Cherry Auction by Stasia Black

ABOUT THE BOOK

At a v-card auction, a woman with amnesia meets the man who swore he’d kill her if he ever saw her again…

DOMHNALL:

When she suddenly appears on the stage in front of me auctioning off her cherry, I know it’s no accident. She’s back, ready to play more games with my head.

Ten years ago, she and her father broke me completely, body and soul. But I’m not the naïve young lad I once was.

I politely keep the monster they made of me carefully hidden from public society, it’s true. But as I outbid everyone else and make her mine, I smile.

She’s not the only one who can play games. And I’m ready to let the monster loose.

MY REVIEW

Cherry Auction is a dark romance that starts out with a questionable decision by a young woman with amnesia who is willing to auction off her innocence. I knew it was going to be a bit twisted, but wow I was unprepared for just how unhinged it really got.

Brooke (Madison) and Domnhall (Donny) are flawed, real, and broken, which made their journey to find trust and love all the more intriguing to me. The sexual chemistry between them blazes off the page, but it took me a while to feel the overall connection.

What struck me the most about the story was how Ms. Black tackled the mental aspects of BDSM and showed how convoluted those elements can be. The protagonists’ past traumas added a depth that’s usually missing from the usual BDSM stories. It wasn’t just about power dynamics, it was about healing, understanding, and ultimately finding peace in each other’s arms.

What crossed the line for me was Donny’s sister encouraging Brooke to auction off her virginity. The girl had amnesia because of a brutal assault. Who convinces someone to do that? I know characters sometimes make questionable decisions for dramatic flair, but this felt so completely out of touch with reality. There were also things with Brooke (Madison) toward the end that gave me whiplash from a lot of back and forth which made it harder for me to connect with the story.

If you enjoy a book that dares to explore the darker sides of love, then this one is for you. It’s not just a second chance love story; it’s an emotional rollercoaster where you’ll find yourself feeling for characters who may not always be so loveable.

Thank you to Ms. Black for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stasia is an Amazon Top 50 and USA Today Bestselling Author of dark contemporary romance novels. She grew up in Texas, recently spent a freezing five-year stint in Minnesota, and now is happily planted in sunny California. Stasia’s drawn to romantic stories that don’t take the easy way out. She wants to see beneath people’s veneer and poke into their dark places, their twisted motives, and their deepest desires. Basically, she wants to create characters that make readers alternately laugh, cry ugly tears, want to toss their kindles across the room, and then declare they have a new forever book boyfriend.