I feel like I have to start every review I do of one of KM’s books by yelling at her, because what do you mean that’s how you ended the book? You’re telling me out of every ending you could’ve made you did 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑻?!?

I 𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐄 Cam, he’s a perfect little psycho, his crazy is 🤌🏻😘 and honestly Emery too, they are god tier characters. Like if we’re sticking in the Dark Forces books, don’t get me wrong I 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 Bunny and Bones from ’Leave Me Behind’ but you outdid yourself with these guys.

The spice in this was 𝑆𝑃𝐼𝐶𝐸🌶 something about dark military just does it ya know? But let me tell you, for as much spice as there was I was also wrecked by the “sad” parts.

“𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳… 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦.” ☠️

and 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍, for the shift to this,

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘌𝘮. 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥'𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘱. 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥'𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.”🤭 𝑺𝑾𝑶𝑶𝑵

I want to just post so many quotes but I don’t want to spoil things and I fear some of the things I highlighted are spoiler-ish. But just know, 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐍.

Needless to say I am impatiently waiting for the second half of this duet because that ending was rude asf, and I need to know what happens next asap. I am ever so grateful to get to ARC read this before it was out but devastated that now I have even longer til the next book!

Wow !!! I’m giving this book a 4.5⭐️
Yet again Mrs K.M Moronova you have put your heart in the book ! This book is about a dark force solider called Cameron who can’t stop killing his partners and when he gets a new partner called Emery it gets a little wild !!!
The plot was 10/10 it was amazing I loved the world building of the book and how leave me behind is referenced was really good !! Her books are always a wild journey and I devour every single one ❤️even when they brake my heart into a million pieces ,the ending was so good ! I really didn’t expect that at all i genuinely had to have 5 minutes after reading it cause it was just amazing !
I can’t wait for book 2 to be released I need it like RIGHT NOW !!!
I would highly recommend this author she truly knows how to get the emotion bubbling and the tears going she is such a good writer .i love her books so much ❤️
Thankyou so much for the opportunity to be an ARC read again to K.M moronova and to Bloom books !

Holy smokes.

I ate this up. This is the most delicious chaos.
I’ve never read a dark military romance but I had fun every step of the way. I cannot wait for book two.


This book is all vibes. Straight entertainment. Yet also brought out my emotions. I truly needed something fun and different and this for the bill, baby!
I feel like a psycho rating this five stars but it was just so fun?!
The end?? The plot?? What did I just read?
No she did not. She did not just write that at the end!!!
I need the next book asap.
If you like movies like Su!cide Squad you will love this.
This book is so feral, I couldn't put it down.
"His voice is like an eventide chill - a deep melody I could close my eyes and lose myself to."
"I promise, Emery, when I kill you it will be with my knife to your heart. You'll see me coming. You'll know without a doubt that I'm going to take your life."
Thank you guys for my arc :)

✨ “My fatal flaw is the desire to fix broken things that don’t want or care to be fixed.”

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Your Knife, My Heart by K.M. Moronova, the first book in the Dark Hearts Duology. Emery is thrown into a secret military division and has to survive the brutal Under Trials to earn a place in the Dark Forces. She ends up paired with Cameron, a soldier with a bad reputation for losing partners, who’s been punished with a second attempt at the Trials due to being a liability in the field.. The real question becomes whether they can survive the Trials and each other.

Cameron is the perfect morally black MMC: broody, moody, and desperate to prove his worth. It’s impossible not to root for him, especially when we get small glimpses of who he was before becoming a soldier, which makes his choices now hit even harder.

Emery is just as complex. She’s trying to figure out who she is outside of her past while being thrown into this ruthless world. The way she fights to hold on to her humanity in such a cutthroat atmosphere made her so relatable.

The side characters add even more tension and intrigue. Some are clearly out for themselves, some seem to genuinely want to help, and a few left me questioning where their loyalties really are.

The story is action-packed, violent, heartbreaking , and yes, there’s spice too. The pacing felt perfect, never dragging or rushing. The world-building was so vivid I felt like I was standing in the Trials right beside the characters.

This book also digs into deeper themes like trauma, mental health, healing, and identity without ever slowing the story down. The banter, the backstories, and the clever plotting pulled me in completely. And that last line… I was not ready.

✨ Tropes you’ll find here:
Dark military
Forced proximity
One bed
Touch her and die
Broken MMC

🖤 What worked for me was the plot, the banter, the twists, and the way every storyline connected without ever feeling like too much.

❌What didn’t work was more personal. Some of the word choices pulled me out of the story, but that’s not a reflection on the writing itself.

✨If you’re into morally dark characters, heartbreak, trials, tension, and twists that keep you hooked, this one needs to be on your TBR. I cannot wait for the second book.

I didn't know what to expect going into Your Knife, My Heart, and it ended up being an unforgettable ride. In the secret military group Dark Forces, Cameron is under scrutiny from his superiors after offing his partner (again). Enter Emery, another killer they drag in to pair up with Cameron and test him if he can keep this partner alive. Emery is bewildered by this new world she never knew of filled with criminals turned undercover military. She has to go through training in a kill-or-be-killed group of cadets with Cameron at her side. Things quickly get bloody and personal.
I loved the chemistry between Emery and Cameron. Cameron being this wild, crazy, unhinged, psycho killer that is slowly discovering he has soft spots that he thought he shut down years ago. Emery is a product of her family who just wants her to obey and kill but she learns that she has a heart as well, and desperately wants to fix her broken drug addicted partner. They are immediately attracted to each other but don't know how to navigate their feelings about it. Makes for some hot moments. It's a great book if you're looking for psycho characters, blood and violence, small tender moments, and a plot that sucks you in.

Gracias NetGalley por este ARC.

Este libro para mi fue un 4.5 estrellas.

Aquí vemos la historia de Emery y Cameron.

Emery viene de una vida violenta ya que se dedicaba a hacer el trabajo sucio de su padre. De pronto se encuentra luchando por sobrevivir en el Under para poder ser parte del Dark Force de la milicia. Es ahí donde le asignan de compañero a Cameron. El problema es que Cameron ha pasado por tanto trauma y lo estan usando de conejillo de india para unos medicamentos que estan creando que básicamente han hecho que el haya perdido su humanidad y se a convertido en una persona letal que mata a todos los compañeros que le asignan. El tiene una tarea y es no matar a Emery y protegerla para que no la maten. Ellos tienen que pasar por una serie de trials que son bien sangrientos para que finalmente sean escogidos para pertenecer al Dark Force.

Que les puedo decir, este libro me mantuvo todo el tiempo a la expectativa. Los trials son bien sangrientos y brutales y te dejaban cuestionando que iba a pasar. Ahora el romance en este libro lo amé. Cameron no me daba mucho pero con lo poco que me daba me dejaba queriendo mas del. A medida que el libro fue avanzando vamos entendiendo el trauma del y como su conexión con Emery se iba dando cada vez mas. La química entre los personajes era palpable. Esos últimos capítulos me tenían super ansiosa y el final me dejó con ganas de comenzar el segundo libro right away.

Definitivamente disfruté demasiado esta lectura y no puedo esperar a que salga el segundo libro.

too dark romance for me, i tried reading this after reading the first book and i should've stopped the series after the first book. way out of my comfort zone

MY HEART OH MY GOD… I am absolutely torn apart Cameron and Emery have both stuck their knives in my heart literally I’ve felt so many emotions throughout this book from not only from their traumatic backgrounds but their developing love story. And the ending has me gasping for more I’ll take a death pill please and thank you bc the feelings I’m feeling right now wow yep I’ll be on edge til I get my hands on the next part 😩

Your Knife, My Heart K. M. Moronova
Releasing Nov 11. 2025
5⭐️4🌶️

I ate this book up! I couldn’t put it down I loved it so much! And. That. Cliffhanger! Omg! If you loved Leave Me Behind you will LOVE Your Knife, My Heart.

This book gave so many feels. It was dark, lethal and the spice was spicy! I love both Emery and Cameron. Emery is such a bad ass and I love her. She has been chosen as the new partner to the one man who can’t stop killing his partners, Mori. Emery comes from a rich family and was brought up a killer from a young age.

Cameron is labeled clinically insane he’s also a valuable asset to the dark forces and he can’t feel pain. These two have a deadly chemistry and I love the heated tension & banter. I can’t wait for more in the next book!

Tropes
Dark Military
Forced Proximity
One Bed
Survival Trials
Morally Black MMC
Spicy 🌶️
He Might Kill Her

💜Thank you K. M. Moronova NetGalley and Bloom Books for the earc!

KM Moranova came back again with the perfect mix of hot, traumatic and crazy. She also has a knack for writing the craziest plot twists and cliffhangers. I swear the last two books I've read from her have absolutely wrecked me and the endings leaving me dangling from said cliff.

I read this book in a day. I couldn't get enough and now cannot wait for the next book to come out! This book's pacing was perfect. The tension, angst and anticipation of what happens next kept me in a vice grip. I cannot wait to get into the next book!

Thank you so much for this ARC!

“𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴? 𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁.”

Hm. Erm lol. I’ve actually been really stuck on how to rate this because I have such mixed feelings about it. I loved Leave Me Behind, and when I saw this was set in the same world, I jumped at the chance to read it early.

On one hand, I really liked the main characters. Two morally grey/black psychopaths navigating trials of the dark forces for freedom, while hating/loving each other with equal measure and passion. If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I love yearning! Give me all of the yearning! I really enjoyed the trauma bonding and the whole “I want you, but I can’t have you/it’ll end us both” tropes. I genuinely cared about those two lunatics and how much they secretly cared for each other.

On the other hand, the writing was clunky and felt very monotonous, I wasn’t invested in the plot, and the ending was very… meh. I think I actually said “oh for fk sake” out loud.

While the book fell flat for me, I’ll be reading the second book purely because I care about the dark love story and the two idiots in it. However, do I recommend the book? I don’t know, maybe not.

2.5 rounded up.

This book was such a wild ride, and I loved every second of it! After reading Leave Me Behind, it was exciting to dive back into the world of the dark forces. This time exploring what it truly means to be chosen for the team. The trials, the betrayals, and the moments of camaraderie were written in such a way that I felt like I was right there alongside the characters. The push and pull of the romance kept me hooked, always leaving me wanting more. I can’t wait to see where book two takes us. The story and characters were an absolute joy to follow!

KM Moronova writes such dark, sexy yet traumatic stories. The dark forces are no different, filled with tension, angst yet deeply twisted and sexy this book was such a good read, i can’t wait to read the next book in this duology

This book pulled me in from the very first page and refused to let me go. I thought I knew what I was signing up for—a dark military romance with high stakes and some spice—but K.M. Moronova went straight for my heart (and ripped it out a few times along the way).

At its core, this is Emery and Cameron’s story. Emery has been pushed into violence her whole life and suddenly finds herself fighting for survival in the Under, where every move could mean death. Cameron, on the other hand, is already a ghost of himself—seven years of bloodlust, trauma, and the drugs that fuel his rage have made him lethal to everyone around him. Everyone but Emery. Watching the two of them collide—one desperate to keep her humanity, the other desperate not to destroy her—was devastating and magnetic all at once.

I loved how the book never gave me a chance to breathe. The trials are brutal, the world is merciless, and yet in the middle of all that chaos, there are these stolen moments between Cam and Emery that feel like the eye of the storm. Their connection isn’t neat or easy, but it’s raw, passionate, and impossible to look away from. I found myself torn between wanting to shield them both from the world and wanting to see how far they’d burn.
And then there’s the ending. Let’s just say my heart is still in shreds, and I’m equal parts terrified and desperate for book two.

If you’re looking for a romance that’s as dark as it is emotional, with deadly tension, flawed characters who claw their way into your heart, and writing that leaves you reeling—Your Knife, My Heart is it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¾ (4.75/5)

Give me more or give me death!!
Moronova writes so beautifully and this book was no different. Its everything that was promised and more.

This was a strong dark romance element that I was looking for and enjoyed from this type of book. It uses the overall concept perfectly and enjoyed the way this was used in this world and was glad it had that feel that I was looking for. The characters were so well written and thought that that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed in this world and from K.M. Moronova. K.M. Moronova has a strong writing style and hope there is more in the dark forces universe.

Eeeee okay this was fun!

Your Knife, My Heart is a military dark romance filled with action and suspense from start to finish. Our main characters, Emery and Cameron are forced to survive a set of brutal trials together to get a place into an underground military operation. Cameron was such a morally grey and broken mmc. This plus the whole "i can save him" attitude from Emery was chef's kiss. Their relationship was built on the contradiction of him wanting to kill her but being forced to protect her. This resulted in a very hot and cold dynamic that was addictive to read.

Although I enjoyed myself mostly, I did find some of the situations a bit unrealistic, in addition to the writing not always being the strongest. These things pulled me out of the story a bit and I had a few eye roll moments. I don't expect groundbreaking writing from a dark romance like I am definitely there for the vibes so I will say that this delivered what I was looking for overall. A guilty pleasure read for sure and has left me wanting to pick up Leave Me Behind next!

2.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve seen Moronova’s name a lot on Bookstagram lately. And there’s certainly something tasty about her Dark Forces works. The angst elicited by the push and pull of a hot-and-cold MMC. The romance coupled with the danger. High stakes amplifying the narrative.

But I have to say – the writing is just not good. It’s too straight-forward, wooden. There’s no color to it – only shades of black and white. The plot drives the characters rather than the other way around. Cameron’s behavior in particular is dictated solely by “plot reasons”, fluctuating depending on what dips and valleys the story requires. The most egregious example of this that I can point to is an entire chapter in which we get an info dump on his childhood trauma that hopes to justify a 180 degree about-face that he made in the chapter prior. It feels like an afterthought rather than something that should have been carefully weaved in throughout.

There’s something to these books - artful prose just isn’t it. But ya know what? It suits the work just fine.

Wow….just wow. That ending just had to leave on a huge cliff hanger.

I love that this book was set around Leave Me Behind but 10 years prior. If you loved that book, you will absolutely love this one.

Wow. I loved this book. It reminded me of a dystopian fantasy with romance. Like hunger games/ maze runner era. Enjoyed the POV from both!
I was lowkey annoyed that Mori/Cameron was so hard on himself but I guess it’s a good representation of someone that is depressed. I was a tad confused how he was constantly loaded on the pills? I thought I read something about how he would get them every morning but what was his recommended dose compared to how many he was actually taking? Also for sure loved the close proximity 😝 (the bed are u kidding me). I was thinking a fight would occur in the bathroom and Cam would tweak find out and beat up some people but. I’m still satisfied. But the ending got me like “What!? Noooo!!!”