Reviews with content warning for Torture - Dreadful: A Dark Retelling

LOVE Sev and Talia. Dreadful might be my favorite from the Tattered Curtain series. Really nice mix of plot and character development, everything is woven together organically and I never felt like the story stalled. The romance was angsty and deep and so lovely (and a little psycho!) once they finally get together. If you’ve read Rouge, there are some moments in this you’ll appreciate nods to. The story unfolded at a strong pace, twists and turns were believable and character motivations stayed true. This is definitely the most dark and depraved TC book, but also the most emotional. I finished this in one sitting - which is really the highest praise I can give!!

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paytonbox21's review

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5.0

After reading the second book of this series last Spring, I knew I wanted to continue with this series! A good dark romance every month or so is perfect for me, this isn’t my favorite type of romance books, but I love when they are done right!

Sev and Tallie’s connection is a great way to begin this story, you see a lot of their trauma up front, and then get to watch them connect the dots as the story goes on! The revenge plot of this book was handled really well and kept the suspense of the book going!

This book has a lot of triggers and I’d recommend looking them up before reading! This book was maybe a little too dark for me, but it didn’t change my rating as I knew what I was getting into!

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jaynellewags's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Thank you to the author for a eARC of this book. I was so excited when I was asked if I wanted an early copy to review... yes, yes I do.

Rating: 4.5

CW- there are quite a few since this is a dark romance so please check those for this book
Tropes: Revenge, hidden identity, mafia, enemies to lovers, morally grey MMC/FMC

This has components of Sweeney Todd, Hamlet, and Medusa woven throughout the story.

I have enjoyed the first two books in this series so much, and this one did not disappoint. Greer does such a good job of adding in easter eggs from the musicals and giving us little twists. Sweeney Todd is one of my favorite musicals... actually all three books are my top three musicals... so I really enjoy those aspects of the story. Mafia romances are one of my favorite romance books because I love me a morally grey MC- bonus points if both of the main characters are like that.

Talia wants revenge on the Family that has wronged her, and Sever wants revenge on his Family that has wronged him.

The book starts out in a flash back that hurt my soul and made me want to take revenge on some book characters... but I won't spoil it for you. We then flash forward to present day where Talia works as a costume designer and at her grandparents bakery. Sever is a guard dog for his uncle who is the local boss.

One day Sever wants to make his cousin happy so he goes to the local bakery that makes pistachio cannoli's and he sees her, Talia. He is immediately obsessed and starts using the CCTV in the North End to keep track of her.

Thoughts:
I loved every minute of this book. The back and forth between Talia and Sever... like will she kill him, will she not was entertaining for me. I enjoyed all the easter eggs from Sweeney Todd- it is one of my favorite's.
The scene with Percy and Sever... while very dark was perfect for the situation that had occurred. So many people get away with doing whatever they want, and morally grey, slightly unhinged MMC's get to enact the revenge I am sure so many people wish they could.
Talia's grandparents were so sweet and cute. I loved how much they cared for her and their relationship with each other was one of the sweetest things in the book.
Sever wanting to protect Talia but also respecting that she was strong enough to defend herself was something that added a lot to this mafia romance. There are times that the FMCs are like damsels in distress and that is not always something I enjoy. I liked that Talia was a badass and strong in her own right- Sever was there to help if needed but she didn't need a man to do all her dirty work.
I absolutely despised Sever's mom. The way she is done is fantastic but oh my goodness do I hate her.

I am excited to see what this author does next and which story she will make dark next.

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