Two captive dancers. One cruel master. A single performance to determine whether they live or die.★★★★★ “Dangerous, haunting, twisted, powerful; this is what true dark romance is meant to be.” -The Flamingo Bookshelf Review-Anya has served as a talent slave for one of the four families since she was kidnapped three years ago. She has accepted her fate, knowing that the four families are … knowing that the four families are everywhere and escape is impossible. She belongs to Nikolai who abuses her in unspeakable ways. He’s a villainous master and head of the Mikhailov family. She has learned to live the life of a slave, complacent in her misery, until a new captive arrives and changes everything.
Ezra has just been violently kidnapped and brought to the Mikhailov family home. He is given to Anya as her new dance partner. Sarcastic, stubborn, and impulsive, he refuses to recognize a master, but Anya knows her fate rests in his hands. His cooperation is crucial to their survival. If their performance at the next quarterly meeting of the four families doesn’t meet Nikolai’s strict expectations, it could mean death for them both.
As Anya tries to break Ezra into compliance and train him in her style of dance, her walls are broken down, and a bond unlike any other is formed.
It’s dangerous to fall in love when you’re a slave.
This dark romance thriller tells a story of love against all odds.
Content Warning: This book contains explicit sexual content, violence, and mature themes including scenes where consent is not sought or given. The author in no way condones such heinous acts, but rather seeks to immerse the reader in the true horror of the characters’ experiences. This is your trigger warning—reader discretion is advised.
Series Note: Counts of Eight is book one of three in the Four Families trilogy. It is not a standalone and the books must be read in order. Books one and two end on major cliffhangers, but the series is complete and ready for you to binge read!
Reading Order
Book 1: Counts of Eight
Book 2: Dance with Death
Book 3: Pas de Trois
See what readers are saying about this dark romance!
★★★★★ “Dangerous, haunting, twisted, powerful; this is what true dark romance is meant to be.” -The Flamingo Bookshelf Review-
★★★★★ “Dear lord was this book unexpected! Depraved, sick, just downright wrong….but I LOVED it!” -Heidi, Goodreads Review-
★★★★★ “This was so cleverly executed, refreshing, unique in so many ways, the fact that it was unputdownable makes this an easy 5 star read.” -Kitty Kats Crazy About Books Review-
★★★★★ “Who are my dark romance queens? Pepper Winters, Pam Godwin, Tillie Cole….and if the rest of this series is like Counts of Eight then Brynn Ford will be right up there with these ladies.” -Jess lovetolovebooks Review-
★★★★★ “WOW! This book is dark, gritty, intense and utterly phenomenal.” -Erin, Goodreads Review-
★★★★★ “It has been a very long time since I read a proper Dark Romance and very few authors do it well but Brynn has certainly ticked all the boxes for me and is up there with the best authors in this genre and yes I mean Pepper Winters (who is Queen of this genre for me).” -Kelly, Goodreads Review-
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It was a good read
It is neither exotic nor erotic. It might be pornographic but lacks the imagery.
ARC received from author
First book I have read by this author, and I can’t allow it to be the last!
This book is perfect for those fans Pepper Winters. It’s pretty dark. Counts of Eight follows Anya and Ezra, two dancers both stolen from their lives. While this book is a dark romance involving a kept slave, it avoids the tropes often seen in this genre. Nikolai, the master, is simply the villain; she doesn’t love him and that’s not where the romance is in this book. Secondly, the book is less focused on Anya’s captivity. Her capture is a thing of the past and this isn’t about breaking her. This book starts with the introduction of Ezra into the mix and the process of his submission. It provides a different story within this genre and one that is refreshing.
Between the three of them there is the clear hierarchy and the visual hierarchy. Visually, Ezra is at the bottom, with Anya in between. She was given instructions to train him into submission and to give him orders. In reality, both are only slaves and neither are one up from another.
The Four Families gather each year, and each family hosts the rest. The host has to provide “talent slaves” to perform for everyone. Anya was chosen right from childhood and has spent years performing ballet. Each year, she gets a partner to perform with and each year, the partner doesn’t please Nikolai so he does away with them. This year it’s Ezra’s turn, only instead of ballet they adopt his contemporary form of dance. What’s most interesting about the whole scenario is that it has less to do with the performance and more to do with Nikolai’s vision. He wants a certain something and is looking.
The romance is beautiful, involving two souls finding one another in the darkness. They connect on a new level. The story involves them working together on the dance routine, mainly, while stealing moments away with one another. The writing is this book’s best feature. Byrnn Ford really knows how to write a book! The writing is flawless and almost poetic.
As per the synopsis, this book ends on a cliffhanger. I suspect he’ll sell her to his colleague in the next one, and that absolutely terrifies me to no end. Until then, I’ll be biting my fingers!
I enjoyed reading this book so much and had a difficult time taking breaks from it.
A very well written story with characters that draw you in with their darkness and strength and willingness to make everything better in a world of captivity.
It’s darker than I was expecting and the author warning needs to be taken as it comes because there’s a lot going on that many people won’t like but I enjoyed it quite a lot.
It shows so much of the unseen part of some people or lifestyle that we appreciate but don’t know much about behind the scenes in real life. It also reminds me of some of my favourite authors that write dark romance.
I want and need the next books because I need my HEA in this story.
Counts of Eight by Brynn Ford…was WOW!!!!! Just WOW!!!! This was a PHENOMENAL story of Anya, Nikolai, and Ezra. She’d been taken and enslaved by Nikolai to dance and keep him entertained. Dance or Die. But, she needs a dance partner. After several attempts, they find and take Ezra. But, he’s different than the others. In addition to a partner, Ezra bringer her a much more dangerous thing…hope.
This story had me mesmerized from the first paragraph. I settled in knowing this would be a marathon read!!! Easily one of the best stories I’ve ever read!! I can’t WAIT for the next in the series!!! This is a captivating start!! Ends in a cliffhanger!!
This is a dark read and may not be for all readers as there are triggers.
I am volunteering to leave a review for an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
So, Counts of Eight just happened to me and now my heart hurts. This is one of the best dark romance books EVER. I felt pain for Anya and Ezra, literally my heart hurts. Now I want and fear next book. This was my first book by Brynn Ford and she has a fan for life.
The storyline was well written, the plot flowed smoothly from page to page and the characters were created with such great detail and depth that Anya and Ezra kept me totally captivated throughout the entire book!
Wow! Such an amazing start to a new series and as a first read to a new author I’m absolutely floored and can’t wait to read any books I can get my hands on by Brynn Ford. As a lover of dark romance this book ticked all those boxes for me and then some. It enthralled me from page one. The tone set makes it an intense read and the characters are brilliant. Nikolai is a character that I love to hate, is it wrong to think he could be a redeemable, that maybe he could change? I truly loved Ezra and Anya and the chemistry between them. It’s dark, twisted, captivating and absolutely incredible!! The next book can’t come fast enough.
Dark and Intense!
“We’re all fucking monsters. Some of us just found a way to get paid feeding the other monsters. Some of us have learned to enjoy the rewards of being a monster. Anya is my right and my reward…”
WOW! This book is dark, gritty, intense and utterly phenomenal. Nikolai, Anya and Ezra’s story is one that will leave you shocked and completely breathless and begging for more. Their story is not for the faint of heart and deals with one of the ugly sides of human trafficking.
Anya is a broken slave but some how she is still able to show some defiance and strength when it comes to dealing with Nikolai and his dark and depraved punishments. He owns her and controls her every move. Nikolai is a forceful, demanding and evil head of his family. He would do anything to keep Anya under his ultimate control. But Anya’s world is turned upside down when Ezra is brought home to dance with her. Ezra somehow becomes the calm in the storm which seems to be able to help Anya.
“Ezra came into my life with warmth and light and truth. Truth, even when I didn’t know I was living in lies.”
It’s a dark and twisted story that will keep you enthralled and captivated right to the end. And what a wild cliffhanger ending leaving us craving more. I loved every second of this story and can’t wait to find out what happens to Anya and Ezra next.
This book takes a hard look at the gritty disturbing details of human trafficking. I felt for Anya throughout the whole book. She belongs to Nikolai, who is a hard master to endure. He is unfeeling when it comes to how he treats Anya. She takes all his frustrations and punishments that he wants to hand out. She is a belonging and his to with as he pleases. Suddenly, Anya is brought a new partner to do her family performances with. Ezra is the calm in the storm that controls their every move. A wild cliffhanger leaves me wondering what is going to happen next.
Brynn is a relatively new writer. I received a copy for an honest review.
While I can appreciate the time and effort to write a book it was not one I connected with.
Ayna suffers a great deal as a slave & dancer for Nikolai. Except for one incident he shows no redeeming qualities. Another slave/dancer is added, Ezra and the Anya falls for him quickly, but again I didn’t feel the connection. If Anya was such a perfect slave I think she would have struggled against her feelings and actions. But there was very little angst.
The book ends on a major cliffhanger.
“If giving up my freedom is the price I have to pay to be yours, then I will pay it. I don’t regret a thing if it means I’m yours…”
This might be the first book that has manage to give me more words than I can use to express how I feel after reading it. A tragic love story, that has no end; the suffer they’re both being held to can crush a soul and yet, they hang to each other like life vests, because the only thing they have besides hope is love…even if it’s forbidden.
Anya. Slave of the Mikhailov family, she now belongs to Nikolai Mikhailov; the man who broke her and has held her captive for years. The only thing she can hang on to is dancing, she’s made peace with being a dancing slave, but now Nikolai has brought a partner for her to dance with, in a performance that could either save her or kill her.
The moment Ezra realized how Mikhailov Manor worked, he hid his true self in order to keep Anya safe. One look into the blue-eyed girl and he lost, he feels everything for her, her pain, her torture, her heart; and that is the only thing either one of them can’t do; because both belong to Nikolai, the monster that keeps them alive just because.
This book is a spell, you start to read and even when you feel your heart starts to break little by little you can’t stop; the story is almost magical and the characters have such strength that you can only keep reading while being aware that your soul is being ripped apart. Dangerous, haunting, twisted, powerful; this is what true dark romance is meant to be.
Be aware that this book has some sensitive topics, if you’ve never read anything resembling dark romance, think twice before reading this haunting story.