Unfortunately this was a DNF for me at 30%.
It was too 'insta lust/love' for me and I'm pretty sure it would of continued that way through out.

Thank you to Kimberly Quay and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tainted Dreams took me on an exhilarating ride filled with intense passion and dark desires. Skye and Killian's story unfolded in a way that kept me hooked from beginning to end, leaving me eager for more.

The characters were beautifully crafted, with Skye's inner strength and determination contrasting against Killian's enigmatic and powerful presence. Their connection was palpable, drawing me deeper into their world with each turn of the page.

The blend of mystery and romance in Tainted Dreams was perfectly balanced. The stalker element added an intriguing layer to the story, while the chemistry between Skye and Killian sizzled with an undeniable spark.

Kimberly Quay's writing style was captivating, allowing me to lose myself in the depths of their emotions and the complexity of their relationship. The pacing was just right, keeping me engaged and invested throughout.

Tainted Dreams surpassed my expectations, delivering a dark romance that was both thrilling and emotionally satisfying. It explored the boundaries of obsession and love, leaving me yearning for the next installment in the series. If you're a fan of morally gray heroes and the transformative power of love, Tainted Dreams is a must-read.

This novel combines elements of stalker romance, billionaire romance, fake dating, and obsessive heroes. Killian Asher, a ruthless businessman, changes his views on love when he meets Skye Larsen, a yoga studio owner and budding artist. Both characters have an obsessive love, though Killian's obsession is more pronounced. Initially, Skye's dismissive behavior seems unintelligent, but her growth becomes apparent later on. Killian keeps a secret from Skye, leading to a bad decision, but the secret is not as severe as expected. Their journey is filled with additional challenges, and Killian embraces his role as the villain. Trigger warnings include violence and talk of previous abuse. The stalking element in the novel may not be considered "dark" in comparison to other books.

⭐️2

DNF’ed at 37%. I really hate DNF’ing books, but I just had to with this book. My time was wasted.

I feel like the story is moving way too fast for my liking. One minute we’re at the moment they’re face to face and the next moment it says “it’s been weeks since I’ve met her”. Like woah?? Also she just met him and she feels those “incredible” feelings and knows nothing about him except for the fact that he stalked her for like 2 seconds and she knows that he would “never hurt” her. I’m sorry, but if I just met a guy, if we could even name it a “meeting”, that I know has been stalking me, i wouldn’t think that he wouldn’t not hurt me.

Also, after like 3 chapters in she wants to pretend like he’s her boyfriend while knowing nothing about him. They didn’t even have a proper discussion yet.

At the beginning of the book, he stalks her at her work place and he says, and I quote, “I knew I was in deep when that tall, tan, black haired beauty held no appeal for me.” when talking about her best friend, which was a kinda weird sentence to me? Don’t know how to explain it, but I literally was like “???”

There’s a lot of repeat as well. The same things keep getting repeated over and over again. Which is annoying, because I just know what the next words will be.

I just feel like this book is all over the place and bland. I don’t feel anything between the main characters, no chemistry, no love. Nothing.

This book bored me, I really tried to continue, but I just couldn’t.

**arc review**
Thank you to the author, BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️.25 / 5

If you are a dark romance lover, this is the book for you! Unfortunately, I am not. I was really skeptical about the book because of the dark themes but I think they are done well and not too graphic. Weirdly enough, I also really enjoyed the introduction room of the characters and the backstories built around them. I wish the story focused more on the intertwining of the two MCs and them overcoming the struggles they faced in their past, as these parts felt rushed.

I feel like where this book fell short is it’s pacing. The sudden time jumps in the beginning and the end felt unnecessary. I also struggled to understand Skye’s “sixth sense” for knowing when Killian was around, even before she knew who he was; it just doesn’t make sense. Because of this, the actual romance of the book also lacked real depth. I’m fine with a “touch her and you die” vibe but the couple went from 0 to 100 back to 0 back to 100 a little too easily. The fake dating trope also felt unnecessary since she had just met him literally that day.

I would also say this is a fairly spicy book but it just felt weird because there would be so little plot development and then another “scene” randomly thrown in at dinner/after she paints/at the club/in the car/literally 20 other times. After halfway, I just started skimming.

Bottom line: would I recommend, no BUT I could see how some people could enjoy it if they would prefer a quick sexy read with little depth. If so, get excited because there are two more books coming out in the Tainted Series!

Genuinely enjoyed this book so much.
I’m not usually a fast-paced relationship lover. But this book really fulfilled my hopes. I thought that the relationship between Killian and Skye was intense and passionate, they really were very similar in so many ways.

I loved the dark side to Skye, and the fact she thrived from Killians dark side. We all love guilty pleasures right?
This was very easy to read and I found myself thinking about the book when I wasn’t reading it, which is a huge positive in terms of my experience with reading.
The only thing I’d have hoped for more, was more exploration into Killians story. It was a huge factor into the type of person he’d became and I would have loved to know more about the tough relationship with his father,
A great read!

Thank you for this advanced copy of Tainted Dreams.
Fans of Ana Huang will love this story, it's got multiple twists and turns throughout. When I started the book and realised it was a stalker to lover book I was apprehensive but it's a good read, lots of steamy scenes and good plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an advance copy of this book. I loved it and could not put it down! It is similar to other books I've loved, which I was pleasantly surprised about! Definitely check trigger warnings before reading though!

First off, thank you to Kimberly Quay and Turnit Publishing LLC for giving me the opportunity to read Tainted Dreams. I really don’t know if I have the words for how I feel after reading my first stalker romance. To me it was straight up abuse most often. I did not enjoy all the times that the MMC put his hands around the FMC throat to get to to comply with what he wanted. He knew her background and I felt that he took advantage of her vulnerability. Always saying that he would have leave or never let her leave is abuse. Even though the FMC enjoyed it, I didn’t know that abuse was suppose to be sexy. Overall I gave it 3 stars. The writing flowed well. I loved the spicy parts minus the putting his hands on her throat. I’m a romance lover at heart so I really loved when the MMC actually showed his love to the FMC.

This billionaire romance is scorching hot. I couldn't put it down. Every page drew me more and more deeply rooted in this story. I need the next book soon!
I just reviewed Tainted Dreams by Kimberly Quay. #TaintedDreams #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I prefer slower build up to a relationship in general but especially when the heroine has been abused by an ex. I just found it hard to believe that after knowing a man was following her for a short period of time, and after talking to him, she was head over heels for him… 2 days after speaking for the first time. And she trusted him immediately.

Also to call this a stalker romance feels like an exaggeration. He watches her for a couple of weeks and then they basically start dating. To me, the stalking needs to be a bigger part of the story to qualify.

I read this book in one sitting. It just flowed, while I didn't love all the characters I definitely did some. I loved the angst and the twists. It was easy to read and enjoy.
The authors writing was easy to understand with enough detail to really picture but without going to overboard that it takes away from the story as a whole.

Tainted dreams caught my attention from almost the very beginning it gave soul mate vibes as both main characters could always tell when the other was near and they just couldn't deny their attraction for the other. It gave bad boy, good girl vibes as he's some sort of billionaire mobster type man throwing money left and right, and causing bodily harm to others, but makes sure to protect Skye at all costs. This book wasn't too long, and I would definitely read book two if it was available yet! I gave it 4 out of 5 stars, because even though it was plenty spicy which I love a book to be, and even though the story didn't feel rushed, it did seem a little impractical at points or farfetched. But maybe that's because I'll never really know what a life of money can get you. The book is definitely worth the read.

The book does contain content warnings at the beginning, this is the first book I have read with those.

I could not put this book down. Tainted Dreams follows Skye Larson as she works to be a successful yoga studio owner and instructor while trying to escape the horrors of an abusive ex, an addict mom, and an overprotective brother. Enter Killian, a brooding billionaire with a mysterious job. Set in his cold ways, Killian is overprotective of Skye and will do anything to keep her safe from her past, even if he must take care of it alone. This is your typical billionaire guy who only has eyes for her romance, and I ate it up. I loved the amount of romance in this book and how Skye and Killian's relationship grew. Would recommend it to anyone looking for an overprotective trope love story.

This story read very smoothly and was a fast-paced read. It offered a little bit of everything from darker themes to spice. Character development was good and I feel like there could be a spin-off story with other characters that were introduced. This is definitely a billionaire romance with a hint of darkish/stalker vibes.

4/5 stars
2/5 spice

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I love a spicy book as much as the next girl buttt... this was too much for me personally, it felt like the characters had no connection. It just felt very flat for me and a little insta lovey. Not my favourite.

3.5 ⭐️

I loved the darker themes of this book. The cohesiveness of the writing drew me and and I was hooked! The spice was a solid 4.5 🌶️ and I was not mad about it. I also felt like it was not gratuitous, but really drove the connection between the two MC’s. I am also a huge fan of the dual POV, which I feel the author did a fabulous job of differentiating between the tone of the characters.

The only thing I didn’t love was the ‘insta’ attraction bit. I feel like perhaps more development there would have increased my rating.

I did love how the (main) conflict of the story played out. We often see the FMC roll over and forgive seemingly large faults/issues that occur. I appreciated how it was a real issue, and you read and feel the conflict and hurt of the FMC and the MMC. I like that it took time, and that the MMC didn’t give up on them.

Great book! Excited to read the second in the series

Dual pov, 🌶️🌶️, stalker, grumpy/sunshine but with a past.
Do you ever get the feeling like your being watched? Well Skye Larsen has the feeling she is being watch and when she finds out it’s him the man she has been dreaming of since seeing him two years prior she can’t wait to make his watching worth while. Killian Asher doesn’t do relationships, but there is something about Skye that keeps drawing him in and he might just break all the rules for her.

This book was mesmerising. From the very first page until the very last, I was captivated by Skye and her kindness. Killian was, of course, a force to be reckoned with and his protective nature / duty to protect Skye was just divine. The way their romance progressed was beautiful. I loved this book.

I absolutely devoured this book, it had me hooked from the get go. Dark moody hottie - check, adorable. yet deep Skye was charming and multi-dimensional. Cannot recommend this enough! Perfect escapism.