This story is so worth waiting for! Twists and turns, weaving the truth and lies in a tangled web. Impassioned and freaking hot! How does that grab you?

This book has everything you can think of in it. Amazing characterization with characters you want to love and those you love to hate. Day balances good with evil and sometimes you cannot tell who is good, but you can definitely see some evil going on!

I went through so many emotions with this one. Painful heartache; intense steam and passion with descriptions that take your breath away. You feel like you are right inside the pages with them. Happiness and joy; fear, desperation, and uncertainty. She grabs you and throws some huge unexpected twists your way!

I could sit here and continue to gush, but let me say that if you have missed the Crossfire vibe, this book is fire! Day captures the reader completely with her impassioned writing that spins you right into the obsessive compulsion of this family tree!

I cannot wait for book two!

3⭐️

It was alright, but ultimately a little bit disappointing!

I found the pacing a bit slow and I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters. The mystery part was good, but it focused too much on the drama for my taste.

But if you're looking for a romance with:
• multiple POV's
• a hint of mystery
• drama
• dark tone
• steamy
You might enjoy this one!

'So Close' is a step in a totally new direction for Sylvia Day - in the best way possible. She has paired her skillful ability to write a spicy romance novel with intrigue, mystery, and complex characters with a variety of motivations. As soon as I finished reading it, I looked up when book two will be published. What praise could be higher? I will definitely recommend this book to fans of romance and suspense.

3.5 STARS

Kane Black is a man whose whole life seems ruled by the wife he lost six years before in a sailing accident, or did he? Traces of Lily are everywhere in his exclusive penthouse home including a huge portrait of her as wells as on the ring and cuff-links Kane wears plus finishes around rooms. When Lily miraculously appears and then is hit by a car, Kane believes once she recovers that having Lily back will start his life again. For all his successes, Kane has been a hollow man focused only on his work and one-night encounters with women who reminded him of Lily.

Three women play a prominent part in this story: Aliyah, his predator mother who wants to rule them all and will do anything, use anybody, to achieve her goal; Amy, whose one night with Kane has made him become an obsession sending her on an alcohol-fueled, downward spiral even though she later married his half-brother. And then of course there is Lily who seemed to have some type of amnesia about where she has been for the last six years. Each of these women have an agenda centering around Kane Black. The question for readers to answer is whether Lily is friend or foe, loving wife trying to protect her man or someone else entirely. Kane also appears to have his own agenda and knows a lot more about Lily than his family thinks.

It should be made clear that this story is quite different from the Crossfire saga. Yes, glimpses are had in this story of Eva and Gideon Cross as they are in a business partnership with Kane and his family. Kane Black is certainly of Gideon’s ilk as a ruthless businessman at the top of his game. He and Gideon share some similarities to their backgrounds as well. In some ways, Lily reminds me of Gideon’s former girlfriend who caused so much trouble, at least in her appearance and attitude.

This book is a psychological thriller told from several points of view, all in first person, by Lily, Amy, Aliyah as well as a fourth who appears to be a protector for Kane. His very proper butler, Witte, who does way more than just polish the silver, gives readers a different perspective on Kane and the three women all vying for control. Lily’s POV is unusual because while it is in her head, it is like she is talking to Kane rather than just an internal monologue. This story contains several plot twists, innuendos, and a not very flattering view of Amy and Aliyah although Amy may be a victim… or not. Again, I caution readers not to expect the same type book as the CROSSFIRE series even though some of the characters intersect. Called the BLACKLIST Duology, the story will conclude with the next book, TOO FAR.

I was really looking forward to this new Sylvia Day novel, I loved the Crossfire series and we've certainly been waiting long enough for this next series. However this book is a mess. And I don't mean just the literal ebook (bad formatting, mixed up line breaks, sentences in the wrong order) but the plot was all over. Are we supposed to like any of the characters? Who do we root for? There are too many plot lines entangled and I couldn't keep track.

I have read Sylvia Day before and had to pick this one up. The setup and characters are quite interesting with the story told from multiple perspectives. This is a thriller with a mix of romance. A light and fun read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eArc in exchange of my honest opinion.

I was a fan of Sylvia Day because of the Crossfire series. So, I was very excited to read another one of her romance novels. So Close definitely had the Sylvia Day flare and details. She describes scenes in her specific way that is genuinely her. These characters were very damaged in their own ways. Lily’s story interested me the most. I’m glad Sylvia is back with more books.

Disclaimer: I had no idea this book had been "in production" for several years to the dismay of many an avid fan. So, my response to seeing ARCs available on NetGalley was just excitement to see something new from an author I had previously enjoyed. Now onto the review:

I will confess that I considered DNFing this one after the first one or two chapters, it felt like too much undefined angst, unreliable narrators and the only woman-identifying lead we had met was heavily unlikable with no apparent reason. Then comes the first of many twists.

From here on, we get an interesting tale of love, obsession, business espionage, damaged families and mysterious backstories. I wont detail too much here, for the spoilers could abound, but this book does keep you reading in desperation to solve the puzzles inside puzzles that Day has built. For fans of the author, this feels like coming home *and* a major shift in the sophistication of the writing. I was concerned that my initial love of the Crossfire series was merely because it was so much better than what else was out there in the genre (especially since the first few chapters left me kind of cold), but here Day write a new romantic thriller that feels fresh and clever among so many great titles now at our fingertips.

My only critique would be that while the twists are exciting and genuinely surprising, there are roughly seven gazillion loose ends in the interwoven stories. Granted a second book in the series is forthcoming, so I cannot wait to read the next one and see how the rest of this plays out.

4 stars

An unusual read. I notice some readers have been waiting since 2014. I've read this author before but not for many years. It's got a lot of erotica. In some ways Kane gave me a Gatsby like vibe...there's a bit of mystery of his history and his obsessed with the heroine. At the start Kane is still mourning his wife. He takes women to bed who remind him of her. This includes the woman who has become his sister-in-law, Amy. His penthouse is dedicated to Lily, the wife. His butler/security man/valet, Witte has tutored Kane in how to behave and how to dress. His mother, Aliyah is a piece of work. We understand their thinking because eah chapter is someone's point of view. This book is a duology so doesn't really come to a final conclusion. Other characters from Day's previous works turn up in this one. On Lily's return we are then taken down a different route of her evil step dad and her own poisonous though fiedishly clever mother. I think once the link is shown of Lillies allies I'm tempted to reread to see the parts they played in the earlier chapters.

For me none of the characters were really likeable. . I read that the author was inspired by Du Maurier's Rebecca and IMO this partially worked. I might l;ook out for the second book just to see how Darius and Amy get on and to understand what happened to Lilies Mother. If she's still out there that means there's at least three people with Phoenix tatoos on their backs.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

So Close is the first book in The Blacklist duology by Sylvia Day. I was really excited to review So Close because I have read other books by Sylvia Day and loved them. However, So Close was so close but unfortunately, it fell short. I found Amy and Aliyah to be unlikeable and I found myself wanting to skip their chapters. I kept reading in hopes of getting a chapter from Kane's POV but sadly it never came. Thank you NetGalley and Rōnin House for the opportunity to review So Close.

4.5 Stars

This is not your typical romance....

That's what Sylvia said and that's what I was a bit worried about. Also the blurb worried me - so as a romance lover - I was a bit scared to start reading. But I was also super excited to get something new from Sylvia, because I was such a huge Crossfire fan.

And then I started reading.
At first I thought. Okay. The writing is kinda beautiful but also a bit weird. She uses soo many big words. I gave up googling them after a couple.
And then ... it gets weirder. We get multiple POVs. The butler. The mom. The sister in law. The ex-dead-wife.
But we don't get to hear Kane Black's POV.
And I guess that's the thing. The not-so-typical-romance thing. We're not supposed to know if we should love him as our hero.
Because nobody knows what happened to his wife six years ago.
And we only get to hear all the others talk about him and what they think.
Which is a super way of building up the mystery and to confuse the reader even more.
I can't say I love-love-loved the book. Especially coming after Gideon Cross. I'm a romance girl. I want to love the hero.
But I also didn't hate it. Not at all. I still tried to love Kane and hoped that he's the good or rather the not-so-bad bad guy in this book!

Maybe to wrap the book all up into an explainable vision for you ...
Imagine ... if you will ... an 8 to 12 episode Netflix show in a beautiful setting in New York City with the most stunning buildings and offices and apartments and furniture. Living and working there is the cast of this book. Again extremely beautiful and intriguing people. The Husband. The ex-dead Wife. The Mother. The Sister-in-law. The Butler. And the two younger brothers and sister. And of course the Gideon and Eva Cross cameos.
And then imagine yourself watching the first episode.
40 minutes of beautiful scenery and people and script and words and just everything.
But. By the end of the first episode you are not one bit closer to uncovering any mysteries or any anything basically. You're just as confused as you were going in. And the same will happen with every single episode. You're not guessing anything. You're not understanding a thing. You're confused. And you will be until the last second of the last episode. And maybe even longer - because there will be a second book. So I imagine any Netflix show will have a cliffhanging season finale too.
But. Through all those confusing hours and through all the gymnastics your brain is doing while watching.... you still love it all. So much. Kinda. No idea why though. You should hate it. Nobody is telling you anything. Not the truth anyway. But still. You're fascinated.
The end.
Any more questions?
😂😂

I think Sylvia created an amazing world here.
I might not love it like I would have loved an amazing and sweet romance, but I appreciate it and I cherish it and I will probably never forget it.
I can tell you that we don't have a super cliffhanging cliffy. But there's SO much more left to uncover and to unmystify. Just a lot more to tell. Can't wait to read TOO FAR in October!

And if this does not appear on Netflix anytime soon - I don't know what's wrong with people!

Please read this book. Even if you might be mad at Sylivia for letting us wait for so many years. Even if you might want to stop somewhere along the first chapters. It's worth it. Somehow. Kind of. No idea why. But try it. 😁

► With - SO CLOSE - Sylvia Day created such a beautifully written and mysterious and sexy and weird and exciting and suspenseful and complicated and confusing world - you won't know what's what for most of it - and that's just the most amazing place to be while reading a book! Run to your nearest bookseller before it's all sold out!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I would recommend reading this if:
- you enjoy elaborate writing styles
- you like dark romance and spicy books
- femme fatale vibes

For me, I didn’t enjoy the characters or the plot. The writing and descriptions were vivid but I had no emotional connection to the characters and that’s essential for me.

I felt very lost in 90% of the book and at the end there were even many things that I didn't understand but I think that's the author's idea. Generate questions, questions and more questions so that one does not understand anything.

It has 18+ scenes that didn't really add up much to me, but that's totally personal. At times it reminded me of Verity from Hoover.

The chapters are brief, and are narrated from the point of view of several characters, which is interesting because it gives us a great vision of what they are like, what they think and the way they behave, mobilized for this or that reason.

I don't know if I would read the second one, although the truth is that having so many questions and seeing how the relationships between them become more and more entangled... it would be interesting to know the end of this story.

Thank you Rōnin House and Sylvia Day for the issue I read through NetGalley.

Let me preface this with I devoured the Crossfire series and a few other of Sylvia Days books but this was awful. The first person writing was truly painful to read. The whole twist was convoluted and hard to follow. It was so repetitive. How many times can you use virile, masculinity, sensual or variations of those same words? It just felt like a slog

Sylvia Day never disappoints! This is book was no different. Action-packed, love and tragedy, hand in hand in this beautifully written novel. ❤️ He thought she was dead; six years later she rises like a phoenix and she's not alone.. a lot has happen since. Alliances we're made lines we're drawn and a dark war has started. Who's side will you stand on?
He had everything he wanted but her. His mom had her sons together but unfortunately the daughter-in-laws she could have done without no one will bring down her empire.. not after all she's done to keep it. Especially a woman that has been a shadow in her oldest son's life...

I'm going to be honest. I didn't even read the blurb before picking up this book. I saw Sylvia Day's name as the author and jumped right in. I'm glad I did because So Close was fantastic. It kept my mind reeling trying to figure everything out. In general, this is a romantic suspense/mystery about a notable man's wife who returns from the dead and how it impacts his life, his family, and their empire. It's a crazy, fun ride filled with drama. I don't know how to review it other than to give you a little insight into who the narrators of the story are and what I thought of them. 

WITTE: Kane's trusty employee. His observations helped set the story up and added a non-female look into Kane's life. He seems trustworthy.

AMY: Kane's sister-in-law who is obsessed with him in an obviously unhealthy way. She gave me so much secondhand embarrassment when it came to her thoughts and actions. I felt sorry for her as much as I disliked her.

ALIYAH: Kane's mother. She was desperately trying to control her entire family and their company. I hated this woman. I thought she was evil except for a couple of moments when I wondered if she was right to be concerned about certain things.

LILY: Kane's wife who has returned from the dead. She was the most interesting and important character. Not only because of the way she thought about Kane, but because she is truly what kept me guessing and wondering. I was surprised that I liked her so much and wanted her to come out on top of anything and everything when it came to Kane and his family.

I keep mentioning Kane because the story revolves around him, but interesting enough we never get his POV. Everything we know about him, and his actions comes from these four people - and three of them may or may not be unreliable narrators. (I'm still trying to figure that unreliable thing out.) It made me even more curious about what is going through his head and the decisions he makes. I really loved that. I'm hoping we get his POV in the second book.

I have so many, many questions that were not answered in So Close that I'm anxiously awaiting answered. I cannot wait to read Too Far. I took my time reading So Close because I didn't want to miss out on any detail. I hope Day can wrap this story up in the same way she crafted this first book because it was excellent and kept me guessing.

I received an ARC of So Close. This is my first book from this author. The blurb sounded very intriguing. I was looking forward to starting the story. Unfortunately I DNF. There are too many POVs. I have no idea why Witte even has a POV. The plot is too jumbled and I think its because of the multi POVs. It also made it so it was hard to connect to one character over another. The Amy and Aaliyah chapters sound the same. I had seen some great reviews for this book before I started it. Unfortunately, its a no go for me.

Can't get on with this at all which is odd for a Sylvia Day book, because I usually devour them like a Sexy Billionaire devours women.

Thr narrative voice of Lily is so odd and I have no interest in it at all.

The narratives of Aliyah and Amy are indistinguishable. Two women of different ages, styles, personalities and yet they are exactly the same. So much so that at one point I stopped reading and when I picked it back up and had forgotten which narrator it was, I thought I was reading the wrong one.

Then randomly Witte thrown in, constantly referring to Kanr as My Employer... it was so annoying.

The three brothers and the Amy sharing, the fact they're all drop dead gorgeous sex gods. The scowling and smoldering...

I've reached 25% and it has been fairly repetitive so far. Amy likes Kane. Aliyah likes no one. There is an odd pacing to it, where nothing has really happened yet. There are some elements that seem out of place. Lots of wandering description that adds nothing but seems to be being used as filler. ..

Usually I love these sorts of books but I cannot get into this one at all. No one is likeable and its just not very engaging.

Beautifully written, sensual and amazing, Sylvia Day has brought us another masterpiece. I devoured this in one sitting

Mystery, Death, and Deception on every page. I honestly wasn’t sure who to trust or believe while reading So Close. Even after finishing, I’m still not sure and I have a million questions and theories. Each character was so calculating in their own way and it almost made it hard for me to find one I liked as a whole. For me, the plot suspense is what really kept me pushing through until the end. As the characters and multiple storylines was a lot to follow at times. Overall, say this story was definitely more mystery based with slight “romance”. I’m not even really mad about it because it did keep my attention until the end. All that to say my final rating has to be a 3.8/5.