My Masked Shadow by Arden Hart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m in her firewall. She’s under my skin.

I don’t need to creep down dark alleys to stalk her.
I have the internet. I have her passwords.
I have everything.

Barbara thinks she knows me—the loudmouthed, cocky brother-in-arms of her best friend’s boyfriend. The one who’s always too much, too boisterous, too inappropriate.
She doesn’t know the other me.
The one who lives in the shadows of her devices.

I see her through her cameras.
Hear her through her mic.
Watch her play our favorite game at night, hair in a messy bun, soft little sighs spilling into my headset while she’s convinced I’m just another player, another anonymous stranger online.

She thinks she hates me. But she can’t stay away from me online.
And she has no idea the man behind the screen is the same one who watches her move through her apartment like a living fever dream.

I’m not an assassin like Killian. Not a vigilante like Damien.
I’m a different kind of predator—one who worms his way past firewalls the same way he worms his way into a life.

Barbara doesn’t realize she’s already mine.
But soon, she’ll understand:
The shadows she can’t escape aren’t on her walls.
They’re me.

My Masked Shadow is a dark, obsessive romance featuring a brilliant, morally gray ex-military hacker antihero and the stubborn kindergarten teacher–turned–gamer girl who can’t decide if she wants to block him… or beg for more.

Unhinged, Obsessed, and Impossible to Resist

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💜🤎💚❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 😋😀😍☺️🥰

📚 Book Review: My Masked Shadow (Beautiful Stalkers, #3)

Author: Arden Hart
Genre: Stalker romance

🦸🏼‍♀️ The Heroine: Barbara

Barbara is a warm, grounded kindergarten teacher who traded the sunshine of Los Angeles for New York’s icy winters—mostly because her best friend Emily is there. She’s not built for the cold, so winter turns her into a cozy homebody, tucked away from the world. When she meets Emily’s fiancé and his best friend Ethan, she’s instantly irritated. Ethan is loud, arrogant, and far too confident for his own good. Sure, he’s gorgeous, tattooed, and clearly dedicated to the gym, but Barbara refuses to be charmed. In her eyes, he’s the exact kind of man she avoids.

🦸🏻‍♂️ The Hero: Ethan

Ethan is a brilliant hacker with a military background, a sharp mouth, and a confidence level that borders on outrageous. He spends hours behind a computer screen, but he still trains like he’s preparing for combat. From the moment he meets Barbara, he’s captivated—and he handles that fascination in the most Ethan way possible: by inserting himself into her life through a “mysterious” gaming computer she thinks she won. Then he slips into her favorite online RPG under the alias “Sebastian,” determined to win her attention from behind a screen.

He’s cocky, obsessive, and absolutely relentless. And he knows it.

📚 The Story

After copying Barbara’s keys the night they met, Ethan breaks into her apartment and installs cameras everywhere under the guise of protecting her. His justification? Emily was recently targeted by a violent human trafficking ring, and Barbara could be next. But even Ethan knows he didn’t need to put cameras in her shower or above her bed to keep her safe. His obsession is personal, not tactical.

Meanwhile, Barbara grows closer to “Sebastian,” her charming online companion, completely unaware that he’s actually Ethan. When she asks for a selfie, he sends her a masked, polished version of himself—just enough truth to keep the lie alive.

🌟 Highlights

• Ethan is an unapologetic, over-the-top stalker, and somehow that makes him irresistible on the page. In real life, he’d be terrifying, but in a stalker romance? He’s exactly the brand of unhinged devotion that makes this series so addictive.
• The heroes in this world are dangerous men—former military, highly skilled, and absolutely lethal when necessary. That edge of danger adds tension, heat, and a sense of high-stakes romance.
• Despite their morally gray behavior, Ethan and his friends are fundamentally good men. They may cross lines for the women they love, but their mission—taking down predators who hurt women—keeps them firmly on the side of justice.
• Ethan’s tech genius is a standout element. The VR warehouse with haptic floors, sensory feedback, and immersive simulations is vivid, cinematic, and incredibly fun to imagine.

💔 Where It Fell Short

• Barbara’s moments of confusion about Ethan/Sebastian felt a bit forced. She only has two men in her life—how does she not connect the dots when they say the same things? Those scenes made her seem less perceptive than she should be.

💬 Final Thoughts

This installment delivers everything a stalker-romance fan craves: an obsessive hero, a heroine who grounds the chaos, and a plot laced with danger, heat, and emotional intensity. Ethan is unhinged in all the best ways, and the blend of tech intrigue, military grit, and romantic obsession makes the story compulsively readable. While Barbara’s obliviousness occasionally strains believability, the overall experience is fast, dark, and deliciously addictive. If you love morally gray heroes who would burn the world down for their woman, this book is a standout addition to the series.

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