I love the way Sylvia Day writes. I loved and enjoyed the psychological aspect and the suspense. So Close had me on my toes because every character was a suspect. I can’t wait to read book two because I’ve been obsessed with reading mysteries. Thank you so much NetGalley for giving me this opportunity. Can’t wait to have a physical copy.

So Close will Release on March 28th, 2023! I was so excited to get an ARC of So Close by Sylvia Day! I am a big/huge fan of her Crossfire Series and while this was very different, it was also very good and super STEAMY! I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it, and it was dark and twisty and I couldn’t put it down.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints who surround the male main character Kane Black. Kane Black, a widower, is still bound to his late wife Lily in a way that consumes him. Grief has left him hollow until one day, on the streets of Manhattan, he spots a woman with Lily's unmistakable beauty. He quickly takes her to his high-rise penthouse, guarded and surrounded by opulence, where Lily's memory continues to hold a powerful and seductive sway over him. His mother Aliyah, who sees danger in the woman's hold over Kane and everything she holds dear will stop at nothing to try and take her down. Meanwhile, Kane's sister-in-law, Amy, is consumed by anger and jealousy, seeks revenge for past betrayals. As the three women circle Kane, tensions rise and buried secrets are revealed.

This is definitely dark and suspenseful and I was kept on my toes the whole time. Lily is an enigma and you are never quite sure who she is and what is truth and what is lies. Kane’s obsession and devotion to her is deep and definitely dangerous. There is crossover with some of the characters in the Crossfire series, but you don’t need to read those first, although I would recommend reading them if you haven’t! The spice level is definitely high on this one 🥵. I’ll be anxiously waiting for book two, Too Far in the duology!

I felt like I had waited a lifetime for So Close and Now it's is coming.

After reading an early review copy provided to me by the author and Netgallery.
(Which made me feel super cool FYI)
I Procrastinated a bit. I was so excited I knew I would read it in a day and bam it's all done. 🫣

And guess what? That's exactly what happened! 🤣

But I absolutely loved this book.

I was hooked from the very first page. But then again a book by Sylvia Day book is always so good.

What I didn't expect was how much I found this book to BE....

It was super intense. I loved the plot, the suspense and the difference in the characters, and the fact that it wasn't necessarily centred around romance.
I love a book with a bit of everything and the best bit is there is another book coming!

Loved it!!👏👏

ARC REVIEW.

I have waited for a new Sylvia Day book for what feels like forever, that combined with loving her Crossfire series I had high expectations for this book and new series. I struggled a bit at the beginning getting into this as characters were being established. Each chapter is from a different viewpoint, and I do mean every chapter. And not just 2 characters, but many. That took a bit to get right in my head visualizing the perspective and viewpoint it was coming from as it kept changing. But it does work. Just don't read it when you are tired or need a quick read. I think this series is only just beginning and the "bulk" will be more in the next and going forward. This was just getting everything out there to get going.

Rating : 3⭐️
Genre : romantic thriller
Enjoyment : 7/10
Spice :1.5 🌶

This was my first book by Sylvia Day, and I'm not disappointed. I love a good romantic thriller when done right, and I enjoyed this one. I loved the multiple points of view that we got throughout the book. The constant question of is she or isn't she. If you've read Sylvia's other work, then you should give this one a try. It's not her usual romance filled book, but you might fall in love with this one.

Thank you, netgallery, for the arc. All opinions are my own. 💫

I received an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review from #NetGalley.

This book was just awful. The story is told from 4 different points of view, Lily - the returned from the dead wife of megalomaniac Kane Black, Witte - Kane Black's British majordomo, Amy - Kane Black's one-night stand and now sister-in-law, and Aliyah - Kane Black's mother.

The language used throughout the novel feels like someone got happy with a thesaurus and didn't pay attention to the actual flow of the writing. For example, the first paragraph of the book:
"The party is a lively crush, yet I'm keenly aware of one singularly significant presence - my employer's wife, a woman who has been dead for many years. Manhattan glitters in the vast night enfolding the penthouse tower. Clouds froth against the floor-to-ceiling windows, at turns obscuring then revealing the stygian spread of Central Park and its reservoir far below. The tower creaks as it sways ever so slightly in gusts of evening wind, the plaintive sound hidden beneath the music and sea of conversation.”

I wanted to quit reading after this first paragraph, but as an ARC copy, begrudgingly continued.
In addition to the vocabulary-heavy prose, the characters had no redeeming value. Amy slept with all three of the brothers, eww. Aliyah, the mom, talks about her sons’ sex lives in a very detailed and nauseating way. We do not even know who Lily is or if she even is Lily by the end of the book, which is grating for me. At one point, the author uses the words “tummy” and “orgasm” in the same sentence, which feels beyond wrong to me. The juvenile word “tummy” should never be paired with “orgasm.” Just saying.

Add alcoholism, gangsters, murder, sex trafficking, crazy mother-in-law, references to previous book characters, corporate espionage, and SEC violations, and you get this big ‘ol poop stew of a book. And, apparently, fans of the author have been waiting 7 years for this. I hate-read this until the end.

So Close by Sylvia Day is the first book in the Blacklist Series.
 
In the beginning I want to mention that this book is not a romance and very much includes mystery and thriller elements. The atmosphere reminded me a bit of a mixture of Verity by Colleen Hoover and Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and you’re torn between who is trustworthy and actually telling the truth.
 
I was very curious to read something by this author and the premise intrigued me. The millionaire Kane Black recently lost his wife and is grieving. This vulnerable state made him sympathetic, and I immediately liked him. One day he sees a woman that reminds him of his dead wife, and she pretty much becomes Lily 2.0 and Kane is blinded by her.
 
But you not only get their perspectives, but also from his mother, sister-in-law Amy and the butler. That was a bit much; there were just too many perspectives and that made it very difficult to get invested in the book. It was not only confusing but disrupting the flow of the plot. However, I do have to say that Amy was the most intriguing character in this book, and she is driven by rage and trying to destroy Kane and that was deeply entertaining. The women in this book are all just crazy.
 
The romance Kane has just felt weird. The steamy scenes were not very prominent, and they were very lackluster, and I didn’t feel the connection between the characters at all.
 
Eva and Gideon from the Crossfire Series also had very brief appearances and I’m definitely interested in reading their stories.
 
Overall, I liked the idea behind So Close, but the book just tried to do too many things at once. 3 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

I have been a huge fan of Sylvia Day since the Crossfire series, so was very excited to be given the chance to read this book. SO CLOSE is book 1 in the new 'BLACKLIST series and it already got off to a great start. I really loved the pace of the story and all the twists and turns which had me constantly on the edge of my seat. Of course, in true Sylvia Day style, there is also plenty of steam, but this story is so much more than that.
I know fans have been waiting some time for this book and I truly don't think they will be disappointed. It was worth the wait.

As a huge fan of the Crossfire series, I had high hopes for So Close by Sylvia Day. However; I was confused and instantly turned off by the many character view points that were mixed throughout. I was unable to finish this novel.

I don’t know how to characterize this book except that it felt a little like reading a telenovela (in mostly a good way). Mistaken identities, faked deaths (possibly multiple), affairs galore, everybody is super hot and super rich. There’s like a sexy older British bodyguard/butler who was maybe an ex-spy? There’s an evil mom (who I pictured as a combination of Donatella Versace RIP and Kris Kardashian) and an even more evil mom (this one is a murderer).

It was weirdly told from different POV which was kind of awkward, honestly. It was absurd but also addicting (much like a soap opera). I couldn’t put it down. It ended on a cliffhanger and I’ll definitely read the second book in the series.

a crossfire spin off.. delicious.
Do not go into this wanting a crossfire book. While these characters are in the sme unifverse and even building their story is unique. the story covers the black family and all the various devious horrible characters that make that family unit up. There is no way this families drama will wrap up in a duology. Who knows if we will really truly understand Lily.. this book is riveting, intriguing, frustrating and loving.

Widower Kane Black's wife comes back into his life quite suddenly and everything is in turmoil with her secrets of where she's been the last six years. Kaye's mother Aliyah is scheming to take over Kane's company Baharan, its hers and hers alone. His siter-in-law Amy wants her company back and is defiantly working behind the screens to achieve her goal as she battles Ayliah for control. Then throw in Witte the butler who's very loyal to Kane with a secret past. A story of secrets, lies and betrayal filled with twists and turns in this rollercoaster ride of emotions. I have voluntarily read and reviewed this excellent story.

This book kind of reminded me of the show "Dirty Sexy Money."
We get multiple POV's:
Lily, The non-dead wife (now back after Kane sees her get hit by a car after being gone for 6 years).
Amy, Kane's sister in law (whom a certain person has relations with and Amy is obsessed with looking exactly like Lily, BEFORE she came back...like WHUTTTT!?!?)
Aliyah, Kane's mother
Witte, The butler

The writing style of the different POV's was a bit weird for me. Lily's (is second POV), just took me a bit of time to get used to, maybe there's a reason for it. So many theories, lies, deceits and greed, people sleeping with different people to get with what they want. I won't go on how I feel about Amy, because I wonder if her husband Darius? (Kane's younger brother) knows about what Amy does. ALL of these characters are pretty much out for themselves to takeover control of their company. Kane also has another younger brother and sister, but I wonder if they'll have a bigger play in the next book.

By the end, things happened very quickly that I didn't even see coming. I'm going to have to read the next final conclusion to see how it all plays out. I can't wait for October 2023.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I loved the Crossfire series, so I was excited for this one. At the end of the day, I feel like it was just okay. Maybe I'd feel differently if I had the whole series in front of me, but as it is I feel like there are too many loose threads, while not really ending on a cliffhanger if that makes sense? Like, there are tons of unresolved plot points, but I don't feel any particularly driving need to read the next book to find out what happens. The voice was very different from the Crossfire novels, and I wasn't personally a fan of the change. It feels a little pretentious, but that's just my personal preference. That being said, I really dug how there were several female complex female characters with real agency. That's not always the case in books with these tropes.

At the end of the day, it was enjoyable, but not something I'd write home about. I'd definitely recommend it to fans of the genre and certainly to fans of Day specifically.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rōnin House for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is probably one of the most anticipated releases of 2023. After the tremendous success of the Crossfire series, everyone I know has been waited with bated breath for Ms. Day to release her next book. So, like everyone else, I requested this on Netgalley as soon as I saw it available. And Ms. Day certainly does not disappoint with the complex and intricate story she has woven in this book. Having said that, even gobbling up every piece of information I could find before starting my read, this book didn’t turn out to be anything like what I was expecting.

The first thing that registered with me when I started reading was this book is not written at all in the same style of writing Ms. Day has employed in all her previous books. And it was a bit jarring, to say the least. I did read in her acknowledgements that she was experimenting with new to her ways of telling her story, and this was certainly new. She ramped up the intelligence level with highly sophisticated language that stopped me a few times, having to look up what certain words meant. I worry that this level of writing and word choices will turn some readers off who may feel it is above the level most readers are accustomed to in a novel.

There are many, many different story lines happening at the same time, and by the time I finished the last sentence, I was confused on why we read about some of them when nothing happened with them. Perhaps all those story lines plan to be wrapped up in the second book, but for now, they just left me confused as to their purposes.

Kane and Lily together are definitely a force to be reckoned with. They reminded me quite a bit of Gideon and Eva from the Crossfire series, who make a few cameos in this book. As does the Crossfire building, which is the location of Kane’s family business. But even with their appearances, they added absolutely nothing to the story at all, so it just felt gratuitous that they showed up, and I wondered if Ms. Day added them as a lure to get all the die-hard GidEva fans to purchase this book.

There’s a lot that goes on in the story, but at the same time it seemed to drag on forever for me. There’s a ton of introspection on the part of Lily, and the chapters from Aliyah and Amy’s point of view were very cumbersome for me to get through because I hated both of those characters. And although I really love Witte and what he has done for Kane in the years he’s worked for him, I didn’t really feel like some of his chapters added anything to the storyline.

As I mentioned, the story seemed to drag along, until the very end when it ramped up to hyper speed and revelations left me shocked. And then the story ended! So now we wait for book 2 and hope and pray all the confusing, unanswered questions find resolution. I really hope so, I hate being left hanging at the very end.

I have really loved Ms. Day’s books, the Crossfire series being the second set of books I read behind the FSOG series when I really got back into reading, and I loved and devoured her historical romance books. I am hoping the second book, Too Far, provides me with the answers I’m seeking and reinforces for me that Ms. Day is still one of my favorite authors.

I am a big Sylvia Day fan and was so happy when I received this ARC. The premise was really interesting and drew me in. It did not quite keep my attention all the way through and it is probably my fault but I was not aware that this was part of a series. The 2 main characters, Kane and Lily were very interesting but I needed more from and about them. The secondary characters other than his brother were not kind and I do not need to read more about them

I have to start this review by acknowledging that Sylvia Day is an absolute legend in the erotic writing circle. I was excited to read the book, my understanding of which is it is a standalone novel, which is essential for me. I saved it for a weekend and settled in for some spicy reading. Unfortunately I could not connect with the book. There are a number of characters and the author creates short chapters from the perspectives of ALL of them. This made it extremely confusing and also seemed to slow the book down. I pushed to the 50% mark waiting for the Sylvia to bring the heat, but it just didn’t happen.

I think this is a case of the author’s reputation coloring my expectations. If one could approach this book as a mystery/thriller and can enjoy the multiple perspectives it could be a good reading experience. For me, I’m calling Uncle. I rarely DNF a book, but I can feel myself sliding into a slump so I’m letting this one go.

As always thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing an ARC of this book for review.

This is not my first book from this author, so I was more than excited to read this book. I did not love this book as much as I did the previous book, I've read but this one was a good read. It's a one-time read for me but it is a story worth reading I think especially if you love suspense filled reads. The suspense aspect of the story was on point, but the flow of the story was a little too slow for my liking. The characters in the story were okay but I didn't fall in love with any of them. I did however, love having Gideon Cross and Eva involved in this story because their story was one, I truly loved. I liked Kane and Lily but I wish I believed in the chemistry between them. There was just something that was missing between them for me to completely believe in their love. There was definitely a lot of drama between the family members with jealousy, secrets, ulterior motives, and more. This story ends with a cliffhanger and although I thought this was a good story, I'm not dying for the conclusion of this story. I love a good suspense story, but I love when it has the same amount or even more romance within the story and this one didn't have that for me. I needed more of that romance to have truly love this story and that was lacking for me, so I think I will stop with this book.

'Oh, what a tangled web we weave' could very well be the subtitle for this outstanding book. Sylvia Day has crafted the kind of story that is beyond compelling. From the very first words I was addicted to these complicated and dare I say nefarious characters and the intricate game of cat and mouse that ensues. With 4 POVs, the pace is perfect as the long-thought 'dead' Mrs. Kane Black is suddenly back in her husband's life and throws the Armand/Black world into a tailspin. We are right along with Kane as he whisks his beloved Lily to their Manhattan penthouse and plays his own game of push and pull to figure out her secrets. It is the intrigue and unraveling of lives that kept me glued to my e-reader as I took in each new chapter and the wild journey this book embarks upon. To say I couldn't look away is an understatement and now here I sit begging for more.

There is no doubt that this is Day at her very finest. The way this storyline unfolds is all kinds of brilliant. Despite the fact that each chapter is from a different POV, the story continued to move at the perfect pace, So Close decidedly grabbed my attention as Kane's mother Aliyah, his sister-in-law Amy, and his right-hand-man Witte give us a glimpse into their thoughts and wild actions as the notorious Lily Black is seemingly back to stay. The jealousy, the plotting, the snarky confrontations, the mistrust. Oh, yeah, it's all presented on a silver platter and I devoured every morsel happily.

I will say right here and now that you will be as gobsmacked as I was at how this first book ended. I was so focused on Aliyah's dealings, Amy's self-destruction and Kane's ongoing obsession with his wife that my shock at how things took a sharp turn made my head spin. Talk about fabulous. Day does not disappoint and, of course, has me clamoring to find out how this tangled web will survive all that is yet to be revealed. There is plenty of sexual distraction as Lily and Kane find their way back to each other's arms. Those scenes are titillating and provide even more evidence, so to speak, for Kane to continue to sift through his feelings for the woman who he still can't seem to fully decipher and/or trust. But their chemistry is undeniable and could prove to be Kane Black's ultimate downfall. Only time will tell.

When looking for the very best in romantic suspense, look no further than So Close. It is full of sultry, mysterious and backstabbing moments that will enrapture you every step of the way. I am practically desperate for book 2, Too Far, and once you read this gem, you'll understand exactly why. It is superb and I happily give this captivating book a huge 5+++ stars!

When I saw Sylvia Day was finally coming out with another book, I was so excited! I really enjoyed the Crossfire series, and her writing is a bit… spicier than my normal taste. I was so excited to step out of my normal books to read this.

I hate to say it, but this book fell flat for me in many ways. I did enjoy the last 25% of the book, but the first 75% was so drawn out and I had no idea what was going on… I felt like a lot of it was totally unnecessary.

Overall, I enjoyed the different characters in the book and the references to Crossfire. I enjoyed how the writing style changed with the different perspectives (although I found the Witte parts a bit dense, which I suppose reflects his character).

I am hopeful that the next book in the series will pick up a bit, since this book spent a lot of time building up to it.

Overall, I give this a 3/5 stars ⭐️

Many thanks to Netgalley and Ronin House for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.