Reverse Harem/Dark/Contemporary
Book #1 Lapland Underground series
310 Pages
Published 30th November 2021
Purchase from | Amazon AU | Amazon US | Amazon UK |
My rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Actual rating of 3.5
Stripping has got to be a better way to make a living than working under a crime lord…right? After hanging up her knives and moving out to find a life of her own, Candy finds Lapland. But this strip club is not the fresh start that she had been hoping for. Full of secrets, lies and nefarious dealings, Lapland may end up dragging Candy back into the life that she was finally free of. Zander, Rocky and West are the exact kind of men that she swore to avoid, but it’s turning out to be a lot more difficult than she thought. They want her to play by their rules, follow their directions, the thing is, Candy is no one’s puppet, especially not a man who thinks he can own her. She is determined to get what she came for, revenge, and nothing will stand in her way.
I was super excited to read this one. I’ve gone of a really big dark, contemporary reverse harem kick lately and I’ve had this one sitting on my kindle virtually since release day. I was also drawn in by the fact that everything happens against the backdrop of a strip club, which was something that I hadn’t come across before. I was interested to see what Bloom was going to do with it all.
The story itself is interesting enough. We follow Candy as she’s off on her own after winning her freedom from the man she worked for and lived under, a bad motherf*cker who helped turn her into what she is today. But she’s trying to put it all behind her in order to start a new life for herself. The thing is, people don’t want to hire her because she doesn’t look mainstream, a lot of emphasis is put on her pink hair and tattoos. Being of the alternative ilk myself, I could sympathise, but at the same time, I felt like the animosity towards Candy because of her appearance was heavily used, in this day and age, it’s much more acceptable to look different. I’ve never not gotten a job in any industry because of my piercings, tattoos or coloured hair, though in saying that, I live in Australia where things might be different. While I know that this sort of discrimination is still prevalent in today’s society, I feel like it was used a crutch almost to show HOW different Candy was to every other girl in the story which irked me a bit. I do like that Candy was trying to escape the life that essentially broke her and forced her to become what she is, yet still ended up in the backyard of the bad guys in a way.
The characters were well written, and I did enjoy Candy has a FMC, she gave off badass vibes without it becoming obnoxious or being over done. She knew what she was capable of and she used it when she had to. The three love interests left a bit to be desired for me though, and I’m not sure why. They seemed appealing enough but as the book progressed they really didn’t do anything for me at all. They all seem like complex characters that each have a strong back story, but I just didn’t really care to get to know them. I can’t even pick a favourite because they just really didn’t do much for me at all, which is a bit of a shame. I must say, I did end up liking Vixen’s character. She started off as such a cold, hard bitch, but by the end she was probably my favourite. Her growth really shone through and I feel like she was the only character given a decent amount of growth in this story. We got to see so much of her personality and I feel like there’s still so much to get to know about her.
I’d put this as a slow burn in regards to the romance/spice factor. There is a couple of sex scenes in the story, but they’re happening with other characters and Candy just happens upon them accidentally. I actually love that this is slow burn. I know that a lot of people get a bit disappointed at the lack of sexy time in a book, but I find that the longer it takes to GET to that stage, makes the getting there even better. It gives a chance for the character relationships to develop properly and there to be more to the relationship that just physical attraction and sex. I also find that it adds a build up of tension that is just delectable.
I really enjoyed the narration and voice of Bloom. I feel like she’s very adept at her craft and I look forward to being able to experience her growth as an author because if she’s already THIS good, I can only imagine what will happen in the future.
All in all, this was a good gritty, dark, contemporary reverse harem, it is a slow burn, so if that’s not your cup of tea I’d probably pick something else to read. The characters were okay, and I do want to know what happens to Vixen, Candy and Meiko (who is just an angel and I want her to be my best friend). Unfortunately at this stage, the love interests don’t work for me, but I’m keen to see if that changes in the following instalments in the series. I’m keen to see what happens with the sevens and what trouble Candy gets into next.
Read Book. Repeat 