I can't believe I almost skipped this book because of the cover. I thought it's just another Christmas story, something I prefer to avoid. And oh, boy, what a colossal mistake that would have been!
From the blurb:
Eat the rich. Fuck the rich.
Sometimes both. Sometimes literally.
Philip Barclay-Roche needs Christmas to go well. After his latest fuck-up cost the family business millions of dollars, he's out of second chances. So, when he walks through the doors of his mother’s Connecticut manor house with Rafe Sullivan on his arm, he's betting everything on surviving the festive season without adding to his list of failures.
Rafe is charming, polished, and exactly what Philip needs to prove his life isn't the disaster everyone thinks.
He's also a lie.
But Philip isn't the only one keeping secrets. His older brother is unraveling, his mother's third marriage has gone cold, and his stepsister treats family obligation like a battlefield she's already lost. And then there's his stepfather, Garrett. He watches Rafe with an intensity that makes Philip's skin burn, dragging up desires Philip thought he'd killed long ago.
As the festive noose tightens and passion tangles with deception, sin becomes just another currency. By the time the truth surfaces, Philip will learn that in this house, everyone's keeping score. And someone's been playing a much longer game.
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Ornamental Sins is a first-person POV (split 3 ways) erotic suspense with dark themes, explicit MM to MMM content, gothic undertones, and characters who make questionable choices. Expect age gaps (24-50), taboo stepfather/stepson, power dynamics, psychological manipulation, drug use, and an ending that will make you question everything. Reader discretion strongly advised.
If you need heroes who are unambiguously good, look elsewhere. But if you want American-Saltburn cranked up to 11 and are hungry enough to eat The Menu, then take a seat and get comfortable. Dinner is served.
GaleM's review:
Look at the author's name and be warned, this book hits HARD, like a sledgehammer, runs you over like a truck over the speed limit and drags you under the water until your lungs start screaming for air. The story will grip you mercilessly and test your limits because here everyone has a secret, and the secrets have secrets and nobody cares who will be hurt in the process or what is the collateral damage. The Barclay family is a synonym for what dysfunctional means!
I rarely find so many characters I dislike, but find fascinating to watch them develop on page. Phillip is one of them.
On the surface it looks like a cosy Christmas story - a high end escort /Rafe/, a rich man who needs a temporary companion/Phillip/, a dreaded Christmas celebration in the Barclay family. What could possibly go wrong? Simply, said everything! I love stories that will pull me out of my comfort zone and leave me untethered. And this one did that in all the best ways possible!
Ornamental Sins is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
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