He pauses to reposition himself over me, then resumes pounding into me. It feels like a deliberate violation, but surely he doesn’t mean for it to. As if things aren’t too bad for her, Vince sees her too, and Mia, afraid of her life, runs inside her house and drops her phone on the way. The next day, when Zoey goes out to look for her phone, she finds it gone. He couldn't take notes in the classroom for shit so what? Getting revenge is another kettle of fish. ✨ Except, you'll never have this particular guy shouting in front of your door for you to let him in the house. As if he might need permission, what a ridiculous notion. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Featured in the Filthy Elites anthology April 2022! He could have been my hero. He saved my life that night, a beautiful dark angel slicing through my fear and the water, dragging me from its deadly clutches. He should have been my hero. I thought maybe he was. Villains aren’t supposed to win, and good should always conquer evil, but in the elite coastal town I live in, the only purpose a label has is letting you know what something–or someone–costs. Good, bad; it’s all relative, and it hardly matters. Baymont, California is a land of beautiful villains and happy-ever-afters that are just out of reach. Especially for me. Until Dare moves the world beneath my feet, and even though I’m afraid to trust it–to trust him–boy, am I tempted. In more ways than one. Being with Dare is scary, but being without him is impossible. He makes it impossible. Dare’s no hero, that much is clear, but maybe… Maybe he’s mine. This story contains triggers and is intended only for a mature, adult audience. See the opening author’s note for more explicit triggers, but know this is a very dangerous relationship with a very dark hero. Even if it Hurts (Coastal Elite Book 1) by Sam Mariano – eBook DetailsI would recommend this book if you like romantic suspense, dark romances, or psychological thrillers. the random chapters in Dare's POV. Like many of SM's books, this is mostly told in the h's POV, but the few/key chapters in the H's POV make a difference. Don't get me wrong- I'm also going to add this to what I didn't like down below😑, but it was important to delve into Dare's head, especially considering he's a psycho Aubrey and Dare's relationship is going to make a lot of people uncomfortable. It is not healthy. In fact, it's toxic as hell. There is no balance of power. Dare has it, and Aubrey does not. no cheating between MCs - the H has a girlfriend so at first it seems like he’s cheating on her… but not really Enter Chase, AKA Dare. He's basically an Olympian swimmer (🤣jk) and he rescues her. Although the rest of the swim team is there as well, no one else tries to help- because Queen B Anae😒 doesn't want anyone to help her. Aubrey thinks she sees an angel, but it's really just Dare, rescuing her so she doesn’t die in his property. Once she's safe and leaves, Anae tells Dare she wants him to f*** her, ruin her, break her heart, and Dare agrees. Why?

Even If It Hurts by Sam Mariano is a dark romantic suspense that I listened to on audio narrated by Theo Sinclair and Allie Shae. One thing any reader of Sam Mariano's books would agree with is, she sure knows how to write a manipulative, psycho villain AND have you root for them - mostly. Dare is that villain in this book and man is he good at being a one. Somewhere between ruining lives, framing people who had had the misfortune of getting in the way of his relationship with Aubrey and dishing out punishments, the guy attended his classes and examined the ranks of his nerd army like Napoleon would. Dare's JP'ness 💅. I love when a man claims his property, I mean... I mean… his woman😅... lol... and Dare claims her... and NO ONE ELSE CAN HAVE HER💁🏻‍♀️PERIODT 🔪 The romance- I needed more of it 😏. I get it- he's a psycho (and I love that SM made sure to stay true to his character), but I needed more of them as an established couple. We get an epilogue that wasn't necessarily satisfying (and SM did say we'll be seeing more of Dare and Aubrey's HEA throughout the series).

Customer reviews

Now, you might be thinking "omg, this is horrible! How did you continue reading?" Yeah, I was questioning my sanity as well LOL😂. But, all of this intrigued me because, well, it's Sam Mariano; she's gonna fix this... somehow😅... right??? 😬LOL

Once Dare meets Aubrey, he doesn't sleep with anyone else👏🏻. He doesn't even really touch anyone except for a few grazes here and there (innocent-ish ones). Considering he's allowed to be with other people and has been pretty active smexually, I thought he was going to continue being the hoooooar that he's been. But he only wants Aubrey... thank the Lord because I wouldn't have been able to handle this book otherwise😅. This leads me to... Despite that, Aubrey is far from miserable. I wouldn't have had as good of a time with this story if that was the case. It was fun to explore the dynamic between a psychopath and the woman that loves him. In real life, this would be a horror story, but since it's not, we're free to enjoy the insanity! Rather than classifying the story as dark, I'd describe it with adjectives like disturbing, arresting, memorable, evocative. Until Dare moves the world beneath my feet, and even though I’m afraid to trust it—to trust him—boy, am I tempted. Um... the fact that I wanted to quit adulting so I could read this book😬. I thought about it when I should've been concentrating on other things *cough* like my family and work *cough*. This book is unlike any of the ones I've read by Sam Mariano. I'm already addicted to her writing style, her voice, the nuances she embeds in her books, add in a legit psycho, well two, and BAM-I'm hooked💅.But you’re not powerless, are you? I told you Hannah would only be in danger if you left me, and you weren’t thinking about doing that, were you?” Dare is not just a bad boy with psychopathic tendencies. He's a LITERAL psychopath. There is no changing for the heroine or any of the usual bullshit you read in dark romance. But this is a romance, first and foremost… and I struggled a bit with that. There were times I both hated and adored Dare. And that’s not unusual for Sam’s heros. However, normally, by the end, I’m satisfied with how the MCs have negotiated their relationship. I feel good about their future. I believe in their HEA. But this time, I ended the book unsettled. I was concerned for Aubrey and her future happiness. It felt a little unfinished. I think this is due to how much of the book was spent where we weren’t totally sure what side Dare was on. And that’s fine and made the tension amazing. But we didn’t get enough time where we knew for sure that Dare really loved Aubrey, and Aubrey was with him because she loves him and not JUST because she’s terrified of him. It didn’t feel like Aubrey was getting her needs met. And normally I feel like Sam gives us that balance. Yes, the heroines are with difficult men that they have to trust and maybe they don’t get a lot choices in that, but they also get what they need from the relationship. And I think we were almost there, but not quite. It bothered me that Dare was so set on isolating Aubrey. He was a true antihero in that. I wanted to see a glimmer of softness there… I wanted to feel like he would make sure she had someone even if it wasn’t going to be Hannah (who I loved😍). I could detail what your life would look like if you ever cheated on me, how I would cut you out of the life you’re living and transform my love into the metal bars that form your new home.” He cups my breast through my shirt. “How I would strip away your will, ignore your every single boundary, and treat you like a toy, playing with you exactly how I want to without regard for whether or not you liked it.” I don’t like that Hannah brings out this resistant side of you. Every time she’s around, you pull away from me, and I don’t know why. I know if she were a man, I would assume she’s competition and I would treat her accordingly.” He places a gentle kiss against my cheek, at odds with his words. “Should I expand my view a bit, hm? Should I consider her my competition?”

Just enjoy the ride for what it is, and don't place any expectations on it. Dare is such an interesting character. I couldn't get enough of him, and if nothing I've said thus far has put you off, you'll probably feel the same. But Aubrey doesn't care. She's followed the rules and did the right thing👏🏻. At school, she's not exactly in the "in" crowd, so she doesn't care about her social status or trying to fit in. In fact, she has a lot going on at home- her mom has cancer and nothing's working. So Aubrey not only has to take care of her mom and spend as much time with her as she can, but she works and attends school full time. She has waaaaaay too much on her plate to care about a psycho girl who isn't listening to reason. This was the first book by this author for me and I can't wait to read more, this book was so good, it had me questioning my own sanity most of the time which is the best part about books. The escape and being able to live a different/questionable life.. it is everything to me. Occasionally, a little cry slips out of me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he really likes it because rather than ease up and see if I’m okay, he shoves into me harder.In fact, no doesn't exist in his vocabulary🙃, and he's going to enjoy pushing Aubrey's limits until he's satisfied😉.