Torment: Part One (The Bleeding Hearts Series) Paperback – January 14, 2021

Who let me sleep on this book?! Are. You. Kidding. Me?!? 💥 💥 💥 After starting and stopping a few other books recently, this story brought me out of a terrible book slump. I’m not sure why I didn’t read this one sooner. I had seen some mentions in various book groups but was worried it wouldn’t be for me because I personally have come to find out that I have a terrible relationship with MC romance. 😆 I don’t know why but every time I open an mc book, the story is so cliche or it’s repetitive and I just get bored easily with the dynamics of everything. I can’t explain it. But this story….wow, it blew me away!!! For once, I started and actually finished an mc book that held my attention and was unputdownable! Yay for me! 🖤I was shocked to discover that this is the author’s first book. It is written so incredibly well with care to its characters and the backstory is so vivid. I felt like this was a real story. Nothing felt silly, forced for shock value or cliche. It was such a subtle yet poignant emotional story, with a dark lining around it due to its subject matter and themes….and it’s only Part 1 of 2!!! I’m scared lol 😂 I’m about to dive into book 2 now and all I can say is I’m pleasantly surprised by this debut book! It had so much to say and the way it was written, it’s one of those stories where you feel a lot as you’re reading it! I don’t come across many of those that make me feel everything all at once, but those usually end up being my favorites! 🥰I’m not sure how to explain this book. I think it’s best to just dive in blind but without giving much away, this story is about a young girl Mina (the heroine), who is taken into an MC family because one of the club members, James, falls in love with her mom. Mina’s real dad isn’t in the picture anymore so she clings to this new family as she finally has a new father figure to look up to who loves and supports her and in this new family, she also gains a new stepbrother, Shay. Shay is a troubled kid, he’s also around 6 years older and he’s got a darkness to him that only she can tame. From a young age, he becomes her protector and he looks out for her as she grows up. There are some bordering on taboo topics to the story that may not be for everyone especially given the h’s age difference in the beginning but I thought the author handled it well especially the way it was written.At around the same time, another male character from a rival MC (Keenan) who her stepbrother has warned her to stay away from, he hates him, for unknown reasons at this point…takes interest in Mina and they develop a sort of penpal relationship, Keenan also helps encourage the h’s love of ballet 🩰 and even meets her at practices to act as her personal coach and motivator. The h falls hard for him…all the while hiding all of this from her stepbrother, because he will not allow her to date or go out with anyone due to his fierce protectiveness over her. Not to mention it’s his enemy, although she isn’t sure why they are enemies, because Keenan has only been caring, selfless and supportive of her.There’s so much more to the story though and the heroine, although a good girl who is always there for everyone and never does anything wrong, is always caught in the middle of a conflict, which she sometimes feels is her own fault or responsibility, when it’s actually not. But she can’t help but feel that way when it’s her being the topic of discussion…she’s constantly trying to make everyone happy but sometimes she is hurt in the process and must shoulder the weight of everything. I really connected well with her as well as the other characters in the book. These characters felt vivid and real and not made up for romance fantasy, if that makes sense. There are no various POV chapters. It’s all told in heroine’s perspective and told in Past/present back to back chapters, which I didn’t find jarring or annoying.This is a book that I would classify as the beginning of a love triangle/slight age gap story, with a taboo edge and MC backdrop. I cried at the end of this book as it has an emotional cliffhanger that is an integral part of the story and we are literally left hanging bad! 💥 . There’s so much that just hasn’t been told yet because I’m not seeing the whole picture, so I can’t wait to read the next one! I applaud this author for her dynamic way of creating such a flawlessly, emotional experience in this story. I’m not sure who to root for! Shay? Keenan? Someone else??? I dunno!!! 😬💥😂 I’m scared, elated, inspired, nervous and not sure where this story will go, but those are my favorite types of stories and I’m definitely looking forward to Part 2 and future releases from this new-to-me author! Bravo! 🥂🖤5 daisies!!! 5/5*****Breakdown:•Stepbrother romance•Forbidden romance•Slight age gap•Past/Present chapters told back to back•heroine’s POV•Angsty•Love triangle•Emotional storytelling•Triggers•Loving someone from childhood/holding out for someone/waiting out your soulmate•MC/gang romance•h is a ballerina/enjoys cooking for the club but has serious qualms about the MC lifestyle•Stepbrother is MC enforcer•2nd possible Hero-Keenan- in rival/opposing MC gang, he’s totally opposite of stepbrother. He loves the heroine too. He’s the most selfless of the two heroes.•Stepbrother Shay characteristics- pierced lip, tattoos, enforcer, long dark shaggy hair, silver/gray eyes. Wears a cut. Has a talent with knifes, trouble sleeping/insomnia/fights daily battles with his own demons due to his daily mc duties which haunt him from a younger age. h is his bright part of his day. h is the only one who can calm him down when he’s enraged or having a downward spiral. He calls her Sweetness. He’s loved the h since a young age. He’s extremely overprotective, possessive to the point of being unable to breathe lol 😆 and will kill anyone who even looks at h. He doesn’t allow h to date or go out much unless he’s with her.•Keenan characteristics-from another gang, Shay hates him, Keenan is more light, positive, funny, inspiring, selfless, encouraging, he has tattoos, blonde hair, blue eyes. He works at his MC club’s garage fixing cars/bikes. He’s loved the h since a young age. He calls h Sunshine. He likes teasing her & seeing her tease him back. He seems more laid back and not as demanding and scary moody as Shay. He wants what is best for h, including wanting her to get out of this lifestyle. He also wears a cut but doesn’t worship it like h has seen her stepbrother and stepdad do with theirs. He’s also had to work hard for the things he has so he appreciates them.

Loving the story, but slow. Make sure you have the next book or you will be frustrated like me right now...leaves you hanging!!!!!

This book left me speechless, broken hearted, and in a puddle of tears. Definitely a dark story and hard to read at times but wow it was written so beautifully. This will stick with me and the song The Night We Met by Lord Huron will always remind me of Shay and Mina.

I don't really know how I feel about this book, not because it was so good or so dark or so anything... it was just... different. I found the story compelling and hard to put down, but not because it was really good or this extremely dark story, more so because with the break and forth between the past and present I felt a need to know what exactly it was that happened to Mina. Of course we know from the start that *something* violent happened but what exactly we don't quite know. I need to know.Character development and world building in the book are overall pretty darn good and gave this book a lot. Each of the main characters have depth, and their history and growth is slowly revealed throughout the book. The author did great there. And the world building with MC life and even the ballet terms and techniques seemed pretty on point, though I'm no expert. It definitely helped give the story life.The story itself, however, is just okay. It's not bad, don't get me wrong, but I don't know it's just.. okay. From the very beginning it doesn't make much sense - Why would Emily stay with James at the beginning? Why are James and Shay so compelled to make Emily and Mina stay after knowing them, what?, a month? Shay's instant attachment to Mina makes absolutely no sense, and essentially the entire story is based off of a thirteen year old's infatuation with a seven year old that isn't explained at all, not really. Once Mina is sixteen there's this supposed explanation that she figures out, but really it makes no sense. None. We are to believe that this thirteen year old met a seven year old and she instantly became his only "light in the dark".... I don't know... the concept is eyeroll-worthy. I think that's what I've struggled with the most here... it just makes no sense.There's also a lot of really long paragraphs where the author tells the story. The story should tell itself because the reader is shown the story. Those long drawn out paragraphs with minimal dialogue can get a touch boring. They can be essential to a story, but they can't be the whole story. I found myself skimming trying to get to the good parts.An additional issue is the tense of the story. The author does a lot of back and forth between present tense and past tense within not just a chapter but in the middle of a scene. That's very distracting. It makes sense between the parts of the story that are taking place in the present versus the past, but even the past scenes are often half in present tense and half past tense. It becomes very difficult to read that way.I want to know what happened and what happens going forward. I hope that part two makes more sense of it.

What did I just read? I am so conflicted on how I feel about this…Dylan Page has written these pages so well that I found myself being manipulated and groomed along with our FMC, Mina. Shay who is our FMC’s older step-brother starts off as sweet, loving and affectionate…but then he becomes a little unhinged, possessive and controlling. 🚩 🚩Shay and his father are members in a biker gang and we are catching glimpses of the lifestyle through eyes of a child/teenager’s POV. Mina’s mother, man the trauma she went though and how she was manipulated as well. Then Keenan, an older boy/man from a rival biker gang who also has eyes for Mina.I’m so conflicted because I like Shay…I know I know, he’s grooming a child (it’s a book people!) but he would never knowingly hurt Mina. So far anyway. Then I like Keenan because he tells Mina to chase her dreams and get out do that town. But then it’s still creepy as he’s 6 years older just like Shay. Mind blown, diving into book two.

Few books have left me so emotional after reading them. And I read a LOT of them. Mina’s struggle broke my heart into a million peaces… And her mom… being a mother myself I can relate to her pain and her regrets.Abusive relationships have a way of consuming every bit of self esteem, self worth, self respect; and the scars go so so deep. This book is amazing, had the reading until 5am like a crazy person. LolI have an idea of who is behind the events that took place at the end of the book, but I can’t wait to see how everything unfolds between Mina/James/Shay/Key.

Este libro me tenía dudando de cada persona que tenía alguna relación con Mina, bueno a Keenan lo llegué a amar pero, debería? Pfff no sé que esperar del siguiente libro y honestamente me da un poco de miedo el final porque he leído en otras reseñas que no es precisamente feliz 🥺 pero allá vamos!En fin, amo los libros que juegan con mis emociones, jaja qué tan mal estoy? 🤪

This is my spoiler-free review of the first part of the Torment Duet. If you're comfortable with Trigger, I would recommend going in this book blind. I didn't know anything besides it is dark.  And I was enthralled from the story, also did you know that this is the author's debut? 🤯 The book starts with Mina, waking up after a brutal assault on her and her mom a couple of days before. Her stepbrother and step-dad is with her. During the first book we follow a dual timeline between Mina's healing process after the assault and what happened to her since the moment her mom met James when she was (3 or 5 I'm not sure at the moment). I loved the dual timeline, because while we experienced all the bad things in the present with her, we learn about her relationship with all the characters and also start to figure things out more. I loved the development of Mina, she is an FMC how you wish her to be. I mean, she's only sixteen in the beginning of the book and already so mature.  The way she thinks and handles certain situations is amazing. Yes, sometimes you can see that she was kept in the dark for something's and therefore is a bit naive - but to be honest, who wouldn't be? I bought already a physical copy and I have to read this book again. The book has dark issues, and if you're not comfortable with them, please check TW before reading it.

I'm a sucker for taboo and gritty books and this one just became my new favorites from the start we get a grasp on Minas innocence from when she was younger till all the way up i really loved the look into her past because it better explained the events in the present chapters I loved the last chapter bc it left me with so many questions I'm desperately wait for book 2!!!

Sorry for my englishThe 2 frist books of the serie are really Well written.i didn’t read the Thirdit’s rich in emotion and hot.I rarely find a book like this 2 that let my shaken like i was when a read themThe author manage to combine sex, emotion, suspens and i like her styleThe end is really …. ( i don’t want to spoil )I agree with other comments :there’s no other end that would be as realistic as this oneI loved the caractères : all human and so imperfect. That’s What make you see their depth.Read this book it’s a sure choiceYou can’t mistakenBravo Dylan PAGE