Dreams of the Deadly: A Dark Mafia Romance (Massacred Dreams) Paperback – July 27, 2022

If only there was a way for me to climb into this book and claim Calix as my own 🥵🤤 (not that it would change anything because this man only has eyes for Thalia but a girl can dream😍)This story sucks you in from the first page and won't let you go until the last page (and even then that's debatable 😍).It's the perfect combination of heat and heart, seamlessly woven into a dark and brutal world that I can't get enough of.Calix takes the saying "man with a plan" to a whole new level. There is nothing he won't do to take back what's his. He's here to reclaim his throne and the woman who was always meant to be his queen. Calix is truly a force to reckoned with. Rūthless and calculating and so deliciously hot and in control🥵. And the things this man does for his woman (and to his woman 🔥) is beyond swoonworthy (and droolworthy). Even as he f0rces his way back into her life, it's obvious he's put effort and care into creating a world that Thalia can truly enjoy. At first glance it may seem like a gilded cāge, but at its core, Thalia is truly freer than she's even been. (Of course that freedom has some rëstrictïons and good luck to any man foolish enough to "cross the line" with Thalia 😈😍. )Thalia surprised me in more ways than one. She was raised in a life that was far from kind to her. It may not have br0ken her, but it's definitely left its scärs and I loved watching her become the woman she was always meant to be.AMAZING READ! No surprise I can't wait for the next book!

[Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk and all that.]The chapter nearing the end where Calix punished Thalia the way he did kind of threw a kink (and not the fun kind) into his entire character. It's like despite the entirety of the book before and after that scene showing how devoted he was to his wife, some caveman part of him persisted, and might have even relished in bringing her to the point where she was so deflated all she could do was give him a weak "I'm sorry".Up until that point, I was pretty much chanting for Thalia to articulate the feelings she was beginning to have for her husband. But after it, even with Eugene's execution and how it was told from Calix's POV, it was clear that their relationship wasn't strong enough yet that he deserves to hear the words quite yet. Especially when he put the tracker necklace on her, that pretty much cemented my belief that they have a long way to go before he earns the privilege of hearing that his wife loves him.Maybe my feelings for it will change at the release of the sequel (whenever that is…because from what I see, Forrest seems to have a tendency to start a series but often not finish it. As something of a writer myself, I understand. Ideas come at us faster than we can write them. But as a reader, I'm lowkey frustrated) and if they do, then I'll bump up my review to 5 stars. But until then, it stays as a "Could've been a perfect read" kind of book.

I have been anxiously waiting for Calix and Thalia's story since reading the prologue and it did not disappoint. Calix is the perfect operate in the grey anti hero, willing to burn the world down for Thalia, and yet tender enough with her to brush her hair, feed her, take care of her completely. That perfect balance of vicious, twisted, possessive with a complete and all encompassing love. And the back history, she was always his and they took him from her and he made himself who he needed to be to come back and not only get her back but get the ultimate revenge against all who stood in his way. And he learned it all from Rafe - swoon. Thalia is beautifully bent but not broken, so much fire and fever that matches Calix perfectly - cannot wait for the second in the duet to watch her grow into the queen she is meant to be. And love the imagery of the shades of grey in every aspect of their world, literal and figurative - just beautiful! Didn't think I could love a power couple more than Rafe and Isa but Calix and Thalia are right there side by side, Persephone to his Hades!

I'm at 63% and I hate not finishing books but literally binged a season of a show to put off reading this. And you know what? Reading for leisure shouldn't be a chore so it's a dnf for me. I'm so bored. I know this author is popular and I know other people like her writing but I've found most of her books to be boring. So much inner dialog. I want to read what happens, not pages of thought.Another thing that bothered me was the phrase "her fingers danced across her cl!t." It's a fresh way to describe it but it loses something when the phrase is repeated over and over through the book. At this point I very annoyed with the whole book.

So I do have issues with this because obviously the “happy ending” for this would be for the lead female character to just… be free and live her life how she chooses.And if I’m being real the consent gets blurry in this book but if you’re able to keep in mind this is a work of fiction, it’s a good read.The spicy scenes are well written, there’s soft moments, there’s cliff hangers, and there’s comedy. I overall really enjoyed this book and wish the author would come back to it.I do really appreciate that the male lead seems to push heavily that the female lead isn’t some delicate flower needing protecting but more of a badass force of nature that wasn’t given the opportunity to bloom. I love the idea that she’s going to become a badass mob boss herself instead of just his wife who he needs to protect… don’t get me wrong he’s 100% always going to protect her but he’s also giving her the confidence to protect and fight for herself when the time is right.

I was hooked from the beginning. And although it has many trigger warnings and it is gruesome I just could not put the book down. Our hero Calix may be evil in ways but he would do anything and everything for the heroine Thalia. A true touch her and die alpha. I can't wait for the conclusion of their story.

This author can seriously do no wrong with her books. She is a one click author for me anytime she releases a new book. Her beauty in lies series was out of this world incredible and wanted a man like rafe with his absolute devotion he had for Isa and the lengths he went to make sure he had her completely tied to him was 🤒. But I think he has been dethroned by Calix. Calix made me highlight nearly every page when he was taking to Thalia. His possessive,jealous and utter devotion he had gripped me from the very beginning. The pain and suffering Thalia had to suffer from the hands of her father for a flaw (colur blind) he couldn't get over and to have the one person she could trust taken away from her she had to learn how to be strong and when her and Calix finally reunited at her wedding day no less there is where there story took off and became a gripping story or distrust,loyalty,friendship and love that was so consuming that it can either make them stronger together or break them apart. I can't wait to read the next part of there story I need to know what happens next

This is my first book by this author. It took me 3 days to finish, not because it was long but because how dull it was. It's a great book, lovely characters, well written and decent plot. However, for some reason It couldn't pique my interest. I liked the fact that, despite being a duet, it doesn't end with a cliffhanger, it does make me wonder what the second book will be about, I hope to enjoy it at least.

Dreams of the deadly is such an epic dark romance. I loved it and couldn't get enough of it.As I started reading the book, i knew that it is a dark romance and hence was prepared for it. But the amount of violence really took me by surprise. The initial part of the story is super violent. But once that was done with, the book became alot more of intense romance between the two protagonists, Thalia and Calix. There are some really good dialogues in this book, along with a little humour.But what i definitely loved was how broken these two people are yet how perfect together.I can't wait to get to the next installment in this series.

* Thank you to Social Butterfly PR and the author for giving me an arc of this book. *5/5 stars. I LOVED this book so much!Everything about this story was well done in my opinion. We start this story when Thalia is 5 and Calix is 13 years old and I loved seeing how their relationship started. Calix saw in Thalia how much in need of protection she was from her father and he tried everything he could, he was even willing to die to protect her. And all of this was coming from a place of protectiveness, not because she would be his future wife but because she was a little girl and she didn’t deserve the cruel life she was living.Needless to say that I hate Thalia’s father with a passion, he was truly a monster overall not just to his own daughter.The circumstances that led to Calix just vanishing from Thalia’s life were definitely unfortunate.The way Thalia survived all the horrible things done to her and the way Calix brought her out of this shell of a life she lived was beautiful. She became the women she was meant to be and be a Warrior and a Queen. I honestly can’t wait for part two although I must admit she already acted like a queen at the end of this one 🫢.I loved Calix and Thalia together and how they work together towards the same goal.Calix is so thoughtful, caring and protective but also fierce and very assertive. He also does these small gestures that are so big in the grand scheme of things… I just 🫠🫠🫠🫠I loved them together.Sexy times y’all were amazing 🫠🥵🫣💦🦋I honestly can’t wait for part two and seeing them being treated as they deserve, as King and Queen.