Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A touch, but overall this has heavier themes
Perspective: first person from all the 3 main characters but mostly from the heroine (only a few short chapters from the heroes)
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? slow to medium (slower in the beginning)
When mains are first on page together: I felt like it took forever! There is some minimal mention on the blog post that they ‘know’ Hydessa is on the island but they aren’t actually on page together until about 28% (technically Hydessa meets both male main characters before this point but the reader has no idea they are the ‘masked men’)
Cliffhanger: the mains end with a happy for now, but the story ends with a cliffhanger for the sister’s story, which will be book 3
Epilogue: Yes, but it’s more of a prologue for the next book
Format: read an e-book copy through kindle unlimited

Should I read in order?
I think you should! It’s not 100% necessary, but there is character overlap (the heroine in this story is the daughter of the throuple in book 1) and there’s some plot mentions.

Basic plot:
Hydessa is drawn into a blog detailing murders in a small island town and goes undercover to solve the case.

Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- Island/small town setting
- MFM pairing (no M/M)
- darker romance elements with content warnings
- mystery in the plot
- detective heroine
- obsessive/possessive heroes
- we’ll watch you while you sleep...
- size difference (taller heroes)
- pierced heroes
- kinks including breath/throat play resulting in bruising, masks, praise, degradation, knife play including marking (with caretaking), bondage, degradation (more like ‘you’re our little slut’…), masochism, primal play
- higher steam – 5ish full scenes (I don’t count a random encounter with another male character)

Ages:
- heroine is 25, didn’t catch heroes but I think they are somewhat close in age

First line:
Somethings I wonder what it would be like to be normal.

My thoughts:
I am conflicted about this book! I loved book 1 for what it was – pure masked man ravishment….but the plot was quite weak and the whole mystery was weak too (not that I cared because I wasn’t here for that…). I do think this book improved on the plot and the characters and gave a bit more depth.

I do think there was a lot of similarities between the two books. The setting was different, but the relationship aspect was 100% similar even down to the childhood memories. I didn’t mind that toooo much because I went into this book wanting what I got and I didn’t necessary need a lot of originality.

Maybe I’m just a lame poor sport, but I despised how the children called their parents Truth and Dare?? I just thought that was weird – I guess I took it as more special for the heroine from that book (Hunt Me Darling) and not for the kids. Like that was all the dirty talk and names in book 1….and since Hydessa calls them Dad and Papa or whatever, I didn’t see a reason for her to call them that (I understand not wanting to give away the identities from book 1 in case people haven’t read that...but again Dad and Papa do that just fine from her perspective.) And while I liked the idea of Hide and Seek for this book being a theme, I really hated the play on that for their names (HYDEssa and SEAnna) and how every. Single. Time. They called each other they went through their hide and seek lines….minor complaints but it did pull me out of the story!

Another minor complaint -

okay – the random guy she has sex with in the club, I didn’t need that scene at all. It just seemed so pointless. I guess it was to establish the darkness in her heart, how she has a hard time connecting emotionally and sexually with partners due to it. But I felt like that could have been given with some reflection scenes from her.

And last complaint….while this was a bit of an improvement from book 1 it was also driving me nuts – the amount of characters you were introduced to in the beginning. Maybe I wouldn't have minded as much if we had some interaction between the heroine and heroes, but we had to wait forever for that so at that point I was like omg I don’t care about any more peopleeeeeeee…..

But overall I liked a lot about this book. I am in my mask kink era for sure and this met that fantasy. I didn’t find it quite as….gory-ish as book 1 which was again an improvement for me, but it also wasn’t quite as steamy as book 1 either.

All that aside I’m totally going to be reading book 3 when it comes out!!!

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 2
Average rating: 4.5 stars
Favorite book: Hunt Me Darling

Endearments

  The heroes call the heroine ‘darling’, ‘darling girl’, ‘little shadow’ 

Quotes

I do not go into these books expecting any kind of perfection or impressive plotline but things like this make me wonder about her intelligence

Suddenly, fingers grip the mask covering on my face, turning me to look into the neon green smiling face that has my eyes wincing under the harshness of the light. I had let myself be distracted by the person in front of me and forgot the other one.

---
An example of the dubcon and noncon in the book

“Oh, you cut me, darling girl. But we don’t need permission. We own you and your darkness, even if you aren’t ready to accept that.”
---
Green-masks bare hand quickly wraps around my throat, his fingers pressing into my skin causing my pulse to speed up. “Funny, your heart rate says something different.”
The red-masked figured steps more firmly up behind me, and I can feel the entire length of their body.

---
Again, what kind of cop is she????

Then cursing myself for not even considering the possibility before now, I get the small scanner I have to check for bugs. It was given to me by Uncle Max, and he would be so disappointed in me for not using it when I arrived.
---
I see the moment they enter the room, their neon masks casting red and green glows as they walk straight toward me. My heart is hammering inside me as Cain kneels in front of me, his mask glowing a sinister red.
“The cookies,” I manage to grind out, my voice barely a whisper.
Cain tilts his head, studying me for a moment. “It wasn’t in the cookies,” he says before reaching for me, picking me up like my weight means nothing and throwing me over his shoulder.
---
Abel’s grip on me is firm but not painful, his body a solid, unyielding presence behind me.
He must have raised his mask because I can feel his breath against my neck, slow and measured, sniffing at my skin. It contrasts sharply with my own rapid, panicked breaths, but I can’t move my head enough to see his face. Then I feel his tongue touch my neck, licking at me, tasting me.
 

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- heroine works in law enforcement
- murder and violence on page (committed by the mains)
- stalking and forceful/aggressive heroes
- dubious consent at best – some aspects stay into noncon though this is written very much as a ravishment fantasy and we know the heroine is intrigued
- heroine is intimate on page with someone, but it’s before she meets the heroes
- drugging and kidnapping of the heroine by the heroes
- branding
- getting turned on by murdering people
- heroes cut out the heroine’s birth control and put a tracker under her skin

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

Safe sex: 

  heroine is on birth control. A condom is used in a random encounter at a bar. I don’t believe there’s any protection used from the heroes and they also cut out her birth control while she was sedated 

Hows the consent? 

  If you prefer consent in your books, I would not read this. There are scenes of dubious and non consensual acts. It’s very ravishment fantasy. 

Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!) 

  No children in the story, and I don’t believe there’s much talk of having children or pregnancy, but the heroes cut out her birth control and don’t use protection so there is a light element of ‘breeding’ vibes…. 

8% - sex in the club between Hydessa (pretending to be her sister) and a male stranger
32% - 🔥 heroine self pleasure that is interrupted by the heroes on the TV

“We told you we would come for you,” Abel’s modulated voice joins, darker, more menacing. “From that moment on, you belonged to us.”
A shiver runs down my spine. I can almost feel his touch again, sending a jolt of arousal through me.
“Now, lay back,” Cain’s voice is softer now, almost coaxing. “Show us what belongs to us.”

45% - 🔥 heroine is drugged, kidnapped and chained to the bed. Knife play, marking, choking, fingering for her, Cain (with plenty of piercings) fucks Hydessa while Abel (with one piercing) fucks her mouth. When Cain finishes, Abel does her doggy style

“Do you want more now, baby girl? Do you want our cocks?” Cain’s question hangs in the air, a challenge and a promise wrapped in one.

60% - 🔥 primal play in the closed carnival – Cain chases Hydessa through the house of mirrors and fucks her...

“I’m going to fuck you now, little shadow I’m going to impale you on my cock and savor every delicious sound you make.

71% - 🔥 fingering for her by Abel, bj for Cain, Abel takes her from behind in the cave

I open and he presses forward, groaning as my lips wrap around him. The piercings along the underside of his length are cold compared the warmth of my mouth, and I flick my tongue against them, wondering if they are sensitive. I hear the catch in his breath as his cock twitches inside my mouth, so I do it again.

92% - 🔥 oral for her, then DP with both (1V1A)

“You want to know the only difference between now and when I had that mask on and you didn’t know who I was?” Before I can answer, he wraps his hands around the back of my knees and jerks me toward the edge of the bed. “”This,” he says, ripping my underwear from my body with one swift motion.