Possession

Constantine Brothers #1

by Rina Saint

I’m a beast pacing around my cage waiting for the next fight. It’s all I have, those brief moments of rage and destruction. It’s a sort of freedom. Then I go back into the cold, dark emptiness.

That’s why I don’t speak anymore. What’s the point? I stopped being human a long time ago. I’ve given up on anything but that cycle of violence and isolation—until they throw him into my cage. They expect me to kill him as soon as he gets me through my injuries. That’s what I usually do. People thrown in with me make so much noise with their begging that I have to kill them to shut them up. But Lucas is different. He’s quiet. Lost. He intrigues me.

So I don’t kill him. I claim him instead.

At first, my handlers are happy. They think he makes it easier to manage me. Control the beast by controlling its possession. Beasts are simple like that.

What they don’t realize is that he’s waking up the man I used to be—and that man is a hell of a lot more dangerous than the beast.

* Possession contains dark and potentially triggering content. A content list can be found in the ebook sample.

Genres: M M Romance, Dark, Dark Romance, Forced Proximity, Romance, Abuse, Crime

280 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 28, 2025

About the author

Rina loves her romances dark and dirty. Her books take you into the erotic lives of her complex, morally gray characters. If you love high intensity and fabulous smut, you're in the right place.

Reviews

[Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hope you like your captivity gay romances with a ton of graphic sex and no third act break up. These two know they are it for each other. Mine, mine, mine energy.

I went in blind, and I think that’s a great way to read this one.

I splay my hand over his scarred back and hold on. I still don’t know his name. I still don’t know why he’s here in this cell. We’re still strangers to each other.

Tropes/themes:
Mafia/crime families
Age gap (24/35)
Strangers to lovers
Captives
Feral MMC
PTSD
Extreme violence
Forced fighting/torture
Non verbal communication
Select mutism
Size difference
Touch starved
Obsession/jealousy
Touch him and die
Hurt comfort
Only one bed
Forced proximity
Mafia
HEA

Kinks/intimacy:
First times
Shaving (yes, there too)
Oral
Marking
Rimming
Hands free
Exhibitionism
Dubcon
Light D/s dynamic
Multiple orgasms
Frotting
Rough sex
Love, love and more love

His love is dark. It’s intense. It’s possessive. It’s everything I need.

*It’s so hard to rate stories like this. Is this really a five star book? Possibly not, but I loved how these two men took something horrific and turned it into a beautiful love story.

[Brittany (Brit.tea.reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely one of my favorites from this author!!! 🖤🔥 I’m obsessed with possessive characters 😈

Now that I’ve read both Possession and Confession, I have to say I loved Possession even more. Overall, this is a fantastic series! Can’t wait to read more from this author.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

♾️⭐️
Roman (beast) + Lucas 🖤
OTT/JP | Hurt/comfort | Gay awakening | Forced proximity

Yesssss! This book was so good. So much possessiveness, obsession and protectiveness. While also being so sweet and tender. Love a book where a "beast" is only soft for his love.

This may just be a ♾️⭐️ read for me. I'm still trying to decide.
*UPDATE can't stop thinking about this. One of my top 5 reads so far this year*

Rina was a new-to-me author and she made a great first impression.

Has me dying for more and I can't wait for Vitali's book.

....

"In his arms, with him inside me, some anxious, restless part of me settled for the first time in my whole life. I felt ... peace."

"He belongs to me. His body is mine to touch, to hold, to fuck. It's mine to mark, and that's what I'm doing."

"I've never known desire before, and now I love it. I've never known surrender before, and now I crave it, constantly."

"You're mine. You belong to me, and that means I'll kill anyone who harms you or tries to take you from me."

"I realize now what he obviously realized well ahead of me. He's safe with me, and I'm safe with him too."

"If you wanna be around other men, you'll do it with my cum in your ass -- so you remember who you belong to."

"Is that what you wanted, to make me jealous?"
"If I say yes, will you fuck me again?"

"Four killers and me. What a weird and wonderful little family."

....

⚠️potential spoilers below in detailed tropes and trigger warnings




Tropes/content:
Strangers to lovers
Captives
Non verbal MC (for first 1/3 of the book)
Touch him and die (literally)
Obsession
Jealousy
Mine mine mine
Intense love
Size difference
Shaving each other (yes, those parts too 😏)
Learning how to trust
Learning its okay to take up space
"Everyone is scared of me but him"
Hurt comfort
First times
Caretaking
Rough sex
Gay awakening
Only one bed
Forced proximity
Mafia
Exhibitionism
Claiming him publicly
Protector
Hands free 💦
Dirty ass eating
Marking
Only soft for him
Lots of non verbal communication since Roman doesn't speak for the first portion of the book.
Aftercare
Washing each other
Sharing food and making sure the other eats
No third act breakup


TWs:
Captives
Abuse (not between MCs)
Extreme violence
Forced fighting
Betrayal by side characters
Drugging
Murder
Torture
Inhumane treatment (e.g. shock collar)

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW I’ve never read anything like this but I was kinda digging it?!

This is gritty, dark, brutal, unhinged but also oddly tender and careful and primal and beautiful? And it delivers what the title suggests: a possessive, obsessive fever dream. Full of hurt/comfort and forced proximity and a truckload of marking and MINE as well as A LOT of smut (did someone count the amount of times Lucas came? I need to know lol), so I was a happy camper, despite the ott setting of the story.

The sex scenes were a bit repetitive though, especially toward the end and I would have liked a bit more closure and also watch Frank get murdered (who even am I??).

But other than that, this was the perfect, addictive weekend read!

[patrícia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possession: An MM Captivity Romance (Constantine Brothers Book 1) ARC Review | 3.5⭐ Release: 28/3/2025 | MCs: Lucas & Beast/Roman

Another title to the shelf “only in fiction could they handle all this friction”!

This was my first book by Rina Saint, but it definitely won’t be my last. Oh god, I loved this—even with the insta everything! They are illegally adorable. Beast going from apex predator to grumpy wet cat was both hilarious and sweet, and Lucas, with his submissive nature, just melted all the anger out of his possessive Beast. And the filth, people??? Yum yum. These two have absolutely nothing else to do, whether stuck in that prison cell or anywhere else for that matter, so… fuckfest it is! 🤤
But there’s more to it than just the smut—their past catches up with them, especially with Beast, adding some emotional weight to the smutfest.

Tropes
▪️forced proximity 🫂
▪️insta everything 🧲
▪️Illegal fight club👊
▪️Smut Fest💦💦💦💦
▪️only one mattress… in a cell 👉👈
▪️Possessiveness🔥M🔥I🔥N🔥E🔥
▪️size difference 🫠🫠🫠
▪️look at him and die 🔪
▪️all 64 times Beast growls or grunts or roars🥵🥵🥵🥵
▪️refractory period, what's that? 🤷🏻‍♀️
▪️I melt everytime Roman kisses Lucas🥰🥰🥰
▪️Mafia shenanigans

As I continue to hold Lucas against me, aware of my arousal and his, the aggression in my body clarifies itself. I understand it now. Yes, it is aggression, but it doesn’t mean I want to hunt or hurt him—because Lucas isn’t my prey.
He’s my possession.

That said, this book is undeniably extra, with all the insta-love, possessiveness, and so much sex. Honestly, I don’t know how they still had body fluids left. Everything was a reason for sex, and while their captivity made it incredibly hot, it started to feel repetitive once they were free. I actually wish they had stayed captive longer because the mafia shenanigans that followed didn’t really hold my interest. I guess I’m just not that into mafia plots.

The ending felt a bit abrupt and didn’t give much insight into their future—but let’s be real, it’ll probably be filled with loads and loads of sex.

I’m curious about Vitali’s book, though. Let’s see! 🖤

⚠️ Trigger Warnings
Within relationship:
▪️Dubcon
▪️Choking
▪️Marking with hickeys
▪️Controlling behavior
▪️Rough sex
Outside relationship:
▪️ Violence
▪️Torture/brutality
▪️Captivity
▪️Trafficking

❣️ Book Safety & Content
Cheating:No
OM/OW Drama: No
Third-Act Breakup:No
Role Dynamics: Stric Roles
POV: First-Person (Dual)
Format: Series (Constantine Brothers, book 1)
Spice Level: High
Angst Level: Medium
Audio Available: No (at the moment of the review)

I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucas isn’t my prey. He’s my possession.

Betrayed by his stepfather, Lucas is thrown in a cage with Beast, a man who doesn't speak or have any discernible humanity. Lucas's job is to keep Beast alive, but no one seems to care if Lucas stays alive.... no one ever has. He's been invisible for a long time to everyone, except for maybe Beast? Somehow the strange man he's locked into a cell with seems to be the only one who cares about him. Possession is a high heat dark romance with 2 captured men doing the best they can to survive the unthinkable together.

His love is dark. It’s intense. It’s possessive. It’s everything I need.

I've very quickly become a fan of the way Rina Saint writes. This is the third book of Rina's that I've read and I've come to appreciate the gritty plot lines with compelling characters and high steam. I particularly liked the way she developed the characters of Roman aka 'Beast' and Lucas. There was more to the book than you'd expect and I really liked the way Roman and Lucas worked together to find their HEA. Their communication was phenomenal and the way they trauma bonded was really interesting to read. They each need specific things from a partner after everything they've been through and the way they meet each other's needs was really sweet. Beast needs control over his environment and partner after having all the control literally stripped away from him. His love would be obsessive and stifling to most, but for Lucas it's everything he's never had. He needs to be someone's only priority after being ignored most of his life. The two are perfect together and I just loved this book.

I need you to fuck me with all of your anger—so that I can scream with all of mine.

Rating: 4
Angst: 4/5
Steam: 4/5

I received an advance copy of this book and this is my honest review

[Jane aka Coughy019 (Safety info included) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tropes: hurt/comfort, forced proximity, feral non-verbal character, mafia, touch-starved
Feels: 4.5/5
Steam*: 4/5
Kinks: one exhibitionism scene, dubcon, choking, marking, controlling behaviour
Angst: medium
HEA: yes
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: captivity, abuse, murder, violence, gore, torture, trafficking, past death of parents (one by drug overdose), bad stepdad
Cheating between MCs: No
Any cheating: No
Other person drama: neither have any thought of anyone else in this book

5 stars

Lucas is 24. His mom died when he was 18 and his a****** stepdad kicked him out then. He's been on his own ever since, working menial jobs. He's always identified as straight, bordering on Ace. Out of nowhere, his stepdad reaches out to him and wants to mend fences. Lucas agrees to a meeting, but it turns out he was just being used and he gets given away to Mafia to pay a debt. The people who bought him throw him in a room with a person they call Beast, who is a prisoner of theirs that they force to fight in death matches. He is their most prized fighter, but he is extremely dangerous, he'll kill anyone put in his proximity. He has been injured, and they want to use Lucas to provide medical care, because he's disposable and they don't care if Beast kills him.

Beast AKA Roman, has a very different reaction to Lucas though. He's instinctively possessive and protective of him. He finds him pretty and Lucas is gentle with him, he recognizes he is safe with Lucas. He claims Lucas as his. Roman is nonverbal and for the first 45%, he doesn't even use words, they get to know each other and trust each other through nonverbal communication on Roman's side. He is able to convey a lot in nonverbal ways. Roman is queer and they both are attracted to each other, which catches Lucas by surprise. Their relationship turns sexual quickly and the trauma bond and deep feelings develop. Roman had accepted his fate before, but now with Lucas he has something to lose and he knows if they stay, Lucas is going to die or suffer because he won't be able to protect him always. This motivates him to look for an escape. Shortly after the halfway mark, they do escape and the rest of the book is a really compelling story of them adapting back to normal life. It's not easy.

This book was really good! The characters felt so intensely about each other. Their connection was visceral. It was very hot sexually, but you could also really feel and see the emotion in every moment. I loved how Roman was constantly pulling Lucas close to him and cuddling him as if they were in a cave together, biting his neck to control him like a lioness would to their cub. Even when he was feral, he was always putting Lucas first. He had a brand new toothbrush that he was hoarding and looking forward to using, and he gave it to Lucas. I loved how Lucas would jump into Roman's arms and wrap his legs around him and just snuggle in whenever he was reunited with him. They could read and understand each other without words and just be exactly what the other person needed, be their home.

It was great how much plot there was too, there was a complex story going on. There was a lot of side characters in the book that didn't take up a lot of words, but the author quickly built unique personalities and dimension in those characters. I found it very refreshing that such a large percentage of the book was post captivity, I feel like you don't always get that in a book that features captivity. It was really interesting to see them claw their way back to some kind of normalcy and hold on to each other so tightly, to see them in the real world. I will very likely reread this, I'm such a sucker for characters that feel so intensely about each other and take such platonic comfort in each other. (While also being incredibly smutty)


Some notable moments:

Love the feral possessive instincts "Lucas squirms, trying to get away from me, but that is not an option. I haul him close, his back to my front. When he doesn’t quit squirming, I bite the back of his neck and tighten my hold, growling against him. He freezes. I snug him tighter against me and pull the blanket over us both. I unclamp my teeth and breathe angrily against the back of his head. It has me breathing in his scent. Half of me wants to thrust him away, to get him out of my bed, but I don’t. He’s not allowed to leave. No one gets to touch him but me."

"He makes a happy sound and lays a hand on my face. “I love you, Roman.” I pet his hair. “I love you too.” As he snuggles into me and I wrap my arms around him, I’m amazed by how easy it was to say those words, how easy even to hear them. I haven’t spoken those words to anyone since my mother died, not even to Vitali. I never thought I would."

This was an unhinged exchange. So relatable though, cuz I too would stay home and make cookies. "As Vitali puts the skillet of eggs on the table, Roman says, “Vitali, I need your help.” Vitali stills slightly, clearly surprised, but he says without hesitation, “Sure.” Then, “What for?” “I need to take a trip to New York. I need to kill Lucas’s stepfather.” Vitali pulls out his phone and seems to check his schedule. “I have time today.” “Great. Thanks.” Vitali asks, “Lucas, are you coming?” My heart skips. I hadn’t considered that. I look at Roman. His expression is neutral. It’s up to me. I want them to do this—I’m vengeful enough, it seems, to feel that Frank deserves it—but I realize that I don’t need to be there. That’s one advantage, I guess, of a family of killers. They’ll take care of this for me. So I say, “No thanks. But I’ll have cookies ready when you get back.”"


*FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink.

**Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4 stars ⭐️

🎧𝓢𝓞𝓝𝓖 𝓜𝓐𝓣𝓒𝓗 — 𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝓫𝔂 𝓢𝓴𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓽🎧

// I don't wanna live, I don't wanna breathe
'Less I feel you next to me
You take the pain I feel
Waking up to you never felt so real //

Yes, it is aggression, but it doesn’t mean I want to hunt or hurt him—because Lucas isn’t my prey. He’s my possession.

TROPES:
⛓️‍💥 Size difference
⛓️‍💥 Queer awakening
⛓️‍💥 Touch starved
⛓️‍💥 Jealousy & possessiveness
⛓️‍💥 Touch him, you die

A sexy & dark captivity romance. Absolutely loved the dynamic between Lucas and his Beast. Loved the possessiveness, how they found love in a hopeless place (Alexa, play Rihanna…sorry I couldn’t help myself).

I could never have imagined this reality. I’m on my knees with my face on a mattress, in a prison cell, and a very dangerous man has his huge cock buried in my ass.

The spice was fire. Roman was pure animal instinct and Lucas his prey. It was maybe a tad unrealistic, the whole plot really, but it was oh so fun.
I know most find the whole growling thing (when its a human man and not a shifter) a bit cringe, but I personally LOVE it. Give me all the growling and biting and marking and MINE. I live for that shit.

Why do I feel like I would die if I had to go back to not having him?

A surprisingly sweet but still feral love story, a great setup for future installments, a crazy mafia/action plot, a lot of hurt and lots of comfort. I can’t wait to see more of this series.

His love is dark. It’s intense. It’s possessive. It’s everything I need.

I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.

CW and NSFW info (spoilers):
- Violence
- Torture
- Captivity
- Trafficking
- Selective mutism
- Dub-con
- Breath play/choking
- Marking/biting
- Rough sex
- Light D/s dynamic
- Top/bottom
- Coming hands-free
- Multiple orgasms
- Frotting
- Intercrural
- Exhibitionism (one scene)
- Brief cock-warming

[Sebby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just the right favor of insane to make it the perfect level of entertaining. Our dear Beast and his beloved Lucas are actually so cute together and I actually loved their relationship so much. The nonverbal aspect was one of the better ones I’ve seen and I personally found Roman’s growly/biting tendencies as a way to show his feelings to definitely be doing something for me. We spend the first half in captivity and the second half with Roman and Lucas trying to learn to navigate their codependency outside their jail cell and overall it was just really well done and sweetness of these two together was totally worth it

[Kati *☆･ﾟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

re-read September 2025

God, the intensity of it.


4**** stars


Full five stars for the first half and more like three and half for the second. Nevertheless. This was epically intense, just the way I like it.

There was A LOT of sex but damn, I liked that too. It was hot af and with each time they engaged sexually it grew more and more sensual and intimate.

I loved the first part of the book so so much. With them both in captivity and Roman not speaking at all. I loved how Lucas was able to read him so well after only a short amount of time.

There’s something pure in knowing him like this, through observation and touch.

************
Constantine Brothers Series

Book 1 - Possession - 4.0 stars
Book 2 - Confession - 4.0 stars

[Gaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book more than I was expecting, but to be super honest, I think it was just vibes. The plot starts good and interesting, and then it just becomes a bit ridiculous, but I was full on delulu land, so I had a good time.

[Emna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
That was sexy AF but also cute in a dark way which i didn't think was possible ?

[✨Lucy IntheSky☄️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really, really liked this book.

Ticked all my boxes.

I love prison romance books, so this book had all the elements I would want wrapped up in one story : the tension, the danger, the terrible environment, the dangerous main character, who's soft for the guy who gets thrown into his cell, the amazing love story that evolves, the dramatic escape and then a lot of the aftermath and their life together.

I'm rating it with 4.25 - 4.5⭐ and rounding it down simply because of the ending - even though it was good, it didn't give me the same feeling as the rest of the book, it also didn't give me a more specific resolve to the situation, but even so, I can't wait for the next installment.

🟣 Illegal prison, bought prisoners, underground illegal fights (to death)
🔵 Two crime families, main character is part of one
🟢 Prisoner / a guy sold by his stepfather to repay his debt
🟠 Gay / GFY (could be demi, the MMC was almost asexual prior to this relationship )
🟣 Age gap 24/I'm guessing 34, he's definitely about a decade older (not told in the book)
🟡 Severe PTSD
🟢 A devoted, intense love relationship
🌶️ A lot of smut, some dub-con (I didn't think it was), well written; oral (very scarce, one sided), a lot of penetrative sex, some rimming, some kissing; very passionate; t/b

Roman comes from the Constantine greek crime family and is drugged and kidnapped, taken to an illegal eastern European prison to fight for money and then bought by another criminal who runs an underground fighting ring in the USA. He's severely beaten, brainwashed, he's tortured, has to kill to live and is kept in a cell. He's got his electric collar on while being handled by guards, he's drugged before fights and he's numbed himself to the point of just being a fighting, killing machine. He's not being called Beast for nothing.



Lucas is a poor kid who's trying to survive ever since he's been kicked out of his home by his stepdad when his mother died. He mops at a wrestling gym to pay his rent and train a bit, since he was a wrestler in high school, so he's pretty young, he's healthy, but completely alone and abandoned, he's got no interest in relationships, he doesn't have sex and he craves attention and someone or something to belong to.
That's why he runs to the opportunity to reunite and catch up with his estranged stepdad, who then sells him because he can't pay his debts to the guy running the underground fighting ring where also the Beast is kept.

Lucas and Roman's first encounter is intense and gives you the feeling of what's to come in the story; Lucas is then thrown into Roman's cell and is expected to die, but Roman liked Lucas the minute he saw him in the audience, only Roman doesn't process feelings as a normal person anymore, so he can't explain the desire for Lucas to himself, neither can he express anything to Lucas.

"He’s definitely pretty, but I don’t think that’s what’s drawing me. I don’t even remember the last time I had a sexual response, and I don’t feel anything in my cock. It’s in my gut. It’s in my whole body."

"I’m very unsafe for him to be around right now. The stirring in my body is too strong, too unfamiliar. I don’t know how to interpret it except as aggression."

The only thing that's coming raw out of Roman is his surprising need for sex that wasn't there for the past 4 years he's been imprisoned, so they do have sex and it's supposedly dub-con, but it's really not, since Lucas is very much up for it, even though he's in a position where he knows he can't say no.

"I know it doesn’t make sense. I’m sure it’s just the intensity of the experience fucking up my head, but that’s how I feel. Like this is right. Like I’m exactly where I belong."



"I’m outside myself. Shattered. I’m loose and unable to think as he pulls out of me. I whine softly at the empty feeling he leaves behind. I don’t like it. He maneuvers me onto my side and tugs me into the crook of his body. It’s not enough. The contact is external. It’s not the same. I need… fuck, I need— He parts my ass cheeks and slides his semi- hard cock back inside me. I sigh in relief as the empty feeling vanishes and I feel… centered. Grounded."

They form a really strong connection on a primal level. It's hot, it's intense and there are so many paragraphs that beautifully describe the inner turmoil, feelings developing and the growth both main characters go through.
They go from sharing the miserable fate that threw them together in that cell to forming an extremely deep, emotionally strong connection to escaping that environment together and knowing they're it for each other, there's no going back.

Their devotion and attachment is what got me. They're constantly in physical touch and when they do things apart from each other, it's for a shorter period of time, and it almost never ends well, especially for Roman, who's dealing with intense PTSD and Lucas is somehow the only one that gets him and helps him through it.

When they escape from prison to Roman's family home and his brother, who's now running the family, is where they finally get their freedom, but it's not as easy for them, since they're used to their cell, being alone and together all the time and not having the outside world bothering them as much. They have a hard time adjusting and Roman gets thrown into the family business too soon, so as much as the story was intense up until that point, it kind of lost its edge after.

I liked the fact that the author gave them time on the outside and put it all on-page, I loved spending time with them, seeing how they're adjusting, how deeply they both felt about each other and solidified their relationship, but something was missing.
When Roman realized who was behind his kidnapping, there wasn't much drama about it, the guy was just shot dead and that was it. I'd expect more to come of it. More of the action, the drama, the angst.

Also, both Lucas and Roman needed a bit more than they got at the end. They were staying in Roman's family home and that was it. Nothing more to it. I'd expect them to at least get their own place and do something to make them more comfortable since it's clear neither liked that expensive, busy lifestyle. I wanted them to maybe get a house somewhere more secluded and just take some time off, get Roman some help, just create a home together, but they didn't. Everything was pretty much left up in the air. I didn't like that, it wasn't satisfying, considering how amazing the whole story was.

I will definitely read the next installment, I like this setting and I also like Vitali, but hopefully we'll get at least a novella of Lucas and Roman down the line, I want their epilogue and it should be nothing short of amazing.

[Megan [Semi-Hiatus] · Rating 2 out of 5]

MM Romance
Hurt/Comfort
2 Stars ⭐️


Buddy read with Sully, they picked this disaster. Well, once again, I didn’t like a new release everyone loved 🤷🏻‍♀️ Here’s the thing, I liked the first 40% or so of this book. I liked the relationship between the two MCs despite the “he’s naked, beat to shit & passed out, let me stare at his limp dick, omg why am I hard, I’m not gay scene” that started this thing between them. I overlooked that initially because I liked the hurt comfort and how Beast became protective of Lucas but it lost me in chapter 14 and I just never got my enthusiasm back because too many ridiculous things happened.

Beast was kidnapped 4 years ago and turned into a fighter. These are illegal underground fights where only one comes out alive and Beast is making his handlers a lot of money. Lucas’ stepdad is in debt and offers his stepson to Beast’s handlers in lieu of payment. Beast just happened to get in a bad fight that night and needed extra care so Lucas is put in his cell and told to keep Beast alive if he wants to live. Everyone is afraid of Beast and over time he turned his emotions off. He doesn’t even speak anymore because it’s the only thing he has control over but Lucas sees him and isn’t afraid. They develop this bond being in captivity together and fall in love. My problem is this all happens in a 3 week timeframe and it made their relationship feel superficial especially because all they did was fuck and cuddle. Bit by bit we watch Beast regain his humanity and become more possessive and protective over Lucas. This is not a safe environment though and something has to change. This is when the book completely devolved for me and had I not been buddy reading it I would have DNF’d at 53% after the most incredulous, ridiculous 14 pages ever. Thats right it took 14 pages to make me regret ever picking this up. 232 pages somehow felt like 750 after this point of the book and my eyeballs felt like they were going to roll out of my head due to the choices this author made.

Everything from this point on was just so implausible 🙄🙄🙄 Beast is a total killing machine, wears a shock collar and always has handlers around him so for this sequence of events to take place was just laughable. The plot never seemed to get back on track and the book just became a bunch of sex scenes that I had liked at the start but felt so repetitive as time went on. I was shocked by the fact they always had some kind of lube accessible even while in captivity 🤣🤣 They never had to use spit as lube or improvise until they were out of the cell and honestly I wouldn’t have cared had this been amazing but by the end I just was so over this book especially the last 10%. Eye fucking roll.

This was my first time reading this author and while I had wanted to read her other 2 books, I am now undecided if I should or not. I’m disappointed because I felt the potential at the start and had this been a bit more slow burn, their relationship could have evolved in a beautiful way but unfortunately this just felt rushed and unbelievable. The author also said at the start that she didn’t want to label this as dark romance because the relationship itself isn’t dark and while that was mostly true, the world itself was and insane dark romance type things were happening so without the tag of “dark romance” on it, it just felt way too OTT for me.

[alex :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was really good. like, way beyond my expectations. i love reading about dom/sub relationships, and lucas and roman were so sweet and perfect for each other. hot take, but dare i say that a 3rd act breakup or a big disagreement between the two would have been perfection for me. these two had the kind of love that had my feet kicking, but if they had even just a small falling out, this would have been an automatic 5 stars. just imagining how possessive and obsessive roman would have been if lucas tried to leave him sounds like some really good angst. and yes, i get that lucas is supposed to be the submissive, but i really wished he would have pushed roman’s buttons a little more. idk make him work for the cheeks here and there. but alas, their love was too great for that, so i can’t even be disappointed about it

[☆Kylie☆]

I'm not going to rate it because it wouldn't be fair. I'm tired of smut and this book is 80% smut. If you go in thinking you'll have a story, develop or plot... Think again... This is definitely high smut driven, they bang every other page, I started to roll my eyes every time they did, now my eyes won't go back to normal 😂

[Smutty Sully · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another buddy read bust with Megan. This one was my selection, so we will see what she chooses next in retribution.

I'm starting to think dark books with trauma only work for me when it's dark for a while, and there's time for the trauma to build and feel slightly realistic. How long was Lucas even in that cell with the Beast? 2 weeks? 3? I have no idea, but it didn't feel long enough for that type of connection, possessiveness, and unhealthy behavior to develop. I liked the plot and themes, but it felt like it was glossed over bad times that lead to a lot of fucking.

Things were going okay until Chapter 14 (51%), that's when it just when off the plausibility rails for me. 34 pages of complete and utter nonsense.

Overall, it needed more time to build up the psychological trauma and changed behavior, I wanted more perilous situations or a life or death scene that pushed Lucas to need the Beast, for survival or protection, anything other than — my dick got hard, I'm not gay, what's going on here, while playing doctor in a prison cell.

Am I … oh my god, am I getting … turned on? Jesus Christ, I think I am. But why? I’m not gay.

Full RTC w/tags to come.

You're up, Megan!

[Ethen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow… just.. wow!

I did not except this to be so amazing!
So intense, bare, primal…

Beauty and the beast retelling, but it’s an MM sub/dom, captivity, mafia dark romance with a somewhat non-verbal MC. Sign me the f up!

The first half of the book was 5* without a doubt. It came off from that hot intense high, and honestly, I was expecting another peak, some complication just before the end, and we kinda got it, but it got resolved pretty much on the same page. That left a pretty uncomfortable itch. The smut-plot ratio got out of balance in the second half unfortunately. I wish there was more to this story, some more twists, action, anything.. - more relationship drama maybe? - instead of more smut.

The dub-con was tasteful. I hoped it won’t be just another over-romanticized and explained non-con, but it did not disappoint.

There were more grammatical mistakes than I like in a book. I don’t know if it’s a new author, or just a pen name for their MM dark romance line, but hopefully we’ll see some improvement in the next books.

Can’t wait to read book 2 of the Constantine brothers!

[kaleigh (semi hiatus because reading slump…) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucas is sold to the owners of an illegal fighting ring in order to pay off his stepfather’s debt. However, things don’t go quite right when he has to sleep in the same cell as Roman— the main fighter in this illegal fighting ring. Not only do they have to be in each other’s presence 24/7, but Lucas starts having his gay awakening at the worst possible time😭

Roman has been imprisoned for four years now. He has completely cut off the old version of himself in order to live through the fights he is forced to take place in. Brutal fights, may I add. Roman doesn’t talk, doesn’t like people touching him, or being submissive.

Obviously, Lucas comes along and starts reviving the feelings Roman has been shutting out for years. Roman starts talking again, but only to Lucas at first or to protect him. (To be honest, Roman went all alpha on Lucas at first and basically rutted him into the mattress around the 20% mark or something like that😭) Lucas was able to bring out a side of Roman I don’t think anyone else has before. Although Roman may be rough most times when it comes to spicy time, they share a good amount of intimacy after/ or whenever they aren’t fucking like rabbits🤣

They were some questionable intimacy moments between them.. (when Lucas smelled and licked Roman’s armpit) but it was just how Roman and Lucas vibed. I mean, Roman did literally hold Lucas’ 🍆 one time in the shower and aimed it while he peed😭 So needless to say, maybe not your typical “intimate” moments, but they felt right for Lucas and Roman.

Anyways, there was a lot of sex in this book, but what else are you supposed to do when trapped in a cell all day?👀

This was my first book by this author, but I’m excited to see if she continues with this series/ who the next books will be about. Roman and Lucas did have an HFN but I’m kind of hoping the next book will be about Vitali😏 (or Quinn’s book)

Thank you so much to GRR for the digital ARC of this book!

Safety info:
• no virgins + no others after meeting
• no OW drama
• H1 has never been with a man before. He seemed to be on the asexual spectrum before he met H2. He did not enjoy sex. It’s been a few months since his last hookup. (He didn’t get off)
• no talk about H2’s past but he is experienced. It seems like he has been celibate since he was imprisoned (4 years)
• strict top/bottom and no 🍑 play for the top
• OM- One guard did make H1 get on his knees but nothing happened because H2 stepped in. The guard in particular had bad intentions with H1 since he first laid eyes on H1. Nothing more happens, and H1 definitely does not reciprocate it. A good amount of jealousy scenes— Roman (H2) being protective over H1
• one public claiming scene between Roman and Luca. Roman fcks Luca in front of Quinn (one of the guards/ friend of Roman’s brother) in order to show Quinn who Luca belongs to. Quinn has zero interest in Luca but Roman is just possessive like that🙈 Quinn doesn’t really watch but he does get turned on after they are finished and leaves the room.

[Zainab · Rating 3 out of 5]

What does it say about me that I'm manifesting to be thrown into an underground illegal prison with a beast of a guy who claims me as his, says MINE as his first words after years, only calms down when I'm near him and eventually falls in love with me?

[BelleLovesRomance · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️ 5/5 🌶️ 4/5 — Blood, Scars, and Fucking Beautiful Love

This book wasn’t just a romance—it was a full-blown, emotionally feral love affair that gripped my soul by the throat. Roman and Lucas don’t love like normal people. They cling. They ache. They fall apart without each other, and it’s so damn intense I felt like I was going through withdrawal every time they were separated. 😫

Codependency and separation anxiety are like the goddamn pillars holding Roman and Lucas’ whole obsessive, possessive, high-voltage dynamic together. Roman doesn’t just want Lucas—he fucking needs him, like oxygen, like blood in his veins, like sanity barely hanging by a thread. And Lucas? He thrives on being claimed, craved, kept. That boy wants to be wanted so much it hurts. 😢

Their connection isn’t soft and healthy—it’s feral, raw, almost toxic, but in that hot-as-fuck, I’d-die-without-you way. Roman can't even eat without touching Lucas. Can’t even breathe right unless Lucas is in his space, in his fucking lap. That isn’t just love. That’s a psychological leash, and they both like it wrapped tight. ❤️‍🔥🖤

So yeah, it’s codependency on steroids, and separation anxiety that’s not just emotional—it’s physiological. Like withdrawal. Like addiction. And me? I gobbled that shit up. 🙂‍↕️🧎🏻‍♀️

Roman, that dangerous tortured beast of a man is broken in so many ways, but holy shit, he lives for Lucas. His selective mutism isn't just a trauma response-it's a whole layer of character that made me want to wrap him up and never let him go. The way he only speaks when it's Lucas? When it matters? It crushed me. Every word that left his mouth felt like a gift, a sacred thread stitching his heart to Lucas's. 🥹

Lucas, sweet and soft but fierce in his own quiet way—he gets Roman. He sees him. He doesn't just love Roman, he anchors him. Their connection is soul-deep, obsessive, and beautifully fucked up. I felt every emotion so hard I had to put the book down so many times, not because I wasn't hooked, but because I didn't want it to end. I wanted to stretch every chapter out like it was the last taste of something I could never have again. 😭

The spice? Deliciously hot and devastating. It was needy, desperate, raw, emotional and drenched in feelings. Every scene felt like a promise wrapped in a plea-don't leave, don't die, don't stop loving. God, it was so damn good. 🫠💞

But here’s the thing: after everything they went through, after all the pain, the betrayal, the trauma and healing and blood spilled—I need more than a hopeful “we’re okay now.” I need a goddamn epilogue. I need vows. Rings. A future. I need to see Roman and Lucas safe, happy, married, worshiping each other for life, because they deserve that fucking ending. Not just a HFN. A real HEA. I’ll sell my soul for an epilogue. 🙂‍↕️💀

That said? I’m still giving it a fat 5 stars. Because what I got was so powerful, so unforgettable, so achingly beautiful, I’d read it again just to feel that wreckage in my chest. This book owns me. 🌹✨️

And don’t even get me started on Vitali. Quiet power, deadly calm, and secretly soft? That man needs a book yesterday. "Vitali is about to pluck a slightly unhinged man from a psychiatric facility with the intention of using him as leverage ... only to find himself in the midst of a sexual awakening." That pairing and blurb? I'm frothing at the mouth for it. Give it to me now, please and thank you. 😌🫴🏻

-
Quotes:

As I extricate myself from him, I take his hand so he knows I’m not leaving. This was an issue once before, and I understand it. He’s been really alone, like I have, worse than I have. He needs to feel, physically, that I’m still here. –Lucas
-
He should be cowering. He should be pissing himself. He should be begging—and I should be ripping him apart.

Instead, he’s stroking my cheek.

Instead, I’m shaking so fucking hard that I feel like I’m going to fall.

More tears spill down Lucas’s cheeks, but it feels like they mean something different now. “It’s okay,” he says softly, still stroking my cheek. “It’s okay.”

I choke. It’s not okay. Nothing is okay. A week ago, yes. Now, no. This isn’t acceptable.

So why the hell am I letting him touch me, tug at me, pull me into the bed to lie down with him? Why am I putting my arms around him and burying my face against his neck?

Why do I feel like I would die if I had to go back to not having him? –Roman
-

🫳🏻 MM contemporary romance
🫳🏻 Forced proximity
🫳🏻 Only one bed
🫳🏻 Size difference
🫳🏻 Strict top/bottom
🫳🏻 J/P MMC
🫳🏻 Mine mine mine
🫳🏻 Touch him and die (literally)
🫳🏻 Gay awakening
🫳🏻 Selective mutism
🫳🏻 High angst, sweet, steamy
🫳🏻 HFN

 Within relationship:
🫳🏻 Controlling behavior
🫳🏻 Codependency, separation anxiety (personal space? What is that? 💀)
🫳🏻 Dubcon
🫳🏻 Choking, biting
🫳🏻 Marking with hickeys
🫳🏻 No condom
🫳🏻 Cockwarming
🫳🏻 Rimming, frotting
🫳🏻 Rough sex
🫳🏻 Cum play, felching
🫳🏻 Exhibitionism (one scene)

 Outside relationship:
🫳🏻 Violence
🫳🏻 Torture/brutality
🫳🏻 Captivity
🫳🏻 Trafficking

P.S. To anybody reading this review if you have read other MM books with similar vibes as this one, would you be so kind as to shoot me some recs? Thanks a bunch, lovelies! 🫶🏻😘

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

And now I’m done with all of Rinas books and I don’t want to be!! 😭😭😭 each of her books was so good- I loved this dark and twisted world she’s created. I love these unhinged and obsessed men. I love the almost tender love that comes from the roughness and the struggle they go through. These books are dark, and the love is brutal, but the intensity is addicting.

[Renae Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this story. Roman and Lucas embark on an incredibly dark and harrowing journey toward finding freedom while navigating an incredibly complex situation. They are both forcibly held captive, and together they share an intimate and primal connection that is quite instantaneous. I loved witnessing their relationship evolve into something so meaningful and powerful, given their precarious circumstances that haunt their every action.

I could not get enough of these two as they desperately try to survive their impossible situation while protecting their relationship against all odds. I cannot wait to see where this story goes next.

[Audi♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"If you wanna be around other men, you'll do it with my cum in your ass- so you remember who you belong to."

Sheeww wee 🥵

[Mx. T *Chaotic Reader* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun (as fun as a book talking about captivity, violence, and the mafia can be) and hot. Roman and Lucas basically communicate non verbally, and through touch and fucking, which I am totally not opposed to. They communicate better than people who actually talk a lot lol. They are great at empathy with each other, even with all the codependency and unhinged possessiveness. It was an interesting characterisation and quite a wholesome romance.

It's also got quite a lot of violence and action, which I didn't mind.

Again, a request for the author: please be more thorough with the TWs, I'd have liked to be prepared for one of them that wasn't stated clearly.

[NitaBee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was Dark. It was hurt /comfort. Soooo much of the sexy times *chefs kiss*. Also a bit of Mafia towards the end.

“I have nothing and no one, and it’s better to just own that fact. I’m alone. I always have been.”

Lucas is wondering if living his life is worth it -he’s in a dead end job, his mum is dead suddenly his ex step father comes back into his life. His Step dad brings him to an underground fight club where he see’s the ‘Beast’.

“No one here knows who I really am. Half the time, I don’t remember either. Like I said, reality changes in dark places.”

Beast / Roman is a human male, held in captivity. He is a predator, -silent , deadly and controlled by a shock collar.

Lucas, betrayed by his ex stepfather, finds himself in captivity with Beast as a quasi nurse.

Lucas wants to help him. They are both touch starved. Beast communicates by growls, other sounds and facial expressions.

“Usually I just growl until he goes still, but I’ve bitten him a few times. Those are warnings, but last time I bit him hard enough that he yelped and scrambled out of the bed and went to his usual spot. He wouldn’t come back when I clearly indicated that he should, so I had to pick him up and carry him.”

“Yes, it is aggression, but it doesn’t mean I want to hunt or hurt him—because Lucas isn’t my prey. He’s my possession.”

Sooo… the room mate situation is going well. The sexual tension is strong until it explodes. It’s instinctual. It’s primal.

“I have never, ever had a sexual experience like that. It rewrote something inside me, changed me fundamentally.”

A lot of hot, captivity smut. I’m here for it. Beast takes control, it’s raw. A connection forms, a powerful sense of ‘mine’ motivates Roman to communicate with Lucas in words not just growls and sex.

Roman and Lucas escape is adrenaline fuelled and fast paced. They dramatically end up at Romans family estate.

‘Roman Constantine. Number three in the Constantine crime family, after my uncle and my brother.’

It’s an adjustment being out of captivity. Romans family want answers and to enact revenge. Roman is focused on Lucas and keeping him safe. Unfortunately that means keeping them locked away in their bedroom.

Lucas decides to break the unspoken rule when Roman goes off with his brother and he leaves the bedroom. He has his own ‘ beauty and the beast’ moment when he discovers the library.

‘His love is dark. It’s intense. It’s possessive. It’s everything I need.’

Roman and Lucas experience vulnerability and safety with one another when in captivity and now in freedom.

Romans jealousy is hot and sexy. There’s this sexy kitchen scene with some exhibition to show who Lucas belongs to.

“You like that he’s watching?” I grit out by Lucas’s ear. When all I get is a moan, I growl, furious, and fuck him harder until he’s making desperate little sounds, writhing, and bracing one foot on the side of the island.’

‘But while I’m marking him, his hand curls around the back of my neck, holding me there, letting me know that while he belongs to me, I belong to him too.’

The climatic ending is a reveal of family betrayal that led to Romans traumatic past four years.

I just want to add another reason why I love this book. It’s mentioned like 15 times Roman petting Lucas hair and I don’t know why but I just melt.

“He makes a happy sound and lays a hand on my face. “I love you, Roman.” I pet his hair. “I love you too.”




The next book is possibly:-

“The loudest one right now is ****—because he is about to pluck a slightly unhinged man from a psychiatric facility with the intention of using him as leverage … only to find himself in the midst of a sexual awakening that he’s not at all ready for.”

[martina (the life of a chaotic reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay i liked this!!
i’m always scared when i read a new author, but this one was the right choice.
also, i love the not speaking trope, so it was a no brainer for me.

overall, i liked this. most of it all, i liked beast. i genuinely think he was a well made character.

however, and yes, unfortunately it’s a big however, jesus christ they couldn’t stop fucking. listen, i love smut but damn do something else sometimes.
also, what the fuck was that ending?

nevertheless, i had a good time, hence the three stars.
i think i’ll read another rina saint book in the future (vitali im talking about you) and we’ll see how we do.

i read an arc blah blah blah

[Moraa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The captivity bit was good — very raw and primal like the blurb promises — but the ending fell flat.

First and foremost, if you think you’re going to read an interesting plot about human cage fights or modern day gladiators — no. Not on-page anyway, aside from that one scene at the beginning. The captivity aspect functions more like a setting in that it exists to put the MCs in forced proximity and bring out the more primal aspects of their relationship. The story is mostly spice (very hot spice, I might add) and character discovery.

Where it lost me was the final 1/3. I didn’t mind the mafia subplot but it felt like the atmosphere the author had created in the first 2/3 was lost once Lucas and Roman escaped. That’s obviously expected since they’re no longer captives but the mafia subplot couldn’t quite fill its shoes. Maintaining the relationship dynamic between the MCs wasn’t a bad choice but I think it could’ve benefited from something more than them trying to find their footing outside captivity.

Expect
- Size difference
- Possessive, jealous MC
- Exhibitionism
- Marking, biting
- Selective mutism

[Monikat · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨✨✨✨✨🪄✨✨✨✨✨
Roman and Lucas.

Captivity romance at its best. It forces the relationship and the possessive bond A great Beauty and the Beast dark modern retelling.

Raw, primal, possessive need.
Hurt comfort, co depending and healing together.
Sexy and erotic.
I 😍 ved it.
Can't wait for the next book😉🔥

[Mug · Rating 2 out of 5]

the first time they fucked was like so discordant that i knew then and there that this wasn’t gonna work for me. my intuition never fails💀 this was trash and not the good kind. every time they fucked i was like omg not again….so many sex scenes and none of them are sexy!? how! and the writing got on my nerves too, felt like i was reading surface level “and he did this. then he did that” type shit. and i’m all for unrealistic plots but really, how tf were they fucking so much while locked up! like were the bars not see thru and the guards’ station right there….like guess the guards just fucked off during their all day fuck fests?? honestly it took me a fucking week and a half to read this so it feels like a fever dream….or perhaps fever nightmare🤣🤣 just awful, but by the time i realized i should dnf, my mental capacity to start a new book was nish. really great for getting me to go to bed on time tho…i would lay down for a lil nightly reading treat, only to get a few pages in and be like wtf i’d actually rather be unconscious😂😂😂