEAM: 🌶🌶🌶/5
TRIGGERS: 😈/5 (miscarriage, violence)

⛔️ My bookshelves can contain spoilers.

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was just gonna be a regular spicy brothers best friend/second chance romance, which technically it was. Dante has the filthiest mouth and the spice was 👌🏻, but fucking Christ I was unprepared for the emotional rollercoaster this book was about to take me on.

Dante and Delilah’s story is so much heavier than I expected it to be—there’s a lot of hurt and anger there because of what Delilah went through alone. I definitely recommend checking the TWs for this one!