Title - Even if it Hurts
Author - Sam Mariano
Name of Series - Standalone
Series Type - Standalone
Genre - Dark Romance
Release Date - 26th April 2022
Overall Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Heat Rating - 🔥🔥🔥
Featured in the Filthy Elites anthology April 2022!
He could have been my hero.
He saved my life that night, a beautiful dark angel slicing through my fear and the water, dragging me from its deadly clutches.
He should have been my hero.
I thought maybe he was.
Villains aren’t supposed to win, and good should always conquer evil, but in the elite coastal town I live in, the only purpose a label has is letting you know what something—or someone—costs. Good, bad; it’s all relative, and it hardly matters. Baymont, California is a land of beautiful villains and happy-ever-afters that are just out of reach.
Especially for me.
Until Dare moves the world beneath my feet, and even though I’m afraid to trust it—to trust him—boy, am I tempted.
In more ways than one.
Being with Dare is scary, but being without him is impossible.
He makes it impossible.
Dare’s no hero, that much is clear, but maybe…
Maybe he’s mine.
This is a standalone novel set in the Coastal Elite world. The story contains triggers and is intended only for a mature, adult audience. See the opening author's note for more explicit triggers, but know this is a very dangerous relationship with a very dark hero.
Purchase Links 💋
My Review 💋
Star Rating : 3.5/5 Stars
POV : Dual
Cliffhanger : None
Hero : Dare
Heroine : Aubrey
Pace of the story : Moderate
Angst Rating : 2/10
Heat Rating : 7/10
Triggers Involved : *will update after release
Plot Summary :
Aubrey is doing what she can to survive, that is until an incident at job puts her on the radar of the college queen. The girl who was never noticed by anyone is now the target of her. When their tricks nearly get her killed , she gets to meet her angel. Or so she thinks. Because the person she thinks is the angel might be worse than the actual devil.
Overall Opinion :
Okkkkk… It is downright painful to write this review because I am very very confused about this book. I am warning you beforehand that the warning the author gives about the hero is 110% true. HE IS FREAKING CRAZY. Like no, he does not hit her or something and is not even a bully but OMG HE IS MANIPULATIVE. I will explain below😂
Dare and Aubrey have a story that will definitely suck you in and if you are a deranged hero lover then you will definitely love this one. The story started out as a normal enemies to lovers romance but dear god , did it take a different turn later on. Dare was literally willing to do anything to have Aubrey. His own aim from the start was to just play with her but then turned out to be so much more. He threatened other people to have her, hell he even threatened her many times. Like I said, he is crazy and the triggers in this book are many. I am pretty sure that Dare will not be liked by many people 😂
I never had a problem with Dark romance heroes but that was when I feel the love they have for the heroine. In Dare's case he was just so manipulative that it felt like a horribly abusive relationship. He never cared about what anyone else wanted, he threatened Aubrey so many times, the girl he loved. I just never felt attached to him and just wanted him out of the picture. And then his utter disregard and no grovel just pushed me a lot. He just wanted to save himself and then have Aubrey for his whole life.
I just couldn't connect to these characters and just kept feeling sorry for Aubrey for being stuck with him 😂 I still hope she runs away lmao, I get that she loved him but dude she was so brainwashed. Like grow up 🤦♀️ she saw that What dare was doing was wrong on many levels and that scene when Dare threatened to rape someone else? I just couldn't anymore💀
Please only read if you can handle someone like dare because for me, he was a LOT. His manipulative personality and the doormat character Aubrey had, I just kept cringing throughout the whole second half of the book.
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