All she wanted was an apartment. What she got was The Cage.

I'm not sure how to feel about this one.

the author did say "you might be torn over if this book is a horror or a romance." which i feel is a very accurate description of the book. to me, it was a horror story laced with Stockholm syndrome, which I'm not even sure about because it seemed too soon to be that.

our main characters are Amanda, Connor & Malcom, we don't really get a lot of Malcom but still in there.

Amanda needs a new place to stay ASP and it has to be cheap. an abusive relationship has let her almost penniless and homeless, so she responds an ad that seems to good to be true, when she gets there is in for a surprise.

Connor is handsome, charming and has a nice smile that helps draw in his victims, once he gets them in his building there is no getting out.

for triggers lets see:
*Kidnapping
*Dub consent that borderlines in Rape
*Human trafficking & deep web talks
*Mentions of child abuse
* domestic violence mentions

*******SPOILERS FROM HERE ON***
when i went into the book, a part of me hoped Connor was a serial killer... i didn't really connect the dots as to what was happening.

he kidnaps women to sell them in the deep web
he calls them pets. so he housebreaks them, he trains them to be obedient be ready to serve their masters.
so until here this is a horror story.

when Amanda realizes her situation, she decides to do with Connor what she did with her abusive ex, she fakes it. she starts pretending to be fascinated by him and as she opens up to him, she starts enjoying his treatment, how he dominates her, and she is ready to serve him.

Connor has is on his mind to want to sell a Pet to Malcom, who sold him the apartment complex for an outrageous price, so he wants to find the perfect pet for him to get that money back and finally have dirt on him. Connor is kind of obsessed with Malcom and how he, Malcom, views him as less than him for being a that business. so, he wants to make Amanda his pet.

Connor starts to obsess with amanda and while his plan works he doesnt want to let go of amanda

Connor also had a tramautic upbringing and its supposed to makes us feel bad for him but it didnt do it for me, its sad but it doesnt justify what he does.

book ends on a cliffhanger which i did not like , i will not be reading book 2

Well how do I begin this? I think this book is considered dark romance, psychological thriller. That is a very accurate description. Romance is not usually my thing. The cover and a friend brought my attention to this book. I read it in one sitting. I was not sure how I felt or how to feel reading this book! Your heart breaks. Your mad. Your kinda liking the bad boy of the next level worst kind! I’m reading this going dang! Do I have Stockholm syndrome? Like I should hate this guy! But I can not stop reading! Then you have hope and then that ending smacks you dead in the face!!!! I can not wait for The Safehouse!!! I have never read this author before but I definitely will now! Thank you to NetGalley and City Owl Press for allowing me access to this eARC and adding another author to my list!

It is only fair that I begin a review stating, this was not what I expected. I thought this would be a straightforward thriller along the lines of Paula Hawkins or Colleen Hoover... It was not. This is DEFINITELY an erotica tale that potentially rivals 50 Shades of Gray in content, if not writing style.

That said, it was a damn good piece of smut. Fans of 50 Shades, wont be disappointed... and it is hard to find thriller erotica amid the "Dukes", "Werewolves" and "Highlander" themes that seem to saturate the market. This one is unique, not especially in writing style, which I felt was contrite and a tad basic, but in character development. Honestly, the protagonist is likeable. She's not a Bella or an Anastasia which I appreciate, though the trauma dumping was slightly gratuitous. The antagonist (love interest?) was similar. I don't hate him. Got a little tired of his constant whining and emotional hang ups which were *COINCIDENCE OF FATE* also a product of an abusive childhood. Nothing brings two people together like abuse.

The intimacy writing was well done. I am not an intimacy writer, but the author does it well. While the dialogue was wanting in parts, the actual descriptive writing channeled Johanna Lindsay. The "Pet" thing threw me, and it is really what made this an erotica novel and not a simple horror thriller. As a reader, if the Human Trafficking becomes S/M Romance, that's the line. I think this would really benefit from having erotica added as a tag... especially because the content is potentially triggering.

Due to the unexpectedly private nature of the book, I wont be posting this to my social media, but I enjoyed the book and appreciate the Galley!
Thank you