Torment: Part Two (The Bleeding Hearts Series) Paperback – 21 May 2021

I do not often write reviews mainly because I read so many books on a weekly basis,but this series, this author ... absolutely amazing. The story lines, the character development, the mental health problems, the descriptions are absolutely mind-blowing.

The only reason, I've removed a star is because I've skipped through most of book 1. Why, you might ask? Simple. It was unnecessary. Even without reading the flashback chapters, I got the gist of it.Honestly, no matter how twisted, and depraved Shay's love for Mina was, I think deep down, in different circumstances, it would have worked. In truth, their co-dependent personalities, his reliance on her to find solace, and vice versa was the saddest thing I've seen in quite some time. The book is meant to shock, and provoke the reader, and it achieves it quite easily.The characters are complex and well-written. Although, I was expecting the FM to be a little more astute and conniving, considering that she has witnessed and was vaguely aware of what their lifestyle entailed. Her willing ignorance of what was happening right under her nose got a bit on my nerves at times. Especially after witnessing her mother's sudden decline after marrying James.Anyway, I guess, the good girl stereotype fits the FM like a glove. Book 2 is written far better than the first, the flow is more uniform. I don't care much where the coma goes. Especially when the book is good, I don't even notice.To summarise, the book is worth reading. Make sure you read the trigger warnings before you get into it. Some of the scenes are quite explicit, particularly the ones portraying psychological abuse.Enjoy.

This duet was so incredibly written, and to say that it's an emotional rollercoaster is an understatement! It's not a genre I've ever I tried before. I must say I struggled with it bits of it, but in all fairness, the author gave plenty of warnings at the beginning of both books all I'd say is read the warnings and take them seriously. I rarely leave book reviews, but it's also very rare that a book reduces me to tears! The author managed to make you feel the emotions and the struggles Mina was going through. The ending was refreshing, not your typical happily ever after, but it was there. I think it was the perfect way to end Mina's story. It's a great read, but you will definitely need tissues at the ready even if you think you can handle any type of read!

What a book!I won’t ruin the experience by revealing any of the story line.However the emotional turmoil i experienced whilst reading this is credited to the way it was so well written.I finished reading part one at gone midnight I immediately started part 2 and went to work shattered on 2 hours sleep, couldn’t wait for my lunch break to get back to it.The authors note at the end! Wow!

Great 2nd part. Still unsure of how I feel about the fm lead character. I normally prefer mine with a bit of a back bone or at least resolve the earlier weakness and they see sense in the end but I feel like neither happened with this story. I'm not sure I liked that the epilogue wasn't from her. I don't know if it answered everything for me and was angry at her for not being stronger at the end and still begging her tormenter. Great story all the same and loved the first story

I can not explain in words just how AMAZING this series is.This book gives me everything I love about dark romance, this book is written at a level I just can't belive how good this series has been I read both books in 2 days and I don't normally read that much!I LOVE MC romance that is dark and twisted and raw and gritty and this book give all of that and so much more, this book is in the top 2 books I have ever read and I have read hundreds of books!This book make you think, this book will play with your emotions, this book will make you doubt your own morals, this series will BLOW your MIND 🤯🤯🤯.This series tore my heart out and put it back together so many times that I lost count!I would HIGHLY recommend this book.This book does have a very good happy ending!

3 stars for the first 60% of the book —-> 5 stars for the epic ending complete with soul searing song.

Book 2 was every bit as good as book one, which I described as awesome. It can't be an easy subject to write about, but the author handled it beautifully.

I don’t think I have ever read a book that absolutely gutted me like this one. The story was unlike one I’ve read before. I had no idea how to story would end and it was tragically beautiful. I cried so hard.

In 2021 I read exactly 207 titles. 17 so far this year. I have many favorite authors. Many books have left me emotional ou major book hungover. But none made me cry, like real painful tears, unto now. This is my first by Dylan Page, and all I have to say is congratulations. This duet was masterfully written. You can tell by her accurate words that she knows a lot about abusive relationships, and their outcomes, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, hopelessness… And as in real life nothing is black and white. Everything is just confusing. Yes, we hate Shay for being the way he is, but we also love Shay for the exact same reason. And so did Mina. I’m utterly in love with this duet and its characters, Shay’s broken mind, Key’s broken heart and Mina’s broken soul. The road to redemption was so so so freakin painful… But I understand why things had to end up the way they did. It was the only way, even though I did make it any better for me. Half way through the epilogue I was crying my heart out. I spent the day emotionally wrecked…and I will have to spend a whole week reading light alien mates novels to recuperate lol. Respect the trigger warnings, because they are major. And be prepared for a wonderful love story.

How do I just move on with life after these books?! 😭😭😭💥💥💥 I have so many questions. While reading, I had crept up to around 90% and became irrationally nervous that it was almost over, because the ending was so emotionally overwhelming for me. I saw it coming but I didn’t want to, at the same time! After having spent hours upon hours with these characters, I wasn’t ready for it to be over. That is truly a sign of an extremely gifted writer, especially because I do not read much MC romance and I’m naturally a picky reader. These books blew me away!If you’re a reader looking for a non-cookie cutter romance storyline with characters that are flawed, broken and in a setting which feels real and with characters that do not resemble caricatures, along with forbidden elements in the storyline and you have an open mind to reading the “other side” of romance…meaning a story that exists in a “gray area” of romance, where “the rules” have been thrown out and you want an emotional journey, I highly highly recommend you read these books! These are not your typical dime a dozen romance stories, these are an experience!Hands down, I felt like these books were a great investment of my time and emotions, even when I was feeling emotional or sadness for a character, I couldn’t help but question just how this author made me feel like this when for example, I should be angry at the character! Wow!!! I may be still in recovery, but it’s a good recovery! I feel like someone who is getting off the rollercoaster at the end, like “hey guys, I made it!!!” )pats self) “I’m okay!!!” 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻Lol 😆 It’s so difficult to find stories with complex plots, characters that are not clearly just good or bad and books that aren’t all just gooey and sweet. I found love, sympathy, sadness, raw grittiness, pain and peace within these pages, even though it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, sometimes you need a gloomy day of rainfall and some turbulence to remind you of better days, forgiveness, learning to look between the lines, this story made me feel SO MUCH AT ONCE! I’m still not ready to let these characters go! 😭I think the best way to read this series is to go in blind and be prepared for a realistic, emotional story that does have a happy ending. It may not be exactly in the way every reader would want, but I appreciate the author with how she handled these characters with regards to the story she told and although the ending had me in emotional knots, I agree that for this particular story, I think the author did well with how it was handled. I love stories like this! I wish all stories could bring out my feelings and make me want to keep reading nonstop, like these books did.As for the breakdown, I’m not sure what to say other than there are similar themes as the first book. This one follows the heroine -Mina - whom is becoming more of a fixation in Shay’s life. In this book, all bets are off pretty much. Mina is still fighting her desires to keep Shay at peace with himself and make everyone happy, avoiding conflict after dealing with her trauma she had suffered in the last book. The heroine is constantly having to deal with all of this and she’s still trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy as a young women but is finding the club and the drama with Shay, even at school, is constantly making her question this new lifestyle but alas she is stuck for the most part. This story is about those who are fighting silent demons and how what you are born into or whatever given situations put you in that life, can change you and alter how you see the world and how you view what you are capable of deserving based on that which you’re stuck living with. This story is so much more than that though. I loved the storyline, characters, pacing (nothing ever felt like filler to me) I would absolutely love if this author wrote another story in this world. The end is a bit open for interpretation, so hopefully maybe the author will have another chapter set in this world in the future! Either way, I’m stunned by this debut and I am very much looking forward to more!5/***** emotional daisies!!! 💐🥂Breakdown:•MC Romance•Emotional storytelling•Kinda love-triangley•Realistic, flawed characters•Gritty, raw, powerful story•Dark romance“Loving someone since childhood” trope“I would kill for you trope”•redemption story arc•Stepbrother romance•characters dealing with their own struggles/battles•Love sometimes isn’t just black and white•Bullying themes/triggers/gang violence/suspense•Slight age gap•JP/Controlling/Obsessively devoted Hero•HEA (which is up to how you view it)•heroine’s POV (with two chapters at end dedicated to Shay 🖤 and another character who is more or less an unknown/observer)

Spoiler-free review for part two of the Torment books. Please be aware, this review contains spoiler for part one!This book will live in my head for a while. It was so good. I did guess a view of things right already at the end of book one, but some things really surprised me. And again, the way Mina is handling everything. I'm amazed by her.The second part is not easy, and I think way darker than the first, even if we did learn exactly what happened to Emily.  Mina, is struggling and spiraling after she lost dancing. Shay gets more possessive and is crossing major lines with Mina.  The way the author wrote the whole darkness in the book is fabulous, I could understand Mina very well. The way she tried to still be the good girl in school, doesn't want to make Shay or James mad. Taking her needs and wishes in the back to satisfy Shay, so he will not change into Manic. But she never stopped fighting, even if she had her lower moments. We do learn a lot more about the MC and everything going on, in my opinion all questions are answered in the length of the book.  The end, really got me. BUT I think it what was needed for everyone. PS: If you can read the bonus epilogue, that one k1lled me. 😭😭😭

Never mind the star rating limit I give this all stars that are there wherever 🧐 yes I WILL! Omg this book ! I can’t say anything else but that this author is phenomenal!! I’m someone who can’t deal with too much heartache as books are an escape from reality however the author kept me engrossed in this where I kept reading and reading. Everything was spot on and perfect no matter how much you wanted it to be something else it cd not have been anything else.The ending tho heart breaking yet cd not have been anything else! I just loved all the characters esp Shay 💔Keenan ❤️ and Mina! I do crave and pine for more of this story oh well here’s hoping 🤞 as the afterword suggested! And To the author! Wow! You are just wow! Can’t wait for what you dish out next!