Review: Confessions Collection Volume 1 by Leila DeSint

Book: Confessions Collection Volume 1

Author: Leila DeSint

Dark Erotica, BDSM, Erotic Suspence

Review copy provided by author in return for honest review

Blurb:

Descend into a world of deception, depravity, decadence, desire and desperation…

In the opulent setting of London's aristocracy, lives a young woman fractured into two distinct individuals, one face with multiple facets.

One façade, a whore, London Brown, who will confess unfathomable truths, the other, a loving daughter, Desniah Williams will pull back the curtain to reveal what lurks in the shadows.

Caden Jacob Carrington V, a politician will do anything to reclaim the woman he lost, including dredging up pains of the past.

Rhys Christos Edward Stowell, a philanthropist will fight to win the woman he loves while baring the darkness of his soul.

"When a predator walks into a room, he immediately recognizes other predators as well as prey."

This was one of the most dark and twisted erotic stories I've ever read. Hands down. That first line in the blurb: "Descend into a world of deception, depravity, decadence, desire and desperation…" it's truth in advertising. That is exactly what you get. I got sucked into this mess right away. And I say mess lovingly, just so you don't misunderstand, cause it is a beautiful mess. Each character has their own dark secret(s) that follows them and torments them in its own way and, in turn, influences their actions and their ability to be happy. They all do some crazy things, it's a big tangle of love triangles or rectangles (pentagon? I don't even know what comes after that, but there's the octagon, which represents the stop sign, so that's not quite appropriate. I don't want this mess to stop), I don't even know, but there's a LOT going on and it's messy and you HAVE to read it all to keep up. There's no skimming, cause if you miss a detail you're in the dark (ooh, bad pun). 

"I was conversing about someone no longer being themselves with a person whom was admitting she didn't intend to be herself. A real mind bender."

In Desniah's case, her secrets are the reason London exists. She can't deal with some of the things from her past and so London comes to the forefront to take up her slack and deal with whatever Desniah can't handle. London is Desniah's alter ego. The portrayal of the Dissociative Personality Disorder was spot on. At first, I was completely creeped out. Like really creeped out. It was written so well and Desniah would just morph into London before your eyes. I even learned her triggers and started to anticipate when the changes would occur. It was surreal. 

"The truth stared me in the face. I'd been the one to crush the spirit from another -- someone I loved. Was there atonement for me?"

Then there's Caden. He was Desniah's first love, but he made some bad decisions that left her feeling betrayed and broken. Now he's seeking redemption (or atonement... should have said atonement, since that's his preferred word, right? Well too bad, I like redemption). He wants that woman back, but he has no idea how to reclaim her. When I first picked up this book, I thought this story was going to be about Caden's redemption and ultimately a healing love story that would star Caden and Desniah. But there is SO much more! There is London and there is Rhys and then there is Desniah and Rhys' relationship. Then there's London's relationship with Caden. And London's relationship with all the men in London. Well, the men in London who could afford her. So yeah, try to untangle that mess. 

"God has doubly cursed me by giving me a conscience others like me seemed to lack."

Rhys is Desniah's best friend. At first, he seems to be the most sane and least complex of all the characters, but don't be fooled. He is full of surprises (read that: he's fucked up like the rest of them). He has secrets and personal demons that he fights. He is also in love with Desniah and he will (as the blurb says) do anything for the woman he loves. He will fight for her - he will fight her personal demons, he will take on London, he will take on Caden, and anyone else that would dare come between them. And he will take on his own personal demons as well. I think there's a joke in there somewhere ... all the taking on or maybe the knight is shining... I don't know. Make your own jokes.

"I brought out the worst in people. Not people. Men. All of them wanted to own a piece of me. There were no pieces of me left to have. Only holes to use and fill."

Some basics - the writing style was unique and engaging, the imagery was very vivid, yet still dark (did I mention that this book is dark and twisted and will blow your mind?). The sex was hot and there was lots of it! A LOT of sex, most of it dirty and delicious. The SM scenes made me pant and had my heart racing, yet there was humor too.

"'Suck.' Ivo tapped my cheek with his penis. Who said men couldn't be romantic?"

A girl's gotta have standards.

I felt that the BDSM was authentic and well written and combined with the complexity of the characters themselves and the way that the author juggled all the different dynamics and personalities. I was extremely impressed. 

"Now for me there were lies and men. Mostly men."

This book gets down to the gritty, dirty sides of human nature. Each character in this story is flawed. They are all human and even their best intentions are colored by darkness and actions that result in hurt, either for themselves or their loved ones. It's suspenseful and it's unpredictable. There are some plot twists in this story that threw me for a loop (read that: blew my mind and even left me feeling betrayed. Yes, I felt betrayed. Weird, huh?) Every time I got comfortable with the way the story was going, something new would be revealed and I'd be like WHAT?!? And I read on, swallowing up whole pages trying to get to the resolution. Alas, I have to wait for the final resolution, as Volume 2 is not out yet, though not very patiently.

Purchase Link:

amazon