kfriend's review against another edition
4.0
Yet another jaw dropping dark and twisted story from the beautifully twisted mind of Amo Jones, whose stories can only predictable be one thing: RADICALLY unpredictable. This standalone delivers that classic “what is wrong with me for loving that” Amo Jones dark, gothic, practically macabre romance full of mind bending twists and heavy on the suspense and swimming in triggers. Intrigued? Apprehensive? Salivating? Yup, all of the above.
Per usual, it’s practically impossible to give you a window into this story without revealing anything…and well, because half the time you yourself aren’t quite sure what’s going on. That’s the Amo Jones narrative experience- you’re immersed so completely in the chaos that you’re as disoriented and impacted as our characters. There’s also a lot going on this story (perhaps a bit to0 much)- MC, mafia, second chance romance. And, we have a lot of violence and and murdery vibes. Amo leans heavily on the suspense side of romantic suspense- a nod to her future writing exploration in more of a thriller capacity. The result is a nail baiting page turner loaded with dark themes and a truly messed up hero, twist after twist. The romance itself, however, felt like more a backseat to the broader story, which often is what grounds me in a complicated, oft intentionally confusing storyline.
A promising taste of Amo’s thriller skillset, and another dark and twisted delight. We still have all the raw, harrowing, gritty, unsettling, and highly entertaining.
Per usual, it’s practically impossible to give you a window into this story without revealing anything…and well, because half the time you yourself aren’t quite sure what’s going on. That’s the Amo Jones narrative experience- you’re immersed so completely in the chaos that you’re as disoriented and impacted as our characters. There’s also a lot going on this story (perhaps a bit to0 much)- MC, mafia, second chance romance. And, we have a lot of violence and and murdery vibes. Amo leans heavily on the suspense side of romantic suspense- a nod to her future writing exploration in more of a thriller capacity. The result is a nail baiting page turner loaded with dark themes and a truly messed up hero, twist after twist. The romance itself, however, felt like more a backseat to the broader story, which often is what grounds me in a complicated, oft intentionally confusing storyline.
A promising taste of Amo’s thriller skillset, and another dark and twisted delight. We still have all the raw, harrowing, gritty, unsettling, and highly entertaining.
booksabrewin's review against another edition
3.0
Meraki has known Niko since she was 9 years old and has had a connection unlike any other with him. However, even after a single tryst together which they swore never to discuss again, they refused to be together for fear of their friendship being ruined. Although the way they try to make the other jealous by using the people around them to their advantage. That doesn't change 10 years later after Niko returns home and sets his sights on making Meraki miserable for choosing to be with their mutual friend Luca. What nobody can figure out is why Niko decided to come home all of a sudden and why he seems to hate Meraki so thoroughly. It couldn't just be because she was with their friend Luca. It had to be something else. But what? Can Meraki and Niko find their way back together when everything from an MC gang, to the Mafia, to significant other roadblocks stand in their way? Or should they let go of whatever connection they once had and move on for good?
This book did a lot of back and forth. It jumped from the past to the present and all over the place in between to try to tell this story of Niko and Meraki. Even after reading it to completion I still feel like I am missing something. I looked on the author's website, Goodreads, Amazon, and the like but I had no idea why this read like a part of a series and not a standalone. Then I found out it was part of a multiple author collection and I had to rub a hand over my face in frustration. I can only imagine the story would have been ten times more enjoyable with a little more background on the MC that Niko came back to town to take up the gavel for. Their connection to the MC would have been more than just a passing thought as well I assume.
Meraki and her tight-lipped stubbornness frustrated the crap out of me. Why she didn't open up to Niko when she had the chance was beyond me. I kept waiting for them to have a real conversation about it all so that maybe he could understand her motives were purely for survival. But it never came and it felt... incomplete. Even at the end when Meraki was talking about going on vacation I thought, "Ope. Well, Niko's gonna cheat while you're gone, is that wise?" because that is all their relationship ever was!
I think the bones of the story were good. The characters were a little frustrating but that was their aim. However, the thing that really ruined the experience was the execution of the writing. The jumping around from the past to present to make some grand revelation not great. You miss that one little word of "Then" or "Now" and you're lost. I think it could have been plotted a little less confusing for the readers to enjoy.
I feel like I can't give a completely fair rating on the book because it feels like I picked up a book in the middle of a series and then critiqued it on how it was hard to follow. And for that reason I will give the middle of the road rating instead of a lesser rating as is my instinct. I think if you start with the beginning of the collection you will get more out of it. I will probably go back and read the rest of the collection to see if that holds true and update the review from there. But for now... this was a little lackluster for me.
.png)
hannahgee's review against another edition
1.5
🌶️ Rating: 2/5
This was the same author as “Sicko”, but this book fell flat for me. It had some great elements, secret societies, MC, protective guy, but it was almost too much. The story time jumped. There was about 15 different subplots. There were a lot of characters. I was thoroughly confused. The plot had several twists, but I was so confused a lot of them fell flat for me. Meraki and Niko were supposed to be soulmates, but they had like zero chemistry. He was supposedly constantly watching out for her after he disappeared, but he seem to think she had done some bad shit that she either hadn’t or had been forced into, and she was tortured, beaten, raped, and so much more. It was to the point that I felt like that was more frequent in the book than the sex. And most of the sex was hate fucking. Then, in the epilogue, she
This was the same author as “Sicko”, but this book fell flat for me. It had some great elements, secret societies, MC, protective guy, but it was almost too much. The story time jumped. There was about 15 different subplots. There were a lot of characters. I was thoroughly confused. The plot had several twists, but I was so confused a lot of them fell flat for me. Meraki and Niko were supposed to be soulmates, but they had like zero chemistry. He was supposedly constantly watching out for her after he disappeared, but he seem to think she had done some bad shit that she either hadn’t or had been forced into, and she was tortured, beaten, raped, and so much more. It was to the point that I felt like that was more frequent in the book than the sex. And most of the sex was hate fucking. Then, in the epilogue, she
Spoiler
gets shot in the head, and it was written so vaguely, I couldn’t tell if she died, or the scene was her waking up in a hospital.ledamerouge's review against another edition
What the f did I just read?
This book tried to be so many things at once it ended up not being any of them. Its mc meets mafia meets the handmaids tale - I wish I was joking. And it tries so hard with all of those, but it doesn't have the time to deliver. It should have picked at least just two of those heavy plots.
I'm not new to Amo Jones books, so the writing style didn't bother me at all. Yes, its confusing, but you just go with the flow. That being said, its one rare occasion I would like this to be a duology. The weird plot combination had potencial, but everything felt so rushed together and under developed, I feel like I don't even know the characters, and feel like all the plot twist were not memorable.
Overall, actually this book was not memorable. I don't even know how to rate this.
This book tried to be so many things at once it ended up not being any of them. Its mc meets mafia meets the handmaids tale - I wish I was joking. And it tries so hard with all of those, but it doesn't have the time to deliver. It should have picked at least just two of those heavy plots.
I'm not new to Amo Jones books, so the writing style didn't bother me at all. Yes, its confusing, but you just go with the flow. That being said, its one rare occasion I would like this to be a duology. The weird plot combination had potencial, but everything felt so rushed together and under developed, I feel like I don't even know the characters, and feel like all the plot twist were not memorable.
Overall, actually this book was not memorable. I don't even know how to rate this.
kursed_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Ummm…
Here’s what you need to know: Antichrist is gruesome, dark, twisted, and gritty. The love between Niko and Meraki can only be classified as toxic.
“…you will forever be his exception. Monster or man, you own both parts of him.”
This story is riddled with triggers, will take you out of your comfort zone, and leave you asking WTF just happened. While still in the (my) light-medium dark zone, it is a m.i.n.d.f.u.c.k of epic proportions. I couldn’t have predicted any of this if Ghost had a g•ü•n to my head. For that reason, unless you have sensitivities, I recommend going in completely blind.
This was my first book of Amo’s. Her writing style is very unique and it took me a minute to get used to it. That said, I liked the way she pushed buttons and wasn’t afraid to toss out triggers like confetti. I’m actually still processing this one a bit. But, I feel like this is a book that’s going to live rent free for a while.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Range of Emotions:
Here’s what you need to know: Antichrist is gruesome, dark, twisted, and gritty. The love between Niko and Meraki can only be classified as toxic.
“…you will forever be his exception. Monster or man, you own both parts of him.”
This story is riddled with triggers, will take you out of your comfort zone, and leave you asking WTF just happened. While still in the (my) light-medium dark zone, it is a m.i.n.d.f.u.c.k of epic proportions. I couldn’t have predicted any of this if Ghost had a g•ü•n to my head. For that reason, unless you have sensitivities, I recommend going in completely blind.
This was my first book of Amo’s. Her writing style is very unique and it took me a minute to get used to it. That said, I liked the way she pushed buttons and wasn’t afraid to toss out triggers like confetti. I’m actually still processing this one a bit. But, I feel like this is a book that’s going to live rent free for a while.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Range of Emotions:
gretareadsromance's review against another edition
5.0
I'm unsure how to even describe the feeling of finishing this book.
I loved it. It ticked every box that my dark little heart just loved. It was twisted and in true Amo fashion you could never guess which direction the story would go. Antichrist held me entranced and these characters! These characters were definitely not lovable but I loved them anyway. They were who they were with no thought to anyone else.
As always check the trigger warnings and dive in with care. It's not your average dark romance for sure - it's even better!
I loved it. It ticked every box that my dark little heart just loved. It was twisted and in true Amo fashion you could never guess which direction the story would go. Antichrist held me entranced and these characters! These characters were definitely not lovable but I loved them anyway. They were who they were with no thought to anyone else.
As always check the trigger warnings and dive in with care. It's not your average dark romance for sure - it's even better!
shadora98's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
bookkraves's review against another edition
4.0
I need to get this out of the way now!
This book is dark and packed with triggers, and I enjoyed reading every single page. Antichrist is the best book in the Knight VII MC series. This story is toxic, twisted and will leave you speechless.
Let me just say, I felt perplexed, disturbed and stunned by what transpired between the main characters, Nik and Mer and I am not easily dumbfounded by dark romance.
Ms Amo Jones took MC romance to another level. The PLOT!!! Can I hear Whoop Whoop!
So Nik and Mer were childhood friends, then teen hookups, and it all ended because Nik disappeared and didn't return for ten years. During that time, things went to crap
This book is dark and packed with triggers, and I enjoyed reading every single page. Antichrist is the best book in the Knight VII MC series. This story is toxic, twisted and will leave you speechless.
Let me just say, I felt perplexed, disturbed and stunned by what transpired between the main characters, Nik and Mer and I am not easily dumbfounded by dark romance.
Ms Amo Jones took MC romance to another level. The PLOT!!! Can I hear Whoop Whoop!
So Nik and Mer were childhood friends, then teen hookups, and it all ended because Nik disappeared and didn't return for ten years. During that time, things went to crap