Carnival Obsession: A Dark Romance by Selena Winters

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The carnival rolled into town, bringing an obsession so powerful that it threatened to unravel my entire existence.

Seeking an escape from my monotonous life in Willow Creek, I eagerly stepped into the carnival’s vibrant chaos, unaware that everything was about to change. I was simply chasing a thrill, never expecting to stumble into the arms of Lars—a captivating mechanic shrouded in mystery.

But a dark underworld of secrets and shadows lurks beneath the carnival’s dazzling facade. The deeper I fall into Lars’s enigmatic world, the more I realize that love can be as intoxicating as it is dangerous. Lars teeters on the edge between passion and obsession, and our connection threatens to overwhelm us.

With each reckless adventure, I’m torn between the exhilarating allure of his world and the terrifying fear of losing my own. As our relationship intensifies, I’m forced to confront a haunting can love survive amidst the chaos, or will I be lost forever in his darkness?

Step right up, if you dare, because this thrilling ride is about to begin.

Carny Anti-hero!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 🖤💙💜💚
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋😀😘
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Duet Narration

The heroine: Alice – she works in an attorney’s office, for a man who is condescending and entitled. She needs the job but hates it and her boss. One evening when a carnival comes to town, she goes with her friend Lily. After riding on the Tilt-a-Whirl, she sees a handsome, muscular, tattooed god. He asks her out the next night and she agrees to meet him. Though she ends up standing him up when Lily has a stalker that broke into her apartment.

The Hero: Lars – he is a worker at a traveling carnival. He is good friends with Cade from Carnival Nightmare. Lars works on the rides, fixing and maintaining them. He also works closely with Ty, the owner with their illegal side hustle and he loves the rush. There are hidden compartments in many of the trailers, and they make pickups and deliveries all over the country, doing it right under the noses of the local authorities and nobody suspects a thing.

The story: Lars isn’t happy when Alice stands him up. He finds out where she lives and sees that she is just watching a movie with her friend. He is determined to make her pay for playing him. The following day, he “accidentally” bumps into her and they make another date for that evening. Alice likes the mystery and danger that surround him, so she plans on finding out. Later while at work, she gets an envelope from an anonymous man which holds a photograph of her and Lily last night, taken through the window. She thinks it might have been from Lars and is a bit worried, but she doesn’t plan on getting scared off.

This book gets steamy pretty quickly and like the first book in the series, Lars doesn’t care too much about following social norms. He inserts himself into her life and they spend time together and their chemistry is sizzling hot. There are a few triggers, so beware, but I like dark romance, and I liked these characters.

The audiobook was told in multiple points of view and narrated via duet narration by Troy Duran and Heather Johns. Heather has a nice, clear voice and she sounds the right age for Alice. Troy Duran is one of my favorite male narrators. He has a deep, sexy voice which is perfect for Lars. Overall, the narration was extremely good.

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