Review: Falling for the Villain by M. Robinson & Rachel Van Dyken

  

Print Length: TBA

Publisher:  (June 22, 2021)

From Goodreads.com:  

“Play for me, Juliet…”

Those four words whispered in my ear again and again until I craved what I used to fear. Such a simple demand from my captor—the man who stole me and refused to tell me why he wouldn’t let me go.

I was his.

He made me need him, just as much as he needed me. I broke all the rules of the golden prison he put me in.

During the day he ruled his dark, seedy world. His subjects and me.
During the night—he bowed before my feet.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the villains in all the fairy tales you read?

You’ll soon find out.

It all started when he kidnapped me and made me his pet.
And it all ended with me…

Calling him master.


*This story is not for the faint of heart and may be uncomfortable for some readers. But, then again, stepping outside of your comfort zone may be exactly the thing you need… Care to play with us, readers?

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My Rating: 2 stars out of 5

First of all - kudos to Rachel van Dyken for taking a giant leap out of her comfort zone with this story. I can only imagine what she must have been feeling as this story was coming together. 

This book was a lot different than their first collaboration, Mafia Casanova, and not just in terms of content. With this story, I could definitely tell which author wrote what as parts of the story were gripping and drew you in, while other parts? Made me cringe and want to throw my kindle across the room. 

Before I get into the meat of this review, please remember that these are my honest thoughts and opinions on the story I was given and while this book did not work for me, if it catches your interest you should feel free to give it a shot. What I hated about it, you might enjoy. That's the beauty of reading, every story affects every person differently. 

That being said, I had some major issues with this story. To begin with, in any sexual relationship, especially one involving BDSM CONSENT IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST. So to read about Juliet crying and begging him to stop and Donovan ignoring her and continuing to touch her against her will was extremely off-putting. In fact, he even says he's going to do it "with or without her consent". Also extremely off-putting is when, like any woman involved in an unhealthy, abusive relationship Juliet tells herself that it was alright that he hurt her because she was being defiant in asking for clothing when he wanted her naked so she made him hurt her. 

And while I admit to never being a fan of the master/slave dynamic, I love a well-written erotica novel. And I've read a few that dealt with "slave training" in my day, but none were as frankly, abusive feeling as this one. Being locked up with no food for two days? Being whipped when she complies with his demands just because he wanted to see her hurt for him? Having her hair cut short and dyed because he wanted her to fit his perfect fantasy? What part of any of this is sane much less sexy? Never mind the fact that he had her kidnapped and brought to him at the start of this story. 

No matter how you look at it, this story is Stockholm Syndrome, and I'm sorry, but nothing about that is sexy to me. But again, to each their own, and I'm not knocking anyone who did enjoy this story, it just wasn't for me. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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                                                                   Falling for the Villain is available from Amazon.com