Naked Ambition

by Lisa Henry

Taylor Ritchie has hated Christian Roquefeuil ever since they were both interns at the New York fashion company, House of Romano. Taylor is ambitious, talented, and a sociopath who had been nursing a grudge against Christian for years.

When Christian takes over House of Romano, Taylor sees an opportunity for revenge. With the aid of his boyfriend, he intends to not only destroy the company, but to publicly crush Christian at the same time.

Together, they begin a dangerous game of seduction where the naïve Christian is only a beautiful puppet to be toyed with.

Mike Hastings is a low-level office drone, stuck on the sidelines while Christian falls deeper and deeper into the web that Taylor has woven for him. With the make-or-break Spring collection on the horizon, it might just be down to a cheap suit in payroll to save Christian from the inevitable crash and burn.


Naked Ambition is a dark and modern M/M retelling of The Emperor’s New Clothes.

Grim and Sinister Delights is a dark romance series based on classic fairy tales and stories. You will find standalone tales of gay romance that range in darkness and kinks. If you dare to take the challenge, read them all to find yourself lost in a classic that you think you know. These stories are for adult readers and may contain morally ambiguous themes.

Genres: Dark, M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, Abuse, Dark Romance, LGBT

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2020

About the author

I like to tell stories. Mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters. They gotta work for it though. No free lunches on my watch.

Reviews

[Reem]

#HateRead #AmIMean #NoOneCaresAboutTheseSpoilers

oh god. okay, here we go. Megan you chose a great one to recommend because I could not stomach it. it’s a short book but wow. I read half of chapter five, that’s 35% and just stopped and went to sleep. Lisa Henry went real DARK.

plot time? oh god. it’s a dark modern retelling of the fable ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ (WHICH I REMEMBER MADE ME LAUGH MY LITTLE HEART OUT AS A KID) and if you like dark romance, (I didn’t get to any romantic parts or did I? I honestly don’t know!) you might like it? I did not.

horrible guy works as a designer in a famous company, he’s jealous of heart breaking guy who was bad as an intern but won the heart of the owner and got married and inherited the company. hg and his wicked boyfriend start manipulating hbg to ruin the company, they want to see him cry, they want to do bad sexual things to him because he’s pretty and clueless and they’re just horrible people who get off on his tears and misery. I stopped after the first sex scene it was……horrifying.

[Kazza · Rating 1 out of 5]

That is one beautiful cover... It is also an alluring premise... but it kind of ends there because I could not cheer for one character.

I didn't care about the protagonists - "Anyway, it's none of my business" Mike, or "How did he solely get left the business of a fashion industry icon" Christian. Yes, I know. Looks and sweetness. You may sleep with someone and care for that person, love them, but you don't leave an empire you've slaved over and built to someone for that reason alone. You guard your legacy. Christian’s lack of self esteem on a scale of 0-10 where 10 is the least self-confident is a 20. Luca would have known he would be easy pickings and not up to the task. It's fiction and I nitpick, maybe, but the rest of the characters and other aspects of the book made it impossible for me to not nitpick.

I didn’t give one fuck for Christian and Luca’s past relationship. I gave minus fucks for the other pair. These arcs took up most of the book, so I was not invested. There was way too much time spent on characters I had no use for. I didn't care about their petty little relationship or their love of destruction. Sociopath gets thrown around a lot for people who just act like bitter fuckwits.

I also didn't care one iota for the overused derogatory names or overall tone of this book.
God, these names. This tone.
Slut.
Whore.
Cumpdumpster.

“Little slutty baby,” Taylor crooned. “Little fuckslut. Wow, Luca wasn’t even cold in the ground when you were spreading your legs for a bunch of guys to run a train on you, was he?”

Eeesh. I don't do nasty idiots, however, I really do payback. Payback is my crack. Where the fuck was it?

I stuck with this because Lisa Henry is a fine writer. She can be ruthless in her darker storytelling. I can see where this will be a polarising book though. For me, dark reading from Ms Henry equates to the superb Bliss, and while the writing itself is technically sound in Naked Ambition, I was left disappointed.

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taylor plays a dirty cruel game. He hates the beautiful angelic Christian deeply and wants to destroy him, make him cry, and ruin him.
In his eyes Christian doesn’t deserve the Romano company after his partner Luca Romano died suddenly.
So Taylor and Connor hold out the net to catch the big fish and kill it. Forcing themselves into Christian’s world and the Romano company at Christian’s most vulnerable moments.

Christian is grieving and doesn’t see the world around him as it really is, cruel and ready to destroy him. He surrendered himself completely to Taylor and Connor who both had big plans with Christian.

There are just a few of the colleagues who are suspicious about Taylor and Connor their involvement with Christian and the way they help him.
Throughout the whole story, I kept wondering if they will succeed or not.

What a story, quite dark! Deeply depraved people and circumstances make it a very thrilling narrative. At times very erotic, the dub-con gave it all some extra spice.
It was captivating af, I read it in one sit. Awesomely written story!

[Susana · Rating 1 out of 5]

First, I have to say that I’ve loved all the books I’ve read by Lisa Henry so far. But
This is basically the story of a guy dazed by the pain of the loss of the love of his life, being raped by two psychos once, and again, and then gang raped repeatedly through all the chapters, while so drugged that there is no way he can express his consent. Christian is not the most likeable of characters, but nobody deserves such a treatment.
I guess the love story could work at three levels, but none of them works for me. First, there is the love story between Christian and Mike. You can skip all the book but the last chapter, and you’ll read all about it. Then there is the love story between Taylor and Collin. But from my point of view, the relationship between a pack of hyenas feasting on a pup is not love, but mutual necessity. And lastly, there is the love story between Christian and Luca, which is completely debased by Christian letting his legacy be destroyed by the two psychos.
The icing on the romance here is that the two psychos leave completely unscathed, free to continue destroying young men (which in fact Taylor recognises they will do) because there is nothing illegal in what they’ve done according to the narrator. Well, last time I checked, drugging a person with the aim of abusing him/her, sexually or in any other way, is a crime punished with prison, at least in my country.
What really hurts me is that Christian will have to deal with the trauma of having being raped by a bunch of guys he does not know, and probably having it published in the internet, and the rest of his life will be meeting people and wondering if they have been one of the guys raping him, or one of the guys who’s seen it in the internet. But that is given no consideration at all…Somebody who is so shy that it can consider a crippling condition and, after a year of we do not know what he is ready to fall in love again. Really? I so doubt it…
Anyone who considers this story a “delight” should check their scale of values
But it was very well written, that’s for sure
Nope
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review

[W · Rating 1 out of 5]

The 1/2 star is for the cover

SPOILERS


I felt sick by the continuous rape and gang rape of someone who cannot give consent. How can one give consent when one is drugged out one's mind? So, it is not dub/con , it's non/con ; at least, that's how I see it.

Not only Christian is grieving , for the love he lost ; now has to deal with the trauma of being used , abused and discarded by two sociopaths and bunch of unknown sexually promiscuous men. Well, hello there STDs.

I believe Christian's mental and physical health are so damaged and fragile only decades therapy and a strong support system (that he doesn't have) will prevent him committing suicide.

Even though this story is fiction , it still set up in a world where crime is punished except that it doesn't happened here . On the contrary, we know what happened to Christian will continue happening to other men. Again and again.

And that is not just dark , that is disgusting , cruel and a criminal.

I do not recommend it.

[Megan [At The Cottage]]

MM Dark Fairy Tale
Retelling of The Emperor’s New Clothes


I don’t know how to write a review for this. This is one disgusting, grotesque and fucking awful book. This isn’t romance and I should have DNF’d at 50% like I wanted to because I’m kind of wrecked after reading this and not in a good way. There are 3 POV’s in this book. Taylor, Mike and Christian. Mike’s was incredibly boring, Taylor’s was a fucking train wreck and despite Christian only having two chapters, I cried my eyes out reading his.

The ONLY sex scenes in this are ones forced upon Christian while he’s being force fed GHB. They are brutal and I feel like I’m going to cry just thinking about them. I can’t rate this because I dont know if I should 1 star it for the sheer horrific freak show it is or give it 5 because I’ve never felt this way after reading a book before, especially a romance. Is the author a genius for making me feel so awful or is this book just fucking awful? I can’t say but I want nothing to do with this book ever again.

However, this series is based on Grimm’s Fairytales and each story is written by a different author and that makes me want to give another book in this series a chance. I am so masochistic like why do I do these things to myself? Give this series another chance? 🤣🤣 Fucking insane.

[Nemo ☠️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

apparently i only like lisa henry when she goes Full Fucking Feral and i'd rather not examine what that means about me as a person

also i've read like 3 ULTRA-dark books in like two days but that's catharsis, baybey!

[Maygirl7 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate this book so much.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.75 stars

I cannot relate everything that Taylor and Connor do to poor Christian, but suffice it to say that no one deserves the horrors and abuse they heap on this poor, grieving man. While there isn’t exactly a happy ever after to this novella, there is definitely a hopeful happy for now and a sense that Christian’s future will include Mike in a good way. I must say that even though this story is pretty brutal to read, it is very well written. Taylor and Connor just exude evil so well and Christian’s innate goodness is the perfect foil. Then there is the mild-mannered, slightly nerdy Mike who screams “hero” as soon as you meet him. Honestly, the story itself, while very disturbing, is quite gripping and even horrifying at turns.

Read Sammy’s review in its entirety here.

[the kevin (vaguely alive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried to write down things that should have been in the content warnings since I couldn't find any for the book:

Content warnings: dubcon, noncon, sexual assault, drug use, drug addiction, noncon drug use

---

He was drowning, all right, and Taylor had just thrown him a lifeline. And next he was going to tighten it around his pretty little throat and pull.

This was a very well done dark MMM(ish?i don't know, it depends how you count) retelling of the Emperor's New Clothes. I would not consider it a romance. Maybe it's erotic horror.

Characters

Taylor:

All his life Taylor had wanted to create, and it turned out that his masterpiece was going to be destruction. There was probably something profound in that, maybe even a lesson, or at least something that someone with a more philosophical bent would have pondered for a while, but Taylor wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it. ... Perhaps the better philosophical question was whether or not destruction was a type of creation as well. Taylor liked to think that it was.

Taylor is an incredible character. Most of the book is in his POV, and he has such a strong voice I could feel his emotions. His visceral hatred and jealousy of Christian really came through the page.

Connor:

“How do you ruin a dead man?” Connor asked curiously.

Connor, Taylor's boyfriend, was a great secondary character as well. He fit so perfectly with Taylor in their scheme, and was all around strong as well, even though we weren't in his POV ever. We got to know him just fine through Taylor's POV.

Mike

The man’s gaze slid right off Mike, undoubtedly immediately categorizing him as unimportant and dismissing him. Mike might have been offended, but he was pretty sure it was an accurate assessment. Mike was no corporate shark. He was barely even a go-getter.

Mike...well. He was set up to be a boring character, and wow yeah his POV was boring. I never managed to care about him at all. Relatable in his "none of my business/I'm just here for the paycheck" vibes. He did work well as that outside perspective on the whole Taylor-Connor-Christian/workplace progress, but outside of that he wasn't anything.

Christian:

Christian we get like...two chapters of POV I think? It only serves to confirm how Taylor and Connor are interpreting and manipulating him. He was as strong as an overcooked noodle - he clearly had some serious emotional baggage, and collapsed very quickly in the face of everything.

Christian was pathetic and pitiful and boring, and he deserved to be punished for that alone.

The romance??

I guess technically there's a romance. Sort of. Mike and Christian. In Mike's POV he's sort of caring about Christian at times, but it's not like he knows him. He waffles a lot on that too - he knows he doesn't know Christian, but still feels weird about stuff. It makes for a great outside perspective like I said earlier, but less so for a romance arc.

All of this Mike-Christian romance occurs in the last chapter of the book. Literal last chapter. It just doesn't fit.

In fact, I felt like the last chapter was too overly cheeseball to fit with the rest of the book, it felt jarring and out of place. Plus we never really see them interacting (it's done in a gap between second to last chapter and epilogue chapter). It felt like it was forcing the HEA to be more overt without it really fitting.

If this book had ended on the second to last chapter (Christian's POV), it would have ended with a glimmer of hope and resolution, which I think would have been a better tonal fit considering the bleak and destructive vibes the rest of the story had from being almost entirely Taylor's vengeful POV.

Still, overall, this was a very compelling read all the way (until the last chapter) through. Incredibly distinct and strong characters, especially Taylor. Definitely a winner in this multiauthor series.



Read more reviews on my blog: 
https://horsetalkreviews.blogspot.com/

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yep, it's dark. Not the darkest I've read by this author, but it's no bed of roses.

The only real issue I had was that I didn't feel that that gut-punch horror over Christian's treatment early on. I just didn't find him to be a very sympathetic character in the beginning. Later on he's much more fleshed out, and I felt a lot more sympathy for him, but at first I didn't feel much connection to him. In Bliss, for instance, I really felt the violation of the MC, but that is missing here, somehow. Maybe it's a matter of perspective? I'm not sure.

Maybe I'm just getting jaded, or something, but, while this is dark, it isn't dark dark. More like a medium roast, lol.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

I guess I'll have to pick and choose my books just like the Criminal Delights series. A lot of unnecessary backstory, for me which in any book takes away from the story.

[Pia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of wish that Christian’s romance with Mike was more than about 7% of the book. Maybe it’s just me as a reader, but a rehabilitation and ‘learning to trust after trauma’ story is way more meaty than the destruction of someone’s psyche. The book felt like a set up to something handwaved away, and the conclusion felt forced and tacked on.

This story is about 99% hurt and 1% comfort, I know it will appeal to some! But had too many callous, detached ‘Flesh Cartel’ vibes for me, and Mike’s humanity wasn’t enough to make Christian’s trauma recovery believable - 7% just isn’t enough to compensate all that trauma. I can’t really decide what this book was trying to be. It’s not a romance; it’s a psychological thriller that seems to have gotten confused along the way.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the way the author played with my emotions with this one. A moment I was totally on Taylor's side and the next one I was thinking what an asshole he was. I had so much fun reading this book. It was such an nice take on the story it was based on. I was so intrigued to see where the plot would go and I also loved the fashion world it was set on. I can't really say I loved everything about the book. There were a few things I thought it could work diferently and I was kind of mad at the lack of planning on some aspects of Taylor and Connor's plan. But as a whole thing I did loved the book. This is one I know I wont forget easily. It might not be for every reader because of the conduct of some characters but I did liked it.

[Lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a rollercoaster

Some parts have been uncomfortable to read. But then, this was not meant to be an easy romance, with laughter and kisses.

Even though it took me longer than normal to go through the book as sometimes I simply had to take a break, it was brilliantly written, and I can't deny the complexity of the characters and dark exploration of the viler aspects of human nature.

I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, and it could be a tough read and maybe even triggering to some. Make sure you can handle it before you start.

[llv]

rating: dnf
Discover right away that this was not what I expected and not my cup of tea.

[It's a Solid Maybe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was so short and felt like it was quickly wrapped up for a deadline but I'll read anything she writes.

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was drawn into this on the premise of it being a modern, dark version of a classic fairy tale (The Emperor's New Clothes). I don't mind ambiguous morality from characters or even some pretty questionable story-lines. However, this was...a bit much.

Taylor and his boyfriend Conner are basically sociopaths, intent on destroying both Christian, the new head of the fashion company where Taylor works, and Luca's legacy, the fashion house itself. They have, apparently, no morals and no remorse, and they skillfully manipulate Christian. Perhaps if it had stopped there, with even life destroying emotional and business manipulation, this would have been an excellent book.

Instead, it went way, WAY further. Lisa Henry is a very talented author; she writes incredibly well, and I wanted so much to be able to switch off a bit enjoy the talented story telling she employs. However...

There is fairly graphic rape in this story. It's not entirely celebrated, but it's not entirely condemned either, and the drink spiking, gang rape scenes (including descriptions of serious physical abuse and pain, and in fact references to Christian almost being killed...) are fairly confronting. The whole thing is incredibly difficult to read, and its particularly rough that Taylor and Conner get to just walk away with no consequences.

Of all the characters, only Mike is basically decent (Christian is sweet, I suppose, but I will admit I found him irritating which is probably bad of me...). I am pretty shocked that the blurb just says "dark romance series" and references kinks - these are NOT kinks, what is depicted is clearly abuse. I think if the description had been more explicit, I wouldn't have read this (and admittedly, I skipped sections because they were confronting).

(I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review)

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think Lisa Henry is a very talented writer, and I have loved almost all of her books. I own many of them in both text and audio and re-read/re-listen often. One of the things I like about her books is that they are different from each other. She is always pushing herself and trying new things. But this one is just...ugly. Despite being based in the fashion industry, it's about ugly people doing ugly things. The romance is thin and a very small part of the story. I understand that the author was bound by some inherent limitations in the structure of the original story, but this did not work for me. If you haven't read her books before, please do not start here.

[i read at my convenience · Rating 3 out of 5]

straight rape. mm abuse. degradation and humiliation. drugged.

I’m so sorry to rate this low. But I really don’t recommend anyone out there who’s soft hearted to read this book. The storyline is just brutal and broke me. I’m crying so much reading this. Nobody deserves that much cruelty. I just wish those two sociopaths will get what they deserved.

[Chloe K · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve read all the criminal delights series and am no stranger to dark books with depraved MCs but damn. It wasn’t even dark as it was just sad. The author clearly despises the MC and wants him to suffer as much as possible because fuck me this was a sad rollercoaster

[Susan Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking

So this story was really good but sad for me. Christians late husband, Luca, was famous designer. Luca died just after they married, he left everything to Christian. Christian has no idea how to run a designer house of fashion and he barely makes it through the days following his husband's death.
Taylor is a designer who feels resentful that Luca married Christian and that Luca picked Christian over him. Taylor pulls his boyfriend, Connor, into his scheme of hurting Christian.
Taylor and Connor are absolutely appalling to Christian.. it just made my heart sad.
Mike works in payroll and sees the beautiful and painfully shy Christian for who he is. Mike is the good guy.

There is a happily ever after, it just comes really late in my opinion. :( of course it could have been worse.

SPOILER
I wish that Taylor and Connor got what they deserved. They totally deserved to go to jail for the things they did to Christian.

[Zuli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! It sure is on the dark side with all the grim atmosphere and despicable characters. I liked that somehow it felt both realistic and optimistic regardless. It deserved more pages and detail imo, but it preserved this bizarre feeling of an old fairy tail that I truly enjoyed ✨

[RACHEL REED · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5 stars rounded off)

𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑑.



Taylor Ritchie's hatred for the sweet innocent Christian Roquefeuil runs deep and he will do anything necessarily to destroy him.

After Christian's partner Luca Romano dies, he inherits the Romano company. He is still grieving for his former lover when Taylor and Connor step into his life. At first he finds solace in their comfort, but before he knows it he is in too deep by a wicked game being played with two ruthless psychopaths who are intent on his very destruction.



This book was deliciously dark, sinister, and depraved.
I absolutely loved this captivating and twisted modern retelling of the classic.
This is not a Romance, but a cruel game of dominance and revenge.

[trina · Rating 2 out of 5]

All I wanted in this book was for Luca to somehow come back from the dead and brutally murder Taylor and Connor, then take Christian back to Paris and be happy for another 30 years. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

I would have settled for someone reaching out to try to help Christian BEFORE the very end. It's a short book, but I hope Christian can heal from the horrible things done to him. Definitely not my favorite Lisa Henry book.

[Kassandra Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good writing but I did not like the characters very much. Was not for me and my taste but you may like it. I recommend it if this is your jam.

I received an arc and this is my honest review.

[L.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Naked Ambition is part of the Grim and Sinister Delights series, a series which takes classic fairytales and infuses them with the darker elements of human nature. Each book in the series is a standalone and written by a different author.

Lisa Henry is one of my favorite authors, and normally, when I read her work, I have big hearts in my eyes and I can barely put the book down. That was not my experience with Naked Ambition. What makes it difficult to rate this book is that the writing is still as wonderful and beautifully crafted as all of Lisa’s other books. It’s the plot and book structure that fall flat. The book blurb makes it seem that there will be a romance between Mike and Christian, the hero and victim of the story. However, there’s barely any interaction between Mike and Christian, and the readers get just the merest glimpse of anything romantic between them before the book ends. In fact, this book feels like the prologue/setup to Mike and Christian’s romance, but the rest of the story that shows Mike and Christian falling in love and healing from the events in Naked Ambition was just missing. It made the book feel incomplete.

Instead of a romance between Mike and Christian, we get a really intense and twisted romance between Taylor and Connor. Taylor and Connor, in fact, were the most interesting and dynamic characters in the entire book, and even though their relationship with each other was twisted and dark, it was also strong, and in a weird way, healthy. Taylor and Connor knew each other, accepted each other, and supported each other. They were partners and equals, as well as lovers. If the book was focused on these two characters instead of attempting to focus on the listless Christian and bland Mike, then I would have really liked it. The Grim and Sinister series promises a dark romance, and Taylor and Connor are pretty darn dark. Attempting to redivert the story towards Mike and Christian felt awkward and insincere, which really ruined the book. Plus, after spending so much time in Taylor’s head, after the lukewarm climax, Taylor and Connor just…disappear. No epilogue for them. No closure. Nothing. These two characters were basically the main characters, and now we have no idea what happens to them. Instead, we are expected to be interested in Christian and Mike who have done nothing truly interesting the entire book.

I’m a huge fan of dark, fictional romances. I love the grittiness and edgier side of romance and erotica. Lisa Henry has written some wonderful darker romances, but it felt like this time she was only toying the line between truly a dark romance and a more conventional happy fairytale. It was unfortunate because it didn’t really work, and although the writing was good and the overall concept of the plot was interesting, the entire thing was just average. I hope she revisits this book and maybe revamps it because I think it could truly be amazing and she has the talent and creativity to craft something masterful.

[Hailee Flaherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
(Not giving a spice rating)

- MM romance (but MMM scenes)
- Abuse (nocon drug use, SA, etc.)
- 95% hurt and 5% comfort

Wow this book was honestly very different. This is more a book of the hurt and abuse Christian went through and the romance part of the story was pretty much the very end (with some chapters of it sprinkled throughout).

I was confused where this story was going at first because I think I assumed the first character to have chapters would be the love interest (but I also had never read the story this is a retelling of so not sure if that would have helped). I didn’t read the reviews or description before reading because I don’t like spoilers but I found myself going back to the reviews a few chapters in because I was confused.

Taylor doesn’t think Christian deserved anything and wants to destroy him and everything about his life, and boy does he traumatize him. Taylor and Connor are evil evil evil…. My heart broke for Christian the whole time.

One thing I kept thinking was Taylor was also going to ruin his own life... no one would want him as a designer after this. Totally makes sense they skipped town but I wish Christian got some sort of justice.

Retelling of: The Emperor’s New Clothes

*Part of the Grim and Sinister Delights series but can be read in any order, they are not connected at all*

[Kkhmonrai · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was dark, intense, and emotional. I hated the evil Taylor and Connor, but I was compelled to keep reading to see if their plans for Christian succeeded or if someone would help save him and the company. I almost felt like an addict; I had to see how it ended! I have never had such a hard time not skipping to the end of a book. The whole story is just - WOW. So dark and twisted, and poor Christian, almost innocent and naive, caught at such a vulnerable time, pawn to Taylor's sinister machinations. If you are looking for unicorns and rainbows, turn away, but if you want a delicious taste of darkness, carry on, but be ready for a late night. You won't be able to put it down until the end.

I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

[Madhu MaBookYard - · Rating 3 out of 5]

[🌟🌟🌟]
A couple days ago I read Crimson Painted Snow which was a part of this Dark retelling of fairytales without knowing it was book 9 in the series. So I decided to pick the series up from Book 1. It's a Prince and the Dressmaker retelling, and to be honest, I was left disappointed by this book. The Characters were okay but didn't have that 'Omg I'm going to root for this one' trait. I know it's a dark romance story, but I don't need to see lot of derogatory slurs to prove that point. Bring in more cut throat Characters and merciless personality, I'm all for it. Christian was not in his right mind most of the time and Mike had 'Um I don't know but why care' attitude. I love Lisa's writing style, but this was not my favorite.
.
Kindle/ October 2020