Insidious (Tales from the Dark Side)

This read certainly lived up to its billing as a “smart, sexy thriller”. This read is an enjoyable sexy thrill ride with surprises around every corner. It was published in 2014, and now in 2018, I have just become familiar with Ms. Romig. From the few books I read, I naturally assumed, although dark, there would be an element of romance. Ha! Silly me!! One thing this is not…and that is… a romance!!! It’s intoxicating, titillating and I enjoyed sex- oops, I mean – I enjoyed reading about the sex with the three important men in the life of the dark anti-heroine, Victoria (Vikki) Harrington née Conway. Yet…I am left with an “insidious” nagging set of questions at the end of the story. I haven’t quite made up my mind if this is actually brilliant or an intentional and aggravating literary device to spur discussion and buzz around the book?We hear this entire story through the 1rst person POV of Victoria. She was raised to believe she was “venom” … death itself to anyone who came near to her. She is supposedly bartered away by her parents to cover the debts from their vices incurred by unsavory elements of society. To insure her parent’s financial heath and thereby securing the futures of her younger siblings she signs a marriage contract agreeing to the dark terms of an incredibly sexy, fabulously wealthy older man, Stewart Harrington in exchange for wealth and social standing. She enjoys the sensual attention of this sexual tempter, this predator for about a year. Oh…and is he a deliciously dirty talker! And because he bought her, groomed her and trained her for a specific purpose, after this enjoyable year, Vikki had to honor her contract and submit to Stewart’s desire to watch her have blindfolded and hearing controlled sex with Stewart’s “friends”.The story jumps back and forth in the timeline of events and I found this to be entertaining. The book actually opens with her husband in the last stages of terminal illness. The author weaves an entirely plausible scenario on how our damaged, used and abused heroine has managed to put her husband on his deathbed.If there is any relationship that possibly goes beyond obsessive desire then perhaps it is Vikki’s relationship with the junior partner at the law firm that handles her affairs, Brody Phillips. With his “strawberry blond” hair and “aquamarine” eyes, he smells like sunshine to Vikki. Their sexual encounters, while no less hot and intense, are written with an element of sweetness. Vikki expresses her feelings of being unworthy of such healthy loving emotion."'What I want more than anything is to make love to you, to hold you, to watch you sleep, and be there when you wake. I want to love you so hard that when those beautiful eyes are closed, I have no doubt that you’re dreaming about me. And when you wake, I want to be the one to make every one of your dreams come true.’”Then again…in this story…nothing is as it seems. After reading the entirety of this book, I am left wondering if Brody is in fact the tragic hero after all? Is he an example of being a victim of his own baser desires? Vikki’s deadly trap could only work if he and anyone else for that matter actually “went there”. Did he even go there?"Besides, sex was nothing more than a tool, a weapon. It had been used against me, but I’d learned to use it in my favor. If sex helped me obtain my goal, there was no [effing] reason not to use it.”Lastly, there is Travis Daniels, who was the personal assistant (and perhaps more) to Stewart Harrington. He has watched Vikki even before she became Stewart Harrington’s wife. He becomes her “mountain”. It is this man that Vikki chooses to believe or does she entirely? The sex with him is wild and untamed. He claimed to have been there for every anonymous encounter she had while married to Stewart. He despised Brody Phillips. He was impressed with her handling of underworld business connections. Was Travis her HEA?“My mountain was right there, both literally and figuratively. I had never realized that Travis was my mountain, my high.”We only know what our dark heroine knows and for that matter what she shares with us. Has she become “death” to all her men? What did Travis do to deserve the vial with the red solution? What trap did he befall? Does it have anything to do with Brody? Is it even his hair? Could it be hers?I have never used so many question marks in a review before. While I did share with you these lingering questions, you really need to read the book to find out their genesis. All these “insidious” questions…it’s enough to keep a girl up at night…that and all the glorious sex! Brilliant?

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS - Holy sh*t this woman can write books that leave you on the edge of your seat! She always makes me think about why I feel the way I do about men who aren't necessary "honorable." The men in Victoria's life who she thinks she can trust - not such a good idea. Victoria's family who used her for their own gain might have really been protecting her. Her rich older husband Stewart? I loved him & I know I'm in the minority here. Victoria was only 18 years old when she was basically forced to marry him & enter into some strange sexual contract to get her family out of debt. Victoria never saw the entire picture & I believe she took her revenge & hatred out on Stewart when he might have making the best of a terrible situation, possibly protecting his Tori in a way. His sex contract seemed very enticing to me but again, I'm an odd gal & what excites me sexually made Victoria's stomach turn. Stewart is an amazing dirty talker & I loved that forbidden May-December romance. Vikki didn't have a choice in the matter & it made her feel weak which caused a turn in the tide when Vikki sees an opportunity to change her fate, by becoming a black widow. Lots of great characters & don't trust your first instinct on who Vikki can trust. Travis is Stewart's assistant & bodyguard who Vikki cannot stand as she had to fight off his sexual advances. Travis isn't all that he seems & later even joins forces with Vikki to make these men pay for what they did to her. Parker is Stewart's personal attorney & Brody is another attorney in the same law firm. Vikki hates Parker but Brody, ahhhh Brody, they form a clandestine friendship & sexual relationship & she allows Brody into her heart a little bit. Brody has this dream that he & Vikki will escape to a mountain retreat & screw like rabbits which becomes a cute little joke for them. Vikki has balls of steel & a great head for business after spending 10 years with Stewart & she aligns herself with the most powerful & dangerous men in Miami. She is relentless in her pursuit of revenge but I believe Brody becomes the breaking point for her, learning who has her back & who doesn't. But the ending...I didn't see the cliffhanger coming but there is a man Vikki began to trust entirely, with everything personal & professional, and he swore he would always be honest with her. Now we're left on the fence wondering if the tables are turning against Victoria & karma is coming back to bite her or if she is out for more of her toxic revenge. I cannot wait to find out more about Victoria's secret family & which characters will play a lead role in the next book. I need more romance than this so I couldn't give the book a full five stars even though I debated at length. I want Victoria to have a happy ending after everything she's been through & I didn't get a good feeling.

What an amazingly twisted dark thriller this book is! What you think you know in the first half of this compelling, alluring read you realise that you know nothing at all! The truth will out but becomes even more dangerous! Something that only Aleatha Romig can bring to her many readers, in a spectacular way. The storyline is totally unique, salacious and beguiling but extremely subtle with Victoria’s deadly, deceitful hidden ambush! Is Stewart her Saviour or her enemy? So many twists and turns, that I was gripped to the very end of this highly recommended thriller! Had the Contract defined Victoria’s life? Who can she trust as her go to in this twisted plot? Will Victoria’s alluring sensuality be her power over Stewart with his concealed orchestration of the Warehouse?

This story is mind blowing…. I can't stop thinking about it.Aleatha Romig is a genius writer to twisted proportions! Even so, I’ve spent a lot of time procrastinating over my thoughts and rating. I cannot get away from the fact that I have grievances….. Up until 'one line' this was a definite 100% 5 star read for me, no questions asked, but directly after the spoiler, I can't deny that I felt a twinge of disappointment... Almost like I'm missing a whole chunk of information. I'd invested time and emotion into the characters and felt, well... shell shocked. Completely at a loss. I needed a full and frank de-brief with my buddy reading friends. On reflection there are multiple ways to look at that 'one line.' This author worked it well, I have readjusted my thought process…... I have thought and thought and thought about this story which is testament to the skill of the author, but also made me conclude that I needed more details and answers regarding certain situations, that's as much as I can say but nothing is more certain than this story is gripping and made me think to epic proportions.Aleatha Romig writes such a fabulously weaved story with intense intrigue, she tells it so well….. I cannot help but LOVE because, ultimately this story has imprinted on my mind… So an incredible book that makes it!There are so many layered possibilities as to why?Victoria Conway Harrington is the product of the crap life has dealt her; it's made her insidious which results in far reaching consequences. She made headlines when, at a young age, she married the very wealthy and enigmatic, Stewart Harrington.She's desirable and underestimated by many.There are revelations abound but you’ll have to read the story to find out more. All I can say is…. There’s a contract, a warehouse and a blindfold. How would I describe this? A fairy tale gone wrong? Insidious to the core. Victoria has lots of friends interfering but in this situation, I’m not sure they help?LOVERS of intense, intriguing and twisted darker romances simply have to experience this story. There's so much depth to the writing, to the ending…. I'm still peeling and thinking! I feel the brilliance of Aleatha Romig. How does she come up with it all.... It's mind blowing.

Insidious (Tales From the Dark Side, #1) by Aleatha Romig4.5 stars!!insidiousadjective1. intended to entrap or beguile: an insidious plan.2. stealthily treacherous or deceitful: an insidious enemy.3. operating or proceeding in an inconspicuous or seemingly harmless way but actually with grave effect: an insidious disease.We know that Aleatha Romig can write a book, hell, she wrote the Consequences series and made me love Antony Rawlings and that was no mean feat. So, I was going into this expecting a good book that was thrilling, suspenseful, shocking and where nothing is as it seems and that is exactly what I got. I had been itching to start this one and when it came to the top of the pile it was a case of “at last.” It had been hell staying away from spoilers and reviews; I always try to go in blind and knew that would have to be the case for this one. It demanded it and I highly recommend it.Victoria Conway was a bit of a naïve eighteen year old woman who was just about to graduate. Her mother and step-father had demanded that she keep an appointment they had set up for her with “The Stewart Harrington.” Even though she has little to no relationship with her mother or step father curiosity gets the better of her and she decides to go and see why this appointment was so important.Stewart Harrington was a multi-millionaire, a lot older than Victoria and he was a widow. He kept himself fit and in top shape and was still devastatingly handsome. It turns out that he is helping her step-father and mother with some unsavoury business and needs her 100% co-operation. There is a contract involved, we all know Aleatha LOVES her contracts!! Will Victoria sign? This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship and the start of a new life for her, her sister and half-brothers or is this contract not at all what it seems? Could this be the start of something else altogether?“The world you’re entering is full of piranhas. One day you’ll be able to swim without me, but in the meantime, I’ll be glad to help you grow your teeth.”I have to warn you, you will need to put aside a good few hours when you start this book because you will not want to put it down. From the first to last word I was totally sucked in to this story. It grabs you from the start and your head will be going a mile a minute trying to piece together every clue and come up with all kinds of theories, some of which may be right but I can guarantee that most of them won’t be.“I’ve learned my lessons well and played my role. No longer willing to be a victim, today I’m insidious.”This book is action packed and you will need to concentrate if you want to get the most out of it. Aleatha weaves a plot that is so full of layers, suspense, angst and intrigue that it demands your total and utter dedication. I found myself going through so many conflicting emotions and allegiances. As I said nothing is at it seems and it is the power of the prose that draws you into this dark and erotic suspenseful thriller. Cleverly formulated, this plot will have you asking so many questions, some of which are answered and some which are left to your imagination. The trouble is though, is that these characters get under your skin, I found myself thinking about this for hours and hours, trying to piece together what I had just read. My thoughts were conflicted, there are people that should be deemed the “bad guys” but once you have had time to digest, you actually end up feeling sorry for them and trying to quantify their actions. On the flip side though, you find yourself thinking that actually “the good guys” were not actually that good either.“My f**king contract is complete, but yours with the devil has just begun.”It is this careful web of deceit and lies that has you questioning your own sanity at times and the sanity of the characters that you are reading about. I have to say that this is an ingenious piece of writing and for those that loved The Consequences Series, you will not be disappointed. Pieces of the puzzle are slowly revealed throughout the book and leave you frantically putting them together. The last line of this book is “killer” and so apt for the way that this book was crafted. While the end won’t be for everyone, I can appreciate what the author has done and she has made it a certainty that it won’t be a book you forget in a hurry. Kudos to Aleatha Romig, I got hardly any sleep last night.“Nod if you understand…”

Wow! I am a huge fan of Aleatha's, completely loved Consequences and couldn't wait to read this! I was not disappointed! This book was amazing, dark and had so many twists that it kept me thinking and on the edge of my seat most of the time! Just as it is with Aleatha's writing!This book takes you back and forth at the start between the past and present of Victoria's life. You learn about her when she was younger, why she was 'sold' to Stewart Harrington in the first place and what her married life was like.There are so many twists and turns as you read that I don't want to give anything away, but I have to say that despite what came to light towards the end about everything and why Stewart did what he did I'm not sure I can say i liked him still LOL I would say that Victoria wasn't all the innocent woman either that she was made out to be at the beginning. She suffered a lot but showed her strength and got her own back on a few people in very devious ways.I can highly recommend this book, I love Aleatha's writing and cannot wait for the next book, which will be about completely new characters!Brilliantly dark with lots of twists and turns!!

Aleatha Romig just WOW! After loving the consequence series I was hoping this would be another gripping book and I was not disappointed!Loved the characters, even Stewart, and the storyline was full of twists and turns that had you captured.But....... The ending? I say ending perhaps I should say the last sentence! Who, why, what, where?? What was that all about? total total twist which I'm still trying to figure out 24hrs after I finished the book! Pure Genius!Congratulations Aleatha on another Masterpiece.