Green Light

by Jescie Hall

From Amazon's bestselling author Jescie Hall comes a new dark college romance about one man's online obsession with his new stepsister.

K1ngK0br@: I fell for your lies, and you sucked me into your twisted game. You made me crave your taste, hungered for your full attention. I gave you everything, only for you to go ghost. You hollowed my heart, sending me into a spiral of self-destruction. Revenge found its way to replace you. Even if you’re my new stepsister, I’ll make sure hating me is your new addiction.

vEn0mX: You stole my heart, but I stole your livelihood. Playing off men and their desires became my obsession, until the game grew dark, and a body was never found. Deceptions, secrets, and a dark, devious mission led me to you. Fate found us, but trauma laced our cores. You want me to hate you, but I’ll burn through the monster I created and make you love me again.


Thing to know about Green Light :
M/F
Dual POV
OTT (over the top) Hero
J/P Hero
Standalone

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Dark, Enemies To Lovers, Forced Proximity, Spicy, College

565 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 5, 2024

Reviews

[Marianna Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ That had no business being so good. We are here for the vibes and the vibes only. If you saw this, no you didn’t. But at the same time it’s okay if you did because if you are dark romance reader and you haven’t read this yet… WHAT ARE YOU DOING????!!

This is my first Jescie Hall book and I swear to god she put some sort of crack in this book I was quite literally incapable of putting it down from start to finish!

This was TOXIC AS HELL AND I ATE UP EVERY LAST WORD!! Shane and Montana have me in the biggest chokehold I’m honestly depressed now because I need more of them. I could read about their twisted dynamic forever. The HATRED they have for each other actually has me sweating…. The tension…. The angst… the longing… the OBSESSION. This is a TRUE bully romance… like Jescie did not come to fucking play.

Our MMC Shane is the epitome of a man obsessed, MORALLY BLACK, and so goddamn scrumptious. The biggest red flag but I am only seeing green. I mean he’s a tatted biker/gamer boy with a traumatized past, a drug addiction, mommy and daddy issues, AND he won’t hesitate the unalive anyone that looks at her the wrong way….. looks pretty green to me. This man has one goal and one goal only and that’s to absolutely ruin Monatana’s life just like she ruined his. His hatred for her runs as deep as his obsession and possession over her. She took everything from him and let’s just say it’s his mission to return the favor..

Montana is THAT FUCKING BITCH!! God I loved her. After surviving years of abuse as a child and taking care of her addict mother, she developed extremely thick skin and puts up one hell of a fight with Shane. She’s not afraid to bite back and I love it.

Both Shane and Montana are manipulative as all hell, their relationship is rooted in lies and deception and secrets, the whole time I was reading this I was literally on the edge of my seat wondering what these two would pull next… if you don’t like toxic relationships DO NOT READ THIS!! But to me, the two couldn’t be more fucking perfect, trauma bonded soul mates to their core.

The spice… don’t. Even. Get. Me. Started. This was SPICY AS HELL. Usually I don’t like too too much spice in my dark romance books but it was done so well that I was feral for every single god damn scene. It was kinky, it was questionable, you get a lot of hate spice and I probably shouldn’t have loved it as much as I did but like… here we are. What I also loved though is that the PLOT WAS PLOTTING!!! There was a little murder mystery going on behind the scenes, Shane and Montana had their own secrets you were trying to uncover, the ending BLEW MY GOD DAMN MIND!!! Yeah I’m obsessed with this.

- step siblings/forbidden… very taboo
- Cam girl FMC
- Gamer/biker morally black MMC
- Forced proximity
- Murder mystery
- Revenge
- Bully romance
- Enemies to lovers
- Kinks galore
- Hate spicy scenes
- Plot + spice ♥️🌶️

Please please please check your trigger warnings this was extremely dark and will not be for everyone !

[Larissa Cambusano · Rating 2 out of 5]

my favorite part of this book was when it was over <3

[manas · Rating 1 out of 5]

➳ goodnight ☆

as always, major disclaimer. this is my opinion/my thoughts. please don't hate, as i am actually quite sensitive. i know nothing about the author/am not bashing on dark romance, as that is something i actually enjoy. my entire contention with this book were the characters deportment, not the writing or the fact that it's dark/taboo. i like darker books/concepts. i can still dislike these things without it directly attacking anyone, especially the author and other readers!

you guys already know i am here for the girls. abusive men are NOT my forte. now you may ask me, why did i read this? i honestly do not know. i think i was mislead into believing this was something else, but like? at this point that's on me.

the sexism and misogyny of this book got so fucking boring, real fucking quickly. not only do these characters not act their age, they are also cringy and really stupid. shane's only insults aside from humiliating her constantly, using her sexually, and allowing others to use/view her as this toy; was his constant usage of the words slut, whore, bitch, oh, and there is a new one, gutter rat. if anyone is a rat, it's me, for reading the whole goddamn book. not only is every guy in this book a loser who peaked in middle school, they way the women are written was VERY concerning. i like toxic shit to a certain extent, but this was just so goofy with zero indication as to why.

aside from that fuckery, this whole book was all about sex. 98% of the book was them being horny and using each other to get off, in the dumbest of ways. the side characters brought NOTHING to the table. hell, there was no table—they were so useless to this plot. nobody spoke like a human being above the age of 12. this felt like a chronically online edgy child wrote some self-insert fanfic. i am old enough to understand the concept of it is fiction, separate it from reality. however, i will always look at an author sideways if their main driving factor for their books are their characters being bigots, in order to tell a story. whether that is sexism, homophobia, or racism. most of the time, it is not needed for the story and is done so in a disgusting manner to drive the plot, and later introduce character development .

i comprehend that some of the characters had a difficult life, but the extent that things went to was so weird & uncomfortable. i guessed pretty easily why shane was acting the way he did, and none of it was justified for how horribly he treated her. i kept waiting for more and it never came, unlike our two main characters who kept screwing every five minutes. aside from that, everyone was cheating on everyone for no reason. there was no need for any of this. anyways, the only thoughts shane had about/towards montana—you guessed it—were sexual and really violent. i actually have no clue why i picked this up.

when authors say; morally black + morally grey male main characters, they really mean abusive + misogynistic bitchass man children. people say they will accept anything in books, expect a man who is sexist and a cheater... and then hype up z*de, killian carson, bj ballentine, and now shane the clown?? i think i am TOO woke for the joke. goodnight.

here are some quotes/monologues that had me bamboozled.

➳ he got me ice after allowing me to hit him, for christ’s sake.
after abusing her for the entire book, right.

➳ “she's returned from her sweet little date with an older, more established man she can sink her teeth into, absorbing his trust fund to crawl her way back to the top. typical gutter rat behavior.”
i laughed, i am sorry.

➳ “but you should never leave your room like this. not while living with us animals.”
they can be rats together!!

➳ “where is he?!” shane yells, his fist pushing into my sternum, eyes wild with a storm of fear and rage. “what do you know?!”
mind you, this girl was not involved...

➳ “how does that make you feel? still sitting high and mighty knowing your bitch, as you so kindly call her, is sitting on cocks for cash?”
what. the. fuck.

➳ bitch. cunt. manipulative whore.
his inner thoughts about her. <3

➳ “what drives a man to do this?” “what could possibly have made this man murder and mutilate this beautiful young girl, stripping her of her beauty and life?” “what terrifies me most about that story is the sickness in me understands it.”
ewwwww?????!!!!

➳ “tell me i can take you,” he rushes. “i won’t do it without your words anymore.”
how do you even respond to this tomfoolery??

and they say romance is dead.

this was just blather. not one ounce of substance... just arrant silliness. these are not nineteen year olds, they are children.

shut. the. fuck. up.

[Koisty · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Gutter Rat Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

There is something about Jescie Hall’s writing that has the innate ability to draw you in and keep you. She is magical at creating dark sick and twisted characters that no matter how vile and despicable their actions you still can't help but fall for their charms...

Green Light is no different. Montana is trying to set her life right, with a stable boyfriend and having managed to snag the cello first chair at a prestigious orchestra. But that's only the life she shares with the world. Underneath she has a dark secret, previously being an underage camgirl on the dark web and now desperate for money she auditions for a porn agency. She needs to be close to the university for practice but after being told by her father that unfortunately she cannot move into his house as it will upset the balance of his new marriage, he arranges for her to move in with her new step-brother, Shane, and his friends... the problem... the agent who she slept with at that audition is none other than her step brother - who is determined to ruin her life.

Both Montana and Shane are one of the most deviously deceptive and manipulative characters I have ever read about. The layers of their manipulation run super deep into the plot and I often did not see the unexpected consequential twists and turns of their actions, which meant I was constantly kept at the edge of my seat pondering what the fuck these two would do next.

Montana plays on both sides of the tipsy turvy split between being dominant and submissive. She knows when to show teeth, push back and be a bratty little bitch. She has needed to develop a thick skin in order to survive the years of abuse from her mothers drug dealer, the neglectful love of her mother whist needing to be the responsible one in their relationship. But she also very easily sursceptiable to Shane and his "orders". Often taking the road of not struggling or challenging him, as it's easier to just submit to what he wants over fighting.

Shane is unhinged, a true puppet master playing chess when everyone else is playing checkers. But he is filled with anger and hate and all of this is directed at Montana because she hurt him, hurt him to the point that he didn't know if he would survive. He is obsessed with Montana, he is possessed by everything Montana and his vindictive and vile nature just wants her to suffer. She will have no success at this life she has tried to crawl out of, constantly pushing her down to be that gutter rat that he thinks she is.

Their relationship is toxic. It's violent and explosive and problematic. The types of extremes you see in a couple found in Tarentino Movies. They bond in trauma and match each others darkness. A perfect fit for the others psycho. They start by hating each other but are both so sexually attracted and drawn to each other, both by their present and past history that they cannot stay apart. Shane wants to use and break her and this feeling is addictive that soon Montana craves this connection. They will burn the world down for each other (literally) and will smile while watching it crumble.

The spice in this was definitely exciting and edging, leaving you wanting more and more after each encounter! But It also delivers epic mineblowingly explosive scenes that were literal perfection in their kink and dark. They are not romantic, they are dirty, violent and rough... but let's face it if you're reading a dark romance, that's exactly what you want.

Small little things I loved were that this pulled on an element of the only fan" plot and played into it well but also gave it a unique spin you won't see coming. Then their was the band of brothers who all lived in the House. Shane, Sigh and Weeter were such a good dynamic that shows you can find your people in the dark. I loved how they all looked out for each other and were able to openly have conversation around "checking yourself before wreaking yourself".

My one problem with Green Light is that it is very "Dear Diary" in both the dialogue as well as in their internal thoughts so that all their dark and twisted thoughts are often regurgitated on the page. What I mean by this is, the writing is very poetic, in abundance; so what ends up happening is you have to sift through the dark and troubling metaphorical prose, that is basically continual poetry, to decern the plot. As a result of those overabundance of metaphors thrown at you, I sometimes battled to decern what was happening. The benefit of this is that you do then have a VERY CHARACTER focused story, but I personally would have preferred one or two metaphors and not pages and pages sprinkled into the story. I do understand that this is often needed to create the imagery of their trauma and the darkness of their experiences but for me it took away from everything because it felt "tooo much".

Tropes:
▶ Step Siblings (Forbidden Romance)
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Bully Romance
▶ DubCon/NonCon
▶ Revenge
▶ Hate Sex
▶ Obsessive Possessive Alphahole
▶ Gamer Boy X Band Geek
▶ Degradation and Praise
▶ Trauma Bonding and Secrets and Lies
▶ Cheating

Microtropes:
▷ Mine
▷ Chin Lift
▷ Cages her with his arms
▷ Drugging
▷ She Stabs Him
▷ Hand Necklaces

Kinks: BDSM elements, Biting, Voyeurism, Tied Up, Spitting, Hate Sex, Edging, She Burns Him, Collar and Lead play with Crawling

Overall I really enjoyed this! It is an excellent addition to Jescies Portfolio of sick and twisted and her writing and characters make you love it, keep your toes curled and your mind constantly asking how fucked up are you for liking it! If you love dark psychological twisted stories with dirty spicy smut this would be perfect for you!

Thank you so much Jescie Hall for my gifted copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own

[Haley Jean · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
this is literally an INCEL romance …. seek help 🙏

also why does a dark romance not have any trigger warnings on the kindle edition 🤨🤨🤨🤨 weird behavior all around

[ForeverreadinG · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wtf is this woke shit???

Why is the author trying so hard to include as many tropes and things as possible to make it sounds semi interesting?


Is that what sells the most these days??

I wanted a MF only romance not a whole LBGT shenanigans going on.


2024 dark romance books releases is such a flop. No one can enjoy a SIMPLE MF romance only these days. SMH


The funny bit is she said the MMC is over the top hero and a jealous one. Babe? Where’s that? It didn’t sound or read like he was one. Both of the main characters were miserable and useless and didn’t have any redeeming qualities along every other character mentioned.

I need a break.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jescie, you are a poet.

I genuinely feel like I need to just sit here in silence and gather my thoughts because my brain exploded so many times reading this. The plot... is plotting. 🤯

This was so freaking good. I legit cannot remember the last time I have read a book and my brain was working over time trying to figure out what the f*** is going on. I also couldn't put it down because I needed to know what was happening.

The way the entire story comes together is amazing. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I think this may be my second favorite Jescie book to date and I have read them all.

Highlights:
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"When you really love people, you deal with their dirt and let it become you."

"Bury me, Venom. Bury me so deep I can breathe again."

"Damn dog won me over."
"Knew we would."
🥹🥹🥹

"You are the darkness that I want to wear proudly."

"Swallow. Swallow me whole. You've done it before, now do it again so I can watch." I AM DONEEEE

-dark romance
-step siblings
-forced proximity
-mystery
-obsessive mmc
-gamer boy x music girl

[Annica ⚡️ annica_reads_books ⚡️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jescie Hall is back, y’all, and she’s coming at ya with a step-sibling bully romance! What she didn’t tell you was that not only does this book heavily layer on the bullying and toxicity, but it’s also her most plot-driven story to date. If you like your dark romance with a little side of murder mystery, look no further than Green Light.

This book starts out with a bang (quite literally), and it doesn’t ever let up. The two love interests, Shane and Montana, are perfectly paired in their toxicity and trauma. If you’re looking for someone to whisper sweet nothings in your ear, you might want to change your expectations. Shane is a tortured anti-hero, and his way of showing love is unconventional at its best and destructive at its worst.

“Watch yourself, gutter rat,” I breathe. “See all the things I saw as a boy in love. The faces you make, the pain you’ll emit. I want you to watch as I break you.”

If you’re reading this feeling sorry for the heroine, Montana, don’t. She’s the perfect match for Shane – his twin flame, meeting him and loving him in his darkness. What I appreciated most about Montana was her tenacity. Nothing is going to stop her from getting what she wants. Montana is an anti-heroine who’s willing to let her claws come out.

I hunger for the way men become weak around me, beneath me, inside of me. They think they’re using me, but I know. I know what it takes to make them fold. What makes them fall on their sword for a taste of the promised land. And I assure you, it isn’t much.

The plot's pacing was executed masterfully, and every chapter had a purpose. Revelations were subtly added throughout the book, but most of the big reveals came at the end. This worked well for me as a reader because it kept me engaged, wanting to know more from the moment I started the book until the moment I finished it.

Green Light delivered on the way it was marketed, but it’s so much more. I loved it. Undoubtedly, it will be one of my top reads of 2024. I highly recommend this book to dark romance lovers that want something fast-paced and toxic.

“You,” she whispers back. “You are the darkness that I want to wear proudly.”

Be sure to check your triggers before diving into this book. There are scenes and situations that Jescie has not included in her previous books. Your mental health matters. You can learn more on her website: https://jesciehall.com/trigger-warnings/

[Ericka · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.

I hated everything about this book and at 30% it was turning into a hate read and at 37% I told myself I didn’t have to do this to myself and put it down.

The characters (literally every single one) were INSUFFERABLE. The FMC is filled with so much self-hatred that I couldn’t bare to read her POV anymore and the MMC is so rude and disgusting that no matter what transpired in the other 63%, I would’ve never liked him.

Severely disappointed by this read.

[Emma Halbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun but just so long. I kind of fell out of the smut mood about 50% in so it was rough dragging myself through the rest of it. But you’ll love this if you’re in the mood for a forbidden, twisted story!!

[Bailee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

This was definitely a slow start for me, but once I hit that 40% mark I was IN IT. The mystery aspect was exactly what I needed to really get interested in this book. Don’t get me wrong, the spice was SPIIIICY and it was good quality spice, but that mystery plot is really what got me into it. The characters had so much more depth to them than I expected them to (which, I don’t know why this surprised me, because that is typically the type of characters that Jescie Hall writes), and I really enjoyed how much these characters grew and stayed true to themselves throughout this book.

Overall, I enjoyed it!!

[Ashley⛓️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew this was going to be toxic and I was prepared for an insane bully… but holy fuck. This exceeded my expectations ten fold. Shane was so tormented with hating, loving Montana. And he was one of the most ruthless bullies I’ve read. I absolutely loved him and Montana both. The twist and turns of this plot was INSANE! Completely unexpected. And jescie’s writing style is absolute perfection. God tier. Unmatched. I’m still floored having finished this hours ago. Absolute perfection.

[Brittany Ferraro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Infinity ⭐️’s for Green light🚦

OKAAAAYYY coming in hot with chapter 1. Literally sweating out the gate 😮‍💨📹

First off- Jescie Halls writing style is just so beautiful & poetic. Her characters have so much depth & emotion behind them. She writes with such purpose & I fucking love that. She scratches a certain part of my brain that I can’t even describe, you just have to be there to witness it. She truly tells a story like no one else.

If you think this is just a spicy taboo step sibling romance, boy are you wrong because this plot gave me EVERYTHING.

I fucking love when an MMC doesn’t know which to lean into, his obsession for her or his fucking hatred & the wires get all crossed. LAWDDD these two are so fucking toxic & I was like give me moreeee🥵🥵Like why was I giggling everytime he called her gutter rat LMAO a PERFECT bully romance.

I just KNEW Shane was going to be a top tier MMC. The way this man was pulling the strings truly showed how deep his obsession ran & nothing makes me more giddy then when an MMC crosses all the lines with no remorse 😂 #FERALFORSHANE

My girl Montana was everything I want in a FMC, tough, fierce, independent, doesn’t take no shit, & uses and manipulates men like they deserve. A QUEEN

These two were MADE for each other.

The SPICE HELLO?! The hate sex, the bullying, the SPITTING, the alleyway, the CELLO SCENE!! Every single spicy seen was to DIE for. I got to the point where I was literally bookmarking full pages- full on foaming at the mouth.
“pain will find you faster than pleasure pretty girl” 🫠

The ending came together so fucking perfectly (true Jescie style) I was holding on for dear fucking life while this book dragged me by my hair in the best way. The full circle moments had me gasping for air.

However good you guys are expecting this to be, It’s fucking better. A perfect book from start to finish & most definitely one of my new favorites

Incredibly grateful for the best ARC of all time.

“But his chaos calls to mine”

[readwithhanhan (IG) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay yall don’t come for me!!! listen, this was one of my most anticipated reads for 2024 but unfortunately it just didn’t do it for me. Idk. I didn’t feel connected with the characters for majority of the book.. honestly the whole first half I was bored and wasn’t vibing. And considered making this book a dnf.. but I will say the second half of the book was much better. I ended up figuring out 1 of the twists but the other one I didn’t expect! So that was cool! Shane unfortunately is not making my list of book boyfriends. He wasn’t anything special to me, but he did have some moments I enjoyed. He was chaotic and unhinged for sure but idk he just didn’t interest me as much. I feel bad because I see this book is really loved and honestly I love that for everyone else!! maybe I’m just the weird one but anyways overall I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I was going to and that really saddens me. I will say this is 3.5 stars for me but I didn’t want to round up to 4 on here so I rounded down instead. I’m scared to post this review hahaha

[dj&books · Rating 5 out of 5]

no you don’t understand, I’M OBSESSED!! i can’t even begin to explain what this book did to me. this is by far my favorite book from Jescie. this book was so fucking wild and unhinged and i couldn’t get enough. these two will have you HOT and gasping for more. there will be a full review on my IG in the next few days. i’m just blown away and need time to process!!!

[Sara ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank God this is over 😭😭. What the fuck was this.

You know, I was giving the book the benefit of the doubt, but after reading that first scene I had honestly been foreshadowed. This book was ridiculous, filled with corny smut. The smut wasn't even hot, it felt like bad porn. There were no feelings attached imo, they were just using each other and just torturing the reader (aka me). Also, the kinks??? Not shaming anyone, but what the hell with the cat tail??

Montana was an attempt of a badass main character who embraces her sexuality. Well, I think if she's degraded and called a whore the whole book it loses that goal. I can get behind that she was a cam girl, but the way she seduces men so she can get job opportunities??? I mean, it honestly appals me.

Shane wasn't much better. His only redeemable trait was calling the FMC a gutter rat (earned me some laughs). Apart from that, he was so pathetic. Blaming the protagonist for his trauma, abusing her??? Something funny about this book is how he asks for consent ('green light', as he calls it) and then in the next scene casually records and sexually assaults her. Shane, honey, consent should be given at all times, not when she's sleeping and hasn't allowed you to do that 👁️👁️.

In the book you're given some little clues that there's a murder-mystery plot, but it doesn't even deserve attention. It was obvious, and not even well-developed.

I like dark romance, and sometimes even like controversial tropes, but this was not it. The male character was abusive, the female mc stupid, and the plot not even worth mentioning. I might give the author another opportunity, but after reading this, I won't try for a while 😭.

[crusadeannihilation · Rating 5 out of 5]

I see the shadows of her soul, and grasping at that darkness is what I need to survive. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Treena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just wasn't for me. I can get behind a dark bully romance, but even by the end, Shane was completely irredeemable in my opinion. The cruelty was unmatched and as much as I understand why he was mad at her, (because what she did to him wasn't right either), the crime didn't fit the punishment. He went too far on multiple occasions & took revenge to a whole new level that was genuinely insane and hard to grasp, especially since he claims to have loved her the entire time.

[Ghazal Husari · Rating 1 out of 5]

i wouldn’t even suggest this book to my enemy

[zoë]

dnf @ 60%

this is the second time i dnf a jescie hall book due to the insane amount of cheating (among other reasons)

ngl i was very excited for this to come out and i basically read the first half of the book in one sitting, but some things were just way too unbearable for me to keep reading this. i’d like to know what ends up happening but i’d also much rather not force myself to suffer through 200 more pages of this bullshit 😍

my biggest complaint is obviously the cheating. virtually every single character in this book was cheating on someone in some shape or form (the most notable being that i got 60% in and miss girl montana was STILL in a relationship with her boyfriend wesley AND YET she has fucked shane at least 5 times and has an entire career making adult content that her bf doesn’t know about ?????) mind you, her boyfriend is also blatantly cheating on her, but, repeat after me: EVEN IF YOU’RE DATING AN ASSHOLE, CHEATING IS STILL CHEATING.

it angers me that i even have to point that out. is it so hard to just leave someone before pursuing other people ? anyways. i get so excited at the premises of jescie hall books but i think i need to stop giving her a chance because the way she uses the guise of “dark romance” to excuse cheating and literal abuse FROM THE LOVE INTEREST is insane to me.

idk about you but personally i would not fall in love with a man if he was fucking other women, calling me a gutter rat, destroying everything i love under the excuse of “i broke his heart and ruined his life”, and literally abused me and almost let me get raped MULTIPLE TIMES ????

the plot was also just all over the fucking place. i don’t for a single second believe that a man would become a drug addict and ruin his life after getting rejected by a cam girl he was supposedly in love with and getting his “heart broken”. not to belittle his experience, but you’re literally like a teenager. move on. get better coping skills and maybe like don’t give every cent your family has to a random stranger on the internet whose face you’ve never seen ?? maybe i should feel bad for saying this but come on. get over it, life goes on. and this goes without saying but don’t trust people on the internet

there were so many different plot lines going on and none of them were really introduced entirely like they were all just mentioned randomly then forgotten about ????? just randomly out of nowhere this bitch starts investigating some girl’s death or something and this girl was NOT ONCE previously mentioned ??? i can’t even really put into words how the different plot lines were fleshed out because truly nothing about them made any sense whatsoever to me.

i feel like such a hater but tbh when it comes to shit like this i’m not gonna just sit by and say it was a good book 💀

[Joelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

i was obsessed until about the 60% mark then it fell off and got corny which is really disappointing. for one, i wish we had gotten more of their backstory rather than just being forced to believe that they loved each other for the one year they knew of each other online. Without it, I thought shane's hatred and horrifying behaviors were a bit dramatic given the fact that montana made a fool of him when she was just FIFTEEN and he was a sad, lonely and horny high schooler (like be so for real.) & speaking of horny?? shane's porn addiction was the scariest thing about him honestly. he was never fully redeemed for me and i couldn't justify how he abused montana for almost the entire book over something so ridiculous. in milking this plot line, i thought the author was trying to squeeze in as many tropes as possible to write the most shocking and outlandish story the dark romance world has yet to see (which, i guess worked at parts but mostly it was absurd knowing these characters are college-aged.) given their young ages, i also thought the dialogue was weird and unbelievable when they'd speak in metaphors and flowery language. my last-and biggest- gripe is there are so so SO many plot holes like to the point where i was reading and starting to think i was stupid because i couldn't make sense of things that i honestly don't care to list off but mostly i have to know what was locked in that box under shane's bed. and why the hell didn't he get revenge on wesley for mutilating his dog?


overall it was hot and entertaining enough & the aesthetic was amazing so at least there's that.

[Nour Hane · Rating 1 out of 5]

لا أدري ألوم نفسي ولا ألوم اللي مدحوا هذي الكارثة... الكتاب هذا مو دارك رومانس هذا إهانة مغلفة بورق ويحاول يقنعك إنه “دارك رومانس"

البطلة؟ شخصية فارغة مجرد أداة لا كرامة لا وعي لا تطور... كل قراراتها كارثية وكل مرة تنهان فيها ترجع وكأن شيء ما صار تتنفس ذل

أما البطل… فحدث ولا حرج مقزز بشكل يلعي القلب ألفاظ مقرفة احتقار واضح للنساء وبعدين المفروض أقتنع إنه “رمادي أخلاقيًا”؟ لا هذا مش رمادي ولا أسود هذا حيوان بلا عمق ولا مبرر... الإساءة مش جاذبية والاهانة مش مبهارة ولا ضحك ولا تجذب بأي حال من أخوال وكمان يلعب فيها غيور و متملك وهو يصورها قبل مايتعدى عليها و يوريها إذا كان هذا مفهوم الغيرة والهوس فخلوه عندكم
هذا غير ذكر الميم وأبطال ثنائيين الميول ولأني صرت بس اتخطى صفحات عشان اعرف سبهم في ريفيو ماركزت منيح.

أسلوب الكتابة؟ صدمة وراء صدمة بدون سبب ٩٨٪ من الرواية عبارة عن شهوة سطحية وتكرار مشاهد بلا معنى والباقي حشو ومحاولات فاشلة لصنع حبكة الشخصيات الثانوية وجودها زي عدمه الحوار؟ أقرب لمراهق يكتب دارك في واتباد سنة 2012 اللي يقهر أكثر هو طريقة تصوير النساء إما مهانات أو غبيات أو أدوات لإثبات “رجولة” بطل مهزوز ما في عمق نفسي ما في بناء تدريجي بس ألفاظ سوقية ومحاولات استفزاز

والكاتبه غبية واضح أنها تعتمد على الصدمة عشان تغطي فراغ القصة لأن لو شلنا الإهانات والمشاهد المتكررة ما راح يبقى شيء يذكر باختصار: نادمه ندم كلب على قرأتي للرواية ذي الله لا يوفق يلي رشحو هذا مو جلد أبطال… هذا جلد صبري أنا.
ازيدلكم شي ثاني انا لما دخلت اقرا كتاب هذا ماكنت ادري انو أبطال إخوة غير أشقاء وأخر كتاب قرأته ل تروب ذا قولت أنا كلبه اذا رجعت قربت عليه 😂هو فعلا انا كلبة لأني روحت فتحت كتاب بدون ما ادور عليه وبعدها صدمت عيشتي 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

[Deni · Rating 5 out of 5]

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КАКВО ПРОЧЕТОХ, БОГА МИ???! 😱🥴🧠💥☠️🐍🎥🎮🏍️🥵🔞🔞🔞💦😍

Пълно ревю coming soon 🔜

P.S. Определено всички авторки, които напират да ползват boy obsessed тропата трябва да идат на един мастър клас при Джеси Хол. Така, както тая жена пише обсебени, ненормални MMC не съм видяла друг да го прави 😌👌

[Anushka · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT!! This book reminds me of the downfall of Amo Jones’ books . I had such high expectations from jescie but this book was really pathetic. Forced myself to complete 50% of the book and still was BS.

[Elle G. Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the BEST dark romances (bully romance specifically) that I’ve read in a long time- maybe even EVER when it comes to trope. The writing is so immersive, and I almost felt like I was in Montana’s shoes while reading. It was just SO GOOD. I think I stumbled upon a new favorite author and I’m about to binge her backlist! Shane… Sigh what can I saw about him. He’s so cruel… He doesn’t mind showing his cruelty and some scenes had me questioning my morals but… underneath is a man that has lived through some horrible things so I… forgave him. Be aware that you will see some dark stuff come from him so make sure to check your TW’s.

Then we have Montana. While she isn’t as cruel and vile as Shane she has a dark side too. We don’t see it all that much but it’s there underneath her exterior. She’s a great character and you truly have to read the entire book to see where she’s coming from and why she’s the way she is, but it all makes sense in the end, and I loved her for it.

Anyway this book blew my mind in the best of ways and I can’t recommend it enough to those who enjoy a DARK romance. Read it! You won’t regret it if you love this genre.

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙
❥ Dark Romances
❥ Bully Romances
❥ Stepsiblings
❥ Forced Proximity

[RavenOfTheSea · Rating 5 out of 5]

She stares, dumbfounded by my actions, before her lip tilts up in the faintest of grins, amused by my chaos; delighted by my demons. She’s never looked more mine.

5/5 ⭐ 4/5 🌶️

This was one of the best toxic romances I've ever read!! Shane and Montana were everything!!! I have to applaud Jescie, because not only did she perfectly nail the taboo, bully and toxic romance tropes, but she also created characters and a plot that effortlessly drew me in, trapping me in a world I had no desire to escape. I loved this book—adored it!!

Shane and Montana aren’t your typical dark romance mcs. They’re both completely unhinged. Their relationship is a chaotic mix of obsession, lies, deceit, and trauma. They’ve utterly destroyed each other, and they don’t seem to want to stop anytime soon. And their chemistry? Absolutely delicious and toe-curling. No wonder the book hit a whole new level of spiciness.

Sure, Shane is the kind of a*hole you might expect in a dark romance, but that man is utterly insane. If you’re looking for redeeming qualities, you won’t find any here. Shane unapologetically goes to extremes that left me picking my jaw up off the floor. Just when I thought he’d reached the peak of his madness, he bulldozed right through any limits, values, or moral compasses. Maybe—okay, definitely—if I ever met him in real life, I’d run the other way sobbing in fear, but in fiction? While reading his povs, I couldn’t help but love him. He’s the perfect type of obsessed—not your usual alpha a*hole type, but more like the asylum type. Do I love him for that? Yep, I do.

On the other side of the coin, there’s Montana, who almost had me fooled. I felt so much pity for what she went through because of Shane, but at the same time, Montana is just as toxic as he is. Every time he pushes, she finds a way to pull back. She fights with every fiber of her being and destroys everything in her path. By the end, I wasn’t even sure who I had a bigger crush on—Montana or Shane.

To wrap it up, this book was perfect. The couple was incredible—everything I needed from a bully, toxic, and taboo romance! The spice was sizzling, the plot complemented the characters beautifully, and the side characters were so much fun to read. I went through a tornado of emotions, from sadness to giddiness to anger. Shane had me blushing. I just loved it!

Did I like it? Yeap.
Would I reread it? Yeeeees.

[Kayla Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I feel we’ll always be tied in some twisted, intangible way. When you really love someone, you appreciate their worth, flaws and all. You refuse to let go, no matter what tries to tear you apart. I refuse to let this go.”

This book was a wild ride…I actually really liked Shane and Montana I just wish we were able to get a little bit more of their life together. They were both so toxic and possessive but it worked. The only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars was because the bullying went on for too long. Overall, this book had me guessing the entire time and I didn’t want to put it down! Definitely check the trigger warnings before you read this.

Tropes:
📹Taboo
📹Dark Romance
📹Forbidden Love
📹Second Chance
📹Morally Black MMC
📹Forced Proximity
📹Murder Mystery
📹Bully Romance
📹Enemies To Lovers
📹Extreme Spice

*Also the “probably smut” cover of this book is 🔥.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Stunning. It’s beyond what I was expecting and I always expect greatness from Jescie Hall!!! 15/10 HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

[Kylie Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

“𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗜’𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆.”

Once again, Jescie has written a masterpiece 💚🖤 I absolutely fell in love with these characters.

The spice…OMFG. Firstly, I was not expecting any MM, so that was a fun surprise 👀 Shane’s dirty talk was my absolute FAVE. Like holy hell. 😮‍💨 “Fucking spit on me, slut” had me 🧎🏼‍♀️

Everything between them was wild & unhinged while also being beautiful. Seeing how he convinced himself he hated her and watching how every “bad” action was truly for her benefit was just…ugh. Amazing. Subconsciously, he loved her the entire time.

“𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲—𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗿.”

As always, though, the development & growth of the characters are what always make her books a 5 ⭐️ for me. I just adore her writing style SO much.

“𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗮𝘆.”

And the plot twists??? I was confused for a little while, and then everything was like 🤯 I kinda wanna do a reread knowing what I know now 🤭 So good!!!!

Sigh & Wheeter book next pleaseeeee!!! 😍

[cldchld · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

Okay, so basically, a guy decides to spend all his family money on a cam girl, and she leaves him broken-hearted because he was a teenager at the time.

And then he decides to get revenge for whatever fucking reason he has.

There are no good characters in this book. I don't mean that in a cute way where oh it shows the reality of how people are. No, every single character in this book is beyond stupidity 🙄 and can not develop any positive characteristics.

Everyone cheats on everyone, and yet the main characters still fall in love, which is just beyond me.

The writing was all over the place. It felt so disconnected. There's nothing poetic about cheating, no matter how shitty that person is. Towards the 60% mark, I felt so bored, and it felt like a bother to actually read this book, so I decided to skim ahead to actually see what happens and how it ends. And surprise surprise, I still had no fucking clue as to what was happening, so have fun with that.

Anyway, this was so bad I couldn't even finish it, and I'm so mad it wasted my time because it was such a long book.