⚠ This review contains a minor teaser!
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• BLURB •
Drew Marshall is the epitome of a walking nightmare.
Deranged. Psychotic. Immoral.
After breaking my heart and publicly humiliating me, I vow to forget his existence.
He has other plans, though, and vows to make certain I don’t.
The only one I can turn to for help is a man I thought to be my enemy.
Drew’s best friend Sebastian who claims to be my brother.
He promises me security and protection. But no one can protect me from Drew.
The faster I run, the more he chases.
The harder I struggle, the tighter his grip becomes.
My enemy. My stalker. My villain.
It’s wrong, but I can’t stop myself from craving his rough touch, filthy words, and the dark promise of pleasure he gives me. They say the truth will set you free, but ours didn’t do that. It locked us inside the cage and tossed away the key.
**This is book 2 in the Oakmount Elite series and is NOT a standalone. This must be read after The Wallflower. Please be sure to check the author note at the start of the book if you have triggers. This book contains dark subject matter, sexual situations, and questionable morals.**
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• MY REVIEW •
“You are mine, and I don’t give up what’s mine. Not ever.”
![The Vampire Diaries - Hand Holders [Stefan ♥ Caroline] #47: "But when I'm with you, I'm happy." - Fan Forum](https://38.media.tumblr.com/4a325db73db361f6fb0bb66128c34223/tumblr_nvz6d5GYv51r99k2qo4_500.gif)
Ahh, young love. Angsty. Drawn-out. An emotional merry-go-round. 🥴😜
Drew and Maybel are locked in a push-and-pull of the grandest proportions. Where The Wallflower was fast-paced, thrilling, and gets your blood pumping with excitement. The Wildflower slows its roll, taunts you to brink of madness, and has you constantly questioning the characters— their actions, their game plans, their motives, and their ultimate end goal.
This second book leaves you with more questions than what you may have initially started with. There are secrets that still need to be uncovered, and this book sets it all up for the next installment in the series.
Drew and Maybel, this duet, their dysfunctional world… they are an acquired taste. It’s not going to be for every romance reader. You either already love dark, twisted romances or open to reading them, triggers and all. It’ll be hard, but all good sense and morality really need to be left at the door when it comes to these MCs. They’re young, they’re rich, they’re entitled. Lol.
This is a duet and a continuous storyline. Like the first book, this one also broaches on sensitive subject matters that some readers may find disturbing such as domestic and family abuse, bullying, drugging, blackmail, violence, and death. It’s intended for readers of age.
It also includes explicit sexual content, some of which is con/dub-con. You can expect plenty of smutty scenes throughout, prolonged teasing, and slow-burn romance.
This book is smut heavy. It’s also character-driven with emotions on high. Whilst there is a storyline, it’s not necessarily as fleshed-out and doesn’t contain a lot of character growth as I would’ve liked or expected. But with the way it’s written and the way it has concluded, I suspect it will only develop further as the series expands.
The secondary characters are just as intriguing as the leading characters, that I found myself perking up whenever they made appearances. With their own narratives developing in the background, they brought about depth to the story and added more layers to the overall world-building. There’s an intricate allies-to-enemies and back again dynamic amongst them that made me second-guess how genuine their friendships really are, but at the same time chalking it all up to how dramatic and changeable relationships can be at their age. That the highs and lows, the lighthearted banter and occasional fights are all realistic, relatable traits. This story is very much about friendships as it is about Drew’s and Bel’s romantic relationship. Although complex, the found-family that organically developed was another highlight, and an element that I’m hoping to seeing more of in the future.
The third half of the story is my favourite part of the book. The storytelling picked up pace, a lot of new developments took place, and it felt like things between Drew, Bel, and even Sebastian were finally moving forward. The same sense of excited anticipation started trickling back in that was initially present in the first book.
If you enjoy dark academia romances where the upper crust mixes it up with the common folk, Oakmount Elite may very well be up your alley. Drew and Maybel will take you on a tour around high society that’s filled with greed, cravings, explicit sex, violence, secrets and corruption.
I can’t wait for the next book. I’m very curious to read Sebastian’s story.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you J.L. Beck and Candi Kane PR for the opportunity to read an advance copy! 💜
🔔 Interested in reading this Oakmount Elite duet? Grab your copy here:
- Book One | The Wallflower: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU
- Book Two | The Wildflower: Universal Link
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🌺 Oakmount Elite Series
Book One: The Wallflower by J.L. Beck
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More Dark Romance by J.L. Beck
Stolen Bride by J.L. Beck & C. Hallman
Savage Beginnings by J.L. Beck & C. Hallman
Violent Beginnings by J.L. Beck & C. Hallman
Fragile Wings by J.L. Beck & C. Hallman
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Happy reading, guys! Catch you in my next one!
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