Celia Aaron writes the most unique, creative and hateful characters that end up taking your heart and making you love them in the end. This new story is a definite read. Pick it up today!
Title: The Bad Guy
Author: Celia Aaron
Genre: Dark Romance
Release Date: May 21, 2017
story.
in my hollow life, no matter how dark it gets. And I can assure you, it will
get so dark that you’ll find yourself feeling around the blackened corners of
my mind, seeking a door handle that isn’t there.
forgiveness nor would I accept it. My sins are my own. They keep me company.
Instead, this is the true tale of how I found her, how I stole her, and how I
lost her.
every fairy tale has a villain, someone waiting in the wings to rip it all
down. A scoundrel who will set the world on fire if that means he gets what he
wants. That’s me.
My Review
I thought I was amazed by Celia Aaron’s Acquisition series starting with Counsellor, but this stand alone is written just as well if not better and once again, I am speechless after reading this incredibly creative, deep and dark story
Sebastian Lindstrom is a dark and complicated man. He’s a psycho. He is complicated yet simple. He has one desire. Camille Briarlane. A teacher at a private high school. He saw her one night and decided she was made for him. She was his. Literally.
– “The fair maiden wanted the monster more than she needed the knight.”
This story has so many amazing quotable lines in it.
After one meeting, Sebastian decided he had to have Camille. Only one problem, Camille has a boyfriend named Link. The white knight, although after meeting him I’m not sure I’d call him that. But he was there for Camille when she needed him most. He swooped in to comfort her and at that time, that’s what she needed. But not anymore. She needs someone to reach her dark inner animalistic side.
After a dance with Sebastian, Camille feels things inside her she has never felt, especially with Link. A simple touch ignites a “chain reaction” in her. Yet she denies these weird feelings because of her boyfriend Link. But oh, how good they feel. Nerve endings rise in places she never knew could making her desire more.
The problem the characters face is Sebastian. His character. He’s not normal, he’s different. He doesn’t think like other people. He doesn’t have emotions. He is almost robotic in his thinking and talking at times. He thinks he wants something so he can have it, no feelings to worry about. He wants he gets. But you can’t do that with people. He doesn’t understand that. It might work in his job, but not with people.
– “The more she tried to fly away, the harder I wanted to clip her wings. She was the most precious thing I’d ever found.”
Sebastian’s father, Bill, has tried for years to teach Sebastian to be somewhat normal. He has kept him safe from harm but he can’t fix Sebastian when he goes to the dark side, off the deep end, or too far as he does in this story. So his dad tries to help him see the light but he can’t without Camille’s help. Getting her to help with the monster is a chore.
Sebastian doesn’t know emotions so he can’t feel love until he meets Camille. He would give her anything she wants, even exotic things that only she would love and appreciate. All he wants is her trust and her love. He goes about it in the worst possible manner but with Camille’s patience and Bill’s guidance the monster becomes a dark knight.
– “You’re light, but you crave the dark. You crave me.”
The hardest thing for Sebastian, the one thing that will break him, is to set her free. Probably the hardest lesson he will learn. It just might break him completely.
– “You can trap her and hold her all you want, but you’ll never have her until you set her free.”
As the story progresses, Camille changes and learns she wants something different. She realizes what she wants sexually and what or who makes her body come alive.
– “God, I was starved for his touch, I wanted more of it, just like an addict wanted the next hit of their eventual death.”
She likes the darkness, his darkness, and the feelings she experiences when she travels to hell with him. She comes alive too, just like the monster does. Feelings are stirred inside her that no man has ever brought to life.
– “You had a white knight, but you were waiting for your monster. Here I am.”
The more time Camille spends with Sebastian, the more she understands him and helps him find a heart. He becomes a hero. But she never loses sight of herself. And I will be honest, I came to love him more towards the end too. I went from wanting to gouge his eyes out to wanting to hug him. It took a strong woman who respected herself and did what she had to do to protect herself, to help break the vault that locked up Sebastian’s heart. Or maybe she taught him love.
– “You aren’t the bad guy after all. Psycho? Yes. But you’re the hero of my story.”
And in the end, they both helped each other learn what love really is.
– “But I knew it, just as sure as I knew he’d never stop his pursuit – I loved Sebastian. It was wrong and sick, and yet, so right.“
I’ve tried very hard not to give anything away in this story. It is dark, it is intense, but it is one that you will not put down because in the darkness, there is a very HOT romantic story to be told and told SO well. Sebastian will weave his way into your heart, slowly, take hold and not let go. Camille will be in your thoughts worrying and wondering what happens to her, you will cheer her along, become the voice in her head.
This story flows so well, alternating points of view giving you insight into Sebastian, Camille and even Link’s mind. I love Celia Aaron’s story. Once again I am amazed at her unique and dark story. A story unlike any I’ve read.
If you haven’t yet met Sinclair in Counsellor, then prepare to be amazed once again. That’s another story that will leave you wanting more. I love how Celia Aaron can write such different character types. I enjoyed Sebastian’s character even though it was dark and crazy. She wrote him to be hated and loved at the same time. His robotic thinking, trying to understand Camille, learning from her, it was all written so well. Incredible characters AND brilliant story. I want more!
Celia Aaron is a recovering attorney who loves romance and erotic fiction. Dark to light, angsty to funny, real to fantasy—if it’s hot and strikes her fancy, she writes it. Thanks for reading.
Mama Likes To Read Book Blog 