Ethan wants to get away from it all, but his road trip alone takes a frightening turn when he’s attacked by a biker gang in the middle of nowhere. Beaten within an inch of his life, Ethan is saved by a hulking man named Tom with a chainsaw and an indifference for carnage.Except, Tom wasn’t exactly saving Ethan, he was protecting his family’s property from the bikers--and now Ethan has seen too much.It’s too late to run, and Ethan definitely can’t fight a man with Tom’s monstrous strength. There’s only one thing Ethan can think to do to get out of this make Tom like him.No, more than that--make Tom want him.But even if Ethan does manage to make the strong, quiet man fall for him, Tom’s family still wants Ethan dead. And from everything Ethan’s witnessed so far--Tom does exactly what his family says.(This is a dark, M/M romance novel with high heat. It contains violence, gore, and disturbing themes. It is NOT intended for all audiences; reader discretion is heavily advised.)
Wow! This book has a wild and daring premise. It’s so creative and completely outside the box. This is the total opposite of the basic and trite gay love story, and it’s absolutely engrossing.
The story starts with a bang. There’s some background and insight into Ethan, and then we're off to the races.
This is jarring and it’s terrifying. It’s also fascinating how Ethan feels both safe and protected with Tom. The way powerful, all-encompassing lust is interspersed with the other complicated emotions—shame, shock, relief, terror, dread, anxiety—it’s handled deftly.
The sexual scenes are simultaneously accurate and satisfying. The intimacy is beautiful.
The danger and tension throughout the entirety is conveyed in excellent fashion.
The mother, the sisters, the abuse, the humiliation, the clothing—living in this misandrist household is a total nightmare.
What a hell of an ending. It’s arduous and simple, sweet and messed up. It’s just right, and just as it should be. Brilliant.
Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!! But that ending!!! Come on! Please tell me there’s going to be a follow up because that just can’t be it!
Definitely read the blurb. It gives a great summary of what to expect. There is violence and gore, but I read horror novels, so none of that bothered me.
The romance: I guess it’s considered dark because it’s a captive falling for his captor, but thankfully there’s no rape or bdsm. If anything, the romance was packed with feels.
Tom, one of Ethan's captors, has lived a sheltered life. He’s been emotionally and physically abused by his sisters and mother. He may be well over six feet tall, but he’s been conditioned to do their bidding, which includes killing and butchering. Yes, Tom is a killer, but he has a gentle and innocent side that comes out now that Ethan is part of his life.
Ethan feels an instant attraction towards Tom. He’s knows it’s irrational, but he intends to use it to his advantage.
4.5 stars rounded up because of the unique premise.
Something is wrong here. Very wrong. This isn’t normal. What fresh hell did he stumbled into?
Fresh hell indeed. This story was dark and weird and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Captivity Stockholm syndrome Two innocents Bloody and extremely gory Sexual exploration
There was a beautiful juxtaposition with the tender innocent moments between these two men and the horrific violence. I can almost imagine this as a Wes Anderson/Tarantino movie.
If you read this story be warned, the ending is quite abrupt. More of a HFN than an HEA.
This was deliciously messed up. A disturbing mix of murder and first love with a hint of Stockholm syndrome. I devoured it. My heart pounding almost the entire time. These were two characters I was rooting for so hard because of everything they were up against. How they found each other in the most dire of circumstances. But that ending was a little disappointing. Not gonna lie. I wanted more. An epilogue...something more.
There needs to be a part 2 or something to this book. I didn't want to end!!! And if Carson Wulff continues to write more books like this he will definitely be shelved as a favorite author!!!
I had high expectations for this book and I really wanted to love it. But somehow, it felt like the characters just kind of fell flat. There's not enough relationship development between the characters to make this romance believable. It felt like MCs said they like each other too soon, it's like insta love but lacking strong emotions for me, so I didn't feel anything much while reading it. I liked the setting and idea though, it's really interesting, I really wanted to love it as it's one of my favorite tropes and I usually dig stories like this. Just wished there was more time spent on building the relationship between the MCs slowly, I think a slow burn would make this relationship more intriguing. I really liked the concept tho, so I would still read other books by this author if they made another one like this.
Although this book isn’t usually my thing, I do believe in reading books outside my usual genres now and then to broaden my horizons. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and I’m really happy that I gave it a chance. It’s not too long of a book to read and it is well written, the plot is easy to follow with some likeable characters. The author has stated that it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea and although that is true, if you can read and enjoy dark, violent stories and have no issues reading M/M romance then you may find that you enjoy reading this book. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Seriously it is so well-written. I finished the entire thing in one go and it is so, so beautiful. I love the slow burn and the buildup and their dynamic. Their characterization also fits perfectly with how the story flows. I'm so attached to them now and I wish there was a sequel. Really just wanna see how they embrace the real world together one small step at a time. My eyes are seriously burning as I'm typing this comment. I really hope they get their therapy and slowly rejoin society together. God I'm so emotional over them.
I have very mixed emotions about this book. I loved: - The connection and chemistry between Ethan and Tom - Tom's possessiveness towards Ethan - The portrayal of Ethan's conflicting emotions In a nutshell, I loved the romance. It felt real and convincing despite the horrifying circumstances.
However, I could not get over one of the MC's being a murderer (this happens in the first 5 - 10% of the book, so not really a spoiler). I've read many books with MC's that kill in cold blood and loved them. But something about it in this book didn't sit right with me. I think it was too gorey for me. And the author's writing was so good that I was left with the aftertaste of Ethan's horror and disgust long after the chracter himself had let it go.
I do think the portrayal of femal abusers was well done. The dynamics between the sisters was intriguing.
I didn't like the ending. It was too abrupt as mentioned by other reviewers. I wanted more. Atleast a short epilogue. But at the same time I understand and respect the author's decision to end it where they did.
I think I've just read too much true crime of serial killers cutting up their victims to enjoy the book completely. It was just a little too fucked up for me I really enjoyed the author's writing though, so I will be picking up more of their works.
I highly recommend this to fucked up dark mm romance lovers. The writing, plot and flow all worked very well for me. It reminded me of a K.A Merikan if the plot was more structured.
It turns something that felt so illicitly right into something overwhelmingly shameful and dirty. Disgusting. Ethan’s disgusting. He should have never�
Wtf... This book is pretty much the Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets gay porn...
I will admit that although this book has a dark story line and is twisted, there is actually nothing really serious about this book, at least in the believable sort of way. So while it may be “dark� because of the gore and twistedness of it, it’s not really the mind fuck that I would consider a dark romance to be. Although that’s just my opinion, and I don’t read very much dark romance...
Also, while I thought Ethan was TSTL, I happened to love Tom and I wish the author would have actually dove more into his life and their HEA. Unfortunately I feel like the author kind of copped out with any of the serious plot that needed good writing and imagination. The whole book I was wondering how they were going to make this work in the end... and was throughly disappointed with it.
On an additional note, this appears to be this authors debut so you can bet your sweet ass that I’ll probably pick up the next few to see how their writing progresses.
This book works as horror and as dark romance. Like in a movie, a lot of the practical considerations are just ignored so we can focus on the horror, and in this case, the relationship. I liked that the protagonist was fairly realistic about how messed up it was for him to be attracted to and developing feelings for the serial killer who is possibly a cannibal, but at the same time didn’t get so stuck on it that the story couldn’t advance. For the first few pages I questioned the writing style but it turned out to be the perfect choice for this particular story and allowed me to suspend disbelief adequately. My one critique is that the ending needed more. It’s an HFN that implies an HEA strongly enough that you feel satisfied but it would have been nice to truly get there with the characters. It does leave enough open for a follow up story and I would be excited to read it if that happens.
When I started reading this I thought it’d be just another slasher/psycho story, but was pleasantly surprised to find it a psychologically deep and morally conflicting love story, a rose blooming amongst the ruin. Thoroughly recommend
Holy Texas chainsaw massacre. First half of the book totally reminded me of that movie. Very different, and wow people are f*ed up. This was a 4 for me until the end. Feels like it ended really abruptly. Wish there had been more at the ending, an epilogue, maybe 3 months later or something. Also in the beginning, I was very worried and super freaked out about the cannibalism! Ewww
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This gave me very strong, what it leather face was gay vibes. And I loved it. A really quick read, it didnt hold a lot of eroticism for me, but the developing romance was enough to keep me interested
Ethan was on a road trip by himself to try and see if there was more to life than a monotonous future. But what he found as an adventure was to be attacked by the bikers and stick with a weird, crazy, and creepy family�
Told in single POV, 3rd person, it can be read as a standalone. Unlike my GR friends who enjoyed this book, it wasn’t that good for me. The lack of character/relationship development was so palpable to me. It’s not a short story but I felt everything happened quickly. I wished we had Tom’s POV too (I always prefer dual POV). I couldn’t connect to any of the MCs and blamed it on the lack of strong emotions here. The ending also was rushed. All in all, it fell flat for me but I hope you enjoy it more than me!
Due to the short length of this novel, I found some of the character development wanting. Too quick to get from Point A to B, with many things that needed expansion left by the wayside. I also got pretty tired of the repetition of Ethan's "I shouldn't be feeling this way" mentality. Regardless, the book was a dark, intense, and surprisingly sexy journey, and it ends with a moment of hope that feels earned while still leaving things ambiguous and bittersweet. A pleasant surprise. I look forward to eventually exploring more of Carson Wulff's work.
I didn't know what I was thinking until I finished this book. It was obvious the desire and lust were through the roof the whole time but I appreciate that Wulff always explicitly included consent between the two main characters albeit one was untouchable of the outside world. I love, love, love the flow and the passion was full in the air. I was expecting more struggles and some pain in the end but I settled with the canon end and I realized how fast I read this book! In the end, it's happily ever after!
Third person point of view-- Ethan Heat !evel 2/5 Horror, romance, and smut, my favorite. Ethan is on a road trip when a biker gang beats him up, then a large chainsaw wielding comes along and saves him. He kidnaps him too. The large mans name is Tom. And Ethan thinks he is the most masculine, beautiful man he's ever seen. Well, Tom has the same kind of sediment for Ethan, thinking Ethan's so pretty, and pert, so nice to Tom. Tom keeps Ethan safe. I would say it is happily ever after, although it is kind of abrupt, I was happy with it.
Nuevamente, como muchos otros reviews... El final tan abierto le redujo una estrella para mí, pero si disfrutan el romance dark, este libro es toda la definición de ello.
Horror � romance. Prepare to meet some very scary hillbillies, nasty bikers and wimpy, cunning to survive Ethan. The latter seeks to employ his said cunning on his giant, chain saw wheeling captor, Tom. Will it work?