Cut So Deep: a Dark Billionaire Romance (Love So Dark Book 1)

This story had everything I could want in a story. Personal struggles that are easy to relate to. A mother torn between work life and home life. A surprise hero that will make you drool. I could not get enough of this story. I never wanted it to end. Calliope is a strong woman who has just had very bad luck in life. Just when she thinks her luck is about to turn, she has to make another tough decision. Until Jackson Vale is introduced to her, Calliope is just trying to make it all work. When Jackson enters her world, her life is about to change drastically!

Lacy Laurel and Scott Rider performed this story amazingly. They brought these characters to life. Lacy narrated Calliope as I imagined her. Lacy was able to bring out the strength in Calliope as well as her insecurities. Scott has an easy to get lost in voice that made every male character swoon worthy. I hope to hear more from both of these narrators.

Never underestimate what a mother will do to protect and care for her child. Calliope/Callie has had to fight her entire life to overcome what men believe her looks (pageant queen, large breasts, blond hair) portray to men when all she wants is to be taken for what she is, a hard working young woman who just wants respect. When Jackson Vale comes into her life, it is at a time when she really needs a knight in shining armor but will he fulfil that role or be like the other men she believed would love her for herself? This is a very dark and erotic story that had me hooked from the first few pages.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest and totally voluntary review.

A Former Beauty Queen Hopes To Put Her Crown Behind And Be Appreciated For Her Brain, But Instead Finds Herself A Pawn In A Deviously Dark Game Without Rules! Callie’s Story Will Have You On The Edge Of Your Seat As She Gets Caught Up Between Two Old Rivals And Doesn’t Know Who She Can Trust.

Trigger warning: includes sensitive issues such as non-consent.

Calliope Cruise, twenty-two, once had big dreams. She is the rather unhappy victim of her good looks, however, along with some youthful mistakes. Her beauty and figure have the unfortunate consequence of men ogling her. Men and women alike either presume the worst in her or accuse her of trading on her looks. Her own parents don’t even give her the benefit of the doubt. She had done the beauty pageant circuit when she was younger, which only resulted in alienating her thirty-one year old sister. For years Shannon has judged her, but Callie can say little in her own defense. She hails from a small town and began pursing her dream of a career in robotics at her local community college. Catching a lucky break, she was accepted as a transfer student at Stanford, where she now has just a semester left to finish her robotics degree. But she gave up that dream when Charlie came along. Her two and a half year old boy is the joy of her life, but his arrival was unplanned, putting all her dreams on indefinite hold.

David Kinnock, forty-two, has suddenly decided he wants custody of Charlie despite never wanting to be his father. His wife Regina, in her late thirties, happens to have a nice trust fund and seems to have taken an interest in Charlie. If Callie cannot afford a good attorney, she might lose custody of Charlie altogether. As devoted as she is to her son, lawyers are quite talented at taking out of context, exaggerating, misrepresenting, misconstruing, and outright lying. And a good lawyer could tear Callie apart in court. A custody hearing is approaching. If she wants to win she needs to hire a good attorney, but that might just be wishful thinking.

Today Callie just hopes to make the rent. She lives with her sister Shannon, on whom she depends to help care for little Charlie, in the Bay Area just south of San Jose. With her legal bills stacking, rent, and student loan repayments, she needs to put her waitressing behind and earn a decent income. Some creative resume writing skills land her an interview for the personal assistant position of Gentry Technologies’ CEO – Bryce Gentry himself. Gentry Tech is a Fortune 500 company. They work primarily with government contracts – military applications of drones and robotics. The idea of working for the man who, along with Jackson Vale, is famed for developing a real-time reaction simulation algorithm while studying at MIT has her thrilled. Roughly thirty-one and a bachelor, Bryce’s incredible good looks are breath-taking and his gaze is magnetic, but her initial good impression doesn’t last long. Bryce Gentry is just like all the other men that have seen her as an object. And maybe worse. But with the custody hearing approaching, Callie has no choice but to accept the job no matter the unorthodox job requirements.

Jackson Vale, thirty-two, is the CEO of CubeThink. He is disciplined and controlled, and better with code than with people. They are a big player in commercial drones and have become a household name. He is most well-known for his accomplishment with ridiculousrobots.com – when he was only seventeen. Raised in the foster system, he had a hard time until he was taken in by his foster dad at age eleven. Mr. Kent had given him direction to channel his trouble-making tendencies, introducing him to robotics. But when his dad died during Jackson’s sophomore year in college, he fell into bad habits and spiraled out of control.

Bryce and Jackson have a history together. They met at MIT when Bryce was a freshman and Jackson a sophomore, and they did more than just create algorithms. They seemed to get into a bit of trouble together. They had a falling out, though, each going their separate way. Even in business, they manage to avoid one another for the most part, with Bryce focused on military applications and Jackson on the commercial side. It is known that Bryce’s ex-fiancée had been seen on Jackson’s arm, so one might easily deduce some tension lingers between the two. When Bryce arranges a very private lunch meeting with Jackson and orders Callie to attend without underwear, all sorts of questions logically arise.

Callie’s story is a deep, dark dive into a twisted game without rules. She has to battle her past and make peace with her sister while trying to make a good enough living to be able to afford to fight for custody of Charlie in court. The deck is stacked against her and she has nobody on which to rely. She soon finds herself torn between two men, neither of whom she can trust. This story starts out rather shocking, but be forewarned: it gets worse. Pushed in all directions, Callie is tested. She has a choice to make, and consequences she must learn to live with either way. Although the story concludes in book two, Break So Soft, it ends in a good place as the story transitions.

There is plenty of angst throughout the story. There are steamy moments as well as terrifying ones. Great chemistry develops between Callie and one of the men; their connection is palpable. It is easy to root for the couple, but somehow the plot seems to overpower the relationship and it doesn’t feel quite as personal as one might hope.

A few issues merit mention. First, Callie’s age doesn’t seem to match up with how far she is in school. At twenty-two now, she would have been pregnant at nineteen, sometime during her second semester at Stanford. So she would have transferred when she was about eighteen, and presumably started full time at her community college at sixteen. It is possible but a very tight timeline and unusual, and there is no reference to that here. Next, Bryce Gentry’s company name is inconsistent. Bryce Information Technologies is referenced twice earlier in the book, but two latter references to the company name it Gentry Technologies. The abbreviated name used throughout the book, however, is Gentry Tech.

The former beauty queen hopes to put her crown behind and be appreciated for her brain, but instead finds herself a pawn in a deviously dark game without rules. Callie’s story will have you on the edge of your seat as she gets caught up between two old rivals and doesn’t know who she can trust. This story is well-written and plot-driven. It is complex, layered with mystery. Thoughtful and intelligent details give an authentically tech vibe. The characters are carefully crafted and unique. The story is written in first person in Callie’s POV, with the exception of Epilogue II. I rate this book four stars.

I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

DNF for me and I don’t do that often to books I always try and finish them even if its painful. Any person who let’s others treat them in such a disgusting and disrespectful way and goes along with it just to get a job has no self respect and is an idiot and all this in the first chapter, this book just made me so angry I had to stop reading it, and I have read some pretty dark and sordid books.

Stasia definitely knows how to write a dark, gritty, intense story of how someone who is in dire straights can be used, controlled and manipulated to their will. When trust doesn’t come easy, sense of worth has diminished and the reason, purpose to live has been torn from your life.
Lacy & Scott really made this story come to life.
Reviewed for Audiobook Obsession

Another amazingly dark read by Stasia. Intrigue, dark, intense and hot. Lacy & Scott did an awesome narrating.

#AudiobookObsessionsReviewer

“If you belonged to me, Miss Cruise, you wouldn’t look so disgusted. True ownership goes both ways. I would own you, but you’d own me, too. A concept I’m sorry to say Bryce Gentry’s never understood.”

I have read another series from Stasia and was kinda on the fence about her overall….it wasn’t an awful experience overall (3 to 3.5 stars for each book I think) so I hadn’t written her off as an author altogether. This one kept popping up in my kindle recommends and I finally added it and gave it a shot.

“And just like the first time, it takes my breath away. It’s like he’s looking into me. Seeing me.”

Its told from our heroine’s POV, and a mix of a bully romance and lighter dark erotica…..that is until the ending—lets just say you need to be prepared because it is full of disturbing events and triggers galore. The writing was good (no typos or grammar issues that stood out) and the plot was interesting and held a certain level of mystery that made me eager to turn the page. And the ending though gut wrenching, also set up a very promising part 2.

And then he does it again. The other ass cheek this time. Jackson’s voice is calm as he slaps each cheek twice more with slightly increased force, “Your safe word is red.”

The story being told is of one woman caught in a game that she should have NEVER been a part of, but her beauty and physical assets (what she was taught from childhood to rely on) is exactly what makes her the perfect pawn. With a toddler who relies on her and his father showing up after being a deadbeat for two years to take him away, Callie will do WHATEVER it takes to keep him with her and provide the life he deserves, which leads her to take the personal assistant job with the powerful Bryce Gentry…..only the role she fills isn’t exactly what she envisioned when she applied for the position……

“Bryce destroys everything he touches. This woman, whoever she is, still has plenty of life left in her eyes. He hasn’t broken her yet. Yet. ”

Jackson Vale, former friend and business partner to Gentry, knows ALL about how Bryce operates….he destroys EVERYTHING and EVERYONE he touches. A master manipulator, Bryce can’t be trusted. So when he meets the woman Gentry calls his “PA”, he vows to save her….to not let another innocent fall victim to such a dangerous man. Jackson doesn’t just want to protect Callie, he wants to make her his in every way.

“I want you, in every possible way the word can be understood. Forget about work for a minute. Let’s talk about the personal now. Because tonight was just the beginning. You’re going to be in my bed, Calliope. On my desk. Against my wall.”

Can Callie escape Bryce’s control, or does he hold the power to destroy her already? What if the one thing she has to do to break free from Gentry is also the one thing that can break her in the process? This book DOES NOT have a HEA, ending on a cliffy with a continuation in book 2.

“Life is a shit storm. Still, it’s one I’m going to make it through. I might come out beaten, battered, and more than a little bit bruised. But no fucking way am I broken.”

All in all, this book had everything necessary to make it a steamy yet suspenseful read. I recommend it to anyone who likes these kinds of stories, but be warned….the ending is tough to get through.

“Because before we can have our happily ever after, we have to cut the head off a snake.”

Absoluting gripping
Cut So Deep by Stasia Black is amazingly and wonderfully well written. This book grabbed me by the throat from the first word and didn’t let go even at the end. My heart is still pounding!! Callie’s story is edge of your seat pulse pounding, breath stealing and heart wrenching. I couldn’t read fast enough! Stasia Black has created some fantastic characters and I am reading Break So Soft immediately!
If you have read Stasia’s books before, you will love it because she writes so beautifully, however, this is a dark kind of beautiful and worth way more than 5 stars.