Spicy male female age gap contemporary gothic romance. A spicy spooky book that was an insta lust and a quick read. The limited edition with sprayed edges is gorgeous.

Grimstone by Sophie Lark is a haunting gothic dark romance that takes place in a spooky house with a peculiar town & a dazzlingly suspicious neighbor. I was entranced with the setup of this novel, this town & the mixture of the romance, struggles & the intriguing mystery that lurks in the background throughout.

Grimstone is great for fans of…
🖤 Dark Romance
🖤 Haunted House
🖤 Spooky Gothic
🖤 Forced Proximity
🖤 Neighbors to Lovers
🖤 Age Gap

It has a map! It is dark & spooky & the coolest start to a book. It also has illustrations like her other books. I’m always completely blown away by the artwork. They’re stunning & just bring the characters to life. The author also provides a playlist, which I always appreciate to help set the tone to novel & elevate the experience if the reader so chooses. I am going to keep this review short & vague as a way to not give spoilers away, but I was enthralled with the writing. I loved the mixture of spooky with mystery & romance. It’s such a fascinating combination.

I am a big fan of Sophie Lark & I will read anything she writes! I am so curious to see where the next book in the series goes.

Massive thanks to NetGalley, Bloom Books & Hambright PR for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

I have read and loved this author's books before so when I saw that she had a romance/thriller, I was all in. I mean, this cover gives the perfect spooky season vibes. There's just something about her writing that is engaging and easy to read. Surprisingly, the romance was probably my least favorite aspect of this story. I loved the gothic atmosphere, the main character, and the twisty plot. While not my favorite of hers, I'd still definitely recommend and I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

Remi is always having bad luck and when she doesn’t get a warm welcome to Grimstone it’s just more sadness for her. When strange things begin to happen, she becomes really spooked. Get ready for a twisted suspenseful romance where things are not as they seem.

Another gripping dark romance from Sophie. I lived out main character Remi and how tenacious she is. And her mysterious neighbor, who Remi just can’t help in figuring out his puzzle. Sprinkle into the story a haunted house and it’s a perfect quick romance. I did find the story a little predictable but the story gave me exactly what I was hoping for.

Sophie Lark does a fantastic job of blending this dark Gothic thriller with plenty of spice and just a touch of romance. This dark tale had me on the edge of my seat and I could not put it down. Perfect for those dark and spooky nights to curl up with and enjoy!

The setting is perfect for spooky time. Grimstone is an eerie, dark, and slightly unhinged small beach town. Everyone knows everyone and your family history. Small town gossip is a real problem here.

Remi and her brother move into her deceased uncle's rundown mansion in the hopes of flipping it for a profit. Unfortunately her next door neighbor Dane might be a problem. He's dark and has secrets of his own. In the beginning their relationship is a little crazy but in a strange way they grow to trust each other. However, a plot twist knocked me down right before I figured it out. I was on my toes trying to figure where this book was headed. I'd it ghosts? Is it something more sinister?

I really enjoyed this dark and twisted tale Sophie has brought us. Please check trigger warnings!

Grimstone by Sophie Lark is like a rollercoaster ride through a haunted mansion with a side of spicy encounters. Remi and Dane’s story is dark, gothic, and a bit unhinged, in the best possible way.

Remi is a fierce, no-nonsense woman who’s been through the wringer, juggling the ghosts of her past while trying to make things work. Enter Dane, the brooding, enigmatic man who’s equal parts Hades and a brooding bad boy. Their chemistry is off the charts, but their relationship is a tangled mess of lust and emotional baggage. Think Beauty and the Beast, but with more psychological twists and turns.

The book teases you with an unreliable narrator vibe—are the spooky happenings real or all in Remi's head? Is Dane a tortured soul or just plain confusing? You’ll find yourself playing detective, trying to piece together the eerie puzzle of their world.

While the steam factor is high and the tension palpable, Dane’s character feels a bit surface-level. We get his lustful thoughts in abundance but not much else. The romance can be a whirlwind of hot and cold, with a lack of deep emotional connection. The unanswered questions and the standalone format might leave you craving more, but if you’re into dark, deliciously twisted tales, Grimstone will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

Omg!! This book!!! It was fun sexy and all of the above!!! I found it out this down!!

Gothic sexy fun and wild also gave me emotions I didn't expect to feel and not in a fully bad way. Will reconmend for the romantic livers

“I haven't even been hungry, and all of a sudden, I'm craving a ten-course feast...craving it from her...”

“Love is a drug, especially love that blind.
I thought I wanted to make her scream, but now I want to make her smile, too. It doesn't matter what order.
I want Remi to look at me like that.
In fact, I just might make her.”

"You already know me because you answered the question right, while everyone in town answers it wrong.”

This book was … unexpected to day the least. Dark, gothic, complicated and painful. But also spicy as heck. I mean I don’t think there was one chapter where I wasn’t feeling the tension or the frustration or the sexy aura coming off of the main characters. Remi is such a freaking good characters. One that always sees the good in people, one that has been hurt repeatedly by so many and one who is attracted by a man many believe is a beast. Very beauty and the beast of them. Or Hades and Persephone. Maybe the latter one. He is so much like Hades. Tormented past. Tormented an hunted present. A future that is not written anywhere. Until he meets her. Dane was … a handful that’s for sure. He is the dark romance antihero we fall for in these kind of stories. The brooding, beautiful man who is absolutely obsessed with her and would do anything to make her his without hurting her (unless she wants to and in this book … she does !!). He is even honest (sometimes) but at least when it comes to what people are accusing him of … there’s nothing he can do about it but tell her the truth. But can she trust him? This author makes you question your very sanity getting to read about their story. You’ll be constantly asking yourself who’s telling the truth and who’s all lies. Who’s done what and why. It feels addicting and thrilling and it makes it impossible for you to want to put the book down. Love this effect !! And the romance … I was sweating half the time !!!! Be ready to be “hypnotised” by it … iykyk!!!!

“I'm jealous that he gets to come to your house, and I'm jealous that he's fixing your lights. I'm jealous that he talks to you, and I'm fucking enraged that he dared try to kiss you the moment I left the party. I want you all to myself, and I don't care if I have to fight every person in this whole damn town."

"Emotion can't be banished. It can only be stuffed down inside to fester."
"And what happens when it festers?" Dane asks.
"It rots you from the inside out."

“He still hasn't. And neither have I. Which is pretty good for Doctor Death and the Black Widow.”

Holy cow this book was good! Dark, delicious, head twisting, spicy and oh so yummy. Way to go Sophie. I total five star read for sure. Absolutely feel in love with the characters and interactions.

happy release day!! this, decidedly, wasn’t my favorite sophie lark novel but it was still fun. dane and remi ..collided? a lot sooner than i anticipated. not exactly when they first meet, but following that it was pretty insta-lust. albeit a little surface level, the chemistry was very much chemistry-ing. overall, an entertaining read especially with the upcoming fall season.

read if you like:
dark romance
hot mysterious neighbor
age gap
hypnosis
spooky beach town

I absolutely adored Grimstone. It was the perfect gothic, spooky, thrilling read to set the mood for Fall. I devoured it, and I cannot wait for more books set in this spooky small beach town.

Sophie Lark has done it again! The setting was perfect, the characters were perfect, and the writing...PERFECT. this is perfect fall and halloween with the dark, creepy, and mysterious vibes. And don't get me started on the FMC...I loved her! A tough, bad a**, spite fire of a thing! I beyond loved this book! I can't wait for what's next!

3.5 Doctor Death Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

I’ve been debating how I feel about this for a while and was flipping between a 3 and 4-star rating for the longest time. While I devoured this (which means it has some addicting qualities) and enjoyed the aspects it was missing that extra oomph that would have made it perfect.

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Remy, eager for a new start, moves into her uncle's dilapidated mansion with her 20-year-old brother. They have inherited the house, intending to repair it and flip it for a profit after Remy left her fiancé, who was cheating on her. The house is located in a creepy little seaside town called Grimstone, with vibes that are a little eerie, and townsfolk that are a little too nosy. Very soon after moving in, she encounters her grumpy neighbour Dane Covet, AKA Dr. Death, according to the town, since it's rumoured he murdered his wife and son. Dane, who is incredibly hot but also an incredible arsehole, blocks her from using the only road to her new house and then blackmails her into fixing his fence so she can use it. One afternoon, when she is hacking away at the wood, she unfortunately hacks her leg open, and good thing she has a doctor so close by... Dane stitches her up, kisses her, and nearly rips her nipple off. Soon, Remy and Dane find they can't keep their hands off each other, even though Remy believes Dr Death might be breaking into her house and playing tricks on her at night... because there's no way it's haunted, right?

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
This book was a little unhinged in the best way, and I loved that it had elements of an "unreliable narrator." As the reader, you are not really sure what is real or not. The town is spooky, the mansion just as eerie, and you're not really sure if Remy is being haunted, if she's being pranked, or if she is actually crazy and it's all in her mind. You are almost put into the role of detective.

Remy is determined and stubborn to make things work, and she feels very alone and like a failure. She has been devoted to raising her brother since the fatal boat accident that killed both her parents years ago. She is plagued by discombobulated, repeated nightmares of her parents' accident and very often puts herself down, belittles herself, or condescends to herself and her intelligence. She feels that, because she never really had the chance to go to college, she never really had the chance to be an adult, because she's always been looking after her brother, and the only thing she knows is construction. However, she is resourceful, and she doesn't let the opinions of other people sway her beliefs and her gut feelings toward people and situations.

Dane is troubled and a little disturbed, though I still feel like, even after reading the whole book, I don't know him as a character. Dane is cold, calculating, and aloof. He does not like people and is a little messed up in the head... I did like that he was slightly older, though. I am so over reading about an MMC who is 19.

One of my issues with Dane is we are given his POV a couple of times, but his internal mind is never really elaborated on, so you have to make your own deductions on whether he is haunted or just hallucinating. His chapters don't go too much into his emotional trauma in dealing with his wife's death, and you never see him grieving; you just see short snippets of his anger. I think it would have made the revelation of what happened to his wife and son a little more impactful to see how he processed it, as it just felt like, as a reader, you're told about it and not shown. Mostly, his POV is just his lustful and obsessive thoughts about Remy and how he can't wait to take her clothing off. Every comment is just about her looks, her nipples, her clothing, her hair... everything based on her physical appearance. It just felt very insta-lovey.

Even though he talks about Remy having the same brokenness as him and being just as troubled and disturbed, I still feel like I have no idea who Dane is or what his personality is like outside of the surface-level aspects I have mentioned.

The writing was okay. It kept me hooked, but there were aspects of it that just didn't work for me, and I can't explain why. It might have been that I needed more development in the relationship between Remy and Dane. The more I kept thinking about this, the more I felt like it was lacking something. It wasn't spooky enough, it wasn't eerie enough, it wasn't mysterious enough, it wasn't mind-fuckery enough. It is very much centred on two very damaged people who have their problems, trauma, and demons. But I felt absolutely no relationship development between the two of them because their entire relationship was founded on lust. Every interaction between the two of them was explosive, domineering, and forceful, and I never actually saw them have any heart-to-hearts.

Then there is the aspect that THIS IS A STANDALONE... but there are SO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS! And because of that, I will never get the answers I need...

**SPOILER**
1. Did Dane really see his wife, or was it just his mind playing tricks on him?
2. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WHEN HE HYPNOTIZED HER THE FIRST TIME...? There is the video of that "second" encounter. But the mystery of "I gave you a suggestion"... Now, are we to believe that he sexually assaulted her while she was hypnotized and used the excuse of, "Well, you're not gonna do a thing you don't wanna do when you're hypnotized," so whatever you're doing is completely allowed and consensual because your mind is allowing it whether you know about it or not? Or was he trying to help her as a doctor in that situation, and only the second time was sexual because we only ever see the second video? Like, what happened???
There were some unexpected plot twists I didn't see coming, but then there were also really blatant ones that had me rolling my eyes that Remy didn't see them right in front of her eyes.

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Dual POV
▶ Rich Guy X Poor Girl
▶ Small Town Romance
▶ Mystery, Spooky, and Gothic
▶ Rivals to Lovers
▶ Doctor x Patient
▶ Neighbors (Forced Proximity)
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Fast Burn

Kinks: BDSM elements, Bondage, Mirror/Reflection Sex, Begging, Degradation and Praise, Hypnotism Sex, Medical Spicy Scene

𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Good Girl
▷ Chin Lift
▷ He Takes Care of Her
▷ He Gives Her Lovvies (Combo of forehead, eye, cheek, or nose kisses)
▷ Tattoos

Overall, this is a perfect read for the upcoming spooky season. While it wasn't perfect, it was still enjoyable, spicy, and fucks around with your mind a bit...

Thank you to Netgalley, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and Sophie Lark for the gifted copy.
All thoughts and opinions are my own

Thank you to NetGalley and Sophie Lark for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Sophie Lark NEVER disappoints!! She always has me HOOKED! This was the perfect vibe for fall/spooky vibes and I am HERE FOR IT. Also lovedddd the spice!

The gothic tones of this book were done very well and immediately made it love it even more. I love dark romance, but this had some scenes that were a little cringey, if you can get past those this was a very entertaining book that completely held my interest.

I love the creepy gothic tone of this book. I really want an audiobook to go along with this as I think the right narrator could make this even better!

There are other issues that I had though. Dark romance can be good but can also easily creep me out. Adding in the fact that this is new adult, there are some parts that were too much.

Overall, I enjoyed the vibe and the story.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books and Net Galley for the eARC!

A dark romance with the right level of creep, darkness, and spicy.
Well plotted and entertaining, I had a lot of fun.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine