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Tragic and twisted fell in love...

Ave Satanas, something wicked this way comes.
It’s time for the reckoning to begin.
Enter the Devil’s Playground wary where you tread, for demons are lurking with trickery up their sleeves.
Here good and bad cease to exist, and not all will make it to the end.
The price of freedom will be revealed only after bloodshed and rapture.
A claiming of one and purging of others.


That audio recording played exactly three minutes before the crash.
It was a riddle, a warning, and a promise. But they didn’t know that until it was too late.

Now stranded with two friends and a group of apprehensive strangers, Liliana Serpine must decide who and who not to trust as they navigate their way through hell in the form of an opulent city.

There’s one person who stands out among the others. He’s got a gorgeous face and darkly enigmatic aura. Being drawn to him is inevitable but staying by his side becomes necessary to survive.

When secrets start being revealed in blood, everything changes. From dabbling in the taboo, being tempted by the forbidden, and falling in lust with the carnage.

For those that make it out of this alive, they’ll never be the same people they once were.


**Warning**
Devil's Playground is a dark new adult (not high-school) series. There are graphic situations and content some readers may find objective. If you need fluff and sweet romance this is not the series for you. Books 1 & 2 tie together. The remaining books in the series are individual standalones.

290 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2020

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About the author

Natalie Bennett

108 books2,550 followers
Lover of all things pǝʇsıʍʇ & unusual.

I write unconventional 'romance' with strong elements of horror.

Find all my links here!
linktr.ee/AuthornatB

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5 stars
641 (40%)
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444 (27%)
3 stars
319 (20%)
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108 (6%)
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81 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 338 reviews
June 7, 2021
Wanna go for a wild ride on the dark side?
If so, this is definitely the book for you!




This was one of the craziest books I ever read and I couldn’t turn away for a second. It was hard to categorize because it was a mix of so many genres. This book can definitely fit in the following genres: horror, thriller, erotic romance, maybe a bit of bully romance thrown in, and there is definitely plenty of suspense and mystery.

The two main characters are both a bit psychotic in their own ways but not nearly as psychotic as the people running the show. And by that, I mean the people who have them trapped in this crazy abandoned city in the middle of a Mexican forest off the beaten path when the shuttle bus to the airport gets misrouted due to a closed road.

Liliana or Lana as her friends call her was on a last vacation with her friends drowning their sorrows because after they go home they will have to start towing the line for their wealthy families and being the nice uptight daughters who are all about improving the family name and status. When they get on the bus they encounter four hot arrogant guys with tattoos, muscles and attitude to spare.

Once the bus crashes things go from bad to worse as they are directed through the gates of the city and into the Devils Playground and put through their paces by a motley crew of psychopaths bent on killing them off in the most inventive ways. They have to solve riddles, go through mazes and obstacle courses, figure out maps, and other things.

Meanwhile Liliana is being helped along by the leader of the hotties, named Ciaran who seems to know her but won’t tell her from where. His friends are helping her friends and she doesn’t know if she can trust him. Ciaran is definitely a bit crazy but then so is Lana. Both of them are not affected by the people dying around them. The romance between them is steamy and the action in this book is super crazy. The ending is unbelievable and I can’t wait to get my hands on more!



I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Profile Image for ❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books.
2,323 reviews9,246 followers
March 10, 2022
90ca45e7e7c6ddfa7f3d6d91a5f154bd-1-3-2-1-1-1
📚 PERICULUM: 📚 Is the first full length dark romance book in the series 'Devil's Playground', by Natalie Bennett.

And so the purge begins, only the strong will survive
This was a mixture of saw, and the hunger games.

200

Chance encounters or not?!?

Lana and her besties Mel and Grace partook in their last vacation before they have to step up to what their parents have install for them, all hungover and feeling the worst for wear jump on a shuttle bus on their way to the airport.

The only thing is along with an electric group of other passengers they don't get to their destinations..

Instead they are led to the unknown with tasks thrown at them to survive, stalked by mask wearing weapon brandishing unhinged people.

HOLY F#CK I'm sitting here with mouth wide open trying to sort through everything I'd just read! I've read previous books by this author and the beginning would grab me by the throat but then I'd lose interest in the storyline BUT this kept me so in the story before I knew it I'd inhaled it. This was so unique with so many missing puzzle pieces. Needless to say I'm beyond hooked..

A little bit dark
A little bit gritty
A hell of a lot of questions..
Profile Image for Bex (Beckie Bookworm).
2,154 reviews1,434 followers
April 23, 2020
Periculum Teaser 1

Woah this one was fabulous.
This is up there with my favourite of this authors work to date.
Depravity and darkness are this author's middle name and I always appreciate what emerges from her twisted brain and this time around she really does bring the goods.
It's as usual unpredictable and wild and weirdly unique with such a strangely compelling quality overshadowing the whole carnival of insanity.
This managed to pull me right into the delirium almost instantly and despite having no clue half the time just what the actual crack was I kept turning those pages unable to put this baby down.
So after the shuttle bus takes a wrong turn on the way to the airport Liliana and her friends find themselves facing games and mayhem, dancing to the whims of some unknown entity.
Also along for the show is Ciaran and his crew and some randoms also from the shuttle-bus.
This takes us on a journey down a bizarre Rabbitt-hole which was equally as surreal as it was vicious.
Red-herrings and misdirections abound especially from Ciarans camp as this strange entourage make their way through this nightmare city leaving death and disaster in there wake, their numbers dwindling along the way.
So I have questions that need answers here.
Who are the families?
What is actually the FUCK going on?
Why does Ciaran act like he knows Liliana but she has no recollection of him?
This makes especially addictive reading almost slow burn but with such smouldering intensity and what this has in spades is absolute chemistry.
This one had an almost purge feel to it and I could so see this one playing on the big screen.
Come and play in the devil's playground if you dare.
Bloody loved this one a whole lot it was totally unique and the finale left me wanting the next bit like right now.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Periculum (Devil's Playground #1)

Periculum Teaser 3

Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
June 7, 2021
It's a game of death.

A shuttle filled with people was about to leave for the airport when it took a detour, and straight into the Devil's Playground.

The premise was so freaking intriguing. As they travelled far into the mysterious city, one by one person was culled out from their group and to be honest, that's all I can spoil for you. The rest, read it yourself.

One thing that I want to point out is the very unlikable characters we have here. Like seriously, the hero in this? Horrible. He gave me that cloying, condescending, high school jock vibe that I really didn't like. It took me halfway through the book that I was finally got a good grasp on his character and started to enjoy his parts in the book.

Heroine? Horrible too. And the fact that she found everything about the hero was a turn-on just grated my mind. Then, I also got on board with her suppressed psychotic mind. Hey, it's the classic Natalie Bennett's treatment! And they were so perfectly made for each other.

The cliffhanger ending? Marvelous.
Profile Image for ❤️Emma Book Lover ❤️.
489 reviews287 followers
August 10, 2020
4 Mystery, mayhem, darkness Stars

"If you enter the Devil’s Playground be wary where you tread, for demons are lurking with trickery up their sleeves. Here good and bad cease to exist, and not all will make it to the end."

It's_not_hoarding_if_it's_books Ig page

Wohooo! The Purge meets Saw with a touch of erotica romance.
Lana and her friends Mel and Grace take the shuttle bus to the airport from a resort where they had a last vacation before their parents will introduce them in their new life.
On the bus they meet 4 intriguing guys, the leader of their group is Ciaran,but the trip is cut short because the the bus takes a different route because the normal road is closed. The bus crashes and leaves the survivors in a remote area with no means of contacting anyone. From here on a twisted game begins, with riddles to solve, audio tapes to listen and psychos to defend from.

"It’s a penitentiary full of rhymes and riddles.
A place where dark and light are one and the same.
Carnal passions await within.
Your screams won’t save you; they’ll only excite them.
Safety is but an illusion.
Trust no one. Question everything.
He’s been watching. He’s been waiting.
It’ll be your turn soon.
Servatis Periculum.
Something wicked this way comes.
Take a journey to the Devil’s Playground."



Both Lana and Ciaran , the main characters, are twisted, they don't feel empathy for suffering and death, they are emotionally close, but they have an instant pull toward eachother. She knows he is hiding something with all the cryptic thing he is saying, but he and his friends help keep them alive.

The side characters are a big plus here, I would love to see more couples form in the future. The plot, the reasoning, the mystery , lacks a bit of information tho, but I assume it will be explained more in the next book. I was left with quite a lot questions, and even if it is the first book I wanted more background on the main characters , the founding families and what that all is about.
Overall, his is the beginning of a twisted, dark, psychotic and steamy series , exactly in Natalie's Bennett style.
Profile Image for Manvi.
240 reviews214 followers
October 15, 2021
3.5⭐
If you loved Squid Game then you might like this. It is similar in the way the "games" are held and it would seem to have a dark set up rather than the awfully bright one in the show.

Mystery wise? Intriguing.
Romance wise? Random and abrupt. The smut didn't appeal to me for some reason I'm not aware of.

I love the length of the book though. I like short, captivating reads. That being said, I'd suggest not keeping high hopes for this because it is slightly fast paced so you won't see much of character development or something like that. It's just a mysterious little dark shit.
Profile Image for Mimiorphee.
581 reviews39 followers
July 30, 2020
"Fuck your demons before they fuck you.”

Give me a mindf*@k anytime, and I'll be the happiest reader! When it comes to Mrs Bennett's book, I want to go in completely blind. Ni blurb, no previous reviews. To be surprised by the new atmosphere she created is phenomenal, and Periculum's is just incredible. I enjoyed so much diving into this ultra dark, gruesome, and utterly worrisome ambience, where the mysteries are thick and kept me wondering all along.

"I was the cat curiosity couldn’t kill, eager to explore all his hidden depths."

I'm still reeling from this first installment that I devoured in one setting. From cover to cover, Lana and Ciaran's (and the other's) maddening journey gripped me to no end. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out the next horror step they'd be subjected to. I needed to know if my theories where right (and...yes, I wasn't too far).

The scorching hot chemistry between the main characters reached new highs while the storyline kept playing with the reader's sanity. Wow, what an adrenaline rush! 

In the Devil's Playground, I felt as much a puppet as Lana did, and it felt so good! I laughed, I cringed, and fanned myself - the perfect cocktail for a great reading time.

"Sooner rather than later, I’ll have you unable to speak at all. You’ll be to busy weeping in a mess of blood and come.”

I recommend this book to readers who like to be kept on pins and needles, I promise you won't be disappointed. My stomach is still in knots from the ending, but ....Shh...I can't wait for the uckily for me, the next opus, Maleficium is just around the corner! *Claps excitedly*!


"Psycho versus psycho. Let’s see how vicious she can be."

I VOLUNTARILY REVIEWED AN ARC COPY OF THIS BOOK. THANK YOU!!!
Profile Image for Amara.
598 reviews62 followers
August 19, 2020
...

I literally devoured this book. Could not put it down. It's the start of something tragic and twisted... and I absolutely cannot wait to read what happens next.

The FMC struggles to keep her darkness reined in. When she meets Ciaran who openly acknowledges his, she can't help but be drawn in. Their chemistry is magnetic.

The other characters are all worthy of stories too, so I am hoping that happens as the series progresses.

Trigger warnings - brutal death scenes, gore, and explicit sex.

Highly recommend for those of us who love dark and twisted.
Profile Image for Amanda Mervine.
31 reviews3 followers
July 9, 2021
Umm did I not read the same book as everyone else?

I had such high hopes for this one. The cover is gorgeous, the description drew me in, and the whole theme was my cup of tea! All the top reviews were singing this one’s praises. I really really wanted to love it, I did.

Was it spicy? No.. I’m sorry this wasn’t even steamy. It was eating a green bell pepper.

Was it dark? I mean… kinda? There were some darker bits, but they honestly went by so quickly it honestly might as well have been fade to black.

Honestly the entire time I was just in a general state of confusion over what I was reading.

Overall plot: 2/5 I liked the concept

Spice level 1/5 I’ve had more in my YA books.

Tissue level: 0/5
Profile Image for Amy Estridh.
302 reviews180 followers
October 21, 2021
Self-absorbed Halloween-freak as I am, it was time to start getting into the mood. The mood today obviously being horror slash with an erotic touch 👌🏻 I LOVE THE COVER BTW

And you know it’s gonna be interesting when the MC is hot on someone who doesn’t raise an eyebrow when someone is killed and calls him "kindred spirit" 🥰 Between the blood and torture, the romance was just heartwarming.

"I use you. To fuck. To toy with. To make myself feel better."

Or, this part 💕

"What’s cute, puppet, is how naive you are. I’m going to fuck you like the whore you so desperately want to be fucked like and set a precedent no other man will ever be able to match."

So obviously I'm like, man, you’re setting the stakes really high and I hope you live up to it

The weirdest part about this book isn’t the gore or how some people ended up in nowhere, it’s how the group reacted toward being stuck in a town mixed between Silent Hill and Little Hope. Or when someone died a pretty decent brutal death. Most of them are just like, okay, let’s do this. 😤 I’m impressed. I would be the hysterical idiot that would die in the first 10 minutes. 😌

This was super quick to read and ended in a cliffhanger so big that I don’t understand why the second book isn’t just immersed with this one, but okay I’ll bite.
Profile Image for Philomena Callan Cheekypee.
3,918 reviews405 followers
April 27, 2020
Gah I want more. Seriously this was another amazing read by this author. Maybe I’m immune by dark reads but this wasn’t as dark as I expected. However it was an excellent read that I read in a day.

There’s no way I could have put this down to sleep.. I had to keep reading. The author takes us on a unpredictable rollercoaster ride with some fab characters. Ciaran and Liliana. Wow.. what a story they have and it’s not over yet.

The unique storyline had me literally gripped. So many questions running through my head. Yikes I can’t wait to read more.. soon I hope :)
Profile Image for meow meow.
68 reviews5 followers
March 26, 2022
Rating : 1.5/5

Let's start with compliments - the book cover had me sold along with Matida's recommendation on Instagram. And then I read its description and braced myself for some supernatural mind-f*ck.

...Except it didn't have any supernatural element. The description was misleading. But I settled for the next best thing - Squid Game meets The Purge and they have a love child together called Periculum by Natalie Bennett. Sounds promising, doesn't it? Except it wasn't.



It was difficult to like the characters from the get-go but I set my displeasure aside and kept on reading. There was nothing to lose as the book is a quick read. But here's why its short length was a downside. The story did not have enough weight, everything was rushed. There weren't enough words to describe the scenes and the characters' emotions profoundly. They all came off one-dimensional to me.

A girl's f*cking head was blown off and what did the main girl and guy do afterwards? They f*cked. And it would've been understandable because some people get turned on by violence and this is a dArK rOmAnCe so. But, no non of their emotions were described well enough to get us a proper insight.

The book came with a warning by the author -

"Devil's Playground is a dark new adult (not high school) series. There are graphic situations and content some readers may find objective. If you need fluff and sweet romance, this is not the series for you."

I was all game after reading the warning because I love a good fright with knee-wobbling smut. But boy was I left disappointed! Yes, there were some gore scenes every now and then but first - it didn't make much sense, and second - it was quickly forgotten and I was forced to jump to the next scene. Let me take that in first, please, what's the rush? There was no romance in it, maybe if you squint hard enough you'd find something. But the build-up between Liliana and Ciaran was so confusing and underwhelming. They had no connection.



I just could not like the characters, and that's saying something because I love villains and anti-heroes. Ciaran was unbearable, he was all bark and no bite. There was nothing sexy or attractive about him other than his tattoos. I lost it when he called her "babygirl" for the first time, it only reminds me of 365 Days. His pet names for her were so cringey I wanted to barf.



I don't even want to talk about Liliana. In the beginning, she came off as this intriguing person with dark secrets but nothing important was revealed by the end??? Why did she let him call her Puppet and manhandle her without any protest if she was so badass? What was she onto about when she said she's afraid of her violent side? Why didn't she use that side to protect herself when needed?

Everything was happening without any explanation. If you're gonna keep me in the dark for the entire book at least give me something to hang on to by the end. What we got, in the end, wasn't enough. And I don't have the patience to read the second book for closure. The side characters were flatter than Salar de Uyuni. And the story was incomplete in a way that left me annoyed. And what is up with the founding families? What are they, mafias or something?

And the smut? I've had more grit from Fifty Shades of Grey, this was almost vanilla. Ciaran kept boasting how this isn't half of what he had in store for Liliana, and I had the patience to get to that dark-steamy-raw-primal part where he'd unveil but all I got was remote silence because THAT smut wasn't IT. There were words used like "slurping my juices" and "you're fucking soaked, puppet", it killed whatever stimulation I had remotely felt before.





Maybe Ciaran had known Liliana from childhood but she forgot about him. She had forgotten about a game Mel mentioned they used to play together as kids. Ciaran would say things to her like, "you've always had me", or "because maybe I love you" and that kind of makes me think the second book will have something like Liliana's loss of memory due to a traumatic childhood incident or something like that.

I kind of felt bad for Charon because he was part of the inner circle, and they were probably not going to die, so I assumed. Maybe he survived and it'll be revealed in the 2nd book. Guess I'll never know.

Profile Image for NiCoLeTa E. {Addicted To Books}.
1,415 reviews85 followers
July 25, 2020
***4,5 "Puppet!!!" stars***



...SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES...

This story was absolutely crazy and soooo fucked up. And i freakin' loved it!!!
As all of Natalie Bennett's book the storyline was crazy, fucked up and dark as hell, but as always, this combination was sooo addictive!!!
Darn!!!! What a crazy ride was that!!! And i can not wait for the next part!!!

"Have you ever felt like you've entered an alternate reality?"

What we had here???
We had three girls who were returning from vacations, four hot mysterious guys who definitely knew more than they were showing and a car crush who forced them to enter the Devil's Playground!!!
A strange secluded town which had too many shits in store for them....
Who were behind all these 'things'?
I still don't know, but i can assure you that they weren't in their right minds!!!

"This had to be how Alice felt before she descended into madness. Perhaps I'd surpassed that and gone straight to insanity."

From the moment that our group entered the gates of Hell, there wasn't coming back from there...
They had to follow the instructions and to be smart in order to survive...
Our heroine, Liliana was a crazy bitch and Ciaran was the perfect match for her since he was even crazier than her...
There were happening horrors in front of them, and they weren't batting an eye on them!!! Wow!!!
But they had an insanely chemistry that was putting the air around them on fire...

"Like we'd been told, good and bad didn't exist in whatever this city was. Letting my demons out to play wouldn't see me locked away for the rest of my life."

"Ciaran was depravity and darkness I could touch with my hands and taste on my tongue. He was dripping sin I wanted to drown in."


The ending left me speechless, even though i had some ideas about what was happening, and i'm just craving more of this crazy shit...
I need fuckin' answers cause the things are pretty shady and confusing!!!
Also, i need more of Ciaran cause i loved this crazy guy soooo much!!!

"How ironic was it that we'd been brought here by the devil himself?
This wasn't the end of anything.
It was the very beginning."


***An ARC was provided to me for the exchange of an honest review. Thank you!***
Profile Image for Elena Monroe.
Author 23 books546 followers
May 3, 2020
Read #FREE with #KINDLEUNLIMITED

✩✩✩✩✩/5

This is my second book by Natalie and I am still stuck in a state of thirsty for more. She has the perfect way of not letting you see the ending coming even when your Kindle is taunting you with the percentage.

This read isn't for the
faint of heart or those who don't like darkness in their tea...

I haven't read ANYTHING like this. EVER. I'm a weird read kind of gal (Palahniuk, Bukowski & Ellis kind of girl). Romance as a genre took a real back seat to me finding crazy reads that pushed the bounds. Natalie Bennett has pushed the bounds and still managed to make this read romance based - which is INSANE.

Image the Purge bell goes off and that voice counts down the commencement in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... but instead of havoc you get dropped into an Escape Room filled with maps and clues all begging you to be smart enough to figure them out. Once you make it through the doors it becomes survival of the fittest. Like for real, people die (told you it's dark). That's when it becomes Hunger Games because Liliana has to decided to save herself and her friends when it comes down to saving others. Making their way to Hell the group unwraps the mystery of why they're throw together and where this all ends.

AND that is where Natalie Bennett leaves your now dead body. Withering, shaking, cold, hunger, mind twisted up into knots and now we wait for salvation in book two (Maleficium) which releases July 23rd, 2020.
Profile Image for Nerdy Dirty & Flirty.
3,985 reviews349 followers
August 8, 2020
description

I am not even sure what to write. That was a wild introduction to wherever this story is going.

I am no stranger to this author's brand of crazy and this was no exception. It was like erotic and sexy, with a dark/horror type feel to it. From the moment that shuttle took a wrong turn to the very end, I was enthralled. There is certainly more going on than what we were given. Ciaran and his friends are certainly more than meets the eye, there are questions about what he is even doing on that bus and his interesting connection to Liliana definitely has a back-story. Liliana is tough, but the messed-up place they have landed is enough to break anyone. Full of creepy masked people and disturbing riddles and sexual tension, this book was something else.

Yeah, I still have nothing except I'd like the next book, please.
Profile Image for  Linathebookaddict  .
1,448 reviews389 followers
April 22, 2020
This is my first book form this author. The premise was really interesting indeed. Full of mystery and my favorite dash of dark.
I understand the book is a prequel but aside from the interesting concept, I had a difficulty feeling for any of the characters. Maybe this is a case of it's not you it's me but I could not give this more than 2.5 Stars.
It was not for me, it may be for you.

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. *
Profile Image for Roxana.
232 reviews20 followers
April 26, 2020
i disliked the "badass psycho" heroine and i didn't care about the hero..interesting concept tho'(my 2.5 stars) if you ignore the h/H . (my favorite was Leonard )
Profile Image for Amy.
901 reviews32 followers
December 13, 2020
Okay. I'm obsessed. I loved this book, LOVED! It's a prequel, so like a snack before dinner and I'm fckn hungry, god damn it, HUNGRY!

This was dark, a lil twisted and had one or two scenes that may make some ppl cringe but I was over here like, Yes girl, give me more!

The author just pulled me in from the start, I was intrigued, trying to figure out the plot before the next twist, slight mind fuck alert.

"Put your claws away, puppet. It's a little too soon for foreplay"

What I loved was the romance element still hit its mark. It had the right balance between dark and romance and the sex was fckn hot too.

The Devils playground does not contain rainbows and unicorns so proceed with caution
Profile Image for Naaytaashreads.
889 reviews183 followers
October 19, 2022
“You're more than some random dirty fuck, puppet. I'll kill as many people as I have to if it means I get to keep you.”

I've never been more confused ever with this read.
It was interesting, but it felt like half of the book was missing, and it's up to me to figure out and connect the dots.
Or it could be answered by the rest of the series since it is a long series.

The plotline was written fast without even letting the character breathe.
None of the characters is likeable, and we are given so much depth of their personality but not their history.
There was chemistry and history between the two main characters, but Lana was left confused about what was going on and who these people were.
I just can't seem to have the right answers to where all of this is going.

“I'd only been with one man who met the quota for everything I needed, and I'd lost him faster tha he'd made me come.”
Profile Image for Jackireadsromance_.
58 reviews15 followers
May 26, 2021
description

Reseña completa: https://ravensboulevard.blogspot.com/...
Bookstagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPWUqaXL5XY/

💀 𝕻𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖈𝖚𝖑𝖚𝖒 💀
ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ'ꜱ ᴘʟᴀʏɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅ: ᴜɴᴜꜱ
de@authornataliebennett
Calificación: 💀💀💀💀💀/5

Hola lectoras/es ¿Cómo están?¿Cuál es el libro que los sorprendió por lo crudo que era?
Hoy les traigo mi opinión sobre Periculum de Natalie Bennett.

Es la primera entrega de la Saga Devil's Playground. La historia se va a centrar en Lilina que mientras vuelve de un viaje junto con sus amigas, Gracelyn y Melantha, conocen a Ciaran, Maverick, Charon y Kyrous. Todo marcha bien hasta que las cosa se tornan completamente extrañas y cada uno de ellos debe hacer todo lo posible para sobrevivir.
description

Liliana es joven, bonita, obligada a ser perfecta para mantener la reputación de una de las veinte familias más adineradas. Luego tenemos a Ciaran (ese nombre, es la primera vez que leo a un personaje llamado así y LO AMO) joven, musculoso, tiene ojos azules y esta todo tatuada (todo un Bad Boy 😎) pero a lo largo de la historia, él y al igual que todo lo que pasa, son un misterio...bueno, hasta el final del libro😈

description
La relación de los personajes me encantó, atracción desde el primer momento en que se miraron y la mucha tensión en el aire más todo el suspenso y horror que los rodeaba, le dio un plus que me volvió loca. La autora sabe escribir escenas que atrapan y no que no podes dejar de leer.

¿Lo recomiendo? Claro que recomiendo la lectura. Les advierto que es una lectura cruda, fuerte que no es para todos. Si les gusta el Romance Oscuro, una mezcla de horror y suspenso, les va a gustar leer cada uno de los capítulos de esta historia y estoy completamente segura que, al igual que yo, van a estar ansiosas/os por leer la segunda parte.

description

description
Profile Image for Demetra .
559 reviews15 followers
August 20, 2023
First of all, this book is an actual mind fuck. Second, what did I just read????? I’m not remotely over the story! I don’t even know if I’ll ever be. I seriously need the next book right now. I need to find out more!

“We’re all full of hellish intent, demons wrapped in pretty packages. The more beautiful someone is, the more vicious those demons tend to be.”

This story is really creepy. I couldn’t read the book at night…The uncertainty of what was coming next kept me at the edge of my seat. The plot was so masterfully written that I was right there with the characters. I felt the suspense and I was making assumptions of my own about everything that was happening. It gave me a horror movie vibe, and I can’t watch them at night either!

“I wished for normal but craved the unstable, wanted the filthy and depraved.”

The characters complimented the plot beautifully. We only get Liliana’s POV, so her thoughts are the only ones we have. She’s messed up. She’s been living with her demons for very long but learned to keep her crazy hidden. However, the situation that they are in, brings her demons out to play. From the start it’s clear that she’s not fazed by death, it’s like she’s emotionally dead. The only people she cares about is her best friends.

“A little fear would never satisfy me, puppet. I prefer copious amounts of terror.”

Ciaran is a whole different kind of crazy. He showed a weird interest for her since everything started. He and his friends seem to know more than the others. He isn’t fazed by death either. Him and Liliana are both so detached, that they are perfectly matched. It’s like their demons recognize each other. His unapologetically behavior just adds to his mysterious personality.

I won’t even try to behave like I understood what happened! I finished the book minutes ago. I needed to put my thoughts down right away. The story is swirling in my mind still. I feel the need to read the book again! The cliffhanger, I was left with just gives more questions to be answered. More than once, while I was reading the book, I questioned how Natalie Bennett writes these stories; I really want to find out how! She never disappoints and always delivers a book that’s promised to be as twisted as it can get!!!!!


Profile Image for Darlene I read WAY to many books.
3,344 reviews1,815 followers
April 23, 2020
3.5 ⭐

New series new twisted fucked up shit. And this was darkish with a touch of steam and other fucked up ways to die lol. And told from Lillian pov until the epilogue when it was Ciarans.

Lillian and her crew of friends are heading back from a mini vacation and meet Ciaran and his friends who also had a mini vacation time. Tapped on a bus with other random peoples when some wired message came though then a crash.. missing people.. games and riddles and twisted secerts.. Who do you trust? Can you even trust your own friends? Or anyone in this group.. Also Lillian has some spark with Ciaran but theirs something else behind those dark eyes.

We are left with questions and more questions.. like who are these familes? Why does Lillian family is invovled? Why does Ciaran know her but she doesnt know him? Or she faking and she does?

She doesn’t remember me, but I remember her.
It’s time to put my mask on and play.
Every demon wants his pound of flesh.
Psycho versus psycho.
Let’s see how vicious she can be.


Low angst, no ow/om drama, No cheating, Secondary charas, Drama, sexy times, no virgins

Recommend- maybe
Cover-⭐⭐⭐⭐

Slow-burnish
Violence
Torture
No condom
Manipulation
Epilogue
Cliffhanger
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
2 reviews
July 18, 2021
Am I reading the same book as everyone else? DNF at 50%. I just couldn't take anymore. 50% into the book and there is still no plot to be found. Just a bunch of people dying in gruesome but uncreative ways for no apparent reason and with so little build up I honestly couldn't be bothered to care. There wasn't an ounce of character development for any of the characters and none of the characters had anything resembling a personality. The writing style comes off as a 15 year old just trying to be edgy for the sake of being edgy.
Additionally this book was described as being a dark romance yet 50 % of the way into the book and there isn't even so much as a hint of romance between the main characters. Unless you count awkwardly calling Lana puppet and making vague remarks about wanting to keep her alive romance? This book reads more like a bad horror or thriller novel than a romance.
Profile Image for Puss'N'Books.
204 reviews226 followers
July 4, 2020
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Review by Puss’n’Books. Reviewing the darkest, most erotic and taboo books we can find. Click HERE for your next disturbingly sexy read.


Wow! This one was so different from the books I’ve been reading lately and in a good way.

It was just so intriguing! I had no idea what was going to happen next and it messed with what little sanity I have left, lol.

Think - The Purge, meets Saw, meets, The Cube - movies. (yeah, I’m showing my age as none of these is made in the last decade, lol).

It was a little confusing and I got lost. A lot. But not in a bad way!

Seriously mysterious goings-on that keeps you on the edge of your seat and your eyes skittering around the room every few seconds to make sure you’re not being watched.
By a freaky wee clown.

With weapons.

LILIANA
This lass is recovering from a night of living it up with her girls on a wee getaway. She and her two besties are hopping aboard a tour bus to get to the airport and fly home.

They all have a lot of pressure on them from their families and felt like they needed a last hoorah before life gets serious and heavy.

So they’re boarding the bus and Liliana spots a group of four very hot dudes around the same age sittin’ at the back.
One, in particular, is super noms and she’s immediately picturing him nakey.

She’s drawn to him for some reason and becomes more interested when she realises something in his eyes.

Or, I should say something missing in his eyes.

Yup, this dude is trying to cover up his extremely cold and unfeeling self.
He’s missing something. That pesky empathy and compassion thingy, lol.

Anyway, When the bus is detoured and there’s an accident Liliana gets a bump to the head.
When she regains consciousness all Hell breaks loose and the story just gets odder and odder.
Again, in a great way.

CIARAN
This is one canny lad. All sharp angles and sex appeal, lol. Tattoos and a smirk you wanna slap off his face...and then lick better.

When shit gets fucked up and the group are dumped into what I can only describe as a scene from an even freakier Saw, he and his minions take charge and it rubs Liliana up the wrong way.

I mean, who does he think he is trying to tell her what do do?
Okay, he may have been correct but still…

There is something extremely hot going on with this dude and by the end of the book, I was kinda...panting. From exertion. And not due to jogging. More like one-handed reading sports...you feel me?

He’s alpha to the freakin’ core and not someone you wanna play games with.
He has secrets. And you just know they are gonny rip your heart and soul to pieces.

SEX SCENES
Nom, nom, nom, nom!

He grabbed my ass, keeping his eyes locked with mine as I sank myself down onto him. His dick was bigger than I’d just guessed, stretching me, creating a delicious burn as my body worked to accommodate his size. I sucked in a breath and moaned appreciatively, bringing my hands to his shoulders. “Don’t slow down now,” he taunted. “You wanted to fuck me, so fuck me. And make it good.” His words urged me onward. I rolled my hips, rocking against him. Once I found a tempo, I rode him hard, shamelessly taking him deeper inside me, clenching my walls around to make us both feel more. His hands kneaded my ass, slamming me down harder and harder until he was seizing back the control he’d given me. He grabbed a handful of my hair and wrenched my head back until tears formed in my eyes from the pain. His mouth closed around my left breast, and he bit down hard enough to break the skin. I cried out as I came—hard. I didn’t have a chance to gather my bearings. He stood up and placed me on my back, shoving my knees up until the muscles in my legs began to burn. “No one will ever get this part of you again,” he ground out, pushing his dick back inside me, setting a gruelling pace. He fucked me as if his main goal was to rip me in half. I’d never wanted to be broken as much as I did then. When he finally released my legs, it was to wrap both hands around my throat and fuck me with a renewed vigour as his grip grew increasingly tighter. He had the ability to snatch my life away if he wanted to—he was twisted enough to do it. The realization had another gush of arousal drenching his cock. I screamed for him, begged him not to stop. Our sweat-slickened bodies slid together. I dug my nails into the flesh of his muscled back, making sure I marked it. Coming with a dick inside me was so rare, I couldn’t keep up with the frequency with which he forced me to endure the pleasure he repeatedly gave. If this wasn’t his usual method of fucking then he was right: buried deep inside me, I already wanted more. My body shook and trembled, hellfire coursing through my veins. His grip grew painful, a low growl unfurling from his throat. My vision danced with dots as he cut off my airflow. When I thought I’d pass out, he withdrew completely and flipped me over onto my stomach, knotting a hand in my hair as he slammed back inside me and sunk his teeth into my shoulder.


FINAL THOUGHTS on PERICULUM by Natalie Bennet

EVERYONE is hiding something from me, and I need to know what it is, damn it! I love this book.

5 Stars.


GET IT FROM AMAZON UK HERE

GET IT FROM AMAZON USA HERE
Profile Image for jae ✧.
18 reviews2 followers
August 23, 2022
the second book better be greater than this one istg
Profile Image for OutlawPoet.
1,430 reviews69 followers
Read
March 24, 2023
Alrighty then. DNF at 7%. I'm...not sure what that was.
Profile Image for Vicky.
272 reviews25 followers
March 21, 2022
5 "what the hell is going on?" stars

Give a good mindf*ck every day of the week and it instantly becomes my favorite.

The story begins when Lana and her two friends leave the resort they were vacationing in to return home in order to do their families’ bidding.

On the shuttle bus on the way to the airport they meet four guys, and Lana feels an immediate connection to one of them, Ciaran. The shuttle suddenly crushes leaving them and the rest of the passengers in the middle of nowhere.

Now here is where things get interesting and the madness begins. The group, having no idea what to do and where they are, start following the orders and directions left for them and things only get crazier from then on. They realize they are not completely alone, since there are people in masks following them and playing with them and that it was no coincidence they all ended up there. One by one their numbers start to dwindle, until the remaining people in the group reach the final destination and are shocked, to say the least, by what they discover.

God, I’ve had so many questions when I finished this. I knew from the very first page that by end of the book I’d be left like “What the f*ck just happened?!”. And that’s exactly what happened.

Periculum was like a mixture of the Saw movies, the Hunger Games and the Purge. It was deliciously twisted and mysterious, so much so that I was immediately sucked into the story. This book may fall into a lot of genre categories such as erotic/dark(?) romance, mystery, thriller, horror and it’s perfect for everyone who likes a good mix of all those together and loves stories where you have no idea what is happening and keep guessing until the last minute.
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