Sometimes The Villain Gets The Girl

"Even if it Hurts" By Sam Mariano, 426 pages, (2022)

(Coastal Elite, Book 1)

*This is a relative spice scale, this book is plenty spicy.

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Every once in a while there is a character that just weasels their way under your skin, and stays there... Chase "Dare" Darington is that character for me.

He is completely unrepentant in his psychopathy from start to finish. There is no "good girl changes the broken guy" narrative, to the contrary, I am still not 100% sure I understand or believe his motives. He is alluringly frightening...seriously some of his lines give me chills, and I love it.

If you have seen Euphoria, then I'm sure you remember Jacob Elordi's unhinged character, Nate Jacobs. I envision Dare as a more mature, calculating version of Nate, in fact, I'm pretty sure the author took inspiration from him because the book dedication is "Jacob Elordi, for inspiring me. You're one hell of an actor".

"I will blow you up time and time again, and you'll keep coming back until there's nothing left of you because heroes are fucking idiots. You won't win." -Dare

Ok, now that I have waxed poetic about Dare's character, I guess I should talk a little bit about the book. I don't want to give too much away because the premise of the book is pretty straightforward but I will give a brief summary.

Aubrey is the main female protagonist, she's in her final year of high school and is a straight 'A', straight laced student but responsibilities at home keep her from getting to take part in the social aspects of being a high schooler. The plot is set into motion when she pisses off the sociopathic "mean girl" from her school, Anae (think Kathryn from "Cruel Intentions").

I think she about summed it up above.

In a completely out of character move, Aubrey decides to attend a party at the mansion of Chase "Dare" Darington, who also happens to be dating Anae

In the effort to get back at Aubry for a perceived affront, Anae goes all "Cruel Intentions" on her and convinces Dare to pursue Aubrey. How that all plays out, well, you'll have to read the book.

If you're the type of person who roots for the villain and loves when the villain gets the girl, you have to read this book. If you like Dare, he shows up in other books in the series so there is plenty more to the story.

I will end this with one of my favorite book dedications ever from Rina Kent's "God of Ruin"

As with all of the books in this genre, check into the Content warnings if you are sensitive to certain triggers.

CW include but may not be limited to: DubCon/NonCon, Somnophilia, Emotional Manipulation, Possessive MMC, Psychopathy, Virginal MFC.