This is my first Sophie Lark and I am now a fan!

This was a great read that had amazing characters. The story was well-written that left me hooked the entire time.
I do recommend giving this book a read especially if you have never read a book from Sophie Lark. It is a good place to start. I cannot wait to read more from this author!







Thank you Netgalley and Bloom Books for a copy of this book!

Thank you NetGalley for the readers' copy in exchange for an honest review.
My feelings about this book could not be more polarising. On one hand I was drawn in by the mystery and enjoyed the plot twists. I loved the quietly sinister small town with its malicious gossip and mysterious history. Almost like an uncanny Stars Hollow.
But on the other hand I felt the chemistry between the two mains a bit cringe and I don’t know if I could call it chemistry per se but they had good lust (?). They’re connection and bonding felt like an imitation of deep. There were definitely jumps (leaps even) from them meeting to being vulnerable to being in love in that time frame (and flipping a house as well ?!?!)

Also why did I think this book had ghosts (potentially vampires) in it? Just me?
I think going into this book as blind as possible would definitely heighten the mystery and spooky atmosphere, I would recommend reading the trigger warnings. The dubious consent part of this book also left a bad taste in my mouth but that’s on me for not checking.

Regardless, I read the whole thing and I’ve come away with the opinion that I like the idea of Sophie Larks books more than the actual experience. I think she’s an awesome person publicly and undeniably talented as an author but there seems to be something in all the books I’ve tried to read. A je ne sais quoi. An ick. A mental block. Something.

2.5 ★

If you want a spooky, romantic, mysterious book with spice-this is it!

So, this in my opinion was not the best Sophie Lark book, but she did it very well. I would recommend this to people, but it was not up to her normal standards. I think for me it was the insta lust and that was a huge no in my eyes. I feel like this is one of the books that you either love it or hate it. She is still one of my favorite authors!

✨ Publication date: September 17, 2024✨

Grimstone is a refresh and republish of a first in a series by Sophie Lark. This is a dark steamy romance with morally grey characters.

Remi Hayes has had a tough go. After her parents passed away she has been raising her younger brother with virtually no means. After her fiancé cheats on her and their eccentric uncle passes away and leaves them his crumbling down mansion, she decides to move to the small town of Grimstone to flip and sell the house so she has some money to settle somewhere and to send her brother Jude to college.

Things aren’t always what they seem in Grimstone or Black Leaf mansion. Remi starts to think the mansion may be haunted, no one can have this much bad luck.

Remi isn’t just contending with the mansion repairs though, she can’t decide if she wants to have a relationship with the creepy night clinic doctor Dane Covett or never interact with him again.

Remi is caught up in the chemistry and attraction but there are old stories that some of the townsfolk swear are true and if they are ,Dane just might be a killer and the one behind all the mishaps at the mansion.

Remi can’t quite see what’s directly in front of her until Dane helps clear her vision. As Remi gets closer to the truth of her past and present she’ll need to make some decisions that will haunt her forever.

This was a 3 star read for me. I love Sophie Larks work and the spice for this Ken was on par. I couldn’t quite connect with the characters or their chemistry though. I’d like to stick around for the series though and see where the next book goes!

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

#NetGalley #sophielark #grimestone

The idea of this book is great - execution? Not so much. I did not like the main characters. He is a walking red flag and I don't love alternative FMC with piercings, etc. It was very spicy, though.

As the trigger warnings were not listed in the description for this book, I was unaware of the content that I was not interested in reading. Please include trigger warnings in future listings.

Love love loved this! The plot gripped me, the smut was fun, and the ending had my jaw on the floor. I’ve just learned that book 2 is about Dane’s grumpy brother, so I’m going to have to read that soon.

Sophie’s writing is always so fun and a good mix of humour and darkness. Remi was really fun to read, and I loved getting a mix of both her and Dane’s POVs. Both unreliable narrators in their own ways!

Grimstone was my first Sophie Lark book and it most definitely won't be my last!

I LOVED IT! I am an absolute sucker for both thrillers and romances and I feel like Sophie absolutely nailed the combination of both. It definitely leans more romance than thriller but I just loved the entire thing. Be warned that it is VERY spicy so if you don't like smut then you won't like this one.

Great plot. Great characters. Great writing.

Sophie's writing style is quite casual and relaxed which I found quite refreshing. It was definitely different to any other author I've read. It made the book very easy to read.

I am very excited to read Monarch!

Highly recommend this one.

This one took a while to get into, I really struggled with feeling anything towards any of the characters. I DID find the characters interesting in their own bizarre way, but none of them had any depth. I thought the plot twist was predictable but it was still good. Overall, a decent read for the "spooky season"

Such a great and spooky dark romance- perfect fall read! Remy and Dane will have your heart racing! I 100% recommend the audiobook- Connor Crais is perfection. I could listen to that man talk all day long!

Another great book from Sophie Lark. It's hot and steamy with a mystery thrown in. It's told from alternating points of view that it makes it easy to follow. It's the first in the series. Can't wait to start the next book.

This book was so good! Perfect for Halloween spooky season! I definitely did not see the twist coming! Sophie got me! I love a mysterious, broody doctor!!!!!

I like a little dark romance-but this took it too far. Having sex with someone who is hypnotized and won’t remember it is rape. And the foot sex was too weird.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this copy

This was a very surprising book. I thought I knew where the story was going but I honestly couldn’t have predicted that ending at all. Sophie has a way of enveloping readers into her stories. I feel immersed in the word she’s created. It’s such a fun reading experience.

Thank you @NetGalley and @SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the ARC. I have not read a Sophie Lark book before, but now I will. I enjoyed this spicy mystery book a lot. The characters were so well developed and the story had a twist I didn't see coming. This is a must read.

This book was a bit of a rough start for me, but by the end I couldn't put it down. This was the perfect spooky read for October. I loved the haunted house vibes and the spooky, quirky town vibes.

This book was pretty spicy, and the spice was good. I could feel the instant attraction between Dane and Remi; however, it was a little hard to believe the instant love. I think the book would have been fine without him addressing his love for her that developed in such a short amount of time. I would have loved to see more character development with these two and not just their obsessive thoughts about one another. I felt other relationships could have been developed more as well, such as Remi, Tom, and Emma.

I enjoyed the little hints about the mystery throughout the book. The suspense had me glued to this book till the end to make sure all the little hints I captured through the book led to the correct answer.

This book was the perfect thing to break my reading slump because like every Sophie Lark book I’ve read it was fast-paced, self-indulgent, and had a twist I didn’t see coming. Remi moves to Grimstone after her grandfather has died and left her and her brother his old house to fix up and hopefully sell. She meets her cold and alluring neighbour, Dane, and he strikes a deal with her that puts them in close contact with dizzying tension. The town of Grimstone felt like a character itself with its seedy secrets and dark past, and all of the mysterious happenings lured me in. Remi’s journey to shed her naiveté and discover the truth around her was engaging to read about, and Dane’s shedding of past haunts to imagine a brighter future led to some very sweet moments between the pair.

The only letdown I had with this book was that I felt like Dane became a completely different version of himself by the end of the book. In the beginning he was cold and cruel and I enjoyed seeing him soften, but by the end of the story I felt like he had done a 180. The ending also felt very abrupt with the “big reveal” coming only two chapters before the ending of the book. I would’ve liked to see more of the immediate outcome of such shocking information.

Ultimately this book is, love it or hate it, another Sophie Lark special complete with a toxic relationship, borderline sociopathic mmc, smut up the wazoo, and fun to be had on every page.

“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞… 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫?”

Grimstone is a dark contemporary romance set in a gothic beach town. As with every other Sophie Lark book I’ve read, I completely devoured this. There’s just something about her writing style that’s so easy to read and makes it difficult to put the book down. Was this my favorite by her? No. But I loved the gothic town setting, liked the characters enough, and was even a bit surprised by the twist at the end. This was an overall enjoyable and quick read for me.

Okay I have mixed feelings about this one. Some things fell through the cracks as unanswered? I enjoyed the semi-darkness, but a lot of it seemed pretty predictable, then wrapped up the main conflict too easily.

I love Sophie Lark's writing, so was super interested in reading a different genre from her. I am not super into dark thriller romance, but I wanted to try because of the author. I love a down on her luck man character and a moody mmc, but I am not a age gap romance person, and dark romance might be too extreme for my tastes. Overall love the writing and the writer, not my type of genre. I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.