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A review by agrippinaes
The Predator by RuNyx
5.0
Rating: 5 stars
What I Liked: I really, really enjoyed this, a lot more than I thought I would. It’s a rare example of an enemies-to-lovers romance where they actually, thoroughly hate each other and attempt to murder each other in the book. The relationship between Tristan and Morana is really complex and messy, but the chemistry between them was ridiculously hot and it worked so well. There were so many scenes in this that had me putting my Kindle down in disbelief, both at the content and because of how hot or tense it was between them - It was really obvious that he cared, in his own way, quite early on in the story: I loved how he kept on protecting her and doing things to look after her.
It was just a really interesting dynamic, and as an exploration of morality, it worked well for me. I liked that Tristan was shown to be dangerous and capable of doing cruel things, without feeling the need to show him behaving abusively, which is a fine line to tread in books like this and one that authors often seem to feel the need to do. I liked that he had a sense of honour and how that ran into how he protected Morana -
The wider plot worked well for me and I liked the twist at the end, it genuinely took me by surprise. The final scene between the two of them was easily one of the best I’ve read in a romance book in a while -the tension, the angst, the kiss - it was perfectly matched to the tone of the rest of the book, whilst also being surprising. I loved that Morana took control of the situation in the way she did.
What I Didn’t: I was a little confused by the setting at points - sometimes it felt like it was set in a parallel universe and others like it wasn’t - I was genuinely jarred by a reference to Sons of Anarchy at one stage. I thought the author was going for the former - a parallel universe - and I liked that idea, so this isn’t a criticism per se, except I personally would have liked it a little clearer.
I enjoyed a lot of the writing but sometimes it veered towards the melodramatic. There were a couple of parts of it where I thought the edit could have been a little tighter - repeated words and phrases and so on. But it wasn’t enough to distract me from the story.
Overall: I really enjoyed reading it. It had all the things I want in a darker romance and it did them really well, for the most part, and had a strong, compelling central romance with a lot of heat and sexual tension. There were a couple of writing and world building things that could have been a bit tighter for me, but apart from that I’m excited to read more about Morana and Tristan.
Would I Recommend It?: Yes, if you want a dark mafia romance with a genuine enemies-to-lovers relationship, a heavy dose of angst, and a lot of twists and turns.
Would I Read Something By The Author Again?: Yes.
Content Notes:, depiction of a fall down stairs, attempted murder, torture, explosives, death of parent (in past), murder, child abuse.
Other: On page sex.
What I Liked: I really, really enjoyed this, a lot more than I thought I would. It’s a rare example of an enemies-to-lovers romance where they actually, thoroughly hate each other and attempt to murder each other in the book. The relationship between Tristan and Morana is really complex and messy, but the chemistry between them was ridiculously hot and it worked so well. There were so many scenes in this that had me putting my Kindle down in disbelief, both at the content and because of how hot or tense it was between them -
Spoiler
such as the Russian roulette-esque scene, which even though I knew it wasn’t going to end with either of them dead, I genuinely didn’t know how it was going to be resolved. I was so nervous during that scene and the confrontation between them afterwards was so good.It was just a really interesting dynamic, and as an exploration of morality, it worked well for me. I liked that Tristan was shown to be dangerous and capable of doing cruel things, without feeling the need to show him behaving abusively, which is a fine line to tread in books like this and one that authors often seem to feel the need to do. I liked that he had a sense of honour and how that ran into how he protected Morana -
Spoiler
even when she was a baby.The wider plot worked well for me and I liked the twist at the end, it genuinely took me by surprise. The final scene between the two of them was easily one of the best I’ve read in a romance book in a while -
What I Didn’t: I was a little confused by the setting at points - sometimes it felt like it was set in a parallel universe and others like it wasn’t - I was genuinely jarred by a reference to Sons of Anarchy at one stage. I thought the author was going for the former - a parallel universe - and I liked that idea, so this isn’t a criticism per se, except I personally would have liked it a little clearer.
I enjoyed a lot of the writing but sometimes it veered towards the melodramatic. There were a couple of parts of it where I thought the edit could have been a little tighter - repeated words and phrases and so on. But it wasn’t enough to distract me from the story.
Overall: I really enjoyed reading it. It had all the things I want in a darker romance and it did them really well, for the most part, and had a strong, compelling central romance with a lot of heat and sexual tension. There were a couple of writing and world building things that could have been a bit tighter for me, but apart from that I’m excited to read more about Morana and Tristan.
Would I Recommend It?: Yes, if you want a dark mafia romance with a genuine enemies-to-lovers relationship, a heavy dose of angst, and a lot of twists and turns.
Would I Read Something By The Author Again?: Yes.
Content Notes:
Spoiler
Warnings: Blood, violence, organised crime, drink spiking, gun violence, sexual harassment, child abduction, references to child murder, references to sexual violence, depiction of injuriesSpoiler
sustained from a fall down the stairs, on pageOther: On page sex.