Introvert’s Book Club
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Check Out the Booksta
Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage
Golden Girls #1
Rating: 4/5
Spice: 0/5
Plot: 3/5
Primary Genre: Cozy mystery
Blurb: The first novel in the all-new Golden Girls Cozy Mystery Series! When Dorothy’s obnoxious date is found dead in a hotel freezer, it not only ruins a gorgeous cheesecake but threatens the elaborate St. Olaf–themed wedding Rose is hosting. Things are heating up, and not just because of Blanche’s hot flashes. Rose’s cousin is eloping to Miami, and Rose is playing host. If she can't balance the groom’s family’s snobbery against the traditional St. Olaf wedding week guidelines, her hometown may never accept her cousin again! Dorothy quickly realizes she needs a date with whom she can exchange wedding-related wisecracks. Turning to a newfangled VHS dating service, she believes she’s found the ideal conversationalist. Unfortunately, what looks good on TV can actually be a total jerk in real life. It seems she’ll just have to enjoy the company of Sophia, Blanche, and whomever Blanche has targeted for a hookup. As the Girls all pitch in, Rose is thrilled that the tea-and-fish-themed kickoff event is perfect, not a herring out of place. That is until Dorothy’s date is found dead—face-planted in an otherwise scrumptious-looking cheesecake. With every guest a suspect (especially Dorothy) and a marriage on the line, the four besties must ID the real killer, get the should-be-happy couple down the aisle, and make sure nobody from St. Olaf gets lost in the wilds of Miami. It’s up to the Golden Girls to sleuth out a way for friendship and love to win the day!
Back In the Shadows by J.A. Owenby
Rating: 5 /5
Spice: 3/5
Plot: 5/5
Primary Genre: Dark Romance
Trigger Warnings: Please check the author’s website
Blurb:
𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐙𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲.
One, two, they took what's mine.
My little lamb was stolen from me.
Three, four, blood on the floor.
The monster she awakened has broken free.
Five, six, death's favorite tricks.
My darkness hunts relentlessly.
Seven, eight, feel my rage.
Hell itself bows down to me.
Nine, ten, kill again and again.
Each death brings her back to me. Eleven, twelve, straight to hell.
Where screams ring eternally. Welcome back to your darkest nightmare.
I am Death, and they've stripped away my mask of mercy.
My little lamb, I will paint the streets red until you're safe in my arms again. “Back in the Shadows” plunges readers deeper into Death's twisted realm, where love and violence dance in perfect harmony. This isn't just a story—it's a descent into beautiful madness, where the line between protector and monster blurs with every heartbeat. Once you've stepped back into the shadows, there's no escaping their embrace.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟐 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭.
** This dark romance features multiple POVs, intricate storylines, and graphic content including possessive themes, obsession, morally grey characters, and dubcon that weaves together into one soul-shattering conclusion. If you crave a simple love story, this isn't it. But if you dare to embrace the darkness, welcome home. **
Ever Dark by M. Violet
Release date 03/19/2025
Rating: 4/5
Spice: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Primary Genre: Paranormal Dark Romance
Blurb: Evil used to exist only in my nightmares.
Until I moved to Ever Graves. A town full of secrets, curses, and death. The darkness comes for me now in the form of three wicked deviants:
Bones, Draven, and Aries. They want to corrupt my soul and leave their filthy marks on my flesh.
They are all that is unholy. But their depravity isn’t my only torment. I’ve been plagued by a nightmare since I was a child. A monster who comes for my body and soul every time I close my eyes. Awake or asleep… there is no escape. Ever Dark is a dark gothic romance where the FMC ends up with multiple MMCs. This book is set in the world of Melancholia and directly tied to Wickford Hollow Duet, The Devils of Raven’s Gate Duet, and Absentia Mori. Content not suitable for everyone. Please check the author’s website for a full list of CWs.
The Cul-de-sac by Christopher Null
Rating: 4/5
Spice: 0/5
Plot: 4/5
Primary Genre: Thriller
Blurb: How well do you really know your neighbors? Veteran serial killer Klaus Fischer is determined that his most recent murder will be his last, but like many retirements, this one isn’t sticking. No one has come close to suspecting he’s buried the victims on his quiet suburban California cul-de-sac property—but he’s feeling the urge to kill again, and this time he’s set his sights on a target dangerously close to home. Widowed Peg Jurgensen has lived on the cul-de-sac for the past fifteen years, and she’s ready to shed her doldrums and re-enter the world around her. And where better to start than with mothering the curious young teen Eliza van Damal, whose family just moved to the cul-de-sac in order to expose their daughter to a better life. Eliza, however, prefers to coerce the enigmatic hermit next door, Alex, into helping her pass math. Alex wishes the lot of them would disappear. The closer these misfits become, the more danger even the most ordinary conversations invite. As the body count rises, can these residents trust anyone hiding behind their doors on this street? Fans of The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena, The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell and The Good Neighbor by A.J. Banner will love this domestic thriller filled with dark secrets and dangers lurking in a seemingly quiet suburban neighborhood...
Don’t Stop by Lauren Biel
Rating: 4/5
Spice: 5/5
Primary Genre: Dark Romance, Traumance
Trigger Warnings: Please check the author’s website before reading
Blurb: If you don't stop, you'll live. If you do, you know what will happen. So for the love of all things unholy, don’t stop.
-Dalton and Rayna
The Halloween Harvesters
This is a similar hitchhiker themed romance but is more horror. It won't be in the series with the regular dark hitchhiker romances (Ride or Die Romances). Ride AND die!
Tropes: Unhinged fmc and mmc
More innocent mmc
damsel in distress
insta obsession
enemies to lovers
dark humor/banter
mask kink (they both wear masks)
What’s In A Kiss by Lauren Kate
Rating: 3.5/5
Spice: .5
Primary Genre: Romantic Comedy
Plot: 4/5
Blurb: From # 1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Kate comes an enemies-to-lovers “what if” romance about a prom kiss that never was, and one woman’s magical chance to live what might have been.This is not how Liv wanted to see Jake Glasswell for the first time in ten years. Once her high school rival and the prom date who humiliated her, now a successful TV personality, he’s more attractive than he has any right to be. And he’s her Lyft passenger.Since the prom night kiss that never was, Liv’s life has not gone to plan. She deferred Julliard to be with her mom during a crisis, and now swears she’s happy as a recently furloughed drama teacher going on no-strings dates. This weekend she’s maid of honor to her best friend, Masha, and, of course, Jake is the best man. But when Liv glares into Jake’s eyes as Masha says, “I do,” the universe turns on its axis and Liv is suddenly living a version of her life where prom night was the beginning of her and Jake, not the end, and it turns out he’s the love of her life. The catch? Her mom and Masha hate her now. What’s in a kiss? Maybe everything.
Hitched by Lauren Biel
Blurb:
"Ready or not, rabbit, here I come"
Lex
The moment I open the car door and see her sweet face, I know I'm making a mistake. By offering to give me a ride, so is she. I spot the rabbit’s foot hanging from the rear-view mirror. It's not her lucky day.
I take her with me as I run from the law. Despite being a felon and a documented sociopath, I only mean for Selena to be a ride to the border. But somewhere along the way she stirs up feelings I've long thought myself incapable of.
She's my rabbit, my sweet little bunny, and I need to teach her how to run from me so I can catch her and show her what it's like to be devoured by the predator she should be afraid of.
Danger lurks in every corner, and the risk of getting caught grows by the day. What will I do once she takes me to my destination? Will I let her go or do something much worse? Can we find some way to stay together when the world wants to pull us apart?
Where’s Molly by H.D. Carlton
A Cat & Mouse Duet spinoff
Rating: 4/5
Spice: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Primary Genre: Dark Romance
Blurb: “Molly Devereaux has been missing for more than two weeks, and police are still searching for the girl who seemed to vanish out of thin air. The world still wants to know... Where's Molly?”
In my dreams, I never escaped the Oregon woods.
Life after death isn't easy to accept, especially when I still feel like a ghost.
Now, I live deep in the mountains of Montana—the paradigm of beauty. But they are also the home of horrors.
Horrors that I only unleash at night.
When my pigs are allowed to feast.
Satan’s Affair by H.D. Carlton
Every Halloween, Satan’s Affair will come to you. We travel the country, offering terrifying haunted houses, thrilling rides and the tastiest food.
And with every passing town, I cleanse this world, one execution at a time.
I hide within the walls, casting my judgement for those that reek of evil, singing lullabies to their rotting souls. Once you’ve been chosen, there’s no escaping my henchmen–they cater to my every desire.
You can run and you can hide, but it only excites me.
Come. Take a walk through my dollhouse, where your screams will blend and your cute little pleas will go unanswered.
But I can’t promise it’ll be over quickly…
A Vine Mess by Amanda Chaperon
Rating: 3.5/5
Spice: 3.5/5
Plot: 4/5
Primary Genre: Romance
Trigger Warnings: Explicit language, sexual content
Favorite Quote: Breakups were like bruises. Eventually, they become nothing more than some discolored flesh and a memory of the ache you’d once felt. But in the thick of them, when your skin was still mottled black and blue, pressing on them meant only pain.
Blurb: Since her recent breakup, Ella Delatou has buried herself in work. Between her job at the local flower shop, Blossom's, and her family's winery, she has plenty to keep herself busy. If only the busybody townsfolk of Apple Blossom Bay would leave her alone long enough to let her fully move on.
Toxic Obsession by J.A. Owenby
Rating: 4.5/5
Spice: 4/5
Primary Genre: Dark Romance
Trigger Warnings: Suicide and suicide pacts, child sexual abuse (not on the page), Dub-con, Non-con, Knife play, Anal play & Plugs, Violence, Revenge, Sensory Depriving, Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Gun Violence, Degradation, Breath Play, Grooming, Mental Health, Reference to School Shooting
Favorite Quote: He’s just a boy. Make sure he actually deserves you instead of trying to convince everyone you deserve him. You have nothing to prove, girl.
Plot 5/5:
Wynter is finally leaving home to head to Whitmore College. She can’t wait to leave her difficult past behind and start fresh. She meets Quinn and he’s determined to make her fall for him. Little does she know, he thinks that she’s responsible for his twin sister’s death and he’s out for revenge. But you know what they say, there’s three versions of the truth. Yours, mine and the truth.
Monarch by Sophie Lark
Grimstone #2
Rating: 4/5
Spice: 2.5/5
Primary Genre: Romantic suspense
Trigger Warnings: Domestic violence, assault, alcohol use, drug use
Favorite Quote: I’m with you. I love you. I’ll protect you, I’ll take care of you. Carry me with you always and keep me in your heart. Because you are in mine.
Plot 5/5:
Elena is a 90 day fiance who had been desperately looking to leave Ukraine. She has just arrived in Grimstone, Oregon to marry her fiance Lorne. He’s a famous, wealthy thriller author. When they met in Ukraine he seemed like was a sweet, loving father and a kind/nerdy guy. Once she arrives, his behavior begins to change and not in a good way. Lorne is having a castle built for them to live in but there have been multiple construction delays so they are staying at the town’s historic hotel, The Monarch. The owner of the Monarch, Atlas, tries to protect Elena as Lorne get more twisted and vicious.
