Let’s fall in love with a murderer tonight.



There are are few things going on in this book, first, artistic rivalry between Shaw, the darling and Cole, the elusive. Both have talent and both have a dark secret, they are murderers! This is first page material, not a spoiler. 



Shaw believes he and Cole are the same, equals. However Cole, to the infuriation of Shaw, believes he is superior in all areas. 



Then enters Mara. Unlucky enough to catch the eye of both Shaw and Cole. She is the definition of “hot mess”. Both men often don’t even “get” why they can’t look away. 



The whole book we are taken on the messed up journey of will Mara get Murdered? And which guy will do it? This book is the first of a duet or a duology so there is a cliff hanger/awkward ending.



I would recommend this book to people that like to get spanked and tied up; or in the very least, like to read about it. Also, those that are not too sensitive to the idea of consent/lack of concerning slight body modification. It's in the heat of the moment so it's forgivable, right guys?

What just happened and why did I like it??

Clearly nothing triggers me at all because holy sh!t I just fell in love with a serial killer?????

I don't understand it either and honestly I don't know if I want to. My own personal crisis aside, I genuinely did enjoy There Are No Saints. It was twisted, it was messy, it was dirty, it was slightly (definitely 1000%) psychotic, and it had me engrossed to the point I finished it in just a few hours. And I loved watching our hero (anti-hero? villain? His name is Cole let’s just call him that) get twisted and turned upside down when he met the heroine, Mara. I'm so confused but also so happy I read it. What a freaking trip.

I cannot wait for book 2. Send help because my love is only going to get worse, I can feel it.

I will start my review by saying search for the trigger warnings before reading this book.

In this first book in a duology, we follow Mara, an artist, as she tries to live her life the best she can. She gets kidnapped and tortured, and she makes it out alive, trying to remember who got her.

She meets Cole, a handsome billionaire, who helps her with her art.... and with her other needs.
Their romance seemed a bit forced, but, my guess is that the author tried to give us the spice faster.

I love the dual POV and I've been a fan of Lark's writing ever since I read 'Brutal Prince'.

This book is a dark, spicy, and stalker romance and it might make you question some things.

I will be reading the next one.

This was recommended to me through none other than the current BookTok community long before I saw it available to review on Netgalley, and after a disappointing read with a previous series, I was super hesitant to start, but I'm now finished with the series, and I'm glad I took the chance. The writing was well done, and the plot, while dark, was crafted nicely in comparison. I didn't hate either of the MC's, and of course I always enjoy books set in a place I'm familiar with (I was born and raised in the SF bay area), and the art aspect brought in a twist I didn't expect but that fit well with the story itself. Sophie has earned herself a fan in me, and I'm curious what's next for her!

"There Are No Saints” is the first book in the Sinners Duet. Reader be warned: this is a dark and steamy serial killer romance that will take you on a journey through the twisted mind of an artist on the brink of madness.

Not my kind of book but I recognize that some people would really enjoy it.

The Sinners duet has been on my TBR for a long while now. This is one of the most dark romances I have ever read. I will be honest there were elements I enjoyed, and others that I just did not jive with.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
Characters: Mara and Cole are the main characters of this duology. When we meet Mara she is a struggling artist, who happens to catch the eye of rich artist Cole. Due to his infatuation with Mara, one of Cole’s rival serial killers takes an interest in her too. Oh yes, Cole is a serial killer but has seemingly only killed bad men. While his rival has a taste for young women. I found that I was not getting attached to either character as I just kept not agreeing with the choices they kept making.
Setting: This story is set in San Francisco and depicts the affluent art scene. Much of the books take place at art galleries or feature scenes of the characters painting, sculpting, and of course the art of serial killing. The wider cast of characters in the San Francisco art scene did very little to hook me, and I found myself caring more about reading scenes with the two leads together.
Pacing: Both stories have breakneck pacing, especially the first book. I flew through it because I kept needing to know more about the completely bonkers plot.
Romance: So I will admit to growing slightly invested in Mara and Cole figuring things out. The first book was not so much for me, as I was more taken aback by some of his actions while he was initially fascinated with Mara, but had not made a move yet. There are countless hot and heavy sex scenes throughout the book and the art is such a perfect accompaniment.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloom Books for giving me an e-arc of the rerelease in exchange for an honest review.

This was really good and very fast to read. I am ready to start the second one as soon as possible to see what happens.

Wow I loved this so much! Serial killers fascinate me so it was super fun to get in to the mind of one. I really loved the dynamic between these two, to see the obsession bloom in to something even sweeter. And the suspense! I can't wait to jump in to the next book and see what happens next.

This is tough to rate. I really enjoyed Lark's Brutal Prince series so I couldn't help but compare. This one is a lot slower- I'd say the character development was all or nothing and the relationships between characters weren't as well flushed out. Honestly until the last few chapters I wasn't even sure about reading book 2 BUT after the way we left things I will continue.

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

Publication date: October 3, 2023

There are no Saints is the first book of a dark romance duology by Sophie Lark. I have read several by this author and love her work so I was excited to get a hold of this one. I will say, the writing is just as good as her other books but I wasn’t a fan of the storyline.

Mara Eldritch is a down on her luck artist in San Francisco. Working three jobs to make ends meet with the hopes of being discovered. She knows she’s not much having grown up in a rough home but she is doing her best to make something of herself.

Cole Blackwell is a well known artist in the same circles Mara runs in. Cole’s art is worth hundreds of thousands though and he’s well on his way to becoming more. Cole has a dark and dangerous personality though and has a taste for murder.

When Mara is kidnapped and her wrists slashed, her abductor leaves her for Cole. Cole walks away and leaves her for dead but Mara survives. Cole becomes obsessed with Mara and is desperate to make her his.

I love dark romance but the serial killer vibe was not really for me. I likely won’t read the second book as this was only a 3 star read for me but will continue to read and recommend her other series!

#NetGalley #therearenosaints #sophielark

My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️.75

Disclaimer: I received a review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks to the author and Netgalley.

General Thoughts: I have heard really good things about this author, so I jumped at the chance to read something by her. I went into this one without knowing anything about the plot or characters. I expected it to be dark, and that was about all I knew going in.

Sophie is a great writer. She created compelling characters and wrote this very well. Getting into the heads of Cole and Alastor couldn't have been easy.

What I'm discovering is that while I like morally grey main characters a lot, I have a hard time when the romantic main character murders people for pretty light reasons/ seemingly without reason. Like I'm okay with morally greyness and murder, but they better have a good reason or at least one I can justify.

This next comment isn't geared toward this book specifically, and I won't give any spoilers away so will keep this surface level. I'm also realizing I have a particularly hard time rooting for main characters who murder or assault women without feeling and seemingly without reason. Or seem to treat it as banal.

So while neither of those are triggers for me, when either of those elements are present, I'm realizing I have a hard time with the book. That made this a harder book for me to like personally. I don't mean to shame anybody who likes those elements or books featuring these themes. It's just hard for me to like.

Having said that, this book is well done, well written, and intriguing. I thought Mara was an interesting character. I know many Mara's. I'm sure the conclusion of this duet will be incredible, and I'm curious to see what happens next. Great author, great book. Also included some elements that were hard for me.

Steam Meter: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 Steamy and k1nky.

Romantic Tropes
-stalker romance
-steamy
-morally grey MMC (and that may be an understatement)
-artists
-obsessive MMC
-duology

You can read more of my reviews at mylastromance.com. You can also find me on Insta @mylastromancenovel.

absolutely LOVED this! sophie has such fantastic story telling & i was quite literally so obsessed with Mara and Cole! this duet is perfect for fall!

Be aware that this book is DARK, but I totally loved it. This is my first Sophie Lark and will not be my last. Messed up, dark, twisted, serial killer with a mix of crime and dark romance. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!
4 stars!

There Are No Saints by Sophie Lark was my first encounter with a morally black MMC, and now a new door has been opened for me!

There is nothing grey about Cole Blackwell. He's gorgeous, rich, and completely unhinged. He wears a human's skin and can parrot human emotion, but he's dead inside.

Until he's gifted Mara trussed up like a prize, left for him by a rival serial killer. Mara makes him do things he normally wouldn't do, feel things he normally wouldn't feel, to the point that Cole is convinced he must kill her in order to return to the monster he was rather than the monster he's becoming.

There are several parts of There Are No Saints that are unsettling, but that's kind of the point. The author even notes that writing this was therapeutic, and you can see where certain events could be used to heal wounds in a most magnificent way. It's the romance, though, that's most unsettling. Mara may not be a serial killer, but she carries her own scars and burdens. Her darkness calls to Cole's darkness and it makes them perfect for each other, even considering how they first truly met.

The underlying message seems to be: it doesn't matter what you've done in your past because there is hope for your future. And because of that, I fell in love with this book and its characters. Even Shaw, the rival serial killer, was a favorite because he was the opposite side of Cole's coin. To quote Cole: "I filet people with precision. This guy does what I do <i>badly</i>." Shaw and his beastly ways are a necessary foil to Cole's calm, cool demeanor. It makes the anticipation for their inevitable showdown to be that much sweeter.

If you're looking for a book where the villain ends up being heroic, move along. But if you don't mind the villain getting the girl at the end, There Are No Saints is the book for you!

Thank you, Bloom Books and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“It’s okay for bad things to feel good. You can take pleasure from whatever you want.”

Any red flags in a book are an immediate no for me, but I was colorblind for this one🤭

Mara is a struggling artist. Cole is a very wealthy artist. Cole and his rival, Alastor recreationally kill people. Alastor notices that Cole’s attention is piqued by Mara at a party and leaves her tied up with her wrists cut for Cole to find. Cole and Mara then set out in an extremely unethical mentor-mentee relationship while Alastor continues to kill women.

I’ve read a lot of dark romances but what the fuck. First and foremost I take issue with the spelling of Alastor. Secondly you can’t make a serial killer romance hot if it’s not fantasy. I was also expecting Mara’s mom to show up at some point for dramatic effect? Idk all of this was so confusing and nothing was explained

There Are No Saints by Sophie Lark is the First book in the Sinners Duet. This starts the story of Mara Eldridch who is a struggling artist who works three jobs to survive and maintain until she can break into the art world. Cole Blackwood is a very rich artist who is used to being the best at least in his mind. But he has a rival artist Alastor Shaw. They both try to out do the other in the art world but also as deadly serial killers. Sadly, Mara catches their eye and becomes a pawn in their deadly game.
Page turning dark read that I can't wait for the next installment.

This book was alright, I enjoyed the characters and the story, overall 3.5 stars it was good but not really my cup of tea. Thank you NetGalley for the arc

Sophie Lark has struck again with a dark romance that sucked me right in. If you think you know what to expect reading Lark, think again, because the twists that take place here should surprise everyone. As usual her characters are well built and the story progresses in a realistic manor- well as realistic as one can expect from a dark romance. If you like dark romance this probably for you, but just in case, check your trigger warnings!

3,75 ⭐

This book was everything I expected.
I loved both characters, I felt like they had a great development.

This was my first Lark's book and I wasn't disappointed. It had angst, mystery, friendship (if we can call it that) and banter.

I loved the setting and how dark this book felt, beside the main character being a s*rial k*iller, the atmosphere was just on point.