What’s the catch, you ask?
Just this: if Byron finds you suitable, he will subject you to utterly depraved forms of torture.
No, I’m not talking about S&M.
Byron will mutilate, rape, and then kill you. Don’t think that you will survive the encounter, because you won’t. He has a perfect record.
Intrigued? Would you like me to arrange a rendezvous? It has to be in the next few days because he’s leaving on a trip south to much warmer climes, and his calendar will be completely full.
Yes? Very good. I will make a reservation for two under the name of Smith.
Who am I? I’m Gloria, his personal assistant.
Warning: graphic torture, forced incest, rape
Lorix: 5 Hearts
This books was dark and twisted and seriously fucked up. Like seriously.
And I loved every single word.
To be fair, if you make it past the first chapter, then you're probably going to make it through the whole story. At least, that was how it was for me. Those first pages - whoa. It was like walking across burning coals, only to find out they weren't glowing a little, but actually flaming still. I read the labels, I knew it was not for the faint of heart...
What disturbed me more than Bey's execution of words though, was the fact that, however fucked this was, however uncomfortable I felt, there was a part of me that was turned on just a bit. That is the best bit about fiction; the fact that it's fictitious. Knowing it's not real apparently oils the moral compass a little.
A wonderful piece of writing from a master of words. Dark, twisted, fucked up - and oh so bloody clever.
SheReadsALot: 5 Hearts
This one is for the dark and twisted lovers.
Before jumping into the bloody, stabby goodness, do yourself a favor, if you're faint of heart or don't usually read torture porn: read a sample. The first 10 % sets the tone in graphic detail. If you can handle that, then you can handle this book.
Clever
This is clever, pulls no punches and hurts real good. I was butchered by the sharpest blade from a talented swordsman. His weapon of choice? His words. (And I love my swords)
Byron is monster among men: too brilliant, too handsome, too wealthy, too insane. You know the guy you fear to never meet in a dark alley? Byron's that guy times a million. Hell, you don't want to meet Byron in the light of day. He's stone cold and this is his story. "Better the Devil You Know" is an erotic horror thriller that read like a movie. We get to not only read Byron's serial killer rap sheet but experience his dirty deeds at different periods of his life.
It's gruesome.
And every tag on this book is fully earned. Because I don't want to give away a major plot twist, my favorite character from the book happens to be the other guy! I've wanted to read a book starring him...in quite sometime. It's been done before but I liked the author's way writing him. Plus, the world building was top notch (as usual) I could see every gush of blood, every horrid detail...oh, I quivered in delight.
My fucked up scale is warped, seriously warped. I thought it could have went even further than it did...and I don't know if the human body can sustain the torture performed. The main players impressed me with their skills.
Hands down, one of my favorite reads of 2015.
It read effortless. Nothing read as if it was written for shock value. It was depraved and classy. If the tags don't turn you off and you don't need romance (this is so not), I can't recommend this enough.
P.S. I'm gaga for this cover. Cover, title, book, the entire concept is a win-win-win for me.
Optimist King's Wench: 5 Hearts
My mom loves movies. She goes all the time and gets amped up around award season over which movies she’s already seen and which ones need to be seen. Plans are made. Distances are sometimes travelled. She drags dad along because she's a giver like me. He’s a good sport about it and always has kind words, though I suspect he’d much rather see movies wherein shit gets blown up rather than arty indie flicks but whatevs. It’s their thing and it’s cute as hell. But you know how those award movies can be, right? Critics LOVE them. Audiences… not so much. But back to mi madre. She does this thing when I ask her how such and such movie (read: intense) was. She usually makes (what I’ve termed) The Big Eyes with the associated double eyebrow raise and says, ‘it was good, so and so was phenomenal, but I’ll never need to see it again.’ and that, my friends, sums up how I feel about this book.
BeyBey can write. This is not news. Objectively speaking, the storyline is on point. How everything comes together was perfectly executed. The secondary characters made the experience worthwhile. The characterization of Byron is brilliant in its monstrosity; he has no redeeming qualities. He’s the sort of character that inspires and stars in my nightmares because he’s a real, everyday monster. I had one niggle with regard to the “psychosis” mentioned, but that’s an occupational hazard and I’m not going to split hairs over it.
The story is gripping and if you’re a horror fan, you’re going to be drunk with happiness like a cat in a pile of catnip. But I am a squishy cupcake and a lover not a fighter. I unabashedly prefer sex to violence, so this was a struggle for me. If you’re going to put rape and torture in my books then I need redemption or retribution in the end. Neither occurred here. My reactions were visceral and a couple times I thought I was going to have to abandon ship which is a testament to the power of the writing and how talented BeyBey is, that I pushed myself to finish because I wanted to know.
Will I read it again? Fuck no! I deleted it from my kindle already. Am I sorry I read it? No. It was an experience. An experience akin to the madre's most recent experience with Black Mass. Once was plenty.
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