A Why Choose Dark Romance ARC Review! CLAIM THE DARK by Sadie Hunt!

Maeve Haver + Bram Montgomery, Poe Killborn, and Remy Taft

Slight Confession: I held off on reading this series because the concept of being hunted down in the dark tunnels makes me nervous. How stupid is that??? I was worried that it would scare me. 🤣🤣🤣 It was dumb and now I have a whole TBR of books involving hunts that I need to revisit reading because this is why I’ve pushed them all off. Oh, brother, that’s embarrassing to admit…. Anywhoozers….

The premise of this hunt is actually pretty wild. It’s not just about sex (which I thought was the case). I mean, people get pelvic but that’s not the reason the girls sign up for it. Women consent to be hunted for twenty-four hours in the tunnel system below Blackwell Falls. If they avoid capture, they win and are granted the gift of a murder. They name the person they want dead and it’s done. If they do get captured, they lose and are contracted to three months of living with the those who hunted them for… whatever. Our FMC Maeve is participating in the hunt because her sister June was murdered and she’s out for vengeance. She’s already tried getting it herself once and found that she needs help to make it happen.

The Hunt was nerve-racking to read. I was a little right about how that was going to be. It’s intense and keeps your heart crammed right up in your throat the whole time it’s going on. I didn’t know what to expect going in and I felt like I was prey in the dark right along side Maeve as she tries to evade her hunters. It was intense and how it washes out what not what I was expecting at all.

Maeve is a fun character. She arrives on the scene strapped with a gun and an obsessive thirst for vengeance, yet she’s an absolute sweetheart of a human being. She only wants to hurt someone so they’ll stop hurting others. She’s the polar opposite of everything the Blackwell Butchers are. She grew up in a safe middle-class neighborhood with a tight, loving family and little knowledge about how dangerous the world outside her little bubble really is. The death of her sister changed all of that. It reshaped her. When we meet Maeve in chapter one, her obsession with getting justice for June is her sole driving focus and it’s really derailed her life in a lot of ways. Meeting the Butchers, in a roundabout way, helps lightly nudge her back toward the path she belongs on. Pretty quickly, we see them begin to chip away at the shell she’s built around herself, even those who aren’t intentionally …

The Blackwell Butchers live up to their label. You know and feel how much fear he puts into people even going by his appearances in prior Blackwell books. It’s well-established lore in the Blackwell Falls Saga world that Bram Montgomery runs the town. You simply don’t cross the Butchers. Those who do disappear never to be heard from again. They rule the criminal side of Blackwell Falls, keeping their activities from becoming a problem for the innocent citizens who live there. As the leader of their merry band of murderers, Bram Montgomery seems almost more animal than man. Everyone instinctually gives him a wide berth, the only exceptions being the Butchers, his little sister Cassie (of Cassie’s Cuppa fame), and Maeve. Although she shows him a spine of steel, Bram is determined to keep his distance from Maeve

Poe Killborn is charming AF. Yes, he’s a Butcher, but he’s also an artist who smiles easily and meditates every morning in his birthday suit. Naturally, he’s the first one to form a connection with Maeve. They pretty much get along from go. Remy Taft is a little more reluctant but not really in a dick-ish way. Our girl wins him over pretty quickly though (I can’t say why because of spoilers). Remy actually provides some moments of comic relief because despite being a big, scary man capable of unspeakable violence, he’s a bit of a klutz. The poor guy trips, drops things, and makes messes pretty regularly and you can’t help but laugh at him. Deadly predator? Yes, yes, yes, but don’t trust him near an open blender.

The antagonist in this book is Andrew Tate and I am here for it! Okay, he’s not actually Andrew Tate but he’s definitely an Tate facsimile. He’s a misogynist puddle of fetid shit who spews anti-female hatred as science and fact, and having been married to one of these assholes IRL, OMG, I HATE THIS MAN. Knowing that Maeve takes a shot at him was… awesome. Right out of the gate, I’m on #TeamMaeve and can’t wait to see Ethan Todd get his.

Patience, gentle readers….

I loved RULE THE NIGHT so much, I read it in one sitting. Never set the book down until I hit the end and dove right into book two like it held my next breath. I cannot recommend this trilogy enough. However, although it can be read as a standalone trilogy, I would urge you to read the other Blackwell Falls Saga trilogies first (Aventine University, Blackwell Beasts, Blackwell Bastards), if not for any other reason than the Bram glimpses you get but more because they are excellent. Sadie Hunt really does a great job of building up Bram’s lore throughout the Saga so when you finally meet him face-to-face in Rule the Night, you have a appropriate amount of fear. 😉

Spice Level
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

My Rating
★ ★ ★ ★

Due to circumstances I can’t fill you in on because of spoilers, Rule the Night leaves off with Maeve separated from the Butchers for…reasons. And in an effort take another swing at Ethan Todd, she submits herself to the Hunt once again. This time, when we go into the tunnels, we sort of know what to expect. Only something has changed and there is a danger lurking in the tunnels that neither Maeve nor the Butchers have any idea is waiting for her. Holy shitake mushrooms, this one was intense. The opening of this book stressed me out so hard. 🤣

Okay, look. I don’t normally revel in a MMC’s groveling but it was earned in this one and I support it. I won’t say who is on his knees but it’s spectacular and you’ll love it. She doesn’t exactly make it easy on him.

From a Blackwell Falls Saga fangirlie’s POV, I adored the cameos in this book! I would give anything for more books with the Kings and the Bastards. I loved getting to see them again and it made me super-nostalgic for their respective trilogies. There will probably need to be re-reads this year.

Bleed the Shadows sees a lot of ups and downs that will keep you in a chokehold through the whole book and it leaves off on a jaw-dropping stunner of a cliffhanger. The stage is now set for a big finale and it’s escalating nicely. I can’t wait for the big baddie to end up with his head in a vice…

Spice Level
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

My Rating
★ ★ ★ ★

Fair warning: Your heart will be in your throat for at least the first seventeen chapters of this book. And I’m not exaggerating that number. I double checked before I began writing this review. It’s worth every agonizing minute but holy hell, man…

We are in the home stretch, people. The hunt for Ethan Todd is officially on and he is a dead man walking. If Maeve’s original reason to want the man pushing up daisies weren’t enough, she’s got a brand new bucket of fuel for that fire, and now the Butchers’ want his neck in a noose, too. So they’re searching. As a result, we end up doing a teency bit of globe trotting in this book, which was fun, but it was for less-than-sparkly reasons, which was less fun. Without saying too much, you should keep your peepers open for a date night abroad. In a book riddled with incredible moments, it’s toward the top of my favorites list.

And that brings me to my top favorite incredible moment. The best ending ever…

You know the drill. No spoilers but omg you guys! No lies. I was literally yelling over my ereader, applauding how everything panned out. It was awesome. Best. Ending. EVER.

Claim the Dark was a deeply satisfying ending to the Blackwell Butchers trilogy, and this trilogy is now tied as my favorite with Aventine University. The story line felt… cathartic. On a few fronts. I can’t recommend the book (or the series) enough if you’re into dangerous dark romance that leaves you clinging to the edge of your seat at every page turn.

Spice Level
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

My Rating
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

SADIE HUNT is a Southern California expat now living in New York who can confirm the former has better weather while the latter has better pizza.

She is the critically acclaimed author of over fifty published novels and seven novellas. Her first series (under her not-so-secret real name) received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist and was one of Booklist’s Top Ten Debut novels. Her work has also been an Indie Next selection and has appeared on prestigious lists such as the Lonestar List, New York Public Library’s Stuff for the Teen Age, and Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best. Her first novel beat out Lord Voldemort for Best Villain in the Indigo Teen Reads Awards. Her books have been published in over thirty countries and translated into over twenty languages.

Sadie lives in New York with an 85-pound pup and three perpetually annoyed cats. She spends her free time swiping right on guys she never bothers to meet, watching the Great British Baking Show, and waiting for the next season of Love Island U.K.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | BookBub | Goodreads | Amazon