I couldn’t stay away from a new-release dark romance for long. Apparently, I have no self-control. And honestly? I’m not even sorry.
There’s a serial killer stalking the city, carefully staging his murders like disturbing works of art. Our horror-obsessed film student, Reyna, becomes fascinated by the pattern and decides to recreate one of the killings for her film project—only to present it to Professor Maddox Shaw.
Who just happens to be the actual serial killer.
And because apparently that isn’t enough of a red flag, she starts sleeping with him.
Maddox is a famous artist, a professor, a serial killer, and somehow involved with a powerful secret society. When Reyna gets too close to their secrets, things go from forbidden professor romance to people are actively trying to kill me real fucking fast.
And Maddox? He’s perfectly happy to kill anyone who tries to take her from him.
Tell me that doesn’t give Dexter vibes. Except, you know… if Dexter were ridiculously fucking hot.
This book is LONG, but the descriptions are equally as elaborate. It’s incredibly immersive, the kind of story that pulls you deeper and deeper into its world until you forget you’re reading. And even though I’m only around 150 pages in, Maddox already has me completely hooked.
The way he falls for Reyna. The way he talks about her. The slow fucking burn of this romance when all you want is for it to finally SNAP.
It’s torture.
This is my first book by Avena Saint Graves, and apparently I decided to pop my cherry with Maddox Shaw. I’m not mad about it.
I do hate that Maddox is part of a secret society, that his parents were absolute idiots, and that he’s expected to marry someone from the Order in exchange for saving his brother from them. So technically, he’s more of a paid assassin than a serial killer who simply kills for the love of it—which is what I was expecting going into this. But honestly? The serial-killer vibes are still very much there.
And then I hit the halfway point and realized…
Oh. I fucking LOVE this book.
This is already becoming one of my favorites, and I’ve read the Holy Trinity of dark academia/dark romance: Gothikana, Nocticadia, and Enigma.
Maddox falling for Reyna is so fucking artistic that somehow I’m falling right along with him. I’ve gone to bed after 2 a.m. for two nights in a row because I keep devouring his words—and then lying there thinking about them like I’m slowly, accidentally falling in love too.
There is something about a man who falls first, knows exactly what he wants, and makes absolutely no secret of it.
I eat that shit up.
And when Maddox says his new favorite hobby is eating Reyna’s pussy?
I’m dead.
What a man. Truly a good sport.
The story itself is fascinating because there are SO many pieces still moving. Reyna is still searching for her father. Maddox hasn’t told her that he’s the killer. He hasn’t told her that he’s supposed to marry someone else. There’s the secret society, the Order, his brother, the murders, and whatever the hell is going to happen when all of these secrets finally collide.
The book is definitely on the longer side, but I never found myself bored. If anything, I became increasingly curious about how this entire insane situation is going to end.
Oh, how much I loved this dark romance.
I genuinely wish I could have attended Maddox’s class because… Professor Shaw, I am available. And those nighttime crime-scene rendezvous? Yeah. Reyna was one lucky girl.
Pink Ink is dark, obsessive, atmospheric, sexy, and completely addictive. It’s the kind of book that makes you say “just one more chapter” and suddenly it’s 2 a.m. and you’re lying in bed thinking about a fictional serial killer.
Highly recommend.
And not just for Halloween.
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