Little Stranger: A Dark Taboo Romance (The Web of Silence Duet) Paperback – October 27, 2023

Was this unhinged? Yes. Deranged?Perhaps. Red Flags? Maybe I could be colorblind because I’m seeing green at times.🫣 Absolutely addicting? A million percent.My dark romance babes I’m obsessed.I am so down bad for Malachi it’s not healthy. 😹 my heart hurts for Malachi and what he’s endured in his life which you do find more about in book 2. Absolutely shattered me. His instant love and protectiveness of Olivia and willingness to do everything in his power to protect and save her!This duet took me on a rollercoaster of emotions from sorrow to what the actual heck did I read.Touch her and … vibes. Absolutely possessiveness. MINE!It was insane and I loved it. 🖤Screwdriver? I’ll never look at the same.“Please choose me. Nobody ever chooses me.”“No. You were mine when we were kids, and you’re mine now. You’ll always be mine.”

I read this in one sitting. It was kind of a process. First, I found their relationship kind of cringey. It’s not because it was adoptive siblings, and I can’t really give a reason as to why I felt this. Then, it felt like oh this is going to go bad. This isn’t going to work. When I finished the book, I was honestly cheering both of them on. I wanted them to be together. I think this process was interesting because they are adoptive siblings so it’s suppose to feel odd. The next part you have to read to understand the “what?! how can you guys recover from this” part. Lastly, the end was so good, and you just want the best for them.I honestly was curious about this book because it’s talked about a lot. Also, what was going on with the spider and gas mask on the cover? Curiosity pique. Well…. I found out why Little Stranger has a spider and gas mask on the cover. I don’t think I’ve ever been so tense reading a scene and had my skin crawl so much in my life. I was stressed and shouting no while shuddering. I was reading this like I was watching a horror movie🫣 I’m not a fan of spiders clearly😂🌶️ Spice Wise: the chapters containing spice were 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and extended epilogue. I wish there had been a little more plot with a little less spice. It was almost every chapter. I would label this a smutty book.Overall, I did like this story, and I’m eager to see what Little Liar brings!

Holy cow! I was not prepared at all for this book. This being my first book by Leigh Rivers, I absolutely chose right! This book is an emotional coaster, making my heart break for Olivia and Malachi and all that they go through. Malachi is a pitch black psychopath but I still love his character. I loved this book and am so glad book two in the duet is from Malachi’s point of view because I need to see into his head more.**Definitely take the content warnings seriously for your own mental health, especially since signs of abuse are present at during the first chapter.**

Let me start by saying I’m glad I read this. It’s frequently on Bookstagram and recommended lists. It’s been on my TBR list for awhile and now I can cross it off!The book fell flat for me though. The characters are well described and you understand their difficulties and personalities very quickly. You learn which characters to like vs hate. It’s a dual POV book and much is nice, but I don’t think Leigh used it to make the storyline better.As for the plot and storyline. Again, falls flat. We spend the first half, Part One, following Olivia and Malachi’s through their younger and teen years. We gather they have an unhealthy foster sibling relationship after being traumatized before being adopted. Olivia is a naive girl with an agreeable personality. She’s incredibly frustrating for most of the book; she thinks and feels one thing yet acts and says another. This is a common theme that is unfortunately important to the plot. Malachi is also frustrating but in a hard to describe way. Part two is when Malachi shines and we get to know him a bit better. It’s also where the “Dark” Romance comes into play, even though it’s only 3 or so chapters worth.Part two is dark, I’ll give ya a star for that. But it’s so dang quick and infrequent that it’s almost confusing. Malachi flips on the dark and then almost immediately turns it off. This is the last few chapters, so again, slightly confusing. How do they truly care about each other? One minute they love each other? The next they want to torture each other?Overall, this is a nice novella to read if you’re new to dark romance and want a slow start. The execution is flawed, which is making me avoid book 2.

There are no words to describe how twistedly taboo this book really is. But is that type of twisted taboo that is so delicious that you can’t help but love. I read this book in less than 16 hrs while doing my normal life things.You’re supposed to love your foster brother. You’re supposed to want to play him Happy Birthday on the piano. You are supposed to enjoy being around him. You are not supposed to give him special…lessons. And you sure aren’t supposed to allow things to go as far as you have. But can you really stop it, probably not. But do you want to, absolutely not. That is, until you have no choice but to. At least you have him a head start, right? And how does he feel 8 years later? How do you feel 8 years later?I know it’s weird to love such a…whatever the word to describe such a taboo, not so incestuous book…but man, this book did something to my brain!