Delightfully dark and twisty, this was such a fun one to read. Dark themes, looking at the inner most desires of the characters and seeing things come to light that they never thought existed.

The book has an interesting twist with the bad guy falling in love with the daughter of a victim. It is compelling to watch as he realizes he may have been wrong about his victim. Now he is twisted up in lies, how will he navigate with the woman he loves, that he's lied to from the beginning.

I read this book so fast. The plot and writing kept me entertained. However I caught myself wanting more and it never happened. I’m hoping the second book will deliver what I need. Hayden was hot and possessive but also kind of sweet 🤭 Callie was kind of annoying and honestly dumb. I don’t know how she couldn’t see Hayden was her stalker but oh well. I do however feel like she has another stalker so we’ll see 👀 Overall I enjoyed this book and i’m jumping into the second one asap. I recommend if you want a short stalker romance.

loveedddd this story I have enjoyed this whole series its my go to when I'm in a dark romance mood. definitely pick this up if your a dark romance reader

This was a super solid book!
I enjoyed reading it.
Really liked the mmc and fmc.
Planning on reading part 2 soon to see how it ends!

I was intrigued by the premise of Once You're Mine, especially since it is the gripping and intense first book in the duet. The characters had such potential, and the tension was electric. But while the first half of the book had me hooked, the second half of the book left me conflicted and, honestly, disappointed in some of the character shifts.

Callie’s strength and resilience were key reasons I enjoyed the first half so much. She wasn’t afraid to stand up to Hayden, no matter how intense his feelings were. She remained independent, refusing to let him control her. But in the second half, her character took a 180-degree turn. Suddenly, she allowed herself to be manipulated, controlled, and dictated by Hayden. It felt like the Callie I had loved had disappeared, replaced by someone who lost her sense of self. This change felt jarring and, at times, frustrating. The strong, confident woman who once pushed back against Hayden's possessiveness was now letting his every move dictate her life. It was hard to reconcile this version of Callie with the character from the first half of the book.

Hayden, on the other hand, went from being an intriguing, obsessive love interest to someone who became downright toxic. His behavior, while initially captivating, took a darker turn in the second half. What was once an appealing level of possessiveness and obsession becoming suffocating. Hayden's actions were no longer just about love; they were about control. He crossed several lines, from manipulating Callie’s personal choices to outright violating her boundaries. It went beyond what I was comfortable with, and instead of feeling the tension I had before, I started to feel uneasy.

Some of his actions that really didn’t sit well with me included:
- Killing Callie’s father – a man who, while a complex character, was innocent in the context of his trial.
- Stalking her – constantly invading her privacy and stripping away her sense of security.
- Manipulating her into living with him – his control over her decisions was unsettling.
- Making choices about her body – like preventing her from getting birth control and then forcing her into a situation where she’d become pregnant to tie her to him even more.

As for the lying, it was a major issue. Hayden spent so much of the story keeping secrets from Callie, telling himself it was for her own good. The problem is, secrets always come out, and when they did, Hayden showed zero remorse. His lack of guilt made it even harder to connect with him, and the romance began to feel more like an unhealthy obsession than a love story.

The relationship between Callie and Hayden took a huge hit when Callie found out about her father's death and the truth about Hayden’s role in it. The brief breakup in the second half felt like a necessary step, but her willingness to forgive him so easily after all that he’d done made it hard to understand her choices. The ending—an engagement and pregnancy—felt like a way to wrap up their tumultuous story, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the emotional core of their relationship had been lost along the way.

Ultimately, while the first half drew me in with its tension and complexity, the second half left me questioning the direction the story took. For those who enjoy intense, obsessive characters and are drawn to a more unhinged type of romance, this duet will likely hit the mark. However, for readers who prefer strong, consistent character development and healthy relationships, this one might not be for you.

Thank you, NetGalley and publisher for this ARC. I really enjoyed this dark romance, I thought it wasn’t as intense as I perceived it to be, but even though I still enjoyed it. It had some sugar warnings and some spicy scenes, but I think overall the character development and the plot of the book was very good. I really fell for both of the main characters in the book, I enjoyed the relationship, I enjoyed the stalker aspects of the mail main character. I thought it was a good read, it started off a little slow for me, but then it definitely picked up toward the end. The only thing I wish would be different about the book was the ending. I don’t like cliffhangers, but I definitely will be picking up the second book. I would read more from this author, and I would recommend it if you enjoy light dark romance..

This book, my first by Morgan Bridges, was absolutely amazing!
I can not get enough of it and will be reading book two immediatly!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

If I read/hear/see one more fucking line about "dark urges" I'm going to lose my ever loving mind. Callie has the inner thoughts of an insecure locust and Hayden needs to be hospitalized.

OKAY STALKER ROMANCE. Tell me why I didn't know this was a stalker romance? I went in completely blind and for some reason though this was going to be high fantasy.

I will say, this book took me a little while to get into. But once I was hooked, I was HOOKED!

I think all the characters were amazing. Nothing super amazing, but I had a good time!

So I initially request this book from NetGalley because I’d heard so much about it in the the BookTok circuit. Upon further inspection I was drawn to the cover and interested as well because of the short and quick read it was. It’s very touch her and die and stalker dark romance which is trending right now. Honestly it’s not really anything to hee and haw over. I’m not seeing why there’s a hype. It’s a 2/3 star read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read "Once You're Mine". I didn't realize the dark romance aspect when I requested it and its not my normal genre, but I am glad I read this one! I think it opened the floodgates to my new obsession. Just be sure to check trigger warnings. Calista, our main character, is very relatable through her struggles after her father's death. Hayden, the morally gray stalker, seeks twisted justice for wronged women, making for an intriguing dynamic. Their character development is strong, despite some questionable choices. The romance features a slow burn with a “touch her and die” vibe. The ending left me desperate for the second book!

This story follows a young girl whose dad was murdered and now the murderer is stalking her but falling in love with her. This is a dark romance so I recommend checking out the triggers before reading this book. This duology has been on my tbr for a while as I just wanted to check out how this story plays how. Let me tell you that Bridges did a great job writing this book. The storyline was well done and I loved the conflicts in the book. The story was enjoyable as it kept me on my toes with both Calista and Hayden’s pov.

Calista is the FMC of the story who now is living paycheck to paycheck after her father has passed away. I really liked her character as she’s just a young woman trying to find the way of life. Then we have Hayden who’s a stalker but a morally grey hero. He kills those who have done women wrong and tries to get justice for them. They both had great development but questionable taste in life. There aren’t many side characters in this book but I did like Calista’s pov who I feel is a bit sus in the book. The romance is stalker who falls first, touch her & die, billionaire and slow burn.

The ending is a cliffhanger and it made me want to get into the 2nd book right away. I love the mystery suspense and I would say it’s so interesting to see the Hayden’s perspective of things. I recommend checking this book out!

Once You’re Mine is now available WIDE. To see this beautiful book on the shelves at Target and Walmart? Ahhhhh.

This st@!ker romance kept me strung along from start to finish and I loved every single moment of it. The bonus chapter was worth the wait for and I was thrilled to see Hayden’s POV during that specific scene.

Hayden is that over the top, jealous man we all love in our books with a strong sense of justice. After a senator passes where Hayden has a little skin in the game, Calista is in his sights and while unavoidable, may be a key part of solving the mystery.

This book ends in a wild cliffhanger, so beware!

This book..... F*CK YES!
Lovedddd this!! Nothing else to say. besides that! YESSSSS absolutely do it!

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book to enjoy!

I've been wanting to pick this up a while now! Stalking/obsessed man, what could be better? FMC went & The cliffhanger!! Jumping into the next one like now lol

I tried so hard to push myself to finish this, but I couldn’t. I finally tapped out at 85%. It was terrible. I have definitely read worse, just…not for me.

The pacing was super weird and Hayden’s intensity felt very scary to me.

This was my first book by Morgan Bridges and I enjoyed it very much. I loved that it was a stalker romance it was right up my alley. It is a dark quick read. I can't wait to read the continuation. I would recommend this book to romance readers.

I'm gonna give this 3.75 ⭐. I did enjoy the story and the slow burn, however the FMC is really a little too gullible and whiny. I get that she has suffered loss and trauma but girl if you're getting stalked you don't just do nothing and then when you find out who it is you just can't understand when literally it was obvious. He was always there to stop anything from happening to you, the only way that could happen was if he was following you.
Other than that I have enjoyed what I have read and will be reading the second book to see how it concludes.