*I met the author, L.J. Findlay, on Instagram and when she put a call out over the summer for Beta readers for Little Doll I immediately signed up. Little Doll just came out at the end of November and the finished copy that I am reviewing for you today is one that I bought myself because I wanted to support the author. I am so honored to have worked with Findlay in the early stages of this book and I hope that my fellow dark romance lovers love this book as much as me!

Publication Date: November 28, 2020

Pages: 336

Genre: Dark romance

Rating: 4/5

*This book is a part of Kindle Unlimited.

Synopsis

Xanthe had been happy to watch life go past. To be Xander’s Little Doll, as he had always desired her to be.

She had not planned on breaking the constraints of his control.

She had not planned on falling in love again on the heady night of her freedom.

Blaise wanted her. Wanted to keep her. Wanted to break free of his prison to pursue the mad love that had ensnared them.

Blood in. Blood out.

He was unable to rescue her and Xander would stop at nothing to lock his little doll back up in his doll’s house.

Could she be so daring as to break free? To seize the opportunity to indulge in their reckless desire for each other? To claim Blaise for herself?

Trigger warnings:

This book is a dark romance and, due to adult content, is only recommended to those over 18 years old. Contains swearing, drug usage and sexual scenes. This book also contains scenes which some readers may find triggering; these include references to mental health, sexual coercion, emotional abuse and sexual situations which contain reference to certain scenes such as blood play. If you are unsure about the triggers and want more details then please get in contact. Please note that the above is done so tactfully and is relevant to the story.

Little Doll may have dark aspects but it’s ultimately a tale of freedom, friendship and finding real love. This is a roller-coaster of emotions that you don’t want to miss! 

Review

Xanthe is a flawed heroine that is easy to root for. She has just come out of a horrible long term relationship and she unexpectedly meets Blaise on a night out and they have an intense and instant connection. There is more than one relationship that happens in this book and both are very much a case of insta love but it is easy to root them because of the way they are together. Xanthe and Blaise have so much going against them and this angst left me dying for them to fight through the adversity and figure out a way to be together. Plus they are HOT together and their chemistry jumps off the page.

There is also an interesting secret society element to the story that Blaise and his three best friends were born into. However, they have to prove themselves to be able to actually join the society and they are given various tasks to do. We only get to see the last task and sadly don’t get too much of a glimpse of the secret society. I am looking forward to future installments of this series because I love the dark element the society brings to the story and I want to understand it more.

The drama and intrigue of all the various elements of this story make it easy to fly through. Little Doll is a romance that I highly recommend to all my fellow dark romance lovers. The connection that Blaise and Xanthe have is passionate, fiery and swoon worthy. I was absolutely captivated by them and the way this book ends has me dying for the next one.

~Cassie