Game On

At this point, I really should know better than to think I can walk into another book in the Into Darkness series and come back out without collecting yet another Book Boyfriend along the way. Josh already destroyed my standards, Junior certainly did not help the situation, and now Tyler comes strolling in wearing a devil mask, running illegal high-stakes gambling parties, blackmailing rich people, plotting revenge, and waving his red flags around like he’s some matador. Apparently, my inner BookDragon is part bull because here I come charging straight toward him.

Tyler and Stella have exactly the kind of relationship I love: the Oh, I absolutely cannot stand you, but unfortunately I would also very much like to climb you variety. There is just something about two characters who can barely tolerate being in the same room while simultaneously wanting to rip each other’s clothes off that gets me every freakin’ time. These two start off with enough hostility between them that you would think attraction should be the last thing on either of their minds. It is not. Not even a little bit. Their banter is sharp, their personalities clash beautifully, and the sexual tension starts simmering early and just keeps getting worse.

Tyler is calculating, manipulative, stubborn, angry, morally gray, and completely aware that he is capable of being an asshole. What started as poker games when he was a broke college student eventually became an underground gambling operation where wealthy people, their money, and all their dirty little secrets became useful pieces in a much bigger revenge plan. The man does not simply hold a grudge. He gives it a business plan, a budget, and long-term growth projections.

And when he admits, “If I was going to be the villain in her story, I might as well earn the title, right?” Well, at least we can give him points for self-awareness.

Stella, thankfully, is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with him. She owns her tattoo shop, has plenty of attitude of her own, and is definitely not interested in quietly letting Tyler steamroll his way through her life. But there is also quite a bit underneath that prickly exterior. Between her chronic gastritis, her complicated family history, her business, and the guilt she has been carrying, Stella has her own baggage long before Tyler comes crashing into her life. I especially appreciated the handling of her chronic illness because it remains part of her everyday reality instead of conveniently disappearing whenever the story needs her to be fine. Even as their relationship develops, things like stress and lack of sleep still matter.

What really worked for me about Tyler and Stella is that attraction does not magically equal trust. Wanting each other is the easy part. Figuring out what to do about it when their relationship is tangled up in manipulation, fake dating, secrets, resentment, assumptions, and more than a little lying is where things get messy. They both screw up, they both get angry, and they both make choices that made me want to reach through the book and knock their heads together. But there is a difference between a character making a good decision and making one that makes sense for who they are, and most of their bad decisions made perfect sense for these two emotionally complicated disasters.

Tyler also ended up having far more emotional depth than the arrogant man behind the devil mask initially lets on. There is a tremendous amount of grief and abandonment buried underneath all that anger. Learning about his childhood, his mother’s death, and just how alone he was afterward put a lot of his behavior into perspective. It explains how he became this angry, revenge-obsessed man without asking me to pretend that everything he does because of it is suddenly okay, and that distinction matters to me.

His character growth was actually one of the things I appreciated most. Tyler eventually has to confront the fact that he has spent so much of his life focused on the people who hurt him that he has allowed that anger to determine who he becomes. When he finally gets the opportunity to do something differently, he understands that he cannot simply promise everyone he has changed and expect them to believe him. He has to prove it. Give me a morally questionable disaster of a man all day long, but if you want me invested in him, make him capable of recognizing when he screws up and doing something about it.

And then there is the spice. Good freakin’ lord. This is absolutely a five-pepper book. BDSM, brat play, power exchange, voyeurism, sharing, multi-partner scenes, and plenty of experimentation all make an appearance. What I liked, though, is that the kink actually tells us something about the characters and their relationships instead of feeling like scenes were tossed in solely to raise the pepper count. Tyler can spend one minute being an arrogant, manipulative pain in the ass and the next discover that maybe he rather enjoys giving up some of that control. Watching Stella figure that out about him is almost as entertaining as watching Tyler realize it himself.

The sharing dynamic is handled the same way. It is not simply a spicy scene involving another person before everyone moves along and forgets about it. There is an actual connection there, with affection, communication, and relationships that continue developing outside the bedroom. That gave those scenes more emotional weight for me and kept the spice connected to the characters rather than letting it take over the story.

There is also plenty happening outside the romance. Tyler’s gambling operation and revenge plan give the story its darker edge and eventually force his carefully controlled world to collide with the people he has started caring about. I liked having that larger storyline running underneath everything because I need more than attraction and spice to keep my hyperactive squirrel brain entertained, and Game On gave me enough danger, secrets, revenge, and questionable decisions to keep me invested in what was happening beyond Tyler and Stella’s relationship.

I also loved getting more of the Into Darkness crew. One of my favorite things about this series is how the characters continue weaving their way into one another’s books without completely taking over someone else’s story. The familiar faces bring that same ridiculous friend-group energy I have come to love, while Stella gradually finds herself becoming part of a family these people chose for themselves. With a group this wonderfully damaged, I’m beginning to think found family is less of a trope and more of a group survival strategy.

As much as I enjoyed Game On, it was not quite a perfect five-star read for me. Tyler’s revenge plot is essential to understanding him, but there were stretches where the amount of scheming and maneuvering involved started pulling my attention away from Tyler and Stella more than I wanted. He can also be incredibly frustrating because once Tyler decides he has someone figured out, he charges forward with the confidence of a man who has apparently never considered the possibility that he could be spectacularly wrong. And boy, is he spectacularly wrong about some things. Watching reality eventually smack him upside the head is satisfying, but there were definitely moments when I wanted the privilege of doing it myself.

Still, I had a ridiculously good time with this book. It made me laugh, kept me invested, gave me characters with enough emotional baggage to keep things interesting, and delivered plenty of story alongside all that spice. Most importantly, it managed to make me care about yet another morally questionable man who should probably come with his own warning label.

So yes, I would absolutely recommend Game On, especially if you already love the Into Darkness series. If morally gray men, strong women who refuse to put up with their nonsense, that delicious I hate you but I still want to climb you chemistry, dark humor, found family, revenge, and plenty of spice sound like your kind of book, there is a lot to love here. There are also some genuinely heavy subjects underneath all the chaos, so definitely check the trigger warnings before diving in.

And really, Tyler summed himself up better than I ever could: “Misbehaving is so much more fun.” And my inner BookDragon wholeheartedly agrees.

Review By: SASSY
Owner • Creator • Queen of the Chaos
SassyReviews.com
Read, Reviewed, & BookDragon Approved… or Not.