Welcome to the Dark Side

I was really expecting this book to blow me out of the water and become a new favorite but sadly I was let down. Idk what didn't click with me but I feel so meh about this book. I liked a lot of the side plots and some things that happened at the end hit me emotionally which is why I'm not giving this a 2 star. I think mostly this didn't click with me because the relationship didn't sit right with me at all. 

I loveeeeeee age gap so much but it felt lowkey creepy in this book especially because Zeus is obsessed with Lou's virginity and her being so young and pure. I really didn't like how much of a focus sexually that was for them. I didn't feel their chemistry as much as I wanted to and overall the whole romance part of it didn't sit right with me. I really liked Lou and I can see the appeal of Zeus but together they just didn't work for me.

An ok read.
This is a dark MC romance, so I wasn't expecting flowers and hearts. The age gap didn't bother me at all but the execution of it wasn't great. The fact that Lou and Zeus meet when they are 7 and 26, respectively, wouldn't have been an issue IF the author handled it well. It wasn't handled well at all. There were some disturbing and avoidable lines that made me cringe. (“I have been waiting 10 years to do this.” -SERIOUSLY??? She was 7!) Also didn't love the fact she was 17 when they start their relationship.
I didn't enjoy Lou's character when she grew up and her relentless pursuit of Zeus felt forced.
Again, the secondary characters seemed more interesting than Zeus and Lou together.
I'm still tempted to read the next one, just because it's a romance between Zeu's daughter and a cop.

This is gonna be a short one and will have a spoiler. I'll try to make it as light as possible but please be careful if you keep reading 😅

Also, don't really take into account my or others reviews if you feel like reading the book. Do it, and then judge by what you've read and by your preference standards 🤷🏼‍♀️ That's what we all do 😂

I enjoyed (? the book... kinda... I've personally never read major age gap romance books (? - excluding fantasy and the ridiculous age gaps between humans and fae... let's be honest about that😂 - soooo...

The 19 year age gap was way too much for me and it made me cringe at times :') (times where I couldn't make myself forget about it and rewrite it in my head😂)

But also... I cried, yeah, I cried like a MF BECAUSE

*cue the spoiler*

*really, SPOILER AHEAD*

SOMEONE DECIDED TO KILL MY FAVORITE CHARACTER

And he wasn't even a main character, but GOSH I LOVED HIM, WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO IT GIANA, WHY.

Anyway, back to the review. I dont think I have anything else to say and I think I'll rate this one 3 stars. Enjoy the book if you read it, I guess :')

 
 
~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~
WOWZA...so color me impressed by this book. It was very, very good. I knew just from reading the synopsis, and the fact that this had quite an age difference (19 years), that it was a pretty sure bet I would end up at the very least LIKING it. So I was pleasantly surprised by how much I DID end up enjoying it. It was close to being a 5-Star book. The writing was fantastic. I quite liked the back-and-forth letter writing style of the first part. It is told through dual POVs. I LOVED that it was set in Canada (my home country). The pace was OK ME it was just a tad too long (it took me close to six hours to finish this one). Which made parts of the story drag a little. I think the author could have tightened the story up a bit and that would have improved the overall pace. That said, the plot was still very engaging, and heartbreaking. Oh my god...SO heartbreaking at one point I actually yelled “NO” out loud to my tablet (lol). Why Miz Darling? Why you have to go and do me that way...why?? Last, it was all wrapped up in a very sweet three years later epilogue.


~HERO~
ZEUS...I loved Zeus. Then I thought he was a bit of an a\(hole. Then I loved him again. He was 36 years old. He was smokin' hot. He was alpha. He was sweet. He was bada\). He was an excellent leader. He was a good Dad. His love for Lou made my heart burst. He was a perfect monster guardian angel.


~HEROINE~
LOUISE...Lou was a great heroine. She was 17 years old. A virgin

 

~SECONDARY CHARACTERS~
This book was packed with excellent secondary characters. King and Cress from book one. Zeus's daughter H.R (who my spidey scenes are telling me is going to be paired with a certain cop). Reese, Lou's boyfriend, who I actually thought was a really nice guy. Bea, Lou's sister. Lou's parents. A nice cast of baddies, and of course, a bunch of Zeus's MC brothers. Every single one of them added something extra to this story.


~HEAT LEVEL~
Medium. This was actually a pretty slow burn book (IMO). I am pretty sure it is after 50% before they even kiss. That said, when we do get to the sexy times they are suitably hot, and the frequency felt organic to the story. One thing I DID find a tiny bit disappointing, is I thought this was going to be a little more kinky in terms of DD/lg play, but other than Lou calling Zeus “Daddy” a couple times in fun, and Zeus calling Lou “little girl”, there really wasn't any kink to be found.


~ANGST LEVEL - SEXUAL HISTORIES~
High. This was a pretty angsty read. Lou's sickness. The MC troubles. The circumstances surrounding the way these two meet at first are quite traumatic.  Then when they meet up again Zeus is a bit of an a\(hole and tries to push Lou away. Once he gets his head out of his a\) it is pretty smooth sailing relationship wise. I think Zeus was a manwhore, but his past is only briefly touched upon. Like I mentioned above, Lou was a virgin, but she kissed and did oral with her boyfriend (Reece). There was a smidge of OW drama. Zeus lets a stripper rub up against him and he makes out with her briefly. He makes sure Lou sees this and winks her way. It was kind of an a$$hole move, but it didn't bother me too much. There really wasn't any OM drama other than Lou is still technically with Reece when she gets sexual with Zeus, but Reece and she were just casual. 


~IN THE END~
It was super super good. So much so, I ALMOST want to read book one and I HATE the whole older woman/younger man thing. I will for sure be keeping my eyes peeled for the next book (which I kind of hope is H.R and the cop). Like I said, the writing was great. The plot engaging. The characters likable. The sex hot. What more can you ask for? Therefore yours truly is going to give this one two solid thumbs up.

Mixed feelings but overall, really enjoyed. I was very hesitant to read because of the age gap. I love an age gap but this felt like it pushed the limits.

I loooooved Zeus. He was the perfect big and grumpy MC Prez. (If only he would speak properly but alas)

The relationship between him and Loulou was odd. It was a bit taboo even for me, especially since he knew her and wrote to her for so long...? Like since she was 7. But ya know it's fine we move past the red flags.

Loulou needed Zeus in a way you can't explain. Although unconventional. They make each other happy

I LOVED Mute. I wish we could have gotten to read his story, and I did infact sob at the way he left the series.