Summary: A Dark Romance. She ran from the devil she knew and fell right into the lap of the devil who owns the world.
Title: Dear Agony
Author: S.J. Rosalie
Page Count: 536
MY RATINGS:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cover Image Source: S.J. Rosalie
“Regretting your decision already, pretty bird?”
I ran from one monster, only to jump into the arms of another.
Why?
Because life is cruel to people like me, someone who’s been to hell and escaped broken, well beyond repair. For three years, I’ve been hiding, trying to heal through the vivid memories that keep me under my husband’s control, needing daily reminders that I’m free, up until the day my haven became unsafe. I have to make a drastic decision to prevent him from snatching me away indefinitely.
My consequences?
One year of captivity and an impossible task to repay my debt. I’m safe, but at what cost? People call him Agony, my captor, locking me in his lavish home with a job to do. I’m to sit pretty and wait for his next visit to fulfill his terms. He’d toss me away if he knew my secrets, so I stay quiet, not ready to run because what lurks beyond these walls is much scarier than the man inside who prefers the use of torture as a form of pleasure.
Dear Agony ends on a cliffhanger and has dark themes that may be triggering for some. The author recommends reading the content warning page on her website.
This is about Quinn (24 years old) who has a traumatic past with her husband, Oliver. She experienced brutal physical and emotional abuse from him that shattered her sense of self-worth. Her marriage with him was full of terror and despair. There's also a repeated miscarriage here that deeply traumatized her, and her life with Oliver was a downward spiral that led to pure violence. Until she "escaped" and landed in a place called Seclusion. It is a human auction where dozens of masked men are bidding on a girl they want for sex. Girls here are kept inside of a big cage while the announcer is bidding for the highest price. Something like a twisted slave market that sought to completely dehumanize its victims.
Moving forward, when Quinn found herself again part of Seclusion's bidding auction, she saw Oliver in the crowd of audiences in the distance. And worst, he was one of the highest bidders which made her paralyzed with fear. Oliver is known as a rich tyrant and will do anything to get her again. She was terrified for her life until she saw Agony/ Lucio (MMC), a wealthy man who bid aggressively. At first, Agony didn't pay any attention to her until she teased and tempted him so he would choose her in the final rounds of the auction. Agony won the bid! That had to be an instant relief for Quinn.
....And that's where the story begins if Quinn is really making the right decision to "use" Agony so she can completely avoid her abusive husband. Her freedom came at a price. And now...she belongs to a different kind of monster.
❤️ MY HONEST READING EXPERIENCE:
After reading this dark revenge romance, I would say I could include this as one of the most unhinged stories I've read in the year 2025. I felt mixed emotions about how heavy the scenes are portrayed in this story. It was absolutely disturbing to the point I had to go back again to the list of triggers that I slightly ignored (my fault though 💔😅), but I still couldn't put it down. Dang! I was completely drained until the final page. The smut scenes here are a winner! If SJ Rosalie said it is explicit, then it is a fire hazard to your Kindle and requires an immediate privacy screen 💕
🔴 Don't forget to check the trigger warnings! You can find them on the author's website. TRIGGER WARNINGS
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NOTE: This is my personal opinion about the book. My goal is to share my experience, not to change anyone's perspective. Thank you to S.J. Rosalie for giving me the opportunity to read this early.