Truly cannot finish this. What a ridiculous plot. Silly female opting to stay with a murdureous man, whom she happen to have a crush on from a young age, rather than with her father who is a cop. Then these spicy scenes feels forced. The male narrator sounds like a sports commentator. I laugh everytime he speaks. It is just a comedy of errors. Read more Callum and Bianca’s relationship is a forbidden, dark, suspenseful one, with a lot of secrets, lies, and intensity. Callum is Bianca’s best friend Tatum’s father and 22 years older than her. He’s also a notorious arms dealer who lives a dangerous lifestyle that Bianca is not accustomed to. Book 1 goes more into the details of their relationship development, where book 2 is more about Callum and Bianca coming to terms with their feelings and how they can live their lives together. There is so much internal struggle in both of them yet I still find myself rooting for them. Can Callum redeem himself after all of the lies? Can Bianca forgive him and fully give in to him? Will Bianca’s secret change everything? (IYKYK). I lapped up Book 1 because an obsessive, over the top, possessive bad boy (or very much a man in this case) is right up my street! Don't judge me...

Books by J.L. Beck (Author of The Bet) - Goodreads

I think I gave myself a hang nail while reading this book especially with its ending! 🤯 Lordddddd when I tell you this book phenomenal trust me 🤌 I couldn’t put the book down! Callum and Bianca grew a lot in this book. Some truths came to light but while new secrets were made. This book was even better than book 1.Had to DNF this book. The male narrator made me think of Optimus Prime, then i started picturing the characters as autobots ??? Read more I loved how Bianca and Callum are together again and after that cliffhanger i hope there's a big hea. 😅 gawwdddd daddy CALLUM and his little bird 🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️ and the scene WHERE HE WALKS HER LIKE A DOG 🥵🛐 I’m really hoping that Tatum and Romero have their own book because I’m also invested in whether or not they are able to work out their issues. Still addictive reading although it ends on another cliffhanger, which I'm not 100% sure is necessary. I found some elements really (too much of the dad, Tatum and long drawn out musing) could have been omitted altogether and this saga could have been resolved here.

Empire of Lust by J.L. Beck - FictionDB

This book is FULL of twists and turns. The spice is 🔥🔥🔥 and I am addicted to these characters and their stories. Again, the CLIFFHANGER at the end of this book has me in shambles. I absolutely need book 3. Also, PLEASE tell me Romero and Tatum get a book because if I don’t see these two brawl out their deeply hidden feelings for each other, I might implode. Okay thank you 💁🏼‍♀️ Tropes: possessive alpha, age gap, best friends dad, billionaire, morally gray, praise, good girl, degradation, secret baby If you have not yet read book one, Empire of Lust, do not read my review it will possibly contain spoilers for that book. You’ve been warned. Typically book 2 in a trilogy will struggle to find purpose and voice but not Empire of Lies. The plot develops into an intriguing 'whodunnit' that keeps the story moving at a good pace.This second book goes on with Callum and Bianca’s deeper love story and trials and tribulations. Surprises come up that could possibly end some relationships. This series only gets better by the book! The last few chapters had me hanging on to my seat! I want more! I’m sad I have to wait for the next book but I know it will be AMAZING!!!! Our servers are getting hit pretty hard right now. To continue shopping, enter the characters as they are shown While I did manage to finish the first book. I couldn't force myself to get very far through the second one. I understand that everyone has their own kinks, but this story really crossed several lines into outright abuse. The story wasn't intriguing or even well-written. The character development is incredibly weak. The description of the book makes it sound like a naughty fantasy romance between a bad guy older man and an innocent young woman. In reality, it's about an abusive, controlling, murderer taking advantage of a naive, emotionally unstable, vulnerable teenager. The idea of "love" between the two characters makes absolutely zero sense, as they have nothing in common. The author spends no time at all even developing any kind of emotional relationship between the two. It's like the whole story is just haphazardly thrown together for the sheer purpose of writing raunchy sex scenes. Now, I DO love a well-written sex scene, but not at the expense of story building. As far as the narrators, the female was okay, but the man sounds like Danny Devito. His version of the female character voices is almost as cringeworthy as the plot. Ultimately though, we also get a decent plot that turns into quite the 'whodunnit' and keeps the story zipping along. Can Callum be redeemed? Hmmm....

Empire of Lust: Dark Mafia Romance by J.L. Beck, Paperback

This book is filled with twists and turns, spice, and DRAMA. I had so much fun reading this! I enjoyed seeing both of our main characters evolve but with that ending.. I can’t wait to see how the final book in the trilogy will go!! I love that we get to continue Empire of Lies by starting off from the cliffhanger in the first book. Okay, so I thought Callum was crazy in book 1, but he is so freaking unhinged in book 2, but I really enjoyed his character in Empire of Lies since we get to see how much Bianca has affected him both emotionally and physically. I also enjoyed seeing Bianca’s character how she was able to resist Callum and his temptation. Both Bianca and Callum, have such great character development in this book. Callum shows his true feelings for Bianca and would go through great lengths for both Bianca and for his daughter, Tatum. Bianca has grown a great deal, from being the naive girl to a women who is resilient and fierce. Overall, the story is addictive, although it ends on another cliffhanger, which I'm not entirely sure was necessary but was well done. I am sure the author is setting up another series with Callum's daughter Tatum but it did at time make the story feel drawn out. I finished it but...I don't know if I can do the other two in the series, which is unlike me when it ends on a cliffhanger. There's just so much being forced in this relationship. Read more

Billionaire, Forbidden, Best Friend's Father, Age Gap, Br3eding Kink, Possessive & Controlling Hero