He told me I was his muse. He lied. Anton Sachov, the artist, the man who only sees in monochrome. He wants something from me. Something precious; the meadow green of my eyes, the rich mahogany of my hair, the creamy white of my skin, the stark red of my blood, even the darkness of my soul. And he will do anything to get them.Including the unthinkable, locking me away.Join Rose and the men of … away.
Join Rose and the men of Browlace Manor in the second book of the Finding Their Muse trilogy and sink further into this dark, gothic tale of guilt, desire, despair, and redemption.
This is a reverse harem romance for 18+ readers.
Warning: This is a dark story that contains drug abuse, mental health issues and other topics that may be triggering. Read at your own discretion
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I’m obsessed with this series. I’m not big on dark romance books, but Bea Paige found the perfect balance for me and I love it all. I love the dynamics building between the characters and how Rose finds her place among them, utilizing different roles that she enjoys being in, but also being what the guys need. I’m impatiently waiting for the next book in the series.
Dark. Contemporary Romance. Rh. 3 guys. Bdsm aspects. Duel POV (Anton’s), Ivan leaves for business trip leaving Rose and Anton to bleed their colours. Oy vey, I feel emotionally drained after that. It was very enlightening on both characters. No rape. No cheating. Ended on a semi alarming cliffhanger.
So Strokes is book 2 in the Finding Their Muse series. This book was very much focused on Rose and Anton. We do see some of Rose’s relationship with Ivan at the beginning, and while it’s not a lot, it’s very eye opening, into the psyches of Rose, Ivan, and Anton.
While the story still has a dark, gothic feel to it, and it’s deliciously descriptive, I felt like this story was very different from the first. For me, it felt like this book was just as much Anton’s as it was Rose’s, maybe more so at certain points. And where we saw a bit of both Ivan’s and Rose’s pasts in the first book, this book very much laid Anton and Rose out raw. This was their pasts, however dark and ugly. This was a fantastic book, but compared to the first one, there was something… different? Maybe because this book was so solely about Anton and Rose, it felt a little like a standalone? I don’t want to say that something was missing from it, because this book is beautifully and emotionally written. It just didn’t strike the same chord with me, as the first book did. Without being able to put words to why that is, it could be as simple as I wasn’t in the right mindset for it, but read it anyway because I was so excited for it. And that’s totally on me and doesn’t reflect at all on the author’s writing skill or ability to build a story. The skill to captivate you and draw you into this story is still there, and I am looking forward to the third book just as much as I did this book.
Last November Bea Paige surprised us by releasing book 1 in her dark RH series, Steps. Her other series had some brief dark grey moments, but I wouldn’t classify them as dark romance. Bea Paige found her niche while writing Steps and exploring the darkness found within Rose and her men. She blew it out of the water and everyone fell for Rose and Ivan, and how they were able to start putting their 2 broken souls together to start “living” again. We couldn’t get enough of their inner demons and the way they had to push each other to finally break through the walls they had put up because of their tragic pasts. I thought Steps was my favorite of Bea’s but I was wrong yet again haha.
Usually everyone is worried that book 2 in a series can never live up to the hype of book 1. Well in the case of Strokes, that is further from the truth. Bea gave us more amazing prose in this dark RH sequel. The world she creates and the relationships she is building and weaving together is incredible; it gets better with each book.
Out of the 3 guys, I didn’t connect with Anton in Steps. I thought he was mysterious, yes, but I was more worried about what he would do, instead of wanting to learn more about him. I was more excited to get Erik’s book but that is the 3rd book in the series. I think Bea did a fantastic job changing my mind. It wasn’t instant in Strokes. It took little baby steps, with each color. You will understand once you start reading how Rose has to try and get Anton to see colors, while he is color blind and can only see black, white, and grey. She was able to rope me in, get me to root for Anton, and make me wish for him to be real so I could hug him and never let him go. I fell for him so hard!! Erik is still my fav, but it might be a threeway tie after Strings comes out later this year. Thank goodness we don’t have to choose between the men
This book is going to hit you more in the feels than Steps I think, at least it did for me. I have had family friends go through what Anton has to go through in Strokes, and while it was tough to read, it made for a more relatable book that resonated with me and probably will for a long time. Anton is far from the white knight, perfect man who redeems himself and saves the day at the end. Rose and Anton help each other own their darkness and not let it overpower them and rule their lives. They were able to give each other the path/ability to see the light in the dark. To not let the past drown them in anguish and agony. In Strokes you will get to learn how Rose and Anton became who they are today and its not pretty. That’s why I loved it so much. Bea really pushed the boundaries and let her darkness fly and light up the pages with colorful imagery, colors that Anton finally could see. It was amazing to read and I cannot commend Bea enough for putting herself out there and going outside her comfort zone to provide us a masterpiece of raw emotion.
You will not be disappointed in this follow-up to Steps. This book has even more tension and feeling that book 1, if you can imagine. We even get to see a scene with Anton, Ivan, and Rose together *fans self*. We get some little sneak peaks into Erik and the world he came from (no spoilers but I already want to hurt someone for what they did to him haha) and I am chomping at the bit for Strings, which we should hopefully have before the summer gets here. This book had more suspense and intrigue, just be prepared to be shocked by some of the characters past deeds. The characters have to really work for what they want, its not easy for either of them. Rose was Domina for Ivan in book 1. With Anton, they are more or less equals, so there is a lot of give and take that helps enhance their story and relationship. We are starting to see them open themselves up to feel good emotions (not love yet, but the makings of it) and leaning on each other for what they need. Knowing they cant do it by themselves, that their broken pieces help build each other up. I wonder how Erik as the dominant in Rose’s life will fit with the other 2. So many possibilities, I can’t contain my excitement!!!!
Reader should definitely pick this series up and delve into the darkness Bea has mastered in her Finding Their Muse series Fair warning, there are triggers so don’t expect rainbows and unicorns in this dark contemporary reverse harem.