Wow what a read, Couldn’t put it down. When your family is murdered before you and your throat is cut, you might say, there are going to be issues. When your forced to live it over and over by a perverse doc, who comes to the rescue but the one man you have nightmares about, or is it?

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Blood, and sex, and murder, oh my! This dark romance follows a final girl of sorts and the son of the man who killed her entire family as they try to untangle the web of murder 20 years after the fact. This book is compelling, spicy, and a little gore-y. If you’re a fan of slashers this will definitely be up your alley.

I had to dnf this book. I loved the premise of the book and the synopsis. I was very excited to read the book. This book is just not for me. The instant love between the victim and son just wasn't believable enough for me. A lot of the wording was uncomfortable and childish. The girly parts was definitely the part that let me know for sure this book wasn't for me. There were some questions that I had that were completely skipped over. The story was rushed to me. Their meeting for the first time and they instantly fell in love was a little off to me. I understand it had to do with Tramua but I just don't think her waking up and seeing him would be her falling for him. A lot of the jokes fell flat for me and didn't make me laugh one bit.





Thanks to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the ARC copy of Defying Evil by Abbie Roads

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

I enjoyed the book! If you enjoy dark thrillers, I highly recommend it! The cover also drew me in! The book is very well written and an enjoyable read!

Dark, thrilling and wild. The premise of this book is quite dark and scary but wow it was an amazing read. Super fact paced and kept you hooked until the end.

I enjoyed the book! If you enjoy dark thrillers, I highly recommend it! The cover also drew me in! The book is very well written and an enjoyable read!

Defying Evil was a really good thriller. Unlike anything I'd read before. One of the main characters is Cain Killion who is the son of a serial killer known as Killer Killion. He had tortured and killed entire families. But in one case, though he cut her throat, one of his victims survived,,Mercy. Killer Killion has been in prison for many years, but it seems a new copycat Killer is killing families as he did. Cain helps the FBi investigate the case. Mercy also is a main character now that she has grown up. I don't want to give away too much of this mystery, but check it out for a great edge of your seat read! I recommend it.

I volunteered to read and review an advanced readers copy of Defying Evil through Net Galley . Cain Killion works with the FBI . He has a unique gift of profiling , working with the crime scene he connects with the killer and helps solve cases . Working this way also causes him pain . Cain has a deep dark past his father is the famous serial killer, Killer Killion . Cain finds that this new crime scene , the killer painted a picture on the wall by the bodies using their blood then covered with paint . The painting is Cain with wings . Could they have a copy cat serial killer because Killer Killion is in SuperMax Prison . Cain wants to talk to the only known survivor of Killer Killion Mercy Ledger . Mercy has been in the Center of Balance and Wellness for years even though she's fine . The doctor holding her there is a psychopath and abuses her . Cain with the help of Liz a friend and night nurse helps Mercy escape and has Cain take her and hide her . Things escalate fast and another killing close to home . Together the two must fight for their lives as they face their pasts . This story has twists and turns you never see coming . I could not put it down such an intriguing and intense story . Kept me on the edge the entire time . Abbie Roads writes a Sensational thriller . I highly recommend taking the time to read .

I am a big fan of Romance books and I found this one to be a very enjoyable read. I will be looking for more books from this author.

This is not my normal kind of book; however, I was really intrigued by the description and felt pretty desperate to read it. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read this book! I was immediately hooked, yes, the writing is that good. I love Cain and can't wait to continue the series. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!
I enjoyed this book a lot, the romance was fully fleshed and the bond between the main characters was so pure despite the terrible circumstances in which they met, this is not an easy feat to write such a relationship and I applaud the author for that. Furthermore, the exploration of the characters' individual traumas were incredibly interesting to read about as well as how they deal with it and how they take comfort in each other. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends who are into darker romances.
My only complaint is the writing, at times the prose felt childish and unserious even at critical moments of the story. I dont know if that was purposeful or not but it only came of ridiculous and took away from the ability to take what was happening seriously.
Other than that, I loved it! 3.5/5 stars.

"He’s the son of a serial killer.
She’s his father’s only surviving victim.
He’s obsessed with her.
She’s frightened of him.
Before it’s all over they’ll need each other to survive."

Defying Evil by Abbie Roads is the first book in Blood is Thicker Than... Series.
It is the story of a man, Cain Killion whose father is a serial killer and has been behind bars for some time. Because of his father, he was kind of orphaned and was taken in by a man, Mac, who raised him. Now Cain is an FBI consultant, meaning that when he goes to a crime scene, he can "see" what happened and maybe even identify the killer and what transpired prior to the murder. It is a pretty gruesome process that he goes through he is able to "read" blood, immersing himself in the blood of the victim, which causes visions and sometimes he gets sick.

Mercy Ledger is the only surviving victim of Adam Killion. It has been a long time but Mercy still is affected by the murder of her whole family by Adam. She meets Cain and is upset in the striking resemblance to his father. Cain is not like his father thought and has been deeply affected. He is called Triple K or Killion Killers Kid. Awful thing to be known for, a serial killer for a father.

There are other characters, Macneil Anderson FBI agent and 'adopted' father to Cain, agent Dolan Watts, another close friend and coworker of Mac's. Then we have Liz a nurse at the center and another victim, Dr.Payne whose motives are questionable. He worked on the psyche ward that Mercy was at after the murder of her family, he is not what he appears to be, especially where Mercy is concerned.

As Cain and Mercy get closer to solving the spate of murders committed by someone who brings back memories for both of them, who could it be? Can't be Adam because he is in prison. They get to depend on each other, and Cain with her help will come to terms with what his father has done and Cain will give Mercy the comfort and understanding that she is looking for.

This novel is definitely one that is cringeworthy and gory at the same time. I love reading a suspenseful tale like this one. I liked the good characters and felt repelled by the evil men. I would have to say though as a disclaimer, that if a story that has a lot of blood and is very descriptive bothers you, you should be forewarned that parts of the story are not for the squeamish. That said, I really enjoyed the book and will definitely be reading the next in the series, Blood is Thicker Than...Capturing Fate where we learn more about Dolan Watts, FBI Agent.

This book gets 5 stars, and the cover is gorgeous too!

The premise of this book really intrigued me the first time I read it and I found the mystery element also interesting enough to follow.
I got hooked into the story pretty fast with a strong opening that comes with interesting supernatural abilities that the main characters have.

While I like the murder mystery plot, I can't say the same about the romance element.
The romance has the insta-love trope which sadly I'm not a huge fan of. The main characters had a dark history connecting them together but, other than I don't see any flashbacks that stated they formed a friendship/ any relationship in the past before meeting each other in the present time. Then, all of a sudden they are head over heels for one another which made it feel unrealistic.

This book has the potential to be a great one with good mystery plot and easy to read writing style as well. It would have been better if the romance was a little more slow burn and gave room for the characters to grow their feelings toward each other.

There's a couple twists and turns inside regarding the murder mystery and I was surprised with some of them. The epilogue also makes me want to read the sequel, so I'm gonna give it another chance and see how that one's gonna go since it's featuring two characters I'm curious about.

This was something different compared to your normal dark romance book, Defying Evil by Abbie Roads also had a bit of paranormal within the story as well.

The main characters Cain and Mercy both have paranormal abilities, Cain is able to touch the victim's blood and can see the murder scene unfold while Mercy can see future events happening. I love that these characters have these abilities.

I'm not a huge fan of the Insta-love trope, especially the way it was presented in this book. I prefer more a lead up rather than Mercy and Cain jumping straight into a relationship considering it was after Mercy speaking her thoughts without a filter. And Mercy referring to her private parts as “girlie parts” during s3x scenes was a bit cringey and it made me feel like Mercy was underage.

Even though this book is a standalone in the series, I don’t think I will be reading the next book.

Thank you Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the digital copy of Defying Evil for reviewing purposes.

Sexy and spicy! Don’t be fooled despite the steam in this book I was also nervous and on the edge of my seat. Read this for a wild ride!

Thanks @netgalley for the chance to review Defying Evil by Abbie Roads. Cain is the son of a renowned serial killer - and a man who is fighting his own demons. Mercy was the woman who the killer didn’t get to kill…. But now she is stuck in an awful psychiatric facility. This was absolutely a dark romance (TW: blood), and it was a bit far-fetched at times, but enjoyable overall.

I really loved the concept of this book and liked that it was a more thriller type romance. I was enjoying it for the first good chunk of it and then when the relationship began to progress I just wasn't feeling the connection between these two. It also was very dark, and i am usually fine with dark romances but this one was kind of next level. I think that this is overall a good book, but just it wasnt the right fit for me.

Can we just admire the cover for a minute like wow! Beautiful! Alright now to the story! The concept for this book had me hit the request button so fast. The premise is fire and the story just as so. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the instalove. That always just seems so unrealistic and cheesy to me. Otherwise I’m all about this book!

Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity to read, rate and review this arc which is available October 17,2023!

So this is a very trigger heavy dark romance. There is stalking and violence.

It was a fun read. A bit slow for me but still fun. I liked the characters. I was engaged.