Romance Schmomance
Written on Jul 20, 2018
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3.5 STARS & I'M COMPLETELY CAPTIVATED!
First of all, let me start off with the fact that Stylo Fantôme gives you warning about the possible triggers and that it's a psychological thriller. With that being said, what happens in this book shouldn't quite surprise you. I can't say that I've read any psychological thrillers, so I guess this would be my first. So, my knowledge about them is very little. But HOLY SH*T... there is just some absolutely crazy stuff going on in this book. Obviously, I would never be OK with anything that happens in this book. I'm actually still wrapping my mind around everything. I haven't read too many of Stylo Fantôme's books, but loved her Twin Estates series, so it was a no-brainer that I'd be up for reading this one. It was definitely nothing like I expected, I can't exactly say it's my favorite of hers, but I am invested in this duet, 100%!
I don't think I'd categorize Church as a dark romance, granted my knowledge of dark romances aren't that vast. I definitely agree with that it's a psychological thriller true and true. There's plenty of dark elements, but the romance part of it wasn't quite there for me. However, I found myself liking Church/Paul more than I thought it would. He's quite the mystery in the beginning since he chooses not to speak, but eventually, Emma is able to spark something in him and his layers slowly start to peel away. He was such an intriguing character that you'll have so many questions about and just hit with the constant need of knowing more.
Emma is a storm that no one can prepare for. I don't even think Church is fully capable of handling her. Being inside of her mind is downright psychotic, dark and twisty place to be. Her mother is the absolute worst human being to ever be in her life, gosh, I don't even know where to begin with her. I could probably write an entire review about how sh*tty her mother is, there are absolutely zero redeeming qualities of that lady.
I didn't quite connect with Emma, she definitely acts younger than her age, but it stems from her upbringing. One too many horrible things have happened to her and she has a very skewed perspective about all of that, which I'm not even going to try to describe...It's well...dark and twisty and quite f*cked up.
This was definitely a first type of read for me, venturing into psychological thrillers. There's just a lack of moral compass with these two characters, which is to be expected. I may not have loved Church, but I am so damn intrigued and NEED to know what dark and twisty turns we'll go on in the concluding book of this duet. And we can thank Fantôme's amazing writing skills for keeping us so hooked. If you're a Fantôme fan, I'd say give this one a try. It's a different tone for sure, but I appreciate authors who dive into other genres and can still keep me captivated!