I like a little dark romance-but this took it too far. Having sex with someone who is hypnotized and won’t remember it is rape. And the foot sex was too weird.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this copy

This was a very surprising book. I thought I knew where the story was going but I honestly couldn’t have predicted that ending at all. Sophie has a way of enveloping readers into her stories. I feel immersed in the word she’s created. It’s such a fun reading experience.

Thank you @NetGalley and @SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the ARC. I have not read a Sophie Lark book before, but now I will. I enjoyed this spicy mystery book a lot. The characters were so well developed and the story had a twist I didn't see coming. This is a must read.

This book was a bit of a rough start for me, but by the end I couldn't put it down. This was the perfect spooky read for October. I loved the haunted house vibes and the spooky, quirky town vibes.

This book was pretty spicy, and the spice was good. I could feel the instant attraction between Dane and Remi; however, it was a little hard to believe the instant love. I think the book would have been fine without him addressing his love for her that developed in such a short amount of time. I would have loved to see more character development with these two and not just their obsessive thoughts about one another. I felt other relationships could have been developed more as well, such as Remi, Tom, and Emma.

I enjoyed the little hints about the mystery throughout the book. The suspense had me glued to this book till the end to make sure all the little hints I captured through the book led to the correct answer.

This book was the perfect thing to break my reading slump because like every Sophie Lark book I’ve read it was fast-paced, self-indulgent, and had a twist I didn’t see coming. Remi moves to Grimstone after her grandfather has died and left her and her brother his old house to fix up and hopefully sell. She meets her cold and alluring neighbour, Dane, and he strikes a deal with her that puts them in close contact with dizzying tension. The town of Grimstone felt like a character itself with its seedy secrets and dark past, and all of the mysterious happenings lured me in. Remi’s journey to shed her naiveté and discover the truth around her was engaging to read about, and Dane’s shedding of past haunts to imagine a brighter future led to some very sweet moments between the pair.

The only letdown I had with this book was that I felt like Dane became a completely different version of himself by the end of the book. In the beginning he was cold and cruel and I enjoyed seeing him soften, but by the end of the story I felt like he had done a 180. The ending also felt very abrupt with the “big reveal” coming only two chapters before the ending of the book. I would’ve liked to see more of the immediate outcome of such shocking information.

Ultimately this book is, love it or hate it, another Sophie Lark special complete with a toxic relationship, borderline sociopathic mmc, smut up the wazoo, and fun to be had on every page.

“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞… 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫?”

Grimstone is a dark contemporary romance set in a gothic beach town. As with every other Sophie Lark book I’ve read, I completely devoured this. There’s just something about her writing style that’s so easy to read and makes it difficult to put the book down. Was this my favorite by her? No. But I loved the gothic town setting, liked the characters enough, and was even a bit surprised by the twist at the end. This was an overall enjoyable and quick read for me.

Okay I have mixed feelings about this one. Some things fell through the cracks as unanswered? I enjoyed the semi-darkness, but a lot of it seemed pretty predictable, then wrapped up the main conflict too easily.

I love Sophie Lark's writing, so was super interested in reading a different genre from her. I am not super into dark thriller romance, but I wanted to try because of the author. I love a down on her luck man character and a moody mmc, but I am not a age gap romance person, and dark romance might be too extreme for my tastes. Overall love the writing and the writer, not my type of genre. I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved every filthy, crazy word of this book. A Gothic contemporary with a murder mystery to solve. Just inject that straight into my brain, thank you. Genuinely surprising moments had me on the edge my seat!

Overall the characters and the story were okay but I just feel like our two main characters didn't mesh well. The book had spooky elements but it seemed like a very cheesy 90s horror movie and not in a good way.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC

2.5⭐️

This one was a mixed bag for me. I liked Remi and Dane as individual characters. I was enjoying the setting and the plot. The illustrations were done well. However, some of the smutty scenes just made me cringe. The big reveal is really what brought down my rating. It felt like a bad ending from the Scream franchise.

Grimstone by Sophie Lark is a darkly enchanting tale that masterfully blends romance and suspense. Lark's vivid writing and complex characters draw readers into a world of intrigue and passion, where secrets threaten to unravel everything. The tension builds beautifully, making it a captivating read from start to finish. Perfect for fans of gothic romance!

Review of “Grimstone” by Sophie Lark

2 ⭐️

I was so excited when I got a copy of Grimstone to review, because the Brutal Birthright series might actually be my favourite series ever. Grimstone sounded exactly like what I needed in this Fall season: spooky thriller vibes, but make it Sophie Lark. However, I must admit, this book didn’t work for me.

We follow Remi who starts renovating her late uncle’s house in Grimstone with her brother, Jude. She quickly meets Dane, who lives next door. He’s your regular grumpy next door neighbour, but he has a dark side. The whole town suspects him of murdering his wife. When Remi starts helping Dane to fix his fence, things start heating up.

Weird things happen during the nights and Remi feels like she’s being watched. I must say though, I kind of zoned out during the middle of the book, so I’m not even entirely sure anymore what went down.

The finale lifted the story up a bit, and the twist is quite nice, but since I wasn’t invested in the story, I wasn’t really invested in the ending as well. And that’s sas, because it’s honestly something I hadn’t seen coming.

I’ll not stop reading Sophie Lark books (ever), but this one just wasn’t for me sadly.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own ♥️

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

I had NO clue what I was getting into before reading this. Truly thought it was going to be a fantasy novel (don't judge a book by it's cover kids) but boy was I surprised when this was a spice ladden romance WITH MYSTERY!!! What a win!!!!

Honestly this was fab. Atmospheric for fall, perfect amount of spice, interesting characters and some gore/mystery to boot. All over, I loved it.

This was the first Sophie Lark book I've read and it didn't really work for me. The atmosphere was sort of spooky, but I felt it could have been scarier and I didn't think the two main characters matched well.

Remi and her brother come to Grimstone for a chance at a new life. Their uncle left behind a rotting home that is a renovation opportunity for someone as skilled in the field as Remi. She has been taking care of her brother for most of his life and sacrifices in order to set him up for a successful future. The two of them work together to fix up the home and blend in with the neighbors. When the past follows them to Grimstone, who can they trust?

Dane is a doctor with a condition that makes him reactive to the sun. He also is the subject of rumors around town that he murdered his late wife and son. When his new neighbors attract attention to his late friend’s house, Dane isn’t the only one who comes out at night. Ghosts, villains, and unfriendly neighbors all come out to play when the sun goes away.

This is my first Sophie Lark book and it was a fast-paced and thrilling experience! I was back-and-forth with this book with not being able to put it down and with needing a break due to some of the disturbing scenes. I would recommend this book for adult readers who can tolerate dark and disturbing themes. As a warning for some, there are very graphic scenes involving violence, murder, and SA.

Thanks to NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

A gothic spooky mansion mystery vibes with high slice? Sounds like a winner. This was a very entertaining read and will definitely give another one of her books a shot!

I was not expecting the level of spice in this book when I first picked it up. It is definitely too graphic for our library unless specifically asked for from a student. That being said, if you like fast-paced, spicy, romance/fantasy/haunting/mystery novels, this could be the one for you. There was a lot of smut and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, I wasn't expecting it to be as graphic as it is. Again, nothing wrong with that but a little too much for the library I work in.

A few years ago, I had no idea who Sophie Lark is. Now, I read everything I can get my hands on by her! She became one of my favorites very quickly and I am so glad that NetGalley provided me with an ARC (e-book) for this masterpiece.

You won't want to miss this one. You'll be sucked in and lose track of time very easily and won't be able to put it down until the book is finished.

I normally do not write reviews like this on books but this book has been a 1 star, MAYBE 1.5 star read if I could have roughed it out….

This is my second Sophie Lark read and it thoroughly let me down. I could tell from the beginning that it may not be my cup of tea and unfortunately at the 61% mark I have to dnf. This book is definitely more in the realm of erotica than romance - which is totally fine when I know that is what I’m getting into. I highlighted so many times throughout my reading because the characters just said and thought the more literally outrageous things. Like so juvenile for such explicit content.

The actual writing was easy to read and went by so quickly for me but around the 30% mark there was some questionable sex scenes that really turned me off to this story as those tw were not listed at the beginning. The next 30% was more of a skim read for me and then I just had to give up.

I generally like the art that is included in these new releases of Sophie Lark but the art of Remi does not ring true to how she has been described, especially her “tiny tits” (mentioned 4 times in this book and that’s just a bit excessive truly. Overall, I really really disliked this, I will not be continuing the series, which is unfortunate because I have the next one as an arc as well.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourebooks Bloom Books for this arc.