As it reads, we should flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
They teach us that these thoughts, these actions, are immoral. But that dark side that lives inside all of us, the true nature of man, drives us to seek the need that burns within, demanding to be set free. Deep inside of our bones lies that intrinsic need, one desperate to escape. An innate behavior, seemingly out of our control.
One that screams for sins they tell us are condemning.
Aero is the throat from which I scream.
The dark parts of myself I want hidden from this world are all he sees when he gazes at me beneath yet another mask.
He’s the demon drowning me in my own underlying desires.
He may never stop. Not until I succumb to my truths, or die beneath the weight of his unrelenting grasp.
Because according to him, the life I’ve been living is a hell far worse than death.
THIS IS BY FAR THE SHITTIEST BOOK I'VE EVER FUCKING READ.
I'd be real honest it takes alot for me to leave a book hanging and it might sound unbelievable but this is the first book i have ever dnfed like it took me an entire month to get through half of this book, and honestly, I just couldn’t go any further. The characters were beyond frustrating, the plot was a hot mess, and the execution was just dreadful and at some point I just couldn’t bring myself to endure any more of it.
╰┈➤ AERO WESTWOOD
The male main character AERO is someone who's painted as morally grey but in reality he's just an asshole who constantly forces himself on his woman, assaults her, stalks her and also demean her every chance he gets. In fact that's not even his woman he was sent to kill her but bc of stalking her everyday he kinda become obsessed with her hence couldn't complete the "mission". He have alot of secrets which i really couldn't give a single flying fuck about all i cared about was how this man would turn into and i won't lie i did expect that he would turn nice somehow after u know falling in love or something but certainly that didn't happen.
What actually happened was he kept worsening with every damn scene like man he literally kept calling her a weak bitch and a pathetic slut but in the very next moment he'd somehow try to be little gentle emphasis on try which i felt was fucking bipolar like what's wrong with this guy why tf he keeps switching his damn personality? Like stick to one bitch! Another thing i absolutely hated was how manipulative this asshole was like he literally forced her to go kiss another man and then punished her for this and let me tell u the punishment was so fucked like even as someone who reads dark romance religiously i was disgusted like absolute utter disgust!
And pls who are those people who're comparing this piece of shit with ZADE, there is no way in hell that this man is like zade. Like he literally had someone give him head while fantasizing about fmc, he even called her names, disrespected her continuosly. Zade would never, ever treat Addie this way. In fact, Zade practically kisses the ground Addie walks on. The idea of him acting any differently is just unthinkable.
But i can see why some people say he’s like Zade, and that’s only because the author tried way too hard to make him fit that mold. All the black clothes, the scar, the tattoos, the roses, and the stalking—seriously, could it be any more obvious? A little subtlety wouldn’t hurt. In my opinion, she failed miserably with this comparison. No one should be saying he’s like Zade—he’s not even the Walmart version of him. It’s a stretch to even put them in the same category, and honestly, it just feels like a lazy attempt at drawing parallels. So, can we please stop pretending he’s anything like Zade? It’s not even close.
╰┈➤ BRIONY STRAIT
I can't with this woman—she’s so freaking delusional. First of all, she has zero personality. Her character was a complete doormat, bland and boring to the point that I was literally skimming through her POV just to get it over with. And the worst part? She’s so blind! Like, how can you not see what’s right in front of you? Even when the truth is staring her in the face, she still refuses to believe it. It’s almost impressive how oblivious she is.
She might just be the dumbest character I’ve ever come across in a book. I mean, seriously, how does someone go through life without using their brain even once? She was so easily manipulated by that guy, and honestly, it’s almost laughable. She’d do everything he asked, without question, and then, out of nowhere, she’d get this fleeting moment of clarity where she’d try to stand up to him. But, of course, that wouldn’t last. She’d just give in every time because, apparently, when faced with a dangerous stalker, the best thing to do is to roll over and completely submit, right?
I almost never regret picking up a book, even if I end up disliking it, but this one? I truly wish I could go back in time and save myself the trouble. Like what on earth was this nonsense?? The level of stupidity was off the charts. The MMC is manipulative to the core, and the FMC is so unbelievably clueless that she doesn’t even catch on to his obvious tactics. Honestly, they're a match made in hell, and I’m just frustrated I wasted my time getting dragged along in their mess.
°˖➴ Overall, if I had the chance to go back in time, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to stop myself from picking up this garbage!
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
꒰🌷⊹ ࣪ pre-read review ᯓᡣ𐭩
Reading this to see if the mmc is really like zade or if it's all just the hype 🤌🏻
The book was completely unhinged, and it felt like the author was really working through some deep religious trauma. As a non-Catholic who spent nearly all of my school years in Catholic institutions, I had some serious flashbacks to the hypocrisy. I loved every aspect of this story. The journey that Aero took Briony on was intense, and it transformed her—she became so much more with him. Aero was utterly insane, so tormented, and Joe Arden’s narration brought him to life in a way that made me feel every bit of it. I truly believed he was Aero, and I hurt for him.
I truly enjoyed the audiobook experience; it was amazing! Here’s a link to the sample and the audiobook format: That Sik Luv - Audiobook
if you loved this book i’d suggest you to keep scrolling. this is just my own personal opinion about the characters and the book itself, you can like what you like, just as i can like what i like. this is mostly just written for the fun of it <3
summary: 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘆 is a young woman who comes from a religious family. she’s always learned that anything sexual is a sin, and woman should learn to keep quiet, and let the men talk. she also recently got a stalker named 𝗮𝗲𝗿𝗼, he always leaves notes and ripped pages from the bible on her nightstand. whenever she sees him, he’s always wearing a mask, so briony has never seen his face. she also knows absolutely nothing about him, while he seems to know everything about her. what she doesn’t know, is that he actually was sent to kill her.
characters: 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘆 there were times where i liked her, but I can count those times on one hand. i liked her when she slapped aero, or when she stabbed him believe it or not, this actually happened surprisingly many times but honestly this girl needs to get some self-respect i know this is dark romance, but the level of disrespect this girl just took stressed me tf out miss girl also wanted to take revenge on a man, by taking his virginity excuse me, but why would you want to fuck a man, that made another guy sexual assault you ? she honestly just annoyed me most of the time ngl, plus I felt absolutely no connection whatsoever to her character.
𝗮𝗲𝗿𝗼 i honestly just found his character fucking annoying. all he wanted to do was to cause her pain, make her cry, humiliate her, and kinda make her his own little toy while calming to make a a strong woman i saw absolutely nothing strong in this woman, she was honestly just disturbing no because the level of disrespect from this man, made me wanna throw hands. he always called her a weak bitch, his own fuck doll, and told her to shut up multiple times etc. this man was all dirty talk, and no fuck. seriously i think this dude lasted 2 minutes maximum, multiple times. on page 86 this man had already made another woman suck him off, while imagining it was the fmc. are you actually kidding me, how am i supposed to be attracted to this dude ? yes aero had a very traumatic past, but i could not get over how fucking annoying he was.
i basically just skimmed the last 200 pages, because at that point i was just dragging my ass through this book. i seriously don’t get the hype, tbh i felt absolutely no connection to the characters or between the characters. i felt like the fmc got stockholm syndrome, because aero was the only person to “believe in her“ or so he claimed. these two as a couple were wired to me, it was as if all they wanted was to humiliate and push each other. they literally both manipulated and forced a man into fucking briony, yeah the man was pretty fucked up, but why would she the fmc want that ?! aero and briony also had this kinda threesome thing, with some guy named nox, it wasn’t a threesome but it kinda was, idk how to explain actually i don’t even want to try.
if you don’t like zade meadows, then skip this part; now i need to get something off my chest real quick, because i’m actually kinda mad about this. why in the world are people comparing aero to zade fucking meadows ? that is another level of disrespect towards my man zade. zade and aero are two completely different characters, e. g. zade never even looked at another woman, from the very first sight of adeline. zade would never let another man see addie naked, let alone touch her. zade literally worshiped the ground addie walked on, and my man would never call addie a weak bitch, or tell her to shut up and etc. so don’t even, because i will not take it. (i mean every word, but this is mainly written for the fun of it) also i'm never trusting booktok again 😭
“𝘽𝙚𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙪𝙢, 𝙘𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡.”
seriously ? “church girl” lmao, i can’t with the smut in this book. it was honestly just kinda disgusting to me, and really cringe. i skipped a big amount of it coming from a girl who appreciates a good smut scene sometimes but this ? absolutely not for me.
tropes; stalker, age gap and psychopath x religious girl
TLDR: While a couple things pișșed me off, I really loved it.
After a lifetime of hard work and dedication, Briony Strait finds herself as the first female Magnus Princeps at the coveted Covenant Academy. Yet, the leadership will stop at nothing to ensure she doesn’t succeed or leak the secrets of the church.
Whew… I have been sitting on this review for nearly a week. A few thoughts: I almost always forget the finer points of a story within a day or two. Yet this one is still playing on repeat, which is a testament to the story and writing. That Sik Luv is a story with so many layers to peel back. I loved that just when you thought you had stripped them all away, there was a landmine waiting to fcuk up all your theories. There is intricate world-building replete with multidimensional characters, each bringing trauma, emotion, and character growth.
Moving on… I’ve seen quite a few reviews alluding to the similarities between Aero and Zade. I personally don’t see it beyond them both being dominant, unhinged alphas. If other readers see parallels I’m missing, cool. My advice, though, is don’t go into looking for a Zade doppelganger, Aero stands on his own.
There were a couple things I didn’t like. I felt like Briony’s 180 was hasty. It was suggested that she had some doubts about the teachings and the church itself before Aero, but it wasn’t explored. With a book just shy of 500 pages I feel like we could have seen the evidence of that so that it didn’t feel like she was “poof!” a new person all at once. Lastly, I was disappointed with an early decision of Aero’s. I was able to move on in the scheme of things. However, my personal opinion is that it was unnecessary for the storyline - its inclusion didn’t add anything, just as its omission wouldn’t have taken anything away.
Dang! This might be my longest review to date!! Bottom line is that I loved the story despite some details I didn’t.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Darkness: 🖤🖤 Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Range of Emotions: 🥳🥺🥵😳😍 Ending: 💗 {HEA} POV: 👫🏻 {Dual}
🗂 Genre: Dark Romance
✨ Tropes: Age Gap (9), Alphahole, Boy Obsessed, Jealous/Possessive, MINE!, Opposites Attract, Revenge, Rival Families, Small Town, Touch-Her-and-💀, Stalker, Virgin h
So this book was marketed on TikTok and many other reviews as the H in this book would give Zade a run for his money. Zade from Haunting Adeline. So I thought of course I have to read it... I love Zade and I loved everything about that book.. like his loyalty to Adeline, his one-minded focus and that dark humor, but also his individuality. Even when Adeline was being a b*tch, Zade didn't lessen his worth by engaging with her but he drew lines.
This H is NOT LIKE ZADE MEADOWS. Tbf I have only read till 14% and here is the gem that makes me DNF. So everyone who says in their reviews he is- here’s something Zade Meadows would never do:
This is with a stripper/Wh*re mind you. She sits her ass on my lap, her tiny little checkered skirt riding up, exposing all of her already. Smelling like cheap alcohol and tanning oil, she leans her back against my chest. Looking back at me, she trails her fingers along her neck, down towards her chest.
So here the H is at this establishment with this particular person to get info on who wants to hurt the h. So when we start the H is already obsessed with the h and is stalking her. He at this point has k*lled someone who harmed the h, and admitted was so jealous because this person touched her, at all. Then he licks all the places she was touched to "erase them". Swoony right? I was caught up too.
“Tell me, Brandi,” I say, turning the barrel of the gun towards her and placing it softly on her forehead. Her chest heaves beneath her white, barely their button-up shirt that’s tied up into a knot beneath her breasts. “Is it true that if you breathe through your nose you can deep throat practically anything?” I run the edge of the gun down her nose as her eyes stay focused on mine. I make it to her lips, and as tears fall from her eyes..... I still had faith till this point...but the next part is after he gets his info.
“Now cover your face.” I spread my legs, adjusting my hips as I rest my neck against the back of the couch. Sliding the mask over her wig, she puts it on, glaring up at me through the eyeholes as she adjusts it. “Cover that weak, money-hungry, morally depraved face, and get me off,” I demand. Seemingly back in her element, she leans up on her knees, unbuckling my belt, quick to open my jeans. Her fingers find my cock as she grips the base and angles me to her mouth. And you can see why I DNF. See the thing is, Idc if people don't think this is cheating they are not actually together art this point (14%), BUT, if he doesn't want her touching someone else or being with someone else then he should extend the same courtesy. Also stalkers who are "obsessed" with the h, but are 'not sure if she will live or be k*lled by him', later on are a huge pet peeve of mine... Like men who don't know their feelings.... I'm sorry but this grated on my nerves so much.
Also I think there is a similar-ish scene in haunting Adeline (I read it a long time ago) but I think Zade doesn't let the woman even touch him. On multiple occasions he has the opportunity to, but he doesn't let them touch him.
“Nah, baby,” I say, using a hand to stop her. “I don’t want your dirty mouth on me. Only hands.” Well at least she didn't use her mouth... right? "...pretend the woman touching me is the innocent beauty about to fall to her desires. A groan leaves my lips as I envision the dark-haired doll I’ve become obsessed with twisting her soft hands around my hardening cock. The ick that these scenes give me.... I HATE IT when the H is with OW but is pretending he was with the h. So all is ok...
"I find my release with my wholesome father’s closet whore." So he doesn't just get off with the woman who he knows knows about the plot about k*ling the h but he doesn't even regret it.
I’m sorry but ZADE would never touch ANOTHER WOMAN. He was loyal from when he first saw Adeline..
At about 15-17% the H goes to the h's house AFTER the above and finds her awake as opposed to sleeping, like usual. So when he was getting his rocks off she was staying up waiting for him, because she doesn't know who he is... Then he uses a gun (idk if it's the same gun from the str*ppers mouth) to rub the h between the legs....
And then there's a similar scene from Haunting Adeline where he says run and if I catch you you are mine... else I'll leave. When he catches her, he licks her mouth because she kissed someone else... because HE DOESN'T like it when she is with other men. May I also just remind people that she is a v*rgin? Of course she is.
At 21% “Stop being a weak bitch, Briony,” Aero growls in my ear. “It was about time you joined the real world with the rest of us.”
4 Against the Wall Stars ⭐ Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 (She's fucking hot)
Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I think that's how you start these things. But, oh boy, I enjoyed doing it.
This was a wild ride that was filled with some of the darkest and dirtiest stuff that I have quite probably ever read. There were situations where I just absorbed it through my eyes and just had to remind myself, this is a book...And then there were situations where I was extremely turned on by what I was reading. All I know is that if ANYTHING basically in this book happened in real life those people should all be locked up in prison or in psychiatric facilities.
Quite frankly, everybody in this book needs a shit tonne of therapy because just, WOW. This book is about a girl, Briony that gets "saved", but not in the typical religious sense of her finding God... No, She is saved from God by a new God who is tattooed, obsessed with her and pierced in his nether region. His name is Areo and he also happens to be a murderer and her stalker.
It was quite an interesting take on how her being "saved" and coming into herself meant a lot of cumming and learning who she was by going against everything she grew up to believe. My one criticism of the book and why it is not rated higher is the conflict felt weak. Basically, Briony is this fantastic woman who is shooting the lights out in her community. She's the first woman who is given this prestigious role that's always being given to men and some people don't appreciate that. So these people are basically trying to kill her. I don't really understand why her having this position equates to hiring somebody to murder her and why everybody is going to such excessive lengths to kill her. A lot of that is just brushed past and the reader is just supposed to accept that this is fact. It just felt like the consequences of the conflict weren't strong enough to match.
There were definitely parts of this that I was like, yep, this is definitely a book because 1. She's able to take an eight-inch dick up her ass with nothing but cum and saliva as lube 2. She's able to take that said dick up all the way the "first time" 3. Our dear darling Areo is able to go again IMMEDIATELY after reaching completion a few seconds prior.
Yeah. That shit only happens in books and movies.
Um, I also found it a little bit strange that our very innocent, virginal female main character went so extreme so quickly after her sexual awakening and was doing stuff that, some people only dream of.
If like me trigger warnings are tropes you are in for a wild ride... Here are some of the aspects I made note of: ▶ Stalker Romance ▶ Virgin FMC ▶ Degradation ▶ Praise ▶ Blood play ▶ Knife play ▶ Hand necklaces ▶ "I am your god" now ▶ Primal play ▶ CNC ▶ Confession sex (like in a confessional booth) ▶ BDSM ▶ Anal ▶ Voyeurism
AND my NEW FAVOURITE ACRONYM: BAGGASOMT!!!
Fun Fact: The Term "Against the wall" was used 35 times in some shape or form in this book.
Edited 7/12/23 to review the audiobook version of this story, narrated by Joe Arden and Desiree Ketchum, produced by Blue Nose Audio:
When I tell you that I’m not a regular audiobook listener, I’m telling the truth. I have “DNF’ed” so many audiobooks in the past because the narration didn’t fit how the characters spoke in my mind. I know - it’s a “me” problem. So when I was graciously offered a chance to listen to the THAT SIK LUV audiobook, even though I loved reading the book, I’ll admit that I was initially hesitant. What if I couldn’t finish it? What if the narrators' voices didn’t fit the voices I’d imagined for the characters in my mind?
Within the first few chapters of this audiobook, I knew that this narration was going to work for me. Not only are Joe and Desiree incredibly easy to listen to and understand, they also had clear, distinct voices for each character. Desiree was a perfect Briony, and my hell, Joe was the perfect Aero. Several of my friends who listen to audiobooks told me how great Joe’s voice was, and now having listened to it, I am a believer! The passion and energy that these two put into the voice acting floored me.
The other thing that really worked for me was the way that the duet narration was executed. Even during a chapter were one of them had the main narration, the other narrator would come in and do a voice if it was for the opposite gender. For example, in an Aero POV, if Joe was narrating and there was dialogue with a female character, Desiree did the female voice. Joe and Desiree have single-handedly changed the audiobook game for me, as their voice acting was second to none. Both of them set the bar so high for any future audiobooks I might listen to.
Original review:
My favorite stalker romance novel!
When asked what my favorite stalker romance book is, my answer – hands down – will be THAT SIK LUV. The book as a whole just works for me, and it ticks all of my boxes when it comes to what I like to see in a dark romance novel.
In the beginning of the book, we meet Briony. Briony is in school climbing the ranks to try and become a leader in her church when she starts getting mysterious messages from an unknown person – her stalker, Aero.
Briony is a critical thinker, and I really enjoyed watching her thought process as the story went on. Aero is a complex character who intrigued me the moment I was introduced to him. Witnessing the character growth of our two protagonists, Aero and Briony, was a ride I didn’t want to end! Their love is toxic, twisted, full of red flags – and I LOVED IT.
I have never read anything quite like this book. The underlying reason for the stalking, the character behavior and the setting – it’s a magical combination that I couldn't get enough of.
If you have triggers, be sure to check them before reading. The list is longer than your weekly grocery order!
╰⊰✿ “You are the fire that burns stagnant, the coals and ash yearning for the chance to ignite, ready to burn cities to the ground in your fierceness. A force more powerful than any man that came before you. You are my fucking existence, Briony. I live and breathe for you alone. I am yours eternally, entirely at your mercy.” ✿⊱╮
4.95 ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
♡ Stalker. ♡ Age Gap. ♡ Dark Romance. ♡ Organized Religion. ⚠️Definitely Check TWs.⚠️
╰⊰✿ “A connection like ours isn’t meant for love stories. It’s tragic and tarnished in its root. Full of dark and disturbing desires that tradition and societal normalities cannot contain. A devotion to another, grown through the dirt of tragedies of the past. It’s the poison of a new flower, opening in its toxic bloom to a world that isn’t ready to accept the dark beauty of its daggered thorns.” ✿⊱╮
❥ You know that Joker and Harley Quinn love, where it’s soooo toxic but is sooooo fucking hot. That’s Aero and Briony’s Love. That raw primal animalistic love. The push and pull, the tug-of-war of two entities vying for dominance and control. —Total control over the other. It’s gasoline dancing around an open flame with the match in their sadistic grin. It’s toxic... It’s Sik.
❥ Was this book 70% Smut and 30% plot? Yes. Did I mind? Fuck no. Did this book straddle the line between grooming and self discovery? Again yes. And again, I. Did. Not. Mind.
╰⊰✿ “Don’t tell me you love me because I’ll never say it back to you, What we have together isn’t definable by a word created by another man. No combination of letters or formulated language can encompass the magnitude of our tragedies. Our pain. Our euphoria. Love is beneath us” ✿⊱╮
❥ Going into this book, I thought this would be a caricature of religion. But it was not. This was something totally different. This was something real. This was pointing a finger and lifting the veil on what happens when people weaponized organize religion. The sick and twisted lasting effects that happens when people in power baptize others in the blood of their sins.
▹ Evil comes in many forms, often masked by those that proclaim holiness. Some evil lurks through life as a bystander, watching and silently subjecting to the torment of others by turning a blind eye to their pain. Some evil isn’t evil at all. It’s dark energy coming full circle, granting vengeance on those who ache for power over the weak ◃
❥ This book is an experience. An eye opening one if you don’t know hidden truths. And it’s one that needs to be needed to be told.
╰⊰✿ “I am yours as much as you are mine. It’s different. It’s primal. It’s a display of adoration and insurmountable trust. I strengthen you, rather than just claim you. Not simply ownership. We are beyond that. Their definitions, beneath us.” ✿⊱╮
(Full review to come — this is just my thoughts while I was reading)
I have seen a lot comparisons to Zade…. If you read this thinking he’s going to be like Z boy do you have a thing coming….they are two completely SEPARATE characters and if we were to compare the ONLY similarity they share is that they are both stalkers. You can love Z that’s obviously not a problem 🖤 but Aero is not Zade at all, that being said lol if you’ve made it this far read my review 💕
God this book was absolutely perfect. I loved everything about it! The obsession, the possessiveness, the stalking, The growth, BDE, Aero, Briony, the plot, the SMUT, did I mention the SMUT & I can go on and on but I don't think I have the right or even enough words to describe how much I enjoyed EVERY second of this book. Aero is the perfect book boyfriend, he’s all about Briony not to hold back but make her see the truth and her true potential locked away.
If you haven’t read Briony and Aero, what are you waiting for !?!
Check the TW, I didn’t have a problem with any of them but I can see this not being for everyone, Enjoy Aero 🖤
When I read a stalker book, I want an H that is so obsessed and into the h that he can’t see or touch or be touched by anyone else…
Yeah… that doesn’t happen here 😐
Daddy Zade would NEVER ✋ do what this H does
He had a stripper grind on him, grab him, bl0w him, all while thinking of the h and while the h is waiting for him at home. 😐 and then he goes to see the h after being with the stripper
I was reading this in the hopes that I would find something that was better than Haunting Adeline.
It wasn’t.
Not that its comparison was any better.
The only difference is that I forced myself to finish Haunting Adeline. And I’m not in the mood to put myself through finishing this one.
The writing style wasn’t to my taste. Neither was the pacing the story was being told in. This story, the characters, had potential for depth, but it was taking too long to tap into. And because it was taking so long, I just started to get bored and not care.
If I’m not connecting to the characters, then I don’t care for the overall story.
I don’t know why some of these dark romances that are being published lack substance. They’re only here to explore sexual antics, where seeing a gun turns on the FMC. 🙄
I mean, if that’s the case, cool, but let’s call it an erotic story rather than a romance.
I’m happy for those that have enjoyed it, but this wasn’t for me.
Is That Sik Luv worth the hype? Simple terms Yes!! My terms, Fuck yeah! I’m a few days post-reading this book, and honestly, I keep going through and thinking about the book.
Have I told you I love a book based on religion? No. Well, I do. It's one of my favorites. Honestly, it helps with my roman Catholic school upbringing. So, I always dive in.
Honestly, just read triggers, and if you decide it's for you, go in blind. You will have the best experience.
Aero is the stalker-obsessed alpha anti-hero that you will end up loving. He is in a class all his own. Words alone can not articulate how I feel about Aero.
I have a girl crush Briony; between her strength, intelligence, and beauty, I’m completely in love,
That Sik Luv is well-written and captivating. You will not want the book to end and will abandon all adult responsibility.
For all my dark romance readers, this is a must-read on my dark scale. It’s dark grey with a sprinkle of black.
Wow. I mean truly… wow. This is my third Jescie Hall book and she truly outdid herself with this one.
The darkness. The obsession. The touch her and dieeeeee. Omg girl.
If you enjoy reading some DARK romance, and don’t mind some religious trauma triggers… girl get it. Girl run don’t walk. Oh… and listen to Joe tickle your ears 😏
Tropes: •Stalking •Spitting •Degradation •CNC •Age gap •Exhibitionism •Voyeurism •Breath play •Gun play •Knife play •Blood play •Primal play •BDSM
First things first, this was beautifully written. There were so many deeply magical quotes in this story. I swear I’ve never highlighted as much as I did while reading this book.
The deep trauma Aero endured really made me feel for him. It’s what made him as strong as he ended up being but he was still missing something and that was Briony. 🥀
Briony didn’t know it but she was missing and needing Aero just as much if not more. She had blinders on all her life and he really helped her step out from behind them and come into her own as a strong badass woman. 💪🏼
The revenge plot was EVERYTHING. I enjoyed every minute of the story! 👏🏼
This is one of the spiciest books I’ve ever read for sure. And it’s definitely one of the darkest as well. 😈
As always, check the trigger warnings.. especially since this one has A LOT. 😉
“I love you with every beat of my dark and hollowed heart, the hole in which contains my shattered ghost of a soul. I love you with all the fractured tears inside my tortured mind. With every agonizing breath I breathe.”
“You helped me to find a fragment of peace in a world constructed of pain. I just needed you to know.”
Ooff. This.. was not it fam. The actual idea of the book had so much potential: the corrupt-ness that occurs in some churches/ religious institutions. Religious trauma is definitely very real for a lot of people. An incredibly difficult subject and a risky one to write about. So I was excited to see how the author would handle it. 🤡 Again, potential? Yes. Execution? Absolutely not. 🚫
First off, there is NO way in hell a person that has been groomed and marginalized for all 18 years of her life under the strict and suffocating "church" community is all of sudden completely okay and ready to be "defiled", WITHIN A WEEKS TIME. I know this is fiction, but cmon. I wouldve loved to see her push and pull between guilt and the brainwash versus what her innate nature wanted her to do & her desires. Aero & her untapped freedom vs years of abuse and suppression. But did we get that? No. Youre telling me IN LESS THAN A WEEK this girl is out here popping that 🐱 like no tomorrow? I mean ... purity culture more like purity abuse.. doesnt go away like that. This just doesnt fit the character that was described to us. Also.. other than her being highly sexual now & some combat training.. she's like a stock character... she read he same to me at the end of the book as she did at 30%. All of this felt like an injustice to the character honestly.
Oh but there's more 🪦💔
What really made me frustrated, is how important information or things that would be considered major "plot twists" or "reveals" were just casually thrown around. I mean huge reveals happen and its in a "yeah so i found out x way about y info z many days ago". Excuse me?! The only reason I kept reading was to at least figure out the "mystery" ( for lack of better term). Those reveals could've really been built up to and used to add so much more to the book. I found myself going back and forth between pages to double check I didn't miss anything or skip a page. So many unimportant inner monologues were repetitively stated, but important info was GLOSSED OVER. SO frustrating.
Speaking of repetitive, I know Aero is an "obsessive stalker", but the constant repetition in his thoughts, motives and fixation with Briony didn't sound like obsessive thought patterns .. it literally was just repeats again and again. I got it the first 3 times. Im 50% in.. you dont need to tell me again......
With how wordy everything was (except the important info mind you), I was told more things than actually shown. I still dont even quite understand the exact exchange that occurred between 2 characters. The ending was hella rushed. I mean goddamn.. they went from chaos to boom boom boom okay bye off to the airport. Wtf ???? Again.. the most pivotal events, scenes, reveals.. just glossed tf over. But aero stating over and over that he is trying to make his girl bloom was thoroughly emphasized .
In short, the pacing.. and scene transitions.. didnt exist. It really felt like the timeline was less than a month ... which is INSANE for all of this to happen and for her all of a sudden be so comfortable in her body and sexuality ....THAT QUICKLY. 🧐🤨
I will say, I did love how we see Aero's character "develop" and "grow" throughout the book. This is the only reason why I rate it 2 stars and not flat out one. Although the writing was not it at all, his character was handled so much better than Briony's was. 🙂
If I don't DNF'd books, I really wanted to this one though. But I wanted to read it through so I at least had the right to review it in full confidence knowing I did read every word. I so desperately hoped it would get better at some point (it didnt).
Idk how this book is this popular, but hey to each their own. I love dark romances, i lovee stalker romances, & i also love taboo romances. But I didnt love anything about this book at all.
*sorry in advance if there are any spelling mistakes.
5 ⭐️. Without a doubt one of my Top-10 books of 2023. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten that “5-star feel” from a book. This is a masterpiece. The amount of times my jaw fell to the floor reading this. The things I would let Aero Westwood do to me….. this is probably the hottest fictional guy I’ve ever read in my entire life, and I’m not even exaggerating a little bit. This deserves 100-stars. My god, what a phenomenal fucking ride. The absolute best (dark) romance that I have ever read, and at this point, I’ve read a ton. Honestly, probably one of the best books I’ve ever read within the romance genre, period. Not to mention the goddamn spice in this book….. this author writes some of the most vivid spice I have ever read in a romance novel 🫠😮💨, shit had me melting every chapter.
Though I should preface: this book will not be for everyone.
THIS BOOK EFFORTLESSLY ACHIEVES WHAT HAUNTING ADELINE so desperately tries to. It was creepy, disturbing, low-key sacrilegious, yet deeply emotional and very compelling especially in terms of the characterization of not only our lead characters but the supporting cast. I absolutely loved Aero and Briony, and I did not want their story of romance (and revenge against those that wronged them) to end.
Jescie Hall is something of a creative genius, which is so clear through the beautiful prose that holds consistent throughout the entirety of the novel. This was giving me dark, edgy, violent, demented, crazed. And yet everything is done with intent, from the themes surrounding religious trauma, sexual coming-of-age, and confronting our personal demons as a way to overcome the things that “hold us back”. I really have not read anything like this, ever. Bravo @Jescie Hall, you absolutely killed it with novel.
Not only is this my top book of 2023 but this is giving Haunting/Hunting Adeline a run for its money (My favorite books). THE AMOUNT OF NOTES THAT I HAVE IN THIS BOOK….I got to the point where I was like, should I just highlight the whole thing? Stalker romances tend to have my heart but just WOW this one is so much more.
I love that this had very heavy religious themes and turned everything upside down. I think religion can be a great thing for so many people but it can also be very toxic & hide a lot of fucked up things that happen to people. That being said, if you are very religious – this might not be the book for you.
MMC: AERO – First of all I just want to say I’M OBSESSED. Please come stalk me and leave me cryptic poetic bible verses & spit in my mouth….Anywho, he is perfection, obsessed with Briony, hot, mysterious, dangerous, touch her & die vibes, everything you should fear, kinky as all hell & only vengeance on his mind
FMC: Briony – Smart, overachiever, aspiring to be high up in the church, transforms into a badass when she discovers the truth, growth and acceptance on her journey to darkness, powerful & beautiful
Their story is so twistedly beautiful, they both help each other find the beauty within their darkness.
Dark & Twisted Religious Themes/Cult Stalker Romance Obsessive/Possessive/Dom MMC Badass FMC STEAMY Primal Pierced *winky* SO MANY KINKS Degradation Pearl Necklace Voyeur/Exhibitionist Age Gap Amazing Writing
Favorite Quotes: “I’ve been watching you for a while, but I’ve always seen you. Seen you long before you could see yourself.”
“No one hurts you, but me... but the pain I’ll bring upon you is the kind you’ll need. The kind your body begs for me to find deep inside that sweet little exterior.”
“Be a good girl and kiss your prince tonight with my cum still clinging to your lips.”
“Now sit on this dick and make a fucking mess of me in this house of lies.”
Thank you for the ARC, I am so honored to receive this book & I am so unbelievably proud of you. PLEASE CHECK TWs – this book is VERY dark, you have been warned.
Stop spreading lies about this disgusting pig being as good as Zade Meadows.
What the fuck was this book? I tried okay? I really tried , but I couldn’t read after 44% through the book. Because that so called plot is beyond my understanding.
🚨I’m going to write some spoilers from now on so if you’ve problem stop reading ( but you should really read this cuz I’m trying to save you from wasting your time)
First of all hyping this book by telling the mc is like Zade meadows is the wrong move because it definitely reach the wrong audience.
Aero the so called stalker of this fmc , he is a real criminal and is now stalking her. Why? Not because he fell for her like Zade did with Adeline but because this guy was given order to kill this girl and he sees she has potential to go on dark side so he suddenly became obsessed with her? Be fucking real.
And this guy is getting handjob from the strippers, is ruining the reputation of fmc , posting the posters where she’s called slut and whore and sharing the videos of her being the intimate with other person just to humiliate her publicly? Wtf.
And even in private he’s constantly calling her bitch and other things AND HE MEANS IT.
Now the Fmc , Briony ,in the beginning she is a spineless stupid naive fmc and suddenly after 30% of the book she’s throwing knifes and cutting people with the knife without any training? God help me.
I thought okay plot is shit , the smut might be good but no , it was equally disappointing.
So in short save your brain cell and stay away from this book because it’s really so bad.
4.5 ⭐ DANG, this was a ride. Honestly - what a freaking story. Blew me away
Jescie Hall genuinely doesn't miss. This was the last Jescie Hall book I had to read and it did not disappoint. This story had me in a chokehold and I am actually in love with Aero. He's a good-ass dude. 🤣🤍
Aero + Briony's story was dark and twisted but I just had to keep reading. I also freaking LOVED the character growth in this because my girl Briony, is a badass bitch let me just tell ya.
Highlights: "It's sick love. And it's entirely ours to own."
"I'm her salvation. Just as she is mine."
"We're not like them. We're like us."
"Love is beneath us." 🥹
-Dark Romance -Religious Trauma -Stalker -Masked Men -Virgin FMC -Age Gap (18,29)
dec 15: masked stalker who was sent to kill x the sheltered religious girl 👺🔪🙏. the mmc is compared to zade meadows? let's see if i hate him as much. apparently my therapist has been slacking off, gotta keep her on her toes. i'm so thoughtful! 😍
did we all read this thinking Aero was going to be the new Zade?
My tiktok algorithm be wylin. This book was so cringe, I'm thoroughly upset to have ever read this book thinking anyone can replace Zade. Also not to mention so many aspects of this book was a direct copy from HA. SIDE EYE.