Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. This book was not what i thought it would be. I did not finish it. There was a lot of cruelty , which made for the storyline, but was a trigger for me personally so i had to stop.

Wow! Counts of Eight was such a dark romance and I loved it! I'm sad it took me so long to read it, but at least the second book is out now and I can read it right away.

Anya and Ezra were both amazing characters. I loved how strong and resilient Anya was. She has been through way to much in the three years she's been a slave, but she hasn't lost her fight. I love the connection she had to Ezra as well. Ezra wants to protect her, and I loved that about him. Him being a slave too he could have only thought about himself, but he didn't.

Overall I enjoyed this book. The writing sometimes was a little too slow paced, but overall it was really good!

Counts of Eight has left me speechless. It's a roller coaster of pain, hope and heart broken despair and ends with a major cliffhanger! I loved every second of it. The characters were amazing and the story was well written. I recommend it!

Counts of Eight is definitely a walk on the dark side of the romance genre. The main character, Anya was taken several years before by Nikolai to be "talent" for his family. Her talent is she's an amazing classically trained dancer. She is forced to train and dance on behalf of Nikolai's family when the "Four Families" have their gatherings. Since Nikolai "owns" Anya, she is at his mercy in all ways. Let's just say he's not a kind person. Don't go into this book thinking you'll eventually like him...here's the only spoiler I will give you...you won't like him in this book at all. He's cruel and heartless. Has he endured tragedy, yes. Does it excuse his behavior? Absolutely not.

Nikolai kidnaps Ezra to dance with Anya. Apparently all the dance partners he's brought to her in the past have failed to live up to his expectations and vanish after their annual performance. Instantly, Nikolai and Anya both know Ezra is different. First of all, he's incredibly talented. Secondly, he is extremely strong-willed and determined. Nikolai is fascinated by him and wants to see if he and Anya can create the performance he expects. Anya is fascinated too - but she knows it could be the end of both of them if she gives into it.

This was my first Brynn Ford book and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Since this little gem ended with a doozie of a cliffhanger, I'll be reading her work again soon!!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Anya is a slave to Nikolai Mikhailov. She does not want this life, but she plays her part in subjugating her master’s new acquisition, Ezra, breaking him just as she was broken. Ezra is a contemporary dancer kidnapped to be Anya’s slave and partner. At first he resists, but when he learns what it costs Anya, with whom he feels a deep, instantaneous connection, he bends and obeys, but refuses to break. His strength renews a passion Anya hasn’t felt in years, and while it may make them dance well enough to save their lives, it may also be their undoing.

There is a disclaimer at the front of the book that the book has scenes of nonconsensual sex and violence, and there is. At no point does Ford glorify what is happening to Anya and Ezra, nor does she try to make the nonconsensual sex scenes arousing for readers. Because there is nothing truly erotic to be found in the scenes, instead a reader might wonder why Nikolai chooses to subject Anya (and Ezra) to this, and what he actually gets out of it, since he doesn’t really seem to enjoy any of this, either.

One also wonders what he does with his day when he’s not abusing dancers. Theoretically his family is in the human trafficking business, but I can’t believe that leaves him with as much free time as he seems to have. And why, for that matter, the scions of the Four Families are all young-ish, good-looking sexual sadists. That strikes me as a very odd coincidence. Of course, Nikolai has his own ghosts to battle, but who really cares about those?

As I’ve said, it is clearly a deliberate choice on Ford’s behalf to make any scenes of nonconsensual sex read as violent and to always make clear that Anya understands the wrongness of what is happening to her. By contrast, scenes of consensual intimacy are written in much the same way you’d find in any contemporary romance featuring a woman who has suffered abuse in the past. I approve of this stylistic approach, I have to say, but it seems to be the sum of Ford’s effort in writing, as the prose is generally unremarkable

Given that this series is about four crime families who specialize in human trafficking, I expected to find some sort of note at the end enlightening readers about the state of human trafficking and organizations trying to stop it, as well as perhaps information on RAINN and similar organzations combating partner violence, but I suppose the readership for this sort of erotica may not be the same group that needs those helplines. And, of course, I realize it is not the role of erotica writers to take on responsibility for the world’s ills in such a way, but it’s a trend I’ve noticed in YA books that would be nice if it spread to other genres.

At any rate, if you want to read about dancers being kidnapped and sexually tormented by a Russian crime lord, this book has all that. I can’t think of too many others that check all those boxes.

What a ride...

This book was dark and gritty.

Anya and Ezra found hell on earth... abuse, rape all because of a vicious man!

Together, they try to enjoy the only thing that is possible... dancing!

But between them more happens...

It's a roller coaster of my pain, hope and heart broken despair and ends with a major cliffhanger!

Anya is a dancer and captive of a monster. She must dance or die and Ezra is selected by her master to be her next dance partner. The strength these two people have and the things they endure will make you cry. A great read that I recommend.

#arcreview #justreleased #countsofeight #netgalley .
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Counts of Eight - Brynn Ford @brynnfordauthor .
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Fair warning for the content of this book, it’s definitely confronting and harsh but it can happen in a crazy world of human traffick and keeping them as pets or slaves.
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I can’t say I loved reading it because of the subject,
but it is very good and intriguing.
The way it is written; it sucks you in, you feel the despair and pain.
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Nikolai; the ‘bad guy’ dark alpha basterd
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Anya; his first, slave, stolen, strong, dancer.
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Ezra; stolen time dance with Anya, naughty slave, friend
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This book made feel all kinds of emotions and indeed as the author warned I wanted to throw my iPad away when I finished that cliffhanger 😅
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Blurb;
All of my choices had been stripped from me except for one. Dance or die.

Three years ago, I was taken, stolen away, far from the world I knew, far from civilization. I became a slave, forced to serve one of the four families with my talent.

I'd been abused, battered, tortured in isolation. My master brought me men, partners for performance, but they failed to live up to the high standard of dance my master required.

Until one day, he brought me a new man. A blond-haired, green-eyed, dreamy new man who had no idea what was coming.

The men before him had disappeared. I presumed they were dead. I couldn't afford myself the luxury of hoping they'd made it out alive because that would give me hope that I might someday do the same.

Hope was a dangerous thing and this new man's spirit still thrummed with that electric spark of lightness. I would be the woman to strip that hope from him piece by tiny piece until he had none left. Only then could I control him, use him. Only then could I even consider the possibility of a predictable, complacent survival in this nightmare life.

And until that time came, I would make the only choice I was given the liberty of making.

Dance or die.

CONTENT WARNING: This book contains explicit sexual content, violence, and mature themes including scenes where consent is not sought or given. The author in no way condones such heinous acts.
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#bookreview #slave #dominanceandsubmission #ballerina #tbrpile #bookstagram #reading

A very well written story with characters that draw you in with their darkness and strength and willingness to make everything better in a world of captivity.
It’s darker than I was expecting and the author warning needs to be taken as it comes because there’s a lot going on that many people won’t like but I enjoyed it quite a lot.
It shows so much of the unseen part of some people or lifestyle that we appreciate but don’t know much about behind the scenes in real life. It also reminds me of some of my favourite authors that write dark romance.
I want and need the next books because I need my HEA in this story.

Wow! For dark romance lovers this book is phenomenal. I will definitely read the series. Thank you for the ARC!

After reading Brynn Ford's previous Duo Blue and Switch I couldn't resist giving Counts of Eight a go. I knew that it was probably going to be a bad idea. Not because I wouldn't enjoy it, but because this is book one of a trilogy and the second and third parts are not due out until later this year and early next year respectively. I'm a glutton for punishment though and couldn't resist diving in and giving this a read.
This is a very dark read and won't be for everyone. I don't mind admitting that some aspects of it edge towards the end of my enjoyment. It's not that the storyline isn't gripping (it really is) but what the characters are put through is really so awful. The story is about Anya and Ezra, who are both talented dancers. They are also owned by an evil head of one of the four crime families mentioned in the series title. These families are involved in human trafficking and think nothing of keeping talented individuals as talent slaves and to satisfy their other dark desires. Anya has been living this life for three years, but Ezra is new to it. It's Anya's role to break him so that he will obey, the longer it takes her, the harder it is for her.
As mentioned this is an incredibly dark story and it ends on a cliff hanger. I'm not sure where it's going next but I don't mind admitting that I really want to know. If you enjoy dark romances and like to have your emotions battered as you read, then I think you'll enjoy this. Don't expect a happy ending, at least not at the end of this book. It's clear that Ezra and Anya have a great deal more to face and deal with first.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.