Once You’re Mine by Morgen Bridges

Summary of Once You’re Mine:

Murder brought us together.
Only death can keep us apart.
The Tormentor:

Calista belongs to me… she just doesn’t know it.
The first time we met, I wanted her.
The next time, I was obsessed.
I watched her.
I followed her.
It only deepened my need to possess her.
Once she’s mine, I’m never letting her go.

The Target:
Hayden Bennett is a monster, in and out of the courtroom.
Unfortunately, I need his help.
What was supposed to be a simple transaction turns into something else.
Something intense.
He’s always there when I need him,
but I don’t know if trusting him is a good idea…

Once You’re Mine is Book 1 in the Possessing Her Duet that ends on a cliffhanger. It contains a morally gray hero that’s OTT/JP, a stalker who falls first, has Touch Her & Die energy, and is willing to do whatever it takes to have her.

(A complete list of the TWs can be found on the author’s website)

Length:

308 Pages

Reading Speed:

5 hours and 50 minutes

My Opinion of Once You’re Mine:

I’m not saying this is better than the dark romance books that are circling around… but I am.

Girlie had him rolling up his sleeve before he beat someone up in her honor, and THAT is what we like to see.

Disclaimer: This is a dark romance. There will be some triggers. If you cannot read this review, you definitely should not read the book.

Main Female Character:

I like her.

The basis of stories like this is to have the female main character lack in personality enough so we can envision ourselves in her place. Often, those characters are hated and seen as bland. I assume, given that Callie had no big personality traits, she would be one of those characters. But I did not hate her at all.

She’s relatable. She learns from past mistakes, like being financially dependent on a man and she grows from them. She has little habits, like her sanitizing everything, but it isn’t overpowering. She is an actual “good person”. They show her being a good example for others, not just someone who is relatively nice in everyday situations.

I hated the girls in the other books. In every other dark romance book, he is seen as obsessed with how different she is . All I can think about is how I’ve baked bread with more personality than that.

Main Male Character:

He has a moral high ground. Sure, he is obsessed and a stalker. This isn’t a spoiler, this is in every dark romance book. He does have some boundaries that he isn’t willing to cross. It always makes me wonder about my own ethics code. Is it really what I believe in or is this the social norm and therefore what I see as acceptable?

I can’t say much more about them, otherwise I’m going to spoil it. Obviously, she is an angel sent from above and he is toxic. This will never be a healthy relationship but that’s why we read about it. So that we don’t experience it.

Right, ladies?….

Please say yes.

Plot/Writing Style:

This book was such an easy read. The flow was phenomenal. It progressed beautifully. There weren’t many subplots to make it complicated, but not too little to make it boring. There was the question mark of her father’s trial throughout the book and it made it so much more interesting.

Not to mention Dual Point of Views are a weakness of mine. Like, damn.

It had so much show don’t tell. Her best friend is a pervert but cares about her deeply. She regularly volunteers at a shelter but doesn’t brag about it because she is humble in her goodness. He wants to take care of her, and he is shown to do so. He seems intimidating through his actions, not just his presence, which is something the author would have to tell us instead of show us.

I applaud the author on her writing style. She has cracked the code for easy reads.

Trope:

Now this is a dark romance. We all knew stalking and some type of murder was going to be in this. These tropes are oversaturated in this market, but for good reason. This trope, with a good writing style, drives in us the emotions in which we seek in these kinds of books.

Recommendation for Once You’re Mine:

Obviously, anyone reading this book should be okay with all the trigger warnings. I recommend this to anyone starting out with dark romance books.

And for those of us who swoon when a man rolls up his sleeves.