Author: Dana Isaly
Publication Date: October 30, 2021
Publisher: Self Published
Pages: 225
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Him
I am the monster that lurks in your nightmares. Evil incarnate. A sociopath. A murderer. I kill women who are guilty of nothing other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Women like Lyra. Her yellow raincoat flapped in the cool breeze when she walked by, that blonde hair making her look like a drowned rat as she stopped to taste the rain. She wasn’t like the others, but my demon wanted her. We followed her. Watched her. Obsessed over her. She is ours. Of that I’m certain. We will pull her into the depths of our darkness and keep her imprisoned there. Until we meet our end.LyraI am ordinary in every way. Average looks. Mundane job. Boring life. But when he looks at me, I become something else entirely. His gaze stalks and tracks me like a game of cat and mouse, his eyes licking fire over my skin every time they glance in my direction. My thoughts are consumed by him every moment he’s out of sight. He is my obsession. I can’t let him go. And once he shows me his true form, I know I’ve captured him forever. He is mine. Of that I’m certain. I will follow him to the depths of darkness and happily submit to his madness. Until we meet our end.
Into the Dark was put on my radar by a friend who is obsessed with dark romance. I don't read nearly as many as a lot of people, but when I heard that this was a serial killer romance I was intrigued. It definitely isn't a premise you see every day, and it definitely isn't for everyone. This is a DARK book and please be sure to check the trigger warnings before you go anywhere near it.
Like I said, this is a serial killer romance and it never shies away from the fact that the MC is a murderer with quite a high body count. He has the stereotypical tragic backstory and a "demon" inside him who lives for the hunt. There is no redemption for this character. He is a bad dude, full stop. The other POV character is Lyra, a 25 year old woman with an obsessive personality and a history full of her own trauma. Together they're the perfect combination for a whirlwind, out of control romance that you just know can't end well.
This book made me question what I was comfortable with and what I was willing to believe for the sake of a story. The thing is, I didn't think it was all that far out there. Certainly there are women who are in love with Very Bad Guys and Lyra's specific mental health conditions made this a believable scenario. While I knew going in that their relationship would be toxic, I was still rooting for them and hoped that they'd find a way to make it through to the other side.
Into the Dark is one of the darkest books I've ever read, but it also made me feel so many emotions and the end absolutely gutted me! I did wish that it could have ended differently, but it really was perfect for these characters and their romance (obsessive relationship).
